Chapter 36: The Soundproof Cage and the Abyssal Nightmare
Location: Sunderland Nation - Port Triton, Lord Sterling’s Coastal Estate
From the edge of the bustling dance floor, Lord Julian Vance watched with mounting dread.
He saw Lady Ashford elegantly excuse herself from the suffocating throng of suitors and glide toward the eastern balcony doors. A moment later, Lord Sterling casually detached himself from his sycophants and began to follow her.
Julian’s grip tightened on his crystal wine glass. He glanced toward the High Cardinals, expecting the arbiters of divine justice to notice the notorious predator stalking his prey. But the Cardinals were purposely looking away, deeply engrossed in a sudden, highly animated conversation about tithes.
Are the arbiters of the Goddess truly this blind? Julian thought, his blood boiling. Or are they actively complicit? Does his gold buy the silence of heaven itself?
Unable to stand by, Julian set his glass down and moved to intercept. He walked briskly toward the balcony, but suddenly, his path was entirely blocked. Two broad-shouldered merchants and a stern-faced Church Templar stepped directly in front of him, forming an impenetrable human wall.
"Ah, Lord Julian!" one of the portly merchants exclaimed loudly, clapping a heavy hand on Julian's shoulder. "Just the man we wished to see. We simply must discuss the new naval trade tariffs your father is drafting!"
"Move aside," Julian demanded, trying to step around them. "I have urgent business."
"Nonsense, the night is young!" the other merchant laughed, intentionally stepping into his path again. They were stalling him. Sterling had ordered his lackeys to run interference. Julian gritted his teeth, trapped behind a wall of corrupt politics, desperately hoping he wouldn't be too late.
Stepping out onto the stone balcony, the cool night air immediately washed over Ashford, carrying the faint, metallic scent of coal smoke and sea brine.
Below, the city was a breathtaking fusion of two eras. Ancient, medieval stone fortresses and jagged cobblestone streets were now illuminated by the warm, flickering hiss of steam-powered gas lamps, stretching into the distance like a trail of fallen stars. Giant, brick factory chimneys rose like dark giants beside Gothic cathedral spires, puffing gentle plumes of pearlescent smoke into the starry sky. Down at the harbor, the black silhouettes of massive timber steamships bobbed on the water, their iron hulls reflecting the golden streetlights.
From the ballroom behind, the soft waltz of the violins still hummed, but out here, the city sang its own quiet song—a symphony of ancient stone and the steady, rhythmic heartbeat of the industrial age.
"A magnificent view, isn't it?"
Cain didn't flinch as Lord Sterling stepped onto the balcony, sliding the heavy glass door shut behind him. The corpulent noble moved closer, the cloying scent of his heavy cologne overpowering the fresh sea air.
"It is," Cain replied, keeping his voice softly feminine, playing the part of the cornered bird.
"You look a bit flushed, my dear Ashford," Sterling murmured, stepping into Cain's personal space. His eyes briefly flashed with that unnatural, violet magical hue. "The noise, the crowd... doesn't it make you tired? You must want to rest. In fact, you feel quite dizzy, don't you?"
Cain felt the pathetic [Hypnotic Suggestion] spell bounce harmlessly off his abyssal consciousness. But to bait the trap, he purposefully let his eyelids droop, swaying slightly on his feet. He leaned his weight against the stone balustrade as if his legs were giving out.
"I... yes. I feel very faint," Cain whispered monotonously.
"Do not worry, I have you," Sterling smiled, a vile, triumphant grin stretching across his face. He wrapped a thick, sweaty arm around Ashford's waist, supporting 'her' weight. "Let me help you to a quiet room where you can recover."
Sterling guided the seemingly hypnotized girl off the balcony and down a secluded, dimly lit corridor reserved entirely for the estate's owner. He stopped in front of a heavy mahogany door, pushed it open, and ushered Cain inside.
