William didn't have to wait long… just a few minutes were enough for the pain to start tearing through his body without mercy.
It was a pulsing, relentless pain, running through his muscles like electric currents, as if his bones themselves were twisting beneath his skin. He tried to breathe deeply, but his chest felt as heavy as if something were sitting on it.
Kaite noticed William's trembling. He turned to his subordinates with a voice devoid of any mercy:
"Suspend him."
The followers moved with terrifying speed… rough hands, harsh tugs on his arms, and then his body was lifted off the ground.
William swayed for a moment before the rope above him tightened, leaving him dangling between heaven and hell.
When the subordinates withdrew, they closed the door behind them, leaving only him and Kaite… in a room resembling a theater of torture.
Kaite approached with slow, deliberate steps… each one a heartbeat of death.
When he reached William, he struck him in the stomach with all his strength.
William's breath was ripped away. His body convulsed for a moment, and the pain exploded inside him like a bomb. Blood spurted from his mouth, and he gritted his teeth, trying not to scream… but he failed.
A twisted, strange smile split Kaite's face.
"Let's start with the centipede first."
He reached for the table and lifted the Harish between his fingers as if presenting a precious artifact.
He approached William, whose chest heaved violently… panic clear in his wide, terrified eyes.
"A… get that thing away from me! Stay back, you monster!"
William struggled against his restraints, muscles trembling, shoulders burning with pain, yet he couldn't free himself.
Kaite grabbed his short hair roughly, pulling him closer, then placed the centipede directly against his face, letting it crawl slowly toward his ear.
William took a step back… then froze.
The centipede moved fast—faster than William had expected.
It slithered along the corner of his mouth, up to his temple, then… into his ear.
A muffled scream escaped William as he tried to shake his head with all his strength, but the restraints were too tight.
The centipede entered his ear canal like a needle injecting pain directly into his brain.
William shook violently… the pain sharp, pulsing, mixed with a creeping sensation that made his very soul want to escape his body.
Kaite slowly clapped his hands… just to draw William's gaze to him.
He was enjoying it.
"And now that the centipede has settled… we move on to the next stage."
He opened a small bronze box on the table, releasing a strange odor whose source William couldn't comprehend.
Inside the box, a collection of strange worms wriggled smoothly, as if made solely for human torment.
Kaite picked them up one by one, placing them on William's body—on his chest, neck, arms, and even legs.
The worms latched onto his skin and crawled slowly, leaving a wet, disgusting trail behind.
Kaite sat back on a chair, as if enjoying a theatrical performance.
Then he called loudly to one of his subordinates who entered running:
"Sir, I am at your service."
Kaite looked at him without hiding his cold smile:
"Go to Wayne. Tell him to summon the Third Elder of the faction… inform him that this concerns the marrow of his shattered daughter. Tell him I found good marrow… let him bring the money, and come later to collect it."
William froze.
The word "marrow" struck his chest like an arrow.
It wasn't the physical pain that hurt most in that moment…
It was the realization that his suffering was just a commodity, that his life was being bought and sold like cheap spare parts.
His eyes trembled—not from pain this time—but from humiliation, rage, fear, and helplessness.
In the corner of the room…
Kaite smiled confidently, savoring every trace of William's despair.