Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Empire's Chains
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The Demorus family estate was located in District 3.
It was truly the uppermost district, one could say.
Naturally, crossing out of Rasiel and into other districts came with checkpoints of an entirely different caliber from before.
“…….”
Ones that drew even Sein’s attention and interest.
But all of it was for naught.
Neigh!
The carriage never stopped anywhere.
No one ever stepped forward to block the black-lacquered Demorus carriage.
District 4.
And just before finally entering District 3, where the Demorus estate lay.
Boom!
That’s when the incident occurred.
The carriage shook violently.
“Kid.”
At Sein’s call, Cecil—who now carried a fairly ladylike air—turned to look at him.
“Get ready.”
Nod.
No sooner had Cecil nodded than—
Kaboom!
Sein’s world flipped upside down.
The carriage lifted off from an explosion beneath it, spinning wildly.
Crash!
Mid-spin in the air, Sein burst through the carriage door and landed on the ground.
Thud.
Cecil stood beside him.
The first thing they saw was the dead horses and the Demorus escorts.
“Urk!”
It was the injured Roberta.
Sein had sensed something off mere seconds ago.
All of this had happened in those few seconds.
“So this is the last one, huh.”
Sein drew his sword.
Swish, swish.
Shadows finally revealed themselves, surrounding them on all sides.
“You Sein Demorus?”
The one addressing them in black robes seemed to be the leader.
Sein—
Boom!
Charged at the foe with explosive speed.
In the blink of an eye, Sein stood before him.
Shrieeeek!
Sein’s sword swept horizontally, aiming for the black-robed man’s neck.
Clang!
But iron chains flew in from somewhere, starting to bind Sein.
In that instant.
Had that moment lasted a fraction longer, Sein would have severed the black-robed man’s neck.
The only pity was that the moment fell short.
Snap, drip.
Sein’s sword had merely grazed the black-robed man’s skin.
“Quite the madman, just as the rumors say.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Iron chains squeezed his entire body tight.
‘Baldrak’s Chains.’
Unlike moments ago when he’d shown leisure, Sein’s mind was now heavy.
These weren’t ordinary chains.
“These are Baldrak’s Chains. They burrow into your body and disrupt your mana flow. We’ve heard poison doesn’t work on you.”
“The upper districts are different, alright.”
Starting with the quality and depth of their intel.
These guys clearly knew all about Sein’s feats so far, and the powers behind them.
Thud!
From one side came the sound of Roberta’s knees buckling.
On another, Cecil resisted but was seized by them.
“Wow.”
He was genuinely impressed.
The Demorus escorts weren’t weak by any means.
Sein, Cecil, and Roberta could all confidently say they’d grown stronger after two labyrinths.
Sein was at mid-game level now.
But combining everything he had, he was master level—or beyond.
“Want to see more of what we’ve prepared?”
The black-robed man said to Sein.
“How kind. If I say I don’t wanna see, you’ll hold back?”
“If you come quietly without resisting, sure.”
Even for the current Sein, Baldrak’s Chains were hard to break.
‘It’s not impossible, but…’
As the black-robed man said, more preparations worried him.
“Who the hell are you? What makes you bold enough to mess with Demorus?”
“That’s…”
Something was now in the black-robed man’s hand.
Seeing it, Sein made a dumbfounded face.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
The Queen Beholder’s essence.
A legendary item dropped by raid-boss monsters in the past, notoriously rare even among those—with abysmal drop rates, making it incredibly hard to obtain.
Hummm!
The moment it glowed, Sein’s consciousness cut out.
*
*
*
“Never thought I’d get kidnapped in my life.”
Sein was bound to a chair.
Baldrak’s Chains wrapped his body, and the chair he sat on looked far from ordinary too.
“Sein, you okay?”
Roberta said in a faint voice.
It was because of the Queen Beholder’s essence.
That thing was a cheat item that ignored most resistances.
Originally meant to shatter and paralyze minds, but those bastards had used it to knock him out.
“Who’s worrying who here.”
“I’m your bodyguard…”
But even Roberta, who’d resisted, passed out again there.
The silver lining was Cecil, tied in a corner, staring clearly at Sein.
Sein signaled her with his eyes.
‘Don’t do anything rash.’
Nod.
As he took stock of the situation.
Their circumstances.
All of it.
“Truly, just like the rumors.”
The black-robed man reappeared.
What stood out was the gold badge brooch on his chest.
“Resisting the Queen Beholder’s essence and already back to your senses.”
It sounded like genuine admiration.
“My mental fortitude’s top-notch.”
