Escape(1)

Ophelia had stationed herself at the door tonight, ready to attend to any requests or emergencies for the Duke's ailing son, Liam. She also intended to inform the Duchess if any significant situation arose.

When night had already fallen, Ophelia felt tired and yawned. Then, she heard the bell from Liam's room. She quickly made her way to the door, saying, "I'm coming in."

Upon opening the door and finding no response from inside, Ophelia panicked. Had Liam fallen ill again? As she entered, she realized there was no sign of Liam at all. In fact, there was no sound either.

In the completely silent and dark room, Ophelia felt a sense of fear. However, she didn't let the fear overwhelm her and stepped inside. The room was ice-cold, and she shivered. She thought, "Why is it so cold in here? Did he ask me to light the fireplace or something?"

Feeling uncomfortable about Liam's absence, Ophelia wondered who had rung the bell if there was no one inside. She then considered lighting the fireplace but decided against it. After all, wouldn't she be rewarded by the Duchess if the person inside succumbed to the cold?

With this thought, she turned around and prepared to leave the room. However, right in front of her, she saw someone with bright red eyes watching her. Was it a monster or a demon? Ophelia's feet trembled as she stammered, "Y-y-young master, do you need something?"

Before Ophelia could finish her sentence, a hand grabbed her by the throat. She was in a panic, preparing to push away whoever it was, but then the moonlight shone, and she noticed that her hands appeared wrinkled. In her horror, Ophelia thought her hands had suddenly aged. But when she looked at Liam, his face was redder and more vibrant than it had been that morning.

It was as if Ophelia's life was being absorbed and eaten by Liam, Ophelia thought that it wasn't Liam but the monster in front of her, that the devil would scream for the whole world to see Liam's true face if she got out of here.

So she tried to push Liam away with all the strength she had, but Liam pulled her closer to him and smiled at the hollows of her neck, Ophelia's face filled with horrible thoughts, but something more horrible happened.

Liam opened his mouth wide and bit Ophelia, Ophelia's whole body shook with pain as she looked at the flesh being ripped away by Liam.

Liam was not disgusted by this and continued to bite and eat Ophelia, and as he ate, his face became more alive in the light reflected by the moon, and he looked healthier and healthier.

Ophelia looked at Liam whose whole face was covered in blood, his face was excited and smiling at first, but now it was expressionless.Ophelia was even more frightened by Liam's expressionlessness as he slowly blacked out and his body had to endure excruciating pain.If he felt this pain for a while longer he would probably go insane and as his last life force disappeared he said "I'm finally dying."

Liam looked at the dying servant and muttered, his face still impassive, "He held up well."

As Liam continued to eat, the body felt like he was ripping a tire and chewing on it because it was old. The flesh tasted more bearable before it had fully aged and died, but Liam still didn't complain.

It took Liam more than half an hour to eat the body, and when he had finished it all there was a tremendous energy that filled his whole body, as if all his cells were regenerating and healing, for a while Liam even forgot that he was completely sick, but that only lasted for a few seconds and Liam sighed as he remembered his illness again.

Liam then closed the door to his room and looked at the pile of bones mixed with flesh on the floor.There was a pool of blood covering a large area of the floor.Liam approached the pool of blood and took a handful and drank it. "I hope the blood will help me heal.If flesh and spirit can do it, maybe blood can do it as a hidden effect."

Liam was happy to feel partially healed and smiled "Good good"

Liam shoved the servant into the wardrobe, drank as much of the blood on the floor as he could and opened the window.

"This might be more deadly than the pen," he thought. After opening the window, he grabbed onto the wall and went downstairs without making any noise.

Liam saw various guards moving around, so he hid in a bush to avoid them, and after the guard left, Liam came out of the bush.Normally, in other nobles' houses, the guards would be spread out all over the grounds, not even moving, and if there was a shift, there would be another group of guards right behind them.The Duke's house was like that, but Liam's place was not so important.

Because Liam was in a separate block, still in the main residence, but both his stepmother and father and his brother were in a separate block.If a group infiltrated Liam's place, they would have to pass through an area to get there, and that area was regularly guarded by a group of guards.

Liam was walking away from the garden when he heard a voice behind him.

"Where are you going Liam?"

Liam sighed and smiled and turned around to find Eve and Michael waiting for him "I'm going to the lake up ahead...So what are you guys doing here?"

Eve said in a childish tone as she smiled "Me and Michael were bored so we decided to have a look around and we saw Liam sneaking down the wall and hiding from the guards...why are you hiding? And why do you have a fireplace stirrer in your hand?"

Eve asked Liam with a smile and Liam sighed and smiled "I like to build a fire by the lake and enjoy the view so I took the fireplace stirrer with me. The reason why I snuck out was that I didn't want to worry anyone I was already sick and everyone in the residence was worried about me so I didn't want to disturb people at this time of the night and I wanted to relax a bit I was overwhelmed...

Anyway, I was going to tell you tomorrow that I accepted your offer, so can I enjoy the lake by myself before I leave?"

Eve kept smiling and said "We can go together to get more acquainted and it's dangerous to ask you to go alone, what if something happens to you, you have a weak body."

"I really want to enjoy it on my own...I don't know when I'll be back here again, I might miss it for many years, please don't break my last request."

Liam spoke in a pleading voice but Eve still refused with the same expression "No, it's dangerous."

"Why are you putting so much pressure? I said I would come in the future, but if you push me like this, I might have to reject your offer."

Eve sighed and said, "We're setting off now." Then, a dozen men descended from the roof onto Liam. They didn't have swords, but they had ropes. Liam smiled, took hold of the fireplace poker, and the men completely covered him.

