Chapter 3
The power circulating through his body began slipping beyond his control.
Edward knew this sensation well.
It was the precursor to a berserk episode.
…As I thought, the purification wasn’t enough.
Perhaps he should have endured it and accepted a little more, no matter how unpleasant it felt.
Sepina’s purification always left him with the same feeling.
As though hundreds of earthworms were crawling all over his body.
The priests always smirked and claimed that was simply because the Duke had yet to experience the pleasures of women.
Edward disagreed.
There’s no way I could mistake it.
Because—
Bang!
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of armor tearing apart.
The force erupting from within him had snapped one of the fasteners.
Edward narrowed his eyes.
Standing perfectly still, he struggled to suppress the overwhelming power flooding through him like a tidal wave.
It wasn’t easy.
This won’t work.
If he lost control here, there would be casualties.
And because it was late at night, when many people were asleep, the damage would be even worse.
I should endure it and return to Sepina for more purification…
Haaah—
At that moment, his lungs expanded as though they were about to tear apart.
Crack.
Beneath the armor, scales began emerging from his skin.
It was a sign that it was already too late to return to Sepina.
Edward immediately changed direction.
…Outside.
At the very least, if he lost control outside rather than inside the temple, fewer people would be harmed.
There would still be casualties among those trying to subdue him, but they could probably hold out until Sepina arrived.
Crunch.
Even as he clenched his teeth and forced himself forward, his vision steadily filled with red.
The cold night air of the garden offered no relief.
Crack!
“……”
He looked down.
The tips of his fingers had darkened, becoming black and glossy like dragon claws.
Then came the dreadful sensation of losing control of his own body.
The feeling Edward hated more than anything else.
Creak.
The veins along his jaw stood out as he clenched his teeth even harder.
Don’t be ridiculous.
If he was going to lose control anyway—
Then he’d rather…
Drawing upon the last of his reason, Edward gathered his strength and aimed it at his own limbs.
I should break them before…
Just as he was about to unleash the attack on himself—
“Aaaah!”
Crash!
Something fell from above and slammed directly into his chest.
* * *
Several minutes earlier, in the temple’s underground prison.
“Hey! You little brat!”
Clang! Clang!
The guard swaggered in and deliberately rattled the bars menacingly.
“It’s feeding time!”
The consumables imprisoned here often forgot their place and demanded to be released.
Keeping them intimidated was essential.
The temple feeds and shelters them their entire lives!
Wasn’t it only natural for them to hand over their holy power in return?
Yet they still complained about their treatment.
Completely unacceptable.
Crush their resistance.
Suppress them.
Drain them.
After repeating that process over and over again, only one remained.
I suppose it can’t be helped. Children born with holy power are rare these days.
The stronger the temple became, the greater his own influence would be.
“Tsk.”
Clicking his tongue, the guard shoved a moldy piece of bread through the bars.
At least the last one is obedient.
He couldn’t even remember the name of the final consumable.
She was always quiet and easy to ignore.
Yet her holy power was surprisingly—
No, exceptionally strong.
That was probably why she had survived this long and continued supplying power.
Although…
Why was it so quiet today?
She was normally silent, but whenever food was brought, he could at least hear her eagerly devouring it.
“Hey! Eat your food!”
Bang! Bang!
The moment he struck the bars and peered inside—
The guard froze.
“…Huh?”
The woman chained inside was sprawled face-down on the floor.
Completely motionless.
As though she were dead.
“W-What the hell?!”
His eyes landed on the moldy bread scattered beside her.
The bread distributed the previous night.
Wait a second!
Wasn’t she the one who had nearly choked to death while eating it yesterday?
“Damn it!”
Had she choked again when nobody was looking?!
This was bad.
He had no idea how long she’d been lying there.
And worse—
She was his responsibility.
If something happened, he would be punished.
A chill ran down his spine.
The temple was famous not only for its generosity but also for its merciless punishments.
