“… U-ugh… Ghh…” [Bern]

Groaning weakly, Bern woke up from his deep sleep. Faint wet sounds stirred him from his slumber. From his hazy senses, he realized that he was sitting on a chair, but he didn’t know where. A strong light shone in his eyes, causing him to squint and illuminating a few feet around him. The ground was gray and somewhat soft. As for everything else, it was hidden in the darkness.

Before he finished getting his bearings, a throbbing pain assaulted him around his face and his neck. His nose was broken and a couple of his front teeth were missing. The dry blood covering his mouth to his chin told him that quite a bit of time passed since he was knocked out.

He remembered the single blow that defeated him. He used body strengthening, but that still felt like getting kicked by a horse. A big, angry horse that tried to tear his head off. His neck could barely handle the strain and was aching, along with most of his face.

“You awake?” [Ryner]

Hearing the laidback voice caused his body to go rigid for a second. The next moment, once his mind calmed down enough, he tried to jump into action, but realized quite quickly his predicament.

“What?!” [Bern]

He couldn’t get up. His feet were tied to the legs of the chair and his hands were handcuffed behind him. However, to him, he could easily escape from such fragile bindings.

“I can’t use magic…” [Bern]

But, that wasn’t possible either.

“Magic shackles sure are useful. I should get some more.” [Ryner]

“… Of course.” [Bern]

Hearing the reason why he was rendered powerless, Bern muttered in a bitter and frustrated voice. When he tried to look at his surroundings once again, he noticed that Ryner was a couple feet in front of him. But, he could only see a part of his legs since the rest of his body was shrouded in darkness. The light shining in his eyes was next to the damnable man and didn’t illuminate the rest of his body.

“… So you captured me.” [Bern]

“Yyeep.” [Ryner]

Feigning calmness, the captain of Jadistro’s private army spoke to Ryner whose back was turned to him and was busy doing something. He couldn’t exactly tell, but there was the sound of wiping. Perhaps, he was cleaning some sort of small object.

“Tch! My men are damn useless. Letting their captain get captured so easily.” [Bern]

“I’ll say. After I beat you down, they all ran away screaming for reinforcements.” [Ryner]

When their leader fell, there was a short silence where no one moved or spoke. Both the townspeople and soldiers who witnessed the very short fight were frozen with wide eyes and mouths agape. Then, when they heard Mi’s barking, the soldiers ran away in fear.

There was no way they could beat someone who defeated Bern, an A rank.

“You bastard… You did trick me.” [Bern]

“Huh?” [Ryner]

“That pathetic attack at the start. You threw that sword without using body strengthening to make me think that you were weak, didn’t you? But, you’re actually A rank like me, or even higher.” [Bern]

“The hell you talking about, kid? That was just a taunt.” [Ryner]

“Kid?!” [Bern]

“Yeah, it was to misguide you, but I didn’t think you’d fall for it so easily. Idiots with power in this world really don’t use their brain. Oh, wait, they’re idiots, so it’s normal.” [Ryner]

Ryner’s carefree voice was grating Bern’s ears and he gritted his teeth grudgingly. He was captured. He was made a prisoner in a dark place he didn’t know of.

“I don’t know where I am, but when I get out of here, I’ll kill you.” [Bern]

But, his strong and growling voice told of his unbroken spirit.

“Count yourself lucky you’re not a whore.” [Bern]

He was going to escape and make him pay.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You guys never say anything original.” [Ryner]

But, Ryner nonchalantly brushed off his murderous intent as if it was a breeze and placed down the object he was wiping. It made a clear, metallic sound. In the darkness, there was a metallic table of some sort in front of him that reached his waist.

“Look, getting right to it, I’m looking for something and I need to ask you some questions.” [Ryner]

“Huh? Interrogation? You think I’ll squeal just because you torture me?” [Bern]

Bern sneered and spit at his captor, though it didn’t reach his feet.

“I’ve gone through this crap before! You can’t scare me with this little play!” [Bern]

He wasn’t acting tough. He wasn’t lying either. He had been tortured before when he still worked as a mercenary. The deep scars he got from the knives and whips finally faded after he paid a healer for his services.

