I don’t know what beautiful thing the black snake saw, but it must have felt the same emotion I felt.

“The first thing I thought was beautiful when I was born was the sight of tightly clustered flower buds slowly blooming under dazzling sunlight. The joy of witnessing a new birth, the beautifully unfolded petals. And the flower’s fragrance that made everything around happy delighted me. So I wanted to see more beauty. And this world Ella created was beauty itself to me. Of course, I’m satisfied because I saw something even more beautiful through Spencer’s red eyes, thanks to Ella’s child with purple eyes.”

The black snake’s red gaze gave me chills in a different sense, as if it could read my thoughts and inner self thoroughly.

“Tell the Spencer child one thing. Child of Musilla. The white snake’s venom does not work on the black snake…”

“The white snake’s venom doesn’t work on him?”

“I’ll give you my black scales. Give them to the Spencer child. Then he will know what I said.”

The black snake opened its huge mouth and slowly tore off its black scales, dropping them at Lorencia’s feet. Lorencia looked at the snake scales larger than her body. They sparkled like the black diamonds Teishar had given her as a gift.

“May I touch them?”

“You may touch them. Child of Musilla.”

Lorencia carefully placed her hand on the snake’s scales. It felt mysterious. She felt a sacred and special feeling different from the fearful reverence the black snake inspired.

The black snake’s scales rose into the air, emitting a massive black light. Lorencia stared at the floating scales. Though the scales were black and the light was also black, it looked like hot flames.

The floating scales emitted a brilliant light, then slowly faded as they descended to the ground.

As they came down, they gradually shrank until they were as small as Lorencia’s palm.

Lorencia carefully received the shrunken black snake scales with both hands.

“Go now.”

“Thank you, Black Snake.”

“I merely kept my promise to Ella. Child of Musilla.”

“What? What do you mean by that?”

For a moment, I couldn’t understand why it spoke of a promise with Goddess Ella rather than the child with purple eyes.

“The Spencer child is waiting, so hurry back. And since my saliva has imbued your body, you will no longer die from the white snake’s venom. Child of Musilla.”

A huge rainbow with seven colors rose behind the spring of life. An overwhelming light illuminated the whole world. That warm and gentle light flashed in an instant.

Teishar stared at Lorencia’s shoulder, pierced by Pelena’s hideous sharp fangs.

As Lorencia closed her eyes, her head turned white. She’s not dying, is she?

“No. Roa.”

Seeing Lorencia’s red blood soaking the ground, Teishar trembled in shock.

“If only I had run a little earlier… Roa, I’m sorry.”

With trembling hands, Teishar took out a magic scroll imbued with healing magic from his chest and began tearing it over Lorencia’s wounded area.

But the wound did not heal. Teishar wiped away his tears and continued tearing the scroll. Lorencia’s shoulder wound did not heal.

A scroll imbued with healing magic can immediately heal bruises or lacerations. If it’s not healing, it must be poison.

“Please live.”

Is there no way to save Lorencia like this?

Teishar took out a leaf of the spring of life from his chest and placed it on Lorencia’s shoulder.

The leaf placed on her shoulder quickly turned black, turned to ashes, and disappeared.

“Roa.”

Tears flowed naturally, falling onto Lorencia. And he tore at the shoulder cloth. The marks of Pelena’s fangs were visible.

“I haven’t forgotten our promise to fall together even knowing it’s a cliff.”

Teishar wiped his tears, then without hesitation put his mouth to Lorencia’s shoulder. He sucked out the poison that had entered Lorencia’s shoulder with his mouth, then spat out the black blood with a ‘ptui’.

People tried to stop Teishar, but the atmosphere was impossible to intervene. They could only watch.

“Cough.”

Teishar, who had been sucking out the poison from Lorencia’s shoulder and spitting it out, coughed up blood.

If he could delay the progression of the poison even a little, he would do anything.

‘Please.’

With desperate heart, Teishar pressed his lips to Lorencia’s shoulder, sucked out the poison, and spat it on the ground.

“Do you think my venom will disappear from Ella’s child’s body by doing that? How foolish. Risking your life to suck in my venom.”

Pelena clicked her tongue and smiled with satisfaction.

“It’s good to see you dying like dogs together. Yes, now that it’s come to this, I’ll kill everyone and start over from the beginning.”

Pelena, who had suddenly approached Teishar and Lorencia, laughed grotesquely and mocked his actions.

“Wouldn’t it be enough to kill all the grown lives in this world and leave only the young lives? The newly growing young lives will only praise me, the white snake.”

