-Unedited-
The sky was gloomy, and the sun had set in the horizon. The earth dimmed, and the lights of thousands of households were lit up in this huge city.
In a hidden room, a man sat on a black seat studded with gems, gently rubbing the jade ring on his thumb with his fingers, while talking to a man kneeling in front of him.
“My Lord, things are going well.”
The kneeling man whispered.
“According to the plan, we’d secretly provoked the two groups, causing them to quarrel and create chaos. Our people have successfully encouraged those little brats to do that, and that thing has been secretly sent into the palace…Presumably, you may see the result you want pretty soon.”
“This time, ‘that person’ is doomed to die.”
“When the time comes, no one will notice, and will think that it is just an accident caused by the dispute between the children. The blame will also fall on the ‘ignorant’ Prince Garlan.”
“Very good.”
The man in the seat nodded in satisfaction.
He said, “Good job.”
He turned his head and looked over the window, looking into the distance and in the direction of the Royal City.
The gaze he had was gloomy, revealing a deep color of abhorrence.
“Keeping that damn bastard alive will only cause me more trouble.”
The extreme hatred for that bastard made this man, who had always been proud of being a royal who paid great attention to demeanor and language, to spit out vicious curses.
He looked in that direction with a dark look, his stern eyes seemed to see the existence that disgusted him through the sky, and he made a curse-like sound.
He said coldly, “That little bastard…He should have died a long time ago.”
…
…
Tarl, the little rotund boy, had been very depressed recently.
Originally, that day, when His Highness Garlan said that he had a good relationship with him (he made it up by himself), made him very happy. But it didn’t take long before he discovered that more and more people were gathering around His Royal Highness.
Tarl was actually very self-aware. He knew that he had almost no strengths and couldn’t do anything. Therefore, when so many people came to please His Royal Highness Garlan, he was immediately anxious, for fear that his position in front of the palace would be overthrown by others.
What made him a little relieved was that although more and more people were currying favour with His Royal Highness, His Highness was gentle towards anyone, but that kind of gentleness was faint, and it seemed that he didn’t have a special affection for anyone.
Hmph, don’t think he didn’t know.
Those people who came to please His Highness all wanted to be his followers.
However, being the followers of His Royal Highness is not something anyone can do.
Till now, in addition to the guardian knight, only those who were appointed by His Highness to accompany him were barely eligible to be called a follower.
However, the little stout boy still had a sense of crisis.
Although His Royal Highness didn’t accept new followers now, it would be hard to say for a day when someone who was powerful or who would please His Highness appeared… Then his position would be unstable.
No, this won’t do. He must find a way!
Thus Tarl, who had a sense of calamity, jumped up and down even harder. He was a adorable chubby little boy who looked a little stupid. In addition, he was energtic and had a sweet mouth. During this time, he had already become a familiar face among the maids and guards in the palace.
Tarl looked harmless to humans and animals, and he didn’t have a high sense of presence, so almost no one would guard against him. Based on this, he secretly snooped and heard a lot of weird gossip, and then ran to Garlan’s place, taking these gossips as jokes to Garlan. Sometimes there were very strange news that really made Garlan couldn’t help but to laugh.
Your Highness smiles so cute~~~
With such an idea, the little chubby boy Tarl firmly took this incident as his career carry forward, vowing to become the pistachio of His Highness, making His Highness laugh every day.
That evening, just after having their dinner, he ran to Garlan again, ready to tell Garlan a big news.
Compared to Tarl’s mental appearance, Garlan looked a little sluggish and couldn’t lift up his spirits.
Because he had that terrible dream every night for the past few days. He couldn’t sleep well at night, and he couldn’t tell others why he couldn’t fall asleep. He could only find a cover as a pretence.
Therefore, when Tarl was looking for him excitedly, Garlan was lying on the jade lounge, looking listless.
“Your Royal Highness, let me tell you that something good will happen soon—”
“Is it?”
Garlan hummed lazily, still wondering what to do if he continued to have the nightmare tonight.
“I know that you are recently very upset because Prince Heimos is always targeting you. He must be doing it deliberately, and embarrass you no matter where…”
Tarl opened his mouth and tore Heimos down. But his words were repeated over and over again, which made Garlan sound drowsy.
