33
Yeon Ji-ho was witnessing the gradual darkening of someone he had thought to be a righteous protagonist. The moment Hadad’s sparkling eyes turned into a dull sheen, Yeon Ji-ho realized that it was not just simple discomfort he felt, but a sense of unease.
“Protagonist…? What do you mean?”
The corners of Hadad’s mouth curled up. Instead of answering, he forcefully pulled Yeon Ji-ho’s hand and embraced him tightly.
At the same time, a fierce voice erupted from Set, who was watching from a distance.
“Ji-ho!”
The grip around his waist hurt. Hadad had somehow pulled Yeon Ji-ho from behind and was now facing Set. Yeon Ji-ho’s body swayed like a doll. As his solar plexus tightened, a painful groan escaped him.
“Ugh…!”
“Damn it, Hadad! Don’t treat Ji-ho carelessly!”
Set, unable to maintain his composure, started to approach them. He couldn’t get any closer because Hadad had tightened his grip around Yeon Ji-ho’s neck.
“Set. I’m really sorry about this.”
“Hadad, let him go.”
“I’ve come to want him for myself.”
Gasp…
Yeon Ji-ho’s eyes spun rapidly before returning to focus. He felt as if he might lose his breath. If Hadad hadn’t adjusted his grip, it wouldn’t have been strange if he had stopped breathing right then and there.
Yeon Ji-ho gasped for air, but Hadad showed no reaction. He simply continued to speak his mind.
“I’m having fun. What should I do? Set, you have no idea how long it’s been since I felt so vividly alive. I…”
“Ji-ho, Ji-ho. Breathe. It’s okay. Ji-ho?”
“Oh dear, I’m sorry, Ji-ho. I must have been too strong.”
Set, standing at a distance, checked on Ji-ho’s condition and looked at him with anxious eyes. Only then did Hadad release his grip from Yeon Ji-ho’s neck and instead wrapped his arms tightly around his waist. Yeon Ji-ho began to cough violently.
“Cough, cough… Ah, this bastard…”
“Ji-ho. Come with me. Okay? If you just make my heart race, I will give you everything I have.”
“What… Cough, cough.”
As oxygen finally reached his brain, Yeon Ji-ho felt like his mind was clearing. He blinked several times to regain his blurry vision caused by physiological tears.
Then, he locked eyes with Set, who was looking at him. He could feel Set’s worry reaching him even from this distance. Just as Yeon Ji-ho managed to raise a finger towards Set…
“Don’t.”
“Cough, ha…”
“Ji-ho. The protagonist here is me.”
So you should focus on me.
Hadad even took back the hand Yeon Ji-ho had extended towards Set. No, it would be more accurate to say he pressed it down with his own arm.
Noticing that Yeon Ji-ho wanted to go to Set immediately, he began to tighten his embrace even more. A faint groan escaped.
It was at that moment that Set could no longer hold back.
He drew his sword and aimed it sharply at Hadad and Yeon Ji-ho. Hadad let out a short laugh.
“Set, you already know. If you use your sword energy there, Ji-ho will get hurt too.”
“……”
“If you care for Ji-ho, you shouldn’t do that.”
Hadad spoke gently. Set’s sword energy was powerful enough to slice through a giant worm in one blow, and if he unleashed it, Hadad, holding Ji-ho, wouldn’t be able to defend against it.
But Hadad showed no signs of anxiety. He already knew.
As long as Yeon Ji-ho was in his arms, Set wouldn’t be able to attack first.
“I don’t have a sword right now. You know that, Set? I can’t create a sword with my energy like you can.”
“Hadad.”
“Unarmed, Ji-ho and I won’t be able to withstand your sword energy. So, let us go.”
The smile on Hadad’s lips remained. In contrast, Set aimed his sword with a dry expression, devoid of any hint of a smile.
If one were to assess the balance of power between Hadad and Set, it would lean towards Hadad. The sword energy he produced was larger and more dangerous.
However, Set’s swordsmanship was more threatening in its sharpness than its size. This was also due to the differences in their personalities.
