Chapter 121
“What? Don’t talk nonsense! Let me go!”
I struggled to break free from Franz’s embrace, but his arms only tightened around me.
“Aren’t you curious? Why our tribe called you an ominous being, what your hidden power is.”
“You know about it?”
“Yes. When I became the leader of the Ulpes, the elders told me all the truth about you. And I realized what I had to do.”
Franz’s eyes curved gently as he looked down at me.
That smile was so eerie and dangerous that I instinctively felt repulsed.
This isn’t the Franz I know.
The mischievous but warm smile I knew was nowhere to be found.
“Our ancestors were foolish. They only hid, suppressed, and feared your powerful abilities. But I’m different. I won’t let your power go to waste like that.”
“Stop talking nonsense!”
I had no reason to listen to him anymore. I tried to summon a snowstorm toward him.
At that moment, something clicked around my wrist.
Looking down, I saw a thick silver bracelet engraved with magic circles. The pattern was familiar.
This is… could it be the magic shackles used by slave traders? Why would Franz have something like this?
“What are you doing! Take this off right now!”
I swung my hand, but the bracelet prevented me from using my strength.
Franz smiled, clearly having anticipated this.
“Be happy, Ruel. You’ll finally be able to use your power properly.”
“Stop saying crazy things, Franz!”
I mustered all my strength to push Franz away and stepped backward. But I couldn’t even take a few steps before collapsing in place.
The bracelet on my wrist was suppressing all my power.
Franz slowly knelt on one knee in front of me.
He took my hand and, disgustingly, kissed it. His unwavering eyes looked up at me intently.
Meeting those eyes filled with twisted desire, I felt like sharp thorny vines were covering my entire body, making me shudder.
It felt like being trapped in a snare I couldn’t escape, no matter how much I struggled.
“Ruel, let’s build a kingdom for shapeshifters with your power. A free and peaceful kingdom of our own where we won’t have to live under human oppression.”
I wanted to shout at Franz, asking what he was talking about.
But the shackle on my wrist flashed red. An unfamiliar magic circle was writhing beneath my feet.
“Why is there a magic circle here?”
I had an ominous feeling. The magic circle seemed to be pulling me in while releasing powerful energy.
As I tried to escape from the magic circle, Franz firmly embraced me from behind and whispered in what sounded like a joyful voice:
“Come with me. Show everyone your power.”
At that moment, my vision went dark with a blinding light.
***
Everything before my eyes was blood-red. The surroundings were swirling with red liquid like an ocean.
The red water rose up to my neck, but my entire body was tightly bound, and my voice wouldn’t come out.
Where am I? Why am I trapped here?
It became increasingly difficult to breathe. As I struggled to take even a small breath, someone pulled me strongly.
Only then could I breathe, and my vision gradually brightened.
Someone seemed to be holding me in their arms. I felt a warm temperature. They gently patted my back as if trying to calm me.
The delicate and careful touch made me feel relieved and at ease.
Ah, could this be Karden’s embrace? Perhaps I was just having a terrible nightmare.
Through my gradually clearing vision, I saw Franz’s face.
I felt as if all the blood was draining from my body, leaving me ice cold.
The nightmare was real.
“Where… is this place?”
I slowly looked around.
I was in a massive auditorium.
With no windows or sunlight, it appeared to be an underground space, but torches along the walls provided dim illumination of the surroundings.
The first thing I saw was myself sitting in a chair.
Magic shackles were fastened to both my wrists and ankles. And beneath the chair was a huge magic circle with peculiar patterns.
Around the circumference of the magic circle, shapeshifters stood at the four cardinal directions. They all had red eyes and expressionless faces.
Seeing the red eyes reminded me of shapeshifters who had fallen into a berserk state. Why were they here?
Haze-like energy flowed from the shapeshifters’ bodies and was sucked into the magic circle.
“Wh-what is that? What are you doing right now?”
At that moment, one shapeshifter coughed up blood and collapsed.
“No! A shapeshifter has collapsed!”
I tried to stand up but belatedly realized I was tied to the chair.
“Untie this right now!”
I shouted at Franz, standing beside me, but he paid no attention and gestured to masked figures who were waiting.
Without showing any concern, they took the unconscious shapeshifter away somewhere. Soon, the masked figures brought in a new shapeshifter.
This shapeshifter also had red eyes, but didn’t show the aggressive behavior typical of the berserk state.
They acted like soulless puppets, following orders.
The shapeshifter had a thick collar around their neck, with magic circle patterns similar to the shackles on my wrists.
When the new shapeshifter stood at the edge of the magic circle, energy flowed from their body like a mirage again. That power was completely absorbed into the magic circle.
The massive magic circle was emitting a dazzling light and humming quietly.
“What on earth are you doing?!”
I shouted at Franz and struggled to break free from the chair, but it was useless.
I couldn’t move at all, perhaps because of the shackles on my wrists and ankles.
“Stop it, Ruel. You’ll hurt your wrists that way.”
Franz tried to stop me in a concerned voice.
Despicable creature!
I gritted my teeth and glared at Franz.
“What are you plotting using these berserk shapeshifters? What’s the purpose of this magic circle? How could you betray your own kind?”
When I shouted in an angry voice, Franz remained completely calm without showing any sign of being affected.
“This magic circle opens a dimensional barrier. It requires powerful magic. The berserk shapeshifters aren’t losing their lives. They’re offering their power to the magic circle. This is a sacrifice for the future of shapeshifters. A noble sacrifice for the greater cause.”
“Stop saying insane things! You deliberately distributed Turba medicine to shapeshifters to steal their magic power?”
It felt like all the puzzle pieces of the incidents were finally coming together.
Why the Turba flower spread throughout the capital.
How the number of berserk shapeshifters increased, and how they were taken in groups to the shapeshifter shelter under the pretext of management.
Behind all of this was Duke Berdin.
My head burned with anger. I took deep breaths and glared at Franz with murderous intent.
“Franz, are you in league with Duke Berdin?”
I didn’t want to ask this question. I still wanted to believe in Franz with a thread of hope.
Franz placed his hand on my shoulder. And he smiled gently.
“There is no success without sacrifice. But in exchange, our children will be liberated and live freely, Ruel.”
“Stop saying crazy things.”
“I have someone to introduce to you. A grateful visionary who has presented a new future for the Ulpes tribe.”
“What…?”
At that moment, a man wearing a black mask appeared with his subordinates at the end of the massive underground auditorium.
The black mask approached the magic circle with leisurely steps.
The red lips beneath the mask wore an arrogant smile.
“Long time no see, Ulpes’ cute silver fox.”
It was the man who had tried to kidnap me at the shapeshifter auction.
The moment I heard that cursed voice, I exhaled angrily through my teeth.
“It was your doing?!”
The black mask was slowly removed. The face revealed under the flickering torchlight was Duke Berdin.
“So it was you after all? All of this?”
I had been suspicious of Duke Berdin, who operated the shapeshifter shelter, and had tried to discover his true intentions.
But I never thought he would be the black mask who had appeared at the slave auction.
Why couldn’t I detect his scent or presence? I had met Berdin up close several times.
I was furious at my own foolishness and dullness.
Berdin continued to smile brightly as he stared at me.
“You couldn’t have known it was me. I thoroughly concealed my presence and scent.”
“Why are you doing this? Why are you forcibly opening a magic circle by sacrificing shapeshifters? What exactly do you want, Duke Berdin!”
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