Kaden and Vaela found themselves in a whole different place. It looked like an office, painted in blue and white with the symbol of the Cerveau inscribed on the ceiling, pulsing with a sizzle of cerulean lightning.

Kaden looked around in confusion, his head spinning from the sudden change in space. Beneath him was a rune formation glowing in bluish light.

"Urgh!" Vaela groaned behind his back, causing him to snap out of his thoughts and put her on the ground, her back leaned against the wall.

Just above her was a window wrapped in a blue curtain that stopped any light from reaching the room, plunging it into a somber mood.

Kaden observed the wound on Vaela's stomach and couldn't help but wince at how grotesque it looked.

Vaela's lower abdomen was shredded with merciless violence. Her flesh was mangled. Entrails, blood, and organs all seemed to merge together in a hideous fashion.

He frowned, noticing the scent flowing out from her wounds. It was the scent of rotten eggs. No, even worse than that.

"K-Kaden…" Vaela uttered between heavy breaths, her face damp with sweat, her eyes fluttering like bird's wings trapped in a spider's web as she tried desperately to open them and look at him.

But she failed.

Her body was too weak, and the power of Lucan inside her was eating at her like a mad devouring beast. Especially now that her power was sealed.

Kaden was disoriented for a moment. He didn't know what to do.

He was in an unfamiliar place that reeked of the Cerveau. He couldn't help but feel a bad premonition as he looked at the runic formations inscribed on the white floor.

It was a teleportation formation.

'Since when did Waverith have these…?' Kaden wondered, his heart restless. He shook his head violently and focused back on Vaela.

He looked at the collar around her neck, an unsettling sensation coursing through him at the sight of it.

He could clearly see that this red collar was, in large part, responsible for Vaela's state. Without hesitation, he acted.

"A little more, Vae. I will heal you." He whispered gently in her ear, and unconsciously Vaela stopped shaking.

Her breathing started to regulate, as if the very voice of Kaden made her pain disappear like ashes scattered by the wind.

It was truly a strange sight.

But that was all she needed. At that moment, Vaela didn't even think of dying. Because in that instant, her only family was with her.

Not the one fate had given her, the one that had tried to kill her mercilessly without emotion.

But the one she had chosen herself. And she knew…

…she had chosen well.

Kaden extended his hand, coated it in black flame, and reached for the red collar. He grasped it.

"Argh!" A grunt escaped his throat as his hand sizzled, burning against the collar.

The scent of burning flesh spread around them, showing its intensity.

Kaden gritted his teeth, his eyes hardening as he supplied more mana into his hand, determined to break the red collar.

It resisted, burning more fiercely, but Kaden's will was not weak.

After some tenuous minutes, the red hue of the collar dulled significantly before finally snapping.

Instantly, Vaela's body was coated in a radiant bluish aura, making Kaden squint his eyes and take a couple of steps back.

His constitution acted, and his burning hand began to heal.

For Vaela, her power burned away the remnants of Lucan's energy in her wound, finally allowing the health potion to work.

Slowly, her wounds began to heal.

Kaden smiled in relief, then took out more health potions and splashed them on her wound, accelerating the process.

Within minutes, the wound closed perfectly, leaving no trace behind. It was as if, minutes ago, she hadn't been on the verge of giving life a goodbye kiss and embracing death in a tight hug.

"Kaden…?" Vaela spoke again, this time her voice less grungy, though still dry.

Instinctively, Kaden took out a bottle of water from his space ring. He sat at her right side and slowly guided the bottle towards her mouth.

"Drink, you will feel better after." he said, and like a good child, Vaela opened her mouth. It was slow, her eyes fixed on Kaden's face who had already removed his mask, letting his handsome face shine under the room's light.

Water poured into her mouth. She closed her eyes to savor the simple moment, then opened them instantly to look at Kaden's face again, as if afraid he might disappear if she kept them closed too long.

Kaden smiled faintly.

"Sorry, I was late." he whispered.

For a moment, tears welled up in Vaela's eyes before she closed them again and turned her head to the side, unwilling to let Kaden see her tears.

Kaden suppressed a smile at her act.

