Lucius's ordeal

Lying flat on the bed, naked with her bosom pressed against the soft pillows, Vivienne inquired about the so-called prophecy in her alluring voice.

King Roman however upon hearing her inquiry, contemptuously rolled his eyes towards her. But he could no longer keep his composure the moment he rolled his eyes. 

Those mesmerizing shades of hazel, flecked with hints of gold and green that seemed to dance along with the light, and that seemingly innocent-looking face held a strange allure that could subdue almost anybody, charmed him. 

The woman lying on the bed before him was Vivienne von Lorraine, one of the most beautiful and influential women in the empire. 

"Would it be okay, if I tell you about it in our next meeting?" displaying a sweet smile on his face, King Roman spoke softly. 

Vivienne wasn't a fool. King Roman trying to avoid talking about that particular topic meant it wasn't something that could be discussed. But, even if it could not to discussed right now, it didn't mean that it couldn't be discussed later. 

Indirectly, the king was also hinting that he'd like to meet her again. And the way he answered, made it obvious that he fancied her. 

"Then, I'll look forward to our next meeting," Vivienne giggled. 

Satisfied by her response, King Roman then leaned his body towards her, moving his hand towards her slender waist, trying to caress it. 

"Don't you need to attend to Commander Darius? He sounded quite urgent," Vivienne reminded as she noticed the King's intention.

Upon hearing her reminder, Roman ceased his actions. 

☼☼☼☼ ☼☼☼☼

The more he ran, the noisier it became. And, the rising tremor made it rather impossible to keep running, not to mention the dust cloud that was closing in on him.

Sure enough, a wave of monsters was rushing in his direction. Judging by the speed at which the dust cloud was closing in on him, at most he had only a few minutes before he got swept into that horde of monster running towards his direction.

The situation was getting even more perilous. And, Lucius upon finding himself in such a situation couldn't help but feel dreadful. 

'What should I do?' Lucius thought as his heart started to palpitate upon witnessing the massive dust cloud closing in on him. 

After exhausting himself, he had barely any mana left. And, he didn't even know any kind of flying magic. So, trying to escape using the sky route was impossible for him. 

Even changing his direction won't be of help. And, fighting that horde of monsters was like trying to do the impossible— it was simply suicide.

Right now, no matter how hard he tried to think, he could only see his doom. 

'Am I going to die here?' Lucius thought as he looked behind him, his eyes appearing rather frantic and desperate. 

Finally, when he couldn't see any possible way to save himself, he came to an abrupt halt and turned around to face the horde of monsters heading in towards his way. 

"Fu*k, there's so many routes but why do you fu*kers have to come this way? Today even if I die, I'll still take some of you with me" He cussed loudly, appearing rather furious. 

Driven into a corner, Lucius had been forced into a situation in which he could no longer reason. He had simply lost all sense of reasoning. 

Since every path led to his doom, so why wouldn't he be mad? He had every right to get mad. But who could he get mad at? Fate? Or the invisible being who was toying with him?

Surviving hazardous ordeals one after the other without taking a respite had left him not only physically fatigued but also emotionally exhausted.

Grabbing the dagger that Blake had given him earlier, Lucius then steeled his heart while taking an aggressive stance, determined to fight to the death. After a while, the figures of some monsters became visible. 

And just like him, they appeared quite enraged as well. It wasn't only him who was desperate at the moment, those monsters that were heading towards him were equally desperate if not more. 

As there's a saying, even a rabbit can turn into a ferocious wild beast when driven into a corner. Similar to the saying, those monsters who were fleeing for their life, had become even more ferocious that even Lucius could feel his heart palpitating. 

Those weren't your regular monsters. The surge of mana emanating from them, the bloodlust they were radiating, they were on a completely different level. 

Even at this distance, he could feel his knees going numb from the dense aura of death those horde of monsters were emanating. It wasn't a mere horde of monsters but it was his death rushing towards him. 

Lucius's determined gaze slowly lost its luster and his already pale face started turning as pale as paper with horror. Even his hand which firmly held the hilt of the dagger started to tremble. 

He hadn't experienced fear much in his life. But based on the symptoms, Lucius was sure that it was fear that he was feeling at the moment.

Looking at his trembling hands, Lucius forced a nervous smile on his face, "Ha..ha..., Fu*k, Am I... getting sca..red?"

Having died twice already, he shouldn't be fearing death but yet still he feared death. Both those times, he was lucky enough to resurrect, but who knows if he'll continue being lucky?

What's after death? 

Some proclaim you'll sleep for eternity after dying. Some proclaim you'll reincarnate after dying. While some proclaim you'll go to either hell or heaven, based on the life you have lived. There are many different theories about what happens after death.

But, one would only know about that mystery after dying. 

Lucius however was different. The first time he died, he resurrected thanks to the artifact. And, the second time he died, he reincarnated thanks to the strange ritual he was conducting. 

But what about this time? 

If he died, he would die for real. And the world after death is completely unknown. And what's not known is always scary.