Chapter 23. Stitched Shut

Lucilline was crushed underneath the rubble.

He could hear the muffled sounds of agonized screams, and the roar of unilateral trepidation. Fear seemed to strike in the roots of every nobleman at the scene. But Lucilline couldn't see a thing—only huge chunky rocks, which had fallen on his body. He doubted that he could escape.

Is this where he was going to die?

He couldn't even register the tearing pain at his limbs—only numbness. Lucilline closed his eyes, with those pair of golden irises sinking into the shadows. Dying this way is better than getting executed by the male lead, right?

He couldn't answer that question.

How does he want to die? Does he want to be killed by the reincarnators? Or does he want to live a fulfilled life, dying when his age reaches its limit?

Perhaps, he should just give up? After all, the grim reaper might have already come to snatch his soul-

All of a sudden, a shining beam of light shone on his face. Lucilline snapped out of it. The rocks had been moved aside, revealing a terror-stricken face. Willow had single-handedly moved the rocks aside, with her uninhibited strength. "Young Master, are you alright?" She reached out a hand, "Take my hand! Let's get out of here!"

Lucilline blinked. He could barely register a thing.

The sound of his maidservant seemed so close, and yet so faraway.

"...Young Master?" Willow was puzzled. No matter how many times she repeated her Young Master's name, the latter had just stared at her with his pair of beautiful golden eyes.

Lucilline saw her, then laughed, "I didn't think that I would see you in the afterlife, Willow."

Willow, "..." The fuck?

She hid away her speechless expression, then blurted out, "Young Master! Stop it with your jokes! We need to leave the school this instant! Demons have invaded!"

Lucilline came back to himself. "...demons?"

He outstretched a gloved hand to Willow, who pulled him out from the rubble. It was then the maidservant noticed that the back of Lucilline's head was soaked in blood...!

"No wonder you have brain damage!" She panicked.

Lucilline: ??? I don't?

He pressed a gloved hand against the back of his hand, then examined his glove... Indeed, there was a trace of residual mahogany red blood. It oozed of a pungent scent, and made Lucilline feel unease. Willow had quickly took out a handkerchief, pressing it against her Young Master's head. "Don't worry, Young Master! As long as I can stop the bleeding, it will be fine!"

However, Lucilline was not paying attention to his own injuries.

His sight was focused on the disastrous arena all around him. The school had been crumbled into mere rubble, with fallen stone collapsing everywhere. The ceiling was struck with cracks, about to tumble upon them whenever the demon lets out a bellowing roar.

"Thankfully it's just a minor injury." Willow sighed in relief. "The bleeding has almost completely stopped. Young Master, you should be able to escape safely. I will stay behind to look for any other injured-"

She was interrupted by a sharp glint in her Young Master's eyes.

Willow held her breath. It was rare to see such a determined conviction in those pair of golden eyes. She remembered the same conviction in her younger brother's amethyst purple eyes—the urge to prove that oneself has enough strength to continue moving forwards.

"Willow," Lucilline deadpanned. "I am the third son of Duke Rubius. I will not run away from this scene."

His outfit had been torn, but he did not care even the slightest. Lucilline took off his sweater, only wearing a white shirt with the emblem of S Academy on the top right. His black trousers wrapped loosely on his slender legs, making him look ready for combat.

"I will initiate the first blow to the demon." He did not waver. "Willow; the weapon."

Doing as she was told, Willow handed over a dagger to her Young Master. "Yes," She nodded. She had kept that dagger hidden in her skirt. It was to used for dealing with enemies. This time, the enemy was a demon. Her Young Master needed this dagger more than she.

"Go rescue the people." Lucilline ordered. "I will stall the demon."

Willow pursed her lips. "Young Master, would it be possible for us to switch roles? I will fight the demon, and you can go rescue the people-"

"I'm not as strong as you, Willow." Lucilline remained unmoved, with a steady voice. He only looked ahead at the shambles that the demon had created out of his school. "What's most important right now are the lives of the people. That is our first and foremost priority. Since you're stronger and faster than me, you will be able to guarantee their safety faster than if I were to take on that role."

"Therefore," he explained, "You should go rescue the people."

There was no room for disagreement. Willow's eyebrows furrowed, "I see. I will go help the people escape. I will come back for you as soon as possible, Young Master."

Her small figure had nimbly leaped out from the rubble, and she had quickly disappeared, as if the maidservant was merely a wisp of the wind.

Lucilline looked at the distance.

Slowly, he felt his wound completely disappear, and his dizziness from the loss of blood had also vanished without a trace. Even his blood had faded into nothing.

He was worried for his maidservant.

However, Willow was a strong individual.

The drugs running through her body had allowed her to live like a non-human being; like a deity. Even horrible pain or wounds will not hinder her from achieving her goal. She also recovers from her injuries with immense speed. The drugs truly have made her invincible.

Lucilline turned to look at the demon.

It was at least five metres tall, with an ugly scar ripped across its unrecognizable face. The colour of crimson red had glowed on its shadow-like body, as if stitches were pulling through the depths of black ink rivers, and revering to sew everything together.

The demon was on its four legs. Its deformed head had rummaged through the rubble, trying to search for its next prey.

Lucilline pursed his lips.

There were screams everywhere. The noblemen had all fled from the arena, and their pitter-pattering footsteps had scattered in the hallways. They were all fleeing.

However, there were some trapped in the rubble.

As the third son of Grand Duke Rubius, Lucilline must make sure that the demon doesn't take another step closer to destruction!

