NOVEL NEXT Chapter 351 - Malika's Confession
Though the cloaked figure instinctively crossed his arms to shield himself from the strike, the force of the blow propelled him backward, causing his body to crash against a nearby rock.
Remarkably, he managed to regain his footing, tracing a path along the rough surface of the rock, absorbing the impact with surprising grace.
SCREECH
"Wh—L-Liege?!"
Clearly feeling the tremor in his hand, the man was poised to retaliate, but he abruptly halted when he saw the familiar figure before him.
His eyes narrowed as he took in the sight: a man in a black suit stood ominously, one hand clamped tightly around the neck of the woman, her legs flailing in desperation as he lifted her off the ground.
Although the man himself was almost hard to sense even with the naked eye, given his presence seemed to dilute in the atmosphere, the woman's cries made his presence disturbingly palpable.
"Kurgh!—L-Leave me!?" Malika pleaded, her body thrashing as she succumbed to a force far beyond her strength.
She felt her energy drain away in an instant, rendering her powerless to fight back as she looked up at the man gripping her neck.
"How are you alive?" Ryuk demanded, his voice laced with disbelief.
Although he had killed her himself, he now found himself doubting his own certainty.
She was undeniably the same woman he had encountered that day in Heindal Continent, and confirmation that her energy signature matched the data from his system only deepened his assurance.
The real questions swirled in his mind: How had she returned from the dead?
"Ugh—Wh-who are y-you?" Malika gasped, her neck strained as the very bones felt as though they might crack under the pressure.
The energy that had once surrounded her like a shield dissipated, her peak EPIC body crumbling like sand under a relentless storm.
His grip—no, his whole body—appeared like a solid object that didn't even budge no matter how much she tried.
Despite her situation, she fought back against the suffocating grip as her breath turned shallow.
'....' A deep silence filled the space as Ryuk narrowed his gaze, his senses scanning miles around him for any threat.
He was keenly aware of this woman's plight, and despite her outward appearance of recognition, it was as if she struggled to recall anything of their past encounters.
He pressed on, "Heindal Continent—do you remember anything?"
His voice was strong and authoritative, an attempt to ignite any flicker of memory that lay buried within her.
He hoped she might reveal the truth behind her bewildering resurrection.
"I—I don't know—Kurghh—?!" Malika wheezed, clearly overwhelmed by his strength.
Confusion clouded her thoughts; the name "Heindal" struck no chord.
All she could comprehend was that she had been placed here under the orders of her master, tasked with delivering a message to Idolse Rhea.
She had not anticipated encountering such formidable individuals in this place, especially without her advanced body; she, with the present one, was helpless.
The one thing that made her sure she would not be killed here was that these individuals were from the Devereaux family, and due to the bloodline drawback, she would at least be alive.
So, she just needed to wait until she could get a chance to send a message to her master.
Crack
Her neck snapped.
'.... Is she human?' Ryuk pondered, noting how her body seemed almost impervious to the damage he had inflicted.
The way her body endured the strangling grip was unlike that of any normal human; it indicated something more than met the eye.
The force behind his grip had just shattered her neckbone, yet she seemed not to notice it while struggling under his hold.
He recalled the artificial beings like Mayas, who had worked under Malika and were currently inside the Titanora while under the Grimoire's effect.
Considering how he had gained control over them at that time and gathered information regarding how Malika had really died that day, leaving them with no owner to have any affiliation with but now she suddenly appeared in front of him.
[Scanning...]
[No, she isn't human; her entire body is artificially constructed.]
'Is her memory tampered too?' Ryuk's thoughts raced as the system's information flashed in his mind.
The possibility that her memories had been altered seemed highly probable.
It was within the realm of possibility for this world's technology to create entities with fabricated memories, based on the real Malika—considering he had already seen more than enough of this until now to reach this conclusion.
[Indeed, it is detected that the cells of her body, including brain neurons, are artificially prepared.]
'Artificially?'
With no further insight into his doubts, Ryuk came to a conclusion: he was holding a counterfeit version of Malika in his grasp, one that she herself believed to be real.
Prompted by his emerging curiosity, he inquired, 'Is it possible to influence her neurons?'
Considering that she was not a real human but artificially prepared, given how anything that is made has definitely some flaws and considering the artificial factor here, most probably there would be many flaws which could be used to his advantage.
This prompted Ryuk to command the system.
[It is possible to take over her nervous system, but there is a defense mechanism that will trigger and destruct her.]
'In how much time exactly?' Hearing the system's information regarding how there was the possibility of controlling her brain and also the restriction prohibiting any outside intrusion, he wanted to know how much time it would take for her to self-destruct.
Naturally, he was confident that if it was a self-destruction based on a physical type, then his body would easily withstand it.
Unlike how it was the case for a matriarch to have a different kind of self-destruction, this time being physical, his body was far stronger to withstand it.
But before that, he wanted to know a few questions.
[It will trigger at exactly 8 minutes.]
'Take over her mind.' Without hesitation, he ordered the system to do the thing, as he understood that the time was enough for him to inquire.
[Initiating forced overwrite on nervous system.]
"AaaaRrrrGGgggHhhhh!!" Malika's body visibly trembled as she screamed her lungs out, the pain penetrating directly through her, every cell screaming as her eyes widened with her body trembling, legs flailing, and hands twisting in a clearly abnormal way. Find exclusive stories on empire
The whole body was losing control of itself.
"Tell me, why are you here?" Ryuk inquired, holding her neck in one place.
"Urgh—I was sent by Lady Angelica to meet Idolse Rhea....Khuchk!" she replied.
It was as if her mouth was uttering words on its own accord without her being able to control it.
Considering there was a burning sensation igniting from her heart, seemingly as if her body was trying to retaliate against the control that was overwhelming her body.
Yet, everything was futile.
'One of mother's sisters?' Ryuk, who had heard about his mother having two sisters in particular, was able to remember the name which was told to him by Wang; it was just a fleeting mention.
However, now hearing this name from Malika, it appeared that it was Angelica who had sent Malika and that man to the Heindal continent with malicious intent that day.
"Idolse Rhea? Who is she?" Ryuk inquired, hearing a foreign name that didn't typically appear among the natives of this place.