16 Tormen (1/2)

Night quickly arrived. ”Follow me.” Luny ordered.

Ed's legs moved on their own. He walked into a room the size of a small warehouse. It looked like it belonged in a hospital. The floors were covered in blood and dirt. The ceiling had several splotches of blood as well. All sorts of strange machines were setup in different areas. There were six men and three women in the room. Each one laid on a gurney without moving.

”Go lay down on a gurney. Don't get up until I say otherwise.”

He walked towards a gurney and laid down. He glanced at the other espers. Each one had a dead look in their eyes. Large wounds and burns covered their bodies to the point they barely looked human. One was missing a limb like Ed. ”What happened to the large guy from before?” He questioned.

Luny shook her head and sighed, ”He died. A pity. I rather liked his power. Oh, well... Time to get started!” She pushed each gurney next to a 3-meter-wide metal pole. It stuck straight out of the ground with a 5-meter-wide metal orb atop it. The gurneys were arranged in a large circle around it. She opened a small hatch on the pole and pulled out a silver powder.

”That's!” Ed yelled in shock.

”Oh?” Luny smiled. ”You recognize it? Hehe. If you survive then maybe you can be my assistant someday.” She stuck the silver powder in the hatch and closed it. A low humming sound rang out. She hurriedly ran away as the humming got louder and louder.

Ed's eyes opened wide in horror. He struggled to escape, yet there was nothing actually binding him. He was trapped based on the earlier order alone.

*Boom!* A silver streak of lightning shot from the pole towards the 10 espers. ”Aghhh!!!” They all screamed in pain. It only lasted for a brief instant before stopping. Then another lightning bolt came. One after another they struck the espers. Their skin sizzled from the electricity. Minor burns accumulated into large burns. However, no blood poured out. The lighting burned the wounds shut before a chance even presented itself. Screams continued to ring out for nearly ten minutes. Then, the humming sound finally came to an end.

”Huff! Huff!” Ed breathed deeply now that it finally stopped. He glanced at his body and saw a series of lightning scars. They appeared like a tree of winding lightning that covered his entire body. If not for the color being barely darker than his skin, then someone may have mistaken it for a full-body tattoo. ”To think lightning elemental powder could be used that way…” He murmured to himself.

Luny wrote down some information on a clipboard. She nodded, ”Mm. Not a bad start, but that won't be nearly enough to cause a 2nd awakening. Espers can handle a little pain like that easily” She glanced at the espers and smiled, ”Have any of you ever heard of death by 1,000 cuts? Don't worry. I've gotten quite good at it! I'll stop before you die! Hahahahaha!” She slowly pushed each gurney into a different area.

A set of tables covered in white cloth were set up in this area. Scalpels, needles, and other medical tools sat atop them. Luny grabbed a scalpel and began to cut a man one slash at a time. Very small wounds were left atop his body. The number quickly increased, and the wounds soon joined together into bigger ones. Blood poured down the gurney and dripped to the floor. Bloodcurdling screams rang out as the esper begged for mercy. Luny smiled and hummed a small tune that was in sync with the screams. She seemed to enjoy their musical harmony. The esper's screams slowly died down. When the esper was almost on the verge of death, Luny grabbed a potion and poured it atop him. The wounds stopped bleeding and formed ugly scars. ”Next!” She yelled as she happily moved to the next esper.

Ed watched as one esper after another was tortured. Some screamed while others were too numb to even do that much. His own turn soon arrived. He tried to struggle once more but couldn't even lift an arm off the gurney. A small cut appeared on his chest. Then another. They accumulated quickly as he watched his blood fall to the ground. His fist clenched so hard that his fingernails dug into the flesh of his palm. However, he did not scream. The lightning had caught him by surprise and he lost control of his emotions. This time he gritted his teeth and stared at the mad woman with wrathful eyes.

When the torture ended they were given a full hour break. Luny left the room during this time. The espers had strong bodies that recovered quickly. In combination with the potion, they were almost fully healed by the time the hour passed. However, their bodies were covered in scars from the torment. Suddenly, one esper bit their tongue and slowly suffocated on their own blood.

A creaking sound rang out as a door opened. Luny returned and saw the dead esper. She chucked, ”One committed suicide already? Sheesh! Well, he was the smart one in this group. The rest of you listen up. No one is allowed to kill themselves from now on.”

A crown symbol on each of their bodies lit up. They could feel the order binding them. Some had the symbol on their hand like Ed. Others had them on their face, chest, or legs. It was different for each esper. ”Next is needles!” Luny grinned. She took out a box of needles and began shoving them into their bodies. Each one caused a sharp jab of pain but left no blood.

…

The days slowly passed and turned into weeks. Ed lost track of time, but he figured he had probably been here even longer than he had been an esper. The torment continued to increase in intensity. Fire, lightning, and ice were used to damage their bodies. All sorts of cuts, stabs, and other wounds were inflicted on them daily. Occasionally, Luny would come up with something new such as drowning them or depriving them of sleep. Their bodies were completely unrecognizable. On the 6th week of torture an esper finally died of a heart attack.

”Hmm.” Luny frowned. ”Another one finally died. Eight to go… The king is pushing me. The surgeries have already finished. I'll have to speed up the pace here.”

One esper laughed aloud when he heard this. ”Gahahaha! You're really shit at torture crazy witch!” This esper was of Latino descent. He was tall and skinny. He glared at Luny with a crazed look in his eyes.

”Oh?” She frowned. ”It seems like you want some extra special treatment?”

Ed looked at the esper curiously. Of the eight remaining espers, only this esper and himself had not completely given up hope. 'Has another one fallen?' he wondered.

”I want a deal!” The man yelled. ”I'll tell you the proper way to torture people. In exchange, you let me go.”