Chapter 67: Ineffective Torture

The man’s voice was hoarse, his face haggard, but his tone was eerily calm, as if he had long anticipated this day.

“Are you a researcher for the Holy Grail Order?” Elia asked.

“I was… but now I’m just a discarded piece of trash.” He raised his hands. “I won’t resist… I don’t have long to live anyway.”

Yet Kiz still did not lower her scythe.

Elia stepped in front of him. “What’s your name?”

“My name isn’t important… What’s important is what you want to ask.”

He calmly picked up the wine glass before him and took a sip.

“How much do you know?”

“I know a lot… First, I know who you are. S-001. The individual with the strongest Holy Light adaptability. The most perfect of all the subjects.”

“What exactly were those experiments?” Elia asked through gritted teeth.

Hearing this, the researcher fell silent for a few seconds before speaking. “I can tell you the truth, but first you must understand one thing…”

“What I say may not be the whole truth. I was only a mid-level researcher. The real core secrets are only known to the higher-ups.”

“Just tell us what you know. Don’t worry about the rest,” Kiz said coldly from the side.

“Alright… Where to begin? Let’s start with those children…”

He was just about to speak.

Suddenly, his expression changed. He clutched his chest and bent over in pain.

“What’s—” Elia quickly stepped forward.

But it was too late. The researcher’s body began to glow.

Elia’s pupils contracted. “Get back!”

She yanked Kiz away and deployed a golden shield.

BOOM!

The violent explosion that followed blew the entire wooden hut to pieces.

Dust filled the air… debris scattered everywhere.

A few seconds later, the dust settled. Elia and Kiz stood amidst the ruins and wreckage, perfectly protected by the golden shield.

But the researcher had completely vanished, not even ashes remaining.

“Damn it! Another curse seal! Just like the ones before!” Kiz roared.

Elia looked at the scorch marks on the ground. “It seems someone knew we would come looking for him, so they set a trap in advance.”

The two exchanged a glance, seeing wariness in each other’s eyes.

“Let’s go. This place isn’t safe.” Elia took Kiz’s hand and used Teleportation Magic to quickly leave the woods.

Upon returning to the town, the guards were startled by their disheveled state.

“Your Highness! What happened?” the Captain of the Guards asked.

“We’ll talk back at the palace!” Kiz waved a hand and directly jumped onto the carriage.

On the way back, both were silent.

The researcher had been silenced before he could say anything.

But, they learned at least one thing… the Holy Grail Order did not want anyone to know the detailed truth about those experiments.

Elia had not recovered her memories. She had only guessed from the clues in the temple that she was an experimental subject, and that guy just now had confirmed her guess.

But she knew nothing about the details of those experiments. That meant they still had to investigate, until she understood the full truth.

It was past midnight by the time they returned to the Sleeping Palace. Next was the always-welcome post-mission debrief, even though there hadn’t really been a fight this time.

“How do you think that curse seal was triggered?” Kiz asked.

“Some condition. Like when he tried to reveal key information, or after we were near him for a certain amount of time.”

“It seems the other side is really cautious.”

“Mhm.”

The two fell silent for a moment.

Suddenly, the room door was knocked.

“Come in!”

As Kiz spoke, Elder Selina entered, her expression grave. In her hands was a stack of documents.

She placed the files on the table. “Your Highness, our Council of Elders has captured a few more scouts from the Holy Grail Order. They’re currently locked in the dungeon.”

“Whoa, that’s the authority of the Council of Elders for you!” Elia remarked from the side.

Kiz nodded, then turned her gaze to the files. “I’ll go to the dungeon with Elia in a bit. So, what’s all this?”

“All the information we have on the Holy Grail Order is here,” Selina said.

Hearing this, Elia quickly grabbed a document to examine it closely.

It roughly stated that the Holy Grail Order was a small organization within the Human Empire with only about six hundred members, its national status not worth a single hair compared to the Church. However, each of those six hundred was an elite among elites. The strongest were the Seven Archbishops, and above them was the “Holy Grail Master.”

Additionally, the Holy Grail Order worshipped the legendary “Holy Grail.” It was said all their power depended on this mysterious Holy Grail’s power. They had also conducted many cruel and inhumane experiments, creating countless bizarre monsters.

Hmm… Well, this information was somewhat useful too.

Three men were locked in the cell, each with a Holy Grail tattoo etched on their chests. This was probably one of the identifying features of Holy Grail Order members.

Without wasting a single word, Elia walked straight up to the first one. “Talk. What is your Holy Grail Order planning recently?”

As expected, the men gritted their teeth, refusing to utter a single word.

In response, Elia smiled. “How lovely~ Thank you for your stubbornness. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have a chance to play…”

She extended her hand, using golden light to condense a needle.

“This kind of needle… it doesn’t hurt when it goes in. But the Holy Light will slowly spread inside you, burning your blood vessels, your organs, your bones~”

“So, guess how long you can last? Hmm?”

While Holy Light didn’t have the same suppressive effect on humans as it did on the Blood Clan, this was still equivalent to being burned by fire.

She then slowly pushed the needle into the man’s forehead. His body began to convulse violently, and he let out a suppressed scream.

“Aah… Aah… Aah… AAAAAH… Aah…”

Elia’s eyes at this moment were filled with pleasure. She whispered, “This is just the beginning. There are many more fun things to come~”

Earlier, when she went to find that old man who had been cast out by the Order, she had wondered how she could satisfy herself… make herself happy.

But the damned Order had blown up her cute little toy…… What’s the difference between that and edging?!

So, with a bellyful of pent-up desire, she came to the dungeon without hesitation to find these guys… and his defiant attitude played right into her hands.

After some time, the man finally couldn’t endure the bloody and brutal torture any longer.

He cried out in a hoarse voice, “I-I’ll talk!!!”

Only then did Elia withdraw the Holy Light, tilting her head to look at him.

“Speak.”

But a flicker of disappointment passed through her eyes.

“I-I really don’t know anything… I’m just a periphery member… just a small piece of trash… I truly don’t know anything, AAAAAH…”

Elia’s eyes turned cold. “Are you messing with me?”

“N-No… I really don’t know… They… they never tell us anything… Missions are always notified at the last minute…”

Elia fell silent for a few seconds.

Then she smiled, and that smile was even more dangerous than before.

“It’s fine… I can still interrogate you even if you don’t know~”

For the time that followed, the man’s screams echoed in the dungeon for a long time.

Mixed in were Elia’s deranged, morbid peals of laughter.

But in the end, he also said nothing of substance because he truly knew nothing.

The other two were the same, used as disposable pawns by the Holy Grail Order.

Even when Elia probed their memories, she found nothing conclusive.

After leaving the cell, Elia used the back of her hand to wipe the bloodstains from her face, but she didn’t get it all off, instead dirtying her hand.

At that moment, Kiz considerately handed her a handkerchief. “Here, wipe it off.”

Elia took the handkerchief and cleaned the blood from her face.

Then she sighed. “What a complete waste of effort… Didn’t get anything out of them.”

“Let’s head back for now. There’s still a lot to do today,” Kiz said.

“Mhm.”