[Chapter 27]
At that moment, the waters of Drace Prison—
A pale hand, drawn deep into the dark abyss, reached out to him. He had to grab it. He was out of breath, but it was the very reason he couldn’t stop. Deeper. Darker. And yet, the purple eyes that had been clearly visible were now nowhere in sight.
Lemoni had vanished. The speed at which she sank was far too fast to be natural.
Was it the work of the prisoners?
Deon scanned the surroundings, short of breath as the air ran thin. But nothing seemed out of place. The strange, grotesque, finned monsters were still locked in their cages. In that state, they couldn’t have seized her by the ankle and dragged her out of sight so quickly.
With his lungs burning, Deon frowned. If she had gone downward, she would’ve reached the torture chamber she spoke of. He needed to get out of the water and find a way there.
“Where is Lady Lemoni?”
As he broke through the surface, a frightened voice called from across the river. That guy was still lingering around. Deon swept back his wet hair and climbed onto land in silence.
“Is Lady Lemoni…?”
“I’ll find her. So shut it.”
Snapping sharply, the man blinked like a terrified rabbit. The sight made Deon sigh. At least that woman had kept her wits about her in a dire situation. This guy was completely useless.
If only she had been as dimwitted as him, maybe Deon wouldn’t have felt so on edge. But she was always busy, always thinking. If she’d reached the torture chamber, she’d surely view it as a chance and try to escape.
“Did that look good to you?”
Her voice, dripping with disgust, echoed in his mind, turning his expression cold. Deon squeezed the water from his clothes and started walking. He could feel the hesitant prison guard following behind.
“Where are you going?”
“You didn’t come to Drace Prison alone, did you?”
Ignoring the question, he asked his own. The guard scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
“Well, I actually came with a group of knights… but they were all killed. I was the only one who survived. Since most of this prison is under the Western Empire’s jurisdiction, the Southern Empire only provides light supervision. Many find that bothersome, so we came with reduced numbers. I didn’t expect things to turn out this way…”
“Is there a way to communicate?”
“The communication stones are broken. I sent a carrier pigeon when I realized something was wrong, but it’ll take at least two weeks to reach the Southern Empire from here.”
Carrier pigeon? Human civilization, aside from its greed and luxury, still lingered a century in the past.
“What about the Western Empire?”
“Since this operation was led by the Southern Empire, the West won’t be sending anyone for at least three months.”
That was absurd. By then, no one here would be saved. Either they’d escape… or they’d become monsters. One or the other.
A scream echoed in the distance.
All they could see were the dried, cracked earth, the ruined prisoner path, and the towering wall at the horizon. Suddenly, Deon realized he had become familiar with the outside world he’d yearned for over five years. But there was no heaven in a world entered through broken rules. If the prisoners who smashed the iron bars scaled that wall, then monsterification wouldn’t just be Drace Prison’s problem anymore.
“Are you… the divine beast?”
But his thoughts were interrupted by the guard’s question. Deon silently looked down at the man, who scratched his neck again with a sheepish expression.
“Thank you for saving me six years ago. You might not remember, but there was a monster attack then. The Khan Alliance came to help us. You didn’t fight directly, but I remember you gave the orders to the subjugation squad.”
“I don’t remember.”
“I’ll never forget.”
For the first time, the guard spoke calmly.
“Thanks to you, the Khan Alliance still exists. The ongoing exchange between the Southern and Western Empires is thanks to that alliance.”
“And I regret it.”
“…Pardon?”
“I went out of my way to save you, and instead of repaying the favor, you threw me into the prison you created.”
“…Ah.”
The guard’s face turned pale at Deon’s low voice. But Deon hadn’t said it to threaten him—just to state the truth.
Human emotions were as chaotic as the seasons of the world. Never staying in one place, swaying with the wind. The reason Deon made a mistake was simple: he had acted like a human.
He had hoped. He had longed.
“Y-Yes. It’s just how imperial law works…”
The guard trailed off, afraid to say it was Deon’s fault. But then Deon threw a sharp question at him.
“But you knew I could escape at any time, didn’t you?”
“I-I’ll go get it ready!”
“Go down.”
“Y-Yes!”
Of course, Deon was the one holding the reins in this conversation.
