"Answer my question. Has the Herman army allied with demons?"
"Eek—————!!"
Facing Duanmu Huai, the mustached man turned deathly pale, his entire body trembling. And just at that moment, a voice suddenly rang out.
"It's not really an alliance, you know. It's just mutual benefit."
"Hm?"
Duanmu Huai turned his head and looked forward, then saw a girl who had somehow appeared in front of him without his noticing. The girl was also very beautiful, but her hairstyle was somewhat strange, and her clothing was even stranger. Although her lower body was properly dressed in pants, her upper body only had sleeves and a collar. In other words...…what was even the point of wearing this outfit at all?
"L-Lady Sapphire!"
Seeing this blue-haired girl, the mustached man cried out as if he had found a savior. Duanmu Huai merely glanced at him, then applied a bit of force with his hand, snapping the mustached man's neck clean off. He casually tossed the corpse aside and turned his gaze toward the girl before him, who could easily be convicted of "indecent exposure."
"Who are you?"
"I am Sapphire, one of the three Apostles under Lord Aizel."
"Apostle...…"
Hearing her self-introduction, Duanmu Huai pondered for a moment and looked toward Kentou Kanami.
"If I remember correctly, the Demon King shares his blood to turn other beings into demons, and demons then share their blood to turn others into apostles, right?"
"That's correct...…"
"Very well, I understand."
Duanmu Huai nodded, then turned back to Sapphire and tightened his grip on the warhammer.
"Heretic, die!"
Because each world has different "settings," circumstances differ as well. But from the perspective of the Inquisition, it wasn't difficult for Duanmu Huai to understand this— the Demon King equaled a demon, therefore beings created by his blood were demon worshipers. By the same logic, apostles transformed by a demon's blood were also heretics who believed in demons!
The logic checks out. Killable!
She may be pretty, but does being pretty mean she doesn't deserve to die? What, does beauty decide justice now? This is a potential follower of the God of Desire—she must be purified.
"Die!"
With a flash of thought, Duanmu Huai roared, gripping the Thunder Warhammer as he smashed it toward Sapphire. Seeing him suddenly attack, Sapphire hurriedly raised her hands. Powerful magical energy rapidly gathered at her side and burst forth toward Duanmu Huai.
"Blue Destruction Beam!"
Along with Sapphire's cry, a surging torrent of azure magic roared out, blasting straight toward Duanmu Huai's massive body. However, faced with her attack, Duanmu Huai neither dodged nor evaded, instead charging straight into it. The next moment, Sapphire's magical beam struck Duanmu Huai—and then vanished without a trace.
"How could this—————!?"
Seeing this, Sapphire was completely shocked. Against an ordinary human, that attack would have been fatal. Yet this man neither dodged nor blocked, taking it head-on without suffering the slightest injury!
Impossible—could he also be a demon?
Sapphire could not understand what was happening at all. Logically speaking, only the Demon King and demons possessing invincible barriers could ignore her attacks. Yet this man carried neither the aura of a Demon King nor that of a demon. But he also didn't look like the legendary Hero. So what exactly was he?
"Ha!!"
Before Sapphire could think it through, Duanmu Huai roared and brought his hammer crashing down at her. Lacking an invincible barrier, Sapphire naturally didn't dare to tank Duanmu Huai's attack like Satella had. She hurriedly flashed to the side to dodge. Duanmu Huai's Thunder Warhammer grazed past her and slammed directly into the ground.
With an enormous boom, the next instant saw a shockwave erupt outward, surging like raging tides in all directions. Sapphire felt as if her body had been violently struck by something, and she screamed as she was blasted backward. But at that moment, Duanmu Huai extended his right hand, and Sapphire was abruptly pulled straight toward him, seized firmly in his grasp.
"Answer me. Why are you demons assisting Herman?"
"Uh...…ah...…"
With her neck gripped in Duanmu Huai's hand, Sapphire could barely breathe. She opened her mouth wide, staring at the man before her in terror. As an apostle, she had never felt such fear from any human before. His gaze seemed almost tangible, effortlessly shattering Sapphire's rationality and boring straight into her mind and spirit. An uncontrollable trembling flooded her body, making her shudder from head to toe.
