By Zephyria 
The tiger, which had been dying with several sharp spears driven into its body—a massive beast towering well over a human’s height—heaved its heavy frame upward and moved. Its eyes, flickering black with the condensed lumps of dying resentment, pain, and hatred, were fixed on the Prince.
――I hate you.
――I resent you.
It felt as if a voice steeped in sorrow was echoing from somewhere.
The resentment of a beast dying in agony and the curse of a mage, whose body had rotted and whose reason had decayed until only hatred remained, mingled within the tiger’s body.
The tiger’s shadow seemed to swell like a monster. Its bristling fur flickered like flames. The tiger, now as gargantuan as a house, leaped from its spot and soared through the sky with a thunderous roar, lunging at the Prince.
The Prince, who had been watching the tiger with an expressionless face, swung his sword in a straight downward stroke as the beast rushed before his eyes. The tiger, its maw wide open, had its head split vertically as it lunged, but—
“――.”
Crunch.
Incredibly, the tiger, despite its head being split in two, snapped its jaws shut. The Prince, who had nearly had his entire head bitten off, nimbly dodged to the side, but he was a step too late; the beast’s jaws clamped down from his nape to his shoulder.
For a moment, everything seemed to stop.
In that deathly silence, the Prince, held fast in the grip of the monstrous tiger, slowly raised his sword. Without a single change in expression, he sliced through the tiger’s neck. Sshhk. The head was severed. Blood sprayed, and the massive carcass paused for a moment before collapsing onto the dirt floor. It felt as if the earth itself shook.
The tiger was dead.
Just as that thought crossed his mind.
Suddenly, the eyes of the tiger’s head, which had been clinging tightly to the Prince, flashed. The head, eyes glistening as if black hellfire were burning within, suddenly shot upward into the air.
With its teeth still firmly embedded in the Prince, the tiger’s head bounced into the air and dragged the Prince into the stream. Splash―― a loud sound followed by a towering spray of water. The stream seemed to turn blood-red for a moment, but along with the swollen, rushing current, the tiger’s head swept downstream, still gripping the Prince firmly.
“Lord Kaieon……!”
Isaac’s expression shifted as he rushed toward the stream. However, in the pitch-black mountains, only the loud sound of the flowing stream could be heard; there was no sign of those who had been swept downstream, and Isaac stood there, stunned.
No, he will be fine. He escaped a fatal wound. If it was just the head of a tiger, even if a resentful spirit were clinging to it, it shouldn’t be that much of a struggle. ――It must be so.
It was while Isaac stood rooted to the spot, staring toward the downstream darkness where nothing was visible. There was a presence approaching from the side. Simultaneously, the chilling sensation of cold steel pressed close, grazing the skin of his neck.
“Hah, to think you’d walk right into my hands like this.”
The sound of a hearty laugh echoed in his ear. He felt the tips of weapons pressing tightly against the other side of his neck, his back, and his stomach.
“I don’t know how it happened, but it worked out well. I was wondering how to shake off that monster, and one monster just dragged the other away. In the meantime, we must quickly finish our business.”
A middle-aged man was standing beside Isaac. Around and behind him, men surrounded them. The men who had come to greet them from the village were each holding weapons in their hands.
Engraved on the end of the hilt of the sword pressed against Isaac’s neck was the mark of Roberni. The moment he confirmed that mark, Isaac felt a sudden, sharp pain as the back of his head was struck without hesitation, and he lost consciousness.
He can’t.
He mustn’t get hurt.
Even in unconsciousness, that was the only thought that remained.
He mustn’t get hurt. What if he’s badly injured? Nothing terrible must happen. Please. ……Please save him.
――Look at him, doing that unsightly, hideous thing again. Why is a witch making the sign of the cross?
――His worry is misplaced. Is Subun the type to get hurt? Even if a resentful spirit’s grandfather dragged him down to the pits of hell, he’d come back perfectly fine.
――Why is the third one taking so long to bring him back?
――He must have drifted far. That resentful spirit looked quite persistent. Still, if it’s Subun, he’ll shake it off easily and come back.
Chattering voices could be heard from somewhere. He never imagined he would find comfort in those voices, which were always spiteful and mischievous.
Yes, that would be the case. He is a man who returned alive and well from that hellish frontier. He couldn’t have been hurt or damaged by this much. ……Still, you lot should have gone to save him; why are you here?
――He’s talking nonsense while his own life is on the line.
――What if our Manbang dies like this……, the flint jar…….
Those fools are worried about the flint jar instead of me.
Even while unconscious, a vein bulged on Isaac’s forehead. But in the very next moment,
“――!”
He gasped and snapped his eyes open. A violent pain, so intense he couldn’t even exhale, surged through his head.
“You can’t keep sleeping. He isn’t someone with that much time to spare.”
A familiar voice entered his ringing head. He wondered where he had heard it, and as he opened his blurred eyes and saw the man before him, he remembered. Ah, yes, it was that middle-aged man from before. The one who had acted as the leader of the village men.
“You caught him well. I was troubled because that person is always with him.”
A slow, low voice drifted down from above Isaac’s head. He tried to look up, but his forehead must have been split when he hit the stone floor hard, as blood flowed steadily, obscuring his vision.
“Yes, it seems someone cast a curse. A dying tiger suddenly turned into a monster and dragged him into the water, and I was able to bring him in during that gap.”
“Hmm, a curse. Yes. He’s likely done many things that would warrant a curse. It’s not strange at all. So, have you confirmed what happened to him?”
“The day is dark and the current is strong…… I will send people downstream as soon as it brightens at dawn.”
The owner of the low voice seemed to nod. In his blood-stained, blurred vision, the shadow sitting in front of him moved slowly. However, Isaac soon remembered who that shadow, which he couldn’t see clearly, was. He remembered the voice he had heard briefly just a short while ago.
Roberni was in front of him.
Isaac closed and opened his eyes tightly. After doing so a few times, his vision returned as the blood was washed away. Indeed, a man in his early fifties was sitting there. Around Roberni, who sat facing him, twenty to thirty men stood. Looking around, it seemed to be some kind of abandoned warehouse. Likely a communal warehouse somewhere in the settlement.
A thought suddenly flashed through Isaac’s mind.
“In that village――were you there after driving out all the villagers……?”
He remembered the village where Roberni’s party had been carrying the tiger; the people who came to greet them were all their comrades. If so, the people who had already been living in that village.
The answer to Isaac’s question was a relentless barrage of punches and kicks.
“Where does this brat think he is, speaking so recklessly.”
“You should just answer the questions; you shouldn’t be the one speaking first. Know your place.”
Amidst the indiscriminate strikes, delivered as if they didn’t care if he were broken in the wrong place and collapsed, Isaac quickly became covered in blood. It took less than a few minutes for his teeth to break and his eyelids to swell, leaving his face a mess. In the process, it wouldn’t have been strange if several bones had broken from the relentless beatings with clubs or bats.
With his hands and feet tied behind him, Isaac lay sprawled like a corpse, gasping for breath. Before him, Roberni, who had been sitting quietly and watching with narrow eyes, leaned forward. He tapped Isaac’s temple with the tobacco pipe in his mouth. At the feeling of his flesh being seared hot, Isaac flinched and jerked his body.