“I don’t like torture either. It’d be better if you could be convinced by words… But…” [Ryner]

For the first time since Bern woke up, Ryner turned around and stepped into the light. His appearance left the captain dumbstruck.

A thick, beige work apron was worn over his casual clothes and was covered with red stains. The same was for his white gloves that had turned crimson.

“Sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do.” [Ryner]

In his hand was a scalpel that he was wiping clean with a rag that was once white, but was now deep red.

Ryner retreated into the dark area of the room again. His hands moved as he worked on something on the table before him. The speechless ex-mercenary noticed the sound that was being emitted from him. He was familiar with it. It was a wet, squishy and sometimes crunchy sound.

“… Oi.” [Bern]

The sound of cutting through meat and bones.

“Oi.” [Bern]

Ryner didn’t answer him. Instead, he threw a small object behind him and it fell into the lit area.

It was a bloody ear.

“Oi!” [Bern]

Next, a fingertip was thrown aside like garbage.

“What?” [Ryner]

“… What the hell are you doing?” [Bern]

“Convincing one of your men.” [Ryner]

“What?!” [Bern]

“I dragged him along, but he wouldn’t talk. So, I’m persuading him.” [Ryner]

An eyeball rolled into the light and back into the darkness.

“P-persuading? Isn’t he dead?” [Bern]

Bern asked since he couldn’t hear his subordinate’s voice or struggle. He accidentally stuttered, which told of the agitation rising in him.

“Nah. He’s alive, forced asleep and strapped to this operating table. I’ve got healing potions for a reason. Don’t you think he’ll be more motivated to talk if he wakes up in a lot of pain and with a few missing parts?” [Ryner]

Something else flew into the light. It was a two slices of flesh.

They were lips.

All of the different bloody body parts that were lying on the ground, with the light shining on them, painted a horrifying picture for the captain. He couldn’t see what his captor was doing and could only rely on his ears.

“It’s a great interrogation method.” [Ryner]

“You’re not interrogating him! You’re just torturing him for fun, you twisted fu-!” [Bern]

“Your tough guy act is breaking, you know?” [Ryner]

“Kuh! Damn psycho…!” [Bern]

“What? No one does this around here?” [Ryner]

Ryner turned around and pointed at him, but only his outstretched arm was visible. Moreover, in his hand stained red was a small tool that was similarly dyed crimson.

A cork opener.

Bern gulped.

He was no stranger to death. He had seen plenty of corpses and had left many of his foes to die in agony. However, the way his captor was quietly, methodically and surgically taking a man apart horrified him.

Afterwards, the sickening sounds, the sounds of a blade cutting through flesh continued. Sometimes, a metallic clank would resound, telling him that the butcher placed one tool on the table and picked up another. The smell of iron attacked his nose. Water drops rhythmically hit the hard ground.

In front of the ex-mercenary, in this dark place, hidden by the shadows, a madman was silently butchering his subordinate that was forced in a deep slumber. No matter how many times Bern talked, yelled or insulted him, he wouldn’t answer. He was wholly focused on his work.

“Alright… This should do it. He’s not going to need to be using it anymore.” [Ryner]

After a while, Ryner returned to him with a pair of bloody scissors in hand.

Bern’s composed attitude had already cracked when he saw his ghastly appearance.

“Y-you bastard… You cut off his…” [Bern]

“Your turn.” [Ryner]

“WHAT?!” [Bern]

He wanted to jump out of his chair, but he was tied down to it and only rattled in place.

“What kind of interrogation is t-?! You didn’t ask me a single damn thing!!” [Bern]

“Well, you don’t look like you’ll answer honestly, so I figured I should ‘persuade’ you too.” [Ryner]

“No, wait, I-!” [Bern]

“Relax.” [Ryner]

Ryner took a couple of steps forward, stood in front of him and leaned down to look him in the eyes.

