Chapter 230: Not Human

An unknown amount of time later...

Opening his eyes slowly, the first thing Adryan's fuzzy mind noticed was that he was in a dark cell.

The cold wall at his back helped his mind to sharpen all at once, Adryan tried to move but a twinge of pain stopped him and made him let out a small whimper.

Outside the cage and with a few torches illuminating the hallway, he could see how there were other cages like his but they were all empty.

A feeling of Deja Vu was born in his stomach and Adryan bit the inside of his cheeks.

The smell of meat reached his nose and looking to his side, he saw how in a dark corner there was a circular table covered with a red tablecloth and with a plate with a juicy pureed meat on it, next to it was a glass full of wine.

Not knowing what to make of it and lowering his gaze, he watched in a daze as the wounds he suffered disappeared.

'No wonder I felt a breeze...' The redhead thought with a grimace as he saw how Junior stood outside. 

Completely naked, Adryan saw how his chest and arms were normal, without any broken bones. He felt no pain in his face so he must have healed as well.

Climbing up both legs and stopping around his neck, the ivies from before blocked his movement.

Faced with his nakedness, Adryan swallowed the grunt of pain as he felt the blackthorns sink into him and suck his spirituality.

Despite feeling his tank nearly empty, no unfamiliar raving reached his ears.

With the little juice he had left, he tried to summon a flame to burn the ivy but as soon as he tried to use his spirituality the ivy squeezed him hard choking him and the thorns sank deeper into his skin draining what little spirituality he tried to use.

"I don't recommend you do that Mr. Kenway. My girls are kind of glutonous~" 

Turning his gaze across the cell to the previously empty table, sitting at this one and eating a piece of steak, Dutch wiped the sauce from his lips with a handkerchief as he smiled at the redhead.

"..." Adryan said nothing and just stared at the thing. The instinct was still there but it was no longer screaming as loudly as before.

At the intensity of the bigger man's stare, Dutch let out a chuckle as he cut off a piece of the steak and extended the piece with a fork towards him.

"Would you like some?"

"Fuck you" Adryan growled in a gravelly voice, he could easily smell from his place the meat and his stomach arched at the familiar smell of burn human flesh.

"More for me." Rolling his shoulders, Dutch took the juicy piece into his mouth and let out a pleased groan.

"Mmm, my favorite, Child to Wine." Dutch let out a pleased groan.

Grrr...

Groaning, Adryan clenched his fists and struggled, the ivies squeezed his body tightly and the thorns dug even deeper into his flesh but he had managed to reach out a little towards Dutch.

The man's crimson eyes glowed in amusement and he shook his head as he took a drink from his wine glass.

"My My Mr. Kenway. If I didn't know better you'd look like you wanted to devour me!" The nobleman said with a chuckle as he cut another piece of meat and popped it into his mouth.

Smiling dangerously, Adryan's muscles bulged and he took a small step forward as his scarlet eyes flashed with anger.

"Why don't you let go and let me show you how hungry I am?" 

Mid-cutting, Dutch's knifed hand paused for a second. 

His crimson eyes moved up and down the redhead's muscular body, lingering for a moment on the redhead's chest and crotch before moving upward toward the handsome face.

His eyes took in the wondrous sight in front of him then exploded in laughter.

"Hahahahahaha! Extremely tempting but I have to refuse you Mr. Kenway! I fear my body will break before such a wild beast as you are!" Dutch said amused as he put down his fork and looked with a small smile at the man.

"Perhaps in another time." 

The ivies tightened and forced him to his knees. Groaning, Adryan watched angrily as Dutch rose from his seat and walked toward him.

Without the table covering him, Adryan saw how in his right hand was a thick metal necklace with a long chain on it.

Standing in front of him, Dutch looked down at him, his lips turned up in a disturbing smile.

"I prepared a gift for you. Would you raise your head?" 

Adryan didn't want to but the ivy forced him.

With eyes full of satisfaction, the nobleman placed the necklace around the redhead's neck.

Holding the chain in his left hand, the man looked at his handiwork and let out a laugh.

Scarlet eyes glared at Dutch and Adryan groaned.

"Ah! much better! It looks wonderful on you. Tell me Mr. Kenway, did you miss being in chains?" The way he had said the last part gave him all the information and confirmed Adryan's biggest fear.

'It seems I never really escaped from the clutches of Rose School of Thought...' Adryan thought feeling the cold metal of the collar and remembering the night he woke up in the cage.

In the end, he had never taken off that chain even though he had broken it. Staring with daggers shooting out of his eyes, Adryan spoke with all the venom he could muster.

"When I get out of here I swear I'm going to-"

Pulling the chain and cutting off the sentence, Dutch raised a finger and twirled it side to side in reproach as if correcting a naughty, ill-behaved dog.

"Bad bad! You don't interrupt the owner when he talks!" 

"Fuck you!" Adryan roared spitting on the cheek of the nobleman who grinned.

At the astonished look of the red-haired man, a long snake tongue left his lips and licked its way out of his face. Returning inside his mouth, Dutch let out an exaggerated moan of satisfaction.

"Oh! Delicious!"

"...Who the fuck are you?"

"I'm Dutch Wilson Mr. Kenway. Do I look so different? Is it the hair or is it the eyes? Red is the new fashion, you know?" 

Clenching his fists until he drew blood, Adryan tried to lunge at the thing but the ivies held him in place.

"Don't play dumb. I can feel it. It's Dutch's body but you're not him!" 

"Answer my question!! Who the fuck are you?!!!"

"... Hehe"

The smile on 'Dutch's' face grew and grew, the corners of his lips touched his ears and with a voice that was no longer human, it answered.

"It's a secret~" 

"Grr..." Adryan growled as he watched the ghoulish grin of that thing who placed the chain of his necklace on a bracket on the wall and then returned to his table.

His lips returned to normal and 'Ducth' smiled amused at Adryan.

"Though you are free to try and guess Mr. Kenway. Would you like a hint?"

Adryan didn't reply but stared daggers.

"Wonderful!" Clapping his hands in amusement 'Dutch' smiled mysteriously as he popped another piece of human flesh into his mouth.

"I have many names but one of my favorites is one you should be quite familiar with. Here comes the clue..." 

"I have no explanation, I have no pattern and no one can take refuge from my bloody light. What am I?" The nobleman asked as he grabbed the wine goblet and began to swirl it calmly in his hand.

Frowning, Adryan digested the nobleman's words for long seconds.

'I have no explanation, I have no pattern and no one can take refuge from my bloody light? What does it mean by that?' The red-haired man thought in annoyance as he looked into Dutch's crimson eyes...

He couldn't help but compare those eyes to the moon...

'?!' His eyes widened in shock and his mouth hung.

'Dutch' smiled machiavellianly and let out a dark chuckle and as if reading his mind, the thing nodded.

His stomach sank and his vision blurred. In a heavy voice, Adryan answered.

"Blood Moon."

Laughing in amusement, the moon nodded.

"That's my gang and you know I'm not worthy of being called by that name. Just call me Doctor." The leader of Backlund's most dangerous gang laughed.

Amidst the darkness, the Doctor's crimson eyes glowed resembling the crimson moon in the dark night sky.

"We have waited a long time for you... Herald of the Hunt."