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Kaelen, who had been deliberately avoiding looking at his father’s ’grotesque’ antics, snapped his gaze forward the instant the scream ripped through the training hall and two heavy lumps of bloody flesh dropped on either side of Aether with a sickening thud, the impact echoing faintly against the stone floor as blood arced outward in a grotesque rainbow, glistening under the dim light... almost srizing in its horror.
His mind failed to grasp the mont.
He could only stare.
The beautiful woman who monts ago had been arching in pleasure under his father’s touch now lay collapsed on the ground, trembling violently, her hands clutching at her chest... or rather, the ruin that remained.
Where soft flesh once existed, there was now only torn muscle, shredded skin, and a wet, pulsing void spilling blood as though her body had been forced into so grotesque parody of life... like she was being milked of existence itself.
The won in the hall reacted almost in unison, hands flying to their own chests as if to confirm they were still whole.
Their eyes dragged themselves away from the writhing, screaming figure on the floor... and slowly, almost unwillingly, turned toward the one who had done this.
Aether sat there.
The skull mask stared blankly, emotionless, yet sothing beneath it leaked through the cracks of his presence.
Everyone felt it.
He was enjoying it.
No, not rely enjoying.
He was thrilled!
A twisted delight coiled around him like smoke.
His lips curled into sothing cruel, a smile that did not belong to a man but to sothing far more broken.
His eyes glead with a manic glint as he slowly rose to his feet, savouring the mont as if it were a delicacy.
"Opps~ Opps~ OOOOO~ PPPSSSS~"
The drawn-out mockery dripped from his voice... as though he had rely made a minor mistake.
As though he had not just torn her apart.
As though he had simply pulled too hard.
Toooo~ Hard!
The sound of his voice alone sent tremors through the hall, crawling beneath skin, gripping bones.
Several collapsed where they stood, their legs giving out under the sheer weight of terror pressing down on them.
Even Kaelen felt it, his legs trembling uncontrollably as he stared at the man before him.
His father...
No.
This was not the man he knew.
This was sothing else.
Sothing darker?
A warped reflection, a shadow that had finally stepped out of hiding.
A brutal contrast to the father he once believed in.
The beautiful woman’s screams weakened, her strength fading as darkness began to creep into the edges of her vision, her consciousness slipping, desperate to escape the agony.
But Aether did not allow it.
With casual ease, he retrieved a high-grade healing potion, the glass catching the dim light for a fleeting second before he uncorked it.
He crouched beside her and poured a small amount onto the mangled ruin of her chest.
The liquid hissed softly as it touched flesh, knitting just enough, sealing just enough.
Not to heal.
Only to keep her awake.
"That won’t be good if you fall unconscious, right?"
His voice ca low, almost gentle, as his hand patted her chest with feigned care, each touch sending a fresh wave of pain through her body.
The woman trembled violently, her lips quivering,
"W-Why...?"
Monts ago, her body had been drowning in pleasure, lost in waves of euphoria so intense it blurred reality.
She had climaxed in front of her husband, in front of the one she called her toy.
That warmth had not even fully faded.
And yet now...
"Why, you ask?"
Aether tilted his head slowly, almost curiously, as though genuinely considering the question, as though the answer was sothing distant even to him.
That single motion deepened the horror in the room.
It wasn’t rage.
It wasn’t madness in the way they understood.
It was sothing emptier.
Sothing that made less sense.
Was he broken?
Had they all been blind?
Had they mistaken a monster for a saint?
Even Aether himself did not fully understand.
The question lingered in his own mind, echoing faintly beneath the surface of his thoughts.
Why?
Why was this anger so consuming?
Why did hatred coil so tightly within him, directed at soone he had never known?
Was it because of Penelope?
Perhaps.
What she had endured was cruel, unjust... painful.
But she was not the only one who had suffered.
His wives had faced worse.
Far worse.
And yet...
That sa burning hatred had never risen then.
So why now?
Why her?
Was it because of the way she cried?
Was it because of the way she broke?
Was it because of the... na she carried?
Or... was it because he had been part of the reason her family died, leaving her alone in a hollow world, pushing her inch by inch toward the edge where life no longer held aning?
"Who knows~"
Aether muttered, carrying a chill that did not belong to re words, before he slowly straightened his posture, his gaze sweeping across the hall like a silent executioner choosing where to strike next.
A collective jolt rippled through the room.
!!
Wherever that ice-cold gaze touched, bodies flinched instinctively, heads dropping in imdiate submission, as though eye contact alone might condemn them.
No one dared breathe too loudly.
Aether’s gaze moved with deliberate calm... until it settled on Kaelen.