Panicking, he fumbled out his keys and unlocked the cell.
“Damn brat! If you’re dead, I’ll kill you!”
Not even realizing how absurd that sounded, he rushed forward.
Grab!
The moment he seized the woman’s shoulder—
WHAM!
A tremendous impact flipped his vision upside down.
The last thing the guard saw before losing consciousness was…
The woman’s strangely wicked smile.
“Yooou…”
Thud.
His head dropped limply.
“Whew!”
A brick fell from Lucy’s tense hand.
It had been pried loose from the prison wall.
Getting this thing out was a nightmare.
Malnourished and skeletal, she had spent all her time scraping at the wall with her weak hands.
The only reason she’d gotten away with it was because she was normally so quiet that nobody suspected anything.
“He isn’t dead, right?”
Fortunately, the guard’s skull seemed thicker than average.
There wasn’t even any blood.
“Krrrr…”
A moment later, he started snoring.
He’s asleep.
“Then…”
Lucy quickly searched his belt.
The keys weren’t difficult to find.
Clank!
Unlocking the chains around her wrists, Lucy stretched her arms wide.
It felt like a famous prison-break movie scene from her previous life.
A grin naturally spread across her face.
Goodbye, everyone!
I shall cast off all the shackles and restraints of this world and—
“…Not yet.”
She still had obstacles to overcome before escaping.
And there were a lot of them.
Lucy immediately rushed out of the prison.
Tap tap tap!
She was so underfed that even running a short distance made her dizzy.
But there was one advantage.
This body is practically optimized for escaping.
She was small and thin enough to slip through almost any passage unnoticed.
And because she weighed so little, her footsteps were nearly silent.
Despite staggering from dizziness, Lucy continued moving.
“Alright. Let’s get outside!”
If she didn’t hurry, someone would notice she was gone.
And judging from how hot her hands had been earlier…
Sepina must have been purifying the Duke.
The chains she had been wearing were used to harvest holy power.
The moment they came off, the flow of holy power must have stopped.
They’ll definitely think that’s suspicious and send someone to the prison.
Which meant she needed to move even faster.
Woof!
The bark rang out just as Lucy stepped onto the garden lawn.
“Gah!”
Goosebumps shot up her arms.
Woof! Woof! Woof!
The temple’s guard dogs had caught her scent.
“What’s gotten into them all of a sudden?”
“Did a thief get in?”
The dogs began pacing around.
Desperately looking around, Lucy spotted a tree.
It didn’t seem especially sturdy, but she could probably climb it.
I’ll hide up there!
Without hesitation, she scrambled upward.
Her palms scraped against the bark.
Her lungs burned.
But she couldn’t give up now.
Woof! Woof!
The dogs sniffed around below while cold sweat dripped down her forehead.
Please. Please go away!
Just as she clung tightly to a branch and silently prayed—
Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!
“…That’s—”
“The emergency bell!”
The temple bell began ringing wildly from the main building.
Someone had discovered her escape.
“Move!”
Woof! Woof! Woof!
The guards hurried away with the dogs in the opposite direction.
Soon the area became silent.
Only the distant emergency bell continued ringing.
“Then now…”
Lucy took a deep breath and tried to calm her pounding heart.
At that moment—
Crack.
Huh?
A very ominous sound echoed beneath her.
The branch, too weak to support even Lucy’s tiny weight, snapped clean in half.
“Aaaah!”
You useless branch!
Bracing herself for impact, Lucy squeezed her eyes shut.
Thud.
Thud?
That wasn’t the sound of hitting the ground.
Instinctively reaching out, she felt something hard and hot.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
A powerful vibration pulsed beneath her hand.
The ground…
No.
It wasn’t the ground.
Flash.
The moment she opened her eyes—
She found herself staring into blazing crimson eyes visible through a suit of armor.
Lucy’s mouth fell open.
And before she could stop herself, the words slipped out.
“…Hello?”
