‘There it is.’
Lea moved silently in that direction, and Ian followed behind her. However, as she approached the side of the hardware store, she furrowed her beautiful brow slightly.
‘That’s strange… I don’t see a door?’
She had clearly seen the man emerge with her own two eyes, but where the man had come out, there was only a wall—no door was visible. Despite the puzzling situation, she calmly examined the wall. After a moment, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
There was a door. It was just very cleverly concealed with paint. So much so that you wouldn’t find it unless you looked carefully. Lea opened the door quietly and quickly slipped inside. She could feel Ian’s discomfort behind her at her taking the lead, but she lightly ignored it. Hiding in the back wasn’t her style. The door connected directly to a stairway. As she suppressed her presence and descended the stairs, another door appeared. And from beyond that door, she could hear men’s voices flowing out. Two men were conversing, their tongues slightly twisted as if they’d been drinking.
“…So you know what I did to Katlen? I had her good and proper right in front of her fiancé. And when that bastard glared at me like he wanted to kill me but couldn’t say a word, it got me even more excited. Hehe, I still can’t forget that taste.”
“You really have sick tastes. The way you always go after women who have lovers. You’re not afraid some guy with a grudge will cut yours off? Hahaha.”
“There’d have to be someone skilled enough to do it. But that brat still won’t open his mouth today either.”
“He’s stubborn as hell. It’s been over two weeks and even after all that beating, he won’t talk. Even an adult would have a hard time enduring Mac’s torture…”
“They should just kill him. Is what they’re looking for really that important?”
“Seems like it. He was beaten nearly to death again today. Mac probably went to buy a potion. I drank the last one we had left today.”
“Yeah? Then it’ll take some time.”
“Hehe, are you thinking of going to that brat? Mac’s been stuck to him constantly so you’ve just been watching, right?”
“Anyway, the guy who’s beating the brat until he dies gets all fired up if you say you want a taste. If I go now and come back quickly, he won’t know, right? The kid’s covered in blood and can’t resist anyway.”
“You really are… You want to get off with a kid who’s half dead?”
“Shut up and just keep watch for Mac coming back. I’ll be quick.”
The sound of rustling followed by the sound of a man getting up could be heard. At the same time, Lea’s eyes, which had been eavesdropping on the conversation, sank coldly enough to freeze her surroundings. She twisted her lips and muttered.
“Garbage. I absolutely cannot let this go.”
She waited no longer and simply raised her leg and kicked the door open with a bang.
“Wha… what?!”
As the door shattered and flew open, the burly man who had been drinking jumped up in shock. The man tried to draw the sword at his waist, but as Ian, who had been behind Lea, stepped forward and swung his sword, his throat was cut and he fell spurting blood. In the meantime, Lea looked around and discovered an iron door leading down to the basement standing open. It seemed one bastard had already gone down to the basement through the iron door.
“…………”
As she was about to descend the stairs, Ian suddenly stood in front of her, and she looked at him.
“Please follow behind. I cannot protect you if you go ahead on the stairs.”
It was an emotionless voice, but Lea quickly noticed it contained a hint of displeasure. It seemed he hadn’t been pleased at all that she had gone first earlier. Looking at Ian’s back as he descended the stairs first with his sword drawn, she smirked invisibly and followed behind him.
……
Drip, drip… Sean slowly opened his eyes to the sound of water droplets falling from the ceiling.
“Ugh…”
He must have passed out again. He couldn’t even remember how many times he’d fainted. This place, where he couldn’t even distinguish day from night, was truly a terrible place. The man who had introduced himself as Mac had mercilessly tortured Sean’s body, though he was barely 12 years old. Whipping was standard, and he would also lightly slice the tender boy’s flesh with a knife to inflict pain. Mac truly showed no mercy whatsoever in his methods. Since arriving here, Sean’s entire body had become so mottled that his original skin color was unrecognizable. Bruises formed on top of bruises, and whenever a bruise seemed about to fade, a new one took its place.