“How admirable that he worries about the villagers. We can answer that; why be so rough with him, Ekio? What about the people who originally lived in that village? Did you send them somewhere?”
When Roberni asked, the middle-aged man standing beside him bowed and answered.
“No. It was originally empty. I entered there with our boys four days ago, and since no one was there, we’ve been using it as a base.”
“Ho, I see. A village formed deep in the mountains, but everyone must have left because life was too harsh.”
“Yes…… that is, it felt as if people had lived there until very recently, as food and daily necessities were all left behind…… I wondered if the villagers had all gone somewhere nearby for a trip, but they never returned.”
The middle-aged man trailed off, sounding slightly puzzled. “Hah, is there such a thing as leaving a village while leaving all the food and goods behind?” Roberni remarked in a curious tone, but he seemed to dismiss it as an insignificant matter.
Hearing this, Isaac swallowed a groan and grit his teeth.
It was a village devoured by a witch.
All the people of that village had been eaten by the witch.
“Ah…… perhaps it was the work of a witch. I’ve been feeling a massive amount of Mana in this area. Though Hailen is originally a land brimming with spiritual energy.”
Then, a short man standing behind Roberni spoke. The man, clad in a grey robe, wore a sash woven with gold and purple threads. He was a mage who operated independently through contracts with people, not belonging to a guild. A jet-black onyx hung from the sash. It was the mark of a high-ranking mage.
Is that man the mage Roberni newly hired?
Isaac looked distantly at the mage through eyes that were constantly blurring with blood and sweat, then closed them. ……It’s hard. It hurts. He had already endured countless physical pains over the past few months, as if experiencing a lifetime’s worth all at once, so why did he never get used to it? Feeling his body throb with every breath, as if a couple of ribs were broken, Isaac took shallow breaths.
“It would be best not to stay long. In a land where Mana is active, there may be some kind of interference, and there is a possibility that unpredictable things could happen.”
At the mage’s words, Roberni nodded.
“Yes, who knows what interference might come. Well…… no matter what interference comes, I won’t back down, but I’m not a man with much time either. I’ve waited too long coming all the way to this remote area.”
As Roberni clicked his tongue, the middle-aged man bowed his head apologetically, saying, “I am sorry.” The other men standing beside him did the same. These were likely the mid-level executives of Roberni’s vast party who had come to Hailen to capture Isaac.
Surrounded by such men, and facing Roberni who had openly brought a mage along, Isaac sighed deeply inwardly. This might truly be dangerous. Perhaps there had been no need to be depressed about dying at the Prince’s hand.
“Now, you pitiful and unlucky young thing, let us comfort my subordinates who died so miserably.”
Roberni spoke softly as he leaned toward Isaac. Simultaneously, he took a long, pointed blade handed to him by a subordinate and drove it ruthlessly into Isaac’s torso.
Gasp, Isaac twisted his body, unable to even scream. A burning pain spread from his waist, where the blade had penetrated, throughout his entire body.
That was only the beginning; Roberni stabbed Isaac one by one with the blades handed to him by his subordinates. He would pull them out again or twist them, choosing spots that would cause only pain without killing him. Slowly, with his own hands.
The screams that had occasionally burst out subsided. His body stretched out in agony, unable to even let out a scream. The twitching movements that occurred every time a blade pierced his body gradually faded.
This might be dangerous. I might actually die.
Isaac thought within his consciousness, which was growing distant with pain. Blood pooled heavily beneath his collapsed body. He could feel his life slipping away.
……I can’t. Not yet. I cannot die before catching that witch. I must still help him with these eyes.
Isaac suddenly remembered the Prince being dragged into the stream by the resentful spirit. When he was being dragged by the spirit that was nothing more than a head, his eyes had met the Prince’s.
Even with teeth firmly embedded in his nape and shoulder, his expressionless face hadn’t changed in the slightest, but the moment his eyes met Isaac’s, he had frowned. As he was dragged into the stream by the resentful spirit, the expression on the Prince’s face upon seeing the men surrounding Isaac was one of dismay.
“……Lord Kaieon…… will be angry,”
Isaac’s lips trembled. That faint sound, close to a monologue, seemed to have reached the ears of Roberni, who was leaning over him. Roberni raised an eyebrow, muttered “Huh?” and then burst into laughter.
“Haha, I see, is that person your source of hope? That if I kill you, he will avenge you? Haha, even in this state, you intend to threaten me. Yes, yes, to oppose this Roberni, you must have at least that much guts, indeed.”
Along with that boisterous laughter, thwack, a sharp pain dug deep into Isaac’s shoulder. Isaac flinched and closed his eyes, which were continuously leaking cold sweat.
“Yes, he is a remarkable person. A truly remarkable monster. To be able to shake my organization to such an extent single-handedly—he cannot be called human. To think such a terrible monster is the one who will become King!”
Roberni shouted. His rough laughter was now mixed with anger and fury. Roberni grabbed Isaac’s hair and pulled. His head was forced up until it was right in front of Roberni.
“Yes, even if he is such a monster, he is royalty, so no matter how much I want to, I cannot lay a hand on him. If he is the one who made my subordinates like that, the one who drove my lovely daughter to her death, it wouldn’t be enough to tear him apart piece by piece from head to toe while alive and throw him to the dogs! To know who that man to be torn apart is, yet be unable to touch him!”
The violent shouting rang loudly in Isaac’s ears. Roberni, who had been roaring like a mad beast, suddenly stopped talking. Then, he peered at Isaac with narrow eyes.
“……But you are different.”
“――!”
Roberni twisted the knife embedded in Isaac’s waist. Isaac trembled, unable to make a sound. Roberni brought his face close to the tip of Isaac’s nose and clicked his tongue.
“The life of a dog who meets the wrong master is a miserable one. Pitifully, you met the worst master and have come to bear the heavenly punishment that master should receive instead. How did you come to serve such a cruel and vicious monster? However, that too is your fate for serving the wrong master; resent your master.”
The sensation of a knife plunging in again pierced his body. The blades, which avoided vital spots so he wouldn’t die easily, were suffocatingly painful. Isaac suffered through a consciousness that was blurring but not breaking. It would be easier if he could just lose consciousness.
“Does it hurt? It must hurt. But it won’t even reach one ten-thousandth of the pain my daughter and my subordinates felt as they died unjustly.”
Roberni spoke through his teeth, smiling with his teeth showing.
“Cry, suffer, scream, you wicked seed! My pitiful and innocent subordinates will be comforted, if only in the afterlife. Heavenly punishment will one day fall upon that cruel and wicked person as well!”
Isaac, who had been so limp he couldn’t move even when stabbed, shifted his blurred eyes. Roberni’s hideously smiling face entered his distorted vision. Isaac suddenly let out a weak, faint smile. Seeing that smile, Roberni raised an eyebrow.
“……You shameless fellow…….”
Along with a hollow laugh, a faint sound like the wind leaked sporadically from Isaac’s mouth. Roberni stopped laughing and looked at Isaac with narrow eyes, then brought his ear close to the mouth of Isaac, who could barely move his lips. Words that were barely audible mixed between the rough and thin breaths.