However, the men began to fall like dominoes all of a sudden. Liam still maintained the same expression, but his hand was dripping with iron. When Eve saw this, her eyes widened, and she excitedly said, "Wonderful, wonderful, even better than I expected."

Micheal, on the other hand, was looking at Liam with wide eyes. Liam then disappeared from where he was and reappeared a few meters to the left of where he was. While Liam was running away, Micheal and Eve started running to catch Liam.

While Liam was out of breath, he looked at Micheal and Eve, who were following him from behind. They had taken precautions in case he ran away. As soon as Liam talked to Eve in the morning, he realized that he had to run away, learning from his mistake and vowing not to repeat it again, and even further his plan to escape if such a situation happened again. He had to think in detail.

While Liam was still walking straight ahead, a forest appeared in his field of vision. While he was running towards it, he looked at Micheal and Eve who were following him. If he could escape, he would run away. If he couldn't escape, he would try to kill or injure both of them.

From behind, Eve yelled, "Liam, if you stop running, I might forget what you did to my men... You injured the kingdom's soldiers, just so you know."

"They had charged at an eight-year-old boy. What should I have done? Waited to be trampled?" Liam responded.

Liam couldn't quite control his speed, and he couldn't make sudden maneuvers. Michael was closing in on Eve, and Liam had to slow down. He realized that if he continued running, his exhausted body might give out. He had a sickly body and knew he couldn't run for an extended period.

Liam's sudden change in direction surprised both Michael and Eve. They thought he had given up, but instead, he tightened his grip on the iron rod and launched an attack. Liam targeted Eve first, as incapacitating the woman who controlled the kingdom's soldiers would make dealing with his father easier. He intended to injure, not kill, because both his body couldn't handle excessive exertion, and he lacked the strength for it.

Liam raised the rod in his hand, preparing to strike forcefully, but at the moment of the attack, he felt time freeze. He now saw Eve's abdomen and legs as vulnerable points, areas where his strike might be most effective.

Liam believed that regardless of how powerful his opponent was, if they weren't chasing him and didn't have legs, he could easily escape. Someone without legs, whether they were a devil, a giant, or a human, couldn't pursue him effectively, and Liam had confidence in his speed.

Initially, Eve had thought Liam would attack her neck, so she positioned herself to defend it. However, the iron rod appeared to target her neck at first but suddenly changed direction, striking towards her feet. Eve was taken by surprise and failed to protect her legs. The attack was aimed to hinder her movements.

Eve struggled, but Liam's attacks were incredibly swift, and she couldn't defend herself in time. Blood spurted from her ankle as the rod struck, and Eve fell to the ground in pain. She admitted, "He's really fast and strong."

Liam's father looked bewildered as Liam glanced at him, then he lunged forward toward the Duchy again, with his foot pushing off his father's shoulder. Michael supported Eve, who was on the ground. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I just need your support to walk..."

""Liam, you little...."

"Don't say that," Eve said, looking ahead at Liam running. Michael grabbed Eve around the waist and began to run quickly towards where Liam was. If he caught Liam, he would punish him severely for injuring Eve.

As Michael muttered curses under his breath, Liam had already reached the place where the attacking knights were. He grabbed one of them and began to consume their soul. With each soul he devoured, Liam felt his exhaustion decreasing, and he felt more revitalized. He knew that if he had continued to fight there for a bit longer, his strength would have completely depleted.

As Liam's body stopped trembling, the knight transformed into an elderly man and died. They were already unconscious since Liam had attacked them with the fireplace poker.

Liam took the sword from the knight's scabbard and looked at Michael and Eve, who were now just a few steps away. He smiled, and Michael came to a halt, about to say something, when Liam aimed the sword at him. "Senile thing, show me how skilled you are."

Liam was currently trying to provoke Michael and create a commotion, likely aiming to draw Paul over. Paul was most likely practicing his swordsmanship at the moment. Upon Liam's words, Michael and Eve froze, and then Michael clenched his fist and said,

"It seems I need to discipline you."

As Michael drew his sword, Eve spoke from behind, "Don't injure him," and Michael looked at her, gently placing her on the ground before nodding in agreement.

He extended two fingers forward and made a come sign.

As Michael charged towards Liam, swords clashed with a resounding "clang." Liam smiled and said, then kicked Michael in the abdomen, "Senile, you need to protect your belly. Do I need to teach you how to use a sword?"

Upon these words, Michael gritted his teeth, and his forehead veins bulged. Liam's kick wasn't that powerful, and Michael hadn't been thrown back so forcefully. Michael swung his sword aggressively towards Liam, but Liam didn't move, and just as the blade was about to touch him, he suddenly disappeared.

Michael raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out where Liam had gone. Moving at such speed was impossible for a regular human. Either Liam was an illusion or he wasn't human at all.

"You're slow, clumsy."

Liam touched the back of Michael's neck to embarrass him. In response, Michael, feeling embarrassed by Liam's touch, covered his neck with his hand and widened his eyes. His eyes were bloodshot. Liam realized that he had underestimated how easily he could kill his father.

"I thought I wouldn't be able to defeat even Michael in a fight, but I didn't know he was this unskilled. I wonder if he did anything to improve himself over the years."

Liam felt disappointed inwardly, but then he heard a rustling sound in the bushes, and a smile crept onto his face. He disappeared from where he stood and reappeared by the bushes. Michael didn't understand what Liam was doing; he only felt like something was gripping him.

Liam dragged the person he was holding out of the bush by the hair, Michael and Eve opened their eyes wide while Paul screamed "It hurts, let go you bastard. It hurts, Dad, save me!"