The man who was most likely the chief of this bandit group frowned as he looked at the slender pretty-boy-type youth in front of him. He was heavily injured. A few cuts here and there. A deep wound on the thighs. Bruises, akin to a painting on his entire body. The worse of it could be found on his back. Still, despite common sense, this village kid wasn't screaming. His jaw would reflexively tighten with each bout of pain but he would just suppress the groans inside his throat.
More than that, his eyes were incredibly pure. Only a single thing existed in those eyes. Monstrous killing intent. The Bandit Chief understood while scrutinizing this kid that should the occasion arise, the kid would kill them all.
Suddenly, he smirked. A perverse desire rose inside him. He wanted to break him, hear his screams. For him, nothing would be sweeter. This was in fact one of his favorite hobbies. He had the feeling that this kid would be the most stimulating toy yet.
"Very well, the night will fall soon enough and we need to return to the base. A few mouses escaped despite our precautions. Most of them, likely because of this kid. Gather the rest of the brothers. Tell them to settle everything in one hour." The boss said to '2nd Brother'.
The scarred man nodded and left to round up the rest of the guys. Before leaving he looked at the kid with a trace of pity.
It would have been better for you if I killed you when I caught you. Now that you fell into our boss's hands, your fate will likely be very grim. -- The scarred man only said this inside. Even he was scared of the boss after all. Although he was marginally second to the Chief in terms of martial prowess, in terms of cruelty and treacherousness he couldn't compare at all. If the boss became offended, you wouldn't understand how you died.
He had seen his cruel and devious means in the past. He shook his head and left. He could guess what would happen on this plaza. Sure enough, not long after, he could hear the maniacal laughter of his Chief and the restrained groans of the young boy. The Second-in-command shook his head. It had started, the Chief's perverse game, the torture by thousand cuts.
Judging by the boy's stubbornness, he was the perfect target for the boss's sadistic games. The kid would most likely try to grit his teeth through the pain which would only make the experience better for his Boss.
Sigh, What a horrible fate! - The scarred man shuddered violently once to get the image out of his head before quickening his steps, aiming to go as far away as possible from the disturbing laughter.
Rain was currently in a world of pain. Immediately after the scarred man left, the Bandits' boss started to make soft cuts on his skin. The cuts weren't deep, just enough to make him bleed. At first, he didn't think anything of it, but before long, the number of cuts on his body continued to increase, and with them the pain too.
During all this, he could see the maniacal glee on that monster's face and the pleasure he derived from his suffering. Rain noticed that between cuts, the chief would pause and stare at his face with intensity as if reluctant to miss even the slightest shift of expression, resulting in pain.
A lunatic! A perverted thing! A madman!
Rain concluded these three things about his torturer. During this period, the captured villagers, mostly kids, teenagers, and women, sat in the front row to his misery. As if their eyes had been glued, they couldn't turn their gaze away. They couldn't scream to express their horror for fear of attracting the monster's attention. Even their breathing was silent.
As time passed, the sun finally set on the horizon. The sunset didn't take that much time, as if the sun was unwilling to bear witness to the atrocities that happened in this village. Only two hours had passed since the start of the torture, and Rain had been painfully aware of the passing seconds. It even felt like it was more than that.
As they welcomed the night after this terrible day, the groan of Rain became more subdued. This was partly because the chief had stopped cutting him, and his throat felt unbelievably sore.
The burly figure stood up and left the wretched youth on the ground. At that point, all the bandits were gathered. They arrived at the village plaza a while ago, but they were afraid of interrupting their Chief. They just stood at a distance with pale faces. When they noticed that their boss's fun was over for now, they came closer.
The Chief stretched, feeling incomparably relaxed; he felt like he had just taken a hot bath. Everyone on the scene shivered while looking at this bloody man and the relaxed air on his face.
"Hey, hand me the poison." The boss pointed at a shifty-looking individual among the bandits.
"Right away, boss!" The man almost stumbled as he quickly made his way before the Chief.
"Here." He gave the monster a vial containing some sort of blue-colored liquid. Rain had stars dancing behind his eyes; he wasn't sure if they were those in the sky or if they appeared due to the blood loss. In any case, his body was getting colder and colder.
Suddenly, the burly man crouched once again before him. "You know, I knew you were a tough one since the moment I saw you. Despite our little session, there is no fear or pain in your pupils, just pure killing intent." He paused, looking impressed.
Sigh,
"It's a pity our time together is coming to an end, thinking about the fun we could have had...." A wistful expression appeared on his face. Finally, another emotion appeared in Rain's eyes, disgust.
The Chief didn't care. "I've only met a few people with eyes such as yours. If they aren't eliminated, they can become in the most benign case a massive pain in the** and the worst case..." He didn't finish the thought.
"Oh well, such is life. As a thank you for the remarkable session, I have a gift for you." He shook the vial in his hand. The agitated liquid revealed dust-like granules swirling inside. "This is Blue Dust, it's a poison I obtained from a true cultivator. It's very rare. It can turn an entire region into a death's land if used appropriately. Aren't you happy being brought to the other side by such a treasure?" He had an intoxicated look.
...
Seeing as Rain was silent, he joyfully exclaimed, "Here you go." At the same time, he forced Rain's eyelids open and poured a few drops on his eyeballs.
ssssss!!!!
The hissing sounds were the prelude to the agonizing scream that escaped Rain's lips. For the first time, he cried out in pain. The scream resounded far away in the surroundings. The burly man closed his eyes as if listening to the most beautiful sound in all creation. He savored it for a while before standing up.
"You only have until Dawn to live, appreciate the exquisiteness of the pain." The bandit Chief felt that it was a pity that he couldn't watch Rain's descent into hell and his final breath but they needed to leave. The slavers were an impatient bunch.
"Let's go." The burly man signaled the others. The villagers were put inside an iron cage within a carriage. The burly man mounted his giant horse and led them away. Before long, the sound of horses' hooves faded in the distance, and in the previously peaceful village remained a boy screaming his lungs out, as well as numerous corpses