Hearing the question, the red-skinned girl didn’t flinch. She was seated cross-legged on the cold floor, her fiery red eyes glowing faintly in the darkness. Chains wrapped around her wrists and ankles.
"What makes you think I’ll help you?" Kira coldly replied.
Nox chuckled. He had already foreseen this. The only reason he’d even asked in the first place was simply out of formality.
"I know you won’t be an easy target. That’s why I had a plan B in place." He grinned as he walked toward the weapon rack at the side, retrieving two daggers with extremely sharp blades.
Then he walked back to the cell door, unlocking it with a special key.
Kira’s eyes followed Nox’s every movement, wondering what was going on in his mind. She had a vague idea of what he wanted to do, but there wasn’t even a spark of fear in her gaze.
"I recall what you did to me back in Snowhelm," he said as he remembered the fatal blow that nearly killed him.
He later learned that this same person had attempted to kill Wendy and had harmed hundreds of students at the Vermilion Royal Academy.
Since the incident at Snowhelm, Nox had sworn to take his revenge on her and wipe out the entire Flaming Rose.
However, there had never been time for that, as he had been constantly jumping from one crisis to the next.
A sadistic smile crept across his face, similar to the one his master Eve wore before killing her enemies.
Now, he had all the time in the world.
"It’s either you choose the easy way or the hard way," he spoke, lowering himself to eye level to take a closer look at her face.
Because her arms were bound, she was vulnerable and could only watch. Unlike the Awakened, the members of the Flaming Rose didn’t possess superhuman powers.
They weren’t exactly normal humans either. Nox had tried to figure them out in the past but eventually gave up.
No matter what—today, he believed he would learn the secrets of the Flaming Rose.
Shing! Nox cut the side of her cheek, and thin lines of blood trailed down to her lips. There wasn’t even a wince or a change of expression on her face.
It felt as if this wasn’t the first time she had been subjected to something .
The sheer amount of willpower shocked even Nox, as he knew how deep that cut was.
"Hehehehehe, let’s see how long you can hold on," he smirked as he thrust the dagger into the wound and twisted it.
And this time, there was progress—Kira’s lips twitched slightly.
Bringing in the other dagger, he stabbed her arm, pinning it to the ground.
With gritted teeth, she said, "You’re better off killing me, because no matter what you do, I won’t tell you the secrets of our organization."
"Oh, you will... trust me, you will," Nox smiled confidently, as if he were absolutely certain of it. This made her furrow her brow.
’What is he planning to do?’ Her eyes flashed sharply. ’What gives him so much assurance?’
It was alarming. Just by looking at his face, she could tell he was dead serious—he wasn’t simply bluffing.
Her face paled. ’If he indeed has a way of finding out, I must do something.’
"Seems someone is scared," Nox taunted, the smile on his face growing.
"What are you planning to do?" she demanded, flaring at him with burning eyes.
"It’s a secret." Nox winked mischievously.
Kira’s eyes narrowed. Her heart began to race, and for the first time, uncertainty seeped into her core.
Those dark eyes... she didn’t like them. She never did.
He wasn’t much older than her, but why did it feel like she was staring into the eyes of an ancient demon?
With a small smile on his face, he snapped his fingers and a small sphere of water formed. He manipulated the water, and it turned into threads midair, slipping into her nostrils and all her pores.
The feeling was strange—and at first, not painful.
A small smirk appeared on her face. "Was that it?"
"Not yet," Nox replied calmly.
Right at that moment, Kira felt the water threads spreading throughout her body. Her eyes began to constrict, and her breathing slowed.
"W-What are you doing to me?" she stuttered, but Nox didn’t bother responding.
He snapped his fingers, and Kira visibly paled. She felt cold inside. Her blood seemed to stop flowing. Even her heartbeat ceased thudding—but she was alive, and she could still feel pain.
It was at that moment she realized something.
’T-This bastard... he froze my insides.’
Still, despite this, she bit down the urge to scream in pain—refusing to give him the satisfaction.
But Nox wasn’t in a hurry.
He knew how to break her slowly.
He moved the dagger still embedded in her arm, twisting it slightly each time her focus began to waver. Her breathing grew ragged. Her entire body glistened with cold sweat.
"P-Please!" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
"M-Make it stop!" Kira couldn’t take it anymore. She felt pain and suffocation at the same time.
Tears streamed down her cheeks. She knew she wasn’t particularly sane, but not even someone like her would do this to an enemy.
At that precise moment, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed with a soft thud.
Apart from the flickering torches on the side, there was absolute silence.
Nox calmly looked at the vulnerable red-skinned girl with an emotionless stare.
Then he crouched slowly, placing his palm on her forehead.
"If I want to get all the information about the Flaming Rose, then this is the only way," he mumbled to himself. His hand glowed briefly, and...
[Ding! Tame Activated!]
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