Chapter 460: The Hunter

Third-person POV

Electra watched as Jella dragged herself out of the prison in an attempt to run far ahead, and instead of following behind immediately like Penelope clearly expected her to, she simply stood there with a small smile resting on her face. The sight of Jella stumbling forward in her torn dress while desperately trying to escape was honestly more satisfying than Electra expected it to be.

The prison doors remained open as Jella disappeared further down the hallway, practically dragging herself toward freedom with desperation written all over her face. Electra could hear the uneven sound of Jella's footsteps fading little by little, and instead of rushing after her, she remained exactly where she was, calm and completely relaxed.

She intended on giving Jella a very good head start before beginning the chase, because what fun would it be otherwise? After all, the entire point of the game was to let Jella believe she actually had a chance.

Penelope stood beside her quietly for a moment before eventually turning toward her with a confused expression. "You're seriously just going to stand here?" she finally asked. "Shouldn't you be running after her already?"

Electra only smiled faintly without moving from her spot. "No," she answered calmly. "That would ruin the fun."

Penelope looked visibly unsettled by that response.

Electra finally started walking forward slowly, making her way out of the prison while Penelope followed beside her. Unlike Jella earlier, Electra walked without any hurry at all. Her steps were calm and unbothered, almost as though they were taking a peaceful evening stroll instead of hunting someone down.

The prison hallway remained quiet except for the sound of their footsteps echoing against the cold walls, and a few guards watched nervously as Electra walked past them, but none of them dared to question her or stop her. After everything that had happened in the palace recently, it was obvious that nobody wanted to get in her way anymore.

Beside her, Penelope still looked deeply confused. She kept glancing toward the prison exit like she expected Jella to suddenly come running back in panic.

Eventually, she sighed before asking, "What do you really intend on doing?"

Electra glanced sideways at her briefly. "What do you mean?"

Penelope frowned slightly before continuing, "If Jella actually manages to get far enough away… are you really going to let her go?"

Electra nodded immediately without hesitation. "Of course I am," she answered simply. "I'm a woman of my word. If she escapes properly, then she escapes properly. I'm not going to go back on what I promised."

Penelope studied her face carefully like she was trying to figure out whether she was lying or not. Unfortunately for her, Electra was completely serious. If Jella somehow managed to outrun her successfully, then Electra genuinely intended to let her live.

That was what made the game interesting.

Penelope let out another sigh before asking the next question carefully. "And if she fails?" Her voice became quieter after that. "What are you going to do to her then?"

Electra slowly turned her head toward Penelope fully this time, a knowing look appearing on her face almost immediately. "Can you really not guess what I'm going to do?" she asked softly.

Penelope's expression slowly changed into one of suspicion. "You're going to kill her," she said after a few seconds.

Electra's smile widened slightly. "Precisely."

There was no hesitation in her voice when she answered, just excitement, and unfortunately, the excitement on her face was obvious enough that Penelope visibly looked creeped out by it. She slowed her steps slightly while staring at Electra carefully, almost like she was suddenly seeing her in a different light.

"Just so you know," Penelope muttered after a while, "you've actually never killed someone before. No matter how violent you've been."

Electra shrugged carelessly at that. "There's a first time for everything."

Honestly, the thought itself did not bother her nearly as much as it probably should have. Maybe there was something wrong with her for feeling that way, but every time she pictured Jella dead, she simply felt calmer.

Even without getting a full picture, Electra knew that Jella had ruined too many lives already, and no matter how she looked at it, Jella did not feel like someone worth sparing.

She glanced sideways at Penelope again before speaking. "If you're not up for seeing me kill someone," she said casually, "then you can leave now and head back to school."

Penelope immediately frowned at her again. "I'm going nowhere."

Electra raised a brow slightly.

Penelope folded her arms over her chest before continuing, "As someone who already knows what killing someone feels like, I ought to stay with you as emotional support."

Electra's footsteps stopped immediately. For a second, the only sound around them was the distant dripping water echoing through the underground prison halls.

Then slowly, Electra turned her head toward Penelope with a look of complete confusion and shock written all over her face.

"What the hell did you just say?"

Penelope looked completely unbothered by Electra's reaction, which somehow only made the situation even stranger. In fact, she looked almost amused now.

She let out a soft chuckle before asking casually, "Don't you have a criminal to go after?"

And just like that, she turned away and continued making her way toward the prison exit as though she had not just casually admitted to murder. Electra remained standing there frozen for several long seconds. Her mind genuinely struggled to process what she had just heard.

Penelope? Penelope killed someone? The same Penelope who looked soft enough to cry over stepping on flowers accidentally? The same Penelope who smiled brightly half the time and acted clingy toward her friends? Electra already knew she had a different side, but killing someone?

She stared ahead blankly while trying to replay the words in her head again to make sure she had not imagined them.

'As someone who already knew what killing someone felt like.'

No matter how many times she repeated the sentence mentally, it still sounded insane. Eventually, she blinked slowly before narrowing her eyes suspiciously at Penelope's retreating figure. "Wait," she suddenly called out sharply.

Penelope stopped walking but did not turn around immediately.

Electra finally started moving again, quickly catching up to her before grabbing her arm roughly enough to force her to stop completely. "Explain what you just said."

Penelope finally turned her head slightly toward her with an unreadable look on her face. "About what?"

Electra stared at her in disbelief. "About killing someone!"

Penelope looked oddly calm for someone discussing murder. "I don't remember stuttering."

Electra continued staring at her like she had completely lost her mind. Honestly, this entire conversation felt surreal. A few days ago, if someone had asked Electra which of her friends was most likely to secretly be a murderer, Penelope genuinely would have been last on the list.

Actually, scratch that. She probably would not have even made the list at all, and yet now Penelope was casually admitting it while standing in a prison hallway like they were discussing the weather.

"You killed someone?" Electra repeated slowly, almost like she still could not believe it.

Penelope finally sighed before gently pulling her arm free from Electra's grip. "You're acting way too shocked."

"Because I am shocked."

Penelope rolled her eyes slightly before continuing toward the prison exit again. "Well, try to recover quickly because your little prisoner is getting farther away."

Electra stared after her for another moment before finally following behind again, though this time her attention was no longer completely on Jella. Now part of her attention remained fixed on Penelope instead, because honestly? That casual confession had just made Penelope significantly more terrifying than before.

And somehow, that was saying a lot considering Electra had already watched her destroy a mirror with a bat while smiling like a lunatic.