"..."

The whole prison was silent.

Verc stood outside the cell, not saying anything and just looking at the six people inside. The stone floor of the corridor was cold, and the faint, flickering light from the wall-mounted torches cast long, dancing shadows over the iron bars. He didn’t move, his posture relaxed, his red eyes calm.

"..."

Elianna, Kael, Stanford, Kelton, Harper, and Gibson did the same. They remained where they were, sitting or standing on the damp stone floor of the cell, and just looked at Verc.

The seven of them didn’t know what to say.

A weird, heavy, and awkward atmosphere spread around them, thick with the weight of their shared history and their current positions as captor and prisoners.

But after a while—

"It’s been a while."

Verc said that, breaking the silence. His voice was steady and quiet, lacking any of the hostility one would expect from a dungeon master addressing a group of defeated invaders.

"Indeed... we didn’t expect to see you ever again. Especially not here."

Kael stood up from being seated on the ground and replied with that. He leaned his back against the cold stone wall, his gaze lingering on Verc’s face. Despite the fact that they were behind bars, he seemed less like a prisoner and more like an old acquaintance.

"Well, one thing led to another... and now I’m here, acting as the leader of these lots."

Verc responded with a casual shrug. His face remained straight, revealing none of the inner conflict he was experiencing.

Though, inside... he’s a bit glad, being able to talk with Kael after a long time.

He remembered back when they were traveling together before; Verc learned a lot from him, got stronger because of him.

"It’s a nice village you have here... a weird one, but the citizens seem content and happy."

Just then, it was Elianna who spoke up. She stood near the front of the bars, her head held high even though she was clearly exhausted from fight earlier this day.

"Thanks. I’ve been doing my best to satisfy everyone."

Verc turned to her and said that.

"How are they feeling, by the way?"

Then, he looked at Gibson and the others behind the two. The four of them were still sitting on the ground, some nursing injuries that had been crudely bandaged.

"They’re fine now, they’re still hurt—but they will survive. A couple of dark elves and three beastwomen went here and treated everyone earlier... They have some weird herbs with them that were super effective."

Kael said, looking back at his squad members. He nodded toward the back of the cell where Stanford and Kelton were resting, their breathing now regular and calm thanks to the healing herbs.

"..."

The four just kept on staring at Verc. They still don’t know what to say to him. They were the ones who had been tasked with capturing or killing him, yet here they were, being treated by his subordinates and kept in a secure cell built by his own hands.

"We really thought you were dead or hiding in some far-off continent."

Just then; Gibson said that, his voice breaking the stillness of the corridor.

"I was just looking for a quiet place to stay."

Verc responded calmly.

"You chose a pretty dangerous place for a quiet life, don’t you think?"

Stanford muttered from the back of the cell, his voice still carrying a bit of weakness from the earlier clash on the battlefield.

"It keeps unwanted guests away... Usually, at least."

Verc stated sarcastically.

The small exchange, completely normal and devoid of any bloodlust, seemed to work like a balm on the group’s frayed nerves. It felt incredibly strange to be holding a casual conversation through iron bars, especially since their last meeting had ended in a high-stakes pursuit, but the familiar tone of Verc’s voice helped them relax.

"So, you became a lord."

Kael remarked, a slight, weary smile touching his lips.

"It wasn’t really my intention. They just started following me after I helped them out with a few problems."

Verc explained, keeping his voice level.

"They must’ve really liked you then.."

Elianna mumbled.

And just like that...

The conversation continued to flow in this manner for several minutes, with the group asking minor questions about the village and Verc giving brief, straightforward answers.

The weird atmosphere that had gripped them upon his sudden arrival was completely gone now, replaced by the simple familiarity.

... ... ...

But as the casual talk began to wind down, a sudden gravity returned to Elianna’s face. She looked down at the floor, her fingers tightening slightly against each other as she remembered the past.

"Verc... regarding what happened back in the City of Zore."

Elianna started, her voice dropping to a serious tone.

"..."

Verc remained quiet, waiting for her to continue.

"The day your identity as a vampire was revealed to the public... everything changed completely."

She explained, her expression turning somber.

"The entire city descended into absolute chaos. People were screaming in the streets, guards were mobilized to every corner, and the high priests immediately branded you as a top-tier criminal. You were officially declared an enemy of the state before the sun even set that day."

She added, looking up to see his reaction.

"Oh, yeah..."

Verc muttered, his face remaining entirely blank.

"What happened after I escaped?"

He then asked, genuinely curious about the aftermath of his sudden departure.

Kael let out a dry, short laugh and reached up, scratching the back of his head with his tied hands.

"Well, we got chewed out so badly by the elders of the church. You have no idea how loud those old men can yell when they are angry."

Kael said, joking around to lighten the heavy topic, though his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

"They spent hours nagging us, going on and on about how incompetent we were for letting a vampire escape right in front of our faces. To them, your kind is the absolute natural enemy of [The Radiant Church], so letting you slip away was considered a massive failure."

He continued, shaking his head at the memory.

Kael then glanced toward Elianna, his expression turning a bit sympathetic as he remembered how much pressure she had been under.

"Elianna was specially chewed off. The elders didn’t hold anything back when they reprimanded her. They blamed her leadership for the entire disaster, saying she was too weak and unready to be the saintess."

He added.

"They claimed that my faith was lacking, and that I had allowed a demon to escape."

Elianna spoke up, her voice carrying a hint of lingering bitterness.

"Now, the elders are using what happened back in Zore to push her around constantly. They use our past mistake as leverage to force us into taking on the most dangerous, high-stakes missions without any room for refusal."

Kael explained, his tone turning serious again.

"That was why we were here in this expedition, in the first place. We were forced to join this campaign to regain the church’s lost face."

