Every muscle in my body screamed.
I could feel everything.
Every frantic heartbeat pounding inside Lee’s chest.
Every violent breath he tore into his lungs.
Every desperate twitch of his muscles.
Every bang of his fists against the iron bars echoed straight through my bones.
It was all so…
unbelievably loud.
The bastard just wouldn’t shut the f*ck up.
His screams scraped against my ears until my skull felt ready to split open.
If I somehow survived this…
I’d make damn sure to haunt him in the afterlife just to return the favour.
Lee suddenly roared and started thrashing with everything he had.
His fists crashed against my ribs.
My shoulder.
My face.
Some of the blows landed.
Some were stopped by the iron bars separating us.
Either way…
They hurt like absolute hell.
I tightened my hold.
He screamed.
I screamed louder.
“LET GO, YOU F*CKING RAT!” “MAKE ME, DICKLESS!” Our voices collided inside the Great Hall like two rabid beasts trying to drown each other out.
His screams gradually changed.
The curses disappeared.
The words became shorter.
More stiffled.
Each breath sounded wetter than the last as my forearm crushed harder against his throat.
Good.
Shut up.
Please…
Just shut the f*ck up already.
My grin widened.
…Why?
I wasn’t happy.
There was nothing enjoyable about this what so ever.
Every bone in my body felt like it had been fed into a grinder.
My lungs burned.
My vision swam.
I wanted to throw up.
So…
Why the hell was I smiling?
Hell if I knew!
Maybe I’d finally gone insane.
Wouldn’t exactly be surprising, now that I thought about it.
Without loosening my legs or my left arm, I released my right hand.
Lee noticed immediately.
He threw another wild elbow backward.
It glanced off the bars and smashed into my cheek instead.
“…Ow.” Still…
It was worth it.
My fingers found a jagged shard of broken stone lying beside the cage.
I gripped it.
Then, without giving myself even a second to think…
I drove it forward.
The sharpened rock disappeared beneath the hollow of his collarbone.
Lee convulsed.
His body jerked so violently that I nearly lost my hold.
I clenched my teeth.
Closed my eyes.
And pushed harder.
The stone ground against flesh.
Against muscle.
Against bone.
Then…
Crack- I heard something give.
It wasn’t enough.
It couldn’t be enough.
So I kept pushing.
Harder.
Deeper.
Until my arm trembled.
Until my shoulder felt ready to tear free.
Until I couldn’t tell whether the warmth soaking my hand was his blood…
Or mine.
And honestly, I didn’t want to find out So I kept my eyes shut, refusing to watch.
A Ruined…
A Ruined killing a Superhuman.
That had never happened before.
And yet, it had to happen today.
I was going to make it happen.
I had to.
Lee’s body thrashed even more violently.
His fists hammered against the bars, his elbows smashed into my face and shoulders, and every desperate movement shook my exhausted body with him.
Each impact sent another wave of agony through my shattered frame until I could barely tell where one injury ended and another began.
My vision blurred.
For a split second…
Everything went black.
…
No.
Not yet.
I bit down so hard I tasted blood and forced my eyes open again.
Just…
Die already.
Lee refused.
He bucked against me like a cornered beast, dragging us both across the bars as the chains rattled like maddened serpents.
His screams gradually lost their shape, the words dissolving into wet, choking hisses as my forearm crushed deeper into his throat.
Good.
Shut…
the f*ck up.
My own voice had vanished as well.
Every scream I tried to force out escaped as nothing more than a hoarse rasp.
The adrenaline that had kept me standing all this time finally began to abandon me.
Fatigue.
Pain.
Blood loss.
My broken shoulder.
My ruined hand.
The deep knife wound on my back.
Everything hit me at once.
It felt as though my body had finally remembered it was supposed to collapse.
Still…
I refused to let go.
The shard refused to go any deeper.
“…Shit.” Fine.
Then I’d make it.
Keeping my eyes shut, I twisted my wrist and began dragging the jagged stone upward with every last ounce of strength left in my body.
Lee’s entire body jolted.
The choking grew wetter.
More desperate.
Until even those sounds faded into little more than trembling breaths.
Then…
Whimpering.
Huh?
The sudden change caught me so off guard that I almost stopped.
Lee had gone still.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
I couldn’t see his face.
The bars blocked it completely.
All I could hear were soft, broken whimpers.
“I…” A shaky breath.
“I…
I don’t…” Another wet gurgle.
“…wanna die…” …
The nerve of this asshole.
I closed my eyes again and tightened my hold.
“Just…” My voice was barely louder than a whisper.
“Just die.” I pulled.
“Die already…” Harder.
“…you piece of shit.” For a long moment, there was nothing.
Then Lee whispered something so quietly it was almost swallowed by the darkness itself.
“Damn you…” A ragged breath escaped him.
“…Ribery…” And then…
With the sound of a frozen tree branch snapping in the dead of winter…
His windpipe broke.
Lee’s body went completely limp.
For a few long seconds, I didn’t move.
I couldn’t.
My arms remained locked around his neck while my legs stayed wrapped around his body, as though they had forgotten how to let go.
Then, little by little…
My grip loosened.
The moment I released him, darkness rushed into the corners of my vision.
My knees buckled.
“…Ngh.” No.
Not here.
Not now.
I let out a low, guttural growl and forced my body to obey.
Looking down into the abyss beneath the cage for the briefest of moments, I reached for the blood-soaked chains and painfully worked them free.
