Thank you for reading on ! We provide free access to all our stories, but maintaining this platform requires ongoing costs. To keep the site running and continue offering free content, we display advertisements. You can close the ads anytime, or upgrade to premium membership ($5/month) for an ad-free reading experience while supporting our mission. You can also earn premium for free by completing simple tasks. We truly appreciate your understanding and support!When they reached the dark king, Lissana felt a chill as she saw him holding his priest before him, a sword pressed to the man's throat. With the gates of Hades closed, the dark king was acutely aware of his disadvantage; he knew that if he killed the brothers of his brother and the young women who accompanied them, it would lead to nothing but chaos. He was looking for a human shield, someone who would be considered before he committed murder. Lissana noticed that her priest looked pale and weak, as if he had lost all his strength.When he didn't attack the dark king, a cruel smile spread across the king's face. "I suppose this is a good choice. Let's see if he matters," the dark king taunted. Cira was of no consequence, and Cassiel was certainly willing to sacrifice his life, but he knew Lissana would never agree to sacrifice her priest to end the war. So, Cassiel remained still, unwilling to move. Lissana was silent, completely terrified. Alessandro glanced at Lissana, ignoring the monster behind him.He felt the urgency to convey his final words, to make his daughter understand that despite not having raised her, he loved her deeply and would always want to be her father. "I love you," he said softly. "From the first moment I held you in my arms, Lissana... my little one, I feel I failed you. I wasn't there when you took your first steps. I missed all your birthdays, and I regret not spending more time with you." Tears began to roll down Lissana's cheeks. "Please, don't harm him," she pleaded with the dark king. Those were her only words, spoken in a guttural, trembling voice. "Please.noveldramaLet me go, and I won't regret seeing you again." Lissana was willing to accept any deal if it meant saving her priest's life. She couldn't tear her gaze away from him, who shook his head in denial. "Why aren't you saying anything? Will you let me go, or do you want to see how I cut the throat of your precious priest before we continue the battle? I am most likely to win." Cassiel replied, "If you know you're going to win, why not fight against us?" "Because I don't like giving anything away." "Damn liar! You've trapped yourself with this hostage," Lissana shot back, her fear mounting.In that moment, she felt like a defenseless girl who needed her priest to save her, but it seemed her mother had not realized that her priest was trapped and lacked the strength to fight. Useless. Lissana possessed great power, but she had always been told that, had always believed it. Yet now, with her father's life in danger, all that power felt meaningless. Cassiel took a step forward, and the dark king tightened his grip on the sword, drawing a small line of blood. Seeing the blood flow from her priest, Lissana begged, her voice barely audible, "Don't do it!Don't kill my priest!" A cruel smile spread across the dark king's face. They weren't attacking, not because the man was a priest of one of his adversaries, but because he was the one who had caused the most trouble in battle. It didn't matter how many times he had been heroic; she used her magic to heal them. But at that moment, she seemed to have lost her will to fight. She was just a little girl who feared for her priest's life. "Cassiel, tell me which priest has promised you victory today. I don't believe it; luck is on my side," the dark king sneered.Cassiel wanted to wipe the smile off the dark king's face with a fist. His gaze met Alessandro's, and that was the question. "Remember what you told the guardians? That they would never die. Was that true?" Cassiel understood what Alessandro meant, even though the dark king could have killed him in that moment. If he restored his body quickly, he could return his soul. "Yes." Alessandro looked at Lissana and said, "Don't cry, my girl. This is not the end." After saying those words, Alessandro moved violently, cutting his own throat, blood spilling forth in torrents.Lissana didn't understand what had happened. Her father had cut his throat, and the light in his eyes faded. When the dark king saw that he was dead, he released the body. Cassiel seized the opportunity to attack and shouted at Lissana. "Heal your priest!" Lissana felt frozen, paralyzed as she approached her priest's lifeless body. She didn't understand what Cassiel wanted her to do, but he shook her until she reacted. "This is no time to freeze! Go and heal your priest!" Lissana sprang into action, running like a gazelle to where her priest lay, drenched in blood.She used her power to close the wound, but while she healed his body, she couldn't bring him back to life. She cradled the bloody body of her priest as Cira and Cassiel faced off against the dark king. Lissana let out an ear-piercing scream, releasing all the pain she felt at that moment. She begged for him to return, for him not to leave her alone, for him to know that she needed him, that it had to end... but her priest's body remained inert, still warm, yet lifeless. She caressed his empty face, her fingers brushing against his still-open eyes. With delicate care, she sealed his eyes shut.Leaning down, she placed a kiss on his blood-soaked forehead. When she raised her head, she locked eyes with the dark king, and at that moment, she vowed he would pay for what he had done.