Chapter 204
To move the Chimera, a normal soul wouldn’t do—it required the pure soul of a child.
I couldn’t say a word.
No, I couldn’t even think.
Prince Alex faced the children trembling with fear, clinging to each other for warmth in the darkness, and all he felt was an emptiness in his mind.
“Now you suddenly feel a pang of conscience, is that it?”
Jutel’s smile deepened. At those words, Prince Alex could do nothing but clench his mouth shut again.
He knew full well how ridiculous he must look right now.
How many had died because of the Black Forest he had created? And yet, now worrying about the deaths of these children—it was nothing but hypocrisy.
“Their deaths are no different. As usual, you just watch silently.”
…He knew. He was right. How were these children any different from the others who had died because of his actions?
‘But…’
…Still, this didn’t feel right.
Prince Alex pushed Jutel aside and began moving again.
“This is a test.”
Jutel quickly stopped him. There was no longer any trace of amusement on his face.
“Don’t you understand why Lord Veilx showed you the captured children on purpose?”
“The reason?”
“To see your reaction.”
“……”
Veilx was suspicious of both him and Prince Alex. Perhaps he wondered if they had been involved in the recent collapse of the false saint incident.
There would be no reason to show Alex the children who were meant to be used as materials—except to gauge his response.
If Alex moved to save the children, who knew what punishment Veilx might inflict on him next? It wouldn’t stop with just breaking the spell.
“Can you save those children on your own? Or will you ask your brothers for help? What then? Are you going to reveal everything you’ve done up until now?”
“……”
The strength slowly drained from Prince Alex’s hands as he pushed Jutel away. His shoulders slumped, and he hung his head low.
Watching quietly, Jutel let out a long sigh inwardly.
“I’ll go and survey the situation first.”
Then stay put.
Leaving those words behind, Jutel disappeared swiftly from sight.
“……”
Even after Jutel vanished, Prince Alex couldn’t raise his bowed head.
“Ugh… uugh…”
“Stop crying, Jairo.”
“But… ugh…”
Trapped in the pitch-black space, Jairo’s sobs grew as someone gently patted his back.
“Where… where are we, sister… ugh…”
“I don’t know either.”
“Ugh… sniff…”
At Anisha’s weak answer, tears welled up even more in Jairo’s eyes.
It had been a normal day. On his way back to the orphanage after academy classes, he had hurried his steps to avoid worrying the headmaster.
He had even endured Julia’s invitation to go play at the Mage Tower, refusing firmly. These days, the headmaster would linger outside if the children were even slightly late.
But then, Jairo had lost consciousness on the way. He must have lightly bumped into a man walking ahead of him, but after that, he remembered nothing.
When he woke up, he was in an unfamiliar space.
A dark room without a single window.
The faint light coming through the tightly shut door was all there was.
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he finally looked around. That’s when he saw it—countless children gathered in the same space.
Children, terrified just like him…
“Jairo?”
“Si… sister!”
Confused about the situation, Jairo saw Anisha approaching him.
She was the fifth child to have disappeared from the orphanage.
Anisha was in no better condition. After finishing her academy classes, she had lost consciousness and awoken in this dark room.
“What… what will happen to us?”
“I don’t know…”
It had been five days since she entered this place, yet she had no idea where they were or who had captured them.
Occasionally, the only entrance would open, and someone would leave unconscious children inside before disappearing.
“E-excuse me! How long do we have to stay here, huh?”
“……”
“Please… send us home… sniff.”
The children instinctively knew that the person who brought them here was the one responsible.
Whenever a man entered, Anisha or other children would plead or shout, but they never received any response.
The man acted as if he could hear nothing, leaving only the kidnapped child and quietly exiting the room.
Jairo had been the last to enter yesterday, and today, there was still no sign of him.
Although Anisha was terrified too, with Jairo—a much younger child—next to her, she couldn’t even shed tears. After all, she was the older sister.
Clunk!
“……!”
The firmly locked door suddenly opened, and someone entered. Their face was hidden by a mask, but their silhouette clearly showed it was a man.
‘Another child?’
She assumed he would leave the child inside, as before.
Thunk.
“……?”
But he didn’t.
The man tossed something onto the floor and then closed the door, leaving.
‘What…?’
What had he thrown? A stone? A very small stone… what on earth was that for?
Flash!
“……!”
Suddenly, bright light poured into the dark room. The children, weak against the light, had to squeeze their eyes shut.
But the light quickly vanished.
“What… what is this?”
None of the children understood what was happening. They were just frightened by the sudden phenomenon.
Flap! Flap!
Then, something began rising, filling the room where the children were.
A tree?
“Si… sister.”
Terrified, Jairo pressed close to Anisha, clutching her clothes tightly as if she were his only support.
“Ugh…”
“What… what is that!”
“Waaah!”
The children’s accumulated anxiety finally exploded.
Crying erupted everywhere, and the room quickly descended into chaos.
[Growl…]
“……!”
Then a sound silenced all the children instantly.
A low, eerie growl.
“Hrrgh!”
Feeling a massive presence in the darkness, Anisha grabbed Jairo tightly.
‘A… a monster!’
Then she realized—the tree-like phenomenon was the Black Forest! The Black Forest had appeared here, now!
[-Grrr…]
It seemed to be a wolf-type monster. The darkness made it hard to see, but it was much larger than an adult, with glowing red eyes surveying the surroundings.
“What… what is that!”
“U-ugh!”
“Mom…”
“Sniff!”
Screams and cries erupted again. The children instinctively backed away to put distance between themselves and the monster.
[-Grrr…]
Having determined there was nothing threatening nearby, the monster’s movements slowed compared to its first appearance.
In a room filled only with potential prey, the red-eyed creature slowly scanned the area, as if deciding what to devour first.
[-Graaah!]
Finally, the monster lunged—toward the most tempting prey: Jairo and Anisha.
[Whoooosh—]
Another strange cry rang out!
There was no time to figure out what it was. Anisha and Jairo closed their eyes tightly, certain they were about to die.
Smack!
[-Yelp!]
“……?”
But soon after, the monster’s groan revealed something. The creature that had charged them was now pinned to the side.
[Poof!]
In front of them floated a small being, fluttering tiny wings rapidly.
Perched on its waist with short arms, it made a soft cooing sound… what was that?
“Ka… Kamang!”