After bad mouthing Prince Heimos, Tarl approached mysteriously and whispered, “However, your Royal Highness Garlan, you will soon have fun watching it. Don’t worry, someone will help you teach him a lesson.”
“Huh?”
Teach Heimos a lesson?
Even now, probably only a few well-known talented people such as King Camos could do it, but no one would be this bored to discipline an adolescent boy.
“Really, I hid behind and secretly heard what Xi Mu and the others said. They said that they got something and they were going to use it on Prince Heimos, so that he wouldn’t be so arrogant. They also wanted to take revenge on behalf of Your Royal Highness.”
“…??”
Garlan vaguely remembered…Xi Mu’s group consisted of only eleven or twelve-year-old children.
He sat up lethargically, too lazy to say anything.
Those little brats wanted to teach Heimos a lesson… They actually sent themselves for a beating, right?
Tarl moved closer, lowered his voice and continued speaking in a very mysterious tone.
“It is said that Xi Mu and the others got ‘the devil’s blood’.”
“What is that?”
“It’s a terrible and dark thing,” The little rotund boy said in a tone of telling horror stories, “If you touch it, you cannot wash it off. It causes pimples, redness and swelling when your skin touches, and will erode your skin turning it black colour.”
“It is said that the blood of the devil from hell that shed on the earth became that. Anyone who touches it will be targeted by the devil and be cursed. No matter what you do, you’ll be very unlucky.”
Garlan, “…”
This was also a kind of superstition.
These people actually believe it? Sure enough, they are just a bunch of little brats.
He murmured in his heart. Resting his chin in one hand, he spoked nonchalantly.
“So they are planning to put that ‘devil’s blood’ on Heimos? To make him unlucky?”
“Yeah! They said it was very difficult to get it!”
Tarl nodded excitedly.
“I’d also seen the ‘devil’s blood’ when I was eavesdropping.”
The chubby face wrinkled into a bun when he said this, showing a very uncomfortable look.
“I couldn’t tell… It just felt very disturbing… It’s really black, very dark, and very sticky, making it uncomfortable for one to look at… Ah, Your Highness, if I see that kind of thing, will I be okay? Will I be cursed? Will I be unlucky for the next two days?”
Garlan was suddenly amused by Tarl’s bitter face.
“How is it possible? There is nothing that would cause you to be unlucky just by first glance.”
Tarl murmured unconvincingly.
“Because it looks really sickening, and there is this unpleasant pungent smell, greasy like oil, and it moves like something disgusting was squirming…”
Garlan didn’t care much at all, it sounded like a prank by a group of children. He was afraid they would only be taught a lesson by Heimos in reverse.
It was also good. Those people were very energetic. Although they gathered around him, in the end, they weren’t his own subordinates. They were just school companions who he studied with. It wasn’t good for him to ask or restrict them. Now let them encounter Heimos, hit a wall and suffer a big loss, and they would probably become honest and obedient.
Anyway, the group of brats wouldn’t be Heimos’ opponents even if they were together.
Thinking like this, the child who listened to Tarl’s words casually turned his head, and a red light fell on his face. That was the last moment the setting sun fell on the horizon. He could vaguely see the fiery red light, and the traces of the burning clouds on the horizon.
He subconsciously stared at the billowing fire cloud.
Red, red…
It seemed that there was a flame burning hot in the sky, it was just like the flames in his dream…
Flame.
Suddenly, Garlan’s eyelids, who stared at the burning cloud, twitched fiercely.
His heart beated sharply for no reason.
【’Devil’s Blood’…】
【It’s black…has an unpleasant pungent smell…like oil…]
Garlan’s eyes widened suddenly.
A very terrifying thought that shocked him for a moment suddenly rose in his mind.
The fire of the setting sun shone, and the burning clouds on the horizon reflected in his golden pupils, as if in an instant, red flames hitted him all over the sky.
Reflecting his pupils into a fiery red—
“…Tarl.”
“Yes, what’s the matter, Your Highness~~~”
“Where?”
Garlan had already turned over, his face tense, and his breathing was short due to tension.
“Huh? What do you mean by where?”
“Where are Xi Mu and rest cornering Heimos?!”
