Life at the Sumor Castle changed forever ever since the night of the massacre. Out of thirty-eight, only five people survived, including Drac. The ones who survived were the ones who hid, instead of bravely facing the enemy. According to Drac, the act of facing off against an enemy that one can't win against is stupidity, rather than bravery. But the rest of them didnt think so.

Samantha’s daughter Tilly speaks of that night as the worst night of her life and wishes a happy afterlife to the people who gave their lives for her safety. She does it every night before going to bed. And she is joined by the other soldiers who were left alive because they chose to hide instead of march to their deaths.

The five of them have been sleeping in one big room, together as they are scared to sleep alone.

He finds it amusing and wonders about how dumb a person in this world truly is. He could see clearly that the people who laid their lives that day, were stupid, but apparently, he was the only one that shared that sentiment.

Since the night of the massacre, Yasmine, the leader of the group had clearly given them instructions of what their life would be like from that day onwards.

“This place, would become your prison from this day on,” she said, “You are not allowed to go out, or talk to someone from the outside. If you break the rule, your will will be awarded something that even death would be afraid of,” And she had been true to her words.

This place had become their prison. From cleaning to watering the plants, they would do every and anything to keep the castle going. If they were called by any of the three women, they were supposed to go running to them at that instance. It doesn't matter what they were doing, they would have to follow the orders of the people to the mark.

The only plus side of the situation was, that they dont have to cook for these women, or the knights that they had brought with them. From what he had observed, these junkies are so lost in getting high on crystals, that they dont feel like drinking, eating, or pooping. This also made him figure out the reason, why Mikaila never used to drink or eat in front of them.

As far as Jina was concerned, at the start she did not take this all too well. When he returned to the lab with some food and water, she cried in his arms for minutes. But later on, she ignited some resolve in her and decided to help him in keeping an eye on these people.

Soon she got so acquainted with the underground lab, that she found a box similar to the tube room all around the lab. When she inserted the mana stone in them, she found out that this whole could be illuminated through them. The glowing rock when supplied with mana, produced light as intense as the bulb. So she was sorted for the time being and actively started keeping an eye on those women.

As far as he was concerned, his place in the castle didnt change much. The women treated him better than the rest, as he not only kept everything in order but also helped them capture a very important man, Harold.

As it turns out, Harold was a spy for the royal family. More specifically he worked for the crown prince, a guy named Hubert. And that the crown prince was the man who ordered to keep an eye on him. Why, he didnt know, nor did Harold.

This part bamboozled him as well, as he had never met the crown prince, so he didnt know what that man was against him. But this did prove the fact that the royal family knows that something is wrong with this castle and its occupants. And that was not a good thing.

The only great thing was that Mikaila, along with her sister-in-law and niece was in Capital City. With Gregor and Daniel being on the other side of the kingdom, the royals didnt know anything about them…

That day started as any other, he woke up early. Ran across the castle. He had told everyone that this was his way of clearing his mind, and as everyone was losing their mind in the castle, no one questioned him as well. After he was done, he went to the kitchen and pocketed some bread. He had deliberately made his pockets bigger to accommodate huge chunks of bread that he could sneak into the lab.

As usual, he went to the garden to water the plants. The whole process took a lot of time, due to the presence of a garden hose. No one batted an eye at the fact that he took a little bit longer in the ballroom, which was now converted into a greenhouse. He had hidden the cane here a long time ago, so when he came to the greenhouse, he straight away went downstairs, to have a chat with Jina.

When he opened the metal door, he saw Jina waiting for him.

“We have a big problem,” she said immediately as he entered, “And I might have a way to solve everything,”

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Intrigued he asked, “Tell me from the start,”

They sat down, on chairs. Jina constantly shifted in her seat but still started narrating the turn of events of yesterday, “So as usual, these women were hanging in their room. When Yasmine started talking to someone, I could hear a man’s voice…”

Probably Kaisel, he thought.

“.. This man was saying that preparations were done. And now they could move on to the next phase of the plan. He ordered the woman to prep everything for the next phase. I also heard, your name being thrown around. It seems that they are going to use you,” she said, while still twitching on her seat from now and then.

