Chapter 178: Falls of Duress(2)

Silviu stared at Luke with wide eyes that were about to pop out of their sockets as he watched them slowly walk towards him. Silviu is at a loss for where to look because there is so much to see.

Luke Viscellete, the man with whom he has entrusted his daughter and whom he believes to be a dragon.

A chubby-looking ball of black fluff- Despite his adorable appearance, a deadly and menacing aura can be felt around him, a young legendary beast.

Finally, Erdene, the Spirit of the Wood, one of the five ancient Spirits, is approaching him.

Silviu's eyes then traveled towards the side where he saw an unknown child holding Luke's hand looking at him. Silviu gets shivers down his spine as he looks at another powerful unidentified child. He doesn't know what her name is yet, but his instincts tell him not to mess with this child.

Even though those four are already intimidating to look at; the others with whom they are walking are no laughing matter either. They are all equally powerful. It makes the elves wonder why such a dangerous yet powerful group of people has gathered and is now approaching them. Lina, his daughter, is also with them!

"M-make way! Soldiers! Make room for them!"

The elves flinched and quickly formed their positions to greet the unexpected visitors. Luke sighed as he observed this expected reaction. Because elves are known to be huge fans and worshippers of Spirits and Legendary beasts, it is unsurprising that they will act in this manner.

"Woah, dad! They all remind me of Lina when I first met her!"

Luke then frowned and turned to face Lina, who was averting her gaze. The elves are giving them a respectful and reverent look right now. They also appear astounded and shocked, as if they could pass out at any moment.

"Do all Elves behave like this?"

'Is it really a good idea to go here...?'

Luke then begins to regret his decision to come here. He had completely forgotten how the elves behaved in the presence of Spirits and Legendary beasts. If Luke had foreseen this, he would not have come; their heated stares are uncomfortable.

Luke's gaze was then caught by Silviu, who is nervously approaching them.

"W-what can I do for you? Young master?"

Luke simply stared at him for a split second. He doesn't have time to talk to Silviu right now, so he'll get right to work.

"I need a dungeon."

Silviu's and the other elves' eyes widened in surprise as they stared at Luke. Luke simply sighed and then pointed to Romeo, who is being carried by Liam.

"I need a place for this guy. He is a bad guy."

"...A-ah, of course! We will prepare one right away!"

Silviu then signaled the other elves, which nodded and quickly fled the scene. Luke and the others then stared at the elves running towards the bright end of the tunnel, which must be the location of the Elf Kingdom.

"Let's go inside; being out in the open like this is dangerous; we might get caught."

Luke and Silviu then turned their heads when they heard Erdene's voice and saw him putting back the branches to normal. The waterfalls then closed once again, blocking the sunlight from outside. Meanwhile, Silviu nodded in response to Erdene's words.

"Yes, we need to go inside; please follow me."

Luke and the others then begin to trail behind Silviu as they all slowly make their way to the end of the rocky tunnel. Luke looks ahead at the bright light at the end of the tunnel; the light is so bright that he can't see the other side; it's only when they reach the end that he can see the scene behind the bright light.

The bright light caused Luke and the others to squint. They had to wait a few seconds before they could open their eyes again. Luke then frowned and slowly opened his eyes and adjusts his vision properly. Luke's eyes widened as he took in the scenery in front of him.

It looks very... Magical. You could really tell you are in a fantasy world because of how bright and shiny everything looks.

Luke looks up to the skies, all he can see is a magical transparent barrier carrying the water of the waterfalls above. As a result, the light reflected by the water creates these water-like patterns throughout the kingdom. Luke then look forward, he could then see a large pure white castle that seems to be made of marble. The castle appears to be embedded in the rocky wall at the far end of the kingdom. Luke then looked around and noticed several humble-looking cottages and small shops, as well as elves walking around every corner. There are also a few fountains and small waterfalls around the kingdom's perimeter. The entire kingdom appears small and humble, yet majestic and fresh.

Luke nodded in amazement. Now, this is what a real fantasy world looks like for him. It really just slaps him in the face at the fact that he is no longer on Earth anymore. Lina noticed Luke's nodding and began to smirk before puffing out her chest, making herself appear mighty and proud.