…
…
The atrium was the only way back from the training ground, and it was a slightly narrow road.
When Heimos walked out of the corridor, the sun had almost sunk and the sky was darkening.
There were two rows of white stone poles erected on both sides of the road. At the top of the stone poles was a shelf on which there are about two palm-sized braziers for night lighting.
Generally speaking, the street lamps used for night lighting were specially made olive oil lamps, which were more efficient and brighter. But the road in this atrium was relatively spacious around it, and there were no tall buildings. It was slightly close to the coast, so the sea breeze was relatively strong. The shrubs on both sides of this area were densely planted. Therefore, there had been an incident where the sea breeze blew down the oil lamp and caused a fire to break out.
After that, the stone poles here have been replaced with charcoal fire plates, so that even if they fall, they wouldn’t burn all at once.
However, because the charcoal fire wasn’t illuminated enough, the stone poles on both sides were closer, almost one per one meter.
After rigorous training on the martial arts field all afternoon, Heimos was also a little tired at the moment. He came out of the promenade and walked up the narrow road in the atrium.
The faint light of the fire plate on the stone poles on both sides reflected on his side cheeks, there were faint traces of sweat on his forehead, and a bruise on his arm was also very conspicuous.
When he was walking quietly by himself, a noisy sound suddenly came from in front of him.
A group of teenagers about his age were facing him, walking towards him, amplifying their voices as if deliberately, talking and laughing with one another.
Heimos frowned, and recognised the group of guys who had caused him some trouble the last time. Now it seemed that they didn’t meet by accident. This group of people probably came here to corner him.
“Ah, Prince Heimos.”
Pretending to have just seen Heimos, the dozen or so teenagers saluted Heimos happily, and then continued to walk over.
However, when passing by Heimos, the two teenagers holding the porcelain jar in their hands suddenly became unstable. With a shake, they splashed the contents of the porcelain jar at him.
The distance between the two was too close, and the thing that spilled was liquid. No matter how fast Heimos reacted, he could only escape halfway.
The black liquid splashed from the porcelain jar in the hands of the young boy behind poured on him. The black liquid started from where his left arm was close to his shoulder, and went down to his left foot, almost half of his body was covered.
A pungent smell came out, and the dark, greasy liquid that had splashed half of his body slowly flowed down his body.
The uncomfortable feeling on the covered skin, and the disgusting smell, made Heimos frown.
“I’m sorry ah, Prince Heimos. I accidentally slipped. I’m really sorry.”
The two teenagers who poured the black liquid half of their body into the two teenagers looked frightened, bowed their heads, and kept apologising.
“To let your noble body be stained with the ‘devil’s blood’, it really is a deathly crime.”
“Oh, what can I do? People who are infected with the ‘devil’s blood’ will be cursed by the devil.”
“It’s hard to wash off ah~~~”
“It is said that you’ll be unlucky for a long time.”
“From now on, you might be targeted by the devil ah—”
The teenagers next to each other were talking about it, and it sounded like they were worried for Heimos, but they seemed to be gloating.
The young man named Xi Mu who took the lead said even more bluntly.
“This was originally something that His Royal Highness asked us to find, and he planned to give it to Prince Heimos. We did not expect it to be given to you in advance. Ah ah, I am so embarrassed.” He grinned and said, “You wouldn’t go to King Camos to complain against His Royal Highness for this trivial matter, right? After all, His Royal Highness is still young and is just joking with you.”
Heimos just frowned, turned his head and looked at the dirty black liquid on his body.
What those teenagers said was hard to wash, contaminated, would be cursed, and would be unlucky. He didn’t care at all—the level of pranking was childish. It only made him a little annoyed.
However, the name that suddenly broke into his ear caused the corner of his eye to jump suddenly, and his pupils suddenly contracted, and then he slowly relaxed.
There was no expression on his face, which was covered by most of the shadows, but his thin lips were pursed, and the lip line suddenly became sharp.
He spoke, his voice very low.
He asked, “…Garlan?”
Heimos suddenly made a sound, making Xi Mu and the others startled.
Heimos didn’t know when he raised his eyes to stare at them, but his golden-red eyes looked like the deepest night, and a cold gleam came out of his eyes, which made one shiver in his chest when he saw them.
