Alice stood amidst the wreckage, a pillar of fury as she slammed her fist through the lingering shroud of dust. Her eyes burned with a shimmering crimson light, scanning the crater. The dragon was gone—not just defeated, but erased, vanished into microscopic particles by the sheer authority of the fallen sword.
"Who the hell dared to interrupt my hunt?" she snarled, her voice a low, dangerous vibration.
The blade did not fall to the earth. It hovered in mid-air, a relic of absolute power. It was wreathed in flickering black flames that seemed to consume the very light around it. Its tip was so impossibly sharp it looked as though it could pierce the fabric of reality itself.
As Alice stared at the blade, a jolt of recognition struck her soul. It was a blurred, distant memory—a vision of someone precious holding this exact weapon. The sense of familiarity was so overwhelming, so pleasant, that she reached out, her hand trembling with the urge to touch the black fire.
"Alice! What are you doing?" Adam's voice broke through her trance, cracked with raw terror. "If you touch that, you'll be reduced to ash! There is no coming back from the King's judgment!"
Alice snapped her head toward him, her gaze predatory. "And why is that?" she demanded, furious at the interruption.
"It is the King's sword, not some toy for a mere traveler!" Adam shouted, his hands shaking violently as he struggled to remain upright in the sword's presence. "The pressure alone is enough to stop a heart. Even I am paralyzed by the weight of it!"
Alice looked at the boy, then back at the blade. "Don't worry, brat," she said, her confidence returning in a sharp, jagged edge. "This is nothing. As long as you are with me, you are safe. I told you I would protect you."
As if responding to her challenge, the sword released a tidal wave of pressure. Alice didn't back down. She ignited her own mana, her crimson eyes flaring as she projected a counter-aura so dense it turned the air into liquid. For a moment, the woman and the weapon engaged in a silent, raging competition of wills.
Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the sword soared upward. It pierced the clouds like a streak of dark lightning and vanished into the stratosphere.
A heavy silence settled over the wasteland. For a mile in every direction, the lush greenery had been obliterated. The paradise was gone, replaced by a scorched, barren plain.
"A decent warm-up," Alice remarked with a dark smirk, though her blood was still boiling.
"That dragon..." Adam whispered, his voice trembling. "In human terms, it was only a ten-year-old child. A matured dragon is five times that size."
Alice stumbled, her eyes widening in genuine shock. A child? The thought that she had struggled, even for a moment, against an infant of the species sent a surge of cold rage through her. She clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white, her heart pounding with a mixture of excitement and wounded pride.
"To the Capital!" she shouted to the caravan. "Gallop! Now!"
Inside the carriage, the atmosphere was suffocating. Alice was leaking a murderous aura, her regret over the unfinished fight manifesting as a physical weight.
"Cool down, Alice," Adam pleaded, his face pale. "I can't breathe in here."
Alice blinked, pulling her power back into her core. "Sorry, Adam. I was lost in thought." She leaned back, her expression turning cold and inquisitive. "Tell me... what is this King of yours truly like?"
Adam stared at his shaking hands. "I have never seen his face. I saw him only once, from behind the curtains of the inner sanctum when I was very small. His voice is deep, commanding, and dark. Just being in his presence feels like the moment between life and death—like your soul is being drained simply by existing near him."
He looked out at the ruins of the forest. "No one knows why a monster like him created a paradise like this. He remains a mystery, a legend with no answers."
"Then how did you recognize the sword?" Alice asked, her eyes narrowing.
"The legends," Adam replied. "My great-grandfather told me stories of the Black Flame. I never believed them until today. To see a storybook myth come to life and erase a dragon... it's terrifying."
Alice smirked, noticing the lingering fear in the boy's eyes. "That's why you stopped me. You thought I'd die if I touched it."
Adam remained silent, gazing out at the destroyed landscape. "The forest will grow back," he muttered. "The King's magic ensures the land heals itself in no time."
"I hope so," Alice whispered.
They sat in silence for a moment before Adam spoke again, his voice sounding oddly hollow. "There is one more legend about him. They say that each night, he wanders through time, carrying a memory like a sacred wound. They say blood keeps his body alive, but the thought of Her keeps his heart beating."
Alice felt a sudden, profound warmth embrace her heart.
"In her presence," Adam continued, "he was no legend, no monster of the dark. He was just a man who loved with a depth the world could not forgive. Her warmth softened his curse. Her love gave meaning to his endless night."
Alice didn't speak. She simply turned toward the window, a small, genuine smile gracing her lips as she watched the sun set over the horizon.