“Has he said anything yet?” Marsh inquired as he rose from his seat and approached the inclined table where Baloc was working.

  “Unsurprisingly, he has not,” Baloc answered with a crude smile. “Dragons are tenacious. Even more so if it’s a True Dragon. Anyone else would have broken down by now or died out of terror. I thought his special dragon constitution would prolong his suffering. It did, but it also kept him whole. Perhaps this is why he’s not breaking. He knows he would be whole no matter how much pain he suffers.”

  “You sure don’t have any reservations in torturing your mentor.”

  “He’s my mentor, aye, but we are far from… amicable. He was not my mentor by choice. We just so happen to be working together, and for the work to go smoothly and efficiently, he has no choice but to teach me what he knows.”

  “I have been here for long enough. How much longer would it take for you to produce some results?”

  Baloc’s crude smile became strained. “He cares little about his own… health. He seems prepared to die, even if it’s an agonising death. If I were to break him, I would need his weakness. Preferably, a person.”

  “His companions.”

  “Yes. I heard he’s surrounded by a circle of pretty dies. Surely one of them must be his lover.”

  “Or all of them.”

  “Bring them to me, and I shall make him speak.”

  “The orders have already been given. If those idiots are as competent as they boasted, at least two of the dies should be in our custody by now.”

  Just then, a small tremor shook the whole pce.

  “What was that?” Marsh asked. “One of your experiments?”

  “It’s nothing of mine. I’m not an idiot to do any explosive experiments here. I still value my life.”

  “Then, we may have intruders.”

  “Surely Dagon would be able to take care of our uninvited guest. Should I be worried?”

  Before Marsh could answer, a man in a full suit of armour barged into the room, gasping and panting. “My Lord, we have an intruder!”

  “What of it? Dagon should be handling the intruder right now, is he not?”

  “H-he is… Or rather, he was.”

  “Was?”

  “D-Dagon has been defeated, My Lord.”

  “Impossible.”

  Then, a chuckle echoed in the room. It came from the operating table. The three turned their eyes towards the source of the eerie chuckle.

  “What’s so funny?” Marsh questioned.

  “She’s here,” said Aedan.

  “Who?”

  “My loyal Apostle.”

  Marsh clicked his tongue.

  “My Lord, you must leave before you are seen.”

  “It’s just one woman. We can handle her. Baloc, deploy the Ogres.”

  Baloc widened his eyes. “Are you sure, William? If I do that, then this pce is lost.”

  “Not if they are properly controlled. Get Genna. With her, we will be able to fend off the intruder.”

  “She’s still not fully healed, William.”

  “I’m not sending her to confront the intruder head-on. She just needs to handle the reins of the Ogres. Now, get to it.”

  Baloc gnced at Aedan. “What about him?”

  “Leave him. He’s not going anywhere.”

  “He’s a True Dragon, William. In just minutes, most of those grave wounds would cease to be grave. If he’s left alone long enough, he would regain the strength to break himself free.”

  Marsh narrowed his eyes and gred at Aedan, who was bound, gagged, and riddled with holes of nearly all shapes and sizes. Even if none of the wounds were fatal, the amount of pain and suffering would have crippled anyone’s mind and body. Yet, this very individual was still alive and very much lucid. As for his sanity, Marsh wasn’t sure his sanity was whole to begin with. “I agree. He’s too dangerous to be left alone.”

  “Don’t listen to him, High Lord Marsh.” Aedan was giggling with a twisted, bloody smile. “He’s just spouting nonsense. As you can see, I’m on my deathbed, though an inclined deathbed and not a very comfortable one. You need not worry about me. I’m nothing more than a weak and frail—”

  “Shut up,” Marsh snarled. As he was about to give his orders, something came over him and caused his eyes and expression to widen. “No,” he growled. “Fuck… This cannot be.”

  “Something the matter, William?”

  “The cradle has been discovered and breached.”

  “Oh… What do we do now? What about the intruder here?”

  “You and Genna will handle the intruder here. I will deal with the intruder in the cradle.” Marsh then turned to the guard. “And you.

  The guard straightened his back and stood at attention.

  “Watch over him. Do not let him out of your sight. Do not let him escape. Understood?”

  The guard nodded hastily.

  Without another word, Marsh and Baloc strode out of the room, leaving behind the guard to watch over the bound Aedan.

  “Hmm… seems like it’s me and you now. What say we both go get a drink? Is there a good pce nearby?”

  “Silence,” the guard hissed.

  “Oh? Not a fan of drinking? Well… how about a woman? Know any good brothels around her? My snake’s itching to burrow into a hole, if you get my meaning.”

  “I said, shut up!”

  Aedan snickered. “That vile mentee of mine couldn’t shut me up. What makes you think that you can?”

  Veins were bulging on the guard’s forehead. His ego refused to let those insults slip past him without any retort or retaliation. Keeping his gre on Aedan, the guard approached him with a small knife in hand. “You got so many cuts on you. I’m sure Lord Baloc won’t notice a few more on you.”

  “Well… my face is still rgely untouched. Try there, will you? It will be quite noticeable, I’m sure. Unless, of course, you are too cowardly to make your mark obvious.”

  “You arrogant son of a bitch. You think I won’t?”

  “Not even if it’s to save your friend or family.”

  “Fucking bastard!” the guard bellowed and rushed at Aedan with the knife raised. He had no intention of killing Aedan. He just wanted to hurt him, which was why when Aedan thrust his face forward to let the knife sink into his eye, the guard panicked. He veered his hand away at the st second.

