I'm Not Your Husband, You Evil Dragon!

Location: Libeus country

Place: Apartment Yard

Yuuta drifted endlessly through darkness.

There was no light here, no sound, no sense of time passing at all.

His consciousness floated inside an abyss so complete that even the concept of reality had begun to lose its shape, dissolving at the edges the longer he remained within it. He couldn’t feel his own body anymore.

He couldn’t move his fingers, couldn’t force his eyes open, couldn’t do anything at all except think and even his thoughts had begun to feel like they were wandering somewhere he couldn’t fully reach, as though they too were slowly dying alongside the rest of him.

How long has it been, he wondered, the question circling back on itself without ever finding an answer. Days? Months? Years?

He didn’t know anymore. He had died so many times that counting had stopped meaning anything. But every death had been real.

Every scream had torn out of his own throat. Every shattered bone, every severed limb, every drop of blood spilled across ancient stone, he remembered all of it with a clarity that made his stomach turn even now, floating somewhere beyond his own body.

Will I ever get out of here, he thought. Or am I actually trapped like this forever?

Before the thought could finish forming, a sound cut through the darkness.

DOOOOOONG...

The bell rang again.

Its ancient, distorted toll echoed through the void, vibrating somewhere deep inside his soul rather than his ears, and the familiar sound alone was enough to flood him with absolute terror. His heart clenched violently, panic swallowing whatever fragments of hope he’d managed to hold onto during the silence.

No, he thought desperately.

No.

Not again.

I don’t want to die again.

He fought against the darkness with everything he had left, straining to force his eyes open before whatever waited on the other side could claim him once more.

His body refused to obey at first, heavy and unresponsive, but slowly agonizingly slowly light began bleeding through the black.

His eyelids finally cracked open.

Everything came through blurred. His ears still rang from the death bell, and his vision struggled to pull itself into focus as vague shapes slowly resolved in front of him.

A dark silhouette stood directly over him, close enough that he could make out two long horns rising from its head, and in that instant his mind supplied only one conclusion, another nightmare, come to execute him all over again.

His instincts took over before conscious thought could catch up.

Without thinking, without questioning it for even a fraction of a second, Yuuta shoved the figure away with every ounce of strength his body could produce.

The horned figure stumbled backward and hit the ground hard.

His vision cleared almost the same instant, but by then he’d already thrown himself backward, covering his head with both arms as raw terror overtook every rational thought left in him.

"NOT AGAIN!"

"SPARE ME."

"SPARE...ME."

The scream tore across the apartment yard, echoing off the buildings around them. His entire body shook uncontrollably, tears streaming freely down his face, every muscle in him still screaming with the memory of dying, every nerve convinced that another execution was already beginning.

Several long seconds passed.

Nothing happened.

No axe came swinging down. No monster loomed over him. No crushing footsteps shook the ground beneath his knees.

Only silence.

Slowly, his trembling began to ease.

His breathing stayed ragged and uneven as he cautiously lowered one arm and looked around, his crimson eyes darting from one side to the other, refusing to trust anything they landed on.

There were buildings. Trees. The evening sky stretched out peacefully overhead, streaked with the last colors of sunset, and a gentle breeze brushed against his face like nothing at all had happened.

His mind rejected it instantly.

"No," he whispered, his breathing hitching again.

"No. It.. it can’t be."

His hands shot up into his own hair, grabbing fistfuls of it and pulling hard enough that several strands came loose between his fingers.

"No! I can’t win!" His voice cracked, rising with every word.

"I CAN’T WIN!"

He kept pulling at his hair, his voice growing more frantic, more unraveled with each sentence that tore out of him.

"I’ll lose everything. I’ll lose everything again. This isn’t real...."

His eyes darted frantically across every corner of the yard, searching for something, anything, some proof of the monster he was certain had to be hiding just out of sight.

"It has to be an illusion," he said, his breathing coming faster now.

"It has to be."

His whole body trembled as paranoia swallowed whatever composure he had left.

