The Lord of Pain
When he came to his senses, he was standing in a space filled with countless doors.
The Hall of Past Lives...
Hyun-jun muttered the name he had given it himself and shifted his gaze. All the other doors were locked, but the door before him had no lock at all.
“Two?”
Usually, only one door was left unlocked. This time, however, the two doors directly in front of him were both without locks.
Hyun-jun stepped closer to read the epithet engraved on the door. It was the first time such a choice had appeared, but for some reason he had the feeling that whichever past life he did not choose would be difficult to meet for a while. He would need to decide carefully where to enter.
“The Lord of Pain... and the Selfish Negotiator?”
He read the epithets aloud. The Lord of Pain was one he had never seen before, but the Selfish Negotiator did not feel too unfamiliar, since he had once been praised by that name not long ago.
The Lord of Pain is the type to use brute force. And the Selfish Negotiator solves things through conversation?
He could not infer everything from the epithets alone, but both seemed to possess the power to resolve the Andersen problem. Of course, their methods were different, and the epithet itself seemed to say as much. It was an important choice that would decide his next course of action, but he did not hesitate for long. He was already moving toward the past life room of The Lord of Pain.
The Andersen Guild is not the kind of opponent you can talk to.
Just from the fact that they had ignored the message sent to them, it was clear they had no intention of talking. With an opponent like that, continuing to ask for dialogue was pointless. He would need to wield the stick, not the carrot. And a past life bearing the title The Lord of Pain seemed likely to be a great help in playing the role of the stick.
When he opened the bloodstained wooden door and stepped inside, darkness without even a single light greeted Hyun-jun. It felt almost as though he had come to Hashashin’s room.
“Welcome, my reincarnation.”
As he kept walking, a sharp voice rang out and a dim light switched on. It was not enough to drive the darkness away completely, but it was sufficient to make out the structure of the room.
A torture chamber...
Every table scattered around the room was covered with torture instruments stained with blood.
“I have been watching you.”
With that familiar line, the past life emerged from the darkness. He was tall and lean, and wore glasses. For someone with the terrifying epithet The Lord of Pain, his appearance was almost scholarly.
“My name is Fier. I was part of the Empire's Social Order Maintenance Bureau.”
“So, a torture specialist?”
The name of the bureau alone sounded suspicious enough. At Hyun-jun’s question, a smile spread faintly across Fier’s lips.
“Why do you think that?”
This time, Fier was the one asking.
“Your epithet and the name of that bureau make it easy to guess.”
“If we’re being precise, it was probably my epithet that gave it away.”
Instead of answering, Hyun-jun nodded and took a few more steps toward Fier. As the distance closed, Fier pulled over a bloodstained chair and sat down.
“Have a seat.”
Hyun-jun took one of the cleaner chairs and sat as well.
“Are you going to teach me torture techniques?”
“Ah... I was a torture specialist in the Social Order Maintenance Bureau, but I never learned any professional techniques.”
“You were a torture specialist without knowing torture techniques?”
It was nonsense, like claiming to be a doctor with no medical knowledge. But unlike the frustrated Hyun-jun, Fier remained perfectly composed.
“I had a special ability. I didn’t need to know torture techniques.”
“A special ability?”
“I can command another person’s pain. If I want to, I can make them feel a horrific agony, as though their whole body were being torn apart, just by pricking them lightly with a needle.”
It was a frightening ability. Thinking of the blessing he was about to inherit, a faint smile touched Hyun-jun’s mouth.
“Of course, there are limitations. My mana has to invade the target’s body first. I usually use something like a needle to make a wound, then let my mana flow in. It’s the easiest method.”
Fier casually let slip his own know-how.
“Then the blessing you’re going to give me is...”
“That’s right. The domination of pain.”
“What are the conditions for activation and awakening?”
To awaken a blessing, he had to increase his synchronization with that past life. There were several ways to do that, but the most common were fulfilling a specific condition or training in the past life room. This time, it seemed likely to be related to torture.
At worst... I could be the one getting tortured.
He had suffered enough horrifying experiences to say he was accustomed to pain, but if possible, he would rather avoid being at the mercy of a professional. He might have been the one doing the torturing, but unfortunately, it seemed the reverse was true this time.
“I’m not going to torture you. So don’t worry.”
Fier said it, but Hyun-jun did not relax just yet. That was because Fier began rummaging through his pocket. A moment later, the hand he withdrew was holding a sharp needle.
“I’m going to prick you exactly three times with this. If you don’t give up midway, I’ll give you the blessing.”
“Ha ha ha...”
He was supposed to endure three stabs from someone who commanded pain? Hyun-jun laughed at the absurdity. That was no different from saying he planned to torture him openly.
“What happens if I give up in the middle?”
“Then you’ll have to wait for another chance.”
“Another chance...”
“You seem to need my blessing right now. Don’t you?”
At Fier’s words, Hyun-jun lightly bit his lip. He understood the situation all too well.
I was too careless.
Until now, he had only met past lives that were comparatively cooperative. Because of that, he had not imagined he would run into something like this.
“One thing I should say... if you think all of us are positively inclined toward ‘willpower,’ that’s a mistake.”
Fier said it, and for Hyun-jun, who still did not know much about the past lives, it was useful information.
