Chapter 3
The power flowing through Edward’s body began to move beyond his control.
He knew this feeling all too well.
It was the beginning of another berserk episode.
‘…As I thought, the purification wasn’t enough.’
Maybe he should have endured it and received a little more, no matter how unpleasant it felt.
Purification from Sepina always left him with the same sensation.
As if hundreds of earthworms were crawling all over his body.
The priests always smirked and told him that was simply because he had never experienced the pleasures of women.
Edward didn’t believe that for a second.
‘There’s no way I’d mistake the feeling.’
Because…
Bang!
A loud tearing sound interrupted his thoughts.
His armor had begun to split apart.
The force erupting from his body had snapped one of the fasteners.
Edward narrowed his eyes.
Standing perfectly still, he struggled to suppress the overwhelming power surging through him like a tidal wave.
It wasn’t easy.
‘This won’t work.’
If he lost control here, people would die.
It was late at night, when many people were asleep, so the damage would only be worse.
‘I should endure it and return to Sepina for another purification…’
Huff!
Suddenly, his lungs expanded painfully, as though they were being torn apart.
Beneath the armor, he felt scales cracking through his skin.
It was already too late to return to Sepina.
Edward immediately began moving.
‘Outside.’
If he was going to lose control, it would be better to do it outside the temple.
People would still be injured trying to subdue him…
…but at least they could hold out until Sepina arrived.
Crunch.
As he gritted his teeth and forced himself forward, his vision gradually turned red.
Even the cold night air of the garden barely helped.
Crack!
“…”
He looked down.
The tips of his fingers had turned jet black, gleaming like a dragon’s claws.
Soon afterward, the horrifying sensation of losing control over his own body crept through him.
It was the feeling Edward hated more than anything else.
Crunch.
His jaw tightened until the muscles stood out.
‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
If he couldn’t control his own body…
Then he’d rather…
Gathering the last of his sanity, Edward concentrated his power on his own arms and legs.
‘Break them first…’
Just as he was about to strike himself—
“Ahhh!”
Crash!
Something fell from above…
…and landed squarely on his chest.
* * *
A few minutes earlier…
The underground prison beneath the temple.
“Hey! You little brat!”
Clank! Clank!
The guard swaggered over and deliberately slammed his baton against the iron bars.
“It’s feeding time!”
The expendable children locked inside these cells often forgot their place and demanded to be released.
So it was important to remind them who was in charge.
‘The temple feeds them and gives them a place to sleep for free!’
The least they could do was hand over their holy power willingly.
Yet they still dared complain about their treatment.
He had crushed their resistance…
Broken their spirits…
Squeezed every last bit of strength out of them…
After repeating that process over and over…
Only one child remained.
‘Holy power is getting rarer these days, so I guess it can’t be helped.’
The stronger the temple became…
The greater his own authority became as well.
“Tch.”
Clicking his tongue, the guard casually shoved a piece of moldy bread through the bars.
‘At least the last one is obedient.’
He couldn’t even remember the last expendable child’s name.
She was always quiet.
Almost invisible.
Yet despite that…
Her holy power was much stronger than everyone else’s.
That’s probably why she had survived this long and continued supplying holy power.
‘Although…’
Why was she so quiet today?
She was always silent…
But whenever food arrived, she usually tore into it immediately.
“Hey! I said eat your food!”
Bang! Bang!
He pounded on the bars and looked inside.
Then he froze.
“…Huh?”
The chained girl lay face-down on the floor without moving.
She looked…
Dead.
“…W-What?!”
Panicking, the guard noticed the moldy bread scattered around her.
It was the bread he had given her the night before.
‘Wait a second!’
Wasn’t she the one who had almost choked to death eating it yesterday?
“Damn it!”
Did she choke again while he wasn’t watching?
This was bad.
He had no idea how long she had been lying there.
Even worse…
She was under his supervision.
If anything happened to her, he would be the one punished.
A chill ran down his arms.
The temple was known for its generosity…
But it was equally famous for its merciless punishments.
The guard hurriedly pulled out his keys and unlocked the cell.
