He squirmed under my grip.
"Like, you know nothing about me. How do you know, or why do you think I'm a bitch? Seriously, it's irritating." I frowned, dragging him a few steps closer to the group.
"How would you feel if I called you... Angel Lovers?"
"Don't you fucking dare call us that!!" they all shouted in unison, their outrage immediate and loud. Even the one with the rod still lodged in his throat let out a muffled snarl.
"Sheesh. You know what I hate even more than someone calling me a bitch? Someone shouting so loud my ears might bleed," I said, rubbing my ear with a grimace.
"Why should we care? You just called us Angel Lovers," the one in my hand said, clearly offended.
"Oi, don't get so mad at me. What should I call you instead? Elf lovers... dwarf lovers... monster lovers... beast lovers... demon lovers..." I let each name drip off my tongue like poison, watching for any reaction. "Come on, speak up. I won't know what to call you if you don't say anything. Aaah, what about... devil lovers?"
The group went dead silent.
Their bodies stiffened, expressions frozen.
"Well, that's troubling," Kayda mumbled under her breath, her posture tense.
"Yeah... that's not good at all," I agreed, scowling. Without another word, I clenched my hand-and crushed the man's head.
Thud!
His body collapsed in a heap.
"What do you guys mean?" Sammy asked, glancing between Kayda and me.
"These guys worship devils. That's why torture doesn't really work on them," I explained, still watching the remaining pandas closely.
"How sure are you?" Grandenzil asked, her tone skeptical.
"When I listed the names, they only reacted to 'devil.' The others just irritated them. That word triggered something else entirely," I said, flexing my stained fingers.
You know what? Let's do this. I thought, stepping toward Sammy.
"Why are you moving closer to me?" she asked, backing up slightly.
"Well, I'm going to teach you how to torture people. What do you think?"
"That..." she hesitated, glancing at Grandenzil.
"If you want to, you can learn from her," Grandenzil said evenly, watching Sammy's reaction.
"Thank you. I'd like to learn as much as I can," Sammy said, bowing slightly, a determined spark in her eye.
'You wouldn't think we're enemies if you saw us like this,' I thought, hiding a laugh behind a crooked smile.
"Good, good. Here, catch," I said brightly, tossing the knife to her.
She caught it awkwardly. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Just come here. I'll show you," I said, turning to one of the pandas and kicking him squarely in the side of the head.
Thud!
He dropped like a sack of potatoes.
"Okay. Now spread this person out, face-down," I said as Sammy crouched beside the body. I burned his clothes off with a flick of fire magic, revealing the broad muscles of his back.
"Now, like this, we're going to remove his spine... without killing him," I said, grinning.
"Huh? Is that even possible?" Grandenzil asked in disbelief, while Kayda merely sighed and shook her head.
"Yes, of course it is. You just have to be gentle about it," I said, turning to another panda and preparing the same way. I straddled the unconscious man's back, conjuring another knife. "Just watch how I do it. Then you can do the same."
"Okay," Sammy said, eyes focused.
I placed the knife at the base of the man's neck, aligning it carefully.
"Start here. Make a mark at the middle. Then cut to the bone, about three centimeters to each side horizontally. From there, cut downward, all the way to just above the waist, staying close to the spine, and then connect the lines."
With careful precision, I followed my instructions.
"Now, peel the skin down like this."
"Augh!!"
"As you saw, this wakes them up. You would rather not knock them out again. They need to feel it. But you also don't want them to bleed out, so-burn the holes closed." I did just that, cauterizing the open flesh. "Be careful. Don't overdo it. You still need to work around the bone."
Then came the next step.
"Here's the hard part. With the knife and your strength, you won't be able to cut them normally. But with these restraints weakening them, we can. Watch closely."
I slid the blade under the second vertebra and slowly pushed down, adding pressure.
"You can't go too deep, or you'll kill him. Just enough to sever the bone-then pull horizontally."
After a moment of resistance, the knife cut through. I moved to the eighth vertebra.
"Now, choose one in the middle. This is the hardest, because you're starting from scratch. Cut the sides. Sever the muscles. Once loose, slide your hand under-then pop."
The bone slipped out, slick with blood.
"That's one. Now you can continue down. It gets easier as you go."
Sammy held the first vertebra in her hands, eyes wide.
"You can also snap them like this," I said, cracking the next one in half and pulling it free. "But you're too green to try that just yet."
