Escape (1)
Mir's predictions were always spot-on. Once they were brought outside, the children were split into two groups and handed over to different men. Seya, Mir, and Nihil were assigned to the man who had been standing to the right of the thin man, while the remaining children were handed over to the man who had originally dragged Seya into the room. The man stared at Seya, unable to hide his lingering disappointment. However, his remaining patience evaporated completely when Seya slyly stuck his tongue out at him, prompting the man to bring a heavy fist down onto the crown of Seya's head.
"That's enough! There's no point in breaking them before we even start," the thin man warned, pulling back the man who was about to strike Seya again.
"The little bastard doesn't know his place," the man spat, huffing with rage, though he reluctantly stepped away from Seya. The sound of him grinding his teeth echoed in the corridor, but once again, he didn't dare disobey the thin man's orders.
Despair washed over the faces of the children following the seething man. No matter how they looked at it, they seemed to realize that the other group of children appeared far more useful than they were.
"M-Mister... Can't I go with that group? I can do anything, I promise!" one child whimpered, only to be met with a brutal kick from the man.
"You stupid brat. Do you even know what kind of hell awaits those kids? You're the lucky one here," the man sneered. Behind Seya, Nihil gasped in terror, but Seya paid it no mind. Either way, they were all marching toward a dog's death.
Sniff... If only Nihil would stop whimpering behind him, Seya felt he could focus a bit better.
The thin man, Seya, Mir, Nihil, and one other child walked down the hallway in a single file line. Flanked by their captors at the front and back, the pace was grueling—so fast they practically had to jog to keep up. It was a punishing speed for children whose hands were bound behind their backs.
Seya could hear Mir panting heavily right behind him. We can't waste our strength like this. Seya figured it would be better to arrive quickly, whatever lay waiting for them at the end of this path. However, the corridors they traversed were tangled like a maze, making it impossible to tell if they were actually getting closer to their destination.
"Move it! Faster!" A harsh kick was followed by Mir's sharp cry of pain from behind. Bastards. They should try walking with their hands tied behind their backs to see how damn hard it was. Suppressing the urge to spin around and deliver a flying kick, Seya kept his eyes fixed forward. He needed to conserve his energy, but more importantly, Mir had strictly warned him to wait for the perfect moment when their captors let their guard down.
Tap. The man in front came to a sudden halt. Seya, who had been glaring at the back of the man's head as if trying to drill a hole through it, quickly took a step back to avoid colliding with his back. They had stopped before a plain, unremarkable door that looked no different from any of the other rooms they had passed. Seya, who had expected to be thrown into some moldy dungeon, narrowed his eyes and inspected the door, but found nothing unusual.
Knock, knock, knock. The man raised his hand and rapped on the door three times. Well-oiled, the door swung open silently without so much as a creak. In that instant, Seya had to immediately revise his assessment. Plain room, my foot. Through the narrow gap, barely wide enough for two fists, a thick, suffocating stench of blood wafted out, clinging to the inside of his nostrils.
"What's this? You brought two today?" a raspy, phlegm-filled voice called out from inside. The thin man standing in front of Seya turned around, swept a quick gaze over Seya's group, and nodded.
"Yeah. We'll be lucky if even one of them pans out. By the way..." The thin man paused, gesturing with his chin toward the interior of the room. "What's that over there? I thought I warned you before not to skip protocol."
"Oh, don't be so stiff. You know I wouldn't do this unless it was special. This one is the real deal. I bet even you've never seen a specimen in such good condition. The chances of him meeting the conditions are extremely high."
Glaring at the owner of the voice who had emphasized the word "conditions," the thin man roughly pushed the door open and stepped inside. Seya and Mir were forced to follow, shoved forward from behind. The moment they stepped over the threshold, the metallic stench of blood grew incomparably stronger. Seya desperately wanted to pinch his nose, but his bound arms made it impossible.
