Bane’s mind went blank as he stood there, staring at the person lying unconscious on the bed. His breathing slowed down involuntarily as he tried to process the surreal sight before him. It was like a ghost from his past had come back to haunt him.

After finishing his meal, Akame had gone to call other members of the Night Raid for a meeting. Bane, on the other hand, had followed Najenda, who was guiding him to his new room. However, their path took an unexpected turn when Bane heard a familiar melody echoing through the corridors.

Without a word, he veered off course and followed the sound, leading him to a young teenager singing with tears streaming down his face. Bane’s heart clenched after realising the familiar lyrics of the song.

Approaching the teenager, Bane asked where he had learned the song. The boy’s answer hit him like a ton of bricks– he had learned it from his friend lying on the bed with an oxygen mask.

As Bane moved closer to the bed, his mind raced with conflicting thoughts and memories. But his thoughts froze as he saw the person lying there.

The unconscious girl bore a striking resemblance to someone he thought he’d never see again – Liya, a name etched deep in his past. 

Despite the oxygen mask concealing part of her face, he could still identify Liya’s features—the familiar contours of her face and her black hair, now dishevelled and torn. Her once vibrant skin was marred by gruesome scars, bearing the blue and red marks of severe torture.

His eyes shifted to her legs, where he saw the aftermath of her ordeal— one leg nearly amputated, now crudely stitched with medical threads. The paleness of her skin indicated significant blood loss.

Bane’s experience with torture and bloodshed was not limited to mere observation. During his tenure in the revolutionary Army’s special unit, he had been actively involved in brutal interrogations, witnessing firsthand the methods used to extract vital information about enemy hideouts.

Initially repulsed by the gruesome nature of these interrogations, Bane gradually learned the art of gathering information through such means. Despite the initial revulsion, he realised the efficiency of these methods in obtaining crucial intelligence. Over time, what was once been nauseating became normalised, a necessary aspect of his work.

Despite objections from his squad members, Bane persisted in mastering these techniques, recognizing their importance in achieving his goals. The harsh realities of his line of work demanded extreme measures, and Bane had become adept at navigating this dark terrain to fulfil his objectives.

But the victim in front of Bane had been tortured in an entirely different manner, suffering purely for the sadistic pleasure of the torturer. The crude and methodical nature of the scars indicated a desire to prolong the victim’s suffering, with no intention of extracting information or serving any other purpose..

Bane had observed many instances like this in the slave trader’s dens that he had raided, where victims were subjected to torture purely for the satisfaction of the torturers. Therefore, it was evident to him that this case was driven by personal pleasure.

Having observed countless cases over the years, it had ceased to affect him anymore, but the person who was lying in front of him who was connected to his past was a different matter altogether.

As memories of his past surged to the forefront of his mind, Bane’s calm demeanour shattered, replaced by a torrent of intense feelings. His fists clenched involuntarily, nails piercing his palms and drawing blood, while a deep red aura emanated from him, a manifestation of his rising anger and bloodlust.

The image of the soldiers surrounding Liya and Ron, the bloodied body of Ron, and the fatal sword strike aimed at Ron’s head flashed before his eyes.

Bane’s overwhelming sense of guilt and helplessness echoed relentlessly in his mind, haunting him with the memory of his inability to prevent the tragic events that had unfolded in the past.

The sheer fury and vengeance within Bane threatened to consume him as he fought against the overwhelming urge to unleash his wrath by killing each and every person who was responsible for Liya and Ron’s deaths. 

As his bloodlust intensified to an alarming degree, an unforeseen reaction occurred within Jörmungandr, the powerful entity residing within his Teigu. The deep red eyes of Jörmungandr began to emit an ominous glow, mirroring the intensity of Bane’s fury and anger. 

The spiritual manifestation of a giant serpent, symbolising Jörmungandr, materialised around Bane, it’s menacing presence serving as a reflection of his inner turmoil and the deadly force ready to be unleashed.

The once humongous terrifying beast’s immense spiritual pressure began to merge with Bane’s own fury, creating a palpable aura of death that permeated the entire base. It was a suffocating presence, one that could make even the bravest individuals tremble in fear.

Outside the base, the high-ranking danger beasts, each a hegemony in its own territory, sensed the ominous energy radiating from the Night Raid’s base. 

Instinctively, they made a low whimper and withdrew, their usual pride replaced by an instinctual respect for the overwhelming power of the top predator residing within the base.

Both Sayo and Ieyasu, being unconscious and wearing oxygen masks, were fortunate enough not to be affected by the overwhelming bloodlust radiating from Bane. 

Their masks allowed them to breathe normally, shielding them from the intense emotions and dangerous aura that permeated the room.

But that was not the case for Tatsumi, as he found himself in a state of shock and fear as he witnessed the overwhelming bloodlust emanating from the masked figure. 

Despite being on the floor, his hands trembled uncontrollably, and his breathing became laboured. It was a terrifying sight for him, as he realised the true danger of the masked figure before him.

Never even In his wildest dreams, Tatsumi could never have imagined that someone as seemingly unassuming as the person in front of him would possess such a menacing aura. Even the other members of Night Raid, whom Tatsumi had encountered previously, paled in comparison to the sheer intensity of Bane’s murderous bloodlust.

“STOP!”

A commanding voice echoed through the medical room, abruptly halting Bane’s bloodlust and snapping him out of his trance.