Chapter 40: Rodollan (2)
As Ronan saw Edwon and Cyril, his eyebrows narrowed. The grotesque sight was so terrible that, if shown to a hundred people, ninety-nine would either vomit or faint, except the leader would either vomit or faint.
Under the interrogator’s bird-beak mask, a mischievous voice flowed out.
“Have you had sweet dreams?”
The square room had no windows. All six sides of the space were made of plain white stone. The only source of light was a small lantern hanging from the center of the ceiling, casting a faint glow.
“Keuh… heeeuuk…!”
“Ow… aaahh…”
Edwon and Cyril were securely bound to iron chairs. Long, narrow tables were placed beside them at a distance of about ten steps, with each person sitting at their own table.
The three-tiered table was neatly arranged with tools specialized for interrogation or dissection. The interrogator, who had hidden his face behind a mask, approached Edwon slowly.
“Unfortunately, I’ve heard that there are still secrets left that you didn’t reveal.”
Edwon’s limbs were still severed. There were no longer tentacles growing from the four severed surfaces covered by black cloth.
Instead, tentacles were wriggling out of all the openings on his face except his mouth, squirming and writhing. As the interrogator grabbed one of the tentacles that emerged from Edwon’s eye sockets, a scream akin to bone-chilling agony erupted from Edwon’s mouth.
“Thanks to you, my esteemed guests, my dignity is at stake.”
“Ugh, uuugh!!”
Edwon struggled. The interrogator coiled the tentacle around his finger and spoke.
“This friend Edwon here learned dark magic.”
“Dark magic?”
“Yes. It’s a kind of magic that the Empire banned due to its cruel and dreadful nature.”
Unlike other branches of magic that are derived from elemental affinities, dark magic can be learned by anyone with the skill to back it up. Even Edwon’s ability to regenerate his body was a form of dark magic.
“The issue is that this old man also once studied dark magic.”
The interrogator chuckled sardonically and pinched another tentacle. Edwon, who was convulsing, opened his mouth with a trembling voice.
“Kkeuh…! S-s-stop, please! I’ve told you everything!”
“Hehe, I didn’t expect that you could change the direction of the tentacle growth.”
The interrogator explained that there was a pattern to each strand of the tentacle. There was no trace of Edwon’s former loyalty or ease in his plea, even using polite language.
The interrogator released the tentacle he was holding and asked kindly.
“Is that so? Have you told me everything?”
“Gkeuh… yeah! I’ve told you everything…! I’ve told you everything! The sect’s name is Nebula Clazier, and that woman is Cyril Lemation, an executive of the 8th Division! Everything we’ve done, I’ve told you everything…!”
“Then let me ask. What did you mean by ‘The Arrival of the Stars’?”
Upon hearing that, Edwon took a deep breath. A short but heavy silence descended.
Snap!
The interrogator waited precisely three seconds and then grabbed the tentacle protruding from Edwon’s face all at once. Then, he began to tear it apart indiscriminately.
“Kreuaaak! Aaaah! Heuaaak!”
“Damn it.”
Navirose clicked her tongue. The iron chair trembled as Edwon struggled, as if it was about to topple over.
With a sound like pulling out deeply rooted weeds, writhing tentacles burst forth. The interrogator tearing out the tentacles looked like a child unwrapping presents haphazardly.
“Kkeeeeh…”
Soon, the empty eye sockets were revealed. Underneath the chair where Edwon had screamed and fainted, various wriggling tendrils were moving.
“Edwon, you’re a disappointment. Haven’t you heard the old saying that friends should have no secrets among themselves?”
The interrogator, who had pulled out all the tentacles, turned his back. Cyril, who heard footsteps, cringed. Yellow urine was flowing down the legs of the chair she was sitting on.
“Cyril, you are my friend, right?”
“Please, please. Please kill me. I was wrong. I was wrong. I was wrong. I was wrong…”
Cyril’s limbs were only her left arm and right leg. The thick bandages, stained with vivid red marks, implied that she was no longer able to see the world.
The most noticeable thing was her ears, each reduced to less than half. The elongated ears, which could be called an elf’s characteristic, were cut into grotesque polygons.
The interrogator, who had been rummaging through the table, picked up a pruning shear commonly used in gardening. Holding one of Cyril’s ears between its blades, he looked at Ronan.
“Pain is quite remarkable, isn’t it?”
“Yes?”
“A while ago, I asked about Cyril’s age. She’s lived for two hundred and twenty-two years. Even an elf who has enjoyed a life four times longer than this old man’s can’t help but scream like a child in the face of unbearable agony. Even as she screams, begging for the right to give up her long life.”
As he spoke, the interrogator cut off a piece of Cyril’s ear with just a finger’s breadth. With a squelch, Cyril, who had sprung up like a fish freshly caught, let out a bone-chilling scream.
“Kyaaaah!”
“Now, Cyril, there’s not much of your ears left. What exactly is the Arrival of the Stars?”
