The Devil's obsession with the Heiress

[Music recommendation: Secession Studios - What Remains]

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They kept walking, and before long, Jade’s eyes caught an arched opening tucked into the corner of the passage where no lanterns were lit.

At first, she assumed it was just another tunnel, but as they drew closer, the darkness gradually revealed a set of thick iron bars sealing it off.

The suffocating stench filling the corridor made it increasingly difficult to breathe, and with Cillian going radio silent, a heavy wave of dread coiled tight in her chest.

Before they reached the bars, Cillian paused abruptly, causing Jade to bump right into his broad back.

Rubbing her nose, she looked up at him and whispered, "Why did you-"

Cillian turned over his shoulder, meeting her gaze in the dim light. His expression had turned completely serious.

"Whatever is in there might not be pleasant," he said softly. "You don’t have to see it. How about you wait here and let me take a quick look first?"

Jade remained silent for a moment before giving him a small nod.

"Alright," she whispered. "I’ll be right here."

With that, she reluctantly let go of his shirt, and Cillian turned to walk up to the iron bars.

The moment his eyes landed on what lay inside, they narrowed.

For several seconds, he didn’t say a word. Jade’s anxiety spiked, her fingers twitching uselessly at her sides as her eyes stayed glued to him, catching even the subtle shift in his expression.

When she couldn’t stand the silence any longer, she whispered, "W-what is it?"

Cillian turned back to her and offered a small smile. "Nothing to see here."

A crease immediately formed between Jade’s brows.

But just as Cillian took a step towards her, something suddenly shot through the bars and clamped around his shoe.

Panic slammed into Jade. "Cillian!"

Before he could stop her, she rushed forward, grabbing his arm and pulling him back from whatever held his shoe.

Slowly, her terror-filled eyes drifted toward the bars, and the breath died in her throat.

Behind the bars lay a vast chamber swallowed by darkness.

At first, all she could make out were several bulky shapes scattered across the stone floor, with heavy iron chains fastened around them. For a brief moment, she thought they were nothing more than sacks discarded in the corner.

Then her gaze dropped to the thing still reaching through the bars and her heart lurched violently.

It was a hand... a human hand.

Its skin was so caked in dirt and dried blood that, beneath the fading light, it had looked almost black.

Her trembling eyes slowly followed the arm until they settled on its owner.

A woman.

Long, matted strands of hair concealed most of her face as she remained curled against the cold stone floor. Even beneath the filthy rags draped over her body, Jade could see every sharp outline of bone pressing against her pale, frail skin. She looked so severely malnourished that it seemed as though even lifting her hand had taken every ounce of strength she had left.

Then her eyes moved around the chamber again, and what she had initially thought were discarded sacks littered across the floor were actually bodies. Dozens of them.

Some were huddled in fetal positions, while others lay completely motionless, their limbs twisted at unnatural angles, left to rot in their own filth.

In the centre of the cell, chained to a rusted pillar, lay a corpse that had been methodically harvested. Its chest cavity had been split open, the ribcage cracked outward, leaving a hollow, dark void where its vital organs used to be.

Blackened flies swarmed the open cavity in a sickly low hum.

Her breathing came out in uneven, ragged gasps.

Her mouth parted, and just as a scream threatened to explode from her lips, a strong hand clamped firmly over her mouth. Another arm wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her tightly against Cillian’s chest.

"Shh... Calm down, Jade. Calm down. Don’t scream," Cillian whispered softly near her ear.

But how could she calm down?

This looked like a scene straight out of those horrific concentration camp documentaries she had once watched with her father. Yet even those paled in comparison to the nightmare she was witnessing in real life.

Tears blurred her vision as a violent tremor shot through her body. She stood frozen in Cillian’s grip while he continued to murmur soothing words, trying to quiet her panic.

In front of them, the frail woman who had grabbed Cillian’s shoe spoke in a dry, raspy thread of a voice. "P-please... sa...ve... us."

With those final words, her hand slipped free, and her body went limp as if using her last remaining strength just to speak.

Jade’s tears finally spilled over. Her lashes fluttered as she desperately tried to clear her vision, only for her eyes to wander deeper into the darkness beyond the woman.

That was when she realised this wasn’t an isolated cell.

Stretching endlessly into the darkness were row upon row of identical iron bars.

There was no telling where the path ended, or how many more lives were trapped inside.

Just then, Jade flinched when they both heard a hushed voice approaching.

"Why didn’t anyone light a couple of lanterns here? It’s so dark I can barely make out my own silhouette," a man complained.

Another voice replied, "It was Derek’s job. I bet he’s having a good time with one of the prisoners again."

"Tch! That man seriously cannot keep it in his pants. High Star ordered us to get the meat ready. Dinner has to be served soon."

"I got my tools ready. I’ll be quick!" the second man replied, their footsteps drawing closer from the far end of the corridor.

Cillian cursed under his breath before leaning close to whisper into Jade’s ear.

"We need to get out of here. I’m going to uncover your mouth now. Just don’t scream, Jade. Can I trust you to do that?"

Jade gave an absent-minded nod, and Cillian had no choice but to trust her. He knew she was in shock, but they didn’t have the luxury of standing around when they could be discovered at any moment.

Without a word, Cillian scooped Jade up into his arms and sprinted back the way they came. Returning to the main entrance would take too long, so he ducked into one of the narrower side passages he had spotted along the way.

He reached the opening just in time, slipping into the shadows right as the two men stepped into the corridor in front of the cage.

Even then, he didn’t slow down. He continued weaving through the maze of tunnels, taking several sharp turns to put as much distance between them, making sure the men wouldn’t hear so much as a single footstep.

Only after reaching a deeper section of one of the narrow passages connected to the main tunnel did he finally come to a stop.

Carefully, he lowered Jade back onto her feet.

Silence settled around them, broken only by the sound of their uneven breathing as Cillian looked down at the woman who always seemed to have something to say, yet had suddenly fallen unusually quiet.

She stood before him with her head lowered, her hands still loosely clutching the front of his shirt.