Elena Clarice De Ibreotha stood there looking nowhere like she used to, with empty eyes and cold hardened expression. All Johan could do was stand there frozen, meters away from her with a stiff expression. He couldn't believe for the past 3 years, this is how they would finally reunite.

The woman Johan had searched for so long after suddenly going missing finally appeared in front of him. It was said that Elena was taken by the Chedne's leader who had vengeance against the human race and had taken her as a queen.

After the long fierce battle against the army of monsters, Johan finally found himself in the presence of the person he had long waited for. Among the hundred monsters that he had defeated, rotting under his feet while his witherband sword was covered in the crimson bloods of the undead, Elena was the only one who made him afraid.

"Elena... it's me."

Johan Antonov whispered like a prayer as the figure of the woman he recognized too well approached him slowly. With every step, the air became thicker around them. He could feel his dry throat squeezing inside as tears threatened to burst out. The strength in his hands shivered as cold air passed them by. The anguish he expected from the maiden were invisible nor the feeling of recognition was present in her eyes, shaking him on the inside.

"Elena."

The woman who Johan desperately wanted to save after failing many times was finally in front of him. After years of struggle of loneliness, he now found himself only a few distance away from her. This was the moment he had always waited every night before he closed his eyes.

"Human!"

The woman screamed, her voice resonated around the empty hall. Elena's fierce eyes looked at Johan in anguish and hostility. Her pale green eyes were no longer the color he had remembered of hers since the eye's red tint had transformed her gentle gaze into danger.

Johan cursed under his breath as the stench of the monsters under his feet sting his senses strongly, biting his lips as his eyes stared at Elena in complete focus. The urges to run towards her were driving his legs to shake in desperation. He licked his lips as thirst surged from his body, suddenly reacting upon seeing her. Yet, the maiden in front of him looked at him with the eyes of an enemy.

Johan managed a smile to hide the pain he had suffered from missing her so much. He walked slowly towards the maiden, his footsteps echoed around the soulless hall. The woman flinched in response, but stayed in place with fearful eyes. She stood there defenseless as the lifeless body of her husband laid on the cold floor. His sword that was covered in blood moved like a dancing blade, which had pierced the hearts of many of her people.

"You—- you kill them all... why?!"

Johan tightened his grip on the witherband sword as he walked in silence, ignoring Elena's anguished wonder. With the power to purity the soul of a demon possessed Chedne, he could slice her body into two. He clenched his jaw with uncertainty as he contemplated what the right thing to do was.

With inches apart from the shaken maiden, Johan scooped her up with ease without restraint. He dropped the sword to the floor, the clang sound of the steel rang for a few seconds until it stopped. He walked quicker with Elena in his arms without saying a word. He was becoming impatient as the warmth of their body intertwined underneath their clothes.

"W-what are you doing?"

It was apparent that the woman did not recognize him. Elena's body shook lightly as if struggling to free herself. But, Johan did care nor budge from the weak strength she imposed. Her familiar warmth was comforting as the thought of her being in his arms calmed the calamity inside of him.

She was finally home, Johan thought.

***

"I killed everyone who I thought had hurt you."

Johan's sharp glare was pronounced as he whispered with killing intent. He tightened his hold of Elena as his eyes searched for a room that they could lay together. He couldn't wait to hold her again, his patience was running out.

"Who are you?!"

The maiden's red crimson eyes had a mixture of confusion and fear. As Johan looked at her silently, his lips curved dangerously. The fact that he was irritated because she could not remember him only made him more impatient and anxious. Yet, the person to blame for her current state of mind was already killed by his own hand.

The corpse of Elena's husband uselessly slumped on the floor after it was struck with a poison spear. It was what that bastard deserved, he thought. That man's ability to regenerate became disabled when the poison rapidly took effect and spread throughout his brain.

Gritting his teeth in annoyance as he restrained cursed words to blurt out, Johan looked at the maiden that was avoiding his gaze. He knew Elena was under a strong spell of the wicked Ashkii, Chedne's 15th leader, the King of Dunem. But, what the hell did he do? He lost his patience after perfectly concealing his pretense when he witnessed the man slapping her like an object.

It was unforgivable.

Johan's pale blue eyes turned dangerously dark. And next thing he knew, a spear was already flying towards the head of the Dunem King, completely revealing his undercover. Abelot, his right hand man, had already warned him to be careful of his action as complicated consequences would only reveal itself in the end. But, he had forgotten about it as soon his mind blacked out.

"Fuck."

Johan sighed hopelessly as the violent curses he refrained to use finally came out. He knew nothing on how to break the spell. If he tried to break it with his own ability, he might end up killing her instead.

The danger of undoing a spell by a high-rank Chedne's can be fatal as the long exposure of a person under the Chedne's manupulative spell may mean that their survival was dependent on the Chedne who have casted the spell.

