Torture the hero, why has the Demon King's castle collapsed again?

Page 173

"What are you doing?" In the corner, Altottai stood up warily.

"Let me make it clear beforehand, if you're planning to do anything to me, I'm going to yell in my Lord's mind to wake him up."

To probe Mino's memories like last time, she needed to keep the holy sword, which was also bound to a lowly hero, in check. Otherwise, if the sword secretly awakened Mino during her interrogation, all her preparations would be for nothing... She didn't want that lowly hero to see her shameful side again!

"Hmph! Out of options, aren't you, you evil horned demon!" Noticing the struggle on Migo's face, Altottai straightened up and burst into laughter:

"Now that things have come to this, I will no longer hide it from you. I am the final trump card that my lord prepared specifically to deal with the methods of the Nightmare Demon! As long as I am here, you will not be able to keep my lord trapped in the dream for long. Through the soul contract, I can wake my lord directly without any hindrance!"

"You can make my lord give himself away for free, but only if you can bypass my innately proud and unyielding holy sword, as steadfast as an impregnable fortress!!!"

"Don't underestimate the bond between me and my lord, Kora!"

Looking at the unyielding holy sword before him, Migo rubbed his head. Although he figured that if he called Apophis over, the guy would reveal his true colors, it would be pointless.

"Hey, you only became Mino's familiar after he became the hero, right? Aren't you curious about his past hobbies?"

“Hmm… what were my old hobbies?” Altottai asked, puzzled.

Migo stared at the holy sword blocking her way, then her gaze fell on the cell wall behind it, covered with the White Calendar, and said uncertainly, "For example, a weapon you truly like..."

The tip of Altotate's sword quietly rose.

"And which sacred artifact do you want to contract with before becoming a hero...?"

"...What's your ranking among the Holy Church's sword-type sacred artifacts...?"

The blade of Altotai emitted a tiny vibration that could only be detected with mental power.

Seeing that her persuasion was effective, Migo immediately intensified her efforts, coaxing, "Don't you want to know which holy artifact is the coolest in Mino's mind...?"

"Um, a... a stupid question!"

Altote snorted coldly, the blade of his sword swaying incessantly: "Needless to say, it's definitely my sword, the strongest warrior's sword, the one ranked first among the sacred artifacts, known as the Holy Sword of Light!!!"

"Is that so?" Migo moved her finger to her lips, revealing a smile that made Jian's heart pound with unease.

"That's not necessarily true... You know, the most famous person in the last thousand years besides Mino was that swordsman who supposedly slew the Demon King a thousand years ago. The sacred weapon he wielded back then was Apo..."

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!!!" Before he could finish speaking, Altottai suddenly trembled with excitement.

"I'll lose to that traitor's holy artifact? Ha! How ridiculous!"

"My young holy sword, with its smooth blade and elegant hilt, is the dream sword of countless budding heroes! How could it possibly compare to that bewitching sword of Apophis, stained with demonic energy!"

"How about we make a deal?" Migo whispered enticingly. "I don't want to interrogate this weakling hero. I just want to look through some less important memories. All I want is for you not to interfere with the weakling hero when the memories are projected. How about that?"

"Hmm... what can you bring me?" After hesitating for a moment, Altottai finally picked up the conversation.

“I will search through all the memories of every lowly hero and find you the most awesome holy sword for him.”

"make a deal!!!"

The two familiars met eyes at that moment, forming an unprecedented tacit understanding.

Only a familiar knows a familiar best!

"Next, let me find... the truth from ten years ago."

Migo helped the unconscious Mino up and gently laid him flat on the big bed. As Migo looked down, her soft twin ponytails fell onto the bed. Staring at that familiar sleeping face with its faint reassuring traces in its features, Migo's eyes wavered and hesitated.

How did she get separated from Mino ten years ago and end up on the demon border...? Why is the familiar contract in Mino's mind broken...? Her childhood memories are too blurry; she can't remember anything anymore... Why, why did it have to be this lowly hero? If it were any other human, she would have killed them without hesitation long ago...

Her cheeks flushed red again. Migo activated the talent of the Horned Demon race, and a white crystal radiating rich spiritual energy reappeared from the center of her forehead. She bent down and gently pressed her forehead against Mino's forehead.

"If I find out that you were the one who abandoned me, I might... kill you."

A white light materialized and enveloped the entire cell, and a dazzling projection instantly descended upon the room.

The scene reappears, mirroring the memory from the previous encounter—

Chapter 247 World Lines Converge Here

Some familiar caves came into view.

The blond-haired young hero brandished his pitchfork, pointing it into the depths of darkness:

"Now, let's explore these dark ruins, Saint Beast Terminator!"

"nya! (Charge!)"

The canine-like monster, having just finished relieving itself, circled around Xiaomino, repeatedly trying to bite its own tail and making rather unintelligent noises.

Hearing that somewhat awkward nickname again, Miguo's fair neck flushed red. Looking at her silly childhood self, her cheeks burned.

"Hang in there, hang in there... That weakling hero is asleep now, so there's nothing to be embarrassed about."

Taking a deep breath, Migo stared intently at the near-holographic projection, her expression shifting slightly as she suddenly caught sight of a small red head peeking out from a patch of grass.

"Speaking of the last memory... Mino's sister Shana also secretly followed us... Humph! We're all family, look how proper your sister is, not like you at all..."

