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Hildegard spoke.

“Lord, he’s dead!”

Conra followed with a shout.

“He’s completely drained of blood!”

To both Hildegard and Conra, the state of the strange man looked extremely serious. Though they didn’t say it, Esiocles, Maria, and the accompanying spirits, including the main spirit and the wandering spirits, all felt the same way.

No matter how you looked at it, he seemed either already dead or about to die any moment. Judging by how they had dragged him by the collar, it seemed they had intended to interrogate him, but perhaps Sophia had gone a bit too far with her methods?

Under the suspicious gazes of the group, Sophia snorted, let go of the collar, and dusted her hands off. The strange man’s body slumped lifelessly to the ground, and everyone’s eyes naturally followed.

Sophia, with a confident attitude, crossed her arms and explained that she had not overreacted.

“First of all, let me clarify, this man isn’t dead yet.”

“So, he’s just unconscious, still alive?”

“No? What are you talking about? Look at him. His breathing has stopped, and his heart isn’t beating. How does that look alive to you?”

Sophia’s shameless response left Conra speechless, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. As soon as he caught his breath, he shouted.

“He’s definitely dead!”

But Conra’s reaction was quickly shut down by Sophia’s words.

“Tsk tsk, equating ‘not alive’ with ‘dead’ so casually. Such binary thinking isn’t good. I never taught you to think so narrowly.”

In other words, she wasn’t entirely wrong. But from a common-sense perspective, Sophia’s words sounded like extreme sophistry.

Still, knowing Sophia’s personality, the group knew she wouldn’t spout nonsense. They pondered what she meant for a moment… until Hildegard, who, due to her affiliation with the Shrine Path, had the most exposure to theories about death and the afterlife, seemed to realize something.

“Is his body dead, but his soul hasn’t left yet?”

“Correct. To be precise, his soul is bound, and his spirit is trapped.”

When Hildegard guessed correctly, Sophia smiled and snapped her fingers.

“A human body is intertwined with spiritual and physical elements, and the spiritual elements are further divided into soul and spirit. When the body dies, the soul heads to the afterlife, and the spirit disperses, returning to nature. Until the soul leaves and the spirit disperses, even if the body dies, it can’t be said to be completely dead. Conversely, if the soul leaves and the spirit disperses, even if the body’s life force is strong, it’s hard to consider it alive.”

With that, Sophia grabbed the half-human, half-fish hooded man’s collar again.

“So, what I’ll do now is extract his soul and spirit for interrogation.”

Before her words even finished, she plunged her hand into the hooded man’s head without hesitation.

“Hmm, so that’s the Spirit Medium Surgery technique.”

Esiocles, witnessing Sophia’s Spirit Medium Surgery for the first time, watched with an intrigued expression.

Sophia’s white hand slid into the hooded man’s head as if dipping into water. After rummaging around for a moment, she seemed to find something, grabbed it, and pulled her hand out.

What came out with her hand was a faintly shimmering spirit entity. As Sophia held the squirming spirit in her grasp, the group, who had seen various spirits before but rarely the soul and spirit of a living person, looked on with curiosity.

“I’ll be torturing this guy for a while now.”

Holding the struggling spirit tightly, Sophia spoke. Moments later, a crackling bolt of lightning shot from her grasp.

{Kiii―――!!?!?}

Since ancient times, lightning was seen as a heavenly trial, a punishment from the skies for sinners, testing the resolve and fate of those who dared defy the heavens. With each flash of lightning, the half-human, half-fish spirit writhed in agony, screaming in pain.

“The advantage of torturing a soul is that, unlike a fragile body, it doesn’t break easily. It’s incredibly durable and has excellent recovery, so even if it’s damaged, it quickly heals.”

While the spirit suffered, Sophia calmly continued her explanation. The contrast between Sophia’s indifference and the spirit’s agonized thrashing was stark, enough to evoke pity in anyone who saw it.

“Tsk. If this guy were innocent, he wouldn’t be suffering like this. Just how much sin has he accumulated to writhe like this?”

The Five Thunder Seals carried the energy of heavenly punishment, so while they could mildly stimulate a good soul, they couldn’t cause pain. Given that, the spirit’s current state of near-death agony meant it was far from innocent.

Crackle, crackle—each sound made the spirit writhe as if it would collapse, but Sophia held it tightly, calmly sending bolts of lightning into it. How long did this go on?

“Hmm, that should be enough to break him.”

