Chapter 10
Kyle looked around his room.
There was something that most outsiders didn’t know.
In truth, this Monster Mansion had been designed to prevent his power from going berserk.
The unusual incense that burned twenty-four hours a day was meant to keep his mind alert, while the dark reddish-black magic circles covering the floor had been installed personally by a court magician to prevent his power from going out of control.
Butā¦
It’s broken. The magic circle.
The edges of the dark reddish-black magic circle had been smudged and distorted.
He had no idea what had caused the damage.
He couldn’t even smell the incense anymore.
His sense of smell had gone numb.
Kyle gritted his teeth.
Whenever he faced the threat of losing control like this, the standard procedure was to remain quietly shut away inside the mansion and hope the monster would eventually leave.
He had been told that if he used too much of his supernatural power in such a state, the flames in his heart would explode and kill him.
But if I hide here, that monster will go after something weaker than me instead.
In that caseā¦
He remembered the little girl with sparkling eyes who didn’t even know what patrolling meant.
If I stay here, that little brat will die.
He didn’t think about it for long.
Kyle grabbed the sword he always kept beside his bed.
Then he sprang to his feet and raced toward the mansion’s front entrance.
āGrrrrrrā¦ā
The mindless orc couldn’t speak properly.
It simply lifted its gigantic foot and slammed it against the ground.
THUD! RUMBLE!
Kyle raised his sword and aimed for the giant’s shoulder. In battle, it was advantageous to start by destroying the shoulder, where its defenses were relatively weak.
SHING!
Kyle leaped into the air, his sword slicing through the space before him.
Unusually, his sword wasn’t surrounded by aura. Instead, it was wreathed in brilliant blue flames known as Yeomhwa (ēē«).
Although he despised Yeomhwa more than anything, using it was the only way to defeat a monster of this size in a short amount of time.
Before long, the monster crashed to the ground with a heavy THUD.
āThat was easy.ā
He had dispatched the damn monster without much difficulty.
As he always did when he was alone, Kyle shrugged his shoulders and boasted.
āNothing special.ā
It was a remark he made to himself, with no one around to hear it.
He pretended to be composed, but his anxiety wouldn’t go away.
Even under normal circumstances, he was only half-capable of controlling Yeomhwa, his true supernatural ability.
And now, when his physical condition was extremely unstable, he had used more of his power than he could handle.
As a result, scorching flames of Yeomhwa, beyond even his control, began to ignite from his fingertips.
Kyle hurried back to his room.
He hoped the magic circle might start working again.
These flames look like they’re about to explode.
He desperately tried to reduce their size.
Suppressing the sensation that made him feel as though he were about to vomit, he forcibly pushed the energy of Yeomhwa back toward his heart.
What do I do? If my power doesn’t calm down even after this, the entire mansion will explode soon.
Once his power went berserk, the mansion wouldn’t be able to withstand the flames erupting from him like an explosion.
But the thing he worried about most in the middle of all this wasā¦
At this rate, that little brat really will die because of me.
He had been stupid.
He had let his softhearted feelings get the better of him and allowed a powerless little girl into the mansion.
He had no family and no friends.
This must be the punishment for daring to desire something he had never been allowed to have.
Kyle could feel his heart pounding wildly, as though it were about to burst.
He was nearing his limit.
He struggled to keep his mind clear, then pulled an old, battered brooch from his pocket and stared at it.
The brooch he held in his hand whenever things became difficultā¦
It had been given to him by his mother.
The mother who had died while trying to calm his rampaging power.
āI heard the Crown Prince went berserk and killed his own mother.ā
People believed Kyle had been confined here because his power posed a danger to others.
But the truth was that Kyle was a boy who had killed someoneāhis own flesh and bloodāand had consequently been isolated here.
On the day Kyle last lost controlā¦
His mother removed the brooch from her own body, placed it in his hand, and spoke to him.
āMy precious baby, none of this is your fault. Absolutely none of it. The reason Mommy is closing her eyes is simplyā¦ā
A lie.
It’s because of me.
āWhen you miss Mommy, look at this brooch. And you must, absolutely must, survive.ā
And so, he had listened to his mother’s words and worked hard every single day.
He didn’t know how to change the Emperor’s heart, since the Emperor hadn’t visited him even once since that day. He didn’t know how to return to the Imperial Palace, either.
But he wanted to survive somehow and return to the palace where his mother’s grave lay.
Because, deep down, he truly wanted to live.
He had struggled with all his might, even when it felt as though he would rather die than endure another moment.
But I can’t keep holding on any longer, can I?
If he ended up killing that tiny little girl sleeping in the next room, just as he had killed his motherā¦
Kyle gritted his teeth.
Then, hoping to put as much distance as possible between himself and the little girl, he tried to leave the mansion.