  Aedan grinned and thrust his whole body forward. The restraints he was bound by were not made of simple materials. They were hard to break free of, even if he was at his prime. However, the same couldn’t be said for the bed and the poor hinges supporting the binds in this inclined position. Even if he couldn’t break himself free from behind, he could still rip the bed off its hinges. The bed had seen many victims. It had endured many struggles. Even if it was a bed with quality guaranteed, that was the past. Now, it only had enough integrity to endure Aedan’s weight, but not enough to endure the strength of his struggle, which he only now gave it his all.

  The bed fell forward as it broke off from its hinges. The guard was too close and too slow to dodge the falling bed that came with a hundred fifty-pound man. The guard was in his thirties, a bit higher than average, but all those times spent drinking and gambling had spoiled his health and degraded much of his strength. When the bed fell on top of him, he could do nothing. With some effort, he might be able to push the bed off him, but Aedan was also on top of him, and the Dragon was not going to squander this opportunity.

  Aedan recalled his dreadful and diabolical past. He would do anything to survive and to get stronger. And he was about to repeat that bit of his past. He did not hesitate to bite down on the guard’s face, who he nded on top of.

  The guard screamed in agony and hurriedly pushed Aedan off, or at least he tried to.

  Aedan didn’t relent and smmed his head into the guard’s. He smmed repeatedly until the guard’s strength was sapped by the pain inflicted on his head and face. Then, Aedan resumed gnawing on the guard’s face while the man cried out in agony. He attempted to push Aedan off, but the pain made it difficult for him to focus his strength. If he tried to put in any more effort, Aedan would sm their faces together. In the end, the guard went limp and his struggling stopped. Only his mouth and lips were left on his face.

  “Good fucking god,” Aedan groaned as he rolled off the corpse that was his making with some difficulty. He was still bound to the bed, but his watcher was dead, with most of his face missing. He gurgled and spat out everything that he had bitten off the guard. It had been so long since the st time he had to resort to such a desperate act of survival. His teeth were slightly out of pce and his head was bleeding profusely. This had only worked because he was a Dragon. His flesh and bones were tougher than those of normal humans. While he let his wounds heal, he slowly stirred and inched himself close to the knife, which the guard dropped when he fell upon him. The binds were nigh-indestructible, but only the material itself. He could still unstrapped himself from the binds, which was easier said than done.

  The savage act of killing the guard was much easier.

  ****

  “You’re responsible for my current circumstances?” asked the Dark Elf. “What do you mean by that?”

  “...That’s not important for now,” Erin brushed it off. She was hasty in revealing herself because of her guilt. There was no time to be revealing the truth. She needed answers, and she doubted she would get them if shetold Katya the truth. She doubted Katya would believe her and she would view her in an even more suspicious light. “How are you here? You’re a Fae. Do you know what that entails?”

  “...I’m not sure that I do. Is it wrong for me to be here?”

  “You don’t know about your own kind?” Lyra questioned.

  “I-I don’t… I was— I have been here all this time. I know very little about the world.”

  “Do you wish to leave this pce?” Erin asked.

  “No, I can’t!” Katya was quick to reply and she sounded panicked.

  “Why not?”

  “T-this pce is what keeps me alive.”

  “Says who?”

  “...Ivan.”

  “You believe him?”

  “He won’t lie to me and… I tried leaving this pce before. I barely made it to the door before I start… degrading.”

  “Degrading? Why will that happen?”

  “I-I… I can’t tell you that. I have said enough. Regardless, you shouldn’t be here. We shouldn’t be talking. If Ivan knows there are people here, he will—”

  “I know what he will do. I know him well.”

  Katya stared at Erin curiously, but also suspiciously. “Are you his friend?”

  Erin smiled wryly. “I was, but now, I’m more of his enemy.”

  Katya’s expression shifted and she took a few steps back. “You should leave, for your sake.”

  Lyra looked at Erin. “What do we do? Do we leave or what?”

  “We can’t leave…”

  “Why not?” Lyra asked.

  “Why can’t you?” Katya questioned.

  “Because he won’t let us,” Erin answered.

  Just then, the door on the other side of the room was swung open. Marsh entered the room, followed by two towering men in armoured garbs with bnk expressions on their faces.

  “Back away from her!” Marsh shouted from the far side of the room. He made his way to the tank with brisk and heavy steps.

  “Ivan…”

  “It’s alright now, Katya. I’m here.”

  “Ivan, these people meant me no harm. They were just—”

  “Don’t be fooled, Katya. Your kindness and naivety have gotten you nowhere good.”

  “Says the one who trapped his lover in a cage,” Erin retorted.

  Marsh shot a look at Erin. “So you’re the Fox-kin I have heard so much about. Erynthea, was it?”

  “William Marsh.”

  “That’s High Lord Marsh to you.”

  Katya looked confused. “Shouldn’t the two of you already know each other?”

  “Why would I? This is the first time I have met this woman face to face.”

  “But she said that she was… your friend.”

  Marsh frowned. “Nonsense. I was never friends with this woman.”

  “Perhaps not with the way I am now. But undoubtedly, I was your friend.”

  “...What are you talking about?”

  Erin conjured her sword and took her stance. “It’s been too long, Ivan.”

  “That stance… How do you know that stance?”

  “How? I created it when I was only twelve. I took great inspiration from a certain balding knight’s style.”

  There was a faint yet loud gasp behind Marsh.. “A-Argon?”