Episode 14
“How should I praise you, Kal?”
“I want to bite you.”
I stared at him in confusion. He said he wanted praise, yet now he was saying he wanted to bite me. He looked like he wasn’t fully awake yet, gazing at me in a daze. Still, he didn’t seem threatening, so I wasn’t that scared.
“Why do you want to bite me?”
“When I smell your scent, I want to bite you. I think I’d become stronger if I did.”
“…I see.”
Suddenly, I remembered the original story—how Callisten had bitten Aselia’s neck before killing her, leaving countless bite marks behind.
“Kal.”
“Yeah.”
“I-I’ll let you bite me… if you do it gently.”
It might not be a bad idea to teach him how not to bite too hard. If he practiced biting gently, maybe he wouldn’t go completely out of control later.
Still, I didn’t want to be bitten.
I hated pain more than anything.
But maybe a little pain now was better than dying later.
He stared at me with a vacant expression.
“You.”
“Yeah?”
“If you don’t like it, I won’t bite you.”
“Ah…”
After saying that, he leaned his head back against my shoulder. Soon I could feel his weight, and I thought I could hear his heartbeat.
Callisten’s slow heartbeat overlapped with my own frantic, rapid one, thudding together in uneven rhythm.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
For once, my miscellaneous work ended early. That meant I had some time to rest in my room.
I had already washed, changed into clean clothes, and felt like I’d grown a little closer to Callisten.
If things continued like this, maybe when the time came—about ten days from now—he would hesitate before killing me. And in that moment, maybe I could escape.
Of course, that would only work if he developed even a shred of attachment.
Thinking that, I lay comfortably on my bed. As I fiddled with the necklace around my neck, I noticed the one Alexis Rainier had given me lying off to the side. I picked it up.
When I held it up to the light, it sparkled brilliantly, clearly expensive.
“Is this… a diamond?”
It really did look like one.
I didn’t know much about geology, so I couldn’t identify gemstones.
No matter how I rolled it around, all I could tell was that it glittered intensely and looked very costly.
—Beep.
At the sound, I flinched and tossed the necklace aside, jumping to my feet.
“A-702.”
“A-702!”
It seemed the red-haired researcher who used to manage our sector had been replaced. Since earlier, a gray-haired researcher had been overseeing the A-rank subjects.
Maybe Felix had dealt with it.
“You’re the one in charge of Z-999 lately?”
“Yes, sir.”
He pulled the pen from his chest pocket and pressed it lightly under my chin, turning my face side to side as he examined me. Then he looked down at me with interest and spoke.
His voice seemed different somehow.
I kept my gaze lowered, doing my best not to meet his eyes. The moment I did, I could be disposed of.
“You’ll continue to be responsible for Z-999.”
“Yes.”
“You seem to assist well.”
“Thank you.”
“Z-898 also seems interested in you.”
“Ah… thank you.”
“You won’t need to assist other grades anymore. And…”
“Yes.”
“If Z-999 awakens, remember that you may be granted amnesty.”
“Ah, yes!”
He hadn’t come alone. The other researchers behind him seemed to be recording his words.
Come to think of it, today was the first day of the month.
On the first day of each month, the administrators evaluated all experimental subjects in their sectors. From what I’d heard, it seemed I had avoided disposal again this month.
“Ivan.”
“Yes, Deputy Director.”
At that, I lifted my head properly and looked at her. She wasn’t the gray-haired researcher who usually managed me. The hair color was similar, but when I looked closely, she was a woman.
“Bring this to Z-999. It would be troublesome if it were damaged.”
“Yes, Deputy Director.”
Looking more closely, she was incredibly beautiful. I hadn’t realized just how striking she was.
“What are you staring at?”
—Smack!
My head snapped to the side and I flinched instinctively.
“So you do have eyes. But how dare trash like you look up without permission?”
“I-I’m sorry…”
My cheek stung. Her nails were long, their tips painted red. It hurt so much that I wondered if she had scratched me when she slapped me.
“What’s your name?”
Startled, I stammered in a shrill voice.
“A-Aselia.”
“Behave yourself from now on. Get arrogant, and I’ll have you disposed of.”
“…Yes.”
“There are plenty of replacements for you.”
I forced myself to answer her warning. The deputy director laughed as if amused, then turned and left.
