Huuu~~~Fuuu~~~...Huuu~~~Fuuu~~~…
Koul's heavy but slow breathing echoed softly through the walls.
*Blink...…..*Blink….
His eyes slowly fluttered half open only to close again as he tried to blink awake. His half lidded eyes could only see his surroundings in a blur.
Pain immediately shot through his entire body as his consciousness returned, drawing a faint groan from him.
I ache like hell, he said, trying to properly regain himself. But as his consciousness grew stronger, he realized he couldn't feel the softness of his bed beneath him at all.
Everything that had happened replayed vividly in his head. He had won the duel and lost consciousness along with Armin.
So, necessarily, he should be waking up on his bed. Or at least, a nursing bed?
But Koul could feel none of that. If anything, he was....kneeling?
Wait- What?! His eyes spread wide open, the severity of his situation finally dawning on him.
He was kneeling, more like being forcefully pressed down to his knees. On either side of him, two figures seized his arms in place, spreading them wide.
"Arrghh~!" he groaned in pain as his body now became sensitive to pain after regaining consciousness.
He was bandaged all over. His dislocated shoulder appeared to have been treated and bandaged but the people holding his arms in place were ruthlessly stretching it, adding pressure to it.
A chiding pain seared through his skull, causing his features to twist uglily. His jaw throbbed with deep ache, and though his torso was tightly bandaged up to his stomach, the stabbing pain from his cracked ribs still pulsed through him.
His teeth, nose and bursted lips were no exception to the agony either.
Koul's breaths turned more heavy, sweat sliding down his face. His eyes were squeezed shut with his head dipped low, trying to adjust to the pains.
Where am I? Huff~
Who are these- ngh!
He couldn't even form any proper thoughts as the pains were too excruciating. As he drowned in pain, his consciousness slowly ebbing away, a voice rang out coldly.
"You're finally awake," the voice said.
Breathing heavily and ragged, Koul slowly lifted his gaze to look at the figure in front of him.
When he saw Armin seated comfortably by a window with a small, mocking smile gracing his lips, Koul didn't have it in him to even act surprised.
He simply focused on adjusting his breathings. Trying to find a proper way to breathe so as to not aggravate his wounds.
But he did notice that Armin's injuries seemed to have been healed to perfection.
Koul's brows narrowed slightly in question, wondering why he was being held down like a criminal with Armin sitting comfortably by the window.
Noting this, Armin continued.
"Why look so confused? You didn't expect to go scot-free after humiliating me publicly, did you?" He asked, anger evident in his tone.
You even made me lose a tooth, curse it!
Koul stared silently at him. His body softly moving up and down with the weight of his shallow breaths.
Many thoughts raced through his heads.
How did he successfully bring me here? Where were the guards? I'm a king and this is my palace, so how?
Or is it not?
Koul slowly looked around, examining the place to see whether or not it was his palace.
"What's with that look?" Armin questioned. "Or have you never been to this part of your palace?"
So IT IS my palace!
Armin's smile grew wider as he noticed the cluelessness on Koul's face.
"I don't blame you. Since the palace grounds are big after all," he chuckled softly. "But worry not, this is a perfect spot to commit any kind of crime without getting caught," he sneered confidently.
True to his words, the place was unlike any Koul had come across. Looking around, it seemed to be a narrow confinement. Like a hallway of some sort, stretching ever so long with its start and end not visible.
A few windows lined its thick walls, and the air flowing through was dense and cold. Not a single noise could be heard from the outside.
Darkness surrounded them from the front and back, stopping only a few feet away.
The darkness appeared to have been cut off by a single torch strapped to the side of the wall, illuminating the area around them in a dim glow.
As Koul's eyes adjusted to the surroundings, he recognized the two figures holding him down to be Armin's knights. Behind him were another two, and beside Armin was his said ex-wife.
He was too drained to begin to read her expression. He couldn't even keep his head raised for long.
"Anyways, rather than entertain you with the stories of how we brought you here and what this place is, we should start the fun instead."
Armin hopped down from the window, revealing the night sky outside. The moon cast a low glow inside, adding to the glow of the torch.
"I don't know how you did that or what trick you used to knock me out, but there's definitely something behind it," Armin began, approaching Koul.
"Else there will be no way for a weakling like you to beat me! You definitely cheated," he continued. "Was it the elders who aided you? Or was it your knights?"
How stupid can one be? Slipping into denial after losing isn't tuff, mate.
