Chapter 208 : Interrogation (1)
“Hmm. I guess. As long as you’re not trying to poach her for your prostitution ring.” Vivian said as she folded her arms.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Zura replied as she took a position next to Agni and placed an arm across her shoulder. She offered a reassuring smile to Vivian as well, prompting the Doyenne to wave her hand as a sort of begrudging approval.

“Excellent!” Zura replied as she then turned her gaze towards Agni and winked.

“In that case, we’ll return shortly. Agni, let’s take a walk.” Zura said as she grabbed Agni by the hand and gently led her away.

“Oi. Where are you two going?” Shula asked.

“Our secret.” Zura replied as she waved towards both Katrin and Shula, pulling Agni through the crowd of people.

“Hmmph.” Shula grunted as she made to float upwards, however Katrin’s firm grasp on her tail sabotaged that plan.

“W-what are you doing?” She asked as Katrin easily pulled her downwards, firmly grasping Shula by her hand.

“You’ve gotten into enough today.” Katrin said sternly as she cut her eyes towards Shula. Apparently, even the goddess Katrin had her limits with hijinks.

“Meh. Fine.” Shula muttered as she folded her arms, resigning herself to continue the ‘tour’ along with everyone else.

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“So, where are we going?” Agni asked. She was currently being led by the hand through the crowd of people in the central square. Though there weren’t nearly as many folks gathered now as the first auction, one could still say it was pretty crowded in a sense.

“I like your outfit. It’s quite daring of you to wear something like that in public.” Zura replied as she continued to guide Agni.

*I thought we were going for a walk, this is more like a consensual kidnapping.* Agni thought, noting the fact that Zura deftly dodged her question. At least until they reached a nearby alleyway.

“Good. We have some privacy now.” Zura said as she finally released Agni’s hand and turned to face the Succubus. Indeed, their current position was several meters away from the nearest person, just outside of the Grenvale central square.

“Remember our talk the day you were...mm, visited by the Angellus?” Zura asked. Agni quickly recalled most of the talk, but due to the fact that she’d been drinking her memory was somewhat fuzzy.

“Sort of. What about it?” Agni asked.

“At the time I mentioned that there were some...unsavory rumors regarding the Memento Mori Chapel, and their leader as well. But, nothing substantial.”

“Right. I remember that. Has something changed?” Agni asked, her arms folding subconsciously as she spoke. Having just met Enzo Gaines, a certain seed of foreboding had taken root in the pit of her stomach. And the direction of this conversation only served to nurture it.

“No. There’s still no credible evidence that anything untoward is happening.” Zura replied, she was now busy undoing her hair. She allowed the length of her long, black hair to fall down past her shoulders. She looked relieved, Agni thought that this was the *price of beauty* she’d heard of so often.

“But, I found one of my old girls. Apparently now she’s a member of Memento Mori. And though I can’t get answers from her, maybe you can.” Zura continued as she then turned and motioned for Agni to follow her deeper into the alleyway and away from the festivities.

“Okay. Sure.” Agni responded. For some reason she was beginning to feel a bit of anxiety. It made her palms sweat as a sense of general unease filled the vermillion haired Succubus. She followed Zura for just a few meters more to a sight that seemed more like a reunion than an interrogation.

Ducked off, just a few meters away from the entrance of a side alley was a young woman surrounded by several of Zura’s chapel members. They all seemed rather busy, chatting with one another. Agni immediately picked up on the fact that several of the young women before her seemed nervous. This included the young woman Agni could only presume she would need to speak to.

This was evident by the young lady’s style of dress. Agni’s heart skipped a beat as she recognized the style of cheap hooded cloak which concealed the young woman’s features. It reminded her of the snatchers and their scuffle not far from her current location.

“This is Michelle.” Zura commented as she drew closer. This prompted the group of young women to turn and face both of them. Several of them wore worried expressions and some seemed genuinely dismayed. The hooded woman in the center clenched her palms, a sign that she too was apprehensive. To Agni it almost looked as if she was defying some sort of danger, simply for being present.

This was confirmed as she set eyes upon the succubus. Michelle’s heart skipped a beat, but in her head she’d already made up her mind to follow through.

