Reasons to Protect the Witch's Son

Drayton, the leader of the Galloit Mercenaries, hated Asher de Philion so much that he committed terrible acts every day.

“Pl-please! Save me…!”

A voice filled with fear echoed in the dark prison. A scrawny man was on his knees bowing to Drayton but all he received in response was a merciless kick.

“Cough!”

The mans body rolled on the floor.

Tap, tap, tap

The sound of footsteps could be heard walking across the damp floor. Drayton walked over and stood in front of the man. The man was now lying face down on the dirty floor, screaming as he clutched his stomach where he had been struck.

Drayton’s attention was drawn to the man’s hair.

“Ugh! P-please…”

Suddenly, he grabbed the man’s hair in his hand then, looking at the hair again, he muttered to himself.

“Yeah… That guys hair was also this color.”

Ash’s face appeared in Drayton’s mind.

‘He’s was just a monster that had been born from a witch who devoured people. He has a face that appears to look down on everyone, as if he believes he’s the only one in the world.’

Drayton wanted to tear that face apart.

The witch who had destroyed Seveka was a monster who had taken everything from Drayton.

His father, who was a pimp for a brothel, was burned to death by the witch’s flames. Drayton was lucky to be able to survive, but he could still vividly picture his father being burned to death.

Afterword’s, after much hardship, he had succeeded in creating the Galloit Mercenary Group. However, his fate with the witch did not end there.

Asher de Philion. This time it was the witch’s bloodline that destroyed everything that he had built. The mercenary group he had devoted his entire life to build had collapsed overnight at the hands of Ash. Naturally, Drayton’s hatred surged out of control. Just looking at people with similar traits to that guy made his blood boil.

Of course, Ash was the only one who had a bewitchingly beautiful appearance and bright purple eyes. However, there were many people with black hair like him. Drayton choose only those that looked handsome, like Ash, and vented his anger on them. Like he was now.

Thud, thwack, pop!

“Please… No!”

The dull noises continued and the man’s screams rang out continuously.

“Yes, just like that! Beg like the bug you are!”

As Drayton said that, he imagined the man in front of him was really Ash, begging him to spare his life. The people gathered in the corner of the cell trembled in fear.

The all had black hair like the man being beaten right now. They had been dragged there without knowing the reason and faced the same fear every day. Someday, they would face the same fate as that man. They continuously prayed that their fate would be delayed a moment later. Eventually, the horrifying sounds stopped and the merciless assault subsided.

Thud.

The mans mangled body hung limp. Drayton shook his head, fist dripping with blood.

“Clean it up.”

The subordinates standing on the side immediately started to move. Drayton shook off the blood on his hands and left the prison. Everyone, except those in charge of cleaning up, followed him.

As they followed, they secretly studied his face. Even though he had just vented his anger a little while ago, he still looked annoyed. The reason was obvious.

“Is there still no sign of Hilaire Lister?”

Drayton asked as he walked away.

“Yes. It seems she has no intention of bringing the Duke.”

Drayton let out a bitter laugh. Despite threatening her with her brother’s life, she didn’t budge. She was truly a woman with an unparalleled will.

“Yes. Even though the deadline is approaching…”

He passed through a dark hallway and opened a door.

Creak

A heavy door opened, making a scratching sound in their ears. Then, the figure of a boy tied with a rope could be seen. Light blond hair and light blue eyes. It was a face that looked just like his sisters, stained with fear.

Drayton resented Hilaire Lister as well. That was because, like Ash, she was also responsible for the destruction of his group. It still couldn’t compare to his hatred for Ash though.

“Count Sari.”

Edward Lister was tightly bound to a wooden chair with his mouth gagged. Drayton slowly approached the boy. Until now, he had lived day by day, nurturing his hatred for Ash.

‘If I can regain my strength, I will definitely make that bastard pay.’

However, after losing his mercenary group, he didn’t have the ability to take revenge. He could only grit his teeth and bear it.

Then, one day, an opportunity finally presented itself. It came from a woman wearing a pitch-black cloak. She appeared one day before Drayton and presented him with a bag full of gold coins. It was an amount he had never dared to touch before in his life.

There was only one thing she had asked of him. That was to rid the world of Asher de Philion. No other compensation was requested of him. If it wasn’t possible to eliminate him, then at least maim him. And that was exactly what Drayton wanted as well. Although the woman’s identity was unknown, he accepted the offer without hesitation.

Drayton extended his hand toward Edwin Lister.

“Ugh!”

His large hand roughly grabbed the boys chin. The boy was only bait to draw out Ash.

Hilaire Lister was a faithful dog that was trusted by that man. He thought that by using that girl, he could lure him out without arousing suspicion. But, Hilaire Lister did not sell out her master until the very end.

“It looks like your sister has decided to abandon you.”

