Divine Beast Ascension

578 Talk or Torture?

Dead silent… All thirteen servants exchanged glances with each other.

Hurman was in no hurry. Grabbing a chair, Hurman casually leaned back against the table. “Like I said, the poison won’t finish you off for at least two days. And the pain only sets in after twenty-four hours. Most assassins avoid using it due to the long delay as well as the dragged-out pain and suffering, which allows the target to find an antidote.

“But it’s the perfect poison for interrogation. So long as the antidote is taken within the first twenty-four hours, you won’t feel any pain or even recognize that you were poisoned. And it gives us time to talk and discuss the terms of your recovery.”

Frantic and biting the proverbial carrot, one servant dropped to his knees. “Please, I’m innocent! I have no idea what you’re even talking about!”

Nodding slowly, Hurman gave the begging man a small smile. “That’s wonderful news. In that case, please wait patiently until we discover which people were involved. All who are innocent will not suffer death or pain, so long as they cooperate.”

“But–”

“Please, wait patiently,” Hurman repeated himself. “If you can’t wait patiently until you’re given a chance to prove your innocence, then you’ll only seem all the more suspicious.”

The man’s face fell to the floor and he bit his lip. He didn’t dare to reply or speak out again.

Seeing Hurman’s nonchalance toward their poisoning, the servants all looked to Kuldar for some sort of hope or support.

.....

However, in stark contrast to Hurman’s candid casualness, the only thing the servants noted from Kuldar was a deep-rooted bloodlust. Everyone in that room was at least an adept, with some being elders or even peak-elders that worked as bodyguards for young family members. They could all sense Kuldar’s essence on the cusp of spilling out to kill them all.

Some of them glanced at the unknown drake. Though it was a beast with a famous bloodline, at the very least the drake appeared to be weaker than the two perennials. And it was the drake standing between the servants and the exit.

“... Well, we might as well not waste the food.”

Suddenly, all the servants were baffled by Hurman. They watched as he started to dine on the supposedly poisoned food just as nonchalantly as before.

“What’s wrong?” Hurman asked between bites. “I already told you. Take the antidote within twenty-four hours and you won’t feel any pain.”

Pop… Gulp.

Hurman pulled out a vial, popped the cork, and down the green liquid without blinking. “Ahh… See? Now I’ll be fine.”

As Hurman continued to eat his fill, trying something from each platter, Kuldar’s eyes started to slowly scan over each servant, one by one.

After witnessing Hurman’s display, some servants quickly started to reconsider their options.

A servant with a poker face eventually rested his full attention on the drake. He took his time to estimate the drake’s realm of cultivation as best he could. In his mind, the drake was the only chance for his escape.

Unlike either of the perennials in charge, rather than starting to eat, Oli laid down in front of the door. He yawned and stretched before closing his eyes.

It wasn’t just the single servant considering an attack on the drake, especially after the beast was daring enough to take a nap.

“I’ll tell you what,” Hurman remarked, easily reading the room. “Anyone willing to speak and share the details we’re seeking will be given the antidote right here and now. And anyone capable of beating that drake is free to leave, even if you decide to band together against the beast.

“But the moment you lose to the drake, you’ll be taken into custody and truly tortured for information. And trust me. This is a type of torture that makes even divine cultivators sing and squeal like the winged pigs they can be.”

Without hesitation, the two peak-elder bodyguards rushed and flanked the napping drake, charging from both sides.

However, before they could even get close, shadow tendrils lunged out from under the table and grabbed the men by their ankles. They were stopped in their tracks and nearly fell on their faces out of shock. But by the time the bodyguards understood what had happened, more tendrils were already wrapping around the rest of their bodies.

“Perfect… I have two volunteers,” Oli snickered.

All the servants instantly felt their skin tighten around their muscles and bones. Goosebumps covered them from head to toe.

Everyone watched as Oli got up and strolled to his captives, the strongest of all servants in the room.

