<Chapter 11>

*If I stay near Loakin any longer, I might end up in even worse trouble.*

*He seemed willing to do anything to stop me from regaining my memory.*

*I couldn’t tell what advantage my amnesia gave him, but it was clear it wouldn’t help me.*

*As soon as the pain in my head subsided, I went to the door.*

*It was locked, as expected.*

*I grabbed the handle and shook it violently, but it didn’t budge.*

*Should I be glad I’m not chained?*

*Resigned, I looked around the room for anything I could use as a weapon.*

*The interior, dull like Loakin himself, only made me sigh deeper.*

*So lonely, so quiet, so desolate.*

*Suddenly, fear of being trapped here forever washed over me.*

*A shiver ran through me against the lukewarm air.*

*Trying to ignore the trembling, I heard footsteps growing closer outside.*

*They’re coming.*

I quickly climbed onto the bed, pulled the covers over myself, and lay down again.

Click. The door handle that had been so stubborn turned easily, and Loakin appeared.

He dragged a chair from the corner and sat in front of me.

I hesitated for a moment, then deliberately sat up disheveled and asked in a hoarse voice,

**”……Where is this?”**

Unlike usual, Loakin answered immediately.

**”On the ship.”**

*Lies.*

*The rocking of the ship was gone.*

**”Have we arrived at the Demon King’s castle?”**

**”What about Peligane and Irene… the other demons?”**

*If anyone else were nearby, I would have sensed their presence even without sound.*

*Am I truly alone?*

I stared at his gray eyes, now familiar, and pressed him.

**”Why are you doing this to me?”**

**”I told you, it’s my preference.”**

*He answered quickly only when he lied.*

I threw a pillow at him, filled with my rising anger.

**”Stop with the pathetic excuses. Even if that’s true, do you lock people up? Don’t you have any morals?”**

**”Do you expect that from the Demon King?”**

**”Exactly! I don’t understand. You’re the Demon King. Why on earth do you need a saint?”**

Loakin, taking the pillow without flinching, got up and placed it back on the bed, trying to lay me down.

I swatted his hand away and said firmly,

**”You don’t seem to understand. I’m the lowest-ranked saint. Even if you take me to the human world, no one wants me. I have no value even as a hostage. Whatever you want, you’ve made a mistake.”**

*Even though every word I said was clear and audible, why does my chest ache?*

As if I’d played my own trap, my insides throbbed. Loakin finally pressed my forehead down and murmured,

**”That’s not for you to decide.”**

*His large hand covered my eyes, and I could only see the back of him as he turned.*

Click. The door locked again.

*And several days passed.*

*Injection, four days…… maybe a week?*

*In a room without windows, it was hard to sense the passage of time.*

During that time, Loakin fed me, clothed me, and washed me.

*With his flat voice and expressionless face, he cared for me.*

*There was no desire to be read in his dry, animal-like actions.*

*Trapped in a space like an animal, I was going nearly insane.*

Today, after Loakin came in with food I couldn’t tell if it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and left, I lay there listless, blinking.

*How long has it been?*

Kooong—!

Suddenly, a loud explosion shook the floor. Or the ceiling.

*Everything shook, impossible to distinguish direction. The vibrations made it hard to stand.*

*If the sound reached even here, it must have been a massive blast.*

*Fortunately or unfortunately, the place I’m trapped in is terrifyingly sturdy.*

As soon as the wave passed, I pressed my ear to the door.

*I could faintly hear a commotion from the sound waves traveling through the iron door.*

*Fear intensified.*

*Don’t leave me behind, you guys!*

*I didn’t want to die here, forgotten by everyone.*

I slammed the chair to the floor despite knowing it was futile. The shattered chair became a makeshift club.

I struck the handle with it until the thick door burst open, and Loakin appeared.

Simultaneously, the muffled commotion outside became overwhelmingly loud.

Urgent voices overlapped chaotically. Something serious was happening.

Loakin, however, seemed unaffected, calm amidst the chaos.

I locked eyes with him, threw the club, and rushed at him.

**”I was scared! Why now?”**

With a trembling voice, I hugged him tightly. His large frame was easily pushed against the wall.

He only held me carefully, without pushing me away. There was no clumsy seduction or deceit.

Glancing at the club keeping the door from closing, I concentrated my sacred power in my hand.

*A small, sharp thorn-like rod formed in my hand. I had practiced so much while trapped.*

*My weak sacred power could hold back the Demon King for a short while.*

*It’s okay. I can do this.*

*Recalling what he did to me, my hand trembled with force. Any guilt vanished in the burning pain in my arm.*

*Even if the warmth of his embrace was comforting, I couldn’t be deceived by it again.*

I closed my eyes tightly, then drove the thorn into the wall through his hand.

Loakin, his hand trapped by sacred power, cursed and shouted my name.

*In his glaring eyes, I saw betrayal and loss more than anger.*

*Why, with what right?*

*His eyes looked so wounded.*

*Shaking with mixed fear and anger, I had no time to hesitate. Escape came first.*

I ran, leaving him behind, barefoot, ignoring the pain on my feet in my extreme excitement.

*In the dark tunnel-like corridor, I couldn’t even calculate my path, just chased the faint light ahead like a moth.*

**”Huff, huff……”**

After what felt like ages, my grasped skirt soaked with sweat, I finally emerged from the long corridor.

The first step outside revealed a wide, barren land. Black spires like dead trees rose everywhere, and two blood-red moons hung in the sky.

*A familiar scene from past memories. This truly was the demon realm.*

I hesitated at the vast, strange landscape.

Then a beast’s roar called to me.

**”Lamia!”**

Startled, I turned. Loakin chased with terrifying momentum.

Black malice surged around him, the Demon King’s castle behind him.

*If I’m caught, I’m dead.*

I ran faster, pushing off the ground with all my strength.

Despite my desperate effort, the distance closed rapidly.

Loakin seemed ready to end the boring game of chase.

**”That’s enough.”**

Unlike me, tasting blood in my throat, he spoke evenly.

Suddenly, malice reached out like a snare. I sensed it immediately.

*If it caught my neck, I’d have to cherish even this foul air as my last breath.*

At that moment, dozens of large chunks fell from the sky like meteors.

The shockwave tore craters between Loakin and me.

Blocked from all directions, we stopped simultaneously.

**”Ha… ha……”**

Breathless, I turned to see eight black legs emerging from the faint dust clouds.

Even in this urgent situation, a smile crossed my face.

*Finally!*

*My escape was a gamble. The blood-red sky wasn’t the only thing I would witness.*

New characters in this chapter:

• Peligane (펠리건)
• Irene (이레네)