I Thought It Was the Monster Duke's Fake Sedative - Chapter 3

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 3
The power coursing through his body began to slip beyond his control.
Edward knew this sensation well.
It was the harbinger of Rampage.
‘…I didn’t receive enough Purification after all.’
He should have endured the revulsion and accepted more.
Cepina’s Purification always left him feeling this way.
Like hundreds of earthworms crawling across his own skin—a nauseating, sickening feeling.
The priests had chuckled obscenely, suggesting the Duke simply hadn’t yet discovered the pleasures of women, but Edward disagreed.
‘There’s no confusion there.’
Because….
Bang!
A sharp crack interrupted his thoughts—the sound of armor tearing.
The fasteners had torn free under the pressure of the power surging from within his body.
Edward’s eyes went hard.
He stood there, fighting to contain the surging power like a tidal wave, but it was no use.
‘This won’t do.’
If he Rampaged here, there would be casualties.
It was late, when most slept—the damage would be catastrophic.
‘I need to endure this, get back, and have Cepina perform Purification….’
Hack.
His lungs suddenly inflated as though about to tear.
Beneath the hidden armor, he felt scales beginning to prickle across his skin.
It was a sign he had waited too long to return to Cepina.
Edward moved quickly.
‘…Outside.’
If he had to Rampage, at least beyond the Temple walls the damage would be contained.
There would be casualties when they moved to suppress him, yes, but he could buy enough time for Cepina to arrive.
Grit.
His vision flooded with red even as his jaw clenched.
The cool night air of the Garden he’d finally reached offered no relief against the coming Rampage.
Crack!
“…….”
His fingertips, when he looked down at them, gleamed like dragon’s claws, darkening to black.
Soon a terrible sensation—the feeling of losing control of his own body—crept across every inch of him.
It was the sensation Edward hated more than anything else.
Grit.
His jaw tightened further, and tendons rose along his chin.
‘Don’t make me laugh.’
If he couldn’t move according to his will, then perhaps….
Mustering his last shred of reason, Edward drew his power inward, directing it at his own limbs.
‘I have to destroy them….’
He was about to unleash his full force against himself.
“Aaahhh!”
Bang!
Something plummeted from above and crashed onto Edward’s chest.
* * *
A few minutes earlier, in the Underground Dungeon beneath the Temple.
“Hey! You damned thing!”
Clang, clang!
The Guard who swaggered in deliberately struck the bars of the cell with menacing force.
“Feeding time!”
The Consumables locked in this dungeon often forgot their place and resisted, demanding release, so intimidation like this was necessary to keep order.
‘The Temple feeds and houses them for life!’
So naturally they should surrender their Spiritual Power without complaint.
Yet still they dared to voice grievances about their treatment—it was intolerable.
So he crushed the seeds of rebellion, oppressed them, squeezed them dry….
And after repeating this process, only one thing remained.
‘Spiritual Power bearers are rare these days, so what can you do.’
The Temple had to maintain its power, and with it came his own rising authority.
“Tsk.”
The Guard smacked his lips and shoved a moldy piece of bread through the bars carelessly.
‘At least the last one’s been well-behaved. Could be worse.’
The final Consumable—whose name he’d never bothered to learn—was always quiet and utterly unremarkable.
Yet despite that, her Spiritual Power ran quite high. No, significantly higher than the others.
Which was the only reason she’d lasted this long, still yielding her Spiritual Power….
‘But.’
Why was she so quiet today?
She’d always been quiet, true, but usually when he brought the bread, he’d hear her tearing into it desperately.
“Hey! I said eat!”
Bang-bang!
The instant he rapped the bars and peered inside.
The Guard went rigid.
“…Huh?”
A woman bound in chains lay sprawled on the floor, limp as a corpse.
As if she were dead….
“…What, what is this!”
As the flustered Guard’s eyes darted about the cell, he spotted moldy bread scattered near the prostrate woman.
It was the bread he’d distributed last night.
‘Now that I think about it!’
Wasn’t that the one who choked yesterday and nearly died?
“Damn it!”
Had she choked again while he was gone?!
This was bad. He had no idea how long she’d been like this.
Worse still, she was his responsibility. If something went wrong, he’d be the one punished.
A chill ran down his spine, and gooseflesh erupted across his forearms.
