Through the cracks of the shattered glass bottle, a crimson body writhed as the Gigantia crawled out.
“Sir, what are you doing?!”
“Trying to kill the sacred bloodline.”
“But I have already poisoned the prince! We must flee immediately! Gigantia is a species that grows exponentially after consuming its prey!”
“I have no interest in that prince.”
The Gigantia slowly began to climb the stone wall.
Like a predator eyeing its prey, its gaze remained fixed on the people inside the interrogation chamber.
The physician screamed as he watched Gigantia shake its head in its hunting stance.
He didn’t want to die here.
He didn’t care what happened to the insane Steve—whether he died here or not. The physician just wanted to live.
As he turned to run, a rough hand grabbed hold of his coat.
He thrashed wildly like a madman, but there was no escaping the strength of a seasoned knight.
‘My daughter told me so.’
Recalling the arrogant expression of Leopord, Steve clenched his grip even tighter.
The pain from his broken bones was nothing.
Neither were the desperate screams and struggles of the physician when the Gigantia, which had been crawling along the ceiling, suddenly dropped onto him.
‘I can’t refuse my daughter’s request.’
Steve despised Leopord.
The man who had mercilessly crushed both his legs, ending his life as a knight. The man who held his fate in his hands.
Gigantia had an uncanny preference for the blood of those with protective blessing.
And in this mansion, Leopord’s two children resided.
Let’s see if Leopord could keep that same indifferent face he had when he interrogated Steve and shattered his hand—even after his beloved daughter was dead.
If he could just witness Leopord’s pain, just as when Lucy died, Steve was willing to do anything.
“Aaaaah!”
The physician’s screams gradually faded, mingling with the grotesque sounds of Gigantia feasting on its prey.
As the light faded from the physician’s eyes, a sickening crack echoed through the chamber, and Gigantia’s body swelled.
The once finger-sized magical beast instantly grew larger.
Then, without hesitation, it flung the physician’s corpse aside and lunged toward the still-living Steve.
Screams rang out once more in the underground interrogation chamber.
***
BOOM—!
I had dozed off for a moment, but I was jolted awake by a sudden sense of imbalance.
As the tremors shook the ground, my body was thrown onto the floor.
When I finally came to my senses, the entire house was trembling as if an earthquake had struck.
“What… is this…?”
Before I could even finish my sentence, another tremor shook the room.
At the same time, there was a loud crack as the wardrobe door in the dressing room collapsed.
‘The prince is inside that wardrobe!’
Panicked, I rushed toward it, but no matter how hard I pushed, the fallen door wouldn’t budge.
“Step back.”
The prince’s voice was low, but firm, as if he had heard my struggle.
The next moment, heat radiated from the wardrobe, and the last remaining hinges melted away. The door tilted forward, unable to withstand the pressure any longer.
With just a push from the prince, the door crashed down.
Screams echoed from all directions.
“What’s happening?”
“Shh.”
As I shut my mouth at the prince’s signal, I could finally make out the words people were shouting.
“Magical beast…! Right now…!”
Piecing together the fragmented words, both the prince and I froze at almost the same time.
A magical beast? Why would a magical beast suddenly appear in our house?
The question didn’t linger long.
Another tremor shook the walls near the window, and the force shattered the glass instantly.
The prince yanked me toward him, causing me to roll across the floor just in time to avoid the flying shards.
And that’s when I saw it.
Black, soulless eyes.
Hundreds of writhing legs.
A massive, smooth, and glistening body.
A centipede the size of a house had planted itself on the ground, its head raised, staring directly at me and the prince.
A faint green mist swirled around its body.
“It’s magic poison. Be careful.”
As I looked at the boy’s pale profile, a rancid stench seeped into my nose.
It was far worse than anything I had encountered—even stronger and more putrid than the smell of war prisoners.
With every drop of fluid that leaked from the giant centipede’s body, the surroundings corroded and melted.
I felt nauseous.
And if even I, who was healthy, felt this way…
The prince, who had already been in poor condition…
A single crimson streak, which had just begun to dry, trickled down from the corner of his lips again.
The prince raised a hand and wiped it away.
