This time, I felt the weight of my ignorance — and it infuriated me more than anything. Worse still, I couldn't understand.
And from what they'd said, Bellian had kept something crucial from me.This wasn't just another chamber.
ㅤ
The door opened again — and two figures stepped through. Or rather… emerged.
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"So, Hirouong, how's our man holding up?"
"Good as new. Put up a fight for a while, but you know how it is — one more dose of Exall, and they all end up obedient."
The man who'd spoken — Hirouong — stood tall and proud, not the slightest hint of disgust on his face.In his hands, he held bloodstained chains, and at the end of them, dragged by the neck, was an old man — naked, broken, barely alive. He looked like he'd fought like a lion before collapsing, now kneeling at their mercy.
My whole body trembled.
They enjoyed it — watching this man reduced to a heap of torn flesh at their feet.Emptied of life, waiting for the end.They couldn't be like us.
Revulsion twisted inside me — equal parts horror and the urge to leap forward and stop it.But I…
I was too much of a coward.And even if I'd tried, from where we stood, one wrong move meant falling to my death — without heroism, without meaning.
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"You call that alive? You've had your fun, huh? Maybe too much?"
"Nah, I could've done better, you know?"
The leader stomped his foot once — and silence fell instantly.
"Well, well, well. This has been entertaining. But as much as I'm enjoying the show, the sheep back in the village might start acting up if we don't return soon."He grinned, voice dripping with sadistic pleasure.
"Count on it, Raziuzs."
One of the lackeys kicked the old man — but the body didn't react.
"Tell us which one's a Crysitias."
"Do it," growled Hirouong, striking him again.
"You should've told us long ago. You knew we'd find out eventually. Around here, it's the Shengon that makes the rules."
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"…"
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"TALK, DAMN YOU!"
He yanked the chains, the old man's torn back glistening red — but the man didn't cry, didn't even flinch.
I couldn't believe it.How could someone inflict so much cruelty — over something so trivial? Torturing a man for a chamber… for a few creatures…
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I was lost.
ㅤ
Bellian, on the other hand, looked utterly unbothered — as if he'd seen this a thousand times.His face was unreadable, that same quiet malice flickering in his eyes.And I — I was ashamed. Ashamed that I couldn't even scream at him to do something.
He was focused — perfectly still. The same intensity I'd seen when he'd fought earlier.
ㅤ
Even from up here, I could hear the sound of chains twisting against skin.
"Listen here, you bastard. You know what happens if you don't talk."
"…"
"It'd be a shame, wouldn't it?"
"… N-not my s-son…" the man croaked, voice barely a whisper.
"For a second, I thought you'd killed him already, Hirouong," said Raziuzs, his tone sharp, commanding — enough to freeze everyone in place.
"Ahaha… Don't worry, I'm not that reckless."
Then, with trembling fingers, the old man pointed weakly at one of the crystals buried in the ground.
I didn't know how he could tell which was which — but the instant I saw where he was pointing, dread clawed up my throat.
"There you go," said Raziuzs, smirking. "See? Was that so hard?" He kicked him again.
"Trash. They all talk about courage, and in the end, they crumble the moment they have to choose between pride and pain."
He stepped toward the crystal.
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"That's what you think," murmured Bellian.
ㅤ
They didn't question the old man's answer for even a second.And as Raziuzs crouched down to grab the crystal, Bellian's pale face split into a grin — cold and sharp.
It was as if something inhuman was sitting beside me.
As if this entire scene… was part of his design.
ㅤ
☗
ㅤ
When Raziuzs finally pulled the crystal free with a grunt, his grin dissolved instantly — replaced by a flash of raw, horrified disbelief.
For the first time, he looked afraid.
Because what came out of the ground wasn't a Crysitias.
It wasn't anything Bellian had hunted before.
It was the embodiment of danger — a living trap designed to punish greed itself.
The ground rippled like a wounded beast — a giant, writhing root covered in cracked bark and rows upon rows of gnashing maws, shrieking as it emerged from the depths.
Raziuzs dropped it and leapt back—
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But it was already too late.
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"AAAAARGHHH!"
"NNNNGH!!"
"AAAAAAH!!"
"ROAAAAAAH!!"
ㅤ
The maws screamed in unison, shaking the entire chamber. The ground split open, pillars trembled, and the floor began to collapse.
"You who believe yourselves the world," rasped the old man, eyes blazing with unnatural light, "know that your intoxication will always be condemned."
"The bastard tricked us!!" roared Hirouong.
ㅤ
Raziuzs drew a dagger marked with a coiled serpent around a triangle — and without hesitation, plunged it into the old man's throat.One quick, brutal motion.The corpse flew backward, swallowed whole by the abyss below.
Cold. Precise. Merciless.
Then, one by one, the pillars began to crumble — until ours started to crack.
I realized if we didn't move now, we'd be buried too.
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"Bellian, we have to go! The pillar's collapsing!"
He didn't answer. Just smiled, that same unnerving smile — watching the chaos below like a spectator in his own theatre.
He was enjoying it.
Triumphant.
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"BELLIAAAN!!!" I screamed.
"Mär."
"?!"
"I'll tell you why I brought us to this pillar."
"What— now?! Are you insane—"
"As I told you earlier, knowledge is the most powerful weapon there is."
"What are you talking about?!"
ㅤ
"This is where the true crystals lie — the ones I needed."
ㅤ
"Only above this soil do the real Crysitias dwell. The rest? Those scattered elsewhere? They're decoys — part of one greater being."
"W-what…?"
"They call it the Worm of Crision," he said, excitement tightening his fists. "It's worth a lifetime of wealth. Hundreds of thousands of glams — but beyond its riches, it's unique. One of a kind. Its potential rivals its rarity."
He turned toward me, his smile now nothing short of terrifying.
"With it, everything can finally fall into the hands of true justice."
"Huh?"
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