I smiled at her, blood running down my gloves.
I still didn't do my human Eagle damn. Well, I guess it can happen in the next one, or am I dragging this out.
TheRealSkolliecreators' thoughts
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Chapter 112:
"They weren't all talk after all," I said, surveying the battlefield we'd created. Around Sammy and me lay the dismantled corpses of the Devil lovers, strewn across the blood-soaked ground like discarded puppets, their twisted forms a testament to the hours of brutal interrogation.
"Yeah, how did they endure all that?" Sammy asked, her voice teetering between awe and discomfort. Her eyes flicked nervously between the bodies, and her expression shifted-at one moment proud, the next guilty. She wrung her hands, blood still drying on her gloves.
"Don't overthink it," I said, reaching over and ruffling her hair with a grin. "These guys are crazy in the head."
She recoiled slightly, swatting my hand away. "What do you mean by that? And don't rub my head, you crazy fox," she grumbled, cheeks pink from embarrassment or perhaps shame.
I tilted my head, my eyes narrowing as I studied her. "I thought you felt bad because you broke under my torture, but they didn't," I said softly, teasing but not unkind.
"That's not..." Sammy paused, exhaling through her nose and glancing away. Her voice dropped to a murmur. "...Yes. Compared to what you did to them, my torture was like a picnic."
I chuckled and shrugged. "Oh, come on. You tortured them too. There's not much we can do about it now," I said, gesturing to the neatly piled vertebrae beside each mutilated corpse-gruesome trophies of our work. Each bone was stacked carefully, some still glistening with marrow. They looked almost artistic.
"You're one to talk about enjoying it," Sammy snapped, pointing a trembling finger toward the grotesque centerpiece of the carnage-my latest 'masterpiece.'
I turned slowly, curious. "What's wrong with my masterpiece?"
Behind us, between two metal lamp poles I'd conjured, hung a single body-skinned from the neck to the ankles, suspended like a mock crucifix. The flesh that once clothed him had been carefully peeled away and draped over the outstretched arms on frozen wire. The result resembled grotesque wings-featherless, red and white, stretched, and stiff with frost.
The body itself was hollowed, his organs displayed like macabre ornaments, each one perfectly preserved in magical ice. Only the lungs remained inside, inflated and framed through his back like grotesque sails. His eye sockets had been burned black, the skin around them crisped and cracked, giving his lifeless face a haunting, almost mask-like appearance as blood continued to weep down the pale cheeks.
"I thought it came out nice," I added, folding my arms as I admired the symmetry.
"Kayda, what do you think I should call this?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"A Devil's Angel," a soft voice murmured from behind us.
We all turned. Wendy stood at the edge of the clearing, arms crossed tightly over her chest. Her skin was pale, and her eyes-usually bright-were dim, struggling to hold steady on the scene in front of her.
"You were watching?" Kayda asked, surprise evident as she turned to face her.
"Yeah," Wendy admitted, her voice shaky. "I thought... since Sammy was watching, I should too. But it was really disgusting." Her eyes flicked down for a moment before she turned away, swallowing hard.
"You are a bad mother," I said, raising an accusatory finger at Grandenzil. My tone shifted into a mock lecture. You are allowing your child to see something like this. Have you no shame?"
"What?! You're the one who did it in front of her!" Grandenzil barked back, her glare sharp as a dagger. "You should've known she was too young for this!"
"You're never too young to learn the important things in life," I replied sagely, placing a hand over my heart. "And I am younger than her. By two years, actually."
"Nova, shut up," Kayda sighed, rubbing her temples.
"Yes, ma'am," I said obediently, holding back a smirk.
"Let's get back to something important. Grandenzil, what are you planning for the future right now?" Kayda asked, her voice cold and cutting straight to the point.
"And why should I tell you?" Grandenzil shot back, one brow rising in defiance.
Kayda tilted her head slightly, then gestured toward me with a casual flick of her hand. "You do realize Nova healed your daughter, right? You owe her one. And she knows her way around a body. So... you never know if she might've slipped something into Wendy-something that could kill her in an instant."
I kept my face carefully neutral. 'Kayda, I didn't do something like that... yet.'
"You dare?" Grandenzil growled, her eyes flitting between the two of us as a surge of killing intent bristled off her skin.
"Nah, ah," I said, raising one hand as a warning. "Don't do something you'll regret."
