Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Burning the Prison Camp
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Clang—.
The screams echoing from beyond the wall had finally died down by the time I pushed open the heavy iron door and stepped inside once more.
Elena had already retreated to the corner and passed out.
Having poured out her emotions so fiercely with a body already at its limit, it was no wonder her consciousness couldn't hold on.
She lay slumped against the wall, breathing faintly and weakly.
Fresh scrapes had bloomed across her body from her desperate writhing on the floor earlier.
I kept my expression stony as I pulled a low-grade recovery potion from my pocket and began applying it bit by bit to her wounds.
The spots where the potion touched bubbled and healed, but it couldn't erase the rough scars left by prolonged torture.
'If only I had even a mid-grade potion...'
A bitter taste lingered in my mouth.
I turned my head to look at Seraphina, who stood like a shadow behind me.
She observed the unconscious Elena with dry, mechanical eyes, as if cataloging every detail of the scene.
"Shall we begin the transfer now?"
"Yes. Then..."
I instinctively reached out toward Elena but stopped myself short.
Right now, I must have been the most horrifying, terrifying existence to her.
If she woke during the move and came face-to-face with me, I wasn't sure I could handle the aftermath.
In the end, I withdrew my hand.
And with a nod, I directed Seraphina, who stood nearby.
"Seraphina, you carry the Saintess. Doesn't matter if you sling her over your shoulder or cradle her."
Seraphina approached without a word and carefully lifted Elena into her arms.
Whether from the Order's harsh training or Elena's extreme emaciation, Seraphina moved with her usual composure.
"We're ready to depart now, Ian."
We left the interrogation room and began descending into the endlessly deep underground.
The sporadic presences of priests and interrogators along the corridors vanished entirely at some point.
Now, only the pale flickering of mana lamps filled the dark halls.
The deepest underground sector we finally reached was far darker and more oppressive than the levels above.
Unlike the interrogation rooms crammed with torture devices, this place held only chilling silence and rough stone walls enclosing it on all sides.
Following my instructions, Seraphina gently laid Elena in the center of the empty room.
As Elena was placed on the cold stone floor, I clicked my tongue inwardly.
'This is too much, even for them.'
No matter that it was for imprisoning sinners, leaving someone in a completely bare room like this.
I was already thinking I'd have to sneak in blankets and daily necessities starting tomorrow.
"Ugh..."
Elena's unfocused eyes fluttered, slowly peeking out from beneath her eyelids.
She glanced around dazedly for a moment, then jolted in terror the instant she felt someone else's warmth against her body, twisting away.
But upon realizing who held her—Seraphina—her trembling shoulders seemed to calm, if only briefly.
Of course, that didn't mean she accepted Seraphina's touch.
Elena crawled to the corner, shuddering violently.
There were no more chains binding her, but she still crouched there helplessly, glaring at me.
She glanced sidelong at Seraphina and rasped out in a hoarse voice.
"Who the hell is that girl?"
Seraphina glanced at me instead of answering.
At my slight nod, she revealed her identity in a flat tone.
"I am Seraphina, Second Saintess of the Order. I am receiving training from Ian to inherit the First Saintess position."
Saintess.
The moment the word sliced through the air, Elena's eyes shook violently.
Had she realized that not only had it crushed her own noble convictions, but it was now extending its filthy claws to another budding soul as well?
Elena's face drained to the pallor of paper as she struggled for words.
"You're not satisfied with just me—you plan to drag that girl into hell too?!"
Elena's voice rose to a shriek.
Once unleashed, her emotions erupted like a beast's maw, pouring hatred and contempt upon me.
"It could've ended with just me! Why, why her too!"
Blood oozed from her fingernails as she clawed madly at the floor.
"You'll incur God's wrath someday! You'll die the most wretched death, in some forgotten corner!"
The curse-like malice filled the room.
Feeling that razor-sharp hatred at my back, I turned away impassively.
If I didn't act the part, I felt like I'd blurt out the truth right then.
"I'll return tomorrow, Saintess."
I spat the words in a voice colder and drier than usual as I left the room.
But Elena's curse lingered in my ears for a long while.
In the days that followed, I shuttled back and forth to the deepest underground for about two days, bringing daily necessities.
A blanket, clean dishes, even a chair to sit on.
This was possible because the atmosphere within the Order had strangely turned favorable toward me.
Vargas, whom I ran into in the corridor, clapped my shoulder with a sly grin, convinced I'd extracted the confession list from the Saintess.
