Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 399 The Demon King's Followers

"It seems there aren't any left."

Ethan waited patiently for a few more minutes, but the interrogator seemed to hide in the corner of the room like a stressed animal, just staring at him with his head tilted back, unable to utter a sound.

The interrogator waited until Ethan and Winter were out of sight, and also until that damned black cat, which had appeared out of nowhere, followed them out of the room.

The laceration on the back of his hand was still spreading, and it looked like he had been poisoned.

As the footsteps faded into the distance, the entire mansion fell into dead silence once more. The quiet outside the interrogation room sent chills down his spine. He didn't know how Winter had gotten here, nor what had happened to Baron Flin, who was supposed to be interrogating Winter. When he stepped out the door with a heavy heart, what greeted his eyes was not the bloody scene he had expected.

In fact, there was nothing outside the door.

The familiar scene had become much emptier.

Although it wasn't winter yet, light snow was falling from the sky. He walked shakily to the interrogation room that Baron Flint used most often. The layout there was different from the torture chamber. The baron and his son had "dealt with" many women they had their eyes on there, but this time they were not there.

The musketeers were nowhere to be found, but the paths along the way were covered with ice shards.

The interrogator seemed to understand something. He clutched the back of his hand tightly and fled the horrific place without a second thought. The eerie silence was far more terrifying than the corpses scattered on the ground, because he couldn't imagine what had happened on the way to the interrogation room, nor did he understand why the two vagrants hadn't given him the final blow.

Did they spare him the only one after killing the Baron and the entire musketeer squad?

No, he doesn't think so.

At this moment, Ethan's earlier calmness, as well as the words he couldn't understand, were explained.

When asked if he intended to report Baron Flint, Ethan gave a negative answer, believing it would be completely pointless.

At the time, he mistakenly believed that the other party had realized that the Imperial Law could not punish Baron Flin and had no choice but to compromise with the Baron. But now it seems that Ethan clearly knew all along what would happen to Baron Flin and the Musketeers, and that reporting a dead man was pointless...

Perhaps the moment the two decided to follow Baron Flint, they had already decided to kill everyone.

With that in mind, the interrogator quickened his pace.

Even after escaping the Baron's mansion and running through the streets where he encountered patrolling detectives, nothing could lessen his unease. He could feel the Grim Reaper's scythe at his neck, ready to fall at any moment.

He couldn't imagine what kind of people could calmly decide to massacre a nobleman's mansion, but in any case, they were repeat offenders. He had to report this to the higher-ups of the Silver Glow Empire, and getting their protection was his only chance to survive.

The young man looked like a private investigator and asked them many questions.

He appears to be investigating the murder of High Summoner Hetia, and now, for the interrogator, the questions swirling in his mind are driving him crazy.

Why was he the only one who survived?

His nerves were on edge after the long journey, and just before his will was about to be exhausted, he finally saw hope.

Just a few steps from the gate of the police station, he saw many familiar faces through the open door. He was the captain of the Baron's Musketeers, who was usually in charge of communication and liaison with the police station. These days, the detectives of Gear City had been working overtime, and no one, including Inspector Black, would stop until the cause of Hetia's death was determined.

In other words, there is no safer place than this.

The interrogator walked up the stairs and disappeared into the light of the police station.

He spotted Sheriff Black immediately; when he entered, the sheriff was on the first floor discussing the case with several officers.

At that moment, the interrogator forgot all formalities and rushed over. He wanted to tell everyone what had happened at the Baron's mansion not long ago and remind everyone at the police station that Gear City might no longer be safe.

Under the detectives' astonished gazes, the interrogator raised his voice.

He did it on purpose; he wanted everyone to know the seriousness of the matter, and it also brought some comfort to his heart, which was about to be overwhelmed by fear.

“Inspector Black, I want to confess. I murdered Baron Flint and all of them!”

Huh?
After he finished speaking, even the interrogator was stunned.

That's not him.

...What he meant was that although it was his voice, it was not his true intention.

The detectives responded immediately, with Sheriff Black even drawing his gun on the spot. The detectives closest to him retreated to safe cover and watched him warily.

The baron was murdered by two refugees from outside the city...

"This is very interesting. I would love to do it again, but unfortunately the Baron and his son are long dead."

No, that's not what he wanted to say at all!

The interrogator's eyes were bloodshot; his brain was functioning smoothly, but his tongue betrayed his thoughts.

He soon realized that it wasn't just his tongue that had betrayed his thoughts; he heard laughter, a wild, manic laugh coming from his own mouth, so frenzied it seemed like he was possessed, reminding him of the rumored followers of the demon king.

In reality, he had never seen a true Demon King follower, nor had most of the people in Gear City. Those fanatical followers usually only existed in rumors, and the vast majority of those who were executed as Demon King followers were ordinary residents. Some of them attempted to sue the Baron, while others simply happened to be in the wrong mood.

"Nobles are nothing special. They are just like everyone else. If someone slits their throats, they will die. They don't last any longer than the lower classes in their eyes."

His mouth continued to move.

Then, the interrogator finally realized the source of all this.

In a daze, he saw an arm woven from shadows crawl out of the wound on the back of his hand, up his forearm, and then a hand gripped his throat.

The fear was so intense that he felt dizzy and wanted to vomit.

Didn't you see it?

This was all done by that black cat!

He wanted to shout out everything that had just happened in the interrogation room, to warn the detectives that the two vagrants might be leaving just like the demon king's followers in Riverside Town before, but all that came out was a strange laugh that even made his own skin crawl.

The symptoms of loss of control had spread to his arms and legs, and his limbs defied his will, causing him to rush toward Detective Black amidst a piercing, eerie laugh.

