Chapter 777: Epilogue – The Boy

For a Dark Sorcerer, the most important thing was the human.

It might sound contradictory, but it was the truth.

To use Dark Magic, human emotions and vitality were essential, and in the case of Manipulative Dark Magic or creating Dark Magic items, bodies, human organs, and limbs were required.

For reference, humans, like meat, were valued higher when they were fresh and lively.

At this point, Dark Sorcerers often found themselves in a contradictory situation.

This contradictory situation referred to the paradox of managing kidnapped humans in such a way that they didn’t fall into complete despair.

It might have sounded like nonsense, but it was an undeniable fact, and a rather important matter as well.

Humans who fell into despair withered faster than flowers, their emotions and bodies decaying rapidly, reducing their value drastically.

Thus, whether they liked it or not, Dark Sorcerers couldn’t simply suppress and manage the ‘materials’ (people) solely through force if they wished to harvest them properly.

That was something a third-rate would do. To become first-rate, they had to instill hope in them.

Even though they were captured by Dark Sorcerers, they had to believe they had a chance to survive, that it wasn’t over yet.

The key point here was to grant them not a ‘real hope’ that could be seized, but rather an ‘illusory hope’ that could never be grasped.

After all, wouldn’t it be disappointing if they gave them real hope and they managed to escape?

As a result, the conditions for managing and storing the materials became more complicated.

They had to give the materials hope without letting them fall into complete despair, offering false hope and making that false hope appear as real as possible.

In the early days, Dark Sorcerers cursed at the complexity of such conditions while researching a solution, and Puppet was also part of that effort.

There was a desire to increase work efficiency, but on a personal level, Puppet saw it as an opportunity to study humans.

It was a matter of personal interest.

Perhaps due to Puppet’s efforts, he eventually developed a few simple yet highly effective devices.

These devices were the ‘Kind Captive’ and the ‘Escape Route’.

Through the Kind Captive, Puppet provided a mental refuge for the humans to rely on.

Through the Escape Route, he gave them the hope of escape, preventing them from falling into total despair.

And when those two devices were combined, it generated an even more astonishing synergistic effect.

“Don’t leave anything behind, eat everything.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

“Make sure you sleep properly, too.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

It was as if the prisoners had forgotten they were captured by Dark Sorcerers. They maintained hope through their meals, sleep, and the daily routine of digging, managing themselves thoroughly.

All on their own will, without any coercion.

Except for Puppet, that is.

“You give it a try.”

One day, the Old Man handed a spoon to Puppet, suggesting that he dig the tunnel.

Knowing it was pointless, Puppet strongly wanted to refuse. However, under the watchful eyes of the children glaring at him, he found himself nodding.

At that moment, Puppet was neither a Dark Sorcerer nor a puppet; he was just an ordinary boy.

Judging from what he’d seen so far, rejecting the request would certainly lead to him getting beaten, and that was something he wanted to avoid.

While human sensations could be amusing, the pain from getting hit was far from pleasant.

In the end, Puppet grabbed a spoon that no one knew how long had been used, and crawled into the filthy tunnel below to begin digging.

Scrape. Scrape. Scrape…

After some time passed, the Old Man called Puppet to switch shifts.

“Drink.”

When Puppet, covered in dirt, emerged from the tunnel, the Old Man handed him a bowl of water.

After doing the exhausting labor of digging, Puppet gulped down the water, and the Old Man spoke to Puppet.

“You’re quite good at digging.”

“…Thanks.”

Puppet, knowing it was a waste of time, answered curtly.

“From now on, you should dig with us. It’s better than just sitting idle.”

“…Yes.”

Puppet nodded as he felt the gaze of the other children upon him.

A few more days passed after that.

Not that it was any different.

Eating, sleeping, and occasionally digging in between. A monotonous life.

But was it entirely boring? Not really.

Normally, such scenes were only something he had observed outside the prison, so seeing them inside brought a change of pace. Additionally, listening to the children chatter was like enjoying a radio in the background.

Maybe the mind was playing tricks due to the boredom.

“What’s the first thing you’ll do once you leave here?”

“Mom. I’ll meet my mom. I’ll stay at my uncle’s place.”

“Pastries, I want to eat honey-fried pastries. You?”

“Me? I…”

“Hey! You should come with me! My uncle said he needs help running his shop in the city.”

“Really?”

“Really!”

“…”

The children, trying to banish their harsh reality, forced themselves to talk cheerfully, half willingly and half not, while Puppet listened in on their conversation.

Occasionally, an uninvited guest would try to force him into the conversation.

“What about you, Grandpa? Don’t you have anything you want to do?”

“Well, ask that kid over there.”

The Old Man, as the Kind Captive, pointed directly at Puppet, dragging him into the conversation unintentionally.

“Kid, is there something you want to do?”

“Ah, I…”

After a brief hesitation, Puppet came up with a quick lie and said he wanted to see his family.

Since he was already drawing too much attention, he didn’t want to risk acting out of line.

Fortunately, the Old Man seemed to believe his lie.

“Then, you’d better dig harder. Off you go.”

“Yes.”

‘Damn it.’

The Puppet Immortal, who had lived for hundreds of years, sponsored countless Dark Sorcerers, and slain numerous sorcerers and Holy Knights, crawled back into the filthy tunnel.

