Chapter 101: Side Effects

In a basement that no one could ever find.

A blond man, wearing a mask, walked in slowly.

Directly across from him sat a green-haired girl;

And that girl was none other than Molly, who had previously tried to harm Litt.

She raised her head and, seeing the masked blond man before her, snorted disdainfully.

“You can forget about prying any meaningful information out of me. I will never betray the Black Church.”

The masked blond man seemed to tilt his head slightly, and from beneath the mask came a faint, emotionless chuckle—so hollow it seemed to echo from the void.

“What an amusing misunderstanding. When did I ever ask you anything about the Black Church?”

His voice was as steady and still as a frozen lake, betraying not a single ripple.

“As for whether you belong to the Black Church… heh, it’s meaningless to me.”

Molly’s brows knitted tightly.

This reaction was completely different from what she had expected.

There was no interrogation, no torture, not even any degrading humiliation she’d prepared herself for.

The man before her—his calmness wasn’t a façade, but a bone-deep indifference.

When he looked at her, it was as if he was examining something utterly insignificant, not a living, hostile prisoner.

Her gaze couldn’t help but be drawn again to that pure white mask.

That frozen, smiling curve—under the dim light—looked even more eerie, emanating a chill that was inhuman and chilling to the core.

This unnatural calm, coupled with the smiling mask, made her body involuntarily tremble.

Amid the suffocating silence, the blond man elegantly raised his hand.

At his fingertips, an Ancient Silver Coin with obscure patterns etched along its edge reflected a strange, bewitching gleam in the dim light.

Seeing that coin, Molly was stunned, and instantly fumbled frantically over her own body.

Gone?!

Impossible?!

She’d hidden it so well, even the White Church’s Inquisitors hadn’t managed to discover this Magic Artifact.

How could it… how could it be in this blond man’s hand?

No, that’s not the point!

Ignoring her panic, Molly quickly shut her eyes tight.

She had no intention of being hypnotized by that thing.

But after waiting a while, no one pried open her eyelids, nor did anyone use harsher means to make her yield.

This left Molly somewhat confused.

“No need to be so tense.”

The blond man’s voice remained steady, yet with an oddly calming quality that only made it more terrifying.

“As long as you answer my questions honestly, hypnosis… isn’t necessary.”

“You think I’ll believe your nonsense?”

The gaze behind the mask seemed to pierce right through her stubbornness and façade.

The blond man spoke again, his tone carrying a hint of amusement.

“Molly… or, should I call you—Satania?”

At that name, Molly’s eyes snapped open.

She stared in disbelief at the blond man before her.

Even though his face was completely hidden by the mask, Molly still sensed a trace of mockery in his bearing.

How did this man know her real name?!

Aside from the Black Church’s priests, no one else should possibly know her true name.

The reason Molly was so flustered was because the surname Satania… was one held only by descendants of the demon race.

He’s not simple…

This masked blond man is definitely not simple.

All the strange signs finally pushed Molly to speak.

“You… who on earth are you?”

“You don’t need to know who I am.”

The blond man gave a subtle smile, then let the coin dangle down.

Seeing this, Molly immediately averted her gaze.

“This,” yet he simply toyed with the coin, without any intent to hypnotize, “is a Magic Artifact, isn’t it?”

“…Yes.”

Molly’s voice was dry, unable to conceal her vigilance.

“A delicate little toy,”

the blond man remarked, his tone as indifferent as if he were discussing a piece of art.

His dismissive attitude stoked a flicker of defiance in Molly, and she retorted with a cold laugh.

“I advise you not to underestimate Magic Artifacts. Most come with powerful side effects. Take my word of advice—don’t play with fire, or you’ll get burned.”

“Side effects, hm…”

The blond man mused for a moment, the coin at his fingertips coming to a stop.

“Let me guess, the greatest risk of this Magic Artifact is that the user could end up being eroded or controlled by the will of the one they’re trying to affect?”

His answer made Molly hold her breath and clamp her mouth shut once again.

She had to admit, his precise guess sent a chill up her spine.

But the blond man didn’t care about Molly’s silence.

His gaze lingered on the silver coin, his thoughts drifting elsewhere.

He remembered, in the hands of a certain priestess whose name he didn’t wish to reveal, there was also a Magic Artifact.

If all Magic Artifacts exact a price, then what would be the price for that forbidden item in her possession?

That was a question worth pondering.

“You may leave.”

The blond man suddenly spoke, not loudly, yet with a commanding tone that brooked no argument.

“Yes.”

A chorus of low voices replied from the shadows, and the guards swiftly and silently withdrew from the basement.

The heavy iron door shut again, completely isolating the inside from the outside.

Witnessing this, Molly’s lips curled into a cold smile once more.

