Archer watched Anatoly sigh before the older man nodded. ''Okay, but first, he will be taken to be questioned. Thanks to the collar, he will give us Draconia's weaknesses, so we can end this war.''
'Oh no, I won't,' he thought with a growl that resounded through the room.
This caught their attention, causing the man's face to twist into a scowl. ''You seem to forget that you're a slave. Now stand up so I can give you to my wife. She will keep you in line while I'm gone.''
Monts later, two big n grabbed him as the emperor continued. ''Take him to the torture chamber. Get the weakness to that annoying Death Mist so we can take the island.''
Archer's limbs grew heavy as the collar sapped his strength, its cold tal biting his neck. The two burly guards gripped his arms, their fingers like iron clamps, dragging him through the dimly lit corridors of the palace.
His boots scraped against the stone floor, each step a struggle against the collar's paralyzing magic. He growled, but the sound was weak, swallowed by the oppressive air. The guards shoved open a rusted iron door, revealing a cavernous torture chamber.
Flickering torchlight cast shadows on the walls, illuminating chains, hooks, and a stained wooden table at the center. Archer's heart pounded, but his body refused to obey. The n hauled him onto the table, slamming him down with enough force to knock the breath from his lungs.
Thick leather straps snapped tight around his wrists and ankles, pinning him in place. A figure erged from the shadows, a woman, gaunt and unsettling, her eyes glinting with malice.
The stranger's lips twisted into a cruel smile as she approached, her movents unnervingly silent. In her hand, she held a thin, curved blade that caught the torchlight with a wicked gleam.
She leaned over him, her breath sour and cold against his face. ''Draconia's secrets,'' she hissed, her voice like dry leaves. ''You'll give them to .''
Before he could react, she pressed the blade against his ribs. With a slow, purposeful motion, she dragged it down, slicing through flesh with precision. Pain seared through him, white-hot and relentless.
Blood welled up, warm and sticky, pooling beneath him as it dripped onto the table. He clenched his teeth, refusing to scream, but his vision blurred as the collar's magic tried to get him to speak.
The blade bit deeper, carving a searing path through Archer's flesh, the pain surpassing any tornt he'd ever endured. Each inch of the cut scread with unbearable intensity, threatening to shatter his resolve.
Monts later, the collar around his neck flared, its enchanted tal scorching his throat, charring his vocal cords into useless ash. Yet, through the haze of agony, he clamped his jaw shut, refusing to utter a single word.
Just then, he saw the gaunt woman's blade dance across his flesh with rciless precision, each cut was a calculated act of cruelty. Blood stread from the gashes along his ribs, arms, and chest, pooling beneath the table in a crimson mire.
The collar's magic burned hotter, a relentless inferno that choked his screams into ragged gasps, his vocal cords long since ruined. His body, once unyielding, was now a canvas of scars, jagged lines, and raw wounds that throbbed with every heartbeat.
''You know, this is a Dark Blades,'' the torturer revealed with a manic smile. ''Your body will be forever carved up. You will talk by the ti I'm finished here.''
She sawed another line across his collarbone, her eyes blazing with frustration. ''Speak, dragon!'' she snarled, her voice shrill as she pressed the blade deeper, splitting skin and muscle.
Archer's vision swam, pain and blood loss dragging him toward oblivion, but his silence held firm as he sank into his mind to escape the torture. The woman's face twisted with rage, her movents growing erratic.
She slashed wildly, opening a fresh wound across his thigh, blood spraying the table. ''You will break!''
The iron door creaked open, halting her mid-strike. Anastasia stepped into the chamber, her expression a storm of annoyance. Her piercing gaze swept over his bloodied, scarred form, then fixed on the torturer.
''Enough,'' she snapped, her voice cutting through the air like a whip.
The woman froze, blade trembling in her grip just above his right eye, but sothing took over as she plunged it into him. Archer let out a sound as the pain was so bad that he blacked out for a second.
''Are you fucking stupid bitch?'' the empress said in a low voice.