“How many people have your subordinates harmed, and how many have you made shed tears of blood…… even if that isn’t a reason to die, you shouldn’t act as if you’re an innocent civilian who died without cause…!”
As he finished those words, Isaac gathered the last remnants of strength left in his body, which felt as if it were dead and limp, and forced his head up. He bit down on Roberni’s ear as the man leaned toward him; Roberni let out a scream and violently shoved Isaac away. Rolling across the floor, limp as a water-soaked piece of cotton, Isaac spat out the torn piece of flesh. Roberni, clutching his bleeding ear, flew into a mad rage and began kicking Isaac. He kicked him indiscriminately, then randomly ripped out the knives embedded in Isaac’s body and swung them about.
Curled into a ball, Isaac soon felt both his consciousness and his pain fade into the distance. It felt impossible. He didn’t think he could hold on much longer.
Not yet. I still have to help him more.
Life was flowing out of his body like sand.
—Manbang-a!
Somewhere on the border between consciousness and unconsciousness, he heard the cry of a cat.
—Third! Third!!
The cat seemed to be calling out urgently. He felt a small presence running toward him from afar. From far, far outside. Light footsteps raced toward him, as if tracking Isaac’s trail.
And following behind were heavy steps. That familiar presence.
He could tell the footsteps approaching from afar had reached the outside of the warehouse.
Isaac looked toward the door with eyes that were neither open nor closed. His blurred vision felt as if it would be covered in black at any moment.
Finally, the door opened.
With a heavy creak, a large shadow entered through the opening of the warehouse door.
Water droplets dripped from the feet of the drenched shadow. Beside him, a small shadow—a cat—dashed inside as if leading the way. The cat let out a meow.
The large shadow overlapped the small one. The steps entering the warehouse came to a sudden halt.
It was the Prince. The Prince had stopped at the door upon entering the warehouse. His gaze was fixed on Isaac.
Isaac, lying in a pool of blood and pierced by several knives, locked eyes with the Prince. Even through his blurred vision, he could tell immediately that the large shadow was the Prince. He knew it just by the sound of the footsteps.
You’ve come. He wished he could at least wave his hand, but his body wouldn’t move. Isaac barely managed to blink his eyes, gasping for shallow breaths. However, since his eyes had already been half-closed, he didn’t know if the Prince had noticed.
“My, my… to think such a noble person would visit such a humble place…”
At that moment, Roberni let out a hearty laugh, stood up, and bowed deeply.
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”
The Prince, who had been staring only at Isaac in silence, lifted his head. Upon meeting that gaze, Roberni flinched for a moment. It was a chillingly cold look. It didn’t seem human.
“I have no further business with you,” the Prince said. Even his voice was cold enough to freeze the heart.
“Now that I’ve drawn out that witch, I have no more use for you. I don’t care what you do or where you go, but…”
The Prince’s gaze dropped back to Isaac. His pale face, devoid of all color, looked as if he were already dead.
“Do not touch him. He still has a use.”
The Prince took a step forward. Another step, and then another. The Prince’s terrifying gaze was fixed solely on Isaac. However,
“I cannot do that, Your Highness. As you know, this atrocious man has killed many of my subordinates, so I must collect the appropriate debt. Even Your Highness cannot interfere with this.”
Roberni stepped forward as if to block the Prince from reaching Isaac. Behind him, a mage, receiving a signal from his eyes, followed suit.
The Prince’s gaze shifted to Roberni. A voice devoid of emotion declared lowly:
“Then it will simply end with your death.”
“Now, you mustn’t do that. I am Roberni. From the back alleys of the capital to the great markets, countless things are kept in balance by me and my people. If something sudden were to happen to me, no one would be able to govern my people, and the capital would fall into chaos, losing the order and balance it has maintained until now. —Furthermore,”
Roberni glanced at the mage standing behind him. The mage recited an incantation without hesitation, and shortly after, the air began to shimmer in front of Roberni. The shimmering air, like a rising heat haze, divided the Prince and Roberni as if a wall had been erected.
“I must finish my business without any interference.”
Roberni curled his lips into a smile. Then, he pulled out one of the knives embedded in Isaac’s body and plunged it back in. Isaac’s body jolted again as the blade sank deep with a sickening thud.
The Prince’s eyes froze coldly. Drawing his sword, the Prince immediately strode toward Roberni and swung—but the moment the blade touched the shimmering heat haze, it bounced off with a clang! as if hitting an iron wall.
The Prince’s expression hardened. He thrust the sword forward again, but once more, the blade was blocked mid-way. It was the same no matter how many times he tried.
“The mage I newly hired is quite capable. In particular, building a wall that no physical attack can penetrate is this friend’s greatest specialty. No matter what famous sword or divine blade you bring in the world, you will not be able to pierce this wall built of Mana.”
Roberni smiled, looking straight at the Prince. Then, he drove the knife down once more.
“I do not know why Your Highness, who has never shown concern for others, has come all this way. Nor do I expect Your Highness to bat an eye even if this man dies miserably under a mountain of false accusations, but this is the death of one who dared to anger me, Roberni.”
With those words, Roberni’s knife pierced through Isaac’s chest. Isaac’s body stiffened as he gasped for air. The Prince’s sword sliced through the air, but it was merely blocked by the wall of air.
Beyond that shimmering wall, Isaac saw the Prince. He felt he had never seen the man’s face so terrifyingly rigid. While swinging his useless sword dozens of times and cutting down the necks of the men surrounding the Prince like bundles of straw, the Prince stared at Isaac with wide, glaring eyes.
…Is this it? Is it over?
Isaac closed his fading eyes. Even his mind grew distant. He felt that this was truly the end.
If so, at least one last time. I hope I can leave behind at least one clue that might be helpful to him.
Isaac thought of Alikisa. Where she might be and what she might be doing. He struggled to gather his rapidly scattering consciousness.
Then, thump—the sensation of a heartbeat.
In a body where life had flowed out and almost no strength remained, his heart suddenly beat frantically as if overloaded. His eyes grew burning hot, and his blackened vision spun dizzily.
The distorted, marbled vision grew faintly bright. And what appeared before him was a dark forest.
It was the witch’s vision. The witch was walking through a dense, overgrown forest. Within the thicket of trees, so crowded it was difficult to walk, lurked a darkness that even wild beasts would shun. And as she moved into that darkness, there stood a massive tree with its roots clinging to a giant rock.
Standing before it, the witch softly murmured an incantation. A sinister spell that seemed to vibrate the forest air lingered in the place. Soon, the rock began to shake. Slowly, as if retreating on its own, the rock pushed back bit by bit. Only a few spans. Only after moving that much did the rock stop, leaving a pitch-black hole as if the earth had opened its mouth.
The witch entered the hole without hesitation. The narrow opening grew larger as she went inside, and after several dozen steps, it became as wide as a spacious cave. After walking several dozen more steps through the dark cave, the outside appeared, and there—was a pond.
A pond covered in deep green moss, untouched by any foot, with no way in from the outside.
The waning moon was reflected on the still surface of the water. That moon shattered and scattered as the witch stepped into the pond, causing the surface to ripple.
