Just as the blade was about to pierce through my throat, the stone door behind me blasted open with a deafening roar.

Black flames swept into the chapel, and the red marks beneath my feet were instantly severed by the flames.

Before I could even see who it was, someone grabbed the dagger in my hand.

The blade cut into Adrian's palm, and blood streamed down his wrist.

But he seemed to feel no pain at all. He yanked the dagger away and pulled me straight out of the magic circle.

My legs gave out, and I nearly collapsed to my knees.

Adrian looked down at me condescendingly. "I warned you not to come near this place."

Adrian's face was terrifyingly dark at that moment.

I gasped for breath, still shaken. But when I saw the faint trace of concern in his eyes, a surge of fury rose up inside me. "You did this on purpose."

Adrian frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"You deliberately told me to stay away from this place. You wanted me to get suspicious and come here on my own." With a trembling hand, I wiped the blood from my neck and took a deep breath. "And once I walked right into your trap, you came swooping in to play the hero and save me, so I'd start trusting you."

Adrian stared at me for a moment, then let out a bitter, contemptuous laugh. "What the hell are you thinking exactly?"

Seeing how angry he looked only made me more certain that I had hit the mark.

"Am I wrong?!" I snapped and pointed furiously at the white candle beside the altar, the one etched with Sarah's name. "You were not satisfied after killing Sarah. You had to trap her and the others' souls here too, just so you could savor watching the moment they die over and over again, didn't you?! She died because of your twisted tricks! You're a pervert who gets off on toying with people!"

Adrian's face darkened completely. "These candles are nothing like what you think. They're..."

Before he could finish, a golden mark suddenly appeared on his neck and lit up.

The mark, as if alive, swiftly coiled around his throat, tightening gradually.

Adrian's body stiffened, and he was forced to choke back the rest of his words, a trace of blood seeping from his lips.

He was silent for a moment, then finally said coldly, "Stay away from these candles."

With that, he let go of me and walked toward the altar.

He dropped to one knee and pressed his hand against the still-glowing magic circle. Black dragon flames slowly spread along the dark red marks of it.

I didn't answer him. I just leaned against the wall, catching my breath, my right arm still numb. But my gaze quietly drifted toward my boot.

He had taken the dagger made of dragon bone I meant to kill him with, but before I set out, I had hidden a short knife as well.

Because I knew that to kill a dragon like him, I would need to make many preparations.

His back was to me now, so this was my best chance.

I clenched my teeth and slowly drew the short knife from my boot.

Just a little closer, and I could stab him through the heart from behind.

I held my breath and lunged forward, driving the knife toward him.

I was certain that I would succeed this time!