This level of the greenhouse repurposed prisons is unlike the other. Each cell has embedded magic seals that reduce the noise created inside and removes any magic related to contacting people outside such as ‘Call Magic’ or ‘Telepathy Magic’. 

 

There’s no way every prisoner here would target the same person. They were apprehended at different times and most of Royal Evanslei’s extensive investigation found that they don’t have a connection to each other at all. Someone is definitely trying to frame a certain someone in the midst of attacking randomly. A well-crafted master plan that doesn’t need immediate action but rather cautious retaliation and protection of the target.

 

Princess Artesia walked further down the hallway and looked for a certain cell number. It was Prisoner 231, the cell of the bald thug who helped the Sabertooths rampage.

 

“You really have the guts to change 'those' crates into cages for sabertooths. Good thing that first ordeal was foolproof.”

 

Princess Artesia let out sensitive information regarding Evanslei operations because it was a failure. Evanslei Operations are done in utmost secrecy and made sure it blended with everyday living but it doesn't stop someone from being curious and accidentally stumble upon it. She believes that this man is the ringleader and it’s impossible for one man to swap those crates in one day even with magic.

 

The crates include parts of mechanical gas bombs and sealed tubes of sleeping gas that contain effect-enhancing magic and are supposed to test how it would fare against the guardians of magic anomalies. It is powerful enough to cover at least 500 meters and is capable of spreading to another when one is infected. A trump card if used incorrectly, everyone under Palladium rank will be left unconscious. A perfect choice to bring any kingdom into ruin. It's no longer a debate if Evanslei will produce one in the future.

 

“Just kill me already! I’m sick of this.”

 

The prisoner pleaded with his cries. His head is covered with a rugged cloth that prevents him from seeing anything, and tight chains are wrapped around him and are stretched to the cell's walls to make sure his head is still. He is covered in metal restraints from head to feet. The locks from his restraints contain seals to prevent him from casting any magic.

 

“Oh my. You also have the guts to demand... You want me to kill you? Don’t be ridiculous. That’s mercy. Who do you think you are?”

 

“You need information, right? I won’t lie! Those crates were sent to the Hemorkia Federation! I’m sure of it... Absolutely!!!”

 

Princess Artesia already knew those crates were sent to Hemorkia Federation beforehand from the previous prisoners and from the investigations to confirm it. She then made a hand gesture. 

 

The royal guard beside her walked towards the prisoner and removed his head restraint. Princess Artesia loved to do this to those who are deemed guilty. Their reactions and conversation exchange is such a lullaby to her ears. 

 

“You don’t have a choice in the first place. No matter if you lie or not... No matter what you accomplish in life. You’re not going to the afterlife. You will be fodder to revive our Palladium men. I think this is what you call ‘dying for your country.”

 

“That’s… Please, don’t do that!”

 

For pathetic men like him, it’s the least they can do. If they still have an inch of conscience, they would grab this second chance to redeem themselves. However, that is unlikely for this man who succumbed to madness. 

 

“You also have the guts to be selfish in this situation. If it weren’t for Horim clearing out those Sabertooths—Think of the civilian casualties.”

 

Princess Artesia tried to reason and see if this man is not like the others.

 

“Sorry. I’ve been bought.”

 

“Sorry? Don’t you have any conscience? How can you be so selfish and act sorry at the same time?...”

 

Upon hearing the prisoner’s response, Princess Artesia felt disappointed. Her expectations went to waste.

 

“...Explain everything!”

 

Shifted from a moment of silence, she couldn’t contain the disgust she’s been bearing the whole time and pointed her finger towards him angrily.

 

“It’s… It’s a redhead woman in a red cloak! She’s wearing a strange mask. Most good-for-nothing people like me depended on her. We call her the Little Red Passing Hood…”

 

The prisoner replied as he looked down slowly. He knew he would be verbally abused again. This would be stopped if he could’ve thought for information that others haven’t told yet.

