# Chapter 75
I thought I was fine with it. If Boss forgot me, if he casually dismissed my death, I thought it couldn’t be helped. That’s how precious he was to me.
But Boss remembered. He hadn’t forgotten the death of someone who was merely his subordinate. Do you even know what that means?
“Please stay alive until my anger subsides.”
With those words, he left, but I couldn’t contain the emotions welling up inside me. I was afraid, yes, but his anger arose because of me.
I was unspeakably happy that Boss was angry because of me. Even though that anger was directed at me, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that the past 10 years hadn’t been in vain. That these futile emotions weren’t useless after all. That was all that mattered.
Though it was a space completely unsuited for joy, at this moment I could proudly say I was happier than anyone else. I never knew that being remembered by him could bring me such happiness.
It was the first time I thought the sound of my pounding heart was pleasant to hear.
* * *
They say when happiness continues, it feels like everyday life. I don’t know who said it, but it seems to be true.
I was definitely happy. But that happiness was only momentary. From the day Boss left, my body was covered in blood every single day.
My skin was torn, bones were broken, and a metallic taste of blood constantly flowed from my mouth. My body was reduced to rags, and my vision was completely red.
It was truly a state where I would die if left alone. But the real hell wasn’t that. It was the fact that my body kept returning to its original state. When I passed out from unbearable pain, my body would somehow be healed.
Only then did I understand Boss’s words asking me to stay alive. From the beginning, Boss had no intention of letting me die. If I seemed about to die, he would heal my wounds with his superpower. And then he would continue the same act, and when I was about to die again, he would restore my body to its original state. This repetition was the daily routine in the underground prison.
I couldn’t tell how many days had passed since no sunlight entered. I just repeatedly lost consciousness and woke up. At first, I thought I could endure it. After all, he was doing this because of my death. But that thought gradually faded.
I thought I could accept it, but it was becoming increasingly burdensome. There was no sign of it ending. No matter how terribly I was damaged to the point where I couldn’t recognize what I looked like, the next day I would be restored to normal. Even if something was broken or bent, even if some part of my body disappeared entirely, it would return to normal. And then the same pain would repeat.
If it were Kane, he would have gone mad long ago. In this respect, I think it’s fortunate that I’m the one possessing him. If Kane went mad, there would be no one to protect Alice. I need to escape this place quickly and find a way to meet Alice, but…
I had no chance to think properly since I kept passing out. As time passed, my firm resolve began to crumble. I became consumed by the thought of telling everything.
Even if I spoke, he wouldn’t believe me. It was just words with no evidence. Boss wouldn’t listen to such words from me. Rather, he might truly try to kill me then.
But despite knowing this, I couldn’t suppress the impulse. My mind had reached its limit to that extent. If it were my original body, I might have been able to endure longer since I was somewhat accustomed to pain, but this body wasn’t familiar with it. Moreover, since there was no one coming to rescue me, I had nothing to lean on.
The only reason I could maintain my sanity now was because of Boss. I stared at him as he came to check on me without fail today as well. Even lifting my head was strenuous. Through blurry vision, I could see the red eyes looking at me.
Yes, because he came to see me like this, I couldn’t go mad. I didn’t know that just seeing him would help me endure this terrible life. My feelings toward Boss were far greater than I had thought.
“Are you really just an ordinary researcher?”
He murmured as if he couldn’t understand me, as I exhaled faintly, proving I was alive. He probably finds it strange that I haven’t gone mad yet.
“Yes… I am.”
“It’s strange that you still answer properly.”
It was natural. It was like a rule for me. I must answer his questions. I couldn’t break what I had upheld all this time. But perhaps my behavior had triggered Boss.
“Urgh…!”
An unbearable groan escaped. With blood gushing out, I realized that even this body had reached its limit. Boss wasn’t the one in charge of me, but he would occasionally stab me like this.
“You endure the sound well too.”
During training, I could at least bear it… I knew it was for me, so even though it was painful, it felt good. But now, seeing him emotionlessly dealing with an enemy, I couldn’t feel any joy.
Everything was just painful. It was so painful to be in this situation where I couldn’t do anything despite meeting Boss again.
“This becomes boring like this…”
After briefly muttering, as if some thought had occurred to him, he spoke to me in a gentle voice.
“Ah, shall I tell you something good?”
But it only made me terribly anxious. Still, I couldn’t refuse, so I nodded for now.
“You think the intruder who entered Peace to rescue the test subject is dead, right?”