“I’ll give it a try.”
“May I bind your arms and legs?”
“There’s no need.”
Seeing Fier produce ropes for restraint, Hyun-jun shook his head. Having his arms and legs tied would probably help him endure the pain, but it would also make him feel like nothing more than a specimen.
“Very well. I’ll respect your opinion.”
Fier nodded. Hyun-jun gripped the chair’s armrests hard, and before he knew it Fier had come right up to him, the tip of the needle aimed at the back of his hand.
“You may begin.”
“Then I won’t hold back.”
The tip of the needle touched his skin. He could feel mana surging in at once, and then it began.
“K-kraaaah!”
The wound had barely drawn a single bead of blood, yet the pain he felt was so intense it seemed as if hundreds of red-hot needles were tearing through his entire body.
“Th-this crazy...”
The shock struck so suddenly that his consciousness went numb. Only after some time passed did Hyun-jun manage to pull himself together and unleash a rough curse, forcing his breathing into order.
“That was number one. How was it?”
“A-amazing...”
The words escaped him in spite of himself. It had only been one stab with a needle, yet it was this severe! At this level, it could easily become an excellent means of forcing an enemy to talk.
“This is a special space, but your recovery is absurdly fast.”
“I’ve heard that a lot.”
“Then shall we move on to the second?”
Fier asked. He sounded careful, but restrained excitement seeped through his voice and movements. Hyun-jun answered only by slowly nodding.
“Then... here we go again.”
“Aaaagh!”
He was stabbed in the neck. It felt as though his whole body, neck included, was twisting apart. The agony was so severe that the world before him turned white. This time too, it took quite a while before he recovered.
“Will you give up?”
At the voice, cold as ice, Hyun-jun lifted his head and saw Fier touching the needle with a chilly smile on his face. He wanted to shout that he was giving up right now. But Hyun-jun shook his head fiercely, driving every weak thought away.
I absolutely need this blessing.
Fortunately, the correction effect of the special space known as the Hall of Past Lives allowed him to keep his sanity even through the terrifying chain of pain that threatened to drive him mad.
“I’m not giving up. The last one... come on.”
“Good. Carthago must have taught you very well.”
With an expression whose meaning he could not quite read, Fier raised the needle once more.
*
“Hah...”
He thrashed around like a madman and fell out of bed. Dark circles ringed his eyes as if he had been awake for days, and there was no life left in his pupils.
I nearly lost my mind.
He brought the bottle of lukewarm water on the nightstand to his lips and thought it over. Without the recovery correction of the Hall of Past Lives, he might well have gone insane.
“Hoo!”
Drinking the water woke him up somewhat. After a quick shower to clear the last of the fog from his head, Hyun-jun called Tae-min.
“This is Kim Tae-min.”
“Executive Chief. Where are the prisoners now?”
“They have been confined in a safe house near Anyang.”
“I need to go there right now.”
“Guild Leader? We can handle the dirty work.”
Tae-min’s voice drifting from the smartphone carried an ironclad loyalty. It was a reaction fitting his True Name, Blind Knight who blindly believes.
“There’s something I want to test.”
“Understood. I will inform Jong-seo immediately.”
The call ended. Not long after, Jong-seo came up to the third floor.
“Guild Leader. The vehicle is waiting.”
“Mr. Ha Jong-seo, please stay here. While I’m away, take care of my sister and the younger ones.”
He had repelled Andersen Guild’s attack once, but now that information had come in that the executive branch had been mobilized again, he could not afford to relax. That was why Jong-seo, as the security chief, had to remain at the mansion.
“I will follow the Guild Leader’s orders.”
“Please keep tightening security. We don’t know how Andersen will respond.”
He had shadowed Lee Gyu-hwan, the Andersen Guild executive chief, but he could not be completely reassured, since the guild leadership might still move the executive branch on its own authority.
“I will do my utmost.”
After hearing Jong-seo’s reply, Hyun-jun nodded with satisfaction and headed for the garage. He got into the waiting vehicle and traveled to a quiet outskirts district of Anyang, where the safe house was located.
“Guild Leader! Over here!”
Spotting the vehicle Hyun-jun was in, Tae-min waved and ran over. He had been waiting nearby.
“Will you lead the way?”
“This way, please.”
It was a small three-story building. Tae-min guided Hyun-jun down the stairs to the basement. Deep underground, another corridor led to a different place. After crossing a few more suspicious thresholds, they finally reached the room where the prisoners were held.
“Guild Leader. Here it is.”
When Tae-min opened the door, the dark interior was revealed. Four prisoners were bound to four chairs, their bodies a mess of blood.
Hyun-jun walked up to the one farthest to the left and drew a needle from his pocket.
“Ugh...”
He pricked the back of his hand lightly. Blood welled up. The prisoner then slowly lifted his head. Looking at him, Hyun-jun spoke.
“Just in case I need to ask, you’re not planning to talk, are you?”
“Ptooey!”
Instead of an answer, blood-spattered saliva flew at him. Tae-min hurriedly raised a palm to block it.
“Good. This will hurt a little.”
“Torture... won’t work.”
“This isn’t torture.”
Hyun-jun injected mana through the wounds on the prisoner’s body.
He begins a dangerous cooperation with Fier. While you are with him, pain is under your control.