 

“Hmph! Blaming someone when you have the choice to ignore it. As expected of losers like you… Continue.”

 

“She. She had a tragic story and yearns for revenge. Yes, revenge! Some believed her and some just laughed it off. If. If… If we help her we will be paid handsomely. “

 

“What is the reward?”

 

“Slave… Not just any ordinary slave. For people who were betrayed by society, life is too depressing and no woman dared to love us… It’s… It’s a demi-human straight from the Hemorkia Federation! Who can’t say no to that! They’re small and cute. Damn it! Their feline-girls are the best!”

 

With a glint of sparkling eyes, the prisoner grinded his teeth out of excitement. 

 

Before Princess Artesia could even reply, something made her mind perplexed. All prisoners do the grinding teeth out of excitement at some point in interrogations. Horim also does this and this mannerism is unique to vampires. Is the mastermind behind this is trying to frame the vampires to make sure their bloodline being questioned and ceases? That question never came to Princess Artesia’s mind since it’s too absurd to think about but it might be plausible judging from the coordinated attacks to assassinate the Four Great Heroes. 

 

“So you accepted a stranger’s request for a demi-human slave in exchange for hundreds of civilians… You won’t have to resort to this if you know how to love yourself in the first place. You truly have the guts to fulfill your lustful desires over these hard and challenging times.”

 

“Do you want to know what else is hard?”

 

The captive hinted as he drooled and imagined Princess Artesia’s naked body. You don’t have to know exactly what this man is thinking. It is certainly related to his fetishes.

 

Princess Artesia instantly knew she was being violated inside his mind. Her eyes squinted and slapped the prisoner with the shovel. Right after, the prisoner’s face swelled.

 

Some of the prisoner’s spit and blood made their way to the royal guard’s face but the royal guard paid no attention.

 

“Stop gawking, you trash!”

 

Princess Artesia shouted as the man’s face changed into droopy eyes and blushing red. He still keeps on drooling and eventually soaked his pants with saliva.

 

“Pl… Please hit me harder!”

 

“How filthy! Stop smiling! You disgusting vermin!”

 

Princess Artesia delivered consecutive kicks until every tooth the prisoner had fallen out.

 

“I’d rather spend my last moments treated like this by a young girl like you.”

 

Everything happened in an instant. Princess Artesia used her shovel to slice off the prisoner’s tongue. The shovel is not that sharp and this execution of skill shows that Princess Artesia could use swords with the highest proficiency and be a knight but she chose to be not.

 

The prisoner screamed in pain and made weird sounds as he tried to relieve the pain by trying to feel his leftover tongue but he couldn’t. His arms are devoid of energy and are bluish in color due to not having supplied enough blood.

 

“You’ll be next to the white room, insect!... No, that would be a compliment. You, worthless bacteria!”

 

Princess Artesia placed a photograph on the prisoner’s lap with the word ‘Before’ at its bottom left corner. It shows a picture of a man standing who is starved to death, skin shaped after his bones, lifeless and barely functional.

 

“You’ll end up like this. Be grateful. You’ll be remembered as a photograph.”

 

Princess Artesia flipped the photo and it shows ‘After’.

 

With just one look, no one would like to become this kind of creature. An absolute monstrosity kept in captivity and experimented on as if they’re guinea pigs.

 

“EEeek!!!”

 

Princess Artesia already left the cell before she could even hear the prisoner’s reaction.

 

[ Part I ]

 

Most of the prisoners said the same thing and even Mother knows about it. What’s the connection between the girl in the red cloak and the Hemorkia Federation? There’s no way the Federation would act on their own without the Holy Vecherienne Empire’s notice… The Federation is also our ally for centuries since we’re the main supplier of enchanted weapons for their military and they provide raw materials used for crafting that is rare to Evanslei.

