CHAPTER 78
I was once again in the same space with the Sword Lord, Soun. We were in a forest far from the city. It was a natural fortress, hand-picked by Ririran, the master of space magic. In other words, even if the Red Flame Lord were revived and tried to escape, there was no way out.

"Aranseol."

Soun's gaze fell on Aranseol, who had followed me here. For a brief moment, a look of relief crossed his face.

"Man, you went through a lot," Sohan added. His voice was laced with concern, and Aranseol nodded in acknowledgment.

With that, the preparations were complete. I stood in the center, holding the Red Flame Lord's finger. Everyone present here had shared in the secret of my Resurrection magic. There was no need to hide anything from them.

The power of Resurrection imbued the finger. A moment later, with a flourish of red hair, a woman's form was completed.

The Red Flame Lord. Ignarion.

The instant she was fully formed, Soun's sword moved. Sword strikes shot out, cleanly severing the tendons in her arms and legs. Then, Ririran's hands moved. In a flash, magic shackles flew through the air and bound Ignarion's body.

"Keoheok!"

Waking up only to have her tendons cut and her body bound in magic shackles, Ignarion rolled on the ground. Realizing the situation a moment too late, she felt her neck and then turned to look at me.

"My little viper, so you did revive me."

A pale smile spread across her face. She had realized she had returned from death.

"That's right. It's the resurrection you wanted so badly. Happy?"

"I wanted to cherish you forever, yet you bare your fangs so readily."

"I've always been good at baring my fangs."

I snorted at her remark and plopped down in front of her.

"Ignarion."

My low voice echoed. Ignarion's eyes darted around. It seemed she was trying to rack her brain for some kind of trick.

I reached out and grabbed her chin firmly.

"You've grasped the situation. Things won't go well for you from here on out."

"............Threatening a naked woman... this is a serious crime. Have you no morals?"

"Sorry, but no country has laws against threatening a beast, whether it's wearing clothes or not."

You have to act like a human to be treated like one. In my eyes, she was nothing more or less than a beast.

"If you want this to end nicely, tell me everything you know about Black Dawn. If, on the other hand, you don't want this to end nicely..."

Holy magic flowed into my grip. With just that, my hold on her jaw tightened viciously.

"...then I suppose I'll have to test just how far your mental fortitude can go."

Ignarion narrowed her eyes. If there was one thing she was good at, it was scheming. She must have already calculated who stood to lose the most by her staying silent.

"Let me tell you this beforehand. Just because I joined hands with Black Dawn doesn't mean they told me much. Those bastards never fully trusted me."

"Cut the crap. I'll be the judge of the information's value."

"My, so impatient. Alright, let's see... I suppose I should start with this."

Ignarion's gaze swept over everyone present as a slow smile crept onto her lips.

"Black Dawn plans to use the entire 1st World, Astrape, as a sacrifice to complete their Artificial Transcendent."

"What is that..."

A bewildered mutter escaped from Babiyeon behind me. Sacrificing the entire 1st World, Astrape. I couldn't make any sense of such an outlandish claim.

In contrast, the faces of Soun and Ririran contorted. From their reactions, I could tell this was no mere bluff.

"Red Flame Lord, speak clearly. How far have they gotten in completing this Artificial Transcendent?" This time, Soun stepped forward himself.

Black Dawn was creating an Artificial Transcendent. I was already aware of this. But the situation would change depending on their progress.

"Quite far. They've reached a rather plausible level," Ignarion answered with surprising ease. Her attitude was one of indifference, as if it didn't matter if we knew now that it had come to this.

Soun ground his teeth. It was clear that, in his view, the Artificial Transcendent was a matter of grave concern.

"But they're still missing something. That's why those bastards are causing disturbances wherever they can, trying to prepare for it somehow."

"Tell us their plan."

"They only inform us of the date when it's time, so I don't know the exact schedule, but..."

Ignarion slowly lifted her head, her eyes curving into a mocking smile.

"They're going to attack the Imperial Palace of the Empire. They said the answer to completing the Artificial Transcendent is there."

"The Imperial Palace?" Ririran questioned, her reaction showing she didn't understand why the Imperial Family was suddenly involved.

But I had learned one crucial fact. The series of incidents caused by Black Dawn were dispersing the Regular Army's forces. This was all to weaken the concentration of power in the imperial capital, Valterion.

"I don't know their entire plan. But I knew it had credibility, and I knew they would eventually succeed."

"Ignarion, what on earth did you hope to achieve by selling out your own world?" Ririran asked, utterly unable to comprehend.