Step by step, the witch walked into the pond. When she was submerged up to her knees, then her thighs, and finally her waist, a faint light began to leak from beneath the water. She had begun to flow her life force into the water. That faint light grew stronger, soon becoming as vivid as moonlight.
Right then.
‘—You were watching…!’
Suddenly, the witch let out a piercing scream.
‘You saw…! You saw…!’
The scream thundered inside his head. Isaac frowned his closed eyes. He curled his body even further. The sound of the witch screaming and shouting madly tore through his eardrums.
It felt as if his entire mind was being shaken. The screams and curses flew in and ravaged his mind with horrific resonance. His vision swam. Sparks flashed within his eyes.
‘I will not leave you alone, I will not leave you alone…! Where are you! Half-soul, where are you…!’
The sound of the witch reciting an incantation echoed terrifyingly in his ears.
A black wind rose. A vortex formed, and the wind began to howl violently. The wind, surging into a powerful whirlwind, took the shape of a monster as it spun with terrifying momentum. A transparent form, like a giant snake with a long trailing tail, coiled and created a vortex in search of its prey.
‘Where are you, half-soul…!!’
The witch’s tearing voice pierced his eardrums.
No. I have to open my eyes. I must open them now. I can’t let that witch track me.
Instinct was warning Isaac. He had to open his eyes—but it was as if his tail had been caught just as he tried to flee; his eyes would not open.
Where are you, where are you, where are you.
The vortex surged higher and larger, and the snake-shaped whirlwind grew more ferocious. The massive trees around the pond swayed violently as if they were all about to be uprooted.
His mind boiled. It felt like it would explode. Isaac curled up and swallowed his breath, unable to even scream.
Isaac! It felt as if someone was calling him. A familiar voice. But it was the first time he had heard them call so urgently, making it feel strange in a way.
I have to open my eyes. Hurry. I have to open them now. Before I’m caught.
Cold sweat drenched Isaac’s body as he struggled. His mind burned and boiled terrifyingly. It felt as if his entire brain was boiling.
Boiling, boiling, and then at one moment, it exploded.
—There you were…!
With a long, drawn-out scream, his vision suddenly went pitch black.
“—!!”
Isaac snapped his eyes open as if struck by lightning, remembering once again that he was collapsed at Roberni’s feet in that abandoned warehouse. At the same time, he realized that his life was scattering away along with his rapidly vanishing strength.
The first thing to enter his blurred vision was the Prince. He was looking at him from beyond the air that was still shimmering like a heat haze. No, perhaps he wasn’t the person he knew. Such a stiff, frozen expression.
“…Tree roots… under a big rock… cave—.”
Isaac barely managed to mutter. No sound came out; he only managed to move his lips, hoping desperately that the man would understand. He didn’t have enough strength left to whisper a second time.
“What is this, a convulsion right before death?”
Roberni frowned, looking down at Isaac, who had momentarily jolted and twisted his body. He raised the jagged knife above Isaac’s head.
“I’ll make sure you can’t move anymore. —Fall into hell.”
It was just as Roberni muttered and tightened his grip on the knife.
Suddenly.
Rumble… The ground seemed to shake. The floor trembled faintly, and the materials inside the warehouse rattled and collided.
“What the… suddenly… an earthquake?”
Roberni looked around, his face twisting. An earthquake in the mountains—that could easily lead to a landslide. This was no ordinary occurrence.
“That’s impossible… an earthquake in Hailen… in this land full of vital energy…”
The mage muttered in disbelief. Even as he looked around, confused by the situation.
A massive sound approached from afar.
A violent, majestic presence was sweeping through the surrounding forest and rushing in. The sound of trees falling grew closer in an instant.
“What is this, outside… like a typhoon—,”
It was while Roberni was muttering with a distorted face. When the sound, rushing in at a terrifying speed, reached the immediate vicinity, the warehouse door shattered. Not just the door. The old wooden warehouse was nearly halved from the entrance onward and blown away, and a violent wind rushed in.
No, it wasn’t wind.
That wind-like thing, which appeared transparent, took the form of a giant snake that filled the abandoned warehouse. That ferocious snake smashed through the warehouse and filled the interior.
Everything was swept up in the vortex. Broken materials, limp corpses, and discarded weapons.
“A-A Curse…!”
The mage shouted, his eyes wide with horror.
People who had clung to pillars firmly embedded in the ground to avoid being swept away were violently pushed by the wind.
The wall of shimmering air shook. The wind did not blow past it yet, but the rumbling of the earth was growing stronger.
The ferocious whirlwind circled inside the warehouse. The wind, sweeping every corner as if searching for something, finally reached the heat haze after scouring the entire warehouse.
Whoosh— The heat haze was pushed back. Simultaneously, the pale-faced mage gasped.
“How… can it be this powerful… —It’s a witch, a witch’s curse…”
The mage muttered, his blue lips trembling. The hairs on his head stood on end. Veins bulged all over his body. But no human power could withstand a witch, and so,
“—.”
Thud. With a massive impact that couldn’t be heard by the ear, the heat haze scattered. The mage collapsed, vomiting black blood, and behind the vanished heat haze, the entire warehouse was engulfed by the ferocious whirlwind.
The giant snake with the body of a vortex discovered Isaac. As if that alone were its purpose, it opened its massive maw and lunged straight for Isaac. Isaac saw that transparent and savage form, baring long, sharp teeth, closing in instantly. At the edge of his vision, he also saw the Prince drawing his sword and rushing forward with a terrifying expression.
Slash! The Prince’s blade sliced through the snake. However, the snake’s body simply passed through the blade as effortlessly as a breeze. It was the same no matter how many times he slashed or stabbed.
—I hate you, I hate you, I hate you…!
Another voice overlapped from somewhere.
The resentful spirit riding on the witch’s curse belonged to the mage possessed by the witch. One who now had no reason or intellect, and whose life was fading, leaving only a resentful spirit.
Amidst that tearing curse and chilling resentful spirit, the snake struck Isaac,
Crunch.
Those long, savage teeth sank deep into Isaac’s heart.
A large hole was torn through the heart that was half-human and half-witch. The spurting blood stained the vortex snake.
At that exact moment, a long and terrible scream seemed to echo. The death throes of the young mage, filled only with grudge and curse.
And then—the whirlwind that had been raging madly inside the warehouse stopped all at once, as if it were a lie. The domineering sound of the wind vanished, and objects that had been flying in the air fell and rolled across the floor.
The commotion ceased abruptly.
A silent stillness.
Within it, Isaac remained frozen.
The snake, which had sunk its savage teeth deep into Isaac’s heart, slowly, very slowly, scattered. Like wind mixing into the air.
—He’s dead.
—That human mage has breathed his last.
A thin cat’s voice mixed into the scattering breeze.
Isaac felt his heart give one thump. As the heart, pierced by sharp teeth, beat strongly, blood surged violently over it.
Tasting all those sensations vividly, Isaac felt something shatter and vanish. Something was disappearing. Something that had been lodged in Isaac’s heart was scattering. Along with it, his eyes suddenly grew burning hot. It fiercely burned something within his eyes as if to leave only ashes. Within that sensation, Isaac realized instinctively, even though no one had told him.
