The Sword and The Shadow

Leguna felt a splash of cold water on his face and snapped awake. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around to assess his situation.

"Oh, as expected of Mister Dark Requiem. Your constitution really isn't like normal high-order warriors!" a soldier said to his partner, "Look, he's still fine after taking so many beatings."

"No matter how strong he is, didn't he lose to Sir Saron?" said the other. He looked curiously at Leguna and spat on his face. "Ptooey! What's so great about Dark Requiem? He's just a snot-nosed brat who is subject to our whims!"

Leguna listened to them groggily and opened his eyes slowly. The ropes that bound him were specially made with magic and made it impossible for him to exert any force. His impetus nodes were also sealed, and he was nothing but a normal youth in his late teens now, save for being more endurant of punishment than the average person.

He looked up with great difficulty and snickered. "Who I am is not for you to decide!"

Smack!

A wet whip smacked against his face and he couldn't help but let out a cold breath. Though, the pain was still far milder in comparison to that of Saron's punch.

"Are you trying to scratch an itch for me or something? Do it harder. Can't you scrubs muster any strength?" he mocked, despite his facial muscles contorting from the pain.

The jailer pulled out his dagger and patted Leguna's face with the flat of it. "Try talking back one more time and I'll cut your nose off!"

"Hehehehe... Huahahahaha!"

"What are you laughing at?!" The jailer gave him another slap.

"Ptooey!" Leguna spat out a bloody mouthful and smiled. "The girl I love is disfigured, so I might as well get my face ruined to match her's! By then, we'll come back to frighten you with our looks till even your parents can't recognize you! Hahahahaha!"

The jailer lashed out with the whip once more. "Only an idiot like you would fall in love with that kind of ugly f*ck! Why would you want a disfigured woman? I wouldn't even feed her to my dogs!"

"I dare you to say that again." A chilling glare could be seen on his face.

"What? Don't like me calling her ugly?" the jailer said, startled by that glare. But he mustered his courage when he saw Leguna unable to move on the crucifix. "Ugly, ugly, ugly, ugly f*ck! What are you gonna do about that? That kind of woman doesn't deserve to live!"

"You... f*ck, I dare you to say it again! I'll definitely get you..." He struggled on the crucifix like a madman and twisted his body wildly to get his teeth as close as he could to the jailer in an attempt to bite into his oily face.

Yet, it turned out to be futile. No matter how much he struggled, he wasn't able to break free of the magical binding and only looked laughably pathetic.

"Hahahahahaha!" The jailer smiled in an exaggerated fashion and cut towards Leguna's face, but the latter's reaction was quick and he managed to shirk his head back and protect his nose. That didn't stop the blade from tracing a bloody line across his face, however. If he didn't get a priest to look at it, he might have to live with a terrifying scar for the rest of his life.

"You dare evade?!" The jailer gave him a slap and prepared to go in for another cut. But Saron showed up in the jail at that moment.

"Sir Saron..." The two jailers bowed in a hurry.

Saron looked at the sinister-looking Leguna and nodded with satisfaction. "You two did well, but now, you may go off."

"By your will." The jailers bowed politely and hurriedly left.

After they left, Saron looked at the struggling Leguna and suddenly laughed.

"Hahahahaha!" he laughed as he looked Leguna down, "How interesting."

"What did you say?" Leguna's face twitched a bit and caused some fresh blood to flow downwards and making him feel a little itchy.

"As the bureau head, you are able to influence an empire and the continent. I just didn't think that the ugly half elf of yours would be able to affect you too. In other words, the one who controls her controls you, and by extension, the information network of Hocke! With that, one could come to control the world! Hahahaha, the laws of the world truly are interesting indeed."

"Something even more interesting is about to happen!" Leguna snapped after the lick of his lips, "If I get another chance, you're practically dead!"

"Say what you like!" Saron shrugged arrogantly and continued, "You're already in my hands, anyway. You want to kill me? You better back it up with proof!"

"Oh, I didn't think the great crimsonflame demon is afraid of a rival growing stronger."

"Feel free to think whatever you like," Saron yielded in a surprising fashion, "You're going to die soon anyway and there'll be nobody to hear you throw shade on me."

"You!" Leguna didn't expect that the arrogant Saron would have a shameless side to him.

"Do you know why I didn't kill you?" he asked after giving Leguna's face a pat.

"How would I know?!"

"Because..." He tore at the wound on Leguna's face insidiously and said, "I want you to feel the humiliation I felt back then before you die."

"Humiliation...?" His voice was low and growly from the pain on his face.

"That's right!" Another hint of venom flashed across his eyes. "It's all because of you that my legendary undefeated streak was broken! It's all you that my reputation as being number one of the continent was affected! If not for you, would the old immortal in Stok even begin to doubt me? I should've been the most eye-catching person on the continent!"

"Hahahahahahaha!" Leguna laughed out of nowhere from hearing that.

"You dare to laugh?"

"Of course I would." He no longer cared about the tear in his face. "You... hahaha... actually... hahahaha... for this pointless reason... hahahaha... you really have lots of time on your hands."

"I should've been number one! I won't let anyone doubt that! It's an offense against me if they do!" he hissed. As he said so, he triggered Host of Flame and his slender body began to produce startling heat.

"And your existence is an affront to me. So, I'll punish you." He stretched out his thousand-degree-hot fingers towards Leguna's body.

"Your muscles are pretty well trained," he said at the sight of Leguna's slender, but muscular build. "So, I'll leave a mark on you."

When he finished, he began casually tapping on Leguna's body. With each touch he would incite a blood-curling scream.

Needless to say, he wasn't screaming cause he was violated by another man. It was the heat of the fingers that distressed him. He couldn't just take that kind of pain normally. Even the strongest of wills would cave to pain beyond their tolerance.

Even Gahrona, when she took the brunt of Alissanda's holy impetus with Leguna's body, shrieked in pain despite her willpower as a saint-ranker.

While the pain from Saron's burning fingers wasn't as strong as that produced by opposite aspects clashing, it was still far beyond what a normal person could take. He cried out in agony uncontrollably.

Yet, Saron didn't seem satisfied by that. No matter how much he screamed, there was still a sign of stubbornness in his gaze that was boosted with further fervor which made Saron rather uncomfortable.

"You still dare to resist?" Saron punched Leguna's abdomen and left a burning hot fist mark there.

"Hahahaha! Ptooey!" He spat fresh blood on Saron's face. "You want me to submit to you? I'll consider it after you eat your own shit!"

"I hope you remember that angering me is the most irrational thing a person could possibly do!" Saron closed his eyes. He knew Leguna's weakness. While he didn't care about his own wellbeing, he wouldn't be able to bear it if Eirinn or others came to harm.

Saron looked at Leguna and took out a pendant from the table nearby. That was the one Leguna wore on his neck.

When he saw it, he stopped laughing. That pendant was the one Annelotte gave him!