Chapter 90
Bang!
In an instant, my legs lost their strength. Eventually, my entire body lost its strength and flopped onto the ground like a wet noodle. A cold and strange energy radiated out from my shoulder area where the blade had struck. I tried to stand up, but there was no strength in my legs at all.
Was there poison on the blade? A sinister thought briefly crossed my mind.
[It's a substance that causes paralysis. It's the Voodoo Cult's medicinal arts,] Legba calmly said.
The paralysis drugs made with the Voodoo Cult's sorcery were so powerful that they could even put an elephant to sleep. This was because it was actually created to capture elephants. While I was struggling, the effects of the drug rapidly spread throughout my body, and the mysterious person approached me with leisurely steps.
[It's physical paralysis, so there's nothing I can do. I can tell you how to make an antidote, though, would you like to hear it?]
"I’m fine."
[Are you sure you’re okay? If you’re really okay, why aren’t you using your spells?]
"Not... Ugh... Yet... Ah."
[I can't understand a single word you're saying. Hurry up and use your spells,] Legba said with an overly cold tone.
I wanted to retort to what he was saying, but due to the drug paralyzing my tongue, I couldn't speak properly. After my tongue stiffened, I reached a point where I couldn't even control my eyelids as I pleased. It was then that I heard an unfamiliar voice from somewhere.
"...Please stay still. If you move, the drug will spread faster," the mysterious person said while approaching me.
It was clear that he was an assassin who had been ordered to assassinate me. No, judging by his words, it seemed like he had come to kidnap me rather than assassinate me.
~
(Flashback) "The executives might cast spells on Cult Leader. They might even try to kill you."
~
Suddenly, Ji-Ah's warning came to mind. Judging by the fact that the paralyzing drug was applied to the blade, which was made with the Voodoo Cult's sorcery, it seemed like the executives of the Voodoo Cult had sent the assassin. There was a high possibility that it was the executives from the Chungcheong or Jeolla Branches who were most likely plotting a rebellion.
"I have no personal grudge. I'm just simply following orders.”
The assassin tightly tied my hands and feet with rope. He carried my powerless body like a sack of potatoes, and he tried to shove me into a sack. I tried to resist, but the more I moved, the faster the drug spread. At this point, it was difficult even to twitch a finger.
"I won't kill you. Don't resist—"
"Shut up...!"
I suddenly bit my lip, and blood came out. I was able to briefly regain control over my body. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I concentrated my strength on my wrists and ankles by using the Blessing of Superhuman Strength.
Squeeze—!
"Hak, kaghhh...!"
I forcibly held onto my consciousness by letting out a scream. I tore apart the ropes and struggled enough to escape from the assassin’s clutches. Then I transferred the strength that had been focused on my wrists and ankles to my arms and waist. It was in order to forcibly lift my body which felt like it would collapse at any moment due to the paralysis drug. Despite using the Blessing of Superhuman Strength, my legs were still trembling. As expected, the Blessing of Superhuman Strength couldn’t hold a candle to the Voodoo Cult’s paralysis drug.
As expected, the Voodoo Cult's paralysis drug was the best in the world...!
Voodoo stocks to the moon! I actually felt high under the influence of the paralysis drug and Voodoo pride. What a double whammy.
[...That's why you haven't been using spells, you crazy bastard!] Legba said.
I laughed.
"...If you hadn't resisted, it would have been easier for both of us.”
The assassin pulled out a dagger from his pocket. The blade was sharp. Judging by his tone, the assassin seemed to be a mercenary. Most mercenaries usually spoke like that. They always spoke as if they didn’t particularly enjoy hurting people, but they had no choice but to do so because of circumstances. Their tone was usually hypocritical and serious.
It was ridiculous, but I was unable to laugh. It was because the drug had even paralyzed the corners of my mouth.
At that moment, the assassin rushed at me.
Thump!
I couldn't withstand his momentum and fell to the ground. Immediately after, the assassin thrust the tip of the blade toward my ankle in a threatening manner. It seemed like he was determined to sever my tendons. I had no idea why so many people were obsessed with cutting off my tendons. Come to think of it, the Satanist pervert had tried the same thing as well.
"Ughhh...!"
I just barely managed to lift my arm by using the Blessing of Superhuman Strength. After channeling all the power in my entire body into my right arm, I swung my fist toward the back of the assassin's head.
Thwack!
"Oof!"
A fairly solid sound was made. The assassin staggered backward and rubbed the back of his head as if he was in pain.
But it was only for a moment. The assassin quickly regained his composure and looked at me with eyes full of bloodlust.
"I told you... Not to resist...!" His voice trembled.
He had completely lost his calm. It seemed like he had taken a seriously hard blow to the back of his head, as blood trickled down from his nose.
