B2 Chapter 264: Escape, pt. 5

Their captive was a weak man with a weak will, that much was clear. The second Porkchop had bitten through his companion’s skull, Kaius knew that they had broken them.

Using his weight to keep the man pinned, Kaius felt the bones of their broken arm grind as they tried to pull away in a flinch—unable to deal with that wet crack.

Porkchop opened his mouth, letting the limp body fall free. Snaking his paw out, he caught the guard’s corpse and lowered it to the floor gently in an effort to avoid creating unnecessary noise.

Not that it would matter all that much. Porkchop had left the guard’s blood splattered halfway up the wall—the evidence of their ambush gleaming dully in the red wardlights.

Kaius felt their captive shake beneath him. Looking down, he saw the man staring at him pleadingly—tears beading in his eyes.

Then he heard a dull thud, and the guard groaned, tensing upwards.

“Gross. He pissed himself.” Kenva muttered from behind him, a quick glance showing her scowling in disgust.

“Easy,” Kaius replied, his sudden shift to a soft tone throwing his captive further. “We’re here to learn what we can, not stoop to their level.”

With the guard already broken, they needed him to have hope that obeisance was a path to survival. It was the only way they’d learn anything helpful—otherwise the man would be liable to lead them astray out of sheer spite.

Returning to his captive, Kaius felt a wave of distaste temper the heat of his anger. He knew what they were about to do was necessary, but that didn’t mean he felt good about it.

Even if the counter-interrogation training Father had put him through while learning Rapid Adaptation meant he knew a fair bit about getting what they wanted, it was still an act he took little joy in.

His face hardened. “Now, will you be quiet? Or will I have to get my beast in here to eat you?” he said, ignoring Porkchop’s silent scoff in the back of his mind.

The guard whimpered, doing his best to nod.

“Good,” he replied, keeping his hand in place as he sat back—reducing some of the pressure he was putting on the man’s broken arm.

“Grab Ianmus and get in here, and bring the body with you. No need to make it any more obvious that we’ve passed through than it already is.” Kaius pushed through his bond, eying the dark stains in the hall out of the corner of his eyes.

He waited patiently as Ianmus and Porkchop trickled in, their mage shutting the door behind him. Carrying the corpse of the other guard with ease, his brother wandered over to the corner of the room and dropped it by a cabinet.

Their captive watched in naked fear the entire time.

Kaius took his hand away from the guard’s mouth, knife still poised and ready by his eye. Their captive gasped, eyes snapping back to him.

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk! Anything I know, I promise, just please don’t kill me!” the guard whispered desperately, his voice hoarse and thin.

Kaius smiled grimly. “Good, I don’t fancy stooping to the level of scum like you.” he said, the man beneath him flinching. “Tell us what we want to know, and we’ll bind and gag you and stuff you in the closet.”

His words hit the guard like a hammer—tension flooding away from his pinned body as fresh tears started to well in his eyes.

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I didn’t mean to come here, I promise! It was just supposed to be a quick job for a friend. I didn’t know what they really did until I wasn’t allowed to leave,” the guard blubbered, pleading with Kaius.

“I normally just rough people up, I swear I didn’t know they tortured people. I’m as much a captive as you are, please believe me! I’ll tell you anything!”

Kaius ground his teeth. That was the biggest crock of shit he had ever heard. A place like this, scooping up uninvested nobodies? When his room was so close to the cells used for holding and interrogating people for their legacies? It took all of his willpower just to avoid suppressing a scoff.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

As if whoever ran this place would even give away its existence to anyone who was not seasoned, cut throat, and completely under their thumb.

No matter what the guard said, he was knowingly complicit in their capture and torture. He had very little patience for his excuses.

“Shh.” Kaius hissed, tapping his blade against the guard’s cheekbone. “Don’t blubber, just answer our questions.”

A shudder ran through their body with every touch of the knife, but he fell silent all the same.