The Villain's Sword Is Sharp

"What's your relationship to that other man?"

Bjorn didn't answer and spat a mouthful of blood into the snow; he'd bitten his tongue slightly when Isaac had hit him.

"Why did you try to kill us?"

Johan buried Bjorn under a mountain of questions, but didn't get a single answer. He quickly realised how things were going to pan out.

"Fine. It'll only take a sharp instrument and a bit of effort to get information out of you."

Bjorn still didn't respond, but his brow furrowed in worry. His skeletons all stopped moving when he was unconscious, so the group had destroyed them easily and now he had no means of escape. If the group decided to torture him, it would be difficult to resist.

However, Isaac called Johan over and had a few words. He said it would be better to move first, then stop to torture Bjorn later; he wanted to be back at the sect within 2 days.

Everybody listened to Isaac and got their things together. Isaac and Johan went to retrieve the other bags from the den, and Isaac carried Abbie's for her – her back was still injured. It didn't take long to get ready, and they were about to set off when Abbie cried out,

"This man's not moving! What do we do?"

Bjorn wasn't dead – no, he was simply lying in the snow with his eyes closed. Whenever Abbie shouted at him, he ignored her and refused to move. Isaac decided to teach their disobedient prisoner a lesson.

He walked up to Bjorn, grabbed his left hand, then drew the bone hunting knife from his belt. He sliced Bjorn's little finger off.

The small digit fell to the ground with an inaudible thud, and Bjorn's eyes opened wide. He gave a long shriek of pain, and stared at Isaac hatefully. Isaac didn't care. He grabbed Bjorn by the ear and placed his knife against the man's earlobe,

"If you don't listen to us, there's no point in letting you keep your ears. Maybe I should chop them both off now?"

"I'll listen, I'll listen! Put the knife away!"

Johan smirked when he saw Bjorn begging. He spat at Bjorn's feet and cursed the man as he shakily got up. Then he heard Isaac order,

"Johan, wrap up his finger with something so he doesn't lose too much blood. You'll be in charge of watching him while we walk; hold him at knifepoint and don't let him try anything."

Johan smiled gleefully at the last sentence. He retrieved a small roll of bandages from his bag and wrapped Bjorn's finger up, then they all set off. The whole way, Johan's knife was pointed at the small of Bjorn's back.

Bjorn tried to walk slowly and delay the group, but Johan was having none of it. Whenever Bjorn decreased his pace, the tip of the knife would prick his back and force him to walk faster.

Just like this, they walked until the Sun reached its zenith. Then they stopped to eat. Of course, Bjorn didn't get any food, but he did get something else. Johan had a quick bite to eat, then pulled the man over to the side.

"Alright, let's start again. What's your relationship to the man from before?"

Bjorn didn't answer, but Johan brandished the knife at him. Then he mumbled,

"Ain't telling you shit."

"Really? Then why did you squeal like a terrified pig earlier? You didn't seem so tough then."

"You won't get anything out of me. I'm scared of your captain, not you jackass."

"Well, I'm sure we can change that."

Johan smiled demonically. Then the torture began.

The group were sat right across from where Johan was, so they had to eat lunch while listening to Bjorn's pained cries. Occasionally he'd use the Jet Cage Anima to protect himself, but the jets would disappear eventually and Johan would go extra harsh on him when they did. He eventually realised protecting himself was a fruitless endeavour and resigned himself to his fate.

However, Johan still couldn't get much information out of him. The most he learnt was Bjorn and Langley's names and that they were brothers. He couldn't squeeze any info out of Bjorn, so Johan changed his angle of attack. He tried torturing Bjorn to hand over his Anima.

However, Bjorn remained steadfast. Even when Johan cut off another finger, Bjorn wouldn't still wouldn't say which Anima he had – let alone hand them over.

After about 10 minutes, everybody was getting ready to go. Johan realised he wasn't going to get anything else out of Bjorn, so he sighed remorsefully and was about to put his knife away. Then Bjorn suddenly exclaimed,

"Wait! Not again, I'll tell you!"

'But I was just about to put my knife away... maybe he thought I was getting ready to cut him again? Whatever the reason, it's not a bad thing.'

Johan quickly mistook Bjorn's intentions. Bjorn was completely aware they were about to leave, but he wanted to delay the group and stop them from leaving. That way, his brother would have time to get ahead of the team and prepare an ambush to rescue him.

"Okay, go on then."

Johan egged Bjorn on, but he started umming and ahing like he was hesitant to say anything. Johan readied the knife again and threatened to torture Bjorn. Bjorn kept hesitating for a bit, then finally decided to spill some information,

"I-I use the Jet Cage Anima..."

"So what? We already knew that! Tell me something I didn't know!"

Bjorn's half-hearted answer only incited Johan's curiosity. He started pushing for more information, but Isaac suddenly interrupted.

"Johan! Come on, we need to go!"

"But I'm so close! I bet I can make him hand over his Anima!"

Johan protested, but it was no use. Isaac narrowed his eyes and stared at Bjorn,

"... He's playing around with you. If he was going to give a serious answer, he would've done it long ago."

Johan looked back in disbelief,

"Playing with me? What kind of maniac 'plays' like this?"

Indeed, Bjorn didn't look like someone who'd been playing around. He looked like somebody who'd been extensively tortured. Nevertheless, Isaac responded,

"I'm sure of it. It looks like he's stalling for time... maybe he's waiting for his teammate to rescue him? It looks like he really is delusional."

When Johan saw the wry smile on Bjorn's face, he realised he actually might've been getting toyed with. He was furious. He grasped the knife tightly and thrust it towards Bjorn's side, but Bjorn reacted quickly. Water jets protected him from all sides.

Suddenly, a rustle came from the bushes to their right as a trio of icicles were fired towards Johan.

*Clang* *Clang*

Isaac was the only person alert enough to block the attack.

Two icicles deflected off his spirit sword, but he couldn't block the last one. It hit Johan's left forearm, and he cried out in pain.

When the icicle hit him, he dropped his knife and Bjorn saw this as an opportunity. He dashed towards the bushes the moment the Jet Cage Anima's effect ended.

However, Johan wouldn't let him go. He scrambled to pick up his knife and chased Bjorn, firing several icicles at him. However, they all missed due to his injured left forearm. The two disappeared into the bushes.

Isaac quickly commanded his team,

"Eva, help Johan! Abbie, come with me to catch Langley! If he tries to escape, use walls to block him off."

Then Isaac activated his Snowshoe Anima and darted towards where the icicles had been fired from. He reached the bushes, but there was nobody there. Instead, there was a trail of destruction leading further into the undergrowth.

Isaac realised Langley was trying to meet up with his brother. However, he wouldn't let things go Langley's way. He quickly calculated the path Langley would need to take, then he set off again. He cut back across the path, taking a course to intercept Langley.

Branches of bushes and trees snapped by as he flew like the wind. Large branches were cut by his sword, while smaller ones smacked across his face and torso. Isaac paid it no mind. He was solely focused on catching his enemy.

Soon, he saw the trail of destruction crossing his path up ahead. He was correct about Langley's route, but he'd got here slightly too late. Isaac clicked his tongue and followed the trail.

After following it a short distance, he heard a commotion and headed straight towards it.

He slowed down as he got closer, and eventually stopped nearby. He peeked through the bushes and saw Langley holding off Eva and Johan. None of them had noticed him yet.

Isaac kept his Snowshoe Anima active. He slowly, silently glided around towards Langley's back...