Don't forget to listen to the songs!
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Chapter 10: Nihil (3TEETH, Mircalla Remix)
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Everyone's expressions fell as Arthur made his way to Kid.
"So, we move on to the little kid. Arachne's only child..."
The teen gulped but kept his composure, even as he felt Arthur's hand dig painfully into his shoulder.
"If you're expecting a witty quip, I'm afraid I don't have one in hand," Kid responded dryly. Even if he was in the mood for sarcasm, what the hell would he brag about? Mother, Mosquito and Giriko were successful in their own fields. Kid had barely entered puberty.
"You know, there was speculation about you. Some even doubted you existed."
Arthur leaned in closer.
"Then again, appearances are deceiving. Your mommy over there looks pretty good despite the rotten monster she is. I wonder if that's the case with you as well…? After all, doesn't the saying go, 'like mother, like son'?"
"In that case, your slimy appearance matches your soul, so congrats on making the cover match its contents," Arachne spoke up, diverting the man's gaze from Kid to the Witch. The Witch gave Arthur a condescending look, perching her neck as to give the illusion that she was looking down on the man.
A brief scowl made its way into the Arthur's face before smoothing over into a pout. "Hush dear, you'll get your turn. I'm talking to the kid."
The man turned to face the teen once again, twirling the knife in his hand. "So, boy… do you know anything about that Wavelength?"
Kid didn't answer, even when Arthur pressed the knife had enough to draw a thin trail of blood.
"Oh I should mention; if any of you do give me a good answer, I'll stop. You can help each other. However, if you lie… well, none of you will get out unharmed."
Kid kept his face neutral. It was just a cut, it wasn't dangerous. Arthur couldn't kill them already.
Could he?
"So, what will it be Arachne? Care to help out your son like a good mommy?"
Arachne frowned in discomfort but it was Kid's turn to give her a stubborn look -or what he hoped looked like one. It didn't seem to calm Arachne down, but it eased some of the worry lines on her forehead.
"He is a child, Arthur."
"I'm well aware. He's your little boy," the man said nonchalantly. "What good mom wouldn't want to get her kid out of harm's way?"
Arachne's glower only intensified in severity. Arthur simply pressed the knife harder on the already existing wound, drawing more blood.
"Oh gee, that's quite a cut I made!" He grabbed a tissue and a small bottle of ethanol from his jacket, dousing the cloth with the alcohol. "Well, we wouldn't want it to get infected now, would we?"
With little warning, Arthur pressed the cloth onto the small wound. Kid gasped. It burned more than alcohol ever should. The smell was pungent and strong, and the burning sensation only intensified when Arthur pressed on the open wound with a cloth. Kid instinctively angled his neck away from the man, but Arthur just pressed harder.
"You wouldn't want your boy to get an infection and die now, would you?"
"Kid..." Arachne's glare could have killed a man, or in Arthur's case, repeatedly skewer him before delivering the final blow.
"I'm fine," the boy repeated, making sure to suppress any winces or other signs of discomfort, until the cloth was taken off.
"You're all tough nuts, ain't you?" Arthur gave them all a smirk. "I think we are all going to have a wonderful time here."
Kid gritted his teeth. This was insulting. He knew he was young but he was not helpless. Being dangled by Arthur like a supposed damsel in distress was humiliating.
He was Arachne's child. His mother had faced supposed deities and took them out using her intellect, cunning and pure audacity. The same was expected of him.
"Mother was right," the boy growled.
"What was that, kiddo?"
Kid spit at Arthur's face. The man flinched away and Kid smiled in satisfaction. "You are pathetic."
Arthur backed away, looking momentarily surprised. Afterwards, half of him looked torn between laughing in shock and strangling the boy. Arachne also looked torn, the woman split between cheering and telling Kid off.
Giriko had no such dilemma, letting out a hysteric laugh. "You go Kid! Damn, that's the brass I wanna see from ya!"
"Enough!" Arthur yelled in annoyance. On cue, the guards stepped forwards, firmly grasping their Weapons. Giriko quieted down but still gave their interrogator a shit-eating grin.
"So that's how it's gonna be. I thought one of you might have at least cracked but your all such sourpusses…" The man narrowed his eyes at the prisoners. "So let's cut to the chase. If you're not going to say anything, I might as well start getting rid of you. Keeping people's bodies alive is expensive you know…"
Arthur let out a fake long-suffering sigh. "Ah, who should I start with? Not you Arachne dear, you're the main star of our show," he rambled as he looked between the three. "Your lackeys hold valuable info too…" his gaze passed over Giriko, "though one of them may be too dumb to remember it."
"Hey, fuck you-"
"So that leaves us…" Arthur continued, unaffected ignoring Giriko's long rant of expletives. The man's gaze settled onto the teen, giving the boy a small smirk. "Looks like you picked the short straw kiddo. Shouldn't have let yourself be taken in by that old hag."
Kid tried hard not to roll his eyes at Arthur's theatrics. It was obvious who the man thought as the weak link of the group.
