"115: Whips and Candles, The Basement Interrogation"

In just over ten minutes, both Kanzaki Kaori and Stiyl had been completely defeated. Witnessing the scene, Index was momentarily stunned before her eyes sparkled with admiration. "Su Mo is amazing!"

Now she finally understood why he had said there was nothing to worry about. With his level of power, even a Saint posed little threat.

Su Mo, meanwhile, cast a glance at the two unconscious magicians lying at his feet. "These two…" After thinking for a moment, he made a decision. "Let's just lock them up in the basement for now." There was no point in interrogating them while they were unconscious. To expose the truth behind the Anglican Church's conspiracy, he would have to wait until they woke up.

Roughly half an hour later, Kanzaki finally awoke, her eyes opening to dim candlelight flickering in the basement. Standing before her, wearing an inexplicable smile, was Su Mo. If this much was within her expectations, what she saw in his hand was completely outside of them.

Despite having electric lights available, he had chosen to light the room with nothing but candles.

The wax dripped from the candles onto the ground, quickly hardening into small puddles. But far more eye-catching than that was the object in Su Mo's hand — a purple whip.

It wasn't made of any hard or threatening material; in fact, it didn't even look particularly sturdy. There were no barbs, no sharp edges, nothing that suggested it was some kind of torture instrument. On the surface, it seemed completely harmless. And yet, when Kanzaki Kaori saw the design of the whip — the purple heart-shaped handle, with a large capital "S" embossed in the center — her expression froze, and panic took hold of her.

Even someone like her, who could remain calm and composed under torture, was completely flustered at the sight of such an item. In all her years, she had never encountered a situation like this. That whip, no matter how she looked at it, resembled one of those... adult toys that Tsuchimikado had once teased her about.

"W-What are you planning to do?" For once, the fearless Saint stuttered.

It was only now that she fully realized: the man standing before her was also a young, healthy man full of vigor. Never before had Kanzaki Kaori regretted the design of her battle attire so much. Her denim shorts, cut high on the thigh, and her simple tied-up T-shirt might have seemed casual, but in reality, they were part of her ritualistic clothing as required by Amakusa's spellcasting methods.

Though she had always been modest by nature, she never worried about her safety—her strength was protection enough. But now, things were different. She couldn't help but wonder if her revealing outfit had drawn Su Mo's attention, leading to this situation. Was she about to lose the treasure she had guarded for eighteen years?

As her thoughts spun into panic, a familiar voice suddenly rang out beside her. It was Index, holding a candle as she cheerfully approached Su Mo and looked at Kanzaki.

"Su Mo, Su Mo, do you need my help?"

"Help?!" Kanzaki gasped sharply. Not only does he plan to do something indecent, but he's even thinking of having Index watch... or even assist?! That was crossing every possible line! She was just a child!

With a determined expression as if prepared to sacrifice herself, Kanzaki shouted, "Whatever you plan to do, take it all out on me! I only have one request — don't let that child watch!"

Protecting Index was her utmost priority. She was only fourteen — still a child!

Hearing her impassioned declaration, Su Mo replied calmly, "Even if you didn't say it, you were always my target." His next words, however, nearly made Kanzaki's heart drop. "But I can't exclude Index. After all, she's the main character here, not you."

Main character? Kanzaki's mind went blank. What does he mean Index is the main character? They only met yesterday… Would Index even agree to such a thing? It was only now that she realized she might have completely misunderstood the situation.

"What exactly... are you planning to do?" she asked, her voice filled with hesitation.

"To find out the truth," Su Mo answered without missing a beat. "There has to be a reason why you've been hunting Index all this time, right?"

"Ah… uh… Ugh—!!" Hearing his perfectly reasonable reply and seeing his clear, innocent eyes, Kanzaki realized just how far her own thoughts had derailed. Covering her face with both hands, she let out a mortified groan.

"Eh? What's wrong with her?" Index tilted her head, unable to comprehend Kanzaki's reaction.

"Who knows…" Su Mo smiled faintly and casually tossed the whip aside, pretending to know nothing. It took Kanzaki quite a while to compose herself.

Meanwhile, Stiyl had also regained consciousness and quickly assessed the situation.

"Now then," Su Mo finally began his interrogation. "Why exactly were you two hunting Index?"

The moment the question was asked, Kanzaki and Stiyl exchanged glances, then looked at Index standing nearby. Both chose silence.

"You don't want to answer? That's fine," Su Mo said calmly, showing no intention of using force. "I may not know exactly who you are, but according to Index, you're after the 103,000 grimoires in her possession. So while I won't kill you, I can't simply let you go either. Since you refuse to talk, you can both stay in this basement for the next month. I'll have someone deliver food regularly. As for Index, I plan to take her on a little trip before returning her to the Anglican Church. I assume she'll be safe there."

Hearing this, Index's expression tensed, and she instinctively clutched Su Mo's sleeve. Even though she didn't know the full truth, she could feel that the Church was no longer a safe place for her. Sensing her unease, Su Mo gently took her hand, offering silent reassurance. Naturally, he had no intention of actually returning Index. He was simply baiting the two before him.

And sure enough, upon hearing Su Mo's words, both Kanzaki and Stiyl's faces turned visibly tense. Stiyl's expression darkened as he glanced at the two holding hands, while Kanzaki's face filled with worry.

Under normal circumstances, they might have applauded Su Mo's decision. After all, returning Index to the Church wouldn't be a bad thing in ordinary times. But right now, it was absolutely unacceptable.

According to the Archbishop of the Anglican Church, because of Index's perfect memory, the 103,000 grimoires occupied 85% of her brain's storage capacity, leaving only 15% for daily memories. As a result, her memories needed to be periodically purged every year, or her brain would overload and ultimately kill her.

The appointed time for this year's memory purge was fast approaching. If Su Mo took Index elsewhere during this critical window and her brain reached its capacity limit, she would fall into a coma. With both Kanzaki and Stiyl trapped in the basement, there would be no one to perform the memory removal ritual.

In that scenario, an unaware Su Mo would likely scramble for medical help, wasting precious time — and ultimately, Index's life would be lost. This outcome was entirely foreseeable... and terrifyingly likely.

"Wait!" Kanzaki Kaori suddenly called out. The thought running through her mind filled her with urgency — if she stayed silent, Index might truly die, and Su Mo would live the rest of his life burdened by guilt. She couldn't allow such a tragedy to unfold. Taking a deep breath, she made her decision. "I'll tell you everything," she said firmly, "but—" Her eyes turned toward Index. "She cannot know. I'll only tell you alone."

After weighing her options, Kanzaki realized this was the only way. Right now, the entire situation was firmly in Su Mo's hands, and he needed the full truth in order to make an informed decision. Besides, Kanzaki trusted that Su Mo genuinely cared about Index's well-being. Once he knew the truth, she believed he would stand by her side. The memory purge was approaching; Index couldn't go through the same heartbreaking pain as before.