(Author's Note: Please watch this video first)
[TWO DAYS EARLIER]
Harith woke up. It was a dream. The same old dream that reminded him of his real past. But everything was hopeless now. It couldn't be helped. This was his end.
"Grandpa... Alucard. I'm sorry. I failed," Harith said to himself. Teardrops of regrets followed, eroding the stains of blood that had dried in his cheeks. His weak, bruised body was still pinned on the wall. His arms remained tied by the hanging, rusty chains attached from above. With this situation, he couldn't avenge the death of Alucard anymore, nor avenge the Leonins massacred by Helcurt. His soul was slowly rotting with his dying hope.
The heavy, old doors of the dungeon opened.
"Here. Cast your Key Insight. Find Roger for me," Helcurt instructed.
Stiff and blank, Harith lost any expression. He just stared at the wolf's tooth Helcurt had shown him.
"Getting hard on me again?" Helcurt threatened him. "Vexana, come over!"
Harith clinched his fists. He deeply despised Vexana. He could still remember how Vexana ruined everything...
----
["Harith, we can still escape, come with me!" Vale said to him.
Yes, Vale. I'm coming with you! W-- Wait. What is happening to me? Why can't I say these words?
"No! I won't! I am not coming with you. I have made up my mind. We can't defeat them, Vale. All our skills are on cooldown. We have no mana, we got no health-points either. We're one skill away from death."
No! Vale! Those word's aren't mine!
"Yes! I know! We can't fight now! But we can fight them later! Come with me!" Vale urged.
"I am coming with them. I'm pleading my allegiance to Helcurt now," revealed Harith.
No! Don't believe it! I didn't say those things!
"What are you saying? What's wrong with you?!" Vale complained.
"Take this advice, Vale. Better run now. Survival is more important. Go and save yourself. I am saving mine."
No, Vale! Don't go! Don't leave me, Vale!
"Hahaha! What a pitiful friendship. I didn't expect he'd fall for it," Vexana boasted, after she successfully casted her Charmed Specter, the curse that manipulated Harith's behavior.]
----
Harith now heard the sound of buzzing flies and parasitic insects infiltrating the dungeon. Vexana entered and her horrifying souls quickly occupied the place.
"Yes, my Lord?" Vexana answered the call of Helcurt.
"You know what to do," ordered Helcurt, before leaving the dungeon.
Harith feared the same dirty trick again. He slowly turned his head and looked at the co-prisoner beside him. In one glance, he knew they have the same fate. He knew hope remained elusive for both of them.
Lou Yi was right. He would be the enemy's greatest asset. They wouldn't want him dead. They would need him to locate the Turtle and the Lord. They would abuse his Key Insight to recruit stronger allies.
From the moment they captured him, Harith, however, wouldn't cooperate. Indeed, he suffered all kinds of torture. But no matter how cruel, he would endure them. He would endure every pain. Every invitation of death. He wouldn't easily give in.
But everything changed when Vexana offered a solution. Three days after his capture, Helcurt went to the dungeon, and placed beside him a guiltless prisoner. That time, Helcurt then asked him once more to locate the ancient Turtle using his Key Insight. And when he wouldn't answer, Helcurt would torture his co-prisoner, and she would scream in pain.
[Author's Note: I suggest you play this as background music until the end of the chapter. Thank you :)]
Eventually, Harith surrendered. He couldn't take the sufferings experienced by his co-prisoner anymore. He gave up, and proceeded to casting his Key Insight. That day, Helcurt and his Dark Squad successfully slayed the Turtle. And now Helcurt had the Turtle's Buff.
It's true. Harith could endure every moment of torture. He could tolerate every punishment. But not if the same was inflicted upon an innocent victim like her. He knew they were victims of this war. But unlike him, his co-prisoner had no fault. The opposite was rather true. It was his fault. Nana was dragged into this hapless situation - all because of him.
"Hahaha. Fear not, Harith. I will love her like a pet," Vexana warned him. Denying Helcurt's request would mean another round of torture for Nana.
"I'm fine. Don't bother," Nana, his co-prisoner, said to him.
"W-- Wait. I'll -- I'll do it," Harith reluctantly said.
"Then cast it now, White Cat. Waste no time," Vexana commanded.
Harith then casted his Key Insight. Undoubtedly, he had no more energy left. He was extremely weak. Totally worn out. His mana was almost depleted. And his health points didn't even recover from the torment Helcurt had done. Though the process was painful, nothing would be more painful than seeing the innocent Nana suffer in his stead. As rays of light were depicted in his eyes, his fresh blood flowed along with it.
Harith... Nana thought. But she couldn't help it either. She, too, was exhausted.
"Dark Forest. Roger is in the Dark Forest. In the Abysmal Cave," Harith slowly answered.
"Well done, White Cat." Vexana left both of them and reported Roger's whereabouts to Helcurt. Helcurt then immediately left the palace.
The stinging sensation prompted Harith to instantly close his damaged eyes.
"I -- I'm sorry. But... I can't imagine the pain you're going through right now," Nana, shedding in tears.
"Don't cry," Harith, trying to comfort her. "It's alright."
"For years... The leonins in our village. All of us. We've been waiting for you. We've been counting on you," Nana, stuttering and ashamed.
"I'm sorry. For being a failure. For ruining your expectations."
"No, Harith! Enough!" Nana screamed.
With his eyes still closed, Harith did not respond.
"We're the ones who must apologize to you! We just waited. We did nothing! We just hid from the enemies! Saving our own asses while bringing yours on the line! We're all useless! We just cast the entire burden on you! And now look at you... Look what we've done to you... You're alone! You've got no one on your back!" Nana wept further.
"I'm not alone in this fight. I have Vale, Aldous, Lou Yi. And... you."
Nana stopped weeping. Her cat ears moved slightly forward.
"Harith..."
"Yes Nana?"
"Before they kill me, I hope they'd let me kiss you. You think they can grant such simple request?"
"Eh?!" Harith, surprised.
"Aside from staring at you the entire time, this prison thing is really no good. If we can only get out," Nana sighed. "Sadly, we can't even move with these chains."
"Uhm! Wait, Nana! There should be a way!" Harith's reassuring words slipped out of his tongue.
"Seriously?! Aren't you fooling around?" Nana, curious.
Harith focused. He concentrated and searched the deepest parts of his brain. Then he realized something.
"Alright!" Harith joyfully exclaimed. He casted a spell to open his inventory. Shortly, something fell on the floor.
"This is Yu Zhong's dragon scale. When I casted my Key Insight on it back in Lou Yi's place, Yu Zhong was able to communicate with me. This should work!" Ignoring the stinging pain in his eyes and with the little mana left, Harith proceeded to cast his Key Insight. The face of Yu Zhong then appeared in his vision. Just like before, his dragon eyes were intently looking back at him.
"You again. What do you want?" Yu Zhong asked him in his vision.
"I need your help," Harith pleaded.
"I don't have the luxury of time helping strangers."
"Help me. In exchange, I'll hand you over the Twilight Orb," revealed Harith.
"Interesting. May I see it?"
"Here," Harith immediately heeded to the demand, and showed Yu Zhong he was holding an authentic Orb.
"Where are you? How bad is the situation?"
"Celestial Palace. In the dungeon. How bad? Well... I think I'm dying." Harith began to worry. Who would want to risk his life fighting against Helcurt in exchange for a Twilight Orb? He thought.
"Two days. Hold on for two days. Let me finish some business first," Yu Zhong assured him.