Chapter 100 : Chapter 100

Chapter 100. Interrogation

After a great deal of effort from Fulan and Welinte, Una finally, truly understood that no matter how loudly she screamed in this area, no one was coming to save her.

Her eyes trembled as she looked at the two of them. Her lips had gone pale, and her throat felt dry and itchy.

“First question. How did you obtain the Divine Water?”

From the information they had gathered earlier, the two of them already knew that the locals referred to the dragonification potion as Divine Water. To save time, they simply used the same term.

Una’s face was full of fear, but deep down she kept telling herself that if she answered their questions, she might still have a chance to live. Forcing herself to speak, she replied, “Normally, during the monthly celebration, the Priest distributes it to those who have been given a quota.”

“How are those quotas decided?”

“Some are given to people who displayed bravery... and hunted ferocious monsters outside the city. Some are designated by the Priests as people chosen by God.”

“Do you know where that Divine Water is kept?”

“The Priests say it is inside the Divine Revelation Hall... Beyond that, I don’t know. We have no way of entering it.”

Fulan tilted her head and flashed Welinte a smug smile, as if to say, See? I told you my method would work.

Welinte helplessly turned her face away. She truly had not expected this method to be effective.

In most of the trials she had participated in, there were hardly any humans at all in the Spirit Realm. It was simply that her mind had not adjusted in time.

“Tell us what you know about the Priest here,” Fulan said. According to the mission briefing, it was a Priest of a god who had brought this miraculous water. Learning more about this Priest was clearly necessary.

“Which High Priest are you asking about?” Una asked in return.

That left both of them puzzled. Could there actually be more than one Priest? The mission briefing had never mentioned that.

Fulan quickly questioned her further and obtained the following information:

It turned out that after creating the Divine Water, that Priest felt that ruling the entire city alone was too difficult.

As a result, he elevated several outstanding individuals who had shown exceptional results after using the Divine Water and made them Priests.

Those Priests then took over the management of various less important affairs in his place. To distinguish him from the others in title, he changed his own title to High Priest.

Later, for reasons unknown, that High Priest selected two more among the Priests who were also permitted to bear the title of High Priest.

The other two were called High Priest Angmar and High Priest Rune. That original High Priest still referred to himself simply as the High Priest, while the other two used their original names combined with High Priest to distinguish them.

Una did not know what the High Priest’s actual name was. Ever since she had been born, everyone had simply called him the High Priest. As for those other two High Priests, they had only been elevated six years ago.

After hearing all of this, Fulan pondered for a moment before saying, “That is about enough information. Let’s go take a look at that so-called Divine Revelation Hall.”

“So soon? Shouldn’t we wait until nightfall?”

“There’s no need. Right now, those guards are outside the city searching for Spirit Realm Excursionists like us. If we go now, we might even find a gap in the enemy’s defenses.”

Welinte thought it over and ultimately agreed. She did not have any skills that absolutely required nighttime to use, and besides, Fulan’s reasoning made sense.

If the two of them launched a direct assault now, they might be able to catch the other side completely off guard.

“Oh, right!”

Just as they were about to reach the door, Fulan suddenly turned back and returned to Una’s side, startling her so badly that the breath she had only just managed to steady tightened again.

“I have one last question. Why is this place so dilapidated, and why aren’t there any guards patrolling here?”

Una found it strange that Fulan would ask such a thing, but after hesitating for a moment, she still answered.

“Because people like us are... are the ‘God-Punished.’ If we or our family members have done something that offends God, we are driven here and cannot return to where we originally lived.”

Fulan smiled, then said to Welinte, “Good. Then let’s set out.”

---

At the prison of Monsa City, several unfamiliar faces had arrived. They wore strange clothing, were covered in wounds, and nearly all of them had been brought in unconscious.

“Luca, has the Guard Squad captured all of those outsiders yet?” The speaker’s tone was commanding, with not the slightest hint of respect.

After throwing two Spirit Realm Excursionists into a cell, Luca frowned when he heard those words.

He turned around, looked at the newcomer, and said slowly, “Priest Thors... the Guard Squad has only captured some of the outsiders. At least half of them are still outside.”

Priest Thors was deeply dissatisfied with this result and said, “What has the Guard Squad been doing? This was High Priest Angmar’s order. Why have you failed to carry it out properly?”

“Priest Thors, mind your words. The Guard Squad was personally established by His Excellency the High Priest. We...” Luca replied.

What answered Luca was a sneer, followed by, “The High Priest... How many days has it been since you last saw the High Priest? And yet you are still dragging him out as a shield...”

Luca, however, neither humbled himself nor backed down. “The High Priest merely went with High Priest Rune to investigate the abnormalities in the surrounding area. They will return before long.”

“Before long!” Thors’s face spread into a smile. “It has already been nearly two weeks, and there has still been no sign of them. Even the search party sent out by High Priest Angmar failed to find them. You are probably the last person in Monsa still hoping those two will return.”

“I’m telling you, kneel on the ground right now and bray twice like one of the pack beasts outside. If you do, I might even put in a good word for you before the High Priest. But if you delay, then the High Priest...”

“That is enough, Thors. Wait until High Priest Angmar gives the order. I will be waiting for that day.”

Unable to endure it any longer, Luca finally clashed with Thors in words. He knew he should not have done so, but when the other man referred to Angmar by stripping away his name and simply calling him the High Priest, he found it unbearable.

“Hmph!” Thors turned and left. “Then continue with this task. The Guard Squad is no longer needed at the Divine Revelation Hall.”

“You?!!”

Luca had never imagined that the man would dare make such a decision. The Divine Revelation Hall was an extremely important place, and it was also one of the Guard Squad’s key defensive positions.

If the Guard Squad were completely driven out, it would undoubtedly mean that he had openly broken with Thors.

After that, he would face even greater pressure from others, all to force him to surrender his position.

“What if the Divine Revelation Hall is infiltrated by those outsiders?” Luca practically roared the words out.

At the same time, his heart turned cold. Those people were already fighting for power simply because the High Priest had gone missing for a short while.

“It doesn’t matter. With the strength those outsiders possess, I alone am enough to deal with them.” Even before coming here, he had already learned what sort of condition those outsiders were in.

They might be able to defeat ordinary guards, but when faced with Luca, they could only run.

And since he believed his own strength was no weaker than Luca’s, he naturally did not fear those intruders.