"As expected of Interrogator Ian! Cracking that stubborn Saintess's mouth. Don't forget this was all thanks to my advice later on."
His self-aggrandizing bluster was revolting, but I merely bowed my head.
Damian, on the other hand, seemed pleased with the power I'd shown against Roderick.
"Subduing a senior interrogator like Roderick without a scratch. Looks like I underestimated you. Tell Vargas if you need anything."
Thanks to this misguided trust from above, I transported supplies to the depths without suspicion.
But all my efforts were in vain—Elena's mental state deteriorated day by day.
More precisely, her attitude toward me veered to an extreme.
Clatter—!
A sharp crash rang out as the soup bowl whizzed past my head and rolled across the floor.
Hot broth I couldn't dodge trickled down my forehead, but I stared at her without blinking.
"Get out! Get that disgusting face out of my sight...!"
Elena snarled like a beast from her corner.
The fresh blanket I'd draped over her last night was already torn to shreds, and her eyes toward me burned with pure loathing and murderous intent.
Seeing the liquid trickle down my forehead, I let out a quiet sigh of relief inside.
My heart ached, but it was proof her strength had recovered enough to hurl the bowl that hard.
And that venom meant, paradoxically, she hadn't given up on life yet.
"Seraphina. Clean this up."
"Understood, Ian."
I wiped my face roughly with a handkerchief and left the room.
I heard Seraphina moving quietly behind me.
From that day on, Elena lunged at me with murderous fury but held back her venom toward Seraphina alone.
No, she gazed at Seraphina—who wore the same robes and stood like a doll—with inexpressible sorrow and pity.
Perhaps she saw her own past in Seraphina.
For now, nothing else came to mind that I could do for Elena.
Nothing but silently enduring her hatred.
So, it was time to do what I had to.
"Hoo..."
I walked out into the chill underground corridor, checking the feel of something in my pocket.
It was a small wad of paper that had slipped into my pocket when I roughly bumped into a temple official carrying documents at the tribunal entrance earlier.
Inside was handwriting I couldn't forget.
[Tonight at midnight, same place]
"Finally made it?"
At my call, Mirabel emerged from the darkness.
"Interrogator Ian is awfully relaxed even in a place crawling with enemies. What if you get ambushed?"
"Who knows? As long as it's not some blonde high purification priestess, I don't see much to worry about."
At my jab, Mirabel's face twisted in annoyance for a moment before she regained her composure and tossed me a scroll.
"Escape route exploiting the gap in the camp's outer wall patrol cycle. Still high-risk, though."
I burned the map's terrain into my mind as best I could.
Things like this weren't in the novel.
Twisted passages, guard shift times, mana detector blind spots—all of it.
As I memorized each detail, sketching it mentally—
"Your ordered items."
Mirabel tossed me a heavy leather pouch.
Holding the paper in one hand, I caught the weighty pouch with the other and gauged its contents.
"Records on the Empire's north and the Magic Tower?"
"In the inner pocket. Very detailed."
I nodded slightly and pulled out the paper from the pouch to read.
Scanning the densely packed info, I finally let out a small sigh.
'Good, the Order hasn't made moves in the Empire's north or Magic Tower yet.'
But I couldn't relax.
Those were places I'd have to head to after escaping with Elena and Seraphina.
I crumpled the paper in my fist.
"Our promising heretic interrogator plans to march all the way to the Empire's north? The people there are famous for their fiery tempers—you might not get a warm welcome branded as an interrogator."
Ignoring Mirabel's sarcasm, I carefully checked the contents of the heavy leather pouch she'd given me.
Inside were spare daggers, a mask to cover my face, and the monster materials I'd specially ordered.
Salamander scales, mud golem core, mana grass concentrate, and finally, shadow moss.
Mirabel tilted her head as she looked at the scattered items on the ground.
"Packed extra since I wasn't sure how much you'd need. But... what do you plan to do with this junk? Teaching yourself alchemy?"
"As you know, our plan has too many holes. With monsters like Damian holding the fort, a clean escape is impossible."
"Isn't that unavoidable? We can't punch through the entire camp's forces head-on."
I looked up at Camp 1 looming in the darkness beyond.
"That's why we need a wildcard. Something to instantly shift the enemies' focus and paralyze the whole camp—like perfect chaos."
Mirabel swallowed dryly, staring at the empty air with me.
Then I turned to her and spoke.
"I plan to burn this entire camp to the ground."
