Visiting the Tiger's Den
Visiting the Tiger's Den
The knife swung down, and a familiar sound rang out.
Tang! Tang!
The wooden cutting board bounced as the large chunk of meat was diced in an instant.
Suddenly, an uneasy premonition struck me.
'There's no way the meat I ate was human flesh, right...'
While I stayed in Zenon's room, I was given quite decent meals.
Now I grew intensely curious about what land animal that meat came from.
I quickened my pace and moved toward the entrance.
The moment I stepped out, my curiosity was satisfied.
Beside the counter where a burly man stood, a large pig's head lay resting.
The man spotted me and widened his eyes in surprise for a moment, then snorted indifferently and went back to work.
I looked around briefly.
The furniture and cooking utensils were a bit old-fashioned, but they looked almost exactly like the kitchen of a restaurant from my past life.
'No coal or firewood in sight... How do the stove and exhaust hood even work?'
The lights in Zenon's room weren't powered by electricity.
When I secretly took them apart at night, all I found was a bluish-glowing mineral. It must be the "Magic Stone" mentioned in the book The Combination of Spirit Stone and Wraith Stone.
'An energy source that replaces electricity...'
I walked on, letting my imagination run wild.
I pushed open the creaky wooden door and stepped outside.
The first thing that caught my eye was a thick stone pillar left as a support while digging out the cave. Beyond it, a spacious hall came into view.
On all sides of the hall were narrow corridors barely wide enough for two people to pass each other.
Men in dark crimson robes used the hall like a roundabout, coming and going through those corridors.
I examined each man who passed by.
They, too, glanced at me standing still and then moved on.
Wariness, curiosity, displeasure, and welcome.
Watching them walk slowly by with all sorts of expressions on their faces, I suddenly wondered.
'Why are these people even here doing this?'
This was the path I was dragged through when I was brought to Zenon's room.
I also clearly remembered the route from here to that horrible cell where they fed human flesh to dogs.
'What could they possibly be getting out of taking part in such crimes?'
'Or maybe this kind of behavior isn't even considered a crime?'
Lost in thought, I wandered around the hall and finally settled on a destination.
'Those monsters I saw back then!'
I dashed to the room with the pool, but the monsters were gone.
Where had they been moved?
'Did they cull them?'
My heart raced.
I hurriedly ran around to other rooms.
A musty room full of stonemasons chiseling away at rocks.
A fragrant room where all kinds of herbs were being boiled, like the decoction room of a Korean medicine clinic.
A gloomy room that looked exactly like a medieval alchemist's laboratory, and a narrow library thick with the smell of books.
Every room was packed with interesting things, so searching just one took an hour.
Maybe that's why, by the time I achieved my goal, there were no people in sight.
It felt like late at night.
Probably even Zenon had gone to sleep.
When I opened the door, I heard the sounds of countless living beings moving.
The space was pitch-black without a single candle, but that didn't bother me now.
I could clearly see the monsters in the cages staring back at me, and at the far end, the familiar back of a girl chewing on the iron bars.
Dog-like ears protruding from the top of her frontal bone.
Lustrous black hair, scraggly from poor nutrition.
Even from behind, I was certain.
It was Hati, who had been beside me when I first opened my eyes.
A forgotten question suddenly resurfaced.
'Why am I the only one who didn't go insane?'
The men in dark crimson robes had thrown both Hati and me into the pool at the same time.
Up until then, Hati and I had been "test subjects of equal grade."
Then what about the other prisoners?
Were they test subjects who had also passed some kind of standard?
Or were Hati and I the only special subjects thrown into the pool?
Just as I was about to dive into thought, I heard footsteps.
"Huh? Why is that open?"
"Right. Who was on duty today?"
I moved without thinking.
I slipped behind the cage holding the largest monster, then plopped down and pulled my hood over my head.
The monster, which had been baring its teeth at me, suddenly flinched and turned to look toward Hati.
It seemed to be reading the room.
'Come to think of it, when I was thrown into the pool, the monsters were scared too.'
The lights came on.
"Hey! Anyone in there?!"
