Chapter 211 - True Leader (2)

The band walked into the room in which Sebastian was being held in. He had been tightly bound to a chair with numerous steel chains. These chains were enough to even bind Johnny, so it was safe to assume that Sebastian wasn't going anywhere unless his enemies miraculously decide to let him go. 

The moment Sebastian saw Arnold walking into the room, he went nuts. He wanted to get rid of the chains holding him down and tear Arnold down. One limb at a time but he didn't. He knew he was in trouble and he also knew the man he hated the most would severely torture him until he spilt his gut. Those American movies where the hero was captured and never reveal secrets was just a joke in the real world. Under extreme torture, anyone was going to break and talk, even if they were mute. His fate was sealed and he knew it, yet he wasn't going to just surrender and answer their questions. Not until the contingency plan was activated.

Furthermore, his sadist traits made him almost scoff when he saw Arnold's condition. Just by looking at him, Sebastian could tell Arnold was nowhere near his perfect health. His skin had turned pale. It was almost as white as snow. So at least their information about Arnold's encounter with death was true. But then he realised something. Arnold even in his weak condition managed to turn the tide of the battle. 

At that moment his eyes had admiration in them. It lasted only for a moment though. But at that moment he knew they never stood a chance against him. Had he been comatose then yes, they would've won but as long as Arnold was awake and in control of his summons, nothing could ever touch him without his permission.

His attention then turned towards the man next to him. It was the man who had defeated him with just a few strikes. A man of such calibre was hanging on to every word that came out of Arnold's mouth. Honestly, Sebastian had nothing but respect for Johnny. Especially, after he was manhandled by him. Besides them, there was a woman and another man approaching him. He recognised them from the files the members of the White Wolves had been given prior to the operation.

The woman's beauty was out worldly. Too bad his men couldn't get their hands on her. If they did, she would've been a source for their entertainment for weeks if not months. Kolt, however, looked much like an ape. All the sweat and blood covering his body didn't help his case much either.

The next moment, everything went dark. He was still conscious but he couldn't see anything nor could he feel anything... all he could do was think. But think about what? 

'Your mistakes...' A voice echoed in his head.

'My... mistakes? I don't understand...'

'You're responsible...' The same feminine voice echoed once again. 

'Responsible... For what?'

'For deaths...' 

'...'

'The blood of everyone who died here is on your hands... Blood of innocent non-combatants...'

'They were enemies... I did what was needed. I don't have any regrets.' 

'Lies...' The voice in his head got louder. 

All of a sudden he could see light. He could see himself. He could see his body... he wasn't inside it anymore. But was viewing it through a third-person perspective. 

He was still chained. But he was lying on the ground. N.a.k.e.d. Then all of a sudden, hundreds of mice appeared around him. Slowly making their way towards him. He wanted to kick them away. He wanted to run. But he wasn't in control of his body! 

The mice surrounded him. They looked innocent, as if they were clueless, not knowing what they were supposed to do next. They were all looking at him. Then the worst thought hit him. 

'They aren't going to devour me... Are they?'

Sebastian regretted that thought almost instantly as the mice did exactly what he thought. Unknown to him they were going to do whatever he thought. He thought he'd be fine because he wasn't inside the body. But he was wrong. A moment later he started screaming like never before. Pleading for someone to help. But no one did. Simply because none of it was real. It all had been going inside his head.

***

Meanwhile in the real world...

"It was another search and terminate mission. At least it was supposed to be one." Sebastian answered after spitting a mouthful of blood, which had been clogging his mouth for a while, unaware of Natasha's black magic.

"I must agree. This way of obtaining information is much more reliable and hassle-free." Kolt remarked.

"Especially because there is no bloodshed in it. The only downside of this technique is... it just doesn't feel like torture. I'm not a sadist but this bastard deserves to be in pain. In agony." Nina cursed the man in front of her. 

She felt like this because she heard what Sebastian and his men would've done to her if they, 'got their hands on her'.

"I can assure you, he's feeling pain in the worst possible way," Arnold smirked after all his summons had a special talent of making anyone's life a living hell. Natasha being the worst of them had her own twisted humour of torturing others. 

"What do you mean?" Nina asked. Intrigued by Arnold's response. 

"Think of it this way. If you were to cut his arm off, surely he'd feel pain and agony. But would it be permanent? No. The wounds will heal sooner or later. Moreover one can have physical resistance or abilities to regulate the pain. Their fragile mind, however, is a different story altogether."

Johnny smiled. He knew where Arnold was heading.

"Imagine if you could attack someone where it would hurt the most. Not physically but mentally. One can never completely heal from a mental wound. It's not something everyone's brain can handle. Fortunately, Natasha here," Arnold pointed at the succubus who was busy tormenting the man, "is an expert in doing so. Her magic is so strong, I doubt anyone of us would survive if she were to go nuts. Believe me. I have experienced it first hand. Let's just say, she's doing a better job than even H. H. Holmes¹ could've done."

Slowly but surely, Sebastian unknowingly told them everything he knew about their plan. Even the contingency plan. A plan which shook everyone present there to their core. A plan which according to him was only moments away from activation.

***

Special note! 

1. Herman W. Mudgett, the notorious serial killer popularly known as H.H. Holmes, built what he referred to as his "castle"—a three-story inn that he secretly turned into a macabre torture chamber. Some rooms were equipped with hidden peepholes, gas lines, trap doors and soundproofed padding, while others featured secret passages, ladders and hallways that led to dead ends. There was also a greased chute that led to the bas.e.m.e.nt, where Holmes had installed a surgical table, a furnace and even a medieval rack.

Both before and during the World's Fair, Holmes led many victims—mostly young women—to his lair only to asphyxiate them with poisoned gas and take them to his bas.e.m.e.nt for horrific experiments. He then either disposed of the bodies in his furnace or skinned them and sold the skeletons to medical schools. Holmes was eventually convicted of the murders of four people, but he confessed to at least 27 more killings before being hanged in 1896. "Holmes' Horror Castle" was later turned into a grotesque museum, but the building burned down before it could be opened.

He is quite famous for his sadist escapades, but I thought I should include a brief description of him so that those who don't know about him could get a rough idea of what an inhumane monster he was.