Soul Abduction

After our monsters' brutal torture session, Ethan passed out. His body was mangled beyond recognition. Of course, it would regenerate for more torment later. Anyway, that was the end of the torture. I couldn't afford to waste more time on a wretch who'd already fallen as far as he could, his memories in tatters besides.

I politely declined Whipra's suggestion.

"...Nah, I'm good."

I had no hobby of torturing people. Better to spend the time taming another new monster.

Though I couldn't tame Whipra, her friendly attitude toward me suggested we'd keep a good relationship going forward.

After a brief chat with her, I slowly scanned the other jailers, lowering my voice to ask Inferno.

"Inferno. Kinda late to ask, but it's cool to tame monsters in Hell, right?"

Figured as much. It made sense—if taming was an issue, there'd have been a fuss when I tamed Inferno earlier.

I turned back to Inferno. "What about taming jailers?"

"And Sublime Bone Find?"

Good to know. I'd wondered if he had a taming history, but that response suggested not.

Anyway. I decided to tame one jailer. Having one from a group could prove useful someday—especially from a big collective like Hell's jailers.

'Taming someone from another organization ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠makes maintaining friendly ties easier.'

But I wouldn't tame them all. That'd look suspicious, might spark backlash. So just one jailer.

'Let's see. Next most friendly after Whipra...'

"..."

Scanning the jailers, a cute-looking monster caught my eye. A jailer too? I poked Inferno's leg.

"Inferno. That cute one's a jailer, right?"

"That one."

I pointed at the beast-type monster with a long tail and two big horns. Size-wise, like Dog Spider-001.

Inferno tilted his head.

Ellis was right. Despite the cute, dopey look, this jailer had a nerfed threat level of B-grade—meaning true S-grade power.

Inferno explained: His name was Nightmare. He invaded prisoners' dreams to deny restful sleep when unconscious, dishing out nightmares. But he could also grant sweet dreams.

'And he's been staring at me nonstop.'

Nightmare gazed at me with what looked like a wronged expression. No ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠real meaning—just his face. Still, he was clearly interested, no hostility.

After a moment's thought, I decided: Tame this cute Nightmare jailer.

As I approached, his tail wagged. He'd been waiting.

"Hey."

A light greeting, then I carefully placed my hand on the red spot on his back. He didn't resist, offering it meekly like he'd expected this.

The color change was lightning-fast—no need for Necro Puppeteer and mind control.

As I tamed Nightmare, Art Pega Unicorn started her monster codex right beside me.

Taming Nightmare succeeded. But no plans to take him home—he had jailer duties in Hell.

"See ya later, Nightmare."

"I'll visit lots."

Not just jailers—all Hell-tamed monsters would stay put. Taking Hell's monsters could irk Sublime Bone Find.

Sublime Bone Find. I'd meet him later when time allowed—to ask about building a village in Hell.

Of course, no direct taming question. That'd rub him wrong. No rush. I'd avoid the topic, build trust first, then ease in slowly.

For now, meeting postponed. Inferno was guiding us on a Hell tour.

That's when we met the "reapers" handling Soul Abduction.

The first: Warp Reaper. Art Pega quickly sketched his codex.

Reapers abducted souls differently. Warp Reaper warped to other worlds, killed sinners, and stole their souls—straight from living bodies, not wandering dead ones.

"You too. Famous, huh?"

Rumors spread fast. Hell's organized structure at work. The no-hostility order? Probably Sublime Bone Find—pro-Helper, and he'd heard about me.

Finally, a dimension-hopping monster—but disappointingly, Warp Reaper could only warp solo. Not to chosen worlds, either; foul souls pulled him randomly. Return anytime, though.

Inferno glanced around, then pointed to another.

He led us to a rod-wielding reaper sitting. "Soul Reaper," Inferno called him.

Then—Soul Reaper yanked his rod hard.

Soul Reaper checked the soul and clicked his tongue. Grabbed a lump from his pile, stuffed the soul in deep.

The lump wobbled, forming a human shape—soon a middle-aged man's body.