Translator: Atlas / Editor: Regan
The men didnāt react. The man gripping her hair only shoved her head into the floor, pressing so hard she thought her skull might go through it. And still, she kept talking calmly.
āPeople saw you taking us. Soon, they are going to follow. I wonāt tell them anything if you let us go now.ā
āā¦donāt waste your breath.ā
A man who looked like the leader broke the silence, and the eyes behind his mask were coldly mocking as he pulled out a blue-bladed dagger. He toyed with its edge as he looked at Celestine.
No, they will kill her if I donāt stop them!
Desperately, she tried to lift her head, and then her eyes fixed on the masks the men wore over their faces. None of them had their ears covered. She watched tearfully as that man turned away from her, approaching Celestine, and a requiem song escaped her.
Oh God, grant them eternal rest.
Let your infinite light shine upon them
You deserve our adoration
It was hard enough to try to sing with her head pushed into the floor, never mind all the smoke she had inhaled. She could not find the right notes.
The men paid no attention to the song. One of them turned his head back to the unconscious Celestine while the leader knelt in front of her, his head cocked as if he were contemplating the most effective angle to kill her.
But he looked back at Annette as her singing grew louder, and the man restraining her shoved her head harder into the floor.
One of the menās eyes suddenly went blank, and he shook his head a few times, as if he were trying to resist sleep. But Annetteās song had already flowed into his mind like water, and soon he collapsed.
One by one, the others followed. It seemed the effectiveness of her song was not reliant on the quality of the music.
āYouā¦sneakyā¦bitchā¦ā
The leader lasted the longest, kneeling beside Celestine with a hand over his nose. He thought Annette was using some kind of sleeping gas; the only possible guess he could make. No one would ever imagine she could put people to sleep by singing.
Who would imagine Annette was a regressor, with a regressorās gift? Even the Kingās most dangerous subordinates were powerless.
The leader crumpled onto the floor, and Annette stood up, wobbling over to Celestine.
āCelestine, please, you have to get up,ā she said urgently, shaking Celestineās shoulder. āCome on, you have to open your eyes!ā
She was terrified the well-trained killers would wake up any moment, and tears flowed down her cheeks as she doggedly tried to wake the other woman. Finally, Celestineās eyelids fluttered.
Celestine jerked back to her senses. Her head hurt and she couldnāt open her eyes properly, but she still tried weakly to sit up, so she wouldnāt frighten Annette anymore. She valued Annetteās friendship greatly.
Looking around, her eyes widened with shock and her mouth opened as if to scream. Annette lunged to cover her mouth, terrified that a scream might wake their attackers.
āShhh. Donāt make any noise.ā
Celestine broke out in a cold sweat. Her limbs shook and suddenly she seemed to be struggling to breathe. As her eyes shifted out of focus, Annette suddenly understood what was happening.
A trauma reaction to her kidnapping. Annette knew what a trauma flashback looked like.