Chapter 127

Soldiers holding long spears stood in front of the capital's fortress gate. Their enemies weren't just magical beasts. People without permission to enter were also entities the guards had to block.

For instance, this shabby cargo carriage that had just stopped in front of the gate.

"Present your pass."

The soldier didn't hide his disdainful gaze. Dozens of people appeared daily, begging to be let into the capital. How would these people be any different? If they clung on, refusing to leave, he wouldn't hesitate to use harsh measures.

Just then, a young man with a gloomy face descended from the driver's seat.

"I'm a doctor from the Astria Central Medical Center."

"Hmm, that's correct."

While one soldier verified the identification, another headed toward the back of the carriage. He was checking the cargo.

The soldier who returned the identification to the young man gestured with his chin toward the old man and child sitting on the driver's seat.

"What about them? Are they capital citizens too?"

"No, they're from another village."

"Then doctor, you may enter. Hey! The old man and child should return to where they came from."

The soldier waved his hand with an annoyed expression. Just as the young man was about to open his mouth, the other soldier who had gone to check the cargo came running back.

"There's another man in the cargo area? But he seems to be almost dying..."

"Hey, is this the first time you've seen someone like that?"

The soldier who snorted looked at the young man.

"Listen, doctor, even capital citizens can't enter if they're sick. It would be troublesome if they spread disease."

"Please call the guard captain."

"No, I'm telling you people without entry permission can't enter no matter what! Don't bother busy people, just go in or not!"

The soldier gave a disapproving look to the young man who was abruptly requesting his superior. Though the soldier was bigger and even armed, the young man didn't back down at all.

"Verification is needed, so please call him. That man in the cargo area is our pass."

Shortly after, the guard captain who had received the message came running out and checked the man in the cargo area.

"Th-this face..."

The guard captain, who had protected the capital for 30 years, was as unyielding in character as his impeccable appearance. His iron-like composure that never faltered in any situation made him worthy of respect.

The face of such a guard captain turned pale white with surprise and shock. He even trembled at the fingertips, which couldn't help but surprise the soldiers.

"To think he was alive. How on earth...?"

"Captain. Is this really that black mage? He looks a bit different from what I imagined."

The soldier, who had just passed twenty, had only heard about the atrocities committed by the black mage from others.

After the black mage's death, all records related to him, including portraits and wanted posters, had been destroyed, so few people remembered his face. However, the enormous crimes the black mage had committed were enough to make people imagine him as a vicious and terrifying criminal.

But what was the reality?

The soldier's gaze swept over the man who had collapsed as if unconscious. Night-black hair, wet with cold sweat, clung to his small face. His collarbones stood out prominently, either because his clothes were too big or because he was too thin. The soldier forcibly tore his gaze away from the man's slender neck and corrected his words.

"No, not a bit, but very different..."

Could this dying beauty really be the black mage who had thrown the world into chaos?

"Don't judge by appearance. A black mage's abilities aren't reflected in their looks."

The guard captain sternly warned, as if reading the soldier's mind. His face was still pale. As if the bound and unwell opponent could swallow him whole like some monster.

Was that genuine fear contagious? The soldier also began to feel tension. Regardless of appearance, the man before them was a being more beastly than magical beasts. During his active period, the world had been filled with screams. Magical beasts swarmed, and forests and rivers were contaminated with demonic energy.

...Just like now.

"Captain. Did the black mage make the world like this again?"

The guard captain placed restraints used for heinous criminals on the man. A gag was put in his mouth, thick shackles connected to his neck were placed over the ropes binding his hands and feet, and his eyes were covered with a blindfold. Even so, the guard captain couldn't let down his guard and answered in a trembling voice.

"We'll find out when we check."

* * *

"Wake up."

Splash!

Ice-cold water poured over his face. While Kinaine still couldn't open his eyes, a thick hand soon struck his cheek.

"I said wake up!"

