My Borderline Supervillain-Slash-Hero System-Chapter 73 – A Chain Around the Wolf

Shelby stepped forward, a bundle of clothes in hand, and tossed them toward the naked Sebastian.

"Can you move?" he asked.

Sebastian, lying near the broken remains of the spatial gate Shelby had just obliterated, trembled. He had witnessed the stomp with his own eyes—and the devastation it caused. In his heart, he realized something chilling.

This man isn’t human. He’s a monster in human clothing.

"I can... sir," Sebastian said, voice hoarse, pain lacing every syllable.

"Then what are you waiting for? Have some damn decency and cover yourself," Shelby snapped. "There’s a lady here, in case you forgot."

Sebastian winced. His body ached with the aftereffects of Lycantropy—his bones screaming, muscles burning. But the fear of Shelby outweighed the pain. He struggled to sit up and hastily pulled on the clothes, ignoring the stabbing agony.

Without warning, Shelby flung a small wooden bucket at him. It landed beside the prince with a dull thud, sloshing slightly.

"Eat. Heal yourself. Gather as much energy as you can. You’re walking on your own two feet tomorrow. And if you can’t..." Shelby’s tone turned ice-cold, "then we’ll just extract your mana core and carry that instead. No one here’s interested in hauling dead weight."

Sebastian’s mind clicked. So I’m a captive... and expendable. He looked down at the thick, oily paste inside the bucket. Tentatively, he dipped a finger, tasted it—

And blinked. Delicious?

He hesitated for a moment. Then, hungry from the battle and wary of refusing anything now, he began devouring the bone marrow paste greedily.

"Good," Shelby said, nodding. He stepped forward again, this time pulling out a set of thick iron chains.

With fluid motion, he shackled Sebastian—around the neck, waist, and both ankles. Every link was heavy, engraved with runes that pulsed faintly with suppression magic.

Zane and Erlin approached.

Zane knelt slightly to meet Sebastian’s eye. "Your name’s Sebastian, right?" ƒгeewebnovёl_com

Still chewing, the werewolf prince gave a slight nod.

"Let me be clear," Zane said coldly. "Don’t even think about escaping. If you value your life, behave."

Sebastian met his gaze and narrowed his eyes. "I don’t know you. I don’t know any of you. So tell me, human—why are you doing this? What did I do to deserve this? Far as I remember, I’ve never offended any of you."

Zane gave a dry laugh. "Great question. You’re right—we don’t have personal business with you. But you’re the notorious Celestial Wolf King. The traps, assassins, and cursed barriers you laid out—don’t pretend that wasn’t your doing. I can guess someone from my organization has a grudge with you. That’s enough."

Sebastian clenched his fists. Damn... so this was a hit set up by someone else...

Erlin stepped forward, arms crossed and disgust in her eyes. "Don’t play innocent. You know me. And I know you. That look in your eyes earlier—don’t think I didn’t catch it."

Sebastian’s expression twitched.

"You’re not just a rogue beast," she continued. "You’re a prince from the Southern Continent, a spy operating in my land. That gives me every right to arrest and expose you."

Zane turned, brows raised. "Wait, he’s a spy?" That was news to him.

Erlin nodded. "From the Alpha Kingdom. And a dangerous one."

Zane shifted back toward Sebastian. "Well, there you have it. Consider yourself lucky, wolf. If it were just me, I’d have ripped your mana core out the second you spoke to my wife like that. But my mentor said otherwise. So enjoy your chains."

He turned away, but Erlin stepped closer and gently touched Zane’s arm. Her voice softened—but her eyes didn’t leave Sebastian.

"Don’t worry," Erlin whispered, her voice cold. "He’ll suffer more alive."

Sebastian didn’t reply. He simply continued eating the paste, slowly, deliberately—his mind racing with thoughts of survival, escape, and the faint hope that someone from his kingdom would come for him.

He pinned his last hope on Eren, who had managed to escape through the spatial rift. Maybe he’ll inform the King... my father will send the imperial guards... the best of the Alpha Kingdom. Until then, Sebastian resolved to do whatever it took—to bow his head, to endure humiliation—anything to stay alive.

Shelby glanced toward the mansion and stretched.

"It’s already late. We’ll stay here for the night. First thing tomorrow, we move to the extraction point," he announced.

Zane nodded, his body leaning against Erlin for support. He was exhausted, every muscle aching, and his back throbbed with pain from the deep claw wounds still healing.

Shelby turned his eyes to Sebastian.

The werewolf prince understood the unspoken command. He winced and began dragging himself toward the house, groaning with every step as his body protested the movement.

Inside, Sebastian found a corner, sat down, and continued spooning the thick paste into his mouth. No one stood watch over him that night. Zane and Erlin disappeared into their room. Shelby vanished behind another door. Silence followed... broken only by the sound of multiple snores.

Sebastian blinked.

No guards? No restraints beyond these chains? He considered fleeing—slipping into the night, disappearing into the woods.

But the image of Shelby stomping a spatial gate into oblivion with a single step flashed in his mind.

No. This is a test, he told himself. If I run, I die.

With a heavy sigh, Sebastian leaned back against the cold wall and eventually drifted into sleep.

The Next Morning

The sun peeked through the broken windowpanes, lighting the grand hall of the ruined mansion. Zane, Erlin, and Shelby had already gathered.

Sebastian remained where he was, chained but still present.

"Oh, he’s still here?" Zane said, cracking his knuckles. "Tch. Too bad. If he had tried to run, I could’ve had some fun."

Sebastian shivered slightly. Yes, he thought, I made the right choice. Just hang on for a week—help will come.

Shelby turned to Erlin. "Alright, little girl. Time to leave. But first, we need to get back to the ruined city where we came from. Think you can help us find a shortcut?"

Erlin’s face lit up. "Of course, Big Brother Shel! I know every path in these forests like the back of my hand. Just tell me which ruined city you’re talking about."

"Ruined city?" Zane raised an eyebrow. "How many of those are even out here?"

"Two hundred and sixty-five," Sebastian said dryly.

Zane snapped his head toward him. "Shut up. I wasn’t talking to you."

Sebastian shrugged and resumed his silence.

Erlin giggled. "He’s actually right. There are exactly 265 known ruined cities in this continent."

Zane blinked. "Seriously?"

"Yeah," she said. "But if you give me a few details, I can narrow it down."

Zane nodded. "It’s the one near the forest where you were hiding. The place was swarming with undead—zombies. A lot of them."

"Zombies?" Erlin tilted her head. The word was unfamiliar.

"Uh, I mean those walking corpses. Dead people, turned into monsters. Mindless, craving blood and flesh."

"Ah! Undeads." She reached into her satchel and pulled out the old map they had gotten from the dwarf broker, Sudram. She spread it over the table and examined the terrain.

"I know that place," she said, tapping her finger over one marked location. "It’s called Nevermore City. We’re currently here—" she pointed again, "—so we’ll take this path here through the green ridge, bypass the Whispering Vale, and go around the Sunken Marshes. That’ll cut a day off our route."

She drew a curved line between the two points.

Shelby and Zane studied the markings and nodded approvingly.

"Alright then," Shelby said, rolling up the map. "Erlin, lead the way."

And with that, the group of four—one princess, one warrior, one monster in chains, and one silent observer—set off toward Nevermore City, the extraction point drawing ever closer.

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