“Ugh! Aghhh!”
At the hidden entrance of the interrogation room, the soldier responsible for standing guard for Truth felt a chill run down his spine as he heard the faint wails echoing from within.
‘What on earth is the Lady Saintess doing? Why is she making that demon let out such a terrifying sound?’ he wondered.
Such sounds were usually reserved for those undergoing extreme torture or suffering a mental breakdown.
‘Could it be… the Lady Saintess is torturing a demon?!’
He quickly shook the thought away. How could the kind Lady Saintess do something as cruel as torturing a prisoner?
She had to be helping the demon heal its wounds—perhaps she was resetting its bones. Yes, that had to be it.
“Hey, Ovid! What are you doing standing there? Huh? What’s that noise coming from the new basement?”
Suddenly, several soldiers who had just finished their shift passed by the interrogation room carrying shovels. They spotted Ovid standing guard.
“I think I heard… screaming? Who’s in there?” one of the soldiers asked Ovid, sounding confused.
Ovid immediately blocked the entrance and replied, “This place has been converted into an interrogation room. Right now, the—uh—Lady Saintess is using it.”
“The Lady Saintess?”
As soon as Ovid spoke, the questioning soldiers immediately understood. They exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
“Haha! If you don’t want to tell us, just say so. Why bother using the Lady Saintess as an excuse to brush us off? We get it, we get it. Give our regards to the commander!”
The Lady Saintess using an interrogation room? Would a Saintess cause a prisoner to scream in such heart-wrenching pain?
This was clearly a certain anonymous commander secretly enjoying his favorite prey.
There were always people with peculiar tastes in the military camp.
Life was already very oppressive due to military regulations. If they couldn’t vent after a battle, they might do something extreme.
Because of this, the military high command usually turned a blind eye toward the treatment of prisoners.
As long as the prisoner didn’t die, it was considered “humane treatment.” Besides, demons weren’t exactly humans.
“Whatever, think what you want,” Ovid muttered, too lazy to explain. As long as they didn’t try to enter the interrogation room, everything was fine.
However, after the shift-changing soldiers left, the wails from inside finally ceased.
“I’ll talk, I’ll tell you everything…”
Inside the interrogation room, Truth had merely touched Hera’s body with a red-hot iron rod.
Hera writhed like a maggot, realizing that Truth was actually being serious.
From the moment Truth lifted the iron rod, Hera had been screaming.
Phrases like “We can talk this out” and “Let’s speak nicely” had poured from her mouth. Unfortunately, Truth didn’t compromise at all.
She simply continued to raise the iron rod, forcing Hera to feel the piercing heat getting closer and closer until she was standing on the very tips of her toes.
The moment the tip of the iron rod touched Hera’s most sensitive spot, intense pain surged through her body like an electric current.
“I’ll talk, I’ll tell you everything! My creator is the Sovereign! The Original Sovereign!”
“Mhm.”
Hearing the answer she wanted, Truth finally set the iron rod aside. She quietly let out a long sigh of relief.
‘Whew, thank goodness this creature cracked. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have actually dared to shove that iron inside.’
After all, she wasn’t some ultimate sadist. She couldn’t bring herself to inflict pure agony on someone.
Truth admitted she liked bullying people, but she wasn’t some kind of pervert. She had only intended to use it as a threat.
The intimidation proved extremely effective. Under Truth’s subsequent questioning, Hera, the Reproductive Demon, became very obedient and answered every question.
Hera explained that she had been wandering between three demon settlements for the past few years, occasionally sneaking into remote villages to snatch a child or two to eat.
She was one of the demons with a permanent bounty on her head in the northeastern region of the Dea Plateau.
It wasn’t until she entered her estrus period that Hera temporarily settled in the Rift Valley area.
She mated with a Dark Demon, intending to split into a new Reproductive Demon larva and a juvenile Dark Demon clone 6 months later.
However, she was subsequently caught in a surprise attack by Demon Hunters.
“Ahem, stop right there. I’m not interested in your past experiences. Now, tell me everything you know about the Sovereign!”
Truth spoke coldly. She was very interested in the Sovereign’s ability to create new species of demons because, in her memory, the Sovereign didn’t possess such a power.
‘Perhaps it’s the power of an Authority?’
“I… I only know that the Great One is called the Original Sovereign. I don’t know anything else. Truly! That Great One doesn’t usually care if we live or die.”
“Then you must have some sort of mechanism similar to the Dark Demons, right? As far as I know, every time a Dark Demon dies, the Original Dark Demon, Darkros, knows about it. You should be the same. After death…”
“No! Absolutely not! I swear on that iron rod in your hand!”
Hera replied hurriedly, her speech becoming much more coherent as she quickly changed the subject.
“Ri… Right! I actually know a way to communicate with the Sovereign! It’s just… it might be a bit of a hassle for you!”
“Just say it.”
“Among us Reproductive Demons, there is a very special type of individual we call a Reproductive Matriarch. The Matriarch possesses a very special ability: she can bear offspring with humans. Although I don’t know what that ability is used for, the Sovereign values them highly and has given them the right to communicate with him directly.So, if you want to speak with the Sovereign, you can go find a Reproductive Matriarch. And I just happen to know the location of one. She’s at…”
Hera began to think of places where Truth might meet a swift end.
