CHAPTER 252: THE CAPTIVE AND THE STORM

When he touched the wall, it didn’t feel like hardened soil, it felt like stone. Perhaps the room had been carved directly out of rock.

Both the walls and ceiling were made of black stone that glistened faintly with a smooth glossy layer. It looked very similar to the black agate stones he had seen earlier at the merchant’s stall in the village square.

It must be a vein of those black stones.

"It’s a rare stone that can only be mined deep inside the mountains," the merchant had said.

If that was true, then was this place actually underground? Seeing the layers of stone surrounding him, it seemed certain he was right in the middle of the mineral vein itself.

Thinking back over everything that had happened, if no device was being used, then the reason his psychic power was being suppressed had to be this black stone.

Just as magnetite had the natural property of magnetism, maybe this stone released some kind of special wavelength. And this world already had things like magic crystals and energy stones that contained magical power.

That explained why his headaches had started as they got closer to the mountains. It all made sense now and his face went pale.

This is really bad. I’m in serious trouble, aren’t I?

Just then, the door clanked open and a man stepped inside. After removing his cloak, the man revealed a gray fur jacket and pants made from black fur.

Now that Shiao Yi could see him clearly, he realized the brown-skinned merchant looked younger than he had thought. The man had sharp, narrow red eyes and short brown hair, with a lean, strong face that gave him a rugged kind of handsomeness.

His thin lips curved into a faint smile and then he dropped a verbal bomb.

"Little kid, Welcome to Minoan. You’ll soon becoming my bride."

For a moment, Shiao Yi’s mind completely refused to process what he had heard. When the meaning finally sank in, he glared at the man. Even as a joke, it was in terrible taste.

"Just so you know, I’m a man and I’m not a kid. I’m twenty years old, I’m a fully grown adult man," he snapped.

"Oh? That’s a surprise," the man replied calmly. "For awhile I hesitated, thinking you might still be a little bit too young for marriage, but now I can take you as my wife without any guilt."

The man showed no sign of fear or embarrassment. He boldly moved closer and stepping right onto the bed. The wooden frame creaked under his weight.

"Hey, listen to what I’m saying! First of all, I don’t even know you. Calling me your bride out of nowhere is insane!"

Shiao Yi scooted backward across the bed, trying to put some distance between them.

"We’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other," the man said smoothly. "This valley will soon be closed off by winter. We won’t be going anywhere for a while. My name is Koios. And yours?"

"Listen," Shiao Yi said firmly. "I’m not going to be your wife. I already have a husband."

The man who called himself Koios let out a short laugh through his nose.

"Then you’ll have to leave that husband of yours," he said coldly. "He won’t be coming here anyway. The first winter blizzard is already starting. Once the snow thickens, not even snow bears will be able to pass through. If he tries to cross the mountain, he’ll get lost and freeze to death."

Shiao Yi’s back hit the wall as he stepped away. Koios moved in closer and pressing forward until his arms boxed Shiao Yi in.

"Either way," the man continued, his voice low and sure, "you’ll never see that man again. Just become my wife. Your eyes is like the black stones and that black hair of yours... you were born to be my bride."

A melting, almost dreamy smile spread across Koios’s lips.

Shiao Yi’s body reacted instantly.

Using the wall behind him for leverage, he kicked upward with both legs and putting all his strength into the blow that landed squarely in the man’s stomach.

"Guh!"

Getting caught off guard, Koios doubled over with a strangled grunt, his large body folding and crashing backward.

It was the perfect hit.

Shiao Yi used the opening to leap off the bed.

"W–wait!"

While clutching his stomach, Koios staggered to his feet, still gagging but somehow managing not to vomit. His body was shockingly solid, it was harder than Shiao Yi expected.

Seriously? Is everyone in this world built like Dominic nothing but muscle?

Before the man could recover, Shiao Yi yanked open the door and bolted through it.

The passage outside looked like a mine tunnel, it was carved straight out of the rock and twisting into darkness. The doors lined both sides at uneven intervals, it was probably the entrances to other rooms. In some parts of the stone walls, faintly glowing blue crystals were embedded to light up the corridor.

It was a magic stones, maybe.

Ignoring the pounding in his head, Shiao Yi ran while searching for a way out. As long as he remained trapped inside this mineral vein, he couldn’t escape and he couldn’t contact Dominic either.

More than his own safety, he feared for Dominic. What if that man who is so stubborn and loyal as always, tried to enter these deadly mountains just to find him?

Ah... I’ve made him worry again, Shiao Yi thought bitterly, cursing his own carelessness.

...

As Dominic passed through the forest, crossed streams, and climbed over ridges, the landscape around him gradually turned into a world completely covered in snow.

The sky hung low and heavy and the climate and scenery were nothing like the village down in the foothills.

This was truly the realm of deep winter.

The mountain path grew steeper and rougher and Dominic had gotten off his horse and leading him by the reins as they walked.

"Brrr..."

Marengo snorted and shook his head.

His long face was covered by a fur mask and every breath he let out through his nostrils came out in white clouds of frost.