The room was luxurious but suffocating. The walls were lined with thick, velvet padding. There were no windows. It was a completely soundproof isolation chamber, designed specifically so that no screams could ever reach the ballroom.
Sterling guided Ashford to a plush velvet sofa. "Take a rest here, my dear," he whispered.
Sterling turned his back to lock the heavy door. The metallic click echoed loudly in the small room. Perfect, Sterling thought, licking his lips. First, I break the beautiful servant. And once I have her, I will use her to target Lady Sofia next. The Vileblood fortune will be mine.
He unbuttoned his velvet coat, turning around with a look of unfiltered, disgusting lust. "Now then, let us..."
Sterling froze. The words died in his throat.
The temperature in the soundproof room had plummeted to freezing. Frost began to rapidly crystallize on the edges of the mirrors.
Ashford was no longer slumped on the sofa. 'She' was standing perfectly straight in the center of the room. But something was horribly, terrifyingly wrong. The beautiful sapphire dress seemed to swallow the light around it. Ashford's midnight-black hair was no longer resting on her shoulders; it was floating and spreading out into the air as if suspended in deep water, completely defying gravity.
And her eyes. The golden rings in her irises were glowing with an intense, piercing luminescence in the dim room, radiating an aura of pure, absolute wrath. It was a suffocating pressure that forced Sterling to his knees. Cain had forgotten to change out of his female form, but the sheer, demonic bloodlust leaking from him entirely eclipsed his appearance.
"W-what?" Sterling stammered, sweating profusely as the invisible gravity of Cain's killing intent crushed his lungs. "Why... why are you standing? The spell should have worked!"
"I will ask you only once," Ashford spoke. The voice was no longer a soft alto. It was layered, echoing with the guttural, metallic distortion of the Abyss. "Do you want to die, or do you want to live?"
The question completely shattered Sterling's mind. The terrifying aura in the room left no room for doubt: this creature, whatever it was, was going to butcher him.
"I—I don't want to die!" Sterling cried out, tears of genuine terror streaming down his fat cheeks. "I am sorry! Forgive me! I will do anything!"
He threw himself forward, pressing his forehead to the carpet in a pathetic display of begging. But as his hands hit the floor, a hidden spring mechanism in his heavily jeweled rings snapped open.
Sterling’s eyes flashed with desperate malice. He flicked his wrists, launching three small, expertly concealed throwing daggers directly at Ashford's chest. The blades were coated in a highly lethal, paralyzing wyvern poison. Die, you monster! Sterling prayed.
Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
All three daggers sank deep into Ashford’s chest.
Sterling let out a breathless laugh of relief, expecting the girl to drop dead.
Ashford didn't even flinch.
Dark red blood bloomed on the sapphire silk, but then, the blood turned pitch black. Before Sterling's horrified eyes, the flesh around the wounds seemed to open like tiny, jagged maws. The daggers were violently sucked inward, completely absorbed into Ashford's body. The wounds sealed themselves in a fraction of a second, leaving not even a scar.
[System Notification]
Action: Lethal Wyvern Toxin & Iron Daggers Consumed.
Skill Activated: [Absolute Gluttony]
Result: Poison neutralized. Iron converted to raw MP.
Ashford looked down at the repaired dress, then looked back at Sterling. A slow, deeply unnatural smile stretched across 'her' flawless face, followed by a dark, echoing, horrifying laugh that seemed to vibrate the very walls of the room.
"You made your choice," Cain whispered, taking a slow step forward.
Sterling began to scramble backward, shaking uncontrollably as a puddle of warm urine soaked his expensive trousers. "No! Stay back! Guards! GUARDS!"
Sterling screamed at the top of his lungs, shrieking for his life. But just as he had designed it, the soundproof walls absorbed every single decibel. No one in the ballroom heard a thing. The shadows in the corners of the room surged forward, completely enveloping the screaming nobleman.
Ten minutes later, the heavy glass door of the eastern balcony slid open.
Julian, having finally broken away from the blocking merchants, rushed out into the cool night air, panting heavily. His eyes darted around, terrified of what he might find.
