Chapter 107

Chapter 107: What’s the Difference Between Not Being a Show-off and Being Dead? (4.5k)

An hour ago…

“You’ve lost your mind?!”

Milanie shouted in a bit of a meltdown while staring at Lynn sitting on Sealed Item 3-0098, the Torture Chair.

Her little fists were clenched tightly, her flat chest rising and falling rapidly.

It was hard to tell if she was scared or just panicked about Lynn’s impending crazy actions.

Sealed Item 3-0098, the Torture Chair.

Anyone who sat on it and strapped on the helmet behind them would instantly be subjected to unbearable pain.

This was typically used by Her Highness the Princess to interrogate stubborn prisoners.

So far, it seemed that no matter how tough someone claimed to be, once they tried this sealed item, they would be crying for mercy in no time. Cracking under pressure was considered a good outcome—most couldn’t last even ten seconds.

This wasn’t some slow-burning torture; it was an immediate overload of pain a hundred or a thousand times worse that hit your mental state.

The only one who lasted the longest was probably the former Grand Priest Askin of the Creation Sect.

But now, it appeared that was just a mere doppelganger of his.

Hearing Milanie’s outburst, Lynn, who was calibrating the sealed item, casually responded, “This is my second step in handling the disturbance caused by this sealed item.”

“If everything goes smoothly, once this step is completed, it should all be over—all that would be left is the final third step.”

“But what does that have to do with what you’re about to do?!”

Milanie attempted to pull him off the chair.

While she truly hoped that Afia and the others would return alive and that someone would save the ever-lonesome Princess, she didn’t want Lynn to get hurt.

Even though he constantly bothered her with his annoying chatter each day, in less than a month, she had grown somewhat accustomed to this life.

Without realizing it, she had come to see Lynn as an indispensable companion.

So, Milanie didn’t want to watch him walk into his own grave.

“Let me tell you a secret, Lady Milani.” Lynn put his finger to his lips, “Keep it under wraps, okay?”

“I have an ability that allows me to absorb pain from the outside without limit and store it as energy to release all at once when needed.”

“You’re not ‘Holy Insight’—”

“See? This is why you need to keep it a secret.”

Saying this, Lynn patted her head.

Milanie burst into tears again: “Everyone who gets off the Torture Chair either dies from the pain or goes insane—no matter how strong their will is, it can’t be.”

“Perhaps… I could be the first?”

Lynn lifted the helmet of the Torture Chair and nonchalantly placed it on his head.

In that instant, he felt as if an intense electric current surged through his entire body, almost like being subjected to multiple rounds of slow slicing in just a few seconds.

“Oh sh*t, oh sh*t, oh sh*t, oh sh*t, oh sh*t, oh sh*t, oh sh*t!”

Unbearable pain engulfed him.

In mere moments, he wanted to take back his earlier bravado, ready to kneel and beg the item for mercy.

It hurt way too much.

In comparison, the agony of being thrown into a meat grinder felt like a pleasant experience.

How much time passed after that?

When Lynn, with his vision darkening, opened his eyes again, he found himself drenched in sweat.

Milanie stood in front of him, unable to speak through her tears, holding his hand and gently stroking it, as if trying to ease his physical pain.

“That’s enough, really enough.”

Looking at Lynn’s pale face, for some reason, Milanie felt a deep ache in her heart.

After all, he was just a boy under eighteen, whose home had just gone through a major calamity. All his power was stripped away, and after being exiled to the Imperial Capital, he ended up in this border town, Orlen City.

He should be the youngest among them.

Yet at this moment, he had taken on the heaviest burden without a word of complaint.

“How long did I last?”

Lynn felt like his whole body was falling apart, even his muscles twitching in spasms.

His brain felt like it would explode, as if he might faint from the overwhelming pain at any second.

“Two… twenty seconds was enough, really enough.” Milanie looked at him, “You’ve lasted the longest in my experience.”

“Lady Milani.” Lynn took a few deep breaths, trying to clear his mind from the chaos, “If enduring one round of slow slicing pain is considered 1 point of pain energy, how much did I accumulate just now?”

“Twenty-six points.”

Milanie, who knew the ins and outs of the sealed item, rattled off the number instantly.