"The monster," he whispered.

"It wants to torment me. It wants me to believe I have returned."

His pupils shrank down to nothing, and he shook his head over and over, faster each time, as though the motion itself could shake the thought loose.

"No..."

Yuuta shook his head slowly, refusing to believe what stood before him. His breathing came faster and faster, each inhale tearing at his lungs like something jagged had lodged itself there, and terror had already sunk its roots too deep for reason to reach him.

After dying so many times inside that cursed temple, reality itself had stopped meaning anything at all. It was just another mask the nightmare wore, another trick waiting to peel itself back and reveal the axe underneath.

"No..."

"This is an illusion."

His voice gradually rose until it became almost a scream.

"AN ILLUSION!"

"The monster..."

"The monster is playing with me..."

"It wants me to believe I escaped..."

"It wants me to lower my guard..."

"I won’t fall for it..."

"I won’t..."

His trembling body curled into itself, both arms wrapping tightly around his head as he squeezed his eyes shut and waited. He waited for the familiar whistle of the axes cutting through the air. He waited for the pain, sharp and total, the kind that had carved itself into his memory a hundred times over. He waited to die again.

Seconds passed.

Nothing happened.

No footsteps shook the ground behind him. No enormous shadow swallowed the light. No blade came down to tear him apart.

Instead, he heard a voice.

Small. Gentle. Achingly familiar.

"Papa..."

The single word drifted through the evening air and settled somewhere deep inside his chest, and Yuuta’s entire body went rigid.

His heartbeat seemed to stop entirely, suspended in the space between one breath and the next. He knew that voice. He knew it better than he knew his own.

Slowly, almost too afraid to hope, he lifted his head.

The blurry shape a few feet away gradually sharpened into focus, and it wasn’t a monster. It wasn’t another cruel trick dressed up to look like salvation. It was small tiny, really with silver hair mussed and tangled, a little dress smudged gray with dust and dirt.

One small hand pressed against a cheek gone red and swollen, and above it, a pair of wide crimson eyes brimmed over with tears that hadn’t stopped falling.

"...Papa..."

She whispered it again, quieter this time, like she wasn’t sure he could hear her.

Yuuta’s lips parted, trembling.

"...Elena?"

His voice broke apart the moment her name left him.

For one single heartbeat, the little dragon girl went still. And then whatever fear she’d been holding back with everything she had simply shattered.

"Papa!"

She ran.

Her small legs carried her across the yard as fast as they could go, tears streaming endlessly down her face, sobs tearing loose from her chest with every stride.

She didn’t slow down.

She threw herself against him with every ounce of strength her tiny body could gather, wrapping both arms around him so tightly it was as though she thought letting go, even for a second, might mean losing him all over again.

"Waaaaahhh!!"

"Papaaa!!"

"I was scared!!"

"I was so scared!!"

She cried against his chest without restraint, her whole body shaking with everything she’d carried alone while he was gone. Dust from her dress smeared against his shirt. Her palms, pressed flat against him, were raw and red.

he could feel it even through the fabric, the skin scraped from dragging something heavy, something far too heavy for hands that small.

Her knees were scraped too, and her cheek still burned faintly hot where she’d fallen, or where he’d unknowingly pushed her away in his panic.

Yuuta remained completely motionless.

His mind refused to accept what he was feeling.

He could feel her warmth. Her trembling. The frantic rhythm of her tiny heartbeat against his chest.

...Is this real...?

Or...

Am I still dreaming...?

His hand rose on its own, shaking, and settled gently against the back of her head, his fingers threading slowly through her soft silver hair.

It felt real.

Too real to be anything else.

Fresh tears spilled down his own face before he could stop them, and his arms finally closed around her small frame, pulling her in until there was no space left between them at all.

Everything inside him broke.

"I..."

He sniffled.

"...I’m back..."

His voice was barely audible.

Another sob escaped him.

"...I’m back..."

He tightened his arms around her, as though some part of him still believed that if he loosened his grip even slightly, she might dissolve back into the nightmare he’d just clawed his way out of.