Ah, I see. That’s it. It’s over now. With a heart that has shattered once more, I can no longer see the witch. That mage took my heart away as his final breath flickered out.
“Isaac!”
The sound of someone calling my name reached me from a great distance. I tried to force my eyes open, but my eyelids were deathly heavy. Through the gaps of my fluttering lids, I saw the face of a man rushing toward me.
Strange. He isn’t the type of person to wear such a frantic expression.
Perhaps I am seeing things wrong in my fading consciousness.
“…I can’t use my eyes anymore.”
Isaac barely managed to move his lips. No sound came out, but the man who had reached him likely understood.
I cannot be of help to you anymore. Now, even his lips could not move, and that regretful whisper vanished inside his mouth.
Under eyelids so heavy it felt as though they would never open again, Isaac wondered with a rapidly blurring mind if he would ever see again. He hoped he could. If only he could see this man one more time. Now, that was his only regret.
But his consciousness plummeted into the abyss, and Isaac let go of everything—his awareness, his regrets. Beyond the senses closing in darkness, he thought he heard the faint sound of a cat meowing.
He woke to a dim evening.
Outside the window by his head, he could see the red sun setting. Over the mountain ridges where the sun had already halfway dipped, the sunset had deepened into a dark navy blue.
Seeing stars already floating in the opposite sky even before the sun had fully set, Isaac thought with a vacant mind, I wonder where the moon is… Since the moon wasn’t visible through the wide glass window that occupied one wall, he figured it must be in the opposite sky. In a moonless sky, the stars that had rushed to appear sparkled as if they had finally found their world.
Blinking blankly at the window, he suddenly turned his gaze and noticed the curtains tied neatly by the window; they felt strangely familiar. When had he looked at those elegant, monochrome patterned curtains and thought the color was beautiful? As Isaac continued to think vacantly, the answer suddenly struck him like a bolt of lightning.
It was at the Hailen Star Palace. In the Prince’s bedroom.
“—!”
Isaac kicked off the covers and bolted upright instinctively. Looking around in bewilderment, there was no mistake. It was the Star Palace of Hailen. He was lying right there, in the Prince’s bedroom, on the Prince’s bed.
What is happening? Why am I lying here? If I’m caught like this, the consequences will be severe. Wait, since when, and how did I end up lying here…
「You’re awake!」
「He’s awake!」
Suddenly, the loud, booming meows of cats rang out. Simultaneously, three large shadows lunged at Isaac all at once, leaving him no room to dodge.
Isaac curled his body with a startled “ugh” as the three of them practically tackled his head, neck, and stomach, but regardless, the three clung to him, yowling.
「I thought Manbang would never wake up again!」
「I thought he’d never wake up for the rest of his life!」
「Waaaah, Manbang-a!!」
As the three of them kneaded Isaac with their front and hind paws and even licked him clean, Isaac looked around at them in confusion. Wondering why they were acting so out of character, he decided to first put down the one sitting on the back of his head since it was heavy, and just as he reached his arm back—
A sharp pain shot through his chest. His breath hitched instantly and he hunched his shoulders, and with that pain, his memories returned.
That was it.
He had been dragged to a derelict warehouse in the mountains by Roberni’s gang. There, he had encountered Roberni, and—his heart had been pierced by a Curse sent by the witch.
The feeling of something shattering and scattering into pieces inside his heart. The sensation of something burning pitch-black in his eyes, turning into ash.
Isaac could no longer see the witch.
「I licked every nook and cranny, but since the hole was so large and the surface healed first, the inside probably hasn’t fully healed yet. It’ll hurt for a bit until it’s all better.」
「I was worried that because the inside hadn’t healed, something went wrong and he’d just keep sleeping without waking up. I wondered what I’d do if he slept for the rest of his life.」
「Waaaah, Manbang-a!!」
The three of them were kneading Isaac with their paws and licking him again. Isaac, who had been quietly clutching his chest, carefully removed his hand once the pain subsided. As long as he didn’t move suddenly, it didn’t hurt that much. If it hadn’t fully healed even after these cats licked him, he must have been severely injured that day. Then again, Isaac himself had thought he might just die as he lost consciousness. No, he was certain he would die. He hadn’t expected to wake up.
“….”
Turning his gaze, he saw a mountain of goat meat piled on a large plate at the foot of the bed. Beside it was a dish of wine. Both remained untouched.
“You rascals, were you worried?”
Isaac quietly reached out and stroked the three of them in turn. As he scratched behind their ears, the three purred and chirped happily.
「Your body looked healed on the outside and you were breathing, but you wouldn’t wake up, so I thought maybe something went wrong with Alikisa’s Curse.」
「Besides, Su-bun stayed on top of you for days and nights without rest, pouring life force into you, but you still wouldn’t wake up.」
“…T-they did?”
Hearing that, he felt a strange, throbbing soreness in his lower body. He had assumed it was just because he was so badly injured that day…
「Of course. They kept feeding you from top to bottom. You ate everything they gave, yet you just wouldn’t wake up.」
“….”
The sticky, fishy taste in his mouth might not have been just his imagination. Isaac reflexively wiped the corner of his mouth, though there was nothing there.
“How long was I asleep?”
「A week.」
Hearing the cats’ words, Isaac fell silent in shock.
A whole week.
“I felt like I’d slept for a while, but…”
He hadn’t realized he’d been unconscious for so long. He remembered waking up after three days when he lost consciousness while looking at Alikisa, but then he recalled that his condition had been entirely different then. Perhaps he should consider it a blessing to have woken up in a week, considering he had seen her while nearly dead.
“A week… …Uh,”
As Isaac tried to count the dates, he froze.
A week.
On the night Isaac was captured by Roberni, when he saw the witch, the waning crescent moon was reflected on the pond.
Isaac turned his gaze back to the window and examined the sky. In the navy-blue sky where the sun had almost vanished, more stars than before were sparkling more brilliantly. Only the stars.
“Is today the Dark Moon?”
As Isaac asked blankly while looking up at the starry sky, the cats tilted their heads, their eyes wide.
“Today is… the day the grand assembly is held?”
The cats tilted their heads again. Isaac looked at the cats vacantly, then looked back at the sky and let his shoulders slump.
It was today. Today at midnight, all the witches in the human world would gather for the grand assembly. Gathering where Alikisa is.
But Isaac could no longer see Alikisa. He no longer knew where she was or what she was doing. Even though the day of the grand assembly had finally arrived.
As he stared blankly at the stars sparkling like masters of the moonless sky, the door opened.
The Prince entered and stopped for a moment upon seeing that Isaac was awake. He stood at the door, staring intently at Isaac as if to confirm it. Isaac blinked in surprise, seeing how sharply thin the Prince had become over the past few days. I see, since it’s the Dark Moon, his condition must have been poor. But to be this thin… he looked like someone who hadn’t eaten or slept properly.
“Are you awake?”
The Prince asked as he closed the door and entered. Even then, he did not take his eyes off Isaac. It was as if Isaac might vanish the moment he looked away.
“Yes. …Um, I woke up and found myself lying here…”
Feeling extremely apologetic and anxious about occupying the Prince’s bed, Isaac tried to speak, but the Prince didn’t seem to mind. Without a word, he went and sat in the chair beside the bed.
