Kyon returned to the interrogation room, took out a silver needle and went to the beautiful prisoner awaiting her death in silence.

«Valeera, you leave me no choice... Please, give me the frequency of your uncle's sound transmitter, or I will have to use a most severe method... It will hurt. It will hurt so much so that you will want to die...»

Valeera glanced at his surprisingly impa.s.sive, chalk-white face. A tiny, pointed needle gleamed in his hands. – «Will you stoop so low as to torture me?»

Kyon hesitated a moment, still hoping that his victim would change her mind, but then he slowly approached her and reluctantly but with a quick, deft movement thrust the needle infused with Synergy into her thigh.

She let out a piercing scream of agony. Anyone who could hear her would instantly regret what they had done.

Kyon was no exception. He instantly stopped infusing Synergy, begging the universe to make Valeera give him the information he needed. It was unbearable to torture the innocent girl that he truly liked.

When the pain finally subsided, Valeera thought she had returned from the dead. She was drenched in a cold sweat, shaking like a leaf. The weak girl focused her eyes on Kyon... She was scared. The once handsome and harmless boy had turned into a ruthless monster. How far would the b.a.s.t.a.r.d go to fulfill his ambition? It turned out that she meant nothing to him...

«Give me Leon's frequency, and I will stop at once!» – Kyon implored.

«Oh, just drop dead!» – Valeera replied through her gritted teeth.

«I really didn't want to have to do this! It's all for your sake… Why don't you get it?»

By the look of things, the little thief was not going to tell him anything.

Kyon hesitated a moment and infused Synergy again into the needle.

Another heart-rending cry cut through the silence in the torture room.

Kyon stopped, appealing to her common sense. – «Give me his f.u.c.king frequency already! I do not want to hurt you, stubborn fool! Please…»

Her whole body was shaking as if she was cold. Tears of pain, disappointment and resentment treacherously rolled down her pale cheeks. – «You said you would be my king... d.a.m.ned traitor…»

Over the past eight years, Valeera had cried only twice. The first time, when Leon was comforting her after the loss of the thieves guild. And now, because of Kyon, the main culprit responsible for everything that had happened to her.

She was about to confide in the gentle, polite boy who turned out to be a treacherous liar, willing to kill her to achieve his selfish goals. Well, come what may, she would never tell him anything for the sake of her uncle. He was the ray of suns.h.i.+ne in this filthy world teeming with b.a.s.t.a.r.ds like Kyon...

The sight of her tears pierced him like a knife. His heart ached like an open wound. He could feel it weigh a million pounds in his chest. Lovr could stand it no more. He had to use Synergy and block his feelings that prevented him from his main goal - to save the girl.

An instant later, Kyon continued the ruthless torture, his face deadpan, not a flicker of emotions in his eyes.

Five minutes later, he finally became convinced that Valeera was among a few persistent people who could stand more than one needle. There was no other way.

When Valeera saw another torture instrument in his hands, she felt a sticky, suffocating wave of fright roll over her. – «No… Kyon, please don't. I'm begging you! For heaven's sake! You… That's not who you are. I know!»

«Tell me. Your uncle's. Frequency.»

«Never! Please, do not torture me. I can't stand anymore!»

Kyon calmly stuck another needle with a skillful, precise movement.

A bloodcurdling scream echoed in the room. It would make even the seasoned guardsmen shudder if there was no soundproof barrier.

It felt like every cell of her body was burning in h.e.l.lish flame. It was a real-life nightmare. The memories of her father's and brother's death, blocked out for so many years, were now coming back. She relived the tragic events of the past to get back to the present, filled with suffering and pain, and then returned to the past. It repeated over and over again. She was one step from insanity...

«Please, Kyon… Enough! No-o-o-o-o! А-ааа-а-аа-аh!» - Valeera tried to stop him by all means. She begged for mercy, promised to do anything... But she couldn't tell him what he wanted from her. Anything but not this, not her uncle. Leon was everything for her. He had brought her up like his own daughter. He had taught her everything she knew. She couldn't give away the only person she loved to this monster!

Kyon stopped the stimulation. – «Give me Leon's frequency.»

«Please�� Just kill me already! Please! I don't want to live! I am so tired...» – The broken prisoner muttered in a hollow voice. She could no longer meet his cold gaze with her brave stubborn eyes. She stared at the floor listlessly. The pain took away her courage, corroded her unbending will. All that remained was fear that had permeated her whole being. Death seemed the only escape.

