"The thing is fine. If you tell me everything you know, I'll kindly send you back to prison."
Lucas remained silent. His brain was racing.
Lucas, who joined the Parrot Thieves Band instead of the Parrot Mercenary Band, didn't have much loyalty towards Marsha. Therefore, it was easy for him to confess what he knew.
However, confessing here meant that he couldn't get out of the deep underground prison until he died of old age.
"What if we make a deal?"
"A deal? What kind of deal?"
"I'll tell you everything about Marsha. In return, reduce my sentence. If you let me out before I die, I'll give you the information you want."
"Haha…"
Sakiri looked at Lucas with an astonished expression. Then suddenly, he burst out laughing and kicked.
"Hahaha!"
The desk crashed noisily. Getting up abruptly, Sakiri shouted as he approached.
"You're crazy! Do you even know where you are?"
He lifted his foot and kicked Lucas, knocking him off the chair. Even then, as if his anger was still subdued, he stomped on fallen Lucas.
But this time, Lucas was desperate.
Either way, if he died this way or that, it was all the same. If he didn't achieve the desired results here, his life would eventually end.
"Kick me! Kick me all you want! I won't talk! So, let's make a deal!"
Sakiri's kick stopped abruptly.
Why are all the bad ones so shamelessly bold? If they didn't want to go to prison so much, they shouldn't have committed crimes in the first place.
"Argh, this is driving me insane."
Sakiri calmed his breathing and turned around.
Still in a state of fear, Lucas closely observed his figure. The fact that the kicks ceased meant he was in conflict. If he held out a bit longer, it seemed a window for conversation might open.
However, contrary to his expectations, Sakiri opened the interrogation room door and gave a chilling order.
"Hey, disable the magic restraint device here."
The magic restraint device was different from anti-magic. It was technology that prevented the activation of magic from the outset.
Of course, it was also a type of magic, but there weren't many thieves in the world who could disrupt a magical circle designed by first-class archmages.
Lucas swallowed dry saliva. He must not show fear. It was clear that Sakiri was also making a final effort. If he overcame this obstacle, someday he might be able to return to the world.
Sakiri waited quietly. After a moment, there was a sound as the air settled with a whoosh.
Lucas couldn't tell what had changed, but Sakiri seemed lighter, tilting his head as he approached.
"Tell me everything you know about Marsha. If you remain silent or perjure, unbearable terror will invade you."
"I… I won't say it. I'll never say it."
Sakiri didn't care and reached out to Lucas. Then he calmly closed his eyes and murmured what seemed like a spell.
"As the judge, I order that words respond to words. The scale of truth belongs only to you."
Lucas's complexion turned as pale as a corpse.
He was wrong to think that the man was an ordinary investigator. Sakiri was one of the many people who should never be touched.
"Darn it!"
Ten minutes had passed since then.
"Aaaaah!"
A heart-rending scream echoed in the interrogation room.
Lucas was almost insane. Even when he underwent amputation surgery, it wasn't as painful.
"I get it! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything, please stop this!"
The moment he shouted, the pain faded as if it were a lie.
Huddled in a corner of the interrogation room, Lucas looked at Sakiri, cowering in fear.
"It's your choice. If you want to be comfortable, speak willingly."
Lucas resigned himself. Neither silence nor lies were tolerated.
In the face of Sakiri's magic, 'The Scale of Truth', any criminal was obliged to confess the truth.
"Marsha is clever. And she doesn't make mistakes. She pretends to stay behind while exposing all the opponent's long-term plans. But she never employs tricks that make her hated."
"Typical tricks of a trickster."
"Keke, a trickster? No, she's not a trickster. Do you know what she fears? It's not lying to deceive someone. It's that her whole life is a lie. You won't catch any of her tricks."
"Hmm, I understand her tendencies. But with just that, intelligence wouldn't be so confusing, right?"
Sakiri rested his chin and sank into his thoughts. Then suddenly, he thought of a possibility.
Others might not know, but he was sure. He knew why the intelligence was inconsistent.
"Could it be? Is it possible that…?"
"Yes. She is a human of the same kind as you."
Relieved from suffering more, Lucas spoke emphatically.
"Marsha… she eats rules." (Translator's Note: 규정외식자. For now, I don't know if it's a term or just a statement. For now, I'll use 'Rule Eater' or 'Regulation Eater').
***
Shirone analyzed her through any means possible. But he couldn't understand her. She was a person with a completely different personality from anyone he had ever met in his life.
"You don't mind… if I kill you?"
"Haha, yes. You hate me, don't you? So, you can kill me as much as you want."
Shirone didn't think any further. If he couldn't find an answer anyway, he simply stuck to his beliefs.
"If Yuna is safe, then I have no reason to fight with you."
A faint smile appeared at the corners of Marsha's lips.
Then, when an aggressive Spiritual Zone pushed him, Shirone immediately cast Teleportation.
'What?'
Shirone was puzzled. His Spiritual Zone suddenly disappeared, and the Teleportation was undone.
At that moment, the roar of Sound Cannon passed, and his eardrums felt like they were burning with fire.
Unable to withstand the impact, Shirone rolled on the ground, and Rian exclaimed in surprise.