“Overflowing with leisure, aren’t you?”
The guy dragged over a chair and sat.
Meanwhile, other black-robed figures encircled them.
“Who the hell are you? What makes you dare touch Demorus?”
Sein leaned on the Demorus name.
“Heard you were sharp despite appearances, but maybe that’s bullshit.”
“Wow, that stings my pride.”
“Then tell me.”
His face drew closer.
The robe seemed a magic item too, perfectly concealing his face.
“What do you think we are?”
The ambush at the checkpoint from District 4 to 3.
Using an item worth a fortune like it was nothing.
The audacity to target Demorus.
“…….”
The gold brooch.
As Sein silently glared at the black-robed man, his lips finally curled.
Smirk.
A smile.
“The sharp one rumor’s true too. Rumors are reliable, after all.”
“Aren’t they usually unreliable?”
The black-robed man stood, but Sein’s taunt fell flat.
“If you’ve figured out who we are, you’ve probably guessed what we want.”
Other shadows approached Sein.
“Shame poison doesn’t work on you. We could’ve had more fun.”
The shadows drew pitch-black daggers.
“Now we’ll dissect you thoroughly.”
The black-robed man said with delight.
“Find your weaknesses, what you’ve got.”
In that moment.
Stab!
One shadow plunged a dagger into the back of Sein’s hand.
“Grrrrrgh!”
Sein’s eyes bulged as he let out a stifled groan.
“This’ll be fun.”
And so hell began.
*
*
*
There was no day or night there.
Splash!
Sleep wasn’t allowed.
Nor eating.
“Pha!”
Not even breathing.
Torture.
These lunatics tortured Sein and Roberta with every method imaginable.
Using all sorts of rare items from Sanctuary.
“Gaaaaah!”
It was like they were dismantling Sein piece by piece.
Mind, body, mana—all of it.
They tormented without rest, as if they’d studied nothing but ways to inflict pain.
“Froze part of the leader—shows pain.”
The torturers recorded everything about Sein among themselves.
“Staaahp! Stop it!”
Sein’s screams changed nothing.
“Haa… haa…”
Collapsing from exhaustion meant nothing.
Some days they cut off fingers.
Then poured potions on them.
“Recovers quickly.”
It was all experiments disguised as torture.
Hope.
“…Demorus… will… find… you…”
Since they’d been kidnapped en route to Demorus, they’d come rescue them.
Even Sein’s threats like that.
Sizzle!
Meant nothing.
The worse off was Roberta over Sein.
“Remarkable mental strength.”
Roberta endured the brutal torture without losing her venom.
The relief was that Cecil was spared.
Not because she was a young girl that mattered to them—they knew what she was, so they didn’t touch her.
“You… fuckers…”
“Still got some spirit left?”
Resistance, screams, threats—all meaningless.
How many days passed?
“…Tell me… what you want.”
Finally, Sein broke.
It was an inevitable outcome from the start.
Sein had lived thousands of lives enjoying Sanctuary.
“Tell me… what you want.”
But there’d been no torture there.
In reality…
Reality no longer mattered.
This place was his reality now.
“Eyes still got fire.”
The appearing black-robed man said disappointedly.
“Crank it up.”
“You fuck! Kill me! Just kill me! Gaaaaah!”
Torture resumed.
Finally, when Sein’s fierce eyes turned vacant.
“Took a while. No one lasts a week here.”
One day, Roberta and Cecil vanished.
But Sein no longer had the capacity to think of them.
Focused only on the pain assaulting him.
Desperately struggling to escape somehow.
“A whole month, no less.”
One month.
How long Sein had endured the torment.
“Record-breaking.”
Even to the black-robed man, it was an admirable feat.
“Well, Sein Demorus. Ready to talk?”
Sein’s vacant gaze turned to the black-robed man.
“Who are we?”
The first question asked when they’d arrived.
“…Em…”
Sein slowly swallowed dryly.
“…pire…”
“Give him a potion.”
His severed tongue reattached.
“…Empire.”
The black-robed man’s lips.
Smeeeerk!
Twisted up in a grin.
“Yes! We are the Empire!”
He bellowed in mad fervor.
“And what are you?”
“Sein… Demorus.”
“That’s right. You are Sein Demorus.”
The black-robed man’s face loomed like a monster.
“Will you be our spy for the Empire?”
That was their goal from the start.
They’d tortured Sein to shatter his mind for this.
And finally.
“…Y…”
Sein opened his mouth.
“You think I would? You fucking bastards?”
The vacancy in Sein’s eyes reignited with fierce light.