Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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>Translator: Lord First
>Chapter: 10
>Chapter Title: Grim Filter
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Noah looked at Rian, whose body was a complete mess, and thought.
‘How can you do that?’
Noah recalled the unfamiliar woman's voice she had heard not long after Rian had given cookies to the children and left the prison.
The acoustics of the prison made sound travel easily, so all the children inside clearly heard the conversation between Rian and Rania.
"You ran away quite well, didn't you?"
>"Th-that's..."
>"Hmm, is this the best place you could run to after escaping from me? Why? Did you hide something good here?"
Through that short exchange, the children in the prison realized this was the person Rian had said he would “try his best to stop.” Instinctively terrified, the children huddled in a corner of the cell, burying their faces in their knees. Noah hugged Nero, biting her lip in helplessness.
"There's nothing, nothing at all!"
A desperate voice cut through their fear.
"You were so scared and running away earlier. Is there something you want to protect that badly?"
At those words, Noah froze. Rian wasn't a hero or a champion from a fairy tale. He was just an ordinary, timid person, just like her. She clenched her fists without realizing it, her nails digging into her palms.
*Bang!*
The conversation between the two ended with the harsh sound of a door slamming shut. The children held their breath, listening for any sounds from upstairs. Before long, a massive explosion shook the prison as if an earthquake had struck.
"Hy-Hyeong...!"
>"It's okay, it's okay."
Noah soothed the frightened Nero, her trembling gaze fixed on the outside of the prison.
*Bang!*
The sound of a door being violently thrown open was heard, and then Rian came down to the basement and unlocked the cell door.
"Kids! Come on out! There's a fire!"
>"F-fire?"
>"Ugh... ugh..."
It seemed something had indeed happened upstairs. Noah took Nero's hand and left the cell. Looking at the next cell, she saw the panicked children and Rian, who was clutching his head with a troubled expression.
‘...Did he cry?’
Seeing the tear tracks on Rian's face, she froze for a moment. Soon, the acrid smoke began to fill the prison, snapping her back to her senses. She shouted to snap the panicked children out of it, then spoke in a calm voice.
"You all heard it earlier. That voice."
The sound of Rian trying to stop that woman to protect them. Everyone in the prison must have heard it clearly. The children's expressions hardened as if in agreement with Noah's words.
"And look over there."
Noah then pointed up the stairs, at the licking flames and black smoke.
"The fire is real. If we stay here, we might all die. So stop whining and follow me. You don't want to... die here, do you?"
The children finally came to their senses and filed out of the cells. Fortunately, the flames weren't too large, and they were all able to escape unharmed.
‘That's...’
The first thing she saw upon leaving the building were depressingly dark buildings, neat dirt ground, and gleaming eyes watching them from between the alleyways. Like the look of hyenas that have found their prey.
"Ugh..."
A terrified Nero burrowed into Noah's arms.
‘Still, everyone is safe—...’
As Noah thought this and looked around, she felt a sense of wrongness.
"...Wait, where is that girl?"
The red-haired girl, that child was nowhere to be seen.
"The one with the red hair who was in the same cell as me—..."
>"...!"
Before Noah could finish, Rian plunged into the flames.
"Wait...! Are you crazy?!"
She reached out to grab him, but her hand grasped at empty air.
*Fwoosh! Craaack!*
The fire had grown terrifyingly large, so much so that no one dared to enter. Noah stared at the burning building with a pale, horrified expression.
‘He's dead... he must be dead.’
There was no way he could have survived. Not in a fire like that.
Noah's thoughts were cut short as Rian burst out from the flames.
"Rian!"
>"Hyeong!"
Nero, who had been frozen in Noah's arms, also approached Rian with tears in his eyes. Rian's condition was extremely serious. His skin was peeling off in several places, and he was bleeding profusely. Noah gritted her teeth.
Even if he survived, with injuries like these, he wouldn't last long. A thick sense of despair slid down her throat.
"Thank goodness!"
>"...!"
