A demon walked into the cell, and the moment he perceived the fear from the demon dog, he calmly looked at the newcomer.
When he saw the demon, his eyes could not help but flicker.
The demon was tall and bloated, and it stood on thick digitigrade legs. His skin was a dull, bruised pink that was stretched tight over heavy muscle and fat.
A broad snout jutted from his face, and it was constantly twitching as if savoring invisible scents. His small black eyes gleamed with childish excitement as he looked at Simon.
A butcher’s apron hung from his waist, and the apron was stained, worn, and proudly displayed.
The demon smelled of iron, smoke, and something sweet that had gotten rotten.
’A pig demon?... As a torturer?’ Simon thought with raised brows.
"I’ll take it from here, dog. You may leave."
The demon dog gritted his teeth in anger at the way the pig demon spoke, but in his eyes was immense fear as he stared at the pig demon.
Simon saw this, and he could make a few guesses.
’Apart from the fact that this pig demon is an Archfiend, the demon dog is probably more fearful of the pig demon because of what it does.’
’Can my life get any worse? A pig demon is torturing me?’
Simon sighed internally, then the demon dog walked out without saying a single word.
Simon looked down and calmly closed his eyes.
He was truly exhausted, and all he just wanted to do was to sleep.
"Hmm? You’re just like I heard. Always calm and not afraid regardless of the situation. That’s good... It should be fun breaking you."
The pig demon walked to the metallic bench that was in the cell, then he began bringing out tools from his apron.
As he placed the tools on the bench, he spoke.
"People call me by different names, but I love being called Game Master Pellin. I love games, and I hope you love games too."
Pellin paused, then he looked at Simon.
"Hmm? By the way, what’s your name? I don’t think anybody knows your name."
Simon remained silent, then Pellin chuckled softly.
"The quiet type huh... Well, I’ve dealt with many like you, and all I can say is..."
He placed the last tool on the bench, then a few seconds later, he grabbed a knife from his tools.
"... They all sing and beg in the end."
Pellin approached Simon who said nothing in response to all Pellin said. His head was hung low, but Pellin held his head and forced Simon to face him.
Simon’s gaze was calm and indifferent, until...
Puchi!
Slash!
Pellin suddenly stabbed and cut Simon’s stomach, causing copious amount of blood to pour on the ground.
Simon’s eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn’t believe that Pellin would stab him and nearly split open his stomach.
’Does he want to kill me? Don’t they need me alive?’
Simon’s pupils shook, then he saw Pellin having a light smile on his face.
He brought his lips closer to Simon’s face.
"I just want you to know that the pain you’re currently feeling is the least amount of pain you’re going to feel while you’re with me. You’ll soon beg me for this pain." Pellin said softly and calmly, and the gears in Simon’s head spun.
"Before we begin, I’m going to ask because the higher ups want me to m. Where is the Devourer’s blood essence? I’m only asking once."
Simon stared into Pellin’s eyes, then he shook his head.
"I don’t know. I’ve been telling you guys that I don’t know where it is and that I’m not with it."
Pellin shrugged, then he put his hand inside his dirty and bloodied apron.
He brought out a vial of crimson blood, then he poured it on Simon’s bleeding stomach.
"Argh."
Simon nearly screamed as he felt a burning sensation on his stomach. It was like somebody placed a red-hot metal on his stomach, and Simon did not expect such.
He looked down, and he saw that the cut to his stomach was closing up.
’What was that?’ Simon wondered as he stared at his healing stomach.
"Now, I said I’m a game master. So, let’s play a game."
Pellin smirked with a mischievous light in his eyes, then he approached the tools on the bench table.
"The first game we’ll play is a game of guessing."
Pelling gestured at the tools on the bench.
"What you’ll do is simple... You’re going to guess what tool I’m going to use next. If you get it wrong, I’ll use the tool, but if you guess wrong, then..."
Pellin shrugged nonchalantly. "You should know the answer to that already."
Simon furrowed his brows in confusion. He looked at the bench then shifted his gaze to Pellin.
"I should guess?"
"I don’t like to say the same thing twice." Pellin said with a light smile, then he gestured at his tools.
Simon glanced at the table, and he saw several torture tools like a thumbscrew, a plier, forceps, hammer, and several other tools he couldn’t even recognize.
He stared at the tools for some seconds before looking away and saying nothing.
A pig demon wanted him to play games while he was being tortured?
A pig demon who was nothing but a useless demon in his eyes wanted to play games with him who spent decades as The Demon Slayer, as the Hero of Earth, as the Halo of Earth?
Simon was not going to entertain this demon by playing his stupid games. If the demon wanted to torture him, he should just get on with it.
"A score of zero out of 10. That’s bad, sad, and boring. Do better next time, hmm." Pellin shook his head disappointedly, then he picked up the plier and approached Simon.
Without saying anything, he sat on the floor and grabbed Simon’s right foot.
He placed his hand in the pocket of his apron, then he sprinkled some white dust on Simon’s feet.
Simon felt a tingling sensation in his feet, and it suddenly felt a hundred times more sensitive and at the same time, it felt like his toenails and flesh had hardened.
"Hmm. Hmm. Hmmm." Pellin hummed, then he grabbed his plier, placed it on Simon’s big toe, held the toenail, then he pulled backward and twisted.
Simon’s eyes instantly widened, and a loud scream tore out of his throat as Pellin tore and twisted out his toenail.
Pellin did not just stop at one toe, he pulled three of his toenails, and Simon was having a seizure with spit dripping from his mouth.