TEB Ch 107

What Renard wanted from Liev was not a great sacrifice or effort. Why did he make him feel so pained and disappointed after reassuring him with his words? If he didn’t meet Liev right now, it felt like he would die. Now that Liev had deceived him once again, he couldn’t believe anything Liev would say. 

In that moment, a fleeting thought flashed through Renard’s confused mind. I will eat him instead. If I swallow Liev in one bite and digest him, then we can be together forever, and I won’t have to worry about losing Liev anymore. But in that instant, another question came to mind.

But is that really what I want?

At the same time, familiar voices continued to echo in his mind.

[As a dragon, you can’t help but follow your instincts. And with darkness mixed in, you’ll eventually be consumed by your instinct to destroy, burn, and break. Even if you can overcome it now.]

The owner of the voice was not just one person. The condescending words of the old men he had heard once before rang loudly in his ears.

[Just wait a little longer. It’s not yet time for us to intervene.]

[What are you waiting for? He’s already burning down my forest!]

[But he’s still our kin, we can’t easily give up on dragons.]

[You must admit it! He’ll have the same ending as Eris one day.]

Renard couldn’t understand the meaning of their conversation. The familiar voices just kept getting louder and smaller, mixed with the strange shouts of a middle-aged man.

[What are you hesitating for? There’s clearly no problem with the technique, so why aren’t you listening properly!]

Renard felt frustration rise up again. He couldn’t understand why they were all talking so much. It felt like they were an annoying swarm of flies.

He wanted to see Liev right now. The only thing that remained was his longing for Liev, and it felt like he was going to die from burning thirst.

Liev, where are you? These guys are all annoying. I hate everything. Why did you leave me alone in a place like this? That’s when Renard started to throw a tantrum, like a child again.

The voice he had been eagerly waiting for was heard.

“Renard! Wake up! Can you hear me?! Can’t you hear my voice?!”

It was a voice that instantly pulled Renard out of the darkness.

“…….”

Renard stopped flailing around and was suddenly snapped back to reality. What am I doing here? What have I been doing all this time? Although his head still felt like it was going to split open, the strange voice that had been filling his mind was now gone. Renard focused on the affectionate call coming from somewhere, trying to ignore the throbbing headache.

“It’s alright. It’s nothing. Don’t be scared.”

It was Liev. Renard was surprised and asked.

Where are you? Why can’t I see you?

Liev continued to answer the questions, but just hearing his voice slowly calmed Renard down.

“You promised me. You said you can wait for a while, even if we have to be apart and be with other people. But you couldn’t even wait for a little while?”

Renard immediately countered.

Ah, no! You disappeared without a word! If you were going to leave, you should have said something. Where are you!?

He started to frantically look for Liev again. At the same time, impatience started to grow. Did Liev keep watching him this whole time? Did he see me think about eating him in one gulp? As his mind grew more anxious, another voice interrupted his thoughts.

[“Are you still going to let that happen?”]

[“Humans will be the ones getting hurt, so it’s not my concern.”]

[“It is my concern! My forest was ruined!”]

As the debate continued, the most recent voice suddenly spoke up.

[“I have an idea. We could use the shackles around that brat’s neck. If he breaks free, then we can think of a plan.”]

At the same time, Liev called out to Renard again.

“I’m here. I’m already close to you!”

In that moment, all the darkness that was blocking Renard’s vision was gone. He blinks his eyes in surprise. Then, someone screamed from inside Renard’s mouth.

“Ugh, what, What are you doing!? I-I’m going to die…”

Only then did Renard realize what he was doing to Liev. He was holding Liev in his mouth, ready to throw him in his stomach at any moment. Renard immediately spat Liev out onto the grass. Drenched in saliva, Liev gasped and struggled to catch his breath.

“Ugh, I, I thought I was going to die.”

And then Liev was terrified and freaked out as he watched the saliva dripping down his body. He was almost digested. Whether it was because of the digestive enzymes mixed in the saliva or his mood, his skin felt prickly. It felt like this had happened before. No, this had happened before!

Liev reminisced about the day he reunited with Renard and was shocked to realize that not even six months had passed since then. Gasping for breath, he glared at Renard, and Renard flinched, blinking his bright red eyes, characteristic of reptiles with long slit pupils. He then returned to his human form. While Renard, who had come to his senses, was watching Liev straighten his disheveled clothes, someone rushed up from behind them.

“What! What are you doing? You no longer need to be tied to that guy! You must obey my orders instead!”

Liev was at a loss for words for a moment, unsure of what to say to Renard, but was surprised when he saw someone rushing towards them from behind.

“Behind you, Renard!”

Renard turned around at Liev’s shout. It was the man who had been muttering nonsense in his head earlier. His head was covered in sweat, his clothes were a mess, as if he had been caught in an explosion, and he was running towards them. Renard was bewildered and was about to burn him, but for some reason, his body stopped and said, “You must not attack that guy,” as if he were under some kind of spell.

What is this? Why? Renard was confused and tried to move his body again, but it was still of no use.

“My body won’t listen, why?”

This had never happened before. Renard was so shocked that he couldn’t even move, fidgeting in shock. Liev frantically looked around. Just then, he saw the makeshift weapon that he had used lying on the ground. It must have fallen when he was caught by Renard.

Liev tightly gripped the spear with both hands and charged towards the bald man. He didn’t know where he found the courage, but it was a natural reaction. Anyone who had someone to protect would have had that kind of strength. No matter how much he tries to convince himself otherwise, Renard will forever be the baby dragon that he must protect.

“Get your hands off of Renard, you crazy bastard!”

He shouted, swinging the spear and hitting his bald head with a satisfying thud, as if it were some kind of sound effect in an entertainment show. Liev ran to Renard to make sure he wasn’t hurt or doing anything strange.

“Are you okay? Did something weird happen? Are you hurt anywhere?”

He asked, looking at his face, chin, neck, arms, legs, and body in disbelief. Renart clung to Liev with a look on his face as if he were about to cry.

“I don’t know. Suddenly I felt dizzy and nauseous, and then I passed out. When I woke up, I was trapped in this strange lab, and I couldn’t resist the orders given by that bald guy.”

Well, it seems like he doesn’t really know what happened either.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to worry anymore. It’s all over now.”

The laboratory was destroyed, and all the people working in it must have either run away or suffered from the damage to the buildings, so they can rest assured for now. Just as he was about to speak, Suddenly The surroundings became quiet, as if time had stopped. The wind stopped blowing, and the rustling of leaves and grass stopped.