— V —
Three long days had passed since my capture, and now I found myself locked away in the depths of Hexagon, a prison where only the most dangerous of villains were kept. My ankle was tethered by steel chains, making any chance for an escape impossible. The guard outside my cell door took pleasure in my misery, idly munching on a pack of biscuits as he watched me.
"You want this?" he asked.
I nodded weakly.
"Hmph, can't help to remember my daughter when I see you. She was around your age, but… she died because of The Plague at a very young age. She was a good girl, but you... Ugh, a vile daemon from the damned cult," said the Guard while toying with me with another pack of biscuits.
"Here, eat it, Daemon," he offered the biscuits with a sly grin, clearly relishing the power he held over me. Normally, I would feel humiliated by this treatment, but as my stomach growling got stronger, I took the biscuit.
As I took a bite, I was overwhelmed by the sweet honey of the biscuit. But when the treat slid down my throat, a searing pain came like molten lava coursing through my neck. However, hunger made me devour the entire package. The guard chuckled as I writhed in agony, relishing my suffering.
"Don't worry about the side effects, it won't last long."
"Side effect…? What did you just feed me?"
The guard shrugged, "Heh, soon you'll know."
Suddenly, two dark figures were entering my prison. The guard quickly gave them a salute when one of them asked, "Is the prisoner ready?"
"Yes, I had administered the drug."
"Good, bring her to the dark room."
***
I was led into a dimly lit chamber, its walls made of rough-hewn stone and its floor slick with the remnants of past atrocities. The air hung heavy with the stench of fear and suffering. The chill of the chamber seeped into my bones. The only source of light came from a single flickering candle, casting eerie shadows on the cracked and bloodied walls.
The two dark figures revealed themselves. One of them is an elegant and beautiful woman with long, flowing purple hair and sharp, piercing eyes. The moles at the corners of her eyes only served to add to her striking beauty. She exuded an air of power and authority, making it clear that she was the one in charge.
The other one is Arthur, the man who just imprisoned me. They pushed me into the chair and began the interrogation.
"Who are you?" asked Arthur.
A sudden, sharp pain shot through my head. Before I knew it, my lips were loose, spilling secrets I need to keep hidden. Is this the side effect that the guard mentioned? Curses! If they found out my true identity, everything would fall apart. They would kill me for sure before I could find my daughter.
"Pri-Princess of Darkness, The Bearer of All Sin..."
However, suddenly the woman chuckled, "You? A Daemon without magic, dare to claim herself as The Devil, the one who is responsible for all chaos that happened in the world? You must be joking right?" she said while looking very annoyed, "Haah… I see that the Truth Serum still needs improvement. Tell my sister to revise it quickly," she continued.
T-Truth Serum? So that is what those biscuits were. How potent and dangerous that serum could be. The one who invented it must be a genius.
Arthur sighed, "Well… To tell the truth, Princess Kiara never had any chance to test it. You could say, this is the first time we use it."
What? T-that gremlin is the one who made this poison? She managed to drug a god, a feat only a genius could do. Luckily, these guys didn't take me seriously, or else, they would kill me for their greed.
The woman sighed and stabbed the table with a black dagger, "This is Chaos Breaker, the dagger that was only commissioned to the top dogs of The White Order, The Lectors," she said while glaring at me sharply,
"Now explain to me why you have it in your possession, Princess?"
I gulped nervously, "I took it from a witch, in the heat of--"
"Don't you lie to me, Princess! I know you are one of them. You are a Lector of White Order. The successor of Hollow Ataraxia!" she declared and pointed at me.
Wait, I don't understand. White Order? What is that, some kind of ice cream? But she mentioned Lector. Hmm, could it be Vanilla Order is a research group? Anyway, this is bad. Anything I had said would be used against me, I knew it.
"Um, can I talk to my lawyer first?" I replied awkwardly.
The Woman raised her eyebrows, "Lawyer? Who is that? Your collaborator?"
Riiight... So in this era, no one represents a suspect of interest, huh? Not only the sky was stolen in this era, but the judicial system was also degraded this much. No wonder Kiara got that crazy wish with her.
I gulped, "I don't know what you're talking about. I just woke up in the shrine and saved Kiara from scary men, then I heard a scream outside and rush to save the day. But it turned out that the young man right here is very capable to handle it himself," I replied honestly but then my stomach growled loudly.
Ooh, why now dammit? Can you at least read the mood, dear stomach?
I laughed awkwardly, "S-Sorry, I haven't eaten anything yet these past three days. There's no offering at the cathedral and when finally I got food, it was poisoned."
