Demon King of Tyranny Anos Voldigoad in The Eminence in Shadow

Chapter 8 - Demon Blood

When Alexia opened her eyes, she found herself in a dim room.

No window, and only a single lit candle.

The walls are stone, and a sturdy-looking door is right in front.

"This is..."

She has no memory of anything after separating from Pochi after school.

When she tries to move her body, she hears the clinking of metal rubbing against metal.

Looking toward the origin of the sound, she realizes that all four of her limbs are chained to a pedestal.

"Magic-sealing chains..."

She cannot use her magic. Escaping by herself would be difficult in the extreme.

Exactly who was it that took her away, and for what purpose? Kidnapping, coercion, human trafficking... a train of possibilities flit through her mind, but there's no way to confirm.

Alexia is not in the line of succession for the crown. But her status as a princess still has a certain amount of utility value. This she knows.

However, the information she has on hand at the moment is really too little to draw any conclusions with.

Alexia stops thinking about it, but then a different thought suddenly comes up in her head.

Is Pochi alright?

The boy with a terrible personality who had recently become her friend. She is quite fond of him because he always says things to her straight without any fear.

If he was truly caught up in this, then by now he is probably... let's stop there.

Alexia shakes her head, then looks around.

Stone walls, iron door, candle stand... and a black mound that looks like trash.

That mound is right next to Alexia, and for some reason is chained up.

Upon closer inspection, Alexia notices a slight movement.

It is breathing.

The 'mound' is a living creature wearing tattered rags.

"You there, can you hear my vo-...!"

The creature moves and looks at Alexia.

The 'creature'... is a monster.

It is an extremely emaciated monster restrained with chains.

Its black, festering face only barely retains what seems to be eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Its entire body is bloated in a non-uniform manner, with its left arm even longer than Alexia's leg. In contrast, its right arm is shorter and thinner than Alexia's own and seems to be affixed to its chest as if clutching something.

Such a monster is right beside Alexia.

Whereas Alexia has all four limbs chained up, that monster is only chained by its neck. If it reaches out with its long arm, it might actually be able to reach Alexia.

In order to not aggravate the monster, Alexia lowers the sound of her breathing and looks away.

But the monster is looking at her.

Alexia can feel the monster's gaze on her body.

After a period of silence that seems as if time had stopped...

Jyarara, the sound of chains rings in the air.

Peering from the corner of her eye, Alexia sees that the monster has curled up and gone to sleep.