"See? I told you you'd like it here."

Luke simply sighed in defeat and turned to face Romeo, whom Liam is carrying.

'Ah, I almost forgot about this guy.'

Luke just sighed again, this time out of exhaustion, and then looked at Silviu, who was waiting for him.

"Snow, Nash, follow Grandpa. Liam and I will handle this."

Nash then frowned and pouted.

"Why can't I go with you?"

Luke was quiet for a moment before speaking while glaring at the unconscious Romeo.

"What we'll be doing will be quite boring for kids, so it's a good idea for them to hang out with Grandpa and the others."

Nash then frowned.

"But I still want to accompany you!"

Snow then sighed and tapped Nash on the shoulder to get his attention.

"Let's just leave the adult stuff to Dad, Nash. I'd also like to play around and explore the entire kingdom with you."

Nash and Snow exchanged glances. Even though none of them said anything, it appears that they are communicating telepathically. Nash simply crossed his paws and pouted.

"All right, I'll go with Grandpa..."

Erdene scoffed when she heard Nash's words.

"Just because I'm old doesn't mean I've lost all the fun I had when I was younger. Do you just think of me as a dull old man? Hmm? Nash?"

Nash's eyes widened and he shook his head in response to Erdene's words.

"No! Certainly not! You are always cool grandpa!"

Erdene just grinned and scoffed as Nash landed on his shoulder and continued to praise him. Meanwhile, Jay takes a look around before approaching Lina with a hesitant smile.

"Um... What about me?"

Lina looks at Jay for a few moments before brightly smiling and patting Jay on the shoulder.

"Don't be concerned! I'll be your tour guide!"

Jay's eyes glowed with admiration as he looked at Lina, who was smiling smugly. Erdene just sighed as he looked at this.

"First and foremost, we must meet the Elf King. You can't just go around without running into him as uninvited guests. If I am not present, he may imprison you. That brat is strict."

Jay paused for a few moments before looking nervously at Erdene.

"Meeting with the Elf King? O-oh, God, is my outfit appropriate for meeting him-"

Erdene then frowned angrily.

"You wore a ragged robe when we met yet you didn't get nervous around me. But now you're nervous because you're meeting a mere king? You jerk, are you looking down on me?"

Jay's face turned pale, and he quickly kneeled in front of Erdene.

"Please accept my heartfelt apologies! Please don't kill me!"

Luke and the others just stared down at Jay, who was sobbing uncontrollably on the ground while kneeling. Erdene just frowned and puts his palm in his face.

"Someone, just carry him."

The elves then hesitated before beginning to carry Jay, who was still sobbing. Erdene and the others then begin to walk towards the castle in the distance, while Luke, Silviu, and Liam simply stare at them as they walk away. Luke then sighed and turned to face Silviu.

"Please lead the way."

Silviu then nodded. Silviu then turned his back against them and started to walk the other way.

"Follow me."

Silviu then begins to lead them to the farthest reaches of the kingdom, away from the cottage houses and the rest. The location appears to be remote. Then Luke and Liam take a look around. The atmosphere in the area has quickly changed, and everything appears to be gloomy. Silviu begins to explain while walking.

"This location is known as the torture and prison area for any captured outsiders we catch who attempt to break-in. In the past, there were so many intruders that this place became soaked with blood. Because of that, the elves try to avoid this place as much as possible, thus, considering this area as isolated. The King, on the other hand, doesn't mind; in fact, he sees it as ideal because we can make the prisoners cry as loud as they want without anyone hearing."

Luke and Liam looked at Silviu's back who is calmly walking while telling such a scary origin story. Luke isn't sure if Silviu is threatening them right now or if he's just used to telling people the story this calmly. Luke then begins to reconsider his perception that Elves are humble and simple; once you know what is going on behind the scenes, they are the polar opposite. It appears that the novel's information about elves being brutal to humans or any outsiders with whom they disagree was correct.

"Luke has decided to remain silent and simply follows Silviu. They then soon reached what looks like a metal gate with guards guarding each side. The guards notice them and turn to look at Silviu. Silviu just looks at them and the elves immediately understood and opened the gate for them.

Creeaaak! Bang!

