Chapter 238: Torture Shed
Luca stepped deeper into the shed, his eyes widening as he took in the sight before him.
"Wow...Just wow."
Those were the only words he could muster. He felt like he had stumbled into a treasure trove.
But instead of gold, diamonds, or ancient artifacts, the walls were lined with torture devices!
Beautifully crafted, meticulously designed, utterly horrifying torture devices.
He was overwhelmed by the sight of the walls completely lined with all sorts of daggers and knives—some short and sleek, others long and wickedly curved, many featuring jagged, zigzag edges that looked designed to tear flesh in the most painful ways possible.
And it wasn’t only blades.
There were different types of hammers with heads that appeared far too sinister for any honest work, rows of rusted screws of varying sizes, heavy rings, and strange contraptions hanging from hooks.
Along the far wall stood sturdy tables bearing metallic devices and apparatuses that looked extremely dangerous—some bristling with spikes, others featuring teeth-like grips, and a few clearly built to crush and mangle.
Everywhere he looked, the air itself seemed to carry a cold, metallic chill, as though the room had absorbed the pain it was meant to inflict.
After taking in the entire scene, Luca finally let out a low chuckle and turned back toward Nyx, who was watching his reaction with hesitant, nervous eyes.
"I totally understand why the rest of the villagers are scared of this place." He said, his voice carrying a note of dark amusement.
He picked up one of the smaller devices from a nearby shelf, turning it over in his hands.
"This would make a grown adult freak out. If a child saw something like this, they’d have nightmares for years."
Nyx watched him nervously, her usual composure cracking. She couldn’t read his expression. Was he horrified? Disgusted? Amused? She had no idea, and the uncertainty made her stomach churn.
But before she could speak, Luca turned the device over, examining its construction.
"Did you make all of this? By yourself? Or did you buy it from someone?"
Hearing the question, Nyx couldn’t help but laugh, the sound light but tinged with relief.
"You’re joking, right? Or do you really think there’s a shop out there selling all these torture devices at retail prices?"
Luca shook his head with a small grin.
"No, I don’t think they’ll be selling these in the local supermarket."
He looked at her with open curiosity.
"So that means you really did create all of these on your own?"
He couldn’t help but gaze at her with appreciation.
"That’s quite impressive. I thought dwarves were the ones with skills in this regard, and I wasn’t expecting you to be quite so exceptional."
The praise seemed to light something up inside Nyx.
The gloomy nervousness that had clouded her expression moments ago vanished, replaced by sudden excitement.
She even pushed out her chest in a rather childish manner that was completely unlike her usual demeanor.
"Of course, Hero!" She said, her voice bright and proud. "Even though my skills aren’t up to a dwarf’s level, and I’m still an amateur in that regard—I’m most definitely more than capable of making such devices."
"As long as I put enough effort, patience, and time into it, making them is not that big of a deal at all!"
She spoke in a haughty, almost boastful tone, clearly delighted to finally show off her creations to someone who didn’t immediately run away.
Luca smiled, genuinely charmed by this new, enthusiastic side of Nyx—even in such an eerie, unsettling environment.
"And what about these designs?" He picked up another device, examining it closely before setting it down and choosing yet another.
"In my previous world, I’ve seen stuff like this before. It’s quite similar, but also different. Did you design all of these too?"
Nyx’s excitement grew even more.
"I did, I did! I most definitely did!" She exclaimed, her eyes sparkling. "You can even see all the designs I made right here."
She hurried over to a wooden box, opened it, and pulled out several scrolls. Unrolling them one by one, she pointed eagerly.
"Look, look—this is the design for that one over there. It took me two weeks to figure out the mechanism. I almost gave up, but I pushed through."
She opened another scroll, matched it to a device on the wall.
"This one was even harder. I had so many problems with the screw alignment. I thought I’d have to scrap the whole project, but then I had a breakthrough at three in the morning."
She pulled out another scroll. "And this—this is the one you’re holding right now. My most recent creation. That’s why it looks so new!"
Luca nodded along, genuinely interested.
"Can you show me how it works? How it’s supposed to function?"
The request seemed to make Nyx’s entire face light up. She no longer resembled her usual composed, playful self.
Instead, she looked like a child who had finally been allowed to show off her favorite toys.
"Finally, Hero! I was dying for you to ask me that!"
She said, practically bouncing with energy. She quickly grabbed the apparatus he had been holding and explained with vivid detail.
"This thing right here—you place it on a person’s knees. See this screw? You turn it and turn it. The more you do, the more pressure it applies, and it’s used to completely crush a person’s knees and give them excruciating pain."
She expected Luca to flinch. Instead, he studied the device with genuine interest, pointing at a few of the metal components.
"These two parts are probably used to make it much easier to turn the screws and crush with less effort, right?"
Nyx’s jaw dropped in surprise.
"Exactly! You noticed that? Most people wouldn’t even see those. They’d just see the spikes and run away screaming."
She shook her head in amazement. "You know, you might think this device is barbaric and it is. But there’s so much intricacy behind it. I didn’t expect anyone to actually understand that!"
She sounded genuinely thrilled, as if she had finally found someone who could appreciate the dark art she had poured herself into.
Luca wanted to see more of this side of her, so he pointed to another device.
