Proofreader: Me!

After Uriel had calmed me down, the assassin had already been knocked out. However, my ears were bombarded with lectures about my attitude until Ellen took me and the stalker to holding cells somewhere in the building. I wanted to refute her words, but... I likely had been acting out of character due to the influence of the poison.

“Are you sure that’s true?” I asked.

Ellen nodded, “This poison is quite often used to cause chaos rather than kill, and the fact it’s been paired with a paralysing agent is even more brain-wracking.”

According to her, pumping through my veins were a few ounces of the substance, but not enough for me to act out.

“Guess my earlier assumption was wrong,” I shrugged. “Well, has he said anything yet?”

“That bastard hasn’t spoken at all…” Ellen clenched her teeth.

“What a shame,” I murmured and pondered.

However, an idea bulldozed my lethargic mind.

“Can I have a go at interrogation, all you have to do is let me be in there alone,” I suggested.

“Alone? A kid like you?” She raised her eyebrows.

“Yes, I have a skill of sorts,” I struggled to keep a neutral expression.

“Urgh– fine, I’ll let it slide since you were the one to notice this originally,” Ellen let me out of the blank cell.

“I’ll be back in a few, it shouldn’t take too long,” I estimated generously.

“Confident, aren’t you?” She smirked. “Want to bet on it?”

“I don’t want to drain a devout believer of their money,” I sarcastically snorted.

Despite wanting to retort, Ellen asked a budding question, “Are you sure you’re not above eighteen?”

I shrugged, which made her only speak more.

“Your perception and insight, it’s quite advanced, I had to dumb it down for our saintess in the other room…” Ellen let out a tired breath.

“A commoner has to find their own ways to live in an environment filled with nobles,” I answered her doubts.

Ellen looked at me suspiciously, “Hmm, if you phrase it like that…”

“Anyways, I have a bet to win,” I smugly left for the assassin’s cell.

“I thought you backed out–”

Slam.

Upon entering the room, a man staring at an empty ceiling was visible. The lack of anything within this cell, such a feeling crawled under my skin.

“Heh, here to make me whistle?” The man mockingly chuckled.

His murmuring attributed to the nature of the room, but I recollected my rationality. There wasn’t any need to talk, and I could easily use the status board to guess his origins and work from there.

Although…

I walked up to him and held his finger bound by magical chains.

“Wh- what are you doing?”

I slowly bent it backwards.

“O- oi! Don’t do–”

The finger snapped into a position it shouldn’t be able to make.

“Shit!” They swore out the pain.

Somewhere within my brain, a small prick of satisfaction emerged. I picked up his other finger.

“Why did you even– Fuck!”

I felt satiated with two for now. His cursing and remarks intensified as I summoned an appraisal stone from my hand.

[Daven]

[Age: 28] [Race: Human (Beast)]

[Skills:]

Beastly Swordsmanship (B-)

Night Beast Steps (B+)

[Other skills are available to view.]

There were various other techniques but those two stood out in particular. However, his screaming was a bit too loud, so I bent back a third finger.

At this point, the door behind me smashed open.

“Did you seriously just kill- oh, he’s alive and not bleeding,” Ellen paused.

“Do I look like that type of person?” I frowned.

I shook my head, and informed her of my findings, “There’s a good chance he reigns from a beast tribe…”

“You got him to speak that quickly?” She doubted me.

“This man is insane, you have to–”

I bent another finger slightly.

“...”

I continued, “As I wanted to say, I unfortunately have an idea of where he may come from.”

“Not from the cardinal as you guess?” Ellen annoyingly poked my arm.

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“Ahem. Everyone is prone to mistakes,” I coughed. “Rather, I believe it stems from the extremist faction of the second saint candidate, Krulia Vankarst.”

After I spoke the accusation, I regretted it immediately. Words I thought were harmless elicited a harsh response.

“You dare accuse a saint prospect!” Ellen’s sword met my face.

Staring death in the face, I couldn't help but relax my raised guard. Her personality was too cunning to do something that irrational.

I rolled my eyes, “Don’t act like you didn’t hear what I said… you just wanted a reason to threaten me didn’t you?”

“Hmmm? Excuse me, whatever could you mean?” She spoke with an annoying tone, dropping her sword.

I didn’t expect to meet someone who could match my level of irritating.

“Hah… their group likely sent that as a warning,” I deduced with a sigh.

Ellen inched toward the shrunken beastman, “Warning, you say?”

“I’m not sure if you know this, but the main reason Uriel came today, was to receive a relic from Archbishop Mikael,” I recalled.

“I didn’t, but what does that have to do with– wait…” Ellen’s mouth trembled. “Don’t tell me.”

“You’re quicker than others, and unfortunately what you’re thinking is probably right.” I put my hand on the interrogation table, “Which is why I need him to speak.”

I lifted the frightened man’s ring finger.

“I- I’ll take my leave,” Ellen left with a disturbed expression.

“You see there’s just one thing I don’t get if you were targeting Uriel for the relic… why did you aim at Ellen?” I pondered out loud. “It’s the only confusing thing, assassins only focus on their target, otherwise they run.”

“...”

“There’s two possibilities, either you’re trash at your job, or your client is someone else,” I lifted their finger higher.

“I would… rather die!”