“Yes… That’s right! This is a gift from Prince Garlan!”
Although his back was pricked by Heimos’ gaze, Xi Mu still courageously answered with his neck straightened.
“He said, it’s best for you not to show up in front of him again. Wherever he is, you’d better stay away.”
【This is an order from His Highness. 】
【The prince does not want you to be near him. 】
The boy’s eyes became deeper, and the lip line became sharper.
He hung his head slightly, and the fine black hair scattered in front of his eyes, casting a deep shadow on his eye sockets.
…
…
Burning flame…
The slowly flowing dark water…
…The young man burned by the flames…
…
The arm that Heimos tied with a snow-white bandage in his previous lives…
…Every life…that pair of eyes staring at him coldly…like a terrifying look in poisoned eyes…
【Xi Mu and the rest say they want to help you teach Prince Heimos a lesson. 】
The blood of the devil…
【It is disgusting, and it is said that one will be cursed by the devil if it is contaminated with black liquid. 】
No! That is—
Garlan was running forward desperately, almost using his life’s strength.
Because he ran with all his might, his breathless chest seemed to explode. Tarl, who couldn’t keep up, was already thrown behind him halfway through.
Sweat stayed along the corners of his eyes, seeping into his eyes, causing them to slightly sting.
But he was still running forward and didn’t dare to stop.
Perhaps the second he stopped to rest, that terrible dream would be staged in front of him—
If that really happened in his previous lives, then this time he will stop it in any possible way!
Cannot let that miserable thing happen again!
Finally, in a sharp turn, the end of the corridor was just ahead.
Near the exit of the promenade, he saw Heimos and other teenagers standing on the road in the atrium.
At the moment he saw Heimos, the corner of Garlan’s eyes twitched uncontrollably.
He saw that the half of Heimos, who was facing him, had been doused with pitch black liquid. At this moment, the viscous liquid was still dripping from the boy.
Sure enough
He had guessed correctly, the so-called “devil’s blood” was black oil.
Then it was true that Heimos was burned in his dream–
Thinking of the tragic and terrifying scene in his dream, Garlan clenched his fist.
Fortunately, he caught up.
His chest that was about to explode couldn’t hold it anymore, he held on to the pillar and panted violently.
Fortunately, there was still time.
That terrible thing hadn’t happened yet.
He had caught up.
Thinking gratefully in his heart, Garlan, who took a few breaths, straightened up again and quickly ran to Heimos and the others.
However, he was a little puzzled while running forward.
...No matter how you look at it, Xi Mu and the others have absolutely no guts to set him on fire…
Was it an accident?
He just wondered, ran over there, and walked down the stairs at the exit of the promenade.
Suddenly, a black shadow passed by the darkened sky.
Garlan’s eyes widened suddenly.
The sharp arrow shot from the dark flew across the night sky and was reflected in his dilated pupils.
The sharp arrow in the night shot silently from the dark, swish, and drew an arc in the air.
At the end of the arc was the brazier at the top of a stone pole.
Heimos was standing under the stone pole—
Garlan’s mind was blank with the arrow in his eyes.
He rushed forward instinctively or subconscious.
Chasing the trajectory of the arrow passing through the air, he rushed past it.
The sharp arrow galloped past the night sky.
It’s too late!
It’s impossible for a person to catch up with the speed of an arrow.
Garlan’s hand stretched forward with all his strength—
With a snap, the point of the arrow hit the fire plate on the stone pole hard.
The fire plate that had been hit swayed unsteadily and suddenly fell from above.
A bright red charcoal fire fell from the overturned fire plate, and the burning fire light cut a bright mark in the dark night, and fell straight toward the teenager whose half of his body was covered with black oil.
Seeing that it would fall on the teenager in the next second—
Someone rushed from behind.
Garlan stretched out his hands and exhausted his life’s strength to fiercely push Heimos away from under the falling plate of fire.
The burning coal fire that fell from the night fell on the little child.
There were a few sizzling sounds.
It was the sound of burning flesh in the silent night sky.
The burning charcoal fire imprinted deep black marks on the child’s snow-white skin.
“Garlan—?!!!”
