In the dimly lit basement, only three figures remained—Lucas, and the two bound mercenaries, Nutface and Pugface. The air was thick with tension as Lucas glared at them, his eyes cold enough to freeze the room. If looks could kill, both men would have been dead already.

Nutface, sensing the weight of the silence, sneered, "Kid, what are you staring at? Go on, take that sword and shove it in my heart. Save us all the trouble."

Lucas's expression darkened, and his voice, once soft, now thundered with anger. "You brutally raped the innkeeper's daughters mercilessly, killed the younger one, just to send me a message. They were innocent. They had no idea what they'd done wrong—no idea why they had to suffer. They were like sisters to me... and you murdered them." His voice grew colder. "And you expect a quick death? No no you’ll regret the day you crawled out of your whore mother’s womb."

Nutface, eyes wide with shock, felt his breath catch in his throat. He glanced at Pugface, who sat silent, his face pale. The cruelty and darkness coming from this boy felt... unnatural. Almost like he is not a small kid.

Trying to mask his fear, Nutface forced a grin. "What are you gonna do, kid? Chop off my other hand? Or maybe cry me to death?" He tried to laugh, but it came out hollow.

Lucas’s voice dripped with malice. "Chop off your hand? You think I’m some kind of saint?" He stepped closer, his face mere inches from Nutface. "No, you'll be begging for death every second, but it won’t come for you. Not yet."

Pugface, who had remained quiet, finally spoke up, his tone laced with mockery. "Enough with the theatrics, kid. Get it over with. I’m tired of listening to the ramblings of some brat who doesn’t even have a single pubic hair on his cock."

Lucas’s face twisted with fury. "I hope you keep that attitude when you’re lying there, wishing for death." His words carried the weight of an executioner’s sentence, promising the suffering that awaited.

Lucas’s gaze turned icy as he focused on Nutface. “Let’s start with you.” With a sharp knife in hand, he cut away Nutface’s pants his fat cock on full display. Nutface’s aura flared with a deep red, but the high-level slave collar suppressed it, leaving him gasping and weakened.

“What are you trying to do, kid?” Nutface croaked. “I’m an Aura Knight—let me die with some dignity.”

“Dignity?” Lucas’s voice was cold. “Is it dignified to rape and kill young girls? And I haven’t even started yet.”

Pugface’s eyes widened as he recalled his own painful memories with Lucas. When Lucus chopped off his cock in sneaky attack. Lucas gripped the knife firmly and made a precise cut. Nutface cried out in agony as he felt the knife’s bite.

Lucus with knife chopped off nutface's nutsack. The nutsack splat of bloody floor.

“You sick kid! Just kill me already!” Nutface shouted, writhing in pain.

Lucas picked up the bloodied nutsack from the floor and turned to Pugface. “You’re going to eat this,” he commanded.

Pugface’s face went pale, but the slave collar forced him to comply. Lucas approached him, holding the nutsack closer. “Open your mouth,” he ordered.

Pugface, though horrified, had no choice. Lucas placed the remains in his mouth. “Chew it thoroughly,” Lucas commanded, his tone unyielding.

Nutface’s screams of agony filled the room as he witnessed the scene. The intensity of his suffering was palpable, and he could barely hold back his tears.

Without warning, Lucas brought his knife down again, severing Nutface's fat cock. Nutface's cries turned into guttural sounds as he struggled to comprehend the pain. Lucas picked up the severed cock and, with grim determination, said, "Now, open your mouth."

Nutface, overwhelmed by pain and the influence of the slave collar, had no choice but to comply. His eyes were filled with tears as Lucas forced the severed cock into his mouth. Nutface choked and gagged, tears streaming down his face as he was made to endure the torment.

Lucas watched the two men writhing in their pain, but it brought him no comfort. The ache in his heart remained, a heavy weight pressing down on him. He couldn't shake the guilt that gnawed at him, blaming himself for the deaths of the innocent girls. The memory of their suffering haunted him.

Suddenly, Nutface stopped crying, forcing a twisted smile through his pain. "Yeah, I remember," he rasped, "Fucking that girl right in front of her mother. She begged me to stop, but I kept going, fucking her senseless." His smile grew darker. "I fuck her until she was dead. And you know what? I enjoyed it."

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

He paused, staring defiantly at Lucas. "Now, go ahead, kid. Get your revenge. Finish me."

Lucas's anger surged. His voice turned colder. "You think taunting me will make me end your life? You really are a fool."

Nutface’s attempt at provoking Lucas failed. The defiance faded from his face, and he broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. "Please... just let me die. Let me embrace death."

Beside him, Pugface remained silent, but the fear in his eyes was unmistakable.

Lucas picked up the knife and, with cold precision, began slicing into Nutface's skin, layer by layer. Nutface screamed in agony, his voice raw, but his status as a second-grade Aura Knight made it hard for him to pass out. His body’s resilience only added to his torment.

With the AI’s guidance, Lucas made clean, sharp cuts, his movements calculated and efficient. Pugface, watching in horror, lost control, his body trembling as he wet himself in fear, the memory of his own injury haunting him.

