Chapter 21
“Ugh, haah…”
The moment I spotted the slightly ajar door to the laboratory, my steps came to a screeching halt. After swallowing dryly and taking a deep breath, I crept towards the door.
Swoosh, clank… drip.
The experiment was still in full swing. Every time Mia lightly waved her hand, Lian’s skin seemed to split open. Blood oozed out.
The experimental table and the floor were soaked red. With fists clenched tightly, my eyes were misty with tears as I watched the gruesome scene unfold.
“I’m going to put you in there.”
At Mia’s point, my gaze landed on the bathtub. It was the one that had the contents of the oak barrel dumped into it.
“That’s… What is that?”
“Artia’s poison, one of the deadliest poisons in this world. It’s so horrible that you can’t even store it without some magical treatment.”
“Oh…”
Hearing Lian’s impressed gasp somehow made me feel weaker.
‘What kind of… what life have you lived?’
He saw being experimented on with poison as a cozy experience, and claimed the horrible tests didn’t bother him at all.
All the things I’d ignored, simply because it was easier to rely on faith, suddenly became haunting questions.
One thing I was sure of: Lian’s life must’ve been more hellish than anything I could imagine.
Ssss!
As Lian’s feet entered the tub, the sound of flesh sizzling filled the air. The horrific sound made fresh tears spill from my eyes.
“Argh!”
“…!”
My eyes bulged at Lian’s screams that I had never heard before.
“Did you finally feel real pain this time? Or are you flirting with death…!”
“Uh, that’s… I don’t have many clothes, and it would be a bit awkward if they melted away.”
“…”
Gritting my fists even tighter, I felt a stinging pain as my nails dug into my skin.
‘Is your tattered clothing really more important than your own life?’
I was shocked to see Lian treating himself with such little regard, trembling as I stared at him.
“…!”
“…!”
Right then, our eyes locked. My heart felt like it was about to drop.
“Um, uh… Mia, can I step out for a sec?”
“Hmm, it’s really just about the clothes, right? You’re not running away out of fear?”
“Ah, no.”
Lian scratched his head and walked toward the door. I never thought he’d walk towards the door, so instinctively I started backpedaling.
Thud.
In my hurry to escape, I tripped and fell flat on my back. Sitting there, trembling, I stared across the door.
‘Why, why is he coming closer?’
A million thoughts raced through my head. Was he trying to send me into that horrible poison because he didn’t want to go in himself? Or was he planning to switch roles and offer me up as the test subject since I was caught sneaking a peek?
Even though I knew Lian wouldn’t do that, my instincts kept feeding me nightmare scenarios.
Gulp.
“Gasp…!”
Before I knew it, Lian had made it to the door and was looking down at me. I froze, staring up at him.
“Do you have something urgent, Noah?”
Lian asked in that calm voice of his, crouching down to match my eye level.
“I’m kinda busy right now, but can we talk later?”
“Uh…”
I couldn’t get my tongue to cooperate, stumbling over my words. Lian tilted his head and then glanced at his clothes, scratching the back of his head.
“Ah, I look a mess. Sorry if I scared you. I’ll come find you once the experiment’s done, so can you head back first?”
“Uh, yeah.”
Despite the awkwardness, I managed to reply to Lian’s gentle tone.
“What’s going on?”
“…!”
When Lian didn’t immediately return to the lab, Mia sauntered over to the door. Her eyebrow twitched as she eyed me, shivering on the floor.
Mia’s expression went cold.
“Don’t tell me you’ve been secretly watching my experiment?”
Lian turned to Mia and piped up, “Hey, no! I skipped helping with dinner, and it seems something went wrong over there.”
“Hmph…”
Mia looked like she wanted to kill me on the spot, but Lian’s puppy-dog eyes won her over, “Just please let this one slide; he’s an important test subject.”
“Fine, then hurry up and send him back!”
“Yes!”
Lian nodded and scrubbed his hands where they were less coated in blood. Then, he whipped out a neatly folded handkerchief from his pocket. Thank goodness, it was still clean!
It was a handkerchief used for cleaning up whenever kids got dirty. A small towel was good enough to wipe away my tear-streaked face.
“I don’t know what happened with Nero, but you should use this to wipe your tears. I’m sure Nero feels bad too.”
“Ah…?”
“Is that not it? You were crying, so I assumed it was about Nero.”
I couldn’t even muster up a reply while Lian kept scratching his head in confusion.
“Ahem.”
“Uh, I gotta head back in. Sorry, so sorry!”
After apologizing to me multiple times…
Thud!
Lian slammed the lab door shut behind him.
