Kai's voice trembled as he made his declaration. “No! I will do it!”

Sariel watched, his gaze distant. This wasn’t bravery—it was foolishness. But Sariel understood why Kai did it. If given a choice, he would never let his sister die. How sickening... kids shouldn’t have to deal with things like this.

“Wow, you’ve got some brave kids!” Lurock taunted. “Iruh! The little boy reminds me of you when you first started working for me.”

But brave kids? Even if he was insane, how could anyone be so nonchalant about a child’s life?

“You must mean a lot to them, Sariel.”

Sariel didn’t respond. He didn’t have the motivation to speak, especially not to someone like him. Not to this disgusting creature…

He’d always had bad luck, ending up in these unfavorable situations. But… he always endured.

When I escape here, I will kill him, Sariel thought.

“Sariel.” Lurock said. Hearing that name from his filthy mouth made Sariel want to retch.

He continued, “I can give you a deal. Six hundred pounds of flesh from you, and I set them free. How does that sound to you?”

“Go kill yourself.” The words escaped Sariel’s lips before he could stop himself.

“I want an answer. Six hundred pounds of flesh, or does that not appeal to you?” The man’s bland expression shifted, irritation flashing in his eyes. “Fine. I’ll choose for you.”

He stalked forward, pulling out a small pocket scythe. “A knife would be efficient, but a scythe… now that’s the iconic weapon of a human slayer. You must’ve wanted to be one, right?”

“Go kill yourself,” Sariel repeated.

“Sad.” The man flourished his fingers, and in an instant, crimson whips—appendages of some sort—wrapped around Sariel’s body.

He grabbed Sariel’s arm roughly. “Twelve hundred pounds of flesh for your first day.”

With a single motion, he swung the blade down, slicing deep into Sariel’s flesh.

Pain exploded through Sariel’s body. He didn’t want to suffer… he didn’t want the pain… he didn’t want any of this.

Everything went white. He must blanked out.

Pain. Searing, unbearable pain tore through his arms.

Sariel’s gaze fell to his limbs, his eyes widening.

What was happening? Why was his body made of flames? A large chunk of fire, shaped like his arm, was missing.

His chest… it hurt. His leg, his back, his neck, his thighs—every part of his body screamed in agony. The flames that made up his form flickered violently, struggling not to be snuffed out by the sharp, relentless slashes.

The pain never stopped. His flesh—now flames—was being cut away again and again.

“Stop! Stop! It hurts!hursts!”

His body broke down into cinders, then reformed over what felt like an eternity, and the hell started all over again.

He lost count of how many times it happened. How many hours had passed…?

Then, the cutting finally stopped. The world of flames faded, replaced by water. Cool, suffocating water. But when the haze lifted, he was back in the concrete room.

“Wha…” He blinked sluggishly, staring at his own body. It was red—dyed in crimson. And underneath, he could see… bone.

Sariel’s gaze shot to the ceiling. That was his skeleton, wasn’t it?

“You bled a lot. I had to wash it out,” Lurock said. “But that doesn’t matter. Looks like you’re back with us.”

He pulled out a vial filled with a deep red liquid and approached. “You’re incredible, you know that? You can regenerate so much mass in less than an hour. But an hour is too long. So, with all that amazing regenerative power, can you survive a high-grade potion?”

The mere smell of the concoction burned Sariel’s nose. He wanted to claw his own face off.

The man forced the liquid down Sariel’s throat, holding his jaw shut. Agony tore through his body, burning from the inside out. Every nerve screamed.

“Grughugh!” Sariel tried to vomit, but the man clamped his mouth shut, refusing to let the poison escape.

Pain exploded, driving into every corner of his being. His vision blurred, the world fading to black… only for him to awaken again.

“You… survived it. No way. Holy shit.” The man’s voice was gleeful, like a child marveling at a new toy.

“I…”

Before Sariel could respond, another vial of potion was shoved down his throat, and the torture began anew.

When he regained consciousness again, the words slipped from his lips. “Kill me…”

“Wow, wow. Don’t you want to pay your due of flesh for those kids?”

“I don’t want to suffer anymore…” Sariel’s voice was a broken whisper.

“So, you’re saying let one of them die for you?”

His eyes moved to the children. Their faces were twisted in terror, mouths agape, eyes vacant. They looked like they’d aged a thousand years in moments.

“You didn’t answer me.”

Sariel turned back to the man, trembling. “I… I didn’t say that. I didn’t say that!”

“So, I’ll cut you up more.”

