Seraphina couldn't contain herself from embracing Demian in her arms. She took his lifeless body in her lap and clutched herself on him. His face was covered fully in small dark scales and the curse had devoured him in its duvet. He looked barely conscious. He wasn't even blinking. His scales were hot as if he had been boiled in a boiler. Her heart thumped loudly and her hands shook as he wasn't replying.

"Demian, please answer me," she sniffed.

There was no answer from his side and her heart was breaking into pieces. She felt a pain in her chest and her heart kept telling her, he was fine but her mind said, he wasn't.

She begged him as she cried, "Please Demian, please be alive. Don't leave me."

She recalled Zenith saying that if Demian killed a human girl, he could be saved. Maybe he needed to drink her blood? That was the reason she was here from the beginning, wasn't she? She was a wizard but her powers weren't with her anymore so that made her just like a human girl.

"Demian, kill me if you must and drink my blood, maybe that can save you from the curse." She didn't want anything more than Demian being alive and safe. Even if it meant she had to die for him.

She could not understand at first why she felt pain whenever Demian was in pain, or why she felt like dying inside but now she understood. She understood it very well.

"Please wake up. Please, just kill me and drink my blood. What will I do if you aren't here with me?" She begged and begged and begged but Demian's body didn't move. His heartbeat was very slow and it made her more scared.

"Demian!" She sniffed more as she embraced him tightly and put her head on his shoulder. "Please come back to me. I love you."

"You should have said that from the start," a weak reply came from Demian as Seraphina jolted up and looked at him with surprised eyes. "Also, drinking your blood will make me stupid like you. I'd rather not."

"You... Were you acting dead just to make me tell you this?" She wanted to get angry at him but she couldn't because her heart felt calm and her tears won't stop running.

"I wish I would." He said weakly as they both looked into each other's eyes for a moment. They wanted the time to stop now and wished if it lasted long.

"Where am I?" Demian asked.

"A dark guild had abducted you and I came to save you. You are here in their hideout. We need to go back fast." Seraphina recalled Reginald was injured, "Reginald is injured so we don't have much time."

"Seraphina..." He called her name and it sent tingles in her belly, "I want to touch you, I want to feel you but my body won't move."

Seraphina's brows furrowed with worry as she asked, "What do you mean?"

"I can't feel my body anymore."

"Th-then I will carry you."

"You can't." He gave her a weak smile and added, "Just go."

For a moment, Seraphina was silent then she said stubbornly, "I won't go without you."

"Don't make me repeat myself," Demian tried to show his angered voice but he failed as his voice was becoming weak.

"No. I won't go without you. You hear me?" Seraphina angrily said to him as she tried to stand up taking him with herself but she could not even move him.

"Why can't I move you?" She asked, feeling panicked as she tried again. But she felt she had no power to move him. What happened to her? Did she lose her strength now?

"You can't carry me..." Demian said, "They are powerful. Go back to Reginald."

"I will carry you like a princess, you wait and watch!" She felt raged as she tried once again but she could not.

"You can't, Seraphina. Just go back!" He got angry but he had no power to show his anger as he stayed unmoving and Seraphina could not understand why.

"I won't go without you. If you die here, so do I!" She said which irked Demian but before he could say anything a voice came, "Then we shall grant that wish of yours, little flame queen."

Both Seraphina and Demian followed the voice and saw a man standing by the door in a white robe. His face was hidden in the hood and beside him stood three of his companions in dark clothes. The man had an insane power sipping out of him that made Seraphina stiffened for a moment. It was almost the same as her father. No doubt he was a King tier.

He slowly revealed himself as he took off his hood and there was one hell of a scar on his face. It was as if someone threw hot oil at his face. His eyelids and nose were missing, only the eyeballs were moving in the sockets. He had graying hair on his head but most of the places it was empty and with his evil aura that surrounded him, he looked terrifying enough to have nightmares.

Seraphina took her sword immediately with her shaky hands and shielding Demian, she stood before them even if it felt like she would get killed. The other men seemed equally dangerous as if they were the reincarnation of pure evil and she felt surrounded by hungry wolves.

"Looks like she came here to take that pretty boy out of here." One of them noted.

"But she can't because his bottom part had transformed into a dragon already." Another one said as Seraphina looked back at Demian and tried to see his legs.

It was dark inside that was why she could not notice it before but now when the dark guild wizards came, they had opened the door wide enough for the light to play in the room. Now she could see clearly that his legs had transformed as of dragon's legs although he wasn't fully transformed yet, the dark scales glowed at the light.