Kyon knew that there was no turning back. His mind, isolated by Synergy from unnecessary compa.s.sion and pity, was focused only saving the silly girl from the bloodthirsty, powerful murderers who had destroyed her family. It might be selfish, perhaps inhuman, but he had decided that she would live at any cost. She could hate him even more if it gave her the strength to live on.

When the impa.s.sive executioner touched the needles again, the girl could no longer scream. The excruciating overwhelmed her senses. When it was over, she burst out crying, her hot tears falling on the snow-white floor of the torture room:

«Stop it, please! I'll tell you!»

«Tell me.»

When Kyon dialed the frequency she gave him, there was no answer. The number didn't exist, or it was out of range.

Another five minutes had pa.s.sed.

He had become for Valeera a symbol of suffering and nightmares. He scared her more than death. If he beheaded her right now, she would only be grateful to him. She mixed up the past with the present, letting hallucinations and b.l.o.o.d.y visions of all her dear ones dying cloud her perception with a dark veil. All her remaining strength, her will, and her faith were aimed at protecting her uncle, the most important person in her life. She had to hold on. Hold on! Hold on…

Kyon did not expect that the girl belonged to those unique, existing only in theory, people without Synergy who were able to withstand the stimulation of the nervous system with two needles. It was unfortunate that her talent turned out to be her curse. He had no choice but to take a third needle...

Kyon the executioner came up to Valeera, his eyes were empty, blank. His prisoner in the chair seemed to be frozen in numb horror...

When Valeera saw the third messenger of pain in his hands, she let out a howl that had nothing of the human in it. She squeezed her eyes shut like a little girl who was having a nightmare, slowly shaking her head from side to side like a pendulum. Her heart was beating furiously, her legs sc.r.a.ped desperately on the chair in a hopeless attempt to escape. - «Don't… Please… Have mercy on me, kill me already… I beg you… I had nothing against you, Kyon. You've turned my life into a living h.e.l.l... and destroyed it... Just finish me off... You can **** if you want to, I don't care…» - She pleaded in a hoa.r.s.e, raspy voice, desperately hoping that there was still something human left in this demon.

Kyon stared at his victim with a vacant look. – «You know what I need... Valeera, don't make me use three needles. You know what I am waiting for.»

«…» – Valeera buried her wet cheek against the chair, her face turned gray with fear. Didn't she deserve to die? But she had been trying so hard… still trying ...

When Kyon realized that she no longer reacted, he stuck the third needle with a jerky, mechanical movement.

A terrible sharp stab of fiery pain pierced her body. It was like a supernova explosion. She felt liquid metal pouring down her bones, a myriad of ants were consuming her alive, but she lived for some reason. It was intolerable, gruesome torture. Time seemed to slow down; seconds felt like years. She was caught in her personal h.e.l.l with no way out. She had no more thoughts, her feelings had burned out. The pain was beyond her body and mind. It was as if he was cutting off her soul bit by bit, piece by piece, totally enjoying the process. She couldn't imagine it was even possible until today.

Valeera couldn't take it anymore... The pain of losing her parents had faded away after the second needle. Why couldn't she just die and find eternal peace? To h.e.l.l with it! She was ready to lose everything dear to her, just to make the tortures stop. In this case... Goodbye, dear uncle... See you in the next world. Oblivion would be her reward; seeing her parents again would be paradise.

At that stage, Valeera's strength dried up. Her soul released an invisible ethereal wave of incomparable power that could cover the whole empire. It was the roar of the void. The world had received a gaping wound that led to nothingness. There was no place for emotions, for the soul... There was nothing but death.

Kyon was at the epicenter of the pain that the little thief was emanating. He could feel her tormented soul turn upside down, about to dissipate. At the pang of the piercing pain that suddenly exploded in his head, Kyon nearly lost his mind. His blood ran cold. His heart stopped beating. Icy sweat drenched his back; a creeping chill raised all the hairs on the back of his neck.

Kyon fell on the tailbone and closed his eyes, resisting the will of the void. The nucleus in his soul resonated with this ent.i.ty and neutralized the process. It stopped the inevitable collapse, the consequences of which were a matter of conjecture. It was all over. However, something in the room had clearly changed.

