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Adrian, who had a certain level of toxicity and some resistance to torture, couldn’t endure the bone-twisting pain. After all, even if he was the dictator of Valencia’s slums, he had never experienced the strange agony of bones and flesh twisting and grinding from within. It was inevitable.

Essentially, like all human activities, pain tolerance is something that forms through experience. The terror of pain never felt before is something that shakes even the most iron-willed individuals.

As the bone-twisting pain repeated, Adrian, perhaps because the demon’s blood had loosened, begged to spill everything he knew, gasping for breath.

Half out of his mind, his face smeared with tears and saliva, he desperately moved his beak, fearing that his mouth would be sealed again if he didn’t speak. But with his human blood sealed, no voice came out, and the pain without a way out was terrifying.

“So, it’s true that Maria came here to pay the tribute, right?”

“Yes! I mean, yes!”

Adrian nodded vigorously at Conra’s words. He wanted to get these demon-like creatures out of his sanctuary as soon as possible.

“And then what happened?”

“She just left! I mean, she really just left!”

Seeing Conra’s suspicious expression at the mention of her just leaving, Adrian vehemently protested his innocence.

However, Conra, having mastered Wu Xin Dong and with his enhanced ethereal brain’s insight, naturally picked up on the suspicious parts in Adrian’s words.

“It seems true that she paid the tribute and left immediately. But why didn’t you mention what happened after that?”

“…!?”

Adrian, who hadn’t expected such a straightforward probing, was greatly flustered. He tried to think of a way to gloss over the situation, but time wasn’t on his side.

Conra, calmly watching Adrian’s panicked state, sighed and said, “Looks like you’ll have to suffer a bit more.”

At this, Adrian, seeing Conra raise his finger again, had no choice but to surrender completely.

Finally getting the information he wanted, Conra sighed in relief. Sophia asked, “What now?”

“We got his cooperation, so we should collect on it. And it seems like if we don’t act quickly, something big might happen to Maria.”

“Then we should move right away.”

Agreeing with Conra, Sophia inwardly admired him. As they say, “After three days apart, one should look at a person with new eyes.” Compared to the naive and reckless Conra from the beginning of the year, he had grown quite a bit in just under a year.

Of course, there were still some rough edges, but those would smooth out with time and experience.

‘Until then, I, as his master, will fill in the gaps.’

Satisfied that the bone-twisting technique worked even on those with octopus-like ethereal muscles, Sophia smiled. After all, the technique wasn’t just about physically twisting muscles but stimulating abnormal reactions through meridians, so even octopus-like muscles would have some response.

Suddenly, the idea that the bone-twisting technique could be used to improve ethereal muscles crossed her mind. Conra, for some reason, felt a chill down his spine and shivered.

+++++

It was pitch black.

Behind her, flames licked the sky, and a woman, clutching something wrapped in a cloth, was running from something.

Amidst the angry roars echoing around, the woman, gasping for breath, didn’t stop her frantic steps.

The sound of something burning, people shouting, the rustling of dry grass and leaves in the wind. The woman desperately pushed through.

But human stamina has its limits, and soon her steps began to slow.

As her face was gradually consumed by despair, perhaps the heavens hadn’t abandoned her. The figures of those waiting for her finally appeared before her eyes. They gestured urgently and whispered, “Here! Hurry! We must leave now!”

The woman and the men, boarding a pre-prepared wagon, hurriedly drove off into the night. As the wagon pushed through the darkness, the woman and the men, calming their anxiety, kept their eyes on the squirming baby in the cloth.

“The gods are indeed merciless. How could this happen to the royal family of Catalonia!”

Listening to the woman’s lament, the men couldn’t hide their somber expressions. The baby, wrapped in the cloth, looked up at the woman holding him with amber eyes.

“Gasp…!”

Maria woke up with a start, her breath catching. Dazed, she looked up at the unfamiliar ceiling as her vision slowly focused.

Looking around, the room was engulfed in darkness. Moonlight seeped through the window, indicating it wasn’t yet dawn.

As her stiff head began to function properly, Maria assessed her situation. She had a gag in her mouth, and her limbs were tied with thick ropes.

‘Was I kidnapped?’

Her memory cut off after leaving Niue de Corb. She must have been kidnapped around that time.

She didn’t know how long she had been unconscious, but she didn’t feel hungry, and the sun hadn’t risen yet, so it couldn’t have been more than a day.

‘At least it doesn’t seem like anything happened to me in that time.’

