58 [58] Save You
Passionate.
This was Alvin's initial impression.
Never had he experienced such an intense pursuit.
Like a sudden storm of wind and rain.
She fiercely pushed him down onto the bed, pressing herself against him.
Soft lips touched each other, passionately intertwining with a slight tremor.
No tenderness whatsoever.
Rather, it was like... the onslaught of a battering ram.
...She launched an assault, with unquestionable strength, forcibly breaking through her own defenses.
It seemed like a struggle.
Temperature.
Breath.
Ardor.
In the fierce kiss, the liquid, both bitter and sweet, exchanged slowly as the heat transmitted, revealing a faint taste of sweetness.
...Blood.
...It was the sweet savor of blood.
As if emotions, suppressed and deep-seated for too long, were finally unleashed violently, transforming into surging and overturning tides.
The force of her kisses was so powerful, as if she wanted to completely melt and suffocate together.
To the point where their lips were so forcefully pressed together that they were bitten, and a faint, bloody sweetness floated from them.
Her lips, tasting of blood, showed no signs of stopping.
It was as if a parched land was receiving a refreshing rain, thirstily drinking it in.
She passionately kissed him, intensely, as if she forgot herself, sucking on him as if attempting to greedily consume his blood.
...Blood.
The dragon's blood roared.
The heart beat like a drum.
Within the body, it seemed like a powerful, almost heavenly pleasure was emerging.
Wanting it just like that...
To defile her...
Wanting it like that, violently! Intensely! Ruthlessly...
To insult her! Ensnare her! Corrupt her! Possess her!
Just thinking of such scenes.
A feeling, akin to shaking one's very soul, of ultimate pleasure surged within.
The overwhelming desire assaulted Alvin's mind, the stacked whispers resembling the cries of demons.
Temptation, desire, pleasure, malevolence...
Everything, including the other's incredibly persistent attitude, incessantly urged him on, shoved him, expelled him, seduced him, wanting him to hurry up and...
...Completely... dominate her.
Those temptations, those whispers.
That pleasure, those roars.
Silver-haired and green-eyed, Alvin lowered his eyelids, his ash-gray eyes seemingly immersed in all the compassion in the world... he undoubtedly felt sorrow, yet to all those urgencies, he turned a deaf ear.
The intoxicating kiss finally separated...
The crystalline moonlight shone brightly in the sky.
The charm in the azure eyes twinkled, impossible to decipher.
They gazed at each other.
Alvin looked at her like that, watching her palm, hesitantly exploring upward.
"Alvin..."
Delicate, fair fingertips trembled, teasing the tie of the garment.
"As usual, occupy me..."
As usual...?
But...
...We are not as we used to be.
There is no need for the rustling of dragon's blood inside.
There is no need for the reminder of surging desires.
As if due to fatigue, his nerves were still somewhat sluggish.
So, in the next moment that hand groped its way up.
Alvin already... thoroughly recognized the truth.
He stared at her.
...She really was like his dear witch.
Even though he had spent countless days and nights with his beloved witch, kissing her face tenderly countless times and melting into each other's intoxicating love countless times.
He almost couldn't find any flaws in her before him.
She really... tried her best to disguise herself.
Whether it was her appearance or figure... even the aura emanating from her entire body.
On this cloudless and dark night, with no bright moonlight or stars' gaze.
Facing the silver-haired woman kissing him, Alvin seemed to recall the first time he kissed the witch, on that distant afternoon.
At that moment.
Just like that, at this very moment.
It was surprisingly... so similar.
It had been a long time since he had seen her, and she had dressed meticulously.
Her exquisite charm, now even more captivating, was drawing people to worship.
Sigh...
The nervous movements.
The slight tremor after her fingertips caressed her own skin.
The awkward feeling of their tongues entwined within her thin lips.
Everything... betrayed her identity.
Like a witch's embrace, it felt like a warm spring in the icy mountains.
While it seemed cold on the surface, when enveloped by her, one could feel the warmth and intense emotions transmitted from her beating heart.
So, the woman before him was like that murmuring stream.
Flowing through the clear and pure valley, it was clear, trembling, and tender.
"Alvin, possess me..."