Every tug felt like someone was driving nails into my ribs.
“F…
f*ck…” The chains finally slipped free.
Now came the harder part.
Getting out.
I twisted my shoulders sideways and forced myself through the narrow gap between the iron bars.
Every inch scraped against torn flesh.
My broken shoulder screamed.
Something shifted inside my chest.
Crack- “…Son of a bitch.” Another rib.
Wonderful.
After what felt like an eternity, I finally stumbled free and collapsed onto the cold stone floor outside the cage.
For several long moments, I simply lay there, dragging ragged breaths into battered lungs.
Eventually…
I stood.
Barely.
Turning around, I looked at the body slumped against the bars.
Han Song-Lee.
An Ability User.
A Superhuman of the first tier.
Killed by my own hands.
Killed by a worthless Ruined.
I had imagined this moment would feel…
different.
Triumph.
Relief.
Hatred.
Regret.
Something…
anything.
Instead…
I felt…
Nothing.
I just stared into the lifeless, glassy eyes of the man who had hunted me only minutes ago.
He was dead.
I was a murderer.
The first person I had ever killed…
Was a Superhuman.
Heh…
Who the hell would believe that?
The thought came.
Then left just as quickly.
I was too tired to care.
Everything hurt.
Everything ached.
My body wasn’t a body anymore.
It was a grotesque painting carved from blood, bruises and broken bones.
Without another glance, I dragged myself toward the exit of the Iron Fortress, leaving behind nothing but bloody footprints.
…
Unbeknownst to me…
The moment I crossed the decayed iron gates and disappeared into the desolation of the Ruins, a figure silently emerged from the shadows of one of the colossal pillars.
Without making a sound…
They stopped before Lee’s corpse.
*** By the time I reached the cottage, I wasn’t even sure how I was still standing.
I quietly pushed open the door and went straight to Stephanie’s room.
She was asleep.
Good.
Lev had probably gone home aswell.
I staggered to her bedside and looked at her for a long while.
She looked…
peaceful.
Leaning down, I gently kissed her forehead.
When I pulled away…
A faint crimson mark remained where my lips had touched.
…
“Sorry…
I’m late.” Without another word, I stumbled into my room and picked up a small leather pouch off the floor.
It contained medicine and some medical tools I had taken from Mr.Murphy’s hidden chamber.
Right…
After fumbling through it with shaking hands, I found the bandages and antibiotics.
Treating myself was…
An experience.
Every wrap sent another wave of pain through my body.
Every movement made me question whether I should just give up halfway through.
Eventually…
I finished.
Good enough…
probably.
With a weary sigh, I lowered myself onto the bed.
…
Yeah.
I’m probably going to die.
No…
I’m definitely going to die.
I couldn’t even find the strength to care anymore.
It’s fine.
I did everything I could.
Elder Nam…
He’ll take care of Steph.
He always does.
With that thought, my body finally gave up.
The pain slowly drifted away, swallowed by an overwhelming numbness as my eyelids grew too heavy to keep open.
The room blurred before gradually melting into darkness.
It’s okay.
Everything…
Everything is going to be okay.
*** TIME: 3:00 A.M.
Sleep had barely found Elder Nam before a faint scratching sound disturbed the silence outside his tent.
“…Mgh…” He frowned and buried his face deeper into his pillow.
Scratch…
scratch…
scratch…
“…Who in damnation…” With a groan, Nam rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
The celebration had only ended a short while ago.
After helping clean the Fallen King and seeing everyone home safely, all he wanted was a few hours of uninterrupted sleep.
Apparently, fate disagreed.
Then a familiar voice drifted through the canvas.
“Elder…
are you awake?” Nam blinked.
“…Lev?” He sighed.
“Come in, kid.” Halfway through saying it, he clicked his tongue.
“…Right.
You’re not a kid anymore.” Unzipping the entrance, Nam was greeted by the sight of a tall, gaunt young man standing quietly beneath the moonlight.
Dirty blond hair.
Calm grey eyes.
Balanced carefully in his hands was a worn metal tray carrying two steaming cups of tea…
and a small plate of cookies.
Nam raised an eyebrow.
“…What’s all this?” Lev scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile.
“I felt a little bad for not coming to the celebration.” He lifted the tray slightly.
“So…
I thought maybe the two of us could have some tea together.” “I wasn’t doing anything anyway.” Nam stared at him for a few seconds before letting out another tired sigh.
“…Fine.” He stepped aside.
“But if the tea tastes awful, I’m throwing you out.” Lev chuckled softly.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” As the younger man knelt to place the tray between them, Nam’s eyes caught something.
A deep cut stretched across Lev’s wrist.
Fresh blood had soaked into the sleeve of his tunic.
“…Hey, you’re bleeding.” The young man paused.
For the briefest instant…
His smile faltered.
Then it returned as naturally as ever.
“Ah…
I slipped earlier.” “There was a sharp piece of metal sticking out of one of the old buildings.” Nam frowned.
“…You should’ve come to me.” “I’ll be alright.” “…Hmph.” The old man wasn’t convinced.
Still…
He let it go.
The two sat opposite one another in silence, each nursing a warm cup of tea while the distant wind whispered through the ruins outside.
It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence.
At least…
Not at first.
Nam opened his mouth, intending to make conversation.
Lev spoke first.
“…Elder.” “Hm?” Lev stared quietly into the tea resting between his hands.
Then, without looking up, he asked, “…Do you like the Ruins?”