Noah sat tied to a chair in a dimly lit room, still unconscious.

Splash!

A bucket of cold water was dumped over his head.

Noah jolted awake. "Ugh... haa..." His eyes shot open as he gasped for air. "W-Where... where am I?" His vision was blurry, and a dull pain still lingered in the back of his neck. Slowly, his sight began to clear.

Then he saw them. Two men stood in front of him.

One was Simon. The other wore a long black cloak. Black beard covered the lower half of his face, while his sharp eyes resembled those of a hawk observing its prey.

It was none other than Alpha. "Ask him who killed my cousin."

Alpha’s voice was calm. Yet for some reason, it sent a chill down Noah’s spine.

Simon stepped forward.

"Two weeks ago, you returned from the Hidden Realm." He pointed to Noah’s left.

"She was with you, too."

Only then did Noah notice another chair. Meridith was tied to it, still unconscious.

Simon continued. "There were hunters from multiple guilds and nations trapped inside that realm. Most of them died. Only seven people made it out alive. Tell me. Who killed those hunters?"

He paused. "Was it monsters... Or a human?"

"It was a mon..." Before Noah could finish speaking, the door suddenly opened.

Creak!

"Sorry. I was in the restroom for a bit." A cheerful voice entered the room. "Is he awake already?" A man wearing a deep blue cloak walked inside. One of his eyes was covered by a black eyepatch. The moment he noticed Noah, his face brightened.

"Great!" He clapped his hands together excitedly. "Now we can finally begin the interrogation." The man walked straight toward Noah and grabbed his wrist.

Noah instinctively struggled. "What are you doing?"

"Relax." The man grinned. "I’m just putting one of my little children inside you."

His smile widened. "It’ll make telling the truth much easier."

Noah’s heart skipped a beat. "What?"

Before he could react, something crawled out from beneath the man’s sleeve.

A worm.

It wriggled across the man’s arm before lunging forward.

"No!" Noah tried to pull away.

But it was already too late. The worm buried its head into Noah’s skin. A drop of blood trickled down his wrist. Then the creature vanished beneath the flesh.

Noah froze. His eyes widened to their limits.

"What the hell...? What did you do to me?!"

He roared.

The eyepatched man merely smiled before looking toward Alpha. "He is ready, Captain."

Alpha nodded. Then he looked at Simon.

Simon immediately understood. He repeated the same question.

"Who killed all those hunters inside the Hidden Realm?"

"It was a mon..." Noah suddenly stopped.

A sharp pain erupted from deep inside his body.

"AAAHHH!"

Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

The pain felt as if something were chewing on his insides.

The eyepatched man chuckled."Sorry, kid."

His smile looked disturbingly innocent. "But while my little child is inside you... You can’t lie."

Noah’s face turned pale.

"And if you insist on lying..." The man’s smile widened. "It will continue enjoying its meal."

A horrifying silence filled the room. Noah stared at him in horror.

After some time, Simon repeated the question.

Noah neither lied nor answered. If he couldn’t lie, then he would simply stay silent to avoid the pain. Or that’s what he planned.

But the pain suddenly flared up again.

"AAARGH!" His entire body trembled violently. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The man with the eyepatch chuckled. "Well, that’s not going to work either." He crouched down in front of Noah.

"You can’t lie. And you can’t keep quiet."

He tapped Noah lightly on the shoulder. "If you don’t want your insides to turn into an empty cave, there is only one thing you can do. Tell the truth."

Simon asked again. "Who killed them?"

Noah gritted his teeth. His eyes were squeezed shut. Tears rolled down his cheeks, but he refused to speak.

"Who killed them?" Simon repeated.

The pain intensified once more. It felt as though something was tearing through his organs from the inside. Noah nearly bit through his own tongue.

Simon asked again. And again.

Each time the same question was repeated, the pain grew worse.

Finally, after hearing it for the 10th time, Noah could no longer endure it.

"Leon!" The name burst out of his mouth. The next moment, his body went limp. The pain had pushed him beyond his limits. He lost consciousness instantly.

A silence followed.

Simon’s brows furrowed. "Leon?" He looked toward Alpha. "He still didn’t give the full name."

Alpha remained silent for a moment before speaking. "Wake her up." He pointed toward Meridith. "And ask whether there was someone named Leon inside the Hidden Realm."

The eyepatched man grinned. "Right away."

Splash!

A bucket of freezing water was dumped over Meridith. She immediately jolted awake.

"Ugh...!"

The moment her vision cleared, her face turned pale. Three people stood before her.

The memories of a masked man effortlessly defeating her entire team were still fresh in her mind. Fear instinctively rose within her.

Alpha slowly walked toward her. Before she could react, he grabbed her chin and forcefully raised her head.

Meridith winced.

The grip was so powerful that she felt as if her jaw might shatter at any moment.

"I am only going to ask once." Alpha’s voice was calm. Dangerously calm. "If you don’t tell the truth..."

He didn’t finish his sentence. Instead, the pressure in his grip increased.

Meridith winced in pain. Alpha stared directly into her eyes. "Do you know anyone named Leon who was also trapped inside the hidden realm with you?"

Meridith’s pupils contracted. Her expression changed, and Alpha noticed it immediately.

....

...

While Noah and Meridith were being tortured, Leon remained seated in the lotus position in the hell’s pool inside the gate.

His chest rose and fell slowly. Another month had passed. The rate at which his flesh decayed had nearly reached zero. Only tiny patches of skin occasionally blackened before being restored once more. Yet the pain remained. Leon continued enduring it as his body adapted to even that final trace of heat.

Notifications continued to spam before him.

[Fire Resistance: 98%]

[HP: 64 > 65]

Leon had no time to look at them. He simply continued to endure and adapt.