Chapter 115: Breaking the Spirit - 2
Chapter 115: Breaking the Spirit - 2
After giving Yura her orders, Jiha headed for the detention cells next.
Koral, the leader of the imprisoned gnolls, sat there with a complicated expression.
"You look half-dead already."
"I heard many of my subordinates died..."
"But you're still alive, aren't you?"
Koral glanced at him, testing the waters.
"Does that mean you won't kill me?"
Koral had cooperated with Kamain in his crimes, and his future looked bleak.
He had come into the detention cell because it was better than dying at Kamain's hands right then...
Jiha held out his hand.
"Kamain is finished. Now hand it over."
"Is that true?"
Having been locked up, Koral didn't know what had happened the previous night.
Currently, in the Blue Seal barracks, only a few like Uben and Mayan had grasped the fact that Kamain had fallen.
Jiha gave him a brief account of the night's events.
Koral stared at Jiha, a mixture of shock and disbelief on his face.
"...You personally beat Kamain senseless and finished him? Is that for real?"
"You don't believe me? Want me to let you experience it firsthand?"
"No, that's not... Still, Kamain was a truly terrifying bastard, how... And I heard there was a Unique there too? Why did you do it personally?"
Jiha answered him shortly.
The reason he'd taken Kamain down himself.
"You can't let people tie up their own loose ends."
"What do you mean by..."
"Dealing with your own subordinates personally. That would end things too cleanly."
The reason Jiha had personally handled Kamain was to create a crack in Asira's heart.
A deep shadow had been cast over her righteous and noble spirit.
And he'd also wanted to gauge his current combat ability.
Jiha had almost never revealed the full extent of his combat power. He had always finished off his enemies by combining the situation with his skills, steering things to a one-sided advantage.
But there was no guarantee he could keep doing that forever.
Just as Kamain had suddenly picked a fight, he would inevitably encounter unforeseen situations again in the future.
He wanted to gauge, for that moment, just how well he could fare in a proper fight.
'Even if I had found myself in a dangerous situation last night, Mayan or Asira wouldn't have just stood by and watched. It was a practice game with a safety net in place.'
To Kamain, it was a downfall where he lost everything, but to Jiha, it was merely a procedure to test his abilities.
'Still, putting Asira aside, I'm a bit uneasy about showing my abilities to Mayan. In the end, I'll probably have to shut her mouth somehow...'
As Jiha was mulling this over again, Koral sighed.
"You... are a genuinely terrifying person. I must have been insane. To even think of challenging someone like you."
"Then you know your place. Hurry up and hand it over."
Koral's eyes darted around slyly.
"What do you mean by th—... Khack!"
Koral's body inside the cell floated into the air and was then slammed onto the floor.
Jiha had used the Shadow Hand he'd extended into the cell to lift Koral up and then smash him down.
"Is something going on?"
A Normal Grade guard in the distance started to approach, but Koral hastily spoke up.
"N-No, nothing. I just slipped!"
After waving the guard off, Koral looked at Jiha with terrified eyes.
Jiha pointed it out, his expression as if nothing had happened.
"I thought it was strange from the moment you tried to kill me in the barracks. Just looking at the power dynamics, you should have been groveling before Kamain, a Super Rare Grade, yet you acted on your own. You had faith Kamain really couldn't kill you easily."
"..."
"Kamain tried hard not to leave any loose ends, but you were scheming in your own way. The insurance that kept Kamain from just killing you outright. Now I'll be collecting that insurance payout."
A final card he'd kept hidden even as his subordinates were dying.
Having been caught by Jiha, Koral hung his head in despair.
Yet his mouth kept moving even so.
"...Isn't this prisoner assault?"
"You're still just a material witness for now."
"...Isn't that even worse, then? It's assault on a law-abiding civilian."
Jiha chuckled.
"Assault, assault... You know assault can accidentally turn into murder, right?"
"...I get what you're implying."
Giving up on playing innocent, Koral sighed.
"Why do you need that now? Isn't Kamain finished?"
