Chapter 393: The Last Supper (4)

    1.

    At the shipyard in Yeongdo, Busan. A massive container ship was sitting in the dry dock, fully assembled, waiting to be sailed.

    The huge vessel was around 400 m long, 35 m tall, and 61 m wide, with a capacity of 23,000 TEU1.

    This ship—the largest container ship in the world, and yet to be named—was expected to bring a new resurgence to South Korea’s declining shipbuilding industry2.

    Bianca had brought Takasho to the cargo hold of the container ship.

    Since the ship wasn’t yet fully constructed, the interior, devoid of containers and exposing its guide rails, looked like a massive steel forest.

    When it came to throwing a party, timing and location were everything.

    The choice of guests and venue said a lot about the host’s preferences.

    In that sense, Bianca was quite pleased with hers.

    A ball of life and death playing out in the dense framework of steel beams, arranged neatly like fishbones.

    There couldn’t be a more perfect location than this in her eyes.

    “Hmm, hmm~”

    Bianca wandered around the ship, busily setting up some fitting decorations until Takasho woke up.

    Making sure that everything wasn’t too plain, she added a touch of drama here and there. Then, she stood before Takasho, whom she had chained up with some chains she had found nearby.

    “Ugh, huff... Where is this...?”

    “That’s quite the textbook response.”

    It had been about an hour since she knocked him out with magic.

    Seeing him slowly opening his eyes before looking around, a smile rose up in her face.

    .

    Not long after, Takasho noticed that he was only wearing his underwear currently, and then, his eyes finally landed on Bianca.

    How’s he going to react, I wonder~?

    With such anticipation, Bianca stared at Takasho.

    Then, the somewhat handsome Japanese man suddenly started wailing.

    “Miss Witch! I’ve been smoking and drinking like crazy since I was young! I’ve been working at host bars all my life! My liver’s probably ruined already, I’m not good enough to be your test subject...!”

    Hearing that, Bianca let out a disappointed snort.

    Because the thing that came out of his mouth was such a dumb and uncreative line.

    Given how unusually sharp he was, she had expected him to start trembling the moment he woke up, but it wasn’t the case at all.

    “Please, just let me go! I swear I’ll never speak of what happened here to anyone! Instead, I’ll treasure it as a precious memory forever!”

    “Really?”

    “Yes! And if you were just looking for some company for a lonely drinking session, I, Mimaya Takasho, would be happy to volunteer! I’ll make sure you don’t feel a single moment of boredom, Miss Witch!”

    “You’re pretty good at promoting yourself.”

    “Well, I have to prove my worth somehow, no?”

    Bianca tilted her head, then belatedly gave him a nod of admiration.

    Indeed, the Japanese man, Shin Siwoo’s friend, knew that she was a Criminal Exile.

    He was sharp enough to figure that out from their brief meeting in the hotel room.

    Seeing how things were, any suspicions he had would’ve turned into certainty, yet he was still shamelessly playing dumb.

    He tried to grab her attention with his exaggerated antics, whining, and witty remarks that didn’t suit the situation at all.

    A cunning survival strategy that the weak could employ precisely because they were weak.

    “You’re an amusing guy.”

    “I’m just doing my best to make you smile, Miss Witch!”

    Takasho stared at Bianca with eager, wide eyes, as if he’d crawl over and lick her boots if she let him go.

    Seeing this, she threw him a hint of hope to tease him.

    “So, you want to live?”

    “I don’t understand what you mean, Miss Witch.”

    “You’ve already figured it out, haven’t you? That I’m not some kind of wish-granting fairy.”

    “Hahaha, you’re joking, Miss Witch. There’s no way someone as noble as you could possibly be a wicked witch!”

    “Oh my, aren’t you something?”

    He wasn’t just clever, but also bold, and Bianca liked him even because of it.

    After all, she’d rather play with a lively toy than not.

    His face, plastered with such a bright, fake smile...

    Froze the moment one particular name was mentioned.

    “Shin Siwoo.”

    “...What?”

    “He’s your friend, no? So you should know where he is.”

    His body temperature spiked.

    The corners of his mouth stiffened, and his pupils shrank.

    His tongue reflexively licked his dry lips, and his eyes darted around.

    All typical reactions that someone would let out when they were feeling confused and cornered.