 

Unbelievable. The Empire took the independence of Evanslei personally! But we haven’t done anything yet to those who belong to the Empire… What if the goal behind these attacks is to destroy the relationship between our allied countries further? Then, everything makes sense. However, who exactly is the girl in the red cloak we’ve been hunting for years? She can’t be related to Apocope or the summoning recently… 

 

That’s how it is! There’s a faction that wants to destroy us from inside-out! The Demons are out of the question since they could just brute force their way if they wanted absolute destruction of Evanslei… I suppose I need to check the noble house of Nevre-SenoApezat to see the current states of the countries around us. 

 

"Unless Evanslei is engaged in a secret war against itself ever since we accepted the Demon Ruler Candidate Gevanni’s deal... "

 

Before Princess Artesia realizes, it won’t take a couple more steps to ascend inside the peak of the primordial tree’s trunk. This place is only accessible from the second underground floor and is known as White Room since everything is dyed white. This room is not meant for visits and because of this, it was not designed magnificently and kept simple, unlike the Royal Evanslei Palace's aesthetics.

 

The monstrosity from the photograph is real and merely used as a scare tactic. This is what happens to the Cursed Grimoire User if the connection between the master and its grimoire is severed. It shows their absolute demonic form.

 

In front of Princess Artesia is a monster whose shoulders and knees were pierced by the most durable material in the world. Those poles stem from the ground up to the ceiling. 

 

The monster had pale skin, lacked eye sockets, overly muscular build filled with scars inflicted from the most Legendary Weapons, and possesses height that makes Princess Artesia look like a dwarf. Its overall shape share resemblance to arachnids and one might call this thing a ‘Human Spider’.

 

“One. One. One. One. Plus. Plus… One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One.  One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One.  One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One.  One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One.  One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One.  One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One.  One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One.  One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One. One.”

 

The monster scratched its fingernails to the walls and created a screeching sound. It has a long black beard as if it could be easily mistaken for a jungle at night.

 

“PLUS!!! PLUS!!! PLUS!!! PLUS!!! PLUS!!! PLUS!!! PLUS!!! PLUS!!! PLUS!!! PLUS!!! PLUS!!! PLUS!!!...”

 

With its rough and cracky voice, the monster made the scratching fiercely and made their fingernails bleed. The blood fell upside down and formed into a huge ball of blood. 

 

The monster’s arms were full of rows of human size legs and its palm had a mouth similar to the lamprey.

 

The ball of blood slowly hovered on top of the monster’s face and it popped out. It caught everything with its mouth and gurgled the blood before it burped and continued its rambling.

 

“Plus…  Plus... Plus... Plus... Plus... Plus... Plus... Plus... Plus... Plus…”

 

The monster slowly gains a calm-mannered personality. Even their voice is starting to become soft.

 

“One plus one… times zero… equals… Three corpses. And no bones left!”

 

One of the shackles broke and slammed Princess Artesia into mincemeat. 

 

A magic circle appeared out of nowhere and tore through the monster’s arm easily with its Legendary spear. It’s a built-in defense mechanism of the White Room. Princess Artesia did not even flinch. She’s exactly standing at the gaps between the monster’s fingers.

 

“Former Cursed Grimoire User… This is your last chance.” 

 

Princess Artesia noticed it’ll take a while for the monster to calm down and wait patiently.

 

“Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!!!”

 

Inhaling a deep breath, the monster tensed its body and let the loudest growl it could ever make.

 

It’s time for Princess Artesia to get serious. Having a conversation with a Cursed Grimoire User is no laughing matter. She unties her hair and lets it flow. Should the monster endanger her life again, she won’t hesitate to use her trump card.

 

“What are the qualities of Cursed Grimoire User and how do we find them?”

 

“Compulsive Lying. Power-hungry. Greedy. Unforgiving. Mentally Unstable. Self-Important. Emotionally Fragile. Amoral. Nihilistic. Desperate. Profligate. Envious…”

 

The monster croaked and let a horrifying squeak. 

 

“Continue.”

 

“Be careful of the one who mastered solace.”

 

“Does it have to be one or every quality must be present in order to be a master?”

 

“Everything… Everything.”

