Chapter 43: The Trapped Situation (Part 2)
Clank.
In the cell, chains rattled. The man named Ramiel slightly moved his hands, his fists bruised from the tightness, then relaxed them. Through the iron bars, his blurred gaze landed on the little girl sitting outside.
For a moment.
“Silvya…”
He whispered her name, pausing slightly. “Do you remember anything about me?”
Who would’ve expected that to be the first question?
“You know me?” The girl was surprised, her brow furrowed. “I know you were there two years ago in Woodward Forest, along with your fallen companion. The Northern Army buried her body. But if I’m not mistaken, tonight is our first formal encounter.”
“Is that so?”
Ramiel nodded, the chains clinking again with his movement.
“So, you don’t remember anything at all.”
He said this with a hint of disappointment in his voice. “Well, if you did remember, you wouldn’t act like this towards me.”
“What do you mean?”
“That woman, Emily—her bad temper is outrageous. Back in that clinic in Silgaya, aside from me and the Romani Doctor, no one could handle her. Of course, you were scared too, so you avoided her. You hated wearing black robes, but if I recall correctly, you didn’t dislike me too much, right?”
“……”
I blinked.
Staring at the man who seemed to be talking to himself, I instinctively searched my mind—yet I still couldn’t recall who he was.
After merging with the ‘other self’ inside me, many things became crystal clear, yet countless fragments of memories remained lost. Perhaps it was the most painful experiences that had forever vanished from my mental realm.
I didn’t remember the man named “Ramiel” having any previous encounters with me.
But I understood what he was saying.
“Ah! I got it…”
Suddenly, it seemed the man had an epiphany: “That raven, it’s Captain Gray—its name is Captain Gray, right? Is that it!”
This guy actually knew the name of that dumb bird—what?
“It’s still alive! It’s actually alive!”
“What are you talking about…”
“It flew with you to Silgaya! That clever bird! You tried to use it to send a message outside, but the Romani Doctor caught it and broke its neck. It should’ve been dead… the body was supposedly thrown into… let me think, the body should have been thrown into the pit with those ‘host mutations’ buried together, along with many dead special patients…”
In the darkness, Ramiel looked somewhat suspicious. “What exactly happened? What did you do to that bird?”
Huh?
What could I have possibly done to that dumb bird? Roast it and eat it?
I felt equally puzzled as him, but I masked my expression, maintaining a neutral face, shifting my posture slightly. I propped my chin on my hand and watched the cell calmly, my gaze icy: “Are you trying to pull the emotional card on me? Then please act a bit more professional. At least show some remorse for what you’ve done, you cold-blooded j*rk.”
“…Remorse?”
Ramiel seemed a bit dazed. “I know what I’m doing; I don’t need to feel remorse for it. As you said, maybe I really am a cold-blooded j*rk.”
“Are you trying to provoke me?”
I smirked, and before he could respond, I turned to the Sword Demon beside me and said, “Zap him.”
“Oh.”
The Sword Demon appeared lost in thought until suddenly hearing my command. Without hesitation, he raised his hand, and a surge of electricity shot towards the cell, crackling!
“Uh…”
In an instant, the man’s body stiffened as the electricity struck his abdomen, then flowed towards his shackles. His toes curled up; his entire body sparked with electricity. He threw his head back and let out a raspy “heh-heh-heh” scream, with veins bulging on his neck. After a moment, once the jolt passed, he finally relaxed, gasping for air.
“Ha, ha, ha—”
“Anna, you almost zapped me again.”
I slowly lowered my raised legs back down to the damp bluestone, unable to hold back a complaint: “Carlos needs to teach you how to precisely control the order of lightning.”
“Yeah.”
The Sword Demon nodded seriously. “I also want to learn his sword techniques.”
“……”
“Childish… Demon… cough cough!”
Ramiel had caught his breath, and his weak voice came out from the cell: “So-called… good conversation is just saying what you like to hear? This is just the behavior of a spoiled little girl… cough…”
“Nope.”
I pulled my gaze from the Sword Demon and turned back to the cell, raising a finger at the seemingly angry man, shaking it left and right: “I’m telling you, you’re my prisoner now, so don’t bother trying to probe with that nonsense. I don’t care and have no interest in reminiscing. I don’t recognize you; I only recognize your black thorn cloak.”
Even though he wasn’t wearing that cloak symbolizing the Choir of Saints tonight.
But I thought he could understand what I was saying.
“…Heh.”
The man suddenly let out a bitter laugh. “So it really has become the situation I feared the most.”
“But hey, it can’t be helped…”
He continued, slowly raising his head. In his dull gray eyes, an emotion that resembled sentimental sorrow seemed to flash by.
“Since I’ve fallen into your hands, I never thought I’d actually make it out alive. Emily is already dead, and you destroyed the experiment at the Silent Fortress. That was Cardinal Michel’s and the Choir of Saints’ last hope. You saw the situation there, right? They had all perished before you arrived.”
“So if you’re just looking for revenge, your enemies are practically all gone now. You can do whatever you feel like with me. Cardinal Michel’s current state doesn’t require you to worry about him; his time is running short, and he will likely d*e a painful d*ath soon…”
“Oh, if you didn’t know, Cardinal Michel is the one secretly responsible for all the ‘clinics’ in the church. His job is to ensure that experiments go on smoothly and secretly, and because of this, the Choir of Saints has long been under his command.”
“Oh, really?”
I scoffed again. “If it’s really like you say, why would I let him off so easily and let him d*e on his own? You know, I’ve been to the Silent Fortress and seen what he’s done.”
“But he has paid a heavy price for it, hasn’t he?” The man shook his head. “We have all paid a heavy price, and you, in the end, will completely destroy the results achieved at that heavy price. You’ve destroyed the half a lifetime of hard work of Cardinal Michel, extinguished the last hope in his heart… doesn’t that feel even more satisfying than killing him?”
“Hmm…”
I thought for a moment and nodded earnestly. “Hearing you say that, it does sound like a valid point.”
Then, a red glimmer flashed in my eyes, and my expression suddenly turned cold.
Bang—
I slammed my hand down on the armrest of the chair, breaking it like a twig, splinters scattering everywhere: “But you won’t forget that I’ve been to the Silent Fortress twice. The poor women in there—what was my mindset when I saved them? A cold-blooded guy like you wouldn’t understand at all, would you?”
The killing intent was palpable, making even the nearby Sword Demon feel his hair stand on end.
“I just thought you should have more pressing matters to worry about…”
Ramiel gasped for breath, his hands already numb. The pain in his body was intensifying, and he gritted his teeth to muster up the strength to say a name: “Romani Doctor.”
