Chapter 13: The Eyes That Gaze Without Faith
Inside Roland's Prufen.
Enver froze. His eyes locked onto two figures: Zephyr… and his mother.
Something within him shattered. His blood burst out, flooding the room in an instant.
Zephyr and Thadric turned abruptly. They saw Enver standing in a form they barely recognized—the pistol had fused into his arm, shifting from black to gold. His clothes were now deep crimson, and the blood that soaked the floor… suddenly turned gray.
Zephyr gave a faint smile. But Thadric—a mere human—felt his chest burn as if boiling liquid had been poured over his heart. He leapt to higher ground, avoiding the blood.
Enver had lost control. His blood raged, erupting and surging into every corner of the room. The undead swarmed from all directions. But Enver deflected fire arrows, and their bodies turned to ash.
His blood was no longer just a weapon—it was destruction incarnate.
Thadric stood still, torn between awe and anger.
> "He keeps getting stronger… and me? Still stuck in the same place…"
Each bullet of blood formed, condensed, then exploded against his enemies.
Until at last… he stopped.
A man stood before him. The leader of the elves.
And not far from him… Huria.
Enver froze. His gaze fell upon the woman.
> "Huria…" he whispered.
> "Stop it, Enver. Or else… he'll be the one to fight you," Huria said, flatly.
Thump.
Enver clenched his teeth.
Was Huria… siding with them?
He smirked—cold.
> "Who do you think you are? Why should I listen to you?"
Blood along his body began forming tiny bullets—sharp, deadly, ready to fly.
> "I'll buy some time. Do it now," Huria whispered to the elf leader.
The leader moved. The elves, once under control, were returned to their origin—the graveyard. He fired an arrow into the sky. Illusory houses emerged. One by one, the elves were drawn into them.
> "Will you follow them?" Huria asked gently.
> "No… But perhaps, I'll join them… someday," the elf leader replied, his face dim.
The barrier protecting them vanished.
Without hesitation, Enver fired blood at Huria and the elf.
In his eyes… they were lovers.
But Zephyr caught the bullet with one hand. The blood shattered in his grasp.
Strangely, Zephyr, Huria, and the elf leader could stand on Enver's blood without harm.
But Thadric? His feet felt like they were dipped in lava.
> "Why the hell did you stop me?!" Enver roared.
> "You want to kill them?"
> "Not now, Enver. I'll tell you… when the time is right."
> "WHAT?! You've been talking nonsense for days—I haven't understood a single word!"
Zephyr gave a thin smile.
> "You'll understand… if you survive until the end."
His gaze fell on his mother—still struggling in the grip of blood.
Enver snapped back to awareness. Slowly, his body returned to normal. His blood receded. Dried.
The residents of Prufen began to emerge from hiding.
But were they… truly safe?
Meanwhile, Huria and the elf leader stared at Zephyr.
How had he stopped that attack… with a single hand?
---
Elsewhere. Marva and Roland.
Roland chanted a spell.
Marva's body was slowly pulled into the ground. The voices of purified astral beings echoed in her memory.
Her breath caught. Her body froze.
It felt… like the moment Roland had killed her before.
Marva's energy was being drawn into an object—the vessel of Huria's power, the Blue Dragon.
> "I don't want to die again… not even for a moment. I want… to live…" Marva murmured.
Above ground, Roland fought alongside the Red Kunti and his followers. Astral creatures attacked, turning into blood rain, seeping into the pores of Roland's followers, then emerging again—resuming their forms.
The chanting continued.
But suddenly, Marva was pulled from the earth.
When she opened her eyes… she was standing before Roland.
> "How—" Roland choked. Marva… was whole.
Yet her power had already been funneled into the Betel Cutter—now rising from the ocean depths, surrounded by the Hellseher.
The ice island cracked.
From afar, Jassel stared in panic.
> "I warned you, Roland… If you force that object—"
---
Back to Enver.
Now, he was utterly cold.
He didn't look at Huria.
Didn't speak.
> "Aren't you going to explain, Huria?"
> "I will—"
Enver's gaze cut her off.
> "Enough. Your power in someone else's body… already explained everything. I'll hide it. I don't know why… but I'll help. Help the both of you."
His smile… was bitter.
> "Listen, human," the elf leader muttered. "If you keep going down this path… you'll regret it."
Zephyr cradled Moren. His eyes darkened.
> "How long will you keep talking? Look around. This isn't the time for debate.
Fine then… I'll go. And I won't ever tell you where your mother's final resting place is."
Enver followed Zephyr out of Prufen.
Thadric stayed behind. He looked at Huria and the elf leader.
> "What's your plan?"
Before an answer came, Thadric's steps froze.
In front of him… a large and terrifying creature.
Gilancia.
An astral being with a name. That meant divine-tier power.
Like Huria. Like the elf leader.
> "How did that creature enter Prufen?" Thadric whispered.
> "Lord Thadric," Huria said calmly, "This creature will capture you if you get close.
He protects us. Because he… likes humans. He… saved me."
Thadric smirked.
> "He wants to save you? Yet he abandoned you. If he truly cared, this would be the moment. But he left. Just like that."
> "No. He will return."
> "Why don't you do it yourself? You're the Blue Dragon. This should be easy."
Huria and the elf leader revealed their bodies.
Mutilated. Flayed alive.
From head to toe—only their faces remained intact.
Their bones were exposed.
> "I don't want him to see me like this. But every time we try to escape… the spell tortures us. One day… it might destroy our organs."
Thadric fell silent.
He recognized that spell.
It was the magic of his own family.
> "And that creature… is its guardian."