“Damn you! If you’re dead, I’ll kill you!”
Not even realizing how ridiculous his own words were, he rushed toward her.
Grab!
The moment he grabbed the girl’s shoulder…
Smash!
A tremendous impact flipped his vision upside down.
The last thing the guard saw before losing consciousness…
…was the girl’s strangely wicked smile.
“Y-You…”
Thud.
His head dropped limply.
“Whew!”
A heavy brick slipped from Lucy’s trembling hands and fell to the floor.
It had come loose from the wall of the prison cell.
‘Getting this thing out nearly killed me.’
Weak from starvation, she had spent hours digging at the wall with her thin hands.
Fortunately…
Because she was usually so quiet, no one had suspected anything.
“He isn’t dead… right?”
The guard’s head must have been unusually hard.
Thankfully, he wasn’t bleeding.
“Krrr…”
A moment later, he even started snoring.
‘He’s just unconscious.’
“Then…”
Lucy quickly searched his belt.
She found the keys without much trouble.
Click!
Unlocking the chains around her wrists, Lucy stretched her arms high into the air.
It reminded her of that famous prison escape movie scene from her previous life.
A smile naturally spread across her face.
‘Goodbye, everyone!’
I am leaving behind all the chains and restraints of this world—
“…Not yet.”
She still had many obstacles ahead.
She had to overcome every one of them before she could truly escape.
Without wasting another second, Lucy ran out of the prison.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
She became dizzy after running only a short distance because she was so malnourished.
Still…
There was one advantage.
‘This body is perfect for escaping.’
She was small and skinny enough to slip unnoticed through almost any passage.
She was also so light that her footsteps made almost no sound.
Fighting off the dizziness, Lucy kept running.
“Alright… Let’s get outside!”
If she didn’t hurry…
Someone would notice she was missing.
Her hands had been burning earlier.
‘That means Sepina must have been purifying the duke.’
The chains binding her had also been extracting her holy power.
The moment she removed them…
The supply of holy power would have stopped.
‘They’ll definitely find that suspicious and send someone to check the underground prison.’
She had to move faster.
Woof!
Just as Lucy stepped onto the garden lawn…
A loud bark rang out.
“Gasp!”
Her whole body tensed.
Woof! Woof! Woof!
The temple’s guard dogs had caught her scent.
“What’s wrong with them all of a sudden?”
“Did a thief break in?”
The dogs wandered around, sniffing the air.
Looking around frantically, Lucy spotted a tree.
It wasn’t especially sturdy…
But it looked climbable.
‘I’ll hide up there!’
Without another thought, she climbed it.
Her palms were scraped raw.
Her breathing grew ragged.
But she couldn’t give up now.
Woof! Woof!
As the dogs sniffed around beneath the tree…
Cold sweat ran down Lucy’s forehead.
‘Please… please leave…’
Just as she hugged the branch tightly and prayed—
Dong… Dong… Dong… Dong…
“…That’s!”
“The emergency bell!”
The bell from the main building rang wildly through the night.
Someone had discovered her escape.
“Let’s go!”
Woof! Woof! Woof!
The guards led the dogs in the opposite direction and ran off.
Before long…
Silence returned.
The only sound left was the distant emergency bell echoing through the temple.
“Then now…”
Lucy steadied her pounding heart and carefully shifted her weight.
Crack.
Huh?
The branch beneath her tilted with an ominous sound.
It couldn’t even support Lucy’s light weight.
It snapped.
“Ahhh!”
Stupid branch!
Lucy squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the impact.
Thud!
‘Thud?’
That didn’t sound like she had hit the ground.
Without thinking, she reached out.
What she touched was something hard…
…and burning hot.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
She could even feel the powerful heartbeat vibrating beneath her hand.
‘The ground…’
…wasn’t the ground?
Her eyes slowly opened.
The first thing she saw…
…was a pair of blazing crimson eyes shining from beneath a suit of armor.
Lucy stared blankly for a moment.
Then, before she could stop herself, the words slipped out.
“…Hello?”
