CHAPTER 137: THE BREAKING POINT

If there is a god in this world, I will offer my full gratitude, body and soul, this time without fail.

But a fourth time must never happen.

Surely, no miracle could occur again.

I will never, under any circumstances, let Shiao Yi leave my embrace again.

I swear to God!

Even if the whole world turns against me, I will not let go of this hand!

"Pain! It hurts! Dominic! Dominic!"

Shiao Yi patted him on the chest and back.

Apparently, I had held him too tightly in my embrace.

Shiao Yi glared at me, his cheeks puffed red.

I felt happy and smiled as I looked at his face.

Ah, I wanted to keep looking at him forever.

"Why are you smiling all the time? It makes me lose focus. More importantly, don’t your hands and feet hurt?"

"Ah... they might hurt. But I want to stay like this a little longer."

"No. You need treatment. Don’t you realize how badly injured you are? And yet you hug me with all your strength—Dominic, what are you thinking?"

Shiao Yi wiggled and slipped out of my arms.

I looked around the room more carefully.

Had there been a fight? The walls, the floor—everything was in terrible shape.

In this dusty, ruined room, Shiao Yi and I had been naked while holding each other.

What had I been doing until now? When had I come to this room? Had I been here all along?

My memory was vague and hazy.

A dull pain throbbed at the back of my head, and my mind felt unreliable, as if parts of it were clouded in mist.

I put my hands on the floor to sit up, groaning from sharp pain.

Bringing my hands in front of my eyes, I saw they were covered in blood, dark red and black, and the bones looked broken.

When I lifted myself and looked at my feet, my nails were torn, also soaked in blood, with severe bruising.

Frowning at my condition, Shiao Yi peered at my face with an exasperated expression.

"Dominic. You don’t remember? Really? So you were out of your mind after all."

Shiao Yi picked up the clothes tossed aside and put them on while holding out a filthy, blood-soaked rag.

On closer inspection, it was my own clothing.

Noticing me staring, he looked apologetic and began helping me put it on.

"Bear with me. This is all we have. Once we’ve treated your injuries, we’ll get you cleaned up in a bath."

I couldn’t believe it, but had I caused this mess in the room? I felt too scared to even ask Shiao Yi.

When we stepped outside the room, Louis was waiting.

The moment he saw my face, he began to cry loudly, causing me a great deal of trouble.

...

It was already very late at night, but none of them even thought about resting.

In the living room of the guest chambers they had been given, everyone stood or sat as they pleased, yet not a single one looked relaxed.

Quintus and Aaron stayed close to Gabrant, forcing him back into his chair every time he tried to stand.

Each time they pushed him down, Gabrant let out a frustrated growl.

Of course, Quintus knew why.

Gabrant was restless because he wanted to run straight to the room where Dominic was being held.

Anyone who had seen Dominic would understand.

Even without seeing the wreckage of the room or the battered state of his body, just one look into his eyes was enough to make it clear.

They were not normal eyes.

They were the eyes of a beast driven into a corner.

They were Wild and dangerous, and yet they were completely empty.

It was the gaze of madness.

It was the look of a man who had lost himself, who had fallen entirely into insanity.

What could have happened to Dominic—the Iron Knight, feared by all, so calm and steady that people wondered if he had emotions at all?

What could have driven him to lose his mind so completely?

If Shiao Yi had not appeared in that moment and immediately moved Dominic into the warded chamber, the disaster would have swallowed them all.

The moment Dominic had stepped outside the barrier, he had tried to unleash a violent surge of magic power, one so destructive that it would have crushed even himself.

Even Quintus could not predict how much damage it might have caused, only that the scale would have been catastrophic.

Gabrant could not possibly fail to understand that.

His face had turned pale, tight with worry, as his eyes stayed locked on Dominic.

It was natural for him, as a father, to want to save his son somehow.

But it was impossible.

There was no trust between them.

No bond, no shared feelings—nothing.

Quintus, however, had seen the deep love and attachment Dominic held for Shiao Yi.

He had also seen the trust and affection Shiao Yi gave back to him.

If there was anyone in the world who could calm Dominic’s madness, it was Shiao Yi.

No one else.

Take Shiao Yi away from Dominic?

What nonsense was that?

What were they even looking at?

Did they not understand how reckless and impossible such a thing was?

On top of that, did they not realize the danger of letting Shiao Yi’s special power fall into the hands of another country?

Quintus had always thought Gabrant’s eyes were blind, but never had he thought the man could be this foolish.

Gabrant, who came later and tried to stir things up on his own, made Quintus burn with irritation.

They already had their own plans.

They were thinking this through carefully.

They didn’t need him interfering.

At the door of Dominic’s room, Quintus had left Louis standing guard.

Louis was a man of firm loyalty to Dominic.

If anything happened, he would immediately send word.

That was why all they had to do now was wait here.