"Why am I shivering?" Grandenzil mumbled, arms crossing over her chest involuntarily as a visible tremor passed through her. Her eyes darted to the side, clearly trying to play off the sudden chill settling in her spine.
Kayda and I exchanged a glance—then broke into twin grins.
"Have you ever seen modern torture techniques?" I asked, a glimmer of amusement dancing in my eyes as I turned fully to face her. My lips curled upward, forming a grin that promised nothing pleasant.
"I don't torture people," Grandenzil said without hesitation, her voice firm. That actually caught me off guard.
"You haven't? Really?" I blinked. "Wow, well, I'll show you why it's a fun hobby to do to bad people." My tone was playful, but the grin I wore never faltered. I stepped forward without waiting for a response, my hand reaching out to grab the nearest black panda-clad figure by the collar.
The person yelped, kicking out in panic. "Let go of me, bitch—augh!" His feet scraped the ground as I dragged him, his nails clawing at the dirt like a dying animal.
"Hey, hey, it's not going to help to try to get free," I said, releasing his head with a firm shove that left him kneeling in front of the others. I crouched down slowly, arms resting on my knees, face only inches from his. I made sure he could feel my breath and see the gleam in my eyes as I stared directly into his wide, panicked gaze. "Hmm, for a male, you have quite the soft skin, don't you?"
His entire body flinched.
"I wonder how your hands look," I mused aloud, reaching for his left glove. My fingers gripped the edge of the fabric and slowly peeled it off, savoring the uncomfortable silence from both him and the spectators.
The glove dropped with a soft flutter, revealing a pale, well-manicured hand—delicate and elegant, with not a scar or blemish to be found.
"What the hell? They look wonderful," Sammy muttered behind me, astonished.
I tilted my head. "Oh, right, we can't actually do this in the open, can we?" I said, glancing around. We were, after all, just outside the city walls. The distant lights flickered faintly through the trees.
"Don't worry about that. Guards won't come here the entire day," Grandenzil said casually, as if we were discussing the weather.
Both Kayda and I turned our gazes sharply toward her.
"Your men?" I asked, raising a brow.
"And if they are?" Grandenzil replied with zero shame, her expression unreadable.
"Nothing," I said, shrugging as my grin returned. "I don't really care too much for this city. On the contrary, I'm pleased you're so capable."
"What—?" she started, confused.
"Anyways, get back to work," Kayda interrupted flatly.
'I guess that grumpy Kayda is still here,' I mused as I turned my attention back to the black panda who was kneeling in front of me, his breathing shallow and his hands twitching.
"How did you get hands like these?" I asked again, gently cradling his exposed hand like it was some rare gemstone.
"I won't tell you shit," the person growled, clenching his jaw, trying to hold onto whatever pride or courage he had left.
"That might be so," I said, resting his hand against my knee, "but there are twelve others here. And one of them will get to watch the rest of you suffer—one after the other."
I casually nodded toward the one who had passed out earlier when I flung him around with my tail.
"No one will talk even if you torture us!" another panda snarled defiantly.
"We'll see about that." My tone turned cold as I refocused on the soft-handed man.
"Still not going to spill the secret about your hands?" I asked gently.
Grandenzil leaned toward Kayda and whispered, "Will she really be able to make them talk?"
"She made a Federation captain spill everything," Kayda said, her voice low but firm. "This will be a cakewalk for her."
A few eyes widened at that, including the man in front of me.
"Heh, he was only a measly Federation soldier," he sneered, though his voice cracked slightly. "They aren't trained like us."
"Of course, you guys are trained by some reincarnator, right? But sadly for you," I said, my smile returning, "I have a lot of experience when it comes to breaking people."
I placed my left hand firmly on his shoulder and my right on his finger. His body tensed.
"Like this," I said softly.
Then I pulled his finger downward while my thumb pushed his fingernail upward—until it cracked and tore off with a wet snap.
"Aaaaugh!" His scream split the quiet clearing.
I held the nail up to the moonlight. "I'm really jealous of how normal your nails look compared to mine. "Just look at mine."
I extended my hand, holding it in front of his tear-streaked face. My nails lengthened, growing two centimeters longer than my fingers—sharp, curved, and wickedly thin.
His eyes widened in horror.
