Ten minutes earlier, Bringer had entered the interrogation room, his brow furrowed at the sight of his battered subordinates.
"Bringer, have a seat. What's wrong? Are you scared?" Mo Wang taunted. "The future Chief Peacekeeper of New Eridu can't possibly be this timid, can he?"
Bringer's frown deepened. He couldn't figure out why this man was so calm and collected. The entire station was under his control, yet this man showed no fear.
Is he a madman, or does he have an ace up his sleeve?
"Hmph, you've got a silver tongue," he said, taking a seat.
"Oh, I'm not that good," Mo Wang replied. "I'm not a big fan of using my words to solve problems. It's just a way to keep myself from doing something... irrational. After all, you have a lot of interesting things in that head of yours. It would be a shame if I accidentally broke it."
"What the hell are you talking about?!" one of the black-clad officers roared, and they all raised their guns and aimed them at Mo Wang.
"I know who you are, Mo Wang," Bringer said, his voice a low growl. "The Proxy who's been working against us. You live in Sixth Street, you have a sister, and you're the legendary Phaethon. I have to say, you've got a lot of nerve, coming here alone and saying things like that. Do you really think I won't kill you?"
His aura flared, a palpable pressure filling the room.
But Mo Wang just laughed. "Yes, you people are quite terrifying. You've been planning this for years. The Progenitor, the Black Wall, you even dared to go after the Ethereal Hunters. Anyone else would probably be scared to death. But... why would you think that a bunch of trash like you could possibly threaten me?"
The air in the room turned frigid. The officers took a step back, and Bringer, who was directly facing Mo Wang, fell out of his chair.
"You! What do you know?!" he stammered, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
"Heh, don't be so nervous. I just learned it from the minds of the men you sent after me. But unfortunately, even their leader didn't know much. What I'm most interested in is what happened during the fall of the old capital. And I'm sure that you, a Peacekeeper, have a lot more information in that head of yours than the others."
A sudden realization dawned on Bringer. "You... you have the ability to read people's memories?!"
"Bingo. But unfortunately, there's no prize."
"A miscalculation," he muttered. No wonder so much of their information had been leaked. Someone was cheating!
"Kill him! Now!" he roared.
A hail of bullets erupted from their guns, but in the next instant, everything stopped. The bullets hung in the air, just half a meter from Mo Wang, as if they had hit an invisible wall.
"I told you," he said, tilting his head, a red glint in his eye. "The only reason I'm talking to you is to keep myself from going insane. But since you insist on doing things the hard way..."
What kind of monster had he brought into his station?
"Hmm, I suppose you're not going to let me read your mind willingly," he said, and with a flick of his wrist, the handcuffs shattered.
As he stood up, a terrifying pressure filled the room.
"Damn it!" Bringer scrambled to his feet and ran for the door.
But when he opened it, the familiar station was gone. In its place was a hellish landscape.
"Wh-what is this place?!"
The sky was a sickly color, the air thick with the stench of death. Green swamps bubbled, and twisted trees reached for the sky.
"Is this... a Hollow?! Impossible! A human can't create a Hollow on their own!"
"Welcome... to Paradise Lost. The realm of demons," Mo Wang said with a smile.
It wasn't a Hollow, or a Reality Marble. It was a card from Yu-Gi-Oh. A famous field spell.
"Monster!" was all Bringer could manage to say.
"Don't worry, I've prepared a few friends to play with you," he said, his voice laced with a cold fury.
In the multiverse, there was a saying: every Mo Wang was a madman. They had all lost their minds when their souls were shattered. Their normal appearances were just a facade. But when that facade was stripped away, they were the most terrifying beings in the world.
The shadows in Paradise Lost began to writhe and take shape. Seven-Armed Fiend, Battle Steer, Summoned Skull... a horde of demons emerged from the darkness.
In that moment, Mo Wang was a true demon king.
"D-don't come near me!" Bringer screamed, his voice filled with terror.
...
Meanwhile, outside the station, Mo Wang's harem had assembled.
"Thank you so much for coming, Knossos, Jane," Belle said to the mole-like Foxian and the Peacekeeper.
"No problem. The Boss is in trouble, and as a loyal customer, I have to help," Jane said with a smile.
(That's right. Our partner's business is our business. We've already confirmed that they're still inside.)
"Strange, why is it so quiet? Where is everyone?" Zhu Yuan asked, looking at the empty entrance.
"Maybe they're all on break?" Belle suggested. It was three in the morning, after all.
"Impossible. The station is manned 24/7."
"Don't tell me... Bringer has already taken Brother away?!" Belle's imagination ran wild. "Are they going to brainwash him and turn him into a villain, and then he'll have a life-or-death battle with me and die in my arms?!"
"Belle, now is not the time for movie plots," Astra said, rolling her eyes.
"Damn it! We have to go in!" Belle yelled, and was about to charge the door.
"I'll open it," Jane said, and produced a key.
The moment the door opened, a terrified scream echoed from within.
"Help! Help me!!!"
Several Peacekeepers stumbled out of the darkness, nearly knocking Jane over. They were followed by a flood of others, all of them looking as if they had lost their minds. They collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
A sense of foreboding filled the air.
What in the world had happened in there?