Chapter 31

The men in robes painted with green branches tied the children in a row and dragged them somewhere.

Ivan was also in the middle of the procession.

‘Where in the world are they taking me?’

He was scared.

Will I be like those with soulless eyes?

Most of the children around him are like that.

‘If that’s the case, I….’

Whew.

Suddenly, a cold wind blew past Ivan’s cheek.

Ivan raised his head suddenly and looked up at the ceiling, where the cold wind blew.

‘I’m sure this is underground.’

A long, cave-like space.

It was clear that the cave was man-made, not a naturally-occurring cave.

I need to find a way out.

When digging a cave, they must have made an entrance from the outside to supply supplies.

I have to find that place.

Ivan examined the surroundings intently, unnoticed by the men wearing robes. 

Then Ivan found a small opening.

‘I can’t possibly do it myself,’

Ivan developed better than his peers.

His body won’t be able to get through that tiny hole.

‘If only one of us could get out and ask for help.’

Ivan looked at the other children with fierce eyes.

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He can’t have children who came in before him and have lost their souls.

A person with the will to escape will increase the probability of success even a little.

“Come in quietly! I will inflict even more pain on those who rebel!”

White magical power surged over the man’s palm, and then a huge sphere was formed.

The children were terrified and hurried into the room.

Ivan also naturally mixed with the children and entered the room.

Then he witnessed a shocking sight.

Handel, the shepherd boy trapped in a large crystal ball, was struggling.

Ivan’s eyes shook violently.

He felt nauseous.

It was because he realized what Handel meant when he said “taking away your soul.”

Those men wearing robes were draining the life force of the children.

‘Soulless. It’s a perfect metaphor.’

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Ivan’s lips, who instinctively grasped the situation, turned pale.

“Ugh…!”

It was hell.

There was no other hell, it is here. 

“Next!”

One after another, the children were trapped into a huge crystal ball.

The children who came out of the crystal ball had confused faces.

Without a moment to think, Ivan’s turn came.

Ivan was forcibly thrown into the crystal ball by a group of men.

“Ahhh!”

A terrible pain came.

He tried not to lose his mind, but Ivan’s efforts were futile in the face of the pain he experienced for the first time in his life.

“Come out.”

“…….”

It’s finally over.

As soon as the excruciating pain was over, Ivan lost consciousness.

***

plop

The water from the ceiling dripped over Ivan’s forehead.

Ivan gently opened his eyes to the cold touch

‘How long have I been here?’

Ivan also had a blank face, just like the other children.

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No matter how smart he was, Ivan was only a child after all.

The pain beyond the limits of his underdeveloped body made Ivan powerless.

‘Let’s just give up.’

Yes. I’m sure my family is looking for me.

So, if we wait like this, maybe I can go home someday.

Is it the aftermath of the loss of life force?

Ivan stared blankly at the ceiling, thinking that he would not normally do it.

How much time has passed? 

Ivan suddenly realized that the surroundings had become noisy.

As he turned his eyes helplessly, he saw faces he had never seen before.

All of them were frightened faces and yet he never gave up his hope.

These are the children who were newly kidnapped and brought here.

A gleam spread in Ivan’s blurry eyes.

‘Ugh. My head.’

Ivan walked over to the crying children, rubbing his temples.

“Did you come here today?”

“Oh, me…? I… I was brought here yesterday…”

At those words, Ivan’s brow furrowed harshly.

He can’t believe he came yesterday.

That means he was so out of his mind yesterday that he didn’t even know other children were coming in.

Ivan got out of the brief shock and looked around the children.

Among them, a small child came into Ivan’s field of vision.

That kid.

Ivan noticed at a glance that the child’s body was large enough to pass through the opening he had seen before.

Ivan confirmed that there were no men in robes watching them, and approached the new children.

“Let everyone calm down.”

The children, who had been weeping at the resolute voice, became quiet for a moment.

With a satisfied smile, Ivan asked a question with a fixed answer.

“Do you all want to go home?”

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The children all nodded fiercely.

Ivan turned with a serious expression and told the children who were hoping to escape.

“I have a plan. Will you join me?”

The plan was simple.

First, wait until the children are taken out of prison to extract their life force.

They tend to ignore the weakened children. 

