Chapter 139
In the dead of night, a man in his mid-forties lay bound on the floor of a lavishly furnished bedroom. His body was covered in wounds, as if he had endured severe torture.
“Ugh... ugh...”
Three unidentified figures loomed over him as he groaned.
They are dressed in black robes from head to toe and their faces are completely covered with black hoods, so it is impossible to tell the difference between men and women, let alone their identities.
The man, terrified, asked in a weak voice, “...Who are you?”
Just the night before, he had gone to sleep peacefully in his bed. Now, he had awakened bound and thrown onto the floor of his own bedroom.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
There was no answer. One of the figures simply lifted a poker, which had been heated red-hot by some mana.
“P-please!”
He begged for mercy, but it was in vain. The scorching metal seared his flesh mercilessly.
“AAAAAAHHH!”
The pain was unbearable, but it was too intense even to pass out. The man thrashed and screamed in agony.
“What do you want from me?!”
Still, there was no response. The poker glowed hotly again and drew near.
“AAAHHHH!”
And so it continued. They asked no questions, made no demands, and remained silent, inflicting torture without pause. The man felt as though he would go mad.
‘Why... why are they doing this?’
No matter how much he screamed, no guards or servants came to his aid. It seemed a soundproof barrier had been erected.
After what felt like an eternity of torment, one of the figures finally spoke.
“Drunta branch manager of the Tekas Merchant Group, Maddington. Is that correct?”
Maddington’s eyes widened in shock, and he nodded frantically.
“Yes! Yes!”
They had tortured him this much only now to ask his identity? What if they had gotten the wrong person?
But he was too broken from the torture to feel any sense of injustice. He was simply relieved that they were finally talking to him.
“I will ask you something.”
The voice was cold as it continued the interrogation.
“You know the name Owent, don’t you?”
“Yes! He was the former head of the Altas Merchant Group!”
Even as he answered, Maddington was confused. Why was Owent being brought up in this situation?
“They say you reported Owent and his wife to the Alium Temple, correct?”
“T-that’s true, but...”
“Hahaha...”
One of the figures chuckled derisively before shouting angrily.
“You heretic! Did you think you could harm a follower of Tesranak and go unpunished?”
Only then did Maddington realize who his tormentors were.
‘Could it be... the Cult of the Dark God?’
Frantically, he replied, “H-harm? They escaped safely, I swear!”
“Owent and his wife’s whereabouts are unknown. You must have killed them and hidden their bodies somewhere.”
One of the hooded figures drew a menacing longsword.
“In the name of Tesranak, I will deliver divine punishment.”
“W-wait!”
Maddington’s face turned pale.
“There’s been some misunderstanding! I’m also a follower of Tesranak!”
The hooded figures scoffed.
“Do you think we’re fools?”
“Do you think such a lie will work in this situation?”
“Do you think the glory of serving the Dark God is something just anyone can claim?”
Desperate, Maddington’s voice rose.
“I’m not lying! I swear on the name of the Dark God!”
He flailed his bound arms and pointed toward a table in the corner of the bedroom.
“There! In the drawer! There’s a hidden compartment! You’ll find proof of my devotion to the Dark God!”
Karnak and Baros grinned as they indulged in self-praise.
Watching them, Serati grew more confused.
‘Wait... did they really act like humans?’
These inhuman beings were pretending to act like humans, but for some reason, Serati found herself questioning humanity, not them.
‘Well, as long as we can rescue Lady Edia, I guess it’s fine...’
***
Now that they knew Edia’s location, all that was left was to track her down.
Karnak immediately assembled a pursuit team. His usual group—himself, Baros, Serati, and Laficel—was joined by one new member: Millia, a second-tier inquisitor from the 7th battalion of the King’s Order.
Since this was an official mission of the King’s Order and not a personal matter, they had to bring along an inquisitor.
Worried that she might overhear something she shouldn’t?
It wasn’t a problem. They had taken her along on previous missions for the King’s Order without issue.
And besides, now they have Laficel. Whether Millia was there or not, they had to be careful about what they said and did.
“If worse comes to worst, we’ll just stick a needle in her head and be done with it.”
Naturally, Serati protested...
“Didn’t you say you were going to act like a human?”
Karnak remained confident.
“I acted like a human last time, so this time I can afford to take it easy, right?”
“Where on earth does that logic come from?”
“Variety is important for a balanced life—sometimes you do good, sometimes you do bad.”
“...At this point, I don’t even know where to start with my rebuttal.”
Unaware of these sinister intentions, Millia happily joined the group.
‘See? Lord Karnak must really care about me!’
Working under Karnak had many benefits. Since being assigned to the 7th battalion, Millia’s reputation had greatly improved. She had gained experience and grown stronger than most of her peers.
Whatever the internal situation might be, things were going well for her.
The person most pleased by Millia’s addition to the group was Laficel, the ashen-haired girl.
“Hello, Priestess Millia.”
“Nice to meet you, Miss Laficel.”
There was only a 3-4 year age gap between Laficel and Millia. After spending so much time with adults, Laficel was happy to finally have a peer around.
Especially since two of those adults had the mental age of someone who had lived 120 years.
The two girls quickly hit it off.
As they packed for the journey, they laughed non-stop as if everything was hilarious.
Lord Karnak and Sir Baros are like old men!
They sometimes have silent staring contests!
Yet they always pick the best food and drink! Such picky eaters!
They’re incredibly fussy about inns and sleeping arrangements! But that part is nice!
Such cheerful banter flowed between the two girls as they laughed together.
Karnak and Baros, overhearing this, tilted their heads in confusion.
“What are they so happy about?”
“Well, it’s nice to see them getting along.”
Once all the luggage was packed onto the saddles, the preparations for the journey were complete.
Karnak turned to the group and spoke seriously.
“Let’s hurry and rescue Lady Edia. We don’t know what kind of suffering she might be enduring among those cultists.”
It was a perfectly normal thing to say in such a situation, so Laficel and Millia didn’t find it strange at all.
“Yes, sir!”
“Aye!”
But Baros and Serati were taken aback.
[Whoa, did the young master just say something reasonable?]
[Someone might actually believe he’s genuinely worried about Lady Edia.]
With a sullen face, Karnak mounted his horse.
[This is exactly what I’m supposed to say in a situation like this, right? I told you I’ve been studying.]
The others mounted their horses as well.
The five horses set off from their residence, galloping through the streets of Drunta.