Somewhere underground.
Drak had kept himself calm this entire time. He had been hotheaded with his father, but the situation he was in demanded a great deal of levelheadness, that is, if he wanted to escape alive. But he wasn't so sure today, as he stood in a room before a cowering woman. A human woman.
He stared at her blankly, failing to make sense of what he was seeing. When he was dragged away from his prison cell, he had braced himself for slave labor.
The guard had said, 'Go in. You'll know what to do. If you face any difficulties, there's something to help you too.'
Drak hadn't understood those cryptic words at the time.
Why will they bother to give a slave any tools to make the work easier?
Taking small steps toward the woman, his brain was still struggling to piece the puzzle together.
It was a fairly medium-sized room with a bed at the center. A pair of shackles were pinned on the wall against either side of the bed, their ends meeting the woman's wrists and binding her freedom. A bedside table stood steady, containing a vial and two small cups.
Terror flashed across the woman's eyes as she pressed herself back into the bed as far as she could. Tears stained her cheeks, murmuring something incomprehensible. He stopped in his path so as to not aggravate her further.
"Who…who are you?" He asked, his voice as gentle as possible.
How did this human enter the Demon Realm? What is she doing here?
His expression fell.
These people are also smuggling in humans for slavery? Will this not make the Human Realm like…extremely angry with us?
But Drak still didn't grasp the crux of his predicament.
What are we supposed to do here? Why is she chained like that?
He hurried forward and studied the shackles, but there was no way to free her from them. The woman gasped with this sudden proximity and scooted farther, panicked.
"No, no. I'm not doing anything to hurt you. I'm just looking at these chains."
She trembled, tears continuing to slip down her cheeks but with a flicker of confusion in her eyes this time. Drak's gaze fell to the bedside table. He picked up the strange vial and took a sniff - then pulled back, stunned.
The distinct scent of the pleasure potion was exactly the same as the one he had experienced in Mordokk during his temporary stay. Demons and demonesses, both alike, used a very effective medicine that helped induce certain uncontrollable physical sensations. He knew exactly what it led to. At one point, a shady seller had tried to sell him one vial too, but he had refused without hesitation. The whole concept made his stomach sick.
What is this medicine doing here!?
His gaze then alternated between the vial and the woman. The guard's 'advice' came to his mind.
No…That cannot be…
T-They cannot be expecting us to do that…
—
Strange voices echoed in Judith's ears as a tearing pain surged through her body. She could neither speak nor move. The last she remembered was being swept away by a massive tide as the cave collapsed on top of them. Then it went all dark.
"Wake up…"
"Can you hear me?"
Am I going to heaven? Or hell…She dazedly thought, her consciousness slipping away slowly.
A sudden pressure exerted on her chest, and her random, inebriated flow of thoughts broke apart when a force of air knocked up her lungs. The water that had filled her chest surged to her throat - and with a sudden jerk, she coughed out a mouthful of it, her body twisting with a painful spasm. Her eyes forced open. The dark world had brightened again, albeit with a shadow looming over her.
She peered closely into the pair of deep blue eyes watching her. A demon was leaning over her, hands pressing down on her chest rhythmically.
"Can you hear me!?"
Judith could. Barely. But her muscles were too torn apart to respond. Her body ached and burned as if it was on fire. Heat and chill were knocking her senseless at the same time.
"Can you stop savoring the poison in your body and help your lady here?" The demon named Silas asked, breathless and annoyed.
Judith could easily guess the person he was talking to. Her gaze drifted to Finnian, whose body convulsed with a searing pain just like hers. The only difference being that he was relishing every moment of it. Blood dripped down the side of his lips and he trembled with chills, yet an ecstacy glistened in his eyes.
"God has finally heard my prayers. This is true love…" he coughed another bout of blood.
Silas closed his eyes.
Why did I have to get trapped with this pain-loving psycho?
The cave's collapse had separated the group of six. Judith, Silas and Finnian had washed upon some distant stretch of Lake Morveth's shore. There was no sign of Zerath, Vivia or Arzan anywhere. But there was no time to go looking for them - for Judith and Finnian's condition kept deteriorating further.
Finnian dragged himself towards Judith and studied her ashen pallor. The color of her skin was slowly taking the hue of a grim bluish cast, same as his.
"The poison is going to kill us."
Silas genuinely admired Finnian's pain tolerance and his ability to give coherent speech in this situation. Judith looked as though keeping her eyes open was already a significant effort.
"Do you have anything on you? Potion, herbs, anything?"
His lips quivered with a smile. "I'm not a doctor."
Judith convulsed yet again, the poison ripping her insides. Silas swept his gaze over the surrounding forest.
"There might be some herbs in this forest. Tell me what they look like and I'll find them. We've got to do something or she's going to die!"
Well, you too, but I guess you'll be perfectly content with that.
"Not us. You. You're the only one who could save us."
"That's what I'm asking! Where do I find the herbs in this forest that-"
"No…" he trembled with an unmistakable glee.
"Herbs are not going to help. Spear…stab us with your spear."