Chapter 262

Chapter 58. Total Annihilation (2)

3.

Right after Ulan joined the party.

The group approached the collapsed Abyss Worshipper. They said they were just giving it a little tap, but that was just Ulan’s standard.

While they were anxiously examining the cultist, Delia let out a brief sigh.

“Fortunately, it seems to be breathing.”

Just after her words ended, the group let out a sigh of relief.

Among them, especially Ivella looked genuinely relieved. A moment later, she turned to Ulan and gently bowed her head.

“…I’m sorry, Ulan.”

“Where’s this coming from all of a sudden?”

“Because of my unnecessary request, we almost couldn’t capture the worshipper alive.”

Before confronting the Abyss Worshipper, Ivella had made a request.

She wanted to confront the Abyss Worshipper directly because she felt her combat experience against humans was lacking.

Ulan had happily agreed.

As Ivella’s combat experience increased, she would grow faster. So he thought this was nothing to worry about.

“It’s okay. In any case, it worked out well.”

“That’s true, but…”

“As long as the result is good, that’s all that matters.”

Wrapping up the conversation with a phrase Ivella often said in her past life, Ulan turned to Fertisha, who had been silent.

“Um, excuse me.”

She was crouched down, poking at the Abyss Worshipper’s body with a thin twig.

The body of the cultist showed no signs of movement.

Fertisha looked back at the group.

“What do we do now?”

“Well, obviously, we need to extract information.”

“How?”

Fertisha asked curiously.

It was Ulan who answered.

“You just hit them enough to not die, then heal them, and repeat. Most will comply.”

“Uh, that means…”

“You’re saying you intend to torture them?”

That’s right. Ulan grinned.

With the group looking a little awkward, Ulan gazed at the worshipper with cool eyes.

Torture was familiar to him.

In his past life, whenever he captured an Abyss Worshipper, he always extracted information through torture.

‘But…’

One thing was disappointing.

That was the absence of Laurea.

If she were here, they could heal quickly while speeding up the torture.

Ulan licked his lips.

‘At least I have Fertisha here.’

Of course, she wasn’t at Laurea’s level, but she did possess some healing abilities.

Having made that decision, Ulan reached for the nape of the Abyss Worshipper. He intended to move to the forest and start torturing right away.

Just then, an unexpected voice rang out.

“Leave the information extraction to me.”

The sorceress girl who had joined late.

It was Noa. Gathering her ragged breath, she spoke confidently.

“I can extract information cleanly in a short time without shedding blood.”

“You have a way to do that?”

“Yes, I developed a method recently, and I want to give it a try. Is that okay?”

There was no real reason to refuse.

Extracting information through torture would take a long time, and Noa claimed she could get it much faster.

“Okay. I leave it to you.”

“Thank you! Then let’s get started!”

With Noa’s spirited shout as a signal, Ulan’s party dragged the unconscious Abyss Worshipper back into the forest.

4.

Past midnight.

At Count Dermore’s mansion in the southern district of the imperial capital, a faint light leaked out.

The source of the light was the Count’s office.

D’muehl Ron Dermore, the owner of the mansion, was buried in work at his desk.

How much time had passed?

When the pile of paperwork on his desk had reduced to about half, suddenly someone knocked on the window from outside.

Tap, tap, tap!

The sound of a sharp object tapping against the glass.

Drawn by the strange sound, D’muehl’s gaze turned to the window. Soon, a seemingly ordinary crow reflected in his eyes.

“…”

The crow was staring at D’muehl as if asking him to open the door. So, D’muehl quickly got up and opened the window.

Flap!

The crow entered the office as if it had been waiting, soon enveloped in gray smoke. When the smoke cleared, an astonishing sight unfolded.

“It’s been a while, Count.”

The crow’s form had vanished, replaced by a woman.

She had deep blue hair resembling the night sky.

With ocean-like bright blue eyes, she appeared mysterious. Meanwhile, D’muehl, recognizing her, muttered.

“Estelle?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

Estelle Autra.

The apprentice of Regens Autra, who leads the Abyss Worshippers, and currently fulfilling the role of leader in place of her soon-to-retire master.

Like D’muehl, she also served Lord Rakus, the Lord of the Abyss.

“I came to report something.”

“What is it?”

“A tail we placed within the Academy’s Student Council has been discovered.”

Though it was a somewhat brief report, D’muehl didn’t bother to ask further. The information necessary to understand the situation was all there.

“What’s the chance our traces will be found?”