“Ah, are you done, Master?”

“Not sure. I’ll need to interrogate him first. What I’m about to do requires draining the spirit’s willpower to work.”

Answering Conra’s question, Sophia closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them. Simultaneously, her blue eyes turned golden.

“『Look at me.』”

Sophia’s voice, somewhat dreamlike, echoed as if layered. The spirit, which had been limp after the torture, suddenly raised its head and stared blankly into Sophia’s golden eyes.

“『From now on, I will ask you questions. You must listen and answer truthfully to the best of your knowledge.』”

Her voice ensnared, her gaze bound. The technique she was using now was a fusion of ancient Greek and Roman curses, an Eastern heretical technique called the Soul-Stealing Heart Control Art, and the charm spells of the spellcasting system.

She called it the Soul-Control Eye.

Soon, the spirit’s mouth opened, and the conspiracies of the Sphiyagon began to spill out.

+++++

“Wow, an alliance between the Demon Lord and the Sphiyagon King? That’s a big deal, isn’t it?”

Esiocles spoke with a surprised expression, and Hildegard nodded in agreement.

“Alliances between land and sea creatures aren’t uncommon, but an alliance between a Demon Lord and a Sphiyagon King is no small matter. Especially since the Sphiyagon’s territory is near the port of Bordeaux.”

The Dark Continent was structured as a quasi-feudal system led by seven Demon Kings and 72 Demon Lords.

At first glance, a Demon Lord might seem like a lower rank than a Demon King, but that wasn’t the case. The 72 Lordships represented the pinnacle of their respective demonic lineages.

Though their characteristics and directions varied, the 72 Lordships were fundamentally equal in rank, just below the Seven Great Demon Kings.

With near-omnipotent abilities and absolute dominance over their respective attributes, the Lords of the Dark Continent were formidable. Hildegard’s serious reaction was understandable.

“Could this be related to that guy from before?”

“That guy” referred to the Great Demon who had once declared war on Sophia and humanity over a matter involving Agnon.

But Sophia shook her head.

“He seems different. That guy was more of a spellcaster than a demon, and more of a seeker than a spellcaster.”

“Hmm, that’s true. If our guess is correct, this Demon Lord must be a swordsman.”

The methods of a spellcaster and a warrior were distinctly different. Spellcasters approached things with supernatural, creative, and theoretical methods, while warriors tended to be more practical and pragmatic.

From the interrogation, the Demon Lord’s actions seemed more akin to those of a seasoned general or a veteran warrior. Of course, it was too early to make definitive judgments, but in a time of escalating threats, every piece of information was valuable.

“So, they attacked the port of Bordeaux to steal the treasure, the Replica of the Royal Scepter of Changhae? I can’t believe the Sphiyagon would allow their precious treasure to fall into another faction’s hands, even if they’re allies.”

“That just shows how much they value their alliance with Bordeaux.”

Hildegard marveled at the interesting news, and Sophia responded in a similar tone.

The Royal Scepter of Changhae was originally a regalia that granted sovereignty over part of the western seas (the Atlantic Ocean). Generally, sea races secured dominance over their territories through regalia battles, creating multiple replicas to manage their maritime domains.

The replicas served as terminals connected to the original regalia, allowing limited control over sea currents and terrain in their respective areas.

The Royal Scepter of Changhae was the regalia of Albrus, a city-state and ally of Bordeaux. The replica in Bordeaux’s possession was a gift from Albrus as a sign of friendship.

“It seems Bordeaux’s recent rise as a key maritime trade route was thanks to that gift.”

Though most of its functions were sealed, the replica still retained its regalia terminal capabilities. Bordeaux had been using it to request favors in Albrus-controlled waters.

Given the unpredictable nature of maritime trade and the complex political landscape of the seas, such a treasure was invaluable.

If the Sphiyagon had succeeded in stealing it, it would have been a major disaster for both Albrus and Bordeaux, severely damaging their alliance and raising fears about what the Sphiyagon might do with it.

Fortunately, the scepter hadn’t been stolen. The Sphiyagon had targeted the wrong location.

“Regardless, we should report this to the council.”

Both the Bordeaux Church and the city’s council were directly involved in this matter. They had the right and duty to know what was happening.

As they made that decision, someone volunteered to help.

“If it’s about that issue, I can assist!”

The volunteer was none other than Cubertin, the port manager of Bordeaux, who had been saved by Hildegard during the Kraken’s rampage.

 

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