I sighed. Thankfully, for things like this, the calming mist within my mind was still present. With one swift action, another finger snapped.

“...!”

They bit the inside of their lip to not yell.

“Ellen! Bring Uriel inside in five minutes!” I called out.

“Heh, filthy human, you’ll never make me speak,” Their voice was raggard.

In truth, the inside of my head was filled with turmoil. Inflicting pain on another cruelly took a toll on my mind, but I believed I was correct. Holding the mindset of Earth would hold me back moving further into the depths of this world. Hesitation could mean the death of the protagonists, and therefore the death of the world.

I sighed with resignation, “Hah… let’s see you make that claim in five minutes.”

-x-

I bit the inside of my lip, tasting iron as a result. The disfigured person, if it could even be called a person, had refused to talk until the end.

“Lu- Luke what is this!” Uriel barged in and instantly poured divine energy into the man, skipping the process of prayer.

Praying was more effective, while what she was currently doing was quick at the cost of being much weaker.

“Uuuugghh…” Their voice barely escaped from their crushed windpipe.

Rather, his entire body was barely in shape. The man’s bones stuck out, his fingers were disjointed and his legs were twisted in different directions.

“I’ll do it again after you heal him,” I spoke indifferently.

“What is wrong with you!” Uriel barked back at me, “This isn’t human!”

Torturing someone else was something the previous me could never imagine doing. However, this also serves as preparation for when I finally kill a person my self. As a precaution, the calming fog in my mind would always arrive before I faltered.

I put my hand on her shoulder, “Uriel.”

“What!” Tears formed in Uriel’s eyes.

“They seriously tried to kill you, morals are something these types of people use to justify their actions,” I tried to calm her down.

“I… I can’t accept it at all!” Continuing to heal the beastman's body, Uriel shook her head.

I spoke with a rigid determination, “This sight will be common in the future as you fight for humanity, whether you like it or not.”

“That’s not it! You willingly put him in this state!” Tears continued to stream down her face.

“If I don’t… the entire academy will suffer, your friends may die, and their entire race might be wiped out of existence,” I spilt some of an unfortunate future.

“Wha- what are you on about?” Uriel’s face faltered at my sudden revelation.

“These beastmen are bent on revenge, particularly against you Uriel. As a result, they’ve planned to attack the academy, and kill you," I explained with dread.

“That doesn’t justify–”

“Abel will kill them, even the innocent, so let me put an end to their idiocy even if this man suffers,” I bluntly told her. “It’s simple, the suffering of one heretic, or the death of many friends and the extinction of their race.”

She silently rose from her dirtied knees and faced me. “Th- there has to be an easier way to do this!”

“Uriel, don’t make me feel worse about what I’ve done more than I need to,” I sighed once again.

Falling again into silence, she stared deep into my hands. Her fists tightened, and her jaw trembled as she readied to speak.

“Are you… absolutely sure about everything?” She reached out for my hand, with doubt in her eyes.

“Definitely," I answered with conviction.

Uriel’s gaze strengthened, “Really?”

I nodded, not feeling the need to speak it again.

Uriel met me with red eyes, “Luke, you have to promise me from now on, to only do things like this unless necessary.”

I planned to do so, otherwise who knew whether I would lose control of my blood lust? The more I murdered without thought, the more likely I was to lose myself. The superhero in the comics on Earth was famous for being a bat, had said it himself. It’s not like I planned to kill this guy either.

“Easy, but I’d have to go for a round two, or nothing would come out of that trap,” I paused to gauge her reaction. “You can leave if you need to.”

Uriel let go of me, her trembling beginning to halt. I sensed it, a change in values or goals, all within her eyes.

“Luke, I must… stay here. It is my duty as the future saintess to meet the darkness of this world head-on,” Uriel sat at the furthest chair away from the man.

Part of me wanted to smile seeing such a cliche. She was naive, but quick to adapt, whether it was due to shock therapy from me or not.

“Alright, we’ll save the academy together,” I nodded at Uriel.

“Yes, I apologise for my outburst earlier!” She clenched her fists, creating a cute but wholesome image.

Slam!

“I’m sorry, she barged right through!” Ellen’s voice echoed from outside.

“Is that one of my men?” The voice was familiar, but somehow unusually dignified.

“Who?” I turned to face the intruder.

Pink hair, fluffy pink ears, and a bushy tail supposedly covered by illusion magic.

“Senior?” Uriel muttered.

“I am responsible for his actions, please let him go,” Krulia stepped toward the bound man.

I cut her off by raising my sword, “I’m thankful for everything you’ve done for us. But senior, if you are directly affiliated with this person, I can’t let you approach so easily.”

Her lips quivered, and her eyes shook with something mysterious. It was as if a darkness lingered behind her otherwise bright expression. The situation wasn’t normal, and she didn’t seem to be herself either.

“Please, think about this carefully Luke, this beastman isn’t the problem, just let me talk to them!” Krulia practically begged.

Her physical change was drastic, and it seemed like her image was distorting. There were instances when something like this had occurred in the game, but that event would be too early to start now.

Rather...

When has she ever referred to me by name? There was only one explanation for that.

Under my breath, I cursed, 'Dammit.'

“Please don’t yell at me for this later," I looked at Uriel with a begrudging smile.