The Temple was known for its mercy, but also for the ruthlessness of its punishments.
The Guard fumbled for his keys and unlocked the cell door.
“Damn thing! If you’re dead, I’ll kill you myself!”
He came rushing over, barely aware of what he was saying.
Grab!
The moment his hand closed on the woman’s shoulder.
Crack!
The world exploded in a deafening sound and spun upside down.
The last thing the Guard saw before losing consciousness was—
A woman’s face twisted into a wickedly cruel smile.
“You bastard….”
Thud.
And then the Guard’s head drooped.
“Phew!”
With that, a heavy Brick tumbled from Lucy’s clenched fist onto the ground with a heavy thump.
It had been wedged into the cell wall.
‘That one brick cost me everything.’
She’d barely eaten and spent all this time scraping at the wall with her skeletal hands.
The only reason she’d gotten away with it was because she was naturally quiet—no one suspected a thing.
“He’s not dead, is he?”
Apparently he had a thick skull; thankfully, he wasn’t bleeding.
“Khhhhh.”
In fact, a moment later, he even started to snore.
‘So he’s just asleep.’
“Then….”
Lucy quickly patted down the Guard’s waist.
The Key wasn’t hard to find.
Click!
With the chains unlocked, Lucy stretched languidly, spreading her arms wide as she stood.
Like a scene from some famous prison-break film she’d seen in her past life before possession.
A smile bloomed unbidden on her lips.
‘Goodbye, everyone!’
I’m casting off every shackle and constraint this world has to offer….
“…Not yet, though.”
There were mountains yet to climb before escape was possible.
Lucy would have to scale every one of them, so she moved quickly and slipped out of the dungeon.
Patter-patter-patter!
Running at all made her dizzy from hunger, but there was one advantage to her situation.
‘This body is basically optimized for escape.’
Small and skeletal as she was, she could slip through any passage undetected.
With so little weight, her footfalls made almost no sound.
Lucy staggered with dizziness but pressed forward at speed.
“Good—let’s get outside!”
If she didn’t hurry, someone would notice her absence.
The way her hand had burned moments ago….
‘Cepina must have been performing Purification on the Duke.’
The chains binding her were tools for extracting Spiritual Power, so the moment they came free, that power would have been severed too.
‘She’ll find it suspicious and send someone down to the dungeon.’
So she had to move faster still….
Bark!
The sound of barking reached Lucy just as she stepped onto the grass of the Garden.
“Oh no!”
Goosebumps prickled across Lucy’s scalp.
Bark! Bark, bark-bark!
The cries came from the guard dogs that protected the Temple.
“What’s wrong with them, suddenly like this?”
“Is there a thief?”
The dogs began to mill about, catching her scent.
Lucy, tense as a bowstring, scanned her surroundings and spotted a tree.
It didn’t look particularly sturdy, but at least she could climb it.
‘I’ll hide up there!’
Without another thought, Lucy scrambled up the trunk.
Her palms scraped raw and her breath came in gasps, but there was no giving up now.
Bark, bark!
As the dogs that had come running sniffed around below, cold sweat beaded on Lucy’s forehead.
‘Please, please go away!’
She clung to the branch, praying, when it happened.
Dong, dong, dong, dong—
“…This is…!”
“The Emergency Bell!”
The bell from the main building rang out in frantic succession.
Someone had discovered her escape after all.
“Go!”
Bark, bark, bark!
The guards led the dogs away in the opposite direction and took off running.
Within moments, the area fell silent.
All that remained was the distant, urgent tolling of the Emergency Bell.
“So now….”
Lucy was just beginning to move, pressing down her racing heart, when it happened.
Crack.
Wait—
An ominous sound, and her body tilted.
The weak branch, unable to bear even Lucy’s slight weight, snapped clean through.
“Aaaah!”
Curse this miserable branch!
Lucy squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for impact, when—
Thunk!
‘Thunk?’
The sound was strange for hitting the ground.
When she tentatively reached out her hand, she felt something hard and warm.
Thump-thump-thump-thump.
A strong, rhythmic vibration emanating from it as well.
‘The ground….’
Or was it?
A glimmer.
The moment her eyes opened, what confronted her was….
Blazing red eyes glowing between the gaps of armor.
Lucy’s mouth fell open, and the words tumbled out before she could stop them.
“…Hello?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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