Even a corpse couldn’t look as pale as he did.
BANG—!
The magical beast rammed its head against the wall again, trying to force its way into my room.
With a deafening crash, both the window frame and the wall started to collapse.
“What do we do?”
“Magical beasts with magic poison are more aggressive toward those with protective blessing.”
“…That means both of us.”
“Stay close to me. No matter what. Understood?”
The moment those words left his mouth, a reddish heat radiated around the boy’s body.
As soon as the magical beast twisted its head and shoved it into my room, the heat condensed at a single point—
Then flames erupted.
KIIIIIIIIEEEEEK—!
Engulfed in the blazing fire, the massive creature let out an agonized scream, writhing in pain.
Dust and debris rained down from the ceiling.
“Are you okay?”
The boy looked worse than the magical beast.
Even as the centipede recoiled from the flames, the prince’s face appeared even more tormented.
He coughed up a chunk of blood and struggled to steady his breath.
“I won’t die from mere poison.”
It sounded less like a fact and more like a vow to himself.
It was like brainwashing—convincing himself he would never die.
The magical beast, which had been engulfed in flames, had grown more cautious.
Instead of recklessly thrusting its head back into the room, it grotesquely twisted its massive body, starting to coil around the entire house.
Hundreds of legs clung tightly to the walls as it began climbing.
No way…
“It’s trying to collapse the house.”
“My house!”
The moment the prince finished speaking, the creature squeezed tighter, causing the walls to groan and crack ominously.
For now, the house’s structure barely held against the immense pressure. But it was a fragile balance—one that could shatter at any moment.
And the magical beast still had plenty of strength left.
If the house collapsed, we would die.
No matter how much protective blessing the prince had, his current condition was at its worst.
Even I, despite being in better shape, was starting to feel the effects of the magic poison—my vision flickered, and strange violet dots danced before my eyes.
‘Think.’
If we didn’t escape before the house collapsed, we would either be crushed under the rubble or die from the magic poison’s poison.
Clutching my throbbing head, I forced myself to think.
What is the magical beast afraid of?
Fire.
When the prince had summoned flames earlier, the magical beast had immediately recoiled. It was definitely afraid of fire.
That meant there was only one solution.
“What are you doing?”
I rummaged through my things, searching for the scented oil the maids would apply to my hair after my baths.
Without hesitation, I poured it all over the bed.
I chose the place with the most fabric—somewhere the fire would burn the longest and the largest.
One bottle wasn’t enough. I emptied three or four in succession.
The fruity scent of the oil mixed with the stench of magic poison, making me feel even more nauseous, but I forced myself to endure it.
“Set it on fire!”
“What?”
“The magical beast is afraid of fire! If it gets too hot, it’ll let go!”
I wanted to speak clearly, but… was this another symptom of the poison? My jaw was stiffening, making it harder to talk.
The prince stared at me for a moment.
His expression was unreadable—like he was holding back a lot of words.
Then, without another question, he began summoning flames once more.
The fire is weaker than before.
Even though he was doing his best, I could see his face growing paler by the second.
The moment every last trace of color drained from his face, a single spark finally ignited the bed.
At the same time, the prince coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Far more than before.
Seeing how much he had lost, I thought, If he keeps bleeding like this, he’s going to die.
I checked his face, but despite everything, the prince stubbornly kept his mouth shut.
And once again, he used his protective blessing.
Slowly, the small spark clinging to the bed began to grow.
Torn curtains, dolls, colored paper, and notebooks—I grabbed anything flammable and threw it into the fire.
“That should be enough.”
“The magical beast still hasn’t backed away.”
“But…!”
“Ignore it. Whether I die or not has nothing to do with you.”
Unbelievable. Even when someone is worried, he throws a fit.
I pouted and took a few steps away from the prince.
By now, the flames had spread enough to engulf the entire room.
Surely, the magical beast would start feeling the heat.
Just as I turned toward the window to check—
A massive tremor shook the entire house, far stronger than anything before.
KIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEK—!
The heat had reached it.
The magical beast, which had been wrapped around the house, flailed wildly, its legs digging desperately into the walls.