For a while, there was silence. The Prince simply looked at Isaac in silence. Isaac also remained silent, meeting eyes that betrayed nothing of his thoughts. Come to think of it, this man had also been bitten deeply in the shoulder by a resentful spirit… yet he looked perfectly fine.
“I wondered if you’d never wake up.”
At some point, the Prince spoke abruptly. Hearing that low mutter, Isaac rubbed the back of his neck and murmured, “But I did wake up…” Because the Prince looked so gaunt, he seemed even more desolate. The atmosphere felt as if Isaac should apologize for waking up. Then, suddenly—
“…The pond…! Alikisa’s body—”
A memory suddenly flashed through his mind, and Isaac snapped his head up. The sudden tension in his body caused his heart to sting again, and he frowned, hunching his shoulders with a small “ugh.” The Prince seemed to frown slightly at the sight of him.
“I found it. A large rock with tree roots embedded in it. When I dug beneath it, there was a cave leading to the pond.”
“Then,”
“However, the witch’s body was not in the pond. Though there were traces that something had been taken out of the water.”
“—.”
He was one step too late.
The moment the witch realized she had been seen by Isaac, she must have felt threatened and removed her body. However, she wouldn’t be able to leave a body that was being relentlessly pursued by a Curse exposed for long. She must have hidden it somewhere again.
“Since then, the witch’s trail has gone cold. I’ve stationed soldiers at every settlement, and there’s been no news of any village being entirely taken over.”
“…Since that mage died, she shouldn’t be able to dwell in that body anymore…”
At the Prince’s words, Isaac frowned and stroked his chin.
Since she wouldn’t have gathered enough life force, she wouldn’t have been able to return to her own body. At the same time, it would be difficult to easily find another place to hide the body to evade the persistent pursuit of the Curse, so she likely kept the body somewhere not far from herself. A temporary, safe place until she could gather enough life force to shake off the Curse. And she…
“I wonder who she possessed.”
Isaac murmured unconsciously. It would have been difficult to find a new body to possess and contract with in such a short time.
“Perhaps another witch she was close with… or maybe she possessed a beast? Like a cat…”
As Isaac, who had been staring at the cats now engrossed in a feast of goat meat and wine, suddenly murmured, the cats—who he thought were only focused on eating—perked their ears and snapped their eyes open.
「We aren’t possessed!」
「This is our original body!」
「This is our elegant, beautiful, and noble body!」
「We aren’t cats!」
These creatures, who looked and acted exactly like cats, claimed they weren’t cats… Isaac looked at them with blatantly narrowed eyes.
「And do you think a witch can possess just anyone? Because the magic capacity must match, they can’t possess humans who can’t use magic at all, nor can they possess fellow witches, and the same goes for beasts.」
「Beasts are born closer to nature than humans, so most of them have a bit of magic capacity, but they absolutely cannot be possessed.」
“Why? Because they’re afraid they’ll end up acting like the beast?”
When he murmured, I saw you guys kneading well earlier…, the cats hissed, their back hair standing on end in anger. Right, right, that’s exactly how a cat behaves.
「Beasts can’t speak, so they can’t chant incantations!」
「What would they do entering a creature that can’t even chant? They’d likely get trapped in that body and never be able to get out!」
「They might use beasts as servants, but possessing one as a primary soul? That’s madness! If no one helps them out, they’d have to live as that beast for the rest of their lives!」
「That’s why we are not cats!」
Seeing their tail hair flared out like fans, Isaac figured the cats were quite angry and waved his hand dismissively, saying, “Sure, sure.” A few more hisses of I said we aren’t!! were heard, but in the meantime, they went back to being busy eating.
Looking away from them, Isaac quietly turned his gaze to the Prince.
“I can no longer see the witch.”
The Prince did not answer the heavy words. He simply looked at Isaac in silence.
“If I could see the witch, I might be able to tell where the grand assembly is being held or who she is possessing… but I can’t be of help now that the important time has come.”
I thought I was finally becoming useful, Isaac murmured like a sigh and lowered his gaze. His heart sank heavily.
Suddenly, the Prince stood up. He strode over to the bed, sat down, pulled Isaac toward him, and fiercely bit his lip. The sharp sensation of his lip bursting was now familiar. A metallic taste spread in his mouth.
The Prince sucked his lip hard. Hearing the sound of blood sliding down the Prince’s throat, Isaac thought, Ah, this was still here.
Come to think of it, the sun of the Dark Moon was setting. It was about time for the Prince’s—the cursed royalty’s—pain to begin. Others would fall into sleep through contracts with mages, but the Prince, who had felt the terrible pain every Dark Moon night, was now escaping that pain by drinking Isaac’s blood.
“I’m glad I’m at least useful for this.”
As Isaac murmured, the Prince fell silent. Then, as if suddenly overcome by anger, he bit into Isaac’s neck.
“Usefulness… —I didn’t [care] about such things,”
A low sound seemed to brush past his ear. However, the rough tone spat through the teeth blurred at the end and couldn’t be heard clearly.
The Prince bit Isaac’s neck again. But there was no sign of him trying to swallow the blood. Although the blood flowed naturally down his throat, the Prince was simply biting Isaac’s neck, cheeks, and lips indiscriminately. It was violent, as if he wanted to swallow him whole, as if everything he had suppressed until now was surging up.
It was then.
Almost simultaneously with a knock on the door, the door opened.
A man clad in light armor entered the room. A strange smell, a mixture of dust and the scent of blood, rushed in.
Even after hearing that distinct presence, the Prince did not look back. He continued to suck Isaac’s lips, indifferent to whoever had entered, and only pulled away after Isaac let out a short “ugh” because his shoulder was being gripped so hard it creaked. He was still holding Isaac’s shoulder firmly, but the strength in his grip quickly faded.
The Prince, still looking down at Isaac with fierce eyes, only slowly lowered his hand—as if briefly loosening a grip he had no intention of letting go of—after the man, who had been standing by the door, greeted him with, “I have returned.”
Isaac rubbed his throbbing shoulder and looked at the man in light armor. He wouldn’t have known just by the glimpse of the armor, but he recognized the voice. It was Rihan. He looked as if he had just returned from a battlefield, with dried black blood on various parts of his armor, but he himself seemed uninjured.
After giving Isaac a light nod of greeting, he bowed deeply toward the Prince, who was turning away from him. Then, he held out a pitch-black bundle.
Isaac, looking curiously at the fairly large and heavy-looking bundle, suddenly frowned. The black cloth wrapping the bundle was wet at the bottom. Moisture, as if a sticky liquid had pooled inside, slowly seeped out and a single drop fell. The color was dark red.
As the Prince took the bundle and untied the knot, the scent of blood spread throughout the room. Isaac fell silent upon seeing what was inside the bundle.
It was a human head. The severed head with a horribly distorted face belonged to Roberni.
“Throw it in the dog kennel.”
Looking down at the head indifferently, the Prince tossed it carelessly onto the floor. The head hit the floor with a thud and rolled a couple of times before stopping.
Just then, a heavy set of footsteps approached from outside the door. The hurried pace came to a halt in front of the bedroom, and soon there was a knock.