Water droplets dripped from the dark cave, forming small puddles in the uneven passage. The cave itself wasn't very deep; after walking for about ten minutes, we reached an open space at the end. There were no murals depicting hidden secrets, nor any lurking monsters in the cave. If anything, the only noticeable change was that the surrounding temperature had become much colder.

"Hmph! Don't be careless, Saint Beast Terminator! I can sense an evil aura brewing here!"

The spacious area didn't hinder the rich imagination of the teenager, who confidently pulled out a pitchfork and pointed it straight at one spot—

"All the world's calamities, filth, and turmoil will arise from this, leading the world to its end! But now it's different; it is we, the chosen children, who will end all of this!"

"nya——!" The canine-type magical beast immediately bristled, looking around warily. In a subtle way, without even realizing it, it brought with it a faint trace of spiritual power.

The bloodline inheritance of the Horned Demon clan is not used for things like this! Migo covered her face.

"what!"

At that moment, the blond boy, who had struck a pose, shouted in a high-spirited tone, "Found you! Right here, the source of all evil!"

He raised his pitchfork high and slammed it down on thin air: "—Sinek!"

Boom!

A sound of something being struck echoed in the void.

……

"what!!!!"

A scream suddenly erupted from the shadow beneath him, startling Lak, who had been sleeping soundly. A surge of evil and profound magic erupted forth, yet no fluctuations could be detected.

"What are you doing?" Lark's face darkened as he looked into the depths of his shadow, knowing the voice came from "Darkness".

"Huff...huff...huff..." The voice of the Abyss's Will sounded somewhat apprehensive: "I had a nightmare, a nightmare that won't go away—"

"Even the 'Abyss' has nightmares?" Lak's dark eyes trembled slightly, somewhat unable to comprehend it.

"To be precise, I recalled some vague memories from the time of my birth." The will of the abyss's tone turned hateful, but then it was followed by some fear and unease.

"You mean when you were besieged by three powerful forces?"

Lak suddenly realized that the fall of Pope Brad, one of humanity's top combatants, had allowed the Abyss's main will to regain a great deal of power and memories.

The shadows kept swaying, and the "darkness" gritted its teeth once more.

"That's right! At that time, I had just gathered my will and awakened and assembled the various origins from the abyss... But I don't know how that despicable Lightborn leader discovered my existence hidden in the void, and used a trident with no trace of power to directly interrupt my ritual, preventing me from completely stabilizing the origins within my body!!!"

The memory is still somewhat hazy; I can only vaguely recall a few figures and auras. But I can never forget the "darkness," that righteous voice of condemnation! It jolted me awake like a psychological trauma!

"There are... such powerful humans?" Lak frowned. He knew that the Abyss was the highest level of power in this world. If it used all its strength to hide, even he couldn't sense it at all.

Lak simply couldn't believe that a human could actually do that.

"Is it possible that the human just stumbled upon you by chance?" With a question in mind, Lark thought for a moment and asked.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!!!" The will of the abyss reacted instantly, its voice becoming increasingly intense:

"At first, I also thought that the Lightborn was just stumbling upon something by accident. Even if their rhythm was disrupted, I could easily crush them! But... that's their most shameless disguise!!!"

The darkness transformed into a shadow, enveloping the entire room; deep within the pitch blackness, however, emanated a tremor from the very soul.

"That Lightborn with a faint aura, the Darkborn with mixed bloodlines, and that seemingly powerless demonic beast—all of them harbor...incredibly terrifying power!!!"

……

"what?"

Demon King's Castle, Prison.

As Mino's pitchfork fell, the entire projection malfunctioned, turning into a snowflake that kept jumping around.

"What's going on? It's not working?" Altotai, who was staring intently at the "black screen" projection, was completely bewildered.

"No, it's not invalid..."

Migo shook her head. If it were invalid or interrupted, the cell would have returned to its original state long ago. The fact that it was still covered by the projection indicates that this memory had been traumatized or contaminated.

"This is really troublesome... Could this weakling hero have some kind of amnesia from his childhood?" Muttering to himself, Migo could only activate his power and try to skip this blocked memory.

Soon, the projection jumped and the scene reappeared.

"Got it!" Altottai exclaimed excitedly, staring intently at the projection in front of him.

Although the projected memories were from a long time ago... it was still quite amusing to see his owner's silly expression.

The hilt of the Altotai sword swayed slightly, anticipating what other ugly scenes its master would make.

The scene became clear again, and the faint smell of blood seemed almost real, spreading through the air...

A deep, chilling aura of evil enveloped the entire cave, casting a shadow of despair. Even through the projection, it suddenly made Altotai and Migo in the cell gasp for breath, as if their power had been sealed off for a moment!

A terrifying chill crept into their hearts. Faced with the black velvet ball that had appeared in the arena, Altote and Migo's instinctive senses screamed at them: This was an absolute power they could not contend with, a terrifying force that would shatter the entire world! They couldn't defeat it! Absolutely not!

The entire field of vision seemed to be shrouded in a lingering darkness.

However, in this near-desperate darkness, a ray of light still seemed to stubbornly flicker—

A figure covered in blood stood in the arena, his youthful face radiating an indomitable light and a sense of justice. The blond boy's body trembled instinctively from fear, but his expression showed no sign of retreat as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

He held the pitchfork firmly to the enemy in front of him, his eyes showing a mixture of weariness and determination.

"If you want to harm my familiar... then step over my dead body!!!"

"Holy crap, who are you?!"

Altotai exclaimed in shock.