DMHS 25

The startled people turned their eyes toward where it had come from. Then another stone flew from the same direction.

Bang!

No, this time it was not a small stone but a rock. The side of the carriage dented in the shape of the rock.

People hit by the fragments frowned and looked around, ready to voice their complaint against the one who had thrown it.

But Kian had been watching the man even before the stone flew. A face pale like it had been smeared with white ash.

Features with nothing remarkable. And six fingers clutching the stone. The man suddenly raised his voice and shouted.

“That dragon is a fake!!!”

The moment Kian heard the voice, his whole body broke out in goosebumps. On the man’s neck was a magic stone that amplified sound.

His loud voice echoed across the boulevard packed with people.

“A dragon like that cannot protect the kingdom! If the Goddess’s blessing is real, why did unbelievers destroy the holy city! How can she just watch corrupt rulers plunder the poor!”

He shouted with fury.

Pressed down by that enormous force or malice, people held their breath and listened.

“My father was swallowed alive by the dead of Chronos! My mother, driven mad by the fear of death, hanged herself!”

“……”

“……”

“My younger sister was taken by bandits, and my wife died because I could not get the medicine to cure her illness! This world abandoned me! And the Goddess abandoned us!”

“……”

“……”

“The destined ruin is drawing near! The kingdom will lose its sacred holiness and collapse! Corrupted malice will summon the ancient demon… and the world will be filled with chaos!”

“……”

“……”

“We will all burn to death in the flames of hell!!!”

The man, who had finished his grim cry while spitting blood, dragged the magic stone in his hand across his stomach.

Whoosh.

Flames ignited on his body where the stone touched.

The fire spread fast, consuming his whole body. Terrible chaos followed.

“Kyaaaah!”

“Run!”

People nearby struggled to escape the man in flames. The problem was that the boulevard was already packed with so many people there was not space to put down a single foot.

Pushing, shoving, being pushed and being shoved, screams and curses erupted everywhere.

“Stop! I am holding a child!”

“Do you think I want to push? From behind they keep… damn it!”

“Move! Get out of the way!”

“That man was right! We will all be crushed to death like this! The Goddess has abandoned us!”

The knights and mages guarding the parade stepped forward.

“Move slowly! That fire was made by magic, it will not spread elsewhere!”

“Do not push! The person in front will be in danger! Move in order!”

But controlling such a mass of people at once was impossible. To make matters worse, those near Lucien and Kian started climbing onto the carriage to escape the crowd.

The knights guarding Lucien and Kian struck at their hands with sword sheaths, but it was not enough to stop the number of people climbing.

“Save us, Lord Lucien!”

“Please, help us!”

Their voices, filled with grief, were heartbreaking. Kian’s chest tightened each second.

Kian looked around and thought of one solution.

“Let us move the carriage with magic. Since it takes up a large space, if it disappears people will have room to move.”

While Kian spoke quickly, Lucien remained indifferent.

“…Should we?”

Lucien’s green eyes showed no emotion. They were blank, like eyes looking at a vase on a windowsill.

He seemed unable to understand the shock, confusion, and fear people were suffering. Kian suddenly realized something.

‘He is not human.’

Kian, instead of the lukewarm Lucien, gave orders to the knights and mages near the carriage.

“Help the people nearby climb onto the carriage. Once enough have boarded, move the whole carriage to the palace. Even just removing the carriage will ease the pressure.”

“That will put Lord Lucien and his mate in danger.”

“I will protect myself. I will protect Lord Lucien too.”

“But my duty is to protect both of you.”

Kian bit down on his lower lip.

‘This knight bastard will not listen.’

He pushed the knight blocking him and stepped to the end of the carriage.

“Grab my hand and climb up!”

Kian reached down and pulled people up.

“I will take the weak first!”

He pulled up five children, two women, and three old men.

A child, almost crushed under the carriage from the pushing behind, hugged his bruised face with joy.

“Thank you! You saved us, Lord Mate!”

The woman holding a child shed tears.

“Thank you for helping. I thought it was the end just now.”

“You can thank me later. Mage, move the carriage now!”

The mage, his face pale, looked around at the carriage full of people.

“No, I cannot! I cannot move this many people at once!”

Kian spread both arms and pointed at the whole carriage.

“Do not think of moving them one by one! Treat the people and the carriage as one single mass!”

“I-I do not know! I have never moved both people and objects at the same time!”

“What does it matter if you have not done it before! Try it now! I will give you the formula, record it in your head! 2xyz±387fc, 85∝4720xyz, 61≠3927fc, coordinates x164 y784 z842!”

Luckily, the mage was not a fool.

“Here the 61… ah, I see! That will work!”

Kian shook off the people still trying to cling to the carriage.

“The carriage will disappear now. If you stay, the pushing from behind will knock you down. Hold firm, and when the carriage vanishes, run with all your strength. Do not look back, only forward. Do you understand?”

“Activating mana!”

“Please be careful.”

As soon as Kian finished speaking, white light filled the area.

When he closed and opened his eyes, the carriage carrying Kian and the people had been moved to the palace.

The mage traced a holy sign and let out a breath of relief.

“It worked…”

Others, realizing they had escaped the chaos, wept and rejoiced. But Kian, once he confirmed the people were safe, got out of the carriage.

He ran at full speed, stripping away what weighed on him. He threw off the veil covering his face, then shed the long trailing robe.

He discarded the tall hat and the shoes with raised heels one after the other.

“Wait, stop, hey…”

Before the guards could catch him, Kian leapt over the palace wall.

“Was that a person that just passed?”

The left-behind guards stared at each other blankly. Now, stripped of the wedding robe, Kian was only in light underclothes.

He wore no shoes, and his hair was a tangled mess. No one looking at him now could believe he was the same person who had ridden the splendid carriage just before.

The fortunate part was that moving the carriage had been the right move. Once enough space opened to breathe, people slowly regained their composure.

The chaos died down, and they began to move under the guidance of knights and mages.

Kian, reaching the place where people were gathered, helped those who had fallen.

“You are fine. Stand up.”

“Uh, uhuh… uhuhh…”

When Kian stood his ground, the people pushing from both sides lost their force.

His body did not budge, like a solid rock.

“Your leg is broken. I will help you walk, so go straight to a physician.”

“Thank you. Truly, thank you.”

“Father!”

“Yes, yes. I am here. I am safe, thanks to this man.”

After that, Kian moved without rest. He guided the injured and found the parents of children left alone. Only after a long time of busy movement did the situation finally show signs of settling.

The knights and mages who had led the people with him gave their thanks.

“Thank you for your help.”

“Thanks to you, we were able to end the situation quickly.”

Even as they spoke, they seemed unaware that Kian was the dragon’s mate. Kian answered politely and went to the place where the man had set himself on fire. Unfortunately, no trace was left there.

‘The crowd trampled everything and erased it.’

As soon as he confirmed it, the fatigue he had held back flooded in.

“Haaah…”

Kian let out a sigh and sat down on the ground. He pressed his forehead to his knees for a while, then stood up slowly.

Picking up a pair of mismatched shoes left on the ground, he put them on and began walking weakly toward the palace.

Thud, thud.

Kian choosed a deserted path, he crossed a secluded wall and entered the palace. Avoiding the guards was nothing to him. His sharp, honed awareness caught every sign of an approaching person.

Kian soon reached his intended place.

‘Here.’

It was the Moran Palace, where the king’s office was located.