Memory Manipulation (4)
Emily—finding out that she was actually a Great Devil came as quite a shock.
Her real name was Eramon.
Although her combat abilities were considered lacking among the Great Devils, she excelled in other areas.
She was the only devil capable of completely erasing any presence of being a devil and becoming purely human.
Even other Great Devils couldn't imitate such a feat; whenever they tried to transform their bodies, traces would always remain.
But Eramon could erase even those traces completely.
She changed every cell in her body, including her blood and skin, into that of a human.
She could even produce magic power identically to that of a human.
Naturally, her scent or presence were also not those of a powerful Great Devil, but could be altered to be indistinguishable from any common village resident.
It was akin to transforming a massive cargo ship into a tiny sailboat.
Such a difficult feat was child's play for Eramon.
She even possessed regenerative abilities, making it almost impossible to kill her no matter where she went.
In every field except for combat, none could match Eramon.
"So that's the gist of it."
Louis organized the information he'd gathered through interrogation in his mind.
With his heightened senses, he always noticed everything—yet he had failed to realize that she was a devil.
It was impossible, but if she was a Great Devil with such abilities, he could accept it.
That also explained how she had managed to spar with Silia, who could only be matched by a Swordmaster.
If she possessed the strength of a Great Devil, that level would be basic for her.
"So, this woman's purpose was to erase our village to get rid of any dangerous elements?"
Just as Rio had said, her objective was the destruction of this village.
She immediately brainwashed the nobles into desiring the elves, and then used their hatred as an excuse to unleash monsters from the demon realm here.
She even summoned high-level monsters the size of mountains—enough said.
Had it not been for the special task force, just one such monster would have turned the village into powder in an instant.
"Why did she go so far to wipe out our village?"
"It's not like she had any bad memories of being abused here."
Simon and Rozen voiced their confusion.
What interest could a monster like a Great Devil have in such a small village?
Did she somehow think there was something here because the Emperor was going to visit?
"We'll get that answer from her directly."
Louis lightly kicked the chair where Eramon—who had disguised herself as Emily—sat.
"Hey, get up."
"......"
There was no response from Eramon.
She just sat there, head bowed as if dead.
"This isn't working. Someone splash her with water."
"Yeees~"
Pram answered brightly and chanted a spell called 'Water Ball'.
It was a basic water attribute spell, so even mages who'd just started could use it easily.
For beginners it was just a stream of water, but in the hands of someone as skilled as Pram, it could reach the level of a water cannon.
"Wake up!~"
"P-pffft!!"
Eramon, gulping down a mouthful of water, snapped back to her senses in a panic.
Her eyes seemed wide with surprise, but they were still covered.
"The questioning isn't over yet. If you don't want to die, you better answer."
"Heeek!"
The moment she heard Louis' voice, Eramon froze and trembled.
"Uh, I-I'm sorry! Please, forgive me just this once!"
Suddenly, Eramon began begging Louis for forgiveness.
It wasn't the posture of someone bowing their head in sincerity, but more like a desperate herbivore trying to stay alive.
"Just a moment ago, you were all, 'You think a little torture would make a Great Devil like me submit?'"
"That doesn't matter anymore! I really mean it, I was wrong, please have mercy!"
How terrible must the torture have been for a being called a Great Devil to turn out like this?
"I'll do anything you say! Please, just let me go this time!"
"Sure, I'll let you go."
"Really?"
"Depends on how you answer now."
"...."
Louis crushed Eramon's hopes in an instant and continued the questioning.
"So, why did you want to attack our village?"
"That's... Because there are elves here."
"Elves?"
Did she mean the elf children?
Until the Emperor revealed it this time, those kids had been kept strictly secret.
Revealing their existence would have stirred up considerable controversy, so they had been kept hidden, but with Eramon's abilities, it seemed likely she could have uncovered such information easily.
"So what? Do you have a grudge against elves?"
"No! My goal isn't some petty elves. It's... the World Tree..."
"The World Tree?"
"Yes! I thought there would definitely be a World Tree wherever elves existed..."
The World Tree, once revered as a deity by the elves.
Wherever a World Tree stood, elves could always be found.
If her goal was that enormous tree, she could have come here just by confirming there were elves.
"So? What did you plan to do with the World Tree?"
"Well... I was planning to get rid of it."
The moment she said that, a chilling sensation filled the area around Eramon.
She couldn't see, but there was unmistakably something in front of her, threatening her life.
"I told the truth... Is there some problem?"
"Next question. If the World Tree was your only target, why did you need to destroy the entire village?"
At that, Pram made a bored face.
Was she saying only she needed to disappear? That was bound to irritate her.
"As a precaution."
"Precaution?"
"Yes. I figured it would be best not to leave any traces behind."
So that's why she wanted to erase everything, leaving not a single trace.
Hmm... I see. Now I get it.
"Thank you for your answers. Now I'll set you free."
"Really?"
Eramon was filled with hope at Louis's apparently kind tone.
"I'll set you free—to die, that is."
"What?"
"Guys, get ready for Room of Truth: Season 2."
"Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!"
Eramon kept shouting 'stop!', but no one listened.
"What's the point of waiting?"
"You said you'd let me go! You swindlers!"
