It didn't take long before Bawa gave his agitated response.
"Yes. Y-yes! Whatever you want. Please just hurry!" Bawa's screams had lessened considerably.
He now felt an overwhelming fatigue wash over him. This was an aftereffect of using his skill.
After the manic high came the manic low.
Whenever the timeframe for ultimate speed elapsed Bawa would enter a deep sleep to recuperate for the next few hours.
But even falling into a coma was a luxury to the old man at this point. Because aside from the hellish pain tormenting him, these demons were certain to keep him conscious until they got what they wanted.
"Perfect. My, that is a hideous look on you. Torture really doesn't suit you." Haoyu uttered with wrinkled brows, gesturing towards Bawa's bloody face, exposed facial muscles and hanging jaw.
"Pfft…ow!" Salvador snickered at Haoyu's statement but received a harsh jab from Jung-hee.
Jung-hee in response revealed a smug expression while focusing on the area of activity.
Deciding not to waste any more time, Haoyu swiped the sharp tips of his claws on his palm before dipping them in his blood.
Then, uncaring for his wounds, he swung his claws across Bawa's disfigured face. This careless action earned a yell and subsequent glare from jutting eyeballs.
Haoyu nevertheless shrugged and said something along the lines of, using pain to fight pain.
Two minutes later, Bawa's struggles lessened and he started to feel relief wash over him. This was a much-anticipated outcome.
Visibly, his muscles began to mend, and new skin started to form. Soon the new layer of skin covered a quarter of his face and amazingly, the pain he felt was now akin to an insect bite.
'What remarkable blood!' Were his thoughts as he gawked at Haoyu's bleeding palm.
'There's so much potential…' Bawa's thoughts drifted toward ways to study and exploit Haoyu's strange blood, but before they could take shape, Haoyu bent at the waist, bringing his face directly in front of Bawa's
The sudden approach caused Bawa to recoil while his breathing seized.
"Now, tell me about the ruling power of the Ashe-Vha.[1] Remember, no lies." Haoyu finished off. His expression was devoid of humour whatsoever and the frosty aura around him made Bawa gulp nervously.
***
Several minutes had passed. In this serene space all had come to a standstill.
Haoyu lowered his eyes, pondering as he listened to Bawa speak about the leaders of the Ashe-Vha.
His companions- Salvador, Yaqub, Jung-hee and Nicklas stood aside with similar expressions.
The Ashe-Vha were a powerful group consisting of half-humans, majority of whom lived their lives as ordinary citizens.
These people appeared and behaved like any regular person and unless they explicitly revealed their inhuman qualities, they weren't any different.
Descended from ancient beings, the Ashe-Vha possessed bloodlines that teemed with raw authority, an inheritance of divinity that even time could not fully erode.
Their strong, primordial ancestry gave them an edge over the average human, in that they were innately faster, stronger, more intelligent, and persevering.
This natural advantage was enough to make any of them a master in whatever field they stepped into.
However, due to millennia of interspecies interaction and breeding between humans and Ashe-Vha, their descendants were left with just a miniscule portion of their ancestry.
In their prime, an Ashe-Vha did not need to hunt. Those who did, did so for the fun of it. They could simply will their desires into being. Today, that power is a ghost of its former self, trapped in a genetic makeup that has long forgotten how to speak to the world.
Their structures, abilities and entire gene pool had been weakened to the point where they could only manifest the most basic innate abilities. A tremendous fall from grace for those meant to be the physical evidence of the divine.
The ability to transform into their original forms was a skill lost in time. Only a handful of people were able to change their physical appearances. For instance, the growth of claws, horns and extra appendages.
These set of people were regarded as the elite of the Ashe-Vha.
Entire body transformations into their primary forms were a skill unseen for thousands of years, leaving them eternally trapped in human shells.
The Ashe- Vha were scattered across every corner of the globe. Majority of them existed within the confines of society as ordinary people, most of whom remained unaware of their ancestry.
The lesser percentage lived in secluded clans and tribes governed by strict hierarchy and age-old traditions.
Bawa Elimu was one such individual.
He was the respected priest of the Popobawa; descendants of batlike creatures who roamed the lands of Eastern Alkebulan, now Africa, in present day Tanzania.
In their heyday, these mythical creatures were revered and feared for their abilities to manipulate dreams and create fatal illusions.
As arboreal creatures able to shapeshift and connected with the element of darkness, their abilities were unquestioned.
Aided by their capabilities, the Popobawa grew arrogant and became tyrants to the weaker humans who worshipped them.
They robbed, tricked and terrorized the people; mind, body and heart, causing fear, caution and a sour reputation to be the standards of their existence.
Today, the Popobawa retained some of their habits but now lived away from human society, protected by the montane forests of Tanzania.
As a man who had lived for almost a century, Bawa was valued, even by his Chief, for his experience, wisdom and acumen.
He was one of the few individuals permitted to leave the borders of the tribe, and this occurred only on special occasions.
Being extremely difficult to track in their natural habitats, Haoyu and his companions expended countless resources before finally succeeding in capturing Bawa during one of his voyages.
His knowledge and most importantly, accessibility was of importance to them.
"At the top of the Ashe-Vha are four factions recognised as head. We call them the great four." Bawa spoke in a tone that although rigid showed reverence for these individuals.
His voice travelled into the ears of the five men who listened attentively.
The great four were named according to the region they oversaw. The Hesperian Union of the West, The Orisun of the Motherland, The Pale Reach of the White Waste,
And The Long Dynasty of Asia"
"Long…" Haoyu raised an eyebrow at the familiar word. It was a strange feeling to hear a global power share the name that started his own: Long Haoyu Oladipo.
Bawa's words contained information that he already knew.
However, the true authority keeping the Ashe-Vha at bay was new information.
After interrogating several people and gaining nothing worthwhile, the five young men had begun to think that the big four were myths.
Finally, Bawa was proving his usefulness by filling in the blanks.
[1] The Ashe-Vha (pronounced Ah-shay-Vah) are the true "Old Blood" of this world. While modern legends focus on vampires and werewolves, the Ashe-Vha are the direct descendants of the Primordials—the ancient, high-tier mythical beings from global folklore. Yes, you'll be seeing a lot of ancient mythical creatures from around the globe take centre stage here.