The heavy iron door of the dungeon creaked open with a harsh metallic grind, and several armored guards marched inside. They began dragging the children out mercilessly. Among them was a tall guard who kept clutching his arm tightly. A thin trail of blood seeped from beneath his gauntlet. He was trying to hide his agony, but the sweat pouring down his face revealed that the wounds from his previous punishment had not yet healed.
From his seat in the dark corner, Luca watched everything. Beside him, Lane's eyes were fixed intently on the guard's injured hand. While the other children bowed their heads in terror, Lane stared at the guard with a strange, piercing focus.
The guard, fueled by rage, lunged toward Lane and barked, "What are you looking at? Lower your eyes, or you'll end up just like—" He winced in pain as his hand began to tremble violently again.
Lane tilted his head with utter innocence and asked in his soft, melodic voice, "Mister, are you hurt? Were you punished too?"
The guard's face went pale. He shuddered at the thought that a mere child had detected the humiliation he was so desperately trying to conceal. "Shut up! What is it to you?" he stammered, his voice wavering.
Suddenly, a coldness descended into Lane's eyes—a chill so profound it could freeze a person from within. He became deathly still and spoke in a flat, icy tone, "I think those wounds will finish you soon. You don't have much time left to live."
Looking into Lane's cold, glacial eyes, the powerful vampire guard felt a shiver down his spine. Paralyzed by a mixture of fear and fury, he found himself speechless. He shoved Lane away with force and began walking rapidly toward the corridor, his face filled with visible fear and panic.
As soon as the guard left, Lane's temperament instantly reverted to how it was before—innocent and sweet. But all the other children present there were staring at Lane, and there was a clear sense of dread and anxiety in their eyes as they watched him.
Luca was stunned by everything he had just witnessed. He couldn't comprehend what he had seen, but he realized with certainty that something very deep and mysterious was hidden inside Lane, something he did not yet know. Luca thought to himself— "I can't believe this is the same child who was so innocent and sweet just a moment ago; it is quite difficult to believe this."
Meanwhile, as the guard passed through the dark corridor, he suddenly felt something incredibly fine and sharp snag against his throat. Transparent wires had been strung across the path. The wires began to sink into his neck rapidly, and within moments, his head was severed from his body and thudded onto the floor.