[Chapter]
Rotten's battered face twisted into a grimace. His cheekbones throbbed, covered in bruises from the beating.
"Goddammit..."
He flinched and curled in on himself, quickly scanning his surroundings. Ever since that cadet bastard had gotten him thrown in here, curses kept slipping out like a tic.
"Hoo..."
Fortunately, there was only one guard nearby. The man looked at him and spoke.
"Hurry it up, we don't have all day."
"Yes...! Th-thank you."
The guard, who'd been picking his ear, flicked his finger with a snap.
"Hah—whatever. If I go this weekend and there's no gold bar there, you're gonna get the beating of a lifetime."
"I-it's true. I buried it there, so if you just go take it, sir—"
"Tch..."
The guard handed him the phone and stepped back. Rotten let out a small sigh and quickly dialed.
One gold bar for a single phone call. An absurdly expensive price.
'Fuck. No way that bastard's only taking one...'
He glanced at the guard who was picking his ear a few steps away, then clenched his teeth. This was his last chance. There were no more gold bars buried. The insurance he'd stashed away without much thought had become his only hope.
*Brrrng... brrrng...*
*Brrrng...*
'Dammit...! Pick up! Pick up, goddammit!'
All he'd done was mess with some orphan cadet, and he'd been completely buried by society. So thoroughly that even his assets were useless. In fact, most of his wealth had been seized by the government. He couldn't understand why a woman of the Northern Archduke's stature would be so hostile toward him, as if he'd made a mortal enemy of her.
*Click.*
The call finally connected.
'Ah...!'
A smile of pure joy spread across his face. This phone call was a lifeline from heaven. The only person who could possibly pull him out of this hell. He was worried since he'd only recently spread the bribe, but he had no other choice.
A reluctant voice came through the receiver.
*—Who is this? How did you get this number?*
"Ah, hello! Councilman! It's me, Rotten!"
*—...Who?*
His mouth went dry. There was no goodwill in the voice on the other end. A bad omen. Normally, you'd need to build a relationship a bit more before making a request like this, but he had no time. He was already locked up.
"I-It's Rotten, the Alchemy Association Chairman! Councilman!"
*—Hmm...*
The brief silence felt unbearably long.
*—Ahh... I remember now. Right. Did we meet at that party the other day?*
"Yes! Rotten, who greeted you then—"
*—Enough. So what's the reason for the call? I'm a bit busy right now.*
The atmosphere wasn't good at all. His voice trembled with tension.
"W-well... I-I recently got misunderstood by the Northern Archduke's daughter... and some trouble came up. If you, Councilman, could—"
*—I don't have time, so make it short.*
"W-well... uh... I was u-unjustly put in prison... Could you possibly get me out?"
A small clicking sound from the other end of the line struck his ears like thunder.
*—Haa... You've known me for how long, and you dare make such a rude request?*
Normally,*
Normally, he would have backed off here and waited for another opportunity. But he wanted out of this place as fast as possible. Diana was probably rolling around with that cadet bastard even now. Just imagining it made his blood run dry.
"C-councilman..! I did give you a gift, didn't I..! J-just help me once, and—"
*—Ha...!*
There was something you had to be careful about when bribing a powerful person. You must never mention it directly. Because if you slip up, it could be taken as a threat.
And sure enough, the voice on the phone dropped significantly.
*—That's ridiculous. You seem to think you're still the Alchemy Association Chairman... You're just a criminal now. Considering the courtesy you showed last time, I'll let this slide. But call again, and you won't like what happens.*
*Click.*
"Ah..."
His head went blank. A high-pitched ringing echoed in his ears. A gruff voice came from behind him, though there was a hint of sympathy in it.
"You done? Give me the phone. Honestly... You're all the same in here. You think that'll get you out? Go do your work."
"Uh-uh... yes..."
Rotten handed the phone to the guard with trembling hands and trudged away. It felt like walking back into hell on his own two feet.
He arrived after only a short walk. A pungent smell stung his nostrils, and noise assaulted his ears.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
The sound of pickaxes striking hard rock. This was a demonic crystal mine, fortunately discovered in a dimensional erosion zone. A dangerous, filthy place.
*Thwack!*
"AAAHK!"
He stumbled forward and fell flat on his face. Someone had whacked him in the back of the head.
"You worthless piece of shit! Where the hell have you been slacking off this time?!"
"Kh-hk..!"
Rotten tried to get up reflexively but was sent rolling across the ground again. A hairy brute, packed with muscles all over his body, started stomping on him.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
"Aargh! P-please, spare me!"
The hairy bastard stomped him until dust rose from the ground, then wound up and kicked Rotten like a soccer ball.
"Keeeugh..."
Wind slammed out of Rotten's gut. He dragged himself up, drool spilling from his lips. If he stayed down, he'd get hit even more. He forced strength into his trembling legs.
He managed to stand and bowed his head sharply. Locking eyes was sure to get him beaten for resisting.
"This bastard... Still hasn't learned his lesson. You better run. NOW!"
"Kh-hk..! Y-yes, sir!"
Rage simmered inside him. How had he, once the richest man in the alchemy district, ended up like this? His mouth opened on his own.
