Chapter 13 – The City Crumbles, So Does the Heart

【Fred PoV】

The city burned.

Ash floated through the air like snow.

I watched as the flames consumed the walls, the streets, the homes. The people.

They ran, screamed, begged—but it was all noise. Just background noise.

All that mattered was Sylvia.

Sylvia and me.

Forever.

“Fred… I hate… I love you.”

Her voice trembled. So soft. So fragile.

But I only heard one word.

Love.

She loves me.

She has to love me.

She does love me.

I turned back to the wreckage. My hands trembled, covered in soot and blood, but my heart burned hotter than any flame. This is what love demanded. This is what it meant to protect.

To save her.

To save us.

If I let her go, if I let anyone get in our way… what would be left of me?

Nothing.

Nothing but an empty shell.

So I destroyed.

And I destroyed.

And I destroyed.

It was all for her.

◆

“Fred… I…”

Her voice faltered again.

It shouldn’t falter.

She should be happy.

I looked at her. She was trembling. Her lips quivered, her eyes wide, and her body leaned ever so slightly away from me.

Fear? No… no, that wasn’t fear. That was love. The love that shivers in the presence of something grand and unstoppable.

Tears slid down her cheeks.

She was crying for me.

Tears of love.

Yes. That had to be it.

“Sylvia, don’t cry…”

I reached out, wiping one away with my thumb.

“So beautiful.”

Her body flinched under my touch.

But that didn’t matter.

She was mine.

She belonged to me.

◆

The city crumbled. Stone by stone. House by house.

The sky above us was stained with black smoke, like ink spreading across parchment.

Every time someone ran past, I crushed them.

With debris. With magic. With my bare hands.

Whoever dared come close, whoever looked at Sylvia, whoever even thought of taking her away…

Gone.

Just gone.

Their screams echoed, but they didn’t reach me. Not really. They were distant, like whispers beneath water.

“Sylvia… do you see? Do you see what I do for you?”

She stared at me. Her lips parted. A sound tried to escape.

But it was choked. Stolen.

“Fred… I…”

Her voice shook. Her body shook. Her soul…

It reached for something.

Something far away.

But I wouldn’t let her go.

I couldn’t let her go.

“You love me, right?”

She hesitated.

And then, soft and strangled:

“I… I love you.”

I smiled.

I knew it.

She loves me.

She has to.

I destroyed everything for her.

And she loves me.

◆

The ruins of the city stretched around me. A kingdom of ash and silence.

But it wasn’t enough. Not yet.

There were still survivors. Still those who could take her from me.

I clenched my fists.

No.

Not while I still breathed.

Not while my heart still beat for her.

She cried again. Tears traced down her cheeks, shimmering like broken glass.

“Why are you crying, Sylvia?”

I tilted her chin gently, forcing her to meet my gaze.

“You love me, don’t you?”

She opened her mouth, but the words…

They twisted. Caught.

“Fred… I love… you.”

It was all she could say.

All she needed to say.

Because it was the truth.

It had to be the truth.

And if it wasn’t…

No.

I wouldn’t think about that.

Not now. Not ever.

I kissed her forehead softly, lingering there, breathing in her scent.

“You’ll always be mine,” I whispered.

She trembled. But she didn’t pull away.

Because she loved me.

◆

The ground quaked beneath my feet as more buildings collapsed. Dust clouds rose like smoke signals.

I held her close, my arms wrapping around her trembling body.

She didn’t resist.

She couldn’t resist.

Not anymore.

《Hypnosis Level 3 Unlocked》
《Restrictions on target’s speech have increased》
《Target will now struggle to form negative sentences》

I smiled.

Everything was perfect.

She belonged to me.

Completely.

Forever.

Even if she didn’t know it yet.

Even if she fought it.

She would see.

Soon.

◆

Suddenly, the air shifted.

Boots stomped against cracked cobblestones.

Steel clashed. Voices barked.

The Guild.

Of course, they’d come.

Late, as always.

But here to challenge me.

To try and take her away.

I looked over my shoulder. Smoke blurred the horizon, but there they stood. Armed. Ready.

A pathetic sight.

But dangerous enough.

“Sylvia…” 

I whispered. 

“Stay behind me.”

She didn’t answer.

She just cried.

Tears that I knew were love.

Tears that I chose to believe were love.

Because they had to be.

They had to be.

Or else…

No.

I wouldn’t think about that.

“Fred!”

A voice rang out from the ranks of the Guild.

“This ends now!”

I smiled.

It was only just beginning.