Cyril only screamed in response, refusing to answer. The interrogator, with a low laugh, reached for a vial at the bottom of the table.
“Is that secret really so remarkable? Let me share a good news.”
He poured the liquid from the vial onto Cyril’s ear. Slowly, the wound where pus had formed began to heal. The interrogator spoke in a gentle voice.
“You can’t leave Rodolan until you’ve spilled all your secrets. Whether alive or dead.”
“Ah… aaaah!… Aaaah!”
Cyril’s desperate screams echoed. The interrogator turned back to Ronan and Navirose, shaking his head as if sympathizing with Cyril’s plight.
“This… seems like it will take a little more time. It seems that there are still hidden secrets, so would you like to go back for now? I will contact you later.”
“I see. What do you want to do, Ronan?”
Ronan didn’t answer. He was cross-referencing the conversation he had overheard between the two and the current situation.
– Unfortunately, I can’t answer that question.
– Please… please kill me!
It was strange. At first, he had thought they were just prying information out. But the fact that they were baring everything else and yet refusing to utter the words “Arrival of the Stars” bothered him.
Various possibilities raced through his mind. What if Edwon’s words were taken at face value? Rubbing his chin, Ronan muttered his deduction under his breath.
“Could it be… some kind of magic at play?”
“What?”
“No, it’s just odd. They’ve revealed everything else over the past two days, but they’re holding onto this one thing even though they’d rather die. It’s almost as if they physically can’t speak the words. Maybe there’s some sort of magic preventing them from saying it?”
A moment of silence hung in the air. Ronan scratched his head, feeling puzzled. No matter how you looked at it, the idea of such convenient magic seemed unlikely. Just then, the interrogator dropped the scissors he had been holding.
“…This is a blow to my pride, indeed.”
“Yes?”
“I suppose I was shocked by the fact that there are still secrets left. Well, that’s an excuse, to be honest. To think I failed to notice something so obvious… Would you mind waiting for a moment?”
With that, the room fell into silence once more. In the dim room, only Cyril’s sobbing echoed. Ronan chuckled wryly.
“You know, he really is a skilled interrogator.”
His actions and words conveyed a genuine love for his profession. Navirose , who had been holding her arms the whole time, looked at Ronan and asked:
“Aren’t you bothered by this at all?”
“Well, it’s a bit nauseating, but I can endure.”
Of course, there was no denying that the interrogator’s methods were horrifying. The current appearances of Cyril and Edwon were akin to sculptures carved with a hammer and chisel of malice and cruelty.
However, having been on the battlefield, Ronan had encountered even worse sights multiple times. Navirose , who had been staring at Ronan’s profile, shook her head as if amazed.
“…You really are an unusual student. Doesn’t that old interrogator feel repulsive to you?”
“Not at all. Someone has to do the dirty work.”
Strangely, Ronan actually felt a sense of respect for the old man. Perhaps it stemmed from a sense of camaraderie that came from his experience as a punitive soldier, where he had to take on the dirty tasks. A few minutes later, the door opened with urgent footsteps.
“Sorry for making you wait.”
“…What the hell… No, what the hell is that ugly thing?”
Ronan furrowed his brow. The returning interrogator’s hands held lumps the size of apples. In the middle of the fleshy lump, which looked like a tumor, was a large eye.
The unsettling way the pupils moved around in the golden eyes was repulsive. The interrogator held up the lump and spoke:
“It’s a monster that consumes curses, a Curse Eye.”
“A monster? Curses?”
“Yes. We use it to interrogate sinners silenced by various curses. The kind of magic you just mentioned… we categorize that kind of magic as curses.”
It was a monster he had never seen before. The interrogator approached Edwon with the Curse Eye. Tentacles that had regenerated without him noticing wriggled out of its ear and eye sockets.
The interrogator, bending Edwon’s head forward, placed the Curse Eye on the back of his head. There was a squelching sound as the eye of the Curse Eye attached itself like an octopus.
“Huuaaaak!”
“Relax. It’s to ease your mind. It’s currently removing the curse that has bound you.”
The eyelids of the Curse Eye trembled. Edwon’s constant moans flowed from his mouth. Ronan noticed that the color of the Curse Eye’s irises was gradually changing.
“Gluuug.”
Finally, the Curse Eye’s irises turned a deep blue. The interrogator, satisfied, grabbed Edwon’s chin and lifted it.
“Now, Edwon. I believe this will have broken down the emotional barrier between us.”
“Ugh… Huk, huk…”
“I’ll ask you again. What exactly is the Arrival of the Stars?”
A moment of silence passed. Just as the interrogator was about to use his tentacles to reach Edwon’s hand again, Edwon’s lips slowly opened.
“The day when the stars… arrive. It’s the day our order has dreamed of… the day of destiny…”
Ronan’s eyes widened. Cyril, upon hearing Edwon’s voice, quickly turned her head.
“Edwon, no!”
“Shut up.”
Wham!
Ronan punched Cyril’s stomach. She retched and doubled over. Edwon continued speaking.
