"C-Commander!! S-She just jumped out of the cell so suddenly!"
Commander? The guy who wanted me alive?
So it was you… huh?
"Take her to the underground dungeon. Separate her from the other inmates, and tie her so she wouldn't escape."
Even his voice sounds the same… this is all so novelty.
How ludicrous…
Slowly, I lost consciousness again. Being zapped by that lightning strike, I'm grateful that I'm still alive. Getting zapped until you lose consciousness is already an acceptable fact, but I realize that it only means that I will now be forced to live through the things that are about to come.
Dungeon. Separated from all other prisoners.
I am going to be tortured… huh?
Luckily, I didn't dream about anything. If I had dreamed right there, then I would've lost so much more than just my sanity. I would go absolutely apeshit and wreck everything in sight.
But I didn't… and I woke up just fine.
When I opened my eyes, I realized that I am now underground. The air sucked down here, and the sound echoed a lot. My hands are tied to the ceilings, and my legs can't even touch the ground.
The worst position a female can be for a torture.
My necklace… is it still…
I checked my neck, and realized that the item was still there. Thank god…
"Captain! She woke up."
I didn't even realize it, but a knight was actually watching the jail cell from the outside. He noticed me waking up, and quickly called his captain up.
Damn it… damn it all…
Just kill me… what is it that you want from me, anyway…?
The captain appeared from the other end of the hall, and he arrived right outside the jail cell. He studied me from the outside while his buddy unlocked the cell's door.
Once the door was unlocked, he turned to it and walked in.
"The last… remaining ethelen. How pitiful your state is, you know?"
Last remaining… huh?
"Did you know that every single ethelen that has been spotted is now dead?"
I know… I also know of the command that your stupid king gave.
To kill all ethelens… and not sparing a single one alive.
Not even as a slave… not even as a prisoner.
"Not in the mood to talk… Well, don't worry. We'll get to know each other very well soon enough."
Behind him, the other knights who came with him began to leave the jail cell. They left with a really uncomfortable expression on their faces, which made me sure that this person isn't just going to kill me.
"Just kill me…"
I said with a very weak voice, surprising the captain enough.
"Bahahah!!! Very good, very good! Speaking is the optimal way of communication! Looks like you and I are going to go along just fine."
This is pointless… I can't…
"It's okay, I won't do anything to you. But you have to answer me honestly. If not, then I'm not sure if I can keep promising that to you…"
The captain said as he turned towards the table not far from my position. The table was empty previously, but now I realize why there is a table there.
The captain began taking his tools out one by one. Every single one of them are either sharp or heavy, and I don't need to see one in the past to know that those are torturing tools.
"I will only ask you a couple questions… because the commander seemed to be very curious about something from you."
The captain said as he slowly turned to me. His hand is holding scissors, and he began moving it closer to me.
SREK!!
SREKK!!
Using the scissors, he began cutting my robe away. This is the robe I stole from a homeless human I saw in the town before, and he is cutting it like it was nothing.
The robe fell to the floor, revealing my wonderful home dress that only the princess owns.
"You really were an ethelen noble… How incredible! Well then, looks like I can start asking questions!"
He placed the scissors on my chin, as if he was about to cut my chin at any point. But then he lowered the scissors until it arrived on my chest.
My eyes are still locked with his, and I saw the complete turn in his face as he placed the scissors on my chest.
The eyes of lust.
SREKK!!!
My clothes were ripped, showing my skin underneath. He didn't cut much, but it was more than enough for him to see.
"Answer this question, my dear… and I won't make it painful at all. Are you ready?"
He began moving closer to me, and I can start hearing him breathe. He is being so lustful, and I know what kind of torture that I will be having if we continue.
"Are you… the princess of Velborn?"
The captain asked the question while still moving in closer. I turned my gaze away from him unconciously.
He saw my eyes move, and he quickly moved backwards.
"Y-You really were…"
The captain said with a shock, and I was shocked as to how he knew that just from my eyes movement.
It was then that I knew that this person wasn't chosen as a torturer for nothing. In fact, he was never a torturer.
He was an interrogator.
He purposely acted as if he was about to rape me, making me feel on edge without even inflicting any pain on me. And when he asked the question, he was merely looking for a change within my reaction to him.
Seeing the way I moved my eyes away when he asked, it's as if I am answering honestly to him.
How unlucky…
"Haha!! What a gold!! The first capture is already the princess!!"
The captain then turned around, as if preparing to leave. But then his move was halted by the person standing on the cell's door.
I… didn't even notice him. And I was facing the cell bars the entire time.
