Chapter 239: Are You Scared Of Me?
Nyx was hesitant at first, her fingers twisting together nervously as she stood among her creations.
She was scared, genuinely scared that Luca would judge her for the real reason behind all of this, that he would look at her differently and pull away.
Even someone as shameless and bold as Nyx did not want Luca to see her in a bad light. His opinion mattered more to her than she usually let on.
But when she looked at him, she saw no judgment in his eyes. No disgust. No horror. Just sincere curiosity and an openness that made her feel like she could say anything.
That quiet acceptance gave her the courage she needed. She let out a deep sigh, her shoulders relaxing just a little, and offered him a small, vulnerable smile.
"This isn’t something I’ve ever told anyone before." She admitted softly. "Not even my sister or my mother."
Then she looked back at Luca with a loving, almost shy look in her eyes.
"But since the great Hero who saved our village is asking..." She tried to sound righteous and playful, though her voice trembled slightly. "Then I have no choice but to comply and tell you the truth."
She turned her gaze toward the small window in the shed, her expression growing nostalgic as memories surfaced.
"It all started when I was younger. My mother used to tell us stories about the wars in the past—how humans and elves once fought side by side, and how sometimes elves were captured and horrible, unspeakable things were done to them."
Her expression darkened.
"Every time I heard those stories, I would get immediately angry and furious. I didn’t know why, but this infuriating feeling would burn through my veins like fire." She grite her teeth. "I’d look at my own hands and imagine capturing all those humans and doing even worse things to them in return."
She paused, a dark shadow flickering across her face for a moment.
"But while I was having those thoughts, I noticed something. My sister, even though she felt aggrieved too, would eventually just sigh and move on. The other elves were the same."
"They would be angry for a short while, but it never stayed with them the way it stayed with me. They treated it as a moment in the past and let it go. That’s when I realized I was a bit different from the others."
Nyx gave a self-deprecating chuckle, her voice quieter now as she said,
"Not in a good way at all. I had much more murderous intentions than the average person."
Luca remained silent, listening carefully without interrupting.
Nyx took a breath and continued, "It didn’t stop there. As I grew older, I saw how the male elves treated the females. How they pushed us around, took advantage of us, acted like they owned everything."
"Other females accepted it. They decided to settle for peace and harmony, not wanting to cause problems."
Her voice hardened. "But I couldn’t. Every time a male elf walked by, I would think about how to kill him. How to make him suffer for what he had done. Every time I heard about some new outrage, I would imagine all the ways I could make him pay."
She looked at the devices lining the walls.
"These thoughts happened every single day. Every. Single. Day. But I couldn’t act on them. I knew that. Elves are supposed to represent grace, nobility, humility. I couldn’t show my true intentions. I couldn’t let anyone see what was inside my head."
She laughed—a hollow, bitter sound.
"Sometimes I think I would have been better off as a dark elf. They embrace their darkness. They thrive in it. I would fit right in."
Luca filed that information away for later. Dark elves. Another race to learn about.
Nyx picked up a knife, running her finger along the blade.
"So I held it all in. I never acted on my emotions. I never did anything drastic. I just...simmered."
Her grip tightened on the handle.
"Then everything with Leona happened. She changed. Completely. She became cold, distant, a shell of who she used to be. And I knew—I KNEW—it was because of that bastard Julius."
Her voice dripped with venom.
"But I couldn’t prove it. No matter how many times I asked my sister, no matter how much I investigated, I couldn’t find any answers."
"She wouldn’t tell me. She couldn’t tell me. And it drove me insane."
"So I decided to use an outlet for it. And that..."
She gestured around the entire shed with a soft, almost affectionate wave of her hand.
"...was this place."
"Whenever those dark thoughts got the better of me, I would come here and start making these devices, imagining using them on the people who deserved it."
"Every single time the rage became too much, I would create something new to appease my anger. This shed is basically where I let off all my pressure."
Luca couldn’t help but smile despite himself. Anyone else would relieve stress by watching something relaxing or breaking things in a safe space.
But Nyx had chosen a very unique.and borderline insane way. Still, it was so very Nyx-like that it somehow made perfect sense to him.
Nyx smiled thoughtfully, still gently touching the knife.
"Anyone else who enters this room would think it’s a very horrible place, and it most definitely is. I’m not denying that."
"But to me...this is more like a place of peace."
She had a look of serenity in her eyes.
"Whenever I’m here, all those heavy thoughts disappear, and I can just settle down and do what I want. I feel the most at peace here."
"It’s my own little requiem, a place where I can break away from the rest of the world and let all the emotions I’ve been simmering inside finally settle."
She looked around the shed with genuine love and fondness in her eyes.
It was a place she treasured deeply.
Luca realized what was truly happening.
Nyx already had a naturally intense, almost murderous side to her personality that couldn’t be changed.
