Chapter 15: Purpose And Intention
Feeling the sheer pain of having his limbs torn apart, the man’s bravado shattered, his voice pitching into a scream.
"This ain’t how it’s supposed to go!" He wailed, thrashing futilely. "You can’t just kill me like this! You’ll never know why we wanted Charlotte! Ain’t it obvious? You’re doin’ all this ’cause we tried to take her, right? If you kill me now, you’ll be in the dark! You won’t know what’s comin’ for her next!" His eyes darted, searching Mika’s face for a crack. "You need me alive, kid! I got answers, info you can’t get if I’m dead!"
Hearing this, Mika’s brow twitched, a faint flicker of interest, and the chains paused, their pull halting.
The man seized the moment, his confidence surging, thinking he’d found a foothold. "That’s right!" He pressed, leaning forward, his voice urgent. "You can’t just end me! You need what’s in my head! That info’s gold it’ll stop more attacks on her."
"My organization? They need Charlotte, and they ain’t stoppin’. This plan failed, sure, but they’ll try again, tomorrow, next week, whenever! If I’m gone, you’ll be blind, and she’ll get snatched when you least expect it!" He forced a grin, his eyes gleaming with desperate cunning. "Keep me alive, and I’ll spill everything. The cult’s plans, their hideouts, all of it! I swear, I’ll talk, just let me live!"
In his mind, the ploy was perfect. Anyone would take the bait, prioritizing intel to protect someone they cared about. He braced for Mika to hesitate, to question him, to prolong his life.
But to his horror, the chains tightened again, the runes pulsing with a sinister glow. His joints creaked, his limbs stretching to their limits, pain lancing through him like fire.
"What the hell?!" He screamed, his voice cracking. "What are you doin’? Didn’t you hear me? You deaf or just stupid? You care about that girl or not? Kill me, and she’s screwed! My cult’ll take her, and you’ll have nothin’ to stop ’em! I’m your only shot at savin’ her!" His eyes bulged, sweat mixing with the blood on his face. "Don’t you wanna know why we’re after her? What we’re planning’?"
Hearing the last part, Mika stopped, his head tilting, and for the first time, a reaction flickered across his face, a smirk, cold and sharp.
"Purpose?" He echoed, his voice low, almost amused, as he looked up at the dangling man. "Why the hell would I need to know your purpose for going after Charlotte?" His smirk widened, a cruel edge to it, as if the man’s words were a child’s tantrum. "You think I care about your reasons? Or anyone’s, for that matter?"