At her question, Ignarion blinked placidly, then tilted her head.

"By sacrificing a world I don't particularly care for, I could become a king in the new world they create. Is there really any reason to hesitate?"

It was the answer of a psychopath, devoid of a single shred of humanity. Hearing it, I was once again struck by just how twisted she was. Ignarion was not someone who could be fixed. She was a lunatic, broken long ago.

"......To think I believed you had some pride as a Lord."

"Ririran, pride doesn't fulfill any aspect of life. Now that is a foolish notion."

"You're the foolish one."

I cut off Ignarion's nonsense by stomping hard on her knee.

"Right now, you're the one captured by us, spilling everything. In this situation, who's the most foolish one here?"

She still seemed to think she was the Red Flame Lord. Now, she was nothing more than a prisoner forced to give up information.

"Stop spouting nonsense and spill everything else you know. That's your only role now."

"Aren't you supposed to treat prisoners kindly?"

"A Holy Mage has no reason to choose kindness."

"This is why I hate Holy Mages."

Ignarion clicked her tongue, then stared at Soun.

"Fine. I'll give you the detailed information later, but for now, I'll tell you one thing that's important to you as well."

Without dragging it out, Ignarion spoke.

"The Sinner of Wrath—she's alive. And right now, she's hiding somewhere, waiting for the right time."

The Sinner of Wrath.

At the mention of that name, the expressions of Soun and Ririran changed in an instant. Her name alone was enough to affect even these two, who were among the strongest in the world.

The Sinner of Wrath, who the No-Named killer had impersonated. I thought it was just a fabrication by Black Dawn, but she was actually alive?

This was not a good turn of events. It felt like the bastards from Black Dawn were steadily advancing their plans.

The Sinner of Wrath. If she were to rejoin them, what would become of Black Dawn's military strength? I couldn't be sure, but it was clear that a force strong enough to make even Soun's face harden would be returning to them.

"Are you certain?"

"I wasn't lazy about gathering intel on Black Dawn, you know. Being in the same boat, I was all the more thorough."

Ignarion affirmed Ririran's question. We didn't know where the Sinner of Wrath was, but the fact that she was alive was a huge problem.

"Enough of this trivial talk," Soun growled. "Ignarion, tell us the location of Black Dawn's headquarters."

Our primary objective, and the biggest reason we had captured Ignarion. When he posed the question, Ignarion lifted her arms, their tendons severed. Her hands hung limp, showing no sign of movement.

"The location... I'll have to guide you there myself. This won't change, even if you torture me to death."

Her eyes flashed as she smiled. I could feel a madness on a completely different level from the No-Named killer. This woman would never break. Even if she had to repeat her death thousands, tens of thousands of times, she was the type of woman who would take pleasure in watching us fail to get any information. We all knew that.

But, that aside...

"Fine. There's no harm in asking again after we've tried everything we can."

There was no reason to go easy on the Red Flame Lord. No matter how mad she was, repeated pain and death would eventually wear down her mind. Even if she kept her mouth shut until we met her demands, there was no need to let her be comfortable.

"Do you really need to go to all that trouble?"

"Plenty of reasons. I have a lot of grudges against you."

I alone had been burned to death by her twice. My desire for revenge was immense.

"And a companion of mine was hurt quite badly by you."

In the distance, Babiyeon, who had been watching the situation quietly, flinched.

"Because of what you did, she was abandoned by her own family, yet she stood strong."

Babiyeon could have lived a life of luxury as a nobleman's daughter. Though she had a difficult personality, she never turned her back on injustice and would have become a fine noble. But Ignarion's selfishness had shattered that entire life. Now, Babiyeon had no home to return to. She had to stand on her own and survive in this harsh world.

So.

"No one's going to blame me for taking out my anger on you for hurting someone like that."

Without hesitation, I jammed my thumbs into the Red Flame Lord's eyes. As my fingers sank deep, a scream erupted from her mouth. No matter who she was, having her eyes gouged out would elicit such a reaction. I then unhesitatingly shoved my fist into her screaming mouth and grabbed her tongue.

"The price for your sins. Don't think it'll end with just a few deaths."

Ignarion would surely never talk. She knew it was her last trump card and would hold out stubbornly.

So, hold out for as long as you can.

That way, I can break you without any hesitation.

I have Resurrection magic.

So I will return to you all the evil you have unleashed upon this world, in full.

"You should beg me to just burn you to death."

Of course, not that begging would change anything.