Volume 1, Chapter 57 – The Parasitic Seed

This was the depths of a prison where sunlight could never reach—cold and darkness were all that made up this world.

Creak.

The heavy iron-clad wooden door let out an eerie groan. Soon after, a faint flicker of firelight illuminated the cramped cell, followed by the sound of mixed footsteps—more than one person had come.

A petite girl with snow-white hair tied into twin tails stepped into the cell. Her blue eyes held not a trace of emotion, and the sharpness of her long eyes and elongated white eyelashes only amplified her unapproachable aura. It was as if she might coldly command someone to “Drop dead” at any moment.

“『Eternal Light』.”

With a snap of her fingers, the dim room was instantly flooded with white light, forcing those who hadn’t adjusted to instinctively shut their eyes.

After a brief glance around the stone-walled cell, the girl quickly locked her gaze onto the man chained to a cross on the left side—bound by countless shackles and nails.

The man was clearly no longer human. His skin was withered and shriveled, as though all his muscles and blood had been drained, leaving only bones and a ghastly outer layer. Worse still, a pair of massive bird-like wings—each taller than two men—spread from his back. But now, they were stripped of feathers, revealing the grotesque flesh beneath.

“Hoo~ Looks like he’s behaving. Wake him up, Refina.”

“Yes, Master.”

The visiting girl was, of course, Yisi. Accompanying her were Camilla and her pet, Refina. It was the second day after dealing with Samael. Yisi’s final strike yesterday had not been meant to kill him—she had deliberately left him alive.

After that, the paladins, once paralyzed by the fear of death, gradually regained their composure and began cleaning up the battlefield. Owen’s body was also retrieved by the arriving priests.

As for Yisi herself, though she was initially suspected of being responsible for Owen’s death, the priests ruled her out after examining the wounds. Combined with her “feat” of “defeating Samael,” the Church merely relocated her to a different residence and postponed the hostage exchange, with no further action taken.

But Yisi hadn’t been idle. Sparing Samael’s life was certainly not out of kindness—she had handed him over to the pets at the brothel for interrogation, hoping to extract more information.

Though there had been initial concerns about Samael escaping via energy dispersion, those worries vanished when Refina drove a silver cross and a holy sword through his chest, pinning him to the cross. After that, Samael could no longer use magic.

According to Refina, these were “toys” the Count’s eldest daughter occasionally used during adult activities with her pets. Since vampires weakened near silver crosses, and wounds from holy swords were notoriously slow to heal, the Count’s daughter had kept them around to “spice things up.” This only reinforced Yisi’s belief that the pets were all masochists.

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Refina bowed to Yisi before approaching the high-ranking demon nailed to the cross. She picked up a bucket of concentrated holy water and dumped it over Samael.

Sizzle—

“GAAAAAH—!!”

Like red-hot charcoal plunged into water, Samael’s body erupted in sizzling steam, his skin blistering as he convulsed in agony, his limbs thrashing against the restraints.

Yisi couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on. She had only asked Refina to wake him up, not torture him.

Clearing her throat, she maintained her icy tone.

“Refina, wash off the holy water. His life still has value—this is a gift for Father.”

“M-My deepest apologies!”

Trembling at the realization she had misunderstood Yisi’s orders, Refina—her purple hair tied in a side ponytail—hurriedly chanted a spell, summoning a fresh bucket of water to douse Samael and rinse away the holy water.

Samael’s screams dulled into ragged gasps as he weakly lifted his head. The crimson glow in his eyes had dimmed significantly, the arrogance from before nowhere to be seen.

“Pathetic mortals…”

“Silence. The Master did not permit you to speak.”

Without warning, Refina punched Samael across the face, the sound of cracking bone echoing through the cell.

Yisi felt another headache coming.

“He is a valuable resource.”

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“Master, we have already confirmed that Samael is undead. Injuries like this won’t kill him.”

But it sure looks painful as hell.

Suppressing the urge to sigh, Yisi waved her hand.

“Leave. Don’t let anyone else in.”

“Understood, Master.”

The iron-clad door creaked shut once more, leaving only Yisi, Camilla, and Samael in the cell.

“Samael. The last of the Eight Fallen Angels under the Sky Demon King Ouranos. Possesses the ability to rapidly disperse into mist and relocate in short bursts. Over the past millennium, you’ve assassinated over a hundred vampire nobles. Who would’ve thought a legend like you would end up like this?”

Deliberately choosing words that would provoke him, Yisi tilted her chin up slightly.

“I spared you for one reason. Answer all my questions, and I might consider releasing you. You should know by now—the gap between us is insurmountable. Resistance is meaningless.”

If only she had a memory-probing spell, this wouldn’t be so troublesome. But such magic belonged to the necromancy branch, which she had never studied.

Samael, still reeling from the pain, gritted his teeth and sneered.

“I bear the name of a Fallen Angel. Even if I die here, I will tell you nothing.”

“Oh~ Camilla, bring out the Parasitic Seed.”

“Yes, Onee-sama.”

At Yisi’s command, Camilla—who had been silently standing guard—stepped forward, holding a brown seed in her hands.

Samael’s eyelid visibly twitched.

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Yisi smirked. Though she had no intention of actually using the seed, she couldn’t afford to lose the psychological advantage.

“You know what this is, don’t you? The moment it touches blood, it takes root. It grows within the flesh, assimilating the host until they become nothing more than a conscious plant—unable to move, see, or hear. Ah, I should mention—the assimilation process takes at least ten years. A decade of excruciating pain, slowly feeling your body go numb… the terror of it all.”

Samael fell silent. Before Yisi’s arrival, he had already endured endless torment from Refina and the other pets. To outsiders, the pets were docile and weak in Yisi’s presence, but to others? They were sadistic vampires who reveled in suffering.

Nodding to Camilla, Yisi retreated into the shadows, letting her take over the interrogation.

“There are four questions. You may refuse to answer, but I will release the Parasitic Seed based on your cooperation.” Her tone was no longer flat but coldly professional. “First. What are the abilities of the other seven Fallen Angels?”

Silence.

Receiving no answer, Camilla took a small step forward. The looming threat of the seed made Samael flinch—only to cry out in pain as his nailed and impaled body protested the movement.

Ignoring his agony, Camilla continued. The contrast between her beauty and her emotionless demeanor gave Yisi another headache. Though Camilla no longer saw herself as a mere doll, old habits died hard.

“Second question. What caused the death of Demon King Ouranos?”

“……”

Still no reply. Camilla stepped forward again—

“…I don’t know.”

She paused, then moved to the third question.

“What was your objective in attacking Onee-sama? Does Assef’s assassination attempt have any connection to you?”

“The first question, I refuse to answer. Assef has been our ally for a long time.”

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Not fully broken yet, huh?

Yisi sighed inwardly.

“Final question. What is your level?”

“High-ranking demons have no levels.”

“No levels?”

Yisi’s voice cut in from the shadows, but Samael didn’t respond. Camilla frowned.

“Onee-sama is asking you a question.”

“I refuse.”

“Tch.”

“Camilla, enough.” Seeing her about to resort to violence like Refina, Yisi quickly intervened. “We’ll have plenty of time to make him talk later. For now, we’re done.”

“But he defied you—”

If this had been the old Camilla, she wouldn’t have questioned Yisi at all. Noticing the change, Yisi couldn’t help but smile. Compared to Samael’s intel, Camilla’s growth was far more rewarding.

“I’ve learned what I needed. Besides, we have more important plans later. Let’s go.”

“If that is Onee-sama’s wish… understood.”

Returning the seed to her storage space, Camilla shot Samael a glare that could kill before swiftly following Yisi out of the cell.