«Valeera, say something! Valeera?!»

Valeera muttered her uncle's frequency in a languid, indifferent voice and closed her bloodshot eyes. Her face could no longer convey the emotions, nor could she truly feel them. Deep inside, she could still feel the echo of her indescribable fear of this heartless demon.

Kyon understood at once that she had given him the real frequency. He knew very well what broken people looked like. She was ready to tell him anything. She could resist no more.

Kyon was overcome by deep feelings of guilt and shame for what he had done to his innocent victim. If he hadn't felt so wretched after destroying the guilds into which she had poured her whole life, he might have been less selfish and allowed her to find eternal peace.

At least, he made sure that she didn't lose her mind or get psychological traumas. The candies infused with Synergy that he gave her every hour weren't so much for treatment but to upgrade her nervous system. It would help her cope with stress. It would take her a couple of days of rest to bounce back. Now her body could take three daily doses of enzymes per day, which would boost the body (as well as the soul) cultivation.

Kyon stroked her cold, wet cheek, wiped off her tears and made a short recording with the visual formation as a proof for Leon. Then he whispered tenderly in her ear:

«Valeera, you did the right thing when you have me Leon's frequency. He will get you out of here. When you are free, please, think carefully about what happened here. You have to understand why I had to do this. We will talk about it when we meet again. I promise I'll find you.» – He sighed sadly, gave her a candy to swallow, and left the room with an unsteady gait.

The d.a.m.ned demon's voice resounded in her mind like thunder. She would give anything just to forget her tormentor forever. But she would always remember the indescribable suffering inflicted upon her.

Left alone, Valeera finally felt peace. She could barely keep her eyes open. The long-awaited darkness embraced her, but it wasn't death. She had entered the kingdom of dreams. She felt a pleasant warmth in her body as if someone had gently covered her with a soft blanket after a long day. The exhausted, broken girl had fallen into a deep sleep.

(AC: The author doesn't consider the girl in the image to be Valeera, but he finds her somewhat similar. If you feel the gloomy atmosphere, then the point is made: https://ibb.co/Tvf3Lvp )

Chapter 233

Kyon didn't want to torture Valeera. He would never earn her trust back after that. However, he preferred the option where she hated him but lived rather than losing her forever. He would keep her alive whatever it takes!

Kyon returned to the interrogation room, took out a silver needle and went to the beautiful prisoner awaiting her death in silence.

«Valeera, you leave me no choice... Please, give me the frequency of your uncle's sound transmitter, or I will have to use a most severe method... It will hurt. It will hurt so much so that you will want to die...»

Valeera glanced at his surprisingly impa.s.sive, chalk-white face. A tiny, pointed needle gleamed in his hands. – «Will you stoop so low as to torture me?»

Kyon hesitated a moment, still hoping that his victim would change her mind, but then he slowly approached her and reluctantly but with a quick, deft movement thrust the needle infused with Synergy into her thigh.

She let out a piercing scream of agony. Anyone who could hear her would instantly regret what they had done.

Kyon was no exception. He instantly stopped infusing Synergy, begging the universe to make Valeera give him the information he needed. It was unbearable to torture the innocent girl that he truly liked.

When the pain finally subsided, Valeera thought she had returned from the dead. She was drenched in a cold sweat, shaking like a leaf. The weak girl focused her eyes on Kyon... She was scared. The once handsome and harmless boy had turned into a ruthless monster. How far would the b.a.s.t.a.r.d go to fulfill his ambition? It turned out that she meant nothing to him...

«Give me Leon's frequency, and I will stop at once!» – Kyon implored.

«Oh, just drop dead!» – Valeera replied through her gritted teeth.

«I really didn't want to have to do this! It's all for your sake… Why don't you get it?»

By the look of things, the little thief was not going to tell him anything.

Kyon hesitated a moment and infused Synergy again into the needle.

Another heart-rending cry cut through the silence in the torture room.

Kyon stopped, appealing to her common sense. – «Give me his f.u.c.king frequency already! I do not want to hurt you, stubborn fool! Please…»

Her whole body was shaking as if she was cold. Tears of pain, disappointment and resentment treacherously rolled down her pale cheeks. – «You said you would be my king... d.a.m.ned traitor…»

Over the past eight years, Valeera had cried only twice. The first time, when Leon was comforting her after the loss of the thieves guild. And now, because of Kyon, the main culprit responsible for everything that had happened to her.