Giving access to the reconnaissance room to Jina was a two-edged sword. He knew that in one way or another, she might hear the women talking about him. And they might reveal his big secret, they might reveal that he had been serving them for a long time. But giving Jina access was a necessary thing. Because he knew that even if she knew, she wouldn't be able to do anything to him.

There was no way out of the place, except for the metal door. Even if she is able to contact the people from the castle, that won't do her any good. It was not like the people in the castle would come and help her or something. She was trapped, in his cage.

He gave her access because he wanted to know what these albinos beings were planning. He was sure that they were planning something crazy and big. But he didnt know what.

So, he figured that if Jina knew the truth about him, she would surely tell him everything that these guys were planning to do to gain his trust. And even if she doesn't know his true face, then even she would tell him everything related to these guys because he asked for it. It was a win-win. Her lying to him was highly unlikely.

He knew that there was no chance of foul play from the albinos because from what he understood about these people, they are not the ones that would kill someone from behind. They have the power, so if they want to kill him they would just do it.

“Do you know their plan?” He asked.

She shook her head, “Not exactly. I was not able to understand what they were talking about. From what I heard, they were talking about crystal yield and something about raising cattle. Didnt fully understand what they were saying,” She twitched in her seat once again.

Crystal yield? So these junkies are planning to grow crystal?

“They were saying raising cattle for crystal yield?” he asked.

“Yeah. I mean, what kind of creature gives out crystal? Am I right?” She said with a smile.

Something is wrong. All these day, she had been miserable, yet she smiled. Today? Is she hiding something?

“What is the solution that you found?” he finally asked.

“Well,” she gulped hard, “I remembered something great… Greg, when came to the castle, he was very wary of you. And as we were old friends, he told me to be wary of you as well. And then Gregor came, and then Greg told me that the old lord gave him something.. I dont remember its name. It was a roll of paper that could send messages to Gregor, with mana. It is something that you mana wielders could use,” she said, twitching in her seat.

Communication Scroll, He realized. He had although never used one before, but he read about them in one of the books that Mikaila gave him. The green ball of fire that Harold received was a product of the communication scroll. He didnt know that Greg had something like that.

“Well… only way to find out,” he said.

“So, I thought that if these guys let you go outside, you can use the scroll to call for help,” she said, twitching in her seat yet once more.

He nodded, while mentally noting her twitch. And it is then that he realized, She has been twitching constantly since we sat down. She is not twitching because of her excitement or fear.. Something is in her back that is making her uncomfortable… She has a knife. He had given her a knife, before so that she could feel more secure.

Her smile today, along with the knife.. Something had happened that had made her believe that she could run away. Probably why she is twitching so uncontrollably because she fears that I would stop her.

Drac mentally cursed himself for making her stay in a place that he had not explored fully. But now things were done.

What should I do now? He thought to himself. Now that the fungus had grown to such a length, he had to cut it down.

He stood up, “Good work,” he said. “I will bring you food in the evening, and I will also look for the communication scroll,” he pushed himself up. And she stood up as well.

Abruptly, he punched her straight in her guts, with his full strength. Breath forcefully escaped Jina’s mouth and she went down on the floor, coughing and clutching her stomach. He then knelt down, and he saw that he was right. She did have a knife with her.

Looking at the small chopping knife that he had given her, he cursed himself, I should have given her a big knife. At least that way, I wouldn't be facing difficulty in chopping her up.

“Why?” she asked in a raspy voice, “Why Drac? I believed in you,”

“Yeah. You did. And so did Martha, and billions of people on Earth. But see here is the thing,” he then knelt down beside her, “You all forget, that in this cruel world, the things are never what they seem. You chose to believe that there could be good in people. Instead of being realistic, you chose to be naive. That is your fault,” he then put the knife on her neck, “And for that… you will have to pay the price,” Then he slit her throat.

He waited there, watching her twitch and drown in her own blood. It is only after he was sure that she was dead, did he stood up. Dusted himself up, and went upstairs to water the remaining plants…