"Now," Kayda said, brushing off the tension like it was dust on her shoulder, "tell me-what are you going to do?"
"Fuck this night," Grandenzil grumbled, her voice low. She looked as if she hadn't blinked in hours. "First, I attempted to get revenge, but I lost one of my squads to a child. "Then my client betrays me, and now I'm being blackmailed."
"Hey, you're a bandit group. Nothing's ever fair in your line of work," I pointed out, annoyed at her complaining.
"That's true," she muttered. "But since you are holding Wendy hostage like this, it's clear that you want something from me."
"Grandenzil," Kayda said, her tone growing sharper, "I asked what you are going to do from now on."
"I'll try and find my client. Get revenge for the betrayal. Thereafter, just go back to our usual operations," Grandenzil explained with a shrug, though her eyes flickered with unease.
"You're quite laid back," Kayda noted, narrowing her eyes.
"Am I?"
"Didn't I say to shut up, Nova?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Now, Grandenzil," Kayda continued, her voice dropping low. "I want you to find them. And while you're at it, drop the word 'bandit' from your organization."
Grandenzil's face twisted in confusion. Then, realization. A quiet stillness settled between us.
"..."
"If you don't want Wendy to watch her mother die in front of her," Kayda said, gesturing casually toward me, "just before she joins her in the afterlife, then ignore what I said."
'What? What do you want me to do?' I thought, throwing a confused look toward Kayda.
She leaned closer and whispered, "Ah. Now you understand how it feels when others don't share their plans with you, right? Her lips curled into a smug smirk.
"I see... I'll try my best from now on," I replied, nodding with mock sincerity.
"Aah, good to know," she said cheerfully. "Anyways, we're heading to Bandin. See you there in a week, Grandenzil-with some kind of update."
Kayda turned toward the south and started walking.
"Tch."
"Hey, Grandenzil," I called, placing my hand gently on Sammy's head. She flinched but didn't move away. "Don't worry too much. Just do as we said, and your life will be a lot better. We might even get that bounty off your head-and everyone in the Crimson Bandits-if you do."
I paused, my smile turning sharp. "Well... except for the ones who raped someone. They don't get a second chance."
Sammy looked up at me but said nothing.
"I hope you forgive me someday," I said, my voice softening. "We might actually become good friends if you do."
"..." She stayed silent, just staring up at me.
"Oh yeah, here you go," I added, suddenly remembering. Biting my thumb, I smeared blood across her forehead and down the bridge of her nose.
"What are you doing!?" she yelped, wiping at the streak with wide eyes.
"Healing you, obviously." "Geez, you have no appreciation for my efforts," I said with a smirk.
"See you guys in Bandin!" I called back over my shoulder, flash-stepping after Kayda.
"Did you heal Sammy?" Kayda asked without turning around.
"Yes. So... can you catch me again?" I asked, just as I felt my legs give out beneath me.
"Tch. I guess it's my turn to care for you now," she muttered.
I barely managed to say, "Hey, I asked you to catch me!" before I collapsed face-first into the dirt.
Thud!
"You asked. I wasn't in the mood," Kayda said with a grin.
"Great wife material, you are," I grumbled into the ground.
"Ha-ha. I'll pick you up now," she said, laughing as she changed into her dragon form. I could feel her massive tail wrap gently around my waist, lifting me up.
I really can't be mad at her. It was probably amusing seeing me fall like that, I thought with a silent laugh.
"There. I picked you up. Happy?" she said, glancing back at me as she rose into the sky.
"Yes. Happier now. "Now let me ride on your back," I muttered, barely able to lift my arm to point.
"Nope. You'll fall if I do that," she replied gleefully-and then launched into the air.
"Fuuuuuuuck!!"
[]
(13 hours later)
"There. We'll camp here for the night," Kayda said, landing gracefully in a small clearing surrounded by towering trees.
'Finally!' I screamed internally.
"Uhhaa."
"You okay?" Kayda asked, looking at me with concern as I dangled limply from her tail, still in a half-upright position.
'Of course not!'
"Uahege."
"Hey, say something," she said, gently laying me on the grass.
'I am trying to!'
"Ughah."
Kayda frowned and leaned over me, studying my face. "What happened?" Then she noticed my swirled eyes. "Sigh. She's only dizzy."
This is so annoying. Fuck!!'
"Uhahae."
"Guess I'll have to set up camp myself then."
