“Wow,” Ignis murmured in admiration from behind. “Hey, did you see that?”
“…”
“I caught a bullet.”
“…”
“But it hurts like hell. It went right through my palm.”
Dana was thrilled. Even if his head was empty, his body remembered! Then-!
“You start shooting without a second thought.”
That’s when they heard the shaman laugh.
“Not very saintess-like of you.”
With lightning-fast movements, the shaman scattered something into the air. A sweet scent brushed past her nose. As she realized what was happening, a pink mist wafted into her peripheral vision.
“Lady Danae.”
What is this? She tried to act again, but strangely, strength drained from her body in an instant. She couldn’t move. Her head became foggy, her body lethargic.
This is. Dana barely managed to think. Barbarian sorcery. And now, she was being consumed by that sorcery.
The pink gas that had entered through her nose unobstructedly pierced through her, climbing upward and eventually enveloping her brain.
“Yeon Dana.”
Suddenly, strange illusions began to flicker before her eyes, independent of her will.
“Yeon Dana. Would it hurt to fall from a high place?”
It was a terrible memory from when she was Yeon Dana.
Dana recognized it instantly. This sorcery was showing memories buried in her subconscious. And this sorcery wasn’t aimed at her. It was meant for Ignis- to revive his memories. If he regained his memories, he wouldn’t try to protect her.
Raios, you cunning b*stard.
Indeed, Raios found the perfect method. But he wouldn’t know that she could break such petty sorcery.
Dana closed her eyes tightly, concentrating.
“It would hurt terribly. Or perhaps you wouldn’t feel a thing and just die. Right, Yeon Dana?”
No, don’t listen.
“Your family just wishes for you to become a corpse. The inheritance grandfather left is too much for you to monopolize, isn’t it?”
This isn’t real; it’s just old memories.
“So, goodbye. I’ll say farewell on behalf of the family.”
The cruel hand pushed her down. At that moment, she felt the terrible sensation of falling endlessly. The sensation of all her organs moving upwards, the vertigo, was so vivid she felt like she could die at any moment. Panting heavily, she found heights terrifying. Because she had fallen before, she knew fear. However,
This is just a memory. Since she knew that, there was no problem.
Dana bit her lip hard and opened her eyes. The hot power boiling up from her heart exploded like lava. Scorching through, it swiftly swept away the sensations that had dominated her. Sweeping and sweeping, until… It blew them to ashes.
The surroundings cleared. Nothing else could be heard or seen. The voices that echoed in her ears, the old memories, all of them gone. She had succeeded in purifying the sorcery again.
Dana breathed shallowly, assessing the situation. Currently, she was sprawled on the carriage floor, leaning her cheek against it. And,
The gun? It was still clutched in her grip. Like it was her lifeline she was obsessed with.
“Well, that was easier than expected.”
Unaware that the sorcery had dissipated, the shaman’s voice, tinged with laughter, was heard.
“Shall we go, then?”
Completely off guard, he reached out to her. Dana didn’t resist, eyes shut. The moment his grip tightened on her shoulder, Dana thrust her hand forward, which held the gun.
“Huh?”
And fired. Bang!
“Keugh!”
A short scream followed. As the grip on her loosened, Dana opened her eyes. The shaman was clutching his bleeding stomach.
“You!”
Dana fired again without hesitation. Bang! This time, the bullet hit the chest, and he collapsed. The shaman fell to the ground, twitched a few times, then stopped moving.
Was he dead? Probably. But there was no time to check. Because she needed to check Ignis first.
“Lord Ignis!”
If he regained his memory, she would be in trouble. Ignis would undoubtedly try to kill her if he regained all his memories.
Dana grabbed Ignis, who was lying on the carriage floor, and shook his shoulder. At that moment, she gasped. His whole body was drenched in sweat. In that short moment, he was soaked in cold sweat.
What scene was he seeing? Ignis’s face was filled with pain.
“Come to your senses, Lord Ignis.”
Dana placed her hand over his chest, summoning the power of purification.
“Lord Ignis.”
Don’t remember anything.
“Wake up.”
She implored, pouring her energy into him.
“Please…”
Please don’t remember anything. You must never remember that I shot you in the head…
* * *
Ignis gasped for air and barely managed to think.
My head hurts.
It was like he had been shot. The feeling was like it was about to split him open. Or maybe it already had. It felt like his brain had burst, especially around his temples. It hurt so much, damn it…
“Hey, you red dog!”
Then, he heard a harsh voice in his ears. Horrible scenes unfolded before his eyes.
“Red dog! It’s your turn!”
Curled up in prison, he was grabbed by brutish hands.
“Be the best fighting dog again today!”
Fighting dog? Ignis chewed on that word, eventually remembering.
Ah, yes. He was a fighting dog. Not even a human. But a gladiator boy in an illegal combat ring. His nickname was the red dog.