No… I don’t want more! I don’t want more of that hell! It hurts so bad…

Tears streamed down Sariel’s face. “I don’t want to suffer anymore… It hurts so much… Why can’t you just leave me alone? I want to sleep. I want to die… I…”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

His words devolved into whimpers as he began rocking back and forth, fingers digging into his hair. The pain from yanking at his scalp was a welcome distraction from the nightmare that had been carved into his memory.

Their father’s voice shook. “Boss… stop this madness. Kill me instead. Your issue is with me, right? I wanted to leave the association because I couldn’t keep deceiving young hunters and trainees. You don’t want what we do getting out, right? You’re making an example out of me. So kill me. You already found out he can regenerate, so—”

“So what? Free him? Be serious.” The man rolled his eyes. “I bought this kid for a reason. He isn’t related to you. I was just messing around when I said I’d let them save him.”

“S-stop…” Lilan whispered, lips trembling. She looked at Sariel, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Help me…”

Me? What does she expect me to do? I’m not powerful. I’m not strong. I’m weak…

“Help me convince him to kill me instead,” she whispered.

Kai and her father stared in stunned silence at her desperate plea.

“Shut up, Lilan!” her father’s voice cracked, his composure unraveling.

“No! I’ll do it instead!” Kai cried out, his face streaked with tears.

Lilan… How could she say that? How could she even think of sacrificing herself like that?

Sariel’s stomach churned violently, his throat tightening as he struggled to respond, but the words wouldn’t come. It felt as though something was suffocating him, leaving only a faint, dry whisper to escape.

Damn it!

“Cough!” Sariel gasped for air, his breathing ragged. “I… I’ll do it for them. I’ll give you all the flesh you want.”

But deep down, Sariel knew that agreeing to this was pointless. The man already owned him, and as he’d proven before, Sariel’s words didn’t matter. This was just another one of his sick games—mind games meant to break them, to make them believe they had any control. Still, he had to play along, if only to keep the focus off the kids.

“Huh?” The madman’s eyes turned to Sariel.

“I said I’ll give you all the flesh you want!” Sariel spat, locking eyes with the children. “Just… leave them alone.”

The man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “No, you’re too late.”

Rage boiled inside Sariel, clawing to get out.

“Stop messing around! I’ll regenerate faster! Just—”

The man pulled a dagger from his pocket. Sariel’s heart dropped.

That’s my dagger!

Before Sariel could react, the man lunged at Kai.

“Stop!” Sariel strained against his bindings, muscles burning, but he couldn’t move an inch. That cursed whip held him tight!

“Boss! Don’t do this!” Iruh shouted desperately.

“Da-dad!” Kai’s terrified scream filled the room.

The madman drove the blade toward Kai’s neck. Sariel squeezed his eyes shut.

“No!”

“Aghhhh!”

The grotesque sounds of flesh being torn and mutilated filled the room, echoing in Sariel’s ears like a nightmarish symphony.

“Stop! He’s a child! Stop stabbing him! Stop slicing him apart! That’s my son! My son!” Iruh’s anguished cries were drowned by the sickening rhythm of the blade.

“Dad! Kill him! Stop him from killing Kai! Make him stop!” Lilan’s frantic voice pierced through the air, her words a frantic plea.

But the screams and cries couldn’t drown out the grotesque sounds of Kai’s suffering. Sariel was paralyzed, helpless. The 'whip' held him in place, binding him to the spot, leaving him powerless as the horror unfolded before him.

“Da…dad…da…” Kai’s voice was a faint, pitiful whimper. “It…hur… it…”

CHOP.

And then, silence.

Sariel’s blood ran cold.

The madman leaned over Kai’s lifeless body, retrieving something from the mess. Kai’s soul.

The sight that greeted Sariel when he finally opened his eyes made his stomach lurch. Below the man’s hand was a twisted, mutilated heap that had once been Kai.

“Monster… my son… You…” Iruh’s voice broke, his rage boiling over as he lunged at the madman, aiming for his throat with teeth bared. “I’ll kill you!”

But it was useless. The madman sidestepped easily, yanked Iruh back by his hair, and kicked him straight into Lilan.

Then, without hesitation, he drove Sariel’s own dagger through Iruh’s chest. The blade pierced deeply, the force of the strike so brutal that it drove through Iruh and stabbed Lilan as well.

“Stop it!” Sariel screamed. “Stop! Stop!”

Lilan’s scream was a wail of agony.

“Ugh…” Iruh—no, their father—looked up, eyes wide, as if he couldn’t believe what had just happened.

The madman wrenched Lilan free and flung her across the room like a rag doll.

Thud!

She crumpled against the wall.

