Chapter 106: Interrogation

“The wound she got at the sanctuary still seems to be unhealed.”

So, they caught Berna while she was in a weakened state.

This was how they intended to end things.

“Oh, I see. As expected of my daughter. You did well. So, where is Berna?”

“She’s right here.”

They revealed the bound Berna.

“She looks like a mess.”

Indeed, her face was covered in blood.

It seemed like Syria had headbutted her properly.

“Yes, I beat her up a little.”

“I want to kill this woman immediately.”

“But you need to take Ashtar as well. The people of Ashtar would approve, wouldn’t they? And we need the hero’s help to defeat the Four Heavenly Kings with the holy sword. We also need information.”

Considering how the people of Ashtar revered Eldakrad, it made sense.

“So, what you’re saying is… we should retreat from here?”

“The goal has been achieved, and we have captured Berna. It would be best to withdraw now. Given the state of Crad Castle, we can consider it reclaimed at this point.”

If they advanced any further, even without Berna, they could suffer massive losses like they did at Eldakrad.

“It’s a stretch to say we reclaimed that place.”

Glancing toward Crad, it was completely devastated from the battle with Meteor.

It was nothing more than a ruined city of the dead.

But this version of Crad had been rebuilt by Berna.

That meant it had to be destroyed.

There was no other choice.

“It doesn’t matter. A castle can always be rebuilt. But shouldn’t we interrogate her first?”

Of course. That needed to be done.

But looking at the duke and his subordinates, if someone else handled the interrogation, Berna would likely end up dead.

‘If one of the Four Heavenly Kings died, who knew what would happen?’ I couldn’t let that happen.

And if I used Berna’s mental state to my advantage…

There might be a way.

“I have a request regarding that matter, Father.”

“What is it?”

“Do I have merit in this battle?”

“You boosted the morale of Ashtar’s soldiers, prevented Berna from assisting the Third Legion, and captured Berna herself.”

Then let’s negotiate.

With this much merit, the duke would surely allow me to take charge of Berna.

“Then, could you entrust Berna entirely to me?”

“Berna?”

“Yes. I have some things I need to interrogate her about.”

The duke frowned.

“Fine. Berna is yours to handle. However, you must never set her free.”

“I understand.”

Thus, the interrogation of Berna was left to me.

The Ashtar forces withdrew slightly.

Berna, who had been dragged in and forced to kneel, cautiously opened her eyes.

***

“So, in the end, the Lord’s prophecy was correct. He said his descendants would stop me.”

‘The Lord, huh?’

She didn’t seem to be distinguishing between what was real and what was false.

She must have realized it by now.

That she was wrong.

“Are you regretting it now?”

“My only crime was loving the Lord. But it was he who betrayed that love!”

She still…?

“Go on, keep talking.”

“I never knew my parents. I grew up in an orphanage. Then, due to a lack of funds, I was sold to the Holy Church. After enduring brutal torture and training, I became a saint. To me, the Lord was everything. I helped him become a great ruler of Ashtar!”

Indeed, from what I recall, without Berna’s help, Eldakrad would have never risen beyond being a mere provincial lord.

In short, he never repaid her for what she had done.

“I never expected to be his wife. If I couldn’t even be his concubine, I just wanted to stay by his side… I only wanted my devotion to be acknowledged. That would have been enough for me. The reason I joined the Demon King’s army was because… because the Lord gave his heart to that woman, Bernoa, while never truly claiming me!”

“Don’t you think betraying him and killing Eldakrad was going too far?”

“That…”

“You already know, don’t you? That you were in the wrong.”

She was just running her mouth at this point.

She had been swept away by her emotions.

Otherwise…

She wouldn’t be crying so sorrowfully right now.

“Sniff… sob… So what? You’re not here to argue about right and wrong at this point, are you?”

“What do you think would happen if I killed you instead of the hero?”

“What do you mean?”

Exactly what it sounds like.

Killing her with the hero’s holy sword was one option.

‘But would that fool of a hero, who couldn’t even fully wield the sword’s power, be able to take down Berna properly?’

“Your power… tell me about it.”

“Why should I tell you anything? Even if you are his descendant, I’m still one of the Four Heavenly Kings. I have no reason to tell you.”

‘Was this her final act of defiance?’

‘Or was she testing my resolve?’

“I have inherited Eldakrad’s will.”

“What?”

“Eldakrad entrusted everything to me before he passed. Including his feelings for you, Berna—no, Bernoa. He considered you important.”

I had all of his memories.

Eldakrad never hated Bernoa.

Not even in his final moments.

“He never thought of me as important!”

“He did. Even during that last expedition, he was considering taking you in as a concubine if you still couldn’t let go of your love for him. If that tragedy had never happened… Eldakrad would still be alive today, ruling Ashtar instead of the current duke.”

“What…?”

“Until his dying breath, Eldakrad was worried about you. The reason he said he would kill you wasn’t out of hatred. He just didn’t want you to go down in history as a fallen saint.”

Maybe…

If I pretended to be Eldakrad’s reincarnation and made her submit…

That could be one way to handle this.

I had even considered it.

But using her like that would be difficult because of the existence of the Demon King.

She had strayed too far to be saved.

“Ah… Ugh… Sniff…”

It was time for her to wake up from this nightmare.

Enough already.

At the very least, she should do something useful before the end.

“Now, tell me. If you die, what happens to your power?”

“I’m not sure.”

What kind of vague answer was that?

“You were the greatest saint of Eldakrad’s era. You must know something.”

“The power transfers to the person who kills a Four Heavenly King.”

