Chapter 318: Bread and Dagger (16)
Chapter 318: Bread and Dagger (16)
The interrogation proceeded smoothly.
As promised, I didn't demand any of the Elves' core secrets from Avian. I didn't ask for the location of their settlement or the size of their forces.
My questions were always simple.
I merely asked for the full story leading up to her body modification surgery.
Even so, a lingering sense of hesitation remained in Avian’s demeanor.
Young as she was, she had been chosen as a spy among the Elves. No matter how desperate their situation, they would have completed her basic training. They wouldn't have ignored the possibility of betrayal, so her sense of kinship must be exceptionally strong.
It was only natural for Avian to be afraid.
She had no way of knowing when even the most trivial piece of information might turn into a lethal weapon. That was the power of humanity that the Elves had experienced over the long years.
So, I never crossed the line.
My questions were aimed solely at Avian’s regenerative abilities. I showed no interest in anything else.
Of course, this was only a temporary reprieve.
The day might come when I would need to know the Elves' most intimate affairs. The Elves were enemies of the Empire, and I was a member of the Empire.
But for the sake of that future, it was right to exercise restraint now.
The important thing was to gradually break down her psychological barriers.
It was the so-called "boiling frog" strategy.
If she started spilling information bit by bit, thinking, 'This much should be fine,' it would become easier for her to reveal more critical secrets later. If she were a professionally trained agent, it might be different, but she was just a kid who had barely reached adulthood.
Seeing how she couldn't quite hide her clumsy nature, this strategy seemed likely to work.
And through our conversation, I discovered an unexpected fact.
Avian had not undergone the body modification surgery of her own free will.
On the contrary, she felt a deep sense of loathing toward the procedure.
It was a mindset typical of an Elf who loved harmony and nature.
The sorcery of the Dark Cult usually twisted the natural order. It seemed the body modification surgery was no exception.
Avian spoke to me as if lodging a formal protest.
"It—it's an evil cult!"
"...An evil cult?"
It was a word that appeared out of nowhere.
I found myself reflexively questioning her.
The Dark Cult certainly deserved to be called an "evil cult." However, Avian didn't seem to know much about the Dark Cult itself.
I could tell by the fact that she used the general term "evil cult" rather than the specific name "Dark Cult." Avian wasn't connecting the "evil cult" with the "Dark Cult."
It made sense, though.
The Dark Cult had been operating in the shadows for thousands of years.
Their atrocities now remained only as myths.
There was no specific information known about what the Dark Cult actually did or what methods they employed.
If anything, I was the exception.
I had clashed with the Dark Cult several times by now, and thanks to that, I was somewhat aware of their methods.
That was why I had been certain the moment I saw the hideous chunk of flesh implanted in Avian’s body.
The Dark Cult’s shadow was looming over the North as well.
This was a matter of intuition rather than logic.
Unless it was me or my companions, it was only natural that no one would easily consider the possibility of the "Dark Cult."
However, Avian’s hatred for this "evil cult" seemed genuine.
The blue eyes of the girl testifying before me were burning with intensity. It looked as if blood might seep from her tightly bitten lips.
The very term "evil cult" carried a negative connotation. Unless Avian was a master swindler, I had no choice but to believe her feelings were sincere.
While I was lost in thought, letting out a low hum, Avian raised her voice and spoke passionately.
"It was all a human plot! In the end, even the village elders were deceived...!"
Avian’s face, trembling with emotion, looked pitiful.
She was so angry that she momentarily forgot my presence and vented her spite toward humans. Of course, I had no intention of blaming her for that.
My priority right now was information.
I wasn't so inflexible as to shove my pride as a human in her face at every turn.
Thanks to that, Avian was able to continue speaking in a more relaxed atmosphere.
"We Elves... we respect all life."
She said this after her initial momentum had died down.
I remained silent with my arms crossed. In truth, her testimony was the complete opposite of the rumors I had heard.
The Elves carried out guerrilla warfare in the coniferous forests.
The North was already a barren place. Naturally, there weren't many resources available for the immigrants who had arrived out of the blue.
The food problem, in particular, must have been severe.
I had heard that the Elves began eating meat only after migrating to the North. If they had reached the point of abandoning the vegetarianism they held like a religion, I could roughly guess how dire the situation was.
