Heavy silence filled the armored carriage for several suffocating seconds—
a silence so dense that even breathing seemed afraid to move.
Then it happened.
A violent tremor tore through the stillness, shaking the entire carriage as if a sleeping beast had suddenly awakened.
Some prisoners were thrown off their seats, their bodies slamming hard against the wooden floor.
The bastard prisoner screamed hoarsely, rage burning in his eyes:
"You sons of bitches! What the hell is happening?!"
Before anyone could answer—
A horrifying scream ripped through the air from outside the carriage.
It wasn't entirely human.
There was something raw in it.
Something purely terrifying.
The little girl trembled and clung tightly to Rolin, as if he were the last thing anchoring her to life.
Rolin froze for a split second—then wrapped his arms around her without thinking.
The handsome soldier leapt to his feet, eyes sharp, and drew both swords in a cold flash.
Before he could step outside—
Everyone felt it.
The ground vanished beneath them.
The carriage lifted into the air.
Bodies inside were thrown around like broken dolls.
Prisoners screamed, curses filled the space, and the wood groaned under unbearable pressure.
Rolin and the girl were hurled sideways, slamming violently into the armored wall.
Then—
Nothing.
Sounds faded away, as if being dragged into a distant void.
Vision drowned in endless darkness.
Damn it… what's happening?
That was the last thought that crossed Rolin's mind
before he completely lost consciousness.
---
Several minutes passed…
or perhaps much longer—Rolin couldn't tell.
All he felt was something shaking him gently.
Persistent. Weak. Desperate.
He opened his eyes with great difficulty, as if his eyelids weighed tons.
Lulu's face came into view.
She was holding him, shaking him, tears streaming endlessly down her cheeks.
She spoke with a trembling voice, her words choking on sobs:
"Big brother… wake up. Berry juice is coming out of your head!"
Rolin blinked slowly, trying to process what he was hearing.
He fought through the pain hammering mercilessly inside his skull and raised a trembling hand to his head.
The moment his fingers touched it—
He felt something warm. Sticky.
A crimson liquid.
That's when he realized that the "berry juice" was blood spilling from his head—
and that he had survived…
Barely.
He breathed heavily and whispered weakly, trying to reassure Lulu despite the dizziness eating away at his consciousness:
"Don't be scared… I'm fine."
But even he… wasn't sure that was true.
---
Rolin endured the pain gnawing relentlessly at his skull.
It felt as though his head had truly cracked when it smashed against the armored wall.
He stood up slowly, clinging to his balance.
With every breath, his vision became clearer… little by little.
The carriage was empty.
No prisoners.
No soldiers.
No bodies.
Only heavy silence—
and armored walls covered in dents and massive deformations, as if something enormous had slammed into them again and again from the outside.
He turned toward the door.
It was destroyed.
One of its wings was completely missing, while the other lay outside on the white ground—
covered by a thin layer of filthy snow.
That's when he heard it.
The clash of metal outside.
Desperate human screams.
And other sounds—
Rough. Deep.
Inhuman.
Then—
"Excuse me… is anyone there?"
Rolin froze.
Slowly, he turned toward the source of the voice.
His eyes fixed on the fully armored chamber inside the carriage—
the sealed cell that had contained the mysterious prisoner.
He saw no one.
But the voice was clear.
Too close.
"Please get me out… I'm afraid I'll die before the Monolith outside is finished."
Rolin tightened his arms around Lulu and lifted her carefully, then replied in a low voice:
"Who are you?"
A brief silence followed.
An uncomfortable one.
Suffocating.
"I'm… Ivan. Please, save me. I'll do anything."
Rolin stopped moving.
In a single moment, everything connected in his mind:
The destroyed carriage.
The sounds of battle outside.
His injury.
Lulu in his arms.
The isolated prisoner.
And—
The Monolith.
Then his thoughts stopped at one single point.
He raised his head slightly and said in a calm, lethal tone:
"How did you know the monster outside is a Monolith?"
This person—
Was completely sealed.
Isolated from all external sound.
So how?
Silence.
Seconds passed…
then the answer came, hesitant:
"Ah… the sound. I can recognize sounds. That's… my magic."
Rolin narrowed his eyes.
He recalculated everything.
Again.
Calmly.
Then—
He made his decision.
"I'm sorry, my friend."
The voice panicked, pleading:
"Why?! I didn't say anything wrong! I mean— we're humans! We should save each other!"
Rolin turned away and began walking, carrying Lulu carefully, without looking back.
He spoke in a steady voice:
"You're lying."
"How could you activate magic while sealed inside magic-resistant metal?"
A horrifying silence followed.
Then—
Then another.
Violent crashing sounds erupted inside the sealed chamber, as if something were trying to tear it apart from within.
Then the voice returned—
It was no longer human.
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
"You son of a bitch! When I get out, I'll rip your head off and feed it to the dogs!"
Rolin trembled.
His heart raced.
But—
He didn't turn around.
He continued walking toward the outside—toward snow, blood, and chaos—
while the screaming echoed behind him.
In that moment…
Rolin realized that not releasing that person—
no… that demon—
was the best decision he had ever made in his life.