A/N: TRIGGER WARNING! This chapter is not for those with weak hearts; skip if you find it disturbing.
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Two hours ago~
Kallous picked up a silver forcep from the array of torture instruments he had discovered in the dungeon-like area. His face was already smeared with the blood of his victim, Simon, who was chained helplessly beneath the watchful eyes of two spectators. The room was cold, the air thick with the metallic scent of blood and fear
"For the last time," Kal said, moving the forceps closer, gripping Simon's damaged jaw. He reached for one of the few remaining teeth he intended to extract forcibly. "What is your relationship with Lucy?"
Simon's remaining eye had long lost its luster. He stared in horror at the silver eyes that had been hunting him for hours. He couldn't understand what had gone wrong.
He had arranged everything perfectly, believing the lovely child who naively smiled at him would be his next captive. But now, here he was, ambushed and tortured by the same child he had intended to use.
Confusion would be an understatement to describe how he felt as he awakened in his own toy room; at first, he assumed he had already brought the child here and had fallen asleep, but then he remembered what had actually happened and was enraged.
Simon had tried to free himself, knowing his tools best, but the ropes tightened painfully, burning his skin as if they had a will of their own. He quickly realized this was the least of his problems.
Several hours into his torment, Simon had already attempted suicide multiple times, but each attempt was thwarted by some unseen force. He answered every question posed by the child—clearly a monster—while pleading for mercy. It was all for nothing.
The moment Lucy's name was mentioned, he knew he had to stop this monster from getting any information. Even if it meant his death.
"Hmm? Silent, are we? Alright then, I guess you don't need these useless teeth after all~" Kallous hummed in delight as he began extracting Simon's teeth, one by one, as painfully slowly as possible.
Allyn watched in silence, providing assistance if Kal requested a specific tool or needed to prevent Simon from committing suicide. She had grown used to Kal's proficiency with torture implements. Despite seeing his past life memories, not all was shown to her. She felt a pang of sadness thinking about the life he must have led to know all of this.
Nevertheless, she would be there for him at every step of the way.
"He passed out, help me wake him up again." Kal, taking off his twelfth pair of gloves, requested Allyn's assistence yet again. And yes, he was keeping count of it all.
Stepping out of the fresh pool of blood, Kal sat down and tried to organize all of the information Simon had offered him.
The head of the orphanage, Lucy,had been accepting children in an effort to give them a secure environment—a home they could live and even seek shelter in. However in reality, she used those children to cultivate a positive image among nobility and commoners, enabling her to conceal the true reason behind the orphanage's establishment.
The orphanage served only as a front for a long-running illegal market that sold children and even their remains if they were deemed worthless.
Kal grinned as he touched the blue sphere, a recording device from the system that held Simon's confessions. It was enough to lock up Lucy, Cian, and Simon. However, one question remained unanswered.
What exactly was the nature of Simon and Lucy's relationship? Who was she to him that he would rather risk his life than answer a simple question?
As he waited for Simon to wake up, Kal fiddled with the recording device, taking in the sight of blood covering the stone-hard floor.
'Lovers perhaps?' The idea was a little crazy but not far fetched.
✿'He's awake(≧◡≦)//.' Normal people would have questioned him, pointed fingers, and called him a monster, a freak, but only Allyn could completely understand him.
Kal doesn't need to explain himself or his actions to her; he can simply be himself.
Simon was awake. Well, his eyes was open, but he didn't seem to be focused.
Kal took a knife already used on Simon before and walked up to him. "Ready to talk?" Simon's eyes looked dead; he only stared at Kal, waiting for him to make a move and be done with it.
"I've been wondering," Kal said, using the knife to trace Simon's untouched fingers. "Since you enjoy eating flesh so much..." The knife stopped at the index finger. "How about tasting your own, hmm?" He looked Simon dead in the eyes and gave him an innocent smile, which would have been cute if not for his bloodied appearance. "Unless you would like to share the nature of your relationship with her."
No answer came from Simon, and Kal sighed helplessly. "Have it your way then." The knife slowly cut through the finger, reaching the bone. "Now—" Kal put pressure on the knife, slicing through the bone. "—is she perhaps a friend?" Simon showed no response, but Kal remained patient, speaking as if to a child. "A lover?" Simon's free hand shivered, but it wasn't the response Kal sought. "Don't tell me..." Kal smiled as the knife finally severed Simon's finger, blood spilling onto the cold stone floor.
"She's your sister, isn't she?" Finally, Simon screamed at Kal, unfazed by the loss of his finger.
"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!" His voice cracked, forming incomplete sentences, but the message was clear.
Kal's smile faded as he quietly took the severed finger and returned his gaze to Simon.
"Please," Simon begged, his forehead resting in his own blood. He didn't want this monster to get anywhere near his sister, even if it cost him his life.
Kal reached out his hand, holding the severed finger, and showed it to Simon.
Simon knew exactly what to do, so he swallowed his own finger without hesitation.
Allyn was shocked; she couldn't believe what was happening.
Kal, as calm as always, watched Simon ingest every inch of his finger. It wasn't his first time witnessing such a scene, but it was the first in this life.
Truly a fascinating experience.
Feeling bored, he picked up a hammer lying around and aimed it at Simon.
"W-wait, y-you promised!" Simon stammered, trying to back away.
"Did I? But don't worry. Your sister will follow you soon."