Now that I think about it... this body isn't so bad. The punch was well packed. If I continue training, I'm sure I—
POW!!
Koul's face whipped to the side, blood bursting from his mouth and nose as Armin drove a punch into the side of his face.
"How dare you ignore me while I talk?" He fumed, face contorted in rage.
Koul's skull thrummed with inexplicable pain.
Please give my face a break! Don't ruin my handsome features, I beg you.
"I was going to get straight into it and end you with mercy but I guess not."
Huh? End me?
Koul turned to Armin, clearly confused.
Did I hear correctly? He said end me?
Armin opened his hand and a dagger was placed in it. He stepped forward, and without hesitation, plunged it down into Koul's dislocated shoulder.
Koul's eyes snapped wide as a gut wrenching pain burst through him.
ARRGHHH!!!
Following his cry of agony was Armin's satisfied laugh.
"HAHAHAHA! He's crying! HAHAHHAHA," he doubled over, his hand to his belly as he laughed heartily.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Tears streamed down Koul's face, his senses unable to register such cruel pain.
Without giving him any brief respite, Armin sliced the dagger over his other arm, making a deep cut.
Koul's head dipped low, arms still seized in place. His hair poured forward, sticky and disheveled. His sweat, tears and blood hit the ground repeatedly beneath him, soaking it.
Armin didn't relent just yet. He continued, stabbing into Koul's cracked ribs next. And anytime Koul let out an agonizing cry, he punched his face, breaking his features.
Armin brutally assaulted Koul with no signs of stopping. He punched, stabbed, kicked, all with a wide grin across his face, until Koul's body slumped forward sluggishly.
He was still held down to his knees firmly by the knights, but his spirit had been broken. There was no strength left in him.
His vision had become dark, he couldn't make out his surroundings anymore nor the figures brutalizing him.
He merely huffed, blood and tears streaming down.
Ugh fuck it! Am I really going to die like this?
System! He called within him but soon realized the system couldn't read his mind.
His lips parted painfully, blood slipping into his mouth as he called softly. "System."
Armin paused, squatting in front of him to look up at him from below.
"Huh? What's he muttering?"
"System," Koul called softly again, but nothing. No matter how much he called out to it, the system didn't appear.
"I think the beating has gotten to his brains and he's now damaged," the girl said in an amused tone.
Her gaze was tilted up, her slender fingers hovering softly against her lips as she grinned.
Her eyes were filled with excitement, seemingly enjoying Koul's torture.
Even the system? Ah~ I'm really dead.
How many times will I die here? Will I exhaust my remaining seven deaths?
If I die now, will I reawaken prior to when they kidnapped me and then they'll kidnap and torture me to death again?
Will it go on like that continuously until all seven deaths are exhausted then my fate gets sealed?
Because I don't see a way to counter this. I lose consciousness right after the duel and miss when I get kidnapped.
Even when time rewinds, what can an unconscious me do?
And it's not like time will rewind far back into when I haven't lost consciousness, so I can try not to. Sigh.
How can I- How can I just die like this? I haven't even used this second chance I was gifted properly.
Koul wallowed deeply in thoughts, met with no way out. He couldn't help the sadness and pain that filled him up from the inside.
What then was the point of his second chance if he'd still meet his death so easily like this?
"The best part of this is that it will take days before his body is found because no one frequents this abandoned place," Armin cackled.
"And we won't even be suspected as the perpetrators, because everyone thinks you're still unconscious in your room and haven't left, AHAHAHA!" the girl's laugh pierced the air.
"Of course. We just have to slip back in the same way we slipped out."
Was it a traitor amongst my men? Did they sell me out? Koul thought, his eyes now devoid of any color and emotions. They were dead, empty, all hope lost.
"Now then," Armin rose, lifting Koul's face and tugging his head back by his hair.
He leaned into him, his smile wide and eerie as he spoke, pointing the dagger down at him. "Shall we end you once and for all?"
Koul closed his eyes, accepting his fate. As the dagger struck down toward his neck, a chilling voice rang from the darkness behind them.
"What did you say?" An icy voice pierced the darkness, cold but calm like a midnight ocean.
STEP!
STEP!
A slender figure matched forward with poise, her steps graceful with gait as refined as that of a dignified noble.
"End who? My husband?"
The whole place instantly fell dense like a rock had crashed upon them. The atmosphere was heavy with intense blood lust surging from her and coiling round their necks.
With her icy eyes peering straight at Armin, her lips parted ever so lightly, she spoke. "I'd like to see you try!"