“I won’t let you die.” [Ryner]

The blood-stained, apron-wearing, scissors-wielding man said while smiling. It was a radiant smile that held no malice whatsoever, but a few drops of blood were on his cheek and his eyes were emotionless.

Bern was attacked with cold dread as his face went pale. His entire body felt cold and was shaking.

“I’ll put you to sleep now. Once you wake up…” [Ryner]

Ryner stretched his hand out.

“… We’ll talk.” [Ryner]

That hand, covered by a blood-stained glove, neared the sweating ex-mercenary’s face. His teeth were clattering and no coherent word could heave his mouth.

“W-w-w-w-!” [Bern]

In Bern’s wavering eyes, it was the vile hand of death. It signified his untimely and agonizing demise.

“W-w-w-wait!! P-please!!” [Bern]

That was why, in a hoarse, broken voice, he declared his defeat.

“I-I-I’ll talk!!” [Bern]

“And we have about a hundred men escorting Earl Tenneb who’ll be coming to Jadistro for the underground auction! He said he’ll be bringing some acquaintances too!” [Bern]

“Anything else?” [Ryner]

“T-the governor’s got his own secret stash of money! Even the earl doesn’t know about it, but I do! I can tell you!”

“Does the earl have a secret stash?” [Ryner]

“Yeah, yeah! He does! Not in the mansion, he’s keeping it somewhere else!” [Bern]

In a few minutes, Bern divulged everything that he knew in a rapid voice. From pointless gossips to useful secrets, he didn’t hide anything. As the captain of the earl’s private army and because of his habit of digging up dirt on his employers, he was privy to some valuable information. Thanks to him, Ryner learned quite a few things about the so-called soldiers his captive was in charge of, the corrupt governor that was appointed by Earl Tenneb and the earl himself who own the territory that Jadistro was a part of.

“And that’s all I know! I swear!” [Bern]

“Alright. I believe you.” [Ryner]

He nodded to his prisoner’s plea after carefully examining his fear-filled eyes.

“Then… You’ll spare me?” [Bern]

“Well…” [Ryner]

Ryner brought a small bottle in front of Bern’s hopeful face and sprayed him with the contents inside. The ex-mercenary reeled his head back in surprise while blinking and coughing.

“Guess.” [Ryner]

Before he could say anything, his eyelids became heavy and his vision turned blurry. Soon, he fell into a deep sleep. The last thing he saw was the blood-stained man’s chilling smile.

“… Damn, I’m cruel.” [Ryner]

Once Bern was unconscious, Ryner straightened his back, looked up and sighed heavily. Afterwards, he put the apron and gloves in his pocket dimension, went to one of the walls and pushed it lightly. There was an entrance there like a hidden door and sunlight streamed through it. After exiting the darkness, he was in the middle of a forested area with the sun high up and the earth blanketed in green grass.

“Woof woof!” [Mi]

Mi greeted him and ran up to his feet while wagging her tail.

“Good. You know how to stay. I’ll teach you ‘hide’ next time.” [Ryner]

He lightly waved to her and looked back. The interrogation room he just came out of wasn’t built out of bricks and stones, but was composed of four cardboard walls and a black tarp tied on top to block the sunlight. Ryner easily dismantled the small room that was made of stage props and put them in his pocket dimension. What was revealed inside was a grey carpet covering the ground and Bern, who was restrained to his chair.

“Hey, I thought you learned how to wait.” [Ryner]

Mi, who had been staring at a passing butterfly, ran towards one of the bloody fingertips on the ground and sniffed it.

“Don’t eat that. It’s rubber covered in paint. It tastes like crap.” [Ryner]

Ryner told the curious puppy before closing the lamp that had been blinding Bern in the interrogation room and stored it in his pocket dimension. Afterwards, he went to the rectangular, silver table that was made of aluminum. Lying on top was a big, carved-up slab of meat with rib bones and a silver tray that had scalpels, knives, cork openers, saws, hammers and scissors of all sizes. Moreover, set near the edge was a metal can of red paint. The container was punctured and the content was dribbling on the floor.

