Chapter Twenty-One: The Persecution Must Not Cease

"What just happened?" Mino scratched his head.

He had been so completely immersed in his own shame—much like listening to a Great Compassion Mantra without quite catching the lyrics—that he had been entirely oblivious to what had transpired.

"Wait, wasn't I the one being interrogated? Why does she look like the victim? Altotai, did you notice anything just now?"

Mino turned his head in confusion, only to find Altotai pressed into the corner of the wall, looking as if he were offering a pious prayer to a goddess.

"The Goddess be praised! The Hero has survived an interrogation for the first time!" Altotai’s voice was filled with such excitement that he was nearly moved to tears. "I finally don't have to struggle with whether I should sacrifice my own kin for the future of humanity! Thank the Goddess, it is all the Goddess's protection!"

"Hey, hey..." Mino was stunned. "Did you just say something incredibly dangerous? Are you planning to sneak up and kill me in my sleep one of these nights? No wonder I've been seeing you sharpening your sword in the corner lately!"

Putting that aside... he had actually survived the interrogation.

Mino looked toward a point in the void, his face suddenly stiffening. The entry for [Interrogation Task: Demon "Migo"] had turned gray. Because the process had been interrupted halfway through, the task was now frozen in an uncompletable state.

Damn it!

Mino mentally hammered five exclamation points. The task wasn't finished, which meant the reward that would have allowed him to leave the Demon King's castle and teleport straight home was now nowhere to be found.

He scrambled to the edge of the cell, shouting as if he could still salvage the situation. "Hey! Hey, you sheep-demon! Why don't we try again? I'll confess! I'll really confess!"

There was no response.

Mino slumped to the ground, his face ashen, only two words flashing through his mind:

"I'm screwed!"

...

In an open area of the Demon King's castle, Migo crouched on the ground, carefully and furtively wiping away the tears of embarrassment that had leaked from the corners of her eyes.

She looked around to ensure no one was watching, then slowly stood up. A few seconds later, she puffed out her cheeks and began throwing random punches at the air.

"What was that? What was that sense of shame just now?! 'Holy Beast Terminator'? What kind of beast would give itself a name like that?! Ahhhhh!"

Migo fussed about angrily for a while, then raised her hands in confusion to touch the demonic horns on either side of her head. "Why... why did I feel so ashamed when I heard that name? For a second there, I wanted to roll around on the floor."

Her voice grew quieter. She closed her eyes, and within her soul, a contract magic circle slowly drifted. The circle was crude, as if drawn crookedly with a twig; many of the symbols were unrecognizable, and most importantly... the circle was broken.

"I was discovered by Cletina at the border between the demons and humans... but as for the memories before that... well... I can't quite recall them. Young memories of the Horned Demon tribe fade away just like those of human infants once they reach a certain age..."

Migo hugged her knees, squatting blankly. Rather than maintaining the noble and aloof image of the Horned Demon tribe, several questions she had never considered before surfaced from the depths of her repressed heart:

*Why was I in that place? Why is the contract in my mind broken? If that contract was a familiar contract...*

Dressed in an exquisite, adorable Lolita dress, Migo looked like a princess, yet at this moment, she resembled an abandoned child, her mouth pouting, on the verge of shedding tiny pearls.

A bold thought emerged: *Could it be that the things in Mino's diary...*

"Migo?!"

A familiar voice came from behind her.

"Eek!" Migo jumped up from the ground.

"C-Cletina!" Migo’s face flushed red. Seeing Cletina appear so suddenly, her eyes darted around guiltily.

"What’s wrong? Did the interrogation of the Hero not go well?" Cletina approached, patting Migo’s sheep horns with concern.

"It-it didn't go poorly at all!" Migo stammered, raising her voice. "That loser Hero was... was just about to confess! It’s just that I felt a bit sorry for him, so I didn't continue!"

"Next time! Next time, I will definitely make him admit defeat!"

Migo’s gaze gradually cleared. That was right; she was the powerful and adorable Third Demon, a member of the noble-blooded Horned Demon tribe. She couldn't possibly have any entanglement with a mere commoner Hero, could she? Hmph!

*However... next time, I can look into the Hero's inner thoughts again and torture this human properly! Yes, that's it!*

Thinking this, Migo gave a fierce little punch to the air.

"I never imagined... that even the Horned Demon tribe's abilities would... No wonder Migo looks so downcast," Cletina said, slightly surprised, her tone turning even gentler, as if coaxing a small child. "It's alright, Migo. You did your best."

For a split second, Migo felt Cletina’s silhouette overlap with a vague, distant shadow.

*—"Holy Beast Terminator, don't cry, don't cry. That was just a tiny slime. Watch me, the Holy Sword, go and chase it away for you!"* Even though the figure was short, it had always been unexpectedly reliable.

"It's... it's not like that! Who’s downcast?!"

After a brief moment of distraction, Migo’s face reddened again as she retorted defiantly. She didn't want to admit how shallow the Horned Demon tribe's abilities were.

"It's just that that Hero isn't a normal person! Right! He's a human Hero, a fool whose head is filled only with saving humanity! Idiot, idiot, idiot! That’s why I couldn't find any useful dirt on him!"

Migo shook herself, transforming back into her fluffy, horned beast form to hide her flushed face, and trotted away quickly.

"Ah, Migo..."

Cletina watched helplessly as Migo departed, her long rose-colored dress dragging on the ground like a little tail, swaying with her restless mood.

"A Hero without inner flaws, is it..." Cletina completely believed Migo's explanation, a hint of genuine respect appearing in her eyes.

Whether it was revealing intelligence about Prince Ota or leaking the secrets of the Chief of the Round Tower, had none of it stirred the slightest bit of guilt in the Hero Mino? It was as if... he truly didn't believe that the information he revealed would have any impact on the human camp.

Was Hero Mino really that oblivious? Clearly not.

Then there was only one possibility. Cletina’s expression turned solemn.

Mino believed that the speed at which the demons destroyed humanity would be far slower than the speed at which humanity would rise and strive after being struck.

"Whether it's the damage caused to your deep friendship with Kuhl II, or to the Chief Lak whom you respect in your heart, you believe they can firmly stand up again..."

In the past, Cletina would have merely mocked humans for believing in such ethereal things as "friendship" or "bonds."

But the facts were laid out before her. Kuhl II recovered quickly after being dealt a blow, and Chief Lak was even more meticulous. Judging by the fact that no news of the diary being compromised had reached the capital, the old fox had clearly anticipated Swier's actions all along.

Cletina felt a sense of crisis.

It seemed... she would have to step up her efforts.