The Hunted Regressor: My Heretic Saint System-Chapter 46: Bone Breaking Theory!

"Don’t look at me like that!"

Silas screamed, thrashing against the ropes.

"You turned down the best job we’ve been offered in a long time! That hooded man would’ve given us gold just to get a few kids, and you said no! You said we don’t hurt kids! Why the distinction?! You’ve done worse! You’re soft, Gorm! That’s why we’re broke! Those bastards deserve to die if it makes me rich!"

Gorm had heard enough.

Now, he couldn’t hear any more.

Instead, he let out a roar of pure betrayal...

"GRRRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

And snapped the ropes holding his arms just through sheer rage, nearly breaking them in the process.

"I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL TEAR YOUR THROAT OUT!"

The giant lunged, ready to rip Silas apart with his teeth if he had to.

Without looking the least bit concerned, Ignotus stepped in, placed a hand on Gorm’s chest, and used his foot to hook Gorm’s ankle.

"Down, boy."

With a simple shift of weight, he slammed the giant back against the tree.

"He’s tied up; killing him now is just messy. Besides, we need info."

He turned back to face Silas.

"So..."

Ignotus crouched down.

"Judging by your reaction, you were likely approached by the Curse when we were sleeping back in River’s End. Was there anyone who stood with the Curse? If so, where are they? Who are they? And don’t tell me it’s the same ’hooded man,’ because that narrows it down to half the population of the Third Stratum."

"Hah! Do you think I’d tell you? That I’m scared of you?"

Silas sneered, panting heavily.

"That Death Demon... it promised me power. It promised—"

"Yeah, yeah, promises, power, glory, blah blah."

Ignotus waved his hand dismissively.

"Skip to the part where you tell me how exactly the Curse interacted with you while we moved. You saw the Conjurer through it, right? After you slipped away from camp at night? Did it ask you to clip a small lock of the wolf-pup’s hair?"

"I saw it..."

Silas sneered, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism.

"Twice. Twice, I saw it standing in the shadow of a massive man. It held the power of Death! It—"

Suddenly, he stopped.

His jaw clamped shut.

It wasn’t that he chose to stop speaking... It was as if an invisible hand had grabbed his jaw and slammed it closed.

"Mmph!"

Silas’s eyes went wide with panic.

"MMMPPPPH!"

He tried to open his mouth, his neck muscles straining hard, veins popping on his forehead.

"MMMMMMMMPPPPPPH!"

Thrashing as much as he could, he tried his damndest to force his own mouth open, but alas, it was sealed tight.

"Hm."

Intrigued, Ignotus watched for a while and then poked Silas’s cheek.

"This is some sort of Binding Oath."

He hummed while taking a step back.

"It’s nasty stuff. If you try to spill the beans on the Demon’s identity, the mouth goes zip. If you try to write it, your hands will probably break. So they’re very thorough, or at least there’s someone with them who is..."

This was good intel.

It meant the enemy wasn’t just some rogue Demon; this was organized.

Ignotus stood up and dusted off his pants.

"Well, that’s disappointing."

He looked at Silas, who was now hyperventilating, terrified by his own inability to speak.

"You know..."

Ignotus’s voice took on a light, conversational tone.

"I’m a merciful man. Truly. I hate killing; it stains the clothes, dulls the blade, and frankly, burying bodies is annoying."

Silas’s eyes flickered with a glimmer of hope.

Was he being shown mercy?

"So..."

Ignotus continued, beaming.

"I’m going to let you live. I won’t kill you."

He reached out and grabbed Silas’s right arm.

Crack!

The forearm snapped like a dry twig.

"MMMMMPHHH!!!!"

Silas screamed against his sealed lips, his eyes rolling back in his head.

"Young Lord!"

Felix shrieked.

"What are you doing?!"

"Showing mercy!"

Ignotus replied cheerfully while grabbing the left arm.

Crack!

That was broken, too.

"If I let him go..."

The madman explained while moving to Silas’s right leg.

"He might try to attack us again or try to find that Demon. And if he does that, I’d have to kill him. Self-defense, you know?"

Crack!

The right leg bent at an angle legs should not bend.

"But!"

Ignotus raised a finger as he grabbed the final leg.

"If he can’t walk, and he can’t hold a weapon, he can’t attack me! And if he can’t attack me, I don’t have to kill him!"

Crack!

Silas slumped against the ropes, unconscious from the pain, his limbs hanging. Ignotus, meanwhile, wiped his hands on Silas’s vest, looking incredibly satisfied with himself.

"There! I saved his life. And yes, he lives to see another day. Probably a very painful day, crawling on his belly like a worm, but hey, breathing is breathing, right?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

The clearing was silent.

Lykos looked slightly green.

Ulv stared at the broken man.

Gorm only felt a barely quelled rage.

Felix looked like he was reconsidering his entire employment history once more.

The four had many thoughts going through their heads, but one was shared by all:

NEVER MAKE AN ENEMY OUT OF IGNOTUS.

It’d be a Fate worse than death.

A Fate only Felix dared to call out on:

"Breaking all his limbs is saving his life?"

Ignotus nodded vigorously, his eyes shining with excitement.

"Yes, exactly! That’s right! I call this my Bone Breaking Theory!"

He gestured to the unconscious lump of Silas.

"A dead enemy is a waste. A crippled enemy is a burden to their allies and a testament to my benevolence. Plus, no murder on my conscience! It’s a win-win-win for everyone involved!"

Gorm, whose watching of Silas’s brutal dismantling had slowly made him feel horror, suddenly paused.

"Bone Breaking Theory..."

The giant rubbed his beard with his one free hand and furrowed his brow, looking deep in thought.

"If they can’t fight... you don’t have to kill them. It... it keeps the hands clean of death."

He nodded slowly, looking at Ignotus with a strange new respect.

"I’ve never heard of that before. It is... wise. Very wise."

Ignotus beamed further.

"See? Egg-man gets it!"

Lykos looked at Gorm, then at Ignotus, then at the broken Silas.

The absurdity of it hit him all at once. The "Stranger" had broken a man into pieces and called it mercy, while the giant barbarian was nodding along like it was some ancient philosophy.

Unable to hold back any longer, Lykos started to giggle before suddenly laughing out loud. Ulv, seeing his master laugh, cracked a smile and chuckled. Even the guards started chuckling... though not everyone joined them.

"You people are insane!"

Felix wailed, throwing his hands in the air.

"Completely and utterly insane!"

"That’s the spirit, Spoon!"

Ignotus grinned, slapping Felix on the back.

"Now, untie the rest of them. We’ve got a journey to finish, and I’m starving. Who wants crab legs?"