“Woof!” [Mi]

Mi eyed the raw meat while sticking her tongue out and wagging her tail.

“No, you can’t eat the meat.” [Ryner]

Ryner said as he picked up the tray and stored it in his pocket dimension.

“I need it for my next performance.” [Ryner]

He then looked at his prisoner who was passed out on his chair.

“The magic of cinema claims another victim.” [Ryner]

“Woof~?” [Mi]

Mi tilted her head at his muttering.

“Nothing. Just talking to myself. Hell, I’m still talking to myself since I’m talking to a dog that has no idea what I’m talking about.” [Ryner]

While uselessly grumbling, the sleepy-looking man began to shove everything on the table inside his portable storage.

“Woof! Woof!” [Mi]

“You know, kid, if you ever want to scare someone, just bring them to a dark place, take out some random tools and a gallon of paint. Horror movies about psychotic killers would be good reference materials… Ah.” [Ryner]

After he threw the slab of rib meat inside the blue circle, his movements froze and his eyes widened as if he recalled something important.

“I forgot to wear a hockey mask.” [Ryner]

Inside a small house, two people were talking in the bedroom. Besides the bed, there was a chair, a table and a closet. That was all the furniture placed in the small room.

“After the bird finished eating, he just flew away.” [???]

The sunlight streaming through the window shone down on the two individuals present.

The man who was pleasantly talking while sitting on a chair by the bedside was in his twenties. He had curly blonde hair that passed his shoulders and deep blue eyes. Moreover, he was quite handsome. With his fair skin and good looks, he could easily pass off for a tall woman that had broad shoulders.

“But then, he came back and landed in front of me as if saying he wanted to eat some more. So, I gave him more seeds.” [Man]

The one who was sitting on the bed and happily listening to him was a girl that had similar looks as him. She was in her teens and had a slim body. Also, although she was quite cute, her complexion was rather unhealthy.

“Did it take a liking to you?” [Girl]

“No. It left for good once I ran out of seeds.” [Man]

“Geez, what a gluttonous bird.” [Girl]

The young girl giggled at his story and seeing her bright expression, the man smiled in relief.

“It’s time for me to go back to work.” [Man]

After telling her various stories, the man picked up his brown coat from his lap and got up from the wooden chair.

“… Will you be alright, working for Governor Isecke?” [Girl]

The fragile-looking girl gazed at him worriedly. Seeing her uneasy eyes and hearing her question caused his heart to tighten, but he somehow managed to feign a smile.

“I’m your brother, remember? I’ll be fine, Mireille.” [Man]

“Ok.” [Mireille]

The older brother kissed his younger sister’s cheek and patted her head. She narrowed her eyes and grinned like a cat.

“Remember to stay in bed and stay warm. I’ll bring you more medicine once I come back.” [Man]

He then put on his coat and headed for the door.

“Edwin.” [Mireille]

Mireille called out his name. She stopped using his nickname ever since she became sick.

“Have a good day at work.” [Mireille]

His breath caught in his throat.

“… Thank you.” [Edwin]

It took him everything he had to keep his voice steady and to return her a proper smile.

After leaving the house, Edwin walked through the streets of his hometown, Jadistro. He used to have good memories about this place. Even after his parents died and left him alone with his sister, things weren’t so bad. But, Mireille fell sick, the townspeople became listless and hooligans pretending to be soldiers were doing as they pleased.

Some girls he passed by reflexively turned their eyes on him and stared motionlessly, charmed by his looks. It was the usual occurrence. After all, he was, frankly, quite handsome. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed man gave them a charming smile and they, while blushing, managed to return a nod in greeting. In the old days, they would approach him, but no one currently had the spare energy to flirt around. He was thankful for it since deep down, he felt like he was betraying everyone.

Still, so long as he could earn money, he would make use of his looks, betray those he knew and work for the governor.

So long as it was for money, he would lie to his sister, pretend to be the good older brother and feed her fabricated stories by her bedside.

Checking once more that his knives were hidden in his coat, he made his way towards the mansion at the center of the town.