That’s obvious… Why is he suddenly saying this? Did he notice something related to me and Kay? But if so, Boss wouldn’t just sit still. I silently waited for his next words, not understanding.
“No. He’s alive. Kay.”
And as soon as I heard those words, I forgot to breathe. …That couldn’t be. I died. I must have died that day. How could I have survived that explosion?
“That’s…”
The shock was so great that even the pain became dull. I wished it were Boss’s misunderstanding, but there was no lie in his eyes.
“I hoped he’d die, but it’s disappointing he’s alive.”
It felt like my head was filled with a hazy fog. The churning emotions made me nauseous. I didn’t want to die. But I didn’t want to hear that I was alive in this way.
Clearly I was here, existing, yet Boss said I was alive. That was as good as denying my existence here.
“What… state is he in?”
How could someone possibly mistake someone else for me? I felt like I was being sucked into the rising emotions. Was this anger, sorrow, or resignation?
Seeing me agitated, Boss simply attacked me instead of answering.
“Ugh!”
Blood rose to my throat. The blood dripping down my chin was visibly alarming in quantity.
“Your pierced mouth sure talks a lot.”
But it seems that wasn’t enough to satisfy him.
“Kuhak!”
Now blood was spurting out. I could feel my entire body growing cold. My eyes started losing focus. It’s complicated. Both this situation where I’m being tortured by the person I loved, and Boss’s words that I was alive. Everything was complicated.
“He’s sleeping. Continuously until now.”
Through my buzzing eardrums, a faint voice reached me. I tried to continue thinking as I painfully gazed at his back as he left. But it seemed I had reached my limit, as my head no longer processed thoughts. I tried to continue, but my thoughts kept breaking off abruptly.
In the end, I had no choice but to give up and close my eyes.
* * *
He thought his anger would subside somewhat by watching that researcher’s suffering. But perhaps he wasn’t an ordinary researcher, as he didn’t easily submit. An ordinary person would be begging for their life, but those vivid green eyes still shone clearly.
This way, there was no meaning in bringing him here. It should at least provide some entertainment. That’s why Boss informed him of Kay’s survival. According to Fenil, that researcher had been assigned the mission of confirming Kay’s life or death. And he had concluded that Kay was dead. But what if Kay was actually alive?
That would be tantamount to betraying Peace. It could be processed as a mistake, but Kay was a regeneration ability user and an executive of “Alice.”
The regeneration ability was a superpower that guy from Peace wanted to obtain, and an executive knew well how “Alice” could collapse in an instant. Would that guy really just let it go after learning he had let such a Kay escape?
Such a thing couldn’t happen. As a researcher, he would know. That he couldn’t survive after disturbing that guy’s mood.
If Peace found out Kay was alive, it was clear he would die by that guy’s hand even if he escaped from here. It meant there was no hope for that researcher.
So Boss expected him to break as he conveyed this fact, while maintaining his lofty posture.
And as he expected, the researcher eventually broke down. When he saw the cracks in his expression, he thought everything had gone according to his will. But somehow, it wasn’t as pleasing as he thought. Neither the researcher’s contorted expression that looked like he was about to cry, nor his thoroughly damaged body. Everything was more…
“Unpleasant.”
As if surprised by his own words, Boss’s eyes widened. That couldn’t be. Wasn’t he one of those who had caused Kay’s death? Even if he wasn’t directly related to Kay’s death, the fact that he was in charge of Alice made him a person who deserved to die. That’s why he hadn’t made him die easily.
He wanted to make him feel pain worse than death.
But why was it so unpleasant? He couldn’t understand his own emotions. The trembling lips, the eyes sunk in despair – he couldn’t forget them.
The researcher’s gaze had something mixed in that was different from looking at the boss of “Alice.” It was as if he was looking at something dear and affectionate, an emotion that couldn’t possibly come to him. But no matter how many times he checked, that gaze didn’t change. It was too upright an emotion to be a misconception.
Every time Boss saw Kane’s eyes, he went nearly mad as someone kept flickering before his eyes. It should be someone who could never overlap, yet it made him recall Kay’s eyes looking at him.
Why? Though he didn’t resemble Kay in any way, why did those eyes make him recall Kay?
The operation was successful. By showing the difference in power, he was able to suppress Peace and could pride himself on inflicting significant damage. But despite everything being perfect in this situation, his mood kept sinking.
His heart felt constricted, as if he was missing something very important.
“Why on earth.”
Why did he have to feel these emotions? It was an incomprehensible feeling.