That meant, within those twenty-odd seconds, Lynn had endured pain equivalent to twenty-six rounds of slow slicing.

Roughly one point per second?

Lynn reclined in the chair, staring blankly at the ceiling.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke, “If—I’m saying if—if I wanted to deal a sufficient mental shock to a demon that once held godlike status but is currently in a poor state, likely only around the Sixth Stage, how much pain energy would I need to accumulate?”

“I… I don’t know.”

Milanie seemed to have an inkling and shook her head.

“You’re lying, Lady.” Lynn gradually straightened up, “Come on, I’ve already mentally prepared for this.”

“You’re going to die, you will definitely die!”

Milanie clenched her silver teeth, unwilling to back down.

Lynn held her gaze for a moment, seeing a hint of stubbornness in her eyes.

He sighed: “Lady, are you curious as to why I’d take things this far?”

Seeing him change the subject suddenly, Milanie blinked in surprise.

Thinking it over, he had only been at the manor for less than a month, and there was no deep bond of camaraderie with the people around.

As for Her Highness the Princess, the situation was even more outrageous.

Not only did she forcibly keep him by her side, but she also resorted to methods like hypnosis.

Would anyone genuinely not harbor resentment for that?

Thinking back to when he asked her for the Water Ghost toxin essence, perhaps some impulse had already taken root back then.

So Milanie was even more confused.

If that were the case, returning to the Imperial Capital with Butler Kesha and the others would have been the right choice.

But why jump off the train?

Feeling Milanie’s gaze, Lynn lowered his head slowly, trembling as he clenched his right fist: “Because it relates to my life motto.”

“If people don’t show off, what’s the difference between that and being dead?”

Milanie had expected to get some deep, profound answer from Lynn, but instead got this reason?

Her eyes widened in shock, tears threatening to spill over, but her face looked adorably incredulous, as if she were saying, “Are you kidding me?”

“Why not?” Lynn smiled, “What do you think made me jump off?”

“To be a proper show-off, the elements of setup, development, and an excellent audience are vital.”

“You, Afia and the rest, Duke Tilius, and even Her Highness the Princess, in my eyes, are the best audience.”

“I don’t want to see you cry again, I want to see joy in Afia’s eyes when she emerges from a crisis, I want Greya to kneel and call me ‘Dad is awesome,’ and I want Duke Tilius to be so shocked he gives me a thumbs up.” “But what I want to see most is the look on Her Highness the Princess’s face when she realizes, ‘Ah, I’ve finally been saved.’”

“After all, she always acts like someone drowning in self-pity, as if she thinks no one will come to rescue her. So I’ll be the first.”

“If she could shed a few tears for me, that’d be even better.”

“That’s the original intention behind everything I do.”

Of course, if he could make the cold and cynical Witch Miss show a look of astonishment and confusion, he would revel in that.

With that thought, Lynn picked up the helmet again.

Milanie stared at him, as if trying to understand the meaning and weight behind his words.

After a long silence, she slowly lowered her head.

“…One thousand points.” Milanie whispered, “To harm a demon that once had godlike status, you’ll need at least one thousand points.”

“Got it.”

Lynn took a deep breath.

For one who seeks the crown must bear its weight!

Looking at Lynn, who had put the helmet back on, wearing a pained and grim expression, Milanie suddenly felt an urge.

She subconsciously pulled out a recording crystal from her pocket, wanting to capture the boy’s pitiful appearance from head to toe.

It shouldn’t just be her who remembers this scene.

Everyone should see the heavy sacrifices this boy made to save them.

Including Her Highness the Princess.

*Snap!*

After the snap, the endless thorns and wailing shadows wrapping around the boy transformed into boundless waves of energy, sweeping through the entire mental realm.

Seeing this, Kusustain revealed a cold smile: “Pathetic beings think they can achieve something with little tricks like this—”

Before finishing his words, the crimson waves of pain energy pierced through their mental defenses, reaching the core of their consciousness.

“Roar—!!!!!!!”

Kusustain instantly changed color.

His originally cruel and vicious face was overwhelmed with unbearable pain, and his massive claws pressed down on his skull, causing his mountain-like body to crash to the ground!

The Creation Demon had sensed a warning well in advance.

But even then, within Lynn’s mental world, there was nowhere for him to escape!

