078 QUESTIONING WITH THE TRIAL OF TRUTH

078 QUESTIONING WITH THE TRIAL OF TRUTH

She stepped close, wrapping her arms around his back and guiding his hands in a slow, ritualistic movement. Together, they traced patterns in the air before lowering their hands toward his lower torso.

"Wait—what are you doing?" he asked, his voice tinged with curiosity.

"Your Cakra resides here, in your lower body," she explained calmly. "This spell will help it grow, gathering energy and strength over time."

As he cast the spell on himself, Leo felt a deep warmth blooming in his lower torso. The magic was subtle yet powerful, slowly feeding into his core, drawing more energy with each passing moment.

His Cakra felt fuller, more alive as the magic collected.

To his surprise, he noticed his experience counter inching up.

"It's working," he murmured in awe. "I'm leveling up without all the usual grinding and sacrifice."

He turned to Yun-Yun, a playful smile forming. Unable to resist, he leaned in and kissed her. She gave a light laugh, pulling back just slightly.

"We're still training, Leo," she reminded him, trying to stay serious.

"We can train tomorrow," he said, his voice low. "Tonight, let's focus on each other."

-----

Leo and Princess Bara stepped into the dimly lit prison cell where members of the Sword Mountain sect were confined. Bound by enchanted chains that shimmered with an eerie blue light, the captives were rendered powerless.

"I'll make sure those bastards pay," Bara vowed, eyes glinting with cold fury.

Leo smirked.

"Do what you must. I don't object to violence," he said, as they approached their destination.

The guide unlocked the cell door and gestured for them to step inside. To their surprise, someone was already there.

"Hello and welcome to the Assassin Guild," the woman said smoothly. "I'm Grangya, here to brief you on the guild's rules and document your delivery of this bounty."

Her practiced smile was polite but hollow, like a mask.

Leo's eyes narrowed as he studied her.

Something about Grangya was amiss. The subtle differences in the data displayed by her System's floating marker hinted that she could be a human player.

"Name: Lorelei…(Cursed)" 

'Favorite Soup: Pumpkin Soup"

"Favourite Color: Red"

A new thought crossed his mind, and he decided to test it.

With the recent update to his System, he could use party invitations as a subtle probe to check if someone was a player. If Grangya was indeed a human player, her reaction would confirm it.

"Lorelei: Would you like to join a party? —signed, Black Cock," the notification flashed in Grangya's vision suddenly.

"What now? Another one of these annoying random fuck-vites?" she muttered, irritation flickering across her face.

"Can't the fucking system see I'm busy?" Without much thought, she pressed, No.

"Party invitation rejected," the System notified Leo, a grin forming on his lips.

Only human players would receive and 'Reject' to party invites this way. If it was a non-player, the response would be, "sorry, Player not found.'

In the Realm of Sins, invites could be sent to any player no matter where they were, but random invites were a nuisance and often ignored. Most sensible players declined them outright, aware of the risks to their data privacy and security if they joined an unfamiliar party.

Leo's suspicions were confirmed. Grangya or Lorelei was, without a doubt, a human player.

They trailed behind Grangya into a heavily secured cell.

The room was lined with metal cages embedded into the walls, floor, and ceiling, creating an impenetrable fortress. The prisoners inside bore magical seals etched into their skin, nullifying their powers—similar to the curse that had once bound Yun-Yun's magic.

"It's you bitch. Where is Ma-re?" barked Ma-san, straining against his chains when he spotted Princess Bara. His face twisted in anger.

"Didn't that idiot watch over you?" he asked furiously.

Bara's response was immediate and brutal.

Bitch slap.

The sound of her palm slapping Ma-san's cheek echoed in the cell, leaving a trail of blood dripping from his lip.

Her vengeance shocked Grangya who was watching from the sides, rousing an unexpected feeling inside of her.

"This is impossible. I don't have feelings for others. I am a psychopath", Grangya told herself secretly.

"Ma-re?" Bara mocked. "I don't know about the rest of him, but that fucker's cock is probably feeding the wild dogs somewhere now."

"No!" Ma-san shouted, eyes wide with panic. "What did you do to him?"

Bara's lips curled into a cold smile. "You should care about yourself."

"Who is this remarkable woman?" Grangya asked Leo, unable to hide her admiration.

"She is the master of the ritual of truth," he replied.

"We have all the instruments that you wanted prepared but there is no need for you to interrogate them personally", Grangya told Bara.

"I do this for free", Bara replied to her.

The room was furnished with an array of instruments designed for pain and torture. Bara's gaze landed on a heavy metal plier, gleaming with malevolent purpose.

"This should do nicely for a Trial of Truth," she said, lifting the tool turning her attention back to Ma-san.

"Using tools is more effective than with bare hands," she added as she gave Leo an unforgiving gaze.

"I passed my fucking mock trial," he replied to her.

"You won't pass this one if I was serious and used my tools, hahaha," she replied seriously and then laughed before facing her real prey.

She tore at Ma-san's ragged pants, exposing his trembling organ, and without hesitation, positioned her pliers around it and pressed.

The scream that erupted from Ma-san was raw, piercing. "Arrrrrghhh!"

"Shouldn't you ask your questions first?" Grangya asked with a tinge of excitement.

"Torture first, questions later," Bara snapped.

Grangya stood back, watching Bara's relentless and sadistic routine—squeezing, releasing, and then pouring healing potion on the wound to prolong Ma-san's suffering.

Each scream rang louder, until his voice cracked with pleas for death.

"Please… just kill me. I can't take it anymore," Ma-san whimpered.

Grangya turned her gaze to Leo, "About the questioning? Should we begin now?"