Author's Note:
Ahem, an announcement. As you can probably tell from the title, from this chapter onward the protagonist is going to start having an increasingly rough time. If that sort of thing isn't your cup of tea, please be warned. What's that, she's already been through plenty of rough times? Hahaha, that was just the tip of the iceberg. That said, I know there are people who don't like that kind of development and don't want to read it, so... I've made a small accommodation. For reference, I'll place a mark like this: *** just before those scenes begin. I intend to write things so that the story still more or less connects even if you skip everything after that mark... I think. So if it's not your thing, feel free to use it as a signpost for skipping ahead. Now then, Chapter 154 begins.
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Some time had passed since I entered Impel Down, and it seemed the prison side had finally lost patience with me for refusing to say "yes." They'd apparently decided to stop going easy on me.
That morning, it happened without warning.
The iron bars separating our cell from the corridor where ferocious beasts roamed freely retracted upward like a shutter, accompanied by the grinding sound of gears and chains.
The prisoners' faces went pale, but they understood immediately what was happening.
One of this floor's signature tortures: The Move, where your life is on the line.
Until now, this cell had been exempt thanks to my presence as a "special case prisoner." This was the first time it had been carried out here.
Whether you could call it lucky or not, we moved fast, sprinting through the corridor and diving into an empty cell nearby. Every last prisoner from our cell made it. Not one left behind.
We hadn't run far, but everyone was gasping for breath.
Me too. Not terribly, but my breathing was a little ragged.
It probably wasn't just physical exhaustion. The tension and fear were what did it.
After a while, a guard came and locked us into our new cell.
The click of that lock sealing us in was strangely reassuring. The sound of being definitively separated from the danger zone.
Thinking it over afterward, I quickly understood the significance of The Move being carried out even in the cell where I was held.
I wasn't the only one. The other prisoners understood too. They'd all known this cell had been spared because of me.
"You're an idiot, you know that? I don't know what they 'proposed' to you, but you should've just nodded along quietly."
An older-looking female prisoner said this, exasperated.
She knew that the Government, or the prison, had "proposed" something to me. She also knew I'd steadfastly refused to agree.
Well, of course she did. Guards kept coming to the front of our cell asking, "Changed your mind yet?" It wasn't hard to figure out.
Every time, I'd refuse and look away, and they'd leave with expressions mixing irritation and exasperation. She'd have seen all of that.
It happened again and again until they concluded that mere fear from behind bars, or showing me various things, wasn't going to cut it.
So even though I was a "special case prisoner," they went ahead with The Move regardless.
Everyone could tell: the prison side had grown fed up with me for refusing to say "yes" no matter how much they threatened me, and they'd escalated to the next stage.
At the same time, they understood that this cell could no longer be considered safe.
"Things are going to get rough for you from here on out. It won't just be dragging you around to scare you. To make you say 'yes' to whatever it is, the prison people will do anything. This place was built for exactly that, and we prisoners are meant to be treated exactly like that."
"That's riiight... Mmm, how nice that you've got such a sensible cellmate. I bet you understand your position a little better now, don't you?"
A voice cut in mid-conversation, and the prisoners in the cell jolted and looked outside.
Standing beyond the iron bars was a single tall woman.
A young woman whose eyes were hidden behind long bangs. She was distinguished by horn-like hair ornaments and a full-body pink outfit that showed a lot of skin. With a figure to match, the overall effect was extremely provocative.
She held a trident in her hand and wore a thin smile.
Her eyes were hidden behind those bangs, and yet I could somehow tell she was staring straight at me.
I knew this one. She'd appeared in the Original Work, if I recalled correctly. Let me think...
"That's Chief Jailer Sadi...!"
"Why is she here...?!"
"Shut your mouths! Mmm! You will call me 'Sadi-chan'!"
As she spoke, she produced a whip from seemingly nowhere and cracked it against the floor with a tremendous snap. The prisoners flinched at the sound, or perhaps at the sheer force behind it.
Right, Sadi-chan. Among the characters who appeared in the Impel Down arc, she was intense in all sorts of ways. A distinctive character, so I remembered her well.
Though her title hadn't come to me right away.
Attractive figure, provocative outfit, and yet the male prisoners weren't looking at her with lustful eyes. They were looking at her with terror. That alone told me she was feared enough to make desire shrivel up and die.
The female prisoners were no different. Even with a set of iron bars between them and her, quite a few were trembling.
She'd introduce herself as "torture-loving Sadi-chan," so it tracked. Just as she appeared, she was someone who loved inflicting pain and listening to screams.
And the fact that such a Sadi-chan had come here meant... much as I didn't want to think about it...
