Lesson Learned

The Underwood Elves were glad to receive orders from their master. Not only were they getting to accompany their master and serve him, but they were also granted the opportunity to entertain him. As such, they went all out on the poor assassin, torturing and humiliating him with their dark-blue instruments.

"Hlfl, lpif dlhz bay e rtvc lprblt..."

"Sq vmmzsr, naa'z soa wip amo uups os g qhuvi sx gk?"

"Estfspau! Ehnz'm rokle, mfaa bvecu om caqqtge xzoz regzcnm Zmzmrwl, aseee gfl!"

The captured invader still couldn’t understand a word the elves were speaking, but he could only assume that they were making humiliating remarks and insulting him in ways that he had never even thought could be possible… After all, he had never imagined that he would one day be the central piece of a Viotfest.

His torturers weren’t going easy on him at all, either. Their strike went as far as they possibly could. With the exception of Blutgar, the elves were neither physically impressive nor strong of body–At least not compared to a core disciple like him–But their repeated strikes were aimed at places that he had never thought could be targeted.

He was reduced to nothing. They did whatever they wanted to him, and at this point, he knew that it was no use to struggle or spit venomous words their way… When they decided to invade his secret sanctum two at a time, he could only accept it, unable to even grit his teeth as they pretty much never left his mouth ungagged by one of their hidden weapons.

Following the initial session, however, the assassin was forced to ingest a bizarre liquid that transformed his body, making the show more enjoyable for Anoteros–Evidenced by the state of his club as he watched.

Frankly, the assassin was scared witless of the scion’s weapon. That thing was enormous, and one could just tell that it was heavy and built to destroy. The irregular Underwood Elves had thinner weapons, and while the Underwood Blutgar was better equipped, it paled in comparison to what the master wielded.

As the days passed and the noble took his time as if he were sightseeing, the assassin would be enduring a Viotfest for tens of hours every single day and night. Despite his situation already being terrible beyond belief, he prayed for Anoteros not to use his club on him.

He would willingly clean all of the dull elven blades enthusiastically if it meant not having to be torn and destroyed by Edrick Lucien Anoteros.

At one point during the night, following yet another session, the captive assassin heard the Underwood Blutgar addressing his master.

The impressive creature, a kind which the core disciple had never heard of, and which he currently believed to be some sort of night or dark elf, was kneeling before Anoteros with full reverence.

‘How did he gain rule over these things…?’

"Dortur, mnj I nye fuv efmfgzifltvuh tu iruhw lpe ccifuhex fc xrqwtf?"

The word ‘Dortur’ was spoken with extra inflexion. The assassin, with his experience, could tell that this word was certainly the title by which the elf referred to Anoteros.

"Kz tfwid. lzu ntx yuyv mhwk paip brkh dumrr t egwd wzb fu zax... Csf vyf paip a gxyaz. Csf fyq brbfnpk nhow fllrszd jseakpex csf ycwt lvve vz iuzwmox mx bhr Gibzzeyxw"

The scion responded in the same language the elves had been using, and the assassin detected no accent or anything like that that set him apart from the elves themselves. It was as if he were a native speaker of their tongue.

The Underwood Blutgar was grateful, it seemed, and the next thing he did was approach the assassin.

‘W-Wait…”

The Journomanpian quickly understood what the elf had been asking for, as his secret cavern was soon placed under assault by the heavy elven sword. The Underwood Blutgar had asked for permission to enact torture and humiliation upon the captive by himself, and he proved quite energetic in this regard.

As if his stamina were unending, even after lengthy sessions of Viotfest, it wouldn’t take long for the leader of the elven soldiers to have ‘one-on-one talks’ with the foolish assassin.

The core disciple was barely even given any moments of respite, and even these extra sessions were all watched closely by Anoteros. The scion never missed an occasion to enjoy a show whilst polishing his ogre-sized weapon.

The punishment lasted for a full week, and by then, Edrick knew that he couldn’t waste too much time playing around.

As such, on the last day before he would deliver the assassin to the Xing clan, the Journomanpian was carefully cleaned and fed the strange liquid instead of being brutally Viotted by them… It frightened him.

Anoteros stepped close and pressed the end of his club against the assassin’s cheek.

“It was a rather light punishment, but I hope that you got a good idea of what it means to cross me, did you?”

The assassin nodded fervently.

“Y-Yes, I learned! I learned my lesson. I swear I did! I… I’ll do anything if you let me go. I’ll leak every secret I know!”

“Sorry, but we both know that the Xing will get all of the answers they desire from you anyway. This was nothing more than my own personal punishment. As a noble, I am allowed to do so, but unfortunately for you, it doesn’t exempt you from receiving the proper punishment”

“P-Please…”

“Beg for it”

“B-Beg for what?”

Anoteros lightly tapped his weapon against the assassin’s face.

“For this. Beg for it, and I’ll go easy on you before you’re delivered”

“I…”

The assassin ate his words.

“Please, punish me…”

The assassin soon screamed as if he were being murdered. 

Anoteros was using a version of Balls To The Wall that melded both the usual version and the reverse variant that he had acquired thanks to the upgrade to the innate ability. This allowed him to dish out a rather severe and painful punishment.

This time, it was the Underwood Elves who were spectators, and they couldn’t help but polish their dull blades at the spectacle of watching their divine master deliver retribution upon a sinner.

The assassin’s hills, softened by the mysterious liquid, rippled and turned red under the force of the attacks. He could only bite into the grass and dirt itself to endure better…

In the end, he didn’t even get to enjoy any amount of Edrick’s elixir. It was granted to the Underwood Elves instead.

When the assassin woke up, he was already in the process of being handed over to the Xing clan. Right on time to catch a conversation between Anoteros and a man from the Xing clan:

“...By the way, I would appreciate it if you could eventually give this guy back to me. One of my bodyguards took a liking to him, so I would be grateful if I could get this assassin back in one piece eventually”

“Sure, that’s no problem”

“Sweet”

‘Why did I have to be asked to go on this mission…?’