Powerless

Lucas had just returned from Ravena's house and had gone outside to wait for his master to return. He's had a lot of questions since he learned about another world. He was both nervous and excited at the prospect of resuming his life. He didn't believe he was alive inside this infinite void because it only appears to be a room with no light inside.

Lucas does not consider himself to be alive.

He wasn't sure what to do in the meantime, so he decided to wait for his master. He began to make his way toward the throne on which his master sits.

When he arrived, he noticed a lot of things on the ground, which confused him a little. He noticed two wooden swords, a few scrolls, gems, and a pitch-black object that resembled a doll. He wasn't sure who this was for, but he didn't bother with it because he assumed it was his master's stuff.

He then heard a strange sound, looked behind him, and saw Philip emerge. He was dressed in his usual butler suit, adjusting his attire and making his way toward Lucas with slow steps, occasionally peeking at the perplexed Lucas.

As he approached him, he had a carefree expression on his face. He appeared to be getting ready to do something.

Philip dashed forward until he was in front of him, grabbed Lucas by the shoulders, and pushed him to his knees with a single push before Lucas could even ask why he was approaching him.

"What exactly are you...doing?" He inquired, looking up to Philip.

"Master instructed you to be trained in the harshest and most ruthless manner possible. As a result, here I am. I'll train you until you can only defend and attack when I come at you. Be prepared because this will not take a few hours. It'll take a lot longer than that. Not until Master returns, but until you accomplish something I like."

He took his hand off Lucas' shoulder and took a step back. He clenched his fists and stared at Lucas, letting his murderous intent be known.

"Come at me. Don't hold back and give it your all. I especially dislike it when someone refuses to fight me because I appear to be a regular butler. So don't worry about anything and attack to your heart's desire."

Lucas had no idea why his master had told him to train with Philip. He expected to train with his master and learn everything from him, but this was not the case.

Lucas brushed aside the thought and dashed forward. He was preparing to hit Philip in the face first.

"Just because you are your master's pupil does not imply that he will allow you to train with him. You're far too frail right now." With a grin on his face, he said.

He avoided the attack with little to no effort and remained in the same position he had moved to. Lucas noticed this and rushed over to him.

Philip just kept dodging Lucas's ineffective attacks. Philip could see that Lucas had no fighting experience at all. He also had an unusual fighting style, which made Philip frown.

'I thought he'd be able to injure me at the very least but to think he's not even capable of touching me. What, after all, did master see in him? Is he that special that master goes to such lengths to provide him with adequate resources and everything? Master does not waste his resources and time on someone who is not worth it or who is not interested in what he is doing. There must be a reason for master's behavior, but what is it?'

This went on for a few minutes until Lucas became exhausted from attempting to hit him. He even tried kicks and such, but he couldn't land a single hit on Philip.

"You know how pathetic you are? Even though master gave you that pill, which he obtained from the best alchemist, you are unable to utilize its full potential. You haven't realized it yet, have you?" He looked down at Lucas, who was lying on the ground.

"You...mean...when...master...said..something..about...a...new...body?" He tried to get some air, but it was difficult because he was completely exhausted. It may take a few moments.

"Indeed. He has given you the Mutate Pill, which aids in the growth of one soul, body, muscles, organs, and senses, propelling you to the next level. It should have been extremely beneficial to you, but it wasn't. Or, at the very least, it appears that you don't know how to use it effectively. You could have hurt me once if you knew, but you're too tired from throwing punches and kicks. I understand that you have no experience with everything, but to think that you were this weak despite eating that pill," With a heavy sigh, he said.

"I only got the instructions to 'train him,' so I didn't think I'd have to focus on the basics, but now that I look at you, I realize we really do have to start from the beginning. What I've noticed is that you have an unusual approach to attacking and defending others. When it's time to attack, you back off, and when it's time to defend, you attack. It's as if you're scared but also determined to win." With a serious expression on his face, he looked at Lucas.

"Do you really want to get stronger? Someone this pitiful, frail, and terrified wants power? To be honest, you don't deserve to have any power. You don't even deserve to be a student of master. If you can't even do this, you might as well die because of your pathetic way of life."

He approached Lucas and grabbed his arm and twisted it in such a way that he could break it in the most painful way possible. As he looked at Lucas's painful expression, he slowly moved his arm.

"Do you experience pain?"

"O-Of course I do! Do you think this...isn't going to hurt?" He cast a backward glance at the expressionless Philip.

Lucas was agitated. Philip could easily twist his arm and break both of them, but he does it slowly enough to cause extreme pain in Lucas by simply pushing it a little. Clever, but also messed up.

"I promised you that I would train you in the harshest and most ruthless manner possible, so here we go." He said this in a cold tone as if he didn't care if he broke Lucas' bones or not.

CRACK CRACK

"AAAAHGGGH!" As soon as Philip broke both of Lucas' arms, he screamed.

He collapsed to the ground, both broken arms at his sides, unable to move. When he looked over to see what Philip was up to, he noticed him taking hold of his legs. He was aware of what he was about to do, so he tried to break free by moving away and swaying his legs.

"It's pointless. I'll break every bone in your body, and then I'll heal your entire body. Let's get started, shall we?"

He then grabbed his ankles and broke them with brute force.