“……Haah…..”
Sean closed his eyes, feeling that his body wouldn’t move at all. This time, he really was going to die, he thought. Today, as if even using a whip was too bothersome, Mac had mercilessly kicked and stomped on the fragile Sean’s stomach and chest with his boot. What was even worse was that instead of just killing him, they would beat him nearly to death like this and then feed him a potion to heal him. Sean knew all too well why they were doing this to him.
Grit… Sean clenched his teeth.
‘I’ll never give it to those bastards…’
A firm resolve that you wouldn’t easily see even in an adult, unbelievable for a 12-year-old, flowed from Sean’s green eyes. His father had protected it even while being killed. And Sean had also promised to protect it even if it cost him his life. But how long could he hold out… Thinking realistically, it seemed hopeless. The torture showed no signs of ending, and even death was not permitted. Right now he was enduring through will and stubbornness, but Sean honestly couldn’t be certain he could continue doing so.
‘…If I die… will I be able to see Father and my cousin again?’
Sighing once more at his own weak self for thinking about death again, Sean stiffened when he heard someone’s footsteps. Right now Sean was lying face down, and in that position he could only see the shoes of the man who had approached and stood before him. And those shoes were not Mac’s.
‘It’s not that bastard?’
For a moment, Sean’s eyes wavered anxiously. The owner of those shoes didn’t seem to have come to rescue him. No, rather, Sean felt chills at the gaze of the shoe owner looking down at him. A sticky, unpleasant feeling, like a snake looking at its prey before swallowing it. And his anxious feeling became reality.
“You’ve been beaten pretty thoroughly. Can’t even move, I see. Just stay still like that. I’ll give you a nice experience.”
He could feel the man moving behind Sean with the sound of footsteps. And the man’s hand pulled down Sean’s pants, which had been nearly torn from the beating. As his body shook from this, Sean let out a groan of pain, but the man didn’t care at all. Having pulled Sean’s pants down to his knees, the man grabbed Sean’s immobile waist, lifted it, and made him kneel face down. Because he was forcing his battered body to move, Sean’s face turned deathly pale from the pain that seemed to stab and twist through his entire body, but again the man didn’t care. Perhaps displeased with Sean’s body stiffened from pain, a slapping sound rang out as the man’s hand mercilessly struck Sean’s exposed bottom.
“Ugh…”
As Sean groaned, the man muttered excitedly.
“Ooh, now that I’ve stripped you, this is even more arousing.”
Suddenly there was a rustling sound followed by the clanking of metal. Realizing it was the sound of a belt buckle being undone, Sean’s eyes wavered anxiously. Being hit on the bottom with a belt seemed like it would be far more humiliating than being hit with fists or feet. A whip would have been better.
Sean, who had squeezed his eyes shut preparing to endure the pain that was about to come, felt goosebumps rise all over his body when the man’s voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
“Just stay still. Then I’ll let you taste paradise…keke.”
Sean was confused, not understanding what the man was saying. But soon he froze as if turned to stone. Something hot and hard like a club had suddenly touched his bottom. Sean, who had been rolling only his eyes, opened them wide in shock when he realized what it was. Not understanding why the man was rubbing his thing against his bottom, he gritted his teeth at the sudden unfamiliar sensation. The man was trying to push his weapon-like thing between Sean’s buttocks. Feeling instinctive fear, Sean tried somehow to escape, but his limp body wouldn’t move. As if knowing this, the man giggled and crudely grabbed and spread Sean’s buttocks with both hands to push it in more easily. That’s when it happened.
“AAAAAHHH!!!!!”
The man’s scream tore sharply through Sean’s eardrums. And through that scream, an angry, clear voice could be heard.
“Garbage carrying around a piece of garbage.”
What happened? Sean tried to see the situation but only his eyes could move. As he was rolling his eyes this way and that, a soft cloth settled over his body and that voice was heard again. But this time it was very gentle.
“So it’s you. The child Berchel spoke of.”