Set, who aimed for perfection in everything, handled his sword energy with more precision than anyone else, while Hadad, who relied on luck and talent, could create sword energy more powerfully than anyone else.
And that was the reason Hadad could not create a sword with his energy, unlike Set.
“Hadad. For the first time, you…”
Set’s odd-colored eyes gleamed sharply.
The reason Set and Hadad were at odds was primarily because Set had not refused the orders of the former Duke Gorgon. To topple the royal family and engulf the empire. A promise made with his only remaining family, his stepmother, who had not abandoned him.
Had that order not existed, Set would not have opposed Hadad. He would not have tried to kill him. Perhaps the reason Set lost in the last war was precisely this.
At least Set himself had never truly wanted to kill Hadad.
“I want to kill you.”
At the same time, an enormous sword energy flew towards Hadad. It was then that Hadad’s eyes widened in surprise.
Set Gorgon, for the first time, had something he wanted to protect: Yeon Ji-ho. So he believed that as long as he held him, even Set would not be able to do anything.
However, Set unleashed his sword energy towards the two of them. A sharp energy that could easily take both their lives.
“Oh no…!”
Hadad, who was about to retreat, hesitated upon realizing he was not alone, holding Ji-ho. It would be difficult for them to evade together. But if he let go…
That moment of hesitation led Hadad to defeat. The sharp sword energy mercilessly sliced through their lower bodies. It was only thanks to Hadad’s late reaction that they avoided a fatal blow.
“Ji-ho?!”
However, Yeon Ji-ho, unable to evade in time, was wounded in the thigh. Startled, Hadad panicked and let him go. Yeon Ji-ho had already lost consciousness.
At that moment, black wings soared from behind Hadad. The sound of flapping echoed in his ears like thunder.
“Hey, Ji-ho said he likes us, you foolish prince.”
Isquis, having snatched Yeon Ji-ho, lifted him into the air safely. Hadad’s eyes widened in shock as he saw Yeon Ji-ho being taken away in the blink of an eye. He urgently searched for the wizard.
“Merdin!”
“Oh, are you trying to grab him with those damn vines again?”
Once again, Merdin intended to use his vine magic to ensnare Isquis. However, when he turned his head, he saw Merdin struggling against someone in the distance. The opponent was Apophis.
“That little wizard will have a hard time dealing with that sneaky snake.”
“You…! Isquis, put Ji-ho down!”
“That’s a funny joke. Hey, prince. You know it too.”
Isquis, soaring in the sky, looked down at him with a smirk. In his arms was Ji-ho, who, despite a slight injury to his thigh, appeared to be peacefully asleep. Hadad’s heart began to pound heavily.
“Ji-ho chose us. No, to be precise, he chose His Excellency.”
“You…!”
“Why?”
It was rare for Isquis to see Hadad lose his smile. He had always found Hadad’s bright smile terrifying.
“Get rid of that ridiculous confidence that everyone will obviously love you, okay?”
Despair clouded Hadad’s eyes. This was the first time he felt this way.
Even when he fought Set and lost, even when he barely escaped with his life from war, even when he faced the risk of losing his beloved Gliese.
He had never felt despair. For reasons unknown, he had some kind of conviction. That someday he would win.
He had felt anxious and restless at times, but he had never felt such perfect despair in his life. Hadad’s heart raced painfully. Startled, he clutched his chest.
“Apophis, Isquis. I’m leaving.”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
Isquis quickly flew and handed Yeon Ji-ho over to Set. That sight was visible even to Hadad from a distance. The commander of the knights, Lord, approached Hadad, warning him of danger and telling him to step back, but Hadad did not budge.
He felt strange.
Even though Yeon Ji-ho was bleeding from the sword energy on his thigh, he looked stable in Set’s embrace. As if that place was exactly where he belonged.
Hadad felt a rage greater than when Gliese was captured by Set. He could not understand why. It felt as if everything of his had been taken away.
His identity, his place, and even his…
Position as the protagonist.