"What? Why is Shirone acting like this all of a sudden?"
"Sound Cannon compresses sound waves so that the sound doesn't spread randomly. Therefore, their friends outside only heard a sharp scream."
"That's Sound Cannon. A type of sound magic. But that's not the problem."
Tess agreed with Amy's words.
"Right. Shirone was hit."
A dark shadow fell over Amy's face. It seemed that Shirone had tried to evade with teleportation, but just before the magic could activate, his photonization came undone.
"It's not just about taking a hit. It was stolen."
"Stolen? What was stolen?"
Amy noticed it thanks to synesthesia. The moment Marsha sucked Shirone's spiritual zone as if it were dew.
"Perhaps… mental power."
"That's impossible. How can someone steal another person's mental power?"
Amy hurriedly walked towards Shirone.
Class A criminal, Claire Marsha.
If the assumption was correct, that woman was an extremely dangerous person.
"Shirone! Be careful! That woman is a Rule Eater!"
Shirone raised his head abruptly. Due to the power of Sound Cannon, both ears were wet as if bleeding, but the mental strength of his Indestructible Diamond was still intact.
"Is this… a Rule Eater?"
"Oh, do you know about Rule Eater? You're really amazing. That's why it's said that the longer the bag strap, the better."
Mages develop numerous magics every day, and the association registers them as regulated magic.
However, there are magics in the world that can never be registered, and those are Rule Eater.
The omniscience of Rule Eater is unique.
This is because omniscience is composed solely of the blind ideology of the mage, not of actual facts that everyone knows.
In short, they were mages who could create their own rules and impose them on others.
Shirone remembered the story about Rule Eater he had heard during Siena's lesson.
"Omnipotence is faith. The reason why the speed of photons can be classified into four types, the temperature of flames can change, and plasma can be created even at medium temperature is because the omnipotence of the mage supports the omniscience behind it.
Siena wrote the words 'Rule Eater' on the board.
The appearance of the unknown word caused a commotion among the students, but she continued the explanation unfazed.
"But in the world, there are those who use omnipotence for personal purposes. In other words, instead of supporting omniscience, it distorts omniscience itself. The magic used by those people is called Rule Eater."
"Professor, I don't quite understand?"
"Let me explain now. Everyone, what is my profession?"
"Of course, you're a teacher."
"Right. I am a teacher. Shall we begin now? Is there anyone among you who doesn't believe I'm a teacher? Raise your hand."
Naturally, no student raised their hand. It was impossible. Knowing that someone is a teacher and then denying it was a contradiction.
"This is precisely the characteristic of the mind. Unlike the body, when a concept enters the mind, it does not reject it. However, it absorbs it and forms a new mass."
Siena raised her finger to emphasize.
"Essentially, other people's thoughts can be applied to another person, and, in fact, all the thoughts that make us who we are have been obtained from others. Now, I will give a demonstration of a Rule Eater."
Siena stepped down from the podium and looked directly at the students.
"Everyone who considers me a teacher will die."
The students murmured. Because Siena's words were so serious, some students tried to deny it, but in the end, it was impossible.
The mind does not accept denial. It only changes.
"Professor, is this… true?"
"Don't be surprised. I was explaining the mechanism. I am not a Rule Eater."
Relieved sighs came from the students.
Siena adjusted her glasses and returned to the podium.
"Of course, in reality, it's not that simple. There is no 'Rule Eater' that can inject a fundamental concept to kill people. Even a 'Rule Eater' magic is, after all, magic. The principle of equivalent exchange always applies."
A student raised their hand.
"But there really could be someone like that, right? I mean, someone who believes that the rule you just mentioned is valid for an equivalent exchange... is a lunatic, of course."
"Of course, there is a possibility... But magic is a product of reason. A person with such a disturbed mind wouldn't be able to handle magic in the first place. And even if they existed, their magic wouldn't affect you."
"Because it can't even penetrate the mind."
That's right. Therefore, 'Rule Eater' These practices come with significant restrictions and costs. For example, you could create a rule like this. Anyone who considers me a teacher must use an honorific language with me."
"Eh, that's natural."
"Yes. And this is the terrifying part of 'Rule Eater' practices. Just as you accept this as obvious, 'Rule Eater' makes it natural by instilling their own rules into others. So, what if it were like this? Anyone who thinks of me as a teacher must feel attracted to me."
"Haha! Isn't that obvious too?"
The children laughed heartily. Siena continued unperturbed.
"Anyone who feels attracted to me must unconditionally obey me."
The children's laughter gradually subsided.
"Those who obey me must die in front of me."
Silence fell in the classroom.
"This is one of the techniques of Rule Eater, which is a restriction. Expand the rule by placing various restrictions. When there is a leap in logic, you connect it with omnipotence. Because you truly believe in it, those things happen. So once you're caught, you can't escape."
The sound of someone swallowing was heard. Is there really so much magic in the world? If it were true, this was a mage they would never want to encounter.
"But the real reason 'Rule Eater' is so complicated is not because of the limitations but because of the costs. I said earlier that you cannot kill someone with a fundamental concept, but if it involves a cost, it's different. I'll show it right now. Anyone who does not consider me a teacher will die."