Once she was gone, one of the remaining researchers gestured for me to follow.
We walked silently toward the area where the Z-ranks were kept.
“You’re lucky. Getting to speak with the deputy director.”
The researcher spoke with something like envy in his voice, making me shrink inward. I’d just been slapped—how was that lucky?
“Though it’s not like an A-rank like you can do much anyway.”
He said that and continued guiding me. The path we took was familiar.
“Here.”
“Yes?”
“Put this on your cheek. You’re injured.”
He handed me a long strip of tape. I peeled off the backing and stuck it to my cheek.
Then he walked on ahead.
Only then did it occur to me—when he said it would be troublesome if it were damaged…
—Beep.
“Ah…”
As expected, it was Callisten. He reacted to the sound and turned his head toward us, but something was wrong with his condition.
Startled, I looked at the researcher. He sighed.
“The medicine only works if he sleeps, but he can’t fall asleep.”
“Uh….”
Callisten was clutching his chest, collapsing to the floor as if in pain.
“They say he listens to you well, right?”
“Ah…”
Maybe they had used a truth serum and learned about me from him.
“Try putting him to sleep yourself. Who knows—if you do well, like the deputy director said, you might be pardoned and released.”
It wasn’t that they believed I’d do well. I was just an expendable A-rank, and Callisten had mentioned me—so they brought me along.
“If you’re not confident, go back.”
“Ghk…”
Callisten looked like he was in real pain. How could he possibly sleep like this?
“Isn’t there a sleeping drug?”
“He’s already been given enough to knock out an elephant.”
“Then painkillers—”
“They only work once he’s asleep. They’re activated by hormones released during sleep. You wouldn’t understand even if I explained.”
“Ah…”
Leaving the deeply sighing researcher behind, I approached Callisten. Cold sweat had soaked his black hair, which clung to his face.
“We’ll come get you tomorrow.”
—Beep.
As the door closed, I lowered Callisten so his head rested on my legs. Aside from the restraint collar around his neck, he wore nothing else—at least that was a small relief.
I brushed his hair back. He glared up at me with blazing eyes.
“Kal, it’s me. Aselia.”
As if responding to my voice, his breathing slowly began to steady.
Each time he blinked, tears spilled out. He was clearly in enough pain to cause a physiological response. In about ten days, he would awaken.
That must be why the experiments had grown so harsh.
Either signs of awakening had appeared, or one of the prophetic espers had foreseen it. In cases like that, they often forced the experiments to accelerate—many espers had broken because of it.
“I’m sorry…”
“…”
“Is this because I told you to listen to them?”
He seemed bad at relationships. Even though he acted like he disliked me, he still listened to what I said. Maybe he’d simply been lonely.
The Callisten from the original story was someone I could never understand.
But the Callisten in front of me now wasn’t like that.
Could this person really go berserk in ten days and kill everyone here?
His red eyes were full of moisture. Seeing how much pain he was in—and feeling guilty that it might be my fault—tears began to fall from my own eyes.
“I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have said anything unnecessary…”
He seemed to sigh softly. I pulled his head closer against my legs and held his hand, trying to calm him.
“Ugh…”
As he twisted in pain, the string of the necklace around my neck came loose.
“Ah…”
My long hair spilled down at once, and he stared at it in a daze. When I reached out to pick up the necklace, he caught my hand.
“Aselia.”
“Kal…”
He rose and pressed down on my shoulders, making me fall backward. I shut my eyes, expecting pain—but none came.
When I slowly opened them, hearing his breathing grow steadier, Callisten was looking down at me with a vacant expression.
“Touch me.”
“Huh?”
“Touch me, Aselia.”
At his pleading voice, I lifted my hand and gently stroked his cheek. His skin was burning hot. He clearly had a fever, though it seemed slightly calmer than before.
“More.”
At that, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. His body slackened as he collapsed against me, burying his face in my chest.
The heavy thudding of Callisten’s large heart pressed against my stomach, pounding loudly. Hoping he would calm down, I patted his back gently.
Then I ran my fingers through his hair. His jet-black hair slid smoothly between my fingers, surprisingly soft. I even wondered if it might be softer than my own.
When I smiled reflexively at the way he stared at me, he spoke with a dazed expression.
“I want to bite you.”
