Chapter 63. Pain (2)
Demon-faced Dog.
Spirit of Freedom.
And so on. Fear usually arises from minor imbalances.
“…….”
That’s why I’m saying this, but the Nachalsawon believer was currently somewhat scared.
‘He got stabbed but didn’t flinch?’
The Unknown Hunter sitting in front of me felt suspicious, almost like a monster wearing human skin.
‘Is he perhaps unable to feel pain?’
For a moment, the possibility of anesthesia crossed my mind, but that probability was low.
Not knowing pain is simply a deadly disadvantage.
There’s no way a special case like that could survive in the dangerous Hunter industry.
No, he wouldn’t have survived to this age in the first place.
‘What the hell?’
Is this his Awakening Ability?
But I’ve never heard of a skill that grants pain resistance. Nowhere at all.
If that’s the case, there’s only one possibility left.
‘If it’s not a skill… then he must just be enduring it through sheer mental strength.’
It’s shocking.
Looking at the Awakened bound in the frame filled me with a sense of pressure.
But I couldn’t show weakness here. I had to complete the mission given to me.
“…!”
Bang!
The Nachalsawon believer slammed something onto the table roughly from his pocket.
A grotesque object with bloodshot eyes and devilish wings.
[Eye of Temptation]
[Grade: Rare]
It’s a brainwashing item.
‘He may seem nonchalant now, but soon enough, he’ll be screaming for mercy.’
The Reformer resolved in that moment.
No matter what, I had to succeed in the brainwashing.
Kim Gi-ryeo’s dry attitude became a strong motivation instead.
He absolutely didn’t want to admit feeling fear from an unknown hunter with no notable reputation.
‘Something’s wrong. It should be him trembling, not me.’
The Reformer withdrew the dagger once more.
‘Don’t look at me with those eyes while you’re all tied up…!’
And then his work began.
*
How many minutes had passed?
“Ugh, Oiii…!”
“……”
“Grrr!”
Various things had happened during the time.
Head dunked in a bucket of water, electric shocks running through the body.
And now, my opponent was tugging at my toenails.
Honestly, it was ridiculous.
‘Wow, he’s really putting in the effort.’
Not that it mattered; the core area had already been blown.
Yet this cult member insisted on teaching me enlightenment and started torturing me out of the blue.
It was expected that he wouldn’t let me go easily. But why waste energy when there was no more information to extract?
‘Ah.’
Figuring out their purpose wasn’t hard.
‘I mistook their appearance. That isn’t for recording…’
Now I see items for brainwashing on the desk.
Replenishing believers with mental-type magic. A pretty standard method, indeed.
“Hmm.”
But he chose the wrong target.
On this side, I had resistance to brainwashing. Not to mention, my body automatically blocked any pain beyond a certain level.
“Haack, heh…”
I looked down at my pulled toenails and found it interesting.
‘So this is how Earth tortures.’
At that point, my opponent tossed the pliers away in frustration.
“Why! Why aren’t you reacting at all!”
From his perspective, it must be infuriating.
Not only simple pain.
Other magic tools that interfere with the mind didn’t work on me at all.
“This monster…!”
There was no way the Great Mage’s soul would be affected by such primitive hallucinations.
In the end, he couldn’t subjugate me, neither mentally nor physically.
There was no chance of brainwashing.
‘Huh?’
But thinking it over, this wasn’t entirely a laughing matter.
“Excuse me?”
I thought if I maintained my calm, he’d tire out, but I must’ve misjudged it.
This Earthling escalated the torture the more composed I was.
And I had already lost too much blood.
This is dangerous.
“Wait a minute.”
I urgently halted my opponent.
“Can we please stop now? Please.”
“What?”
“I understand what you want. You want to turn me into your subordinate, right?”
Creek. I leaned forward, and the chair groaned.
“I’ll join the Nachalsawon. And I’ll do anything you say. Please spare me.”
“Why are you suddenly saying this?”
“Well, because I feel like I’m going to die, that’s why…!”
Putting my life on the line, begging for it.
But the Earthling kept eyeing me up and down suspiciously before producing the Eye of Temptation from the table and thrusting it in front of me.
‘What’s this for?’
Just a few seconds later.
The cult member slapped my face without hesitation. My head whipped to the side.
“Ha! Nonsense! If you truly felt your life was in danger, that Eye of Temptation wouldn’t be ineffective!”
“Ugh.”
“I don’t know what your game is, but I won’t fall for your words!”
Damn, this is a big problem.
I just happened to gain resistance to brainwashing due to the characteristics of the reincarnation magic.
“To remain undisturbed even in this state? You’re like a demonic creature…!”
To my opponent, it might have appeared like I was maintaining my composure.
So the believer didn’t believe me at all.
“That can’t be. You’re definitely shaken. I’m really scared right now, sir.”
“Eek!”
“No, you’re the one who hit me hard and now you’re timidly avoiding me…”
“Shut up!”
Ah, seriously, it’s not getting through.
“Excuse me. Can you bring someone else in?”
Frustrated, I requested a change of personnel.
“I want to speak directly to someone higher up. I have useful information for the Nachalsawon.”
“……!”
“Let’s negotiate.”
But the believer jumped back as soon as he heard that.
“No, someone higher up? Wait a minute. You brat, were you aiming for our leader from the start?!”
