Ch.96Hypnos 6

“Ugh…”

When I opened my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling.

The light fixture embedded in the center of the ceiling wobbled hazily.

Am I still tied up?

I tried to move my arms and legs forcefully.

Fortunately, my body was no longer bound to the chair.

But… that didn’t mean I was free.

A clanking metal sound every time I moved.

Following that sound, I lowered my head and saw the chain connected to my neck.

“What is this…”

A dog collar firmly fastened around my neck.

That collar was connected by a chain to a ring embedded in the wall.

I tried my hardest to remove it.

But my mind is too hazy after being injected with Hypnos.

My body feels wobbly, just like when I first possessed it long ago.

After gasping for breath, I eventually had no choice but to kneel down again.

Footsteps can be heard from outside the room.

As the door opens, Misha enters the room.

In her hands was a tray with steaming stew and water.

“Here, eat this.”

The girl placed the tray right in front of me.

I stared blankly at the stew.

It’s suspiciously green.

Just like Hypnos.

“What do you think you’ve put in this…”

“Hypnos, of course. Just like what you did to us, sister.”

Misha informed me matter-of-factly.

According to her words, if I eat that, I’ll gradually become stupid.

The effects of Hypnos include reduced calmness and judgment.

And extended sleep duration.

When calmness and judgment approach zero, it’s fatal to the brain.

I’ll gradually lose the ability to think and just sleep all the time.

Knowing that fact perfectly well, why would I willingly eat it?

I turned my head away and huddled in the corner of the room.

“It would be better if you eat it willingly.”

“Why should I?”

“Otherwise…”

Misha’s shadow gradually looms over me.

She pulled out another syringe from her back pocket.

“I’ll have no choice but to inject it directly again.”

My body trembles at the sight of the sharp syringe.

With each injection, it feels like a page of my memory is being erased by an eraser.

I’m terrified of feeling that sensation again.

I clutched my head with both hands and curled up as much as possible.

“No…”

“You don’t want that, do you? So eat.”

I obediently crawled toward the food.

And while lying down, I scooped up the stew with a spoon.

Green broth drips down.

I took small sips of those drops.

A tingling taste lingers in my mouth.

The more I eat, the more drowsiness overwhelms me.

About halfway through, I finally dropped the spoon.

Misha quickly approached me.

She grabbed my nape and injected me while I was defenseless.

The cold liquid once again flows throughout my body.

With trembling hands, I barely managed to grab Misha.

But those hands soon fell limply.

No matter what choice I made, she was going to inject me anyway.

Was she planning to anesthetize me with Hypnos-laced food so I wouldn’t resist…

All the Hypnos in the syringe entered my body.

Misha wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.

And left me abandoned on the cold floor.

As the drug spreads, my entire body becomes languid.

I hiccupped and barely managed to catch my breath.

The next day.

Misha entered the room again with a bright smile.

In her hands was a wooden box.

The girl put the box down on the floor and knelt toward me.

And she begins asking strange questions.

As if my head wasn’t foggy enough…

“Now, who am I?”

“Misha…”

“Who is sister’s closest friend?”

Closest friend…?

Of course… Anna and Jeoksa.

“You seem to remember well. Then, do you remember what they look like?”

Is she trying to check if I’ve lost my memories?

I bit my lip firmly and glared at the girl.

Nonsense.

Did she think I would just lose everything so easily?

Of course I remember.

Anna had silver hair and black eyes…

And Jeoksa…

Red hair and gray eyes… was it?

“Huh?”

My lips parted involuntarily.

Seeing my blank eyes, Misha gave a strange smile.

“Hehehe.”

Misha laughed with satisfaction.

Her long, thin blue eyes flashed.

“At least you still remember me. I’m so touched.”

The area under my eyes trembles.

My chest burned with the unbelievable reality.

That heat rises up my throat and pools in my eyes.

Hot tears stream down my cheeks.

“Misha… I was wrong.”

It’s true.

I’m really losing my memories.

This can’t be happening…!

I hurriedly knelt down.

Only now did I realize the gravity of the situation.

Misha grabbed my tearful face.

And began collecting my tears in a small glass vial.

“Now, if you want to lose fewer memories, make sure to eat the food I give you. Understand?”

“I understand…”

I nodded frantically.

Misha then stroked my head with a benevolent smile.

Soon she began applying something to both sides of my head as she stroked it.

A cold and sticky feeling, like ointment.

Then Misha took something out of the wooden box.

Are these… wolf ears?

She attached the pair of ears to the parts where she had applied the ointment.

“You must never remove them, understand?”

“…”

“If you do, instead of one injection, I’ll give you three.”

Injections are scary.

They’re scary, so I don’t want to get them.

I nodded, saying I understood.

Then Misha, with a happy smile, gave me just one injection in the neck.

If I keep this strange thing attached to my head, I only get one injection!

What a relief.

I endured and went to sleep, making sure the animal ears wouldn’t fall off my head.

Because she said they shouldn’t fall off.