“Michelle, this is Agni. She’s a good friend of mine.” Zura said as she stepped towards the pale skinned, blonde haired young woman and grasped her hands. Zura met the woman’s gaze and could feel her own heart sink. Zura had met many women in her line of work, and it was obvious to her eyes that this young lady was in some sort of distress.

She was also wise enough to know the power of invisible chains. Chains that others can’t see, the sort that are difficult to shrug off or escape. In her mind’s eye Zura could see such chains, living ones which entwined Michelle like the coils of a snake. Pulling her down, constricting her as they tugged from all directions.

They muffled her voice so that she could not speak, and constricted her heart to make her docile. To Zura this was apparent in the woman’s gaze, but even more so as she used her own skills as a Courtesan to probe the young lady’s emotions.

“I think she may be able to help you.” Zura continued as she then turned and nodded towards Agni. Agni stood a few meters away initially, allowing Zura to make first contact, before she stepped forward. She offered a smile, despite the growing anxiety in the pit of her own stomach and nodded.

“Hello. I’m Agni Heartfyre.” Agni said as the rest of the young women nervously gathered around the woman known as Michelle.

 

Chapter 209 : Interrogation (2)
Instead of replying, the young woman known as Michelle simply nodded her head. Though, Agni couldn’t help but notice her body language. The blond haired woman shivered, as if she was cold. Yet, Agni ruled that out immediately. The body of an adventurer was a rather wonderful thing. Minor heat and cold simply didn’t bother them. Even the wound Agni inflicted to enchant her Status Plate healed within seconds. Thus the young woman’s trauma had to be mental.

Zura, sensing a veil of apprehension falling over the small group, took the initiative.

“Michelle. I know you’ve told your friends that you left the Silken Petal of your own volition. But some of them are worried about you. That’s why they went through so much trouble to comb the crowd in search of you.” Zura began.

She tenderly placed her hands over Michelle’s once more, her gaze falling upon the young woman’s trembling bottom lip.

*She looks scared beyond measure. I wonder what happened to cause her to feel this way?* Agni thought inwardly. In a way she felt bad, but it also caused her resolve to improve. She would help in any way she could.

“I promise, we won’t keep you long or do anything that might...compromise your personal situation.” Zura said. She then looked towards a couple of the young women at Michelle’s side, prompting them to nod. Seconds later they had taken off, presumably to keep watch at the end of both alley way entrances.

Michelle nodded, taking in a deep breath as she did so as if she was preparing herself for something. After a few more breaths, it seemed she too had hardened her resolve. She nodded, signaling to Zura that she was now ready.

“Okay. First, I want to ask you a few questions without Agni’s help.” Zura said, her eyes locked with Michelle’s as she spoke.

“If you can answer honestly, please do so.” Zura commented. At the same time a faint veil of mana appeared across Zura’s body. This mana seeped into Michelle until she was covered in a magic that made her feel warmer, safer. The comfort allowed her to realize she was not alone despite a torrent of emotions.

The most prevalent sensation Zura could directly feel was apprehension, fear that bordered on absolute foreboding. Yet, deep within this overwhelming sensation was a faint glimmer of hope. Zura’s suspicions were now growing more concrete by the moment. She only needed proof of some type.

“Michelle. Are you happy with your life currently?” Zura thought it best to start with a simple question. One that she could nod or answer to concisely. Zura studied the young woman’s face as she prepared to answer, searching for the slightest indication of emotional conflict.

Michelle’s gaze seemed to fade, particularly the ‘light’ in her eyes as her mouth gaped. This left everyone watching in a state of anticipation for the answer. After a few seconds, Michelle seemed to abandon a verbal answer altogether. Instead she started to shake her head in disapproval. Yet, just when it seemed she might do so, the woman’s body froze and her eyes widened. It was as if she’d temporarily been paralyzed.

Zura could feel her chest tightening as she began to cycle through her list of prepared questions. If something so simple caused this reaction, she would need to try a different approach. Still, one thing was now certain--at least to her -- Michelle was definitely in some kind of trouble.

“It’s okay. Let’s move onto the next question.” Zura said, her grip upon Michelle’s hands tightening a bit.

“Is Memento Mori holding you against your will?” Zura was aware that her second question was a rapid escalation, but she was beginning to feel a nagging need. One that told her she should speed things along.

