Chapter 265: Rat.

Malachi had surprised everyone in the clearing when the first thing that he did was rush to grab Ryo by the neck and hold him over his head.

Without a single moment of hesitation, he lammed his face into a rugged tree a few feet away from him.

"Malachi!! What are you doing!?"

Serana rushed to defend her boyfriend and tried to pull Malachi away from him.

However, his grip was like iron and he held Ryo firmly by his now bleeding skull.

"I've been feeling funny ever since I heard that fabricated ass story.. by some sort of miracle he just happened to be found by one of the groups out in the wastes? I should have done something sooner."

"You're being crazy! Get off of him, please I'm begging you!!!"

Malachi finally took his gaze off of Ryo's head and stared at Serana with eyes full of anguish and anger.

"Serana, I could hear it! I heard his heart start to speed up when Arias started blabbing about the fucking mole! I can feel the anxiety flowing off of him in waves!"

"M-Maybe he is just like this because you are beating on him! Please, just put him down!!"

Serana trusted Malachi with her life, but even she was having a hard time just accepting his words as immutable fact right now.

And it wasn't necessarily wrong of her, merely a testament of her loyalty to the one who she had given her heart and body to.

But Malachi was trying to shake her out of it, and he wasn't necessarily being gentle with how he dispelled the illusion.

"Serana, you're being blind! He put everyone here and back home in danger, including your baby sister!!"

The mention of Cami's wellbeing shook Serana's heart like a metal cage on a windy day.

Everyone loved Camille, but she and Serana had a special relationship.

As someone who had a tough time fitting in when she was younger, she showered the young girl with no small amount of care and attention.

She never wanted her to feel like an outcast for even a single second since she was growing up among humans.

The notion that someone she brought around had put that innocent child's safety in danger all but destroyed her.

"Please... tell me that it's not true..." she pleaded quietly.

Ryo had a broken nose and a few missing teeth from his mouth, but he was still mildly conscious and capable of answering.

Though the response he gave may not have been the one that she wanted to hear.

"I... had no choice..."

Serana's tears started to fall quietly, and Ryo caught a front row seat to the heartbreaking sight.

"H-He has Guildmaster Morgan. If I didn't do it then he-"

"I don't... want to hear it." Serana said quietly.

"J-Just listen to me, I- Urk!"

The two of them were holding hands as they sat on the bed, both clearly worried that something awful would happen because they weren't there.

Finally, Joanne had stood up because she could no longer handle sitting on the sidelines.

Unsurprisingly, Anna stood up to join her without saying a word.

The two of them made a beeline for the door at the same moment that Malachi opened it.

They were monumentally surprised to find him holding Sei while she was soaking wet and unconscious.

Before the girls could ask what was wrong, Malachi beat them to it.

He forced a smile onto his face and tried to make it seem like he was completely fine.

"I'm glad to see my girl is feeling better, but I hope you weren't about to rush out there with us." He said to Joanne.

"I... what happened?"

"I-Is Sei okay..?"

Malachi nodded and started heading towards the bath attached to their room. your-NovelFire-story

"She'll be fine, I just have to warm her up and get her into bed. As for everything else... I'm sorry, but do you mind if we talk about that later?"

Whether they wanted to or not, Malachi didn't really leave a whole lot of room for debate as he ducked inside of the bathroom with Sei in his arms.

Once he stepped out of sight, Joanne and Anna immediately turned their gazes towards Luna and the rest of the girls who looked equally exhausted.

""Start talking.""

-

In the bathroom, Malachi had just gotten himself and Sei undressed and lowered themselves into the water.

He placed his fiancé into his lap so that she could sit comfortably while recovering, and he held her closely as if he was afraid she would fly away.

When she was like this, he realized how vulnerable she really was.

Her curvaceous body was pillowy and soft to the touch, and her hands didn't even have calluses on them.

The more he analyzed her, the worse he felt.

He should have done a better job at protecting her.

No, she shouldn't have even been out there in the first place.

He should have dealt with all of them himself.

'To whom much is given, much is required.'

Malachi had been blessed enough to be the most powerful individual in the world.

And because of that, it was his responsibility to shoulder any undue burdens that might befall anyone else around him, so that they could have as easy of a life as possible.

"Don't worry, love.. I get it now. I promise you that nothing like this will ever happen again..."