I feel like my head is getting split open.
Ash grumbled inwardly, pressing his eyes shut as the headache pulsed harder, like sothing was hamring against his skull from the inside.
Right... I died so many tis. Around ten, maybe... I don't really know. But that bastard was truly heartless.
He actually killed over and over again without a shred of hesitation.
Cursing Solareth in his thoughts, Ash slowly blinked his eyes open, the blurry world around him coming into focus.
The very first thing that greeted his senses—
Saliva.
E..
Ash barely had ti to react before the warm, sticky liquid slipped into his mouth, making him gag. His body jerked upward on reflex, his chest heaving as he began coughing violently.
COUGH! COUGH!!
His entire body trembled as the coughing fit took over, and to make matters worse, he even ended up vomiting a little, the bitter taste stinging his throat as his stomach churned.
After a few seconds passed and his breathing sowhat cald down, he finally lifted his head, his gaze narrowing at the creature responsible for that disgusting ambush.
His eyes burned with anger and disbelief, ready to explode at the next second—but as soon as he actually turned and got a proper look, a forced smile awkwardly blood on his face.
"Haha... It wasn't really my taste, so don't take it to heart," he said with a weak chuckle, trying to play it off.
But deep inside, a cold sweat was already trailing down his back.
Because inside the small, dimly lit, cave-like room, there was a man who looked like he was in his twenties, casually sitting on a slow-swinging wooden chair.
He wore a simple, plain white robe—sothing you wouldn't give a second glance at—and from the surface, he looked completely normal, like an everyday human being.
That is, if you ignored his eyes.
They shimred like flowing liquid, made of every color imaginable, constantly shifting and swirling like lted rainbows caught in a never-ending dance.
On his lap sat a small unicorn, no bigger than a dog. Its eyes were half-closed in contentnt, and from the corner of its mouth, thick strands of saliva were still dripping—as if it had just discovered a delicious snack it didn't want to share.
Ash looked between the two of them—the so-called father and son duo—and felt an overwhelming urge to scream or curse out loud.
He's not going to kill again just because I puked on the floor, right...?
But before Ash could even finish that thought in his mind, the man suddenly spoke in a calm, curious voice that felt both casual and strangely probing.
"No matter how many tis I see you," he began, tilting his head slightly as if observing sothing curious, "you really are unusual. I can't read anything from you."
There was a pause, and then his gaze sharpened, the rainbow eyes glinting faintly in the dim light.
"Nothing at all."
Hearing that, Ash just stayed silent and began looking around the room, doing his best to ignore the question that had just been asked.
He noticed it was a small room made entirely out of rough stone and rock.
Are we underground...? Or maybe inside so kind of mountain...?
The lighting was decent enough, probably due to a few small mana lamps—or sothing that looked like mana lamps—placed neatly in each corner of the room.
The space itself was plain and simple, without any unnecessary decorations or flashy ornants. It felt practical, quiet, and a little eerie.
"Are you ignoring now?"
Solareth's voice rang out, calm but sharp, as he watched Ash glance around the room without bothering to reply.
"N-No, I an, why would I ignore your question?" Ash replied quickly, trying to sound casual. "The thing is… actually, even I don't really know why you can't read my mind, like you say you usually can."
Hearing that, a strange and heavy silence settled over the room. For a mont, there was just one human and two unicorns, staring at each other in quiet observation.
"Haha… haha…"
Ash suddenly let out a soft laugh.
But then he stopped.
Wait... did I just laugh?
He felt confused, a little surprised at himself for showing emotions, but knowing there was a literal monster sitting across from him, he made sure not to show anything unusual in his expression or behavior.
"Looking at you now... you actually look more like a normal human than before," Solareth said calmly. "And well, everyone has their own secrets. I won't dig deeper."
Looks like he figured out I was lying... Does he have so kind of lie detector or what?
Then again, if he can read minds, a lie detector probably isn't even worth ntioning in comparison…
"Thank you for sparing , sir," Ash said with forced politeness. "I honestly didn't know you were here. If I had known, I would've taken a different path altogether."
"I won't bother you again," he added as he slowly stood up. He noticed he was still wearing the sa clothes as before, except for his missing mask. That gave him so relief—it ant not much ti had passed.
"Please, just tell the way out. I'll leave quietly and I won't tell a single soul about anything I saw here."
Solareth tilted his head slightly, looking at Ash with those swirling, rainbow-colored eyes.
"Who said you're allowed to leave?"
Ash's entire body went still.
What the hell did he just say...?
"W-What does that an?" Ash asked hesitantly, his voice shaky and uncertain.
"I checked your entire body," Solareth said calmly, "but I still can't find the source of your undying power. And you might not know this... but my child is currently in a growth phase."
As soon as Ash heard the first part of that sentence, he instinctively knew that whatever ca next would probably be a nightmare.
"Even though I couldn't find anything obvious in your body, when I killed you repeatedly earlier... I did catch a faint scent—one that's nearly impossible to detect. It was the sll of life force. Extrely subtle, but definitely there. I don't know how you're hiding it, but I'm sure that's what's helping you recover and regenerate."
