n

n

n“……Alastair?”

nAfter a long time, I opened my eyes again. The warmth surrounding my body just a while ago disappeared. I was leaning against the wall.

nI was alone.

nWhat about Alastair?

nSurely he was with me.

n“……Serina.”

nIt was Alastair’s voice.

nI turned my head in the direction of his call and saw Alastair eyeing the weapons on display.

nI didn’t see him before… When did he go out of the cage?

nAlastair came to me with a well-forged ax with a sharp edge.

n

n

nHe grabbed the iron cage door and opened it. “Serina.”

n“…… What’s wrong, Alastair?”

n“I love you.”

nIt was a sweet phase.

nWhat happened after that wasn’t sweet at all.

nHe raised his ax high as if touching the ceiling, then lowered it.

nA flash of silver passed through my eyes.

nRed sprayed all over the place.

nThe ax cut me deeply as if my body was going to split in half.

nI was deeply wounded. I vomited blood. Red stained at the hem of my dress.

n“Ah·······?”

nI couldn’t figure out my situation, so a stupid sound flowed from my mouth.

nFor a moment, I was in a panic.

nIt’s different from the pain I’ve felt so far.

nIt hurts.

nIt hurts so much.

nI feel like I’m going to die.

nMy mind was splitting apart from the pain.

nIt was so painful that I could neither bite nor say anything.

nI looked up at him, holding onto my abdomen, where trembling arms were trying to hold back the pouring thick blood.

n‘I love you, Serina,’

nHe was smiling.

nHe swung the ax again.

nMy head was completely crushed by the ax blade.

nSurprisingly, I still didn’t die.

nI should have died a long time ago.

nProbably from the moment he stroked my abdomen.

nSadly, I wasn’t allowed to ask questions.

nThe ax flew again.

nAlastair was cutting my body into pieces with the brutal ax.

nI couldn’t cry out due to the unstoppable pain, just hoping for an end to what he was doing.

nIn the midst of the blood, a young Alastair approached me with bandages. He whispered as he hugged a piece of my shattered head and sulked.

n“I love you, but why don’t you love me?”

nThe blood that ran out of my head got into my eyes and started to sting.

nAs soon as I blinked, the young Alastair’s neck was cut open by an ax.

nThe boy’s head fell, limp.

nAnd there was an older Alastair with a big ax staring at me without a word. I could make no sound because my mouth was smashed in and in fragments, but I screamed like crazy inside.

n“······Seri, eh…!”

nI heard a voice calling me urgently.

n“Serina!”

n“……Alastair?”

nAlastair hugged me tightly and cried my name urgently.

nOverlapping his affectionate face, I saw his cruel smile as he slew me before.

n“Aahh·······!”

nI pushed his chest and stepped back from him.

nWhat… What happened?

nNow Alastair wasn’t holding an ax.

nHe was harmless.

nSo what did I see before?

nThe terrible pain is…

nAs Alastair leaned forward, my body quivered.

nIt was due to learned fear.

nHe gradually narrowed his distance with his knees.

nEven though it looked harmless everywhere I looked, I retreated from the fear that I could not easily subdue.

nThe cold iron bars touched my back.

n“……Do not come.”

n“······.”

nHe came up to me despite my rejection.

nHe grabbed my wrist with a careful hand.

nI felt his nails press against my wrist.

nMy heart was plunging to the ground and then flew into the sky.

nYou have to be calm, Serina.

nI kept trying to maintain my reason by biting the inside of my soft mouth.

nNothing was normal from the moment I entered this room.

nAm I finally crazy?

n“Your pulse is fast.”

nHis hand rubs around my wrist.

nHe asked, “What did you see?”

n“What·······?”

n“I woke up because you were gasping painfully… I think I know roughly what happened.”

nHe rubbed my shoulders.

n“Did you see an illusion?”

nWas it an illusion?

nAlastair’s appearance was alien.

nIn addition to that, I saw even a young Alastair…

nBut······.

n“It was not a fantasy. I felt pain.”

n

n

n“It’s a vision. The scent of that candle made me hallucinate too. The sensation of the nightmare is similar to the actual pain.”

nWhen I received his patting and verbal reassurance, I calmed down a little.

nHowever, anxiety soon came back.

nLooking up, my face was distorted in distress.

nI think this is real.

nHe was similar to the Alastair I know.

n“Then you…?”

n“Yeah?”

n“Are you also a hallucination?”

n***

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