The Weight of Fear
While my mana recovered, I walked over to what looked like the remains of the gargoyle and sat down on the rocks. I had the Pope’s Ring, but peering into the past through Puppet Crow consumed a great deal of mana, so it would take some time to recover.
I watched Cliven in silence. Every time he made the slightest movement, Elena and Geil tightened their grips on their swords or clenched their fists, and Cliven froze in terror, unable to move.
Few would dare anything reckless while facing Elena’s icy glare and Geil’s furious eyes.
Yet he kept stealing glances at me, gauging my reaction. I deliberately put on an air of complete ease. That attitude would only deepen his curiosity and feed his anxiety about what was to come, and there was plenty of time for that anxiety to ripen.
As time passed, unease settled more visibly across his face. When my mana was nearly restored, I gave him a faint smile, and the unease twisted into outright fear.
This was no petty spite or cruel amusement. It was one of the most basic interrogation techniques, and a surprisingly effective one: letting the subject break himself without any external pressure.
It worked especially well on those who were clever—or thought themselves clever—and cowardly. They would overthink the future until calm judgment became impossible.
I didn’t know Cliven well, but his first impression, his betrayal of his comrades, and his inability to control his expressions told me the method would work.
“Now, I’ll ask once more. Are you ready to tell the truth?”
I rose and walked slowly toward him. My mana had recovered long ago, but I had deliberately dragged things out.
“……”
Contrary to my hopes, he remained silent. His eyes wavered, yet he was still trying to calculate every possibility in his head.
“…Well, it doesn’t really matter.”
I raised my hand and summoned the incantation into the air. I had said it from the beginning—this was only a beginner’s trick, and not my specialty. I had never intended to rely on it alone.
“……!”
Cliven’s eyes widened, as did Elena’s, Geil’s, Duran’s, and those of the other summoned beasts.
Hooves on two legs, razor-sharp claws, a body covered in black fur, and a single enormous eye. A sickening laugh echoed in my ears, and through our linked consciousness came a wave of pure malice.
“H-Huanma?”
At the appearance of Cardorukude, Cliven’s eyes were already drowning in terror. As a summoner, he knew exactly what a Huanma was, and he understood precisely what I intended to do.
“This is your last chance.”
“I-I’ll talk!”
He seized the opportunity at once. Apologies to Elena, Geil, and Lord Kainaknus were repeated compulsively at the beginning and end of every sentence, but he desperately tried to spill every piece of information he had.
He explained how the Dark Temple had first contacted him, what they wanted, and what they had promised. His frantic attempts to justify his own guilt made the apologies and excuses jumble together into something almost incoherent. In the end, it all boiled down to one thing: he simply hadn’t wanted to die.
Members of the Dark Temple had approached him several days earlier and demanded his cooperation. Their power had far exceeded his expectations, leaving him no choice but to comply.
“Ah, they said that if I continued to cooperate, Lord Kainaknus and the rest of us would be accepted as comrades. After all, we’re all the same……!”
Geil’s fist slammed into his head. Elena had already sheathed her sword after seeing Cardorukude, which was fortunate—otherwise, that blow might have been Cliven’s last.
“You coward! After everything Master has done for us!”
Elena stopped Geil as he raised his fist again. I wouldn’t have minded another hit or two, but we still hadn’t gotten the truly important information, so it was the wiser choice.
“Ugh……”
“Where did they take Lord Kainaknus?”
Elena asked the question while Cliven swallowed his groans. Her voice carried no emotion whatsoever. The man, still writhing in pain, forced himself to focus. The moment he met her eyes, the meaningless apologies and excuses he had been about to utter froze on his tongue.
“Tell us, Cliven. Where is Lord Kainaknus right now?”
“…I-I don’t know. I only gave them his travel routes and location data. That’s all they wanted!”
He insisted desperately that it was the truth, but that wasn’t the whole story.
“What about contact? How were you planning to stay in touch with them afterward?”
We had subdued him and extracted the information we needed, yet we hadn’t taken him away or eliminated him because there was still work left for him to do. Whether they had already told him his next mission or planned to contact him later, either way, they needed a method of communication.
“Th-There’s nothing like that!”
He leaned forward slightly, as if inviting us to search his body, but there was no need.
-Kikikiki.
Following my will, Cardorukude approached him.
“W-Wait! Just a moment!”
Staring into Cardorukude’s approaching eye, he screamed, but that wasn’t what I wanted to hear.
“I was wrong! I admit it!”
“That’s not what I want to hear either.”
Whether from fear or belated realization, incantations began to form in the air around him, but before the summoning could complete, Cardorukude’s hand seized his head. Cardorukude’s will and power poured directly into his consciousness and began to tear through his mind.