Shit. What kind of nose does this guy have...? Is he a damn dog?
No wait—his kid was basically like a puppy, right? No wonder he's got that freakish sense of sll…
Ash felt the urge to start cursing out loud right then and there, but Solareth wasn't done yet.
"So," he continued, "while you were asleep, I tried cutting your body open again... and without fail, you healed. Then I tasted your blood, and do you know what it felt like?"
He paused, his rainbow-colored eyes glowing with intrigue.
"Your blood... it's like a stream of Holy Water."
"Isn't it fascinating?" Solareth said with a glimr of curiosity in his tone.
"A human whose blood resembles holy water of elves. Of course, it's diluted with your mortal blood but still for us beasts, it's practically a panacea."
Ignoring his words about his blood being panacea, Ash asked in a low, careful voice, as if trying to confirm sothing unthinkable.
"Does that an you cut down while I was... unconscious?"
"Yes," Solareth replied, without a hint of hesitation.
"With what?" Ash narrowed his eyes.
"With what? What do you an?"
"I an, what did you use to cut ?"
"Oh, of course, with a knife."
"…Do you even know how to use one?"
"No."
"So, you're telling … you cut with a knife, even though you didn't know how to use it properly?"
"Well, does it matter? Even if you're cut, don't you heal anyway?"
The room fell into another uncomfortable silence, heavy and tense.
This damn bastard... he cut open like I was so kind of lab rat. If I ever get strong enough, I swear I'll slice him into tiny pieces myself...
But first, I need to get out of here.
"Just tell where the exit is. I'll leave." Ash said firmly, his expression now hardened and serious.
But Solareth rely shook his head.
"Didn't I already tell you? My child is in his growth phase. You might not know this, but I was planning to go out and search for herbs across the continent to help his developnt... and then you showed up. Your blood—it's exactly what I need."
"Just feed my child your blood daily. When he's fully grown, I'll let you go."
Ash stared at him in disbelief. "So, what you're saying is... you want to beco your kid's food."
"Not you, your blood. Though, if necessary, your flesh would work just as well," Solareth replied with a cheerful smile.
This goddamn lunatic...
Ash took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm, his hands clenched tight.
"And how long will it take for him to grow up?"
"About five years," Solareth said thoughtfully. "Though, if he consus your blood regularly, he might mature even faster."
Five... whole years...
A cold glint passed through Ash's eyes as he growled, "I don't have ti for this bullshit. Your kid is alive and fine, but there's soone out there—soone dying—waiting for right now. I can't waste even a day here."
Solareth's eyes narrowed slightly. A strange light flickered in them as he replied,
"I know you're telling the truth. But I can't just let you go like this… this is a once-in-a-lifeti opportunity for my child."
Hearing that, Ash went quiet. He knew no amount of pleading or logic would work on soone like this. He wasn't Naruto—he couldn't just bust out a Talk-no-Jutsu and magically fix everything with a speech.
After a few monts of thought, Ash looked up and asked seriously, "Do you know healing?"
"Of course I do," Solareth replied casually, raising an eyebrow as if wondering why that even mattered.
Ash's eyes narrowed slightly. "Can you remove the entanglent of life force that's been corrupted with demonic energy?"
The mont those words left his mouth, a sharp chill pierced through the room.
Solareth's expression darkened as an invisible wave of pressure spread from his body. His eyes, once calm, now glead with a dangerous light.
The room itself began to tremble ever so slightly, as if the space around them had beco unstable.
Ash felt his entire body freeze under the crushing weight of it, as if sothing ancient and angry had been awakened.
"What did you just say?" Solareth asked, his voice slow, low, and filled with a terrifying stillness.
Before the pressure could explode and cause actual destruction, the door to the room suddenly swung open with a loud thud, followed by an irritated voice that echoed through the walls:
"IF SOTHING BREAKS IN THERE, YOU'RE SLEEPING OUTSIDE FOR A MONTH!!"
The tension in the room vanished instantly, as if soone had cut a thread holding it all together.
A woman stepped into the room—young, perhaps in her mid-twenties, with flowing white hair that shimred in the light, sharp violet eyes that seed to miss nothing, and a small horn on her forehead that glowed faintly with rainbow hue.
Despite her beauty, there was a certain sharpness in her gaze, like soone used to handling dangerous situations with authority.
"I'm sorry," Solareth quickly apologized, his voice quiet and respectful, though his eyes remained locked onto Ash, still carrying a chilling glare beneath the surface.
"I don't care. Just give my child," the woman said flatly, walking forward with a sense of purpose and no hesitation.
Solareth obeyed without complaint, gently lifting the baby unicorn and handing it over to her.
Before she turned to leave, she looked at Ash—just a brief glance—then at Solareth, and finally spoke in a calm but firm voice.
"You'd better listen to his story. Don't jump to conclusions too quickly. Not everything is as it seems."
And with those words, she walked out, closing the door behind her with a quiet thud that echoed through the silence she left behind.
The room fell into stillness once again.
***
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