Chapter 97: Dungeons Have Two Entrances ?
Still breathless, his body trembling from the intensity of the kiss, Mordred slowly backed away, as if a veil had been ripped from his dulled senses. The imprint of Elystria’s lips still burned on his when his fragmented consciousness began piecing itself back together—painfully, like shards of a shattered mirror.
He froze. His pupils, glowing with a deep orange hue like embers beneath ash, contracted as his gaze locked onto Elystria—the dragon princess—whose face was still dangerously close to his. Confusion flashed across his features first, then dizziness, and finally a brutal grimace twisted his face.
- "Y-You... You actually kissed me?" he stammered, stumbling backward as if he had just licked something poisonous.
His face contorted in visceral disgust. In a near-convulsive gesture, he scrubbed his mouth roughly with the soiled sleeve of his tunic, rubbing so hard the fabric scraped his skin raw.
"Ugh... I’m gonna catch some draconic infection or mutate into a lizard, for sure," he muttered through gritted teeth.
Elystria watched him, at first stunned by the theatrical rejection, then an amused glint lit up her features. A crystalline, almost melodic laugh—surprisingly light for someone so predatory—escaped her throat.
- "You expect me to believe that the great Mordred, the silent killer of the quarry, the one who made even seasoned champions bleed, is afraid of a few germs?" she teased, crossing her arms, a playful gleam dancing in her amber eyes.
- "Not ’a few germs,’" Mordred spat, still scrubbing his lips like his life depended on it. "A dragoness. A damn dragon princess! The most arrogant, cruel, and condescending species alive! And you shoved your forked tongue into my mouth?! Seriously?"
She raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow, feigning offense but visibly savoring his overreaction.
- "My tongue? Such vivid imagination..." she tilted her head slightly, a carnivorous smile curving her lips. "You didn’t seem that... reluctant a few heartbeats ago. I could’ve sworn I felt your hands clench around my hips."
- "I was in shock," he snapped back, vehement. "It’s a mind-control technique, isn’t it? Some psychic manipulation? You dragons are infamous for that!"