“At… at the South Marsh Demon Arena! There’s a Reproductive Matriarch there. You can find her at that location. Besides, that Arena is actually quite friendly toward Humans. They won’t kill you on sight.”
Hera was telling the truth.
There was indeed a Demon Arena hidden within the Thousand Marshes of the south, which also served as a medium-sized demon settlement.
Furthermore, they didn’t kill Humans the moment they saw them.
Instead, they locked them up and saved them for the Arena, using them as practice targets for newborn demons.
As for whether there was a Reproductive Matriarch there—that went without saying. Every relatively large demon settlement would have one.
“An Arena?”
Truth’s interest was piqued the moment she heard that keyword.
So there was still such a thing as an Arena? What was the deal? Were there rewards for reaching the top 100? Did you get a special title? Was there a server-wide announcement?
“That’s right. It’s an Arena for demons from Rank 1 to Rank 4. It was almost razed to the ground by Demon Hunters, but luckily, the Eighth Saintess stationed there suddenly disappeared. The Demon Hunters lost their commander, giving the Arena enough time to relocate.”
“Tell me how to get there.”
“Don’t be in such a hurry. Listen to me first. Right now, only demons know the route to the South Marsh Arena. Basically, you head out from the west gate of Water Marsh City and travel for about 5 kilometers. If you were a demon, you would be able to smell a scent that only demons can perceive. Once you do, you just have to follow the scent to find one of the Arena’s entrances.Unfortunately, you aren’t a demon. So if you want to go there, you’ll need a guide. Perhaps… I could take you there?”
Hera was not going to give up any chance to escape.
As long as she could lure this Ninth Saintess there, the other Greater Demons would surely take action!
‘A scent only demons can smell?’ Truth tilted her head. That was perfect.
She would be able to find the entrance the moment she got there. She didn’t need this creature to lead the way at all.
“Alright, you’re useless now.”
Truth waved her hand and walked out without looking back.
Her sudden change in attitude left Hera completely stunned.
‘Why did she leave so suddenly?’
But that was fine too. It didn’t matter if she wasn’t allowed to lead the way; she could still escape if they swapped her out for a few male Demon Hunters…
Outside the interrogation room, Truth spoke directly to Ovid, who was guarding the door.
“That Reproductive Demon has eaten many people and knows things she shouldn’t. Therefore, I need you to go in and deal with her quickly. Can you do it?”
Now that she knew where to find the Sovereign who could create NPCs and the location of the Demon Arena, Hera was no longer necessary.
While it would be easy to do it herself, it might bring unnecessary trouble to her reputation as a Saintess.
Truth actually quite liked the identity of a Saintess; it saved her a lot of trouble.
“I can!” Ovid saluted respectfully. How could he refuse a task from the Lady Saintess?
“Good. Good luck. Let me give you a blessing.” Truth took the opportunity to enhance Ovid’s five senses.
This was the sensory boost she had gained after reaching the Second Rank.
Ovid suddenly felt the world before him change.
He could see every speck of dust clearly, and he could hear the hushed conversations of soldiers passing by.
Even everyone’s movements seemed… very slow?
‘So powerful! Is this the Lady Saintess’s [Blessing]?!’
Determined not to let Truth down, Ovid charged into the interrogation room without hesitation.
Before he could even draw the silver sword at his waist, he saw Hera posing provocatively for him.
‘He’s here! A vigorous young male Demon Hunter!’
“Master Hunter, wh-what do you want to do?” Hera immediately slipped into her act, lowering her head and asking softly.
Her legs were fidgety, and since she was currently bound by chains, it was a very suggestive sight.
“I… I want…” Ovid hesitated for a moment, his eyes scanning Hera’s body. He swallowed hard and slowly walked toward her.
“Want… want what? Don’t do anything rash!”
Hera watched the approaching Ovid, continuing her act of feigned resistance.
‘Perfect. Except for that Ninth Saintess who suddenly came to interrogate me, everything is going according to—’
Thwack!
Suddenly, accompanied by the sound of a silver sword leaving its sheath, Hera felt a cold sensation in her heart.
This was followed by a rush of heat and then intense pain.
“Cough!” Hera spat out a mouthful of black blood. She looked at the silver sword buried halfway into her chest in shock.
‘What the hell? Why did he just start stabbing?!’
Indeed, Ovid had plunged the silver sword into Hera’s chest without hesitation.
His face showed seventy percent indifference and thirty percent regret.
‘Sigh, what a waste of such a good-looking Reproductive Demon.’
Looking at Hera, whose aura was rapidly fading and whose expression was full of resentment, Ovid sighed.
He had originally wanted to bring a few brothers down to have a few hundred rounds with her, but the Lady Saintess had specifically ordered her execution.
But it didn’t matter. She wasn’t the only Reproductive Demon they had caught lately.
He could just give the dungeon warden a few favors later, and he’d be able to take his pick of the others.
‘Wait, there aren’t any marks on this demon’s body. So the Lady Saintess wasn’t torturing it at all earlier? As expected, the Lady Saintess is gentle. She definitely must have been resetting its bones!’