Facing the silver-haired woman before him, with a gaze almost drowning and glittering.
Alvin's face revealed a complex wry smile.
She was about to lean down for a kiss.
So...
He lifted his palm, lightly placing his index finger on her lips.
This extremely subtle movement completely paralyzed her.
"Long time no see..."
He said.
"Artoria."
His voice sounded as ethereal as ever, lightly echoing.
As gentle as the wind, brushing across her face, dispelling the darkness of the night.
As delicate as if she was afraid... of disturbing her.
The voice faded away.
Resonance lingered.
His hand that lightly touched her lips with a finger had no noticeable force.
Yet, Artoria's body trembled uncontrollably.
"Why, Alvin..."
Like questioning.
Like interrogating.
Just like her heartstrings and body, her voice also trembled.
The bright green lake vibrated violently.
The layered and surging ripples made Alvin's gaze somewhat trance-like.
Even they... cried in such a similar way.
So... pitiful.
A water stain soaked through his chest, conveying a warmth.
Alvin held her hand, taking a deep breath.
He suppressed the surging impulse within himself, gently moving those fair five fingers away, placing them on the bed.
Alvin gently, as if cradling a precious, easily breakable treasure, supported her shoulders... pushing her back and helping her sit up slowly.
Her expression was dazed and frozen.
As if her tears were frozen in her eyes.
Alvin who sat up straight tied the collar of his chest, his iron-gray eyes slightly lowered, looking at her.
"...I'm sorry, Artoria."
...Sorry.
Like the breaking of a pearl curtain.
Clear water blossomed on the ground.
Just a few words, but suddenly seemed to provoke her.
"I... don't need your apologies!"
With tears in her eyes.
She, like an angry lioness, grabbed the silver-haired man's collar.
So powerfully.
She pressed his face to hers, ferociously kissing him.
She bit and sucked his lips, like a lioness viciously tearing at her prey.
Blood flowed from it.
Mixed with her tears.
Forming a bittersweet, salty, and fishy taste called possessiveness.
However...
No matter how she demanded, whether passionately or painfully stimulating.
No matter how she embraced, hugging him tightly around the neck, or trying to crush him into her body...
...There was no response.
Even the most basic cooperation or resistance was lost...
Artoria looked at the silver-haired man in front of her.
He silently, pitifully stared at her.
Like a demagnetized magnet.
Any attraction to her had completely lost its response.
"Doing this is meaningless."
That sorrowful gaze seemed to convey such words.
Sigh.
"There... is meaning..."
Holding his face,
She murmured absentmindedly.
On his lips, she left traces of her own biting.
"...Now, in front of me... you are, my meaning... Alvin..."
As always, as if sensing all her thoughts.
The person in front of her raised his hand, and his index finger gently touched her lips.
"I have no love for you, Artoria."
"..."
Silence.
The profound night couldn't cover this deathly silence.
All the biting, madness, and release, everything drained away, leaving only bitterness.
"Why..."
Artoria lowered her gaze, trembling continuously.
The slightly swaying, silky silver hair covered her shadowed face.
Her voice, wavering and hoarse.
"Why... even when I'm like this... Alvin..."
"You recognized me, yet what's the use... you can pretend... not to recognize me..."
"I... I even replaced her... my sister... just wanting... briefly... to possess you... for a moment..."
"Yes... that's right..."
She murmured in a daze.
As if she found some vitality, she suddenly grabbed onto that lifesaving straw.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she raised her head, trembling.
"...Treat me as her, it's okay!"
"Yes... just pretend you didn't notice... Alvin... just smile at me... as you do to my sister..."
She forced a smile.
"Please... Alvin..."
In her pupils, a heart-wrenching radiance gradually emerged.
"Just for tonight... just for now..."
"That would be... enough for me."
Watching her dazed, sorrowful, almost pleading smile in front of him.
Alvin lowered his eyelids.
"I refuse, Artoria."
The light in her eyes froze.
As if those words were forced out from his throat.
"Why...?"
"Because..." The silver-haired youth whispered, "My heart already belongs to Morgan."
"... Morgan."
Artoria repeated the name in a daze.
That hand slowly clenched.
