The same occurrences that took place on the Second Citadel took place on the first. Raiders, in small fleets of ships, attacked the Citadel yet again with the intention of blowing up Granian ships and forces. Upon arrival, however, the raiders found the Granians ready for them and immediately brought down their ships, making sure to leave only two with a few survivors. The Blood Mutants, Ace and Cherry, abandoned their initial goal of finding any surviving raiders and instead focused their strengths on this new fleet. Once they were brought down, a few of the raiders were spared and immediately brought to the torture chambers of the Citadel where Lord Grim and a few other Tribal Leaders were going to "have a word with them." Along with the Tribal Leaders were the Blood Mutants who, upon Jim’s command, were the ones going to be handling the torture procedure on behalf of the Granians. "Raiders," Lord Grim scoffed at the sight of about ten raiders chained to the walls with their hands and feet kept in place. Their bodies were left vulnerable to any attack, and they knew that perfectly well. "The scavengers of our galaxy. Of all the species in Akrina, your kind was the last I’d ever expect to see in a war." Grim leaned over with one claw placed on one raider’s chest. By the looks of it, his targeted raider seemed to have been the leader, so it was best to interrogate it first. "Now speak. Why would you, raiders, attack us Granians and think you’d win?" he asked, but the raider remained quiet. Its black, beady eyes stared into Grim’s while its mouth wiggled and jiggled. "Can you not speak?" The raider spat on Grim, its white, sticky saliva landing directly in between his eyes. The Granian, after wiping it off, calmly looked at the raider, then at Ace and Cherry who were given the green light to begin. "Standing before you are two of our best Human Warriors," he gave an introduction as the Blood Mutants stood on either side of the raider, "they possess certain sets of skills, skills designed to kill an enemy either in an instant or very, very slowly. Allow them to demonstrate." "Wait, wait, wait, please. Let’s talk about this in a civil manner!!" the raider pleaded, but the orders were already given. The Blood Mutants, each holding one hand, hovered their palms over the raider and began playing with its blood. "Please, please, please. Don’t do this. I’ll talk. I’ll talk, I swear it. I’ll TALK!!" Slowly, spikes of coagulated blood pierced through its blood vessels, out of its muscles, and slowly penetrated through its tough hide. The creature screamed in pain, its body shivering as the Blood Mutants continued the process as slowly as they possibly could. "I’LL TALK. I’LL TALK. PLEASE, STOP THIS!!" it pleaded, and Grim accepted. The two Blood Mutants stepped aside for a moment but made sure to leave the blood spikes poking through its arms. "Answer my first question." Grim ordered. "Why would you, raiders, attack us Granians and think you’d win? Have you any idea what we’re capable of?" "We would never attack you on our own, I swear it," the raider answered quickly, its voice shaking with fear. "We were hired, okay? Told to do the job and get to keep whatever we can salvage afterward." "By whom?" one of the Tribal Leaders pitched in, but the raider went silent. "Lost your tongue again?" "I-I-I-I can’t tell." It stuttered. The raider hesitated for a moment, and so Grim gave the orders again. This time, however, the Blood Mutants were not going to torture the leader. Instead, they were going to torture the remaining raiders, starting with the ones at the far ends while slowly making their way down to the leader in the middle. [Blood Acid Skill: Activated] "I’ll ask you once again," Grim spoke, "who hired you to do what you did?" ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹✦𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✦𝓷𝓮𝓽 The raider, instead of talking, started crying its eyes out in bitter shame and regret. The other raiders looked at it and begged it to talk, especially the ones next to Ace and Cherry. The Blood Mutants arched down, each placing their hands on the chests of the raiders. The skill they chose to use was the Blood Acid skill, one that allowed them to turn blood into acid. Thanks to Glissk, Cherry was now able to do the same, and now was the perfect time to put it to good use. "Please, please. Have mercy on us. Please!!" the raiders begged. "PLEASE. NO NO NO, PLEASE!!!" From the center of its body formed a black spot which started to boil like tar. Its skin grew bubbles that popped repeatedly, followed by the black spot growing and spreading. Both raiders screamed, the pain coursing through their bodies too great for them to handle. As the black spot grew, so did the corrosive nature of the acid, which dropped chunks of acidified flesh on the floor. In a matter of minutes, large, gaping holes were caused on the raiders’ bodies before the acid got to their hearts. "Make sure they live through this," Grim ordered, "they shouldn’t die just yet." The Blood Mutants shifted the Blood Acid away from the heart and instead focused it into the bloodstream, sending said acid to the arms and legs. Their fingers went first, turning from meaty appendages into black drops of thick, acidified blood, bones, muscles, and flesh. Their arms followed, and finally their feet, legs, thighs, and lower bodies, leaving only their chests and heads intact. [Level 138: 372/2050>>>>422/2050] [Brutality: 206>>>>220] "PLEASE, END THIS. PUT ME OUT OF MY MISERY!!" the raiders pleaded and begged dearly, but their leader, stubbornly, refused to talk. It got to the point that the screams from the tortured raiders became so loud that their bodies gave out due to exhaustion, shock, and finally death. "Take in the scent of your people," Grim taunted, "if you do not speak, we will continue." "FOR OUR SAKES, JUST TALK!!" the rest of the raiders pleaded earnestly, tears flowing from their faces. "TALK!! JUST TALK!!" "I’d rather they die than betray our business partners," the leader scoffed. His stubborn yet resilient nature was admirable but now was the wrong time to use it. "Fair enough," Grim answered and then left the torture chambers with the rest of the Tribal Leaders. Before leaving, he looked at the raider one last time and said, "Your entire race will be the first to go because of you. Blood Mutants, do as you please with them." "Gladly!!" Cherry grinned, and so did her brother. [Blood Rust Skill: Activated] [Description: The composition of blood contains blood cells and iron. Iron is a crucial component of hemoglobin, as it binds to oxygen molecules in the lungs and releases them to tissues as needed. The Blood Rust skill amplifies the body’s natural iron content, increasing it to levels high enough to create an iron nugget and then spreading it to every level of the body, causing it to oxidize. The oxidation poisons the blood and horrifically kills the victim.]