"If we don't kill him now, he could become a dragon and kill us all." Another one said which made Seraphina sneer at them as she gripped her sword tightly. No matter how intimidating they were, she had to save Demian.

"I won't let you get close to him." She pointed the sword at them but they laughed when the man with white robe said, "And how will you do that when you don't even have your powers with you, Flame Queen?"

How did they know that? Seraphina thought. Seraphina narrowed down her eyes at them as all of them gave evil grins.

"Uraha and Deniz, your traps in the ruins didn't went well since Flame queen never went there but I am glad we didn't have to go there again to capture the flame queen this time." The missing eyelids person said.

"Boss, those traps were never meant for her and you knew they wouldn't fall for that, didn't you?" Uraha said.

"So you are the guild master?" Seraphina asked the white robbed person as he smiled a sinister smile which didn't feel right. Seraphina was outnumbered and she could feel they weren't easy to defeat.

"Yes, I am the guild master of this guild. My name is Zekalis." He answered.

"What business do you have with me?" Seraphina asked, "Why did you capture Demian?"

"Well, well, well... Seraphina Flameheart, daughter of Jord Flameheart, bearer of the blue fire," Zekalis said as he washed his eyes on her. He intertwined his palms together as he said, "To be honest, I don't have any business with that dragon or with any of them."

"Then why did you capture him?" Seraphina asked.

"To lure you out."

Seraphina was confused. Why did he have to lure her out? What had anything to do with Demian? Was he captured because of her? She felt goosebumps on her skin as she realized, they only wanted her and did all of this blunder just to lure her out here. Her friends were getting injured because of her. Demian was involved because of her and Billard and Master Valentine got into this all because of her. It was her fault that they were suffering.

"Why?" Her eyes got darkened as she felt responsible for all of this. She never wanted any harm for any of her friends yet whenever she was, trouble seemed to find her. First, her guild mates and her father, Merlene and now, The Salamanders, Reginald, Sakina, Xia and Demian.

Her lips quivered and her hands shook and suddenly the sword felt heavy as if she lost every will and courage to fight.

Why? Why did everyone have to suffer because of her whenever she went?

"Because you are a unique tier and they want your power." Demian said from behind her.

Zekalis laughed and clapped as he said, "The Young Prince of the Salamanders seems sharp. No wonder I was having a hard time getting my hands on you."

Seraphina didn't look at Demian and she asked, "Demian, how did you know this?"

"I knew from the beginning that you weren't the human princess." Demian said as he stayed on the ground looking at the dark ceiling, "I knew you had powers and you were the infamous Flame Queen."

"Then... Then why didn't you execute me if you had known this?"

Demian scoffed, "How could I?" and a weak smile appeared on his face, "When you were never a threat to me or my family. You were surrounded by dragons. Even if you wanted to fight, you had no powers. You were helpless and scared. Even though you wanted to pretend as a normal human girl, you failed miserably."

Seraphina was stunned and her face heated as he added, "Your rowdy behavior never left you and it was fun to watch it."

"Y-you should have at least told me..." Seraphina added weakly and she bit her bottom lip.

"You are the one who should have told me." Demian demanded.

"How would I?" Seraphina looked back at him and pouted, "Who in their sane mind would go to their enemy and say, 'Hello, I am a wizard living in disguise in your house. Please don't kill me.'"

"That's why I played along. I played along with both you and Master Valentine."

A gap formed in Seraphina's mouth, "Y-you knew this too?"

"I had a hunch. Nothing can go out looked by that old hag. How could he not see a wizard living in our castle?" Demian closed his eyes as if he was tired, "The only possible explanation is he must have hired you for his work."

"Err..." Seraphina scratched the back of her neck.

"The only work you can do while pretending as a human princess was to save me from my enemies." Demian opened his eyes and looked at her as she moved her eyes everywhere but him.

"But I didn't say anything to Master Valentine," Demian again looked at the ceiling, "because soon I fell for you."

Seraphina looked at him with wide eyes as her ears burnt but she couldn't say anything.

"My, my, is this a love reunion we are seeing?" Zekalis mocked, "My eyes are tearing up."

Seraphina turned back at them and said, "What can chicken eyes do other than being teared up?"

At that Zekalis irked and said while giving an evil grin, "You want to witness what can chicken eyes do?"

"No, thank you. I am not interested." Seraphina said lazily as she gripped her sword and pointed at them, "Because I'm going to beat those chicken eyes of yours."

Demian smirked and said, "That's my girl."