Of course, this situation was not entirely unexpected either. However, it was absurd to think that she would abandon her only blood relative just for that loyalty.

Drayton sneered as he looked into the boys violently shaking eyes.

“But how far will that loyalty go?”

Shing.

Drayton took out a sharp dagger from his belt. Grabbing the boy’s right hand, he pressed it firmly against the armrest of the chair.

“Ugh, ugh…!”

The boy’s face turned pale as he realized what Drayton’s intentions were.

“Hold still.”

He pressed down hard on the boy’s wrist, using almost enough force to break it.

“Huu…”

A muffled moan escaped the boys gagged mouth. Drayton, enjoying the terror in his eyes, smiled wickedly.

“I wonder what kind of expression your sister will make when she receives her younger brother’s finger.”

With those words, the blade flashed as it was raised high into the air.

***

The night was dark and without moonlight. Shadows were moving quietly under the cover of darkness. Elaine and Ash nimbly climbed over the pointed walls of the deserted prison, their faces hidden behind hoods.

Because it was a prison that had been abandoned for a long time, there were a lot of bushes growing in the grounds. Elaine hid her body among the bushes and surveyed their surroundings.

‘I expected this, but…’

Even though it was late at night, there were still a lot of guards. Mercenaries carrying torches could be seen all over the place.

There were two places where the hostages were believed to be kept.

‘West Building and Central Prison.’

As discussed in advance, Hilaire headed to the center with some of the selected knights. Elaine and Ash were in charge of searching the west with the rest of the knights.

First, odorless sleeping incense was burned in the surrounding area, but it didn’t work, perhaps because the mercenaries were prepared for it already. Still, it hadn’t been difficult to approach the building while avoiding the guards. This was thanks to knowing in advance the shift times and movements of the guards.

The only entrance was also being guarded. The group made their way to the back of the building without being noticed by the guards. Then, they found one of the corner most windows on the first floor. All the windows were blocked with thick bars.

Ash quietly drew his sword and infused mana into it. The shimmering purple mana neatly cut through the bars.

Clang

They quickly caught the cut bars, before they could fall to the ground and make noise, and hid them in the bushes. They then jumped through the window one after another.

The old prison smelled of dust and mold. Iron bars lined the hallway. Only the occasional candle illuminated the pitch-black darkness.

Ash took out a piece of paper. It was a map modeled after the prison blueprints. Each person had a copy in their possession. Pointing to a place with his finger, his eyes conveyed a message.

‘We’ll look here.’

It was one of the places they had identified as a possible holding place for hostages. They briefly exchanged glances with each other and then disappeared as the group spread out. Elaine thought as she crossed the hallway.

‘From now on it’s a race against time. We have to find the hostage before the enemy finds us.’

Once they had found Edwin Lister, they would then remove the bomb from him. If they were discovered before that, they could be threatened with the bomb again. If that were to happen, things would get complicated. Therefore, the rescue had to happen as soon as possible.

The problem was, they didn’t know the exact location of the hostage.

This prison was like a maze. The halls divided into several branches that would occasionally connect again. Sometimes dead ends would even appear. Without a map, they would most likely have wandered through the maze all day.

‘Besides, there are a lot of guards inside here.’

The only thing visible in the building were the iron bars, there was nowhere for them to hide. Even if someone appeared on the other side, they wouldn’t be able to avoid them.

She expanded her senses as much as she could. Thanks to her highly trained senses, avoiding detection was not difficult. However, as they moved forward while checking for disturbances, their pace was slowed down.

‘Not here either.’

After searching for a long time, there was no sign of Edward Lister anywhere.

‘He’s not here either.’

After looking around, she rejoined Ash.

‘What about your side?’

‘He’s not there either.’

Ash gestured with his eyes and Elaine shook her head. Looking at his expression, it appeared he hadn’t found Edwin either.

‘Is he not in this building then?’

Maybe he was in the central building that Hilaire was searching.

There’s still one floor left that they hadn’t checked yet.

The very top floor. They still had to check there. Just as they were about to turn, a voice was heard coming from the other side.

“What about over there? Is there anything unusual?”

“Of course not.”

The moment the sound reached them, Elaine and Ash moved instinctively. They hid their bodies in a nearby narrow path. Right next to them was the entrance to the stairs. The voices were coming from there. One after another, from both upstairs and downstairs.

“Make sure nothing goes wrong. Don’t let even a rat slip through.”

“Don’t worry.”

Soon, the footsteps met and just when she thought they would pass by, the footsteps began to approach the spot her and Ash were hidden. The quickly turned their heads to look behind them, but of course…

“…!”

It was a dead end. They had nowhere to escape to. Meanwhile, the sound of the footsteps continued to get closer. They then looked forward at the same time and came face to face with someone who appeared around the corner.