The Supremacy of Peculiar Dolls

Chapter 5: The Imprisonment

The sharp pain stung specifically his nape. The emerging light from the outside almost penetrated into his eyes as he was awoken from passing out. He blinked in confusion, processing the incident happened right before he fainted. He could not remember what has happened in between those two point of consciousness – He could barely reminisce. The moment he has grasped everything, he could not move much. Both his wrists were handcuffed and chained to the wall. His lower limbs were free, but it did not make any much difference.

            All he could figure out was that he was in a cell. It was dimmed, dirty, and slimy. The smell of mosses growing through the gaps of bricks was too overwhelming that he could puke. The sight was unpleasant, and the curbed light source somehow totted on the uneasiness. His stomach was growling, however since he did not know where his whereabouts was, he chose to remain silent.

            He has already lost the time track. He was unsure how long he has been ‘sleeping’. Judging from the numbness on his nape, he could say it might be at most a day. He could not figure how he has not been awoken from those handcuffs when someone cuffed him. While digesting the situation, he dragged the heavy chains which restrained his movement. They trailed over the floor, producing ear-ringing sound.

            Believably due to his attempts, he heard footsteps of someone from outside the cell. He or she must be coming to him, realizing that he has woken up from his sleep. He patiently waited for his or her arrival. As he presumed, a masked man appeared in front of his cell. He held a spear, but he did not wear armour suit or shield. All he could see was the man’s pair of eyes.

            “You surely don’t know who I am, based on how you encaged me,” Yeomso smirked while lowering his head.

            However, the guard was pissed off by Yeomso’s belittlement. He groaned in anger and shoved his pointy spear into the cell through the jail bars. Yeomso did not budge from the threat – He brushed it off with a typical villain guffaw.

            “Shut up, you dark magic user!” the guard shoved the spear deeper. “Or do you want me to kill you so that you will?”

            “I’m The King of Capricorn Valley! You aren’t supposed to cage me like this!”

            “What are you talking about? King? Capricorn? Heh!” the guard retracted his spear, replacing his incensed emotion into tingling entertainment, “Not enough with losing power, you also talk rubbish!”

            “I’m not talking rubbish! I’m really a King! I’m from The Dimension!” Yeomso punched the wall nearest to him.

            The floor quaked a little, but the guard did not seem to amaze. He sent off scornful look towards Yeomso. Yeomso was not afraid of his spear – His body structure could endure the injury if it was to penetrate his abdomen.

            One thing troubled him in the mind. Kouki and Hiroki. Where have the twins gone to? This useless guard would never disclose their location. His uneven temperament annoyed Yeomso, but he hesitated to ask him about Kouki and Hiroki.

            “Do you know what your fault was? You kidn*pped kids!” the guard roared, unconsciously his voice pierced across the whole building (if they were really in a proper building).

            “I don’t kidnap kids! I am their guardian for now!” Yeomso shrieked, heart burning in rage. He hated how the guard incriminated him for something he did not do.

            If his motive of coming to The Earth was to destroy the living, he would rather crash The Earth with his own power instead of k********g Earthlings. It did not benefit him at all, and it consumed more energy unnecessarily. Nevertheless, he found it useless to explain to this guard about The Dimension, The Zodiacs, Hebi, and many more related his own hometown. The guard even jeered at him when he claimed himself as The King of Capricorn Valley. The response proved that the Earthlings were not acknowledging the existence of The Dimension and its residents.

            “It’s not good to lie, you see,” the guard totally ignored Yeomso’s effortful exclamation. “The kids were not defining anything about you becoming their guardian. Why did you say so?”

            “I’m really their guardian! Their father has died, but he entrusted me his twin sons! We were travelling to get out of the forest! All of us are powerless!”

            Along with persistence, Yeomso purposely included a lie. It might help him, or it might get back to him, depending on how the guard accepted his trick. The guard glared sadistically at him, as if he was telling The Capricorn to ‘stay quiet or you may lose your head anytime soon’, but Yeomso turned away.

