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“Of course, that’s not allowed.”
When Yeon Ji-ho replied seriously, Baal’s eyes, which had been full of interest, became disinterested. He pulled his face back from between the prison bars where he had been poking it out and scratched the back of his neck.
On the other hand, Yeon Ji-ho was almost grateful that Baal, who had come uncomfortably close, had now distanced himself again. Yeon Ji-ho, watching Baal’s reaction, spoke cautiously.
“…But why are you really imprisoned? And what happened to your head earlier?”
He couldn’t understand why a man who could so easily shake off the chains on the wall had been bound until now, and why he had been banging his head. When he asked, Baal’s eyes rolled sideways to meet Yeon Ji-ho’s.
He opened his mouth, not hiding his obvious annoyance.
“Even if I break the chains, I’ll just be tied up again anyway.”
“Ah.”
“As for my head, it’s because I was bored.”
The idea of banging one’s head to the point of bleeding just out of boredom was incomprehensible, but Yeon Ji-ho decided not to dwell on it, considering the other party was none other than ‘Baal’.
Then, Yeon Ji-ho noticed that Baal kept raising his hand to rub his eyes. It seemed that blood from the wound he had inflicted on his head earlier was flowing into his eyes, obstructing his vision. After hesitating, Yeon Ji-ho abruptly thrust his hand through the prison bars.
“…?”
Then, taking advantage of Baal’s momentary surprise, he used the sleeve of his robe to wipe Baal’s forehead. Baal furrowed one of his eyebrows at the gentle, almost ticklish sensation.
“If you wipe it with your hands, it’ll just smear more.”
Baal’s upper clothing was mostly torn, probably due to how he had been imprisoned, and naturally, he had no cloth to wipe with. Yeon Ji-ho had offered this kindness because wiping blood with bare, dusty hands didn’t seem hygienic.
However, Baal stared at Yeon Ji-ho’s hand touching his forehead and then opened his mouth wide. Yeon Ji-ho instantly withdrew his hand.
“…. Wasn’t that for me to eat?”
“No, it wasn’t!”
Baal, who had narrowly missed catching the hand with his mouth, smacked his lips in disappointment. Seeing this, Yeon Ji-ho resolved never to put his hand near Baal’s mouth again.
Baal, who had been conversing with Yeon Ji-ho through the prison bars, suddenly looked up at the ceiling. Then he closed his mouth and remained silent.
“Um, actually… Set is coming here to rescue you.”
“…”
“Don’t you think it would be helpful if we escaped and got out first?”
Of course, they would have to figure out how to break through this iron cage and escape, but the first step was to motivate the seemingly disinterested Baal. Yeon Ji-ho carefully shared his opinion, but Baal only glanced at him and continued staring at the ceiling.
Yeon Ji-ho’s eyebrows twitched slightly at the blatant disregard for his words. Was this why he had been warned not to expect proper conversation with Baal? He seemed uninterested even in news about companions coming to rescue him.
Finally, Yeon Ji-ho pulled out his last resort.
“Are you not hungry?”
They had imprisoned him underground, and he seemed difficult to handle. Would they have properly fed such a prisoner?
Yeon Ji-ho’s guess hit the mark. Baal’s ears perked up, and he turned his head towards Yeon Ji-ho.
“…I’m hungry.”
“Well, it’s embarrassing to say this myself, but I’m a good cook.”
It seemed unlikely that he could escape this place alone, and he needed Baal to actively cooperate for there to be any chance. For this, he boasted about himself in a way he normally wouldn’t.
“Except for you, Baal, everyone else has tried my cooking at least once… Oh, except for Ganesha too.”
“…Your cooking?”
“Yes, I cooked for them myself.”
“Better than Chronos?”
It seemed that Chronos had been in charge of cooking among the Gorgon beasts until now. Well, among them, Chronos did seem to be the only one capable of cooking calmly.
Of course, Yeon Ji-ho had never seen or tasted Chronos’s cooking, but for now, he needed to keep Baal’s interest. Yeon Ji-ho nodded without hesitation.
“Yes, much better!”
“Is that why I smell something delicious?”
“…Pardon?”
Thunk.
At that moment, Baal stuck his nose between the prison bars. Yeon Ji-ho froze, thinking for a moment that Baal was lunging at him. Baal then stuck out his tongue, licking the bars lengthwise as he spoke.
“You smell very delicious.”
“…”
“Can I eat you?”
Yeon Ji-ho’s mouth clamped shut as he wondered if it was really okay to cooperate with this person.
***
Meanwhile, Set.
Set, who had already infiltrated Hwangseong, had to hear unbelievable news from Chronos.
“…Your Excellency, we’ve lost contact with Apophis.”
At Chronos’s words, Set clenched his fist. He hadn’t thought Hadad wouldn’t make a move. However, the movement was faster than expected.