A conviction once abandoned can be discarded again and again.
It was around that time that the Elves began raiding the settlers of the North. That was the reason the Yurdina family had been waging war against the Elves until now.
To say that those who kill others for their own survival respect all life...
It was a laughable declaration, but I didn't put that into words.
I simply waited in silence for Avian to continue.
She glanced at me tentatively, and when I didn't say anything, her lips began to move again.
"At first, we thought he was just a human who had been caught up in the war by bad luck. He called himself a priest of the Heavenly God Religion, and he seemed to adapt well to the village."
"...A priest of the Heavenly God Religion?"
"Yes, a priest of the Heavenly God. It's certain, because he still uses Divine Power."
This was an interesting story.
Priests of the Heavenly God Religion use Divine Power based on their faith. This was a distinct characteristic that separated it from the power of the Evil God, which was obtained through contracts.
And since the Heavenly God and the Evil God presided over the light and darkness of the world respectively, the authorities they bestowed were also different.
Even a layman could distinguish them with the naked eye.
If so, it meant that the "priest" still maintained his faith in the Heavenly God.
I couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh of disbelief.
"And yet you call it an 'evil cult'?"
"I—I'm telling you! What else would you call it if not an evil cult?"
Avian shouted back, flustered by my skeptical reaction.
It certainly was a bit strange.
Avian seemed to possess normal reasoning skills, even if she was a bit naive. Furthermore, wasn't she someone who had lived in human society for over ten years?
She wouldn't be stupid enough to blindly denounce the Heavenly God Religion as an evil cult.
In the end, I had no choice but to ask again.
"Why, exactly?"
Now it was Avian’s turn to shut her mouth tight.
Even after hearing my point-blank question, Avian couldn't shake off her hesitation. It was a starkly different reaction from how she had been criticizing the cult without reservation until now.
However, the conflict appearing on her face seemed to be of a different kind.
Rather than the feeling of not wanting to betray her kin, it was an expression that suggested the truth she had to vomit out was so horrific she could hardly bring herself to speak it.
So, I had to ask again with even stronger curiosity.
"First of all, is it true that this 'evil cult' modified your body? How does a priest of the Heavenly God Religion have such technology? And what on earth are they doing that makes you so sure it's an 'evil cult'—"
"We Elves love our own kind."
The declaration was blurted out like an excuse.
Of course, this was nothing more than self-justification for the testimony that was to follow. Avian seemed to harbor a strong sense of revulsion toward what her kin were doing.
I tapped the table with my index finger. Tok.
Only after more time had passed did Avian finally confess the reality of the "evil cult."
"But... the evil cult eats our own kind."
My finger, which was about to tap the table again, froze.
It felt as if my thoughts had momentarily come to a halt.
My mind overflowed as if a stone had been thrown into a full bucket of water. My brain, which had exceeded its capacity for a moment, dictated a reflexive question.
"...What did you say?"
"It's exactly as it sounds."
Her tone was gloomy.
Avian’s voice, which had been full of indignation and passion just moments ago, had sunk as low as it could go. Her blue eyes had long since lost their light, clouded by a sorrowful shadow.
It meant she was digging up a painful and agonizing memory.
So, I could only stare at Avian in even greater daze.
Exactly as it sounds? What on earth...?
The answer came back not long after.
As a brutally clear statement of fact.
"Elves are eating Elves. Though it's limited to those who believe in the evil cult..."
I opened my mouth to say something, then closed it again.
There was a fact that could be seen just by looking at Avian.
An external enemy creates internal unity. In particular, the sense of kinship among the Elves, who had endured long years of persecution, was at a terrifying level.
Look at Avian, who had burst into tears, saying she couldn't abandon her kin even in the face of violence and death.
It was a gruesome reality I hadn't even imagined.
An inexplicable emotion surged up and hammered at my throat.
"And you're just letting that happen? You should obviously stop them—!"
"They're mad."
With a hollow smile, Avian stated firmly.
"...They're going mad, my people."
Her words were filled with a deep, piercing despair.
I suddenly recalled Mitram’s words.
Had he said that the Dark Cult exists for those who have been abandoned by the world?
At the end of that persecution and discrimination, the Elves were preying on their own kind.