“Aaaah! Aaaah! Aaaah!”
His screams echoed through the space. He was a summoner himself and accustomed to mental attacks, so I poured even more power into the assault. The pain was beyond anything words could describe. Those agonized, desperate screams were anything but pleasant to hear, and the others frowned or looked away, yet the effect was undeniable.
Through our linked consciousness, several images flowed in. They seemed to indicate a meeting place. Fortunately, I knew the location well.
I ordered Cardorukude to step back. The creature let out a disappointed, unpleasant sound and released Cliven’s mind.
“…Haa, haa!”
Cliven gasped for breath and looked up at me. His face was smeared with tears, snot, and saliva. He seemed unable to speak, only pleading with pitiful eyes for mercy. He didn’t even seem to realize that I had already obtained the information I wanted.
I turned to Elena. Her expression remained blank, yet somehow it felt like a consideration for my sake.
“I’ve obtained the necessary information. What should we do with him?”
His appearance was wretched, but his mind hadn’t broken. After an hour of rest he would return to normal, so we needed to decide his fate now.
“I could dispose of him, but……”
At my words, Geil flinched. Even so, it seemed he didn’t want the man dead.
“Do you happen to know of any place we could keep him?”
She shook her head at my question.
“No. Unfortunately, I don’t.”
I studied her quietly. Her face was expressionless, but she clearly didn’t want to kill him either.
“…Very well. Then let’s take him to the nearest city. There should be magic-user prisons there.”
“B-But Master is—!”
“Calm down. We’ll need to use a portal or teleportation circle to reach the city anyway.”
Besides, I needed to report this to Lord Medrup. I hadn’t seen every detail of Cliven’s memories, but if even Lord Kainaknus had been captured, then the Dark Temple was far more dangerous than I had thought.
“Let’s move out, then.”
In Urshus’s temple, where dark-red flames burned, Alsh Unak stared quietly into the heart of the fire. The flames seemed to regard him in return, flickering slowly. Whenever they surged, Alsh Unak’s eyes trembled slightly, and from time to time he bowed his head in reverence.
-As commanded, I have captured Kainaknus alive.
At his words, the upper part of the flames swayed gently. Alsh Unak bowed even deeper, as though overwhelmed by the honor.
-I am grateful for your generous praise. Kainaknus will surely be of great assistance to the plan.
But a moment later, his expression darkened slightly.
-However, those clones……
He paused, as if choosing his words carefully while gazing at the flames, then spoke again as though making a great resolution.
-It is true that the clones could be useful. Once the leaders of each nation learn of their existence, they will fall into chaos, and that chaos will make it easier to guide believers to the flames.
While he spoke, the flames remained still. Relief flickered briefly in his eyes, yet deep within them, fear and hesitation still crouched. After several attempts to open his mouth, he finally forced the words out.
-But it is impossible for them to deal with the Hero.
The flames surged again at his words. The black darkness at their center seemed to touch the abyss itself, carrying both vast distance and absolute authority. At the movement, Alsh Unak immediately prostrated himself, pressing his forehead to the ground.
-How could I dare doubt the will of the great Lord Urshus? It is only that I am foolish and cannot comprehend that will.
The flames stopped moving. After a little more time passed, Alsh Unak finally lifted his head slightly. Fear still lingered in his face and eyes, yet he continued speaking. It was not to express his will or make excuses, but simply because the other had ordered him to do so.
-I understand that you have taken an interest in those clones, but even if they are clones of the Beast Legion Commander Ryban, they lack the power to face the current Hero and his companions. The moment they reclaim Minasid, they will become the Hero’s target and be annihilated. I cannot see what benefit that would bring us.
If Ryban’s clones were wiped out by the Hero’s party like this, then all they would have accomplished was resurrecting after several years, massacring an entire village in a grand declaration of war, and then being destroyed immediately afterward—an utterly hollow result.
Moreover, though he did not say it aloud, there was also the risk of revealing their own existence to the Hero. Revealing themselves to the world now carried far too great a danger, and the Hero’s party was the one group they most needed to avoid.
Alsh Unak had mocked Thanatos and Nyx, but that did not mean he possessed the strength to face the Hero’s party. Though they were desperately expanding their forces, compared to the Demon King’s army their power was pitifully small, and they had no way of defeating the Hero who had slain the goddess Nyx.
Considering their goal of spreading Urshus’s influence across the land, the clones’ deaths would bring them no benefit whatsoever. Yet as Alsh Unak stared at the flames, he suddenly doubted his own eyes.
-Not Minasid? What do you mean……?