"I am the one asking questions here, not you," Yousafer said with a chilling smile.
"Aaaaghh!" The man lay bound on the cold floor, his mouth agape in a silent scream. He clutched his severed leg, desperately trying to press it back against the stump as if it might reattach by sheer will.
Yousafer leaned in, resting his elbow on his knee as he watched the pathetic display. "Do you truly think it will stick back on? You've lost your mind, old man." He tightened his grip on the chain's intent.
The man's face turned a violent shade of crimson, soaked in a mixture of his own blood and rainwater. The world around him was turning red.
"Haa... please..." The man's sobs grew louder. He looked at Yousafer with primal terror, and then his eyes caught something—the chain emerging from beneath Yousafer's cloak.
"What is...?" He froze. He saw them—the eyes embedded in the links of the chain, staring back at him.
The man's expression shifted from pain to pure horror. A chill raced down his spine, and his heart felt as though it were being squeezed. It hammered against his ribs—faster, harder than when he had climbed the stairs.
*Thump-thump... Thump-thump...*
His skin turned a sickly yellow as the life continued to drain from his wound. *Who is this person? How is he this strong? Is he Level Two? No... maybe Three... what is someone like that doing here?* he muttered, unable to look away from Yousafer.
"Are you wondering about my Level?" Yousafer stood up, looking away with a mock sense of regret. "You're thinking Level Two... or maybe Three? Well, your guess is wrong." He snapped his gaze back to the man. "I am just like you... Level One."
"Now, are you going to tell me who owns these factories? I don't have time for games, and I certainly don't have time to scavenge this place. If you don't talk, killing you is the easy part. A search might delay me, but I will find what I'm looking for in the end."
The man realized the brutal truth: if he remained silent, he was a dead man. If he spoke, there might be a sliver of a chance.
"I don't want to die..." he stammered, trembling. "Please... I'll tell you. The owner is **Leonhard**, the Two-Star Rebel."
Yousafer crossed his arms. "And why should I trust you?" The chain around the man's neck tightened, beginning to crush his windpipe.
"Agh... the... documents..." the man wheezed. "In the... observation room..."
"Fine. Stand up. Let's go down."
The pressure on the man's neck eased. He heard the rattle of the chain retreating, though the phantom pain remained. Using his Hair Germ, he fashioned a thick strand into a makeshift cane and limped forward. He looked back over his shoulder. "Do you promise not to kill me?"
"I believe I told you," Yousafer replied flatly. "I'm the one asking questions."
They descended the stairs and entered the screen-filled room. The man collapsed into his leather chair, unable to stand any longer. He reached under the floorboards beneath the chair and pulled out two medium-sized boxes.
He opened the first, handing the documents to Yousafer. Yousafer sat down, crossing one leg over the other, and began to read. When he finished, he looked at the man. "And the other box?"
The man looked down, hesitation etched on his face.
"What? Hiding something else?"
Silent, the man pulled out the second box. It was overflowing with currency: metal, copper, silver, and even gold coins.
Yousafer's eyes widened, and his mouth formed an 'O' of surprise. "Oh... that's a lot of money. The **Solars** you've stolen over the years..."
"How much is in here?"
"Five million Metal Solars," the man replied.
The **Solar** was the universal currency of this world, divided into four tiers: Metal, Copper, Silver, and Gold.
* **1 Copper Solar** = 10 Metal Solars.
* **1 Silver Solar** = 10 Copper (100 Metal). It bore the engraving of a crown and the numbers 3, 9, 6.
* **1 Gold Solar** = 10 Silver (1,000 Metal). It bore the engraving of a sun.
The Metal Solars featured a five-pointed star with a small whale in the center.
Yousafer scanned the man from head to toe. The chain around his neck slackened completely. The man felt a surge of hope, believing his cooperation had bought his life. "Thank you..." he whispered, bowing his head.
But then, Yousafer spoke—the last words the man would ever hear.
"A tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye... a soul for a soul. Wounds demand retribution."
*Clink!*
*Squelch!*
The man's head was sent flying into the air by the force of the chain. The sound was sharp, almost rhythmic—a sound that, to Yousafer, felt like justice. The body slumped over, the head bouncing off the monitors and rolling onto the floor. Blood sprayed, a few droplets landing on Yousafer.
He looked at the stains on his sleeve and sighed. "It seems I will have to bathe in this blood many times to restore this land to what it once was... or better."
His gaze drifted back to the screens. He squinted at one particular display. "What is this...?"
***
**In the Opposite Factory**
The air in the second factory was thick with the copper scent of fresh blood and the chemical stench of the machinery. Bodies were strewn everywhere, dismembered and cooling.
