Chapter 67 :

Episode 67 - Escape (1)

Mir’s predictions were always correct.

The children who came outside were split into two groups and entrusted to different people.

Seya, Mir, and Nihil were entrusted to the man standing to the right of the skinny man, while the remaining children were entrusted to the man who had brought Seya into the room.

The man could not erase the regretful look from his face as he looked at Seya.

Though that last bit of patience finally ran dry when Seya secretly stuck out her tongue and he struck the top of her head hard.

“Take it easy! There’s no point if you injure her for no reason.”

The skinny man pulled away the man who was about to hit Seya one more time and warned him.

“That brat doesn’t know her place and keeps acting up.”

Though the man huffed, unable to control his anger, he obediently moved away from Seya at the hand pulling him back.

The sound of him grinding his teeth could be heard, but this time too, he could not disobey the skinny man’s order.

Despair appeared on the faces of the children following the man as he suppressed his anger.

No matter how they thought about it, they seemed to believe the children in the opposite group were more useful than them.

“M-mister. Can’t I go over there? I can do anything well too.”

One child made a tearful sound and was kicked by the man.

“You stupid brat, do you even know what those guys are going to go through? You’re actually the lucky one.”

At his sneer, Seya heard Nihil swallow behind her, but she did not care.

Whichever side it was, they would die meaningless deaths all the same.

“Sniff.......”

If only that whiny Nihil behind her had not been there, she felt she might have been able to care even less.

The skinny man, Seya, Mir, Nihil, and one other person walked down the corridor in one group.

Their steps were fast as they walked with the children sandwiched between them at the front and back.

So fast that the children had to move their feet almost as if running.

It was a difficult speed for children whose hands were tied behind their backs to keep up with.

Seya could feel Mir, who was standing right behind her, running out of breath.

‘She must not waste too much stamina.’

Seya thought it would be better to arrive quickly wherever these damn bastards were leading them.

But the corridors they walked through were tangled together like a maze, so it was impossible to know whether they were getting closer to their destination or not.

“Walk faster!”

Along with the sound of a rough kick, Mir’s short scream came from behind.

Damn bastards.

They would know how hard this was only if they tried walking when they could not even use their hands properly.

Holding back the urge to kick them right away, Seya kept walking while looking only ahead.

There was also the issue of conserving her stamina, but more than anything, Mir had urged her to aim for the moment when these guys let their guard down.

Tap.

The man’s steps stopped.

At the sudden stop, Seya, who had been glaring at the back of the man’s head as if she would smash it, quickly took one step back to avoid bumping into his back.

The place where he stopped was in front of an ordinary door, no different at all from the other rooms they had passed while walking through the corridor.

Seya, who had expected to be taken somewhere like a moldy prison, narrowed her eyes and examined the door more closely, but there was still nothing special about it.

Knock knock. Knock knock. Knock knock.

The man raised his hand and knocked on the door three times in intervals.

Perhaps it had been well-oiled, because the door quietly opened without even a creak.

At the same time, Seya had to quickly change her mind.

An ordinary room, my ass.

From inside the room, which had opened only wide enough for barely two fists to fit through, a heavy stench of blood leaked out, as if it would cling to her nose.

“What’s this? You brought two today?”

A low, phlegmy voice flowed out from inside.

The skinny man standing in front of Seya turned back, quickly looked over Seya’s group, and nodded.

“Yes. Though we’d be lucky if even one comes out of these. By the way,”

The skinny man stopped speaking and pointed into the room with his chin.

“What is that again? I warned you before not to proceed without procedure like this.”

“Ah, don’t be so stiff about it. You know I don’t do this unless it’s worth it. That one is real. Even you probably haven’t seen one in such good condition. There’s a high chance she meets the ‘condition’.”

The skinny man glared at the owner of the voice, who emphasized the word “condition”, then roughly opened the door and entered.

Seya and Mir had no choice but to move forward helplessly under the force pushing them from behind.

Once she stepped inside, the fishy smell became so much stronger than what she had smelled outside that Seya felt the urge to cover her nose, but her arms tied behind her did not allow it.

The room, like the door, had no particular features and was merely wide. The candlestick hanging on the wall to the right of the door and the light on the ceiling illuminated the inside.

