CH 171

Chapter 171 – Appearance in the Middle of Distress

“Hmph, then he should have believed in him until the end.” (Bouchi)

I unconsciously let out a despondent sigh at Dragia.

When I had first met Dragia, he had given off the impression of being an overbearing ruler, and now I realized that I was right.

He definitely didn’t trust anyone. I didn’t know how he used to be before. But right now, from the outside, it seemed that Dragia trusted a lot of his subordinates, but that seemed to only be because he deemed them worth using, not because he trusted them from the bottom of his heart. So if even the slightest suspicion or doubt arose, he would swell up like a pufferfish and label them as an enemy.

Ze’ev was a good example of this.

What would I do if one day Sol, Shiki, or one of the others acted in a suspicious manner?

I would probably do everything in my power to look into it and clear the suspicions. I would investigate and investigate further, so I could finally grasp the truth at the end. But if that truth left me with a hard choice, I didn’t think I would hesitate.

But Dragia was different. There was no clear evidence that Ze’ev had committed treason. There was no connection between me and Ze’ev. I heard that Rajie wasn’t even acquainted with Ze’ev. And yet, the suspicion had turned Dragia paranoid and caused him to easily sever his ties with Ze’ev.

Well, it was kind of my fault too. It couldn’t have been avoided.

“…You don’t bear resentment against me?” (Hakumen)

“Hah? Why would I blame you?” (Ze’ev)

“If I hadn’t come here, would you still have been suspected?” (Hakumen)

“Oi, oi, I can’t tell that you’re lying at all. Were you seriously not involved?” (Ze’ev)

Ze’ev seemed to have also assumed that Hakumen was involved. Well, he was right. Dragia’s conjecture was also spot on.

But unfortunately for them, it wasn’t me who was there right now. It was just a [Copy Doll], dressed up as Hakumen. The [Copy Doll] hadn’t been involved in the incident. Therefore, Hakumen technically wasn’t telling a lie.

“Then it really was false accusations…? I’m sorry ‘bout King Dragia. I know it’s not something that can be forgiven with just an apology though.” (Ze’ev)

“…It’s not your place to apologize for this. Besides, rather than thinking for other people right now, shouldn’t you be thinking about yourself? You’ll end up dying at this rate, you know?” (Hakumen)

“Yeah… Grievea’s torture methods are brutal. I don’t even know how I’ve been able to endure it all this time. But…” (Ze’ev)

Blood was flowing down Ze’evs body and dripping onto the cold stone floor. There were the knives that Grievea stabbed into him earlier, but he also seemed to have received some wounds before Hakumen arrived. He was in a pretty bad state.

“Looks like I’m about to reach my limit… Hahah…” (Ze’ev)

I could see that his skin was also turning pale. The injuries he had sustained were definitely reaching the level of fatal wounds.

“Are you content with dying here? You were also falsely accused, were you not?” (Hakumen)

“…I was hoping that he… would change his mind…” (Ze’ev)

Hoping…? This was what would happen when you expected things from others. If I was the one there, I probably would have said that out loud.

At that moment, the masked pervert returned.

“Thanks, for, waiting~~!! Were you tired of waiiiting, my test subjeeects!” (Grievea)

There were a number of shady-looking syringes in his hand.

“Aah, are you cuuurious? This is the Pain-increasing Drug, you seeee. As I said earlieeer, it’s a drug that multiplies the pain you feeel. This is exactly thaaat. Weeell, there’s a 90% chance that it’ll make your blood vessels burst and cause you to die, thoooough.” (Grievea)

Seriously? What kind of mad scientist made this thing? At this point, shouldn’t it just be called the Instant Death Drug?

“…Oi, you sadistic bastard.” (Ze’ev)

“Hmmm? What is it, Ze’ev-saaaan?” (Grievea)

“Well then, well theeeen. Let the final experiment staaa—” (Grievea)

Right as it seemed like the light of Ze’evs life was about to be blown out…

“Gwaaaaah!!”

Suddenly, I heard a shout from the back of the room.

“Ugh, I was just at the good part, tooooo!!” (Grievea)

Then, the door of the prison burst open, and fragments of it flew towards us.

“W-Whaaaat?!” (Grievea)

At that moment, a figure came flying into the room through the doorway at a tremendous speed and arrived in front of Grievea in a mere instant, sending him flying with a punch to the face.

Grievea flew backwards and crashed into the wall.

…Who is it?

The events had happened so quickly and suddenly. I stared at the monitor with intense concentration.

The figure who entered the room seemed to have a bandage wrapped around their face to hide their appearance. After defeating Grievea, the person first approached Ze’ev and removed the restraints on him.

“Sorry I’m late, Ze’ev.” (???)

“You… Damn it, took you long enough.” (Ze’ev)

Ze’ev seemed to know who the person was.

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