-Unedited-
The sky was gloomy, and the sun had set in the horizon. The earth dimmed, and the lights of thousands of households were lit up in this huge city.
In a hidden room, a man sat on a black seat studded with gems, gently rubbing the jade ring on his thumb with his fingers, while talking to a man kneeling in front of him.
“My Lord, things are going well.”
The kneeling man whispered.
“According to the plan, we’d secretly provoked the two groups, causing them to quarrel and create chaos. Our people have successfully encouraged those little brats to do that, and that thing has been secretly sent into the palace…Presumably, you may see the result you want pretty soon.”
“This time, ‘that person’ is doomed to die.”
“When the time comes, no one will notice, and will think that it is just an accident caused by the dispute between the children. The blame will also fall on the ‘ignorant’ Prince Garlan.”
“Very good.”
The man in the seat nodded in satisfaction.
He said, “Good job.”
He turned his head and looked over the window, looking into the distance and in the direction of the Royal City.
The gaze he had was gloomy, revealing a deep color of abhorrence.
“Keeping that damn bastard alive will only cause me more trouble.”
The extreme hatred for that bastard made this man, who had always been proud of being a royal who paid great attention to demeanor and language, to spit out vicious curses.
He looked in that direction with a dark look, his stern eyes seemed to see the existence that disgusted him through the sky, and he made a curse-like sound.
He said coldly, “That little bastard…He should have died a long time ago.”
…
…
Tarl, the little rotund boy, had been very depressed recently.
Originally, that day, when His Highness Garlan said that he had a good relationship with him (he made it up by himself), made him very happy. But it didn’t take long before he discovered that more and more people were gathering around His Royal Highness.
Tarl was actually very self-aware. He knew that he had almost no strengths and couldn’t do anything. Therefore, when so many people came to please His Royal Highness Garlan, he was immediately anxious, for fear that his position in front of the palace would be overthrown by others.
What made him a little relieved was that although more and more people were currying favour with His Royal Highness, His Highness was gentle towards anyone, but that kind of gentleness was faint, and it seemed that he didn’t have a special affection for anyone.
Hmph, don’t think he didn’t know.
Those people who came to please His Highness all wanted to be his followers.
However, being the followers of His Royal Highness is not something anyone can do.
Till now, in addition to the guardian knight, only those who were appointed by His Highness to accompany him were barely eligible to be called a follower.
However, the little stout boy still had a sense of crisis.
Although His Royal Highness didn’t accept new followers now, it would be hard to say for a day when someone who was powerful or who would please His Highness appeared… Then his position would be unstable.
No, this won’t do. He must find a way!
Thus Tarl, who had a sense of calamity, jumped up and down even harder. He was a adorable chubby little boy who looked a little stupid. In addition, he was energtic and had a sweet mouth. During this time, he had already become a familiar face among the maids and guards in the palace.
Tarl looked harmless to humans and animals, and he didn’t have a high sense of presence, so almost no one would guard against him. Based on this, he secretly snooped and heard a lot of weird gossip, and then ran to Garlan’s place, taking these gossips as jokes to Garlan. Sometimes there were very strange news that really made Garlan couldn’t help but to laugh.
Your Highness smiles so cute~~~
With such an idea, the little chubby boy Tarl firmly took this incident as his career carry forward, vowing to become the pistachio of His Highness, making His Highness laugh every day.
That evening, just after having their dinner, he ran to Garlan again, ready to tell Garlan a big news.
Compared to Tarl’s mental appearance, Garlan looked a little sluggish and couldn’t lift up his spirits.
Because he had that terrible dream every night for the past few days. He couldn’t sleep well at night, and he couldn’t tell others why he couldn’t fall asleep. He could only find a cover as a pretence.
Therefore, when Tarl was looking for him excitedly, Garlan was lying on the jade lounge, looking listless.
“Your Royal Highness, let me tell you that something good will happen soon—”
“Is it?”
Garlan hummed lazily, still wondering what to do if he continued to have the nightmare tonight.
“I know that you are recently very upset because Prince Heimos is always targeting you. He must be doing it deliberately, and embarrass you no matter where…”
Tarl opened his mouth and tore Heimos down. But his words were repeated over and over again, which made Garlan sound drowsy.