He concluded, letting out a tired sigh.

Verc stood perfectly still outside the iron bars, listening to the harsh consequences his old companions had faced because of his actions. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"I’m sorry for that."

Verc simply said, his voice dropping into a sincere register. He didn’t show any emotion on his face, keeping his features completely stoic, but his words carried a deep weight.

Elianna looked at him, and then she quickly shook her head to brush it away.

"Don’t worry about it."

She declared.

"We were just unable to restrain you at that time, and you managed to escape simply because we were weak."

Elianna stated firmly.

"She’s right. You have nothing to apologize for, Verc. You had a right to fight for your survival just like anyone else would in that situation. We don’t hold a grudge against you for wanting to live."

Kael added.

"..."

Verc didn’t say anything about that, he just nodded his head.

Then after a while... he shifted the topic.

"By the way... Why did your forces attack the village? Or at least... why are you all here in the [Cursed Forest]?"

Verc asked, his red eyes locking onto Elianna.

"I will be answering your question."

Elianna said, stepping closer to the bars so her voice wouldn’t carry down the entire hallway to the other cells where the regular soldiers were held.

And just like that... she told Verc everything from the start.

... ... ...

... ... ...

... ... ...

*****

"The entire expedition was announced by the King of Halveron himself during a grand royal ball."

She began, explaining the political background of the massive invasion.

"It was presented to the public as a grand campaign to bring glory and safety to the kingdom. Because of the royal decree, all the local nobility were pressured into providing their own private knights and resources to show their absolute loyalty to the crown. They couldn’t say no without looking like traitors."

She continued, her voice echoing softly in the quiet stone cell.

"And it wasn’t just Halveron acting alone. The empire was the one who supported the entire plan. They provided massive amounts of funding, advanced equipment, and some support group to ensure the army could march this far into the wild lands without running out of supplies."

She explained.

"What was the main goal of all this effort?"

Verc asked, narrowing his eyes slightly as he processed the information.

"The ultimate goal of the expedition was to expand the kingdom’s borders. And to do that... they were planning on conquering the entire [Cursed Forest], clearing out everything inside it to build new settlements, fortresses, and supply roads."

Elianna revealed, looking deeply into his eyes.

"The royal court and the church leaders had led everyone to believe that the [Cursed Forest] was nothing more than a lawless den of chaotic monsters that threatened our borders. They told the soldiers that this place needed to be completely purged for the sake of peace and safety for the human realms. They had no idea a civilized village was built here."

She added, finishing her detailed explanation of the campaign.

Verc nodded his head after hearing the story in understanding.

It all made sense now. The attack on his village wasn’t a targeted assault against him specifically, but rather a massive, state-sponsored expansion strategy by the very human kingdoms he had tried so hard to avoid.

They viewed this entire forest as a blank space on a map waiting to be claimed.

As he was stuck in his thought, before he could even say anything to her regarding the situation—Elianna looked at him with a sudden look of desperation, her posture stiffening as she thought about the fate of her subordinates.

"Verc... what are you going to do with the prisoners?"

Elianna asked, her voice filled with a quiet anxiety.

She knew how human lords treated captured enemies, often executing them or forcing them into hard labor, and she feared that Verc might do something like that to protect the secret of his hidden territory.

"Please, let them live. The mercenaries and the regular soldiers are just men following orders to provide for their families back home. They don’t know anything about you or the reality of this forest. Even Kael’s squad members... they were just doing their duty under the church’s command. Please don’t execute them."

She immediately followed with that.

She begged, her hands gripping the cold iron bars tightly as she looked at him.

"..."

Verc just looked at her, his expression unchanging as he listened to her passionate plea. He let the silence stretch for a long moment, letting the sound of the crackling torches fill the hallway before he finally spoke.

"I’m not some kind of monster who kills people for fun."

Verc told her casually, his tone smooth and relaxed.

"I have no interest in mindless slaughter or senseless executions. It gains me nothing. If I truly wanted all of you dead, I would have taken your lives out on the battlefield the exact moment I arrived at the village borders earlier today."

He explained, keeping his voice low so it wouldn’t cause unnecessary panic down the hall.

"In fact, I should thank you, Elianna."

Verc added, his gaze softening by a tiny fraction.

"You convinced the others to drop their weapons and surrender when they were still capable of fighting a losing battle. Your decision stopped a lot of more meaningless death today, both for my people and yours. For that, I am grateful."

He stated clearly.

Elianna let out a long, shaky breath, her shoulders sagging in pure relief as the heavy weight of a potential execution was lifted from her chest.

She could see that despite his new role as a leader of monsters, the core of Verc’s character remained completely intact.

FWISh~

Anyway;--erc then turned his back away from them after that.

"Rest for the night."

He told them.

"The prison guards will be coming down soon to bring all of you some food and fresh water. You won’t be kept in these cells forever. You will all be set free tomorrow, or at least in a few days once we finish organizing the village and clearing the battlefield after the clash."

He informed them, giving them a clear assurance of their safety.

"Goodbye."

Verc said, using a definitive farewell instead of saying, "See you later."

And just like that—

FWOOSH~

Verc disappeared from where he stood like a ghost.

His figure blurred into a shadow and vanished instantly into the thin air, leaving the corridor completely empty.

"Haaaah..."

Kael let out a long, heavy breath, his shoulders dropping completely as he leaned his head back against the solid stone wall of the cell.

"He’s still the same, isn’t he?"

He mumbled, looking at the ceiling of the cell.

"..."

Elianna and the others didn’t say anything. But they agree at his words.

A small smile appeared on their faces... They were glad that Verc was safe, and a bit happy to see him again. Even in such situation.