"I'll show everyone!" Suhei declared as the white screen materialized in the dining hall.
The blank screen gradually faded, revealing Seiya and his surroundings.
In the dining hall, all eyes were fixated on the screen. They watched as Seiya, trying his hardest to walk without limping, was led into a hall by his father.
Seiya arrived in the spacious room where a massive boulder sat comfortably. On one side of the hall were middle-aged men clad in black suits, and at the other end, separated by a glass wall, were children strapped to chairs, facing the threat of electrocution.
Seiya sighed heavily at the sight, hoping he could fulfill whatever task was demanded of him to save those children.
"You see, Seiya," his father began, "today is the birthday of one of our funding members. He just returned to Japan. It's late, but since the day isn't over yet, he wants some entertainment." His father grinned widely.
"You just do your best to entertain us and endure whatever is thrown at you if you don't want those kids dead" his father whispered.
In the dining hall, everyone's eyes were wide, glued to the unfolding scene.
"He's one of our finest specimens, and he'll do his best to make your time worthwhile, rest assured" his father announced to the suited men seated in a row like an audience at a cinema or circus.
"Alright, Seiya, stretch out your arms" his father commanded. When Seiya complied, a sharp sword instantly sliced off his arms.
Seiya's eyes widened in shock as blood poured from the stumps, eliciting gasps from the children watching through the screen.
The children were stunned, unable to comprehend the brutality they were witnessing.
"Now, move the boulder," his father commanded with a tone of delight.
Seiya hesitated, staring at his severed arms, but quickly approached the boulder, knowing any delay could cost a child's life.
Blood trickled beneath as Seiya struggled to press his shortened arms against the boulder. His arms, sliced so short, barely touched the boulder, no matter how much he pressed himself against it, ignoring the pain shooting through his body.
This sight made the funding members burst out laughing, finding Seiya's plight amusing.
Oblivious to their mockery, Seiya continued pressing his bleeding arms against the boulder, attempting a feat he knew was impossible even with intact arms. But he had to try.
In the dining hall, most of the children had their palms over their mouths, trying to suppress their gasps, their wide eyes filled with horror.
Their faces were pale as they watched Seiya's agony.
On the third floor, older children, mostly aged sixteen and above, with a few younger ones among them, watched the scene with rapt attention.
Suhei had ensured the broadcast was visible throughout the entire facility, not just the dining hall.
"Heh?! So there's a kid like that here" a boy on the third floor remarked listlessly, his hand on his chin.
As Seiya tried his best—or put on a show of trying to move the boulder with half arms—his father and the funding members laughed.
"He wouldn't even be able to move it with his arms intact, yet he's trying so hard with severed ones. How foolish!" the funding members remarked, laughing more.
"He's always been like this. He can even walk with bullet wounds in his legs. Watch this." His father pulled out a gun and fired two bullets into Seiya's legs.
Seiya staggered but maintained his balance, valuing the children's lives above his own suffering.
"See! He's still standing, haha" his father commented bemusedly.
"He can even walk with it. Come on, Seiya, show them." Seiya began to walk despite his injured legs, each step laden with excruciating pain.
"What if he's shot in the knees? Can he still walk?" a funding member inquired.
"Interesting! Let's see" his father replied, shooting Seiya in the knees.
This time, Seiya fell backward onto his buttocks.
The pain was indescribable, even though it wasn't the first time he'd been shot there.
"Haha. He fell on his butt! That must've been too much" the funding members laughed.
"I guess so. Maybe I should have someone pay for this" his father said coldly, glaring at Seiya, whose nerves shot up.
"I...I will get up" Seiya stammered in fear.
He struggled to rise, his knees locked, forcing him to stand stiffly, as if on tiptoe.
"Now walk!"
Seiya started walking with stiffly stretched legs like a doll being made to walk.
Laughter echoed from the men as they watched.
"Then, sirs, if there's anything you'd like to do with him, please feel free" his father said politely.
"Can I cut him anywhere I want? He's just a lab rat, after all. I'd like to butcher him" one of the men said, laughing.
"Of course he is. Please, feel free to" Seiya's father approved with a wide smile.
Seiya stood, panting from fatigue, his vision blurring from blood loss but he dared not succumb—not if he wanted the kids alive.
A funding member approached with a dagger.
"Hmm, where should I start?" he pondered, scanning Seiya from head to toe.
"The ear!" he declared, slicing off one of Seiya's ears.
Seiya clenched his teeth in pain but did not utter a sound.
Laughter filled the room as Seiya's severed ear bounced on the floor.
"Can I cut him open from the chest down?"
"Of course! I slit his belly open the first day I brought him here. He screamed quite well" Seiya's father recounted.
The man grabbed Seiya's head to lock him in place, pressing harshly against his injured ear and began slitting shallowly in a straight line from Seiya's chest, very slowly.
Seeing Seiya shut his eyes without a sound, he scoffed.
"Tsk! Boring!" he said, tossing the dagger aside. The cut stopped just below Seiya's chest.
They proceeded to use Seiya as a target for the knife throwing game, hurling daggers and scalpels at him, aiming for every part except his heart and neck.
In the first-floor dining hall, Suhei's hands trembled, tears streaming down his face as he watched Seiya's ordeal.
"Tell me! After watching all this, do you have it in you to even stand before him and utter a single word? Tell me!" Suhei yelled in rage.
"This is just a glimpse. Let me show you more of what he's had to endure over the years!" Suhei swiped his hand, changing the scene on the screen.
The dining hall watched in horror as more of Seiya's suffering was revealed.
Their faces grew more ashen, their eyes dark with horror. Only now did they understand the so-called task Seiya was made to complete.
"I can't even begin to tell you all or show you everything because it would take forever! How dare you all judge and criticize him without knowing anything! No one even cared to hear his side of the story! Shameful!" Suhei cursed at them.
"Yes, I admit that many children have died over the years, and Seiya was blamed, but you all know deep within you, the real truth! Master has always disposed of children he deemed useless! It's always been that way! You all should've known it was him, using the deaths to guilt-trip and manipulate him into enduring such agonizing torment!" Suhei's voice cracked, tears refusing to stop.
"To think the only time I thought he'd be having fun was during break where he gets to associate with you all, only for it to be nothing but more torture for him" Suhei said softly, clutching his chest.
"I might have reacted similarly if my ability wasn't what it is, but not to this extent! Knowing how Master operates, you all should've known better!" he scolded.
"None of you here have ever been to a dungeon, but he has, at eight years old! He's faced death more times than any of us! What have you all endured compared to him? You just get experimented on, a few hours of pain, then relief, with a whole week or month before the next experiment. But for him, it's different! A day never goes by without pain. He's being turned into a killer to save you all, yet you—" Suhei buried his face in his palms, shaking his head.
A female friend from his floor approached, placing a consoling hand on his shoulder.
"I can't even bear to face him anymore" Suhei let out, his voice barely audible, reduced to a soft whispery tone that conveyed his exhaustion, before walking out of the dining hall.
His friends and others from the second floor followed, leaving in Silence.