Gilbert’s boisterous mocking laughter rang through the cell. He watched her struggle with that same infuriating smirk as his eyes glinted with sadistic delight. “Look at you, little lioness… Thinking you’re strong enough to break free. Keep trying; your delusional side is truly an entertaining spectacle to watch.”
His horrible voice echoed around her, feeding her wrath until it consumed her entirely. And then, something strange happened. A faint, transparent blue window blinked into view before her very eyes.
[New class unlocked: Child of Agony]
Iris paused her actions and stared at the notification as it sunk in. There was something powerful and dark within her that had finally taken form, as if her pain, hatred, and relentless desire for revenge had become something she could wield. A shiver ran through her, but not from fear – no, this was something else entirely.
Since she had no class of her own thus far, she didn’t need to visit a temple to equip it. As with nearly all other classes, it came with an innate spell, and what an innate spell it was.
[Dangerous Game: The holder of this class can select up to three debilitating effects to take place on themselves in exchange for temporary boosts in stats.]
Although Iris was illiterate due to having spent her entire childhood in captivity where no opportunities for education were offered, the powers of the Soul Records were beyond measly language barriers and learning deficiencies. She instinctively understood what she had to do to utilize the class.
[Name: Iris Thornclaw]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 1. XP 0/100]
[Class: Child of Agony lvl 1]
[Vitality: 12]
[Strength: 6]
[Agility: 4]
[Magic: 6]
[Unused Skill Points: 0]
[Unused Attribute Points: 0]
‘Sacrifice my sense of smell and turn it into Strength!’ ƒreewebɳovel.com
The girl roared inwardly.
[Strength: 6 -> 9]
She knew that such a small boost was not at all enough to pry the bars open. 10 was the Strength value of a normal healthy adult male, after all.
‘Cause extreme pain all over my body and turn it into Strength!’
[Strength: 9 -> 19]
Her small frame cried out in alarm from the sudden, as the unnatural hurt began assaulting her all over, but thanks to her father’s years of cruel torture she’d long since built up enough resistance to remain in control of her body. She didn’t cry or even shout; she merely winced for but a single moment.
Gilbert sensed that something was terribly wrong due to the sudden change in the atmosphere. Iris went from a little ball of adorable rage to an eerily silent person hell-bent on snapping the bars of her cell. If that was all, he would’ve chalked it up to his daughter being weird as usual, but this time he instinctively understood that things were different. He couldn’t help but realize:
‘I feel like I’m in grave danger! But why?!’
In the meantime, Iris wasn’t done just yet.
‘Cause extreme internal bleeding and turn it into Strength!’
[Strength: 19 -> 39]
She spat a mouthful of blood as this was beyond even her pain tolerance, plus it was a natural reaction when one’s own internal organs began profusely bleeding. Naturally, Gilbert had caused her internal bleeding before on the usual, but not to this degree. This was an entirely new amount, and she knew that her health was rapidly deteriorating.
Blood began pouring out of every single orifice of hers as her body was about to give up and keel over, but her spirit was anything but worried. She, at long last, finally had the strength she always wanted, and she would not miss out on this opportunity. Whatever came afterward, be it her bleeding to death, getting executed for committing patricide, or making a run for it, the teenager didn’t care at all. All she wanted was to hear the heavenly sound that her father’s desperate shrieking would most certainly prove to be.
With every ounce of strength she now possessed, Iris gripped the bars for the third time today and this time, the little girl pried them apart with ease as the cold metal bent under her enhanced strength as if it were moist clay. Gilbert froze in place and merely watched her in disbelief. His face which had been a perfect representation of smug cruelty only moments ago was now twisted with a rapidly growing sense of fear.
Iris didn’t hesitate even for a moment as she lunged forward with her blood-stained hands and reached for his throat. She was inches away when a very familiar veil appeared around him to once again block her attempt on his life just like it did on the day of Vernice’s funeral.
The barrier held her back but Iris wasn’t surprised. She remembered him boasting once about the artifact’s protective veil and its ability to prevent harm for a limited period. However, she also remembered about him commenting on the fact that it had a cooldown period afterward.
With an otherworldly determination fueled by years of cruel torment, Iris took a step back and balled her palm into fists with her eyes blazing furiously as she glared at the veil. She struck it with every ounce of her newfound strength. It was a brutal assault that sent the dust particles nearby flying. Gilbert’s fear grew with each hit that followed, especially when he saw the shimmering shield weakening under her incessant blows. His trembling breaths became rapid gasps and his face went ashen as he realized just how close to breaking the veil she was.
Before he could shout for help, she landed one final punch, and the veil shattered with violent cracking. Iris then mercilessly reached forward and her little hands coiled around his throat. Gilbert’s eyes widened as he opened his mouth to scream, but she squeezed just hard enough to silence him, cutting off his voice before he could utter a sound beyond a muted yelp; “heeeelp…”
It would be too swift a death to simply snap his neck. Iris wouldn’t grant him that mercy.
The man who always held the ultimate upper hand in their relationship was now faced with the intense, spiraling eyes of the cruel monster he’d single-handedly created. Gilbert couldn’t help but compare the crazed eyes of his daughter to the one he held in his memory back when she was a little innocent baby. Things have changed drastically, and he knew it very well that he was the sole reason for it all.
It was only now that he realized that warm liquid was flowing down his thighs. “I’m… I’m sorry, my baby…”
His ragged whispers didn’t elicit her grip to lessen in their intensity at all, instead, it only made her lips curl into an evil, sinister grin that could only be compared to that of the devil.