He prepared to strike, only to pause momentarily when he heard his name called out.
"Kal?"
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Current time~
Before Kal could reach the stairs, Ivan took the dead body from him and hoisted it over his shoulder.
Kal turned to find Ian breathing heavily, his cheeks flushed from running around trying to catch up.
"Damn, how did you get so far dragging this bloody mess?" Ian panted, holding his knees with both hands.
"Language," Ivan admonished, glancing at his brother's state while balancing the corpse.
"Sorry," Ian quickly apologized, regaining his breath.
"Why are you two following me?" Kal asked, trying to hide his annoyance. He had planned to dispose of the body inside the system before the twins got involved.
"We couldn't possibly leave you alone, right Ivan?" Ian replied cheerfully.
"En," Ivan nodded, indicating he too was worried.
"I was doing fine on my own. I don't need your help," Kal said, reaching out to take the body from Ivan, who stepped back to keep it out of his reach.
"It's no use, Kal. Let us help you. You should've seen yourself dragging this damn corpse," Ian insisted, stepping in front of his brother like a fortress.
"Language," Ivan reminded again.
"Sorry," Ian repeated, quickly apologizing.
"Stop fooling around. Hand me the body so I can deal with it," Kal's patience was wearing thin, and Ian's antics weren't helping.
"And how would you do that? Not to mention you're shorter than both of us and couldn't even carry the body, let alone deal with it," Ian smirked, knowing he had won when Kallous fell silent.
'Did he just call me short?' Kal's mind seethed. He could feel a familiar, dangerous anger bubbling up. He wanted to shut Ian up permanently, but he restrained himself.
Unlike his oblivious brother, Ivan could sense that Kallous was on the verge of committing another murder. As the older one in the group, he decided to intervene.
"I know a good place to hide the body," Ivan offered, changing the subject and extending his help.
Kal stopped glaring at Ian and looked at Ivan, surprised. 'He can speak?'
It wasn't Kal's fault; Ivan rarely spoke in anyone's company, so people often forgot that he could speak.
Feeling eyes on him, Ivan coughed, attempting to blend in with the wall like a shadow. Unfortunately, the dead body on his shoulder made this impossible.
Kal had enough. He wanted to be done with this so he could return to his room and take a hot shower.
'I better not regret this.' Kal thought, extending his palm towards the body. He felt a pang of hesitation, a flicker of doubt. What if trusting them was a mistake? He dismissed the thought quickly. He couldn't afford to second-guess himself now.
Before the twins could react, he sent the body to the system storage, making it vanish before their eyes.
The twins stood there in shock, and before they could say a word, Kal threatened, "If I hear a single soul talk about this, you two will be next." He turned and walked out, leaving the twins stunned in place.
It only took a minute for Ian to start giggling like a child who had been given a present. "I knew he had something hidden! Brother, he's just like us!"
Ivan shook his head and followed his brother, who had taken it upon himself to go after Kal once again.
Kal stopped and looked back when he sensed the two still following him. He sighed in defeat.
✿'You can't get rid of them that easily(◕‿◕✿).' Allyn commented, happy that Kal found shiny companions even though he doesn't know it yet,
─'I tried.' Kal replied, looking at the twins, displeasure evident on his face. He felt a mix of irritation and something he couldn't quite identify—a strange sense of relief that he wasn't completely alone.
"What now?"
The twins looked at eachother and smiled, "Nothing much, just figured you may need a ride since you can't really expect to walk down the street looking like that." Ian said, pointing at Kal's well.. everything.
✿'Got to hand it to him. For once, he's right.' Allyn took this opportunity to side with Ian. It was rare for him to ever one up Kal.
Kal agreed with Allyn; he did look rather messy. His clothes were stained with blood, his hair disheveled, and his skin marked with smudges of grime and gore.
He folded his arms and raised an eyebrow at Ian. "What do you suggest?"
Ian, happy that Kal was listening, swiftly pointed to his older brother, whose shoulder was still stained with blood from the corpse.
"Shadows," Ian said confidently.
Ivan nodded, glad to be of assistance to the shorter child.
Kal sighed audibly, looked at Ivan in all seriousness and asked.
"Can you take me to the room?"
Ivan had guessed that Kal was asking so he could quickly go take a shower rather than worrying about people seeing him in this state, so he nodded.
A smile appeared on Kal's lips as he turned to face the twins, who waited patiently for his response. 'They look like puppies,' he thought, a small, involuntary smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Alright," he said.
Ian cheered and took Kal's hand while holding his brother's hand with the other. "Let's go!"
With that, the trio vanished and reappeared in their room. Kal quickly let go of Ian's hand and headed straight for a long, well-earned shower. The hot water cascading over him was a welcome relief, washing away the grime and the tension of the day.
Ivan followed suit, taking a bath of his own, scrubbing off the blood and dirt that had accumulated.
Left alone in the room, Ian jumped onto his bed, ending the day with joy filling his heart. He couldn't help but feel excited about their new friend, despite the day's grim events.
Allyn watched in silence, hoping this budding friendship would last forever. She knew Kal needed allies, even if he didn't realize it yet.
Kal stepped out of the shower, feeling refreshed but contemplative. 'Maybe having them around isn't so bad after all,' he thought reluctantly. He glanced at the twins, now clean and settled, and felt a small flicker of something he hadn't felt in a long time—hope.