"What? Are you shy now? Come on, Vae, how old are you?" he joked, softly pulling her head back toward him.

Vaela could have refused, and even thousands of Kadens wouldn't have moved her head a single bloody inch.

But she didn't. She shifted her head to look at his face again.

Now, looking closely, she noticed a bloodstain on his right cheek, dripping softly.

She unconsciously raised her hand and caressed his cheek, wiping away the blood.

"It doesn't suit you." she whispered, looking into his eyes.

Kaden smirked. "You just insulted me, Vae."

"How could you tell the one named Child of Blood that having blood on his face doesn't suit him?" He shook his head, feigning a hurt expression.

"That… that hurt my pride." He clutched his chest — where his heart beat — as if in incredible pain.

Vaela looked at him for a moment before stifling a laugh. She raised her hand to hide her mouth, her eyes squinting into crescents.

Kaden was stunned. His heart shivered at the sight.

Vaela's beauty, even in this situation, was dazzling. Like the morning sun on a clear blue sky.

Too radiant to look at. But you still open your eyes wide, bearing the searing pain, just to take a glance.

His mouth curled into a smile as he looked at her with soft eyes.

Vaela's laugh slowly faded, and she looked at Kaden with eyes that seemed to see all his lives and reincarnations in one flash.

"Would you tell me if I asked how you know?" she said, her voice soft.

"Who knows?" Kaden responded as he sat beside her, his back against the wall.

"Would you tell me how you succeeded in saving me?" she asked again.

"The Crimson Veil acted. Masked Abomination and Ruined Knight caused some chaos, confusing the Cerveau. I walked through the destruction and saved you." he said nonchalantly, as if what he did wasn't something even Grandmasters would dare attempt against the Cerveau.

Vaela was speechless for a moment, then she opened her mouth again.

"Why…? You were afraid of you dying because of me?" she asked, her voice carrying a fragility alien to someone at her level.

But Kaden only shook his head.

"I do not fear my death. But I do fear the death of my friends, my loved ones." He turned his head toward her. She was already looking at him.

He gave her a smile.

"That's why I saved you. Not because I love my life so much that the concept of losing it might drive me mad. But because I cannot bear the sight of seeing the ones who make my life colorful swallowed by the dirt."

Vaela's heart skipped a beat. Her body trembled as an intense feeling pierced her chest.

She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it soon after. No sound came out. It was as if her voice had been caged.

She was speechless. Or rather, she had no words to describe what she was feeling at that moment.

Her heart was heavy, but not with agony, fear, or pain as usual.

But with love. An alien feeling she never thought she could experience.

And as they say, when words cannot express feelings…

The body acts on its own.

And so,

Vaela shed tears.

Kaden shook his head, inwardly wondering why all women tended to cry in his presence, then wrapped Vaela in a tight hug.

"You should stop doing this. You make me feel bad, actually." he whispered, a note of humor in his voice.

Vaela softly punched his chest. Kaden exaggerated an "ouch."

It was a jarring sight.

Two beings so different in power acting like this…

It was as eerie as it was stunning.

They passed a couple of minutes in that position, relaxing after the intense events they had just endured.

After that, Kaden finally took the time to look at their surroundings with a more focused mind.

Walking back and forth as quietly as possible, he inspected the room.

In all aspects, it looked like any other office, with a blue-colored desk, chairs, tables, and a mountain of documents stacked at the far end.

Approaching the main seat, Kaden saw one sheet of paper written in delicate, precise handwriting.

Vaela, behind him, was looking at the office with perplexed eyes, as if she knew what it was but couldn't fully recall.

Her mind was blurry.

She frowned.

"Number of children abducted…" Kaden began to read. Vaela's eyes widened as realization dawned.

"The Nest…?" she whispered, looking around, her certainty growing.

Kaden turned his head to her, frowning. "Do you know where we are?" he asked, unease in his tone.

"Yes…" Vaela said, pausing briefly.

A sudden tension swelled between them.

"…we are at The Nest. The place where we raise kidnapped children to be assassins and spies for us."

Kaden's body froze, his eyes wide, unease blooming into full dread.

"W-What?"

—End of Chapter 225—

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.