“None. They will most likely self-detonate by unleashing their magic power before being captured.”

That was a reasonable answer.

As D’muehl knew, the worshippers were mad wizards who did not hesitate to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the Abyss.

“Also, just in case, I’ve attached a curse that will cause their hearts to explode if they run out of magic or bleed beyond a certain amount.”

“You’re really thorough.”

“Better than being discovered.”

Estelle smiled brightly.

With that, the short report wrapped up. However, Estelle showed no signs of leaving the office.

As if her business wasn’t finished yet.

“Do you still have something to say?”

“Ah, yes! Excuse me, but may I ask if the great one is not in the mansion right now?”

“Yes, my lord is in the imperial castle.”

Rakus was not here.

He had been staying in the imperial castle for a few days, focusing on amplifying Chartang’s desires.

If Chartang’s desires were fulfilled, according to their contract, he would become the second apostle of Rakus. It would be as if the empire fell into his hands.

“So until my lord achieves his goal, keep watching the movements in the desert.”

“Yes, understood.”

“And let me know if there’s any significant news.”

D’muehl added briefly.

No sooner had he closed his mouth than Estelle spoke up again, as if she had just remembered something.

“Ah, it’s not about the desert, but I do have something special to report.”

“Speak.”

“The Sword guarding the Southern Front is leaving the territory and coming to Arsen Academy.”

This was a calmly stated report.

At this, D’muehl raised an eyebrow.

He was aware that there was only one person referred to as the Sword guarding the Southern Front.

‘…Istan El Deorg.’

Known as the Empire’s Master Swordsman.

He was one of the figures D’muehl had recently paid attention to. Because Istan had conducted background checks on him not too long ago.

Of course, it wasn’t information he acquired directly, but rather through Rakus’s minions. Still, he felt a twinge of discomfort knowing he was being investigated.

‘Perhaps he discovered some clues or traces of my contact with the Abyss Worshippers.’

Normally, upon discovering this information, he would have immediately dealt with Istan.

However, this time was different.

Because Rakus had given instructions.

‘He said the time isn’t right yet.’

Don’t touch Istan until the issues concerning the cultists in the Southern Desert are resolved. That was Rakus’s directive regarding Istan.

‘And besides…’

Even if D’muehl found clues suggesting he had contacted the Abyss Worshippers, there was little he could do.

Unlike Istan, who was guarding the outskirts, D’muehl was currently in a position that wouldn’t be out of place to be called one of Chartang’s trusted subordinates.

“Understood, I’ll keep that in mind.”

So even with Estelle’s report, he could maintain a facade of calmness. Just then, as their conversation came to a close, Estelle spoke up once more.

“Count?”

“Hmm?”

“May I ask one more question?”

She seemed particularly curious today.

D’muehl nodded.

“Sure, what’s on your mind?”

“I’m just curious why you’re going through all this trouble to deliver the Leaves of Draga to the Arsen Student Council.”

“That’s obvious…”

“Ah, I know you intend to use the Draga Leaves to make them puppets. But is that really worth it?”

The Arsen Academy’s Student Council.

They wield significant power and influence within the academy, but in Rakus’s plan, they were merely a group of students.

Could it truly be worth investing such resources and time? D’muehl readily nodded at Estelle’s question.

“Absolutely. My lord considers Arsen Academy to be quite important.”

“Is it because of the Heroes?”

“That is one reason, but the more crucial goal is to ensure there are individuals within the academy who can act as the hands and feet of my lord’s subordinates.”

He had already placed his eyes on them.

Specifically, Rakus’s minions.

What was next required were pawns who could move whenever the eyes desired. And the most suitable target for that was precisely the Student Council.

“The Student Council is a group that doesn’t attract the attention of the professors while also having a certain degree of power and authority.”

In other words, they would be ideal candidates for executing covert actions alongside Rakus’s minions. Thus, after taking control of the Student Council using the Leaves of Draga, he intended to use them as puppets.

“So don’t neglect securing the Leaves of Draga. Although we got our tail stepped on this time, there will surely be other opportunities to use it.”

“Yes, understood.”

Had her questions been resolved?

Estelle nodded readily.

“If there’s anything else you’re curious about…”

“No, I will take my leave now.”

With that, Estelle was once again enveloped in gray smoke. Then she transformed into a crow and disappeared, just as she had arrived at the office.

A short while later.

D’muehl’s office was once again engulfed in the still silence, only interrupted by the sound of paperwork shifting regularly.

5.

Meanwhile, at that moment.