He grabbed Iruh by the shoulders and charged, slamming him against the same wall with a sickening BANG.

Blood splattered against the concrete, staining the wall in dark crimson streaks as their bodies slumped lifelessly to the ground.

“You scream for me to stop… Yet in the end, you never once tried to fight for them. You just sat there as if you were chained or restrained.” He wiped the blood from his face, eyes filled with mockery.

What was he saying? He had restrained Sariel—wrapped him in those red, weird whips!

Or so it seemed. At the moment, there was nothing around him.

Sariel’s heart pounded as he flexed his arms and legs. There was no resistance, no bindings. He collapsed to the floor, trembling.

But this… this didn’t make any sense. He was restrained! He couldn’t move!

The madman shook his head slowly. “You’re just a self-centered coward.”

...

Sariel’s gaze blurred as reality twisted. The man’s form warped, becoming something monstrous, rotting and distorted…

“I don’t enjoy killing, you know,” the man continued casually, glancing at the corpses at his feet. “I think it’s really disgusting.”

Sariel’s mind reeled. What was he saying?

“But fear is a powerful message. Very," he said before tightening his grip on the small scythe.

***

Sariel’s body of flame scattered, flickering erratically as it withstood a relentless barrage of slashes, cuts, and brutal strikes. The attacks replayed over and over, etching pain deep into his very being.

If this kept up, he knew his sanity would shatter beyond repair. He was holding on by sheer luck, desperately clinging to the edges of his mind.

After being carved open for what seemed like an eternity, he was forced to endure the venom of healing potions. The toxin, as it seeped into his wounds, only served to tear him apart again. It was a maddening cycle—a loop of suffering that seemed endless.

His tear ducts felt sore, raw from the constant flow of tears. He wanted it to stop. He needed it to end.

He needed to die… someone—anyone—to save him. Someone who would kill him… to save him. To kill him. To save him. To kill him… The chant echoed relentlessly in his mind, reverberating until it blurred together, filling his thoughts in a frenzied litany.

He wanted to scream, to beg the world for release. His will cracked, his voice ragged as a single, desperate cry tore from his throat.

"I WANT TO DIE!"

“I am not a savior, for I cannot grant an immortal death. But… I can give you salvation.”

The voice was beautiful—melodic and soft, yet suffused with an otherworldly power. It kissed his ears, and in an instant, the blazing world around him evaporated. He found himself drifting in a vast expanse of space, surrounded by few twinkling stars.

Before him sat a woman upon a throne of shimmering light. Her form radiated an aura of majesty and command. It was her—System.

Something broke inside him as he gazed upon her. He needed someone—anyone—to save him… even her. Especially her.

His legs moved on their own, carrying him forward like a lifeless puppet, his eyes fixed on her. He reached out, grasping her shoulders with trembling hands.

“Make it so I never have to leave here,” he pleaded, his voice cracking. “I don’t want to go back… I don’t want to step into the real world ever again. Let me stay here with you forever. Please!”

His legs buckled under the weight of his desperation, and he collapsed at her feet, sobbing uncontrollably.

“I know how you feel…” she whispered gently. “It’s horrible, isn’t it?”

“So bad…” he whimpered, his voice a broken murmur.

“Tell me, which hurts more? The physical pain? Or what you saw… and what you heard?”

The images came rushing back—Kai’s body, torn to shreds. Lilan’s screams. Their father’s death. He squeezed his eyes shut, trembling violently.

“I don’t want to think about it!”

She knelt beside him, wrapping him in a tender embrace, her hands stroking his hair gently. “I am sorry… dear,” she murmured, her voice soft and soothing.

“Please… kill me,” he begged through his sobs. “Kill me. Kill me. Make sure I never breathe again, so I can never remember suffering.”

“… I’m sorry… I can’t do that.”

Her fingers combed through his hair with care, the touch warm and comforting like a mother’s. It was a sensation he longed for—a feeling of safety and warmth he desperately wanted to keep. Something he never wanted to let go.

She leaned in close, her lips brushing against his ear. “Do you trust me?” she whispered, her voice a gentle caress.

That question caught him off guard. But his answer was almost instant.

“Yes…”

She smiled. “I want him dead for hurting you,” she murmured. “But you can’t stay here forever. You want to make him suffer for what he did to Lilan and Kai, don’t you?”

The thought pierced through his fog of despair. “… Y-yes,” he stammered, but fear tightened around his chest. “But… I don’t want to go back out there.”

“Sariel… you want a savior, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“I want you to save yourself,” she murmured, her voice softening again. “So… form a temporary contract with me. I'll gift you salvation.”