Chapter 78
The sharp, dizzying groan wasn’t mine.
A split second later, I realized whose voice it was.
“Ah… ahh… what in the world is this…?”
I could barely remain standing.
If there hadn’t been arms wrapping around my trembling body, I would have collapsed straight to the floor.
With great effort, I lifted my stiffened hand and tightly grasped the arm holding me up.
Yet even that grip supporting me felt only half-strong—far from reassuring.
The cruel hands I had always believed would be the ones to destroy me were now shielding me from danger.
“Y–Unis…”
A helplessly shaking voice called my name.
Even though Ethan could barely keep himself upright, he raised a weakened hand and cupped my cheek.
Red liquid flowed down from his arm, tracing along his fingers before touching my face.
Despite its warmth, the chill seeped straight through me.
“…What—what are you doing?”
Ethan had pulled me into his arms.
And he had done so… while taking a direct hit from the magic projectile flying toward me.
“Ethan, why on earth—!”
“I told you… to be careful… ngh.”
Even forming each word looked agonizing, yet Ethan stubbornly forced himself to continue speaking.
Just as I was about to stop him, overcome by pity, another powerful force surged from behind us.
This time, it was a crimson magic sphere.
“E–Ethan! It’s dangerous! Behind you—!”
I tried to break free from his arms to protect him instead.
But Ethan only tightened his hold on me, refusing to let go.
“Stay… still.”
At the very moment the red magic sphere was about to swallow us whole, Ethan raised the hand holding me and forcibly dragged his magic outward.
Paaah—
Thankfully, he acted just in time.
The magic sphere vanished into thin air before reaching us.
“Ugh…”
But perhaps because he’d drawn out too much power at once, Ethan’s body stiffened as he held me.
I knew all too well that it was a desperate act for survival.
“Ethan!”
At last, that truly seemed to be his limit.
Still holding me tightly, Ethan collapsed to the floor.
Pulled down with him, I sank to the ground as well.
“Ethan, please! Why are you being so reckless?! You could’ve been seriously hurt!”
“……”
“We need to treat your wound first—ah!”
I hurriedly reached out to examine him, but before I could, Ethan sharply grabbed my wrist.
“Ethan, what—”
Startled by his sudden movement, I looked up at his face.
But before I could even assess his condition, my body froze.
“…Ethan. No.”
My voice turned desperate.
Dark crimson magic was leaking out of him.
It was the beginning of a rampage.
“Please, please. Ethan, just hold on a little longer. Not here—this can’t happen here. Please.”
I wrapped both hands around the one gripping my wrist and leaned closer to him.
Julius is here. So…
You can’t lose control.
No matter how earnestly I pleaded, Ethan only bit his lip, as if even enduring his own magic was unbearable.
As I watched him, I briefly shifted my gaze.
Contrary to my fear that Julius might find Ethan suspicious, he wasn’t looking our way.
Julius was silently blocking the relentless attacks, buying us a fleeting moment to collapse like this.
Which also meant—we didn’t have time to waste.
I turned back to Ethan at once.
“Ethan, are you okay?”
“……”
“I’m sorry, but we really don’t have time. Julius is holding them back, but he won’t be able to keep it up forever.”
“……”
“Just a little longer. Can you hold on just a little longer? Please, Ethan.”
Despite my desperate wish, Ethan’s red eyes looked as if they might burst at any moment.
An ominous crimson aura seeped slowly from his body, thick with danger.
“Ethan…”
Watching him sway so precariously, anxiety crept into my own chest.
The reason I’d never been afraid when Ethan rampaged before—
—was because I believed he wouldn’t break.
He had always seemed like someone who would never collapse, no matter what.
But now…
Even that certainty began to waver.
Right now, Ethan looked as though he might be swallowed whole by his own magic at any second.
No. I have to stop this.
Even in my fear, stopping his rampage mattered more than anything else.
Without even realizing that Ethan’s magic was creeping onto my body, I clung to him desperately.
“Ethan. Ethan. Please snap out of it. Listen to my voice, okay?”
“…Ngh.”
At least—thankfully—he hadn’t completely lost his reason yet.
If he had…
Your magic looks delicious. I want to devour it.
Just looking at you drives me insane, Unis.
No. No.
I shook my head sharply, forcing away the memory of his dangerous rampage.
What mattered now was stopping Ethan from losing control in front of Julius.
Back then, I blocked his magic with my mana stone… but I can’t do that now.
I glanced briefly at Julius, then immediately looked back at Ethan.
I couldn’t let Julius learn Ethan’s secret.
For now, all I could do was calm him down—at least until we were out of Julius’s sight.
“Ethan, breathe out slowly. Don’t tense up.”
Remembering how he had responded to my voice during the last rampage, I slowly reached out.
“…Ghk. U–Unis.”
“It’s okay. Stay still.”
When I gently cupped his cheek, his body flinched noticeably.
But I didn’t retreat—instead, I stepped closer.
“Calm down. Nothing has happened yet.”
“…Ngh.”
Even while clenching his teeth and barely holding on, Ethan didn’t push me away.
Grateful even for that small sign, I carefully wrapped my arms around him in a full embrace.
“U–Unis!”
He raised his voice for the first time—but I didn’t back down.
The closer I got, the more roughly his intense magic wrapped around my body.
But this much was fine.
What Ethan was enduring right now was far worse.
As if unaware of my resolve, Ethan suddenly grabbed me with strength I didn’t know he still had.
As though he might shove me away at any moment, I hugged him even tighter.
Uncharacteristically hesitant, Ethan couldn’t forcefully push me aside.
“…Move.”
“No. I won’t.”
“Unis, do you even understand what you’re doing right now—!”
“Yes. I do. That’s exactly why I can’t move.”
“……”
After I reached out to him, the magic spilling from Ethan noticeably weakened.
Or rather—it was flowing into me instead.
But there was no time to worry about that now.
“Julius is right here, Ethan. You can’t lose control. Just a little longer. Please.”
“……”
“I’ll stay with you. So please…”
Because I was holding him so tightly, I couldn’t see his face.
Still, judging by how his presence had settled slightly, I assumed he was managing to suppress it.
But then—
When Ethan suddenly grabbed my waist tightly, my body jolted on instinct.
“E–Ethan…?”
Startled, I forgot even to hold onto him properly and instead yielded to his grip.
Slowly, Ethan pushed me back and met my eyes.
His gaze was still dangerously unstable.
“Ethan? Ethan, my voice—”
“I hear it. I hear your voice clearly.”
His voice was low and heavy, as if forcibly pressing down roiling emotions.
As I tilted my head, unable to read his condition, he suddenly let his head drop limply.
“Ethan!”
More precisely, he buried his face into the hollow of my neck.
When his hot breath brushed against such a sensitive spot, my body instinctively tensed.
Startled, I tried to lift him—but he held onto me, stopping my movement.
“I get what you’re trying to do. So take my hand.”
“…What?”
“Take my hand, Unis. If I see you standing next to that bastard, I think I’ll lose even what little reason I have left.”
Each word was spoken carefully, weighted with sincerity.
Only then did I finally let out a breath of relief and tightly grasp his hand.
As if responding to that touch, Ethan lifted his head and looked at me.
His eyes had visibly calmed.
Overwhelmed by emotion, I smiled brightly at him.
He stopped it. Just like he wanted to.
That it made me this happy…
…was probably just because I’d seen how much he’d suffered on his own.
“You did well, Ethan. You really did.”
Only then did I hurriedly check his wound.
His breathing was still rough, but thankfully, it wasn’t serious enough for him to lose consciousness.
As a subtle silence settled between us—
Julius stepped into the space separating us.
