Chapter 248
***
The restaurant doors burst open.
The startled staff near the entrance stepped back in surprise, and in that moment, they saw a breathtaking woman striding out in a near-run.
Behind her, further inside the restaurant, a man was on his knees, crawling on the floor as he desperately gathered scattered coins.
āDonāt come near me! Get away!ā
His crude shouting was ill-suited to such a fine establishment, and those around him frowned in disapproval.
But he paid no attention, utterly consumed by the frantic act of snatching up every glimmering coin within reach.
His forehead was red and bruised from repeatedly slamming against the floor. His clothes were stained with filth from his frantic crawling.
Drool dripped from his lips as he scrambled after the rolling coins, mindlessly chasing them as if they were his only salvation.
A sight more disgraceful than anything imaginable.
The finest restaurant in Brewa had a garden attached to the building.
Irene ran toward its entrance.
And there, standing at the gardenās threshold, was Michael.
āMichael!ā
From the moment she had stepped out of the restaurantāno, from long before thatāhe had been watching her.
And now, with his arms open wide, he welcomed her without hesitation.
Irene ran straight into his embrace.
Clutched in her trembling hand was a crumpled piece of paperā
The contract she had prepared before meeting the Count.
āI got it! The Count gave up everything! He signed it allāhe can never interfere in my life againā¦ā
Her rushed words faltered, her voice catching in a sob.
Michael wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.
Before arriving, he had assumed she would want him by her side when she faced the Count.
But Irene had insisted on going alone.
āI want to settle this myself.ā
Hearing the unwavering resolve in her voice, Michael had respected her decision.
Of course, if that man had so much as attempted to harm her, his head would have been severed in an instant.
Irene had left him waiting at a distance, assuming he wouldnāt know what had transpired inside.
But to Michael, a distance like that meant nothing.
Irene sobbed against his chest for a long time.
Michael simply held her, running a soothing hand over her trembling shoulders.
Eventually, her shuddering breaths steadied, and she lifted her head to look at him.
Michael stopped breathing.
She was smilingā
Brighter than he had ever seen before.
Tears still clung to her lashes, glistening in the moonlight.
āMichael, letās go to the sea.ā
At her words, Michael felt something collapse within him.
The ground beneath him seemed to give way, and the world darkened.
āLetās go to the sea together.
āI want to share that moment with you.
āNo one else but you.
Irene, with the most radiant expression he had ever seen, was promising him a future.
A future that, most likely, he would never be the one to have.
Not himābut another Michael would walk that path with her.
So cruelly, so unbearably loving and cruel at the same time.
And in that instant, the last thread of his restraint snapped.
At the same time, the sky above Brewa distorted.
The moonlight vanished.
The stars, streaking in unnatural patterns, lost their glow.
KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEK!
A ghastly wail reverberated through all of Brewa.
In the night sky, darkness unlike anything anyone had ever seen began to spread.
Screams erupted throughout the city as the people realizedā
That was the entrance to a dungeon.
A tear in the world had opened above them.
And from beyond that abyss, monsters began to emergeā
Creatures that had crossed the boundary of worlds in search of the king who had stayed in a place he did not belong.
āMichael, thatā!ā
Irene, recognizing the catastrophe unfolding, turned to Michael in horror.
She had expected him to be just as shocked, just as bewildered.
But insteadā
āIrene.ā
His voice, lower than ever, whispered her name in her ear.
She turned to face himā
And immediately, she froze.
His eyesā
His eyes glowed red like burning embers.
āThis isā¦ā
A shudder ran through her.
She could feel it.
A colossal mass of miasma surging from within him.
This wasnāt mere contamination.
It wasnāt the result of being poisoned by miasma.
He was the very source of it.
The very origin of this entire nightmare.
Michael reached up and caressed her frozen cheek, his touch unbearably gentle.
āMy wife.ā
Yesterdayājust yesterdayāthose words had filled her heart with warmth.
But nowā
Now, they terrified her.
Irene tried to step back, but then Michaelās arms encircled her waist, holding her firmly in place.
He buried his face against the curve of her neck, his breath warm against her skin as he whispered,
āThere is nothing left to hold you back. You have friends who care for you, companions who respect you, and people who acknowledge you. No one in this world will ever dare to belittle you again. And beside you, alwaysāā
His voice cracked.
āāMichaelā will be there. He will share in every joyous moment of your life. And one dayā¦ he will give you a child, a future stretching far beyond the present.ā
A dark, heavy jealousy flickered in his crimson eyes.
āBut youā¦ you are my Irene. The Irene I found again. My Ireneā¦ Thatās whyā¦ā
Michaelās gaze burned with something terrifyingāsomething insatiable.
āPlease. Bear my child.ā
At that moment, the swirling miasma that had engulfed all of Brewa rushed toward them, swallowing them whole.
