episode_0052

It feels like waking up from a dream. The fog that clouded my eyes has cleared up as if by magic. And so, I drag my weary body through reality, walking endlessly.

I wished it was just a dream. With each step I took, I fervently prayed that the world I was facing was just a part of a hallucination. But the sensation of decaying flesh left in my hands stubbornly reminded me of the harsh reality.

Faint memories of a fairy tale book that Eshutiel once enjoyed reading flashed through my mind. It was a fairy tale about wings that symbolize dreams and hope, and how one day everyone would fly into happiness. It was an obviously fabricated story, but I wanted to believe in it. Not for myself, but for Eshutiel and Roderick.

But the wings leading to dreams and hope had broken abruptly and melted away like cotton candy in the rain. And so, I made up my mind to fill the sky with storm clouds and rain. I wanted to break the wings of all those who cursed us and force them to melt away.

Splash.

As my foot dipped into a puddle, water droplets splashed up without a care, scattering around me.

At the same time, a scream of despair was drowned out by the sound of pouring rain and buried in the ground.

“Sob… Ah…!”

The bug coughed harshly. The bug wearing a human disguise was named Dior Lua. He was the current Lua heir who had inherited the family line since the downfall of the previous Lua heir.

“Why, why are you doing this all of a sudden…”

Grovelling, he writhed in agony. His struggling posture, as if gasping for breath, gave a pitiful impression. His foul breath seeped into the rain-soaked ground, thankfully.

If not, I would have crushed his skull into powder right then and there.

Regaining my composure, I remembered the task I had to carry out immediately. I should have first made the evil envoy who had plundered my precious treasure kneel. Because from now on, all the evil I would unleash would start from her.

“Lord Lua.”

“Cough… Cough…”

“Lua heir.”

“Speak, please… I beg you…”

I took out the button with Sun-eun’s emblem from my pocket and presented it to him. The button engraved with the symbol of Lua heir’s secret organization.

“Do you know what this is?”

“Why would you… I don’t know this symbol…!”

Immediately, I pressed my thumb against his front teeth, breaking them, and forcibly shoved it into his throat. As a result, a chilling scream accompanied by a clear streak of blood erupted from his throat.

“Ugh…! Ugh, please…”

“Lies are not a wise choice. Your expression says it all.”

“Ha… Ugh…”

“Do you know where this was found?”

“Ugh… Ugh…”

Tears streamed down his face as he turned his head sideways. His soaked and collapsed figure was a far cry from the dignified image of a noble family’s heir.

His pitiful state angered me. I couldn’t accept the fact that such a person played with us, causing our family to perish.

Therefore, I looked for someone else to answer in place of the weak Lua heir.

The woman who was forcibly brought to my house by my servants and kneeled down. And the woman who shamelessly stared at us. I turned towards Rasherla, who had become my second world.

“Rasherla.”

“…”

“This is a button with the emblem of the Lua heir’s secret organization.”

“…”

“Can you guess where I found this?”

Rasherla remained silent. Normally, in the past when she didn’t know the truth, she would have ignored unnecessary things. She would have even kissed her hand instead of seeking answers.

“Silence. A good means to maintain control.”

Only a strategy that works in a fair relationship.

Now, I didn’t need to have patience. Therefore, Rasher’s silence was in line with the desire to communicate not with words but with hands.

It wasn’t until I reached out my hand that Rasher realized her pitiful situation.

“You…!”

“Stay still.”

I clenched one of her long, slender fingers that I had admired every time she danced. Her delicate and beautiful hand, which captivated the admiration of men and women in social circles, was now useless.

“Ah… Aaaahhh…!!! Ugh!”

Sharp bones cut through the flesh, lifting the head abruptly. The life essence from her still uncorrupted delicate fingers shimmered briefly before being washed away by the rain. Yet, Rasher, maintaining her composure, glared at me like a persistent poisonous weed.

“Rahilt, what are you doing to me…!”

“Don’t act like this, Rasher. You haven’t answered the question I asked yet.”

“What…?”

Was it a temporary lapse of memory due to the suffocating pain? It couldn’t be helped. What was so difficult about asking one more question for her sake?

“This button is the emblem of the secret organization of the late writer, Esutiel. Where do you think Esutiel kept this?”

“Huh…”

“Do you need time to think? If it’s not too long, I’ll wait. Rasher is quick to answer when her mind is sharp.”

“Ugh…”

Rasher seemed like she was about to scream at me, but she quickly closed her mouth, unable to even make a sound.

“It’s a wise choice. It would have been difficult to pronounce with all your teeth broken.”

“…”

Rasher froze. It felt like a freezing cold wind had swept in, freezing even time itself. Rasher, who understood my intentions perfectly, finally gave an answer to the question after much deliberation.

“… The handle.”

“Are you referring to the right or left? Which one?”

“The right.”

“I see.”

Rasher’s expression brightened momentarily at my calm response. However, as hope rose, despair crushed her painfully.

“Wrong answer.”

Thud!

“Aaahhh…! Ugh… Stop, please…!!!”

And so, as Rasher gave the wrong answer, I shattered her right hand into pieces. Blood oozed out as the veins in her hand ruptured. The loose blood mixed with rainwater, staining the garden lukewarm, eventually becoming food for the grass.

“Let me ask you again. Where do you think this button was found in Esutiel’s possession?”

This time, the answer was immediate.

“O-on the, left hand. Left hand handle!”

“Good to know.”

I smiled warmly. Whatever she interpreted that as, Rasher seemed relieved.

“Wrong answer.”

I was fortunate that I couldn’t let her go just yet.

Following her instructions, I twisted her left hand.

“Ugh, Aaaahhh…! Please, please, Rahilt. Please…! Stop…!”