"....arghh.." Lucas tried to keep it together, thinking he looked pitiful. He should put up with it because it appears to be training, and he didn't mind as long as he could get stronger.

Philip was now holding his knees and breaking them one by one.

Lucas was now numb below his abdomen and only felt pain. He didn't like it because it felt like torture and he didn't know what torture felt like, but now that he is experiencing it, he doesn't want to go through it again after training.

Philip then progressed to fingers. Because there were ten valuable bones there that he could easily snap and heal, this is where the most pain would be played. Basically, it's a nightmare that no one wants to live.

"This is the point at which the real training begins. I'll let you witness my method of torturing prisoners. Let's get started."

He grasped his thumb and-

CRACK

His index finger was up next. Then the middle finger, ring finger, and finally the little finger.

He broke everything he could get his hands on before moving on to his other hand.

....

The exact same thing occurred there. He broke everything slowly and carefully until there was nothing left.

He then placed his hand on both of his broken hands, and a green light rushed towards Lucas's hands, magically healing them in a split second.

"...." Lucas couldn't believe he had to go through everything again. He reasoned that Philip would not stop at just doing it once, so he mentally prepared himself, knowing that this could clearly drive someone insane.

--

Time flew by as Philip continued his torturous game with Lucas. He was still holding on to Lucas' fingers, breaking one after the other.

Lucas, on the other hand, had his eyes closed and appeared to have passed out or died as a result of the intense torture. But Philip was unconcerned. He could tell Lucas was still alive because he kept breaking his fingers and other bones from time to time.

He's done it so many times that he's lost count of how many times he's done it. It felt like his bones were breaking and being repaired every second. Lucas had already lost sensation in his entire body. Philip also mysteriously broke bones he had no idea could be broken so easily. Such as his back and shoulders. He had the distinct impression that he was witnessing the techniques of a master torturer.

"We've been doing this for hours and it's getting boring. Let's fight." As he said this, he stood up and looked at Lucas, who was in a pitiful state.

Every bone in his body had been broken so many times that it appeared he wouldn't be able to move for some time. Unless Lucas had been tortured, this should make it impossible for him to walk or stand.

"Come on, let's go. Stand up." He said this as he kicked Lucas from the side.

"..."

Lucas was deafeningly silent. Philip was aware that he was still alive and was perplexed as to why he was not responding.

"Well, if you don't want to wake up, I guess I'll have to do it the hard way." He lifted Lucas above his head and threw him to the other side with enough force to make him feel more pain when he hit the ground.

"..."

There is still no response. There wasn't even a sound coming from him, which he would never do. He was aware of his frailty and would scream every now and then because it hurt so much. Something didn't feel right to him.

Nonetheless, he picked him up again and threw him anywhere. He kept doing this until he heard his voice. He wasn't dead, so it shouldn't take long, he reasoned.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting for someone to make a noise due to all the time being thrown, he finally heard something come out of his mouth.

"....heal..."

"What about heal?" Philip said as he got closer because he couldn't hear what he was saying. Philip's senses were keen, but for some reason, Lucas's voice was deafeningly silent.

"Heal...my...."

"Heal your what?"

"Heal...my....body..."

"Why?"

"You....want....to...fight...right..?" He said this while attempting to look at Philip with a lifeless expression on his face that would frighten anyone unless he was used to scary faces like his.

As someone who worked with prisoners and dangerous beings, Philip had seen a wide range of expressions, so his expression toward him didn't surprise him.

When he looked at Lucas's face, he saw a look that said he didn't care about anything anymore. He was perplexed to see someone so young yearning for power and willing to accept anything that would make him stronger than he was.

Philip was aware that Lucas desired power, but he had no idea that he would go to such lengths to obtain it. It was ridiculous to think that someone like Lucas would want more power.

Philip was aware that something was going on in his head about power and getting stronger. He wanted to tell his master, but he wasn't sure, and unless he was certain, he wouldn't tell him because it would be a waste of time. And Arch despised it when people squandered his valuable time.

"Sure. I'll heal you." He placed his hand on his abdomen and instantly healed his entire body.

Lucas felt he couldn't stand up because he had lost feeling despite being healed. He was tortured by beyond, so this wouldn't work unless he musters the courage to stand up.

"However, you are barely able to stand. How are you going to fight me?"

"Doesn't....matter!" He said this as he was finally able to stand up, his fiery eyes burning with the desire to defeat Philip.

"Hoh. I guess I underestimated your determination. I apologize. I will no longer dismiss you and will take you more seriously. I can't have you dying on me or else my head will fly, haha." He said casually as he took a stand with one hand behind his back and the other in front of him.

Lucas, on the other hand, was simply attempting to move, which did not entirely succeed. His legs no longer felt like his legs, as if they had become completely numb from the torture they had endured.

He persisted in trying until he could move both of his legs normally again. He knew it would take time for things to return to normal, or worse, they wouldn't. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to move because he couldn't feel anything.

It irritated him. He wanted to move and attack that man. He wanted to defeat Philip and show him that he could easily overpower him. He desired to do so, but...

He couldn't do it.

He was exhausted.

He felt like he couldn't do anything anymore.

He felt worthless.

He simply felt...

Powerless.

...