Fear

A deathly silence ruled in front of the castle. The guards exchanged bewildered glances. Fauriel's face was flushed red with rage, his hands trembling with fury. Finally, he exploded, slamming his fist onto the table.

"How dare a no-name lord of some unknown castle call a renowned merchant like me a 'pig'?!"

The water glasses on the table trembled slightly. A mocking smile formed on Ravien's lips, but he said nothing.

Sensing the gravity of the situation, Yosukez stepped forward.

"Do you even realize whom you're insulting?"

He took another step, his shadow falling over the table.

"Kneel before Lord Fauriel and apologize… or I'll cut that tongue of yours."

The guards immediately reached for their swords at the threat. The atmosphere teetered on the edge of battle.

Yet Ravien remained motionless. With complete composure, he took a sip of his tea. Then, his gaze shifted lazily back to Fauriel, his smile deepening with mockery.

"So, besides trying to deceive me, you're threatening me too? I don't even know what to say… little piglet."

That was the final straw. Yosukez's eyes burned with fury. Gritting his teeth, he raised his fist. He could no longer stand by and watch his lord be humiliated.

His fist was about to smash into Ravien's face—

But it stopped.

Something had caught it mid-air.

A pale, long-fingered hand.

The skin was pure white, devoid of a single mark or vein. It was eerily smooth, unnatural.

The moment Yosukez's punch was halted, a faint current of air swirled around them.

A chilling sensation seeped into his bones, as if tiny shards of ice were piercing beneath his skin.

Yosukez tried to yank his hand free in shock. But he couldn't. He had no strength against it.

Everyone's eyes shifted to the figure standing behind Ravien.

A tall, humanoid shape.

Dressed in a butler's uniform.

Yet… it had no face.

Its presence was eerily mechanical, devoid of any soul.

The guards froze at the sight, then instinctively recoiled in fear. Some reached for their weapons, but none dared to strike first.

One of them swallowed hard, his voice uncertain.

"Is… is it wearing a mask? Or does it really have no face?"

Even Haldvir flinched, involuntarily taking a step back.

Fauriel's face turned ashen, his voice barely a whisper.

"What… what is that thing?"

Yosukez clenched his teeth and struggled to push the creature's arm away. But it wouldn't budge—not even a fraction.

"Damn it! Let go of me!"

Ravien tilted his head slightly, his expression amused.

"You just tried to attack me. In my own territory."

He slowly stood up, casually adjusting his clothes.

"That makes you my enemy."

His voice was calm. Almost… casual.

Then, he spoke.

"XZ, break his arm."

Without hesitation, the faceless butler, XZ, gripped Yosukez's arm from both sides.

With that same cold, mechanical movement—

It raised its knee, aiming to shatter the limb in one precise strike.

But at that moment, Yosukez roared.

His muscles swelled, veins bulging beneath his skin.

With sheer brute force, he lifted XZ off the ground along with his trapped arm.

But something was wrong.

His strength surged—then suddenly faded.

A sharp, searing pain spread through his veins.

For a fleeting moment, it felt as if his own body was betraying him.

Fauriel, still frozen in fear, finally forced his terror into fury. He leapt to his feet, taking cover behind his guards as he bellowed—

"You bastards! Kill that man!"

The guards hesitated for only a second before drawing their swords and charging at Ravien.

Ravien merely glanced at Fauriel, his lips curling in scorn.

"Well, well… the great merchant Fauriel, hiding behind his guards already."

His voice dripped with mockery.

"Good job, pig."

Fauriel's face burned red with rage, but he was at a loss for words. His teeth clenched tightly.

Meanwhile, Ravien paid no attention to the escalating chaos around him.

Instead, his gaze shifted toward the massive structure veiled by heavy curtains at the back of the hall.

His fingers reached for the fabric, his expression turning eerily blank.

His eyes gleamed—a deep, unsettling red.

"Before you all arrived… I prepared something fun."

His voice was soft, almost playful.

"Let's see if you can handle it."

With one swift motion, Ravien yanked the curtain away.

A monstrous cage was revealed.

Behind the iron bars stood three horrifying abominations—if they could even be called creatures.

None of them stood still.

One trembled.

One convulsed.

One… writhed in an unnatural rhythm.

A deathly silence ruled over the castle courtyard

One guard gagged and stepped back. Another averted his eyes but couldn't stop staring.

Haldvir collapsed in fear.

Fauriel… could no longer utter a single word.

At the center of the cage stood The Twisting Man.

He resembled a human—but in all the wrong ways.

His arms and legs bent at impossible angles, twisting and breaking on their own with every movement. His bones cracked like wet branches, reshaping endlessly.

He had no face.

Only a writhing mass of wet, intertwining tendrils.

Dark fluid dripped between them—was it blood? Or something far worse?

A guard swallowed hard.

"I-It moves by… breaking itself?"

In the other corner stood The Baby.

It didn't move.

Its swollen, pale skin looked waxy, lifeless.

But its mouth… that cursed mouth—

At first glance, it seemed small.

Then, all at once, its entire face split in two.

A cavernous abyss tore open from its chin down to its chest, revealing countless rows of jagged, rotten teeth. Some were sharp. Some were broken. Bits of flesh were still wedged between them—fresh.

A guard dropped to his knees, trembling. He still clutched his sword, but his fingers had turned deathly pale.

The air grew colder. His breath fogged in the air.

His heartbeat pounded in his ears—slow, heavy, like a distant war drum.

And at the very back of the cage stood The Flesh Mass.

At first, it looked like nothing more than a pulsating mound of raw, bloody tissue.

But then…

It moved.

A single eye opened on its surface.

A human eye.

Bloodshot, its dark pupil shrunken to a pinprick.

It darted around in panic.

It had no eyelids.

It couldn't close.

It wanted to—but it couldn't.

Then, another eye opened.

Then another.

Dozens.

Hundreds.

Some twitched. Some stared blankly.

But the worst part…

They were afraid.

Fingers began to emerge from the flesh.

At first, just a few.

Then more.

Thin, trembling fingers of a woman.

Rough, calloused hands of a man.

A tiny, child's palm.

They clenched into fists.

Opened.

Scratched at the surface.

They were trying to escape.

But there was nowhere to go.

And then…

A mouth formed.

Had it always been there?

No.

But now it was.

And it began to speak.

Not one voice.

But hundreds.

"Mother…"

"Help me…"

"I don't want to die."

The voices overlapped, merging into a single, suffocating wail.

But soon, they changed.

Not just words.

Crying.

Prayers.

Moans.

Someone was laughing.

But they all had one thing in common.

They were all dying.

And the dying never stopped.

The castle was no longer silent.

The cage doors creaked open.

No one moved.

No one even breathed.

Then—

The Twisting Man took a step outside.

Crack.

His leg broke in reverse.

And yet, he walked.

The Baby's jaw split wider. Thick, black drool dripped down.

Then, without inhaling—

It screamed.

"EHHEEEHHH EHHH EEEEHHH!"

The sound echoed through the castle.

A guard's nose started bleeding. Another clutched his ears—but it was useless.

The scream was inside his skull.

And at the very back…

The Flesh Mass began to crawl forward.

Its pieces tore from the ground, leaving behind a trail of red.

Its eyes turned.

To the guards.

To Yosukez.

To Fauriel.

And then—

They all turned to Ravien.