164 Face the Music (1/2)
TILLY woke up crying. The long dream that she had was so vivid it hurt her heart. She wanted to ponder on it for a moment.
But as soon as she felt a strange presence in the room, she touched the tattoo around her wrist and grabbed the iron crab mallet as soon as it manifested in the air. Then, she got up and pointed it at the stranger beside her bed.
She covered Winter's tiny body with her other hand. Also, she noticed that Sentinel was unconscious on the floor.
”Who are you?” Tilly asked threateningly at the silhouette in front of her. Dammit, I can't see clearly.
The room was very dark. Only the moonlight coming through the open balcony served as light. And the intruder was standing against it.
She could make out a silhouette of a man wearing a robe though. He was tall, lean, and he had long hair. Come to think of it, the stranger's built could belong to a woman. But for some reason, she was very sure that the one in front of her was a man.
”What is that?” the intruder, who sounded like a man, asked in disbelief. ”What are you holding, my lady?”
She slowly and carefully stood up to hide Winter behind her.
”A crab mallet, duh,” she answered. Then, she gripped the handle tighter until the red flame from her hand engulfed the crab mallet. ”This is the last time I'm going to ask. Who are you…”
Her voice trailed-off when she got to see a glimpse of the intruder's face.
Thanks to the light that her flame created, the room lit up significantly.
Oh, god.
The intruder's face was very gentle but his light gray eyes were cold. And familiar. She felt a tightening of her chest while looking at him.
And then, she remembered where she saw that face.
He's one of the ”favored children” in my dream!
”That kind of weapon doesn't suit you, my lady,” the intruder said in a cold but somewhat worried voice. ”You should wield a bow and arrow like you used to.”
She smirked at that. ”Who gave you the right to tell me what to do? My life, my choice.”
He fell silent for a second. Then, he smiled a bit. ”You haven't changed at all. Even from the time before you were reborn as the Supreme, you've always had that attitude.”
In the blink of an eye, the intruder was already standing so close to her.
She gasped in surprise and tried to hit the man with her iron crab mallet. But he just held her by the wrist to stop her attack. When it didn't work, she made her body literally burn.
He just smiled as if he was amused. Then, a gush of violent wind circulated around them.
She closed her eyes when the harsh wind almost hurt her eyes. And then, she felt her flame disappear when the mini tornado stopped.
His wind extinguished my flame…?
She opened her eyes in shock, then she looked up at the intruder with horror in her eyes.
No… it can't be…
Does it mean that dream isn't a mere dream…?
”You're still weak, my lady,” he told her while shaking his head. ”It's time for you to wake up and reclaim your title as the Supreme. To do that…” He put a finger on her temple. ”You have to unseal your memories first.”
She raised her left hand and slapped the man hard. Hard enough that his cheeks turned red. If you look closely, you might even see the mark of her hand.
The intruder looked shocked by what she did.
She used that chance to kick him hard between his legs. Whatever he was, he was still a man. As long as he had– well, excuse her for the lack of a better term– balls, she could kill him by crushing them hard, right?
It looked like she hurt him but he still didn't let go of her hand.
Dammit! Are his balls made of steel?!
She was about to kick him in the crotch again but all of a sudden, little ice daggers suddenly pierced through his arm– the one holding her wrist– and that forced him to let go of her.
Winter!
She knew it was Winter because the small ice daggers looked like the ones he used to attack Julian a while ago.
Of course, she didn't let that chance slip. She kicked him hard and that made him stumble.
Knowing that her iron crab mallet wouldn't work on him, she dropped it. As soon as she did, it went back around her wrist as a tattoo. Then, she turned her back on the enemy and carefully carried Winter (who was now awake) in her arms. She tried to run but the next thing that the intruder said made her stop.
”My lady, stop protecting the Black Serpent!”
She froze in her tracks. Her mind was telling her to run and secure Winter's safety first. But her body suddenly had a mind of its own. The next thing she knew, she was already turning around to face the intruder. ”I'm protecting the Black Serpent?” she asked, anger slowly rising in her chest. Just hearing the name of that goddamned ”beast god” was enough to make her want to puke. ”How am I protecting that f*cking large reptile?”
She was aware that it was the descendants of the Black Reptile who killed her father and not the Black Serpent itself.
But still, hearing that name reminded her of her father's untimely death.
The intruder looked shocked. ”Supreme, when did you learn to curse?”
”Don't change the subject,” she hissed. ”I know that people treat me like I'm the Supreme of the past because I have the heart of the Red Phoenix. But this is the first time that someone associated with me with the Black Serpent,” she said in a confused but angry tone. ”Explain. What is my connection to that goddamned reptile?”
The intruder fell silent as if he was contemplating whether to answer her question or not.
She wanted to press him for more answers but all of a sudden, Winter cried loudly. When she looked down to check on her baby, she was surprised to see that his tiny body was now covered with thin ice.
That was when she realized that her body was abnormally hot now. Winter probably covered himself with ice to protect himself from getting burned.
She instantly felt guilty.
”I'm so sorry, my baby,” she said in a panicky voice while trying to cool down her body temperature to normal. ”Mommy is really, really sorry.”
”My lady, don't get attached to the Moon Serpent.”
She glared at the intruder and was about to tell him to f*ck off.