Chapter 64

I slammed my fist into the reinforced concrete wall, expecting the usual resistance. Instead, the wall crumbled inwards, dust billowing out as if it were made of sand. I couldn't help but grin.

"Let's go," I said to Akira, who stood huddled in the corner, her crimson eyes wide.

Before we could even take a step, the blaring shriek of the alarm ripped through the air, a piercing announcement of our escape. I sighed. This was never going to be easy.

"Akira, hide in that cupboard," I instructed, pointing towards the small, dingy recess in the wall. She hesitated but obeyed, disappearing into the shadows.

A moment later, the cell door was flung open, and a horde of guards poured inside, weapons raised. Behind them, a woman strode in, her face familiar. I initially thought it was the elderly woman who ran this wretched place, but something was off. Her skin was smooth, her movements fluid, her eyes sharp. And then I saw the nails – the same grotesque, elongated, and sharpened nails as the old woman.

Akira's quirk… it's similar to Eri's Rewind, but stronger...

I didn't want to cause permanent damage, so I focused my power, channeling a wave of intense cold. The guards closest to me froze in place, encased in shimmering ice statues. I left the woman untouched, a glimmer of hope sparking within me. Answers. I needed answers.

"What's your name?" I bellowed, my voice echoing in the confined space.

She snickered, a chilling sound. "Rosealine, and you, my dear Anos… are a handsome one." Her voice dripped with a saccharine sweetness that made my skin crawl. She was flirting? Now?

"I'm not interested," I barked, my voice laced with a warning.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, her gaze raking over me with unsettling intensity. She began to walk closer, her hips swaying with exaggerated movements. Ugh.

"Back away," I growled, taking a step back myself. This was going to be a lot more difficult than I thought.

She continued her advance, stopping only when she grazed my chest with her manicured nails.

"Stop," I muttered, trying to keep my voice steady.

"You don't hit women, eh? How sweet~" she taunted, a malicious glint in her pink eyes.

I couldn't. My mother's words echoed in my head, a lifelong lesson etched into my soul: Never raise your hand against a woman. And I wasn't about to break that, no matter how twisted Rosealine was.

"Get off," I whispered, my frustration mounting.

She grinned, her faded pink eyes locking onto mine, filled with a disturbing, almost predatory desire. "Come on, Anos… what do you want… what do you desire~ Give in, Anos, come on, you want to, think of all the dirty desires, all the rules you want to break, everything you want to~ Give in~" Her voice was a seductive whisper, laced with dark promises. She touched me again, her fingers tracing a line down my chest.