I woke up to a familiar sight. The same mattress, the same plain walls, the same metal door. There was no sign of destruction, as if everything was but a dream.

However, there were differences. The bullet wounds on my arm and leg were healed and there was no pain, though scars were left in their places. There used to be only one handcuff chaining my right arm to the wall. Now there were five. One for each limb, and one on the neck. They were weighing me down, and now it was even harder to move.

In addition, there were strips of bandage wrapping around my chest and back. Written on them were strange symbols, glowing in a white light.

I tried to grow my vines out. They were stopped by the bandage and stuck under my skin. 

I sighed. If only I hadn’t missed the man. I had one chance and I screwed it all up. You are so useless, so worthless! I cursed myself. You could’ve killed him, and then everyone else! Their delicious blood would’ve been yours!

Suddenly, the back of my right hand itched. I looked at it, and discovered that the white circle had turned grey. I tilted my head in confusion, not knowing how, when, and why it was darkening like that.

The door opened. Into the room the grey haired man walked, accompanied by two of the black robed mages.

The moment I saw him, my blood boiled. I jumped from my bed and rushed at him like a rabid dog. However, the chains were way shorter than before, and were stretched to their limit after I took only a few steps forward.

Enraged, I tried to force the vines through the bandages, but to no avail. In fact, having nowhere to go, they pushed back into my skin, hurting me instead as my blood dyed the white fabric in vibrant red.

Frustrated, I stared at the man, baring my teeth. He laughed. The mages were already pointing their wands at me, but he ordered them to lower their arms.

“It’s fine, she’s harmless in this state. Only master level magic can break through the seal, and her body is already weakened by the stimulation drug. We do plan to switch it to body strengthening drugs in the future however, so be ready for that.” He talked to the mages.

“Now, back to my lovely daughter.” He turned to me. I spit on his face. 

He was startled by the sudden action, but his smile didn’t fade. He took out his handkerchief and wiped the saliva. Then he burned the handkerchief with his spell. 

I spit on him again. 

“...Hahahaha!!!” He laughed as the saliva dripped down his cheek. 

*SLAP!!!* He swung his hand. My weak body couldn’t withstand the force that hit my cheek, and I fell over. The left side of my face started to burn and swell. 

The man then crouched in front of me. He lifted my chin up, his eyes staring right into mine. Unswayed, I stared back at him without blinking.

“You’ve been a very bad girl, young lady, and that has made father rather sad. If only you had behaved a little bit better, you wouldn’t have to stay in this room, you know?” 

He started to caress my left cheek, where I was hit by him. “But no matter. Soon you will be following my every order, whether you like it or not.” 

I shuddered. I didn’t know what he was saying, but the way he said it made my skin crawl. Furthermore, his hand stroking my cheek made me feel gross, and his eyes were beginning to terrify me.

My bravado quickly faded away. Before I knew it, sweat was rolling down my forehead. My breath became rough, and I was shivering. “...Haaa…haaa…haaa…Gagh…” I was choking on my own saliva as I teared up. The painful memories were coming back, and I was no longer with the power to suppress them.

“...It seems you don’t like being touched. Why are you so scared? Father was just giving you love...” He showed a confused face, like he didn’t know that he was the one causing me these terrible traumas. 

“Well, whatever.” His smile suddenly disappeared, replaced by an expressionless face, as if his previous expression was a farce. 

“Let’s begin. Bind her mouth so she doesn’t scream anymore. It was giving me headaches.” He told the mages. One of them nodded and pointed his wand at me. 

[Silence!] He said. My mouth suddenly closed shut against my will.

“Mhm?! Mhmm! MHMM!!!” I tried to scream, but air couldn’t escape my mouth. It was as if my lips were soldered shut. I tried to shake my head as an attempt to get rid of whatever it was that kept preventing my mouth from opening, but it was then held still by the man.

“Good. Try to keep her awake, or the process will fail.” [Arcane Inscribe!]

In the corner of my eyes, I saw the man’s palms glow gold, and my temples began to warm up.

“...Mhmm?...mHMMMMMM!!! MHHHMMM!!!” NOOOO!!! MY HEAD!!! IT HURTS!!! STOPPPP!!!

The inside of my head was burning. My brain felt like it was being fried and chopped into pieces simultaneously. It was as if a surgery knife was stabbed into each of my temples, and they were gouging out my brain from both sides.

My tears ran non stop. I felt liquid rushing up my throat and filled my mouth with bitterness. I gagged and coughed violently. There was nowhere for the liquid to go since my lips were sealed shut, so it flew out of my nose. I felt my eardrums burst with a bang, and then I could no longer hear anything.

But the man did not stop. Unfazed by the disgusting scene before him, he continued. Even as I choked on my own vomit. Even when blood was coming out of my eyes and ears. Even when my small body violently convulsed as if I was having a stroke and my eyes turned white. He kept going regardless.

I felt my consciousness leaving and coming back repeatedly. Every time I was about to pass out, one of the mages would shock me with his wand, forcing me to wake up, and the pain would continue. 

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he let go of my head. Losing the support, I slumped down on the floor, lifeless.

The binding on my lips was released. Immediately, all the content of my stomach that was stuck inside my mouth flew out, and I spilled yellow vomit all over the floor as my consciousness was robbed away.