Without hesitation, Kaelen dropped to one knee.
"Take the remaining filth out and wait outside."
"Understood!"
Kaelen’s voice rang firm as he rose and imdiately gestured toward the guards stationed near the doors.
They moved quickly, almost desperately, dragging people out of the hall, hands gripping arms, shoulders, anything they could grab, as muffled cries and stumbling footsteps echoed briefly before fading beyond the door.
Snowflake slithered back toward the portal under his command.
Normally, she would have resisted.
But this ti... there was none of that.
No hesitation or pout.
Only obedience.
Within seconds, the vast training hall emptied.
Silence fell heavily.
Only five remained.
And among them... Aether stood at the centre of it all.
He inhaled deeply, in a controlled way, as though attempting to steady sothing volatile beneath his skin.
Then he turned.
His attention locked onto two figures.
Two n who now looked far smaller than they had monts ago.
Pathetic.
Mathew and the so-called handso man both flinched violently, their eyes darting toward the trembling, groaning woman sprawled across the blood-stained floor before snapping back to Aether, who was now walking toward them with unhurried steps, each one echoing like a countdown.
The handso man’s body shook uncontrollably, his voice breaking as he forced words out between shallow breaths.
"L-Lord Aether... p-please... forgive us... I... I didn’t do anything... I never offended you... I-I... I was just..."
Aether did not even glance at him.
Not once.
Instead, he stopped in front of Mathew.
Mathew recoiled instantly.
Sweat drenched his clothes, his face pale, his breathing erratic as panic overtook every fragnt of composure he once had.
"N-No... NO! Don’t co closer... no, NO!"
His voice cracked into a scream, raw and desperate, as his limbs scrambled against the ground, dragging his body backwards in a pathetic attempt to create distance.
Aether did not rush.
He slowed.
Each step beca deliberate... savouring.
Enjoying the sight of a so-called Golden Arcane Card holder reduced to nothing more than a crawling, broken thing clinging to life.
Mathew’s back finally slamd against the cold wall.
There was nowhere left to go.
His body jerked violently as he trembled,
"P-Please, Lord... Y-Your Majesty... I will do anything you want... please, don’t kill ... please..."
His voice twisted into sothing grotesque,
"Y-you can even have my wife... hahaha... ah... ahh... please Fuck her all you want... J-Just let liv—"
Aether raised a hand slightly.
Mathew’s voice died instantly.
Aether tilted his head, curious in a way that felt far more terrifying than anger.
"Tell ..."
"Did you ever truly love Penelope?"
Mathew froze.
His face drained of what little colour remained, his pupils shrinking as realisation struck him like a blow.
Penelope.
That na...
Pieces began to connect in his mind, jagged and incomplete, but enough to form a horrifying picture.
This suffering... this punishnt...
It was because of her.
It had to be.
Then... if this was revenge...
If this was about her...
Was she here?
Watching?
Hidden sowhere within the shadows of this hall, witnessing everything?
Was that why Aether asked the question?
Because she wanted to hear the answer?
A hope flickered.
Mathew’s face twitched, sothing resembling relief clawing its way through the terror as he hurriedly forced the words out,
"Y-Yes... yes! I truly loved her! From the bottom of my heart!!
It’s... it’s this bitch who forced to do those disgusting things!"
His expression twisted into pitiful desperation as he tried to mould himself into sothing believable.
"I-In order to protect her from that bitch, I pushed her... that’s why... that’s why everything happened.
I always loved Penelope..."
His hands lifted shakily, spreading outward into the empty training hall as if expecting her to appear and stop everything in the final monts.
"I... I love you, Penelope... I truly did—"
"Opps~ Wrong answer~"
THUMP!
Aether’s foot ca down in a single, brutal stomp on Mathew’s crotch, the impact dull and heavy, echoing against flesh and bone alike.
"AARRRRHHH—"
The scream barely had ti to form.
Before pain could even fully bloom...
THUMP!
Aether stomped again.
And again.
And again.
Madness took rhythm.
THUMP!
THUMP!
Chukk!
THUMP!
Ckkk!
THUMP!
Splash...
What had once been part of a man turned into sothing unrecognisable, crushed into a wet, shapeless paste beneath relentless force.
The handso man watching it unfold turned deathly pale, his entire body locking as the sounds carved themselves into his mind.
Each impact echoed louder than the last, not just in the hall, but inside his skull, pounding, repeating and.... promising.
You are next!
His hands flew to his ears, fingers pressing hard, desperate to block it out, but it did nothing.
The sound did not need air anymore.
It lived inside him now.