Thanks to this, the moment they leave the prison, the guard becomes quite lax.

Then Ivan and the children will make a small commotion, and Zen, the smallest, escapes through a dog hole and asks for help.

‘I’ll give Zen a card that only the royal family can use, so he can ask the royal guards.’

Of course, some of the kidnappers appeared to be wizards and mercenaries, so there was a high possibility of casualties.

But this was the only way.

Everything to live.

Ivan remembered Handel being dragged away coldly by those men in robes.

His clenched fists trembled thinly.

Ivan, who repeatedly explained the plan to the children, waited for the right time.

And finally, the time has come to start the operation.

clank~

“Come out.”

The men in robes pulled the children out of prison as usual.

The children were terrified and did what the men in robes told them to do.

‘Well, now it’s time to….’

It was just as Ivan was about to signal the other children.

Someone leaned behind Ivan and spoke to him.

“Are you really going to do it?”

“…Lensley,”

Lensley Copper.

He is the longest surviving boy here after Handel.

He was the son of a coachman belonging to a noble family.

One day, he said, “I was kidnapped while walking around alone at night to get materials for repairing the carriage.”

Lensley looked at Ivan with his usual sharp eyes.

To his seriousness, Ivan also responded with sincerity.

“Yes. We will do as we plan.”

“You’ll really die if you do that.”

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Lensley’s voice contained an unobtrusive fear and helplessness.

It wasn’t that Lensley didn’t try to escape either.

However, he failed repeatedly, and many children were beaten to death by the men in robes.

The failures piled up, instilling deep fear and helplessness in Lensley.

Ivan saw through the circumstances of Lensley.

And he said without hesitation.

“Even if you stay still, you will die. So, you have to try hard.”

It’d be better than dying in a meaningless time staring blankly at the ceiling.

“…… You really want to escape.”

“Yes, me, the children, and you. Everyone will get out of here.”

A smile spread across Lensley’s lips as Ivan pointed at him.

“I’ll join you in your plan.”

Ivan’s eyes widened at Lensley’s sudden change of attitude.

Soon Ivan nodded slightly and accepted Lensley’s request.

“Sure. Do you know the plan?”

“Yes. So, when are you going to start?”

“Now,”

“Ha-ha. You don’t seem to be scared at all. That’s cool.”

Ivan smiled and turned his head.

Lensley seemed to have eased the tension a little.

Ivan coughed loudly, as he had promised beforehand.

Then Lensley began to scream.

“Argh! I can’t stand this cave any longer!” Send me back home!”

“Wait, what the hell is this…!”

Surprised by Lensley’s scream, the other children began to cry.

Soon the cave was filled with the screams and cries of the children.

“Ha. What the hell is this?”

“At this level, it can be called a commotion.” said Lensley, with a mischievous smile.

Ivan couldn’t help but smirk.

Originally, it was an operation to confuse the men in robes by disturbing the formation with children crying in unison at Ivan’s signal.

Zen should take advantage of that and run into the small opening.

However, thanks to Lensley, more confusion was created than originally planned.

Ivan found Zen among the tangled children.

Soon after, he found Zen struggling through the opening.

“That’s right!

Ivan struggled to hide his smile.

“Damn it! These … Will you be quiet?”

“Hs, it’s so annoying. I hoped the quiet kids would come again next time.”

“Well, it’s easy to keep these kids quiet.”

One of the robed men reached out his hand.

Then a small explosion occurred at his fingertips.

Bang!

With the explosion, a solid rock broke into pieces.

The children’s movements stopped all at once at the violent scene.

The men in robes sighed as they looked back at the silent cave again.

“Today isn’t the day. Put those bastards back in jail.”

“Ah. How am I going to explain it to Cale?”

“I’ll explain it to him on my own. You guys just stay still. You might be disposed of if you make a mistake.”

The children returned to prison with a keen stare from the men in robes.

‘Good. Now I have to pray for Zen to lead the knights to this place safely.’

The only worry he has is that Zen is still young.

Will Zen, who is very scared, be able to find his way properly?

Ivan sighed secretly and held his breath.

They felt someone approaching. 

The sound of footsteps spreading through the quiet aisle finally stopped in front of the prison where Ivan and his children were.

“You guys are the kids who made a fuss.”