164 Face the Music

TILLY woke up crying. The long dream that she had was so vivid it hurt her heart. She wanted to ponder on it for a moment.

But as soon as she felt a strange presence in the room, she touched the tattoo around her wrist and grabbed the iron crab mallet as soon as it manifested in the air. Then, she got up and pointed it at the stranger beside her bed.

She covered Winter's tiny body with her other hand. Also, she noticed that Sentinel was unconscious on the floor.

"Who are you?" Tilly asked threateningly at the silhouette in front of her. Dammit, I can't see clearly.

The room was very dark. Only the moonlight coming through the open balcony served as light. And the intruder was standing against it.

She could make out a silhouette of a man wearing a robe though. He was tall, lean, and he had long hair. Come to think of it, the stranger's built could belong to a woman. But for some reason, she was very sure that the one in front of her was a man.

"What is that?" the intruder, who sounded like a man, asked in disbelief. "What are you holding, my lady?"

She slowly and carefully stood up to hide Winter behind her.

"A crab mallet, duh," she answered. Then, she gripped the handle tighter until the red flame from her hand engulfed the crab mallet. "This is the last time I'm going to ask. Who are you…"

Her voice trailed-off when she got to see a glimpse of the intruder's face.

Thanks to the light that her flame created, the room lit up significantly.

Oh, god.

The intruder's face was very gentle but his light gray eyes were cold. And familiar. She felt a tightening of her chest while looking at him.

And then, she remembered where she saw that face.

He's one of the "favored children" in my dream!

"That kind of weapon doesn't suit you, my lady," the intruder said in a cold but somewhat worried voice. "You should wield a bow and arrow like you used to."

She smirked at that. "Who gave you the right to tell me what to do? My life, my choice."

He fell silent for a second. Then, he smiled a bit. "You haven't changed at all. Even from the time before you were reborn as the Supreme, you've always had that attitude."

In the blink of an eye, the intruder was already standing so close to her.

She gasped in surprise and tried to hit the man with her iron crab mallet. But he just held her by the wrist to stop her attack. When it didn't work, she made her body literally burn.

He just smiled as if he was amused. Then, a gush of violent wind circulated around them.

She closed her eyes when the harsh wind almost hurt her eyes. And then, she felt her flame disappear when the mini tornado stopped.

His wind extinguished my flame…?

She opened her eyes in shock, then she looked up at the intruder with horror in her eyes.

No… it can't be…

Does it mean that dream isn't a mere dream…?

"You're still weak, my lady," he told her while shaking his head. "It's time for you to wake up and reclaim your title as the Supreme. To do that…" He put a finger on her temple. "You have to unseal your memories first."

She raised her left hand and slapped the man hard. Hard enough that his cheeks turned red. If you look closely, you might even see the mark of her hand.

The intruder looked shocked by what she did.

She used that chance to kick him hard between his legs. Whatever he was, he was still a man. As long as he had– well, excuse her for the lack of a better term– balls, she could kill him by crushing them hard, right?

It looked like she hurt him but he still didn't let go of her hand.

Dammit! Are his balls made of steel?!

She was about to kick him in the crotch again but all of a sudden, little ice daggers suddenly pierced through his arm– the one holding her wrist– and that forced him to let go of her.

Winter!

She knew it was Winter because the small ice daggers looked like the ones he used to attack Julian a while ago.

Of course, she didn't let that chance slip. She kicked him hard and that made him stumble.

Knowing that her iron crab mallet wouldn't work on him, she dropped it. As soon as she did, it went back around her wrist as a tattoo. Then, she turned her back on the enemy and carefully carried Winter (who was now awake) in her arms. She tried to run but the next thing that the intruder said made her stop.

"My lady, stop protecting the Black Serpent!"

She froze in her tracks. Her mind was telling her to run and secure Winter's safety first. But her body suddenly had a mind of its own. The next thing she knew, she was already turning around to face the intruder. "I'm protecting the Black Serpent?" she asked, anger slowly rising in her chest. Just hearing the name of that goddamned "beast god" was enough to make her want to puke. "How am I protecting that f*cking large reptile?"

She was aware that it was the descendants of the Black Reptile who killed her father and not the Black Serpent itself.

But still, hearing that name reminded her of her father's untimely death.

The intruder looked shocked. "Supreme, when did you learn to curse?"

"Don't change the subject," she hissed. "I know that people treat me like I'm the Supreme of the past because I have the heart of the Red Phoenix. But this is the first time that someone associated with me with the Black Serpent," she said in a confused but angry tone. "Explain. What is my connection to that goddamned reptile?"

The intruder fell silent as if he was contemplating whether to answer her question or not.

She wanted to press him for more answers but all of a sudden, Winter cried loudly. When she looked down to check on her baby, she was surprised to see that his tiny body was now covered with thin ice.

That was when she realized that her body was abnormally hot now. Winter probably covered himself with ice to protect himself from getting burned.