Day 3.

Somehow my hearing seems better.

I can hear people’s voices so clearly even from a distance.

Someone is talking outside the door.

Are they both women?

“Is this the fifth tear?”

“Yes. She barely cries anymore.”

“Then this must be the last essence of Angelic Hand.”

“That’s right.”

“How is our 10 doing?”

Who is 10?

I listened to the conversation between the two people with my eyes closed.

“Perfect. She’s even forgotten why she should cry.”

The door opens.

A blonde-haired girl I’ve never seen before enters the room.

She’s carrying a tray in her hands.

A fragrant and delicious smell tickles my nose.

“Hello, do you know who I am?”

“I don’t know…”

“My name is Misha. We brought you here after finding you collapsed outside.”

“I was collapsed?”

I looked down at my body with hazy eyes.

There were bruises all over my body.

There were also marks on my neck as if something had been fastened there.

I scratched those marks with my fingernails.

“Is there anyone who would come for you?”

“Someone who would come for me…?”

“I mean your closest friend.”

Closest friend.

No one comes to mind.

Well, then I guess there isn’t anyone?

“I don’t have anyone like that…”

“What’s your name?”

“My name…”

What was my name?

When I racked my brain, only two things came to mind.

“I don’t know… it’s one of two…”

“Two?”

“Yeah, Siho or Dohyun. It’s definitely one of those…”

Misha rolled her eyes and nodded.

She shrugged and gave me a hint.

“I think it’s Siho.”

“Then I’ll go with Siho.”

“Alright, Siho. Are you hungry?”

Misha puts down the tray of food on the floor.

My hazy eyes brighten at the delicious green dish.

“Yes…”

“Eat a lot.”

Following Misha’s words, I crawled toward the tray.

Then I picked up the plate and drank the stew.

It’s delicious.

Giving me such delicious food, and even saving me.

Misha must be a good person.

One week later.

I woke up to a chilly cold.

As I opened my eyes, the fragrant smell of grass enveloped my body.

Am I in a forest…?

I was lying alone on dry fallen leaves.

Wearing short sleeves and shorts.

I raised my nose and sniffed.

Some familiar scent can be detected from afar.

I perked up the ears on my head.

I can hear people’s voices from a distance.

I carefully made my way through the forest following those voices.

Then a white house came into view.

I approach them, avoiding a large puddle of water.

People are sitting on what looks like fluffy fur, facing a wall.

“Ah!”

I bumped my head into something while approaching them.

What’s going on?

There are clearly people in front of me, but something is blocking me from entering.

I touched that smooth thing with my hand.

“Oh my.”

The girl sitting on the fur got up.

She pushed open whatever was blocking me.

“Who are you?”

I shook my head.

I couldn’t understand the woman’s words.

“You don’t know who you are?”

I still don’t know.

I just stared blankly at her face.

“Are you a fox…?”

The girl asked with an excited voice.

She approached me and curiously placed her hand on my head.

“You have fox ears on your head.”

My ears twitched when the girl’s fingers touched them.

Embarrassed, I lowered my head to avoid her touch.

“Do you want to come in? You look very tired.”

The girl opened the transparent barrier completely.

Warm air and delicious smells wafted from inside.

I hesitantly entered.

Though I stepped on the same ground, unlike outside, it was warm in here.

My ears on my head twitched at that strange sensation.

Another woman sitting on the fur glances at me.

Her hair was black, and her eyes were red.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“Ah, her memory has been completely erased.”

“I know that, but did they wipe out her intelligence too?”

The woman asks the blonde girl with an incredulous expression.

Somehow her voice is so scary…

“Her intelligence is intact, but she hasn’t learned anything. We need to teach her anew.”

The girl wrapped her arm around my shoulder.

A warm and fragrant smell emanates from the child.

I sniffed and savored that smell.

And I nuzzled her soft cheek with the tip of my nose.

“Ha, this is funny. Just last week…”

The woman’s red eyes glare at me.

Why is she like that… She must dislike me…

“Shh! Let’s only say nice things in front of the child.”

“I thought you said she lost her language.”

“Seeing how she instinctively fears 09, something must still remain.”

I clung tightly to the girl with my thighs pressed together.

The girl hugged me even more strongly.

“Fox, from now on, I’ll take good care of you!”

The child grabbed my hand firmly.

And pulls me toward the inside of the house.

“I’m going to bathe our fox and come back!”

“Whatever.”

The woman looks back at the wall with an annoyed expression.

Inside the wall, small-sized people were moving around.

“Besides, how long do we have to hide in these mountains? The TV doesn’t even work…”

“Let’s be patient. Just until Mother fully masters Angelic Hand.”

The girl took me somewhere.

When she opened the door, hot steam flowed through the gap.

I followed her inside without thinking, and she closed the door.

Then she looked up at me with narrowed eyes.

“Now, I’ll wash every inch of your body.”

When the girl pressed something, water poured down.

The moment I saw the water, I stepped back in surprise.

For some reason, I really hate water.