***

Scrape. Scrape. Scrape…

More days passed.

But nothing changed.

Eat, sleep, dig, chat. The repetitive and monotonous routine continued.

Was it because of the sheer boredom?

Puppet suddenly had a useless thought.

That in some ways, this prison was no different from outside.

Most humans were bound to their jobs, living a repetitive life, dying ridiculously easily.

Just like in this prison.

Of course, it wasn’t that this was anything new.

Puppet had lived through human history and witnessed the process countless times.

It was just that, becoming human himself, it felt somewhat new.

Maybe it was the difference between recognizing something with your head and feeling it with your skin?

In any case, aside from that train of thought, nothing else of note happened—there was no chance of escaping anyway.

But then, during those boring, repetitive days, a sudden change occurred.

“The root! The weed root broke through! The escape route is nearly complete!”

The Old Man, who had been digging, suddenly shouted.

“What…”

“Huh?!”

“Gasp!”

The children, waiting for their turn, either made dumbfounded sounds or covered their mouths in shock.

For a moment, the entire prison fell into a synchronized silence as the Old Man crawled out, panting.

“Haah, haah… The root. The root broke through. We’re almost outside.”

As the Old Man wheezed, Puppet looked blankly at him.

It was just that surprising.

‘What’s going on?’

While Puppet was in disbelief, one of the children brought the Old Man a bowl of water, and after gulping it down, he spoke again, with urgency.

His words were…

“Tonight… Tonight, we must prepare to escape.”

“Tonight?”

Suddenly? The children were taken aback again.

Though the gates might open, they couldn’t easily imagine themselves escaping. They were like captive animals, too used to the cage.

The Old Man, his voice low yet firm, addressed them.

“Yes, tonight we must escape. As quickly as possible.”

Puppet stared at the Old Man silently, trying to figure out what he was planning.

Wasn’t he the Kind Captive?

No, it wasn’t that.

Although Puppet could no longer use the Warlock’s Eye to see human emotions, his centuries of experience told him that this Old Man was indeed the Kind Captive.

Nothing he had done so far had stepped out of Puppet’s design.

“What about you?”

One of the children suddenly asked. His tone made it clear he wasn’t thinking about his own escape, which was the correct assumption.

“Someone has to stay behind to buy time.”

The children’s faces showed understanding.

The fact that food was provided three times a day meant there would be three opportunities daily to check the number of prisoners.

Even if the guards were negligent, they’d definitely notice if all the children and the Old Man disappeared. Especially if the Kind Captive went missing.

In order to buy a bit more time, the Old Man had to stay behind in the prison. At best, they would gain one extra day.

But even an extra day would make a world of difference. These prison complexes were always in remote places; as soon as the pursuit team was notified, escape was just a matter of time.

“But still…”

Though they understood, the children couldn’t accept it emotionally.

The idea of leaving behind the Old Man, who had been their guide through this terrifying place, filled them with fear.

Puppet also didn’t quite understand.

Why was the Old Man suddenly acting this way?

As if sensing Puppet’s thoughts, the Old Man turned to meet his eyes.

“Kid.”

“Yes?”

“Come and talk to me for a moment.”

At the Old Man’s firm and sudden request, Puppet walked over to the side.

Thump. Thump.

Embarrassingly enough, Puppet could feel his heart beating slightly.

‘Why is it beating?’

Was it fear? No, that wasn’t it.

Maybe it was the tension of not understanding the situation? Possibly.

Or could it be some other reason?

Whatever it was, Puppet couldn’t pinpoint it, but he calmed his beating heart and waited for the Old Man to speak.

Thump. Thump.

“You have to take the children and escape.”

“…What?”

Puppet blinked stupidly at the completely unexpected words.

The Old Man repeated himself.

“You have to lead the children and escape.”

“Uh, I’m not suited for that… Wouldn’t it be better to ask him instead?”

Puppet declined, pointing at the child taller than himself.

That boy had been the one to get angry when Puppet annoyed the guards, and he was the de facto leader of the children.

“His name is Leboski.”

“Oh…”

Despite spending days together, Puppet hadn’t learned his name. More accurately, he hadn’t bothered to remember.

“He’s a brave kid, but he’s not fit to lead the others in an escape.”

“Neither am I.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I think it’d be better if I just stayed here and pretended to be one of the kids.”

Even though an opportunity to escape was now available, Puppet withdrew.

He wasn’t sure how safe it really was, and even if it was, the chance of successfully escaping seemed slim. Moreover, escaping barefoot in a snow-covered land like the Winter Kingdom seemed far too troublesome.

Puppet had already achieved what he had dreamed of. Dying here was just another step on his journey.

Sure, it would hurt and be painful, and yes, he’d probably go to Hell if he died. But that seemed manageable.

Having done what he had to become human, he felt at peace accepting whatever fate awaited him.

Whatever happens, wouldn’t he die as a human? It was less of a hassle anyway.

But the Old Man seemed to think differently.

“I don’t think that’s the case.”

“…?”

“You’re the only one who can lead the children.”

Huh… Puppet chuckled internally.

“And why do you think that?”

“Because you know I’m the Kind Captive.”

“…”

“You’re a Dark Sorcerer, aren’t you?”