Pah!
The assassin got up in an instant and charged toward me with his blade aimed at my ankle. The tip of the blade keenly gleamed as if it was going to pierce through my Achilles tendon at any moment.
[This guy’s completely ridiculous,] Legba let out a dry chuckle as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“He-Hehe...” I also followed along with Legba and chuckled.
"You’re laughing? You bastard!"
It seemed like the assassin was seriously angry, as blood vessels could be seen in his eyes that were glaring at me. The tip of his blade was pointed toward my neck. It looked like he intended to cut off my neck this time instead of aiming for my tendons.
In the next instant, the blade rushed threateningly toward my neck.
Thud.
However, the blade didn’t manage to cut off my neck. The assassin’s eyes, which were previously filled with bloodlust, soon lost focus, and his body slumped onto the floor. I put him to sleep by casting the curse of fainting on him.
"Phew..."
I used the highest level of intensity for the curse of fainting, so he would probably be unconscious for at least half a day.
"Not bad," I muttered to myself while looking at the assassin lying on the floor.
There was one reason why I didn’t use spells from the beginning.
[Looks like it’s usable in a real battle. Gathering all your strength into one arm and striking him was not bad.]
"Yes. It’s more useful than it seems.”
The reason was to check whether the Blessing of Superhuman Strength was useful in a real battle. I arrived at the conclusion that the Blessing of Superhuman Strength was somewhat effective in combat. By concentrating power in a single location, it allowed for a single, effective blow, and it could be used to shift the body’s center of gravity and maintain balance.
With more practice, it looked like it would have a wider range of applications.
[However, it was reckless. If the assassin's skills were slightly better, you would be dead by now.]
"I didn’t die, so it’s fine, right?"
[The important part is that you might have died. If you continue with such reckless actions, you will die a premature death,] Legba scolded me with a very cold tone.
I deliberately engaged in combat without using spells in order to test the power of the Blessing of Superhuman Strength. I planned to test the power to its limit and only use spells when it became truly dangerous. If, by any chance, the assassin had aimed for my life from the beginning instead of trying to kidnap me, I might have died, just like Legba said. However, everything worked out in the end since I was able to arrive at some meaningful conclusions, and I was still alive.
“But can you tell me the recipe for that disinfectant or antidote or whatever it’s called...?"
[Sure. I'll tell you a version of the recipe that can be made with ingredients at home.]
I collected all the ingredients that Legba listed one by one and then mixed them together in the correct order to create the antidote. After drinking the antidote, I didn’t feel the effects immediately, perhaps because I had created it roughly. However, as time passed, I could feel the poison slowly neutralizing.
[You should be fine in about an hour. Rest and lie down for now.]
I did exactly as Legba suggested and lay down on the bed to rest. My top priority at the moment was to cure the effects of the drug. After curing the effects of the drug... I planned on interrogating the prisoner and tracing down the mastermind behind the assassination attempt.
* * *
Through a dream, the mercenary was able to recall his memories. In the dream, he was once a reputable paladin, but after making a single critical mistake, he had degraded into a mercenary. After killing someone, he became a wanted fugitive.
While avoiding the pursuit of the Holy See, the place he arrived at was the Voodoo Cult. They were fugitives like him, so the mercenary couldn’t refuse their helping hand. He became a member of the Voodoo Cult, and after getting recognized for his skills, he became an assassin of the Voodoo Cult. The last mission that he had received was to capture and bring back the leader of the Voodoo Cult, Do Sun-Woo...
"So that's how it was. Then what is the name of the person who ordered you to kill the Cult Leader?"
"The... the person who gave the order was... ha..."
The mercenary was about to unconsciously mutter a name, but he suddenly opened his eyes. Something was strange. He couldn’t move his limbs, nor could he turn his head. His neck was tightly fixed with something like a rope. The mercenary just barely managed to regain consciousness and proceeded to forcefully open his eyes. When he looked forward, he saw Sun-Woo staring blankly at him.
“Oh, you’re awake,” Sun-Woo said with a dry laugh as if it was unfortunate.
His mouth formed a smile, but his eyes were not smiling at all. He stared sharply at the assassin with his empty eyes while only smiling with his lips. The mercenary felt a chill run down his spine.
Those eyes belonged to someone who had lost so much that they no longer had anything left to lose.
The type of person that mercenaries feared the most were not people with money, power, or strength. The type of people they were most afraid of were those that had absolutely nothing, and because of that, they had nothing left to lose. The reason why they feared this type of person was because they were completely unpredictable.
The eyes of the members of the mercenary group known as the ‘Ravens,’ which was located in Incheon, were just like Sun-Woo's eyes.
"I should have cast a stronger spell. Anyway... So, what's the name of the person who gave you the order?" Sun-Woo asked again.