"I’m...," he whispered into her hair.

"I’m sorry..."

"I’m sorry..."

"I’m so sorry..."

He didn’t fully know what he was apologizing for anymore. For leaving her alone in the yard while his mind was trapped somewhere she couldn’t follow.

For being too weak to protect either of them from whatever had almost taken him.

For dying, over and over, in a place she would never understand and he prayed she never would. For the small, terrified sound she’d made when he’d shoved her away without even knowing it was her.

He only knew one thing for certain.

As the evening breeze swept quietly across the apartment yard, and as the last grip of the nightmare finally loosened from around his soul, Yuuta Konuari had returned from the Seven Crown Trial.

Not because he had defeated it.

Not because his own strength had been enough to break its hold.

But because his little daughter had refused, with everything she had, to let her papa disappear.

_____________________

Location:- Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean stretched beyond the horizon, an endless expanse of dark blue water that covered nearly half the planet. Countless mysteries rested beneath its unfathomable depths, ancient shipwrecks, forgotten trenches, and creatures humanity had never documented all lay hidden beneath the silent waves.

For decades, however, the ocean had remained peaceful.

The world’s greatest naval powers constantly patrolled its waters, especially the United States Navy.

Aircraft carriers, destroyers, submarines, and reconnaissance ships sailed day and night, ensuring that no hostile force could approach unnoticed.

Every patrol followed the same routine, and after so many uneventful years, most sailors had begun believing that the Pacific would remain calm forever.

Tonight seemed no different.

The sea was unusually quiet, gentle waves rocking the massive warship while the evening sun slowly disappeared beneath the distant horizon. A cool breeze drifted across the deck as hundreds of sailors carried out their normal duties without the slightest hint of danger.

Inside the command bridge, Captain Richard Hayes quietly observed the radar display while standing beside his vice captain.

Two armed guards remained stationed near the entrance, watching the room in complete silence.

Everything appeared normal until a single dot appeared beneath the ship.

The captain frowned.

"...What?"

His eyes narrowed as he leaned closer toward the radar screen.

A massive object was moving directly beneath them. It wasn’t following any known submarine signature. It was far too large.

"What the hell is that...?" The vice captain immediately stepped beside him, confusion spreading across his face.

"Sir... that’s impossible."

The captain didn’t answer.

His attention remained fixed on the radar.

Then another alert appeared.

The unidentified object suddenly emitted an enormous heat signature.

Captain Hayes’ pupils shrank.

"...Heat?" He immediately checked the system again.

"No... that’s impossible." His hands moved rapidly across the control panel, believing the equipment had malfunctioned.

"An object that size... shouldn’t be generating biological heat. It has to be a system error...."

Before anyone could react, a violent impact slammed into the starboard side of the warship.

The entire vessel lurched violently.

Warning alarms instantly erupted throughout the bridge while equipment crashed onto the floor. Both officers were thrown sideways before grabbing nearby consoles to keep themselves standing. The two guards slammed against the wall as the ship continued shaking beneath their feet.

"What the hell was that?!" The vice captain struggled to regain his balance.

"Enemy attack?!"

Captain Hayes immediately rejected the thought.

"No..." His expression darkened.

"It can’t be." This wasn’t an ordinary patrol ship. It was one of the most heavily armed naval vessels in the world. Thousands of trained soldiers were stationed aboard.

Multiple missile systems protected it. Helicopters sat ready on the landing deck. Fighter aircraft could be deployed within minutes. No nation would be foolish enough to openly attack a vessel like this.

Then who or what had just struck them?

Another violent tremor ran through the ship.

Captain Hayes no longer hesitated. His voice thundered across the bridge.

"Sound the alarm! This is not a drill! Battle stations!"

The vice captain immediately rushed toward the emergency console before slamming his fist onto the activation switch.

The emergency siren roared across the entire battleship, its deafening cry echoing through every corridor, every deck, and every compartment.