            Ever since he arrived at The Earth’s Forest of Eve, he has not sensed it. It became more distinct the longer he stayed there whereas it has only been nearly one day of his arrival. He could not understand why his boastful brawn depleted. His pair of horns were still on his head, long and sharp, proving that his ability was still employable. Yet, how could he not fight against those men when they caught him?

            “You’re lucky that our village head has gone,” the guard, shockingly, put his spear by the wall and sat comfortably on the floor, facing the baffled Yeomso. “If he was around, I doubted that you were alive today.”

            Yeomso stared at the guard blankly. The guard seemed exhausted, leaning his back against the wall and sighing in fatigue. From his cell, Yeomso could witness how droopy his eyes were. He was most probably not sleeping for the whole night. As a guard, he ought to be aware of the surrounding – Even animal sounds could trigger his worry.

            “Was he monstrous to you?” Yeomso suddenly asked, out of sympathy. He was not really interested to hear about what kind of punishment he might receive if the mentioned village head was available at the moment.

            The guard pulled his knees close to his chest. His arms wrapped around his legs, and he rested his chin on his knees. Looking keenly, the guard was actually a slender man who being anxious of uncertainty. Dragging the handcuffs and heavy chains to the jail bars, Yeomso was intrigued enough to listen instead of bickering.

            “Do you hate your village head?”

            The guard was taken aback at Yeomso’s motiveless question. He could not grasp what Yeomso was about to do, but he found it did not hurt to reply just normally. “I don’t, really.”

            “But you do sound as so,” Yeomso loosened his scrunched face.

            This was his opportunity, but not to escape from the cell. It was basically his chance to discover how a commoner felt towards a ruthless leader. He has always been plotting ways to find the answers, but due to his infinite pride as a King, he never be able to perform anything. He just knew his clan despised him and his ancestors, hence he decided to disappear together with the hatred.

            At least, it was his resolve. Whether it was a good start for Yagi as the next King of Capricorn, or it might be a bad ending for his own life. He was uncertain.

            “Our village head was originally a kind-hearted man. He loved peace, and he always contributed in revolving our village to be a better version. He would do anything to solve our problems, even if it costed him plentiful of money. He listened to our complaints and never grew tired of treating us nicely. He would always settle everything wholeheartedly and avoid violence as much as he could. He was the best village head until that day came.”

            A brow raised in puzzlement, “What day?”

            The guard pursed his lips, frowning and thinking thoroughly, “I can’t remember the exact date, but I could reminisce that one day. He suddenly appeared before us at his usual stage, announcing that he would catch anyone complotting with The Witch. He instructed young men like me to become guards and guard the boundary of this village, without sleep and change of shift. He would beat us to pulp if he found us ditching or opposing him. He would not provide food and wages, so we supported ourselves with our own savings. There were several of us died due to either overwork, hunger, torture, or the combination of these reasons.

            “In short, he has completely evolved to a very brutal village head. I hate to say this, but we, the guards, are reluctant to proceed this any longer. We’re not sacrificing ourselves for the sake of incompetent village head, unless he reverted to his old self back.”

            Yeomso noticed the guard was clenching his fists, believably holding his prolonged anger but avoiding to unleash it towards anyone including Yeomso. The guard’s eyes were wet, added by fine visible veins on the temple and slight trembling of his body. Those were proofs depicting how incensed he was as one of the guard.

            “Then,” Yeomso hesitated to ask since to him, the guard was already emotionally unstable. Yet, he ought to find the truth behind the mess erupted by the village. “Who is The Witch? I heard it since yesterday. The folks even accused me as The Witch’s assistant.”

            The guard sniffled before replying. “There was an abrupt outburst of vanishing small kids in this village. The villagers joined the village head to look for the culprit. They did investigations and inspection, until they had to place a kid as a bait. As a result, they witnessed a long, white-haired figure grabbing the kid. They ambushed the figure to catch him.

