Chapter 456 456 – Crazy Cultist [2]
I took out all questionable magic items and potions used for interrogation, including [Believing Pill] and [Truth Potion]. I also added [Confusion Potion] and [Drunk Potion] to make her spill the bean that she hid deep within her consciousness.
To do that, I also had [Nightmare's Lamp] I used to interrogate the infiltrating assassin in the Royal Academy back then just in case I needed it. When I thought about it again, they probably were just Alexander Bluerose's guard or entourage.
This cell magic item worked like Beatrice's <Charm> or <Mind Control>. It put the person affected in a long-lasting dream that they were unable to escape.
What kind of dream they had, I wonder. It must be because they wanted to stay in the dream that they didn't even register that it wasn't real.
"Poor people," I muttered as I fed the various potions into the cultist's mouth. I also used <Heal>, <Cure>, and <Lift Curse> to try to stop her bleeding, but it was useless.
'What's happening?'
It was as if something hurt her again and again after I healed her. I was certain the wound was closed before it opened again.
'She has something in her body.' I guessed as I finished forcing her to drink all the potion. I threw all the bottles, and they shattered around the floor.
There should be no problem turning the magic item off right now. I used <Cure> on the lock, and the reaction happen immediately.
"AAAAaaAah!"
A beastly scream escaped the cultist's lips as her mouth opened wide, more than what a human was supposed to be able to. I kept healing her and let her scream as much as she wanted.
Her voice eventually died down as her throat was destroyed. Blood trickled down her mouth.
"What a mess," I commented and used <High Heal> to recover all the damage done to her body. "Don't worry. You're in a safe place." I continued with a soothing tone.
The scream stopped as soon as she heard my voice. Her hollow eyes looked at me without any hint of emotion.
"Am I…"
"You're home," I answered.
With the [Believing Pill] in action, all my words would appear to be the most absolute truth to her. I also gave her two doses, ignoring the side effects that would appear later.
Obviously, I only did this because I confirmed her to be Hell's Cult disciple from her title. They were people who wanted to bring hell to reality, so I would grant them no mercy. What they did was too much and would only cause chaos if I let them free.
'Lucy will be able to do this cleaner than me. But looking back at her interrogation with the Hell's Cult Instigator, it will take time. It definitely still continued as they haven't extracted where the Devil that turned Jonathan was hiding.'
"I am… home? Hell?" The cultist began to speak with a broken tone, much worse than Scylla.
By the way, she had returned to a scroll form and now rested in my inventory.
Still, home for this cultist was Hell, huh? Funny.
Even if I had never visited Hell, back in the game or even in this world, I knew Hell wasn't a place where a human could survive. Their bodies would mutate into something hideous, far worse than monsters, due to the curse from the Hell's atmosphere.
If I had to describe someone who longed for such things, then that description was enough.
'They are really madmen.'
Anyway, it looked like she was willing to talk with the combination of all the potions I fed her. The wound in her body was also gone. They didn't reappear since she stopped screaming.
"Indeed, my child."
I made my voice as high and mighty as possible as I looked down on her. It was to imitate high-ranking people from the Hell's Cult and add credibility to my words.
"I… am in Hell…? Did I finish my purpose?"
Slowly but surely, her speech returned as she looked up at me. She still couldn't recognize who I was and where she was. In her head, she was in Hell and not in this prison.
"You have done your duty splendidly," I said while extending my hand with my palm facing her. "Now, tell me what you did before you arrived here, my child. I shall listen to every blunder and the task given to you by people in the living world."
"Aah… AAAah!!" The cultist's face morphed into euphoria. Her lips curled up, similar to a crescent moon. "Gladly!"
The cultist told me everything I wanted to hear, starting from what they planned and why they summoned the Hell Gate and ran away after successfully completing their plan instead of approaching the party hall.
The information she gave me was surprising.
"I see. What a commendable effort. To think that you tried to turn the Capital City into Hell. That's indeed something really amazing, and you must be rewarded."
