episode_0172

Episode 172 – The Fuse

“Sigh…” A sigh naturally escaped my lips.

It had been about 30 hours since I learned of Alisa’s disappearance. I asked Uni and found out the academy where she learned sword dance. I thoroughly searched all the underground waterways leading to the academy, but because the traces were meticulously erased, I couldn’t even find a single clue.

What state could Alisa be in right now? No matter what I imagined, only negative thoughts came to mind.

She must be undergoing all sorts of torture. I don’t know if she can endure it, especially since she already has trauma from being raped by me. I can’t imagine that the kidnapper wouldn’t sexually torture her. Of course, if there was a special reason, sexual torture might be avoided.

I, who had been listing meaningless assumptions, raised my hand and slapped my cheek. *Slap!* “Get a grip.”

Nothing could be certain right now. Trauma or not, I didn’t even know if I could rescue her, so thinking beyond that was just a waste of time.

Just as I managed to regain my composure, a signal rang from my pocket. *Hum!* It was the communicator I had given to Deborah. I had given it to her so she could contact me if she found any new information or clues.

I immediately pulled out the communicator. “Hello? Deborah? What’s going on?” -I found out where Alisa is! “What? Really?” -Yes! It’s the Opera House! With the Ring of the Future Usurper, I saw Alisa being carried out on a stretcher from the underground waterway there! “Good job. I’m going. You stay behind and observe the situation!” -What? Why? I’ll go too! “Listen to me. There’s definitely someone observing this situation. You shouldn’t be exposed to the Dark Cult too.”

If Deborah were to step in and then disappear later, I couldn’t possibly not blame myself. To avoid falling into self-loathing, I had to prevent Deborah from getting involved any further.

-But… “Please. Stay out of this. Understand?” -…Understood. Just don’t get hurt. “Of course. See you soon.” *Click!*

Leaving a promise, I cut the communication and immediately transformed, spreading my wings and soaring into the air. “The Opera House… a minute is enough.”

It wasn’t that far. I flapped my wings, leaving a red afterimage in the sky as I cut across the space.

*

From the secret room in the underground waterway beneath the Opera House, a terrible stench of blood wafted out. At its source was Alisa.

All her fingernails and toenails were broken, flesh was torn off in places, muscles were crushed, and bones were shattered, causing her skeletal structure to collapse. Her beautiful body was so damaged it was hard to imagine its original form.

From the moment she was captured here and the torture began, until now, her body had undergone endless destruction and regeneration. When her body was ruined, they would feed her potions to heal her, then repeat the torture. Within this routine, her spirit was continuously worn down, reaching its limit.

Gaen asked the question he always did. “Do you feel like speaking now?” Alisa’s body twitched slightly. She laboriously lifted her head, gasping for breath, yet denied him with determination. “Hah… Do you think I’ll talk? Just kill me instead.”

Even though she didn’t know much to begin with, Alisa had no intention of betraying Eunrang, who had saved her life countless times. Due to her unyielding attitude, a rare sense of impatience appeared on Gaen’s face. “Why are you going to such lengths?” “……” “That man isn’t worth you risking your life to protect. He raped Shakra. He trampled and violated her dignity for his own desires. Even the reason he helped you must be part of some scheme. How long do you plan to ignore the truth?”

Alisa stared at Gaen’s face in silence for a while. Then, she snorted and sneered. “How many times are *you* going to say that? Do you think I’d believe such nonsense?” “Even if you don’t want to believe it, it’s a clear fact…” “Ah, I get it. You want to rape me, don’t you? But that woman, Shakra’s sister, is bothering you. It would be hard to rape another woman in front of your sister-in-law, after all. So you keep injecting these ‘facts’ to make it seem like the rape is a rightful revenge. What a truly trashy human being.”

Alisa bitingly spewed out her own thoughts as if they were facts. It was a ploy to provoke and sow discord. However, behind that confident and firm demeanor was a subtle fear. It was because she was afraid Gaen might actually rape her. Her tightly clenched hand trembled slightly.

Whether he knew or not, Gaen merely stood there, unresponsive. Instead, Idra stepped forward. “Watch your words. If you treat my brother-in-law like that one more time, I won’t stand by.” “Ha! What are you going to do then?” “……I’ll leave for a moment.” “What?” “I’ll let you have what you want.”

Idra’s gaze turned to Gaen. This meant that, just as Alisa had suspected, she would leave the room to encourage the rape. Alisa’s face turned pale. “Are, are you insane? You’d allow something like that?” “For revenge, that much is nothing. Don’t you agree, brother-in-law?” “Idra…” “Don’t worry, sister. When we meet later, I’ll apologize with you. So… don’t hold back on means or methods.”

An unspoken conversation passed between Idra and Gaen. Alisa guessed what that conversation was, and what its outcome would be. ‘Oh, no.’

She absolutely hated that. She never wanted to experience hell like that again. She had just come to know the feeling of love, yet she was to be violated by another man. The fact that she couldn’t avoid it made her resentful. Because avoiding this would mean betraying the person she loved.