Contrary to her expectation that bloodstains would be splattered everywhere, it was a clean room.

At the end of the room was a dark reddish table with a triangular stone slab placed on it, and spotless shelves were filled with large bottles full of unknown liquids.

It was a place more suited to being called a laboratory than an execution ground.

As Seya quickly examined the room, her gaze lingered on the table’s unusual color.

She tilted her head at that strange color, neither brown nor black.

That color sure is unusual.

Is expensive wood different even in its shine?

As Seya wondered, she soon bit her lip hard and swallowed the shout that was about to burst out.

No.

It wasn’t originally that color.

It was stained with blood.

The fact that it was not blotched here and there, but the whole thing was that color, meant the blood had not splattered, but had covered the entire table enough to soak it.

It was the moment she truly felt that she had come to the very place where her friends’ lives had been taken.

* * *

The sound of Mir and Nihil quietly drawing in their breaths rang in her ears.

It seemed Seya was not the only one who realized where the source of the thick blood stench was.

The men, noticing that their expressions had stiffened, began to chuckle.

Seeing them clearly enjoy their fear made her stomach twist, but she had to endure it for now.

“Put the big one in the corner with that thing, and put the small one over there. Since there are more people now, there are still preparations left.”

At the order given by the man with the thick voice, Seya and Mir were each led away to opposite sides by different men.

Only after going to the corner of the room did Seya learn what the men had called “that thing”.

One child was curled up there, unmoving.

Whether he had been beaten to his heart’s content, the child, hunched over as much as possible, had his head deeply lowered as if he were even afraid to look at the men.

‘If his leg is broken, things will get a bit difficult.’

Seya examined the child’s arms and legs.

Seeing how he had his legs bent without looking pained, despite being covered in dust, it did not seem like anything was broken.

Well, if he was a guy who perfectly matched the “condition” the man mentioned, there was probably no need to doubt that he was sturdy.

‘But those clothes look like something I’ve seen a lot somewhere.......’

It was meaningless to distinguish clothing among fellow street children, but even so, there was something that drew her attention, and Seya narrowed her eyes.

“Sniff, sob. Waaaaah.”

Her thoughts could not continue deeply because of the sound of someone swallowing snot right beside her.

Seya looked at the source of the sound with shocked eyes.

Nihil had started crying.

And not just crying—tears and snot were streaming down his face.

The man with the phlegmy voice chuckled and mocked Nihil.

“Shut up, be quiet!”

The skinny man shouted at Nihil.

It disgusted her that a child’s natural struggle for life was nothing more than a funny and annoying crying sound to the adults here.

“Damn it, this is disgustingly filthy. You, keep a close watch on them while we prepare.”

“Is this our first time doing this? Guys frozen like that can’t do anything.”

When the skinny man moved toward the thick-voiced man, the man who had received the order stood in front of the three children with a face clearly full of amusement.

Perhaps because of Nihil’s filthy state, he did not seem especially guarded.

Seya glared at him, then turned her gaze toward the men doing what they called “preparations”.

Opening a space beneath the floor, they took out a water bowl about the size of two adult palms.

They lifted it carefully, as if it were some precious treasure.

At a glance, she saw blue liquid sloshing inside.

What is that?

“Seya, what are you getting distracted by? Be careful not to draw suspicion.”

Mir, who had come close to Seya while she watched them with a frown, muttered as if mumbling.

Probably quietly enough that to the men’s ears, it would sound like she was sniffling from crying.

“No, it’s nothing. I’m just bothered by there being one more person.”

At Seya’s answer, Mir glanced once at the pill-bug-like child across from Seya.

“That guy’s life is his own responsibility. Focus on the plan.”

Since that was also true, Seya quietly nodded.

And while watching the men standing around the stone slab take out a huge bowl from beneath the table, she quietly lowered her head toward that guy.

“Hey, if something happens later, hold your breath and run toward the door no matter what. You have to hold your breath. If you can’t, I’m not taking responsibility.”

Because the other person did not move at all, Seya could not tell whether her words had been properly delivered.

If he had lost consciousness and had not heard, then there was nothing she could do.

As Mir said, Seya was busy enough taking care of her own friends.

When she raised her head again, Mir, who met her eyes, carefully nodded and counted with the shape of her lips.