"N-No... no... please... it’s them... I... I didn’t..."
His voice fractured into aningless fragnts, horror gnawing through what little sanity he had left.
Warmth spread down his legs.
His pants darkened as urine leaked freely.
"Oi. Don’t faint."
Aether’s voice cut through, irritated, almost bored, as he glanced down at his boots, now soaked and dripping with blood and ruined flesh.
His gaze shifted lazily toward what remained of Mathew, the grotesque ss leaking from beneath torn fabric.
"Love her? What an asshole."
He tilted the bottle of the remaining healing potion and poured it onto Mathew’s lips, forcing just enough into him to drag him back from the edge.
Mathew’s body twitched.
A weak breath.
Then another.
Consciousness crept back in like a curse.
"Arrh... W-Where am—"
"In your Mommy’s pussy, bitch."
Aether’s tone carried a faint amusent now.
Mathew’s hazy mind snapped violently into clarity.
Everything returned at once.
The pain!
The crushing!!
His mouth opened, lungs pulling in air to release another scream...
When—
"Tsk! Don’t be a pathetic loser and whine all the ti, bitch."
Aether caught his legs and forced them apart, his grip iron-tight.
A wicked smile carved across his face as he leaned slightly forward,
"Now... take it like a man."
"H-Huh...?"
The confusion barely ford before pain followed.
Aether pulled.
Slowly... Wider and... Further!
The tension built, stretching muscle, tearing sinew, forcing the body beyond what it was ever ant to endure.
CRACK!
Mathew’s face twisted, horror flooding every feature as realisation struck... too late.
"NO... NO... NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! AARRRRRRRRRRRRRHHHHH!!"
TTTRRRRRR!
SPLASH!!
CCHHUUKKKK~
Mathew’s body split in half... literally torn vertically apart, flesh ripping open under the rciless force, organs spilling, blood erupting in a grotesque cascade.
The handso man collapsed backwards, his entire body shaking uncontrollably as he watched his best friend being torn apart alive, slowly, painfully, every second stretching into eternity.
Mathew’s eyes remained open.
Alive and Aware. Registering every inch of agony.
Like hell had been dragged into reality just for him.
"Hehehe... do you feel it... DO YOU FUCKING FEEL IT, MATHEW?!!! Being torn apart from the inside..."
Aether’s voice spiralled into manic delight, his laughter echoing through the trembling hall,
"Hehehehe... It’s so exciting!~"
With one final, brutal yank, his hands pulled the two halves apart completely.
Splash...
Flesh and blood fell, spreading across his body, staining him completely, yet Aether did not even flinch.
He simply stared.
Blankly.
At what remained.
"Hey... are you alright?~"
His tone softened, as if checking on a friend.
"Why are you not talking?"
"..."
"Don’t tell you’re going to stay silent and let your bitch do all the talking?"
"..."
"Oh my... aren’t you the shy one here?~"
His hand reached down, slapping lightly against Mathew’s head, the only part that had not fully separated.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Only the echo of madness remained.
"KKKKYYYYYYAAAAA!!!"
The woman’s scream shattered the silence.
She had been crouched there the entire ti, trembling, silent, broken... until now.
Aether’s head snapped toward her instantly.
!!
She flinched violently, both hands flying to cover her mouth, her breathing erratic, tears streaming freely as she crawled backwards, her body dragging through the blood-stained floor.
Splash!
Aether rose from the ss of flesh and ruin, the wet sound of his movent sticking to the ground, before he began walking toward her.
Behind him, the handso man stared at the remains of his forr friend.
Sothing inside him cracked completely.
’I... I’d rather kill myself than be torn apart like that...’
His thoughts spiralled desperately as his eyes darted around the room, searching for anything that could grant him a quicker end.
Anything.
But there was nothing.
No weapons.
No escape.
The guards had stripped everything before he entered the palace.
Only a wooden chair stood nearby.
And far in the corner... a distant restroom.
Too far.
What could he even use?
What could possibly grant him peace?
His fists clenched tightly, nails digging into his palms as desperation peaked.
If there was nothing else...
He opened his mouth, preparing to bite down on his tongue, to choke on his own blood before that monster could reach him—
"I would never hurt you, dear~"
The warm and gentle voice cut through everything.
The handso man froze mid-motion, blinking in disbelief as his gaze snapped toward Aether.
Aether stood there, his blood-covered hand now resting gently atop the woman’s head, patting her slowly, almost tenderly.
"After all... I love you, darling~"
"Huh...?"
"H-Huh...?"
Both of them spoke at the sa ti, their voices laced with confusion and disbelief.
Because nothing about this made sense.
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