CHAPTER 139: [PRINCESS]

DING.

DING.

DING.

DING.

The sound pounded through Eli’s skull, sharp and relentless. It wasn’t just noise anymore—it was a hammer, a chisel carving at the edges of his sanity.

Every strike echoed louder than the last, driving needles into the soft parts of his brain.

It was maddening.

All he could see was the man in front of him.

The calm eyes staring back at him.

Kairo.

It was his fault.

Everything was his fault.

DING.

DING.

DING.

’It hurts. Everything hurts.’

Eli’s thoughts spiraled, jagged, broken. His fingers clung to Kairo’s throat, trembling, barely strong enough to press—but it was all he had.

Kairo’s voice cut low, steady. "Eli, do not make me hurt you."

Hurt?

Eli almost laughed. He was already hurting. His body screamed with it—his ribs tight, his skin raw with cuts, blood slick down his arm. His chest was a cage squeezing tighter with every second.

’I’m already bleeding. Already in pain.’

But the voice didn’t stop.

It dug deeper.

’Mom... Lucas... make it stop. Please, make it stop...’

His heart thrashed in his chest, not from fear, but from the ugly certainty blooming inside him. If he killed Kairo, the pain would stop. If he killed Kairo, everything would end.

It would be better.

KILL.

KILL.

DING.

DING.

DING.

The commands overlapped now—ringing and words, words and ringing—until he couldn’t tell the difference. His own voice screamed in his head, feeding the frenzy.

KILL.

KILL.

His nails dug harder against Kairo’s skin. His breathing came ragged, shallow, frantic.

And through it all, the thought consumed him:

’I want to kill. I want to kill him.’

▒▓ ▀▄█ ⚠ ▄█▀ ▓▒

’Fuck.’

Kairo cursed inside his head.

There was no easy way to stop Eli right now.

He had options, but none of them were good.

He could search for the octopus, strike it again, and maybe—just maybe—Eli would snap out of it.

But that meant leaving Eli unchecked.

He could knock him unconscious and hope the influence broke while he was out. Risky.

Too risky.

Or he could try regrouping with Mio and Zaira, but they already had Mel to worry about—and dragging Eli along while he clawed at him like this would slow them all down.

Even now, Eli’s nails scraped across his throat. Sharp, frantic, desperate.

They didn’t cut deep—not nearly enough to hurt him—but the constant pressure was a distraction, a weight he couldn’t ignore.

And Kairo refused to hit him back. That wasn’t an option.

So he picked the path that made the most sense.

"Pardon me." His voice came low, clipped. In one swift motion, Kairo seized Eli’s arms, locking both wrists in his grip. His strength swallowed Eli’s struggle instantly, pinning him in place.

Eli screamed, voice raw, spit flying as he thrashed. "Let me go! Let me go! I’m going to—"

"Kill me, yes," Kairo cut in with a sigh, tone flat, almost bored. He leaned in slightly, eyes narrowed. "But not today, Princess."

The word slipped out before he could stop it.

’Princess?’

Kairo’s jaw tightened. Why had he said that? He didn’t know.

But looking at Eli now—the furious trembling, the red-rimmed eyes, the wild, irrational rage—it fit.

This wasn’t the cold, controlled bite of a real threat. This was tantrum, unhinged, thrashing like a spoiled brat lashing out at the world.

Still, Kairo’s grip didn’t waver. He kept Eli’s arms bound, his expression carved from iron, but inside his thoughts sharpened.

If it weren’t for the situation, Kairo might’ve thought it was amusing.

’Almost.’

Eli thrashed wildly in his grip, kicking and clawing, splashing water with every desperate movement. His voice cracked raw, filled with venom that didn’t belong to him.

Kairo held him firm with one arm, steady as stone, the boy’s weight hardly a challenge.

With his free hand, Kairo tugged at the belt strapped to his hunter’s uniform, slipping it loose in one fluid motion. His expression didn’t change, his calm so absolute it almost mocked Eli’s frenzy.

"Let me go! You fuck!" Eli screamed, his teeth bared, eyes wild with a fury that wasn’t his own.

"Hah." The sound slipped low from Kairo’s throat—half sigh, half humorless laugh. "How childish."

He didn’t know why—maybe the stress, maybe the irony of it all—but the sight of Eli raging like this almost amused him.

Unlike Mio, whose possession had been sharp, dangerous, threatening... Eli wasn’t the same.

Maybe it was because Eli was smaller. Because he wasn’t a warrior, wasn’t built for slaughter.

Because seeing him spit curses with his thin frame trembling and his feet splashing uselessly in the water—it didn’t fit.

It reminded him of a puppy.

A furious, cornered puppy that thought it could bite the hand holding it.

Kairo cinched the belt tight, binding Eli’s arms to his chest with efficient knots. Eli snarled, fighting harder, but the leather only dug closer against his frame.

"What is this?! I’m going to kill you! I’ll—"

"Don’t you have anything else to say, Eli?" Kairo’s voice cut calm, even bored, as he hefted the now-bound boy higher.

He slung him over his shoulder like baggage, Eli’s legs dangling, feet jerking in wild kicks that didn’t come close to landing. Too short. Too weak. Too desperate.

Kairo exhaled, long and sharp through his nose. "Enough. Let’s find Mio and Zaira before I deal with that monster."

His black eyes flicked upward to the shadows clinging to the cavern ceiling. The octopus wasn’t attacking—just like with Mio, it seemed to prefer using a pawn rather than striking outright.

But Mio’s possession had at least been... productive.

Threads snapping sharp, cutting to kill.

Eli’s, on the other hand—

Kairo adjusted his hold as Eli screamed again, spitting curses and struggling like a furious child.

’Really... he’s just acting like a spoiled brat.’

"Once we find Mio and Zaira, and that monster, I’ll ask you if you want to kill me," Kairo said, his voice steady, almost too calm for the chaos around them. "And if you say yes... then I’ll let you."

The words should have sparked another outburst.

More thrashing. More curses. But instead, Eli went still in his arms.

Completely still.

His yellow eyes, once blazing with that unnatural fury, drifted past Kairo’s shoulder and fixed on something in the dark.

His lips parted just slightly, but no sound came out. His trembling slowed, his fingers curling weakly against the fabric of Kairo’s uniform.

’Why’d he stop?’ Kairo’s black eyes narrowed, the muscles in his jaw tightening. ’What’s he looking at?’

He shifted his weight, readying himself, his instincts spiking. He didn’t need Eli’s danger sense to know when something was off — Eli’s silence alone was enough.

But before he could even turn to check—

"Captain?! Captain, where are you?!"