The Cursed Beast Caught My Leash - Chapter 133

As the pale skin split open, blood spurted out. The sudden blood loss made her dizzy, but Stella clenched her teeth and dragged the blade down her arm.

Blood gushed out like an unending spring. She dropped the dagger and clutched her wrist with trembling hands.

Blood trickled down the faintly glowing gem. The pain was indescribable, like dozens of claws scraping every inch of her body. Still, even gasping in agony, she didn’t move away from the altar. This wasn’t merely about shedding blood.

“Estella!”

Islay climbed the steep steps with powerful strides, shouting her name. But his voice no longer reached her ears.

Her ragged breathing grew heavier, and her pupils widened. Between the blood soaking the gem, a faint yellow light began to flicker.

Stella let out a shaky gasp. The relic that had once lost its sacred power was glowing again, proof that her Mind’s Eye was flowing into it.

“Take it all. I never wanted this power anyway.”

It was never a gift she had asked for. She had never used it properly. From the beginning, it never suited her.

So at least the act of removing it—of destroying it—she wanted to do on her own terms. As long as the Mind’s Eye existed, Islay would never be free, and chaos would persist in the world.

She had no grand ideals about saving the world. But for the people she cherished more than her own life, she could do anything. No matter what it took, she wanted to rescue “her world” from its twisted fate.

“Give me back my world. Don’t let them suffer anymore.”

She was sick of being swept up in the whirlpool of fate spun by human greed and special powers. She wanted to break free, to live by their own will alone. That was Stella’s deepest, most desperate wish.

“Please… just let us live our lives the way we were meant to…!”

In the instant she cried out with all her heart, a tremendous boom shook the altar. Losing her balance, Stella grabbed onto it with bloodied hands.

…No, it wasn’t the altar that was shaking—it was the temple. From the floor lined with towering statues all the way to the ceiling, everything trembled violently.

A crack split through one of the statues with a loud snap before it crumbled apart. Even then, Stella had no time to determine if it was an earthquake or something else. The force entangled between every fiber of her being was pouring out.

“Captain!”

Below, Mikel called out in panic, a look Stella had never seen on his face.

“The temple is collapsing! You must come down now!”

“Estella!”

Islay’s voice rang from close by. Stella gripped her bleeding wrist tightly. As drops of blood fell onto the gem, the final moment dragged out in eerie slow motion.

“Ah…!”

Something inside her snapped. The edges of her vision turned black. His voice calling her name sounded distant, as though submerged underwater.

Islay reached the summit in a heartbeat and grabbed her arm. Half-conscious, Stella collapsed into his arms.

As the tremors shook her entire body, she barely managed to look up at the altar. The sacred relic now glowed a vivid golden light. It was a dazzling brilliance, like the most beautiful star in the night sky resting upon the altar.

And then he, and she…

“No, Estella. How could you leave me like this…?”

Islay whispered in a daze, cupping her cheek. Her face, pale as paper, looked unmistakably like that of someone on the verge of death.

“This can’t happen. Please… don’t leave me alone.”

As he held her limp body, Islay suddenly coughed up blood. Intense pain twisted his expression just as a surge of energy burst forth from the altar. It was light radiating from the relic.

Islay, his gaze contorted, stared at the ancient gem. A sharp humming sound intensified as blinding light enveloped them. His vision turned completely white.

Craack—somewhere, a sharp fissure echoed.

The sound of the gem cracking.

With a fierce cracking sound, the relic shattered into pieces. Shards of golden light poured down over them. Islay wrapped himself around the unconscious Stella, shielding her with his own body.

Yet he felt nothing. When he lifted his head again, the blazing light that had seemed ready to consume them had completely vanished.

Rumble—there was no time to think, as the ground began to collapse. Hoisting Stella into his arms, Islay dashed down the stairs at full speed. Down below, statues were toppling one by one, like massive dominoes.

“Everyone, get out of here!”

Even as massive boulders thundered to the ground, Islay shouted to his men who stubbornly held their positions. Mikel clenched his teeth and swatted away a falling rock with his arm before quickly turning back. Forced to run by his lord’s command, Mikel kept glancing over his shoulder as he sprinted.

By the time Islay, carrying Stella, reached the bottom of the stairs, the pillars supporting the underground temple had started to collapse. He dashed through the hall as stone debris rained down and made for the exit.

“Hurry!”

Mikel, gripping the crumbling stone gate, shouted. Just as a massive column threatened to fall near the entrance, Islay narrowly escaped the temple.

A deafening roar erupted as the ancient structure collapsed in a heap. Countless stones poured endlessly into the abyss below.

The tremors that had seemed unending finally began to subside, and a thick cloud of dust rose from the shattered earth.

Coughing erupted from every direction. Yet Islay’s focus remained solely on Stella.

“…Estella.”

The evening sun bathed them in light. Islay frantically stroked Stella’s face, smeared with dust and blood. He shook her shoulders gently, listening to her faint, fragile breath and feeble pulse.

But only for a moment. As Islay coughed up blood once again, his vision turned black. Supporting himself with one hand, he collapsed sideways with Stella still in his arms.

“Gah!”

“Captain!”

Shouts of alarm rang out in succession. The sight of the stalwart man, who had never once fainted, now collapsing while coughing blood, stunned even the Northerners.

Lying next to the completely sunken temple, they remained unconscious for quite some time thereafter.

17. As It Began, Back to the Start

The gradually ripening summer sunlight whitened the earth.

Having finished speaking with the doctor, Mikel stepped outside the inn and gazed anew at the now even more idyllic scenery touched by the sun.

Perhaps because he had just heard a less-than-optimistic opinion, the peaceful view before him seemed like a different world.

‘Has it already been seven days since then?’

There had been quite a few casualties from the events at the temple. The nearest place where everyone could be laid to rest safely had been this inn in Nortelli.

Looking back, it had truly been a series of urgent situations.

Right after the fall of the Pantege Imperial Palace, news came that Stella was heading to Metlica, and the Northerners immediately changed course—but they couldn’t be sure they would make it in time to save the princess.

So the fact that they were able to rescue Stella at the critical moment was a miracle. Before the Pantege dogs could lay a hand on the princess, it was Islay who had swiftly charged in first.

A beat later, when Mikel arrived at the temple, what came into view was none other than the sprawled body of Priest Gabriel and the holy knights of Largo.

In haste, Mikel had ordered his subordinates to administer emergency treatment. Even after the temple collapsed, all of them miraculously survived, and they were now lying side by side at the inn in Nortelli, recovering. Though they all bore large scars or had some part of their bodies permanently injured, it was still a tremendous relief.

Priest Gabriel, despite his advanced age, regained consciousness with astonishing speed. His mental strength was even more remarkable—he prayed for hours every day in the room where the princess lay, despite his injuries.

Having heard all the details from the priest, Mikel tracked down and killed the mercenary from Grova who had attacked Stella’s party. He was the one who had tipped off the Pantege emperor about the princess’s movements, if Islay had been awake, he would never have let that man live.

‘All the minor matters are settled. I just wish they’d both wake up soon…’

Even the aged priest had regained consciousness, but only two people—Stella and Islay—still hadn’t awoken from their comas.