Mercenary tightly closed his eyes. He had no intention of ever revealing the information, no matter how much he was interrogated. The person who ordered him was also the same thankful person who saved him from his wandering. He could not betray that person.
Sun-Woo shook his head and let out a deep sigh.
"What is the name of the person who gave you the order? I’m asking you for the second time. If you don't answer on the third attempt—"
"If I don't answer, will you torture me?"
"Yes. We will torture you. It would be easier for both of us if you just tell me now. I'm serious," Sun-Woo said casually as if it wasn’t a big deal. Even as he threatened to torture someone, there was absolutely no change in Sun-Woo’s expression.
—!
The mercenary suddenly bit his tongue in an attempt to commit suicide. At times like this, torture experts typically tied a gag to prevent the tongue from being bitten. If the tongue was cut off or if the person became unable to answer before they leaked their intel, the torture experts would be in a difficult position.
However, Sun-Woo simply watched without doing anything. It felt as if he was saying, "Go ahead and try.”
‘Maybe he thinks that I won’t be able to do it if he shows that kind of attitude. As I thought, a kid is just a kid. His mindset is too careless compared to the systematic torture of interrogation experts.’
The mercenary was able to successfully bite off his tongue. Sun-Woo looked at the mercenary and smirked. "They say biting your tongue will kill you, but that’s actually just a myth. I've never tried it myself, so I don't know for sure, though."
"Huh?"
He was sure that he was just a careless kid, but...
"Ah, aaahhh...!"
The Mercenary thrashed around and let out a scream. The tongue that he thought had bit off was still intact. There was also no bleeding. Only a distinct pain lingered on his tongue. Was it a restoration spell? No, he didn't see anyone draw a spell array. How did this happen?
"I'll ask one last time. Just tell me the name of the person who ordered you, and I'll let you go."
"..."
"If you don't speak this time, I'll torture you. It'll be easier if you talk now. I'm being sincere."
The mercenary tightly closed his eyes. He couldn't even bite his tongue. His hands and ankles were bound, making resistance and escape impossible.
‘Should I tell him? Perhaps it is better to tell him before I get tortured... No, I can’t do that. I could never betray that person. And Sun-Woo is not an expert at torture. He is just a student.’
At most, he believed that he would pull out a couple of fingernails or blindly beat him down. As a mercenary, he had experienced hundreds of different types of torture. He was confident in enduring any physical torture without even blinking an eye.
"This is really your last chance. Are you not going to speak?"
"If you want to, go ahead. I wonder what kind of impressive torture you will perform, Cult Leader," the mercenary provoked.
Sun-Woo lowered his gaze to the ground and let out a deep sigh. He dryly wiped his face with his hand as if he had mixed feelings about this situation. Thick and heavy Voodoo magic power emanated from his fingertips.
"I don't have any personal grudges either. It would have been easier if you had spoken earlier, sigh..."
Puff...
Mist flowed out from the spell array that Sun-Woo had drawn. The mercenary let out a mocking laugh. As far as he knew, there was no way to torture someone with Voodoo spells. Whenever a person was under a spell, their mind would completely break down. What kind of spell would the arrogant Cult Leader cast and claim it was torture? Hallucination? Or memory annihilation? Whatever it was, the mercenary was glad that he didn't have to betray his collaborator.
"Huh, hah, haha... Ah? Ha, hehe, hehehehe......"
Laughter escaped mercenary's mouth as he breathed in the mist. Pleasure surged from deep within his body. A pleasure that was stronger than anything he had ever felt before was forcibly causing laughter to slip past his lips. Sun-Woo’s expression as he looked at the mercenary was soaked in a strange sadness.
"It would have been easier if you had just said it...."
"Hehe, ha, hahaha, cough. Hehehe, hehehe......!"
The mercenary's laughter grew more intense. It was so intense that he was almost suffocating from laughing too much. It wasn't laughter that came from the joy of not having to betray that person. It was a subconscious, simple laughter that came out due to the pleasure injected from the spell. The mercenary finally realized the true nature of the spell that Sun-Woo had cast on him.
It was the intoxication spell.
Because the addictiveness and dependency to the spell were similar to drugs, it was a spell that the Second Cult Leader had forbidden. From the beginning, Sun-Woo had intended to torture the mercenary with not pain, but with pleasure.
"Heeek, cough, cough, cough, ha... hahaha, aaahhh...!"
"I'll be back," Sun-Woo said.
Sun-Woo looked at the mercenary who was laughing and laughing. After laughing, he would choke and cough, and then after the coughing subsided, he would laugh again. After briefly glancing at him, Sun-Woo left the room without looking back. The room was filled with Voodoo mist and the mercenary’s laughter.
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