As expected…

In the end, he couldn’t hold back?

Tear off that veneer of hypocrisy, and he’s nothing but a beast lusting after her body.

No matter how noble he pretends to be, in the end he’s just another sanctimonious hypocrite.

Saying such fine words—wasn’t he just sending everyone else away to have his way with her?

Did he really think this “innocent girl” would fear being forced to spread her legs, straddle a wooden horse, get bound by ropes… and all sorts of torture?

Molly deliberately rattled her chains, making a provocative noise, her gaze filled with contempt.

“Don’t think I’ll be afraid. You can force open my legs, but you’ll never pry open my mouth!”

The blond man regarded her “Go ahead, kill me if you dare” expression, and there was a barely audible sigh from beneath the mask, tinged with speechless exasperation.

After a brief silence, he spoke.

“I have absolutely no interest in your body. But the project your organization is currently conducting… now that, I find quite fascinating.”

“You… what did you say?”

Still lost in her fantasies, Molly was instantly on guard at those words.

Though he hadn’t spelled it out, Molly could sense what he meant—the project the Black Church was most focused on: the Demonization Plan.

The blond man’s tone remained as calm as ever, as if discussing something utterly trivial.

“Nothing, just a bit of curiosity, that’s all.”

“What are you curious about? I don’t know.”

Molly’s face stayed tense and wary, especially wary of the silver coin in his hand.

If she was controlled, what she said wouldn’t be up to her anymore.

“Is that so?”

Yet, contrary to her expectations, the blond man didn’t press her further.

Instead, he put the coin down and stood up.

“Then I have nothing more to ask.”

With that, he pushed the door open and left the basement.

When he was gone, Molly’s taut body suddenly relaxed.

She gulped down huge breaths, cold sweat streaming from her forehead.

Staring after the blond man’s departing figure, Molly still hadn’t recovered.

Even though he said that, Molly’s instincts told her that the blond man already knew something.

She’d made it through this time, but who knew if she’d last through the next.

If only someone would come rescue me…

But as soon as that thought crossed her mind, Molly slumped her head in despair.

She was nothing but a common Black Church enforcer—who would come to save her?

The normal response would be to treat her as a disposable pawn and abandon her.

Just as Molly was despairing for her future, the basement door was pushed open once again.

“Come back again? Hah…”

Molly instinctively thought it was the blond man returning to continue her interrogation.

But to her surprise, it wasn’t the masked blond man standing before her.

Instead, it was—

“Priestess?!”

“La…”

The Priestess hurriedly pressed her hand over Molly’s mouth, then whipped out a small knife and, with two quick slices, cut the lock on the chain in half.

“Come with me.”

The Priestess took the lead, and Molly followed closely behind.

On their way, they encountered almost no guards.

If there were any, they just waited a bit and easily slipped past.

“Priestess, why did you come?”

“The Grand Priest was worried you’d leak information, so I came to check on you. But fortunately… your mouth is still tightly shut.”

“Uh… what if I’d accidentally gotten hypnotized and let something slip?”

To this, the Priestess just shot her a dangerous look.

“Pretend I didn’t ask.”

Molly sensibly clamped her mouth shut.

***

Meanwhile, inside the Sacred Heart Monastery of the White Church.

Red’s gaze landed on Litt before him.

His Adam’s apple bobbed unconsciously, his mouth parched.

Litt, in this moment, was simply too devastatingly beautiful.

Those clear blue eyes, tinged with a hint of sulkiness and a trace of shyness; silver hair cascading over her shoulders as she tilted her head, and a blush that hadn’t faded from her cheeks—all combined into a striking scene.

From outside came the low growls of a beast, which seemed to be a side effect of the situation.

As for who was growling… perhaps it was one of the mutated creatures.

Best not to dwell on it.

Just then, the nun Finis, who had previously been listening behind the screen, reappeared in her regular clothes, stepping gracefully from behind the curtain.

She was also a beautiful woman, gentle in bearing, with a motherly glow about her.

Her gaze lingered for a moment between Red’s slightly awkward face and Litt’s feigned annoyance, and a knowing, teasing smile curled on her lips.

Finis leaned in close to Red, whispering in a voice only the two of them could hear, her tone light and full of good-natured teasing:

“Mr. Red, the way you and Litt look right now… you really are like a pair of young lovers sulking over a little spat.”

“We are not!”

Red blurted out a denial almost by reflex.

It wasn’t that he was flustered, but that Tos and his friends had teased him with similar lines so many times that the rebuttal was practically ingrained into his muscle memory.

But clearly, Finis just laughed, not taking Red’s words seriously.

She simply cast them both a meaningful look—one that seemed to say “I understand”—then turned elegantly and walked out.