The room was spacious but otherwise as featureless as the door. It was illuminated by a candelabra mounted on the wall to the right and a lamp hanging from the ceiling. Contrary to Seya's expectation of a blood-splattered slaughterhouse, the room was surprisingly clean. At the far end stood a dark-red table bearing a triangular stone slab, and spotless shelves were lined with large jars filled with mysterious liquids. It looked less like an execution chamber and more like a laboratory.
As Seya quickly scanned the room, his eyes lingered on the peculiar color of the table. He tilted his head, studying the strange hue that was neither brown nor black. What a bizarre color. Is expensive wood just built different? But as the realization struck him, Seya bit his lip hard, swallowing a scream. No. It wasn't originally that color. It was stained. With blood. The fact that it wasn't just splotched here and there, but entirely dyed that deep, dark red, meant it hadn't just been splattered—the entire table had been thoroughly soaked in blood. This was the very place where his friends had lost their lives.
The quiet gasps of Mir and Nihil echoed in his ears. It seemed Seya wasn't the only one who had realized the source of the sickening stench. Noticing the stiff expressions on the children's faces, the men began to chuckle. The sight of them openly enjoying their terror made Seya's stomach churn with rage, but he had to endure it for now.
"Shove the big one into the corner with that thing, and put the little one over there. Since we have more heads today, we still have some prep work to do." At the command of the deep-voiced man, Seya and Mir were grabbed by different men and dragged to opposite sides of the room.
Only when he reached the corner of the room did Seya realize what "that thing" was. A child was curled up in a tight ball, completely motionless. Huddled as if they had been severely beaten, the child kept their head buried deep, seemingly too terrified to even look at the men. If their legs are broken, this is going to get complicated. Seya quickly inspected the child's limbs. Seeing how they kept their legs bent without any signs of pain, it seemed that despite being covered in dust, nothing was broken. Then again, if this kid perfectly met the "conditions" the men spoke of, there was no doubt they were physically resilient.
But those clothes look awfully familiar... It was pointless to try and distinguish between the rags of street urchins, yet there was something about the outfit that caught his eye. Seya narrowed his gaze.
"Sniff, hic... Waaaah!" The sound of someone sniffling right next to him cut his train of thought short. Seya looked toward the source of the noise in sheer disbelief. Nihil had started bawling, tears and snot streaming down his face. The man with the raspy voice cackled, mocking Nihil's pathetic display.
"Shut up! Quiet down!" the thin man barked at Nihil. It was sickening how a child's natural struggle for survival was nothing more than an amusing, annoying nuisance to these adults.
"Damn it, disgusting. Keep a close eye on them while we get things ready." "As if this is my first time. Kids frozen stiff like that can't do a damn thing." As the thin man walked over to the deep-voiced man, the guard stood before the three children, a smug grin plastered across his face. Perhaps because of Nihil's pathetic, snotty state, the guard didn't seem to be on guard at all.
Seya glared at him before shifting his gaze to the men who were making "preparations." Opening a hidden compartment in the floor, they pulled out a water bowl about the size of two adult palms. They lifted it with extreme care, as if it were some priceless treasure. Seya caught a glimpse of a blue liquid sloshing inside. What is that?
"Seya, what are you staring at? Don't make them suspicious." Mir, who had edged closer, murmured in a low whisper. He kept his voice so quiet that to the guards, it probably sounded like nothing more than a sniffle.
"No, it's not that. I'm just worried about the other kid." At Seya's reply, Mir glanced over at the child curled up like a pill bug on the opposite side.
"That kid's life is his own problem. Focus on the plan." Since Mir was right, Seya gave a silent nod. Watching the men gather around the stone slab and pull a massive bowl from beneath the table, Seya quietly leaned his head toward the curled-up child.
"Hey. When things go down in a minute, hold your breath and run for the door. You have to hold your breath. If you don't, I can't guarantee you'll make it out." The child didn't budge, leaving Seya unsure if his warning had even registered. If the kid had passed out and couldn't hear him, there was nothing he could do. As Mir said, Seya had his hands full just looking out for his own friends.
Looking back up, Seya met Mir's eyes. Mir gave a subtle nod and began to mouth the countdown. Three. Two. One. The moment the countdown hit zero, Seya lunged at the guard.
