A single strike from Kali’s blade turned Ivan’s head to the right. Kali grabbed Ivan’s shoulder and struck his abdomen with the end of the hilt, causing his knees to involuntarily buckle.

“Ugh, cough…”

Thrown to the floor by the force, Ivan rolled on the ground.

“Damn… I know I’m wrong, ugh!”

“Stand up.”

Kali coldly commanded to Ivan. His well-aged wheat-colored eyes carried a chilling aura.

“Ah, cough…”

Ivan’s fingers strained to touch the ground, already twisted and bruised. But Kali was relentless.

“I said, stand up.”

With the tip of his intact wooden sword, Kali propped up Ivan’s chin to force him to lift his head. One of Ivan’s eyes was swollen as he took ragged breaths and looked up at Kali.

“Ivan Bilzhek. Can’t you hear the supervisor?”

“Da…mn…”

Ivan clenched his reddened teeth. Blood trickled from his busted lips. His fangs appeared more prominent than usual. His rationality was slipping away, transforming him into something like a feral cat. His sharp claws, now a hazard even to himself, were evident.

But he couldn’t afford to lose his senses like this.

“What should we do, Butler? Lord Bilzhek is…!”

“Asera, Daisy. This is not your place.”

“…”

Outside the arena, Daisy gripping the fence was seen, as was Andersen, discouraging Daisy with a pained expression, and Ulergen, observing the duel with a troubled look.

Ivan had almost robbed them of someone precious due to a moment’s lapse.

Yuriscien Agate Windsor. Her abduction was solely due to Ivan. Therefore, Ivan had to atone, not as a 299 but as Ivan Bilzhek.

“Ah… ugh, ha…”

Ivan groped the floor and found the hilt of his wooden sword. Although his bones were broken and his ligaments snapped, his claw-like nails clenched into his palm.

He stood, supporting his weight on his left leg as his right was broken. His shattered rib poked his intestines, causing agony, but he stood enduring.

“Tch.”

Ivan spat out blood-mingled saliva. Shards of broken teeth came out with it. He wiped his lips with the back of the hand that held his sword and looked at Kali.

“I know I’m, ha, wrong…”

“…”

“Fucking, that’s why I’m, cough, being beaten like this, isn’t it?”

Kali looked at Ivan with an emotionless, cold gaze.

Kali didn’t care if Ivan was a Suyin, a Homunculus, or from the Heaven nation.

After all, Ivan had passed all tests in Eloniac with some reservations, an achievement not possible without determination. Kali only looked at Ivan with cold eyes when he failed a mission.

‘That was the only reason.’

That’s why Ivan could say this without being hurt by Kali’s disdainful gaze.

“Just spare my life.”

Ivan coughed up blood-mixed phlegm and continued with a swollen and bruised face.

“I still haven’t apologized to Yuriscien.”

Late at night, Yuriscien was running through a space filled with faint fog. It was an empty place, making it hard to discern front from back, but she kept running. Then she heard a voice.

The voice seemed familiar, but she couldn’t quite place whose it was. Of course, she had no time to think deeply about it, as her shoulders bumped into transparent walls on both sides.

But when she reached out, there wasn’t no space to go.

‘It’s like a funnel-shaped path.’

If it were a complete dead-end, she could have turned back and sought another way… but it wasn’t, so it felt like she could escape.

“Yuriscien…”
The voice from behind was getting closer. A strong feeling surged within him that he shouldn’t get caught, though he didn’t know who it was. Yurisien twisted his body and began to walk through the narrow gap with an awkward gait.

“Ugh….”

The path was getting narrower. An invisible wall pressed against his chest, making it hard to breathe. He shouldn’t have entered this place. Just as he turned his head to leave….

Two sunken eyes of a terrible creature stared at Yurisien through the invisible wall. It was none other than Hiscliffe’s voice that had seemed familiar.

“Kyah!”

“Yurisien….”

As his mouth opened, a dark viscous liquid began to drip drip. What he thought was blood crawled toward Yurisien like insects.

“No, no. Don’t come!”

Yurisien squeezed himself against the narrow wall even more. He couldn’t possibly defeat the man and escape.

Just then,

“Yurisien!”

A different male voice sounded from behind Hiscliffe, who was trying to squeeze into the narrow gap to chase Yurisien.

“Come out!”

It was a firm voice. At the same time, Hiscliffe, who seemed to want to devour Yurisien whole, froze. A white hand suddenly reached out from between his split body.

A familiar hand, a familiar arm.

“Come to me, take my hand!”

Yurisien wanted to take his hand but….

“Kieack!”

Black bugs fell from Hiscliffe’s mouth, threatening Yurisien. Tears fell like a child. It was unfair, sorrowful.

‘There’s a hand there, I want to take that hand!’

But the black bugs continued to grow, as if they wouldn’t allow Yurisien to take the man’s hand.

“You’re ultimately mine. I am your savior!”

You can’t leave me. Never!

Hiscliffe chuckled. Yes, he was right. Yurisien had been harboring these feelings for a full 15 years. It wasn’t easy to let go.

In the end, Yurisien shook his head as he cried.

“I don’t know anymore. Who is my savior then, and who have I liked all this time….”

“Yurisien, you’re wrong! You already know. He’s not your savior! The savior you liked isn’t him!”

No matter how much the man encouraged him, it was in vain. A sense of helplessness overwhelmed Yurisien. Yurisien wanted to collapse, but the suffocating walls wouldn’t even allow that.

Eventually, Yurisien sobbed like a child. Alone between the closing walls, he wept and shouted.

“Yes, it’s true. I know. Maybe I’ve known for a long time. That’s why I hate it more. I despise Prince His Highness. Why did you keep giving me the wrong assurance, why did you accept my love without loving me back!”

“….”

“But I loved Prince His Highness, I really did. Even if he’s not the savior, the love from these past 15 years won’t completely disappear! That’s why I can’t stand this situation! It’s unbearable, I can’t stand on my own!”

His inner self, pushed to the extreme, screamed out loud. Hearing that, the white hand hesitated and withdrew.

“Kieack!”
The bug became more aggressive as the white hand disappeared. Yurisien looked down at the bug crawling up his feet, trembling. The bug wandered around Yurisien’s instep and ankle, as if claiming ownership. Ah, a moment of terrible chills.

Crack… Crack…!

A crack began to form in the wall surrounding Yurisien. Bright sunlight seeped in through the crack, widening it further.

“Hmph…!”

His face involuntarily scrunched up due to the brightness, but he did not close his eyes. Because beyond the completely broken wall, the white hand he had missed earlier reached out.

“Then be caught by me.”

The man said, taking a deep breath.

“Be swayed by me for a while.”

“Ah…”

“Swayed by me, who has always loved you.”

The white hand arbitrarily grabbed Yurisien’s hand. Threads made of sunlight shimmered before his eyes. He suddenly felt suffocated, as if submerged underwater. Yurisien was helplessly caught in his hand.

“Kyaak!”

At that moment, the bugs that had crawled up to his ankles oxidized and disappeared. He felt lighter as he broke free from the oppressive wall, and his hunched shoulders relaxed, opening up his airway.

“Haah…!”

The moment Yurisien took a deep breath, the scene changed.

A dawn when he woke up due to Benjamin.

Benjamin appeared, wrapping his fingers around the hair of Yurisien, who had emptied a bottle of rum and lay sprawled across the terrace table.

Benjamin, who seemed to find Yurisien’s awkward response adorable, softly chuckled and pressed his lips against Yurisien’s glossy black hair.