Following that, Anastasia appeared before the woman and grabbed her by the throat. The torturer's stamring excuses faltered as her patience snapped. The woman's fingers clawed uselessly at her grip.
With a sickening crack, the blonde twisted her wrist, snapping the torturer's neck in one brutal motion. The body crumpled to the blood-streaked floor, lifeless, her blade skittering into the shadows.
Anastasia didn't spare the corpse a glance. She rushed to the table where Archer lay, his scarred and bloodied form barely clinging to consciousness. The collar's glow pulsed faintly, its magic still gnawing at his strength.
His body, crisscrossed with deep gashes, rose and fell in shallow, ragged breaths, blood pooling beneath him. Her blue eyes narrowed, a flicker of urgency breaking through her usual composure.
''Only my mother-in-law's sister can heal you from this,'' she muttered concernedly. ''I'll take you to my private quarters, then get her.''
Archer was released from the table, his voice sharp with defiance. ''I'll show no rcy to any ruler, including your husband, once free.''
The blonde's smile broadened, her blue eyes glinting with knowing. ''Anatoly fell to the wretched beasts the Pope set upon him. I warned him not to ally with them, to send you a ssage instead, but he wouldn't listen.''
Struggling to rise, he found his legs unsteady, and Anastasia quickly steadied him. ''Here, let help you,'' she said, her smile warm.
Archer eyed the older woman warily. ''Why are you being kind to ? Doesn't your family despise ?''
Anastasia laughed softly. ''Who said I hate you? I know my husband and the Pope relentlessly targeted you. I don't bla you for your anger. Truthfully, I've always wanted to et you. My mother-in-law spoke of you often and wishes to et you too.''
''Who is she?'' he questioned while the two walked down the palace's corridors.
''Catherine Volkovitch, the Witch of Verdantia,'' the blonde revealed with a big smile. ''She's the strongest being on the continent.''
Archer's eyes narrowed. ''Why does she want to et ?''
Anastasia shrugged. ''I'm not sure, and it's the reason I got my husband to give you to . Now you've been captured, the Alliance will celebrate before moving toward your part of Avidia.''
Following that, they reached a room where the older woman motioned for the sofa. ''Sit down while I go get Aunty.''
The empress left him alone, causing him to slump down as the wounds were taking their toll on his body. 'Mana poisoning? Was the blade tainted by the Terravians?' he thought.
Soti later, Anastasia reappeared with soone who surprised him as the grey-haired Natalia stepped into the room. The Pope's wife's eyes widened in horror as she rushed over to him and started fussing.
''They used that horrible poison?'' she growled after checking. ''It seems like Anatoly has finally fallen to that Terravian woman.''
''Yes, I'm afraid so,'' the empress comnted. ''Will mothers' plan still work or is it bust now?''
Natalia started chanting a spell that washed over his body and started repairing the broken tissue and giving him back his eye. The grey-haired beauty glanced at him with a worried smile. ''You need to be careful, especially nowadays. The Terravians have corrupted the emperor, the pope, and high command.''
After speaking, the grey-haired woman turned to Anastasia and warned. ''The imperial guards are approaching the room with Anatoly. He's going to want so information, or the torture will continue.''
Archer shivered but started giving the blonde fake information that would help his legions get the upper hand by ambushing the Alliance armies. This shocked the two won as Anastasia gave him a knowing grin.
''Are you sure you didn't plan to get captured?'' she asked.
''No. I was defending one of my wives as the Terravians kept trying to attack them, and he beat ,'' he revealed. ''But now I can do more damage behind enemy lines while ssing with the emperor.''
''Stay silent when he cos in, handso,'' the empress comnted.
He nodded in agreent as the two won started laughing, only to shut up when the emperor stepped into the room, only for his eyes to go narrow as he spoke. ''What's going on here, Anastasia? And why is Aunt Natalia here?''
Archer was going to taunt the man, but the blonde answered. ''Your torturer failed to get any information. She mutilated him, forcing to bring her here to heal him while he gave enough information to retake Avidia.''
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