Youtap's eyes widened, and she began struggling to free herself from the strapped chair. Marcus slowly turned and gave a calm smile.
Youtap felt her heart race, her hands trembled, and cold sweat poured from her forehead. She shouted in anger:
"Marcus, what do you mean by all this?!"
Marcus stared at Youtap for a moment without speaking. Then he picked up the pliers from the table and slowly stepped toward her.
Marcus took a deep breath and said:
"From the moment I saw you, I realized you can't easily get rid of your shorts. What did you see in my past?"
Youtap stared into Marcus' eyes, full of hatred and fury, thinking:
"My guess was right… he's a killer. Now he wants to eliminate me."
Youtap gave a mocking smile and said:
"That's exactly what you are—a psychopathic scum who punishes innocent people. Why?"
Marcus laughed, a deranged laugh, then fixed Youtap with a threatening stare as if staring into her very soul and said:
"I've told you before: pain is the driving force behind a person's growth. Pain can become the most valuable part of a person if they accept it."
Youtap's eyes widened with fear, thinking,
"That's him… now I'm certain. He starts by torturing others to satisfy himself psychologically."
Youtap struggled even more, but it was useless. It was as if the mana she added to strengthen her body was being absorbed by the chair. She frowned and shouted:
"What the hell is this?!"
"In a world where humans can increase their physical strength by adding mana to their bodies, there must be a neutralizer for that power,"Marcus said.
Youtap's anger grew with every word Marcus spoke, and she yelled:
"What do you want to do to me? Everyone will eventually see the monster you really are!"
Marcus took a step back to look at Youtap from a broader perspective, then tilted his head and said:
"Maybe one day they will understand. But first, tell me, Youtap… are you afraid of pain?"
Then he gave a crazy smile and slowly stepped forward. With each step, fear spread through Youtap's entire being. Marcus gently caressed Youtap's face and said:
"Are you afraid of darkness and ugliness? Are you afraid of death? All of these… are beautiful. These gifts make everything more valuable. When you endure pain, you understand the value of the times you weren't in pain. Laziness destroys a person, but pain makes them grow."
With every word, Youtap realized that Marcus had completely lost his mind, and her heartbeat accelerated. Marcus' eyes, filled with madness, gleamed as he said:
"I wonder… how much are you willing to break? How much sacrifice are you willing to make for growth?"
Youtap, speechless, with a dazed and stunned face, staring blankly into Marcus' eyes, said:
"You've lost your mind…"
Marcus stepped back and started laughing, then picked up the pliers and looked at Youtap.
"Maybe…"
Youtap, horrified at the sight of the pliers, shouted:
"What are you going to do?"
Marcus looked at the pliers, then grabbed Youtap's hand and began cutting off her first finger. His face twisted into a mad expression while he grinned with joy at what he was doing.
AAAAAAA!
Youtap screamed, pounding her feet on the ground. Her cries echoed through the room. Marcus placed the severed finger on the table. Pain engulfed Youtap, cold sweat dripping from her forehead, her teeth clenched tightly.
Marcus closed his eyes, listening to Youtap's screams and moans as if it were his favorite music, then slowly opened his eyes.
Marcus raised his index finger slightly, as if to make a point, and said:
"There's a rule, called the One-Minute Rule. You must count backwards from 60 to 1, and I will cut your fingers during that time. But be careful… if your counting is off, you start over. This is how the torture continues."
He gave a deceitful smile. Marcus looked at Youtap, whose eyes were filled with tears as she tried to endure the pain. Marcus said:
"Do you understand?"
Youtap kept nodding, terrified, horrified, and in pain.
"Good," Marcus smiled.
Then he picked up the pliers again and went for another finger.
AAAAAAA!
Youtap's eyes writhed in pain, tears falling one after another, but she began counting:
"60… 59… 58… 57…"
Marcus started cutting another finger.
AAAAAAA!
Youtap pounded her feet on the ground, the endless pain coursing through her, but she continued counting because it was the only way to stop the torture.
"56… 55… 54… 53… 52…"
Marcus took a deep breath, slowly pacing with excitement and said:
"Good! That's good! I feel alive again!"
"47… 46… 45… 43…"
Youtap cried, gritting her teeth and pounding her feet, her mind in chaos. She could barely think clearly; she just wanted the pain to end and to leave this place.
Youtap thought:
"Please… I'll never go after him again. I just want to go home. I don't want to be here."
"37… 36… 35… 34… 33…"
Marcus moistened his lips before speaking and said:
"You were really close to catching me. Now look at where we are… I could have killed and broken you anytime."
"32… 31… 30… 29…"
Tears fell one by one from Youtap's eyes onto the cold basement floor.
"I let you escape. I let you choose. But you didn't want to be blind. You chose to follow the truth. But truth is always accompanied by pain " Marcus said softly and slowly.