That heart gradually collapsed.
Shattered on the ground, blown away by the wind.
Love, separation. Hatred, resentment.
Not obtaining what is sought.
Seeking and not obtaining is the greatest pain in the world.
As if questioning the soul.
"Morgan..."
She uttered, the final desperate release.
"...Morgan! Morgan! Morgan! Everything is Morgan! Even if you love my sister, so what, Alvin! You love her, why can't you love me too?!"
She roared.
As if questioning in a raging storm.
"You turned me into a person, you pulled me down! You gave me peace of mind, but also completely took away my peace of mind!"
"You said you wanted to save me..."
Unsteadily.
Her words swayed.
Finally, like a campfire burning out, gradually dimming.
"...What did you actually save?"
Alvin just watched her.
Watched her burn, watched her extinguish.
Guilt.
This is the guilt of Alvin Pendragon.
Yes, he is truly a person filled with evil.
Perhaps... he should never have entered that field of wheat in the first place.
This was the cruelest parting he could imagine.
"To save you, what does it have to do with you?"
As the words fell...
Only silence remained.
She didn't say a word.
Though, through her eyes, Alvin saw tears.
However, she didn't say a word.
The silver-haired youth turned around and left.
Artoria reached out, trying to grab him as he drifted away.
But she only caught onto a cold, thin shadow.
No...
She couldn't even lift her hand... it was just her imagination.
"Love is... possessiveness."
"Morgan has already occupied my heart, and I have also occupied hers... I'm sorry, there's no place for you in there. I've always regarded you as a friend, Artoria."
"Yes, it was my arrogance to try to save you but couldn't accept your feelings... undoubtedly, it's my despicable, my sinful act, and I don't know how to redeem it."
Standing on the edge of the shadows in the bedroom, that person turned back.
"...Consider me as if I never appeared."
The bright blue eyes gradually turned to deep green.
The plump figure retracted, turning back into the once youthful girl.
The silver color gradually faded from the ends of her hair, returning to the brilliant and radiant gold.
"Alvin..."
She raised her head.
The delicate face, untouched by dust.
The soft golden hair swayed slightly, as if still swaying in that radiant wheat field.
As always.
Artoria smiled.
"Do you really not leave any place for me?"
"You can't accept my love because of Morgan?"
"But if my sister agrees..."
"...We already... have a daughter."
Her final smile froze on her face.
"Goodbye, Artoria."
Artoria's figure collapsed.
She still stood there.
But collapsed.
She didn't know how she walked out of that room.
The entire castle had completely collapsed, the ruins burning in the towering flames.
Behind her, she left a trace like a sweeping hurricane, the ground shattered and annihilated by the violent sword aura, extending for kilometers, and no one dared to approach.
Standing under this starless, dim night sky.
She lifted her gaze vaguely, seemingly sensing something.
The profound night sky gathered with ash-gray clouds.
Those twisted, spiraling, strange vortex-shaped clouds seemed like a hollow eye, silently watching her.
"Even the sky is watching my joke..."
Boom!
A brilliant sword light shot straight into the sky, sweeping away the vortex cloud layer.
However...
Those strange, spiraling cloud shadows did not disperse, but slowly gathered again into a vortex-like eye.
Quietly, silently watching her.
Inexplicably.
"Heh... hehe... hahahahaha!!!"
As if hearing the voice in her heart, the disheveled golden-haired girl burst into laughter, a wild and hoarse laughter.
"I understand, I completely understand!"
"You were hinting at me!"
"Love is... possessiveness."
"And I... selfishly love you."
"So, I want to possess you..."
"If you don't love me... what does it matter?"
"As long as I'm the only one left for you to love, you can... love me, right?"
"To save you, what does it have to do with you?"
"Yes, even if you hate me, dislike me, distance yourself from me... I still want to let you live."
"I want to take you back..."
As if suddenly remembering something.
Her murmurs suddenly, hesitantly, paused for a moment.
"Daughter...?"
Artoria stared blankly, raised her hand, and wiped off the thick red substance on her lips.
It was... Alvin's blood.
"Alvin..."
She radiantly laughed happily.
"We will also have a daughter."
