Dr. Thomas was an out-and-out psychopath.

After his family turned into collateral between two awakeners that fought over trivial issues, Thomas turned from an optimistic and naive young man to a vengeful kid who desperately sought justice.

He spent all the fortune from his heritage and only managed to jail the two culprits for ten years.

Despite a murder, they didn't receive the death penalty.

Why?

Because they were powerful awakeners.

'This society is rotten to the core. This cancer, I will personally cure it by killing it.'

That thought drove Thomas to attain a level in the scientific community that was only below the unrivaled genius Roxanna.

Of course, Thomas didn't think he was inferior to Roxanna. Their fields of research were simply too different to compete.

'I'm not inferior to her!'

"Yes, you aren't inferior to her."

The sudden voice would've caused him to jump in fright, only if his legs were still working properly and his body still functioned properly.

Unfortunately, neither of those was true.

Varian glanced at the figure that was hunched over, working on materials on a metal table.

He forgot how many bones he had to break, how many drugs Boo administered, and how much pain he inflicted.

But he broke Dr. Thomas.

He made the man who wholeheartedly worked for the destruction of humanity beg for death.

"Kuuu!" With a painful grunt, Thomas moved his body and turned around. With each passing second, he felt as if a knife was piercing his bone as if a fire was burning his lungs as if deep cold ice was freezing his blood all at the same time!

But more than these physical pains, he was repeatedly inflicted with serious mental traumadreaming about the incidents and events he didn't want to see.

So, when he looked at the man who caused him this trauma, his body froze in fear and his bloodless face paled further.

"P-Please" He begged for mercy. "II don't want to live anymore."

Varian stared at him for a moment before he burst out laughing. "Ha..Ahahaha!"

"Ahaha..Arghhh!" But his laughter suddenly turned into a deep roar filled with rage and pain.

He slapped his comm and holograms popped up, filling the gloomy room.

Horrifying, desperate, and pleading screams rang throughout.

"We helped you!"

"We killed Shadow Orders! Dammnit!"

"Spare my child! He can't even talk!"

"My motherplease, she only saved others from the Order! She never killed anyone! Spare her, I beg you!"

"Sir! Please, sir! Let my wife escape. I swear she'll never let out a woarghh"

Varian closed his eyes to prevent himself from seeing the visuals of the Shadow Guardians' destruction.

Yet, it was as if his mind was unwilling to spare him. The bloodied, crying and horrified faces of the men, women, and children surfaced in his mind.

As they got killed like cattle by the same soldiers they helped, the rage he suppressed deep inside his heart erupted like a volcano, and a mental wave shot at Thomas.

"Arghhh!" With a shriek of agony, Thomas collapsed onto the table, his eyes turning white as blood started to leak out of his ears, nose, and mouth.

Varian snapped out of his rage and withdrew his mental power. With a light tap in the empty air, a bot injected a few drops of healing potion into Thomas.

The top living scientist staggered up and glanced around in confusion. In mere seconds, he regained his focus.

The first thing he did was crouch on the ground and cover his face. "P-Please kill me!"

A sense of disgust rose from the bottom of Varian's heart as he cursed. "If you hadn't cooperated with the abyssals and made that space device, I'd have killed you painlessly."

His eyes turned red as he spat. "But you fucking piece of shit! You knew the guardians would be killed. You not only didn't stop the plan, you even helped them."

Thomas froze for a moment as regret filled every fiber of his being.

'Why? If I knew this would happen, I wouldn't dare'

"Now bear the pain of those you killed. Their despair, their fears, their pleadings. I'll imprint them into your mind." Varian said with a chilly gaze.

In his eyes, there were no emotions. Pure indifference mixed with bloodlustthis was a side he never showed to his people.

Thomas felt as if his skin was prickled under that piercing gaze. But he slowly stood up and got back to testing the complex items on the long table.

The holograms activated and he studied the readings with all his focus so as to escape his pain.

This was Varian's condition for his death.

'Break Enigma's tracker'

To any other human scientist, it was nigh impossible. To him, however, it was only a matter of how long.

But the prerequisite was that he had sufficient equipmentthat included some of the priciest equipment in the federation.

That's why Varian went out of his way and kidnapped Uranus' Trade Union's chief and extorted the equipment.

He could've asked Irene, but since he had an alternative, he didn't want to burden her.

"This finishes all the equipment on your list." Varian flicked his finger and a storage ring landed on the table.

Thomas checked the materials and nodded stiffly.

"Good. I hope to hear the good news in a day." Varian declared, but Thomas' face scrunched up and he opened his mouth.

"One hour delay means you have to go through the pain of fifty more martyred guardians." Varian's words caused him to shut his mouth and nod vehemently.

"Hm." With a final glance, Varian walked out of the gloomy room.

When he did, a warmth embraced him as he felt a weight pressed against his chest.

"You were watching, weren't you?" He hugged her and asked lightly.

"Hm." She nodded, her face still pressed against his chest as she muttered softly. "I saw it all, you were soscary."

Varian stiffened before replying. "I never thought I was capable of torturing a person like that...of breaking someone.

But his deeds, I can neither forget nor forgive. Even if he begs, cries, and pleads, the shadow guardians aren't coming back. Tens of thousands of lives, years of aspirations, and unimaginable hard work.

This guy was the mastermind. He killed them all.

My blood boils whenever I think of their deaths. I will not give him an easy death. I might sound inhuman and even crazy, but I swear I can't help but smile when I hear his screams."

As his emotions got the better of him, his arms were applying a lot of force on her waist.

Realizing this, Varian was about to draw back his hands. "I'm sorry, I was just too caught up in"

Sarah pulled his hands back to their position and looked up into his eyes. Her face blossomed with a beautiful smile full of trust and affection.

"I'm a body awakener too. I'm strong enough to take your hugs, even if they're forceful and tight." She chuckled.

Varian then hugged her tightly and whispered in a tired tone. "Then I honestly need a tight hug."

Sarah wrapped her arms around him and patted him lightly. While she tried to console his tired heart, her own heart ached as her eyes turned red.

'You'll soon reach level 7 and even level 8....for long can I bear your tight hugs before you grow too strong?'