She was about to confide in the gentle, polite boy who turned out to be a treacherous liar, willing to kill her to achieve his selfish goals. Well, come what may, she would never tell him anything for the sake of her uncle. He was the ray of suns.h.i.+ne in this filthy world teeming with b.a.s.t.a.r.ds like Kyon...

The sight of her tears pierced him like a knife. His heart ached like an open wound. He could feel it weigh a million pounds in his chest. Lovr could stand it no more. He had to use Synergy and block his feelings that prevented him from his main goal - to save the girl.

An instant later, Kyon continued the ruthless torture, his face deadpan, not a flicker of emotions in his eyes.

Five minutes later, he finally became convinced that Valeera was among a few persistent people who could stand more than one needle. There was no other way.

When Valeera saw another torture instrument in his hands, she felt a sticky, suffocating wave of fright roll over her. – «No… Kyon, please don't. I'm begging you! For heaven's sake! You… That's not who you are. I know!»

«Tell me. Your uncle's. Frequency.»

«Never! Please, do not torture me. I can't stand anymore!»

Kyon calmly stuck another needle with a skillful, precise movement.

A bloodcurdling scream echoed in the room. It would make even the seasoned guardsmen shudder if there was no soundproof barrier.

It felt like every cell of her body was burning in h.e.l.lish flame. It was a real-life nightmare. The memories of her father's and brother's death, blocked out for so many years, were now coming back. She relived the tragic events of the past to get back to the present, filled with suffering and pain, and then returned to the past. It repeated over and over again. She was one step from insanity...

«Please, Kyon… Enough! No-o-o-o-o! А-ааа-а-аа-аh!» - Valeera tried to stop him by all means. She begged for mercy, promised to do anything... But she couldn't tell him what he wanted from her. Anything but not this, not her uncle. Leon was everything for her. He had brought her up like his own daughter. He had taught her everything she knew. She couldn't give away the only person she loved to this monster!

Kyon stopped the stimulation. – «Give me Leon's frequency.»

«Please… Just kill me already! Please! I don't want to live! I am so tired...» – The broken prisoner muttered in a hollow voice. She could no longer meet his cold gaze with her brave stubborn eyes. She stared at the floor listlessly. The pain took away her courage, corroded her unbending will. All that remained was fear that had permeated her whole being. Death seemed the only escape.

Kyon knew that there was no turning back. His mind, isolated by Synergy from unnecessary compa.s.sion and pity, was focused only saving the silly girl from the bloodthirsty, powerful murderers who had destroyed her family. It might be selfish, perhaps inhuman, but he had decided that she would live at any cost. She could hate him even more if it gave her the strength to live on.

When the impa.s.sive executioner touched the needles again, the girl could no longer scream. The excruciating overwhelmed her senses. When it was over, she burst out crying, her hot tears falling on the snow-white floor of the torture room:

«Stop it, please! I'll tell you!»

«Tell me.»

When Kyon dialed the frequency she gave him, there was no answer. The number didn't exist, or it was out of range.

Another five minutes had pa.s.sed.

He had become for Valeera a symbol of suffering and nightmares. He scared her more than death. If he beheaded her right now, she would only be grateful to him. She mixed up the past with the present, letting hallucinations and b.l.o.o.d.y visions of all her dear ones dying cloud her perception with a dark veil. All her remaining strength, her will, and her faith were aimed at protecting her uncle, the most important person in her life. She had to hold on. Hold on! Hold on…

Kyon did not expect that the girl belonged to those unique, existing only in theory, people without Synergy who were able to withstand the stimulation of the nervous system with two needles. It was unfortunate that her talent turned out to be her curse. He had no choice but to take a third needle...

Kyon the executioner came up to Valeera, his eyes were empty, blank. His prisoner in the chair seemed to be frozen in numb horror...