Instead, he saw Ashford standing peacefully by the stone railing, looking out at the city lights. The sapphire dress was perfectly pristine. Her hair was neatly pinned. She looked entirely unharmed.
"Lady Ashford!" Julian gasped, rushing over. "Are you okay? I was delayed—did you see Lord Sterling? Did he come out here?"
Ashford turned, offering a gentle, entirely flawless smile. "I am perfectly well, Lord Julian. The fresh air was exactly what I needed. And no, I have not seen Lord Sterling. I have been alone this entire time."
Julian let out a massive sigh of relief, slumping slightly against the railing. He didn't know what to say, overwhelmed by the adrenaline of his panic. "I... I am just so glad you are safe."
"There is no need to worry about me, My Lord," Ashford said softly. She offered a polite curtsy. "If you will excuse me, I must find my Lady. It is getting late."
She glided past him, leaving Julian standing on the balcony, completely oblivious to the monster he had just spoken to.
Back in the main ballroom, the melody of the waltz was reaching a joyful crescendo. Cain seamlessly blended back into the crowd, walking up to where Sofia and Sebastian were standing near the grand staircase. His face bore an expression of deep, serene satisfaction.
Sofia took a sip from her wine glass, her violet eyes scanning Cain from head to toe. She noted the very faint trace of abyssal mana lingering in the air around him.
"Did you kill him?" Sofia asked casually, keeping her voice low.
"Of course not," Cain replied, his tone chillingly pleasant. "I merely showed him the error of his ways. I trapped his mind in a localized Abyssal Illusion loop. I made him experience the sensation of having his own arm torn off, forcing him to eat the raw meat, dying from the blood loss, and then reviving him with my healing skills just to do it again. I believe he lived through it about seventy times in the span of five minutes."
Sofia lowered her glass, blinking slowly. Then, she let out a soft, exasperated sigh.
"Well," Sofia murmured, a wicked grin touching her lips. "At least he is still breathing. A broken, terrified pawn is still a usable pawn. We can leverage his fear to control his assets tomorrow. But I must admit, Cain... for a breathtakingly beautiful noblewoman, you are profoundly terrifying."
Cain shot her a withering glare.
"It is time for us to depart, My Ladies," Sebastian interrupted smoothly, materializing beside them holding their cloaks. "The carriage is waiting."
As they exited the grand estate and walked down the cobblestone path toward their steam-powered carriage, a voice called out behind them.
"Lady Ashford! Wait!"
It was Julian. He jogged down the steps, stopping a respectful distance away, his cheeks flushed from the cold night air and sheer nerves. "I just... I wanted to say goodbye. And I truly hope that we will meet again in the capital."
Cain paused. He looked at the earnest, entirely foolish young man. Maintaining his female persona perfectly, Ashford offered one final, devastatingly beautiful smile.
"It will be a pleasure, Lord Julian," Ashford said softly, before stepping into the carriage.
The heavy iron doors of the carriage clicked shut, and the steam-engine hissed to life, rolling them away into the night.
The moment they were safely out of sight, Cain let out a groan of pure agony. Dark mana rippled over his body. The sapphire dress dissolved into shadows, his body shifted, and he returned to his sharp, male form, slouching heavily into the leather seat.
Sofia, sitting across from him, leaned her head on her hand and laughed softly. "My, my. It seems you have truly attracted the young Lord Vance. Are you discovering new interests, Cain?"
Cain slowly raised his head. His golden-ringed eyes glowed faintly in the dim carriage light, radiating a silent, murderous threat.
"Do you," Cain asked slowly, his voice dripping with venom, "want to experience exactly what Lord Sterling faced in that soundproof room?"
Sofia laughed again, entirely unfazed by the threat of the Anomaly. She looked out the window at the passing gas lamps, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"Rest while you can, Cain," Sofia smiled. "Because tomorrow, we own a piece of this city. The next few days are going to be infinitely more interesting."
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