Chapter 1 – Prelude
Main Story 1, Prelude
Novel Title: 獣はかくして囚われる (The Beasts are Ensnared This Way)
Author：風結子 沙野 (Fuyuko Sano)
Illustrator：小山田 あみ (Oyamada Ami)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 鹿倉 陣也 (Kagura Jinya -MC) & ゼロ (Zero -ML)
*Please read at freenovels.net, the original site of translation. TQ*
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⚠️Translator’s WARNING: Please DO NOT read this if you can’t handle non-consensual sexual acts, child abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, drugs abuse, human trafficking, suicide, and teenagers sexual exploitation. If you’re not up for it, leave now so that I won’t receive people judging and commenting on things I don’t wanna hear when I’ve clearly warned you guys to stay away. With that said, if you’re ready, jump into the novel and thanks for reading in advance. -K
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The night had not yet ended.
Even if he were to open his eyes now, all that awaited him would be darkness so profound that even the outlines of objects were indistinct.
Certain of this, Zero kept his eyes shut, intending to drift off for a while longer.
He could sense the depth of the darkness even through his closed eyelids—a skill honed through years of experience. Darkness was familiar to him. Since childhood, he had learned to perceive the light and dark of the outside world without opening his eyes.
Zero didn’t know who his father was.
And his mother was rarely home at night, leaving their drafty, run-down apartment empty.
As a child, Zero would wake up in the middle of the night and force himself to keep his eyes closed until he could sense the faint glow of dawn through his eyelids.
When morning came, his mother would soon return.
But she always reeked of alcohol. The moment she stumbled into their perpetually unkempt home, she would collapse onto the futon and fall asleep.
If Zero tried to wake her, she would simply point to a convenience store bag by her pillow.
He would eat its contents and sit in the corner of the room, watching over his sleeping mother.
Even worn out, she was beautiful—like a sleeping princess. By evening, she would doll herself up like a princess from a storybook.
She referred to Zero’s father as her ‘prince’.
If she had borne the child of a prince, surely that made her a princess. But because her father was a death row inmate, she couldn’t marry him. To avoid bringing trouble to the ‘prince’, she had to keep their son—Zero—hidden from the world.
“Zero’s eyes and hair come from the prince.”
At the end of twilight, just before she left the house, she would hold Zero close and whisper those words.
Even as a child, he understood that her embrace wasn’t for him—it was for the ‘prince’.
“You mustn’t let anyone find you, okay?”
With those words and a pat on his head, she would leave the apartment.
As an unregistered child, Zero might as well not have existed in the eyes of the world. No one could be allowed to discover him.
Still, when he was younger, he was occasionally able to go out with his mother.
But once children his age started carrying schoolbags, those outings stopped altogether.
“It’s a game of hide-and-seek. The outside is full of monsters, so you absolutely mustn’t go out.”
Her expression stern, she drilled those words into him.
But the days and nights stretched endlessly.
Daylight was too bright—he’d be caught by the monsters instantly. So, in the dead of night, when his mother wasn’t around, Zero would sneak out of the apartment. Quietly, step by step, he descended the rusty stairs, careful not to make them creak. For the first time in years, he stepped onto the overgrown ground, stomping his feet lightly in place.
His heart pounded with a mix of fear and excitement, so loud it felt like it might burst from his chest.
Listening intently for the sound of the monsters’ footsteps, he crept along the nighttime streets.
He reached a small park nestled within the residential area.
He had passed by this park a few times with his mother when he was younger. Back then, he had wanted to play with other children his age or try the swings, but his mother had always dragged him away hurriedly, as if escaping. To avoid being found by the monsters.
The park had a thin cherry tree. Most of its blossoms had already fallen, but a few white petals still clung to the branches, illuminated by the moonlight.
Zero’s chest trembled. Awkwardly, he approached the swing and sat down.
Looking up at the cherry tree, he began to swing gently. When he almost slipped off the seat, he gripped the chains tightly in a panic.
At first, he swung tentatively, but soon, he became completely engrossed.
The creak of the swing echoed, and his view swayed dramatically. The cherry blossoms seemed close enough to touch.
And then—he heard the sharp clack of heels against the pavement.
Startled, Zero leapt from the swing mid-air. He hit his knees on the ground but rolled into the shadow of an azalea hedge to hide.
The footsteps stopped.
He made himself as small as possible, peeking at the monster through the leaves.
It was a woman in red high heels, who bore a slight resemblance to his mother. She stared curiously at the still-swinging swing before scanning the park.
―――She’s going to find me…
His entire body felt like one pounding heartbeat.
But her gaze passed over him and turned toward the cherry blossoms. She gazed at the remaining petals for a while before leaving with gentler footsteps.
Breathing shakily, Zero touched his hair.
Perhaps it was the color of his hair, dark as the night, that had allowed him to blend into the shadows.
With that thought, he felt a profound sense of comfort in the darkness.
This was where he belonged. Here, he could live.
“…I can live.”
He whispered the words softly, and a surge of strength welled up within him.
The darker it was, the freer and braver he became.
―――I don’t need the sun… I don’t need light.
Half-asleep, his consciousness blurred with the child he had been.
But then he felt a hand stroke his hair. The touch was different from his mother’s—clumsy fingers traced the outline of his head.
Before he realized it, the faint glow of dawn was filtering through his eyelids. Morning would soon come.
As he tried to open his eyes, he felt a warm pressure on his lips. A slight brushing motion, and then it was gone.
Zero opened his eyes.
The other person blinked in surprise, then gave a slightly frustrated expression.
“So you were awake.”
The bluish-purple light spilling through the curtains faintly illuminated the sharp, now even more angular face and bare torso of Kagura Jinya.
Kagura was nothing like Zero, who had lived in the shadows as an unregistered child.
Despite the deep scars in his heart, Kagura had become a detective, single-mindedly confronting his enemies and fighting alone.
In the course of facing the same adversaries, their lives had become intertwined.
Zero felt a light ignite deep in his eyes.
―――So… I don’t need light, huh?
He had discarded the things he couldn’t have, finding strength and survival in doing so.
“…”
As Zero sat up, Kagura’s eyes, framed by shallow double eyelids, fixed on him intently.
Feeling something akin to pain, Zero leaned in.
He pressed his lips against Kagura’s faintly glowing cheek.
“You’re like a sleepy little brat,” Kagura murmured with a soft laugh, tousling Zero’s hair roughly.
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*Translator’s Note: We finally got a glimpse into Zero’s background. The next chapter will be published after the last chapter of Volume 2 is released. Have another hell of a ride with the 3rd volume! -K
Next update: 2025.11.17
You may support the author by purchasing the book: https://amzn.asia/d/2qfB4gY [Amazon link]
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