"Now then... Prisoner Number D0472, Venerdi Toto Sue... step outside."
Just as I feared. It was me she wanted.
The female prisoners in the cell turned gazes mixed with shock and pity toward me. They too had realized why Sadi-chan was here and what she intended to do.
Under those gazes, I rose to my feet. Jailers who appeared to be Sadi-chan's subordinates entered the cell, seized me by both arms, and escorted me out.
As a minor aside, the ones who wore crisp, professional-looking uniforms with hats, hid their eyes behind sunglasses, and were primarily armed with guns were the "guards."
The ones wearing black balaclavas and primarily armed with tridents, giving off a rougher vibe, were the "jailers." I'd picked that up just from watching.
Domino's subordinates were the guards. Sadi-chan's subordinates were the jailers. The fact that jailers were the ones escorting me now made perfect sense.
As for their roles: the guards handled various miscellaneous duties throughout Impel Down. Patrols inside the prison, watching the prisoners, of course, but also paperwork, external communications, all sorts of things. When trouble broke out, the guards were primarily the ones who responded.
The jailers, on the other hand, mainly existed to inflict suffering on prisoners. I'd been spared from it, but the ones chasing prisoners around Level 1, the "Crimson Hell," and administering torment in all the various torture chambers were these jailers. Their scope of work was apparently limited to tasks related to that, though they'd sometimes cooperate with the guards to suppress disturbances when things went sideways.
There'd been one incident where a group of prisoners, maybe ten or so, had started a riot while being escorted, and the guards and jailers had fought together to contain it. The Blugori had been dispatched shortly after and suppressed everyone, though.
So both guards and jailers treated combat as an emergency measure rather than a primary duty. Each group focused on their assigned tasks, and fighting only happened when absolutely necessary. The actual combat power fell to the Blugori and other forces designated for that purpose.
Why was I rambling on about all this?
I couldn't help it. If I didn't distract myself with something like this...
"Nfufufufu... Mmm! Let's make this a fun time, little 'Pirate Literary Master'! Big Sister is going to take her sweet, thorough time spoiling you... oh my! I'll make you feel so, so good!"
...because if I started imagining what was about to happen, I'd genuinely be scared.
"Make you feel good"... ah yes, you mean "pain." Understood.
Her Tension was through the roof. Really bringing her A-game. Great. I was already feeling bleak.
I was someone endlessly greedy for all kinds of "knowledge" and "Experience," turning anything and everything into Experience Material. In that sense, I was an anything-goes, omnivorous sort of personality. Convenient, in a way.
I was self-aware enough to know that about myself, but even I couldn't welcome this kind of experience.
***
One corner of the torture chamber.
That was where they brought me, and the first thing they did was strip the clothing from my upper body.
In that state, the chain of my handcuffs was connected to the chamber's equipment, a chain hanging from the ceiling. Then, with a rattling sound, it was reeled upward. My arms were pulled up with it, naturally, leaving me suspended from the ceiling. My feet barely touched the ground.
Topless, arms restrained, nothing to hide behind, my entire upper body on full display. Sadi-chan positioned herself behind me, looking thoroughly pleased.
Then, without preamble or warning, something sliced through the air.
CRACK!!
"Ow... owww...?!"
Searing pain tore across my back. So sharp it felt like being cut with a blade.
The phrase "cutting pain" applied in the most literal sense imaginable. I genuinely wondered if it had actually broken skin. That was how much it hurt.
Honestly, it blew past my expectations. Far worse than what I'd braced myself for. I couldn't hold back my voice.
My body jerked involuntarily and the chain on my handcuffs clanked loudly. But of course, that wasn't enough to budge anything, so the only result was my restrained wrists aching pointlessly from the strain.
The pain had made me forget to breathe for an instant. After several seconds, my body remembered and desperately demanded oxygen. I was inhaling and exhaling heavily, like I'd just sprinted at full speed.
At the same time, I could feel sweat breaking out all over. Cold sweat or greasy sweat? Probably both. Cold sweat from sensing danger. Greasy sweat from the agony. Both applied to me right now.
'This is bad... just one strike and I'm like this... I underestimated torture...'
"Mmmm! Wonderful, that scream! The scream of the 'Pirate Literary Master,' renowned as one of the pirate world's greatest beauties... how exquisite! Ahhh, I can't stand it... let me hear... more!"
CRACK!
"...ngh... guh...?!"
This time no scream even came out. The side of my body, from my back around to my flank, was hit with pain and impact so intense it felt like the flesh had been gouged out. My breath stopped again, and on top of that, my body forgot how to produce sound.
I could feel tears welling at the corners of my eyes. Can you blame me? This was just a physiological response.
