Blue slowly opened his eyes, groaning as he sat up on the cold, hard floor of a small prison cell. The rough concrete under him made his body ache, and when he looked around, all he saw were steel bars—no beds, no comfort, just the harsh reality of captivity.
"Where... are we?" Blue muttered, scratching his head in confusion.
Pluto, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, glanced at him. "Well," he said calmly, "we're in prison."
Blue shot him an incredulous look. "What?! And you didn't even try to fight back?"
Pluto raised an eyebrow. "What? No. I didn't."
Blue shook his head in disbelief. "Well, please tell me you can break us out of here."
A voice suddenly echoed from the neighboring cell. "It's no use. We've already tried."
Blue froze, his eyes darting toward the direction of the voice. "Who's that?"
Pluto shrugged. "Oh, yeah. While you were sleeping, I made some new friends. They're in the next cell, even though there's a wall between us, we can still talk."
The voice from the other side spoke again, this time with a soft, sad tone. "I've heard a lot about you, Blue. My name's Aluca, and I'm here with my brother, Diolo."
"Nice to meet you, I guess," Blue said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Why are you guys in here?"
Aluca gave a faint, humorless chuckle. "We tried to leave the island. But that's a big mistake here."
"Leave the island?" Blue asked, furrowing his brow. "What do you mean?"
Aluca sighed deeply, his voice carrying the weight of a man who had lost all hope. "Me and my brother... we arrived here a few days ago, looking for food. We bought what we needed, but when we tried to leave, the guards stopped us. Said anyone who steps foot on this island belongs to Van Dragul Helsing. Our ship left without us... now we're stuck here. Been here ever since."
Blue blinked, confused. "Who's this Van Dragul Helsing?"
Before Aluca could answer, the sound of footsteps echoed down the stone hallway, causing everyone to fall silent. The footsteps were slow, deliberate, like they carried the weight of authority.
Then, a voice called out, cutting through the stillness. "Oh, why is everyone so quiet?"
The sound of a chair being dragged across the floor grew louder as the figure approached their cell. Blue and Pluto both turned their heads, and soon, the man responsible for the noise came into view. He was tall, with ghostly pale skin, sharp red eyes, and jet-black hair that fell over his forehead. His nails were painted black, and a growing black beard shadowed his face. He wore simple black pants and shoes, paired with a white shirt that contrasted sharply with the rest of his appearance.
The man set the chair down right in front of Blue and Pluto's cell, sitting with an air of casual dominance. His eyes gleamed with malice as he stared at them.
"I'm Van Dragul Helsing," he said smoothly, his voice a mix of charm and cruelty. "And I have a few questions for you."
The room fell into an even deeper silence, the weight of his presence pressing down on them all as the chapter ends.
THE END OF CHAPTER 71