“Lord Kaieon, it is Hector. I have urgent news.”
The voice, thick with anxiety, belonged to the administrator.
As the Prince looked back at Rihan, Rihan opened the door. The administrator entered in haste but paused upon seeing him. The administrator scanned Rihan—who was clad in light armor from the border regions—with a strangely furrowed brow, then his eyebrows twitched as he spotted Isaac sitting blankly on the Prince’s bed. Only then did he shift his gaze to the Prince, who was looking at him with indifference. Meeting the Prince’s eyes, the administrator wiped his sweat-beaded forehead and bowed deeply.
“Lord Kaieon, urgent word has arrived from the capital. Border soldiers have invaded the city and are beheading people. The Royal Guard and the city watch are attempting to stop them, but they are powerless; it is said that hundreds of heads have piled up in the Grand Plaza.”
The administrator continued, glancing uneasily at Rihan, who wore blood-stained light armor.
“Because it happened so suddenly, we have not yet established contact with the commander of the border soldiers. However, as there have been reports recently that the movements of the border soldiers were unusual, we cannot rule out the possibility that they have harbored treasonous intent. Therefore, we have received word requesting that you return to the capital immediately, ……gasp,”
The administrator, who had been speaking while breaking into a cold sweat, suddenly choked and stopped mid-sentence. His gaze had frozen on a head rolling in the corner of the floor.
“Th-th-this is,”
“The dead are all members of Roberni’s faction. Tell them not to worry about treason. And that I shall return shortly.”
The Prince spoke nonchalantly. The administrator stared at Roberni’s head with wide eyes and muttered haltingly.
“H-how could this happen…… Roberni is dead…… If this man dies so suddenly, chaos will be unavoidable for a while……. If other organizations that were suppressed by him take this opportunity to expand their power……,”
“There is no need to leave them. Strike them as well. ——Rihan.”
As the Prince shifted his gaze to Rihan, Rihan immediately bowed his head and replied curtly, “As you wish.” The administrator looked back and forth between the soldier and the Prince, his face turning a pale blue.
“They were destined to disappear anyway. It was merely moved forward.”
The Prince spoke casually. The administrator, who had been dripping with cold sweat, seemed to compose himself, straightened his expression, and nodded. “I shall follow your orders,” he replied, his voice somewhat subdued. Indeed, as a man who had spent his entire life working in the palace and had grown seasoned over many years, he knew exactly when to speak and when to remain silent.
Listening to their conversation, Isaac felt the back of his neck grow stiff with tension.
If it was this man, he would surely achieve exactly what he desired. He was not one to act recklessly, nor one to engage in a gamble without a chance of victory, nor one who could not clean up the aftermath of his actions. Thus, in the end, everything would unfold according to his plan, but it certainly left the observer with sweaty palms.
Who else could execute such a titan as Roberni—a man whose single head could plunge thousands into chaos—so abruptly? Who else could sweep away his entire faction and the subversive seeds stemming from it in one stroke, without any warning?
Once he returns to the capital, he’ll probably spend another while unable to sleep, wading through piles of work…… As Isaac was massaging his stiff neck with that thought, the administrator, who had raised his head from his deep bow, looked at Isaac. He seemed to have much to say and appeared to be contemplating how to proceed before finally speaking.
“Since that man seems to have awakened, I shall escort him to the capital according to procedure—”
“Hector.”
The administrator’s words were cut short.
That low call was cold enough to make the administrator’s face stiffen instantly with tension, and fierce enough to make even Rihan, standing beside him, straighten his posture.
The Prince cast a glance at the administrator. Meeting that chilling gaze, cold sweat broke out on the administrator’s forehead.
“I have been in a foul mood for the past week.”
“——.”
“I feel as though I am finally starting to feel a bit better, so for your own sake, it would be best to stop here.”
The administrator stared at the Prince, frozen as if turned to stone. Eventually, he slowly bowed his head and murmured, “Yes,” his lips trembling.
One must not forget. This was a man who could draw his sword against anyone, at any time. The administrator’s own head might have ended up rolling right next to Roberni’s.
The administrator bowed deeply once more and withdrew from the room. After he left, silence flowed through the room for a while. The Prince, who had been lost in thought while looking down at Roberni’s head—or more accurately, casting an indifferent gaze anywhere—turned to Rihan.
“How many are left here?”
“About half remain.”
At Rihan’s answer, the Prince nodded.
“That is enough. Stand by.”
That was the end of it. Realizing the Prince had concluded the conversation, Rihan bowed and left the room. Isaac watched in silence as Rihan carried Roberni’s head out, following the Prince’s gesture.
On that day, amidst the whirlwind carrying the witch’s curse, Isaac felt he had caught a glimpse of Roberni’s retreating back, fleeing in terror the moment the transparent snake bit into his heart. However, he had been too overwhelmed to commit it to memory and had forgotten it; he never imagined he would see him again in this state. That the end of a man who commanded an era, rising relentlessly while drawing the hatred of people through cruel and merciless evil, would be like this.
……But, though he’s always been that way, he really just chopped it right off. Someone like Roberni will leave a huge aftermath. It’ll be noisy for a while, but he’s not the type to do something he can’t handle, so it’s fine.
Sighing and turning his gaze away, Isaac locked eyes with the Prince, who had been watching him. It seemed he had been watching him the whole time. That gaze was so frighteningly sunken that Isaac unconsciously hunched his shoulders.
Come to think of it, he had said he had been in a foul mood lately. Seeing as both Rihan and the administrator seemed to gauge the Prince’s mood the moment they entered the room, the atmosphere must have been extraordinary while Isaac was unconscious. Even now, the Prince’s expressionless face was chilling. He was staring intently at Isaac with those cold eyes.
What was he thinking? The silence flowing through the room where only the two of them remained grew heavier and heavier.
“I heard you continued to share your life force while I was asleep…… thank you.”
It wasn’t a topic he particularly wanted to bring up, but Isaac spoke, thinking it would be better than this ice-like silence. However, the Prince said nothing. He simply continued to look at Isaac.
“I thought I might die…… thanks to you, I lived.”
Isaac thanked him once more. Only then did the Prince react. He seemed to faintly arch an eyebrow before speaking.
“Did you intend to die?”
“Pardon?”
To Isaac, who questioned him, wondering what he meant, the Prince spoke coldly.
“To see a witch in that physical state; you must have intended to die.”
Blinking for a moment, Isaac soon realized he was referring to the events at the abandoned warehouse. When he had been pierced all over by Roberni and collapsed in a pool of blood, he had seen the witch.
Isaac looked back at the Prince and scratched the back of his neck. Finding it difficult to endure that chilling gaze, he subtly dropped his eyes.
“……I thought I was going to die.”
It was true. He had been lying in a pool of his own blood, his strength fading away. Still—no, because of that—he felt he had to do it.
“I thought that since I might not be able to help you anymore, I should see her one last time.”
As Isaac murmured, the Prince stared at him coldly, then curled the corner of his mouth. His voice grew lower.
“Knowing that you might have survived, but that doing so might have ensured your death?”
“I didn’t know what would happen.”