Ulan’s group, having returned to the forest with the Abyss Worshipper, bound the cultist’s torso with a tough vine.

Then they looked back at Noa, signaling her that they were ready to start.

With everyone’s eyes on her, Noa took out a talisman from her pocket.

“The technique I’m going to use involves a spirit that devours the soul.”

The spirit that devours the soul would project the memories of the given soul into the crystal.

In other words, they could obtain the target’s remembered information without the hassle of torturing them.

“Hmm, the idea of devouring souls sounds a bit horrifying, but…”

“Still, the effect should be good.”

If the memories were projected visually, they would inherently contain no falsehood.

Delia silently nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Noa pulled out a large gem to accompany the talisman containing the spirit.

“Huh? But what’s that?”

“This is the Gem of Einar. It enhances the power of the spirit.”

During summer vacation, the gem was crafted from fragments collected while traveling around the capital with Ulan—a treasure, the Gem of Einar.

This gem not only empowered the spirit mentioned earlier but also had the ability to strengthen the powers of spirits, summoned beasts, and magical beings.

“This worshipper is a high-ranking mage. To devour the soul of such a strong opponent and project their memories, the spirit must also be strong.”

After revealing the reason why she had to use Einar’s gem, Noa immediately turned back.

Then she placed the talisman onto the body of the unconscious worshipper and said with a serious face.

“Let’s begin.”

The moment she injected magic power into the talisman,

the sealed spirit awakened. Then, like smoke, it merged with the body of the worshipper.

“Gah! Urrk! Grr!”

The worshipper emitted strange groans as his body thrashed about. After a while, the bizarre phenomenon ceased, and the once clouded crystal began to shine.

It was the process of the worshipper’s memories being projected.

At this moment, Ulan’s group squinted their eyes, watching through the flickering memories in hopes of finding clues.

Just then.

Ulan’s brow twitched.

“Wait, that guy is…”

His scarlet gaze fixed on a woman with deep blue hair that had just appeared in the crystal.

enveloped in a gray robe, she was soon engulfed in smoke and vanished as a crow.

Ulan’s reaction didn’t go unnoticed, and Ivella and Delia asked curiously.

“Do you recognize her?”

“Yeah. She’s unforgettable.”

Nodding, Ulan gritted his teeth.

With a gaze mixed with loathing.

Moreover, it wasn’t just Ulan who recognized the woman appearing in the crystal.

“…Estelle Autra.”

Noa’s eyes narrowed.

A moment later, she added a brief explanation for her comrades, who were unaware of Estelle’s existence.

“Estelle Autra is a powerful witch and the leader of the Abyss Worshippers.”

At the same time, she was a named character in the past when Noa had played as an Abyss Worshipper.

Once Noa finished her explanation, Ivella and Fertisha showed surprised expressions.

“What? The, the leader of the Abyss Worshippers?!”

“That means she’s extremely dangerous.”

“But, she doesn’t look that strong for a leader?”

In contrast, Delia saw right through Estelle’s level. Noa nodded, as if agreeing with that sentiment.

“Yeah, exactly. Right now, she’s probably only on the brink of becoming a Mage.”

However, in the future, after serving one of the Lords of the Abyss and being appointed as an apostle by the Lord, Estelle would transform into a powerful sorceress.

‘So in the original work, she was not only someone to eliminate after the Lord of the Abyss but also the one who must be taken out next.’

This time was no different.

If they could identify Estelle’s whereabouts, they would need to eliminate her as quickly as possible. That way, they could reduce future casualties.

A short while later.

Not long after Estelle’s appearance, a shocking scene unfolded that caught everyone’s attention.

“That’s…!”

Familiar scenery to Ulan and Noa.

It was Count Dermore’s mansion in the imperial capital. And in the basement of the mansion, a bizarre monster appeared alongside Estelle.

“A Rakus Minion!”

A huge eye floating in the air.

With the wailing Eye of the Abyss, the appearance of the minion under Rakus marked the sudden emergence of a large crack in the crystal.

Crack! Crash!

The crystal shattered into pieces.

However, the group did not panic. They had already gleaned all the essential information. Ulan muttered as he gazed at the broken crystal.

“…This has confirmed things.”

“Yes, we now have more reasons to head to Count Dermore’s mansion.”

Count Dermore is colluding with the Abyss Worshippers and even the Lord of the Abyss.

Faced with this ugly truth, Ulan’s eyes gleamed sharply. It was the gaze of a hunter who had just found its hiding prey.

---