Arthur gave me a puzzled look, "Wait, you eat offerings to the gods? Why?"
"Well, no one eating it. So why not?"
The female inspector chuckled slightly and asked her partner to continue the questioning. After clearing his throat, the male inspector asked again, "So, the point is, you denied your allegiance with the White Order, right? Well, then, tell us, which God do you worship?"
I looked at him confusedly before asking, "Why does it matter?"
The Female Inspector reprimanded me, "Just answer."
I replied, "Well... Godkin had perished a long time ago." And as their last descendant, it would be really weird to worship myself.
Arthur was surprised, "Y-You're kidding right? Gods are immortal. If there was no god, then how could we use magic to this day? Magic is the miracle bestowed by the gods to the living."
I nodded, "Why, I wonder? Yet kind of ironic, right? When all hope had been lost, you humans pray to what exactly? To the wind that blew nowhere."
And where did he get that nonsense? Gods are not immortal, no no no. We're just a long-life species with the ability to manipulate matter and possessed advanced technology. A mortal wound or disease could harm us. Without Divinity, a nanomachine embedded in our body, those two could kill us easily.
Arthur face-palmed himself, "This is getting so weird. I don't think you're schizo, but at the same time I couldn't believe anything you've said."
The Female Inspector laughed so hard that she cried. After a while, she sighed and said, "Artie, don't be so serious. If you think about it, this entire thing is rather ridiculous. I mean, we are interrogating someone who is not from this world."
The Male Inspector gave me a stern look, "I beg to differ, My Lady. Is it not the job of an Investigator to see through the lies and find the truth?"
The female inspector sighed at his statement, "Yeah, yeah, the ever-serious Arthur. Well, suppose we play with her story, as, ahem, a crazy Cultist from The Order, yet denounced her faith—"
I replied, "I'm not saying anything about Ice Cream Order."
The female Inspector ignored me, "From that alone, as the Mahamagi of Order, I, Quina Megistus, declared that you, Princess of whatever posed danger to the Peace of Alexandria and should be executed immediately."
"W-Wait, what? Can we talk about this, please? Pretty please?" Oh, C'mon, I just woke up!
The Female Inspector raised her eyebrow," So, you dare to deny me, The Law of Alexandria? What an interesting girl," she said while crossing her arm in thought for a while. She thoroughly looked at me before finally saying,
"Hmm… You know, Arthur, I think this Princess could be useful to us."
Arthur gasped, "N-No, my Lady, you can't be serious."
"Well, she is either telling the truth or a complete lunatic. Either way, she did defeat your team on her own, right? So no doubt her strength is top-class. That is the talent we urgently need right now," said Quina as she lit her cigarette and began to smoke,
"For months our Alexandria had been disturbed by The White Order. They kidnapped, killed, and experimented on our people. Yet, they were so elusive and proliferated quickly like a tumor. I want them out of the picture, quickly."
Quina looked at the Male Inspector, "Luckily, we have the one who was responsible for the case here. Arthur Onyxis is one of my reliable subordinates. With his genius brain and our Princess's brute force, we could finally end The Order."
Wait, did she just tell me that I'm just a musclehead?
Suddenly Arthur intruded, "So, you're going to decide all of this without my opinion?"
Quina chuckled, "Of course. I'm The Mahamagi! Unless you want to lose your job, you should accept my decision, Arthur."
"U-Ugh, this is an abuse of power."
The Female Inspector chuckled while waving her hand to form an ice cubicle. After shaping it for a while she shot the ice rose into my neck, forming a chain that bound me. Inside the ice, I could feel the terrifying magic power that waiting to chop my head.
"That is Aobana, a special curse that instantly kills its host if they disobey the law of Alexandria. Until you've proven yourself innocent, the Black Company shall keep watch on you, Princess."
"N-No, y-you can't do this to me!" I protest but suddenly chain on my neck glowed red and with it, a searing flame licked my skin. It was so hurt that I screamed in pain.
Seriously? Oh no, I'm in deep trouble! The Aobana curse would significantly limit my choice, forcing me into an obedient sheep that follow her order. Damn, do they never heard of Human Rights? Oh, wait... I'm not a human. Of course, I have no human rights! Silly me.
"Shut it. Don't forget your place here, you mere Daemon," Quina reprimanded me coldly before she stood and patted Arthur's shoulder,
"I believe this interrogation is over. The rest I leave to you, Artie. Bring me good news in the following week, understand?"
"As you wish, Lady Megistus," Arthur said reluctantly.
... The Lady smirked at me before leaving the room. It was as if she found a new plaything. Dammit, I just want to search for my daughter in peace, you know!