DBOFS 35

Chapter 35

His jaw muscles twitched uncontrollably as if he were suppressing pain and desire. Rough breaths, like those of a beast deep in a hunt, spilled from his blood-smeared lips.

“……!”

Reflexively, Jade stepped back, feeling like prey caught before a predator.

‘…Is he smiling?’

Harris’s red lips curved into a crescent smile.

By the time Jade registered that, Harris’s hand had already gripped the back of her head.

“Jade…”

Eyes like flames glared down at her.

She shivered.

There was no doubt—this Harris was not in his right mind.

“L-Lord Harris, what—mmph!”

Jade barely opened her lips to ask what was wrong when they were shut tight.

No—more accurately, they were devoured.

“……!!”

And after that, no more words could be spoken.

At first, everything seemed fine.

Monsters appearing in the swampy moat around the castle was within expected parameters.

“……Ugh.”

Except for the part where the swamp was filled with poisonous mist.

Harris pressed down on his trembling eyelids. The swamp’s poison caused paralysis, and his ability flared up in resistance, going berserk inside him.

[Kill, kill!]

[Rip them apart alive! Kill them all!]

Vicious voices shrieked. Screams of unknown origin echoed in his head.

‘These are hallucinations.’

Harris knew this well. Ever since he awakened his ability, those cursed voices had awakened too.

At first, he had doubted himself—wondering if he was hearing the hidden voices of humanity.

Because the voices screamed at him to die and spewed hatred.

But then, he realized—they weren’t just aimed at him. They targeted his enemies too.

Voices that once urged suicide now pushed for murder. As those voices blended together, Harris understood.

All of it came from his awakened ability—an ability that yearned for life and death, born of blood and flesh.

‘Monster bastard.’

That phrase haunted him.

Could he truly claim not to be a monster?

People always said it.

That child is a terrible disaster. Should never have been born. A cursed life that killed its own mother to be born.

Deserves to die.

“…Shut up.”

Harris gritted his teeth and stretched out his hand. Black magic burst from his large, joint-marked hand.

His trembling arm couldn’t control the power and lifted not just the swamp monster but the entire swamp itself.

Boom—!!

Yet Harris wasn’t even aware of his surroundings.

The hallucinations in his mind cursed him like mad gods.

[Die, die, die, die! No, kill! Kill them! Kill them all! Let’s kill them all—!]

“I said shut up!”

Boom!

The magic, swirling as it lifted the swamp, crashed down onto the struggling monster.

[Kueeeeegh…!]

The monstrous power pierced and split the beast alive.

Even its dying shriek didn’t reach Harris’s ears.

Too many voices—grudges, screams, wails—were already howling in his head.

Thud—!

The castle gate shattered, a path collapsing across the swamp. Harris walked across it with heavy steps, but his expression was far from normal.

“Ugh…”

A moan of suppressed pain.

Black veins surged visibly across his pale skin, slowly taking over his body.

Regardless of Harris’s condition, the “Frozen Time Castle” began to react to an intruder.

Soldiers fired arrows, swung spears, some charged with swords like mad spirits.

[Intruder!]

[Kill him—!]

[Protect His Majesty and the prince!]

But nothing could stop Harris.

Even before he consciously acted, the black magic swirling around him—absorbing the poison of the swamp—became stickier, more ominous, destroying and consuming everything that approached.

It wasn’t just power—it was something alive.

[Aaahh, monster! Monster bastard!]

[Die—! Just die already!]

Voices of those swallowed by the void. The void’s cries for freedom from within him.

“Hahh, haah, haah…!”

Harris panted.

It was nothing new. He had always been surrounded by those who wanted him dead. Now…

‘Lord Harris!’

Suddenly, a bright voice pierced the darkness.

‘Jade.’

Just thinking of her seemed to calm him. Was it just his imagination?

‘…Behind the pillar. Next to the stairs. Three hiding behind the railing.’

For a moment, his mind cleared. He sensed their presence.

Harris condensed his power like bullets and fired them precisely at their skulls.

Splat!

Skulls exploded. Screams of death rang out.

“Hahh, haah…”

Only then did Harris realize.

‘The void is trying to consume me.’

Just like that night of awakening.

But even knowing it, he couldn’t stop the power. Couldn’t stop the ability.

‘…Jade is in this dungeon.’

She could be facing enemies in some unknown, dangerous place far from him.

‘I have to destroy this dungeon. Quickly.’