The man began making his way towards the child. "Say, do you want to be let in on a secret kid?"
Arthur kneeled next to Kid, so that he was at eye level with the child. "People still die."
Kid let out a small yelp as a rough hand dug into his scalp and pulled back his hair painfully, as if he wanted to tear them off. Something metallic was on his neck again -probably the man's knife.
"Oh yes, the flesh is weak but the soul remains. So, even after I've torn you to pieces, I'll still have you pretty little soul to toy with-"
"You have truly lost your mind if you think you're going to get any information this way," Arachne spoke up, a small hint of urgency in her voice.
"In fact let me share another rumour with you…" Arthur continued, ignoring the Witch and speaking over her, still focused on Kid. "I've heard that even when your body crumbles you are still conscious because of your soul. So, you will feel every ounce of pain as your soul lingers on this deathless realm. Some people say that lingering causes immense pain, beyond human comprehension."
Kid's soul experienced an unexpected lurching feeling at the man's words. They felt wrong. He barely kept himself from gasping for breath, as Arthur's tight hold was accompanied by a resurfaced suffocating feeling from his soul.
"You will be screaming for eternity and I'll be glad to add to these screams."
Kid closed his eyes and pursed his lips. He had to keep himself together or he would play into Arthur's hands. The man wanted him to break his composure.
Kid wouldn't give him the satisfaction, pure stubbornness motivating him to keep his face semi-neutral, save for a small worried frown.
"How about it, kiddo? Mommy isn't going to save you. Don't you want to save yourself?"
Kid kept his mouth stubbornly shut.
After a few painful seconds the man scoffed and let go of Kid's hair.
"You've trained him well, Arachne."
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Kid didn't know how much time had passed. Sometimes it felt like weeks had rushed by, other times it felt like it had just been a few excruciating and dread-filled hours.
Kid couldn't count on his meals to calculate time, since he barely got any. His stomach growled in protest but he thankfully his hunger was more like a small throb on his being. The same couldn't be said for Giriko; the man kept moaning about how hungry he was.
They were still in the same strange complex of prisons. Arthur visited them frequently, still insisting on learning more about the mysterious Wavelength unleashed the night of their assault.
His mother had taken the brunt of the punishment for him, using an effective if not distressing tactic. Arthur's interrogations were unscripted and spontaneous. There was no order, no organisation. Sometimes Kid wondering if the man wanted info at all.
Due to the nature of Arthur's interrogation, he was prone to be affected by how his prisoners reacted. Any time Arthur approached Kid or roughed him up even a slight bit, Arachne would speak up, creating a disturbance, and Arthur would switch his attention to her. During the last few sessions, Giriko and Mosquito had been clued in and attempted to copy Arachne's strategy, with various degrees of success.
Occasionally their gazes met and Arachne have her son a small reassuring nod. Kid wanted to smile back but he saw the dark circles on her eyes and he kept remembering Arthur's knife graze his skin.
At least, the Academy hadn't made any progress in acquiring information. Arachne had kept her mouth shut, the same happening with Giriko and Mosquito. Kid didn't know if it was because of conviction or because of lack of actual information. Only Giriko had once let it slip out that many of his memories of the events was gone, but it did little to help their position or ease Kid's growing anxiety. He remembered perfectly what had occurred the night of the assault. He remembered how the building suddenly shook and a flurry of blue souls made their way into Baba Yaga castle. If he focused, he could still recall the smothering feeling of his mother's mad Wavelength and his own frantic attempts of constructing a magic circle.
Kid wasn't exactly sure what anyone's rationale was during their actions at that messy attack, including his. Even if Kid knew his Wavelength had the unusual quality of putting people to sleep, he had come to conclusion that his plan could have easily torn his soul apart. The magic circle he created was supposed to amplify what was already there, but it came with the danger of putting extreme strain on someone's mind and soul. The fact that he was still standing was a miracle.
Maybe he was remembering things incorrectly? Had he created something else, something that summoned 'Death's' Wavelength Arthur kept going on about? It seemed absurd, but it was one of Kid's more plausible explanations.
Whatever the case, one thing that remained constant was that the boy was responsible for them getting captured. Everyone falling unconscious had allowed the Academy's reserve forces to come in and apprehend almost every single member on Arachnophobia that was on duty. Kid had no one else to blame about this but himself, and the guilt weighted on him. He wanted to tell his mother, but he couldn't, especially when it came with the risk of being overheard by an Academy member.
…Kid would have to talk about it with his mother eventually. If anyone could figure out what had happened last night, it was her. Truth be told, even if their current situation was looking grim, Kid had utmost faith in the Witch. According to the stories she had told him of her ventures when Kid was younger, this didn't even make it into the top ten in terms of risk.
They would be fine. They would make it out of this. Arthur may unnerve them, maybe get a good hit, but mother would come up with a plan and they would all work together to escape safe and sound. Kid didn't doubt that.
What he was hesitant of was the aftermath.
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