Volume Five: Returning from the Other Side - Chapter 408: Purgatory

"There's something wrong with the data here. There shouldn't be so few newly assigned personnel. Any small detail in the instructions could lead to a major mistake."

"Okay, Sister Xue..."

"And here, I understand you want to speed things up, but that could cause our supplies to drop, it's a risky move, and we don't need to take that risk right now."

"Then this place should be... um... Sister Xue?"

"Looking at me won't help. You'll need to plan many things yourself. I can't help you forever."

"Why?"

Not yet fourteen, Nid looked up, pushing aside the pile of documents that almost buried him, and looked at his sister, while Loxue chuckled.

"Idiot, is that even a question? You'll be an adult sooner or later. A grown man who still relies on his sister for everything will be laughed at."

"Ah..."

Nid scratched his head in frustration and continued working at his desk.

As Loxue watched her younger brother's efforts, her eyes showed both relief and heartache. Although she said she "wouldn't help him forever," she continued to stay there and never left.

What a perfect world this is.

As long as Nid and Loxue exist, the world is complete, perfect, and free from pain and sorrow.

In the corner, a pair of eyes gaze upon this beautiful world.

These were terrifying eyes, devoid of any life, like a dark, endless passage that sent chills down the spines of anyone who met their gaze.

The owner of these eyes, a shadowy being lurking in the shadows, lingers here.

Like moths drawn to a candle flame.

Even knowing it's all an illusion, I still can't help but want to get closer, to stay in this perfect world forever, instead of just gazing at the bygone days that are gone forever.

Suddenly, a hand gently rested on his shoulder. The movement was very light, yet it felt as if a mountain was pressing down on him.

The Saint Emperor's voice remained deep and steady, as if all the joys and sorrows of the world were irrelevant to him.

"You were so naive back then."

"..."

"Although it's the same now."

"... Um..."

Hearing his slow and blank response, the Saint Emperor did not say anything more.

A silent murmur spread as the Saint Emperor and he continued to gaze upon this beautiful scene of the past.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Blood continued to drip from his body, staining the pristine white floor in his memory.

"... Hey, Saint Emperor."

"Oh? I thought you'd finally completely broken down. You can actually talk to me? What is it?"

Have you ever... lost anything important... even just a little something?

He tilted his head slightly, only a little because he was already bound by iron shackles. But this angle was enough for him to see the Saint Emperor with his almost rotten eyes, but the Saint Emperor's face always seemed to be shrouded in shadow and could not be seen clearly.

"You ask me what I've lost? Ha..."

The Saint Emperor let out a sneer.

"It's faster to tell you I haven't lost anything than to say I've lost something, but what I haven't lost and what I have lost combined are far less than what I ultimately gained."

"... In the end, what you get is death, just like your sister."

"Death is the final reward that fate bestowed upon me after I had accomplished everything I had."

"So you're saying... Sister Xue's death was actually a blessing from fate?"

"Of course not," the Saint Emperor shook his head. "Your sister is a pure tragedy, a typical example of someone who tried hard but failed to find happiness."

"..."

"Most people in the world are like this; only a minority ultimately succeed through hard work."

"... This includes you, but not Sister Xue."

Is a woman really that important to you?

"So... important?"

He paused for a moment, then suddenly began to roar wildly.

"What do you mean 'that important to me'? Sister Xue was—she was my everything, my pillar, my life, the only motivation for me to fight until now! But... she's gone... she's dead... everything is gone!!!!!!!!! I am now, now, now—"

What's the point of living?

"Huff... Huff..." After his frenzied outburst, he returned to calm, the horrific wounds on his body throbbing with pain.

"... From many angles, you are hopeless, Nid Bradwich, but what I value is your 'hopelessness'."

The Saint Emperor's voice faded into the distance.

"I despise perfect model students. Great people are never perfect. I'm really interested in you, Nid. Give it a try, find yourself a new goal in life, like--"

Then, the illusory view shattered, and Nid returned to the cold prison.

With a splash, a large basin of icy liquid was poured over Nid's head, bringing him back to his senses. This was no ordinary cold water; it was mixed with various special agents. Just a touch would cause the icy sensation to permeate the entire body, bringing an excruciating, freezing pain, as if one were trapped in Ice Cave.

"Mmm... uh..."

Nid slowly opened his heavy eyelids under the stimulation of the icy cold. It was still the same dimly lit torture chamber. The large room had only a solitary chandelier above his head, and the snow-white light shone directly into his eyes, making him dizzy.

