Inside the Secret Realm, sunlight filtered through layers of the forest canopy, casting mottled shadows.
Leo strode back to his previous position, carrying Layard in one hand like a dead dog.
With a casual toss, Layard slammed heavily onto the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Thud.
Layard lay limp on the ground, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.
His head was bowed, his shoulders heaving violently as a shrill laughter escaped his throat.
In that laughter, there was despair, self-deprecation, and a mockery of fate.
Sophia and Shizuku immediately surrounded him, staring him down from either side.
The two women's gazes were like knives, making Layard's scalp tingle with numbness.
Leo stood over him with his arms crossed.
"Crying?"
His voice was flat, yet it carried an unquestionable sense of pressure.
"Crying counts as time. My patience is limited."
Ten seconds. Twenty seconds.
Layard remained silent, though the laughter gradually turned into heavy panting.
Shizuku suddenly spoke up, her tone calm.
"Sophia, use that."
Sophia's eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands together, an excited smile appearing on her face.
"Oh right! I almost forgot!"
Leo raised an eyebrow, looking at the two with curiosity.
"What do you mean by... 'that'?"
Sophia turned around and explained to Leo in a low voice.
"Master, while my ability is in effect, isn't it impossible to kill the opponent? So, inside the Duel Arena, I can torture him however I want without worrying about him dying."
She paused, her smile becoming even more brilliant.
"Even if he surrenders, I can just pull him back in again. It's not like there's a rule saying I can only use it once."
She and Shizuku shared a look, a flash of understanding passing between them.
"When Shizuku and I were chasing a wanted criminal, we accidentally discovered this usage—it works great for getting confessions."
Leo was stunned for a moment.
Then, the look in his eyes as he watched Sophia became subtle.
'How vicious...'
He muttered to himself, a complex set of emotions rising in his heart.
When did this disciple of his become so... creative?
Shizuku pushed up her glasses, her harmless-looking face still devoid of any expression.
She said calmly,
"Leo, leave him to us. He'll talk."
Her tone was as casual as saying, "Leave dinner to me."
Leo looked at Shizuku's calm face, then at Sophia's eager expression, and suddenly felt a pang of pity for Layard.
He shrugged.
"Fine. He's all yours."
Layard looked up, meeting Shizuku's gaze.
He sized up the quiet girl in black-rimmed glasses and then looked at the excited young woman next to her, his lips curling into a disdainful arc.
Two women? What could they possibly do to him?
He, Layard, had been in the organization for years; what kind of torture hadn't he seen? What kind of agony hadn't he endured?
He didn't believe these two women had the ability to make him talk.
Sophia walked up to Layard and looked down at him.
She saw the disdain in his eyes but didn't care, simply offering a slight smile.
That smile made Layard's heart tighten for no reason.
Sophia reached out and lightly patted Layard's shoulder.
Then she walked over to Shizuku and gave her a light pat as well.
Layard's brow furrowed.
What are they doing?
Before he could react, Sophia clapped her hands.
Pale blue marks appeared simultaneously on Layard and Shizuku.
The next second—Layard's vision blurred, and the surrounding scenery shifted instantly.
"Where... is this?!"
Layard quickly looked around, his face showing obvious shock.
He was standing on an arena stage with a floor made of hard black stone slabs. The sides and top were translucent Nen barriers, through which he could see the blurred, flowing lights and shadows of the outside world.
Five meters away, Shizuku stood quietly, her face as expressionless as ever.
At the edge of the arena, Sophia stood there.
She had changed into a black-and-white referee uniform and held a silver whistle in her hand.
"Welcome to the 'Duel Arena'."
Sophia's voice echoed clearly in the empty space.
"This is my ability—constructing a Nen space arena completely independent of the outside world."
She raised her whistle and began to announce the rules.
"First, both duelists are forbidden from using Nen and must rely solely on their physical bodies to fight."
"Second, it is impossible to kill your opponent in this arena. The battle ends when one side loses the ability to fight or voluntarily surrenders."
"Third, as the referee, neither side can attack me, and I cannot interfere in the battle."
"Fourth, the winner will receive a 'Champion's Reward' of thirty percent of the loser's manifested Nen, which will be automatically transferred after leaving the space."
She paused and looked at Layard.
Of course, whether one side has lost the ability to fight is entirely up to Sophia's judgment; if she believes a side can still fight, the battle will not end.
"Is everything clear?"
After hearing the rules, Layard's face turned pale instantly.
No Nen, only physical combat, and unable to be killed.
He swallowed hard, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
He was a Conjurer; his Nen Ability was his foundation.
While his physical strength had been trained, it was more than a level below that of the Enhancer, Emitter, and Transmuter classes.
These two women... had planned to use this method to force a confession from the start?
He looked at the quiet girl with glasses across from him, a strong sense of unease rising in his heart.
'If this woman dares to propose physical combat, her physical strength must be far greater than mine.'
'This is bad!'
Shizuku nodded, her tone calm.
"Mm."
Since following Leo, she had been influenced by him and had put a lot of effort into her strength.
Although she was also a Conjurer, Leo had once told her: a Nen User shouldn't rely solely on their ability; the body is just as important.
Since then, she had undergone massive physical training every day, and she was somewhat unique in that her left fist had more power than her right.
Day after day, without interruption.
The current her was no longer the Shizuku who only relied on her vacuum cleaner to fight.
"Then—"
Sophia blew the whistle.
"Duel, start!"
The moment the whistle sounded, Shizuku moved!
Her speed was startling, closing the five-meter gap in an instant!
