Tilea's Worries

Timu-chan guided me to the Evil God Purgatory Room.

It was indeed THAT kind of place.

Elizabeth was there.

She must have seen hell, as she had a gaunt, corpse-like face.

Does Tilea-san know about this?

Tilea-san isn't capable of putting on a facade.

Probably not. That's fine. There's no need to tell her.

Anyway, thanks to Timu-chan, I've figured out the location of the purgatory room.

For today...

I glance at the two people.

"Hyaaaa! N-no, that's not it. It's Edim, it's incompetent Edim's fault!"

"Y-you, how far will you—s-stop it! D-die, Ortissio! P-please. I don't care what happens to me. Please, please give this idiot the most extreme punishment of all extreme punishments."

The two of them scream.

Yeah, for today, let's rescue these two pitiful souls, Edim and Ortissio-san, and call it a day.

A few days later...

I head to the Underground Empire of the Evil God Army again.

Today, I'm going to the bottom of the bottom of the Underground Empire.

I have business in the Evil God Purgatory Room where Elizabeth is.

I descended the stairs of the Underground Empire, heading there alone.

No one stops me.

The title of Finance Minister carries that much authority. I have a free pass to go anywhere.

I descend the stairs step by step.

Gradually, Elizabeth's screams grow louder.

Last time, with Timu-chan beside me, I only confirmed Elizabeth's whereabouts.

Today is different.

I'm going to settle this.

And then...

I arrive at the Evil God Purgatory Room and peek through the barred window.

Inside are Elizabeth and a man.

I know the man's face well.

Today's interrogator appears to be Ortissio-san.

Ortissio-san was shouting at Elizabeth while swinging his fists.

"You bastaaaaard! Punishment! Punishment! Punishment!"

"Guhaa! Geeeh! Gugaaaa!"

Elizabeth writhed in agony. She was vomiting blood and convulsing.

Ortissio-san had delivered a series of straight punches directly to Elizabeth's face.

Elizabeth's face was caved in, beyond recognition.

Normally, she would be dead by now.

But since she was being beaten while immersed in the Evil God Army's special potion, her wounds were healing as soon as they were inflicted.

Thanks to that, she doesn't die.

Evil God Potion, was it?

It has incredible healing power.

Even though each of Ortissio-san's punches is lethal, she recovers at an even faster rate.

With that, physical damage is practically zero.

Only the pain continues eternally.

"Haa, haa, haa, a-aguaaaa!"

Elizabeth breathes heavily, looking up at empty space.

Ortissio-san carelessly grabs Elizabeth's hair.

Then, peering into Elizabeth's face, he interrogates her.

"I'll ask you once more. Do you admit your crime?"

"Haa, haa, I admit it. I admit it! I-I've been saying that all along, what's wrong with you?!"

"You bastaaaard! You still won't admit it? I won't stop hitting you until you admiiiiit it!"

"Guhaa! Geeeh! Gugaaaa!"

Ortissio-san hits Elizabeth's face, hits it, hits it with all his might.

And then, the Evil God Potion heals, heals, super-heals.

This keeps repeating.

Sigh~ What is Ortissio-san trying to do?

I open the purgatory room door and enter.

"I'll ask you once more. Do you admit your crime?"

"Haa, haa, I-I admit it. A-are you crazy? Can't you understand what I'm say—"

"You wretch! How stubborn can you beeeee?!"

Ortissio-san raises his fist.

This might loop forever, huh?

"Ortissio-san!"

This is getting nowhere. I called out to him without thinking.

"Oh, if it isn't Puppet!"

Noticing me, Ortissio-san stopped his raised fist.

He turned around, wiped the blood from his fist with a cloth, and greeted me with a slightly raised corner of his mouth.

...I did help him quite a bit from Timu-chan's punishment, after all.

It seems his favorability toward me has increased somewhat.

He's not in a state where he can't even talk to me due to open hostility anymore.

He's started to treat me normally.

It would be difficult if he continued to be hostile.

I worked hard using my abilities to the fullest.

It's paid off.

It seems his attitude has improved to about the same level as the other division members.

After helping him that much, this is all I get...

I'm not entirely satisfied, but oh well.

I look at Ortissio-san.

"What is it, Puppet?"

Ortissio-san approached with a smiling face.

"Nothing in particular. More importantly, what have you been doing all this time?"

"Can't you tell by looking? This great criminal is stubborn. I was just putting my heart into punishing her."

"Um, by stubborn, you mean..."

"This one refuses to admit her crimes. She doesn't understand at all what she's done."

Ortissio-san has a frustrated look on his face.