After that, Deon walked on in silence. Only the guard had to endure the suffocating stillness.
Meanwhile…
“Lemoni, open your mouth.”
Damn it.
Despite cursing internally, her lips parted on their own. A silver spoon filled with warm soup touched her bottom lip, and then the food entered her mouth.
She wanted to resist, but she needed to create an opportunity. Without thinking, she bit into a chunk of bread shoved in next. This strange cohabitation with Ian had lasted several days now. It was practically captivity. He prepared meals every morning, occasionally strolled with her through the torture chamber halls, played card games and chess with her, and eventually fell asleep.
The only light in the windowless torture chamber was his golden eyes. So she had no choice but to obey.
Even being spoon-fed like a child was no exception.
“…Ian.”
“Yeah?”
They seemed a little closer now. Maybe it was time to talk. When she raised her head, she saw his handsome face resting his chin on his hand, watching her until she finished chewing. His lingering gaze nearly made her gag.
She barely swallowed the bread and forced a smile.
“Is there a reason you’re feeding me yourself? I can use a spoon, you know.”
“Hm. I just find it fascinating.”
“Sorry?”
His thumb touched her bottom lip. He wiped the remaining soup and cleaned it with a tissue.
“I don’t need to eat. But you have to eat to survive. That’s… cute.”
His lips curled into a charming smile. His gaze, filled with human warmth, seemed genuinely affectionate.
But she couldn’t figure out what part of that was supposed to be cute. She’d known he had strange tastes, but his recent behavior was unexpectedly gentle and considerate.
He even dressed her in a prison uniform labeled 1002 without warning and, ever since, simply fed her, let her rest—treated her kindly. Honestly, it was starting to feel more comfortable than being around Deon.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to be taken care of by me than trying to tame that bastard?”
But all kindness came with a price.
As she forced down the dense bread, he stood, watching her throat move.
“Did you enjoy the meal?”
She almost vomited but nodded instead.
“Then it’s my turn to eat now, right?”
At the sweetly phrased question, her folded hands twitched in her lap. He seemed ready to sit again if she resisted, but if she said no, the air would turn strange.
“If we go too far, I’ll get dizzy.”
In the end, she couldn’t say no. A deep shadow fell across her face.
“Of course.”
A hand gently caressed her cheek.
“If it hurts, I’ll stop right away.”
Sweet words brushed her ear. But he knew she couldn’t feel pain. At some point, he disappeared from her view. A glimmer of gold flashed as he lowered his body. Then, like a snake striking its prey, his lifeless lips closed around her neck.
It didn’t hurt, but every nerve in her body jolted.
The way his flesh pressed into her was strangely tender, as if coaxing her. It wasn’t a bite, but it wasn’t not a bite either. The bizarre gentleness melted her like butter. But then, she gritted her teeth.
“Ia—”
She almost called his name, but the sound vanished into the air. When his sharp teeth pierced her tender skin, all emotions except pain flooded her face. It should hurt. She should struggle.
But all she gave him were flushed cheeks and ragged breath.
Ah. Ah.
Electricity sparked in the dark sky. Her hand, resting on his back, clenched and unclenched. As her blood drained, the ceiling blurred. He wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand and exhaled deeply.
“…Lemoni.”
It must be over.
As he whispered her name, she slowly opened her eyes. His hand, cradling her in his arms, gently stroked the back of her head.
“Why do you taste so good?”
It was starting again.
“Hm? Why are you so delicious? I feel like I’m going insane trying to restrain myself.”
“You could always just not eat me.”
He chuckled lowly.
“I should’ve devoured all of you, right?”
Chills. She gave up speaking and melted into his arms like a cave—no, she tried to, but her eyes flew open.
Oh no.
What she was about to do was no different from how lovers act after intimacy. Damn it. Panicking, she shoved his chest. He moved back obediently, looking puzzled.
“Um, excuse me…”
“Go ahead.”
What do I say, what do I say?
“…I’m hungry again.”
She had to say something. Ian paused at her ridiculous excuse, then broke into a wide grin.
“Ah, I see. I’ll go get something to eat from outside, then.”
And with a loving smile, he finally let her go and left the torture chamber to find food.
Now was her only chance.
She counted to sixty—five times—then hurriedly climbed out of bed and opened the torture chamber door.
