Mayhem

A brief moment passed.

“Ugh….”

When Paul opened his eyes, he found himself in a dark room.

“Where… Ugh, cough, cough!”

As soon as he awoke, pain surged through his entire body. It was as if his very being was screaming.

“That bastard….”

Paul’s last memory was of Frondier suddenly overtaking him and grabbing him by the collar. He had no recollection of what Frondier did after that.

‘Did he knock me out and then mess up my body to prevent me from escaping? He really did a thorough job of making a mess of me.’

Unable to remember why he had fainted, Paul perceived the injuries throughout his body as separate incidents.

He never even considered the possibility that Frondier had used his body as a brake by slamming him onto the floor.

It was only thanks to Paul being a devil and simultaneously having his aura deployed that he still had a semblance of form; otherwise, he would have been obliterated.

In the midst of all this, Paul even admired Frondier’s skill (?) in inflicting injuries while ensuring he remained unconscious.

“He even restrained me. After putting my body in this state.”

As Paul mentioned, he was currently bound to a chair. The material used for the restraint was, of course, Obsidian.

Paul clicked his tongue at Frondier’s meticulous nature, but in reality, Frondier had simply tied him up without realizing the extent of Paul’s injuries.

Paul simply resigned himself and relaxed his body. The Obsidian restraints were incredibly strong, and escaping from Frondier in his current condition was impossible anyway.

‘The fact that he didn’t kill me and went to such lengths to immobilize me means he still has a reason to keep me alive.’

Negotiating with him would probably be his best chance of survival.

‘But where is this place?’

Paul wanted to know his location, but it was so dark that he could barely see. Instead, he tapped his foot. In the silence, the sound of his foot tapping, “Thump,” echoed.

‘…This feeling and sound seem like the laboratory. I’m still inside Hitchcock.’

There was a possibility that Frondier had dragged him outside, but that didn't seem to be the case.

Focusing a little more, he could detect the metallic and chemical scents characteristic of the laboratory, despite the overwhelming smell of his own blood.

‘Does Frondier still have business with the company?’

If Paul were in Frondier’s shoes, he would have taken the unconscious him and left this company. And he would have imprisoned him in a place where no one would ever find him.

However, the fact that Frondier hadn't done so meant that he still had a reason to stay here?

Thud.

At that moment, footsteps could be heard from outside the door. Leisurely but heavy steps.

The footsteps soon reached the door where Paul was, and

Click.

The door slowly opened.

“Ugh.”

Paul turned his head away, blinded by the light streaming in. Just the light from outside was blinding him. How long had he been in this darkness?

“You’re awake.”

Paul heard a familiar, yet hateful voice and looked towards it. His eyes widened.

“Je, Jeremy!”

Frondier had Jeremy slung over one shoulder. Jeremy was motionless, either dead or unconscious.

Thud.

Frondier tossed Jeremy next to Paul and flipped a switch, illuminating the room.

As soon as he could see, Paul checked on Jeremy. Jeremy was covered in bruises and wounds, but he could see his chest rising and falling shallowly. He didn't seem to be dead.

“What did you do to Jeremy?”

“Just a few simple tests.”

“Tests?”

Frondier entered the room and closed the door. Thump, thump, he walked around the laboratory as if it were his own room. As if he were someone familiar with this company.

The way he walked over and poured water into a cup was just like the owner of the house.

“After you fainted, I moved here and went to check on Jeremy, and surprisingly, he was putting up a good fight. He was already covered in wounds at that point, but he hadn't lost his will to fight.”

And so, Frondier took a sip of water and set the cup down as he spoke.

“I just lowered his performance a bit.”

“……What?”

“The golem I showed you has a previous version. So I switched him to the older version of the golem, and he managed to hold out for a while. But he seemed to be struggling with the accumulated injuries and fatigue.”

“……You…”

“So I switched him to the even older version of the golem, and he somehow managed to endure that too. Then, I removed the golem and faced him with just Obsidian. He seemed to struggle with that as well, so next, I personally took up a weapon and fought him. However, by then, he seemed to be having trouble even holding his own weapon. He couldn't even block my attacks, so I stopped attacking and focused on defense. That’s when he somehow managed to swing his sword again.”

“It got pretty boring from there.” Frondier didn't hide his bored expression as he spoke.