Zura held her breath and heightened her focus to the extreme. Her magic flowed throughout Michelle’s body, her goal was simple -- to better understand the discord between the young woman’s words and actions. She fully intended to have Michelle answer one way or the other this time.

As before, Michelle seemed like she wanted to speak -- but her voice was caught in her throat. The young woman’s eyes bulged slightly before a wincing expression overcame her. Then, as if she were in a hurry to work through the question altogether, Michelle fiercely shook her head in dismissal.

Yet Zura clearly sensed it, for the briefest of moments Michelle’s heart wavered and an overwhelming sense of despair mingled with disappointment.

“Agni. I think it’s your turn.” Zura said, her voice was still though her heart was now beating fiercely.

“Okay. Um.. what would you like me to command?”

Zura thought for a few moments, but no good command came to mind. This was partially because her own emotions were so riled and invested.

“I’ll allow you to choose the wording.” She replied, never taking her eyes off of Michelle.

The young woman glanced towards Agni, sending a heart pain in the process as their eyes met. Agni could recognize that expression anywhere. It was the look of someone severely distressed. Someone who was pleading internally for help.

Agni could feel her own heart beating fiercely at this point. The sound of it was like a drum, her adrenaline was washing over her in waves as the need to help the young woman standing before her reached its climax.

*What should I say?* Agni thought inwardly. To date she’d only used her ‘Whisper’ ability to issue simple commands. She tried to limit the complexity of the commands for one simple reason -- instinctually, she felt it best to do so. Thus, she’d only issued single word commands. Or had she? She thought back amongst her experiences using ‘Whisper’ and it suddenly dawned upon her. There had, indeed, been a few times where she used an entire sentence as a command. It was the time she murdered the dark skinned snatcher, the man known as Glint. The time when Katrin had given her life to fight off their attackers.

With this she knew it was possible, yet she also recalled something else from this experience.

*Compounding Interest.* Agni thought inwardly. For each time she repeated the same command, its effect seemed to grow even more compelling. She wondered if this worked the same for issuing multiple commands as well. By repeating each command multiple times, their effects should grow stronger as well.

The logic made sense, and the situation warranted an experiment. Agni could feel her eyes taking on a faint glow of lust energy as she activated her technique. She could only assume this was due to the extra power contained with her ‘lust meter’. This unlocked ability would also lend her succubus powers a further enhancement when used.

“Speak to me about your trauma.”
“Whatever chains, stigma or spells that bind you I release you.”
“You can speak freely, without consequence.”

These were the three sentences Agni chose to speak. She based them upon watching Michelle’s body language and her own observations on the young woman. She repeated them over and over, her eyes flashing with pink energy as she did so. As she did so Agni began to feel...something. She wasn’t entirely sure at first, it felt faint but a single thought popped into her head. Reverberation. Or, spoken another way -- sonar. The magical waves of sound which carried her command *felt* like they were not penetrating into Michelle.

In Agni’s mind, she visualized it vividly as colored sound waves bounced and rebounded off of the young woman. She also felt like it was still possible, regardless. Agni took several steps closer until she was close enough to reach out and touch Michelle. She continued repeating the commands and used her perception to sense things out. As she suspected, standing closer improved the effectiveness of ‘Whisper’. She also noticed one area that seemed more receptive to invasion than others.

Agni took the final step, leaning inward as she brought her face next to Michelle’s and began to ‘Whisper’ directly into her ear. She could *feel* the enchantments taking hold, one after another. It felt like a sense of pressure, an invisible crown which slowly began to tighten around Agni’s brow. With each repetition of the commands Agni could feel this imaginary crown growing tighter, more intense in pressure.

Yet, she could still feel a sense of resistance, there was a general sensation that Agni had grown accustomed to experiencing upon success. She had not yet received that sensation, the sense of being connected -- however temporary it may have been.

So she persisted, repeating the commands like a mantra, a prayer vigil led by a she-demon. She could feel her mana dipping now as her lust energy depleted itself entirely. She could feel the pressure on her crown growing to uncomfortable levels, still she persisted. She clasped Michelle by the shoulder, nearly pulling the woman into an embrace as Agni forced every other thought out of her mind. And then, as if a damn had broken, the sensation of success arrived. Like the shattering of glass, the wall was now broken and Agni staggered backwards as the consequences of her actions became clear.