The Aftermath of Battle (2)
"Everyone who's hurt, get on the mushroom-men's backs and head back to the base! Or would you like me to treat you? I think that would be better... Harin, what do you think?"
"Ah, no, no! I'm not hurt at all!! Hwa-young looks like she's in pain!!"
"I am not!! Hey! Are you crazy? Oppa, I'm fine too! I'm perfectly healthy! Areum looks like she's hurting..."
"Ah, no. Mer-unnie already treated me... Unnies... let's just go quickly."
The women left in a hurry, looking absolutely terrified. Before we had entered the Forest of the Missing to retrieve the Japanese priests, everyone had relied on the help of my Rising Flesh. Until Mer acquired her healing skill, the Rising Flesh I possessed was the only healing skill available to us. Perhaps that was why everyone knew all too well just how painful the Rising Flesh was. That was why they were so desperate to get on the backs of the mushroom-men and be carried back to the base, looking like they’d rather die than be treated by me. It’s a little lonely. They used to all get treated by me before...
"Mer, are you hurt anywhere?"
"Not at all."
"Ah, I see... Cheshire, are you okay? Your arm looks a bit scratched, should I..."
"No! There's no problem at all!"
"Ah... right..."
Mer and Cheshire, who had stayed by my side in case the rear guard of the Good God faction tried to take my life, both rejected my Rising Flesh. Henry, who was lying flat on his back in a spot far away, seemed to have already healed his wounds with his own regenerative ability. In the end, my Rising Flesh had become a torture skill exclusively for enemies.
"Well then, let's see..."
Rejected by everyone, I felt a bit sulky as I examined the spoils of this battle. First was Roy, whom I had decided to offer to Indikron. He was Helen's younger brother, who had become half-broken; he seemed to have come looking for me to get his sister back, but in the end, he was the one caught by me. Now, all that was left was to break him thoroughly and offer him up. Next was the beast hunter named Killian. They say he's particularly strong against beast-type enemies... well, he was shredded by Hwa-young and Harin once he couldn't use his main weapon, the gun. I wonder if he's on the weaker side for an NPC. Finally, there was Dante. This guy is supposedly a giant-slayer, but his opponents happened to be Henry, a professional contract killer, and Mer, who was seasoned in battle. Both were the strongest forces in my deck, so he must have put up quite a fight against them. He seemed like a guy who was quite strong in terms of combat.
'Ah, come to think of it, there's also a guy called the Dragon-Blooded Knight...'
Cheshire said it was the first time she'd seen a crazy bastard who didn't die even after being hit by a laser gatling gun like that. She said Eila was currently binding him while pouring out gems like water. Well, gems can be easily obtained by robbing a jewelry store, so it doesn't matter, but...
'The monster who parried Palus's sword... and the son of a bitch who put Aram in a coma...'
Since he's sturdy, I'll have to take special care to work him over. Since he won't die easily no matter how much I beat him, I think I can use him as a scarecrow for testing various skills. For now, Eila seems to be binding Aran properly, so I should quickly turn these guys here into slaves first. Aram and Ju-ha have regained consciousness, but their condition isn't great, so I should go see them soon.
'Sora seems to have returned to normal, so I don't think I need to worry about her...'
I took a bottle of communication potion out of my bag. Anna, the saintess, had enough Korean proficiency to roughly understand what I was saying and answer, but Roy couldn't communicate with me at all. It was fortunate that those classified as NPCs could communicate.
"Kuaaaaa!!!! Do you think I'll surrender to you!!!"
"What are you talking about? I haven't even started yet. You're a funny bastard."
When I treated Roy's leg, which was bleeding profusely, he shouted at me, thinking I had already started the torture. Judging by how he was blathering about not surrendering with such vigor despite his pale face from losing too much blood, it seems the fact that I can brand people with Slave Brand has spread among the enemies. Michael must have figured it out while analyzing my women. If this happens, the probability of future enemies committing suicide before being caught has increased significantly. Of course, once caught by me, they won't be able to help but submit. Speaking from experience in forcing countless humans to submit, humans are very, very, very vulnerable to pain. Humans will even sell their own children just by having an awl poked under their fingernails. Human will is much weaker than you think, and it crumbles easily.
"What are you going to do if you don't surrender? I'm asking what you're going to do."
"Kuaaaaa!!!!! I'd, I'd rather die!!! Kill me!!!!"