After all my experiences, all that rigorous training, I'd thought I'd built up a decent tolerance for pain. I'd thought I could endure torture. Apparently not.
With the Seastone handcuffs, I obviously couldn't turn into Paper and deflect the blows. And the weapon she wielded, the whip, was a weapon particularly suited to inflicting pain. On top of that, Sadi-chan, who loved torture and was experienced at it, meaning she was an expert in how to inflict suffering on someone as efficiently as possible, wielded it with consummate skill.
My woefully uninformed expectations had been shattered by the agony she delivered.
And on top of that:
"Oh no, you mustn't hold back like that! Let me hear a proper scream, mmm, come on!"
CRACK!
CRACK!
CRACK!
There was this personality of hers.
"Ngh... ghk...?!"
I wasn't holding back. I couldn't even get a sound out. I didn't fully understand why, but my body was in shock, and air wouldn't pass through my throat.
Whether from oxygen deprivation or something else, my vision was flickering with spots.
"Ah, nn... aaahhh!!"
"Mmmm!! That's it, very good! That scream, mmm! I could get addicted! A beautiful woman really does have beautiful screams!"
In less than a minute, I'd lost count of how many times the whip had struck.
Already gasping, barely able to breathe, I felt tears running down my cheeks as I somehow moved my neck to look at my own body.
Even I had to admit my chest was large, making it a little hard to see below, but along the edges of my pale skin, vivid red welts like earthworms had formed. That was where the whip had reached around to my flank earlier. Yikes... that looked painful.
Well, it was painful. Actively. Right now.
Now I understood why they'd stripped my clothes off. If I'd taken these hits through fabric, it would have been shredded. One session and my clothes would have been done for. Guaranteed.
Also, this was still barely the beginning, and the psychological toll was already considerable. I was weaker than I'd thought.
During combat, injuries came while you were in the heat of battle with adrenaline pumping, so you could tough it out to some degree. But being tormented one-sidedly like this, in a state where no resistance was permitted, was brutal. I was learning that for the first time.
Now I understood why soldiers needed to undergo resistance-to-interrogation training as part of their regimen. A good experience. I'd choose to think of it that way.
Even though the strikes had only landed on my back and the surrounding area, trembling had spread through my entire body. And to that trembling me, Sadi-chan delivered words of despair.
"Let me hear lots and lots more, so much more of your cute little screams! Don't worry... there's still pleeenty of time, mmm, until lunch!"
That was odd. If my memory served, I'd only just had breakfast.
The Move had happened right after that, and even accounting for the time it ate up, probably not even an hour had passed. Sadi-chan had arrived shortly after, and I'd been brought here.
There was no clock in this room, so I couldn't be sure, but it was probably still before nine.
Lunch wouldn't be until noon at the earliest.
'You're kidding... three more hours of this...?!'
"I'll take my sweet time spoiling you... ahhh, don't! Not that kind of surprise attack! That look on your face! That expression, trembling with fear... it's wonderful!"
It had shown on my face, apparently. Sadi-chan was so delighted she was practically writhing, licking her lips.
Then, as if she simply couldn't contain herself any longer, she raised the whip in her hand and slowly circled behind me again.
But the blow didn't come immediately. She let the silence stretch, taking her sweet time, before finally that air-cutting sound came.
CRACK!
Another wound carved into my back.
"Ugh... aaaaaahhh!!"
Maybe my body was getting used to receiving pain.
This time my breath didn't catch as badly, and it came out smoothly as a scream.
Behind me, I could tell Sadi-chan was delighting in it yet again, never tiring.
"Mmm, I can't resist... oh, that's right, I forgot to mention. Since Sue-chan is a beginner at torture, I'm being nice and using a whip that doesn't hurt as much right now. It looks really red and angry, but... rest easy, it should heal without leaving much of a mark."
"...?! You're... kidding... this is...?!"
"I'm not kidding! Honestly, doubting me, what a naughty girl!"
CRACK!
"Ahh... ah, ghyaaah?!"
"Hahhh... hehe, if this whip gets screams like that out of you... I wonder what kind of sounds you'd make if I used a more painful one...?"
"...!?"
"I plan to stick with this one for a while yet, but... if you keep being stubborn, on and on and on, forever and ever... well, the opportunity might just... come!"
CRACK!
How many more times would I have to endure this?
This certainly wouldn't end today alone, and it certainly wouldn't be limited to just the whip.
How long would I have to keep enduring torment administered by a professional of pain?
Thinking about it made everything go dark before my eyes.
CRACK!!
"Aaahhh?!"
But even that wasn't permitted.
To be continued...