PMEVBO 59

“Meal time for prisoner number 1004.”

A stiff voice came from beyond the locked iron door. Moments later, the narrow slot beneath the door opened, and a wooden tray pushed through, holding a loaf of bread and a bowl of water.

Only after confirming that the guard’s footsteps had completely faded did I reach for the bread. Beneath it lay a red letter. Without hesitation, I set the bread down and picked up the letter.

Rip─

Something small and light tumbled out of the roughly torn envelope. ……It was a cigarette.

I gathered divine power in my palm and set the crumpled envelope alight. A small flame dimly illuminated the windowless cell.

I picked up the cigarette that had fallen to the floor, put it in my mouth, and held its end to the flame. The cigarette lit instantly.

“Ugh.”

My stomach churned. It was a side effect of using divine power while shackled.

Tali is said to possess properties that resist divine power. That’s why in the Holy City, they make piercings and ropes from it. Tali piercings focus on helping users control their divine power better, while Tali cords focus on sealing it off completely, preventing its use.

This restraint, forged from Tali cords, is a further processed version of that.

Secured to various parts of the body with special buckles, the restraint hinders the wearer’s use of divine power. Forcing divine power usage despite this immediately inflicts internal injuries. It’s said that if mishandled, it could even lead to death.

…Well, even then, it seems the damage would only be equivalent to a lighter flame setting a bottle on fire.

I drew on the black cigarette, then exhaled into the air, sending yellow smoke dispersing into the atmosphere.

The cigarettes inside the red envelope produced smoke of varying colors. Whether all cigarettes in this world were like that, or only the ones sent by the cardinal… I had no way of knowing. Not that I particularly wanted to know.

Who would’ve thought  I’d start smoking right after possession, when I didn’t even smoke before….

And that too, in prison.

Before the possession, I never touched cigarettes. Drinking occasionally was one thing, but avoiding cigarettes was my ironclad rule. After all, I was considering a physically demanding profession.

Cardinal Bechard began sending the red letters about a week after I was incarcerated.

The memory was still vivid, how I’d absentmindedly opened a similar letter back then, only to see butterfly carcasses and have a panic attack. Because of that, I burned the letter immediately with divine power without even opening it.

Then, amidst the smell of burning paper, I caught the distinct scent of tobacco. That’s how I knew it contained cigarettes.

After that, the letters came daily. Same time, same method. But I burned them. It was only in my third year of prison life that I started smoking.

That day was especially unbearable. Not only was the status window unresponsive, but even ████ showed no reaction. That made me unbearably anxious and restless. Just then, the red letter arrived. So I just… impulsively tore it open and lit a cigarette.

That became one day, then two days, then three days… It became a routine. Having something to do made me feel somewhat alive. That’s how I spent half of my six-year prison sentence with cigarettes.

The cardinal must have his own reasons for sending this crap every single day for six years. But what does that matter to me?

I’m trapped here anyway.

Before I knew it, the red letter had burned completely to ashes. A metallic taste of blood spread from my mouth holding the cigarette. Only then did I realize the fingertips holding the cigarette were damp. My eyes and neck, scratched raw until blood seeped out, stung.

I scratched myself again…

The last time I saw something like a status window was in the imperial capital. Back then, I’d bitten my finger until it bled, and through that drop of blood, ████ had spoken to me.

After that, whenever I got the chance, I’d bite my flesh or scratch myself until I bled. I wondered if drawing blood like that would make it speak to me again, like before. But ████ never responded even once after that.

Instead, I just ended up with this annoying habit.

Lately, even when I didn’t intend to, I often found myself scratching or biting my skin until it bled when I came to my senses. Today, I drew blood again, but there was no response from ████. The status window was the same.

I lay sprawled on the floor. In the pitch-black cell, only the yellow smoke I exhaled slowly rose and vanished.

…How much longer must I wait?

…Maybe I was wrong from the start to believe in something like a virus that only caused system errors.

The cigarette was already burned down to just the filter. Since the flame was lit with divine power, no matter how short the cigarette got, it wouldn’t burn my lips. So I just kept holding it in my mouth.

Eventually, the cigarette went out. I popped the burnt filter into my mouth. The taste, whether it was ash or nicotine, was revolting. But I chewed it thoroughly until the end and swallowed it.

I turned my head and saw the wooden tray with my meal.

I can’t eat.

My mouth felt scratchy and my throat stung, so I didn’t really feel like eating. My stomach was already upset from using divine power in the first place.

Then, I sensed movement outside the door. Soon, the voices of two guards drifted in.

“…I’m exhausted. What’s with this sudden guards reduction?”

“Ah, that’s because the guard recruitment notice went out.”

“No, then they should’ve taken the new recruits first and then cut employees…”

“Yes, exactly. Ah, but it seems the new recruits have already arrived in the city. Once they’re deployed, things might get a bit easier for us.”

“…Doesn’t cleaning up the mess they made just make you more exhausted?”

…Guard recruitment.

Come to think of it, this was around the time Isabelle entered this prison in the original story. One day, six years after the Hayut Massacre, she became a guard and went to find her enemy. To take revenge on him.

Since the Hayut Massacre happened as in the original story, Isabelle’s life must also follow the original path.

Then Isabelle must be among the newly recruited guards.

Reading the original story, I witnessed how completely Isabelle was broken after losing her family.

Her adoptive father, Duke Hayut, was a despicable bastard, but at least he was a father Isabelle loved. She grieved as if the sky had fallen when that father died.

But what truly shattered her was the death of her younger brother. The scene from the novel where she clutched her dead brother’s body and wailed in agony was still vivid in my memory.

The novel ended with Isabelle being devoured by the original Lucariel, resurrected as a demon. Her death was the final page of the story.

But her heart died the day she confirmed Iser’s death. The time that had stagnated and rotted since the day her brother died only began to flow again after she put an end to her revenge.

Isabelle. The one who lost everything at my hands. And… that child’s sister.

I knew that only by committing suicide as in the original story could I revive her dead heart, even just a little. But I couldn’t die for her sake. If I died in this body, the real me would die here too.

I had to return to my original world no matter what. I couldn’t abandon that goal now. I despised myself for being so selfish to my very core.

Gritting my teeth, I pressed both hands over my eyes. I wanted to gouge them out.

Beep!

A familiar electronic tone cut through the silence.

I flinched and lowered my hands.

There… was the status window I hadn’t seen in six years.

────【 Character Stats 】────

Name: Lucariel Nebella Sarachephon (Forced Possession)

Level: 1

HP: 44/100

Class: Prisoner No. 1004

Title: The Brutal Mass Murderer Who Slaughtered N People During His Priesthood

Skills: Guidance, Wisdom

Main Quest: Loading…

Sub Quest: Loading…

Clear all quests and reach the ending!

────────────────

“Finally…….”

The system has activated. Then quests should be coming soon…….

Sub Quest: Loading…

Sub Quest: Loading Complete!

Ding!

────【 Sub Quest 】────

Praise ‘XXX Hayut’!

(0/1)

D-1(24h)

Reward: Skill Draw Ticket (1x)

────────────────

The joy of quests resuming was short-lived; I instantly felt like I’d been doused with cold water.

‘XXX Hayut.’

Who it referred to was painfully obvious.

…Isabelle.