But this man was standing there like he has been there the whole time. He was erasing his presence with magic, wasn't he?
Who is he? Why did the interrogator suddenly stop when he saw him?
"Y-You are… Rake Ignicius!!"
Rake… Ignicius?
That, Rake Ignicius?
I suddenly fell down my memory lane, all the way to yesterday's afternoon.
I was staking out at a certain shopping stall that sells fruits, very much wanting to snatch one away so I can keep my stomach at bay. And as I waited for a chance, my ears overheard the conversation of the people.
"So who is the hero?"
"Rake Ignicius, the Paladin hero. He was the one who caused a massive explosion at the beginning, which then marked the beginning of the battle. It was said that he alone took down so many of the ethelen knights all by himself!!"
"No way! That guy must be insanely strong, then!"
"He sure is!"
When the two guys stopped talking, I was already walking away with an apple in my hand.
Rake Ignicius, huh…? I imagined him to be tall, muscular, handsome, and prideful. Since he is now the greatest hero from the humans, there is no chance he isn't having parties right about now.
And yet, here he is.
With his eyes blood red, with blood tears falling out continuously from his eyes. His expression looked so troubled that anyone can tell this person is not in his right mind.
"Sir hero, what are you--"
BRESSHHH!!!!!!!!
Very suddenly, the human captain who interrogated me got sliced in half vertically. I was too shocked to move, and I got sprayed slightly by the incoming blood.
Did a human… just killed another human?
Rake Ignicius, the Paladin hero then walked inside the jail cell. His foot stepped over the dead body of the human captain who was the same race as him, and he arrived right in front of me.
SRING!!!
SRING!!!
The chains that were tying both my hands and legs were sliced, and I fell down from the ceilings. But he captured me before I fell to the ground.
He held my hips and slowly lowered me down. He was quite close to me, and I quickly made some distance by moving backwards slightly.
His expression no longer shows a troubled face, and only a calm one. His eyes are still red from anger, but it is no longer showing any hints of bloodlust.
He wiped the blood tears from his eyes, probably because he noticed that I was afraid of his appearance. His eyes are still blood red, though. So it is quite difficult to look at him straight.
"How are you feeling?"
He asked me calmly, which makes me even more annoyed at this situation.
The man who is supposedly the one to blame for wiping my entire race… is right in front of me, right now.
And yet, here he is, releasing me from my shackles.
What is it that he wants…? The death of all ethelens? Or was it to help me?
What exactly… does he want?
What exactly… is happening?
Ch. XVIII - Breaking Out (Elice)
-----
What should I do…?
The man who is very much responsible for the death of my people… the person who started the war by himself…
The strongest human hero, the Paladin hero.
Rake Ignicius.
He is… helping me?
Why is he here? What is it that he wants from me?
"Can you walk? Can you talk?"
He asked me again, and I snapped out of my daze. His expression tells me that he is being genuine about trying to help me. Meanwhile, I am still clouded with thoughts.
I guess… For now, it doesn't matter.
Survive… I must stay alive.
"I-I can... I can walk."
"Good. Because we might need a bit of that energy if we want to get you out of here."
The hero, Rake, suddenly says as he stood up in front of me. He lent his hand to help me get up, and I took it. He helped me stand up again, and I immediately realized how weak I currently am.
I can walk… but I can't run.
I didn't say anything, but for some reason, he noticed something just from seeing me standing up.
"Drink this for now. It will help you run for a while."
He gave me a bottle that appeared from his magic storage bracelet, and I took it from his hand. I stared at the bottle, wondering if the content was really just like what he said, or was it something else.
Either way… what can be worse than my current situation?
Even if it is poison and I don't drink it, can I even do anything with the current me?
And so, I drank it without hesitation, all the way until the bottle was empty. It's not that I trusted him with giving me this energy bottle, but because I believed that nothing can go any worse than my current condition--
"Hik!"
Suddenly, I got a hiccup.
The hero stared at me silently for a few seconds, and I turned my gaze away immediately.
T-That was embarrassing…
But most importantly, that was rather refreshing. It works effectively as well. I can feel my entire body warming up as if being regenerated with energy.
My body feels… lighter.
What was that drink? It was not poison, that's for sure.
Was he being genuine… in helping me?
Me? Who is an ethelen.
And him, who is the human hero.
"Let's go. No matter what… stay behind me."
He said to me as he turned towards the exit, not giving me a chance to think about anything. He is already exiting the jail cell, and yet I am still standing in the same position, not moving at all.
The person… who is responsible… is now helping me out. Genuinely, as well.