Lifting a single claw, Oli looked at the two men. “Where’d your confidence go? I thought you planned to take me out quickly?”

Both men were scared into silence. They were in the middle of understanding that there was no hope left for them.

“Oh well. It’s not your confidence I need to test my strength on… Let’s try it with you first.”

Murky black essence pooled at the tip of Oli’s claw. Sometimes it looked like sickly mist and other times it looked like the most rancid swamp water. However, before anyone could get a better look at the strange essence, the claw was jabbed into one captive’s bicep.

“There. Now, we wait and see how that affects you and your essence. I’m glad it was the peak-elders that volunteered. That will help this research go by a bit faster,” Oli chuckled.

“R-research?! I thought this was supposed to be torture?” the captive questioned while realizing that the strange black essence had been left inside his body.

“You see,” Hurman turned his attention back to the servants and explained, “my drake friend is experimenting with his death essence in order to make it more potent. And you make the perfect test subject for his research.”

“Th-that’s not torture! Torture ends after someone gives up the information!” shouted the still-unharmed captive.

Nodding, Hurman replied, “That’s true, in most cases. But what my drake friend needs is living test subjects to witness and note how his essence affects your bodies. So that’s why I’ve called him in to act as the executioner for anyone stupid enough to defy two mid-perennials.

“However… If the surrendered information is important enough, then I’ll give him the order to kill you and end your life with no more suffering.”

“I’ll talk! I did it! I worked as a go-between for Master Walder and foreign powers!” the unharmed captive sang like a caged mockingbird, saying anything he could to avoid torture and death. “I’ll tell you everything! Just please, don’t inject me with death essence!”

“... Ha, ha, ha!”

As Oli broke out in laughter, the squealing captive lost his edge.

Sighing, Oli shook off his laughter. “Oh, don’t worry. Not a single drop of death essence will touch you. Though, what I had planned for you might be considered even worse.”

“H-h… Huh??”

Hurman stopped himself from chuckling. “I guess you’re slower than we expected, which explains how you two willingly challenged a Shadow Drake. But I’ll remind you of what I just said. To receive mercy, you need to give me information. Should that information be valuable enough, only then will I give the order to silence you with no more pain.

“All you’ve done is squeal and cry with no actual information. So I have no reason to give the order for mercy.”

“Hmm! Hnnph!”

The captive injected with Oli’s concentrated dark-death essence groaned in pain as he clenched his left fist. That entire arm wanted to spasm and flail. Without the shadow tendrils restricting him, the man would’ve already dropped to the floor.

“Oh, so it takes effect that fast?” Oli shared his realization with the rest of the room.

All the servants noticed the black essence leaking from the slim stab wound. But instead of dripping and falling to the floor, the essence slowly began to spread across the man’s bicep and elbow.

“And don’t think I’ve forgotten about you,” Oli remarked, lifting a single claw yet again.

When no black essence gathered around the claw, the second captive was relieved. That was until he noticed the strange, ethereal energy surging around the drake’s claw. If he wasn’t paying attention, he would’ve hardly noticed it. But seeing an unknown energy being pointed at his chest, the second captive trembled and paled.

“W-wait! I’ll tell you everything!” the man cowered as if everyone apart from Hurman and Oli had disappeared from his senses. “I delivered the messages to Walder! I even gave him advice whenever he hired me!”

Smiling but shaking his head, Hurman said, “Sorry, but you’ll need some info far more substantial if you don’t want your soul tortured.”

“S-SOUL!!?”

The silent, somber ambiance of the room froze over as every servant shirked and squirmed. They didn’t know what it took to train soul arts, but it was impossible for civilized cultivators to have never heard of soul experts. And the thought of having their very soul squeezed, wrung out, or tortured was too much for them to sit still.

Immediately breaking into hot and cold flashes from shock and fear, the second captive relieved his bowels out of impulse. “I know their names! I know the names of the Prodson assassins in the city!”