Chapter 44 VOL II: Calma.

Chapter 44 VOL II: Calma.
VOL II: Calma.

WRITER'S POV

Kyla gripped the reins tightly as she stared at the man who knew her identity.

Fear gripped her.

He, however, kept his gaze fixed on her, as though he could read her mind and know exactly what she was thinking.

"Vampire Countess?" Luana said, confusion evident in her voice. "I'm sure you're mistaken."

Finally, Aurelio tore his gaze away from Kyla and looked at his cousin.

"Come in. Let's talk."

He entered first, leaving the two ladies alone.

Kyla finally climbed down from her horse, her hands fidgeting nervously as she walked over to where Luana stood.

"Are you okay, Kyla?" Luana asked.

"There's something I need to tell you, Lua. I've told you before... or rather, you found out about it. But it's still the same."

Luana's heart clenched.

Just how much useful information had she forgotten?

"It's okay, Kyla. You can remind me whenever you're ready. No rush—take your time. But for now, let's go inside," Luana said with a reassuring smile.

\---

"You went to the festival? What if you were spotted? You could have gotten yourself killed!" Harry shouted.

He had just found out that Riccardo had gone to the festival to see Luana.

"But I wasn't. I'm fine, Harry," Riccardo replied calmly, taking off his shirt.

"That's not the point! Calma has demon-detecting sensors. You could have been discovered!"

"Good thing I took that anti-detection orb you were working on," Riccardo replied with a smirk.

"You... did what?"

"Calm down, Harry. It's no use talking to Mr. Lover Boy over here," Stefano said. "He won't listen to us even if we tell him not to go there again. I guess that's what love is."

Harry facepalmed.

"Even Luana wouldn't make this type of reckless decision. If you had died and she regained her memory, how do you think she would have felt?"

Riccardo turned to Harry, surprised.

This was the first time Harry had ever raised his voice at him.

"Take it easy," Stefano said, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Riccardo said, his voice soft and filled with guilt.

"We almost lost you once..." Harry said, looking at the markings on Riccardo's neck. "We're not going to lose you again."

"I won't die on you guys. I promise," Riccardo said with a smile.

"You better," Stefano replied, his playful smirk returning.

Harry didn't say anything. He simply continued looking through the papers before him.

Riccardo resolved to speak to him later.

Harry was right.

Even though he had lost his powers, he was still an Original Demon and could still be sensed.

He looked at the markings on his lower stomach.

They were starting to spread.

Ever since he had awakened, the strange marks had been there.

Harry and Stefano had been searching for a way to identify them—or remove them.

But to no avail.

The strange thing was that the marks were gray.

They resembled scratch marks, yet they were gray and didn't hurt at all.

He put his shirt back on and sat by the fire.

His thoughts wandered to the night he had visited Luana in her room.

His face heated up at the memory of the night they had shared.

He chuckled softly before facepalming himself.

"She probably won't remember any of it."

"Emerald..." he murmured.

"How long until we can finally be together?"

\---

As Luana and Kyla stepped into the building, they were greeted by a massive tree.

It looked remarkably similar to the one Luana had used to travel to Fiori.

Just as she expected, the center of the tree began to glow before slowly parting, creating a doorway.

"This is..."

"Yeah. It's a teleportation tree. Shall we?" Luana asked, extending her hand toward Kyla.

Kyla grinned.

"Of course."

She took Luana's hand, and together they stepped through the tree.

Inside, they were greeted by an entirely different world from the one outside.

Books floated through the air. Lush fields stretched as far as the eye could see, while all kinds of animals roamed freely across the grass and soared through the clear blue sky.

The sun shone so brightly that everything seemed to sparkle.

"This place... is extraordinary," Kyla squealed.

"Beautiful," Luana whispered as she bent down to touch a particular flower.

The more they explored, the more amazed they became.

For a moment, they almost forgot the reason they had come.

"Tsk."

A voice sounded behind them.

They turned to find Aurelio, his tall figure looming over them.

"Cousin... what have you done?"

\---

Excerpt

A little information about our wonderful protagonist.

Growing up, Luana always wore her hair in a high ponytail. But as she grew older and her hair became longer, she let it flow freely.

She loved reading. Learning new things filled her with excitement.

She often got into trouble for sneaking out at night.

She was the first student at the academy to master teleportation. Because of that, she explored different realms whenever she had the chance.

Thanks to her exceptional abilities, Luana gained both enemies, like Cassandra, and loyal friends.

She was extraordinarily beautiful.

Her striking green eyes only added to her breathtaking appearance.

She had countless admirers back then, yet none of them were brave enough to approach her.

As much as they admired her...

They feared her.

She was simply too powerful.