Read Novel Full Chapter 423: Mercy
Chapter 423: Chapter 423: Mercy
They were his words, words he had once thrown at her in her previous life. Now, she was returning them, untouched and sharp.
Joel stared at her, his thoughts seething with venom.
’Just wait,’ he swore silently. ’One day, I’ll make sure this bitch learns her lesson.’
As the thought crossed his mind, a sharp glint flashed through Joel’s eyes.
’If words won’t move her, then maybe my power will,’ he decided. Slowly, he lifted his gaze to Ivy, forcing a trace of pity onto his battered face.
"You’re furious because we wanted to research you," he spoke, his voice hoarse yet carefully controlled.
"But did you ever stop to think about why I went that far?"
Ivy tilted her head slightly, her expression flat and bored.
"No," she replied without hesitation. "And I’m not interested in your sob story either."
The words hit harder than any insult.
Joel clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms, but he swallowed his anger.
After a long breath, he spoke again, softer this time. "I did it because I discovered that you have a strange disease."
For the first time, Ivy’s eyes shifted. A flicker of surprise crossed her face as she looked at him. "How do you know that?"
Joel exhaled in relief, a twisted sense of triumph rising in his chest.
’She believed it,’ he thought mockingly. ’How stupid can she be?’
But before he could savor it, Ivy smiled.
"A disease?" she chuckled lightly. "Oh, you mean my psychotic tendency? I tend to kill people."
Her gaze sharpened. "How do you know that?"
Joel froze. Fury surged through him, raw and uncontrollable, and Ivy burst out laughing at the sight of his expression.
Her laughter echoed coldly against the stone walls, mocking and unrestrained.
’His intelligence is... disappointing,’ she mused. ’Almost insulting.’
She turned her head slightly and motioned to the guards.
Without a word, they understood and withdrew immediately, the heavy doors creaking shut behind them.
Once the cell was silent, Ivy stepped forward.
"Since you’re so curious," she murmured, "I’ll tell you what I really meant."
She lifted her hand.
In the next second, a whip materialized in her grasp, dark and cruel, its surface faintly glistening under the dim light.
This was the same whip she had once used to hang the Ravencraft family by a single thread.
Isla, Seraphina, and Marcus were all lingering on the edge of death even now, their lives stretched thin by her deliberate cruelty.
She had never intended to give them an easy end.
Whenever she had time, she returned to torment them again and again, until even screaming became a luxury.
Only when the Nightbane siblings intervened did those three barely cling to life.
This whip had already stained countless fates.
And now, she intended to use it again.
Hana. Arthur. Joel.
Even though Hannah hadn’t done much to her in this life, Ivy had no intention of letting her off lightly.
’I still remember how you tried to shame Teacher Nora,’ Ivy thought coldly. ’Some sins don’t need repetition to be punished.’
Hannah would suffer less.
Arthur and Joel, however, would pay dearly.
In her previous life, Arthur’s family had shattered her sense of safety, making her fear everyone around her.
’This time,’ Ivy vowed, ’I’ll make sure Arthur fears everyone instead.’
The whip cracked through the air.
It struck Arthur first, then Joel, the sharp sound slicing through the silence like thunder.
At first, both of them gritted their teeth, forcing out sneers and pretending to endure it.
But as the blows continued, pain tore through their bodies, deeper and deeper, until their strength bled away with every lash.
Their breaths turned ragged. Their legs buckled.
"Please... stop..." Arthur gasped, his voice trembling.
Joel followed soon after, desperation breaking through his pride. "Mercy... I’ll tell you everything..."
Ivy stopped only when their lives hovered at the brink, their chests barely rising. She snapped her fingers.
A healer appeared instantly.
Without hesitation, he began restoring Arthur, Joel, and Hannah, his hands glowing softly as torn flesh knitted back together.
Once his task was complete, he vanished as quickly as he had come.
Now all three of them lay there, half-dead, barely conscious.
Ivy turned and walked out of the cell, closing the door behind her.
Red marks streaked across her face, thin lines where something had grazed her skin, yet she felt no fear.
Death no longer unsettled her. She had grown accustomed to it, resistant to it.
She looked at the guards calmly.
"Bring a healer every two hours," she instructed.
"Heal them completely, then continue the torture. Make sure none of them dies. They need to feel the pain, again and again."
Inside the cell, Hannah’s eyes snapped open at those words.
Compared to Arthur and Joel, she was in far better condition. Summoning her strength, she lifted her head and spoke urgently,
"I’m sorry! I apologize for everything I did wrong. I swear I’ll never cross you again. If you spare me, I’ll consider you my savior."
Ivy laughed softly.
Even without seeing it, she could feel something tugging at her mind, like invisible fingers probing her thoughts.
’So that’s your trick,’ she realized. ’Mental interference.’
She didn’t know the exact nature of Hannah’s power, but she didn’t need to.
She had encountered something similar in her previous life, a rare ability that manipulated the mind through voice, presence, or suggestion.
She turned to the guards. "Wear earplugs," she ordered calmly. "And don’t look at her. Not even once."
The guards nodded immediately.
As soon as Ivy left, they followed her instructions, sealing their ears and turning their faces away from Hannah.
Hannah stared in shock.
’She guessed it...?’ She had never imagined Ivy would see through her power so easily.
Far away from the prison, Angelina slowly entered Damien’s cave.
The air inside was damp and heavy, carrying the scent of stone and blood.
As if he had been waiting, Damien emerged the moment she stepped in.
He smiled. "Is your search done?"
With trembling hands, Angelina offered him a piece of meat. Damien took it, his eyes never leaving her face. "Is there something else you want?"