She instantly felt guilty.

"I'm so sorry, my baby," she said in a panicky voice while trying to cool down her body temperature to normal. "Mommy is really, really sorry."

"My lady, don't get attached to the Moon Serpent."

She glared at the intruder and was about to tell him to f*ck off.

But all of a sudden, the doors of the room burst open. It was followed by hundreds of sharp ice spears flying towards the intruder. And then, a very angry Kiho entered the room. His face was stoic but the rapid rise of his Mana was enough to let everyone know that he was pissed.

And his anger was directed at the long-haired man.

Unfortunately, the intruder was able to protect himself by creating a violent air around his whole body. The wind was so harsh that Kiho's ice spears broke into million tiny pieces even before they reached him.

The long-haired dude is really strong.

She was distracted when Kiho stood protectively in front of her.

"Tilly, are you and Winter okay?" Kiho asked in a low and worried voice. "I'm sorry I'm late, honey."

"It's okay, hon," she assured him. "Winter and I are both safe."

"That's a relief," he said. "Wait here, honey. I'll just take out the trash."

And just like that, Kiho disappeared.

The next thing she saw, her husband was already coming at the intruder. When the two clashed, they disappeared. And then, she heard a loud crash outside.

Please be safe, Kiho.

"It's okay, baby," Tilly whispered to Winter while rocking him gently. Thankfully, his son already melted the ice around him. Winter also looked calm by now. "Your daddy and I will protect you."

***

KIHO tried to grab the strange guy but much to his frustration, he was fast. The intruder was moving like a wind that no one could grasp.

Dammit!

He tried to attack the stranger with hundreds of sharp ice spears but then, his sharp wind cut each ice spear flawlessly.

Even though he didn't have the upperhand in the fight yet, he was grateful that he asked the Black Serpent Knights to stay inside the mansion and protect his family instead of helping him take down the intruder. Of course, his family included all the servants in the mansion.

Tilly taught him to treat people living with them as family.

"Pathetic," the intruder said while floating in the air and looking down at him. "Your current form is seriously pathetic."

Kiho's brows furrowed in confusion. "My "current form?""

The stranger smirked mockingly, then he opened his mouth to answer his question…

… but all of a sudden, another floating individual appeared behind the intruder and kicked him at the back of his head.

It seemed like the stranger didn't expect the attack and so, he fell on the ground.

"Duke Nystrom!" Captain Sherwood, who was still floating in the air, called him cheerfully. "Did you miss me?"

Kiho, unimpressed, just let out a deep sigh. The sasaeng fan is back.

***

TILLY gently and carefully put Winter, who was now asleep again, on the bed. Then, she sat beside her baby before she looked at Luna who was carefully putting Julian, who was also asleep, next to her son.

After Kiho left the room to fight the intruder, the witch came with Julian. Luna was followed by the Black Serpent Knights but she asked them to stay outside her room. Also, she asked some of them to guard the servants of the mansion.

Sentinel, on the other hand, returned to her heart to recuperate. 

"I'm sorry it took us a while to notice the intruder's presence, Lady Nystrom," Luna said softly, probably to not awaken the babies. "When we did, we had a hard time cracking the barrier around the room. Thankfully, Duke Nystrom was able to blow it up in time."

"Really?" Tilly asked in surprise. "I didn't hear anything outside."

"It was because of the barrier," the witch explained. "Are you really okay, my lady?"

She nodded. "Do you know the intruder, Miss Luna?"

"I believe that he's the Blue Dragon, Lady Nystrom."

Her whole body felt cold all of a sudden. It was as if cold water was suddenly poured over her. Moreover, for the first time in her life, she felt like she was finally awake.

"Elis Ripperton," she said, repeating the name that she remembered from her dream.

She didn't call the intruder that name a while ago because she was still in-denial. But now, after some thought, she finally accepted the fact that she didn't have a long dream.

What she saw was a piece of memory.

"Did the Blue Dragon tell you his name, my lady?"

She shook her head. "I met him in a dream."

The witch looked confused by what she said.

"Miss Luna, I'm not a descendant of the Supreme, am I?" she asked with a weak smile. "I am her. I was reincarnated after refusing to enter the heavens as a god."

Panic crossed Miss Luna's eyes. This was the first time that she saw that look on the witch ever since the day that she met her. But as expected, she regained her composure right away. Then, she tried to put a hand on her head.

She grabbed the witch by the wrist. She had a feeling that Luna was about to put her to sleep or mess with her memory. Of course, she wouldn't let her do that– especially not when she still had some important questions to ask.

"What was the Supreme's connection with the Black Serpent?" Tilly asked in a sad voice. Of course, she'd be sad. To be honest, she didn't have to ask Luna what the Supreme's relationship with the Black Serpent was. She saw it in her "dream." Not really waiting for the witch's confirmation, she then asked the question that somewhat crushed her heart. "Is Kiho the reincarnation of the Black Serpent?"

***

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