Soldiers who had already felt the tremendous impact instantly understood that something was terribly wrong.

Within seconds, boots thundered across steel hallways as hundreds of armed personnel rushed toward their assigned combat positions.

Nobody knew what had attacked them, but every sailor aboard understood one terrifying truth.

Whatever lurked beneath the Pacific Ocean possessed enough power to shake an entire warship as though it were nothing more than a wooden boat drifting across a lake.

Years of training immediately took over, replacing confusion with discipline, yet beneath that discipline every soldier could feel an instinctive fear creeping into their hearts.

They had faced storms, enemy fleets, and missile threats before, but nothing had ever risen from the depths of the ocean itself.

Captain Hayes immediately grabbed the communication microphone, his sharp voice echoing throughout every corner of the warship.

"All combat units, battle stations!"

"Enemy detected on the north-east axis!"

"Whatever rises from those waters..."

"Open fire immediately!"

"I repeat, open fire without hesitation!"

The vice captain instantly relayed the order while alarms screamed across the carrier.

Hundreds of soldiers rushed into position with remarkable speed as years of relentless military drills took over.

Heavy machine guns rotated toward the designated coordinates while riflemen lined the steel railings one after another.

Snipers climbed onto elevated firing platforms, anti-material rifles locked onto the same point, rocket launcher squads prepared behind reinforced barriers, and the ship’s automated defense cannons slowly turned until every barrel pointed toward the exact location marked by the captain.

Every weapon the United States Navy possessed aboard that floating fortress was now aimed at a single place beneath the Pacific Ocean.

This wasn’t an ordinary vessel. It stretched more than 1,106 feet (337 meters) across the sea, towered nearly 250 feet (76 meters) into the air, and displaced close to 100,000 tons of steel.

Thousands of highly trained soldiers stood aboard it alongside some of the most advanced military technology humanity had ever created.

Under normal circumstances, the mere presence of this ship was enough to intimidate entire nations.

Yet today, despite all of its overwhelming firepower, an unsettling silence spread across its decks because every instinct told the crew that whatever was approaching from below did not belong in any military handbook.

Captain Hayes never looked away from the radar screen.

The unidentified signal continued climbing from the deepest part of the ocean, growing larger with every passing second.

At first he believed it had to be a malfunction, but the readings remained perfectly stable.

Beside him, the vice captain stared at the display before slowly lifting his head, his expression becoming paler by the second.

"...Sir..."

"It keeps getting bigger."

The captain tightened his grip around the microphone until his knuckles turned white. A cold bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face as he forced himself to remain calm.

He slowly raised his eyes toward the dark ocean stretching beyond the bridge windows before speaking one final time.

"Everyone..."

"On my count."

The entire warship seemed to fall silent. The sound of waves crashing against the hull became strangely clear while hundreds of soldiers unconsciously held their breath. Fingers rested firmly on triggers, safety catches clicked off one after another, and countless pairs of eyes remained fixed on the exact coordinates where the unknown object was expected to surface.

"Five."

Metallic clicks echoed as rifles were fully loaded.

"Four."

Several soldiers swallowed nervously while others tightened their grip on their weapons.

"Three."

The vice captain glanced at the radar once more before his eyes widened in horror.

"...It’s still getting bigger."

"Two."

Not a single soldier dared blink. Every barrel remained perfectly steady despite the fear spreading through the formation.

"One."

Captain Hayes lowered the microphone.

For the briefest moment...

Nothing happened.

Then the ocean exploded.

An enormous pillar of seawater burst hundreds of feet into the sky as something unimaginably massive emerged from beneath the Pacific, sending waves crashing against the warship with enough force to make the entire vessel groan.

The sea itself seemed to split apart around the colossal silhouette rising from the abyss, and every soldier who had been prepared to fire suddenly found their fingers frozen on the trigger.

Captain Hayes stared at the impossible sight before him, his lips slowly parting as every ounce of military composure vanished from his face.

"Oh my God..."

To Be Continued...

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!