Louis said to Eramon, who kept protesting until the end.
"As I said before, I never let off anyone who messes with our village. Two years ago, there were idiots who tried to mess with us—do you know what happened to them?"
Louis recalled Saber, who once attacked Seifert Village.
"They all ended up in a state where they can't even die, fighting in the demon realm for eternity. Killing them would've been mercy. So I'm glad you're a Great Devil."
All the wounds inflicted on Eramon under torture had already regenerated.
With her superb regeneration as a Great Devil, wounds deadly to a human wouldn't kill her.
But since the pain remained, the concept of 'torture' could still exist.
Devils might as well have been the same as humans—they felt pain.
"So come on, Eramon. Let's put some effort into this together!"
"Nooo!!!"
Louis gripped his weapon again, offering a twisted show of encouragement.
"Huhuhuhuhu..."
"He... Hehehehehehe..."
"Hahahahahahaha...!!"
From around Louis came the eerie laughter of three women.
They seemed as excited as if they'd been waiting for this moment.
"I-I'll be outside, then."
Estelle, the princess who had led the interrogation, wore an expression that said she couldn't watch anymore and left the room.
As soon as she closed the door, terrible screams echoed from within.
.
.
.
"None of us were brainwashed, right?"
The special team members had finished the torture for the most part.
They had gotten all the information they could from Eramon.
"Yeah. We're fine."
"Me too."
"I didn't have any strange memories implanted."
"We made sure to cover our eyes beforehand."
Everyone seemed clear-headed.
They combined the information they had extracted from Eramon.
"This isn't exactly a time for celebration."
"Yeah. Who knew the demon realm was expanding so much..."
Based on what Eramon had said, the demon realm kept expanding.
Because of that, monsters from the demon realm were rapidly increasing in number, causing headaches for the 7th Legion.
"We can't just go back to the 7th Legion now that we're discharged."
"Right. We're retired now; it's up to them to sort it out."
Pram and Simon were certain there was no need for them to return now.
It made sense, and they'd never been asked for extra support anyway.
"But that's not the core issue. With the demon realm growing more active, all kinds of demonkin are increasing across the continent, and that's empowering dark magic organizations too."
A series of disasters had struck during their two-year break.
"Of course, that's not our problem anymore. As retirees, we're not charity workers."
No one objected to that.
Now that they wanted a quiet life, there was no need to go looking for trouble.
"But it'd be different if they targeted this village."
Still, that didn't mean they were unwilling to act.
Retirement aside, there were circumstances that would make them rise again.
"If anyone ever targets our hometown again, are we just going to stand by?"
The team members nodded.
Like Louis, they all loved this village dearly.
"What do the demonkin most want to eliminate?"
"That's easy..."
At that, all eyes in the team turned toward Pram.
She didn't even try to deny it, sweating coldly.
"The World Tree. When that sacred tree dies, all the spells tied to it vanish as well."
The Holy Nation's holy power also originated from the World Tree.
Without it, their power veins would dry up, and half of humanity's military strength would disappear.
"If demonkin find out there's a World Tree in this village..."
"......"
No one answered.
It wasn't because they didn't know.
They all knew, but the bleakness of the future kept them silent.
"Still, it's a relief we stopped her ahead of time. If not, information about this place would've spread to the demonkin."
Silia pointed at Eramon, who was fully passed out and battered from torture.
Currently, Eramon was lying at the center of a magic array, with a Bloodline stabbed into the floor on either side.
[Someone might try to find this place through her.]
[So we're blocking it.]
"Thank you, both of you."
Thanks to some measure taken by Mirianne and Frederick, it seemed there was no risk of their location being exposed.
With the demonkin and dark magic groups after the World Tree, this village was already their target.
They needed more security.
[By the way, you all better be careful.]
[From now on, your opponents won't be just lowly demonkin.]
The two so-called Heroes spoke in a tense tone.
[The one who summoned the giant monster's corpse this time was not this Great Devil.]
Then they delivered a shocking revelation.
[The real culprit is a legend—one of our own equals.]
One of the five Heroes who had once fought the Chaos Dragon.
That name came from their own lips.
****
"Looks like Eramon failed."
A young-looking man muttered in regret atop a hill.
He had asked her to find and report back from the village with the World Tree, but there was still no word from her.
"Still, at least she left this behind."
Although disappointed by his colleague's silence, he smiled in satisfaction as he gripped a certain vial Eramon had left.
"Goramon, preparations are complete."
"Please, give us freedom."
Horns adorned the demonkin gathered around him, and prisoners branded with stigmata knelt at his feet.
The demonkin male called Goramon raised the vial before the supplicants.
"It can't be helped. It might be a bit sudden..."
He sprinkled a drop of potion on a prisoner's head.
Immediately, the 7th Legion's stigma on the prisoner's body vanished.
"Oooh... The stigma...!"
"P-please, do me next!"
"Me too!"
The other prisoners, realizing freedom was possible, rejoiced.
Some were stunned that the stigma, thought to be indelible, had been washed away.
"Line up in order."
Goramon turned his eyes toward a fortress of the 7th Legion visible beyond the hill.
It would not be long before that place, and indeed the entire legion, fell to ruin.