Hero of Darkness

After everyone suddenly gazed at the back of their group, at a 3-meter-tall Brawler Saint…

In response, a certain torture expert among their group was wondering at everyone else intently staring at him.

Gasp!

"Why are you guys looking at me?!" asked the flabbergasted Kahn and gasped in disbelief.

"I am the most gentlemanly person there ever has been." he stated with an elegant and friendly smile.

Silence!

The surroundings turned dead silent as everyone looked at Atreus with a pokerface.

His virtuous claims… Nobody believed that.

Sigh!

Kahn sighed helplessly and spoke.

[And it had to be a woman.

No wonder people complain that I'm too hateful towards women since the beginning of the first arc. 

I either beat them to death or torture them till they beg me for death.] he spoke to himself with a defeated countenance.

[Well, it's not my fault that 99% of the women I meet are either fucking psychos or want to kill me.

But at this rate, I am going to get labeled as a Misogynist.] he thought and accepted his fate.

Crack!

Crack!

Atreus's fingers cracked in a chilling display of anticipation, his deliberate movements carrying an eerie air of impending action. 

He extended his arms, his deliberate steps bringing him closer to the incapacitated Dryad Summoner, Sylvana, who was still reeling from the backlash of her defeated skill.

"Hello there, Bamboo-lady. Let's spend some quality time together." spoke the fenrirborne with an ominous smirk.

On the other end… Sylvana's entire life flashed before her eyes.

Sylvana's fear was palpable, her trembling form a stark testament to the dire situation she found herself in. The memories of her previous encounter with Atreus flashed through her mind, a brutal reminder of the merciless fate that awaited her.

First, it was him breaking her neck with his bare claw and then the image of Atreus' summoned Wolf head snapping her neck and tearing her head from her body was etched in Sylvana's memory, a haunting reminder of the depths of cruelty he was capable of. 

Now, facing him once more, his wicked grin and ominous words served as a grim harbinger of the torment that lay ahead.

Noticing her scared and shuddering figure, Atreus replied with a benign smile…

"Don't worry… I'll make it slow and painful."

----------------

1 HOUR LATER…

A chilling silence descended as Sylvana's anguished cries came to an abrupt and harrowing halt. The aftermath of the torment inflicted upon her was evident in the blood that seeped from her eye sockets, the life force draining away along with her defiance.

The scene was one of gruesome brutality, a testament to Atreus's merciless resolve. Her limbs severed and her nails crushed beneath his unrelenting heel, Sylvana's agony was unyielding, her form contorted in the throes of excruciating suffering.

In a final, grisly act, the blue wolfkin forcibly extracted her eyes from their sockets, a macabre tableau that defied the boundaries of cruelty. 

The potion that followed was a cruel twist, a concoction that ignited an inferno of torment within her very being. The sensation was beyond the realm of imagination, a fusion of searing needles and molten fire that consumed her from within, a symphony of pain that defied description.

What no one knew was that this potion was an extremely diluted version of Bjormungadur's venom that Kahn recently added in his list of torturing techniques.

Given Sylvana's constitution as a Dryad and her mastery over Life Force, it wasn't enough to kill her in a short time.

But her natural resistance to the venom caused a chain reaction of mortifying pain that ran across her entire body.

Tremble!

Sylvana's body trembled, wracked by convulsions as the potion's vile effects tore through her. The boundaries of her endurance were shattered, her willpower no match for the unrelenting agony that now held her in its merciless grip.

Sylvana's torment had reached a realm of suffering that surpassed any previous conception. The methods employed by Atreus were a twisted symphony of pain, an orchestra of agony that pushed the boundaries of her endurance far beyond what she had ever imagined.

"ARRRGGGGGHHHH!!!" wailed Sylvana.

She felt like being pierced by thousands of metallic needles while all of her muscles and fleshly organs were being incinerated by hot lava. A deadly combination that drove her insane with every passing moment.

"Shhh! Stop overreacting. We're just beginning." Kahn's words slithered with a sinister edge, a chilling accompaniment to the unrelenting torment being wrought upon Sylvana.

Her regenerative abilities offered a cruel irony, denying her the mercy of unconsciousness even as her body was ravaged by excruciating pain.

Atreus manipulated this grim reality to his advantage, exploiting her own blessings to amplify her suffering, creating a cycle of torment from which there was no escape.

Before… Sylvana thought she could withstand any form of torture or humiliation. But now… She wished to be freed from this agonizing and traumatizing punishment.

"Wait! I'll talk! Please stop!..."

Amidst the aura of impending dread, Sylvana's resolve crumbled, and the torrent of information they sought poured forth from her lips. 

Her voice quivered as she revealed the intricate details of what lay ahead in the God's Domain and what type of powers they'd face going forward, her words a desperate bid to appease the impending torment that loomed over her. 

But even as she shared her knowledge, a palpable weight pressed upon her, the cruel reality of a binding spell restricting her from divulging certain critical information.

Sylvana's voice trailed off, her expression one of frustration and helplessness as she conveyed the limitations imposed upon her. 

She spoke of the guardians, their numbers, and powers, her eyes reflecting the depths of her knowledge. She revealed the pathway to the altar of the gods, a crucial detail that would guide their journey through this perilous realm. 

However, her tone held a note of resignation, an acknowledgment that despite her revelations, their path would still lead to confronting the guardians directly.

In the midst of this intense exchange, Kahn's voice cut through the tension with an unexpected question, his words carrying a touch of levity that contrasted starkly with the gravity of their situation.

And finally, after they were convinced that Sylvana had given them the truth, Maximus made an understanding nod at Atreus.

"Do you know what the best way to a woman's heart is?"

Kahn's inquiry hung in the air, a surprising interjection that momentarily shifted the focus from their grim circumstances.

"What?"

Sylvana's response was laced with weariness, drained of the nonchalance and confidence she had previously displayed. 

Her voice held a hint of exhaustion as she replied, her spirit broken by the hour of torture she had endured at Kahn's hands.

And right then…

Stab!

Kahn stabbed Sylvan's chest with his wolf claws and pulled her heart out with an enigmatic and charming smile.

"Like this."