Chapter 122: Deception Operation Part 2

I headed alone to the underground prison of the Plant Knights.

Just in case, I stopped Syria from following me.

Here, I had to deal with the fake Fram on my own.

I had no intention of letting him live.

Quietly, alone. Without anyone noticing, I wanted to trample him as much as I pleased.

This time, rather than physical violence, I planned to use psychological attacks.

So, I had Syria stay behind to prevent any possible intrusion from Ryla.

***

“S-Saint!”

The half-demon scum shoved into the corner of the prison was trembling, probably remembering the beating he had received from me before.

“Yes. As you can see, I am the Saint.”

“Did you come to mock me?”

He would have to be worth mocking first.

I was too tired to waste my time on brainless idiots anymore.

But… I did want to go wild.

So, rather than just mocking him, I planned to crush his mind completely.

“There’s no reason to bother with someone like you. So, tell me, our oh-so-righteous and pathetic knight, why did you become an anti-imperialist?”

“The lord of the region where I lived destroyed my family, who were living peacefully! He used demons to take my mother, and my father… he died trying to get her back from that lord!”

Ah, that kind of situation happened from time to time.

There were corrupt lords everywhere.

Some would use their power to take women they found attractive.

Even back in the Hero’s Party, both Elana and Siriana had encountered foolish lords who tried to assault them, only to end up being beaten in return.

This guy must have harbored resentment against the nobility because of that.

And he must have taken his revenge.

“So, did you get your revenge?”

“Yes! I killed the lord! And I killed my mother too, since she could never become human again!”

‘Of course.’

‘If she couldn’t return to being human, there was only one possibility. Especially since she was a woman and the lord had targeted her.’

“Judging by your story, your mother was turned into a succubus. Likely the work of a lord colluding with them.”

“That’s right!”

‘If the lord went so far as to destroy a family, that meant his parents had resisted to the very end. So, the lord must have used force. And to make her completely his, he turned her into a succubus. In the end, it led to ruin.’

“Then that should have been the end of it. Why all this nonsense afterward?”

“I fight for a greater cause.”

A greater cause.

Right. A noble cause.

Men always say that.

They fight for justice.

For their country.

Yet not one of them truly accomplishes their goal.

In the end, they all end up like this fool in front of me, who won’t last long.

“No, this is ridiculous. Even questioning someone as thoughtless as you is a waste of time.”

But there was something I truly wanted to ask.

Something I absolutely had to confirm.

Crunch.

I stomped on his ankle again.

There was a limit to how much one could ignore another person.

“Gaaah!”

“For the sake of your so-called greater cause, did you really slaughter the innocent Fram family?”

Pathetic.

A fool who doesn’t even know whom he’s fighting for.

I’ve seen this happen before in the kingdom, and now it’s happening here too.

It infuriates me.

At least in the kingdom, I was restrained as part of the Hero’s Party.

Here, I can do as I please.

That’s the only difference.

“The nobles are all scum!”

“Let’s correct that. Did the Fram family take your mother?”

“!!”

“No, they didn’t. The Fram family didn’t take her.”

“Did they kill your father?”

“That… no. But nobles are all—”

“If all nobles were truly corrupt, this vast empire would have collapsed long ago, idiot.”

“No matter how advanced the empire is or how much magic supports its civilization, if its leaders were utterly depraved, the empire would have fractured.”

“To be honest, that’s how I see it.”

“Shut up!”

“Let me continue. The Fram family was a chivalrous knightly house known for protecting the common people under the Plant order.”

“!!”

‘Why is he so surprised? Did he really not know? At the very least, he should have researched the family he was going to kill.’

“Yet you, in your pursuit of a fleeting, delusional goal, slaughtered the innocent Fram family just to scream your childish grievances to the world.”

“Shut up! Shut up!”

I won’t stop.

No, I need to torment him more.

More and more.

After all, one must reap what they sow.

“Alright then, let me rephrase. Was the Fram family truly your enemy?”

“S-Silence…”

He’s stammering.

Even he can’t deny it anymore.

Pathetic.

“How is what you did any different from what corrupt nobles do?”

“!!”

Now, let’s break his mind completely.

Let’s strip away his shallow intelligence and see what lies beneath.

“I’ll ask again. Was the Fram family your enemy?”

“Did the Fram family ever wrong you?”

“Do you really believe your actions were just?”

He started shaking his head before banging it against the wall repeatedly.

“Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!”

Blood trickled down his forehead, but nothing changed.

I remained calm. Cold.

My voice devoid of emotion as I spoke to him.

“You can’t answer. Then let me ask you this.”

“What do you expect me to say?”

He continued to bang his head against the wall.

I didn’t stop him.

A fool doing foolish things—that’s all.

But he had already forsaken his humanity.

Smashing his head against the wall, trying to erase his guilt through pain—it was meaningless.

“If you still have any shred of conscience left, if you have even the slightest ability to think, then answer me.”

“Even if I was wrong, the nobles are still corrupt!”

This lunatic.

Still resisting to the bitter end.

‘Will I have to crack his skull open to get him to talk?’

“Who is behind you? Just the demons? If you speak properly, I might grant you a painless death. Let me ask again.”

He hesitated for a long time before finally nodding.

“Y-Yes. It was a demon. I don’t even know his name.”