When Valeera saw the third messenger of pain in his hands, she let out a howl that had nothing of the human in it. She squeezed her eyes shut like a little girl who was having a nightmare, slowly shaking her head from side to side like a pendulum. Her heart was beating furiously, her legs sc.r.a.ped desperately on the chair in a hopeless attempt to escape. - «Don't… Please… Have mercy on me, kill me already… I beg you… I had nothing against you, Kyon. You've turned my life into a living h.e.l.l... and destroyed it... Just finish me off... You can **** if you want to, I don't care…» - She pleaded in a hoa.r.s.e, raspy voice, desperately hoping that there was still something human left in this demon.

Kyon stared at his victim with a vacant look. – «You know what I need... Valeera, don't make me use three needles. You know what I am waiting for.»

«…» – Valeera buried her wet cheek against the chair, her face turned gray with fear. Didn't she deserve to die? But she had been trying so hard… still trying ...

When Kyon realized that she no longer reacted, he stuck the third needle with a jerky, mechanical movement.

A terrible sharp stab of fiery pain pierced her body. It was like a supernova explosion. She felt liquid metal pouring down her bones, a myriad of ants were consuming her alive, but she lived for some reason. It was intolerable, gruesome torture. Time seemed to slow down; seconds felt like years. She was caught in her personal h.e.l.l with no way out. She had no more thoughts, her feelings had burned out. The pain was beyond her body and mind. It was as if he was cutting off her soul bit by bit, piece by piece, totally enjoying the process. She couldn't imagine it was even possible until today.

Valeera couldn't take it anymore... The pain of losing her parents had faded away after the second needle. Why couldn't she just die and find eternal peace? To h.e.l.l with it! She was ready to lose everything dear to her, just to make the tortures stop. In this case... Goodbye, dear uncle... See you in the next world. Oblivion would be her reward; seeing her parents again would be paradise.

At that stage, Valeera's strength dried up. Her soul released an invisible ethereal wave of incomparable power that could cover the whole empire. It was the roar of the void. The world had received a gaping wound that led to nothingness. There was no place for emotions, for the soul... There was nothing but death.

Kyon was at the epicenter of the pain that the little thief was emanating. He could feel her tormented soul turn upside down, about to dissipate. At the pang of the piercing pain that suddenly exploded in his head, Kyon nearly lost his mind. His blood ran cold. His heart stopped beating. Icy sweat drenched his back; a creeping chill raised all the hairs on the back of his neck.

Kyon fell on the tailbone and closed his eyes, resisting the will of the void. The nucleus in his soul resonated with this ent.i.ty and neutralized the process. It stopped the inevitable collapse, the consequences of which were a matter of conjecture. It was all over. However, something in the room had clearly changed.

«Valeera, say something! Valeera?!»

Valeera muttered her uncle's frequency in a languid, indifferent voice and closed her bloodshot eyes. Her face could no longer convey the emotions, nor could she truly feel them. Deep inside, she could still feel the echo of her indescribable fear of this heartless demon.

Kyon understood at once that she had given him the real frequency. He knew very well what broken people looked like. She was ready to tell him anything. She could resist no more.

Kyon was overcome by deep feelings of guilt and shame for what he had done to his innocent victim. If he hadn't felt so wretched after destroying the guilds into which she had poured her whole life, he might have been less selfish and allowed her to find eternal peace.

At least, he made sure that she didn't lose her mind or get psychological traumas. The candies infused with Synergy that he gave her every hour weren't so much for treatment but to upgrade her nervous system. It would help her cope with stress. It would take her a couple of days of rest to bounce back. Now her body could take three daily doses of enzymes per day, which would boost the body (as well as the soul) cultivation.

Kyon stroked her cold, wet cheek, wiped off her tears and made a short recording with the visual formation as a proof for Leon. Then he whispered tenderly in her ear:

«Valeera, you did the right thing when you have me Leon's frequency. He will get you out of here. When you are free, please, think carefully about what happened here. You have to understand why I had to do this. We will talk about it when we meet again. I promise I'll find you.» – He sighed sadly, gave her a candy to swallow, and left the room with an unsteady gait.

The d.a.m.ned demon's voice resounded in her mind like thunder. She would give anything just to forget her tormentor forever. But she would always remember the indescribable suffering inflicted upon her.

Left alone, Valeera finally felt peace. She could barely keep her eyes open. The long-awaited darkness embraced her, but it wasn't death. She had entered the kingdom of dreams. She felt a pleasant warmth in her body as if someone had gently covered her with a soft blanket after a long day. The exhausted, broken girl had fallen into a deep sleep.