"Fuck...!"
"Hold it. Freeze. What did you just say?"
"Eep..."
The foreman's murderous voice from behind made Rotten's world go black.
---
A pitch-black cavern with no light. The only thing illuminating it was a single torch, flickering unsteadily.
Dozens of corpses were laid out on an altar at the center of the cave. Every single one of them was in terrible condition, as if they'd been subjected to brutal torture.
A man in a hood stood right in front of the altar. Even with the stench of blood filling the cavern, his expression didn't change.
He slowly opened his mouth, as if in meditation. He murmured something like a chant, and the corpses turned to ash and disappeared.
At that moment.
The man's eyes opened.
There was no white. His entire eyes were pitch black, like polished obsidian. Within those glassy orbs, visions of screaming people flickered past like hallucinations.
The blackness that filled his eyes gathered toward the center, forming pupils.
"Hmm..."
The man looked at the empty air for a while, then let out a murmur. He didn't move, as if frozen in place.
His expression suddenly twisted. Blood dripped from his clenched fist. He picked up a nameplate whose name had been erased.
"Completely dead...?"
A foolish vampire who had remained there despite the warning had died. Not just any death, but an eternal death. But even that was bearable.
"The fate... has been twisted."
*Crunch.*
A sound of molars grinding came from his tightly shut mouth. The predetermined future had blurred—only slightly, but undeniably. An impossible occurrence.
The bigger problem was that fate had changed, yet no backlash came. Every being born into this world is bound by the shackles of fate. No one can escape it. To change fate, one must pay an absurdly heavy price.
Yet at this very moment, fate had been twisted without any cost at all.
"What... utter nonsense..."
It was like pulling out a single thread from a tangled mass of yarn. Perhaps possible with a knot of just one or two threads. But with infinite threads intertwined beyond tens of thousands or even billions? It was impossible.
With a grinding sound, blood dripped from his lips.
"Bring me more sacrifices."
---
A familiar dormitory room. Si-woo looked around. Checking the clock, he saw that not even a full day had passed—only a couple of hours since he'd fallen asleep.
He felt the air against his bare skin. His shirt had been taken off, probably for treatment. He raised his head and stared at Helena.
Helena, who had just swallowed something, turned beet red. She fumbled, tidying her slightly disheveled hair, then sprang up from her seat while fanning her flushed face.
"Th-that..! Si, Si-woo-nim. I-I see you're awake! I'll, I'll be going then. G-get well soon!"
Helena fled the room like she was escaping, leaving only Amelia behind, her cheeks puffed out in a pout. Si-woo approached her and smoothed down her tousled hair.
"Uung..?"
Her discontented expression melted away like butter. The air rushed out of her cheeks, replaced by a soft smile.
"Heheh..."
It felt like a cat with its fur all bristled up had suddenly turned into a docile puppy.
"Hm-hm..."
Amelia seemed pleased, swinging her legs gently with her eyes closed. Seeing that, Si-woo felt the corners of his mouth wanting to lift, but he held back.
After giving her head one last stroke, he pulled her into an embrace from behind.
"Eep..!?"
His creeping hand pressed down on her nipple. He nibbled on her earlobe and whispered.
"Amelia, what's this?"
"U-ung..?"
"What exactly did you do while I was asleep? Hm?"
"Aaah...♥ Th-that is... I t-treated you..."
He gently rubbed her already-hardened nipple.
"Oh really? That all?"
"Haaauugh..!"
Amelia couldn't meet his eyes, like a child caught playing tricks. She let out an awkward laugh and trailed off.
"Ugh... W-well, you see... Lady Helena suddenly..."
"Suddenly?"
He circled her nipple with his finger, then flicked it.
"Heeuk..♥ At first she was like, why are you here...! Aaah..♥"
"Hmm... And then?"
She clamped her thighs together and flinched, which was adorable, but he pressed a little harder.
"Haaauu..! B-but Si-woo, it... it suddenly got bigger... and she said you looked... in pain... I tried to stop her... eep! Aah♥!"
*Squelch.*
Si-woo pushed his middle finger into Amelia's flushed cleft.
"Heeuk..♥ I like this..."
"So while I was asleep, the two of you were playing with my dick or something?"
"Mhmhm..! I'm sorry...!"
He brushed his palm against her clitoris.
"Aaaaaaah..♥!!"
*Squelch, squelch.*
He pressed against her now-moist vaginal walls teasingly, thinking about how to punish her. Whether to make her wait, or make her come nonstop.
"Amelia. You need to be disciplined."
"Disciplined...? Aaah..♥! It wasn't just me...! Lady Helena started it first..."
"So you're saying you did well?"
*Swish, swish.*
He gently circled her nipple while pressing firmly on the upper wall of her vagina. Her spine arched, twitching. Amelia let out a sweet breath and grinned lazily.
"Haaah..♥ I, I like... being disciplined..♥"
"That's a problem. You like being disciplined?"
"Mhmhm..♥ Haaauuu..♥"
Waking up after a rest, he was bursting with energy. And right in front of him was Amelia, her eyes sparkling as if anticipating something.