Johan had put himself in danger hundreds of times trying to get to her. But this time, it seemed that he might have failed to save her again, killing the source of the spell without undoing it was a very dangerous move. His restraint was like a thin thread the moment he saw the man putting his hands on her. There was no way he would stand for it.

Johan noticed Elena's crimson eyes, filled with hostility, which were directed at him. Chedne were dangerous as they had the power to control a person's mind upon first eye contact. But his resistance to this spell has strengthened over the years of exposure to Chedne, trying to get to her.

"You can't kill me with those eyes… even if you try."

Johan pulled her closer, securing her in his arms as if afraid that she would suddenly disappear again.

In normal circumstances, a Chedne can easily manipulate a person's mind in many torturous ways. Elena seemed to be under the illusion that she was a Chedne, a subhuman race created by black magic. But, she was not... even if she was now the queen of their species.

Abelot and the rest of the knights of the Saintsheild were still probably in the middle of conjugating the king's puppets. So then, Johan stepped his way to the hall where bodies of many other Chednes had laid down lifelessly, covered with their own blood. The pile of corpses of the monsters were starting to dry out, turning into cold grey corpses.

"...Are you also going to kill me?"

The maiden's voice cracked as her question rose to the air. Johan continued to walk in a phased manner as he alertly looked around him. His dangerous aura still had the blood thirst to kill.

"No, you are not allowed to die…"

The thoughts of killing Elena had never crossed Johan's mind— How insane would he have to be to give up his title as a Count and as the leader of the Saintshield knight along with all his fortunes he had worked so hard to earn for the last 12 years if all he wanted to do was to kill her.

It was not the reason why he was there.

Johan just wanted to take back what rightfully already belonged to him-- Elena, his wife.

He had given up all of what he could offer just to come to the devil's den and save her.

In the main hall, a dark scenery emerged as files of corpses were scattered like dried leaves blown by a storm. They were bodies of the monster Johan Antonov had already killed. Unbothered, the man walked calmly into the bloodied carpet. There were hundreds of stairs inside the castle, but he didn't bother to inspect, knowing he had already killed them all. At random, he continued his unfazed movements. He was already accustomed to the sight of death after many years as a war frontliner since he was 15 years old and after spending three rigorous years tracking down the head of the Chedne and killing many in the daily process. At that point, all he wanted to do was hold her.

Soon, they reached an empty hall, with portraits hanging on them. Familiar faces of the Royal family of Dunem Kingdom were framed on the wall, there were few of them Johan had killed personally. His eyes looked at them one by one as he continued to walk with the maiden in his arms. He stopped with his eyes wide open as he fixed his stare on a portrait of a woman who had red eyes and soft raven hair. Though Elena had blush colored hair and pale green eyes, the woman in the portrait looked strikingly similar to her.

Johan's eyes swung and looked down at the maiden who reminded him of the woman in the portrait. As soon as he met her eyes, he gulped down a dry saliva.

Should I pretend to be under hypnosis?

Though it might have been too late, that was what he'd thought to get close to her.

Like a game he always wanted to play, as soon as she parted her lips, about to say something, Johan leaned a little closer. Before Elena could say anything, he quickly grabbed her legs, separating them to surround his lean waist. The throbbing of his impatient member was painfully obvious as his hardened eyes softened a little bit.

Is my power already working? Elena had to wonder.

She has been trying to seduce the man since the moment their eyes met. Yet, it seemed that Elena's powers were acting a little strange. This whole time, she silently waited for an opportunity to escape. There was no way a human like him would spare a Chedne. His race was the ultimate reason why Chednes were forced to live in hiding for as long as she could remember.

Luckily for Chednes like her, she was born with power to control a human's weak mind. A high-ranking Chedne can do it with ease. But because she was not very skillful yet, manipulation spells for her can still be a hit or miss. In most cases, this power has been used many times to protect herself.

Upon being forced to wrap her legs around an unfamiliar man, she took the chance to observe him a little closer as the man drew his body closer to hers. He lifted her skirt lightly, positioning her to look at him in his eyes level. The smile on the man's face appeared to be a drunken lust as he quickly grabbed onto her buttocks more familiarly. Elena jumped in surprise as it became evident to her that his movements became somewhat out of her control. Her heart pounded in worry from the sudden heat that sprang to her chest.

The man pinned her to the wall, holding her weight by his legs and his thick forearms supporting the back of her neck. Fear emerged as their eyes met once again. Elena tried her best to pull herself together by appearing more calm and stern as she continued working her way to lead him under her spell.

"Who are you, Sir?" she asked, this time more bravely.

Elena tried her best to bring her voice out. Yet, it was obvious that she was still shaken and scared. The man furrowed his brows shamelessly, his irritation quickly reflected a spark in his pale blue eyes, leading her to get caught completely off guard. The man leaned forward, his pale smooth skin were like white marbles glistening under the moonlight. With only centimeters away, his intention seemed to be clear as glass.

"You don't recognize me?" The man asked as he closed his eyes in the intent to feel her warmth.