“So, they become another Four Heavenly King?”

That seemed to be the pattern for those who inherited such power.

“I don’t know for sure. But no one who gained this power has ever escaped the fate of the Four Heavenly Kings.”

“Do the Four Heavenly Kings obey the Demon King absolutely?”

“I do, and so does Clanis. Pector follows only when it benefits him. As for Seto… I have no idea what he’s thinking.”

“I see.”

In other words, Berna and Clanis were absolutely loyal.

Pector acted independently, following only when necessary.

Seto was an enigma.

That meant Pector could be negotiated with, depending on the situation.

That was why he hadn’t appeared this time.

I wasn’t sure why Seto hadn’t come, but Clanis always acted alone.

Now, only Clanis and Seto remained.

“Are you going to kill me? To take my power?”

“I’m curious about how it works, but I have no interest in becoming a Four Heavenly King.”

To be honest, if I could take it without consequence, I would.

I wanted to understand its mechanics.

Exploring magical knowledge was a natural pursuit for any mage.

***

“What should I call you? Would ‘Lady Ashtar’ be better?”

“Heh… Call me whatever you want.”

“Lady Ashtar, from the moment you used Pector’s power, you had already crossed the line. You ceased to be human.”

My body had already transcended normal limits when I merged with Ashtar’s mana.

At this point, words like that had no real effect on me.

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes. I don’t know what makes you special, but if you can freely wield Pector’s power, then mine should be no different.”

“Hmm… I see. Can the hero’s holy sword kill you?”

If the hero could kill her, that wouldn’t be a bad outcome.

But I was asking for a different reason.

“Unfortunately, the hero’s vessel isn’t strong enough to use the holy sword to slay a Four Heavenly King.”

So that was still an issue.

‘Would she have to be weakened like this for them to kill her?’

“Then do you have any idea why there are no records about the Demon King and the Four Heavenly Kings? Surely, you weren’t the only ones to ever exist.”

“I’m not sure. It seems like there were predecessors before us. Maybe Seto or someone else erased the records.”

Even the Four Heavenly Kings didn’t know…

That meant Seto was the real mastermind behind everything.

I had to capture Seto.

Only by taking him down would this endless cycle of Demon Kings and Four Heavenly Kings finally end.

“Do they always ensure there are four of you?”

If so, then the hero’s role would become meaningless.

Even if the hero used the holy sword to eliminate Berna’s power, Seto could simply appoint a new Four Heavenly King.

That meant killing Seto was the best course of action.

But he was excellent at escaping.

I couldn’t scour the entire continent looking for him.

Perhaps keeping Berna alive and letting her fill the vacant seat would be a better strategy.

After all, the Demon King was already dead.

***

“Is the Demon King truly dead?”

“Shouldn’t you know better than anyone?”

That was exactly the problem—I wasn’t sure.

“Do you know if the Demon King was ‘that’… that existence?”

“I don’t know. In my eyes, the Demon King was just the lord.”

Then that meant the Demon King wasn’t a single being but something that appeared differently to each person who looked upon it.

“If Seto was manipulating the Demon King from behind the scenes… Or if he was merely using the Demon King’s power to invade the kingdoms…”

“You’re still calling him ‘the Demon King’?”

“Regardless of everything, he was the one I followed.”

“Was it some kind of mental conditioning?”

“Are all the Four Heavenly Kings like this?”

“Pector also called him the Demon King, so maybe.”

She stared at me intently as she spoke.

“Do you know how the Four Heavenly Kings are created?”

“I don’t know the exact details. In my case, Seto placed me beside the Demon King. After I met him… I received his power.”

So, the process involved submitting to the Demon King and falling into corruption.

That meant my theory was correct.

I was now certain.

Perhaps the Demon King wasn’t a single entity but rather a higher-tier being capable of turning people into demons.

“You’re not very helpful.”

“Are you going to kill me?”

If the question was whether she would live or die…

This had already gone beyond the point of mercy.

Like the heroes in history, forgiving her in the name of justice was no longer an option.

Ashtar was already furious.

“You will be taken to Ashtar’s domain.”

“So, execution? I don’t mind.”

She didn’t resist at all.

“I didn’t expect you to be so accepting of it.”

“What do you mean, my lord? Following your will is only natural.”

Her attitude was strange again.

‘Was it because I was Eldakrad’s descendant?’

“I am not the lord.”

“Of course not. But you carry his blood. The blood of the Land of Ruin and Ashtar. And… I can feel the Demon King’s energy within you.”

“At this point, I don’t even know if you’re mocking me or being serious.”

“I don’t know either.”

She had lost her mind.

Eldakrad must have felt wronged when he passed his memories to me.

Because I carried Eldakrad’s memories and fragments of the Demon King’s power, this woman now saw me as her lord.

As expected of a saint—she had figured it all out.

This conversation wasn’t going anywhere.

In her mind, I had become Eldakrad himself, fully transformed into the Demon King.

Killing her could create risks.

If Seto replaced her with a new Four Heavenly King, things would become troublesome.

It might be better to let her live and fill the vacant seat herself.

***

“If I let you live, what will you do?”

“Hmm… The Demon King is dead, and you’ve thoroughly humiliated me. If you truly carry the lord’s will, then… I’ll follow you as much as you wish.”

‘She was offering herself to me.’

‘But I didn’t need that. What I wanted was Seto’s head—and the truth. Execution?’

That wouldn’t be a punishment.

If anything, it would be salvation.

She would merely be reunited with the man she loved.

That was too easy.

I couldn’t let her die that easily.

Hmm…

I had a good idea.