The man himself, thinking only of having saved the young beastman, didn't utter a single word of pain and instead offered a bright smile. Seeing that, a surge of anger washed over her.
"What's there to be thankful for?! Are you crazy?!"
Why did he dismiss his own wounds as nothing? How could he smile and brush it off like that?
Noah couldn't understand Rian. But there was one thing she could tell. Rian was carrying a past so miserable that he could dismiss such horrific injuries as "nothing serious."
"Ah, this is fine. It'll heal soon."
>"Hmm. That's quite an interesting story."
Behind the excuse-making Rian, the Black Mage stroked her chin and looked down at him. Noah and Nero froze solid, like mice caught by a cat.
*Thump, thump, thump, thump!*
Her heart pounded like crazy, and her breath caught in her throat. Cold sweat poured out, as if to drench her entire body. Noah gasped for breath, auditory hallucinations roaring in her ears.
One arm, one leg should be enough.
>Then I'll take a heart.
Black Mages, holding staves similar to Mia's, ordered the children's bodies as if they were ordering food at a restaurant. Amidst the rampant screams, Noah and Nero were terrified, swallowing their tears. If they made a loud noise, they would be the first to be dragged away.
The trauma, seared into their minds like a brand, became shackles that bound them completely. Even as Mia pulled on Rian's wounded and peeling arm as if lifting an object, Noah could only remain silent, like a frightened animal.
"Um, if it's okay, could you take these kids with us too?"
*Flinch.* The sound of Rian's voice.
Noah looked at Rian with trembling eyes. In his wretched state, covered in burns, he was begging the cruel Black Mage, risking his life.
"Th-they're like my little siblings. If they're not with me, I might get so sad that I just die of depression or something."
He was struggling to take care of them, even resorting to such absurd lies. Noah instinctively understood why Rian was saying such things.
‘If we don't go with that person, we'll be dragged back to the slave traders... or be killed here.’
Most people had fled because of Rania, but those desperate for money were still watching this place, drooling. Once Rian and Mia left, they would be "hunted."
"You're okay with the experiments being a little more intense, right?"
>"Y-yes."
Noah felt tears welling in her eyes and bit her lip hard. She couldn't do anything. Absolutely nothing. A terrible sense of powerlessness, the relief of being alive, and a self-loathing for feeling such things consumed her mind.
***
Lost in thought, I nodded blankly. Mia smiled with satisfaction and stepped back. I rubbed my chest and stared blankly at Mia.
"R-Rian... you..."
Just then, a trembling voice snapped me out of my daze. When I turned my head, I saw Noah hugging Nero, her face filled with terror. It wasn't just Noah; the other children were also terrified, some collapsing to the ground, others showing tears.
‘Oh dear, they must have been scared.’
I've been through body modifications and even been cut into pieces in the Gag Anime World, so it was no big deal to me, but it was different for the children. It must have been like being scared of the Red Mask as a kid.
I immediately went over to the children and said,
"Don't worry, she doesn't seem like such a bad person. Oh, and if you're worried about the experiments, you don't have to be. I'll talk to her and make sure you guys aren't experimented on."
Thinking about what I'd been through these past few days, it seemed the Gag Filter was definitely in effect. So, I wasn't too worried about the experiments either.
‘How cruel can an experiment be, anyway?’
Half of the socially inept scientists in the Gag Anime World were mad scientists. Like clockwork on every holiday, they would show up on Valentine's Day, White Day, Christmas, Halloween, and various other anniversaries to try and destroy the world.
‘I was even captured and experimented on a few times.’
The scene of having my limbs tied down while some part of my insides was being welded was truly something else. I have no idea where inside my stomach there was a place to tighten a bolt, but during the experiments, I always heard sounds like a construction site.
‘Well, either way, it's not a big deal for me... but it must be for the children.’
I don't remember it well, but I knew that in a normal world, wounds don't heal so easily.
"..."
>"..."
The children didn't respond, neither affirming nor denying my words. They were simply frozen. I guess it was all too sudden for them.