What Jiha was demanding was the evidence of Kamain's crimes that Koral had hidden away.
"Does the reason matter?"
"...Please spare me."
Koral begged pitifully.
Jiha nodded.
"Weren't you holding onto it without handing it over precisely to make a deal?"
"..."
Not knowing who would win between Kamain and Jiha, he'd planned to watch from a safe place and then side with the victor.
That was what Koral had been thinking when he entered the detention cell.
If Kamain had won, he would have made a deal using the crime evidence he held.
If Kamain had lost, he would have made a deal to be set free in exchange for handing the evidence to Asira or someone else.
Jiha summed it up.
"So I came here to make a deal. Hurry up and hand it over."
"...What will you do for me if I hand it over?"
"Not kill you right now."
"...Aren't you being a bit too much of a thug?"
"Then should I kill you right now?"
Koral let out a deep sigh.
"If you go to the address I'm about to give you, you'll find it. But before that... you have to let me go."
"You still don't get it."
Jiha shook his head.
"You can't get out now. You're Kamain's accomplice, and Asira has already discovered what Kamain really is. If Asira puts Kamain before a tribunal, you'll have to stand trial as an accomplice and witness."
"What are you talking about? Won't this matter be quietly buried and dealt with?"
"Would a knight be called righteous and fair for nothing? She'll probably try to put even her own subordinate before a tribunal."
Koral's face went pale.
He had assumed this whole affair would be buried in the dark after some negotiations.
He had calculated that he could then use the evidence as a bargaining chip and win his freedom.
"...No, this would be an enormous scandal. Just from what I know alone, Kamain has killed over ten Rare Grades and raped more than thirty women. Not all the women were Normals, some were Rares, and he killed many women afterward too. Cheonho would go berserk with rage, you know?"
"It was all possible thanks to your diligent support. You're guaranteed the death penalty."
Koral couldn't believe it even as he spoke.
"Above all else, they'll have to reinvestigate the incident where Asira's former Super Rare, Pairan, defected from the faction. Do you know how far this mess could spread? A Legend could use this as a pretext to remove a demon knight from her Unique position!"
"Yeah, a disaster on this scale could cost even a battalion commander their uniform."
Jiha agreed.
That was why he had warned Asira as she healed Kamain.
If she had turned a blind eye without healing him, Asira herself wouldn't have gotten dragged into this.
Of course, Jiha would still have seized on it as a weakness... but still, with Kamain surviving, there was absolutely nothing good in it for Asira herself either.
"No, maybe she was just speaking off the cuff, right? She'll cover it up, won't she? Surely she wouldn't make this public when her own life could be ruined?"
Anxious, Koral started spouting optimistic hopes.
If this went public, it would be a massive case dragging in even Asira, a Unique. Koral's life was already as good as forfeit.
Jiha waved his hand dismissively.
"That all depends on what I do from now on. So spill it, quickly."
"...Haaah."
Koral now had no choice but to cling to Jiha.
If he wanted to live.
After giving Uben the location Koral mentioned, Jiha headed for the guest room.
It was meant for receiving visitors to the barracks, but Asira was currently using it as an office.
As he entered without knocking, Asira and Yura, who had been sitting across from each other talking, turned to look at him.
"Ah... you're here."
Asira greeted him with a smile.
"What did Enril say?"
"I haven't told her yet."
Asira seemed to think he would tell Enril about the Kamain situation.
But Jiha was keeping it buried for now.
When Jiha promptly sat down next to Yura, Asira frowned.
"Not there, sit over here."
Asira pointed to a chair beside the table.
Even in the midst of her gloom, her expression said she really didn't like a man sitting next to Yura.
"No, I like the sofa. I love the sofa. I hate the chair."
"..."
"Um, Asira... I'm fine with it."
As Yura mediated, Asira sighed and nodded.
Asira changed the subject.
"The skill you showed last night, subduing Kamain. It was incredibly impressive. If I report it, Lady Cheonho will bestow a great reward, so look forward to it."