The monsters, their eyes assaulted by the sudden glare, groaned.
The men who stepped inside snickered and chatted.
"They've really gotten docile, huh? Maybe we should train them while we're at it?"
"Is that even possible? These things can't understand a word."
"What about that beast girl? Isn't she a bit different?"
"Nah. Look at her now. She's no different from a chimera anymore."
"Hmm... no. The more I look, the more she seems a little different?"
One of them shuffled over to Hati and smacked his lips.
"She's really not bad, is she? Not a single scratch on her body."
"Huh? Senior, is that your type?"
"Hey, don't you know the saying about not being a picky eater? A man's skills come from diverse experiences."
"R-Really?"
"Of course. So today..."
The man walked again and flung open a drawer in the center of the room.
"What are you guys doing?"
Another voice intruded, and immediately an argument broke out with the first man.
"Ah. Nothing much. Just gonna play with one of the chimeras here."
"Which chimera?"
"You know, the one that came in this time. What was it? They said she went wrong during some experiment."
"If you touch that one, you're dead."
"...What?"
"Yeah, she went wrong during the experiment, but she's still a top-grade test subject. Even if the thing doesn't kill you the moment you open the door, the Chief will personally kill you."
"Hey. What's the point of a botched test subject? You're just saying that. You wanna kill time with all that observation crap, don't you?"
"Did you not hear what I just said? Top-grade test subject."
"Why are you being so damn frustrating? If you just keep quiet and let it slide, no one will know."
"You're dumber than I thought. If you want to die, go ahead. Just remember the Chief is watching."
"Hey."
"What."
"Why the fuck do you have to talk like that?"
The man lowered his voice abruptly, but the newcomer didn't give a damn.
"If you're stupid, you don't even know gratitude."
He muttered his verdict, then shuffled out of the room.
The younger-looking man stood there flustered, glancing at his senior.
Was he trying to cool off?
After a long silence, the first man slammed the drawer shut and started walking.
"Let's get the fuck out. We should go check on the doghouse in the dungeon."
The junior followed him like a puppy, saying,
"Actually, there's a pretty decent one among the new arrivals."
"Is she young?"
"Well, I'm not sure..."
An intriguing phenomenon.
I had thought that this group was just a collection of morally bankrupt people, but after seeing the "real deal," I changed my mind.
'So animal instinct really is the epitome of immorality.'
Coming from a civilized society where I'd only dealt with cultured people, this was a refreshing revelation.
Anyway, the phrase "top-grade test subject" bothered me.
As soon as the men turned off the lights and left, I returned to my original position.
I checked to make sure the door was locked, then approached Hati's cage and whispered.
"Hati. Can you hear me?"
Hati's shoulders flinched.
She slowly turned her head, stared at me blankly, then crawled forward on all fours.
Maybe it was because her sclera had turned pitch black.
It was hard to read any emotion on her face.
She looked both bewildered and curious.
'She really is like a dog.'
More precisely, like a puppy that's curious but timid.
I reached out my hand.
"Shake."
Hati gazed dumbly at my hand, then snapped her jaws shut on it.
Her sharp fangs sank into my skin, but there was almost no pain.
Curious, I started a tug-of-war with Hati.
I pulled hard, then let myself be dragged. When she shook her head, I grabbed her cheeks and shook them the same way.
Hati hopped up and down, growling.
She looked so much like a dog playing tug that I tilted my head.
'Is she enjoying this?'
To test, I stopped moving my hand.
Hati kept jerking her head for a while, then looked at me with a confused expression.
She opened her mouth wide, then closed it again.
It was a sign for Hati to let go of my hand.
Whether she understood me or was just contemplating the situation, Hati opened her mouth vacantly anyway.
I withdrew my hand and slowly leaned my face in.
Just as my face was about to pass through the iron bars.
A man's voice came from right behind me.
"So you were here after all. Rat bastard who doesn't even sleep."
My skin crawled. I swallowed dryly.
'I didn't even hear the door open...'
I turned around slowly. A man with a sinister face was looking down at me.