Perhaps they had been tailed from the moment they entered the capital. Or maybe Chain, whom he thought was on their side, had already been bought off.
Despite anticipating all of this, it was he who had entrusted Yeon Ji-ho to Apophis. No matter how unlikely, not everything would go according to his expectations.
“Your Excellency. It’s presumptuous of me to say, but we can’t turn back now. Please focus on the situation at hand.”
At Chronos’s ever-calm words, Set’s eyes closed deeply and then opened. They had already infiltrated Hwangseong, including Shango who was quietly following behind, and as Chronos said, they couldn’t turn back now.
Set despaired at the fact that he couldn’t immediately go to check if Yeon Ji-ho was safe.
As Hadad had said, perhaps he had indeed been abandoned by the gods. He could have nothing he wanted, and could accomplish nothing he desired.
“…We’ll move.”
“Yes, Your Excellency!”
But he couldn’t give up. Even if his life until now had been abandoned by the gods, if Yeon Ji-ho was at the end of all this, he had to move forward.
“Your Excellency. The security up to the prison where Baal is held is extremely tight.”
“Isquis comes first. We’ll rescue the one imprisoned in the outer fortress first.”
“Understood.”
The three people who had infiltrated through the underground waterways of Hwangseong moved on silently after that. They suppressed their presence as much as possible and quickly approached the outer fortress where Isquis was imprisoned.
However, even if they suppressed their presence, they couldn’t avoid the knights standing guard in front of the door. As Shango moved forward to deal with them, Set’s hand moved first.
Without changing his expression, he created his sword and cut them down. Blood flowed beneath the feet of those who perished without even making a sound.
Shango, watching him, called out to Set softly.
“…Your Excellency.”
Set’s face remained expressionless and dry as he looked down at the fallen. He had forgotten that he was originally this kind of person, as he hadn’t cut down anyone even once since meeting Yeon Ji-ho.
Set dispersed his blood-stained sword into the air without even wiping it clean. With a coldly composed face, he pushed the corpses aside with his foot and spoke.
“What is it, Shango?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Shango, who had never particularly wished for anything in his life, hoped that Apophis was safely keeping Yeon Ji-ho. He couldn’t even imagine how Set might change if that wasn’t the case.
Soon after, Set’s group entered the underground prison without hindrance. In the underground where dozens of prison cells were lined up in a row, Shango and Chronos began searching for Isquis’s location in order.
“Isquis!”
The voice burst out from Chronos’s direction. Chronos, gripping the iron bars tightly, was staring inside with eyes wide open.
Shango and Set, who were elsewhere, also approached where Chronos was. Soon, the miserable sight inside came into view of the two.
“…Why did you all come here…”
Isquis’s back, lying face down, was stained with pitch-black blood. Part of his wings, which hadn’t been completely removed, was still attached there. Isquis was curled up on the floor, writhing as he looked towards them.
“I could have… gotten out… on my own…”
Isquis’s words kept trailing off as his eyelids fluttered. It seemed he hadn’t even been given a low-grade healing potion after having his wings ripped out. His condition didn’t look good.
Shango took out his axe from behind his back and, without hesitation, struck down on the iron bars. The bars made of stone crumpled ridiculously easily with each of Shango’s strikes.
Soon, Shango entered through the gap he had created and lightly lifted Isquis onto his back. Then, as he came out of the prison again, Chronos rushed over and began frantically spraying the high-grade healing potion he had been carrying onto Isquis’s back.
“Your Excellency… How… about Ji-ho…?”
Isquis, hanging on Shango’s back, seemed to have difficulty speaking, as if he had been hit hard in the face. Despite this, when he asked about Yeon Ji-ho’s whereabouts, Set remained silent.
“I’m… sorry… I tore… the clothes…”
Isquis was still wearing the windbreaker that Yeon Ji-ho had bought him. However, it seemed the situation hadn’t been favorable when his wings were being ripped out, as it was torn in several places.
Set, who had been silently listening to Isquis’s words, quietly raised his hand and covered Isquis’s eyelids. Isquis, who had been forcing his eyes open, closed them as he leaned against Shango’s back.
“Shango.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“Take Isquis to Apophis.”
This meant that Shango should leave Hwangseong now. Shango, who had lowered his eyes for a moment, finally bowed his head and accepted the order.
Then Chronos, who had been watching from the side, cautiously asked.
“Your Excellency, now for Baal…”
“No. We’re not rescuing Baal now.”
“Pardon?”
“We’re going to capture Hadad.”
Chronos’s mouth closed. The weight of the words was extraordinary when they came from Set’s mouth, saying he would capture none other than the emperor of this country.
“…Why?”
“Well, isn’t that what he’s saying?”
A long sneer appeared on Set’s lips.
“That if we don’t kill him, he will surely kill us all.”