"Um, I don't understand... Elizabeth was admitting her crimes, wasn't she?"

"Puppet, don't disappoint me too much. She's not admitting anything. If she were admitting it, she would have killed herself by now. Due to the enormity of her crimes. Rebellion against Tilea-sama—having committed such a grave sin, if she truly admitted it, wouldn't she at least say, 'Please let me die. No, please punish me for eternity'?!"

"I see. That makes sense."

"Right?"

Ortissio-san's way of speaking is extreme, but I understand what he's trying to say.

Elizabeth isn't remorseful. Her words are just lip service.

Anyway, I need to do what needs to be done.

"Ortissio-san, I'll take it from here. Please take a break."

"Oh, Puppet, you want to punish this one too?!"

"Yes, I also want to punish this fool who defied Tilea-sama."

"I commend your loyalty. Very well. I'll take a short break. I'll leave the rest to you."

Ortissio-san left the purgatory room.

After confirming that Ortissio-san had completely left, I locked the door of the purgatory room. I further secured it with security magic, creating a double lock.

Now it's just the two of us.

Even if Timu-chan tries to enter, this should buy us some time.

I rush over to Elizabeth, who is breathing heavily.

"It's been a while."

"Y-you... Miless! You're alive!"

"Yes, somehow."

"To survive that torture and return safely—no, with the abnormally effective potion here, I suppose it's possible."

"Elizabeth, I have something I want to ask."

"What is it? I'm a prisoner now. I won't move for free. There's some kind of return, right?"

"I'm not negotiating. There's no time for such leisurely talk. We only have until Ortissio-san returns."

"Y-yes, that's right. That idiot! N-no matter what I say, he won't listen. Miless, please tell him. I have absolutely no intention of defying you all."

"..."

"I-it's true. It's true, so please believe me."

Elizabeth pleads with sobs. Her face is completely haggard.

She's experienced living hell many times. She must know in her bones that there's no chance of winning by defying us.

She really wants to be saved.

There's no trace of the once-confident Elizabeth.

Even with the Evil God Army's special potion, it can't prevent mental wear and tear.

"Elizabeth, I have a question for you. If you answer honestly, I'll convey your plea. They'll probably listen to me."

"R-really?"

"Yes."

"...You're not planning to just extract information and then pretend you don't know me, are you?"

"I'm not a shameless person like you. If I make a promise, I'll definitely keep it."

"...That's right. You were that kind of person. I understand. I'll answer anything I can. S-so please get me out of here quickly!"

Elizabeth leaned forward as she spoke.

"Elizabeth, you imprisoned me, didn't you?"

"U-um, that wasn't my intention..."

"I don't want excuses. I want the truth. What did you do to me at that time?"

I want to know what triggered me becoming a high-level human.

My memory cuts off after breaking into Elizabeth's mansion.

Something definitely happened there.

"I-I'm sorry. I'll never do such a thing again—"

"I said I don't need apologies or explanations. Just tell me the facts!"

"W-well, I left your treatment to Ebeanz."

"Ebeanz?"

"M-my household's torturer."

"What kind of person is he? What did he do to me?"

"Ebeanz is a pervert with sadistic tastes. You should know best, having been tortured by him, right?"

"...My memories of that are vague."

"Is that so? Well, I suppose that's natural. If you remembered that, you couldn't stay sane. After all, Ebeanz's skills were so impressive that even I was enchanted."

"...So what exactly did he do? You know, don't you?"

"Yes, of course."

After that, I heard about the torture from Elizabeth.

There was no particularly noteworthy information, just sickening stories that made me want to vomit.

"Fufu, how can you still be sane? Ah, so that's why you lost your memory. The loss of your limbs... I suppose they were healed by the amazing effect of this potion?"

"That's enough. Any other information?"

"That's all."

"That can't be all. Speak."

"...It really is everything. Well, knowing Ebeanz, it wouldn't be strange if he had some secret techniques I don't know about."

Secret techniques?

Is that the cause?

Elizabeth genuinely doesn't seem to know anything more.

I can tell from her breathing and pulse that she's not lying.

The best thing would be to ask the person directly.

"Where is he?"

"He died. The body wasn't found, but wasn't he killed by Ortissio and the others?"

Damn, dead men tell no tales.

Probably as Elizabeth says, Ortissio-san killed him.

After causing such a commotion, it's something Ortissio-san would do.

"Well, I've told you everything I can. You seem very close to Tilea-sama and Timu-sama. Please put in a good word for me to get me released."

Elizabeth speaks in a fawning voice.

Well, this is a fortunate coincidence.

