The Regressor’s Younger Brother’s Insanity

When Naoki was reincarnated into this world, he had one goal, to explore and uncover the relics left behind by his brother.

Eleven relics. Each one holding power beyond imagination.

Now reborn as Aether von Noctvain, Naoki began his journey to find them. But before he could make much progress, he was kidnapped by a deranged group of psychopaths.

For an entire month, he was tortured, stripped of his dignity, sanity teetering on the edge.

Eventually, the knights of House Noctvain found him. They rescued him and in a storm of blood and vengeance, they annihilated the cult that dared lay hands on their young master.

Then they uncovered the truth. That cult wasn't just a gathering of psychopaths, they had clear purpose. And it was funded by the empire's noble houses.

The cultists would torture people to the brink of death, then force strange drugs down their throats. As their victims neared their final moments, the cultists would slice a single vein in the neck, ensuring a slow, agonizing death.

In those last minutes, when the brain was flooded with fear, pain, and a storm of emotions, the mixture of suffering and the drugs transformed the blood itself. The blood turn white.

The cultists collected it carefully and refined it into a potion.

Because the potion was distilled from the agony and heightened emotion of the dying, it became a powerful aphrodisiac. A drug that heightened lust.

They called it 'White Ecstasy'.

Many of the empire's nobles secretly supported the cult, eager for the valueless potions that boosted their desires. They strutted proudly through society, pretending to be virtuous, even as they knew exactly where the potion came from.

Hypocrites. Every last one of them.

* * *

"Aaaaaaaa!"

The screaming grew louder.

Aether stood inside a cramped chamber, barely enough space for two people. Dozens of similar cells lined the corridor, each filled with victims. This was no prison. It was a slaughterhouse for the soul.

From the chamber next to his, a man screamed again. The sound twisted with agony. He was being tortured by those fanatics.

Aether clenched his fists.

He had two choices: wait for the rescue team… or fight his way out.

Fighting the cultists wouldn't be difficult. The majority were just regular humans in terms of strength.

But the chains binding him to the chair were imbued with mana suppression. They suppressed his mana completely, making it impossible to escape.

If only I could use mana… he thought bitterly. At the very least, I could heal this tortured body.

No matter the damage.cuts, bruises, or even poison, he could recover from anything.

All he needed was mana. But his mana is blocked.

Then....Swoosh

Something flickered.

A gentle pulse flowing through his veins. Like ants crawling under his skin.

Wait… I can feel mana…? How is this even possible?

Mana is the energy inside everyone. Mages use it for magic. Knights use it to make themselves stronger and their weapons deadlier. But if that mana is being suppressed, it's impossible to channel it and use it for supernatural power.

His eyes widened, This shouldn't be happening. In his previous life, during the month of torture, those very same chains had blocked his mana completely. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't channel a single drop.

But now… something had changed.

Am I… immune to mana suppression?' he wondered, heart pounding.

'Is this the effect of my regression?'

As Aether sat lost in thought, the heavy door to his chamber creaked open. A beam of light spilled in, forcing him to squint and turn his head away.

A figure stepped through the doorway, a man with a face marred by old scars, twisted into a grin. His hands were full of tools… tools meant for only one purpose.

Torture.

"Oho? Look at those eyes," the man sneered, licking his lips. "Yesterday, you were begging me to kill you. And now… you look like you want to kill me. Heheheh."

Perhaps it was because Aether was no longer the same boy they first captured, no longer the frightened brat they tortured. His gaze had sharpened. Hardened.

Because behind those tired eyes was a mind forged from another life, a soul tempered by war, betrayal, and survival. The mentality of a man who once stood among the strongest on the continent.

The torturer leaned closer, his grin widening.

"Let's see… how long it'll take before you're begging again."

He reached for a slender iron rod glowing red at the tip. Aether's heart thudded in his chest, but his eyes stayed locked on the man's face. He refused to give him the satisfaction of fear.

With a soft hiss, the torturer pressed the rod against the side of Aether's neck. Flesh sizzled.

