Obsession... What's That? I Just Wish Someone Would Help Me Escape - Chapter 101
“Should I bark like a dog?”
He brought my hand up to his cheek and smiled languidly.
So he remembered the whole obey like a dog thing?
Did he recognize me from that encounter in the mental realm?
I shook my head and smiled.
“Don’t. It’s kind of weird for the lowest-ranked prisoner to treat Number One like a mutt, don’t you think? I just meant… let’s get along like before.”
Third step to taming a mad dog: maintain consistency.
Get too excited and start treating him like a pet—you might end up mauled like one.
I slipped out of his arms and stood upright, scanning the area.
Prisoners were strewn all across the arena.
In the distance, I spotted Number 4 slumped over with a dying expression, and Enrique beside her—who, from the look of it, was clearly threatening her.
As I approached, Enrique turned to me with a crescent-eyed smile.
“Do we need Number 4’s ability?”
“Hard to say. She might turn out to be a helpful ally—or just a skill I want to extract. Guess we’ll see.”
Number 4 looked up at me with a pale face, seeming to understand what I meant: if she didn’t cooperate, she’d die.
She had definitely seen me quell Johann’s rampage state.
She’d tried using illusions on me, but the skill was too low-level to work.
Judging by Enrique’s face, he’d probably already found her critical weakness.
“You… what are you? What I saw was…”
Number 4 clamped a hand over her mouth, unable to finish the sentence.
Must’ve seen something serious with her spirit eye.
I didn’t ask what it was.
Instead, I held up two fingers in front of her and whispered:
“I’m bound to two demons. Which means I can wield both divine and demonic power.”
The truth, when pulled out willingly, becomes a threat—a weapon.
She already suspected I had something unusual. Might as well use it to my advantage.
“Two? That’s ridiculous…”
Her lips parted in soundless disbelief.
“One of them grants me the ability to steal powers from those I kill.”
As her jaw snapped shut in horror, I added slowly,
“And the other… depends on what you do. But I’ll tell you this—it’s a power that can save you.”
I stepped forward, and her legs twitched where she sat collapsed.
I asked in a calm voice.
“Number 4, how do you think you should behave from now on?”
Fourth step: don’t rely solely on your own power. Use those stronger than you as extensions of your will.
“Unless you want your heart shattered… or your powers stolen, that is.”
Enrique put a finger to his lips, signaling her to keep everything secret.
* * *
Kido’s expression remained composed.
Prisoner Number 4, Lize, rose slowly with her head bowed, silent for a long moment.
The cold ache in her chest urged her to speak; she clutched at it.
“This heart… doesn’t really belong to me anyway. I’ll cooperate. As much as I can.”
She staggered away, barely steady on her feet.
Just as Kido turned to ask Enrique what he’d done to Number 4—
“Beatrice Kido.”
A voice called her name, and Grandis appeared, walking toward her with heavy steps.
As expected of a single-digit prisoner—she’d somehow survived.
Seeing Kido alive and protected by Enrique, Grandis was convinced she owed her survival to that help.
With the guards, Number 7, and now even Number 1 and 2 on Kido’s side, there was no way to defeat her through schemes or backstage maneuvering alone.
This place wasn’t governed by human laws or structure. It was a prison ruled purely by strength.
Grandis had already experienced the irrationality and harshness firsthand, constantly watched by her own cellmates—Clara and her gang.
She spat out the blood pooled in her mouth and asked Kido,
“Marquis Claude Farsene. You saw him too, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
Everyone would assume it was a betrayal—by the uncle they trusted.
Seeing him sitting so calmly in the spectator’s seats…
It would look like he’d sold out his own blood to join the Divine Order.
But Kido’s face remained unmoved.
To Grandis, her expression said just one thing
So what?
That was the kind of response Kido always gave, no matter the issue—like a built-in worldview that never changed.
And Grandis hated that about her.
“Must be exhausting. Always pretending you’re fine.”
Even her biting jab was met with just a shrug from Kido.
Grandis wanted to tear off that mask—force her to show a broken, devastated face.
Make her confront the truth: that she’d been betrayed.
“Kido. Didn’t you know? The man who cherished and adored you like his own life—what he really was?”
Kido tilted her chin, inviting her to say whatever she wanted, like someone open to a challenge.
But even with all her pent-up malice, when Grandis thought of Marquis Farsene, a chill ran up her spine.
