Killian quickly grabbed his bow and shot arrows in the direction of the sound. One shot, two shots.
“Argh!”
“Ugh!”
The arrows hit their mark.
As two men fell with muffled screams, more than 10 men in black masks revealed themselves.
Veronia bit her lip hard as she hid behind Killian as instructed.
‘Jonathan! Tate! Are you still calling yourselves brothers and family? How could you do this to your own sister? To your family! You crazy bastards!!’
Thump-thump, her heart was pounding frantically.
Unlike in the original story, this time there was a burden attached, making Killian’s fight seem even more difficult.
‘I tried to help, but I’ve become a burden!’
Veronia couldn’t shake the feeling that she had dragged Killian into an even deeper quagmire.
Clang! Clash! Clang-
The sound of metal clashing against metal was fierce.
Killian cut down the enemies before him one by one while protecting Veronia behind his back.
“Aaagh!”
“Gah!”
Killian’s sword, having reached the realm of a Sword Master, emitted sharp sword energy.
Just grazing the sword energy was enough to slice through skin, muscle, and bone.
That’s when it happened.
The struggling masked villains retreated.
And in the very next moment, with a swish, a net flew over Veronia and Killian’s heads.
Killian quickly swung his sword to try and cut the net, but it was impossible.
The net made of light energy wasn’t the kind that could be cut with a sword.
‘What, what is this? A magical tool? Could it be poisoned?’
Not knowing what kind of magical tool it was, Killian decided to protect Veronia first.
He embraced her with his entire body. To prevent the net from touching Veronia’s body.
Her slender body fit snugly into his arms.
“Urgh!”
A muffled groan burst from Killian’s mouth as he was covered by the net magical tool.
At the same time, the masked villains approached.
The sound of them snickering among themselves was chilling.
“Hehe, how is it? Your body feels very heavy, doesn’t it? It’s a net that restricts the use of magic power and energy in your body! This much preparation is basic when dealing with a Sword Master! Hehehe!”
Ugh…… Groaning, Killian staggered to his feet.
Even to the untrained Veronia, it was clear that his movements had slowed to about 1/10 of their usual speed.
She felt a surge of fear.
Because things were progressing similarly to the original story.
‘What should I do! At this rate, Killian will be seriously injured!’
Veronia frantically searched the pockets of the vest she was wearing.
But due to her nervousness, her fingertips kept trembling, causing her hands to slip repeatedly.
Meanwhile, Killian didn’t give up and moved his heavy body.
Gripping his sword firmly with both hands, he shouted at the villains.
“So this attack was aimed at me from the start. This is getting interesting. In that case, I must capture you alive and uncover who’s behind this.”
It was a fierce gaze and voice she had never seen or heard before.
Even Veronia, who was on his side, felt a chill of fear.
But due to the effects of the net magical tool, Killian’s movements couldn’t be as fierce as his gaze or voice.
Veronia’s hands moved faster.
‘Found it!’
She threw two round smoke bombs onto the ground with all her might.
These were specially ordered magical tools she had brought in case of emergency.
In an instant, thick smoke spread everywhere.
“What, what is this?”
“S-smoke bombs! I can’t see anything!”
“Ugh! Th-this isn’t… just… smoke bombs… Urgh, blegh!!”
The dense smoke from the smoke bombs was not only meant to obscure vision but also had a spell that would twist the internal organs once inhaled.
Especially, it was a powerful spell that made them vomit everything in their stomachs.
Of course, being specially ordered magical tools, they had no effect on Veronia and Killian.
She reached out to Killian, who was standing dazed, not fully grasping the situation.
“Sir Killian, let’s escape while we can! Come on, hurry!”
“Was this Your Highness’s doing?”
“Of course. I told you I would save you, didn’t I? Did you forget?”
“…I didn’t forget. Thank you.”
Killian’s large, rough hand firmly grasped Veronia’s small hand.
They started running.
They ran and ran towards the edge of the forest where they had tied their horses.
Despite having his energy restrained by the net magical tool attack, Killian seemed to have no problem running.
But it wasn’t the same for Veronia.
Her body, lacking both muscle strength and lung capacity, struggled to breathe after running even a short distance.
“Haa, haa… haa…”
Noticing Veronia’s increasingly ragged breathing, Killian stopped.
“Are you alright, Your Highness?”
“Haa… I’m fine… haa… Ah!”
Before Veronia could finish her sentence, Killian lifted her body in his arms.
“Wh-what are you doing, Sir Killian! Put me down!”
She tried kicking her feet, but it was in vain.
