Chapter 153: Less than an hour...
’I haven’t even gotten the chance to check all the changes that happened to me after becoming a grandmaster,’ Baines thought to himself, as he knelt in the dim, oppressive air of the 5th Division’s underground cells, his hand resting lightly on the groin of the battered Storm criminal. The man’s body was a canvas of bruises and scars, yet his eyes burned with defiance, unyielding despite the torture he’d endured.
The 5th Division members watched closely, their curiosity tinged with skepticism. What was Baines planning? Stripping the prisoner? Castration? The Storm criminal, unfazed, sneered through bloodied lips. "Kill me. I’ll say nothing."
Baines ignored the taunt as he channeled his soul energy. He probed the criminal’s energy streams, and with a faint twang echo in the cell, it was followed by a scream that tore through the silence like a blade through cloth.
"GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The sound was unearthly, a raw, guttural cry that jolted every prisoner in the underground complex. The surrounding criminals pressed against their bars, eyes wide, searching for the source. They were no strangers to screams.
As people who were trained to endure torture and had endured it for a long time, they understood when a scream was of fear, pain, agony, or even faked. But this time, they couldn’t discern this scream. It was primal, unrecognizable, a sound that defied their training to endure.
The Storm criminal thrashed wildly, his defiance crumbling. "NO... NO... NOOOO!" he screamed, his voice breaking. "I’LL TALK. I’LL FUCKING SPEAK!"
Baines paused, his expression unreadable. ’The last one lasted five pulses,’ he thought, recalling the Iron Brotherhood’s resilience. But this one broke after one. He finally understood why the Iron Brotherhood was always said to be so tough to break.
The cell fell silent, the weight of the moment pressing down on everyone—division members, fellow Storm prisoners, and even those in distant cells who’d heard the scream.
In this place, all they had ever heard was defiance. It was either those who were able to withstand torture or those who died in the process. However, a new one had come that they couldn’t withstand.
What method of torture was this?
Baines had even asked himself that question once.