            “Strangely, they could not lay their hand on the figure. To worsen the situation, the figure even kidn*pped the baited kid and dissolved like wind. It happened in a blink of eye. To be honest, I heard they did not even know whether it was a man or a woman. The only memorable feature that figure had was its long white hair. That was how ‘The Witch’ appeared,” a long sigh escaped from the guard.

            Yeomso rested his forehead to the bars. “So, how did you know The Witch had assistants?”

            A brief stare was delivered by the guard towards Yeomso, perplexing the latter. “We don’t know either. It’s a term the village head came up out of the blue. He was so enraged when he saw the incident with his own eyes, so he instructed the whole village to catch anyone suspicious as it may be The Witch’s assistants, pretending to be a villager to obtain more kids. Ever since he announced that, he became severely merciless.”

            “It’s absurdly acceptable,” Yeomso leant his back against the jail bars, “I understand how mad you are, but I understand why your leader acts that way.”

            There was a brief silence. Yeomso peeped at the guard. He was staring at him, earnestly. He would like to listen to Yeomso’s theory as a third party in this matter. No, Yeomso was a total stranger to begin with.

            “As residents especially those who young, children and women, always wish for the best leader. Plus, your village head has been one beforehand, but he changed from one point, right? It was more to your disappointment for your crumbled wish upon the village head. Due to the lost hope, you tend to disrespect him and go against him sooner or later.

            “However, your village head is afraid. He’s afraid of losing more of his people. The reason he became ruthless was a mystery to me, but I guess he dislikes the idea of fighting against formidable opponent while physically unprepared. It’s not you, villagers, were unready. It is him who is shaking.”

            The guard stared at Yeomso, as if he was hoping for Yeomso to do something instead of uttering out his opinion. He wanted to be helped. He wanted to be saved from this village. He was almost giving up his life. He was hurt, physically, emotionally and mentally. Negativity emitted from the guard, informing Yeomso that he was in bad shape for a long time.

            “Why do you say so, Mister?”

            Yeomso surprisingly smiled at the flustered guard. “I told you earlier. I am The King of Capricorn Valley. I’m a Dimensional from a world you, Earthlings, won’t know unless you die. Just call me Yeomso.”

            The guard clenched his teeth. “Then, Yeomso. If you said that you came from a world where we don’t know… does that mean you came from a dark magic world?”

            “What is dark magic first of all?” Yeomso frowned in perplex. “I don’t know what dark magic is, thus I don’t practice it. I’m not related to those Witchy thingy, so you can release me and the twins now.”

            The guard rose from the floor, back facing Yeomso while muttering, “If you were to return back to your world, can I follow you?”

            “No, you cannot,” Yeomso rejected undoubtedly, “You’re still alive. If you’re still breathing fine here, it means you still can do something over everything.”

            The guard averted from Yeomso. Yeomso curved a small smile. It was unfair to this young man if he would just agree to bring him to The Dimension. This man still had potential, courage and possibility to live despite the portrayed pained complexion behind the mask. Moreover, he never heard any Earthling who was able to perceive Dimensionals, let alone coming to The Dimension. No one could ever predict what the consequence would be if he was really returning together with the guard.

            “What’s your name, young man?”

            The guard picked his spear back. “Just call me Hideo.”

            “All right, Hideo. Listen,” Yeomso forced his face to fit in between two bars, “You’re still young. I know, deep inside you still have some stamina to oppose your village head. Instead of committing suicide, it would be better if you construct a plan to crush him, omitting him from the title.”

            The guard named Hideo, for the nth time, gazed at The King of Capricorn before his eyes. Although he possessed a pair of long horns, he did not look like a bad person. According to his revelation, he was not even a person – He was a king from an unidentified world and the purpose would be believably confidential to the commoners. He would not ask for more.

            Hideo was about to rest his mind when other guards suddenly rushed into the scene, lining themselves up along the corridor thus providing a clear path. Hideo was about to inquire when one of them seized him away, or he might block the way. Even Yeomso in the cell pondered what really has happened until the guards alarmed.

            The curiosity solved almost instantly as the source of terror came down to the corridor, walking along the cleared pathway and stopped right at Yeomso’s cell, introducing himself as the village head.