“Nng…”
In the dim darkness, Colette whimpered hoarsely, experiencing the worst waking of her life. She had slept poorly. Battle fatigue lingered in her body. She searched her foggy thoughts to remember what had transpired.
After hearing that one of her friends had fallen prey to a drug that was infesting the town, she’d stormed out of school. Then she strangled one of the men in hooded robes and got the location of the cartel’s storehouse out of him. And then—
And then, she’d lost the fight and was taken hostage. She had overestimated her capabilities and had been defeated. Worst of all, she was in this mess because she had turned down her best friend’s offer to help. Colette cursed bitterly, feeling utterly wretched.
“You’re awake. Have a nice sleep?” a man sitting on a chair across from her asked sarcastically.
“Hmf… Not on a pathetic bed like this,” she answered emotionlessly, in a half joke, matching the man’s sarcasm.
He continued, unfazed. “Colette, imperial princess of Colorne. I never dreamed you would be such an idiot. But thanks to your stupidity, the plan’s going off without a hitch.”
There had been a faint but distinctive hint of anger mixed in the emotionless tone of Colette’s voice. Upon hearing the heartless contempt in the man’s, Colette pursed her lips tightly. The creep who had bound her in chains was seated in a chair across from her, muttering in annoyance.
The dim room darkened his face under his hood, so she couldn’t make out his features. But she glared hard into his darkness-shrouded eyes all the same.
“Master, we finished taking inventory of our ludus stock.”
After a while, another man appeared, called the sarcastic man “master,” and politely gave him an operations report. It seemed like the hooded men were operating under some sort of hierarchy.
Colette removed her gaze from the man in front of her to witness the exchange. Then one of the many men who had entered noticed her stare, gave her a bestial smirk, and spoke.
“But still… I can’t believe this is the princess of Colorne. She’s young, but she sure is sexy. Do ya suppose it’s because people with noble blood only fuck pretty faces?”
Colette grimaced in disgust. What a vile thing to say. She would have been enraged even if his words had not been directed at her. And she wasn’t the only one. But the lower-ranking creep didn’t seem to notice or care.
He continued, “If you’re gonna kill her anyway, can we have some fun with her first? It’d be such a waste to just do her in.”
“He’s right. I mean look at those tits—she can’t be a kid.”
Her clothes had been torn in the fight, exposing her bare skin. The men hungrily fondled her with their eyes.
Colette’s face twisted with fury. But not even her death glare could stop their depraved lust from oozing into the air.
“Shut your filthy mouths, cretins,” the man they’d called master said.
That was enough to drain the color from their faces in an instant. The creepy leader walked over to his subordinate, his wooden clogs making a satisfying thud on the floor.
“F…forgive me, Master!”
✦ ✦ ✦
“The putrid desire spilling from your mouth is an offense to the ears. I suggest you keep your trap shut.”
“P-please, have mercy—”
With an irritated huff, the master reached out to shut his subordinate’s mouth. And then—
“Nng—mmm?!”
His scream reverberated through the room. The extraordinary sound compelled Colette to look at him—to see frost run from his mouth to his cheek, freezing the man’s face solid.
The master released his hand. And the man, unable to open his mouth, writhed in agony. A fierce wave of panic rushed through the other men at the sight. The man’s indiscriminate punishment had served as a warning to them all. Seeing this, the leader heaved a sigh of annoyance, as if to say, Don’t make me do that again.
He clearly had no regard for human life—rather, he thought of the lives of his subordinates as no more significant than rocks in the road. Colette was at a loss for words.
He treats his own men like they aren’t human…!
In spite of the ice deep within his hood—which Colette was now able to see—he did not seem like the sort of person who would treat his fellow man with such cruelty. Frigid air stabbed at her lungs. For the first time in her life, Colette was afraid. Afraid of this very special enemy.
Or rather—this fear was a direct extension of the emotion she’d felt once as a little girl. The same terror she had experienced when she was confronted with the idea of that enigmatic and inevitable thing—death.
After giving the horrid, frozen-mouthed man an emotionless glance, the master turned his attention to Colette in an intense glare. The wrinkles around his mouth, illuminated gently by the light, were strained with impatience.
“The plan’s gone to shit—it’s beyond infuriating. Who could’ve possibly foreseen that the king’s chessman would be foolish enough to make a move on its own?”
He stared at Colette from the darkness of the hood. His eyes were unnaturally cold—nothing more. But Colette bravely held her gaze without faltering. The leader cursed under his breath.
“Well, what are we going to do with you? We can’t exactly kill you here and now, but we also can’t let you go unharmed. Good grief—you are incredibly vexing.”
Magic energy filled his body. A thick smoke shimmered around him—at a glance, Colette knew it was an evil magic energy, dark red like blood. Its sheer might and ghastliness took her breath away.
It was a vexation directed at an adversary of absolute might. The magic was so visceral it evoked an emotional response—and thus, even a girl as strong-willed as Colette was afraid.
But what terrified her the most was the sense she got from the man’s eyes. Even though they were directed at her, it seemed like they were looking somewhere else entirely. Until then, Colette had never seen a person with a psyche this utterly inhuman. His very existence was alien to her.
If she took the man’s words at face value, she wouldn’t have to worry about them killing her. But these people weren’t exactly trustworthy to begin with. And when she accounted for the unstable psyche, she realized that there was no guarantee of her survival. Colette knew that if their leader had a passing fancy to kill her, his men would easily carry it out.
And their master possessed extraordinary powers—she had witnessed that firsthand. It was the very reason why she was being held captive in chains in the first place.
The leader stared mechanically at her with his icy eyes. Chills ran down her spine. She squeezed her eyes shut, thinking this might be the end.
And then it happened.
The door to the storehouse burst open. The collective gazes of the occupants of the room darted toward the noise.
There stood a girl, of silvery hair streaked with vermilion. With the sun’s light shining at her back, she looked godlike to Colette.
And the girl said, “Hey, boys. You took my princess—and I’m here to take her back!”
Then she slammed the orb of light in her hand to the ground.
In an instant, a flash of light and a roaring explosion took hold of the place.