Cultivation Through Artifacts

Khal stared at Alde's distorted face in silence while completely ignoring the struggling groans and dripping blood from his mouth.

"Y-you... What... do you want... from me?" Alde asked Khal in a hoarse voice, his bloodshot eyes staring at Khal with terror as though he was staring at the reaper himself!

'...'

Seeing that Khal didn't answer nor did he move but just simply gazed at him, Alde gritted his teeth and said, "I can give you whatever you want! Fame? Power? Wealth? I can grant you all of that if you wish you just need to say it!"

However, it seemed not even this seemed alluring enough for Khal, as his hold on his head didn't loosen but even tightened a little bit more!

"Argh! Then what do you want? I am certain I didn't meet a powerful expert such as yourself before much less offend!" said Alde with a painful grimace.

"Are you sure about that?"

Suddenly, the armor on Khal's body lit up before vanishing into thin air, revealing his face to Alde completely.

"You!" Alde's eyes shrunk to the size of a needle the moment he saw Khal's face inches away from his, causing his already white complexion to turn even whiter!

Khal stared into Alde's eyes with eyes as cold as ice, while his complexion became void of any emotion.

"H-how is this possible?!"

It seemed Alde's brain ceased to function the moment he realized it was Khal instead of a powerful expert, hardly believing what his eyes were currently seeing.

After a moment of silence later, Alde decided to take a deep breath and ask in a low voice, "How did you know?"

"Know what?" Khal asked Alde with an indifferent face.

Alde frowned when he heard Khal's question, but as his life was right in Khal's mercy, he could only grit his teeth even more and ask, "How did you know where was the hideout? I don't believe you just found it by chance! Who was that rat who told you?"

Khal remained silent for a while and only after a while later did he smile and say, "Although it wasn't that obvious at first, when your loyal dogs chased me and tried to take my life at Moon Mountain, everything came together after a while."

"Chased on Moon Mountain? What d-" Alde began to talk, confused when he heard what Khal said, but the very next second his eyes widened because of the sudden realization.

"I-It was you!?" yelled Alde with fear, but this only resulted in him coughing up a mouthful of blood as he still didn't recover from the previous impact.

Khal seeing this smiled, but his smile this time was not warm but instead akin to an evil grin, before raising his hand and placing his fingers atop Alde's chest.

"What are you d-, AAARRGHHH!!"

Even before Alde could have asked his question, Khal thrusted his fingers deep into his chest while he activated his Bloodshed Touch in the very next instant, drawing away the blood from his body at an insanely fast pace!

The shriek that sounded like someone being tortured resounded in the surroundings, but because they were quite a distance away from any cities, no one was able to hear it much less come to help him.

"S-stop it! Please! I beg you! What did I do to deserve this?" Alde struggled to get away from Khal, but for some strange reason, he was unable; it felt like an entire mountain suddenly pressed down onto his body, locking him down in one place without any chance of him escaping!

"You really ask that question?" asked Khal in a cold voice while he even pushed his finger deeper into Alde, causing him to scream even louder.

"Maybe this will make you remember what you did to deserve this," said Khal, his gaze now as sharp as a sword's.

"AAAARRGHHH!! STOP! PLEASE! AAAAARRGH!!"

Alde screamed like a pig on the verge of slaying, his eyes flowing with tears as though he was crying while blood continuously seeped out of his mouth.

Khal watched Alde without any pity or sympathy but when he saw his complexion became inhumanly white he didn't hesitate to pull his fingers out as he didn't want to kill Alde yet.

He wanted to torment him to the point where he wished death would come to him!

After pulling his fingers out from his chest that was followed by a shriek that was not human-like, Khal pressed Alde's pale face into the debris-filled ground and leaned forward.

"So? Any idea?"

"Bleargh!"

Once Alde coughed up an insane amount of blood, he forced his eyelids open to look at Khal with terror and say, "I-If it's about the assassins... Then let me apologize... I didn't mean t-, AAARGH!!"

However, even before he had the chance to finish his sentence, a shape pain pierced his left thigh, sending another wave of pain through his body!

"Oh? Sorry, what did you say? I think I missed a few words so can you repeat it?" Khal asked calmly while his hand held his Devil Fangs that now rested deep inside Alde's

Alde felt the urge to curse at Khal and his entire past ancestors loud, but what came out of his mouth was not those words but apologetic ones.

"I... I said I am sorry! I shou-, AAAARRGGHHH!"

"Go on. I'm listening," said Khal with the same indifferent complexion, his Devil Fangs now seated inside the other leg, but with the sole exception that he opened it into a fan the moment he pierced his muscle.

'Mother... Fucker...' cursed Alde inwardly, his face turning uglier with each passing second.

After a while when he felt no more pain, Alde laughed up another handful of blood and asked, "Then... what the hell do you want me to say? Damn, for fuck sake! If I could, I would turn back time and never act so foolishly as I did, sorry! Better?"

'...'

Khal stared at Alde in silence without piercing him once again, which at Alde believed his apology worked and he will be saved.

'Just let me fucking go and I will send you to the other world just like how I did with that bitch! Maybe I am weak now, but after a year or two I swear I will...'

Khal remained silent for a long while, but soon he just shook his head before sighing almost as if he felt depressed, "Unfortunately, that's not how it works. You did something unforgivable and you know it too. Even if you had a thousand... No, a million copies that all wished to sacrifice themselves to me, not even then would you be able to wash your sin off your body."

"Then what do you plan to do? Kill me? You know if you dare to kill me my family will do everything in their powers to find and kill you, right? Your life will be turned upside down and you will no longer get to live your peaceful life as it was before, you know that right?!"

'...'

After getting no response from Khal, Alde showed a sly grin, feeling as though his 'threat' worked this time, and continued, "What's more, not only you will know what true nightmare and agony is, but even your little 'girlfriend'!"

"However, if you spare my life and let me go now, we can act as nothing happened and go our separate ways. No one has to know what happened here nor will anyone learn about it. How, does it sound?"

Alde stayed motionless on the ground, waiting for Khal's answer in silence, but soon, instead of the anticipated 'yes' answer, what reached his ear was another feel sigh.

"You are really an idiot, aren't you?"

"What did you sa-, AAARRGGHHH!"

Alde was about to ask back when suddenly the fan that was still pierced into his thigh was pulled out before Khal placed it before Alde's neck.

"You don't seem to really realize your current situation, asshole. You have no room to make deals much less think you will survive and see daylight ever again."

Alde felt as cold sweat soaked his back from terror, while his eyes shrunk to that of a size of a needle before he asked immediately as he felt the killing intent on his skin from Khal's gaze, "D-Did you go insane!? I didn't joke when I said your life will be hell if you kill me! Not only yours but everyone you care about and love! All of them!"

Khal, however, still seemed indifferent and was ready to cut Alde's throat slightly open to make him die slowly, but suddenly an idea appeared in his head thus lowered his arm before saying, "You are right. It would be incredibly foolish of me to drag my loved ones into trouble."

"However..." Khal suddenly raised back his weapon before Alde's neck, who began to feel relaxed and even happy about his 'seemingly' change of mind, before continuing, "Now that I have the power to protect them, I don't see a reason why not to kill you."

"What? You can't be for re-" Alde widened his eyes and began to talk, but was suddenly interrupted as Khal continued, "But if you tell me a little secret I want to know, I will consider not to kill you as not even I want unnecessary problem."

After saying that, Khal's mouth curved upward into a smile, and pushing his Devil Fangs a bit into Alde's skin, he asked, "So? What do you think?"