"Rise and Shine. Today's the day you spill it."

The woman comes in with her usual food, water, and torture weapons wanting to know more about the Demon and the Dragon I fought. She's much more straight-faced today and doesn't fold under any of my initial questions or tauntings.

I lose a lot of blood from deep lashes and she even tries cutting my fingers rather than just the nails.

Her newest method is a torch soaked with a flammable substance that she continuously uses to poke and prod me while asking questions. I don't even flinch from the heat so she stops this after just a few hours.

My month-long training sessions of solitude and battles with ruthless monsters have been much worse than this. I can handle a few cuts and burns from a human. My physical appearance on the other hand tells a different story.

This only works in my favor.

The woman's cooler demeanor flips back to the same hint of rage I witnessed yesterday.

"What's with you? Is this information really that valuable that you'd rather die than give it away?"

Instead of my usual silent or dull generic one-word answers, I decide to entertain her now. Last time she was in this state she leaked much more than intended.

The woman tightens her lips while taking a step back.

I respond with a smug look on my face.

"Is the information that important that you'd waste days down here instead of killing me?"

I get another angry lash across the chest as her eyes glimmer with rage.

"I'd face a worse fate than you if you died before giving me any information."

Then another.

*Crack*

She keeps yelling.

"You're just a nut case. It's been 3 days since you had any food or water and you're mutilated beyoing repair yet you're smiling like you have the upper hand here."

I cough and spit out blood showing her the grin that she despises.

"So you can't kill me until I talk? That's good to know."

*Crack*

Her face goes red again and any hopes of a conversation dwindle.

Another long day of torture continues.

However, I'm not sure who's in a worse position.

A few more hours pass before she's had her fill of action. The anger, frustration, and rage have turned into maniacal laughs while she continues using every torture trick in the book.

My questions and taunts aren't getting through to her anymore, she doesn't reply with anything meaningful. She just keeps asking the same questions in response.

A few hours later, the blond tires out and begins to pack up to leave. Before doing so, she force-feeds me half a bottle of water, then walks out the door with a final line.

"That's so you don't die overnight. You were correct. I can't kill you until I get what I need, but you'll wish I could."

The metal door slams closed and I begin my Demonic Energy Manipulation training almost immediately.

I don't have a status screen that gives me the exact amount of Energy I'm wielding, so to make things simple today I decided to name each individual wisp of energy as "1 Unit of Demonic Energy". They're all roughly the same size, so it makes things simple.

The unexpected cool liquid refreshment gives me enough energy to train for 5 hours straight. I manage to refine 9 wisps of energy and make a very intriguing discovery.

I can achieve complete refinement in just over 1 minute per try. It's some improvement, but not nearly as fast as I would have wished. It's been mostly muscle memory and perfecting the flowing movements, not an innate power-up. So, I may just need much more practice and possibly more levels to get faster at this.

Expelling the energy on the other hand has managed to become nearly instantaneous.

I've figured out a method to speed up this process.

If while absorbing the Demonic Energy in the surrounding area, I don't allow it to leave my core after being refined I'm able to keep this refined black swirling matter inside my core and not touching any of my pathways.

When all of the refined energy is released at once directly from the core to whichever part of my body would like to release it from, 100% of the matter is expelled in a single shot.

On my 9th and final attempt of the night, I manage to hold the Demonic Energy inside my core, deactivate my skill, and confirm that it remains refined even 10 minutes later once I activate it again.

The energy shoots out all the same creating a thin black blade-like shape before hitting the door in the back of the room with a loud clang.

I fall asleep from the fatigue after this.

Everything goes dark, and then my day of torture starts up the moment my eyes open again.

"Rise and Shine!"

I hear her voice ring out after the metal door swings open.

There's already a twinge of anger and frustration in her tone as she walks in. This is a good sign.

I'll just say quiet today and see if she lets anything out during her moments of rage. One or two more training sessions will be enough to start tinkering with the cuffs and planning my escape.

The woman begins her punishments.

An hour or so of the usual goes by. Then, she tries a few different tactics.

"Don't you want to see your friends? Tell me what I need to know and I'll let you all go free!"

The woman takes out the silver key that she flashed to me on the first day as well.

"There's no need to be stubborn. Drop your pride and choose to survive. I'll unlock your cuffs."

I roll my eyes and don't give in. Although, I'm jumping with excitement on the inside. There's a small hole in the metal linking the black cuffs together that looks like a key could fit inside. I wasn't sure if that silver item was used for the cuffs or the door outside. Now It's very clear to me.