"What the—?! You little shit!" The guard was utterly blindsided by the sudden rebellion of a kid who had been acting as docile as a sick chick. Seya was far too sharp to miss this opening. Proving that a mad dog of the back alleys was still a mad dog even with his hands tied, Seya dodged the guard's swinging arm with agile movements and slammed his forehead directly into the man's windpipe. Regaining his balance instantly, Seya delivered a brutal kick straight to the man's groin, then bolted toward the door.
"Where do you think you're going?!" The men who had been working rushed over and grabbed Seya. His shoulder slammed hard against the wall, rattling the candelabra mounted on it. Even as he was pinned to the floor, Seya thrashed wildly, kicking and flailing.
"Is this the best you've got? Rushing the door? There's a limit to how stupid you can be!" The thin man ground his foot down on Seya's head, but Seya refused to stop resisting. Thud! Finally, Seya's foot kicked off the wall with immense force, knocking the candelabra loose. The candle fell to the floor, but thanks to the oil in its dish, the flame remained lit. Watching its slow descent, Seya smiled even as the man grabbed him by the collar. He had never cared about the door in the first place.
"Mir!" While the men's attention was entirely focused on Seya, Mir threw a round object he had hidden in his sleeve directly into the flame. Bang! With a small explosion, thick white smoke began to rapidly fill the room.
"Cough! Cough! What is this?!" Before the men could even identify the gas filling the room, they were forced to their knees. The acrid smoke penetrated their noses, mouths, and every orifice of their bodies. Almost instantly, an overwhelming wave of nausea hit them. "Blegh! What... urgh... blegh!" "Damn it... cough... catch those brats! Urgh... blegh!"
It was a disgusting sight. The men tried desperately to hold back their vomit, but their bodies betrayed them as they collapsed, clutching their throats and stomachs. It was filthy, but it was a success. Seya, who had been holding his breath from the start, shook off the panicked hands of the adults and bolted toward the door. He knew Mir would have flung the door wide open the moment he threw the emetic bomb. Once they made it out of the room, they would figure out the rest. Seya sprinted for the exit.
"Ack!" He would have made it, too, if not for the iron grip that suddenly clamped onto his collar. Emerging through the smoke was the largest man of the group. Damn it, of all people. The one who looked the slowest had reacted the fastest. Covering his mouth and nose with his free hand, the giant seemed to be fighting back the urge to vomit, showing no signs of collapsing like the others. If it had been the thin man, escaping would have been easier, but luck rarely favored them in tight spots. Seya thrashed with all his might, but the hand gripping him had no intention of letting go. His strength was rapidly fading from holding his breath to avoid inhaling the gas. He swung his legs, trying to kick the man's groin, but he couldn't reach. If only this bastard's grip would loosen, just a little... As his consciousness began to slip, something soft and furry brushed past his face. Furry?
"Ugh!" Just as Seya thought he was finally blacking out, the man let out a sharp cry of pain and ripped his hand away from his face. Thud! Following the sound of a heavy blow, the man's body tilted slightly to the left. Seya didn't miss the split-second window as the man's grip loosened. Squeezing out every last drop of his remaining strength, Seya delivered a devastating, perfectly aimed kick right between the giant's legs.
"Aaargh!" Seeing the man's eyes roll back into his head through the smoke, Seya collapsed to the floor. But there was no time to rest. Someone grabbed his hand and pulled him up, urging him to run. Who was it? One of them was obviously Mir, but who was the other? It didn't take long to realize the identity of the person who had helped him. It was the kid who had been curled up helplessly in the corner just moments ago.
"People will gather soon. We need to find a way out before then." Hearing the calm, quiet voice, Seya's gas-addled mind snapped back to full alertness, and his eyes flew wide open. Only then did he truly register the strangely familiar clothes. The frayed sleeves, the worn-out hems of the trousers, and the tattered rags that could barely be called a coat. It was the very outfit he had left behind at the Duke's castle. And the person wearing it was— "Young Master?!"