Chapter 74

The battle was over.

Senitansa, the demon who had half of his body shattered and even his regeneration sealed, was now effectively powerless, with all his abilities reduced to virtually zero.

With this weakened state, what to do with him was entirely up to me.

"Whether to finish him off completely with another strike or lock him away and keep him alive forever, the choice is mine."

"Kill me! I cannot bear the disgrace of a demon's pride being defiled by mere humans! I would rather choose death to avoid the humiliation of being at the mercy of the weakest of all beings, humans!"

The demon spouted a clichéd, dramatic line.

"Ugh!? I can't move!? You mean I can't even take my own life!?"

"Abinion, good work."

The divine spirit Abinion enveloped Senitansa with a mist-like ethereal form, completely immobilizing him. Not only could he not move a finger, but even the flow of magic within his body was halted.

As expected of the highest-ranking divine spirit on earth. To her, demons were nothing more than lowly creatures that could be handled at will.

"Without my permission, you can't even die. Why don't you accept your fate and speak clearly?"

"Wh-Why would a supreme divine spirit like you side with mere humans!?"

"I am not siding with them; I am their servant. There is an even greater ultimate being within humans, and I follow them. Didn't I say that already? Demons are truly lowly."

"Our kind, demons, are... not lowly!"

"If you say otherwise, why are you in this state? It's because you are weak, foolish, and lowly."

Abinion thoroughly toyed with the demon.

"Have you been sufficiently broken? It's time for me to get to the point."

"Senitansa, I have one request for you. I have a question I want to ask."

Why did you attack the headquarters of the Adventurers' Guild?

Why did you specifically target Soeides and Recolis?

"If you answer our questions, we won't cause you any more pain. I promise we won't kill you and will set you free."

"Such kindness, my lord. Are you serious? Handling demons will only bring harm to humans."

"You're right."

But in this case, he hasn't killed anyone yet.

The injuries to Soeides were a result of a fair duel.

"I feel guilty about destroying someone who hasn't killed anyone. If you answer our questions and swear never to harm anyone again, I might spare your life."

"What incredible kindness, my lord...! Your compassion is wasted on a mere demon! Cry, feel the tears of gratitude for your lord's compassion!"

Abinion forced the demon to shed tears of gratitude.

"You too."

I addressed the last demon, who hadn't even fought among the three.

"Kyaa!?"

A cowardly demon who trembled at the mere mention of me.

"I only killed the first one because he attacked me. I don't want to kill unnecessarily. If you don't harm anyone and run away, I'll let you go."

"Kyaaa!?"

Perhaps the easy defeat of the higher demon served as a good threat. The cowardly demon screamed, liquefied his body, and seeped into the floor, disappearing.

Is that his ability?

"Is that okay, my lord? I could easily capture a thousand or two more demons with my abilities."

"One is enough for questioning. This one seems more important and likely has useful information."

I turned to face Senitansa.

"I have a plan if you don't talk. I'd like to resolve this without leaving any hard feelings."

"Torture? Do you really think a mere human can torture a demon and make them talk?"

"Abinion, can you let your ectoplasm enter his mind?"

"Aaaaah!? What is this!? My body is being invaded from the inside!? It's disgusting! Disgusting!"

Abinion's ectoplasm entered through his nose, reaching his brain and wreaking havoc from the inside. The thought of being manipulated from the inside is horrifying.

"Ugh!? Ughhh!?"

"Do you want to talk now?"

"What are you saying? To think you would come up with and execute such a despicable method of torture, humans are even more cruel than demons!"

Huh?

No, Abinion acted on her own...

"Even so, I won't talk! Or rather, I can't talk! That ability was taken from my free will long ago! Too bad!"

"..."

What does he mean?

For a demon who is usually arrogant, this is an unusually self-deprecating statement.

"Hmph, I can guess..."

Abinion, who was also involved in the interrogation, said.

"No matter how they act, these demons are the lowest of the transcendent beings on earth. They are mere servants to those above them, venting their frustrations on those below them."

"Ughhh..."

The demon groaned at the pointed remark.

"In other words, these demons are always acting on the orders of higher transcendent beings. ...To be honest, I thought they were acting on Oceanes' orders."

"Eh?"

Oceanes?

The sea-controlling divine spirit we met in the Rubrum Kingdom?

Why is her name coming up now?

"Thanks to your efforts, I was able to rescue my beloved daughter, but the resentment over the kidnapping doesn't just disappear. I thought Oceanes might have released the demons to take revenge on the culprits."

Indeed, a mother's resentment over losing her child wouldn't easily fade.

It seemed like the kind of grudge that would linger.

"Oceanes would cause a massive flood if she acted herself, sweeping away innocent people. To pinpoint and kill only the responsible parties, using lowly demons was more appropriate."

"Lowly...!?"

The demon was hurt by the casual remark.

"So, was Oceanes behind this incident?"

"Actually, it seems different. Look, these demons were talking about killing everyone after their targets were eliminated, weren't they?"

Yes, that's true.

"If Oceanes had ordered them, that statement would be contradictory. She is merciful and would have instructed them not to harm anyone other than the targets, which is why I thought they were using non-lethal methods."

But that wasn't the case.

The demons captured the people of the Adventurers' Guild to prove they had killed Soeides and Recolis, not out of mercy.

"To kill the targets and then indiscriminately slaughter the rest doesn't seem like something the merciful Oceanes would allow."

"But in the Rubrum Kingdom, she tried to flood the city...?"

"When a mother's child is taken, she can act without regard for consequences. That's maternal instinct."

Maternal instinct...!?

"Thus, the one manipulating these demons is not Oceanes. Then who? ...Well, there is a likely suspect."

Abinion's continuous deductions dominated the atmosphere, turning the interrogation into a detective's monologue.

Senitansa, though not verbally rebutting, showed various reactions on his face. Observing these, it was as if his deepest secrets were being exposed, and he was still being interrogated.

"Using demons like dogs is a common tactic for them. Lower transcendent beings, above demons but below divine spirits."

"..."

"Demons, who gave you your orders?"

Demons.

I remember hearing about them somewhere.

The transcendent beings on earth can be broadly divided into three categories:

Demons.

Demons.

Divine spirits.

Demons are the weakest, and divine spirits are the strongest on earth.

In between, in the most awkward position, are the demons, who have been relatively unnoticed and thus not often mentioned.

"Demons?"

"They are pretentious beings who consider themselves gods. Despite their strength being far below that of divine spirits, they act as if they are all-knowing and all-powerful, trying to manipulate the world as they please."

Unlike the hedonistic divine spirits, they are quite methodical in their involvement in the world, aiming to achieve something.

"They treat demons like cattle, using them unilaterally. Was this incident also forced upon you by the demons?"

"Ugh, ughhh!"

Senitansa's groan was a silent but clear affirmation.

Their motive for attacking the Adventurers' Guild headquarters was not their own but an order from someone else. They had no autonomy in this act.

They were acting on the will of a higher, hidden entity.

Then, who were they...?

Why did they attack the Adventurers' Guild headquarters?

Why did they want to eliminate Soeides and Recolis?

As these questions came to mind, a dirty scream interrupted my thoughts.

"Ughhhhhhhh!"