Drop Some power stones! If you like the chapter! It helps to keep me motivated to upload more!đź’Žđź’Žđź’ŽÂ
------
One Month Later — Nighttime, Vilia Port, Slums District B — Inside the Akio Gang's Stronghold, Underground Dungeon
The quiet of the prison cell was suddenly broken by a loud "gurgle~".
The sound dragged Absalom out of a rare pleasant dream. Gaunt and malnourished, he clutched his growling stomach and stared at the empty bowl lying before the cell door. His eyes slowly welled up, filled with deep regret.
Ever since he'd been captured, he had lost track of how long he had been living like this. Every day felt like torture. Locked up with no freedom, he could no longer flirt with or admire beautiful women up close. It felt as though the color had been drained from his life.
During this time, Absalom had come to regret many things — regretting ever provoking Aaron and his crew, regretting becoming a bounty hunter, regretting his greed, his arrogance.
In short, Absalom regretted every decision that had led him into this tiny cell.
He swore that if he ever got out, he would never again provoke anyone, would give up bounty hunting, learn to be content, and abandon his pride and arrogance. He would change every flaw that had stripped him of the good life he once had.
But unfortunately, even though he had repeatedly requested an audience with the devilish young man who had captured him, the only response he ever received was the same cold line:
"Lord Aaron is very busy and has no time to see you."
After countless rejected requests, Absalom began to wonder if Aaron had simply forgotten about him.
He knew that thought was ridiculous — after all, he was being fed well enough and hadn't been tortured or abused. He was merely imprisoned, robbed of his freedom.
Yet recently, that thought had started to grow louder in his mind.
Since being transferred to this new cell, he noticed his meals had become steadily worse. The lavish feasts of meat and fish were replaced with hard, tooth-breaking black bread — the same kind eaten by the poorest in the slums — and even that was given in decreasing amounts.
Just yesterday, he'd received only half a piece of that black bread and a jug of cold water.
How could such a meager meal possibly satisfy a grown man? That earlier gurgle was already the eighth time he'd woken up hungry today. Yet even now, the boy who usually brought him food hadn't come. It felt as if he'd been forgotten entirely.
Still, Absalom didn't blame the boy. In fact, he felt grateful to him. Judging by the recent feeding schedule, he shouldn't have gotten anything yesterday. But the boy had told him that the half piece of bread was leftover from his own meal — he felt sorry for Absalom and decided to share it.
It was proof that Absalom truly hadn't been given any food that day, and without that boy's kindness, he wouldn't have had even a bite to eat.
But such acts of kindness were clearly not guaranteed. Since the boy hadn't come at all today, it probably meant Absalom would go hungry — maybe until tomorrow, maybe longer… or maybe he'd never get food again. Maybe Aaron had really forgotten about him. Or worse — abandoned him.
Why else would Aaron's subordinates treat him this way?
"To think that I, Absalom, would fall so low…"
Clutching his painfully empty stomach, Absalom spoke in a defeated tone.
By now, the defiance he'd once had against Aaron was long gone. He was like a rooster that had lost a fight — drained of all spirit. Before he'd known hunger, his final wish was to once more enjoy the embrace of women before he died.
But as the hunger deepened, that wish transformed into something far simpler — just one full meal.
To fight the gnawing emptiness, Absalom forced himself to sleep again, trying to conserve as much strength as possible.
But the hunger was relentless, tormenting him and making sleep impossible. For the first time, he truly understood just how painful — and terrifying — hunger could be.
Time crawled by, each second stretching endlessly. Starving, Absalom felt as though days were passing in the span of minutes.
At last, he couldn't bear it anymore. Feeling close to death, he mustered all his strength and crawled to the cell door, shouting desperately for help, crying out that he was hungry, hoping someone — anyone — would hear.
With every shout, his stomach cramped painfully, but no one came. No matter how loudly he screamed, there was no response. It really felt like he'd been forgotten — even by the man who had captured him.
"Please… let me out. Don't torture me anymore. I know I was wrong. I truly know I was wrong! I'll do anything if you just let me out!"
Dizzy and delirious from hunger, Absalom finally uttered words he'd never imagined he'd say.
The moment the words left his mouth, he wanted to cry — but no tears came.
He knew that by saying them, he had thrown away the last shred of dignity he had left.
He had surrendered.
"It seems you've finally come to your senses."
Just when Absalom thought he was truly going to die in that cell, a voice — one he both despised and had longed to hear countless times — echoed in his ears. He slowly lifted his head with great effort, and there stood that devilish young man before him.
Aaron had actually been there for a while. His office was directly above the cell, and with his exceptional hearing and budding Observation Haki, Absalom's every move was impossible to hide from him.
It had been two months since Aaron had captured Absalom.
During the first month, Aaron had treated him quite well. But after successfully taking over the B-District territory and seizing Regis Gang's local base — where Absalom was now imprisoned — Aaron began to gradually worsen his treatment.
In the past two weeks, he had even started alternating between feeding him and starving him, sometimes withholding food entirely for a full day — all to make Absalom truly feel the agony of hunger, wearing down his willpower little by little, like a frog boiling in slowly heated water.
Although Absalom had repeatedly shouted pleas for mercy during this time, Aaron — with his still-developing Observation Haki that could faintly sense emotions — had never once felt genuine submission from him. It was proof that deep down, Absalom still had no intention of cooperating.
It wasn't until just now, when Absalom cried out those words, that Aaron finally sensed a genuine feeling behind them.
---
For early access to advanced chapters visit my P@treon:
P@treon/ Dexy3
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!