𝐌𝐘 𝐀𝐃𝐔𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

十四 | 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍

adulation (n.)
adoration. worship.
admiration. devotion.
reverence. favor.

「 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑭𝑶𝑼𝑹𝑻𝑬𝑬𝑵 」
𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍

꧁꧂

"Have your human entertain us, Ferid," Crowley suggested with a tilt of his head, his arms crossed which allowed his finger to tap against said arm. "Surely it can provide us with that much as your possession, no? It's obedient, is it not?"

Ferid's smile broadened at the idea.

(Y/N) tensed.

What does he mean by that?

He couldn't possibly...

No...

"An excellent idea, Crowley," Ferid clapped his hands together before then turning to (Y/N) with a rather malevolent tint to his blood red eyes, the look making her blood run cold. "What do you say, human? Care to show us a performance? Ah! Perhaps I should show Crowley how well you can put up a fight against a rabid vampire?"

"P-Please..." (Y/N) shook her head 'no,' the chain around her neck clanking.

"I'd certainly be inclined to such a show," Crowley put forth, his eyes clashing with (Y/N)'s to show no remorse within his gaze. "Certainly, indeed..."

"Then it's decided," Ferid proclaimed as he stood up, yanking (Y/N) up with him when he did so before full on dragging her by her chain out of the room despite her protests and struggles, Crowley and Chess and Horn not too far behind him. "I even have a specimen ready just for this kind of entertainment in an arena the human is quite familiar with... but not too familiar, of course. Would spoil the fun too much if it was."

(Y/N) felt like crying.

She had struggled and fought so much to be reduced to something lower than dirt.

It hurt.

It felt like being crushed.

How was she supposed to remain strong when over and over again she was reminded that she was nothing more than food to these vampires? No, not even that—she was merely entertainment until Ferid grew bored of her and killed her. She couldn't even be spared such a fate since her blood, as disgusting as it was, was useless to vampires. Why drink something rotten when there were hundreds of bodies filled with sweeter blood?

Therefore, what use was she?

The answer was simple.

She had no use.

She was but a puppet of skin and meat that could be discarded at a moment's notice.

So, how could she continue living like that?

    As Ferid led both (Y/N) and Crowley underground to the maze-like room which he had built specifically for such entertainment, leaving Ayal, Chess, and Horn above after informing them that it was to be a private event, he could feel his nerves start to thrum with eager anticipation. After all, he was a man who loved nothing more than to watch humans struggle to survive, most of all his dear pet whom he knew loathed him.

    That was what was fun, though.

    He assumed he would likely never tire of her amusing expressions.

Crowley, meanwhile, was more interested in observing (Y/N) more so than garnering a reaction out of her. He found the little ticks and little flashes of emotion within her eyes that were usually not noticeable unless to a discerning eye quite delightful. For while there was obvious fear, there was also a type of strength to her that he liked—he didn't admire it, but he was curious about it. In retrospect, he believed such strength allowed her to remain a type of levelheadedness that he particularly was inclined to, knowing it kept her calm enough to rationally analyze a situation instead of scream and cry as so annoyingly livestock do.

    It didn't earn his respect, as he respected no human, but it earned his fascination.

    A childlike fascination, specifically.

    "Where did you come from, human?" Crowley hummed in question as he fell into step beside her, his hands laced loosely behind his back while he kept his gaze in the corner of his eyes steady on her. "I assume you didn't just drop from the sky, no? Are you from Japan? Or from somewhere else?"

    (Y/N) stayed silent.

    She was perturbed, if anything, as to why Crowley was suddenly trying to start a conversation with her. She didn't know what he was trying to achieve by speaking with her, but she knew that whatever it was, she likely wouldn't be fond of it. Flicking her eyes up to Ferid to see what his reaction was, she flinched when finding that he too was gazing at her inquisitively, as if curious about her answer as well, his red eyes flaring.

    "I'm... from (C/N)," she mumbled, her voice practically akin to a whisper.

    "Ah," Crowley nodded. "So what made you come here, to this region, specifically?—before the world collapsed, of course."

    "I..." she trailed off.

    What was she supposed to say?

    She literally did just drop in.

    "Shouldn't we ask what its age is?" Ferid then queried with a finger to his cheek. "Since that virus killed those over thirteen, at most it would be sixteen since said virus was only three years ago." His smile turned malicious as he uttered, "Then again... from looks alone, it seems like an adult."

"I..." she swallowed thickly. "...am 23."

"How fun," Ferid's grin broadened.

"No wonder your pet learns well," Crowley chuckled as he nonchalantly pat her on the head, his eyes curving with his smile. "It isn't a child."

"Children are easy to control, don't forget," Ferid spoke as he tugged (Y/N) forward, relinquishing her head from Crowley's touch. "Adults, not so much. The only reason my dear pet is so well-learned is because I had to teach it. When I first received it, it was a such a hassle reminding it who its master was." Glancing down at (Y/N) with a smile, he hummed, "It's much better now, thankfully."

Finally, the three reached their destination, and (Y/N) wanted to curl in on herself.

She was back.

Back in that maze-like dungeon.

"Now," Ferid announced. "Let's begin."

━━━━━━━━ ꧁ ♥ ꧂ ━━━━━━━━

「 𝑻𝑶 𝑩𝑬 𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑼𝑬𝑫 」