‘Two.’

‘One.’

The moment the count ended, Seya charged at the man standing guard.

“What?! You little brat dare!”

When the child who had been obedient like a sick chick suddenly went wild, the man was greatly flustered.

Seya was not clumsy enough to miss that moment.

With quick movements that clearly showed that even with her hands tied, the mad dog of the back alleys was still a mad dog, Seya avoided the man’s swinging hand and rammed his Adam’s apple with her head.

Then she immediately found her balance, kicked the man once between the legs, and sprang toward the door.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

The men who had been working quickly approached and grabbed Seya.

The child’s shoulder struck the wall hard, and the candlestick shook.

Even while rolling on the floor, Seya swung her hands and feet wildly.

“This is the best you can do? Charging at the door? There’s a limit to stupidity!”

The skinny man pressed down on Seya’s head, but Seya never stopped resisting.

Thud!

At last, Seya’s foot struck the wall hard, and the candlestick hanging on the wall toppled over.

The candle that fell to the floor survived without going out thanks to the oil in the dish.

Watching that slow fall, Seya was able to smile even at the moment the man grabbed her by the collar.

She had never cared about the door from the beginning.

“Mir!”

While the men focused on Seya, Mir threw the round lump she had hidden in her sleeve into the fire.

Boom!

With a small explosion, white smoke began to fill the entire room.

“Cough! Cough! What is this!”

Without even having time to realize the identity of the gas filling the room, the men had to collapse to the floor.

Because the acrid smoke pierced into their noses, mouths, and every hole in their bodies.

And soon after came the nausea.

“Uweeeeegh! What is......uwegh!”

“Damn, ugh! Damn it! Catch the brats, uwegh! Uweeeegh!”

It was a filthy sight.

The men tried somehow to hold back their vomiting, but perhaps it did not go as they wanted, because they clutched their throats and stomachs and sank down.

It was disgusting, but it was a success.

Seya, who had been holding her breath in advance, shook off the flustered adults’ hands and headed for the door.

If it was Mir, she would definitely have opened the door properly as soon as she threw the emetic.

Once they got out the door, they could do something somehow.

Seya quickly ran toward the door.

“Ghk!”

She would have, if not for the strong force that snatched her by the collar.

The one who appeared through the smoke was the largest man in the group.

‘Damn it, of all people.’

It seemed the one who looked the slowest had reacted the fastest.

With his other hand, the man was covering his mouth and nose. He seemed to be enduring the urge to vomit, but he showed no sign of collapsing like the others.

If it had been the skinny man, things would have been a bit easier, but the harder the situation, the less luck tended to follow.

She struggled with all her might, but the hand that had grabbed her once did not seem willing to let go of the child easily.

The breath she had held to avoid inhaling the gas was draining her strength.

She swung her foot, trying somehow to kick between the opponent’s legs, but it did not reach well.

‘If only this bastard’s strength weakens just a little, really just a little….’

Soft fur brushed past the child’s face as her consciousness grew hazy.

Soft?

“Ugh!”

At the moment she thought she was finally losing consciousness, the man let out a death cry and removed the hand covering his mouth.

Thwack!

Immediately after, with the sound of a blow, the man’s body tilted slightly to the left.

Seya did not miss that brief chance when the strength in the man’s hand loosened a little.

Squeezing out the last of her strength, Seya was finally able to kick the man hard and accurately between the legs.

“Kuaaak!”

After confirming the man’s eyes rolling back through the smoke, Seya collapsed to the floor.

There were people who grabbed the child’s hand and ran, as if there was no time for that.

Who is it?

One of them was obviously Mir, but who was the other one?

It did not take long to realize the identity of the person who had clearly helped the child.

—.....

It was the guy who had been curled up helplessly until just now.

“People will gather soon. We have to find the way out before that.”

At the calm and gentle voice, Seya felt her mind, which had been hazy from the gas, flash back to clarity, and her eyes widened.

Only then did the strangely familiar clothes enter her eyes.

The tattered sleeves, the completely worn-out hems of the pants, and the ragged thing that was embarrassing to even call outerwear.

They were her own clothes, which she had left behind at the ducal castle.

And the one wearing them was,

“Young master?!”