NOVEL NEXT Chapter 89.1
There are things in this world that one shouldn’t mess with.
But what happens if you mess with him?
‘…Whatever happens, happens. It’s just death, right?’
Yeah. Ash should die.
She was supposed to die for sure…
‘Why is my head still attached?’
Ash’s frail body trembled. She couldn’t even lift her head in front of Isaac.
When Isaac said that he definitely needed her head, she thought she was going to die like this.
-You. Aren’t you the one who devoured the Blue apprentices 14 years ago?
-Yes?
Isaac said something unexpected.
Isaac’s magical eyes, as if peering into Ash’s thoughts, flickered mysteriously, like seeing a soul on fire.
-I’ve eaten one or two humans… but I’m not the one on the wanted list. The guy who devoured the priests as a group 14 years ago didn’t have a particularly strong smell of blood.
-T-That means…
-Well, that’s not important now. What’s important is that I need ‘evidence’ to take to the Papacy.
-!
-But you won’t be able to deceive the Papacy with someone incompetent like you.
Quick-witted Ash immediately shouted:
-W-Wait! There’s one more person!
And Ash willingly offered the demon’s head, guiding the way through teleportation.
Currently, Ash whined and one by one transferred the paladins because Isaac didn’t want to touch the dirty holy knights.
Ash was gulping under Isaac like an animal just waiting for judgment.
Her small head was sweating, unsure when the executioner’s sword would fall, and her sharp ears were pricked up, not missing a word of Isaac’s speech.
“I knew from the moment I saw you that you weren’t the culprit from 14 years ago.”
Ash felt her mouth dry up at those words.
“…Is it because I don’t smell like blood?”
“No.”
Isaac smiled disgustingly.
“You’re just too weak.”
“…!!”
“Even if it was 14 years ago, Lilai wouldn’t have been defeated and fallen without being able to catch you.”
He was already on the 7th rank at the age of 20. He must have already been at that level during his apprenticeship.
“Compared to that, you’re probably around the 6th rank, right?”
The number of apprentices captured at that time exceeded a whopping hundred.
“In the end, you haven’t been caught by the Blue and the Papacy’s search even after putting hundreds of people into your belly. That’s what it means.”
So there was no need to bring her along.
Anyway, if the Papacy and the Red Faith investigate, it will be revealed that she wasn’t the culprit.
“Still, I never expected you to bring the real culprit’s head.”
Isaac’s laughter sent shivers down Ash’s spine.
It couldn’t be helped.
Isaac just said he needed the neck of the demon to take to the Papacy. He never said to bring the head of the culprit.
And what does that mean?
“…Did you test me?”
Having realized everything, Ash closed her eyes tightly.
Sure enough, Isaac said this.
“Yeah. I wanted to see if you’re someone with a sharp mind.”
From the moment he said he needed the neck to bring to the Papacy and mentioned offering another demon, it meant he accurately understood that Ash comprehended the meaning.
But that alone wasn’t enough.
If she had brought the neck of her subordinate or an unrelated demon from around, would Isaac have killed Ash on the spot without even looking at her?
That means he doesn’t care what it takes to get his way.
In other words, this was the answer Isaac wanted.
“To bring the head of one of the real culprits from 14 years ago. You should be praised for that. So know that your life was saved thanks to you.”
If it weren’t for this, her head would have rolled.
Ash, as if realizing that running away from the beginning was impossible, closed her eyes tightly.
“From the beginning, you knew who the culprit from 14 years ago was…!”
Isaac laughed eerily.
“Yeah. One was a woman like you, and the other was a demon beast the woman carried around. Well, anyway, you passed. You have some usefulness.”
He was quite perceptive. Dealing with a demon and beheading the accomplice from 14 years ago in one stroke showed considerable skill.
Of course, even just bringing Ash’s head to the Papacy would be enough to gain recognition. The Papacy always wanted the heads of demons.
But why bother?
Bringing Ash, in the first place, would be a loss for him.
‘The Heretic Inquisitors can extract memories and information even from corpses.’
All captured demons are handed over to the Papacy for investigation.
If they are alive, they undergo interrogation under the
What does that mean?
[There’s a chance that the conversation with the Master might be relayed to the priests.]
‘Yeah, that’s right.’
Well, even if it was difficult to extract the memories of beasts because their way of thinking is different, wouldn’t it be convenient to offer humanoid demons with similar thought systems?
Would he reveal the fact that he is the Skeleton King to the priests?
Of course, if he erases the memories, that’s another matter…
[But you can’t manipulate memories well enough to fool high-ranking priests.]
Right, right.
Is that all?
If I bring something with traces of memory manipulation, it would be too suspicious.
Accumulating achievements can be done with someone else.
So, he said this:
“An anonymous informant has identified you as a demon from 14 years ago. Do you have any guesses?”