TVN 79

Chapter 79

“We need to hurry.”

At this rate, that man they called the leader might kill Jasmine without hesitation.

There was no longer any need to pretend to be a hostage, so I untied the rope.

I had to find Jasmine—quickly.

Before long, we arrived in front of a massive door. At a glance, it was clearly the most luxurious room in the place.

Without hesitation, we opened the door and stepped inside.

But the room was empty. They had already taken Jasmine and fled.

“There’s only one exit from this cave.”

That meant no one inside could escape to the outside.

I prayed that even a little mana remained as I thought,

‘Find Jasmine.’

Thankfully, a small light—just like before—sprang from the ring.

Praying for Jasmine’s safety, I began running after the light. Rust, letting out a sigh, followed close behind.

But soon, we ran into an unexpected obstacle.

How are we supposed to get through this?

The light that had been guiding us forward suddenly pierced through the floor and pointed downward.

I stared blankly at the spot where the light had vanished.

At that moment, the wall opened with a loud rumble, revealing a hidden staircase.

Startled, I turned around and saw Rust pressing his hand against the wall.

“Let’s go.”

He had opened the passage.

There was no time to hesitate.

Without a second thought, I ran down the stairs stretching beneath the open door.

The staircase was far longer than expected. After descending for quite some time, another corridor appeared.

Looking around, I saw the light this time heading into the corridor on the right.

Keeping close to the wall, we carefully peeked inside. There were about ten men, including one carrying Jasmine.

The number was far greater than I’d expected, and panic set in.

What do I do?

No matter how I thought about it, I didn’t have enough mana to put all of them to sleep.

Still, doing nothing felt worse. I steeled myself and focused ahead.

‘Put those people to sleep.’

But the ring remained silent.

No matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t come up with a way to save Jasmine.

Then our eyes met.

The moment Jasmine saw me, she burst into tears.

I bit down on my lip.

There has to be a way. There has to be.

That’s when I noticed the dagger hanging from the waist of the man carrying her.

I looked back and forth between the ring and the dagger.

Please… just a little more.

With all my desperation, I aimed the ring at Jasmine.

‘Loosen the rope binding Jasmine.’

The rope around her body slackened slightly and slipped toward her feet.

It wasn’t completely undone, but it was enough for her to run.

Pointing at the man’s waist, I shouted,

“Jasmine, stab him!!”

Before my words even finished, the bandits’ gazes snapped toward me. Our eyes met, and they charged at me at terrifying speed.

In that brief opening, Jasmine pulled the dagger from the man’s waist and plunged it straight into his shoulder.

“Urgh!”

He groaned and collapsed, losing his balance.

Because everyone’s attention was fixed on me, none of the bandits noticed him fall, and Jasmine was able to escape in the opposite direction.

Rust and I began running from the bandits.

As we ran, Rust spoke between ragged breaths.

“I’m just saying this in case… but the lower level is circular. Much smaller than the upper floor.”

“What?”

That meant it would be hard to stall for time until Varidas arrived.

When I looked back, the bandits were right behind us.

Ahead, Jasmine was running toward us, chased by the bleeding man.

“Get them!”

Seeing that he was alone, Rust and I grabbed Jasmine and sprinted past the injured man.

But because the cave was so narrow, we were soon surrounded.

“We don’t wish to harm the princess. Just hand over the child.”

If we were going to hand her over, we wouldn’t have come all this way.

I said nothing and tightened my grip on Jasmine’s hand.

At that moment, a massive explosion echoed from above.

Perhaps deciding there was no more time to waste, one man struck my head hard.

I collapsed to the ground.

I can’t lose consciousness here…

But my body wouldn’t move.

As my awareness faded, I made one final wish.

Please—don’t let Jasmine die.

Through blurred vision, I saw Jasmine crying and a man standing behind her with a sword raised.

I tried to reach out to shield her, but I had no strength left.

My arm fell uselessly to the floor, unable to protect her.

At that moment, Jasmine grabbed my hand, and a powerful light burst from the ring.

A warm, overwhelming glow enveloped my body.

That was the last thing I felt before losing consciousness.

* * *

The man who was about to stab Jasmine squinted as a powerful light suddenly erupted.

When the light faded, he stared at Jasmine, sword still in hand.

Then, from around her, a pale violet mana began spreading outward.

“What the—”

The men nearby began collapsing one by one.

Everyone—including Rust—fell asleep where they stood.

The same was true for Varidas and the knights.

Jasmine’s mana flooded the cave, indiscriminately putting ally and enemy alike to sleep.

Gently.

Like a lullaby.

Even Ren and the Children waiting at the cave entrance succumbed.

Only Varidas and Gray remained awake.

“Jasmine…”

Varidas murmured, eyes wide at the unbelievable sight.

He had felt something was strange since the New Year’s Festival.

The magic crystal containing the chocolate spell he’d given Jasmine had been a Mage Tower product—its effects shouldn’t have lasted that long.

But if Jasmine had unconsciously infused it with her own mana…

Varidas looked at the pale violet mana barrier coloring the surroundings.

This magic was undoubtedly Jasmine’s.

Having reached that conclusion, he began running with Gray, following the trail of mana.

After running for some time, they found mana seeping from the floor.

Without hesitation, Varidas drew his sword and struck downward.

Crash!

The floor shattered, revealing a hidden staircase.

He descended immediately.

The deeper he went, the denser the mana became—so strong that even he and Gray struggled to endure it.

After chasing the mana for a long while, Varidas stopped.

Among the fallen bandits, Fiora lay asleep, holding Jasmine tightly in her arms.

Varidas knelt and gently brushed their cheeks.

Feeling their warmth, he finally let out a breath of relief and pulled them into his arms.

His body trembled—uncharacteristically so.

As he held them, the mana spreading from Jasmine gradually subsided.

He stood, carrying them both.

“Take care of the rest.”

At his words, Gray nodded.

“Yes, sir.”

Varidas gazed down at the two sleeping figures.

His eyes were filled with tenderness.

He bent down and kissed Fiora’s forehead.

“Let’s go home.”

* * *

Thud!

With a heavy impact, the man’s jaw snapped sideways.

He was the one who had taken Jasmine.

Spitting blood, he glared at Varidas.

“You bastard.”

Varidas let out a dry chuckle and punched him again.

The man collapsed in his chair, coughing blood.

“Anyone would think I’m the villain here.”

Seeing men like this always angered him.

The bandit group this man led was infamous enough to reach the Emperor’s ears.

They robbed citizens, burned their homes, and even murdered children without hesitation.

That was why Varidas had been ordered to subjugate them—and he had simply followed orders.

They deserved to die.

So he killed them.

Yet despite their crimes, they showed no remorse—only arrogance.

“If you’re not the villains who killed my son, then what are you?!”

Ah, right. I almost forgot—this is what you’re always like.

You take lives without a second thought, yet treat your own people as more precious than anything.

Crunch!

Varidas’s foot slammed into the man’s abdomen.

“Have you ever stopped to think about how many families your precious son destroyed?”

The man lost consciousness completely.

Clicking his tongue, Varidas turned away.

People like that disgusted him.

Grinding his teeth, Varidas mounted his horse.

Guilt crept in.

If I had stayed and wiped them all out, this wouldn’t have happened.

This time, he wouldn’t leave loose ends.

He knew now that worrying about how to protect his family was better than drowning in guilt.

Thinking of Fiora eased his heart, if only a little.

Thank goodness you came back safely.

If you hadn’t, I would have gone mad.

So please—wake up soon.

Without you, I keep having dark thoughts.