    Bianca gazed at Takasho like a snake eyeing its prey.

    “I’d be really happy if you were to tell me where he is.”

    And yet he was still trying to provoke her rage, trying to stop her from torturing him to get his friend’s location out of his mouth.

    Trying to get her to lose her temper and end him with one fatal blow.

    In other words, he had already resigned himself to death.

    Even though his actions were futile, she had to respect his boldness.

    “That’s a cute way of talking.”

    “Ugg...!”

    Bianca’s hand slipped between Takasho’s legs, lewdly playing with his member.

    “Finally we’re speaking the same language. Now, you can untie this—! Ugh...!”

    “Stop pretending to be tough.”

    His attempt was admirable.

    Even Bianca, who knew the whole truth, felt her anger boiling at his taunts.

    Her next move silenced Takasho’s loud mouth.

    Bianca’s pale hand had gripped one of his testicles firmly.

    “Hey now, Miss Witch, this is just a joke, right...?”

    At that moment, Takasho’s face went white.

    He realized what she was trying to do.

    Something that would plant a great fear and pain into the heart of a man.

    Of course, Bianca was fully aware of what she was doing too.

    “Let’s see... I’ll crush the small one. Try not to die, okay?”

    “Aaaaaargh!”

    His scream—far louder than when she’d broken his fingers—echoed through the cargo hold of the container ship.

    Even after hearing that horrifying scream, Bianca’s smile didn’t waver.

    “Uwaeekk...! Eekk...! Uwaeekk!”

    Tears, snot, and vomit streamed down Takasho’s face down to his neck. But, he didn’t have the lenience to care about it as he was overwhelmed by the excruciating pain.

    His body convulsed and stiffened repeatedly, before finally went limp.

    “That should do it, right?”

    Bianca pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped the vomit from the corner of his mouth.

    Feeling her touch, his body started to tremble like a leaf.

    “Now, will you tell me where Shin Siwoo is?”

    “Agh...g-g-g...g-heh heh heh...”

    But then, he burst out a crazed laughter, making Bianca flinch in surprise.

    It was a desperate, choked laughter, as if he was trying to push down the creeping terror he felt.

    Nevertheless, this wasn’t the reaction that she had ever predicted coming from him.

    “Fine... I-I’ll tell you where he is... Come closer...”

    “Go on. Tell me everything.”

    In under five minutes, four of his fingers had shattered, and one of his testicles had been crushed.

    He was merely a pathetic existence that would fade away like dust after he grew old and sick.

    With a face marred by all kinds of bodily fluids, he...

    “Auntie, my friendship weighs a hell of a lot more than a single ball...

    “...So cut the crap and just kill me already.”

    Even though his body trembled uncontrollably and his eyes were full of fear...

    Though he had turned into this kind of wreck...

    He didn’t back down.

    “This shit is nothing...”

    As soon as those words left his lips, his strength seemed to give out as his body slumping weakly. Then, a sharp whip cracked toward him.

    -Whoosh!

    “Aaaaaargh...!”

    Takasho’s body shook uncontrollably as the whip sliced lightly across his skin.

    The reaction he gave out seemed way over the top for a single hit, but there was a reason for it.

    “This lame little artifact is called the ‘Whip of Repentance’. They said it could make whoever was hit by it relive the worst pain they’ve ever felt in their lives.”

    “Agh...! Aaahhh...!”

    -Whoosh!

    . . .

    “Allow me to applaud your bravery and stubbornness. Let’s see how long you can keep it up.”

    His lips turned a purplish-blue from lack of oxygen, the blood vessels in his eyes burst, staining them red, and his clenched teeth began to crack under the overwhelming pain.

    But even through all that pain, Takasho kept his mouth shut.

    Indeed.

    Even after all that, he still refused to open his mouth.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------Swimsuit Amelia!

    Footnotes

    1. Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit. It''s a unit of measurement specifically used to measure the capacity of container ships and container ports. 23,000 TEU basically meant it could carry 23,000 20-foot containers at once.2. HMM Algeciras is the ship''s name. At the time when the Chapter came out, it was the largest container ship in the world, but it had been beaten by plenty of ships since then. As of right now, Nov 2024, the largest container ship in the world is China''s MSC Irina, sitting at a capability of 24k TEU.