“Eh?”
“I knew it was strange from the beginning. An Awakened that can torture without flinching would not have been dragged here…!”
Just when I was about to say, ‘Hold on, you’ve misunderstood something,’
The kidnapper’s sharp dagger pierced my thigh.
“I’m not listening to anything you say. Never!”
He spoke with grinding rage.
Anxiety, fear, and a religious mania impossible to comprehend for one not brainwashed.
Hearing his voice, I suddenly realized one thing.
‘This is bad.’
This was going to be my grave.
The cultist began distorting everything I said and coldly dismissed even my pleas for help.
Dammit.
Honestly, Earth’s torture methods are brutally primitive.
Controlling the target to avoid death should be a basic requirement of torture.
‘To get caught by a fool who can’t even calculate blood loss and die…’
I felt dizzy in front of me.
I desperately hoped for someone’s help.
For example, someone at the disaster recovery camp noticing something was off and calling the police.
Or perhaps Seonwoo-yeon or Ahn Yoon-seung coming to realize that I was missing.
‘A vain hope, though.’
Of course, I know neither option is realistic.
I lowered my head and fell into silence.
Severe dizziness hit me due to blood loss.
Thump!
But the noise that followed startled my fading consciousness back to life.
Thump.
What in the world was that commotion?
Boom…
The sound was gradually getting closer.
I suddenly realized I had heard the same noise before.
‘The sound of concrete collapsing.’
As I sunk into vague confusion, the kidnapper also ceased torturing me and turned around.
He opened the door slightly and carefully peered through the crack into the outer corridor.
A brief silence fell.
“What’s this? Isn’t that sound coming from our building…?”
At that moment.
Kwahhr!
One side of the wall we were in suddenly collapsed with a terrifying roar.
The kidnapper turned his head in shock, but couldn’t respond in time to the ensuing ambush.
“Gak!”
Thud!
Before the dust had even settled, the situation was resolved.
A mysterious shadow that burst through the broken wall swiftly knocked the believer down.
‘Fast!’
As the dust began to clear.
In the midst of it all, a figure appeared.
I couldn’t help but be surprised at the person before me.
“Kang Chang-ho?”
“Hello.”
S-Class Hunter of South Korea.
To think Kang Chang-ho was the savior!
‘No, it’s too early to assume he’s here to save me.’
Oddly enough, whenever I get kidnapped, I see that face.
Kang Chang-ho stepped into the room, dusting off the concrete powder from his hand while scanning the area.
At that moment, I felt a strange tension.
After all, that Hunter had left bound victims in the past.
“Um, um.”
I cautiously opened my mouth, hoping to seek Kang Chang-ho’s help.
But it seemed it wasn’t necessary.
“Need help?”
Kang Chang-ho calmly initiated the conversation.
I nodded vigorously at his words, and then Kang Chang-ho approached and released my bindings.
Zzzzzt.
This binding magic tool. Was it that easy to tear apart in S-Class hands?
“Your condition… Wow, I’m glad I came.”
Kang Chang-ho examined my wounds up and down before abruptly handing me a small crystal vial.
It appeared to contain a liquid of the same concentration as the one I had received earlier. It was a type of healing potion from Earth.
“Ah, thank you.”
Without hesitation, I gulped down the potion.
Soon all the bleeding stopped, and my condition gradually improved.
“But you don’t look too bad considering you were tortured?”
“Does it look that way?”
“Typically, one cannot speak this clearly after being tortured.”
“……”
“Well, whatever. It’s not an important issue right now.”
After a short chat, Kang Chang-ho suggested.
“Do you know the exit?”
“I don’t.”
“Then follow me.”
Surprisingly.
Thanks to Kang Chang-ho’s protection, I was able to escape this cult safely.
‘Oh, wow.’
I was wondering why it was so quiet around me.
As we made our way back, countless people were sprawled around like trash.
They were all probably Nachalsawon believers.
Kang Chang-ho must have handled them while coming to the torture room.
‘Ah, finally outside!’
I didn’t expect to be rescued like this, and tears of emotion flowed down.
In a world where an S-Class rushes to save you when you’re in danger!
I knew coming back to Korea was the right choice!
“……”
…Just when I thought it would end beautifully here, reality hit me at this point.
‘Let’s see.’
I was glad to have received help from Kang Chang-ho.
But through this process, one question arose.
How on Earth did Kang Chang-ho find this place?
‘This Hunter broke through the building and headed straight to the room I was in. I can’t think of any reason he’d have business with the Nachalsawon.’
He was the first to notice that I had been kidnapped. And he even found out where I was being held in an instant.
I finally realized the identity of the Awakened standing next to me.
“Why so surprised? Kim Gi-ryeo. You’ve been staring at me since a while ago.”
All of this was impossible without stalking…
‘Since when?’
Come to think of it, he had come silently to Kim Gi-ryeo’s residence before. I had never mentioned my address even once.
‘No, perhaps even before that.’
He miraculously recognized the taxi I was riding on the day of the minor accident.
“……”
Was I being watched by this S-Class Hunter since then?
What the hell.
“Um, I currently don’t have my phone on me, so could I borrow a call?”
Right after escaping from the cult.
I picked up the phone to report the situation to the police, but honestly, the thought of reporting Kang Chang-ho was stronger.