Her right fist shot straight toward Layard's face!
Layard's pupils constricted, and he hurriedly dodged to the side!
But he made a fatal mistake—he assumed Shizuku was an Enhancer and would go for an all-out frontal assault, so he chose a defensive strategy.
This retreat cost him the initiative.
Shizuku's fist grazed his cheek, but her left fist was already following close behind!
Bang!
Her left fist slammed hard into Layard's shoulder!
Layard let out a muffled groan, staggering backward.
He wanted to create distance, but Shizuku gave him no chance.
Another punch!
Bang!
Another punch!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Shizuku's offensive was like a violent storm.
Her movements were simple and unadorned, without fancy techniques, but every strike was heavy and precise!
Layard tried desperately to block, but he simply couldn't!
Although both were Conjurers, his physical strength was weaker than Shizuku's.
Combined with losing the initiative at the start, he was completely suppressed by Shizuku, without even a chance to counterattack!
One minute later.
Bang!
Shizuku's left fist broke through his defense, slamming into his shoulder!
Crack! The crisp sound of bone fracturing!
Layard let out a scream of agony, his defense completely collapsing!
Next came a flurry of fist shadows!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The rapid sounds of impact were like the beating of a drum!
Shizuku's fists fell on Layard like raindrops—chest, abdomen, arms, thighs—every punch carrying the force to shatter stone!
Layard was beaten senseless!
His arms were fractured in multiple places, his chest was caved in, and at least three ribs were broken!
Blood flowed continuously from the corners of his mouth and nostrils!
"I surrender!!"
He finally roared out.
The moment the words left his mouth, Shizuku's fist stopped an inch from his face.
Sophia walked to the center of the arena and blew her whistle.
"Battle end. Shizuku wins."
Layard felt a surge of energy being forcibly drained from his body—thirty percent of his manifested Nen, transferring to Shizuku.
He collapsed on the ground, gasping for air, with no part of his body that didn't hurt.
The next second—his vision blurred.
He was back in the Secret Realm.
Leo was leaning against a tree, leisurely watching the scene.
Seeing the three reappear, he was about to speak—when Sophia rushed to Layard and Shizuku with extreme speed and patted them both again!
The pale blue marks appeared once more!
Layard's pupils shrank!
"No—!"
Before he could finish, the three disappeared again.
Leo looked at the empty ground and smiled helplessly.
Inside the Duel Arena.
Layard appeared on the stage again.
Opposite him, Shizuku still stood quietly.
Sophia revealed a sinister smile.
"Surprised?"
Her voice was full of delight.
"My ability never said it could only be used once."
Layard was completely dazed.
He opened his mouth to say something, but Sophia had already blown the whistle.
"Duel, start!"
Shizuku charged again!
This time, Layard had learned his lesson; he wanted to surrender immediately.
But he was already heavily injured, and his reactions were sluggish.
Shizuku's right hand shot out like lightning, grabbed his chin, and forcefully dislocated it.
Crack!
Layard's jaw was dislocated!
He opened his mouth, making vague "wuu wuu wuu" sounds, unable to shout a single word.
Shizuku let go, looking at him expressionlessly.
"This way,"
She said calmly,
"You can't shout that you surrender anymore."
Her tone was flat yet extremely chilling.
For the first time, true terror appeared in Layard's eyes.
He looked at the quiet girl in glasses before him, at her harmless face, and at the cold calm in her eyes—
'Don't come over here...'
He wanted to scream, but he couldn't.
'I surrender! I surrender!!'
But no one could hear him.
Shizuku's fists fell once more.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
This time, there were no rules to stop it, no possibility of surrender—only the purest, most violent beating.
One punch, two punches, three... Layard's body was tossed into the air and then slammed back down hard.
He tried to struggle, but every attempt was met with an even more ferocious strike.
He didn't know how many punches he took; he only knew that each one brought him closer to death—yet he could never truly die.
Five minutes later.
The three reappeared in the Secret Realm.
Leo was still leaning against that tree, arms crossed, watching leisurely.
Seeing them appear, he teased,
"So? Is he willing to talk?"
Shizuku pushed up her glasses and nodded.
Sophia walked over to Leo's side and clapped her hands, a satisfied smile on her face.
"Yeah, this guy could really hold out. He's quite the tough guy."
Leo looked down at Layard on the ground.
Layard lay there, his entire body completely deformed.
The ten fingers on both hands were all broken, twisted at bizarre angles.
His arms, legs, and chest were covered in signs of fractures.
His face was swollen like a pig's head, his eyes reduced to two slits, and his jaw was still skewed to one side.
But his eyes were still open.
In those eyes, only emptiness and terror remained.
He had always thought he was a tough guy, but after five minutes of torture, he understood that only by experiencing it firsthand would one know that being unable to die is the greatest agony.
His lips moved, making indistinct sounds.
Sophia walked over and reached out to pop his jaw back into place.
Crack.
Layard could finally speak.
He lay on the ground, staring at the sky, gasping for breath.
Tears and snot were mixed together, covering his face.
"I'll... talk..."
His voice was raspy and weak.
"I'll tell you everything... just give me a quick end."
Leo walked up to him and looked down.
"Then speak."
Layard closed his eyes and began to recount.
He told them of the Doctor's plan, the structure of the Purifier Organization, the experiments they had conducted over the years, and everything that had happened in this Secret Realm.
He spoke freely and quickly.
In his heart, two names were forever etched—Sophia and Shizuku.
Those two seemingly harmless women were more terrifying than demons.