“…Zachary!”

I thought Zachary would surely pursue us after leaving the room in that state, but he was much faster than expected.

Erhan groaned as Zachary gripped his head. I froze, unable to move a muscle.

My whole body trembled at the murderous aura emanating from Zachary. It was difficult even to look at him.

His eyes, glowing with a beastly light, slowly scanned the surroundings.

When his gaze reached me, I thought Zachary would come straight for me.

But somehow Erhan had done something, and despite being right in front of him, Zachary couldn’t perceive me.

Zachary asked coldly:

“Where is he?”

“Kugh. What… are you? I don’t… know what… you mean.”

Erhan looked to be in extreme pain. He was barely hanging on, but seemed to be at his limit already.

‘I need to help…’

I tried to leave my hiding place. But I couldn’t. A small paper doll, which had been placed there at some point, whispered in my ear:

“Don’t come. You’ll get in the way.”

Erhan’s words were an undeniable truth.

Even if I revealed myself, I didn’t think I could stop Zachary. I decided to observe the situation while staying hidden for now.

‘Something’s off.’

Zachary’s breathing was unstable.

Looking closely, a blue light swirled around his body. Holy power gathered and dispersed repeatedly in his dark blue eyes. It was a precursor to madness.

‘No way… here?’

A terrible thought flashed through my mind. As cold sweat ran down my spine, Erhan smirked and provoked Zachary:

“Looking for my person?”

Even with his lips burst and bloodied, Erhan spoke with a bright smile. Instantly, Zachary’s eyes changed.

“Your person?”

Then, a huge sound like something exploding came from around him.

Blue afterimages were embroidered in the air. The afterimages, glowing so blue it hurt to look at, spread like fire.

The flickering light enveloped Erhan and Zachary.

‘I feel like I’m going to vomit.’

I clenched my fists, my face turning pale.

Even though I was far away, Zachary’s holy power was so intense I felt like I might cough up blood at any moment.

‘Erhan…’

I sighed.

Erhan, being closer, was receiving an even stronger shock from the holy power than I was. He could only convulse and choke, unable to speak. Looking down at Erhan like this, Zachary spoke as if grinding his teeth:

“You should have been prepared when you started this.”

“Kugh…”

“You stole what’s mine and set fire to my land.”

As Zachary narrowed his eyes, the holy power swirling around him spread out.

“Shouldn’t I return the favor?”

The surroundings began to burn as if being swept up, centering on Zachary.

All life on the ground is engulfed by blue embers. As the holy power like flames burned everything and headed towards me, I couldn’t take my eyes off Zachary.

Zachary was smiling as he watched Erhan suffering. His eyes, having already lost all reason, were closer to those of a beast driven by instinct. The blue holy power that had occasionally flickered at the corners of his eyes now enveloped his entire body. It was a terribly beautiful sight, but I knew what it meant.

‘A rampage.’

This was undoubtedly a rampage caused by madness. If left like this, Zachary would kill Erhan and burn down the entire kingdom.

Innocent people would lose their lives, and Zachary…

‘He’ll lose himself.’

Zachary would no longer be Zachary. As in the original story, he would become a cruel murderer that no one could stop. Suffering from madness like divine punishment, he would walk the path of self-destruction.

‘That can’t happen.’

Erhan told me to stay put, but I couldn’t just watch anymore.

I let go of the cloth Erhan had told me to hold tightly. The moment I released it, Zachary’s head, which had been glaring at Erhan, turned straight towards me. It was an immediate reaction, as if he had been called.

Our gazes locked with his dark blue eyes that had lost all reason. It was a brief moment, but it felt like an eternity, as if time had stopped between us.

At the edge of my gaze fixed on Zachary, I caught sight of Erhan. Erhan, who had been struggling to escape from Zachary, saw me.

Erhan’s condition was critical. He looked like he could stop breathing at any moment.

“Erhan…”

Just as I unknowingly uttered Erhan’s name.

“Ugh-!”

Suddenly, Zachary gripped Erhan even tighter. An intensely blue light flashed. It was on a different level from before.