"See? They're like knives. And quite sharp at that." I took his hand again and, with a casual thrust, stabbed through his palm. The nail exited cleanly on the other side.
"It's like needles," Wendy mumbled behind me, baffled.
"That's mean, Wendy. Anyway, it's funny how that didn't even take half my strength to do," I said, genuinely surprised. I glanced at his restraints. 'How high did Grandenzil set the limits?'
"Augh—fuck you, bitch—sp-glugh!" He tried to snarl through gritted teeth, just as he inhaled to spit at me.
I shoved a 1.5-meter ice pole into his mouth.
"Thank you for opening your mouth," I said sweetly.
I grabbed the base of the ice pole and held the back of his neck, pushing the rod upward and forcing his head backward so that he was staring straight at the sky.
"Well, I hope your gag reflex doesn't work… for your part, though." Slowly, I pressed the pole deeper, down his throat. His body convulsed violently, his face turning a blotchy red.
"That is disgusting," Grandenzil commented, taking a step back.
"Yeah, no, I'm not watching this anymore," Wendy said, shielding her eyes and turning away.
"Oh? Are you going to puke?" I teased, feeling resistance from the pole. Something was pushing back—his body trying to eject it.
I froze his lips shut and let go of the pole, stepping to the side.
Puke sprayed violently from his nostrils.
"I almost forgot that there were two more holes from which it could come out," I said nonchalantly while walking behind him.
Gripping the pole again, I channeled ice magic into it, freezing the vomit trail inside his throat and out of his nose.
"There. That should do it."
"It's getting worse," Grandenzil muttered, visibly turning green as she stared at the frozen puke icicles poking out of his nostrils.
"Blink twice if you feel like talking," I said, watching the blue tint of his face deepen from lack of oxygen.
"..."
"I guess I was going too soft," I sighed, getting nothing but a glare from him. I tapped the ice pole, creating a small air hole. He gasped like a drowning man breaching water, coughing violently.
"Sammy…"
"Don't ask me," Sammy said with a shrug, touching the half-healed scar on her face. "She just stabbed and skinned me. Nothing more than that."
"I'll heal that later for you, okay?" I said this while standing up and walking toward the group of pandas.
As I scanned them, one caught my eye—he was gagging violently, looking away. His skin was an unhealthy shade of green.
Is that gagging from the scene or something else? Oh… he's green as grass.'
I crouched next to him. "It seems like you can't handle this sort of scene. Here, let me help you with that."
Grabbing his head, I forced him to look at me.
"Wow, you've got quite a beautiful pair of eyes," I said genuinely, noting the bright emerald hue. Then I softened my expression and extended my claws near his cheeks. "I'm sorry you had to see something like this with those eyes."
His pupils shrank. Then—
"Aaaargh!" His shriek pierced the air as my nails stabbed into the sides of his eyes. With a slow twist, I slipped my claws behind the orbs and cupped them gently before popping them out.
"Blegh!!"
I turned to the retching sound and spotted Grandenzil bent over, vomiting onto the grass.
"Sheesh, you're a bandit leader who can't handle something like this?" I asked, disappointed.
"Mom, are you alright?" Wendy called, still shielding her face.
"I'm fine, Wendy. Just… please don't open your eyes, okay, honey?" Grandenzil said, clearly shaken.
"Well, we'll talk after the fact anyway," I said, turning back to the now-blind panda.
"This bitch is crazy…"
"I don't want to die!" someone else blurted, drawing my gaze.
I turned slowly and locked eyes with the speaker.
Fart.
"Did you just shit your pants?" his neighbor asked, recoiling in disbelief.
"N-n-no," the person stuttered, trembling.
"Now that's just plain disgusting," I said with a groan, pinching my nose as I walked up to him. I placed a hand on his quaking head and, without further ceremony, burned him to ash.
A pile of soot remained. Nothing else.
"What a peaceful death," the person next to him muttered, voice low.
My eyes narrowed.
"What, do you not want an easy death?" I asked, tilting my head.
"Of course I want a peaceful death," he snapped. "But with you, I'm certain I'll be screaming my lungs out first. Not like that lucky motherfucker."
I smiled. "I see. Okay, you'll be the sixth blood eagle."
"The what?" Sammy asked, confused.
"You'll see," I replied, turning my grin on the next unlucky soul.