With the impact that shook his skull, Kinaine painfully raised his head.

"Finally awake, I see."

A strange voice seemed to be saying something, but he couldn't hear well. His head buzzed as if a swarm of bees had entered. Kinaine shook his head vigorously, trying to regain his senses.

'Where is this...'

It wasn't the carriage. He was sitting in a chair. His arms and legs were bound separately so he couldn't move, a gag was in his mouth, and a blindfold covered his eyes. He faintly smelled blood and damp mold.

'A prison?'

He had briefly regained consciousness during transport. He couldn't even move, let alone have the energy to escape. Of course, he hadn't intended to escape in the first place.

Kinaine blinked slowly. They often blindfolded prisoners to intimidate them, but it was meaningless for him.

Soon the gag in his mouth was removed.

"Are you really the black mage? You feel different from what I expected. You're nothing but bones. There won't be much fun in pushing you around."

The man in front seemed to be a torture technician. Though he knew such a position existed in the royal palace, this was his first time facing one. When he was a prince, he had never actually seen a torture technician, or even a prison. He had only known such things existed.

Kinaine parted his lips, trembling from the cold.

"Is there any need to waste your energy? If you're curious about something, just ask. I'll answer."

"Well, it's not just about extracting information. For an arrogant one like you, we start with taming."

The man listed the types of torture he wanted to perform on Kinaine, genuinely enjoying himself. Kinaine half-listened to the stories that gave goosebumps just from hearing them.

Whatever the man did, he wouldn't be able to show the reaction expected. He wouldn't feel even half of the pain inflicted. In his current physical state, it would be fortunate if he didn't stop breathing before that.

"What should I try first? First of all..."

The expectant voice was cut off by the murmuring sounds from outside.

"Y-Your Majesty! What brings you here?"

At the man's tense voice, Kinaine's fingertips twitched.

Your Majesty?

"Everyone leave."

A low, cool voice was heard. It was both familiar and unfamiliar.

A voice that had once been his own, but now seemed strange as if no longer his.

"..."

The iron bars closed, and silence fell.

Kinaine exerted all his strength to suppress something rising within him. His fingertips scratched at the chair as if trying to dig into it. Because of this, he didn't even notice the blood flowing from his hands.

Finally, a rough voice that seemed to boil up from deep within called the other's name.

"Hasan..."

He could tell without seeing.

The man before him was undoubtedly Hasan.

The one who had stolen his body, framed him, harmed his lover, and made him suffer.

The root cause that had brought him here.

"I wondered, but seeing you call me that, it must be true."

His tone was as if observing a strange beast. Though it had once been his own voice, it felt strangely repulsive.

Kinaine belatedly realized why. Hasan was using exactly the same manner of speech as himself. As if it had been his from the beginning.

"I didn't believe it when I heard the report. But to think you were really alive. I definitely stabbed a sword through your heart, how did you manage it?"

Hearing those words, the scar where the sword had been embedded throbbed again. While Kinaine bit his lip and swallowed a groan, Hasan calmly continued.

"Well, you were always lucky. I should have been suspicious when I couldn't confirm the corpse. But still, looking at your state, it seems like it would have been better if you had died then."

Hasan sneered.

"Like your lover."

At that moment, Kinaine truly wished.

He didn't care if his breath stopped right now. It would be fine if his soul shattered completely.

If only he could silence those lips that continued to insult his lover forever.

For the first time in years, Kinaine didn't restrain his raging emotions. He could feel the demonic energy, feasting after a long time, cheering.

There was no sadness in the tears that soaked his blindfold and cheeks. If anything, it was the opposite emotion.

But something unexpected happened.

"Calm down, are you planning to turn the entire castle to stone this time?"

A calm voice was heard as if nothing had happened.

"How..."

The anger and helplessness were brief. Soon, the recoil from the black magic turned his mind white. As Kinaine vomited blood, spasmodic laughter echoed through the prison.