Chapter 499 - Queen’s Crisis, a Close Call (2/2)

(Note: Other than the spell-caster, no one can undo the seal.)

Link had around 2000 Dragon Power points now and was recovering at a rate of 39 points per second. He’d also activated the recovery effect of the Dragon King Belt. It would take around three minutes to reach 11000 Dragon Power points.

This wasn’t too long but Link worried that Gretel couldn’t survive until then. He checked her eyes again. There were more black vessels. The crystal-red irises were slightly contaminated too, turning dark red.

Link knew that when her eyes turned pure black, Gretel would become a puppet. Judging from the speed that the poison was spreading, she might not last until Link could cast the spell.

The most important thing now was to keep Gretel’s consciousness strong. She couldn’t defeat the poison with a strong desire to live, but she could at least delay it.

“Your Highness,” Link murmured comfortingly. “You are in extreme danger but I have a way to cure you. I just need time to regenerate Dragon Power…”

Gretel’s eyes were still half-closed. “Link,” she mumbled. “It’s eating away at me. I can’t keep going. I see the boundless darkness.”

Link grew anxious. Grasping her hand, he exclaimed, “Your Majesty, can you hear me? I can cure you!”

“I’m not Your Majesty. Call me Tellie.”

Her voice was very soft but still clear enough. Link hesitated a bit before saying, “Tellie, do you know when we first met?”

Link changed his tactics. He stopped using flat language to persuade her. Instead, he tried to distract her.

As expected, Gretel was attracted by his words. “Wasn’t it in the Dragon Square?”

“No, it wasn’t there. It was in my dream.”

“Dream?” Gretel’s voice was confused but also louder.

“Yes. In the dream, we met in the Delonga Kingdom. At that time, the Norton Kingdom hadn’t stopped the Dark Army and the Dark Elves went South with their divine gear. Just as the humans were about to be defeated, you appeared with the Dragon Army. The entire sky was burning with the fire of dragons and you—you were the queen amongst the flames.”

Link was describing a scene from the game. It was a video of the Dragon Army joining the battle between light and dark. New careers such as Dragon Warrior and Dragon Magician were opened after that.

In the video, the Red Dragon Queen’s appearance was incredible. No one could stop her Dragon Power. She was also gorgeous like an ideal first love and gained many fans. For two consecutive years, she was rated as the most beloved game character. As expected, all gamers would fall for a true queen.

Link thought back to the video and smiled. He was already a Level-9 Magician at that time. He’d seen Milda and Herrera without feeling much but that video really left an impression.

Clearly, Gretel liked listening to this. “Then what?” she murmured. “Did we talk?”

Link chuckled. “Yes. In my dream, I was just an insignificant Magician. After seeing you, I cried out, ‘Your Majesty!’ Then you asked me, ‘Mortal, what do you want?’ I couldn’t say anything after that and you left because you were busy. I was so sad.”

“Dreams aren’t real. I would never… Ah, I’m so dizzy. I see the hallucination. That insect is coming. It’s looking at me!” Gretel’s voice grew heavier. She was panicking.

Link was a bit shocked. He checked his Dragon Power—it was more than 8000 points now. He would have enough power after one more minute.

The whites of Gretel’s eyes were completely black. Her red irises were turning black too. Link couldn’t hold back anymore. “Tellie, I have something I’ve always wanted to say… Are you listening?”

“Yes…I’m listening.” Her words were broken but her pale face still filled with anticipation. Her eyes opened a bit wider too. She looked at Link, waiting for him to utter the sentence.

She looked as if she could die in peace after hearing Link say it.

Seeing her like this, Link changed his plan. He couldn’t say everything he’d planned. He needed to use this sentence to keep Gretel alive. “Tellie, you are the most elegant, beautiful, and moving woman I’ve ever seen. In my eyes, you aren’t a high and mighty queen…”

To drag out the time, Link spoke very slowly. Half a minute passed with this one sentence. As he spoke, he observed Gretel’s reaction. Seeing that she kept staring at him in anticipation, Link was a bit assured. He continued, “Actually, I…”

He stopped here; he looked hesitant.

Gretel waited for five full seconds. She was anxious when Link didn’t continue but she didn’t have the energy to urge him. She could only grit her teeth and force herself to stay awake so she wouldn’t miss it.

Link knew what she was thinking so he just wouldn’t say it. One second, two, three… The seconds ticked by. Eight seconds later, Link had enough Dragon Power.

He was relieved. Looking into Gretel’s eyes filled with anticipation, he lowered himself and whispered in her ears, “Tellie, actually, I can save you.”