Chapter 693: 12-13s Objective (1/2)
”Hmm… He lost them that quickly?” 12-13 began to chuckle and shake his head. ”My he's grown careless…”
The man with a blacked-out face was casually lounging on a cushy, black thrown taken from 12-13's storage. Relaxing, he clicked his tongue and looked at Sterfen through the corner of his eye.
Sterfen's face was pale and tensed to the absolute extreme. Beads of sweat dripped from every pore of Sterfen's body. The assassin's eyes had almost rolled back in pain. His body remained still in the air as his mind was racked beyond anything Sterfen had imagined.
”If you would just accept it, the pain will subside…” 12-13 sighed with a humorous grin. ”But then again, your strong will is a rare, admirable quality. Snapping such determination is a rare occurrence, one that I'll savor to the fullest… It also proves that you're worth keeping.”
Oblivious to 12-13, Sterfen was too focused in his torment to understand his torturer's ramblings, let alone realize what the man was doing.
”Too bad you can't hear me, Sterfen. Right now, I'm an open book!” laughed the man, relishing the moment. ”You would be delighted to know that Halmut's futile attempts to get more fruit have failed, as expected. The man is too wrapped up in paranoia to question my ridiculous orders. Oh, and we can't forget how he truly believes his hysteria is suddenly cured when I did hardly anything in the first place. All it took was a tiny push and he fell into madness all on his own! Sure, that may hinder him slightly but it makes him all the easier to lead on. If I want the 'mighty' Halmut has a personal pack mule all I need to do is hop on his back and dangle a stimulant in his face!”
12-13's laughter filled the entirety of the chateau, echoing through the halls and halting at the barrier constructed around the area.
”And you're no better!” 12-13 continued to laugh, ”To think you thought yourself capable of entering my controlled space without me noticing… You only made it here because I wanted you to, not because you were capable, Sterfen. Though you're much smarter than Halmut, you're an even better toy to play with.”
Sterfen suddenly began to groan louder and convulse harder. His spasms only made 12-13's laughter louder.
Then, 12-13 stood up and sighed. At the same time, Sterfen's pain eased and he began panting profusely. The shadowy man neared the floating assassin and tenderly asked, ”There, there… Why keep up your front? Why stand your ground against endless torture? There's no end in sight for you, so why fight at all? Tell me, Sterfen… Why fight it?”
With shaky breathing, Sterfen didn't reply.
”Sterfen… I need an answer…”
”W-why…”