For what felt like an eternity, Lucas worked methodically, peeling away Nutface’s skin. After an hour, Nutface was teetering on the edge of unconsciousness, but Lucas wasn't done. He retrieved a healing potion and forced it into Nutface’s mouth, reviving him just enough for the pain to redouble.

Muscle dissection layer 1 [https://ra.edugen.wiley.com/assets/images_o/L05_000.jpg]

The freshly flayed skin, dripping with blood, was tossed aside. What remained was a figure stripped of humanity—just raw, exposed muscle, with Nutface gasping for mercy.

Pugface, now completely broken, oscillated between begging, pleading, and cursing. His mind had unraveled under the pressure, the fear consuming him. Lucas, unfazed by the descent into madness, turned his attention to Pugface.

With the same cold precision, Lucas began flaying him as well, peeling away his skin while Pugface's screams echoed through the dark basement. It took hours, but eventually, Pugface joined Nutface in their grotesque transformation—both men reduced to raw, exposed muscle, resembling skinned animals.

Lucas, his face emotionless, poured the remaining healing potions into their mouths. Their vitality returned, but so did the unbearable pain, amplifying their suffering. The two mercenaries, once arrogant and cruel, now screamed and pleaded for death, their voices hoarse from the relentless agony.

A dark room with smoke coming out of it, Night scene with fog, dark Empty place, Generative AI 32516397 Stock Photo at Vecteezy [https://static.vecteezy.com/system/resources/previews/032/516/397/large_2x/a-dark-room-with-smoke-coming-out-of-it-night-scene-with-fog-dark-empty-place-generative-ai-free-photo.jpg]

Suddenly, Lucas felt the surrounding darkness grow heavier, cold and foreboding, yet oddly comforting. His body resonated with the darkness, as if embracing it. Without warning, his AI chip chimed:

Dark mana detected. Absorption in progress. Dark affinity has increased from 56.7% to 57.8%.

Unbeknownst to Lucas, he'd gained a subtle boon, but his mind wasn’t focused on that. Not now.

In the room above, Melius, Silas, and Marona sat in uneasy silence. Throughout the night, the faint screams of the mercenaries had echoed from the basement.

Marona broke the silence. “Senior Silas, dawn is coming. You should check on Lucas.”

Before Silas could respond, Melius cut in sharply. “You never should’ve left that boy alone with those mercenaries. He’s just a kid.”

Silas met Melius’s gaze, his voice firm but thoughtful. “You’re right, he is a kid. But he won’t be one for long. There might come a time when I’m not around for him. He needs to shed that kindness and see the world for what it is.”

Melius frowned. “But he’s too young for this.”

Silas’s eyes narrowed. “Young? My half-brother Thoren was thrown into the fighting pits when he was only eight or nine by our clan leader. Lucas is stronger and more mature than he appears.”

As their conversation continued, the door creaked open, and Lucas emerged from the basement. His clothes were soaked in blood, exhaustion etched into his face.

“I’m done, Grandpa,” he said, his voice flat, emotionless. “But I might need more help.”

Melius spoke before Silas could respond. “I’ll take care of the bodies. Don’t worry.”

Lucas’s cold eyes flickered towards Melius. “They’re still alive,” he stated plainly. “I flayed them.”

A stunned silence followed. Melius’s voice cracked. “How... how can you say that so calmly? This madness has to stop—now.”

Without emotion, Lucas continued, “I want their flayed bodies impaled on pikes outside the courtyard. Let the vultures eat them slowly.”

The London Dead: Hung, flayed and crucified; the gruesome fate of James Legg (1731-1801) [https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX8tDHI3eJ0TcEe-tJYzTkr-E1FigbbqXYP6zZa3wnrE5wJDMM4u0mJorMqAY8nFAZ8YcYiU3adOhiizd38-Yo8H0b8Qh3z-qzD2Dlf4c0Qxfc8-qzq0Xaez8KlYJ4GFKwaed4zvDfQwg/s1600/James+Legg++3.jpg]

Silas hadn’t imagined Lucas would take his vengeance so far. Even he hadn’t expected this level of brutality. He understood the fine line between ruthlessness and madness, and Lucas seemed to be teetering on that edge.

In a calm yet firm tone, Silas addressed his grandson. “You’ve suffered enough, Lucas. But you must control your emotions. You’ve had your revenge—now it’s time to calm down.”

Lucas, still simmering with anger, clenched his fists. “But Grandpa—”

Silas cut him off, his voice growing stern. “You have to be smart. We have other enemies to deal with. We can’t risk provoking the mercenary guild.”

His tone softened. “I’ve supported you through this, but you need to act with the consequences in mind, or you’ll end up like me.”

Lucas didn’t reply. His rationality had been clouded by his dark emotions, and the kindness that once defined him was nowhere to be seen.

Silas approached, pulling Lucas into a hug. “Everything will be alright. I’m here for you.”

Meanwhile, Melius had descended into the basement. The sight of the flayed mercenaries made his stomach churn. He hadn’t imagined Lucas would go to such extremes. Without hesitation, he ended their suffering with a swift slice across their throats, putting them out of their misery.

The events of that night left an indelible mark on Lucas, shaping him in ways even he didn’t yet understand.