"Impressive," The girl in front of was quick to get over her shock. She was, after all, a ntalist. If her mind wasn't strong, this ability would eat up her mind. Though from the looks of it, her ability wasn't that strong but her mind was. A perfect harmony.
Unlike the ntalist villain who had great ntal powers but his mind wasn't strong enough to keep up with it which caused him to go mad.
This girl, however, possessed a very strong mind. And then there was the option of a power supply.
"So, how much are you using to keep in here?" I asked.
"You seem to know a lot about my powers," She said.
"Well, of course. I can see the beads of sweat you occasionally wipe off your forehead. It is difficult for you to keep in here. My mind is too strong." I explained.
So she decided to use an alternate power. The power of sacrifice. "So, how many people have you killed by now? One hundred? Two hundred...." I looked at her deep in her eyes and said with a smirk, "More than three hundred."
"It's useless you know," I offered a bit of advice. After all, they won't find what they were looking for.
"We're close," She bluffed.
"No, you're not. You're not even close. The imprint, the stigmata isn't there. You haven't found it nor you ever will," I said.
"No matter how deep you have hidden it, I will find it," she said with determination.
Yeah. That was their misunderstanding. I was more than happy to let them keep it then.
"You won't find it," I remained consistent.
[It's not there]
'Welco. Did you enjoy the show?'
[Yep]
'I can see how happy my predicants make you.'
[Yep]
And I was the hopeless one. Anyway, Allison was right. There was nothing there. Michael, Adrian's father passed down the imprint of the throne, the stigmata to Adrian, more precisely, imprinted it on Adrian's soul.
If Adrian's soul didn't exist, so where the hell would they find the imprint of the throne? I bluffed, since the beginning. I was never the heir to the crown.
I made it up to annoy Harvey. At the mont, the throne of the Cortum empire was unclaid. Anyone it took a liking to could sit on it and beco the emperor.
But they didn't know that. And I was more than happy to keep it that way. After all, that gave an edge over these guys.
The girl looked at but didn't listen. She didn't seem convinced by my words so she stood up and ca to . She once again placed her hands on my temples and began to probe my mind. It didn't hurt.
Nor did she progress. I let her in before, I wasn't doing that again. She would have to kill many more for that. She sighed, annoyance evident in her exhale as she once again returned to her seat.
"Tell about yourself." She said.
"What makes you think I will play the 'small talk' with you?" I asked.
"Let us make a deal. You answer one question of mine and I will answer one of yours. We both go truthfully about it. What do you say?" She proposed.
She was intriguing. I decided I would show her so rcy and maybe kill her last.
"Sure," I said.
"Then I will go first," she said and asked her first question, "What kind of a man is Gabriel?"
"Gabriel is a man of his morals. Not honor but morals. But, there are tis when he forgoes those morals, seventeen people to be precise." I replied and then asked, "What's your na."
"Celandine." She replied.
"That's a nice na. The na of a flower." I remarked.
"Thank you." She said before she asked her question, "If he upholds morals so much, then why would he break them for those seventeen people? What if they ask him to do sothing unspeakable?"
"Faith. He keeps his faith in them and in return, they reward it by honoring his wishes." I replied.
"What are you wearing underneath your robes?" I asked.
She didn't flinch. Not one bit nor was she offended as she replied, "Nothing."
"Wow. I'm already imagining so many things," I said.
"Mhm. And what if that faith isn't kept?" She asked.
"It always was. And it always will be. That was why Gabriel chose to put his faith in them, knowing they would never break it." I replied.
"Who broke you?" I asked.
"What do you an?" She asked to clarify.
"Your mind," I pointed at her forehead and added, "It's broken. A painful mory. Often cos with abuse or se*ual abuse. So who did it?" I asked.
She looked deep into my eyes before she added, "My father."
"He must have been a scumbag." She didn't clarify which category it was and that was enough of an answer.
"He was." She once again didn't let on whether it was her who killed him or not, but 'he was' indicated he was dead.
"Tell , have you ever forced yourself on a woman?" She asked.
"Are you asking about Adrian or Gabriel?" I clarified.
"Does it matter?" she asked.
"Of course it does. When it cos to Adrian, there are two of them. one before his mory loss and one after his mory loss. And when it cos to Gabriel, then never." I replied.
"And what about Adrian?" She asked. Since it was an extension of the answer, it didn't count as another question so I replied, "The Adrian before might have. But I have never."
"How did you kill him?" I asked while I took a shot in the dark.
"I plunged a dagger into his crotch. The sa dagger he used to inflict scars on . And then he just bled out and died, while he begged to save him while also cursing and my mother." She replied without a hitch. A strong mind indeed. She wasn't shaken even a little bit from all of this.
"Would you ever? If you were given the chance? Would you ever?" She asked . She was asking about whether I would force myself on soone or not.
"Of course, I wouldn't. Not even if a woman offered herself to . I have standards you know." I replied.
"And the church saved you?" I asked.
"No. It was the goddess." She replied.
"Stella, I presu?" I asked since she was the supre of mind. She was also the one who had lent her powers to the ntalist villain.
"Yes. In return, she asked to help the church. But in no way am I a mber of the church." She replied. The way she said it, she wasn't a subordinate of the church.
"I see." I simply said.
"Would you assault ? Even if I gave you the permission?" She asked.
"As much as tempting you are, I wouldn't." I simply replied.
She chuckled. She wasn't mocking or didn't believe . She believed and that was why she was laughing.
And then I guessed it was my turn, "So, did you find what you were looking for?"
"No." She replied simply. I nodded and it was her turn to ask.
"Then let finish this ga by asking this last question from my side," She said as she leaned forward, maintaining eye contact with , and asked, "Why do you not have any mana in you?"
"Pfftt… Hahahahahaha!" Uncontrollable laughter left my lips as I couldn't help but laugh. Laugh in admiration and astonishnt.
[She got you]
She sure did. She wasn't looking for any stigmata. She was looking for the source of my power. She found no mana. But she did find soul power which was mine, unlike MP which belonged to the system.
"You're good." I said as I finished laughing after a while and then asked my final question as well, "So you're going to portray it as the power of the devil?"
"Haha!" She also let out a short laugh at my question. "You're also very smart." She replied. That was all the answer I needed.
The church was in danger. The public was slowly turning against it since they blatantly kidnapped . And not only that, there was a good chance the imperial family was also pressing on them, shutting down their monasteries one by one.
The church was in quite the pickle with this move of theirs. And in such a situation, the proof that I had the power of the devil in would instantly turn everything around. The public would beco theirs. The imperial family will stand back. And most of all, they would have one-upped the imperial family, greatly impacting their influence.
"I have to admit. I lost." I said.
She simply looked at and smiled. She didn't say anything but kept looking into my eyes. Mine, however, were slowly turning dark. I was losing my vision and in doing so, my consciousness.
"I will see you soon," I said with the last of my consciousness.
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