"Over here!" He yelled.

The demon paused in its movements. Its mouth raised up in a crooked motion, as if bloody thread was used to sew its nonexistent lips shut. The demon had no eyes either. There was only a pool of darkness; a puddle of shadows and void.

Meeting eyes with the demon, Lucilline had a feeling as if cold had plundered all his senses. Frigid chill had crept up his legs, with numbness tingling his limbs.

He gritted his teeth, "Are you too stunned to talk?"

The demon's mouth had trembled, with the lines of stitches jumping up and down in trepidation. It was as if this was the first time a human had talked to it.

It couldn't open its mouth. Therefore, it only let out an ugly laugh from its throat.

"Why don't you dare to talk?" Lucilline's eyes thinned. "You should know that demons are no longer welcomed in Lydia Kingdom; much less welcomed in S Academy."

The demon fixated its attention on the black-haired nobleman.

Its mouth moved, as if trying to struggle through the binding of the stitches.

Lucilline's eyes had thinned even more. This demon's mouth is stitched close. Did it do this to itself...? Do all demons share this characteristic? But... it doesn't seem so. The historical books have never mentioned demons with stitched mouths. This can only mean one thing...

The demon was controlled by someone. They didn't want the demon to talk, so they stitched its mouth close.

This thought had made Lucilline shiver in fright.

He might be the villain who endangered Lydia Kingdom in the book, but he isn't invincible enough to defeat a person that can control demons...! Lucilline's legs felt weak, as if turning into jelly.

Could there be someone more villainous than him; the villain?

Lucilline breathed harshly. He pointed his dagger at the demon, "Do you know who I am? My mother is Duchess Rubius, and my father is Duke Rubius. Together, they both saved over 100,000 commoners from being enslaved."

"If I cannot save at least these 1,000 noblemen, then I will never recognize myself as their third son!" Lucilline swore that line.

The five metre tall demon glanced at the black-haired nobleman with amusement.

Then, it pounced—

Lucilline quickly avoided the demon's sharp claws. The demon's deformed body was like a shadow, manufacturing anything possible.

Small stones of rubble had collapsed in the arena's surroundings. Several seats and cushions were destroyed from the demon's heavy blow.

Lucilline climbed up from the row of chairs. He dodged the demon's consecutive attacks, with its claws narrowly cutting into his skin. If he was ever one step later, then he would have been directly pierced in the abdomen, and died effortlessly.

If he died—well, Willow would die with him.

He could never let that happen.

Lucilline spun around, delivering a sharp kick at the demon's forearm! The demon remained unmoved. It was as if it couldn't feel pain.

The demon looked at Lucilline, then it smiled.

Lucilline felt chills all over his body. Without thinking, he stabbed his dagger directly into the demon's bone-chilling eyes!

Blood spluttered out from the demon's wound. The mahogany red liquid was hot. Lucilline had some splash onto his arm, and he felt it burn his pale skin. However, the burning sensation had vanished—transferring onto Willow's body.

"Here!" Lucilline pulled his dagger out from the demon's eye, revealing the metallic blood coated onto his silver blade.

The black-haired nobleman saw the blood. It was nauseating, and gross. He tried to reassure himself, I've seen blood before. It's the same as that time. It's the same.

He had aimed for another stab—

However, the demon had long since expected that. It couldn't cry out from the excruciating pain. Instead, the demon pounced behind to Lucilline's far right, with a frightening smile playing in its pool of dark eyes. It seemed to be bidding farewell to the black-haired nobleman.

The demon's stitched lips had curved upwards.

Then, it threw its claw at Lucilline-

Instead of landing its hit, something sharp pierced into the demon's abdomen. This had alarmed the demon. A muffled scream came from the demon. It couldn't let out its cry, due to its mouth being sewn shut.

Lucilline's eyes widened.

Behind the demon was a girl. Daphnne's blue irises were struck with fear, but she forced down her feeling of fright. She had stabbed her sword at the demon's abdomen, with red liquid gushing out. Daphnne's pupils had only dilated further. She didn't dare to move...

"Daphnne!" A cry came out.

The heroine looked at Lucilline, who dashed across the row and aisles of chairs. His nimble figure was fast. His hair was untied from the mess. Locks of inky black hair had fallen down his shoulders, like a bird unveiling its wings. Lucilline's eyes were like liquid gold, but his determination was contrast to the flowing waters, like a raging solid.

His slender figure jumped high up into the air-

Then, his dagger stabbed into the demon's hand, piercing it down to the ground, as if it was chaining the demon. The demon howled. Its scars had a brilliant red colour to it; a contagious blooming rose.

All of a sudden, another figure had dashed across the arena. It was Percival, the only son of Duke Delta! His white suit had shone prominently amongst the dust and rubble.

"I'm here!" He called.

In his hands were utensil knives, but sharpened multiple times against the ground. Percival's eyes had sharpened, as he precisely nailed those knives unto the demon's other three legs.

The demon was fully chained the ground.

"Now!" Lucilline called.

The demon couldn't move from the pain-

Daphnne understood in an instant. She pulled her sword out from the demon's abdomen, with scalding blood falling onto her hands. But that temperature was nothing compared to the hot water splashed onto her from Tetra.

The heroine gritted her teeth.

"AHHHHHH!!!" She screamed. Her chestnut brown hair flowed violently against the raging winds, and in a swift motion, she stabbed her sword into the demon's palpitating heart. With a mighty roar, the demon collapsed onto the ground, with dust spewing off to the horizon. The creature was slain.