Blake!
You can definitely spot the clues, right?
We even had a drink at the Baron's banquet!
He could only communicate with Blake through his eyes, but that glimmer of hope was quickly drowned out by despair.

Blake pointed the gun at his forehead.

The interrogator saw the muzzle flash, followed by a gunshot. "Bang—!"

……

That night, in the capital.

"This is a record that came from the Gear City Police Station this afternoon."

The vast manor was deathly silent. In the study, only a single candle was lit. An elderly man with white hair sat at his desk, his eyes shrouded in darkness. A violent emotion was spreading within him, but when faced with the blonde girl who entered the room, he had to suppress all his rage and try his best to maintain a calm and dignified appearance.

However, when he saw the interrogator laughing maniacally as he charged toward Chief Black in the memory crystal, he couldn't help but clench his fists.

The blonde girl saw all of this.

Baron Flint, whose full name was Flint-Simpler, was the illegitimate son of Archduke Ash-Simpler.

This was no secret among the nobles in the capital, which was why Fulin dared to commit numerous crimes in Gear City. He knew very well that as long as he didn't provoke a few individuals, no matter what happened, Grand Duke Simpler in the capital would take care of it for him.

This has long been an unwritten rule in Gear City; the sheriff, other local nobles, and even the city hall all know about Flin's background.

But today, Baron Forlin died.

His killer swaggered into the police station and openly announced his crime to everyone.

As the last gunshot rang out, the image in the memory crystal went out.

"Thank you for your hard work, Your Excellency, Holy Mage."

After a long silence, Ash finally spoke.

On the surface, the matter appears to be over.

The murderer publicly confessed to his crime and was subsequently shot dead during an attack on the detective. The only problem was that the murderer died too easily; a bullet pierced his skull, and he fell into a pool of blood, feeling almost no pain.

This is not how nobles punish murderers. It is difficult to serve as a warning or deterrent to others. If it were his subordinates, they would never let the murderer die so easily. The torture instruments could last for more than ten hours. During this time, they would use drugs to keep the victim conscious. Finally, the murderer would be taken to the most bustling street and skinned alive in front of all potential rebels.

This is what Ash thought after seeing the memory crystal.

Even after the murderer was shot dead, he found no solace.

"Sheriff Black also sent some information about the killer, which is quite intriguing."

Ilya said, "The murderer was the captain of the musketeers, who was deeply trusted by Baron Flin. He handled almost all the aftermath. After the murderer was killed, Sheriff Black immediately led a search of Baron Flin's manor. They did not find the baron's body in the manor. The servants in the manor mentioned some clues. If we ignore these clues, the sheriff thinks it is more likely to be the work of the demon king's fanatics."

"What clue?"

Baron Ash's eyes flashed with a murderous glint, making no attempt to conceal his killing intent.

"The servants mentioned that after the Baron learned that a strikingly handsome vagrant had arrived in the town, he left with his musketeers. The vagrant was quite distinctive... long white hair, red eyes, unlike the features of an Imperial person."

"What do you think?"

"Perhaps Sheriff Blake's judgment is inaccurate."

Ilya frowned; some unexpected news had also come back from Gear City.

The city patrols discovered that the hero had returned, but they said that Solan's mental state was somewhat abnormal, and a few days ago, Hetia died in her own mansion. The series of recent events made her feel that none of this was a coincidence.

Moreover, as a teleportation spellcaster, she really didn't understand why Solan was able to return to the Empire.

That was an undirected teleportation.

In other words, she didn't consider bringing Solan back when she cast the spell.

With the Demon King defeated, the Hero lost his value. His disappearance or sacrifice was part of the plan. Logically, Solan and the Demon King should have been caught up in the turbulent flow of time and space, or teleported to a place devoid of any signs of life, where they would wait alone for death to come.

This is also the fate of heroes. The family has dealt with several heroes with the same spell before, and there has never been any problem.

Ilya began, “We’ve dealt with the Demon King’s supporters quite a bit, and this isn’t their usual tactic.”

No Demon Lord's fanatic would ever be so fanatical as to publicly announce their actions to the local police station, not even the Demon Lord himself. This is the part of the whole incident that makes Ilya most uneasy.

The royal family needs to create a demon king, but it must be kept under control.

It must possess immense power, yet it cannot truly use that power to cause too much damage to the empire, especially the nobility. According to Ilya's assessment, this Demon King is the one who has been the least troublesome for the empire.

A simple-minded battle maniac who loves face-to-face, hand-to-hand combat; his personality is almost a carbon copy of Solan's.

What happened in Gear City this evening seemed more like the work of a true "Demon King follower".

This is a carefully crafted vocabulary by the empire, using mad acts to deeply imprint those evil images on people's minds, but in reality, such a group never really existed—at least not during the reign of Henry VI. But with Solan's return, the devil seems to have truly appeared.

After murdering everyone associated with Baron Flint, he vanished into the shadows, leaving behind only a scapegoat to bear the brunt of all the crimes.

This is undoubtedly the last thing the empire wants to see. If the "Demon King" uses his power to fight against or even slaughter the nobles, it will have a real impact on them.

"Grand Duke Esch, I understand how you feel right now, but please remain calm until we have the final results of our investigation."

"of course."

Grand Prince Esh immediately expressed his opinion.

Ilya gazed deeply at the white-haired old man, bowed in farewell, and then immediately gathered her former companions.

There are still many problems to be solved in order to deal with the true Demon King and to maintain the stability of the empire.

Shortly after Ilya left, Grand Duke Ash blew out the candles.

"Don't spare anyone, including the servants in the manor; they have no value in living."

He faced the shadows and gave the order, "And that white-haired woman, leave her a breath, bring her to me alive—you must do it before the Holy Mage."

(End of this chapter)