บท 16: Torment

Night quickly arrived. "Follow me." Luny ordered.

Ed's legs moved on their own. He walked into a room the size of a small warehouse. It looked like it belonged in a hospital. The floors were covered in blood and dirt. The ceiling had several splotches of blood as well. All sorts of strange machines were setup in different areas. There were six men and three women in the room. Each one laid on a gurney without moving.

"Go lay down on a gurney. Don't get up until I say otherwise."

He walked towards a gurney and laid down. He glanced at the other espers. Each one had a dead look in their eyes. Large wounds and burns covered their bodies to the point they barely looked human. One was missing a limb like Ed. "What happened to the large guy from before?" He questioned.

Luny shook her head and sighed, "He died. A pity. I rather liked his power. Oh, well... Time to get started!" She pushed each gurney next to a 3-meter-wide metal pole. It stuck straight out of the ground with a 5-meter-wide metal orb atop it. The gurneys were arranged in a large circle around it. She opened a small hatch on the pole and pulled out a silver powder.

"That's!" Ed yelled in shock.

"Oh?" Luny smiled. "You recognize it? Hehe. If you survive then maybe you can be my assistant someday." She stuck the silver powder in the hatch and closed it. A low humming sound rang out. She hurriedly ran away as the humming got louder and louder.

Ed's eyes opened wide in horror. He struggled to escape, yet there was nothing actually binding him. He was trapped based on the earlier order alone.

Boom! A silver streak of lightning shot from the pole towards the 10 espers. "Aghhh!!!" They all screamed in pain. It only lasted for a brief instant before stopping. Then another lightning bolt came. One after another they struck the espers. Their skin sizzled from the electricity. Minor burns accumulated into large burns. However, no blood poured out. The lighting burned the wounds shut before a chance even presented itself. Screams continued to ring out for nearly ten minutes. Then, the humming sound finally came to an end.

"Huff! Huff!" Ed breathed deeply now that it finally stopped. He glanced at his body and saw a series of lightning scars. They appeared like a tree of winding lightning that covered his entire body. If not for the color being barely darker than his skin, then someone may have mistaken it for a full-body tattoo. "To think lightning elemental powder could be used that way…" He murmured to himself.

Luny wrote down some information on a clipboard. She nodded, "Mm. Not a bad start, but that won't be nearly enough to cause a 2nd awakening. Espers can handle a little pain like that easily" She glanced at the espers and smiled, "Have any of you ever heard of death by 1,000 cuts? Don't worry. I've gotten quite good at it! I'll stop before you die! Hahahahaha!" She slowly pushed each gurney into a different area.

A set of tables covered in white cloth were set up in this area. Scalpels, needles, and other medical tools sat atop them. Luny grabbed a scalpel and began to cut a man one slash at a time. Very small wounds were left atop his body. The number quickly increased, and the wounds soon joined together into bigger ones. Blood poured down the gurney and dripped to the floor. Bloodcurdling screams rang out as the esper begged for mercy. Luny smiled and hummed a small tune that was in sync with the screams. She seemed to enjoy their musical harmony. The esper's screams slowly died down. When the esper was almost on the verge of death, Luny grabbed a potion and poured it atop him. The wounds stopped bleeding and formed ugly scars. "Next!" She yelled as she happily moved to the next esper.

Ed watched as one esper after another was tortured. Some screamed while others were too numb to even do that much. His own turn soon arrived. He tried to struggle once more but couldn't even lift an arm off the gurney. A small cut appeared on his chest. Then another. They accumulated quickly as he watched his blood fall to the ground. His fist clenched so hard that his fingernails dug into the flesh of his palm. However, he did not scream. The lightning had caught him by surprise and he lost control of his emotions. This time he gritted his teeth and stared at the mad woman with wrathful eyes.

When the torture ended they were given a full hour break. Luny left the room during this time. The espers had strong bodies that recovered quickly. In combination with the potion, they were almost fully healed by the time the hour passed. However, their bodies were covered in scars from the torment. Suddenly, one esper bit their tongue and slowly suffocated on their own blood.

A creaking sound rang out as a door opened. Luny returned and saw the dead esper. "Tsk." She clicked her tongue, "One committed suicide already? Sheesh! Well, he was the smart one in this group. The rest of you listen up. No one is allowed to kill themselves from now on."

A crown symbol on each of their bodies lit up. They could feel the order binding them. Some had the symbol on their hand like Ed. Others had them on their face, chest, or legs. It was different for each esper. "Next is needles!" Luny grinned. She took out a box of needles and began shoving them into their bodies. Each one caused a sharp jab of pain but left no blood.

…

The days slowly passed and turned into weeks. Ed lost track of time, but he figured he had probably been here even longer than he had been an esper. The torment continued to increase in intensity. Fire, lightning, and ice were used to damage their bodies. All sorts of cuts, stabs, and other wounds were inflicted on them daily. Occasionally, Luny would come up with something new such as drowning them or depriving them of sleep. Their bodies were completely unrecognizable. On the 6th week of torture an esper finally died of a heart attack.

"Hmm." Luny frowned. "Another one finally died. Eight to go… The king is pushing me. The surgeries have already finished. I'll have to speed up the pace here."

One esper laughed aloud when he heard this. "Gahahaha! You're really shit at torture crazy witch!" This esper was of Latino descent. He was tall and skinny. He glared at Luny with a crazed look in his eyes.

"Oh?" She frowned. "It seems like you want some extra special treatment?"

Ed looked at the esper curiously. Of the eight remaining espers, only this esper and himself had not completely given up hope. 'Has another one fallen?' he wondered.

"I want a deal!" The man yelled. "I'll tell you the proper way to torture people. In exchange, you let me go."

