Chapter 27: The Flagerum Weapon

At that moment, Adrian remembered his mother, then Philip, and finally Valdrin turning his back on him. His breathing quickened as he shouted, "Why?!" His voice echoed through the cell. "Why is this happening to me?! Why me?!" He clenched his fists until his nails dug into his palms, then shouted through his trembling voice, "Why am I the only one who has to suffer through all of this?!"

The pain that had filled his body for hours began to fade. Adrian slowly raised his head as a black aura appeared around his body. It grew stronger with every breath, while small stones on the floor began to rise into the air. Adrian looked at the chains around his wrists and noticed tiny cracks covering the metal rings.

He pulled his wrist, and a metallic sound rang through the cell. The cracks spread across the ring until it finally broke, sending pieces of metal across the floor. Adrian looked at his other arm and pulled with the same force. The second chain snapped and fell to the ground.

Adrian raised his hands and stared at them. His eyes had turned black with a faint dark-blue tint. He stood there for a moment before taking a step forward.

He stopped in front of the massive iron door, giving it only a brief glance. He closed his eyes for a moment, and Valdrin's voice echoed in his mind.

"No matter how angry you become... don't forget your goal."

Adrian's fingers trembled, and for a moment, he almost regained his composure. But then the image of Valdrin turning his back on him appeared again.

Everything else disappeared from his mind.

Only his anger remained.

Adrian slowly opened his eyes and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"I'll kill you all..."

He raised his hand toward the door.

The next instant, a massive wave of black energy exploded from his palm. It slammed into the iron door, and the door failed to withstand it for even a second.

The door shattered violently, sending fragments flying into the corridor, while the explosion shook the entire mountain. The ground trembled beneath the feet of soldiers in distant corridors.

The battalion commander suddenly raised his head.

"What was that sound?"

He immediately rushed toward the source of the explosion, followed by the soldiers.

Elsewhere, Dan suddenly turned his head. His face paled as he felt the energy spreading through the prison.

Inside the cloud of dust, slow footsteps echoed across the broken stones.

Adrian emerged from the smoke, the black aura surrounding his body.

His face was calm, but his eyes were cold.

There was something different about him now.

Only moments later, the sound of soldiers' footsteps echoed through the corridor. They rushed toward the explosion, with the battalion commander leading them, his sword already drawn.

The dust slowly cleared, revealing Adrian standing among the rubble. He walked toward them calmly, the black aura swirling around his body.

His eyes remained cold as he looked at the soldiers standing before him.

The commander raised his sword.

"Block the corridor!"

The soldiers stepped forward and formed a line, completely sealing the passage.

The commander pointed his sword at Adrian.

"You won't leave here alive."

Adrian didn't answer.

He looked at the soldiers one by one until his eyes stopped on a soldier standing at the front of the formation.

The man was holding the Flagerum whip.

Adrian remembered the strikes he had received from that whip, his own screams of pain, and the blood that had poured from his back.

Then Adrian disappeared.

He reappeared directly in front of the soldier holding the Flagerum and grabbed him by the throat.

He lifted him off the ground with one hand.

The Flagerum slipped from the soldier's grip as he desperately struck Adrian's arm, trying to break free.

Adrian didn't move.

The other soldiers took a step back.

The commander tightened his grip around his sword and shouted,

"Attack!"

But he didn't wait for his soldiers.

He charged forward himself, raised his sword high, and brought it down with all his strength toward Adrian's neck.

The sword struck Adrian's body.

But instead of cutting him, it bounced off with tremendous force and flew from the commander's hand before spinning through the air and embedding itself in the stone wall.

Adrian didn't move at all. He raised his other hand and threw a single punch at the battalion commander's chest. His body was sent flying and slammed into the wall with tremendous force before crashing to the ground, coughing blood. He tried to stand, but couldn't.

Adrian, meanwhile, was still holding the soldier by the throat. He stepped closer and said in a calm voice, "Yesterday... you were the executioner."

The soldier trembled as Adrian continued, "But today, I'll be the one who tortures you."

Adrian released his throat, and the soldier fell to the ground, gasping for air. Adrian then bent down and picked up the Flagerum that had fallen from his hand. He stared at it for a moment, his eyes stopping on the dried blood covering its straps before tightening his grip around the handle.

Suddenly, the whip began to tremble in his hand.

The soldiers' eyes turned toward it as the black aura around Adrian's body moved and began flowing into the Flagerum. The energy wrapped around its three leather straps, which started stretching before their eyes. The straps split apart, and new ones emerged, one after another, until there were seven.

The straps stretched more than four meters, while their sharp ends transformed into huge black claws. The small metal balls attached along them turned completely black and grew larger until they resembled small hammerheads.

A faint sound came from the Flagerum, as if it had responded to the energy flowing into it.

The soldier who had been holding it moments ago went pale. He stared at the weapon with trembling eyes.

"What... what happened to that whip?"

Adrian raised his eyes toward him and tightened his grip around the Flagerum.

He didn't answer.

The black aura around his body grew denser, and the seven straps began moving slowly.

Adrian raised the whip in front of his eyes and studied it for a moment as the black aura reflected across its surface. A cold smile appeared on his lips.

He raised his head and looked at the soldiers one by one. Some of them instinctively stepped back, while the others remained frozen in place.

They no longer saw the prisoner they had tortured yesterday.

They saw someone else.

Someone who knew no mercy.

Suddenly, Adrian disappeared.

