142.
The food was of average taste, neither too much nor too little. If anything was out of the ordinary, it was Greyardin watching Yu Jin eat the entire time. It was uncomfortable, but Yu Jin couldn’t bring himself to ask him to move away. After all, the leader of Leviathan had a different way of thinking than ordinary people.
When the meal was finished, Greyardin took the empty bowl outside. When he returned, he watched Yu Jin just as he had during the meal. Even though that was all, Yu Jin felt a chill in his heart.
Greyardin thought to himself:
‘Is he a bit different?’
The Lucid family members he had met so far didn’t seem to be like this. Although Yu Jin was trying to maintain his composure by keeping a straight face, he looked fragile, perhaps due to his appearance. Like a rabbit among predators.
Poor thing. Having no means to protect himself, Yu Jin was visibly racking his brains to survive. Seeing him in this state, it seemed that Keith had indeed lied. No matter how delicately brainwashing was done, there were usually awkward parts, but Yu Jin appeared normal.
If he had been brainwashed, he should have been looking for Keith for mental support in this anxious situation. But Yu Jin wasn’t doing that.
“This is interesting.”
It seemed that Rector had trusted his disciple to some extent, but it appears to have been in vain. He should have thought of his disciple as a tool, like Aksen did. Although Rector wasn’t easily hurt by others, being human, he might show abnormal symptoms later. So to prevent that, Greyardin needed to create an environment where Rector could act out.
But first, he had to complete Yu Jin’s brainwashing. Right now, the Lucid mansion was in chaos due to the disappearance of its head. If Yu Jin returned in a normal state and responded, it would be troublesome, so it was better to make him an ally beforehand. As he was thinking this, Yu Jin, who had been just watching cautiously, opened his mouth.
“Mr. Greyardin.”
“Yes.”
“I’d like to return to the mansion soon.”
“To the mansion?”
“Yes, I feel I’ve been away unintentionally for too long.”
He didn’t seem to be speaking with the expectation of being listened to. Greyardin smiled and tilted his head.
“Oh my. Unfortunately, you can’t return. Didn’t you hear the sound of people fighting? Dangerous people are blocking the area nearby, so it’s safest to stay here.”
Yu Jin looked like he had a lot he wanted to say. Of course he would. To begin with, this cabin wasn’t Greyardin’s, and the people blocking the surroundings weren’t enemies.
“…I see.”
Even though he clearly knew it was nonsense, Yu Jin was becoming increasingly calm.
‘Should I scare him a bit more?’
Although he didn’t particularly have such tastes, Yu Jin would probably look quite cute even when trembling. Greyardin, still smiling, said:
“By the way, we caught one of the people who attacked earlier.”
“A person?”
“Yes, I think his name was Gee. He seemed relatively strong among the attackers, so we kept him.”
In truth, Aksen had kept him alive to torture him because he got upset at being cursed at. Seeing how eagerly Aksen had dragged him into the forest earlier, his body probably wasn’t in good shape anymore. It would be nice if he screamed. No sooner had that thought crossed his mind than a loud scream was heard.
“Aaaargh!”
It was a loud scream that showed no intention of holding back. Even Greyardin was a bit surprised at this part. Usually, when a comrade dies and is captured and tortured, people fall into two categories: those who become scared and act cowardly, or those who endure stoically. This Gee fellow had seemed like the latter.
‘Was I mistaken?’
The screams continued without pause. But listening to them, it seemed oddly closer to anger that couldn’t be contained rather than screams of pain. Perhaps because of this, although Yu Jin’s expression hardened, he didn’t seem frightened.
“What are you doing?”
“Isn’t it natural to torture a captured enemy for information?”
“Is that person really an enemy?”
“He is to me.”
“Then he’s not to me.”
Yu Jin stood up and slowly approached Greyardin. Looking at his tightly clenched fist, it seemed he was holding something. Come to think of it, the wooden spoon given with the returned dishes was missing.
‘Violence is fine too.’
Violence could be met with violence. Yu Jin swung the broken wooden spoon, and Greyardin easily blocked it. Then, grabbing Yu Jin’s slender arm and applying force, Yu Jin couldn’t move an inch.
“Let go! You crazy bastard!”
Yu Jin was quite good at cursing. Starting with “crazy bastard,” he spat out “son of a cow,” “son of a horse,” “son of a dog,” and even “excrement.” And as he flailed about trying to attack somehow, it had no particular effect. Rather, it was Yu Jin who was pushed and fell to the floor. Since people who are greatly shocked are more easily brainwashed, Greyardin decided to take a few more steps for the sake of his descendants.
Rector was certainly in a life-threatening situation. But fortunately, it seemed heaven had no intention of taking him today. A magician who suddenly appeared supported Rector, and in the meantime, he was able to escape.
“Huh?”
Keith exclaimed in disbelief as he watched Rector disappear like the wind.
“He didn’t even take the magician with him.”
Jinhyeon and Even felt similarly.
“He’s a familiar guy.”
“Of course he’s familiar. He was attached to the Duke’s daughter. Moreover, he’s also Aksen’s disciple.”
Keith said this as he leaned his weakened body against a nearby tree.
“You could catch that one alone.”
Even said this and then clung to Keith, tearing his top without warning. Then he started applying medicine from a small bag at his waist without mercy.
“Ouch!”
Even though they were in a standoff with the magician, he remained calm. Grey frowned at the three who were ignoring him but didn’t voice his complaints. This was because he knew that the current situation was overwhelmingly unfavorable to him. He thought he would at least be able to take him when he offered help. Both the master and that guy had equally bad personalities. He raised both hands and slowly backed away.
“Let’s end it here for today.”
“Who decides that?”
Jinhyeon approached Grey with a smirk. He was about to die instead of saving Rector. So Grey hurriedly said something that could divert their attention.
“Shouldn’t you be thinking about the head of Lucid first rather than killing me now!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Jinhyeon turned around with a fierce expression. Then Keith moved as if springing up and blocked Grey.
“What did you just say!”
“Exactly what I said. I’m saying the head of Lucid is in danger right now.”
“Oh, that’s troublesome.”
Even scratched his head and then quickly attached himself to Jinhyeon, who was already running far away. So only Grey and the injured Keith were left in this place. It might seem heartless, but Keith didn’t blame the two who left.
“Wow, the situation has changed, hasn’t it?”
Grey lowered his raised hands with a grin. He had always disliked Keith, and now he had the opportunity to kill him in this place.
“I’m not so sure. You’ve never beaten me before, you know.”
Keith raised his sword that he had been letting hang. Although it was a short time, Even had effectively stopped Keith’s wounds. Thanks to that, the bleeding had almost stopped, so he should be able to move for a while. Enraged by his words, Grey pulled out a scroll from his chest, and in response, Keith rushed forward.
Jinhyeon ran, gritting his teeth. It was a cabin chosen carefully to avoid being noticed by Leviathan or Lucid’s people. Even that wasn’t reassuring enough, so he had deployed people, but it seemed they had been breached. He had frantically trained the guards to improve their skills in a short period, but the time had been too short.
The only one he could rely on was Gee, who controlled the area closest to the cabin. Although he might not be a match in skill, he might have managed to contact the outside. If so, reinforcements should be rushing in, so they should be able to buy time.
Lost in thought, Jinhyeon ran and ran. At some point, he saw Even running beside him. Despite starting late, Even seemed to have no difficulty matching Jinhyeon’s speed.
‘Why?’
The moment he wondered, he understood. Even had surrounded his entire body with the energy he had gained from sword training. In other words, he had weaponized his body to enhance his physical abilities.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
