Huh?
Exusiai didn't even have time to process what she'd just heard—until Texas yanked her and vaulted them both backward, the gusting wind slicing across her cheeks. Only then did Exusiai finally snap out of it.
She stared at the tall figure standing where she'd been a moment ago, back turned toward her. Her heart lurched hard.
So Chen Mo… had he always known about all those sneaky, shameful things she did in secret—he just never called her out, to spare her pride as a woman?
"Exusiai. Don't zone out."
Texas's cold voice dragged her back from the edge of panic. Exusiai scrambled upright, face pale with lingering fear, words tumbling over each other.
"What do I do, what do I do—Texas, what if Chen Mo thinks I'm a pervert? What if he won't even let me get close to him anymore?!"
"…If you were so worried he'd hate you, you shouldn't have been sending those obscene messages in the first place."
Texas sighed once, restrained and sharp. "And if that man actually cared about any of that, he wouldn't have come with me to save you."
"Stop being stupid. Get ready to cover me, Exusiai."
As she spoke, Texas fixed her eyes on the two red dragons facing each other. The light sword in her grip thrummed with a rising hum.
Exusiai swallowed the chaos in her chest for now—yet her gaze kept drifting to Chen Mo, terrified she'd catch even the slightest hint of disgust on his face.
…
After Texas had hauled Exusiai out of the center, Chen Mo finally relaxed. He turned back toward his sister—who looked utterly done with him—and wagged his tail with bright, infuriating cheer.
"Didn't expect me to show up, huh, Sis? Slipping away without a word isn't exactly your style. And you're really going to test Exusiai with brute force? That's so outdated it's painful."
He laughed, shameless. "You're adorable, Sis."
"Chen Mo…"
Talulah pressed her fingers to her brow, head pounding. With so many curious eyes around them, she could no longer maintain her earlier, ironclad aura. Her shoulders sagged as she spoke through clenched patience.
"Move aside, Chen Mo. Exusiai hasn't shown the resolve she should."
"Resolve? No, absolutely not." Chen Mo waved it off immediately. "Keep this up and you'll turn into that cannon-fodder villain in those cheesy CEO dramas—the one who exists solely to humiliate the protagonist."
What was this child even talking about?
Talulah couldn't make herself raise a blade against her brother. Instead, she lifted her voice behind him.
"Mr. Patriot. FrostNova. Please stop my brother."
Boom!
A massive halberd came flying in from afar, carrying a thunderous force, and slammed into the ground directly in front of Chen Mo.
The impact carved out a crater.
Chen Mo stared at the pit, then at the creeping rime spreading across the ground. He scratched one of his horns and looked up at the two now standing before him, completely baffled.
"You're actually going to follow an order that ridiculous? I helped you people before, you know."
FrostNova shrugged. "If this were private, I wouldn't even bother obeying that brain-dead instruction."
Then she tilted her chin toward the surroundings.
Chen Mo finally looked.
There were Reunion members everywhere—Wraith, Faust, and others watching from a distance. Many were pointing at him, whispering in low voices.
No one dared come too close.
After all, the nightmare of half of Chernobog being reduced to ash had burned itself into everyone's memory.
Chen Mo's face fell. Arguing with FrostNova was pointless, so he turned toward Patriot—the towering man beside her.
"Mr. Patriot—Old Dad. We fought together. You're really going to block me?"
Patriot's response was the heavy, metallic scream of steel as he drew his weapon, followed by that rasping, broken cadence.
"This is… an order. We cannot… refuse."
"…Forgive me, child."
Right. Patriot was stubborn to the core. If Talulah couldn't bend him, Chen Mo certainly wouldn't.
Chen Mo's tail drooped behind him. He glanced down at his empty waist and sighed.
"Fine. If I'm here, she probably won't actually go all the way and roast Exusiai."
…
"W-Whoa! That was close! Is this how you treat your future sister-in-law in broad daylight?!"
The moment Exusiai blurted it out, even fiercer heat surged forward, forcing her into a frantic retreat.
"Stop provoking her, Exusiai."
Texas's voice was tight now. Sweat ran down her face as she swung her light sword, barely catching Talulah's slash. The sheer, mountain-crushing force made every muscle in her body scream.
Talulah loomed over her, expression cold and merciless. Texas knew she couldn't win this head-on.
She kicked off the ground and flashed back to Exusiai's side.
Breathing hard, hair plastered to her cheek, Texas spoke low and fast without taking her eyes off Talulah.
"In a moment, I'll draw her attention. You go all-out, close the distance, and press your gun to her waist."
"This is your fight, Exusiai. The finishing strike has to be yours."
With that, Texas turned her back to Exusiai and pointed the light sword forward again, lowering her stance—ready to launch.
In the next instant, the gray wolf became a streak of shadow, charging straight into the wall of fire.
Clang!
Steel met light—sparks erupted.
Talulah's black blade and Texas's radiant sword collided again and again, the sound ringing like an iron forge hammering the world.
Even Talulah's attention shifted. For the first time, she studied Texas seriously—the Lupo who dared raise her blade against a red dragon for a friend.
Loyal. Composed. Steady. Capable.
If the one pursuing Chen Mo had been Texas, perhaps Talulah wouldn't have resisted so fiercely.
But then another image stabbed into her mind—
Those sharp canine teeth sinking into Chen Mo's neck.
Talulah's mood sank like a stone.
No. She still couldn't accept any woman getting intimate with her brother.
"In your head again, my future sister-in-law?!"
A scorching gun barrel slammed against Talulah's back.
Exusiai—hair a wreck, face blackened with soot like she'd crawled out of a furnace—couldn't contain the thrill in her voice.
"You wanted to see my resolve? Fine! I'll show you!"
Talulah kept forcing her hand. So Exusiai decided to stop holding back.
And since Chen Mo already knew what she was thinking, there was no point pretending anymore.
"That's right! Exactly what you're thinking!"
"I'm marrying your brother, no matter what!"
"Your brother is going to get married sooner or later! He can't live under your wing forever and never touch women!"
"You flaunt your possessiveness and keep sheltering him like this—this isn't helping him, it's hurting him!"
Exusiai exhaled hard.
Saying it out loud felt perversely liberating.
Talulah's expression darkened by the second—but Exusiai didn't care. She squeezed the words she'd swallowed for far too long out of her chest and then slammed the trigger.
"Love and lust can coexist!"
"You deranged brothercon—accept that, and hand Chen Mo over to me already!"
Bang!
The crisp report of gunfire snapped through the air.
And the entire area fell into a dead, suffocating silence.
....
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