That was the fear of death and annihilation. Never before had she felt the presence of death so clearly, as if beneath her feet lay a bottomless abyss of darkness. The moment this man loosened his grip, she would plunge into that abyss completely, her mind and body utterly destroyed!
"Answer me."
Duanmu Huai stared coldly at the girl before him, watching her struggle in agony. At the same time, he felt something strange within himself. He had used his aura of terror to crush others' spirits before, but this felt entirely different. Duanmu Huai could sense his fear power plunging into the girl's spiritual domain as if it were physical, breaking down her final resistance.
He could clearly feel the thoughts within her spiritual layer—resistance, struggle, pain, wailing— as though her mental world were being slowly crushed by his own hands.
Is this a problem with this world, or did my intimidation upgrade again and again and again?
No way, right??
"Ugh...…"
Sapphire's body was taut, her eyes wide, pupils unfocused and vacant. Her long legs trembled instinctively, struggling like a flopping fish. Physical pain was secondary—what she could not endure was the crushing fear pressure from the spiritual realm. As an apostle, she was supposed to be eternally loyal to her creator.
This was also part of the demon race's "settings." Demons who accepted the Demon King's blood would forever obey his commands. Likewise, apostles who accepted a demon's blood would be absolutely loyal to that demon. It was more of an instinctive response. Therefore, when faced with Duanmu Huai's question, Sapphire would naturally not answer. She could not betray her master, whether by instinct or conscious will.
However, things were different now.
Sapphire could feel that her sense of self had already been completely crushed by that terrifying fear pressure. Only her body—transformed into an apostle by demon blood—was still making its final resistance on instinct. But the fear had nearly filled her entire being, as if her limbs and body were about to be swallowed whole by a bottomless abyss, disappearing into endless darkness...…
"Uh...…ah...…ah...…"
Sapphire's body writhed uncontrollably. Her eyes were vacant, her body twitching, her small mouth slightly open as strange moans escaped her. Seeing this, Kentou Kanami turned her head away with a flushed face. Yue Huasha merely watched quietly, expressionless as always. Olgis, meanwhile, curiously observed the scene as if it were something novel.
"Talk? Or die!?"
Duanmu Huai spoke again. His voice, laced with terrifying intimidation, struck Sapphire's soul like a heavy hammer, completely shattering her final resistance. At that moment, Sapphire's will collapsed entirely!
"I—I don't know!"
At this instant, the biological instinct to survive finally broke through the shackles of demon blood. Sapphire opened her mouth and shouted. Her eyes wide with terror, she stared at Duanmu Huai and answered hurriedly.
"I don't know! I only acted under Lord Aizel's orders, assisting the Herman army!"
"Aizel?"
Hearing this unfamiliar name, Duanmu Huai frowned.
"How many demons are assisting Herman?"
"Th-three! Lord Satella, Lord Aizel, and Lord Nos!"
"Mm...…"
Duanmu Huai thought for a moment, then continued questioning.
"Why attack the Free City Zone?"
"I don't know! That was the Herman prince's order!"
"Is he the commander of this operation?"
"Yes, Barton Herman! He is the commander of the Kingdom of Herman!"
"Where is he now?"
"In the royal capital of Lisus..."
"What is the current situation of Princess Lia of Lisus?"
"I don't know. She should still be alive...…"
Duanmu Huai asked Sapphire several more questions, but unfortunately, as an apostle of a demon, she knew very little. As if sensing her fate, Sapphire began struggling violently.
"Don't kill me, please! I don't want to die! I can become your slave, please...…ugh...…ah...…help...…"
However, before she could finish speaking, Duanmu Huai suddenly tightened his grip. The next instant, Sapphire's eyes flew wide open, her mouth agape, her pink tongue protruding. Her body struggled desperately like a fish thrown onto land, her long legs tensing straight as she instinctively resisted the coming of death—then, in the next moment, Duanmu Huai's right hand easily snapped her neck, turning Sapphire into a corpse.
"Hmph. Heretic."
Looking at the girl's miserable corpse, Duanmu Huai snorted coldly. Black flames erupted from his hand, instantly engulfing the body, which vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.
Duanmu Huai then clapped his hands and returned to the Electromagnetic Rhino.
"Alright, let's continue forward."
(End of Chapter)