“I don’t expect much from a pawn like you. But you must have at least felt something. If not, then you truly are an idiot.”

“Ugh…”

So he really was an idiot.

“Then what else are you planning? There must be more than just Plant. I doubt you’d stop here.”

‘If the Plant was really only targeting us, that’s strange. No, just the fact that they managed to infiltrate the Plant is impressive enough to raise their evaluation. But even so, it’s too sloppy. If they were targeting Atley and the students, at the very least, some high-ranking officers should have shown up.’

“I… I don’t know that much either. O-One thing I do know for sure is that they said they were targeting the Imperial Capital too!”

“The Imperial Capital?”

‘Targeting the Imperial Capital? What kind of madness is that?’

“There shouldn’t be any anti-imperialists around here strong enough to threaten the capital.”

“Y-Yeah. That’s why we have to do well.”

‘So they’re planning to attack the capital at the same time? Or were they planning to strike here first and then move on to the capital? No, that doesn’t make sense. If they’re anti-imperialists, they would already know the situation in the capital.’

‘And yet, they still plan to attack. That means they must be confident. Which means a simultaneous attack is the most likely scenario. To attack the capital, they must have the confidence, the strength—no, at the very least, a strategy to achieve their goal.’

‘In such a situation, the arrival of the Plant family would be an inconvenience. The Ashtar family, due to the new border reaching Crad Castle, has no reason to send troops to the capital. If the anti-imperialists are targeting the capital, then there’s only one answer.’

“The provincial nobles.”

This must be their final attempt.

The provincial nobles might be working with the anti-imperialists and the Magi to overthrow the capital.

“But they were utterly crushed.”

“I’ve said everything I needed to!”

“So what?”

“…Just kill me!”

‘Now he wants to die. Hah. He’s got a way with words.’

Tsk, tsk.

“Why did you even get involved in something like this?”

Still, seeing him beg for death because he can’t bring himself to end it himself… that’s kind of pathetic.

“Starting to feel guilty now?”

“Don’t ask any more questions. Just… let me rest.”

A guilt so deep that he wants to die.

Yeah, I get it.

“You want me to kill you?”

“Y-Yeah.”

‘If he wants to die, then he should be killed. But I’m not the one who’s going to do it.’

“I’m not the one who’s going to kill you.”

“What do you mean—?”

As if I’d let him die easily.

“Syria just happened to be looking for a new teddy bear.”

“A new teddy bear? What the hell does that mean? And who is Syria?”

“Syria is just Syria. Someone who loves teddy bears.”

“You know about Syria, the next Tower Master, right?”

“I know of her, but what does that have to do with anything—”

“Syria likes to use recycled materials to make teddy bears.”

“So much so that people even call her a teddy bear fanatic. Her materials? Demons, monsters… and of course, humans.”

“Y-You’re telling me… she uses people? That’s heresy! Only dark sorcerers do that!”

Funny words coming from someone who sided with the Magi.

“You seem confused. A corpse isn’t a person. Syria only uses dead bodies.”

“But still! There’s a line that shouldn’t be crossed!”

‘He’s incredibly stupid. If he knew what kind of state his own body was in, he wouldn’t be saying that.’

“Are you really in a position to talk, after siding with the Magi?”

“As long as no one finds out, it’s not heresy! Besides, you’re not even human anymore, not while you’re still alive.”

His face twisted and contorted, grotesque and deformed.

He’s halfway to becoming a Magus.

Whoever gave him that power must have just been using him as a disposable pawn.

“!!”

“Well, I’ll leave you to Syria.”

“You said you’d kill me painlessly!”

Ah, that’s right.

But I don’t feel like keeping that promise.

‘Why should I?’ Promises exist to be broken.

If anything, the fact that I wasted time dealing with a lowly rebel like him means I should be cutting him up right now.

So for his final moments, I’ll make sure he suffers as much as possible.

“I’m a noble of this country. Why would I ever make a deal with a filthy rebel like you? Especially when the Imperial Capital is at stake? Just talking to you disgusts me.”

“You damn noble—!”

“Sorry, but… who are you again?”

I don’t even know his name.

He doesn’t matter to me.

All that’s left is for Syria to do whatever she wants with him.

With that, I left the prison.

“Can I use him for a teddy bear?”

“Do as you like.”

As if I’d let him die peacefully.

“Perfect! This is an unexpected material.”

“Heh. Is this really fine with the Magic Tower?”

I only said that to make that guy despair, but technically, the Magic Tower prohibits acts of heresy.

“Legally speaking, there’s nothing wrong with it, right?”

“That’s true. Well, let’s deal with this trash and head to the capital.”

I don’t think the emperor will fall so easily, but the empire’s reputation is at stake.

“If an invasion actually happens and a battle breaks out— We have to be there.”

“The capital? We do need to go, but is it urgent?”

“Seems like there are idiots planning to attack the capital.”

“They must be insane.”

Even I think they’re insane.

Trying to pull off something that was bound to fail from the start.

They must have some kind of trump card.

Probably among the Magi.

But let me make one thing clear.

As long as I’m in this war, it’s useless.

The church’s nuns are here.

And so is Bernoa.

“I’ll teleport ahead. Leave the students with Ryan and Raileur, and let’s go.”

“Got it.”

Even if they have something up their sleeve, they need to know—

An absolute force is standing in their way.