The last shred of his sanity reached a conclusion—and black magic tore through the castle.

KA-BOOM—!!

At the tattered topmost floor of the castle was the final enemy.

[Kyaaaaaak—!]

A dragon.

Fast and vicious, it dodged Harris’s attacks over and over.

Harris clenched his teeth.

He wasn’t used to using his full power freely, without the suppression collar limiting his magic.

That was why the void had slowly been creeping in.

“…What do I do?”

He gasped. Black veins crept along his clenched jawline, up to his temple.

Controlling his magic had taken years of training in the underground prison.

It was the only training he could do while shackled.

But using the void’s power… was entirely different.

‘Damn it.’

He realized instinctively.

Until now, he might’ve been able to fight with just his basic power—but to face that vicious dragon, he had to use his awakened ability—the void.

And then…

[I’ve been waiting.]

The void inside him had realized it too.

Harris closed his eyes. His world turned pitch black.

And then—darkness.

‘Why, all of a sudden—what is this?!’

Before she could even process the thought, a massive body wrapped around her. Jade lost her balance and collapsed.

“Mmph—wait, wait a sec…!”

But the solid body clinging to hers wouldn’t let go.

A hand on the back of her head held her in place.

Harris licked her lips.

“……!”

A moan escaped her throat, but Jade didn’t even register it.

She couldn’t register anything.

‘He kissed me.’

Harris… kissed me!

That one fact short-circuited her brain. She couldn’t think at all.

Only the sensation remained vivid. His lips devoured hers like fruit. Her ears burned with heat.

‘It’s burning.’

His lips, the pull on her head, the pressure of his thumb on her ear, his body against hers…

Everything was searing hot. Blindingly vivid. She couldn’t collect herself.

Until Harris’s tongue entered her mouth.

“……!”

Their eyes met.

Translucent crimson eyes stared straight into hers, swallowing her and her breath whole.

As if this kiss were the only breath he needed to live.

“……!”

Startled, Jade tried to push against his shoulder.

But her resistance ended when Harris pinned her wrists above her head with one hand.

Their lips briefly parted, and—

“Jade, please.”

Don’t push me away.

His voice was rough. The desperate whisper sounded more like a beast’s growl than human speech.

Darkness all around. Heavy breaths and panting echoed through the silence.

It felt like a massive wild animal was perched atop her.

His hot breath clung to her face.

Only then did Jade realize tears blurred her vision.

Harris’s red eyes twisted in her warped view. Fingers tangled in her hair. She could no longer deny what was happening.

She had kissed Harris.

A breath escaped her swollen lips—whether from shock or resignation, she didn’t know.

As if he couldn’t bear to be apart, his lips returned immediately.

“……!”

It was a desperate kiss. Even while her wrists were bound, it hurt her heart.

She couldn’t resist.

Neither her body, nor her heart.

“…Ha-Harris!”

She came to her senses only much later.

Swept up without knowing it, Jade gasped for air, suffocating from lack of oxygen.

‘Help!’

As if realizing she might actually die, Harris finally pulled back.

He licked his wet lips like savoring a taste.

“Hahh… hah… L-Lord Harris…”

Are you crazy?

Jade panted, opening her mouth to speak.

But Harris, as if only pausing to let her breathe, continued kissing her cheeks and nose.

“Mm, Jade.”

His voice was drowsy and low.

Jade began to tremble without realizing it. She couldn’t tell whether the water filling her eyes was from shock or unfamiliar heat.

‘Why… all of a sudden?’

Just as she tried to process how Harris had lost it like this—one thought flashed through her mind.

‘Guiding…?!’

A special power only Guides had to soothe ability users.

After thinking of that, Jade noticed the black veins running from Harris’s neck to his chin.

‘…Is this rampage?!’

But the black veins faded each time Harris kissed her. Before long, his neck was clean—no trace of corruption.

Jade’s eyes widened.

‘So I really am a Guide?’

A 50/50 chance, and it was right! I’m not a fraud!

Just as Jade finally felt relief—

[Skill ‘Absorption Technique?’ has been activated.]

The blinking system window in the corner of her vision—forgotten due to all the kissing—finally caught her eye.

‘…Absorption Technique?’

What’s that?

Then Jade froze.

Her hands, which had been pushing against Harris’s shoulders, were now turning pitch black.

As if she were absorbing his black magic.

‘Wait—’

Is this… really guiding?