Leo’s fingers brushed the woman’s trembling hand, his voice deceptively gentle. "Are you gonna answer my questions or not?"
Her bloodied lips twisted into a grin, and she spat, "Fuck you."
Without hesitation, he drove it deep under her fingernail, piercing the tender flesh with surgical cruelty. Her scream erupted, a primal, guttural howl that ricocheted off the walls, but she clamped her jaw shut, stifling it into a shuddering gasp.
"Impressive," Leo said, his tone laced with mock admiration. "Still holding on." His fingertip sparked as he channeled a precise surge of lightning mana into the needle. The electric current tore through her nervous system, her body convulsing violently as muscles seized, her scream fracturing into a choked, animalistic cry.
He cut the mana flow, and she slumped forward, her blindfold soaked with sweat, her chest heaving. The pain was unlike anything she’d endured—a searing, soul-deep torment that clawed at her very being.
Leo’s voice is almost playful. "Thought I was done?" He snatched a jagged cutting blade from the table, and with a brutal yank, he pried the nail from her finger, the sickening crack drowned out by her agonized shriek. Blood gushed, pooling, and her body shook as she fought to hold onto her defiance.
"You’ve built a fortress in your mind, haven’t you?" he murmured, his voice low and chilling. "Let’s see how it holds." He selected another needle and drove it into the nerve cluster just below her collarbone.
The pin sank deep, and he unleashed a sharper pulse of lightning mana, a storm of electricity raging through her veins. Her scream shattered into a ragged sob, her body thrashing against the ropes, the chair creaking under the strain.
Serion stood with arms crossed, his face cracking with a grim fascination. Vaelem, usually unshakable, averted his gaze, his jaw tight. The other professors outside the cell were statues.
Leo pressed another needle into the nerve junction near her elbow, where delicate nerves twisted like fragile threads. The pin pierced skin, and he sent a burst of lightning mana through it, the current sizzling as it burned through her. Her body arched, a guttural wail escaping as the pain radiated in waves, each one more unbearable than the last.
He wasn’t finished. Grabbing a third needle, he pressed it into the nerve cluster at the base of her neck—a point notorious for its excruciating sensitivity. "Let’s break that fortress," he said, his voice a low growl. He linked all three needles with a simultaneous surge of lightning mana, creating a circuit of unrelenting agony.
The woman’s body trembling violently, she’s screaming raw and desperate, as the electricity seared through her nervous system. Her hands flailed, the ropes cutting deep into her wrists, drawing fresh blood. For a fleeting moment, her gasps tinged with something like surrender.
Leo leaned in, his face inches from hers. "Tell me. What’s your organization?" He twisted the needle in her neck, sending a final jolt of mana through her. Her scream broke into a sob, her body trembling uncontrollably. "Please... the..." she gasped, her voice barely a thread.
"Bring the lie detector!" Leo barkedThe prison guard stumbled forward, handing a crystal orb into his hands.
"Open your damn mouth. Now," Leo demanded.
She shuddered, her words spilling out in pain. "The cult... of Ruin. We are a cult of ruin."
The orb remained clear, no hint of a lie. The professors exchanged uneasy glances, the name that they never heard. Leo’s grip on the orb tightened. "More. Tell me more."
He sent another shock through the needles, her scream piercing the air. "We... worship the Goddess... Ashtarya," she choked out, blood trickling from her lips. "Our lord... awaits her return... her destruction."
Leo’s voice rose. "The Ruler’s Prophecy—what is it? Tell me!"
Her head lolled, her strength crumbling, but she forced the words out, each one a struggle. "The Ruler... destined to end the destruction. We carve the path... for our Goddess to rise. The Prophecy... the one destined to end her... must die."
"Two last things. Who formed your freak cult, and who helped you infiltrate the academy forest?"
The professors are stiffening behind him. The question cut deeper, they hadn’t revealed the existence of a traitor within the academy, yet Leo, barely awake from his coma, had sensed the truth. Serion’s gaze flicked to him.
The woman’s sobs grew louder, her blindfold drenched with sweat and tears, but her lips remained sealed.
Leo’s patience snapped. He let out an irritated sigh. "Do you want another round?" He raised a needle, its tip sparking faintly with lightning mana.
"No... no, I can’t... please," she gasped, her voice breaking under fear and pain.
"Then tell me!" Leo roared. "Who’s the black sheep in the academy? Who’s your damn leader?"
She shuddered, her words barely audible, forced out between ragged breaths. "I... don’t know our lord’s name... he only appears rarely... soldiers like us... we’re managed by the Five Pillars..."
Leo leaned closer. "The spy. Who’s the spy here? Now."
Her lips parted, a name trembling on the edge of her tongue.
Then.
Leo’s instincts screamed—a prickling warning that something was wrong. Before he could react, Serion’s hand clamped onto his arm, yanking him back with brutal force. In that split second, the cell erupted in a deafening explosion.
BOOM!
A wave of heat and force smashed through, cracking stone and bending metal.
Leo didn’t flinch, he didn’t blink, staring as Serion’s mana shield glowed, blocking the blast for him, the guard, and Leo. Outside, Professor Avoor’s shield protected the others just in time. Smoke and dust filled the air, smelling of burned flesh and metal.
As the smoke cleared, Leo’s eyes fixed on the chair where the woman had sat moments ago. Nothing was left now, just bits of flesh and blood splattered on the walls. The chair was smashed to pieces.
Serion lowered his mana shield, his face grim as he looked at the carnage.
"What the hell is this mess?" Gidon’s voice rumbled
"A self-explosion spell?" Isolode muttered, her voice unsteady.
Leo’s eyes narrowed, his mind racing. "No. If it was a self-destruct spell, she’d have blown the second we caught her."
Serion nodded. "He’s right. Someone triggered this remotely—to shut her up before she could name the black sheep."