Aether clenched his teeth so hard his jaw creaked. The stench of burned skin filled the chamber.

Then, He picked up a pair of heavy, stained pliers. Aether felt his chest tighten. He had been cut and burned before, but this was worse.

The torturer grabbed his jaw and forced his mouth open. Aether tried to pull away, but the chains held him still.

"Open up," the man said, his voice mocking.

The cold metal clamped around one of Aether's front teeth. Pressure built as the torturer twisted. Pain shot through Aether's head. He clenched his fists, fighting the urge to scream.

Then

Crack.

The tooth came loose. Blood filled his mouth.

With a hard pull, the torturer ripped the tooth out. Aether's body shook.

Drip..drip

The man held up the tooth between two fingers and smiled.

"One," he whispered. "We have so many more left."

He pushed the pliers back inside Aether's mouth.

This time, a low groan escaped Aether's throat.

"Nngh!"

"Hahaha!" The torturer kept laughing like a madman as he pulled out one tooth after another.

I need to kill him, Aether thought, his whole body shaking.

Aether was planning to heal himself and escape when no one was around. But as another tooth was torn out, his vision went red.

As Aether was about to attack the torturer, another man appeared.

"Hey, stop now. We've been summoned for the ritual."

At his words, the torturer glanced at Aether and sneered.

"You go. I'll come with this brat."

"Do it quick."

The man who had come to deliver the message turned and left. The torturer looked down at Aether with an evil smile.

"It seems you're lucky, you will get to be the sacrifice." he sneered.

He brought out another set of mana suppression chains meant for binding hands and legs, then locked them onto Aether. When he finished, he pulled Aether up and dragged him out of the chamber.

They entered a narrow corridor dimly lit by torches.

Aether closed his eyes for a moment, using his mana sense to feel for the positions of everyone nearby.

Now.

He focused his Aura and shattered the chains in an instant.

Thud.

"Hm?" The torturer turned at the loud noise behind him. But when he looked back, Aether was gone.

Before he could react, Aether dropped silently from above. In a single motion, he swung the torturer's own knife.

Slash.

The man's head fell to the floor and rolled away, his face frozen in shock.

Aether stood over the body, breathing heavily. His wounds had completely healed, and the six teeth that had been plucked had regrown.

His nails had grown back, and the twisted bones in his hands had been perfectly restructured, as if they had never been broken.

"You bastard," he spat, kicking the corpse.

He crouched down, picked up the severed head, and began peeling away the skin. The scene was grotesque, strips of flesh coming free as Aether carefully worked. He used his mana to keep the skin intact, shaping it into a mask.

When he finished, he pressed the bloody face against his own. Mana spread through the tissue, adjusting it until it fit perfectly. No one would be able to tell he was someone else.

People usually made masks from human skin. That was why it was widely known as Human Skin Mask.

Artisans would use a special materials mixed with parts of the body, like skin from the hands or thighs, to create the mask.

Combining the materials and the human skin together, they shaped it into something that looked real enough to wear. Though this practice was illegal, it still existed in the underworld.

Inspired by this, Aether in his previous life began peeling faces from dead bodies and using mana to make them usable as masks. So this wasn't new to him.

Now…I need to escape this hellhole.

Just as he was about to move, he sensed multiple people approaching. Quickly, he raised his hand.

A dark shadow spread from his palm, swirling like a living thing.

The shadow wrapped around the corpse and devoured it completely, leaving not even a bone behind.

It was Glotttony. An ancient spell. It devour anything and convert it into mana.

After reincarnating as a baby in this world, he had learned many skills from birth, this was one of them.

Then the approaching peoples entered the corridor, looking at him, one of them said

"Why are you standing, hurry , we are being late"

Aether, wearing the skin of the man who had tortured him, nodded silently.

Aether followed them without a word.

Though the torturer had been taller than Aether, none of them noticed the sudden difference in height. They were in too much of a hurry to care.

And Aether was also wearing the torturer's clothes, making it even harder for them to notice anything was wrong.

Damn it…i'm stuck here...where are they going to..

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To be continued...