"Hmph!" She snorted. "Do you take me for a fool? I was already tormenting others when your grandfather was still in diapers! What could you possibly teach me?"

The man gritted his teeth. He hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I'll tell you anyways. I've got nothing to lose. The key to torture is the victim. You're just attacking us. Anyone can do it. Physical pain has a limit for humans. You can't forcefully break that limit. You should be using psychological torment directed at each individual. Find out what caused us to awaken in the first place. Torture us in a similar way. If that doesn't work, then find the weaknesses in our hearts and attack those. That is the key to true torment."

Luny's eyes opened wide. She rubbed her chin and began to walk back and forth while muttering to herself. She stopped and looked at the Latino esper. "It makes sense! I've never discussed torture with others before… not exactly a common hobby. What's your name?"

The man smiled, "Gonzales."

"Good!" She smiled. "I'll make you my assistant if you survive. I need to go do some research." She turned and left the room.

Gonzales frowned and closed his eyes. His plan to make a deal had failed.

…

Two days passed before Luny returned. She carried a stack of paperwork with her. "It's a good thing the King hasn't openly betrayed World Walker yet. This information would be too difficult to obtain without Tracker's help."

"Gonzales!" She yelled. "It's time! Let's see here… According to the file you awakened your power while being crushed by a building… interesting. Let's give it a try. Follow me."

Gonzales followed her out of the building. She came back an hour later while shaking her head. "It didn't work. Quake worked so hard choosing a nice building to… On to the next one." She picked up another file and smiled, "Now this is interesting!" She looked towards a woman. "To think you awakened while getting raped and strangled during the chaos of the Flame Nightmare. That's just awful! Come with me."

The woman followed her out while her entire body shook from fear. An hour later, Luny returned once more. "Tsk!" She frowned. "Another failure. At least the espers upstairs got to have some fun. Time for the next one."

Ed's eyes trembled in fear as he watched one esper after another leave the room. Each time Luny came back alone with a disappointed face. "You're the last one." She smiled with a melancholic look in her eyes."

"Let's see…" She picked up a file and began reading. "You awakened while trapped in a building on fire? I've already tortured you with fire. That's too simple…" She pondered for a moment before smiling. "I've got it! It's perfect! You lost your arm just after you awoke. Let's just go with that instead!"

Luny strapped Ed to a steel table. Then she took some leather and tied it around his mouth, so he wouldn't accidently bite his tongue. She rubbed his black hair and smiled, "It will all be over soon. Do your best to awaken for me child. You're to lay down on this table until I say otherwise. No using your powers either, okay?" She grabbed a large hand saw and positioned it above one of Ed's legs. "GAHHH!!!" He screamed. A loud tearing sound rang out as she pulled the saw backwards. "AGHHH!!!" he screamed again as she pushed the saw forward. Blood splattered everywhere and covered the nearby wall. Luny's doctor robe became covered in it. Bloodcurdling screams rang out each time the saw went back and forth. He wanted to struggle against the restraints as tears poured from his eyes, but the crown symbol prevented him from doing so.

Thud. A sound rang out as Ed's leg was completely severed and rolled off the table. He finally passed out from the pain. A few hours later he woke up and saw that the stub wound had been closed using one of Luny's potions. She was sitting down nearby while jotting down notes. "Oh, good!" She smiled. "You're finally awake. Let's begin again,"

"Mmbrghh!" Ed tried to speak, but the leather strap still covered his mouth. Luny grabbed the saw and positioned it over his other leg. "ARGAHHH!!!!" The process repeated itself. His gums bled from biting the leather strap so hard. His entire body shook while drenched in sweat. Another thudding sound echoed as his other leg fell to the ground. "Huff! Huff!" He breathed heavily. He hadn't passed out this time despite the excruciating pain. He wished to pass out, but his wishes weren't granted.

"Hmm. You're really resilient. I thought for sure you would die by now." Luny took the saw and walked towards Ed's only remaining limb. She positioned the saw above his arm and began to cut again.

Ed watched with dull apathetic eyes. Bu bump, Bu bump, Bu bump. His heartbeat drummed loudly. The adrenaline running through his body dulled the pain. His heart beat faster and faster. Then, a thud rang out as his arm fell to the floor. He watched as the blood poured out and his body shook. He blacked out once more.

…

Ed slowly opened his eyes. He saw the blood-stained ceiling tiles above him. He was lying on the gurney once more. He turned his head to the right and saw the steel table where he had been tortured. It was completely cleaned up. His blood and limbs were nowhere in sight. He turned his head to the left and saw a blood transfusion bag hooked up to his body. 'I… I still didn't have a 2nd awakening even after that?!' Tears poured down his dull eyes as he waited for hell to return.

It was nearly an hour before Luny returned. She smiled, "You're awake again!" She clapped. "Truly amazing. To survive even that. A pity you still haven't awakened. Tonight is my final chance. I think I'll just light you on fire and hope for the best." She grabbed a nearby flamethrower. She had already used it on them before. She had created it using fire elemental powder and metal.

Ed watched the flamethrower start up and chuckled to himself. 'I really put too much effort in the steam-core. I could have just made the arm shoot fire instead… Is this going to be my last thought before I die?' He turned towards his now missing left arm. 'Eh?! The symbol is gone! It was on my left arm!'

He hurriedly controlled his powers to melt the concrete floor surrounding Luny. She fell in and it solidified around her. He was in such a hurry that he failed to leave her head above ground for air. He melted the gurney into several large straps. Then he melted the nearby steel table into crudely made hollow arms and legs. The straps connected the steel limbs to him and he stood up. "Huff! Huff! This uses too much mana! I have to slightly melt and bend the metal each time I move." He gritted his teeth and looked towards where he had buried Luny alive. "I'll pretend I'm still under Jarrod's control and kill the fucking bastard!"