Hellbound With You (WN)

Alicia's eyes scrunched in confusion. She hadn't been expecting those words to come out of Ezekiel's mouth. She was clearly at a loss as she stared at him as if trying to figure out a puzzle.

Even though she always knew it was futile to try figuring out anything from his stoic face, Alicia still tried and, as expected, failed.

Gripping the hilt of her sword, Alicia steeled herself as she spoke. "Is this what you really wanted?" she asked. This was the last time she'd ask him. If she still receives no response, then…

As she waited, Alicia's heartbeat pounded against her chest as second ticked by. She realized that she really had no choice but to decide now whether to still put her trust in him or not. The dark grey sky thundered once again as lightning strike a tree meters away from them.

None of them flinch, but the color in Ezekiel's eyes started to change. The lightless moons in his eyes turned red, causing Alicia's eyes to widen slightly.

Her gaze on him turned fierce. Her long silver hair danced behind her back like black silk. It was dripping wet just a while ago, but now, it was flying like silver silk. She whispered some words under her breath, and lights once again surrounded her.

She always knew there was only one way to deal with this man, and that was to listen to whatever he says. No matter how insane it sounded, defying him was not an option because, in the end, what he wanted to happen will eventually happen.

As power spread out in Alicia's body, the silver glow gushing out of her skin was a sight to behold. But her power and beauty that moment was something that would make any halfhearted man fall to their knees, not to worship her beauty but to ask for her mercy.

A high-pitched clang echoed in the desolate piece of land. Alicia had finally attacked, but as expected, Ezekiel defended himself with ease.

"Too weak," Ezekiel said. "Are you even trying?"

His tone was void with emotion, but what he said made Alicia's blood boil. Was he trying to aggravate her? If this were his aim, then Alicia would gladly show him what he was asking!

Her blade locked onto Ezekiel's sword, but she didn't retreat. Instead, out of nowhere, another silver sword appeared in her free hand. She lunged her new weapon at him, but he was too fast. Alicia ended up cutting not him but the air.

"Not bad." A smirk flashed across Ezekiel's stoic face. He was already a few steps away from her.

Alicia attacked again, slashing and whipping both the swords in her hands at him. She was planning to distract him with the new sword in her left hand, but as expected, Ezekiel could block both of her raging blades.

The sound of clashing swords continued until Alicia's twin blades were like a whirling tornado. Ezekiel's eyes glimmered. She managed to push him back more than three steps. And then, a silver glow flashed across her moonlit eyes as her power increased. Her blade finally touched Ezekiel's skin, wounding his neck.

But the sight of his blood flowing down his pale skin seemed to distract Alicia instantly, and she was stunned to stillness for a split second. That was more than enough for Ezekiel to turn the table around.

Before Alicia knew it, her back was against Ezekiel's chest, and his blade was already pointed at her neck.

It was too sudden, but Alicia wasn't even surprised anymore. Her chest heaving as her other blade disappeared, a sign that she had conceded.

"Didn't I tell you to come at me like you wanted to kill me?" his deep voice rang in her ear, causing Alicia to frown. She decided to fight because she was still trying to figure out if he really wanted her to fight him to death. As she fought him, her gut told her to listen and fight him with all she got, but once again, she decided to go against herself. For the first time, Alicia chose to trust someone else more than her own intuition. She didn't know why, but maybe, this was all because he saved her that night. Moreover, as she attacked him, he merely defended and didn't lunge an attack at all.

"I don't want to waste any more energy on you, Ezekiel. I'd rather save my power for Dinah." Alicia reasoned. She couldn't see his face, but his grip on her tightened a little. Alicia could only think that he might be displeased.

"What, you think I am not strong enough to go against her?" she narrowed her eyes.

"You want to go against an immortal, huh… isn't that the same as wasting your energy?" he asked blankly, now grabbing her sword, disarming her.

"Even if I couldn't kill her, there's a lot of things I can do to assist Abigail."

"If you want to assist Abigail, then why aren't you escaping from me?"

Alicia felt like her head was about to explode. She gave up. There was no way she could understand what the hell this man really wanted!

A long silence reigned between them as Alicia's heavy breaths slowly calmed down. "Because I know you're doing this for a reason," she then uttered.

Ezekiel didn't respond, and Alicia so wanted to turn to look at him, but Ezekiel didn't let her. However, she felt him bent closer and whispered. "Don't… trust me too much, Alicia."

Before Alicia could digest what he just said, Ezekiel grabbed her tiny waist with his iron arm and leaped along with her.

Alicia was speechless. His voice... those words kept resonating in her head. She didn't understand. Why? Why was this man like this? Why the hell was he suddenly saying that?!

All she could do is hold onto him as he continued leaping in the air, fast as a bullet. Alicia refused to believe those last words of his and told herself that there must be another reason again behind those words. She wanted to speak, but she wasn't going to confront him on it anymore because she knew she'd never get anything out of him.

A sigh escaped her lips as she braced herself. She felt that unease again, and she couldn't help but feel tense. What was going to happen next?

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[Thank you so much for waiting, my dearest hellbounders!]