Colin said, "Most scholars now believe there are ten primary types of Dragon Species. Two Dragon Deities with opposing philosophies each created five Good Dragons and five Evil Dragons."
"The Dragon Worship Cult worships the one who created the Evil Dragons—the Mother of Evil Dragons. They worship the Deity herself, who represents greed and destruction. And this Dragon Worship Cult—just think of them as a large, evil organization like the Viper Association."
"Somehow, I feel like you’re just brushing us off," Kase grumbled unhappily.
Colin ignored the Half-Orc’s words. "I’ve told you before, right? In ancient times, the Giants and Giant Dragons fought a great war that engulfed the entire world.
"Then, during the war, that Evil Dragon Deity personally slew a forgotten Giant Deity. The Giant Deity’s dying Curse imprisoned the Evil Dragon Deity on the first layer of Hell, Avernus, the frontline of the Blood War."
"Assuming that Demons, in addition to Giant Dragon Cultists, are involved in controlling the Fish Eye Gang, then that would point to the Dragon Worship Cult. After all, most Evil Dragons don’t cooperate deeply with Demons, let alone the Cultists who serve them."
"I never knew there were stories like that about dragons."
Kase stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I’ve also heard that some Barbarians make sacrifices to those guys, but dragons never pay them any mind."
"Well, there are only White Dragons in the north," Colin said.
"That’s about the gist of it, but there are a few different versions of the legend about the Mother of Evil Dragons’ imprisonment. No need to get into that now."
Yuri added, "The Mother of Evil Dragons is incredibly powerful. The Demons can’t eliminate this Deity, and the Mother of Evil Dragons can’t destroy all of Hell, so they basically have a relationship of mutual exploitation. At the same time, the Mother of Evil Dragons has an especially close connection with the Master of Avernus."
Colin glanced at Ale curiously.
’She’d usually jump in and add a thing or two by now, but today she’s just standing there quietly, not saying a word. And she seemed to know a lot about Dragon Species before.’
’Also, the Dragon Worship Cult seems to have some influence in the East, near the Supreme Forest. That’s not too far from Ale’s hometown.’
"Wake that guy up. Let’s see what we can get out of him," Yuri said, pointing to the captive on Kase’s back.
Colin interjected, "By the way, we also found a letter just now. Orelia has it."
"A letter? Why didn’t you say so earlier? We’ll go back now—"
The envelope Orelia produced immediately made Yuri swallow the rest of his words.
He frowned, taking the envelope and examining it closely. "Didn’t these Demons put any protective Magic on the letter?"
"What kind of Magic do they usually cast?" Colin asked in return.
"Usually, it’s a spell that makes it self-destruct, or one that prevents mortals from touching the letter."
"Well, I couldn’t see the envelope at all at first. Orelia was the one who reached out and picked it up."
"It might be related to her bloodline. After all, Tieflings have Demon blood in them. Hers might just be a little stronger."
Yuri glanced at Orelia’s slightly uneasy expression and added, "Since she has no evil intentions herself, it means the concentration of her Demon blood isn’t severe enough to change her personality. Don’t worry too much about it."
While they were talking, Kase pulled out a table and chairs and set them up nearby.
While the other was setting up the captive, Colin spoke up again. "When we attacked this stronghold, an Imp spotted us. A few Cultists should have gotten away. Is that going to be a problem?"
"It’s fine. This sort of thing happens all the time. We just have to track them down and finish them off," Yuri said, completely unconcerned.
He said it with the same casual air as a barbecue vendor who’d slightly burnt some of his meat.
Nearby, Kase grunted and groaned as he secured the captive. Seeing the others sit down at the table as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he said in a booming voice, "Alright, the smart people know when to sit still."
"Alright, you big lug," Colin said, patting his arm.
"Sor—"
"That was a joke just now. If a joke needs an apology, then it’s not funny anymore," Kase said, cutting Ale off. He laughed and patted Colin on the back a couple of times.
Colin couldn’t be bothered to argue with him.
He found some drinking water and splashed it all over the captive’s face.
The man slowly came to. He jumped when he saw Yuri sitting across from him, then looked back and saw Kase and Orelia and immediately started screaming in terror, "I didn’t do it! I didn’t! I didn’t help when they were killing people! By the Morninglord, how—how did this happen?"
"The Morninglord isn’t watching over you," Yuri sneered.
He undid the straps of the Shield on his forearm, tossed the battered Shield aside, and drew a Dagger to start treating the wounds on his face.
Yes.
The man was trying to dig out the metal shards that had already grown into his flesh. With deft movements, he used the Dagger to slice open his flesh and blood to remove the fragments embedded within.
"AH! AH! AHHH!!"
Blood spurting from a vessel sprayed accurately onto the gang member’s face, making the man scream and struggle endlessly.
Kase, standing nearby, reached out and held him down in the chair.
Yuri tossed the bloody metal fragments onto the table one by one. He placed a hand on his wound-covered cheek, and a faint golden light immediately flared, healing the bleeding cuts as if they were never there.
He said, "You still have a chance to give us valuable information. If you do, I’ll let the law be your judge."
"I don’t know, sir! I’m just a small-time grunt, I don’t know anything!"
Yuri drew the Armed Sword hanging at his waist.
With a swing of his arm, he plunged the weapon into the floor with a CLANG.
"There are no lies beneath the sun."
As he recited the prayer, a faint silver light spread outward from the blade, enveloping a three-meter spherical area around it.
At the same time, a middle-aged man’s voice resounded in Colin’s mind.
[No lies within this domain.]
’This must be the Paladin’s spell, [Domain of Honesty].’
’Creatures within the spell’s area of effect can’t tell lies. At the same time, a sufficiently high Charm Attribute can provide an Exemption from the spell’s influence, but the Paladin who cast the spell would also know who was exempted.’
"I ran into a lot of Demons in the warehouse just now. Who had you summon these Evil Demons?" Yuri said slowly and deliberately.
He was still dealing with the metal shards embedded in his body, only now he had moved on to the ones in his stomach...
’Even Colin had to admit, the sight of a living person gutting himself right in front of you was quite a shock.’
"You saw my Healing Magic, didn’t you? That kind of power can heal any wound on your body," Yuri continued, talking to himself as much as anyone. "Do you want to have a taste of yourself?"
The thug was scared witless, his mouth hanging open, unable to speak for a long moment.
"Liver, kidneys, fingers... as long as it’s not the brain or the heart, I can bring you back. You could even have more than one taste. Or maybe you..."
"I—I could tell from their speech they were from the north. Yes, yes, like some bastards from the north," the thug stammered.
SLAM!
Ale slammed her hand on the table and roared, "Was it an accent from around the Supreme Forest?"