He could have lived. But he might have truly died. No, he was only awake now because he had been exceptionally lucky; if even one thing had been out of place, Isaac might have been buried under the soil by now. That was why he felt he should do whatever he could.
The Prince gazed intently at Isaac. His blue eyes were incredibly deep. So deep and cold they almost looked black. To the point that Isaac’s heart began to ache with tension.
“One week.”
The Prince spoke.
“I didn’t know if you would wake up or not. Unlike other times, the cats wouldn’t eat anything and just watched you. I thought perhaps you wouldn’t wake.”
Isaac shifted his gaze from the Prince to the cats. Having been eating goat meat deliciously, the cats glanced at Isaac with large eyes, as if they realized they were being talked about, but then pretended not to notice and remained absorbed in their meal. Isaac watched them for a moment before turning his head back to the Prince. I see. He really might have died.
“During that time, I did nothing. Neither ate nor slept. I didn’t even feel like doing so.”
The Prince tilted his head slightly. His finger, which had been resting on his temple as if languid, moved down to his chest.
“Here——no, it’s as if something is knotted here, and it won’t go down. It was an extremely unpleasant feeling. To the point where I couldn’t do anything. That feeling never left. Not for a single moment.”
The Prince’s brow furrowed as he spoke slowly, as if unable to find the exact words to express it.
“I didn’t know that simply waiting with no way to do anything would make time move so slowly.”
The Prince murmured as if to himself and fell silent. A faint tension was visible in his jaw.
Isaac stared at the Prince. Had he been waiting for him to wake up?
“……I’ve awakened, but now I cannot provide any more help.”
He could no longer see the witch. He could no longer track the witch. Isaac murmured gloomily and dropped his gaze. Perhaps the Prince had been waiting for Isaac to wake. But even if he did, it was useless.
Suddenly, the Prince’s gaze upon Isaac grew fierce. A terrifyingly deep blue gaze stared him down.
The Prince reached out and fiercely gripped Isaac’s hair.
“Do not make me angry, witch.”
The razor-sharp voice came close. Gripping Isaac’s head even tighter, as if he might snap his neck, the Prince looked directly into Isaac’s eyes from right in front of him.
“I do not care if I lose your eyes. I can simply find another way. However,”
The words leaking through his teeth in a low voice were laced with anger. No, it was a mixture of anger and certain emotions that had been suppressed.
“I told you clearly. Just like your eyes, your life is mine. That the moment your breath ceases must be the moment I desire——I told you. Have you forgotten?”
Black eyes. Isaac stared into the emotions swirling within them, unable to even blink.
“Never let this happen again.”
The Prince spoke softly. His voice was as dark and sunken as those black eyes. As if he had been in excruciating pain. As if, for the first time, he had been afraid of something.
“——.”
Suddenly, Isaac found it difficult to face him and dropped his eyes.
He wished he wouldn’t be like this. He felt as though he might misunderstand. He felt as though useless thoughts would keep cropping up. But,
“Yes.”
Isaac obediently nodded.
Either way was fine. Whether it was a misunderstanding or for any other reason. He hated it when this man made such a face. He didn’t want him to have such a strange face, one that looked so pained.
The Prince, who had been staring intently at Isaac, suddenly seemed to whisper, come here. However, because their lips overlapped so quickly, he wasn’t sure if he had actually heard the whisper. Perhaps it had been whispered only within the mouth.
Am I drinking blood? Looking up at the moonless night sky over the Prince’s shoulder, Isaac opened his mouth. On the Dark Moon, the Prince would often bite Isaac as if enjoying the taste, even after drinking enough blood to offset the Curse.
But the Prince did not bite Isaac. He bit neither his tongue nor his lips. He simply mingled their tongues. Slowly, yet firmly. Strength entered the grip holding Isaac’s head. As if he would never let go.
He did not suck blood. Nor did Isaac drink life force from his tongue, as he could no longer see the witch. They simply overlapped their lips, tasting each other’s tongues, lips, and body heat.
It felt incredibly strange. Even though they had overlapped their lips hundreds, thousands of times already.
At some point, the Prince took a low, deep breath. As if the knot that had been inside him was finally loosening a little. The arms embracing Isaac tightened, pulling him in close.
It felt strange. Isaac suddenly wondered what kind of face the Prince was making. But because their lips were overlapped, he couldn’t see. After hesitating for a moment, he wrapped his arms around the Prince’s back. Is this okay? He waited with his hand resting lightly on the Prince’s back, and seeing no sign of a reprimand, he tried hugging him a bit tighter. Then, the arms embracing Isaac tightened further, and only then did Isaac hug the Prince tightly with a peaceful heart. As he did, he suddenly felt a bit sorrowful.
It would have been better if I weren’t a witch.
Then he might have been able to think of it simply. That this man might actually hold him in his heart a little. He might have been able to imagine, even in vain, within these firmly embracing arms. If only he weren’t the witch this man hated so much.
I wish I could find the flint jar and become a complete human.
That thought suddenly occurred to him.
Although it might not change much, at least he would be able to escape this man’s fundamental hatred.
If only he could find the flint jar.
“…….”
But now, he could no longer provide the help that seemed useful. Isaac’s heart suddenly grew heavy. Today was the Grand Coven of Witches.
The sky had lost its sunset and was beginning to be dyed in the full colors of night. In a few hours, when midnight came, the Grand Coven of Witches, returning for the first time in seven years, would be held. Yet they did not know where the assembly was being held, nor where Alikisa was. They couldn’t even see her. Despite having barely managed to follow this far.
He had to catch Alikisa. Otherwise, there was no telling how many more people she would kill. What should he do? How——.
Just as Isaac clenched his jaw and took a deep breath,
「But is it okay to fill our bellies in advance like this? There’ll be plenty of food there, so wouldn’t it be better to save some room?」
「When we get there, it’ll probably just be tasteless human forearm meat. Don’t you remember last time? Only scrawny rib meat from old humans and wine that tasted like it was mixed with plain water?」
「True. We should eat this high-quality goat meat and wine while we can.」
「Even though Subun is poor enough that Manbang often fills his belly with blood because he can’t even eat dinner, it seems they know how to treat noble ones like us. How commendable.」
I disagree, I’m not dead yet, the three of them, who were burying their noses in the goat meat plate while chattering, suddenly entered Isaac’s sight. The sound of munching didn’t stop, and the mountain of meat and wine had already decreased by half.
Right, these cats who enjoyed goat meat and loved wine were also witches, come to think of it.
“……You guys seem to be going somewhere nice tonight……?”
Gently pushing the Prince away and stepping out of his embrace, Isaac approached the cats, dragging the end of his sentence slowly. The cats, focused only on their plates, replied without even looking at him.
「It’s not nice. It’s boring, tedious, and there’s hardly anything to eat. We’re just going because we have to.」
「Our situation is different from a half-breed who can’t even enter such a place.」
“…….”
These guys always have to have the last word……. Crawling on the bed toward them, Isaac grabbed them by the scruff of their necks while they were still preoccupied with emptying their plates.
“Where are you going?”
「Let go. You don’t mess with a tiger while it’s eating.」
「Once I finish chewing the meat in my mouth, I might just chew on your tasteless forearm.」