Chapter 225: 225 – Raven Makes A Promise

With Mana falling unconscious all of a sudden, Raven panicked and the black energy of destruction, which had almost dissipated completely by now, flared again.

"Raven! Calm down!" Jules called. "Put away the black energy of destruction and check on Mana first!"

Raven looked at Jules, his eyes a dark, liquid black – made even more liquid by the sheen of tears. "Big Brother Jules…" he cried pitifully.

Jules strode forward and pulled Raven into a hug, and Bella rushed to check on Mana instead.

"She's fine," Bella announced after a quick check. "She's just fainted – there's nothing wrong with her. Don't worry. I'll wake her up."

Bella performed a quick rejuvenation spell, and Mana's eyes snapped open. In the meantime, Jules also cast some healing spells on Raven and helped the younger boy wipe his face.

Azar and Alya hovered in the air, their cute little faces full of worry.

Mana's eyes sought out Raven as soon as she regained consciousness, and relief pooled in her emerald orbs at the sight of his healed and cleaned face.

"Are you all right now?" she asked, holding out her hand.

Raven rushed to her immediately and gathered her in his arms, hugging her so tightly that Mana could feel her bones creaking. She didn't protest, though. Instead, she looped her own arms around Raven and held his trembling body tightly, feeling distressed herself.

Her anger had been blown out of her system by now. What was left behind in its wake was worry and fear – and both revolved around this young boy that was clinging to her right now.

"I'm sorry," Raven said again in a very faint voice – a barely audible whisper.

Mana could feel his warm tears dripping on her shoulder, and she could also feel his panic and his distress through their bond.

Mana sighed and rubbed his back. "I'll forgive you this time," she said softly. "But if you ever try to kill yourself again…"

"I won't!" Raven promised. "I won't ever do it again – so please, please don't leave me, Mana! Please don't hate me!"

Mana sighed again. "How could I ever bear to leave you?" she whispered helplessly.

Raven froze. "Really? Even after what I did…?" he asked in a faint voice.

Mana nodded. "This is the first and the last time," she warned him. "If you ever try to kill yourself again – I will most definitely leave you forever, and you will never, ever be able to find me again."

"I won't, I won't, I promise!" Raven said hastily.

"All right, then," Mana said. "I will hold you to that promise, in that case, and I expect you to honour it!"

"I will!" Raven said seriously. "I will try my best never, ever to let you down again, Mana!"

"Except for protecting your own self, you have never let me down, Raven," Mana said quietly. "But I want you to extend your sphere of protection to yourself as well. Please understand that this is the only way that we can be together. You have to treat yourself as importantly as you treat me."

Raven fell silent. Then he said in a hoarse voice, "I don't think that will be possible, Mana."

"Why?" Mana demanded, anger seeping into her voice yet again.

Raven lowered his head. "I can't treat myself like I treat you," he murmured. "I can't love myself as much as I love you, Mana."

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Mana was suddenly stuck between sweetness and exasperation for a while. Ultimately, she could only sigh and pinch the boy's cheeks lightly.

"What in the world am I supposed to do with you when you say things like this?" she complained. "Well, the rule for you is going to be, if you are going to do something that will harm you – even if it is a tiny paper cut or a small scrape – I want you to think if it is something that you would make me do or something that you would allow me to do. If the answer to that question is a 'no' – then you shouldn't be doing it, because it is definitely going to make me angry and upset if you do it, and you don't want that happening, do you?"

Raven nodded like a chicken pecking rice. At this point, he would probably do anything Mana ordered him to do just to get back into her good books.

"All right, then," Mana said. "Let's go and see what Papa is doing outside this barrier."

Raven nodded sheepishly and lifted the barrier that he had cast when he had unleashed the black energy of destruction.

As soon as the barrier disappeared, the four children saw General Aquila standing protectively by King Jaren's side, and Rook copying his father.

Queen Dora was staring at King Jaren in dismay.

"Jaren…" she whispered. "You – you would rather believe in outsiders than your own wife…?"

King Jaren narrowed his eyes. "I don't think that you are my wife," he said quietly. "I should have realised it much earlier. I have to admit that I was blinded by emotion, and that you have learnt the mannerisms of my Dora very well."

Queen Dora blinked. "What are you talking about, Jaren?" she asked, confusion lacing her voice. "Are you doubting my existence because of what I said just now? But – but can't you see that I am trying to protect you? That I have been trying to protect my children – our children – all along?"

"My Dora would never do such a thing," King Jaren said firmly. "My Dora would never push an innocent child to his death, and in such a sneaky manner. My Dora would never betray us."

"When have I ever betrayed you?" Queen Dora demanded. "And don't forget – the innate magic of the Emerald Kingdom recognised me! I have the queen pendant – not that useless little concubine pendant that Sora had!"

King Jaren froze. It was true that the innate magic of the Emerald Kingdom had indeed recognised this Queen Dora as the queen of the Emerald Kingdom. How could that be possible, though? And King Jaren knew at an instinctive level that the physical body of Queen Dora was in front of him just now, even if the spirit within that body belonged to someone else – someone with an agenda, and not a good one at that!

But then, if that was the case, why had the innate magic of the Emerald Kingdom recognised her as the queen? What could possibly have gone wrong?

Could this be related to the regent protector status that Mana and Raven had been granted by the innate magic of the Emerald Kingdom? Could it be that even after purification, something had still remained within Queen Dora's body that had led to this situation, to this betrayal? Could it be that when they visited the necromancer Zed, something was triggered within Queen Dora's body that left it vulnerable and that was when something – or someone – else had invaded her body and had taken it over?

King Jaren didn't know. All he knew was that this was not his Dora, even if she had his body.

"Grandmama changed," Azar said quietly, flying out to King Jaren and settling on his shoulder.

Alya followed immediately, as usual.

King Jaren frowned. "What do you mean, changed?" he asked. "What changed, Azar?"

Azar nodded vigorously. "Grandmama was good but under lots of curses – big, bad magic, Grandpapa – when we saw Grandmama in the home of Auntie Bella and Grandmother Carolina," he said. "But then we ate some of the big, bad magic, and Grandmama woke up, and Grandmama was good, but there was hidden big, bad magic inside Grandmama. When we came home and went to the sacred ancestral chamber, the big, big, pretty magic of the Emerald Kingdom told us that it will try to remove the curse from Grandmama and it removed all the hidden big, bad magic from Grandmama also. But after that, we went to visit the scary old man and there has been something wrong with Grandmama since then. Azar does not know what happened. Grandmama is still Grandmama, and Grandmama's magic is the same, but Grandmama changed, also!" the little black dragon informed King Jaren, his small face and his round eyes filled with frustration.

General Aquila frowned. "Azar, are you saying that Queen Dora's body and magic remain the same, and her spirit also is her own, but something in it changed?" he asked in a worried voice.

The little black dragon nodded. "Grandmama is still Grandmama, but Grandmama has also changed," he said again.

"And this change is in her spirit? Is there another spirit that has latched on to your Grandmama now?" General Aquila pressed.

King Jaren turned to look at his friend, startled. "Spirit possession?" he asked in a low voice that was filled with fear and panic.

General Aquila nodded.. "Looks like it, doesn't it?" he muttered. "What we need to figure out now is – who is the one haunting her and how do we get rid of them!"

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