Chapter 128: Assassination theater V.
"You have all the time in the world. Speak now."
As she stared into Dorian’s eyes, she could feel his god-like aura, slowly seeping into her skin like poison.
The veins around the side of her head began to glow as she felt like every cell in that area was about to burst from the inside out.
For a second there, she was certain she almost passed out, but she was quick to regain her consciousness, knowing if she fell then and there, it was over for her.
It was one thing that Dorian’s fingers were inches away from crushing her windpipe, but Maria, who seemed to be growing angrier by the second just from the fact Dorian was touching another woman, was a different issue entirely.
Even if Dorian didn’t kill her, she was certain Maria would.
And judging from how thick and different her aura was, Tai Hun knew Maria had to also be a Lord-rank.
This made her furious and angry.
How dare people like these interrupt her means of survival? People who are rich and secure in their lives?
Tai Hun refused to bow her head to plead, not to Dorian of all people, a man who gained riches overnight without any means or proof of his work.
To her, she viewed him as no different from the other nobles lined up to watch her torture elves.
All nobles were the same.
"You will... do as I say from now on... I am your beloved..." Tai managed to utter those words under the pressure of Dorian’s mana.
Her eyes took on a green glow, and she focused them keenly on Dorian, trying to pull him into the delusion she had crafted just for him.
Dorian’s eyes suddenly widened as he realized his eyes were also taking on the green glow.
[Notice: You are under an illusion.]
[Notice: You are under an illusion.]
The system kept on spamming the notification before his eyes.
Still, he fell right into it; his reaction was not as fast as his mind.
Right before him, rather than seeing Maria, what he saw was his girlfriend from his former world, Yahoshi.
She had long black hair, and her eyes, red, glowed with a knowing intent while dressed in an office attire.
Dorian was shocked.
She looked exactly the way he remembered her.
Her calm yet disgusted look, her lips always slightly parted as though she was about to say something, and then those eyes—eyes that held so much evil and love for him.
He remembered it all.
"I see. So this is how your magic works. Your illusion magic is versatile and doesn’t just work in one way. Interesting." Dorian tightened his grip around Yahoshi’s neck.
Grrk!
Her image glitched into Tai’s before turning back to Yahoshi’s and back again.
"I don’t know why you thought bringing my ex-girlfriend to me was a great idea, but I must thank you for it," Dorian clenched his fist.
"I am not one to hit a woman, but you see, this bitch ruined my life, and you are doing the same to innocent elves. I’m afraid I am being forced to react right now."
"Eh? It’s me, your beloved, your l-"
BASH!
Dorian landed a punch square in the center of her face. The impact shattered the illusion instantly and also left a huge injury on her face.
Before she could understand what was going on, another punch had landed on her face yet again.
And then another.
And another.
And another.
Until the ground and Dorian’s fist had been covered in her blood.
At this point, her face was barely recognizable; it was almost as though she was an entirely different person.
BASH!
BASH!
The punches kept pouring, and not once did Dorian release his hold on her neck.
Maria, who was standing at the side, was a tad bit surprised as this was the first time she had seen him this angry, even though he had a calm look on his face.
Just from looking at him, anyone could tell he was pouring a lot of resentment into each punch he laid on her.
She raised her hand a bit, contemplating whether to stop him before he loses himself and does something he would regret.
But then suddenly, he uttered,
"To hell with you, Yahoshi..." He stopped his punch. "I hope you jump off a damn cliff and die."
His swear wasn’t what caught her attention; it was more of the fact he mentioned a name that sounded way too familiar.
Yahoshi.
Maria suddenly gripped her head as a sharp pain settled in, causing her to tumble backward a bit.
She could feel herself trying to remember something important, but every attempt was met with an even sharper pain. Soon, there was a loud ringing in her head.
This time, she could not help but fall to one knee, gripping the side of her face where the pain was most active.
Then she saw it.
Dorian... it happened so fast that the only thing she could feel in that moment was absolute fear and terror.
She saw him standing right in front of her, close to a woman in a veil, her hand punched through his chest, leaving a massive hole for her to grab his heart.
Maria panted heavily at the sight.
There was no mistaking it; that was most definitely Dorian standing in front of her.
As if that wasn’t enough, the figure suddenly spoke as well.
"We made a deal, did we not? He is mine and always will be. You have no space here. You have no responsibility as well. You should have never been here in the first place. Leave."
Those were the words of the unknown woman.
Maria felt an ache in her chest at those words, her hand slowly rising into the air, attempting to grab Dorian’s hand and plead for him to not leave her.
To her surprise, Dorian reached out and grabbed her hand.
"Maria."
His voice rang out, snapping her from the vision.
The very next second, she found that Dorian was indeed standing in front of her, but there was no woman present at all.
"Lord Dorian..." she blurted out in confusion.
"It looks like you were also affected by the illusion. I figured as much. You were saying such strange things, after all," Dorian uttered, still holding her hand.
"I see." Maria stood up. "I am sorry you had to see me in such a state."
Dorian was silent for a while, then he pointed at the unconscious woman behind him.
"Yeah, we can talk about that later. For now, let’s take them all back to the barony, first thing tomorrow morning."
...
[A/N]
An extra Chapter for getting to 100 ps last week. Thank you.