She taunts me more about my teammates, and her eyes get wider and crazier. I don't bother reacting, I'm busy thinking about other things. Whatever is happening to my squad is beyond my control at the moment. Based on her previous actions and statements, it seems like there isn't anything they have that she would want to know.

I have no reason to trust this woman, so there's no point in worrying about them now. I'm solely focused on myself.

She can't believe this lack of reaction, and the torture just gets more violent.

Eventually, she says something new under her breath that piques my interest.

"Everyone else is done with their interrogations, but I'm stuck working overtime for you."

*Crack*

I get hit by her whip again.

I decide not to push her over the edge, the last time I did she gave me the silent treatment. The fact that she isn't working alone is news to me. Now I know this is an organized operation. She's working overtime...

Instead of making a smug remark, I let my head and full body go limp. If she's already talking to herself, I might as well let her keep it up.

She murmurs inaudible curses, while continuously asking about the Demon and Dragon again, but gives up about 30 minutes later. She lets out a long sigh and lifts my head by the air while staring into my half-open bloodshot eyes.

"Looks like you're too worn out for the day to be of any good use. We'll pick this up tomorrow."

She lets out a chuckle and forces a small amount of water down my throat. I don't react, acting as unconscious as possible in the hope she lets another thing slip.

The woman packs up her gear and opens the door.

Her next words make my heart skip a beat...

She murmurs under her breath.

"Brutus could have given us more information on this bunch, I can't get a word out of this brat. It's going to be a long week."

The moment the metal door slams shut, my blood begins to boil.

Brutus. The Regional Director has something to do with this... I don't know if she's a private 3rd party hire, an association secret branch, or something different altogether.

The only thing I know is I'm getting out of here tomorrow and getting to the bottom of this.

With a clenched jaw, I begin my Demonic Energy Training. Another breakthrough is necessary today.

I manage to refine 1 unit of energy, store it in my core, deactivate, and reactive my skill to expel an attack 3 times. Each time I would wait increasingly longer in between reactivating the skill just to make sure there's no time limit.

By the 3rd time, over an hour goes by while deactivated, so I'm fairly positive I can store this energy indefinitely.

Next, I'll find out how much I'm able to store at a time.

Over the next 2 hours, I absorb 3 units of Demonic Energy into my core all at once. I turn off the skill, then turn it back on, allowing me to expel the energy in the same fashion nearly instantly without any issue.

The form of the attack is a bit more distorted and imperfect, showing similarities to the blob of black energy I released on the Arch Demon by the time it reaches the back wall. However, for the first few meters, the energy stays in a very concise and sharp knife-like form.

I take 2 more hours to try it again.

This time, I hold 3 full units in my core and release them in 3 separate 1-unit attacks. Each is much more stable for longer than the full 3-unit strike.

This will do. I'll have to train more another time to perfect it, but it's not necessary right now.

I absorb and refine 3 more units of energy, then wait with my eyes wide open until morning.

My heart beats out of my chest and the final words that blond woman said repeat in the back of my head over and over keeping me awake and alert.

Only 4 hours pass before I hear her voice ring out as the door flies open.

I fake raising my head and show a disoriented squint.

"Rise and Shine! Looks like you're feeling much better than last night! Shall we get started?"

She smirks, taking out her gear and placing it at the back of the room.

My jaw tightens and I stare forward at her with built-up anger waiting patiently for the perfect moment to make my move.

She picks up on my tension and takes advantage of the situation.

"Would you look at that. Finally realizing I've got you exactly where I want you, huh? It's pointless to resist. Tell me what I need to know."

She shows a devious smile with her eyes lock on me like she's eyeing her prey.

With her hips swaying back and forth, the woman walks over while reaching into her item box to pull out the silver key.

She starts to spin it around her index finger as she gets closer and closer.

"Just one word could set you free. Come on, I already told you I'm not the enemy. These may be harsh methods, but I'm on your side here. Trust me."

Her footsteps get louder, and her voice gets muffled in my perception as she continues to talk.

All I can see is the key...

She leans over the table dangling the silver magic item right in front of my face.

The woman is taunting me again, saying something about my teammates, and how long I'll be in here if I refuse to speak. I can't make out the full sentences.

I'm much more focused on my Demonic Energy Manipulation Skill activating.

I take aim and prepare to attack. It's time to make my escape.