But ever since Leona had been forced into that terrible situation, those feelings had only grown stronger. She had felt extremely aggrieved for her sister’s sake, angry, lonely, and under immense pressure from all sides.
Even though she always wore a bright smile, she had been carrying a heavy burden alone.
And this shed was her sanctuary, the one place where she could truly let herself go.
Luca could easily imagine Nyx muttering Julius’s name under her breath while carefully crafting a device meant specifically for him.
In fact, he suspected half the tools in here had been designed with that particular bastard in mind.
The picture was undeniably sinister, yet for some strange reason it seemed rather endearing in Luca’s eyes.
He looked around the shed again, but this time he saw it differently.
This wasn’t a torture chamber. It was an art studio. A therapy room. A place where a woman who had been forced to suppress her true self for decades could finally breathe.
In his world, people dealt with their stress in all sorts of ways.
Some watched movies. Some played video games. Some went to rage rooms where they could smash things with sledgehammers. Nyx just happened to channel her anger into something more...creative.
It was a little crazy. A little extreme. But it was very, very Nyx.
And he found that he didn’t mind it at all.
Meanwhile, Nyx, who had finally told the entire truth, couldn’t help but fidget with her hands in a very hesitant manner—something completely unlike her usual confident self.
She was scared of what Luca would think now. She wondered if he was going to push her away, reject her for the way she truly was.
After all, no normal man would want a woman who clearly harbored such sadistic thoughts.
Who could sleep peacefully next to someone like that without worrying they might wake up strapped to a torture table in the middle of the night?
She forced a smile.
"So, Hero. What do you have to say? Are you finally scared of me?" She laughed, but it was hollow. "Do you find it hard to look me in the eyes now?"
Luca didn’t answer immediately. He just looked at her and then he smiled.
"Nyx." He said calmly. "I think you’re looking at this all wrong."
She blinked.
"You think you’re some kind of sadistic monster. That you have murderous intentions, that you’re a devil in human form." He chuckled. "And okay, yes, part of you is definitely sadistic. I won’t deny that."
Nyx pouted slightly.
"But I don’t think that’s the main reason you’re this way."
Her eyes shimmered.
"The reason you feel so much resentment, the reason you have these thoughts, isn’t because you simply want to cause pain. It’s because your sense of justice has been invoked."
Nyx stared at him as her heart raced.
"Every time you hear about the wars, you think about the people who suffered. The elves who were tortured, who lost everything. You sympathize with them. You want justice for them."
He gestured at the shed.
"When you see the male elves bullying the females, you feel aggrieved for them. You want to fight for them, to protect them. And when you see your sister being controlled by Julius—"
His voice softened.
"—you want revenge. Not because you’re sinister. Not because you enjoy suffering. But because he hurt someone you love."
Nyx’s breath caught.
"What I’m trying to say." Luca continued. "is that you’re not what you think you are. You’re not some cruel devil who wants to see the world burn."
"You’re someone with an extremely high sense of justice. Someone who hates to see people suffer. Someone who can’t stand by while wrongs are committed."
He stepped closer, reaching up to gently caress her cheek.
"You just take a more radical approach than most. Where others would write letters or hold meetings, you build devices. Where others would talk, you would act."
"It seems sinister to some, but at its core, it comes from the same place. Compassion. Sympathy. Love."
Her cheeks flushed under his touch.
"So no, Nyx. I’m not scared of you. I’m not disgusted. I don’t find you hard to look at."
He smiled. "In fact, I feel more protected with you by my side."
Her eyes glistened.
"After all." He added with a playful chuckle. "The only people you have such intentions toward are those who want to harm you and your loved ones."
"So, why would I, someone who you obviously care for you very much be scared of that? If anything, I feel safer knowing you’re on my side."
Nyx couldn’t speak. Her throat was too tight, her chest too full. She just stared at him, at this impossible man who had seen the darkest parts of her and somehow found something beautiful.
She had spent her whole life hiding. Pretending. Smiling so no one would ask questions.
And now, for the first time, someone had looked past the mask and seen her. Really seen her.
And he hadn’t run away.
He had stayed.
She reached up and grabbed his shirt, pulling him close. Her forehead pressed against his.
"You’re an idiot, Hero." She whispered.
"I know."
"A complete idiot." She pulled back with a smile like she was looking at a fool. "I mean, who else would stay with a women like me who dreams of torturing people with her toys?"
"Well..." He gave a proud chuckle. "There’s actually a saying in my world that says, you don’t stick your dick in crazy. But how am I supposed to stop myself when the so called crazy..."
He gave her ass tight slap.
"...as such a seductive body, that I just can’t resist."
She laughed—a wet, shaky sound and kissed him.
He kissed her back, his arms wrapping around her waist, pulling her against him. The shed, with all its terrible beauty, faded around them.
There was only this. Only them.