In the next instant, a sharp sound tore through the corridor as the whip lashed forward at incredible speed. Before anyone could move, the soldier who had been holding the Flagerum moments ago collapsed to the ground, his weapon rolling away from him.

Adrian gave them no time to understand what had happened.

He swung the whip again, and all seven straps shot forward at once, each one heading toward a different soldier.

Their screams filled the corridor as they fell one after another, while blood splattered across the floor and stone walls.

The remaining soldiers froze in place. No one was thinking about fighting anymore. The only thought in their minds was escape.

The last soldier still standing looked at the bodies of his fallen comrades. He stumbled backward, staring at them in horror, before his sword slipped from his hand.

"R-Run!"

His words seemed to awaken everyone.

The soldiers turned and rushed down the corridor, pushing one another as they desperately tried to get away from Adrian.

Adrian watched them in silence. Then he tilted his head slightly.

"Where do you think you're going?"

He released the Flagerum from his hand.

The seven straps shot through the corridor and wrapped around the fleeing soldiers one after another. One of them tried to cut through the straps with his sword, but the blade bounced off without leaving a mark. Another screamed as he desperately tried to break free.

Within moments, every soldier was bound by the black straps, completely unable to move. Their voices overlapped as they begged for mercy.

But Adrian didn't answer.

He tightened his grip around the Flagerum.

The straps constricted around their bodies with tremendous force. Their screams echoed through the corridor as the pressure increased.

Bones began to crack.

The soldiers screamed in agony.

The straps tightened further and further until their bodies could no longer withstand the pressure.

Then they burst.

Blood splattered across the corridor, while pieces of armor and weapons fell to the ground amid a wide pool of blood.

Silence returned.

Adrian slowly pulled the Flagerum back. The seven black straps were covered in blood before shrinking and wrapping themselves around his arm again.

Just before he left, Adrian raised his head and looked toward the dark corridor as the black aura around his body grew denser.

Then he heard ragged breathing behind him.

He slowly turned around.

The battalion commander was still lying on the ground, blood running from his mouth as he struggled to raise his head.

Adrian walked toward him until he stood directly in front of him.

The commander looked up at him and managed a faint smile despite the pain.

"I wish..." He struggled to breathe. "I wish I had killed you the moment I saw you."

He coughed violently, blood spilling from his lips.

Adrian stared at him for a moment before bending slightly until their eyes were level.

"Looks like fate wasn't on your side."

Adrian turned to leave, but the commander called out weakly.

"No..."

Adrian stopped.

"Don't leave me alive."

Adrian remained still without looking back.

The commander glanced at the bodies of his men.

"After everything that happened... I don't deserve to live."

Adrian remained silent for a few moments before saying, "Don't worry. You won't live."

The commander raised his eyes toward him.

Adrian continued, "That attack shattered your heart and lungs. You only have a few seconds left."

He walked away without saying anything else.

Behind him, the battalion commander released one final breath. His body went limp, his head fell to the side, and he died.

Adrian continued walking through the blood and bodies toward the cells, where Dan was waiting. He had no idea that the person approaching him was no longer the Adrian he knew.

Blood dripped from the ends of the Flagerum wrapped around Adrian's body, leaving a trail behind him. He wasn't running. He simply walked forward calmly while the prisoners shrank back into their cells and watched him in silence.

He finally stopped in front of Dan's cell and raised his head.

The moment Dan saw Adrian, his breath caught.

The black aura moved around his body. His eyes were filled with that dark blue-black glow, while the Flagerum remained wrapped around him like part of his body.

Dan took a step back until his back hit the wall.

"...Adrian?"

Adrian didn't answer.

He simply stared at him in silence.

That strange calmness frightened Dan more than anything else.

For a moment, Dan felt that the boy standing before him only had his friend's face.

Whatever was hiding behind those eyes... he no longer recognized it.

Adrian approached the cell door and placed his hand on the petrium bars. A sharp metallic sound echoed through the corridor as the cracks already running through the bars began to spread.

He tightened his grip.

The door shattered from its hinges and flew several meters before crashing to the ground, shaking the prison.

Adrian looked at Dan again.

"Don't be afraid... I won't hurt you."

Dan hesitated for a moment. Yet there was something in Adrian's voice that still reminded him of the friend he knew.

He slowly approached until he stood in front of him.

"...Are you still you?"

Adrian's eyes flickered for a brief moment, as if the question had awakened something inside him.

But he didn't answer.

He turned toward the corridor.

"Come on. We need to get my grandfather out."

Dan glanced at the Flagerum wrapped around Adrian's body, took a deep breath, and followed him.

They walked together through the corridor until Adrian stopped in front of another cell.

His grandfather was sitting inside, leaning against the stone wall.

The moment he saw Adrian, he quickly stood and approached the bars.

"Adrian!"

Joy appeared on his grandfather's face for a moment, but it quickly disappeared when he saw the black aura surrounding his grandson and the Flagerum wrapped around his body. He stared into Adrian's eyes, unable to hide the fear in his expression.

Adrian approached the bars and grabbed them with both hands. The petrium began to twist under his grip. The cracks spread across the metal until the entire cell door shattered and fell to the ground.

Adrian looked at his grandfather and said calmly, "Come on... we need to leave."

But his grandfather didn't move.

He continued staring at him with a mixture of sadness and fear before slowly shaking his head.

"Adrian... what happened to you?"

Adrian stared at him without answering.

After a moment, he raised his eyes to his grandfather and spoke calmly, though pain could be heard in his voice.

"I may have changed... but I'm still the person who came here to get you out."

He paused for a moment before continuing,

"And I won't leave... without you."