I did have some questions about the situation and I was confident in our power. Still, I did not want this demon to flee. So I used Chains of Torment. The demon gasped in surprise as the small portals surrounded her. There was nothing she could do as the chains emerged and bound her.

Meanwhile, Lucy was eying the demon warily but did not engage. She relaxed slightly once it was bound. “What do we do with her?” she asked.

“I am curious what she has to say. Why are you here, demon?” I asked.

“Rude! That is no way to treat a lady!” the demon complained.

“I don’t see a lady so I think we are fine. Now either you start talking or we start stabbing.”

The demon sighed. “Mortals, always so cruel. I am naught but a slave, a plaything, used by the inquisition. Bound to this place to do their bidding.”

“And why would the inquisition bind a demon here? That ritual seems like a lot of work for a small village.”

“Ah, but the duke has one of his people stationed here. The lake is too big to keep an eye on everything from Iron Rock. So the local baker is actually an agent who reports anything suspicious. Unfortunately the Empire knew of him. So they moved into the village and put it under a spell. It allowed the Empire to bring their forces through here. They also used the village to ship in supplies. Meanwhile Iron Rock gets regular reports that everything is normal. Any caravan stopping by will be under the same spell while they are here.”

“I see. So the Empire was mostly interested in controlling the agent and feeding false information to Iron Rock. But how do you come in? Why did they bind a demon? And why can you talk so openly with us if you are bound?”

“Subtle mental manipulation is not really the inquisition's strength. They have plenty of people to crack open a mind for interrogation but delicate work like this is beyond them. So they brought in an expert.” She said smiling.

Lucy looked doubtful. “Really? So the inquisition just happened to know the right spell to summon a demon with mind magic? Normally they are more into purging than summoning. This also seems like a rather important part of their plan. Why would they trust you?”

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“I cannot tell you why the Empire decided to use demons. But surely after your battle you have seen the truth of it. And the magic they used forced me to obey. Only after my summoner died did I regain my freedom.”

I pondered that. “So you have been in this village the whole time? How much do you know about what happened? And when did your summoner die?”

“He died a few days ago when the pillar appeared. I was not sure what was happening so I decided to stay hidden for now. Most of my information is from the guards that came yesterday. Influenced by my magic they were convinced all is normal again. They told the villagers how there was no danger after the great victory in Iron Rock.”

“Why did you not investigate the pillar? Surely you recognized the magic?” I wondered.

“Not all demons are friends you know. We have different lords and I felt that it was not my mistress that appeared.”

“Who is your mistress?”

“Lady Lilith”

“Have you harmed anyone since you appeared?”

“I do not harm people, unless they ask.” She winked. “I only want to bring pleasure…”

I wondered how many people survived that pleasure. “Can you tell us anything else about the Empire`s operation?”

“I am afraid I can’t. But I have been very helpful, have I not? Will you free me? I would be very grateful…”

“Should I stab her?” Lucy asked.

“Hm. I think we will give her a choice. Tell us your true name and we will simply banish you. Otherwise we will kill you.” A true name would not directly give us power over her. But with it we could summon and bind her in the future. It would still require the right ritual and enough power but we had that.

“My true name? Surely we can come to a different arrangement…”

“Stab away Lucy”

The demon was struggling against the chains but she was too weak. It finally dawned on her that we were rather immune to her seduction attempts. I was sure she tried to enchant us with her voice while talking but we were too powerful for that.

“STOP! I SUBMIT!” she shouted. “My name is Lilastheria, please don’t kill me!”

I walked closer and grabbed the demon's face. I looked directly into her eyes. “Lilastheria” The demon shuddered when I said her name. I felt a spark of magic.

“Looks like you told the truth. I hope you did not lie about the other things. Now off you go.”

I used the banishment spell. It was 8th circle magic that forced a being from a different dimension back to their home plane. More powerful creatures had a chance to resist the magic. It would never work on a demon lord. Lilastheria was unable to resist and faded away.

“Why did we not simply kill her?” Lucy asked.

“This way we can question her more in the future, if needed. Also it did not look like she hurt anyone in the village. If we are really lucky the Empire will use her again and she could become our spy.” I reasoned.

“Good thinking,” Lucy replied. “What now?”

“Now we destroy this ritual and make sure everyone is fine.”