After bad mouthing Prince Heimos, Tarl approached mysteriously and whispered, “However, your Royal Highness Garlan, you will soon have fun watching it. Don’t worry, someone will help you teach him a lesson.”
“Huh?”
Teach Heimos a lesson?
Even now, probably only a few well-known talented people such as King Camos could do it, but no one would be this bored to discipline an adolescent boy.
“Really, I hid behind and secretly heard what Xi Mu and the others said. They said that they got something and they were going to use it on Prince Heimos, so that he wouldn’t be so arrogant. They also wanted to take revenge on behalf of Your Royal Highness.”
“…??”
Garlan vaguely remembered…Xi Mu’s group consisted of only eleven or twelve-year-old children.
He sat up lethargically, too lazy to say anything.
Those little brats wanted to teach Heimos a lesson… They actually sent themselves for a beating, right?
Tarl moved closer, lowered his voice and continued speaking in a very mysterious tone.
“It is said that Xi Mu and the others got ‘the devil’s blood’.”
“What is that?”
“It’s a terrible and dark thing,” The little rotund boy said in a tone of telling horror stories, “If you touch it, you cannot wash it off. It causes pimples, redness and swelling when your skin touches, and will erode your skin turning it black colour.”
“It is said that the blood of the devil from hell that shed on the earth became that. Anyone who touches it will be targeted by the devil and be cursed. No matter what you do, you’ll be very unlucky.”
Garlan, “…”
This was also a kind of superstition.
These people actually believe it? Sure enough, they are just a bunch of little brats.
He murmured in his heart. Resting his chin in one hand, he spoked nonchalantly.
“So they are planning to put that ‘devil’s blood’ on Heimos? To make him unlucky?”
“Yeah! They said it was very difficult to get it!”
Tarl nodded excitedly.
“I’d also seen the ‘devil’s blood’ when I was eavesdropping.”
The chubby face wrinkled into a bun when he said this, showing a very uncomfortable look.
“I couldn’t tell… It just felt very disturbing… It’s really black, very dark, and very sticky, making it uncomfortable for one to look at… Ah, Your Highness, if I see that kind of thing, will I be okay? Will I be cursed? Will I be unlucky for the next two days?”
Garlan was suddenly amused by Tarl’s bitter face.
“How is it possible? There is nothing that would cause you to be unlucky just by first glance.”
Tarl murmured unconvincingly.
“Because it looks really sickening, and there is this unpleasant pungent smell, greasy like oil, and it moves like something disgusting was squirming…”
Garlan didn’t care much at all, it sounded like a prank by a group of children. He was afraid they would only be taught a lesson by Heimos in reverse.
It was also good. Those people were very energetic. Although they gathered around him, in the end, they weren’t his own subordinates. They were just school companions who he studied with. It wasn’t good for him to ask or restrict them. Now let them encounter Heimos, hit a wall and suffer a big loss, and they would probably become honest and obedient.
Anyway, the group of brats wouldn’t be Heimos’ opponents even if they were together.
Thinking like this, the child who listened to Tarl’s words casually turned his head, and a red light fell on his face. That was the last moment the setting sun fell on the horizon. He could vaguely see the fiery red light, and the traces of the burning clouds on the horizon.
He subconsciously stared at the billowing fire cloud.
Red, red…
It seemed that there was a flame burning hot in the sky, it was just like the flames in his dream…
Flame.
Suddenly, Garlan’s eyelids, who stared at the burning cloud, twitched fiercely.
His heart beated sharply for no reason.
【’Devil’s Blood’…】
【It’s black…has an unpleasant pungent smell…like oil…]
Garlan’s eyes widened suddenly.
A very terrifying thought that shocked him for a moment suddenly rose in his mind.
The fire of the setting sun shone, and the burning clouds on the horizon reflected in his golden pupils, as if in an instant, red flames hitted him all over the sky.
Reflecting his pupils into a fiery red—
“…Tarl.”
“Yes, what’s the matter, Your Highness~~~”
“Where?”
Garlan had already turned over, his face tense, and his breathing was short due to tension.
“Huh? What do you mean by where?”
“Where are Xi Mu and rest cornering Heimos?!”