The main issue starts now.

"Are you remorseful?"

"W-what are you suddenly—"

"I'm asking if you're remorseful!"

"Y-yes, of course. I will never defy you again. I swear to serve as a faithful subordinate."

"That's not what I mean. I'm asking if you have anything to say to the innocent people you killed!"

"...Yes, I am truly sorry. I intend to spend the rest of my life making amends."

"...I see."

I remove Elizabeth's shackles.

Elizabeth exhaled with a "phew~".

The handcuffs must have been very tight. She keeps rubbing her wrists.

"I'll believe those shallow words for now. You must make amends for the rest of your life. You can't complain no matter what the bereaved families do to you. Don't worry, the potion here will heal any severe injury."

"That's right. I, who have nearly died from torture many times, can guarantee its effectiveness."

"Now, let's go."

"Where to?"

"Of course, to all the bereaved families who were harmed by you."

"Wait a moment."

"What?"

As I turned around, Elizabeth held a hidden knife to my neck.

"Kyahahaha! Fool, you let your guard down!"

"...That knife."

"Yes, that's right. It's what that idiot left behind during the torture! I kept it hidden for a moment like this."

"I see, so your remorse was a lie after all. Well, I knew that."

"Kukku, why are you acting so composed?! Thanks to this potion, I'm at full strength. Shall I carve up your face?"

"You still want to taste hell."

"Kuh, you're treasured by those silver-haired girls. You're plenty valuable as a hostage. I'll use you as a hostage and escape, escape, escape!"

Elizabeth shouts with a triumphant face.

Her appearance is hideous, as if her rotten nature is displayed for all to see.

"That rotten nature of yours won't be cured even if you die."

"Kukku, what are you misunderstanding? You're just a fox borrowing the tiger's power. And now, that tiger protecting you isn't here."

"So?"

"You're slow-witted. Indeed, you're a hostage, so I can't kill you. But even if I can't kill you, I can still hurt you like thiiiiis!"

Saying that, Elizabeth tries to stab my thigh with the knife.

...What a slow movement.

I could kill her a thousand times before the knife stabs me.

I stop the approaching knife with my fingers.

"What!?"

Elizabeth gapes in astonishment.

Not only was the knife stopped with just two fingers, but even when she tries to take it back using both hands, it doesn't budge at all.

"W-what strength."

"Are you done?"

"D-don't underestimate me! Die, die, dieeeee!!"

Elizabeth releases her hands from the knife's handle and frantically fires consecutive magic bullets.

I catch them with one hand and crush the magic bullets in my palm.

"W-what the hell is thaaaaat?!"

Elizabeth shows an expression of disbelief.

There was also fear on her face.

Well, I was captured normally at the mansion. She probably didn't think for a moment that I was strong.

"I didn't tell you, did I? I've become stronger since then."

"S-stronger, h-how?"

"I don't know. But I can tell you this much: the current me could easily kill a hundred Baccios."

"Th-that's nonsense."

"Do you really think it's nonsense?"

I intimidate her by looking into Elizabeth's eyes.

Elizabeth's knees were shaking.

She might be considering me the same as Timu-chan and Ortissio-san.

"Elizabeth, I had two purposes for coming here. One was to extract information about this power of mine. That seems to have been a miss. Well, that's fine. The important thing is the second one, your disposal."

"W-wait, please. Th-this is..."

"I've had enough of your excuses."

"Y-you can just kill me as you please!"

"Yes. I might get scolded a bit, but that's all. As you say, I'm treasured by those two."

"W-wait. P-please forgive me..."

"I won't forgive you. This place, your existence, causes Tilea-san pain. You shouldn't exist in this world."

"W-w-what are you going to do?"

"Countdown to hell."

I activate dark magic and summon a large gate.

When I open the gate,

there is...

A pool of blood, a mountain of needles, and demons with clubs howling with strange cries.

"Wh-what is this...w-what is it?"

"Hell."

"Hell!? N-no way... th-this is a joke, right?"

"Even hell is too mild for you!"

Saying that, I push Elizabeth's shoulder, thrusting her through the door.

"Gyaaaaaaaa! Wh-what is thiiiiis! Wh-where am I?!"

Elizabeth screams.

"Goodbye. If you truly repent, I'll let you out. Well, that's probably impossible."

I gently close the gate to hell.

Sigh~ I disposed of her on my own.

But if Tilea-san were to mistakenly enter this room, how much would it pain her heart?

That was my only concern.

The army members seemed likely to invite Tilea-san for some kind of execution viewing, after all.

Let hell handle the punishment.