The cage was enormous, towering several times my height, yet the space inside still felt stiflingly cramped. Comparing the two, the iron bars seemed as fragile as paper—if the beast exerted even a bit of strength, it could easily tear them apart.
The iron stakes holding the bars together felt utterly useless. If it woke up, just one swipe of its claws could end my life.
Damn it...
The looming shadow of death bore down on me, a constant, suffocating weight. Summoning the last threads of my willpower, I forced my trembling hand to creep toward the lock.
Deep breath. Don't make a sound.
Huff... puff...
I knew exactly what I needed to do, but my body refused to comply, lagging behind my thoughts. Just lifting the lock felt like an impossible feat, let alone unlocking it.
Hurry. Hurry up! What's wrong with me? I can't even get the keyhole in sight like this—
Click!
"...!"
The lock accidentally grazed one of the iron bars, producing a faint metallic clink.
It was a tiny sound, almost imperceptible. But to me, it was as deafening as a thunderclap.
I drew in a sharp, panicked breath, my legs tensed to their absolute limit, poised to flee at a moment's notice.
Low growl...
But all I heard was the deep, steady rumble of the beast's breathing as it remained asleep.
"..."
The breath I'd been holding escaped me all at once, the tension in my chest loosening slightly.
Yet, for some reason, the relief didn't calm me—it left me feeling cold, hollow, drained.
...Back to work.
All extraneous thoughts evaporated. My focus narrowed to the lock in my hands and the tension tool accompanying it.
This lock wasn't like the others. I studied its weighty structure, probing the internal mechanisms with the tool, trying to make sense of it.
A two-layered... no, a three-layered design? Of course. After the previous breakout, they must have replaced it with something more complex.
But a lock requiring three contact points to be triggered in sequence? That was overkill. Without the proper tools, it was proving to be a nightmare.
Click.
I paused for a moment, flexing my fingers to relieve the cramps.
It wasn't impossible, but the margin for error was razor-thin. Blinking away the fatigue, I glanced at the still-sleeping beast to confirm it hadn't stirred.
If only I'd started working from the outside earlier, when I still had energy to spare.
Muttering complaints wouldn't help now. Gritting my teeth, I repositioned the lock and the tool, committing the layout of the critical contact points to memory. I couldn't afford a single mistake.
Click.
One down.
My teeth clenched tighter as I channeled just enough strength into my fingers to continue. Moving the tool to the next position required meticulous precision—
Click.
Second one down.
I can do this. The angle is just right—only one more to go.
Sweat trickled down my forehead, stinging as it slid into my eyes, but I couldn't stop to wipe it away.
Endure it. Steady... precise... the final contact point is within reach.
Almost there. Just a little further, and—
Rustle... rustle...
My hands froze. A sound.
A sound that shouldn't be there.
Rustle... rustle...
Something was moving, dragging across the floor.
No. This can't be happening...
After spending so much time here, I knew that sound all too well.
Rustle... rustle...
Snakes. It was the siren crew members!
Damn it, what's going on? There wasn't supposed to be any feeding tonight—so why are they here now?
And something was off. The rustling was getting closer, but the cargo hold remained shrouded in darkness.
The sound... it wasn't just one of them. Why hadn't they lit any lamps?
Questions and doubts bombarded my mind, but there was no time to dwell on them.
If I finished unlocking the cage now and managed to hide, I might avoid being discovered. But if they inspected the cage and found it open, my entire plan would fall apart.
On the other hand, if I missed this chance, I might not be able to open the lock later. Worse, the crew would soon return in full force.
I thought of the crew captain, capable of wrestling the beast with brute strength, and the shipmaster, whose cursed eye could see through any deception.
If it came to that, even freeing every cage wouldn't give me a chance to escape.
Gritting my teeth, I felt panic clawing at the edges of my resolve.
Damn it! What do I do now?