The display left not just the Vargas family, but even Boaz himself stunned speechless. The old saying rang true-in the hands of the truly powerful, even a speck of dust could become a lethal weapon.
Kayden approached the writhing figure on the ground with measured steps. Power radiated from his every movement, each footfall like treading upon the clouds. The Vargas family retreated before his overwhelming presence, unable to withstand the crushing pressure of his aura.
Standing over Boaz’s fallen form, Kayden towered like a god of judgment. His bloodshot eyes bore down, swirling with hatred and murderous intent.
“Are you certain this was mere revenge? Nothing to do with him uncovering the truth about Ambrose’s death fifteen years ago? Nothing about silencing those in the know?”
The words hit home. Boaz’s eyes went wide, pupils dilating in shock.
But he couldn’t hold that gaze for long, quickly averting his eyes. Those piercing eyes seemed to see through every lie, strip away every deception until all secrets lay bare beneath their burning scrutiny.
“No!” Boaz shook his head desperately. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! I killed him for revenge, nothing more. I know nothing about anything from fifteen years ago, nothing about silencing anyone!”
“Nothing?” Kayden pounced on the opening. “Then why mention stripping me of military power? The events of fifteen years ago-that was Hellblazer’s deliberate cover-up, wasn’t it?”
A visible tremor ran through Boaz. He knew he’d been exposed, that this man had pieced everything together. Still, he remained defiant, “It was just revenge. Whatever else you’re suggesting-I know nothing. Kill me if you want. My vengeance is complete. Nothing else matters.”
Kayden saw Boaz’s sudden steel. His expression softened into something almost like amusement. He nodded slightly. “Death? That would be too easy. First, let me show you what it truly means to beg for life yet cannot live, to beg for death yet cannot die.”
Without hesitation, he produced three gleaming silver needles and drove them into Boaz’s body. Boaz braced for agony-but felt nothing. Instead, even the pain from his earlier wounds vanished.
“Is this your idea of torture?” he asked, bewildered.
Kayden replied with chilling calm, “Have you ever experienced the pain of shattering bone?”
The term itself painted a vivid picture-the agony of bones splintering apart. A cut might sting, a sprained joint might throb, but they paled before this particular hell.
Anyone who’d broken a bone knew the pain could be enough to knock you unconscious. But this wouldn’t be a clean break-this would be slow, deliberate fracturing. Boaz would feel every moment of his bones coming apart.
Kayden turned his head slightly, regarding Boaz with his profile. “You can feel it now, can’t you? The twitching of your muscles.”
Indeed, Boaz’s muscles had begun to spasm, the tempo increasing rapidly.
“Next, you’ll feel them-insects crawling through your veins, working their way to your bones. They’ll start gnawing, slowly, steadily, like ants devouring wood.”
Just as Kayden described, Boaz felt the horrifying sensation of something crawling through his blood vessels, reaching his bones.
“No!” Terror twisted Boaz’s features as he raised his head. He thought, “Madman! This was the work of a madman! If death was inevitable, why suffer through such torture?”
Suicide! The desperate thought blazed through his mind.
Through gritted teeth, Boaz snarled, “You won’t win! I’ll kill myself before you can torture me!”
He raised his hand to strike his own head-but his movements had turned to molasses. Like footage in slow motion, his body responded at a fraction of its normal speed. By the time his hand reached his head, it was nothing more than a gentle pat.
Everyone knows force requires speed-a self-inflicted blow needs velocity to do damage. Without speed, suicide was nothing but a fool’s dream.
“What… what’s happening?” he cried out in disbelief.
Kayden’s expression darkened. “Thinking of suicide? Didn’t I tell you-you’ll find neither life nor death. Stop this futile struggling. One of my needles has severed your muscle responses. Every movement will be twenty times slower than normal. Suicide is impossible.”
“From now on, death will become your greatest luxury! Savor this pain of shattering bone-it will be the most excruciating moment of your life!”
“And don’t think you’ll die from the pain. My needles are protecting your heart! You’ll feel every bone in your body break. Only when the last fragment splinters will death finally claim you.”
“No!” Boaz stared at Kayden in horror, shaking his head. “No, please! Just kill me! Make it quick!”
Kayden shook his head slightly. “Impossible. The moment you murdered Massimo and his wife, you forfeited any right to a clean death.”
The pain had begun in earnest now. Boaz could feel the insects gnawing at his bones, could feel them beginning to splinter. The agony was unbearable!
“AHHH!” He screamed through clenched teeth, his body contorting in pain.
“Of course, you could beg me for death,” Kayden’s expression shifted subtly, turning serious. “Tell me what happened fifteen years ago, and I’ll grant you a quick end!”
Some people deserved a swift death-it was a mercy they’d earned. Others, like the wretch on the ground, had forfeited that right.
Boaz turned to Salvatore, crying out between spasms of pain, “Kill me! Salvatore, I order you-kill me!”
It was a plea for death!
This was what it looked like when a man truly begged to die.
Death is humanity’s greatest fear-it represents the ultimate end, the point where everything ceases to be. Yet when someone begs for death, it means living itself has become torture beyond bearing.
But Salvatore wouldn’t have dared kill Boaz. Not out of fear of Boaz himself, but terror of that other man-that demon in human form. His view of Kayden had transformed completely; now he saw only a devil incarnate. He could only lower his head, pretending he hadn’t heard.
Salvatore dared not provoke such a man. Who knew if Boaz’s death was the only reason for this visit-or if he might be next!