“We are so weak… humans who can’t even live a hundred years, and elves who age with the mountains… in the end, everyone is racing toward a futile end… Our Nebula Clazier… under the eternal starlight… we are torches that have gathered…”
The word “starlight” came up again. Ronan sensed his breathing becoming rough. The interrogator and Navirose wore expressions of confusion, listening intently to his words.
“The Arrival of the Stars… a day of joyfully welcoming starlight pouring from beyond the sky… Our wish is… to prevent futile progress… and to keep the blade of inadequacy from being pointed at the stars.”
“You’re being verbose. Maybe it’s because I’m old, but it’s hard to understand. So, to summarize, something is coming down from the sky on that day?”
“That’s…”
Edwon closed his mouth again. An impatient Ronan stepped forward, passing the interrogator.
“Just a moment.”
“Ronan?”
Ronan took a deep breath. He leaned close to Edwon’s ear and spoke.
“Do you know the name ‘Ahayute’?”
For an instant, Edwon’s shoulders tensed. Slowly, he turned his head toward Ronan. A voice mixed with agitation came from his mouth.
“W-Where… did you hear that name… Ugh!”
At that moment, Edwon’s forehead began to swell. The expressions of the onlookers froze.
His head, suddenly expanded like a balloon on the verge of bursting, began to change.
‘Should I cut it off?’ Ronan’s hand moved toward the hilt of his sword. The interrogator grabbed Ronan’s shoulder and pulled him back.
“Step back.”
“Ughhh… Ughhh!”
The interrogator deployed a mana shield.
Bang!
Edwon’s inflating head exploded. Brain matter, bone fragments, and torn tentacles scattered in all directions.
However, thanks to the mana shield, none of the three people, including Ronan, and Cyril suffered any harm. The interrogator released the shield, and the chunks of flesh and liquid that had been hanging in the air fell with a thud.
A composed voice flowed from under the interrogator’s mask.
“Hmm. The curse was stronger than I thought. Perhaps there were a few more.”
“Damn, does this sort of thing happen often?”
“If you violate the prohibition, it’s not that hard to find cases where people die.”
It seemed that someone who spilled a side dish while eating rice would be more surprised. The interrogator looked at the headless corpse and continued speaking.
“But it’s surprising that the Curse Eye couldn’t absorb all the curses. It had starved for a year, which should have been enough… ”
The Curse Eye was a monster that consumed curses cast on others. The fact that, even after eating Edwon’s curses to the point of being full, the curse wasn’t lifted meant that the curse was either a powerful one that couldn’t be resolved by a single creature, or other curses were mixed in.
Ronan, who had been pondering over his words, spoke up.
“Not being able to reveal information about the Arrival of the Stars to anyone other than the organization’s members is the first part. The second curse is that if the curse is lifted and profound information is revealed, their head explodes. There might be a few more curses as well.”
“That’s certainly the most plausible inference. But… I’ve been feeling this for a while now, Ronan, you have the talent of an interrogator.”
Suddenly, the interrogator removed his mask. He extended his hand for a handshake and introduced himself to Ronan.
“Would you consider working for Rodolran in the future? My name is Karaka.”
“Hey, don’t ask him strange things.”
Navirose, who had been watching the scene, growled. Her fierce eyes beneath her thick eyebrows were intense. Karaka smiled confidently and stepped back.
“Please calm down, Grand Swordmaster. It was just an offer.”
“Thanks for the offer, Karaka. I’ll seriously consider it if my ears start eating away at me.”
Ronan grinned and shook hands with Karaka. It was a gesture of refusal, but Navirose didn’t seem satisfied with even that.
“By the way, it’s a shame to lose one. They’re harder to catch than most illusions…”
Karaka, who was observing Navirose ‘s reaction, skillfully changed the subject. The Curse Eye that had been attached to Edwon remained intact after the explosion.
Karaka lifted one of the remaining Curse Eyes in front of the two of them and said:
“If you look closely, it’s quite cute. Would you like to touch it?”
“I decline.”
“Uh, me too.”
Even if they were offered money, they had no desire to touch the object.
“Urolorok!”
At that moment, the Curse Eye that had been sitting obediently on Karaka’s palm suddenly lunged toward Ronan. Reacting instinctively to the unfolding red mat, Ronan grabbed his sword hilt.
“Oh, damn, that startled me!”
Lamancha drew a line in the air.
Thwack!
The split Curse Eye fell to the ground. Karaka’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.
“Ughh…”
Even after being split in half, the Curse Eye wriggled as if it were still alive. Remembering the remark about how rare they were, as rare as illusions, Ronan circled around and said:
“For God’s sake, don’t blame me. This little bastard lunged first.”
“Wha-what is this?”
Unexpectedly, Karaka grabbed Ronan’s right arm. Without waiting for Ronan to say anything, he brought the corpse of the Curse Eye to Ronan’s hand.
The fractured eye of the Curse Eye instantly turned blue.
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