But why did this damn brat always manage to defy his expectations?
āChickie? Why are you here?ā
Ariena appeared right in front of him.
The foolish little girl was wearing the oversized pajamas he had given herābackward.
Whenever he was on the verge of losing control, even grown adults would scramble to flee at the sight of him.
Yet this tiny girl stood upright and approached him.
āWhat’s wrong?ā
Even the most renowned healers had been overwhelmed by fear whenever they encountered his Yeomhwa, unable to utter a single sound.
You were trembling in fear because you thought monsters were scary. So why aren’t you running away?
Kyle clenched his fists tightly.
The flames surged even higher, as though the fire he had suppressed within his heart were finally bursting forth.
Feeling as though he were being dragged into a pit of fire, he took a brief, deep breath before warning her.
āGet out of this mansion. Right now.ā
Ariena, who had been clutching the sleeves of her pajamas, cautiously asked,
āW-why?ā
She raised her hands hesitantly, watching his expression with innocent, uncertain eyes.
āPwease don’t kick me out. I’m sorryā¦ I did something wrongā¦ā
āā¦You didn’t do anything wrong. But you still have to leave.ā
āIf I didn’t do anything wrong, why are you suddenly acting like this?ā
āBecause I’mā¦ I’m a monsterā¦ā
At those words, Ariena looked at Kyle.
His entire body seemed to have turned bright red, as though he were burning up.
He doesn’t look like a monster. He justā¦ looks like he’s in so much pain.
Feeling as though she might start crying, Ariena lowered her head again.
I’m sad. The Kyle chick keeps pushing me away. And the chick is hurting, too.
Unaware that tears were falling onto her little feet, Ariena whispered very softly, as though making a wish.
āI’ll hewp you.ā
Before she could finish speaking, a small pop rang out.
A flame had finally burst from Kyle’s fingertips.
It was the final warning sign before his power went berserk.
And from that moment onwardā¦
The entire corridor was suddenly engulfed in flames.
It was a terrifying sight. The hallway was rapidly turning into a pile of ashes.
Startled, Ariena took a hesitant step backward.
Kyle screamed with all his strength.
āGet lost! I said, get lost!ā
At that moment, light spread across the lenses of Ariena’s glasses once again.
Words appeared before Ariena’s terrified eyes.
[ā» DANGER! The target is being filtered into a chick *again*!]
POP!
Light flashed, and through her glasses, Kyle once again appeared as a little chick.
The chick’s wings trembled violently, as though they might break at any moment.
Its tiny feet, planted pitifully on the ground, kept tapping against the floor.
Its yellowish feathers were charred black, as though they had been half-burned away.
Ariena didn’t know what it meant for someone’s power to go berserk, but instinctively, she understood one thing.
The little chick she had grown fond of for the first timeāor rather, Kyleā¦
Might disappear from this world.
No! If the Kyle chick disappearsā¦
At the very moment Ariena reached out toward Kyle, a flash of brilliant red light burst before her eyes, accompanied by an intense wave of heat.
FWOOOSH!
Powerful flames erupted from Kyle’s body.
The heat made her fingertips feel as though they were crackling and burning.
It’s so hot.
Her vision flickered and blurred.
When Ariena barely managed to open her eyes again, the first thing she saw was the little chick’s tiny beak.
The chick’s entire body was engulfed in flames, yet, strangely, it seemed to be murmuring,
I’m so, so coldā¦
It even seemed as though a tear had fallen from the chick’s eye.
āPeep!ā
The chick was desperately crying out for help with its entire body.
Her body moved before she could think.
The chick is hurting. I have to make it warm.
Ariena reached out toward the little chick, which was on the verge of turning to ash in the blazing fire.
Tap.
Her fingertips touched Kyle.
At that instant, the world filled with flames, which had seemed so far away that she could never reach them no matter how hard she stretched, suddenly drew close.
Soft feathers brushed against Ariena’s fingertips.
Gasp! I can touch him!
Ariena wrapped her arms tightly around the tiny chick.
Her father had taught her that when a chick was sick, she had to hold it close and share her body heat with it.
And Kyle, the chick she was holding so tightly, was incredibly hot.
Much hotter than the fireplace, the hottest thing in the world as far as Ariena knew.
But she endured it, holding on as tightly as she could.
She was afraid that if she let go, the chick might die.
Kyle chick, you mustn’t die. You have to meet Tunteuni’s mommy and daddy.
And I want to save you, too, Kyle chick. We’ve gotten just a little bit closer, after all.
Ariena trembled from the pain, as though her skin were about to burn, but she refused to let go of Kyle.
And then, at that very momentā¦
The chick’s wings, charred by the flames, slowly began to heal.