Someone was walking beside him, wearing a black trench coat, covered in tattoos including on his bald head—it was Selace.

"Hey, my dear young master Nid, I'm really fed up with you. I've given you so many drugs that 'keep you conscious even if you suffer enough pain to go into shock,' and you still managed to pass out! Is it because your body has developed a drug resistance... or is your coma not due to pain? Ugh, this is so troublesome!"

As he spoke, he threw down the empty basin in his hand and placed another brick under Nid's feet, making it four bricks now. Generally speaking, four bricks on a tiger bench is the limit of human endurance; an ordinary person would have already passed out by now. But Nid remained expressionless, as if this body did not belong to him.

"I thought you had undergone training to numb pain, but it seems that's not the case."

He lifted one of Nid's arms, which was riddled with holes from maggots, and many torture insects could be seen crawling in and out. There were also many white insect eggs in the holes, and the white bones could be seen underneath.

"I deliberately gave you some really hardcore stuff, but you didn't react much. To be honest, it's a bit boring..."

He lifted Nid's other arm—it was almost unrecognizable; the flesh covering the bone had been perfectly cut open, and the bone inside had been completely removed, like peeling fruit. Only a few thin strands of flesh and nerves connected the bone and flesh, and blood dripped continuously.

"Simply inflicting pain isn't working. We've already injected medication to prevent nerve paralysis, but you haven't even uttered a sound..."

As he spoke, he forcefully pulled the long nail, which was deeply embedded between Nid's left toes, out of the way. The nail was covered with barbs, and as it was pulled out, it brought with it a large chunk of flesh, and the toenail was also torn off, leaving a bloody mess. But Nid... only let out a soft groan.

"I was thinking of trying something new and taking care of your dinner while I was at it, but it's still the same old story..."

On the small table next to the tiger bench that bound Nid was a large barbecue platter, Nid dinner. On it was something that at first glance looked like a leftover roasted lamb leg, but upon closer inspection, the leg looked more like that of a primate, and Nid's entire right leg was missing.

"This is infuriating! You better pull yourself together! You've had a mental breakdown just because your sister died? How am I supposed to interrogate you if you keep acting like this? Let me tell you, you're lucky you've run into me. If I don't get the results, you'll be handed over to that guy from the Heavenly Law Enforcement Bureau, you know that? And then it won't just be a matter of torturing you a little bit!"

Selace was nearly driven mad, and faced with this, Nid finally spoke up again.

"... as..."

"--Hmm!? You've finally decided to speak? What do you want to say?"

Selace immediately moved closer, like a wolf that had smelled blood.

"... Whatever... it doesn't matter... to me... I wouldn't mind dying..."

"..."

Selace smacked his lips hard.

"You got me all excited for nothing, you bastard... Fine, don't blame me for being ruthless—how about this!?"

Stomp!!!

Selace stomped down hard with his leather boots.

The target is— Nid's crotch.

"--!?"

In that instant, although Nid's consciousness did not react, his body faithfully expressed the pain. His already broken hands tried to cover his aching groin, and his waist reflexively arched, but the leather straps and chains that bound him tightly made him completely unable to move.

"Woo--Gu--"

Selace breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Nid finally let out a groan filled with pain.

"It seems it's not completely necrotic yet, that's good. Should I continue to apply more force?"

He gradually increased the pressure with his foot, and a creaking sound seemed to come from Nid's crotch. Selace was very careful to control the pressure, maintaining the position of "about to crush" the crotch.

"Hurry up and let go, Nid. You're really at your limit right now. If you put in even a little more force, you'll really crush it, and then you'll be living the life of a eunuch."

"..."

But Nid did not reply.

He simply stared back silently with his lifeless eyes, biting his lip tightly, and made no sound.

"... Do you really want to become a eunuch? I mean what I say."

"..."

"... tsk."

Selace sighed heavily, seemingly unwilling to give up, and moved his foot away.

"This is so boring... Fine, that's enough for today. See you tomorrow. If you don't want to continue suffering or put Egg in danger, then spill all the Revolutionary Army's related deployments, combat readiness, personnel arrangements, and so on!"

In that Blood Sea, "someone" finally found something important.

That is the control over one's own existence, that is, one's own initiative.

Even without thought, instinct still compels it to use the immense life force within the Blood Sea to accomplish something. The blood becomes increasingly viscous, but also increasingly warm.

"The body... needs... a body..."