As her left hand twisted, a couple of fingers detached and fell onto the grass. They were fresh fingers that would twitch if lightly touched, creating an illusion of Rasher’s beautiful appearance shining.

“Rasher.”

“Ah, ugh… haa…”

“Give me the correct answer. It will make things much easier for you. I promise.”

“… Clothes. Somewhere on the upper body…”

“Wrong answer.”

Crack!

Rasheera tore the top part of her dress. The raindrops falling on her smooth skin gathered seductively at her collarbone. Unknowingly capturing the attention of the gentlemen and revealing her own sexual allure that she secretly enjoyed.

Feeling a sense of shame, she shrank her body. However, it only accentuated Rasheera’s figure, pulling her breasts up, highlighting her seductive appearance.

“Please tell me again. Where did Esutier hide it, that child, this?”

“Bottoms… in the bottoms…”

“…”

“Is that the correct answer? No, seeing your silence confirms it. That’s right, isn’t it? Rahilt…”

“You know. Rasheera.”

I honestly reveal the truth.

“Wrong answer.”

Rip!

Rasheera’s bottoms were torn apart. Now she was left with only thin underwear barely preserving her modesty. Looking at her lying on the grass almost naked, the difference between Rasheera and the animals being bred was starting to blur.

“Do you see? The followers of the lord are all watching Rasheera.”

“No… no… sob…”

“What do you mean by no.”

If it meant that the followers of the lord were not intentionally watching, then it was the correct answer. They were the ones who had declared that they would eliminate anyone who did not watch over the masters of this household until the end.

“Indeed, as you say. It’s not important. What’s truly important is the answer to the question I pose.”

“Underwear…”

“Oh, Rasheera, who is usually so perceptive, how can you be so oblivious…”

In a life-or-death situation, there is no way one would hide an item in their underwear. Truly ruthless individuals would even mock the corpse to erase any traces.

“Knowing it’s insincere, I will maintain my dignity this once.”

“Rahilt… please don’t do this…”

“Rasheera.”

“Yes? I’ll do better… I’ll dedicate my body and soul to you. If you want me to act like a prostitute to satisfy you… please… Rahilt…”

“Rasheera.”

“…”

“I couldn’t help but love you.”

“Yes…! That’s right. You did!”

“I thought it was a dedication of luck that came back to spread its wings.”

“Ugh…”

“Even if my heart leaned towards the first prince of the Karnar Kingdom. I only wished for your happiness. I dared to hope to be used as a tool.”

“But there were two miraculous people who stayed by my side with even greater sincerity than that.”

I pushed the button in front of Rasheera’s trembling pupils. Whether my determined intention was conveyed or not, Rasheera’s tears were swept away by the raindrops.

“Now. I’ll ask you again. Where do you think that miraculous child hid this?”

Rasheera, holding back her tears, answered with distorted facial features.

“In the oral cavity… inside the mouth…”

“Wrong answer.”

“Ah… no…!”

“Hmm.”

This is quite tricky. If I bluntly say it’s the wrong answer and crush her oral cavity, it could be troublesome. She won’t be able to speak the answer to the question.

I pondered carefully on an alternative solution.

And then, I made a decision to extract all her teeth.

“Gah… cough…!”

Thud. Thud.

“Eheh… hah…”

Thud.

“Crack, keheh, hahah…”

Thud thud thud thud!

Her moist breath clung to my fingers. She desperately called out to me with tear-filled eyes. However, her silent scream was swept away by the merciless rainstorm.

Incisor. Next are the canines. Slightly pointed wisdom teeth. Then, moving on to the molars that chewed on sweet pudding.

One.

Two.

Four.

Six.

Ten.

White and neat teeth are sucked into Rasheira’s throat. And as the gaps between the teeth widen, the memories shared with Rasheira are slowly filled in, gap by gap. No matter how desperately Rasheira clung on, she felt her existence becoming infinitely lighter.

“Ha… Hu… Hah… Hea…!”

Even the rough breathing made her realize the existence of pronunciation. With all her teeth gone and the bloody mass filling her lips, it was no wonder that pronunciation was difficult.

“Rasheira.”

“Hua…”

“I gave you a hint.”

“Shalyejo… Rahit…”

“Rasheira will definitely figure it out. After all, Rasheira is smart.”

“…”

It’s useless.

She’s not someone mercy can reach.

With that judgment, Rasheira rolled her eyes downwards. It seemed like she was staring at the area around her abdomen, hidden by her chest. Then she rolled her eyes back to me.

After repeating this a few times, Rasheira shivered.

Her lips moved.

But no sound came out.

It seemed that speaking was begging for her life.

“Shalyejo…”

I tilted my head.

A gesture of curiosity.

She knows best what she’s curious about.

A long silence followed.

Jang Daebi mercilessly tapped her, stealing her body temperature.

Was it due to hypothermia clouding her judgment?

She opened her mouth as if resigned.

“Stomach…”

Rasheira’s very small voice was buried in Jang Daebi.

Only then did I soften my gaze.

“Correct.”

I then dug into Rasheira’s abdomen with my bare hands.

“Crunch…”

A very quiet whimper popped out. It sounded as quiet and low as murmuring on a soft bed.

Savoring the breaking moans, I thoroughly explored Rasheira’s insides.

As cruel and brutal as destroying Esutiel’s body and finding the button.

Thinking of only Esutiel, who had to suffer even in death at the hands of Orabi.

I crushed and gathered Rasheira’s fragile life.

“…”

Rain falls.

Endlessly staining the ground.

The red blood carrying Rasheira’s life mixes with the rainwater and seeps into the ground.

Hoping that the traces of that life will reach the underground where Roderick and Esutiel sleep,

I watched the world crumbling.

The sky, colored by tragedy, was a cruel black.