…
…
The atrium was the only way back from the training ground, and it was a slightly narrow road.
When Heimos walked out of the corridor, the sun had almost sunk and the sky was darkening.
There were two rows of white stone poles erected on both sides of the road. At the top of the stone poles was a shelf on which there are about two palm-sized braziers for night lighting.
Generally speaking, the street lamps used for night lighting were specially made olive oil lamps, which were more efficient and brighter. But the road in this atrium was relatively spacious around it, and there were no tall buildings. It was slightly close to the coast, so the sea breeze was relatively strong. The shrubs on both sides of this area were densely planted. Therefore, there had been an incident where the sea breeze blew down the oil lamp and caused a fire to break out.
After that, the stone poles here have been replaced with charcoal fire plates, so that even if they fall, they wouldn’t burn all at once.
However, because the charcoal fire wasn’t illuminated enough, the stone poles on both sides were closer, almost one per one meter.
After rigorous training on the martial arts field all afternoon, Heimos was also a little tired at the moment. He came out of the promenade and walked up the narrow road in the atrium.
The faint light of the fire plate on the stone poles on both sides reflected on his side cheeks, there were faint traces of sweat on his forehead, and a bruise on his arm was also very conspicuous.
When he was walking quietly by himself, a noisy sound suddenly came from in front of him.
A group of teenagers about his age were facing him, walking towards him, amplifying their voices as if deliberately, talking and laughing with one another.
Heimos frowned, and recognised the group of guys who had caused him some trouble the last time. Now it seemed that they didn’t meet by accident. This group of people probably came here to corner him.
“Ah, Prince Heimos.”
Pretending to have just seen Heimos, the dozen or so teenagers saluted Heimos happily, and then continued to walk over.
However, when passing by Heimos, the two teenagers holding the porcelain jar in their hands suddenly became unstable. With a shake, they splashed the contents of the porcelain jar at him.
The distance between the two was too close, and the thing that spilled was liquid. No matter how fast Heimos reacted, he could only escape halfway.
The black liquid splashed from the porcelain jar in the hands of the young boy behind poured on him. The black liquid started from where his left arm was close to his shoulder, and went down to his left foot, almost half of his body was covered.
A pungent smell came out, and the dark, greasy liquid that had splashed half of his body slowly flowed down his body.
The uncomfortable feeling on the covered skin, and the disgusting smell, made Heimos frown.
“I’m sorry ah, Prince Heimos. I accidentally slipped. I’m really sorry.”
The two teenagers who poured the black liquid half of their body into the two teenagers looked frightened, bowed their heads, and kept apologising.
“To let your noble body be stained with the ‘devil’s blood’, it really is a deathly crime.”
“Oh, what can I do? People who are infected with the ‘devil’s blood’ will be cursed by the devil.”
“It’s hard to wash off ah~~~”
“It is said that you’ll be unlucky for a long time.”
“From now on, you might be targeted by the devil ah—”
The teenagers next to each other were talking about it, and it sounded like they were worried for Heimos, but they seemed to be gloating.
The young man named Xi Mu who took the lead said even more bluntly.
“This was originally something that His Royal Highness asked us to find, and he planned to give it to Prince Heimos. We did not expect it to be given to you in advance. Ah ah, I am so embarrassed.” He grinned and said, “You wouldn’t go to King Camos to complain against His Royal Highness for this trivial matter, right? After all, His Royal Highness is still young and is just joking with you.”
Heimos just frowned, turned his head and looked at the dirty black liquid on his body.
What those teenagers said was hard to wash, contaminated, would be cursed, and would be unlucky. He didn’t care at all—the level of pranking was childish. It only made him a little annoyed.
However, the name that suddenly broke into his ear caused the corner of his eye to jump suddenly, and his pupils suddenly contracted, and then he slowly relaxed.
There was no expression on his face, which was covered by most of the shadows, but his thin lips were pursed, and the lip line suddenly became sharp.
He spoke, his voice very low.
He asked, “…Garlan?”
Heimos suddenly made a sound, making Xi Mu and the others startled.
Heimos didn’t know when he raised his eyes to stare at them, but his golden-red eyes looked like the deepest night, and a cold gleam came out of his eyes, which made one shiver in his chest when he saw them.