"What about this one next?"
Nyx eagerly snatched it up and placed it over her own head for demonstration.
"This is a device that’s supposed to drill screws into someone’s skull. As long as you turn this handle here, the screws will slowly go inside. It gives horrible, excruciating pain."
Luca tilted his head. "I don’t need a device for that. I already get enough headaches just from dealing with you."
Nyx laughed, a bright, unguarded sound.
Luca pointed at something on the wall. "What about that one?"
She practically skipped over to it, grabbing a metal contraption with finger-shaped grooves.
"Show me your hand, Hero!"
Luca held up his hands cautiously. "I want to learn more, but I don’t want to be a test dummy, Nyx."
She waved her hand dismissively.
"Don’t worry. I’m not crazy enough to try it on you." She slipped the device onto her own hand and demonstrated. "This one slowly breaks a person’s fingers, one joint at a time."
"See how the gears work? You turn this knob, and the pressure increases incrementally. It’s calibrated to deliver the optimal amount of excruciating pain without killing the victim too quickly."
Luca watched her demonstrate, noting the brightness in her eyes, the genuine enthusiasm in her voice.
Even as she explained how to dismantle a hand in the most horrible way imaginable, she looked...cute. Adorable, even.
The contrast was absurd, but there it was.
He wanted to see more of this side of her—the side that rarely emerged, the side that was passionate and excited and completely unguarded.
So he kept asking.
"What about that one? And that one? And the one with the hooks?"
Nyx answered each question with the same enthusiasm, moving from device to device, explaining their purposes, demonstrating their functions, sharing the stories behind their creation.
She showed him the knives and hammers, explaining how she had forged some of them herself, how she had modified others to suit her specific needs.
She was having the time of her life. Her smile wasn’t her usual playful mask—it was genuine, radiant, coming from somewhere deep inside.
She was finally opening up about something she had never been able to share with anyone else.
Then she stopped.
Reality crashed over her like a wave of ice water!
What was she doing? Any normal girl, when inviting someone special to her space, would show off something sweet—paintings she had drawn, flowers she had grown, perhaps a collection of pretty trinkets.
She would talk about pleasant things, feminine things, things that would endear her to her partner.
But Nyx? Nyx was showing off torture devices. Explaining how they worked. Demonstrating how they could be used to inflict maximum suffering.
She had gotten swept up in the moment. She had been so excited that someone was actually willing to listen, actually interested, actually asking questions—that she had forgotten herself.
She had forgotten that every time in the past when someone learned about this part of her, they had run away. They had looked at her with disgust, with horror, with fear.
Because of that, she had never dared to show this side of herself. But now, for some reason, Luca had been willing to listen, and she had gotten carried away.
Now she was terrified that he would feel repulsion and disgust. Even someone as open-minded as Luca had to have limits, and she was sure she had crossed them.
When she finally turned her gaze toward him, she expected to see horror, discomfort, or at least a hint of unease.
But to her utter surprise, that was not what greeted her.
Instead, Luca stood with his hands behind his head, a bright, curious look in his eyes and an easy smile on his face like an eager student who wanted to learn everything.
There was no disgust, no fear, no judgment. He looked wholeheartedly interested.
This truly surprised her. Luca noticed her stare and asked with a playful tilt of his head.
"What’s wrong, Nyx? Why are you looking at me like that?"
He took one wary step back, grinning. "Have you finally realized you want to test out all these devices on me? Is this a trap? Is that why you brought me here?"
Nyx shook her head slowly, still staring at him. She closed her eyes, then opened them again. He was still there. Still smiling. Still looking at her like she was the same Nyx he had always known.
"Are you not scared, Hero?"
Her voice came out small, almost fragile.
"Are you not scared of what I showed you?"
She gestured at the room around them.
"After all, this isn’t something a girl should show anyone. When Lulu wants to share what she loves, she shows off her chickens. Even if I think they’re noisy and smelly, that’s still cute and adorable."
"And Luna—she would talk about the history of the elves, the culture she’s so proud of. Leona would show off the fruits of the forest. She would make you taste everything."
She looked down at her hands.
"But me? I’m here showing off my torture devices. Enthusiastically. Like it’s normal. Like it’s something to be proud of."
She looked back at him, her eyes searching his face.
"Are you not scared of that? Don’t you feel that something is wrong with me?"
Luca didn’t answer immediately. He just looked at her, his expression unreadable. Nyx’s heart sank.
She had pushed too far. She had finally crossed a line that even he couldn’t—
"Honestly." Luca said. "I have to agree that this isn’t something I normally experience. I mean, any other man would probably run the first chance gets if he finds stuff like this in the house of the girl he’s interested in and you can’t even blame him."
Nyx’s expression dulled.
But then he smiled and said to her surprise,
"But that doesn’t mean I’m scared."
He picked up one of the devices from the table.
"More than being scared, I’m just...curious. Why do you have all of this? Why did you make so many devices?"
He gestured at the room.
"You can’t possibly tell me you just had a random desire to build torture devices. There has to be something driving you. Something intense."
He set the device down and looked at her.
"So I want to ask you: what started this? What made you this way? Can you tell me what exactly started this little sadistic obsession of yours?"