"..."
Jiha gave Asira a crooked look, then glanced at Yura.
Her eyes were clearly worried about Jiha.
But Yura didn't seem to have realized what Asira's current statement implied.
"So you're going to make the Kamain issue public?"
"I must."
Asira nodded firmly.
"It is certain that my subordinate committed evil deeds behind my back, so I must interrogate him and uncover his remaining crimes. I must comfort those who were unjustly killed in the meantime, and restore the honor of those who were pushed aside, even if it is late now. It is far too late, but I must still do it."
"And who takes responsibility?"
"Ah..."
Yura realized it belatedly, and her face turned pale.
"Asira, no. If you do that, everyone will hold you responsible..."
"The mistakes of those below must be taken as the responsibility of those above. I told you that's why we are in the high positions, Yura."
After sternly admonishing Yura, Asira gave a smile like a spring breeze.
"Don't make me lose face after I've already made up my mind."
"But..."
"If a scandal of this magnitude breaks, you clearly won't come through unscathed either. And you still intend to go through with it?"
Even when Jiha asked again, Asira nodded at once.
"If I bury it, calling it my fault, how can I speak of righteousness? Because it is my fault, it must be brought to light all the more. It is only right that I take responsibility, as it was my own dim vision and failure to judge people properly that caused many to bleed and suffer."
"Well, a round of applause."
When Jiha lightly clapped his hands, Asira frowned.
"Did you come here to mock me?"
"I'm doing this because I'm just so dumbfounded right now. I actually came here on other business."
Jiha tossed the words out bluntly.
"That matter you entrusted to me. It's been dealt with."
"What..."
Mid-reply, Asira seemed to catch on quickly and cleared her throat with a cough.
She had asked him to look into why Yura was acting so strangely.
"Yura, could you give us the room for a moment? It seems to be an important conversation, so I'd like to speak just the two of us."
"Okay, then..."
"Sit."
As Yura made to stand up, Jiha cut her off.
Yura, who had hesitated awkwardly, looked once at Asira and then at Jiha before sitting back down on the sofa.
"..."
Watching Yura prioritize Jiha's words, Asira looked puzzled for a moment, then turned her gaze to Jiha.
"This isn't something to be said in front of Yura, is it?"
"No, it's a conversation that needs to be had with her here."
Once Asira conceded, Jiha didn't begin speaking right away but instead stared at her openly.
The beautiful demon woman sitting with her legs crossed blinked her black sclera in puzzlement.
Her eyes were eerie, the parts that should have been white stained black, but her red irises were so beautiful they seemed to draw a person in.
"...Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Stalling for time."
In any matter, once it begins, it can never be taken back.
But if there was something definite to be gained, he still had to do it.
'And there is something to be gained from this.'
Having made his decision, Jiha sank into the sofa and stretched his arm out to the side.
As Jiha smoothly draped an arm around her shoulders, Yura, startled, looked at him.
Of all places, wasn't this right in front of Asira?
"..."
Asira looked at Jiha, completely incredulous.
Her bewilderment was only for a moment, and then anger flared in Asira's eyes.
"Right in front of me... what do you think you're doing?"
"J-Jiha..."
As Asira's furious glare blazed, Yura grew alarmed and tried to stop him.
But Jiha instead grabbed Yura's shoulder and pulled her completely to his side.
As his palm slid over the soft curve of the succubus's shoulder cradled in his arms, Jiha smiled.
"You told me to find out, didn't you?"
"If you don't take that hand off this instant..."
Asira glared at Jiha, barely suppressing her anger.
Jiha nodded leisurely.
"Yura... was delicious."
"..."
"She wrapped around me like she was trying to reel me in. It was ecstasy."
The anger on Asira's face went blank.
It was the reaction of someone witnessing an unbelievable reality, completely stupefied.
To claim Asira, he had to break her spirit.
Jiha smiled outwardly while inwardly preparing for what came next.
Because you have to strip away the knight's face
Before the woman's face will appear.