Obsession... What's That? I Just Wish Someone Would Help Me Escape - Chapter 76
Damien sighed and rubbed his forehead.
“The hallway is drenched in blood. It looks like some kind of hellish ritual.”
With a serious expression, he approached and placed a hand on my forehead.
“The medicine I gave you?”
“I don’t have it.”
He wiped the blood around my mouth with a handkerchief, then pulled some medicine from his uniform pocket and slipped it into my mouth.
Why does he carry that like it’s standard equipment?
“How many times have I told you to always keep this with you?”
“I had a mishap while I was out and didn’t have time to think.”
“You’re a very troublesome prisoner.”
Johann, who had been silently rubbing the kitten’s belly, suddenly looked up, switching his gaze between me and Demian with a serious expression.
“Engaged?”
“We were engaged as kids, but it naturally faded away. Then we officially broke it off when we met again in prison. It’s as thin as a sheet of paper, really.”
In other words, we’re worse than kids who met for the first and last time at a playroom in a soup restaurant.
At my response, Johann’s voice dropped as he asked,
“Are you going to get married?”
“He’s the one who broke it off.”
Johann glanced at Demian with a look of disdain and let out a scoff.
“So, you’re telling me you’d break off an engagement just because your fiancée committed some crimes and went to prison? Unbelievable.”
Demian tilted his chin up as he sat down on the bed where I was lying.
“We’ll see each other for the rest of our lives as a guard and prisoner. Is marriage really necessary?”
“If it were me, I would’ve helped you break out.”
Johann’s pointed comment made Demian shake his head.
“The outside is no different. The Order has placed bounties on Inmaz people across the entire continent. There are even specialized Inmaz hunters.”
“Then go to an uninhabited island. Anyway, hurry up and go. We’re in the middle of a kitten resurrection ritual here. I need to focus.”
Demian rolled up his sleeve to check his watch, then slowly stood up.
I coughed and looked at him.
“With the Winner’s Tournament coming up soon, I’m in no condition to compete. There won’t be any mercy like ‘absence due to illness,’ right?”
As he prepared to leave, Demian paused to give me a meaningful look.
“No mercy. But if you’re lucky, it might end without you having to do anything.”
If I’m lucky?
“Return to your room within an hour.”
With that, he left.
Lying on the bed, I stared at the ceiling.
Johann, who had been blowing on the kitten’s pink nose, spoke.
“Are you going to cry again because of the guard who dumped you?”
“No. Why would I be upset over that? Half the world’s population is men. I’ll just find a new one.”
Johann looked at me as if he had expected that response.
“Then why are you zoning out?”
“I was imagining killing them all. I’ve awakened the ability to kill and steal powers.”
Johann’s hand, which had been stroking the kitten, paused slightly before resuming.
With a blank expression, he asked,
“Did you kill the witnesses?”
“No, I manipulated their memories with hallucinations.”
I had tormented Number 25 with illusions, but instead of showing any murderous intent, he only revealed fear and helplessness, so I couldn’t kill him.
So, before coming here, I did to Number 25 what I had done to Number 32, layering his memories with hallucinations.
If too many deaths occurred in succession, it would raise suspicions, and he still might prove useful.
“That hallucination power of yours—does it work on me too?”
“It seems like it’s limited. It doesn’t work on someone stronger than the original owner of the power.”
Johann’s eyes narrowed as he ran his hand down the kitten’s back.
“Have you tried it on me? Like making me stand only for you?”
Is he seriously suspicious because he’s so full of virility?
To be honest, I hadn’t even thought about it, given my current state. His sharp gaze sent chills down my spine, and I quickly shook my head.
“If I could do that, would I waste it on something so trivial?”
“True. If you could, you’d be Number 1 here. You’d control the powerful ones and maybe even the beasts.”
His low voice made me lift my head and meet his eyes.
“That would be nice. I could trick the Order members and escape this place.”
“Why are you so desperate to leave? The outside isn’t much different from here.”
“I want to get out, eliminate anything in my way, and enjoy a life where no one bothers me, where I don’t have to do anything.”
A shallow reason for wanting power and influence, but isn’t that what most people are striving for? A carefree life without worries?
Johann’s green eyes blinked slowly as a faint smile tugged at his lips.
“I used to want that too. I was exhausted.”
For someone who had wandered through brutal battlefields, I guess life in an isolated prison might actually feel like a break.
With a rare, reflective look on his face, he continued.
“I just wanted to be left alone.”
