{Chapter Twenty-One} I Was Forced to Do This
Time: «Before Edward and the Owl's fight.»
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
The sound of multiple footsteps echoed through the space.
The Owl and his men had already begun moving through the sewers.
Among the men, Crick kept walking, his eyes fixed on the Owl.
I must be careful. I can smell death emanating from him—it's worse than the stench that clung to Kyros, Crick thought.
As he walked, half-distracted, he muttered to himself: "Why am I working with scoundrels like these anyway?"
He sighed quietly, thinking: This isn't the time for nonsense. I just need to survive and get the money.
Crick and the men around him continued under the guidance of the handsome man called the Owl.
Behind them, in the beautiful house, the girls Crick had freed were making their way to escape when one of them stopped.
It was the girl with pink hair and blue eyes, vast as an ocean. Her long pink lashes framed her pale skin—paler than necessary. She wore a worn, ordinary dress that seemed too large for her.
"Wait, maybe we should go back for the blonde girl," the pink-haired girl said, looking behind her, arms crossed over her chest.
The group of girls paused, staring at her in surprise. One of them spoke: "Have you lost your mind? They'll catch us if we go back. And that fat bastard is still in the room."
The girl sighed, holding her arm at her side: "But… if we were in her place, wouldn't we want someone to come back for us?"
Silence fell over the girls standing in the hall.
The girl who had spoken looked at the others and nodded.
"All right, yes. We would want that… so we'll go back with you."
A smile spread across the pink-haired girl's face. The speaker continued, eyes serious: "But keep in mind, if we sense danger, we'll run—even if we can't save her. Agreed?"
The pink-haired girl nodded quickly, and they turned to return to Kyros' room.
When they arrived and opened the door, their eyes widened.
The blonde girl lay on the floor, covered in blood, while Kyros was battered, his body full of wounds.
The pink-haired girl rushed to the blonde, placing her delicate hand on her chest to feel her pulse.
She was alive.
The blonde girl's heart beat under the pink-haired girl's hand, making her smile.
Tears ran down the girls' faces:
"She… she avenged us."
"I would have regretted it if we hadn't come back to save her."
"She's brave!"
The girls lifted the blonde and began moving, smiles and tears staining their grimy faces.
They took side streets, exiting through the side door of the house.
Their escape was easy because all of Kyros' men had already gone with the Owl to inspect the threat coming from the sewers.
Outside, the street was filled with foul smells, merchants, and stalls.
"How can we escape without being captured by another slave trader?" the girls' leader asked.
The girls exchanged glances.
"I have a plan. Just wipe the blood from my face."
They turned to see the source of the voice: the blonde girl had awakened.
She sat upright and said: "I'm Caroline. I have a plan to escape. I'll create chaos in the market so we can slip away unseen."
The black-haired girl leading the others said: "All right, Caroline. And how exactly will you create chaos in the market? Shall we make them fight over who gets us? Personally, I'd prefer to—"
"Yes. I'll make them fight over me," Caroline interrupted.
The girls stared at her in clear astonishment.
But the blonde paid no attention.
She stood, wiped her face with water from a nearby bucket, swapped her blood-stained dress with another girl, and stepped into the street.
There was no light except the torches scattered around.
Most people wore cloaks.
Merchants shouted over their goods.
Slaves groaned silently as their masters whipped them.
The air smelled of rusty iron and spices.
As Caroline stepped onto the street, all eyes turned to the wandering beauty.
Some cloaked men whispered:
"Where did she come from…"
"Maybe a runaway slave… but she looks healthy. Perhaps one of the fools who heard about the underground city. I didn't expect this trick to actually bring people here to become slaves…"
Caroline heard the whispers, but her face betrayed nothing: I want to burn you all.
Without delay, a muscular man approached her, a wide grin on his face.
"Are you lost, beautiful? I can help you."
Caroline looked at him, making her face appear sweet, and said loudly so everyone could hear: "Are you the strongest person here, sir? I'm looking for the strongest person here."
The man pounded his chest with his fist: "Yes! Of course, I am the strongest here!"
At his declaration, murmurs spread.
Immediately, another large man with a scar on his hand emerged from the crowd.
"Oh? You're the strongest? Prove it, bastard."
The two exchanged challenging glances, and soon a large fight erupted.
The battle grew more chaotic, smashing merchant tables and colliding with bystanders.
From a narrow alley, the girls watched Caroline and her actions. Without wasting time, they ran toward the sewer entrance.
After a long run, they reached the tunnel.
Caroline noticed their gaze and said: "What? Did you forget women can influence society a lot?"
The girls laughed as they entered the dark tunnel.
About a kilometer inside the tunnel,
Crick noticed the path led to a darker area.
He tried to restrain himself but failed.
"L… Lord Owl. Could you tell us why we're leaving the torch-lit path?" he asked.
Everyone stopped.
The Owl halted and turned to look at Crick.
"What do you mean? I'm leading you to where the man disappeared."
Crick replied: "But this isn't a patrolled area. What's your goal in all this?"
A tense silence followed, then the Owl smiled and snapped his fingers.
At that moment, one man stabbed another beside him, and after the second fell dead, he stood again, turning toward the others.
The remaining men began to retreat slowly and nervously.
Most drew their weapons, rushing at the men whose faces had gone blank.
They stabbed, but to no effect.
The strange men stood again and again.
The number of intact men began to dwindle.
Crick also lunged into the fight, cutting the heads off the strange men and noting they did not stand again.
He shouted: "Cut off their heads! Aim for the heads!"
But no one answered.
They were all dead.
Before he realized it, the Owl had already approached Crick, punching him, then smiling.
"You're clever. Because fewer puppets remain under my control."
Crick tried to attack, but his feet wouldn't move.
Many puppets held his legs and arms, restraining him, while the Owl advanced.
"It was difficult to meet the conditions to activate my ability, and you make the number of puppets drop this much? You're annoying. Annoying rat. Even though I forgave your rescuing the girls, you reward me like this?"
The Owl drew his sword and slowly cut Crick's throat.
Crick coughed blood, trying to breathe but could not.
His throat filled with blood. Then…
Memories began flooding his mind:
A woman with copper hair and green eyes smiling at him, holding a small blonde child laughing and repeating: "Daddy, daddy, hahaha."
Tears streamed endlessly from his eyes.
Ah, now I know why I wanted to save that girl. She… she resembles my daughter…
These were Crick's last thoughts before his eyes went blank, leaving him a puppet like the other men.
The Owl sheathed his sword and continued walking.