Oooh.
A magic circle flared to life over the door as Mia cast a spell to prevent outside interference.
“What the…”
I muttered, staring down at the handkerchief in my hands.
“This… fool…”
Tears built up, forming massive droplets that fell. I felt like I might choke on my own emotions with how kind he was.
“I can’t… how can I…”
I had tried believing for the sake of my brother and myself. I tried to ignore it. But I couldn’t stand it any longer.
Clench.
I pressed the tightly held handkerchief to my chest.
Thump, thump, thump!
My heart hammered, nearly bursting with life. I could faintly feel the scars etched into my heart.
I would regret the blind trust I had given to his words, those decisions I made without a second thought, and the tears I would shed. At the same time, I would tirelessly seek to atone for the sins I committed.
By any means necessary.
“I can’t just stand here… do nothing.”
I staggered up, slapping my cheeks hard.
“I have to save Lian.”
If saving Lian meant Nero died, and saving Nero meant Lian died, then I was going to smash that nasty equation to bits.
“I’ll save them all—every single one!”
A flicker of light began to glow in my eyes, which had been drowned in darkness.
“By whatever means it takes.”
That brilliant yet oddly dark light blazed in my eyes.
*
“What is this, what is… Why? Why? How? Why…?”
“Umm…”
Clatter, clatter.
I watched Mia in her total mental breakdown, feeling the clench of my jaws. She had completely melted down to just bones and sat frozen in shock, watching me moving around like it was just another day.
For half an hour, she kept mumbling, “Why is this happening? How could it be?” while I absentmindedly scratched my jaw with my skeletal finger.
‘Is this really that shocking?’
I figured she’d be a bit surprised, but never in my wildest dreams did I think that Mia, who could sip her tea calmly even with a knife to her throat, would turn into a total recluse.
‘Well, she did say it was the last experiment, so it’s about time I wrap this up, right?’
Honestly, it was way too embarrassing. My hands instinctively covered my hips and pelvic area.
‘Thirty minutes is more than enough waiting, time to bounce.’
I spun around promptly, and in an instant, my body returned to its former self. Except, I was naked! I’d only jumped into the tub in my underwear, begging about not having clothes.
Thanks to that, my actual clothes remained intact. I quickly got dressed and said to Mia,
“Well, I guess I’m off!”
“Why? What’s… what’s happening?”
Mia couldn’t snap out of her daze even as I made my getaway. It was quite the sight.
Click.
As soon as I closed the door behind me, Noah’s face popped into my mind.
“He looked like he’d been crying a lot… What exactly happened to him?”
With concern bubbling up, I hastened my steps.
*
Slide.
“…”
Noah—the one Lian had been desperately searching for—was peeking at books in Mia’s study. A place a slave like him wasn’t supposed to be.
If Mia caught him, it would be a disaster. But there was no way to stop a distraught Noah.
Fortunately, the protective magic Mia set up only reacted to those entering from outside, allowing Noah to roam freely in the library without any hassle.
‘I need to find a way to get stronger.’
In the land of the Demon Lord, power equals law and authority. To save both Nero and Lian, I needed strength.
“This isn’t it…”
After finding a section stating you could obtain incredible power by offering a thousand lives, he set the book aside. He slid it back into its place and dashed between the shelves.
There were quite a few books on gaining strength, but true to a dark sorceress’s library, none of the methods were normal.
They all suggested horrific things, like skinning someone alive or sacrificing a loved one.
‘Is there really no way to get stronger?’ That thought nagged at me, but Noah refused to give up.
As he searched the library every which way…
Thud.
A book dropped in front of him.
“What’s this…?”
Unlike the other tomes with dark or crimson colors, this book was pure white. Nothing was written on its cover. He felt like he was under a spell as he lifted it up.
“Ugh…”
As soon as he picked it up, a chill ran down his spine. He sensed this book was anything but ordinary.
A rush of fear washed over him, but a greater desire overcame it, forcing him to suppress his fear and open the book.
Swish.
The moment he turned the cover, the pages began to flutter as if caught by an unseen breeze.
Rustle.
Something white and mist-like began to emerge from the book. It was translucent, stretching endlessly toward the ceiling before shrinking to the size of an adult woman.
The white mass gradually transformed into a human figure. First came the elegant curves forming eyes, a nose, and a mouth, followed by long hair cascading down to a slim waist.
The armor covering her body and the sword at her waist indicated her true identity.
“Haah -…”
She let out a sigh that felt almost like a moan as she opened her eyes. Noah staggered back, his face ghostly pale, murmuring,
“A ghost…”
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