595 Settled*

"Then, just spill out the truth. I'll let you go regardless of the implication and deal with the witches' questions and doubts."

When he shook his head again, Alicia lifted her swords and pointed them towards him. Her silver hair was lifting in the slight breeze around her. "It's settled then. You can now leave, but get past me by force first." Alicia didn't make it sound as if he had a choice, and Zeres knew how serious she was.

The look in her eyes showed him a steely decision that no word could change. But Zeres had to leave. He knew that Zeke was leaving that night, and he also thought that this was his only opportunity to leave. If he delays, Alicia would never stop trying to know the truth. Knowing how stubborn and willful this queen was, she would definitely do everything and anything to find what he was hiding from her. He would never let that happen. He must not stay in this forest any longer. He must leave as soon as possible.

With a pained look, Zeres uttered a silent apology as he finally advanced towards her. He didn't unsheathe his sword. He didn't even hold the hilt. He simply approached her bare-handed.

Alicia waited, faltering a little because she knew the man didn't have any plan to fight her. When he reached her, he grabbed Alicia's blade with his bare hands. His blood began to drip on the ground.

"Let me through, Alicia." He urged, and Alicia gritted her teeth. She kicked him in the stomach, hard enough for him to be thrown away a few steps from her.

She kept her face composed and steely as she looked down at him. "Don't play with me, Zeres. Just so you know… I am not as soft-hearted as you. I could be cold as the devil, too, if someone is not taking me seriously."

Zeres rose from the ground. Unexpectedly, a genuine smile was playing on his face. "That was a hard kick, Queen." He innocently held his stomach like he was a hungry white puppy, causing Alicia's stern gaze to almost crack. Damn. Was he really going to use such a dirty trick for her to let her guard down?! You're a low-key little devil, Zeres… but I won't fall for it.

"C'mon. Don't waste our time and be serious because if you don't, I'm telling you I can stand here and kick you all night."

He ignored her words and approached her once again, still not pulling out his sword. Alicia didn't let him touch her blade this time and simply kicked him back before he could grab her sword. Still, he did the same thing the third time and then the seventh time.

The anger and frustration inside Alicia was starting to boil. She never thought she would do something like this. What the hell's wrong with this man?! Why the hell's he like this?!

"I'm sorry." Was all he said as he looked away and his grip on her blade tightened. He tried to reach for her hand, probably so he could push her to the side, but Alicia didn't let him. She dropped the sword in her right hand and punched his jaw hard. He stumbled back. His lips were bleeding. 

"You are a stubborn little devil, Zeres. But too bad, I am stubborn too. Don't even think that this petty tactic would work for me. I told you, I'm not as soft-hearted as you."

Alicia wanted to read his expression, but she refrained. She had been trying not to look into his eyes because she didn't want her resolve to be swayed. Alicia had never done anything like this before. She would never hurt anyone who wasn't putting up any fight. So doing this to this man was honestly the most maddening thing she had ever done. Her blood was boiling, threatening to burst. She knew that if this continues, she will lose because she would rather fight to the death than do something like this.

When he came to her again, and Alicia brought him down with a hard punch on his chest, Alicia's breathing became a little erratic. She felt as though she had fought a thousand enemies, and she couldn't help but laugh a little hysterically. This man is driving her insane. She couldn't help but wonder just what kind of secret was he hiding from her that he had to go to this extent.

Her laugh seemed to surprise Zeres. His expression changed as he stood there silently staring at the exit behind her and then at her. He clenched his fists tight. Zeres never want to hurt her, so he was trying to make her give up on her own by letting her best him, but it seemed doing this was crueler than fighting her. He didn't like the sound of her laughter. He didn't want her laughing like that. 'Why? Why does it need to come to this? Why is it always like this?'

Suddenly, Zeres's eyes turned gold, and in a blink of an eye, a deafening sound of two swords clashing shook the peaceful forest. Alicia finally smiled at his attack despite the fact that she was pushed back even though she defended herself on time. One of her swords had already disappeared.

As though he was suddenly in haste, he attacked again, and their intense battle had brought many witches in the scene. They watched in shock and horror, not knowing what to do.

But it didn't take long and the heart-stopping battle suddenly halted. Zeres was standing behind Alicia. His one arm wrapped around her shoulders and the other holding his blade against her throat. "I'm sorry," for the nth time; he apologized again. 'I cannot tell you because once you find out the truth, I know you'll never let me go.' He continued within him, and with one more 'sorry,' he backed off and finally dissapeared.

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A\\N: I posted an announcement about hell bound heart in my Facebook group. If you want to read it, you have to join the group. Please use this code to enter the group ???? 200k