Yet, strangely, Roy shouted that he would never submit even though daggers were buried deep in both of his shoulders. Most modern people aren't exposed to much pain, so they usually submit easily if you just cut their shoulders with a knife a few times, but this guy was quite rebellious. In the end, I took an awl, a woodworking chisel, and a hammer out of my pocket. I also took out pruning shears that Ha Jin-seong had gotten from an agricultural supply store, and a few thin, sturdy staples used in a staple gun. I've tortured many people, so I know... humans tend to have a hard time enduring pain in their fingers. Perhaps because they are the body parts used most frequently, they are sensitive, so if you burn or crush fingers, most people faint from the pain. If that doesn't work, there's also the method of pulling out teeth, driving screws or nails into the gums, and shocking them with electricity. If you use this, they'll bury their heads and beg you to kill them or save them. However, I don't use this method often. There was a high risk of killing them by mistake, and if you torture them like this, they would sometimes break or go crazy before you could make them slaves. Above all, it's disgusting because of the saliva.
"This is the path you chose."
"W, wait!! Just a second!!!"
I lightly drove a staple into his index finger. I could see the thin iron wire burying itself between the fingernail and the skin, with blood pooling under the nail. Just looking at it made it seem painful.
"Kueaaaaaa!!!!!!"
He still hadn't surrendered. Roy endured the index finger. Good, next is the middle finger.
"Alright, let's try this."
-Puzzzuk..!!
"Aaaaa!!! Kueaaa!!! Ack!! Aack!!!"
He endured this time too. He's an unusual guy. He might have subconsciously wanted this situation to end and felt like surrendering to me... This won't do. It seems I have no choice but to amputate. I brought the chisel to the root of his index finger where the staple was buried and brought the hammer down.
-Tuduk!!
"Ugh....!!!!!!!!"
Roy, drooling, couldn't even scream.
The target has submitted to you.
"You surrendered?"
"Ugh.. ugh.. ugh.. Kuaaaa!!!!"
As his right index finger fell off, he submitted to me. I immediately pressed his thumbprint onto his forehead. But...
This soul already has an owner.
"What is this."
Even though I tried a few more times, it didn't work.
"Ha.. this son of a bitch made a contract with a devil."
"Keu-eup..."
"Ah, this is annoying."
Come to think of it, I think Helen had mentioned it... Since information about the other guys was much more important, I had forgotten the fact that he had made a contract with Paimon.
'Paimon... a dog of a bastard who wouldn't be enough even if I tore him to death ten times over..'
Is there no way to use Roy to draw out that devil bastard? There hasn't been just one or two times I've been annoyed because of that bastard. If I just let it slide like this, he'll keep getting in my way at every turn. If you ask me if I'm afraid of Paimon's retaliation, I'd tell you to go suck it. I've been at odds with devil bastards from the start. And since my backers are Evil Gods, there's no need to fear a mere devil.
'If I offer this bastard to Indikron, maybe a way will come out...'
Anyway, for now, he was a guy who had contracted with a devil, so I couldn't make him a slave. Of course, now there is a way to make devil-possessed people into slaves, but...
'I could just insert an Alcide larva, make it eat his brain, annihilate the personality of Roy, and then make the Alcide adult that succeeds him into a slave...'
Well, before that, I'm just thinking of offering him to Indikron. I have no intention of keeping him alive. His skill seems unique, but looking at it, he's a premature ejaculator bastard whose mana runs out after using it once. If he's discharged after using one skill, it means his mana stat is incredibly lacking or the skill's efficiency is absolute trash, so it's a product with no value. Besides, Evil Gods don't accept guys who have contracted with devils because they say they taste bad, but Indikron says she'll accept him specially because she looks forward to him despairing when he sees his sister, so I have to offer him when she says she'll eat him. So I need to package him carefully so he's good to eat. So, before I put in the effort, I should make Killian and Dante into slaves first. Because Roy needs to be aged.
"Hey. You guys."
I left Roy, who was holding his severed finger and shedding tears, alone for a moment and approached Killian and Dante, who were glaring at us.
"Crazy bastard..."
"I am a warrior of the great Keponus!!! The one who killed the evil giant!! I am Dante!!! I will never surrender to an evil person like you...!!!"
Killian gulped and spat out an insult, and Dante shouted the name of his god as if to hypnotize himself, bracing his will. This won't be easy. I clicked the pruning shears and said to them, tilting my head at a 45-degree angle, which is said to make people feel the most shock, with my eyes flashing.
"Is that so? If so..."
"No, wait. I will submit. Surrender. I lost."
The target has submitted to you.
Killian submitted to me as soon as I tried to threaten him.
'This bastard.. what is he..'
He seems like a quite treacherous guy.