Yuray stood high above on a horizontal rafter, looking down at the beast that was currently feasting on the brains and hearts of the fallen.
**FEAR.**
The factory floor was lined with three rows of heavy machinery, but a massive wall blocked the view of the far side. Behind that wall lay a secret room the villagers had never known existed.
The beast was perched on one of the machines. Its eyes rotated independently, like a lizard's, until they locked onto Yuray. It smiled.
Yuray dropped from the rafter, landing silently on the concrete floor.
"Grrr..." The beast croaked like an oversized frog. "Fear... Fear... Fear... You must fear me..."
As the words left the beast's mouth, Yuray felt a strange flicker in his chest—an alien sensation that vanished as quickly as it came. He brushed it off. The monster was right in front of him. With his eyes closed, Yuray spoke: "You ugly creature... you saved me a lot of time by killing these wretches for me."
The beast tilted its head, grinning. "FEAR!" it shrieked.
Again, Yuray felt that odd sensation, but he just smiled. "What are you doing, you freak?"
The beast's grin faltered at Yuray's lack of terror. It let out a piercing scream and lunged. Yuray stepped aside, the skeletal claws whistling past his face. He grabbed the beast's arm and delivered a devastating punch to its midsection.
*Boom!*
The creature was sent flying, crashing into the far wall. It scrambled up instantly. "FEAR!!"
Yuray frowned. Every time the beast shrieked that word, it tugged at something deep inside him. "Don't you know any other words?"
A bone sword slid smoothly from Yuray's sleeve into his hand. *What exactly are you?* he wondered.
The beast charged again. Yuray ducked under a swipe and swung his blade at the creature's neck. The beast blocked the strike with the long bone extending from its back. *Clang!*
"Fear...!"
Yuray retreated, but the beast caught him with a heavy blow that sent him tumbling toward the wall like a leaf in the wind. He hit the ground hard.
Yuray stood up, wiping blood from his lip, and lunged again. The bone sword moved with lethal precision toward the beast's throat. The monster raised its hand to block, but Yuray pivoted mid-strike, slicing clean through the beast's skeletal leg.
*Crack!*
Green blood mixed with black fluid gushed onto the floor, releasing a stench that made the air itself feel toxic. The beast stared at its severed limb, then at Yuray's smile. For the first time, the monster felt fear. Its jaw unhinged, revealing rows of saw-like teeth as it let out a final, desperate shriek.
The spine-bone shot toward Yuray. He raised his sword to block, but the force of the impact sent him crashing back into the wall again. He stood up immediately, his movements silent and predatory.
The beast was trapped, missing a leg, but it lashed out with its claws. Yuray leaped into the air, spinning in a tight spiral—head down, feet up. He pointed his hand toward the monster's head.
"**BONE GERM: BONE PILLAR!**"
A massive spike of bone erupted from Yuray's hand. It drove straight through the beast's skull. Inside the monster's head, it struck a small, gem-like nucleus. The core shattered. The pillar continued downward, pinning the beast to the floor.
Yuray landed on his feet. The beast stood like a macabre statue, impaled and silent. Green and black fluids pooled around its base. It was dead.
*What was this thing?* Yuray thought. He began to walk through the factory, his cloak swishing behind him.
Suddenly: *Boom! Boom!*
The wall in front of him began to crack.
*BOOM!*
The masonry shattered, and Yousafer stepped through the dust. He looked around wildly. "Where is the monster?"
"I killed it," Yuray said after a pause.
"Where's the body?"
Yuray pointed. Yousafer's excitement vanished instantly. He sighed in disappointment. "What a letdown... I wanted to fight it."
"Is that why you rushed in here?"
"Where did it come from?" Yousafer asked, examining the corpse.
"I don't know. It was already killing people when I arrived."
Yousafer circled the impaled beast, his nose wrinkling at the smell. "That bone on its back... it looks like your bone whip."
"I noticed. I don't like it."
"It kept repeating the same word while we fought," Yuray added.
"What word?"
"Fear."
Yousafer froze. He looked at Yuray, his brows furrowing as a memory surfaced. "Fear... do you remember what the old man warned us about seven years ago?"
Yuray's eyes widened as the realization hit him. "**Beware of Fear.** Is this what he meant?"
"Perhaps," Yousafer whispered.
A heavy silence fell between them. Finally, Yousafer broke it. "Let's leave it for now. Is everyone dead?"
Yuray smiled. "The monster did the work. I just finished the monster."
"Did you find the imprisoned villagers?"
"Not yet."
"Let's find them," Yousafer said, his eyes hardening. "Then we burn this cursed place to the ground and leave."
**End of Chapter**