 

The monster smirked and played with its other deformed arm that is twice the length of the other by slamming around. The White Room's built-in mechanism couldn't contain that special arm and only restricts the range of its movements.

 

“Then how do they remain undetected if they possess everything?’

 

“Wits…”

 

The monster tilted and craked its neck before smiling.

 

“Tell me the nature of your magic and who is the representative behind your grimoire.”

 

“Saratir Asinon Nastradamus Afflixiel Sehelazepael Loramiliel Sethmalon…”

 

The monster hasn't moved a few millimeters. It's as if they became a living statue.

 

“What did you just spout?”

 

“Rambling from an old man.”

 

The monster chuckled as spikes behind its spine emerged.

 

“What did you do to me!?”

 

“Who knows. It wasn’t explained to me that well.” 

 

The Monster laughed as it chewed on its fingers until its barebones are left and only for it to regenerate again as if nothing happened.

 

A second after, the monster's beard floated around ominously and revealed what was hiding inside—It has an open stomach up to its chest, intestines that formed a huge eye, and rib cage transformed into a gigantic vertical maw.

 

The eye made of intestines blinked and glanced around the room.

 

“Time of Death, in six seconds... Cause of Death, crushed to demise... Place of Death, White Room…”

 

Princess Artesia prepared magic with all information necessary—such as imagining the time, the motion of death, and the exact coordinates of this place—for it to work perfectly.

 

In every resurrection, an equivalent exchange must be offered. However, if someone with the right skills managed to reverse the process behind this, what will happen? This cursed magic can override everything and anything. No matter if the being is a God or immortal. By what means, the cost of this is cutting ¼ of the caster’s remaining lifespan. When the caster dies, whoever first approached the corpse will instantly learn this forbidden magic and a portion of the previous caster’s memories. 

 

“It’s not over. We still have the rejected Masters… We will end everything.”

 

“What? Does that mean the rejected Masters are what causes the magic anomalies!?”

 

Streaks of lightning-sparked around the Monster. It caused jet-black blobs of unholy energy to appear and warped the place around it with its pulsing magic.

 

“They are magic anomalies themselves. A vessel for distorted power. Harbingers of salvation... The end is imminent.”

 

The monster revealed all the magic barriers accumulated in their lifetime. They were considered the strongest of the strongest and belong to lost magic arts due to it not being practiced anymore and are ancient. It is far more intricate than ordinary spells and complex to solve before negating it completely. If we were to compare a Great Hero who possesses the highest magic they could attain in their lives, they can only solve a barrier of this caliber for three years. 

 

Doing their very best to struggle at the end, the monster couldn’t keep up protecting itself. Despite being overpowered it couldn’t escape the absolute rule of cursed magic. Every barrier was shattered one by one in seconds and dropped to the floor as if they were glass.

 

“Remember this, little one. In every generation, an inveigler exists to be us.”

 

As soon as the monster spouted its last words, they were warped from inside-out. It formed into a huge lump of meat before exploding. 

 

It rained blood and turned the room into a sea of red. Its enormous amount is enough for Princess Artesia to float.

 

“I wasted my trump card... My lifespan is reduced just for this!?... Shit! I need to work on my anger issues. I still have a lot of questions… At this rate, I won’t reach Mother’s level.”

 

Most of the blood was swallowed by the room’s white walls and slowly turned as if nothing happened.

“I know my value as the core strategist of our military and as someone who revives. Because of that, the enemy is sure to break our formation and hunt me down first. If Mother doesn't find a use anymore to Apocope, I’ll be the one who will kill him!”

 

However, there’s a limit on how far the room can take blood. As such, pools of blood remained evident. Due to that event, Princess Artesia’s clothing that possesses self-repairing is broken due to surpassing its limit. Her blue dress is dyed in crimson. A perfect irony for being dubbed as the ‘Bloodless Torturess’. 

 

Princess Artesia stood there and lamented as the men of Jeanne and herself rushed into that room.