As holy power gushed out, far stronger and denser than anything up to now, Erhan immediately coughed up blood. Fresh blood flowed from the corners of his mouth. The light in Erhan’s eyes was gradually fading. His body, having reached its limit, seemed unable to withstand the holy power and about to lose consciousness.

I couldn’t let Zachary kill Erhan. Erhan’s death would be the start of an unavoidable massacre. Zachary might cross a river he could never return from.

“Zachary, please!”

I immediately sprang up and ran towards them. But Zachary seemed no longer able to hear my voice, only curling up the corners of his mouth as he looked at Erhan. Though I got chills from his smile tainted with madness, I ran through the flames and clung to his arm.

Zachary still didn’t seem to hear my voice at all. He pushed me away immediately. In an instant, I was thrown back by his strength. I tried to approach again in a fluster, but I tripped and fell.

“Kugh…”

My palms touched the ground flickering with blue flames. I writhed in agony from a pain I had never experienced before.

‘Erhan!’

At the edge of my vision, I saw Erhan collapsing. This can’t happen. At this rate, Erhan will really die.

I approached Zachary again, pushing through the flames of holy power. Zachary infused even stronger holy power towards Erhan. He seemed intent on killing him completely.

Erhan could no longer even resist. Seeing him with his eyes closed like a corpse, I immediately knelt on the ground and begged.

“It’s my fault, I did wrong… please…!”

My knees and legs felt like they were burning up. My feet, already engulfed in flames multiple times, felt like they were splitting apart in pain.

But I begged and begged again. I pleaded that this shouldn’t happen, clasping my hands together and then clinging to his legs.

“My brother did nothing wrong. It’s all my…”

How can I stop this rampage?

He can’t even hear me properly. If this continues, not only Erhan but the entire area will be devastated.

‘I don’t know how to stop a rampage.’

I’m not even the female protagonist.

The situation worsened. Blue flames rose from Zachary’s hand. I turned pale instantly. The moment that touches Erhan, he will surely…

‘No.’

There was no time to think properly. When I came to my senses, I had already blocked Erhan.

I closed my eyes tightly and waited for the pain to come. It might even be death approaching.

‘It will be painful, won’t it?’

It will be extremely painful. Since this is holy fire that can’t be extinguished with water, it won’t stop until it burns all my flesh.

I imagined myself trembling and being burned alive.

“…”

But even as time passed, the pain I had prepared for didn’t come. When I cautiously opened my eyes, a strange light passed through Zachary’s eyes, which had been lost to reason and consumed by madness.

He looked at me as if he couldn’t believe I was here. Madness… I suddenly became afraid of that punishment anew. He had been looking for me from Erhan, but consumed by the urge to kill, he couldn’t even recognize my existence.

Zachary, who had turned pale, suddenly grabbed my wrist.

The traces that had been flickering like light on water around his eyes until just now were gone. The same was true for the embers that had been burning this entire area. Everything was just blackened, as if to show that the flames of holy power had burned everything.

Zachary threw Erhan, whom he had been holding with one hand, to the ground.

As soon as he hit the ground, Erhan took a small breath. He must have sustained serious injuries, but fortunately, it seemed he had survived.

However, I couldn’t keep looking at Erhan. Zachary immediately grabbed my shoulders with both hands. He frantically scanned my body with his gaze. Just like he used to always check on my well-being. Finally, holding my wrist, he muttered in a low voice:

“I almost… killed you with my own hands.”

My hand, which had touched the ground when I fell, was completely blistered. It was bright red and swollen from burns, and the exposed flesh on my knees and feet where my shoes had melted was already oozing.

“If it had touched you even a little more…!”

If he had regained his senses even a second later, I would have been gone forever.

Unable to finish his sentence, Zachary took a deep breath, and after a brief silence, he breathed roughly.

“Is that person so precious to you?”

He spoke to me as if grinding his teeth.

“Enough to give your life?”

His angry eyes stared at me as if they would pierce through me.