As Alisa fell into a panic, Idra turned her back with a bitter smile. Just before she exited the torture chamber. *Thud!* A heavy roar came from the ceiling. “What is it?” Gaen and Idra sensed something unusual and looked up at the ceiling. And just as they assumed battle stances, the ceiling collapsed with an enormous impact.

Amidst thick dust, a figure fell. *Whoosh!* As the figure flapped its large flaming wings, the dust cleared instantly. Alisa recognized the familiar back.

At the appearance of the person she longed to see, yet wished hadn’t come, her lips parted slightly. “Eun…rang?” As if he heard her whisper, Eunrang turned his head and gazed at her. His sharply honed, keen golden eyes swept over her entire body. With every glance at her wounds, killing intent flickered in his eyes.

It seemed as though his rage would explode at any moment. Yet, as if Alisa’s healing was more important than his own emotions, he turned his back to Gaen almost defenselessly and approached her. *Rip!* He ripped off the magic-sealing handcuffs as if they were toys and lifted her into his arms. Next, he took a potion from his pocket. “Drink.” “Eunrang…” “Drink it first. And then get some good sleep.” “…Thank you for coming to save me.”

Instead of questioning it complicatedly, Alisa docilely took the potion Eunrang offered and drank it. ‘The taste is a bit strange.’ However, unlike her obedient demeanor, she couldn’t help but have this thought. This potion was simply too viscous and tasted bitter. Anyway, after taking the potion, the injuries all over her body began to heal rapidly.

Then, as if a switch in her body had been turned off, tension released, and drowsiness washed over her. She whispered to Eunrang one last time. “Eunrang… be careful.” “Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.” “…I trust you.” Alisa’s consciousness faded, with Eunrang’s face growing smaller and blurrier as her last sight.

*

Fortunately, Alisa was saved. I carefully laid her, sound asleep, on the ground and then turned around. “Should I thank you for waiting?”

Honestly, I had exposed an opening, prepared to take a fatal blow, but surprisingly, the Dark Cultists didn’t launch a surprise attack. As I asked mockingly, the knight in his early thirties, who stood at the front, spoke. “Your gratitude is unnecessary. I merely wanted to make sure you understood why you were dying.” “Why I’m dying?” “Yes. You know Shakra, don’t you?” “…So that’s what it was.”

I understood the circumstances of the incident at once. The name Gaen, which I had heard when I killed Shakra. That must be this man. He must have obtained information about my involvement in his lover’s death and had been sharpening his blade for revenge ever since. The woman behind him… clearly looks like Shakra’s kin.

“It’s fortunate you know. Do you understand why you’re dying now?” “…Yes. You’re taking revenge for your lover. Is that it?” “Yes. I’ll make you pay for the humiliation you inflicted upon Shakra.” “Humiliation?”

I ended up frowning. The very word ‘humiliation’ carried a meaning not typically used in that context. Perhaps my expression seemed feigned to him, as he exuded killing intent and pressed me. “Are you going to pretend you don’t know? We know everything about you raping Shakra.” “……Impressive how you found out.” “Did you think we wouldn’t? Indeed, you erased the traces very thoroughly. But you underestimated us too much. You can’t escape the Cult’s eyes with just that much.”

I don’t know how, but the Dark Cult knew my movements in detail. A sense of crisis washed over me. ‘How much do they know?’ The difficulty of dealing with the Dark Cult in the future would change depending on the level of leaked information. Of course, even so, they probably hadn’t grasped *why* I had to commit the rape. If they had, they wouldn’t have brought a woman here, at least.

Then, what I had to do was decided. To end this as quickly as possible, by giving them as little information as possible. I twisted my lips into a smile. “If you know that much, I won’t deny it. Yes. I violated Shakra. I vigorously thrust into that woman’s pussy as she wailed, ‘Gaen, Gaen.’ It was quite… chewy?” “You….”

At my words, Gaen’s eyes turned bloodshot. The woman who resembled Shakra stopped him, as he looked ready to explode at any moment. “Brother-in-law. Calm down.” “Idra.” “You shouldn’t fall for such cheap provocations. That’s what he wants.”

As expected, the woman was Shakra’s kin. Seeing Gaen quickly trying to regain his composure, I didn’t hesitate to launch an additional provocation. “Do you know this? Shakra’s most sensitive spot was her cervix?” “What did you say?” “When I entered that place your dick couldn’t reach, she utterly came undone. Later, she even whimpered in my arms, saying she didn’t need you. Now that I think about it, it’s a waste, isn’t it? I could have trained her enough…” “Don’t spout such nonsense! You piece of trash!!”

Even I thought my words were truly messed up. Unable to endure it, Gaen finally lunged at me. A murderous aura swept through the waterway. Even as the killing intent prickled my entire body, I merely smiled brightly in response. Driven by rage, Gaen seemed to momentarily transcend his limits, exhibiting unimaginable speed, but in return, his trajectory became too simple. If this continued, it would just turn into a power struggle. And I had no doubt that I wouldn’t lose a power struggle.

I met Idra’s eyes. -I’ll rape you. Horror filled her face at the declaration of rape. At the same time, I gathered the immense power surging throughout my body and unleashed it straight ahead. *Boom!* Fist and sword clashed. However, the balance that had briefly held quickly tilted to one side, and my fist shattered Gaen’s sword, then struck his chest.