That was the intention from the beginning when coming down to earth. The plan was to eat Ella’s seven children and the black snake of the earth, then kill all the grown lives in this world and raise only young lives to praise herself.

She thought it would go according to her will. It was a big mistake.

“Ella, who has the power to see the future, said… I would become an inevitable existence in this world… In other words, I will become the main god of this world. This world is mine.”

Coming down to earth, she only managed to eat five children by inciting people. All the power she had was used up in the battle with the black snake. The spring of life too. Her brothers too. She doesn’t even have a place to return. She must become the main god of this world Ella created somehow.

“There’s no way I won’t become an inevitable existence in this world over something like this.”

Teishar coughed up black blood while sucking the poison from Lorencia’s shoulder. The knights following him couldn’t bear to watch him and Lorencia dying.

Especially Meten, a knight who respected and followed Teishar, took out the leaf of the spring of life he received before departure and put it to Teishar’s mouth. When the leaf of the spring of life touched his dark complexion that had been spewing black blood, it began to change to a bright complexion.

“Meten. Why did you use the leaf on me?”

“The evil witch said she would kill all life. If I’m going to die anyway, dying after saving Young Lord Teishar would be an honorable death as a Spencer knight.”

Metel smiled and grasped his sword. The tip of his sword was pointed at Pelena.

Inspired by his courageous action, the knights began to give Teishar the leaves of the spring of life they had received before departure.

“Everyone…”

Teishar shook his head and refused at the knights’ actions.

“If we die saving the person Young Lord loves, it will be a glorious death as Spencer knights.”

“Young Lord, please tell my family well. That I died as a proper knight.”

“I will die as a knight.”

Many leaves of the spring of life piled up around Lorencia and Teishar. Seeing this, Pelena’s irritation rose.

If she doesn’t tear up the leaves of the spring of life right now, the rising irritation won’t subside. Pelena stretched out her arm and approached Teishar and Lorencia.

The knights gripped their swords tighter as Pelena approached. It was a tense moment.

“You dare point swords at me, mere humans? But I’ll spare your lives if you point those swords at the black snake of the earth and Ella’s child instead.”

“We’d rather die as proper knights than beg for our lives from an evil monster.”

Meten shouted as he took his stance. The other knights were the same. Their faces, full of fighting spirit, showed only bravery as if they had shaken off all fear.

“Please live and kill that evil white snake on our behalf. And protect our loved ones in our stead.”

Teishar looked at the backs of the knights trying to protect him. The backs of those he had been with for a long time showed determination and willingness to sacrifice. Their strong will was visible.

He could not ignore their determination, courage, and sacrifice.

“Thank you all.”

Looking at their backs, which might be the last time, a heavy emotion and at the same time a resolve to somehow win the war against the white snake rose from deep within Teishar.

“Protect the Young Lord and Ella’s child at all costs.”

The knights with swords charged forward. Their brave voices echoed.

“Foolish ones!”

The enraged Pelena opened her mouth wide. Black smoke flowed out and was about to engulf the knights.

At that moment, a golden light leaked from Teishar’s chest.

It was the branch of the spring of life that Lorencia had left at Count Ania’s villa.

Teishar took out the branch and closed his eyes at the growing golden light.

“That’s.”

Pelena’s face crumpled mercilessly when she saw that golden light. She knew better than anyone what the golden light flowing from the branch of the spring of life was.

An overwhelmingly strong light spread from Lorencia and the branch at the center.

Pelena could no longer approach. So she kept retreating step by step. And soon she quickly disappeared.

As the golden light began to overflow like waves from the small branch of the spring of life, color began to return to Lorencia and Teishar’s faces, which had darkened from the poison.

“Roa?”

Feeling the faint breath returning, Teishar gently embraced Lorencia and checked her shoulder. There were bloodstains, but no scars anywhere.

“Thank you.”

Teishar carefully embraced Lorencia with a voice mixed with relief and shed tears.

Lorencia opened her closed eyes.

“Roa, are you alright?”

Teishar’s large hand gently moved to caress Lorencia’s cheek.

“Why are you crying, Teir?”

“When feelings of gratitude are too strong, tears come naturally.”

Teishar’s lips touched Lorencia’s forehead. He pressed gently and then pulled away. And then he pulled her body close and hugged her.

Lorencia, who had been embraced for a while, suddenly came to her senses.

“Teir. What about the white snake?”

As soon as Lorencia’s question fell, Meten approached and reported.

“The evil white snake showed a very displeased appearance at touching the golden light and then disappeared.”

At his subordinate’s words that she had fled, Teishar let out a sigh of relief.