The pain was so intense that his howls even broke through the alchemy mask's sound-sealing magic, letting out faint moans.
Karkaroff kept his eyes on Alex, unsure how long he was supposed to continue the curse.
After more than ten seconds of casting, Alex still said nothing, just calmly watching Otis writhe in front of him.
Despite the fierce expression on Karkaroff's face, Alex's eyes remained completely emotionless, as if the person in front of him wasn't even human, but just some expendable lab rat.
Seeing Alex's cold reaction sent a chill down Karkaroff's spine, making him feel as if he himself were the one suffering the Cruciatus Curse.
How could someone be so heartless, so indifferent to what was happening right before their eyes?
Was Otis really that despised by adults?
But Alex didn't seem to care about Karkaroff's or Otis's feelings at all.
He simply continued to observe the "subject" quietly.
"Stop!"
After more than thirty seconds of the curse, Alex finally ordered Karkaroff to halt.
Karkaroff's face had twisted into a cruel snarl; the power of the Unforgivable Curse was no joke, and rage was flooding his mind.
"Keep going!" Alex demanded fiercely.
But before Karkaroff could catch a breath, Alex turned to Otis again.
"What? Continue? I've already tortured him for tens of seconds. If you go on, he might end up an idiot right here!" Karkaroff shouted, grimacing under the curse's influence.
"Stop talking nonsense! You just want him broken!"
Alex shot him a hard, icy glare that snapped Karkaroff back to focus.
Without hesitation, Karkaroff raised his wand and cast the Cruciatus Curse once more.
This cycle repeated itself: Alex directing, Karkaroff casting, and Otis, unluckily, enduring the torment.
Otis's screams were pitiful and muffled, the most tragic part being that no one seemed to hear them.
After two more rounds, Alex finally seemed satisfied.
He opened Otis's vacant eyes and met his gaze.
"Well," Alex said, "the symptoms of test subject number one are consistent and meet our criteria. The Cruciatus Curse lasted twenty-six minutes and a few seconds. I don't see any unusual deviations."
He nodded slightly, pleased.
Then he turned to Karkaroff.
"Let's finish with this one. Next subject, please."
After finishing his instructions, Alex pointed to the eldest of the Carlo siblings standing beside him.
"This time, the subject is him. You just need to cast the spell for one minute and twenty seconds, then I'll check how it goes."
"What? Say that again?" Karkaroff's eyes widened in surprise.
Despite being out of breath, he couldn't help but ask for clarification.
"That's nonsense," Alex replied coldly.
"Using only one test subject isn't enough. You need to do at least five rounds today. You must be tired, but don't worry, I have some restorative potions to help you regain your magical strength."
Karkaroff hesitated, clearly wanting to protest, but Alex's firm expression left him no choice.
Reluctantly, he aimed his wand at Micus Carlo, the brother next to him, his face filled with fear.
What followed was pure torture, not just the kind inflicted by the Cruciatus Curse, but a torment for Karkaroff himself.
Continuously casting such a powerful and expensive Unforgivable Curse was exhausting, and its negative effects on him grew stronger with every use.
Soon, Karkaroff's face twisted uncontrollably into a ferocious, almost terrifying expression.
Noticing this, Alex thoughtfully gave him some potions to help, an "euphoric potion" to lift his spirits and a "sedative potion" to calm his nerves.
Still, the prolonged use of the Cruciatus Curse seemed to ignite something dark inside Karkaroff.
Eventually, he even began to feel a disturbing sense of pleasure from the torture, which only made him more anxious.
He didn't want to become a monster ruled by cruel emotions.
Thankfully, Alex was no cruel master.
After confirming that Karkaroff had produced five test subjects, he instructed him to rest nearby and recover slowly.
Alex's insistence on making Karkaroff push these captives wasn't because he enjoyed cruelty.
His real goal was to find a cure for the Longbottoms' condition.
What they suffered wasn't simple amnesia. It was the lingering effect of prolonged torture under the Cruciatus Curse.
Their memory loss was like a self-defense mechanism, a way for their minds to block out the unbearable pain caused by the curse.
If you want to treat a disease, you first need to understand it in detail.
And to do that, you need research materials.
In the wizarding world, the only two known cases are the Longbottoms, but Alex couldn't use them for his research.
That meant he had to create similar materials himself, right there on the spot, for study and experimentation.
Alex wasn't so arrogant as to think he could find a cure immediately; he knew it would take many trials before discovering an effective treatment or addressing any lasting effects.
It wasn't that he hadn't wanted to experiment in this area before, but there simply weren't many options that allowed him to use the Cruciatus Curse without hesitation.
Only these captives fit the criteria he needed.
The wizards involved weren't exactly trustworthy, especially those Death Eaters responsible for turning the Longbottoms into what they are today.
So Alex had no qualms about using them as experimental subjects.
However, only five experimental materials had been produced so far, which wasn't quite enough for Alex's plans.
He figured he'd have to wait until more were needed before heading back to Karkaroff to transform another batch.
As he thought this, Alex glanced over at Karkaroff, who had finally regained some strength.
The man looked like he'd just run a marathon. His face was pale, almost drained of blood.
"How's your magic, almost back to normal?" Alex asked, handing over a bottle of tonic once more.
"Thank you for your concern, master. I've recovered quite a bit. We should continue," Karkaroff replied with a grim expression.
The repeated casting of the Cruciatus Curse had taken its toll on him, and he was genuinely worried about Alex's insistence on pushing forward.
Alex smiled faintly at Karkaroff's hesitation but decided to ease up.
"Let's call it a day. No need to keep going until all the materials are used up."
Every time Karkaroff heard Alex casually refer to captive wizards as mere resources, he shuddered. Becoming the master's enemy wasn't just dangerous; it could be far worse than death.
But Alex paid no mind to Karkaroff's unease. Instead, he reminded him, "Next, take Alex back to Durmstrang.
And don't forget what I told you before you leave."
"Of course. As soon as I return, I'll start searching for properties in the local wizarding community. Thanks to the adults' support, Jacobsen trusts me now. Their family patriarch even personally interviewed me the day before yesterday. They and I are covering our tracks. I can guarantee your business won't face any trouble here in Norway!" Karkaroff said with renewed confidence.