Ch.278Chapter 278: Prison Break…?

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The loud sound of the entrance door opening was accompanied by a momentary surge of fighting spirit.

“What the…”

A deflated sound escaped my lips as I identified the visitor—someone I had clearly recognized through my hearing but couldn’t sense at all through my ki perception.

It was Imperfectio who had entered, wearing something on her face in place of the helmet that had been broken sometime earlier.

Recalling how strange it felt when I first confronted her—unable to sense anything despite being face-to-face—I could understand why I hadn’t detected her approaching this place through my ki perception.

…But really, why couldn’t I sense her? It was so vividly observable with my eyes as she slowly approached my confinement.

Whether aware of my complex inner thoughts or not, Imperfectio’s footsteps became increasingly cheerful as she drew closer to me.

“Hello, Cal. We meet again.”

Finally, when she reached an appropriate distance, she greeted me with a tone that contained a warmth as if we hadn’t seen each other for three or four days.

I say “warmth,” but this is merely an expression based on relative standards.

To others, her voice would sound rather flat, as if a wooden block were speaking.

Compared to the emotionless voice I’d sensed when I first met her, there was at least some feeling in it now, which is why I described it that way.

But I found her greeting annoying, acting as if she was glad to see me.

“How touching that you express such joy at seeing someone you faced less than an hour ago.”

I responded with a somewhat cold tone instead of returning her greeting.

“When it’s someone you want to see, even the moment between closing and opening your eyes feels too long.”

“…”

I couldn’t help but be dumbfounded by the unexpected words delivered in such a calm tone.

I mean, I could just let those words go in one ear and out the other.

But because the voice delivering those words was identical to the one belonging to the person I loved…

Even though I was mentally telling myself, ‘The person before me isn’t the real one but a fake!’ in something close to self-hypnosis, I found it incredibly difficult to hide the surprise that involuntarily appeared on my face.

“What are you here for?”

Fearing that my expression would be completely exposed if I remained silent, I deliberately spoke to prevent Imperfectio’s gaze from focusing on me.

“I came to get you out.”

Imperfectio calmly answered while holding a bundle of keys to this underground prison, and I ultimately failed to maintain my composure.

“Are you surprised to hear something different from what you expected?”

Looking at my expression, Imperfectio’s voice remained colorless, making it difficult to discern her thoughts.

If I were to recall the temperature in Shizu’s voice when she spoke to me throughout my life before regression and now…

Before regression, her voice was extremely cold and frigid. Conversely, after regression, Shizu’s voice was always filled with warmth.

From the Imperfectio before me, I felt neither coldness nor heat—just lukewarm temperature and a grayness in color.

…Not only was she not the real person, but despite having exactly the same appearance and voice as Shizu—so similar they’d be hard to distinguish side by side—she evoked such a different impression….

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How much time had passed since I silently watched Imperfectio declare she would get me out of the prison?

I saw.

“Let’s see…”

Imperfectio’s somewhat dull-looking appearance as she compared each key on her keyring one by one, trying to open the barred door.

And I heard.

“…There are so many keys, it’s taking longer than I thought. Maybe I should have asked the key keeper about this.”

Though she had brought the keyring, she only now engaged in self-reflection when faced with an unmanageable situation—her voice filled with a strange lack of foresight.

…What is this woman, really?

When we first met, she displayed overwhelming skill yet clearly showed she didn’t want to fight me.

And when we eventually clashed, she merely subdued me in a situation where she could have easily killed me.

Then after subduing and bringing me here, she even lent me her thigh while I was unconscious.

Now, as if her master who must be gleefully contemplating my fate doesn’t matter at all, she’s here to get me out.

So naturally, I couldn’t help but ask:

“What are you doing?”

I was asking why she was behaving this way.

But whether my question didn’t reach her or she was pretending not to hear:

“Not this one either…”

Imperfectio only expressed disappointment at another key that didn’t fit the lock.

[How peculiar.]

Paphnir, who usually remained silent whenever Imperfectio appeared, exceptionally voiced his impression, which echoed hollowly in my mind.

No matter how much I thought about it, it made no sense for a being belonging to the demon realm to release me without her lord’s permission.

I was becoming convinced that there must be some dark intention behind her seemingly harmless actions, but…

“I’m sorry. I boasted that I’d get you out quickly, but I’m just wasting time…”

Watching Imperfectio scratch her jawline, barely visible beneath her helmet, while apologizing, I felt my suspicions gradually fading.

Though I immediately shook my head to dismiss such thoughts.

“Hah…”

I let out a barely audible sigh, finding it absurd that I had even briefly entertained such thoughts.

[Even I, who haven’t seen much, find it absurd how identical she is to that girl. I can understand why you’re acting this way.]

Even Paphnir, who would normally be eager to mock me in such situations, expressed understanding.

‘No matter what, I feel sorry thinking that the real Shizu would be hurt if she saw me like this.’

I could only remind myself that understanding from someone uninvolved couldn’t dispel the hurt the actual person would feel seeing this.

As my thoughts grew increasingly complex with each of Imperfectio’s actions…

Click-

After a long time, the iron bars that seemed about to open finally unlocked with a crisp sound as the key engaged.

Creeeeak-

The bars opened with a twisted noise that contrasted with the earlier crisp sound.

“You can come out now.”

I carefully observed Imperfectio as she gestured and told me to come out.

Though the helmet made it difficult to read her overall expression, there was definitely a faint curve on her lips.

I pondered.

What did that curve on her lips mean?

Did it contain the vileness of a predator luring prey into range with promises of release, only to snatch them when they were defenseless?

Or beyond such a simple trap, did it contain deeper schemes, wanting to see my mind become complicated?

With no way to know Imperfectio’s intentions even if I asked, my body froze despite having thought only of escaping until just moments ago.

[Trap or not, staying here means certain death either way.]

Paphnir’s voice, pinpointing the core issue and urging me to escape, gave momentum to my stiffening body.

Right. Even if I feared a trap and remained here, it was obvious I’d either die or be roughly handled according to Desire’s whims.

There was no reason to sit still and play into his hands.

Whether to challenge her or consider escaping in the worst-case scenario, everything depended on getting out of here first.

“We’ve already lost time opening the door, so you should come out quickly.”

I stepped outside the bars, following Imperfectio’s gesture, her voice still difficult to read for emotions.

As I walked, I could see the curve on Imperfectio’s lips gradually softening.

I considered the worst-case scenario—that this gentle curve might twist into a trap to lure me in.

“I was about to call you again, but you came out quickly.”

Seeing the peak of gentleness in the curve of her lips as she spoke with a calm tone that nonetheless contained a strange sense of relief, I dismissed my concerns.

Not because of any rational basis, but simply because the curve on her lips didn’t twist.

It’s absurd, but what could I do? The smile on the face before me was identical to the one worn by the person I loved.

If it were a mischievous smile meant to tease me, I might have been suspicious.

But a smile like that, without any trace of being forced, was impossible to doubt.

Sigh… Desire, this damned demon god, seems to have finally realized something.

That to deal with someone like me who would draw a sword and charge at him on sight, what’s needed isn’t overwhelming power but something that would render me completely immobile.

Even if it’s not real, something excessively elaborate is more than effective enough.

Throughout my steps, only one thought occupied my mind:

If anything seems off, I’ll leave without looking back and live to fight another day.