With a second agonized scream, the Creation Demon, made of black sludge, instantly dissolved, shuddering like a collapsing slime as it scattered.

“What did you do?!!!”

The Creation Demon’s painful and shrill voice echoed in his mind.

In response, Lynn shrugged: “Not much, just returned the pain I once suffered back to you, doubled.”

“By the way, Kusustain, I wasn’t actually lying to you earlier.” Lynn grinned watching the giant demonic shadow thrashing on the ground, “The damage you dealt to my body—truth be told, it really didn’t hurt much; it felt more like you were being playful.”

That statement seemed immensely insulting, infuriating Kusustain to the point of wanting to grind his teeth into dust.

Simultaneously, his presence began to grow increasingly transparent, the once overwhelming aura ebbing like the tide.

The divine descent was ending.

Feeling his power shrinking, Kusustain pounded the ground in a fit, letting out a furious roar of collapse.

He had never been humiliated like this by a mere human!

At the same time, he felt a twinge of regret.

If he hadn’t chosen to descend recklessly today, would he have avoided everything that followed?

Damn humans!!!

In the last second before his consciousness left his body, the Tyrant King Kusustain loomed over Lynn’s mental world, stretching out his shadow to blot out the skies.

Simultaneously, a curse-like roar erupted from his throat!

“Human!!! You should die!!!”

“I hate!!!”

“I curse!!!”

“I will chop, slice, and tear your filthy body to shreds!!!”

“I’ll let dark claws forever tighten around your throat, leaving you breathless and unable to escape!!!”

“I’ll make your blood relatives suffer the torment of a thousand ants gnawing at their hearts every full moon!!!”

“I will ensure that all innocent ones related to you remain silent, their eyes, limbs, and even innards devoured by hyenas!!!”

“Even if it takes me thousands of years, I will hunt you down without rest… until the end of time and space!!!”

With the final proclamation gradually fading away, Lynn suddenly felt an imprint appear within his mental realm.

That imprint seemed like a demon opening its gaping, jagged maw, roaring with rage and viciousness at the world.

This was a curse from the demon.

After leaving behind a look filled with malice and hatred, Kusustain completely disappeared from here.

Lynn’s mental world became crystal clear.

It felt like he had attracted some sort of troublesome presence.

He gazed at the merciless mark floating in his mental realm and sighed.

However, there was still a larger problem that hadn’t been dealt with.

All around him, there were masses of writhing black sludge trying to escape.

Clearly, after being inflicted with pain akin to being sliced two thousand times in an instant, the Creation Demon’s already weak consciousness was barely holding on.

“Do you think you’ve won?!!”

Despite being in dire straits, the Creation Demon still made a painful yet threatening retort.

In truth, for Lynn at this moment, the lethal threat looming was far from over.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Lynn replied calmly, “Not only did I win, I’m winning absolutely, winning big time, winning like crazy.”

“Just a pity, what happens next has nothing to do with you.”

The Creation Demon grit its teeth and screeched, “Don’t forget, you’re just a Level One! Even if you can momentarily give me some threat through these little tricks, once I recover, it’ll be your death!”

“Also, without my control, your body will instantly be contaminated by the core properties of the Wishing Jar, so—”

At this, Lynn sighed, “I’m sorry, Yuvilia, I actually lied to you.”

“Everything I said before was fake.” Lynn looked down on it, “Although I came here with the intent to kill you, I have never matched that with equal conviction.”

“I won’t die; the one who’s going to die is you.”

“You!!!”

As the Creation Demon struggled to reconstruct its consciousness through the intense pain, hoping to reclaim its mental space, it let out a venomous shriek.

Yet for some reason, regarding its actions, Lynn seemed to have resigned himself.

He simply nullified his floating ability, allowing his body to plummet rapidly.

Observing the familiar underground palace ahead, Lynn wore a calm expression.

The first two steps were complete; he just needed the last third step of his plan to conclude this farcical and ridiculous Level 0 sealed item disturbance.

But before that, he felt it necessary to sort out a few after matters.

At one moment, Lynn felt the surrounding space becoming slightly sluggish, slowing his downward speed.

Then, he suddenly dived into a cool but soft embrace, the familiar scent of roses wafting towards him.