"Aaah, lord! I am happy enough to be in your presence. Please… Please just let me hear your voice. My lord… My God! Oh, God of Hell!"
'Alright, now I am confused.'
I thought she misunderstood me as Hell's Cult Instigator or high-ranking people in the cult. However, it seemed like she had made a mistake… Or rather, saw me as the God of Hell.
That was strange. It was as if…
'She had seen the God of Hell and heard his voice.'
As I said earlier, what the cultist saw was based on her imagination and memories. It was no more than a fake image pulled from the deepest part of her consciousness. That was the effect of [Confusion Potion].
'I didn't feed her any [Crazy Potion] or [Vial of Cloud Walking], which will make her hallucinate.]
That meant whoever she saw was real and something that she had seen before.
'This is truly troublesome.' I sighed inwardly and continued my interrogation.s
It was easier than I initially thought, thanks to her misunderstanding of my identity. The fatigue of being subjected to the cell's magic item and the potions I fed her attacked her soon after.
After I was done, I activated the cell again and locked her inside her subconscious. I walked down the hallway with no sound except my footsteps. It was empty and silent, reminding me of the last corridor I walked through before meeting a horde of monsters protecting Ghost Marionette.
While walking slowly, I summarized the information I got from an earlier interrogation.
First of all was their goal.
It seemed like this time, they wanted to spread chaos to sow the seed of distrust toward Queen Eve, who had just been crowned earlier in the day.
Hell Gate was supposed to spawn in a few locations at once, but only one managed to be summoned due to my and the Royal Guards' interference.
'It will really be a disaster if Hell Gate appeared in many places. Rather… I didn't know that it could do that. Did that mean monsters at Cerberus' rank are walking freely in Hell? No, that would be impossible. It was probably more like they would only open a small entrance and not the real Hell Gate itself.'
The fact they summoned the real Hell Gate was nothing sort of a coincidence because my lingering Mana was spread all over the castle, not to mention Cleric, Mafula, and even Tris. It accumulated and actually assisted in the activation of the Hell Gate summoning ritual.
Secondly, about Hell's Cult itself. Their organization seemed to originate more than a hundred years ago and became more active after rescuing some Vampires from the pit of lava on the western border.
They even helped those surviving Vampires to hide, and some even crossed to the Sin Kingdom and neutralized themselves on the other side where their Races were more accepted.
Hell's Cult scope of activity focused on gathering and planning on how to turn this world to Hell, their paradise.
'I can't understand crazy people's minds, after all.'
What was fun if Hell materialized in the real world? Only chaos and disorder remained, the opposite of my wish and dream.
Then the third piece of information was about Hell and God of Hell. No one actually knew God of Hell's name and only called him Lord.
Just… they believed the God of Hell would save everyone in the world from the Goddess' clutch and game. What a shitty thing to say.
'I can't agree this is only a game and fun for the Goddess. But without her, this world would crumble and get destroyed. Not even their beloved Hell would survive.'
Lastly, this information was the most important. It was not that important for the Virtue Kingdom but for me personally.
The cultist spoke about this in an excited tone, as if she was bragging about her achievement and pride.
"The Child of Hell will bring us salvation," I muttered the last sentence the cultist told me before she returned to her crazed state as the potions' effect was diminishing at a fast rate.
Knowing who the Child of Hell was, my steps froze in front of the door.
'Even when he's charmed, lost his memories, and can't even fight that well, that damn protagonist is still to steal the spotlight.
I clicked my tongue and knocked thrice to have the door opened by Cameron, who was standing outside.
"H-How is it, Your Holiness?" Cameron asked nervously due to the killing intent that leaked out of my body slightly after getting the information from the cultist. "Are you okay? Do you need some rest or medicine?"
"It's fine." I shook my head and refused his goodwill. "More importantly, please take me to where Sana and Ertha are. There is something urgent to talk with them about."
Archbishop Cameron nodded without asking much.
"Certainly. Please follow me."
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