“Yes… That’s right! This is a gift from Prince Garlan!”
Although his back was pricked by Heimos’ gaze, Xi Mu still courageously answered with his neck straightened.
“He said, it’s best for you not to show up in front of him again. Wherever he is, you’d better stay away.”
【This is an order from His Highness. 】
【The prince does not want you to be near him. 】
The boy’s eyes became deeper, and the lip line became sharper.
He hung his head slightly, and the fine black hair scattered in front of his eyes, casting a deep shadow on his eye sockets.
…
…
Burning flame…
The slowly flowing dark water…
…The young man burned by the flames…
…
The arm that Heimos tied with a snow-white bandage in his previous lives…
…Every life…that pair of eyes staring at him coldly…like a terrifying look in poisoned eyes…
【Xi Mu and the rest say they want to help you teach Prince Heimos a lesson. 】
The blood of the devil…
【It is disgusting, and it is said that one will be cursed by the devil if it is contaminated with black liquid. 】
No! That is—
Garlan was running forward desperately, almost using his life’s strength.
Because he ran with all his might, his breathless chest seemed to explode. Tarl, who couldn’t keep up, was already thrown behind him halfway through.
Sweat stayed along the corners of his eyes, seeping into his eyes, causing them to slightly sting.
But he was still running forward and didn’t dare to stop.
Perhaps the second he stopped to rest, that terrible dream would be staged in front of him—
If that really happened in his previous lives, then this time he will stop it in any possible way!
Cannot let that miserable thing happen again!
Finally, in a sharp turn, the end of the corridor was just ahead.
Near the exit of the promenade, he saw Heimos and other teenagers standing on the road in the atrium.
At the moment he saw Heimos, the corner of Garlan’s eyes twitched uncontrollably.
He saw that the half of Heimos, who was facing him, had been doused with pitch black liquid. At this moment, the viscous liquid was still dripping from the boy.
Sure enough
He had guessed correctly, the so-called “devil’s blood” was black oil.
Then it was true that Heimos was burned in his dream–
Thinking of the tragic and terrifying scene in his dream, Garlan clenched his fist.
Fortunately, he caught up.
His chest that was about to explode couldn’t hold it anymore, he held on to the pillar and panted violently.
Fortunately, there was still time.
That terrible thing hadn’t happened yet.
He had caught up.
Thinking gratefully in his heart, Garlan, who took a few breaths, straightened up again and quickly ran to Heimos and the others.
However, he was a little puzzled while running forward.
...No matter how you look at it, Xi Mu and the others have absolutely no guts to set him on fire…
Was it an accident?
He just wondered, ran over there, and walked down the stairs at the exit of the promenade.
Suddenly, a black shadow passed by the darkened sky.
Garlan’s eyes widened suddenly.
The sharp arrow shot from the dark flew across the night sky and was reflected in his dilated pupils.
The sharp arrow in the night shot silently from the dark, swish, and drew an arc in the air.
At the end of the arc was the brazier at the top of a stone pole.
Heimos was standing under the stone pole—
Garlan’s mind was blank with the arrow in his eyes.
He rushed forward instinctively or subconscious.
Chasing the trajectory of the arrow passing through the air, he rushed past it.
The sharp arrow galloped past the night sky.
It’s too late!
It’s impossible for a person to catch up with the speed of an arrow.
Garlan’s hand stretched forward with all his strength—
With a snap, the point of the arrow hit the fire plate on the stone pole hard.
The fire plate that had been hit swayed unsteadily and suddenly fell from above.
A bright red charcoal fire fell from the overturned fire plate, and the burning fire light cut a bright mark in the dark night, and fell straight toward the teenager whose half of his body was covered with black oil.
Seeing that it would fall on the teenager in the next second—
Someone rushed from behind.
Garlan stretched out his hands and exhausted his life’s strength to fiercely push Heimos away from under the falling plate of fire.
The burning coal fire that fell from the night fell on the little child.
There were a few sizzling sounds.
It was the sound of burning flesh in the silent night sky.
The burning charcoal fire imprinted deep black marks on the child’s snow-white skin.
“Garlan—?!!!”
