"You… What did you do to me?" Lauren demanded.

She struggled frantically but found her entire body locked in place, and she couldn't move a muscle. For someone who was halfway to becoming a grandmaster, this kind of helplessness was foreign to her. It felt like being pinned beneath something enormous and unmovable.

"Relax. I'm not going to kill you," Dustin said with a faint smile.

He moved closer until he stood directly in front of her. "I'm going to ask you two questions. Answer honestly, and I'll let you go. Lie to me, and you'll regret everything you did today."

"Hmph! Kill me if you want. You think I'm scared of some nobody like you?" Lauren tried to sound fearless, as though she was eager to die.

In her eyes, death wasn't an end but a liberation and a chance to return to Skull Lord's side.

"Like I said, I won't kill you. But I will give you a taste of suffering," Dustin said. With a flick of his finger, he sent a silver needle into her body.

The instant it pierced her skin