“You… What did you do to me?” Lauren demanded. She struggled frantically but found her entire body locked in place, and she couldn’t move a muscle. For someone who was halfway to becoming a grandmaster, this kind of helplessness was foreign to her. It felt like being pinned beneath something enormous and unmovable.
“Relax. I’m not going to kill you,” Dustin said with a faint smile.
He moved closer until he stood directly in front of her. “I’m going to ask you two questions. Answer honestly, and I’ll let you go. Lie to me, and you’ll regret everything you did today.”
“Hmph! Kill me if you want. You think I’m scared of some nobody like you?” Lauren tried to sound fearless, as though she was eager to die.
In her eyes, death wasn’t an end but a liberation and a chance to return to Skull Lord’s side.
“Like I said, I won’t kill you. But I will give you a taste of suffering,” Dustin said. With a flick of his finger, he sent a silver needle into her body.
The instant it pierced her skin, Lauren felt agony unlike anything she’d ever experienced tear through her body. A scream ripped from her throat before she could stop it.
What terrified her most was how the agony kept intensifying. Each surge of pain was worse than the one before, crashing over her in relentless succession.
“You… What the hell did you do to me?” Lauren snarled through clenched teeth as her face twisted in anguish. “If you’re going to do something, just kill me already!
But screaming was all she could manage now. The pain consumed everything while her body remained completely paralyzed.
Even ending her own life was impossible.
“Trying to commit suicide? But I’m just getting started,” Dustin remarked.
He pulled out another silver needle and grinned.
“I carry 108 silver needles. Each one I use will amplify your suffering exponentially. I don’t usually do this, so you should feel honored to experience my unique technique.”
“You psychotic freak!” she shrieked, her face contorting with fury. “I hope you burn in hell! Skull Lord will make you pay for this.”
“Let’s start with something easy. Tell me where I can find Skull Lord.”
As Dustin spoke, he flicked his finger again. The silver needle shot toward Lauren’s body.
Her scream was even more agonizing than before.
Cold sweat cascaded down her convulsing form as violent tremors seized her entire body. Despite the chaos wracking her muscles, she remained completely paralyzed.
At that instant, the excruciating pain burned through every fiber of her being. Most people would have passed out by now, but she stayed conscious. It was as if some invisible force was holding her in place and refusing to let her slip into unconsciousness.
“Don’t worry. I have all day to play with you,” Dustin said casually. His expression never wavered as he methodically flicked one silver needle after another into her body.
Lauren’s anguished wails filled the air without pause. The haunting sound was enough to chill the bones of anyone who heard it.
Grace and Sadie, who had left earlier, had returned to the scene. Now that Dustin had driven back the scarlet mist, the danger had passed.
They stood off to the side, watching Lauren’s agony with cold detachment. As the remnant of the Skull Covenant who had destroyed countless innocent lives, she didn’t deserve any sympathy from them.
If not for Dustin, Grace and Sadie would already be dead. And it wouldn’t have ended with them-the entire village, the nearby town, maybe all of Reedcrest would’ve been reduced to rubble.
The death toll would have reached into the millions rather than just a handful of victims. To them, evil on that scale deserved nothing less than the harshest punishment.
As time dragged on, Lauren’s anguished cries echoed relentlessly. After enduring nearly two hours of this torment, she finally reached her breaking point and chose to surrender.
“F-Fine… I’ll tell y-you everything… P-Please stop t-torturing me,” she stammered.
She was drenched in sweat, her complexion ghostly pale. Her body shook violently as if every nerve was on fire. She was involuntary spasming from the excruciating pain.
Lauren had believed her willpower was unbreakable, but this relentless torment proved her wrong. The agony gradually wore down her resolve and systematically destroyed her mental defenses
She was trapped in a living hell-desperate to survive yet unable to endure, longing for death yet unable to die. The suffering had become unbearable. All she craved now was an end to it.
“Wouldn’t it have been easier if you’d cooperated earlier?” Dustin cocked an eyebrow. He waved his hand, and the 30-odd silver needles piercing Lauren’s body withdrew instantly.
To her, the sudden relief felt like she had entered paradise.
“Now tell me. Where is this Skull Lord you mentioned?” he demanded.
“Skull Lord… is everywhere,” she replied weakly. “As long as there are enough sacrifices, he can be resurrected within the Sacred Bone Ground and rule the whole world.”
Dustin suddenly nodded. “So, your so-called Skull Lord hasn’t been resurrected yet? That means your purpose in creating this plague was to bring him back?”
“You’re right. Only Skull Lord can elevate the Skull Covenant to ultimate supremacy, “Lauren answered, not holding anything back. Her mind was slipping, and at this point, she was answering out of fear alone.
“Great. Next question. How many members does the Skull Covenant have now? And where is your headquarters?” Dustin pressed.
“I don’t know the exact number. The three grand elders control that information. As for our headquarters, it’s located in…”
Just as she was about to reveal the location, her head exploded.