I don't… understand.
"What is it that you want?"
Hearing my sorrowful question, the hero suddenly stopped moving. He didn't turn his gaze at me for some reason, and only stood silently there, outside the iron bars of the prison cell. It's like he is frozen by my words, that he didn't even turn to look at me.
Still not facing my direction, he opened his mouth.
"Just follow me… we have to get you to somewhere safe--"
"Just tell me your goal. I won't fight back. I will comply."
Rake finally turned his eyes at me, and that's when I realized that I have made a mistake.
He wasn't helping me to get anything from me. He wasn't helping me so that he could use me for anything. He wasn't helping me because he was just acting for a certain goal.
He was… genuinely helping me. Out of pity.
Those were not the eyes of someone who is scheming or wanting to use others. Those were not the eyes of someone who deleted an entire race of existence.
Those are the eyes… that values life.
His expression is so hurtful. Miserable. Tears can be seen welling up on his red eyes, ready to roll down his cheeks at any time. But he quickly lifted his hand to wipe them off.
The hero Rake then turned around and rushed back into the cell. He arrived in front of me, and placed both his hands on my shoulders.
"Don't give up… stay alive. Don't let go."
He said to me with a low voice.
I was a little bit surprised by this sudden act of his, but I still can't help but feel negative. Seeing the face of someone trying to cheer me up like this made me feel even worse, and so I turned my face away from him.
"Please… just kill me. I don't--"
"No. Stay alive. Don't die, don't give up."
Why is he… he is only saying things again and again. It's not exactly helping as well, so what exactly… does he want out of me?
…
'Don't give up', 'Stay alive'.
Those were the words my mother said to me.
And it seemed… that I had forgotten about it.
I see, he was merely reminding me.
After the long silence, I finally nodded at him, and he grinned. I turned my gaze at him, and found that his face does look quite handsome for a human.
If it wasn't for the bloodied eyes and cheeks, and maybe the blood splatter on his armor, then maybe he can look good. But right now, his appearance is simply similar to a devil.
Once he confirmed that I am good, he turned around and began running out of the cell leaving me.
But this time, I followed right behind him.
As we ran on the underground dungeon, I am now convinced that this hero guy was a total psychopath. The path to the outside is filled with dead bodies of human knights, all in pieces. The ground was wet from the pool of blood and I had to make sure where I'm placing my foot to step.
It's almost as if a guy with a very sharp sword and powerful sword skills has entered the dungeon. He left not a single one of them alive, and mutilated them cleanly and perfectly.
And yet, here he is not holding any sword. When he killed the captain too, he didn't use a sword. The captain just got split in half by something.
Was it… magic?
"Hey, what's your name!?"
The hero shouted suddenly as we ran past the dead bodies. I was so busy dodging the dead bodies and puddles of blood, that I had trouble answering it.
"E-Elicia!"
"Elicia, huh? Elicia, we're going to get you out of here."
Get me out of here…
Is he genuinely trying to save me?
I can't tell anymore… at this point, I'd rather go run with him than being tortured by another human interrogator.
We both arrived outside, and were immediately welcomed by a group of human knights. Their leader stood right in front of them, while Rake was in front of me still running.
"Sir Paladin hero!! What is the meaning of thi--"
BRESSHH!!!!!!
The leader who spoke just now is now in half. Rake didn't even get him the chance to finish his words, and the group leader was already sliced in half.
I nearly puked from seeing all of his insides spurted out like that, and yet the hero guy looks unfazed.
I swear… this guy is a psychopath…
"Ho-Hoi!!!"
SHRESHH!!!!
"What are you--Ghaakkk!!!!"
BOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!!!
The knights who were by the dungeon exit were all slaughtered very quickly by him, while I'm just watching horrifyingly from afar.
This guy is absolute bad news…
The entire scene of eleven knights standing outside the dungeon entrance, has now been replaced with a pool of blood with many human pieces all over the place. A single man was standing drenched in blood, and he quickly turned to me after he was done with the last one.
"Let's go."
He said calmly, as if there's no pool of blood right below his foot.
S-Seriously, he's a psychopath!! I'm not going near him!!!
But he is getting me out of this place… he did save me from all these knights…
I have no choice but to follow him for now.
And so, I started running following him. I circled the pool of blood, not wanting any of those things on my bare foot at all. My eyes managed to get a glimpse of a knight on the ground, who is still alive.
His face tried muttering words, but he was already dying. After all, he doesn't even have a stomach.
I held my puke back, and I felt slightly sorry for that person. Then, I continued following the hero.
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