Veronia, trapped in Killian’s strong arms, couldn’t move an inch.
“I apologize for the rudeness. But this way will be faster. We need to save our lives, don’t we?”
“B-but…”
Veronia’s face turned bright red as she looked up at Killian while being held in his arms.
“Don’t worry. You’re not heavy at all.”
“…Okay.”
Should she be glad that this weak body of hers was light? No, absolutely not. Veronia felt like she wanted to faint right then and there.
Killian’s legs started moving again.
Even while carrying Veronia, his speed didn’t decrease at all, and his breathing remained steady.
They ran and ran, but the edge of the forest where they had tied their horses was nowhere to be seen.
Even Veronia, unfamiliar with the forest’s geography, could sense it. That the two of them were going in circles.
Finally realizing the seriousness of the situation, Killian stopped.
“Those guys… It seems they’ve even put up a barrier. Impressive preparation.”
“No way… To think they’d go this far.”
Veronia was at a loss for words.
She thought she had properly twisted the original story, but it wasn’t so.
She felt frustrated, realizing that the small changes she had forcefully made were likely to be buried within the greater flow of the original story.
Just then, from behind, the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps was heard. Thud-thud-thud.
“It seems they are getting closer.”
“I suppose the smoke bombs’ effect didn’t last long enough.”
“We have no choice now. We must run faster.”
What? Even faster than this? Veronia spoke with her eyes rather than her voice, surprised.
“The effect of the net magical tool they used seems to be wearing off as well. My strength is gradually returning.”
“Ah…”
If so, it was a blessing in disguise.
Killian held Veronia more tightly and flashed a smile.
Veronia knew it was a smile meant to reassure her.
“So hold on tighter, Your Highness.”
“What? Oh… yes.”
“The barrier will also weaken gradually. If we can find a gap, we’ll surely be able to escape.”
“…Alright.”
She tightened her arms around Killian’s neck and buried her face in his chest.
Thump-thump, the sound of his vigorously beating heart reached her ears.
Strangely, Veronia felt reassured by the strong, powerful heartbeat.
It felt as if she could never be hurt or die as long as she was with Killian.
Killian’s embrace seemed like the safest place in the world right now.
True to his word about regaining his strength, Killian dashed forward like an arrow.
‘Wow… I thought Sword Masters were only good with swords? He’s good with his body too.’
The wind was so strong that Veronia squeezed her eyes shut.
When she opened them again after a while, her view had cleared.
“We’ve left the forest, but this doesn’t seem to be the edge of the forest we need to return to.”
“…It seems so.”
There was a sound that Killian could clearly hear, though it was inaudible to Veronia.
“They’re still chasing us. Persistent fellows.”
“…”
“We’ll run again. Hold on tight, Your Highness.”
Veronia felt her insides burn with frustration.
Just how much money had they been paid to pursue them so relentlessly? The more she thought about it, the harder it was to understand.
As Veronia clung to Killian’s embrace, eyes tightly shut, trying to endure the rising irritation and encroaching fear, suddenly the wind died down.
It was because Killian had come to an abrupt stop.
“Sir Killian, what’s wrong? What happened?”
“Your Highness, it’s…”
Veronia turned her eyes to where Killian was looking.
Her mouth fell open helplessly.
“Ah…”
Before their eyes was a sheer cliff, and below it, a deep river flowed fiercely.
“Over there! Quickly!”
At that moment, the villains had come close enough for even Veronia to hear.
Killian spoke calmly.
“We don’t know what kind of magical tools they might attack with next. So for now, evading is the best strategy.”
“…”
“Your Highness, do you trust me?”
Killian’s blue eyes grew impossibly dark and deep.
Veronia nodded.
“Yes. I trust you.”
It was natural. At this moment, Killian was the only one she could trust.
“Good. Hold onto me tightly.”
“What? What are you going to do?”
Instead of answering Veronia’s last question, Killian flashed a smile.
The brilliant midday sunlight touched Killian’s smile.
At the same moment she thought his smile was dazzling, she instantly understood what he was about to do.
Veronia squeezed her eyes shut and embraced Killian with all her might.
Killian leaped into the air with all his strength.
‘Aah… we’re falling!’
An enormous gravitational force pulled their bodies down, down.
The two fell endlessly.
But it was strange.
Even as they were falling, Veronia didn’t feel much fear.
No, rather, she felt relieved.
It might have been because she thought they had completely shaken off their pursuers, or perhaps it was due to the strong arms that held her body tightly.
Splash—
At last, their bodies fell into the cold river water.
Still tightly embracing each other.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