After all, no matter how crazy the people in this area were, they wouldn’t feel lust for a scrawny, malnourished kid. Maria wanted to believe that. Suddenly, the lecherous gazes of some men she had encountered on the street flashed in her mind, but Maria didn’t want to dwell on such ominous thoughts.

She preferred more constructive methods.

‘Like an escape plan.’

She began to quietly assess her surroundings.

Fortunately, she was alone in the room, but she didn’t know what was outside. She wanted to avoid the hassle of her captors coming up if they realized she was awake.

Sure enough, as she quietly listened, she heard the men guarding outside her door whispering.

The conversation, as usual in such places, was filled with jokes, crude curses, and lewd talk. Some of it was about Maria, making her skin crawl.

In any case, with guards at the door, a proper escape through the main exit seemed impossible.

‘First, I need to deal with these bindings.’

Maria’s eyes quickly scanned the room. But there was no sharp object to cut the ropes.

‘They were careful, huh?’

After all, who would leave a sharp object in a room with a kidnapped person?

Maria’s attention turned to the money pouch she had hidden in her clothes. She had sealed it in a special way and hidden it under a thick outer garment.

But the pouch was near her chest, making it bulge slightly. Surprisingly, her captors hadn’t noticed it.

‘Are they idiots?’

Maria inwardly scoffed.

‘Since when does a ten-year-old have breasts?’

Especially since she was undernourished and looked much younger. Recalling the lecherous gazes of those who had called her a prostitute, Maria shuddered.

Perhaps, just as her poverty had stunted her growth, their poverty had dulled their minds.

In any case, the money pouch was designed so that with a little twisting, she could pull it out through the neck of her garment.

After much effort, Maria managed to pull out the pouch, loosening her bindings slightly. She realized she might be able to free herself.

Once her mind was set, she acted quickly. Like a snake, she twisted her body to free her torso, then her arms, and finally her wrists.

The last step was to use her freed hands to untie her ankles.

Though her limbs were free, there was still the problem of escape. Initially, she considered the window but was disappointed. It was too small, even for her, and had iron bars.

‘So, the only way is the main exit after all.’

Suppressing the urge to curse, Maria began to think of a plan. Suddenly, her eyes fell on the thick ropes she had just untied.

‘If I play my cards right, I could use these as weapons.’

Originally intended for climbing down the window, she decided to make good use of them. She began to braid the scattered ropes.

Just as she finished braiding the ropes, she heard shouts and the sound of something breaking.

‘Is the building in chaos?’

Listening carefully, Maria realized the building was under attack, and the commotion had distracted everyone. She knew this was her only chance.

Seizing the opportunity, Maria carefully grabbed the door handle. The guard outside hadn’t left despite the chaos. But Maria didn’t hesitate.

The door opened quietly, revealing the guard’s back. In the next moment, the noose she held looped around the guard’s neck.

It happened in an instant. Maria, who had tied the rope to the window bars, pulled with all her might. The difference in weight and strength between a man and a woman, an adult and a child, was clear, but the noose tightening around his throat was enough to reverse it.

The guard, choking and struggling, glared at Maria with bloodshot eyes, but she calmly proceeded with her plan.

Soon, the guard’s body was inside the room, and Maria was outside, tying the other end of the rope to the door handle. This way, the guard couldn’t open the door until he freed his neck.

Of course, it was only a temporary measure. The guard could loosen the noose and free himself. But Maria only needed that brief moment.

Without hesitation, Maria began to run. The guard, seeing her escape, tried to chase her, but the noose tightened, and the door slammed shut.

The hallway was empty. The commotion downstairs had drawn everyone away except the guard at her door. Maria, hiding in the shadows, cautiously observed the situation downstairs. The chaos showed no signs of stopping.

She grabbed a long knife and a club from a nearby room and slowly descended the stairs.

Just then, “Ahhh! Monster!”

A scream echoed as someone stumbled up the stairs. Startled, Maria reflexively swung her club, hitting one of them square in the skull. A lucky strike.

The others, coming up behind, stared at Maria in shock.

“You, you are…?”

“Uh, um…”

As their eyes met awkwardly, Maria, without thinking, smiled awkwardly. But to those on the stairs, her smile, with blood splattered on her lips from the blow, looked like that of a little witch.

“Ah, ahhh…”

“Why are you doing this to us…!”

As they panicked, the figures who had been chasing them appeared behind.

“Huh? Why did these guys stop running?”

“Strange… huh? You?”

The nun knight and her disciple, cracking their knuckles, appeared from downstairs, noticing the strange scene. The boy’s gaze fell on the girl standing at the top of the stairs.

The reunion of the boy and the girl happened in that awkward atmosphere.

 

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