“Win! Red dog! Win!”
“Woooow!”
The circular colosseum arena was Ignis’s entire world. There, he fought life-threatening battles every day.
Today’s opponent was an adult male. Though twice his size, Ignis was relieved he was just a normal human. Sometimes, his opponents were wild wolves. Sometimes, bizarre monsters created by barbarian shamans for forbidden experiments. And sometimes, very famous mercenaries. But Ignis always won.
Memories of countless victories passed by. Since he was brought here at the age of 7, after becoming an orphan. At 8, at 9, and even at 10, he was always winning.
“Kill him! Woooow!”
“Woooow!”
Among the cheers of those who had bet on him, Ignis gasped for breath. Now he was 12. Just a moment ago, he had killed a boy of his age, holding the boy’s heart in his hand.
Suddenly, he felt like vomiting. What is this memory? Could it be his lost memory?
Damn. I knew this would happen.
When Danae—that woman told him he was originally a nobleman’s son, it sounded strangely wrong.
Yeah, I knew it wasn’t true.
Memories of his early years began to revive one by one. But they were all the same scenes.
At 11 years old, he killed someone and was injured to the point of death.
At 12 years old, he was covered in blood and bleeding.
And at 13… He tore someone’s flesh, got his flesh torn, broke someone’s bones, and got his bones broken. It was all a sequence of such scenes.
Damn, it’s painful. When does it end? Just kill me. He almost truly died this time.
At the age of 13, on one particular day, his opponent was a starving bear, and he wasn’t given any weapons. He managed to kill it with his bare hands, but not without getting his belly ripped open. Proper treatment was, of course, out of the question.
Ignis, locked up in his room—a cage barely the size of his, barred—clutched his belly and gasped for air. The pain was too much. The vivid memory even brought the pain to life. He wanted to die. Right, just kill him already.
Being alive meant he was doomed to this fate for life. The slave brand engraved on his tongue by sorcery, ensuring absolute obedience to his master, confirmed it.
“Red dog! Time for the next fight! Get moving!”
Excuse me, my belly’s been ripped open. Could you let me rest?
“Stop whining. Get up already!”
Kicked and beaten by the man, Ignis eventually broke down crying. He was tired of fighting.
“Get up, red dog! Act like a dog and obey commands!”
Just kill me, please.
He was on the verge of dying, his guts nearly spilling out, and yet he was told to fight again…
“What’s this? Are you really dead?”
Thunk, thunk! The man kicked his back, questioning. Ignis was still alive, but at this rate, he’d surely die.
It was at that moment,
“Stop, Net! That’s enough!”
Someone stopped the man from assaulting him.
“Someone comes to buy the red dog!”
“What? Who is it?”
Well, it’s… no ordinary person! Come on, get out. Hurry!”
The footsteps receded. Ignis lay there, vomiting blood, curling up.
Would his master change again? It happened often.
Just kill me…
He blankly blinked. The dirty stone floor was entirely red. All his blood.
At that moment, Ignis sensed his fate. Someday, he would die in a pool of his own blood. The day he lost a fight for the first time…
“Lord Ignis!”
Then, his vision began to clear. Something white seeped in. Like fragments of starlight flowing down, the crimson pool of his blood cleared. And then, once more, a voice pierced into his ears.
“Snap out of it”!
It was a clear, ringing voice.
“Lord Ignis!”
A voice poured down like radiant sunlight.
Was it just an illusion? No, it wasn’t. It was no illusion. That voice was truly light. A soft beam descended upon the blood-soaked red earth. Warm and tender, it gently brightened his vision…
Then, in an instant, it exploded into a blinding white. The red blood, the filthy stone floor, the chains—All were swept away in a storm of pure white light, scattering like dust, vanishing. The dizzying burst of that light was so dazzling that Ignis closed his eyes.
“Are you awake?”
He slowly opened his eyes.
“…”
Feathers of snowy-white wings… No, it was snow-white hair. And there was the face of a woman shining brighter than any light.
“Are you alright?”
Ignis blinked. With a soft patter, something fell from his eyes. Then the woman—Danae Windsor—let out a quiet sigh and gently wiped his face with her hand.
“It’s alright.”
Like comforting a child, she smiled softly, receiving each tear that rolled down one by one.
“It was all just a nightmare.”
“…”
“You simply had a bad dream. It’s alright now, Lord Ignis.”
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His life was so sad and twisted! What a horrible background! I know it doesn’t excuse Ignis’s bad actions as an adult and toward Danae, but it makes so much more sense now… he was always exploited and surrounded by the worst of the world, how could he turn out remotely sane and nice?! I’m heartbroken 😭 In a way, he’s in a worse situation than Yeon Dana/Danae. She has hope of scaping hell, but no one will let him.