The gate then swung open with a loud metal screeching sound and a loud bang at the end. Luke was then greeted by a dark tunnel with only torches lighting the way and cold winds blowing from within. Luke and Liam just stared at this for a few moments before being led inside by Silviu.

Luke frowned and scrunches up his nose. The stench inside the tunnel is revolting. It stinks of blood and has a foul odor. Luke also noticed mice running in various directions and cobwebs on the ceiling. Luke then smiled nervously; Elves were no laughing matter when it came to brutal torture.

Silviu then comes to a halt and opens a door. Inside was an empty room with only a chair in the center and a metallic table on the sides holding some... interesting torture tools.

"Put him there, Liam."

Liam nodded and put Romeo's unconscious body on the chair and the Elves takes out some metallic shackles and puts in on each of Romeo's limbs to secure him in place. Luke then observed the Elves bringing in a bucket of water. The Elves waited for Luke's signal, and when he nodded in approval, they dumped the bucket of cold water directly on Romeo's face.

Romeo awoke immediately, coughing up some of the water he had accidentally consumed. When Romeo finally calmed down, he attempted to adjust his eyesight, but his eyes widened when he noticed Luke staring at him.

"Cough! You! What have you done to me?!"

Luke then approached Romeo and sat on the chair that the Elves had given him in front of Romeo. Luke then grinned mischievously at Romeo, who was staring at him with rage in his eyes.

"Well, that is not very nice of you, Romeo. I just officiated at your wedding ceremony, and this is how you treat me?"

Romeo's face turned red with rage as he looked at Luke's relaxed expression.

"Do you realize what you're doing to me right now is illegal? You're going to die beneath my feet once my soldiers figure out who you are!"

Luke then made a phony scared expression.

"Oh no, I am so scared!"

"How dare you mock me?!"

"Romeo, do you even know where you are right now?"

Romeo comes to a halt and looks around the room. His gaze was then drawn to Silviu and some of the Elves in the background. When Romeo noticed their pointed ears, his eyes widened in surprise and his face turned pale.

"Where... What... Elves?"

"You're right, Romeo, Elves. Where do you think we could be if Elves are here? Hmm?"

Romeo's face darkened and his eyes began to shake uncontrollably. Luke just sighed and crossed his arms and legs. He then looked at Romeo with a cold expression.

"Now, Romeo, if you don't want to get dirty, answer my question."

Romeo then looked up at Luke, terrified.

"W-what questions? Do you really think I'd say- AHHH!"

PAK!

The crunching sound of the whip echoed throughout the room, quickly followed by Romeo's pained voice. Luke sighed and looked at Silviu, who had just pulled out the whip and began whipping Romeo.

"Do you think it's a little early to whip the guy?"

Silviu came to a halt and looked at Luke, perplexed.

"Young Master, please understand that talking to the victim in this manner will get you nowhere. If the prisoner attempts to disobey, you must resort to force."

Luke then nodded in agreement while looking at Silviu with a slightly impressed expression.

"True, we do need to do this to speed up the process."

Luke then grinned as he looked Romeo's pained face straight in the eyes.

"Did you hear that Romeo? Now I'd like you to respond to my questions."

"Ugh... Augh..."

Luke simply smiled at Romeo's weak and shaky voice before opening his mouth to speak.

"I will take that as a yes. Now the first question, what kind of drugs you are using?"

The focus of Liam and the Elves was immediately drawn to Luke's calm expression. They all looked at him in shock, they never expected this. They never expected the word 'drug' to be the center of this torture's interrogation.

Romeo has just closed his eyes and his entire body begins to shake. Luke simply stared at him, as if analyzing his movements. Romeo appears to have no intention of responding and is instead preoccupied with keeping his mouth shut. Luke just sighs and looks at it with cold eyes.

Bam!

Liam and the Elves flinched when they suddenly saw Luke suddenly kicking Romeo's face. Luke's move was unexpected and surprising, but what surprised them the most was...

"I'm not stupid enough to not think you're planning to kill yourself with a pill in your mouth, Romeo."

Luke then looked at the ground and saw a black pill. The black pill was just spilled from Romeo's mouth when he kicked his face. Luke simply sighed and turned to face Silviu, who was holding the whip.

"Give him 20 lashes."