Chapter 541 – The Void Order

Outside, the city of Nazeroth was in chaos.

Fires were everywhere, buildings set ablaze in flames, and entire structures toppled from destruction. The moon was nigh, bright and illuminative, but the grey smoke and smog arising from the piles of ash and blaze served to darken the night further.

All around, mutilated corpses belonging to Demon Race civilians lay scattered. Some were gutted in the stomach, others were outright decapitated. The lucky ones had painless deaths, the unlucky ones… well. They were left alive for a few more seconds to suffer from searing pain after they’d been dealt a fatal wound.

“…” I clenched my fists. I didn’t care about Demons one way or another, but the idea that these guys were massacring this many innocents didn’t sit right with me. Taking out one my katanas while holding my gun with my other hand, Eve and I set off.

*****

Most of the area around us was already in ruins, and the shadowy figures had already left to sabotage a different part of the city. Unfortunately for them, however, running away from me was not going to be that easy. Soon enough, I found one of them, just about to finish off a poor civilian old woman.

Instantly, I lifted my gun and fired a bullet at the assassin, but not at his head. I aimed for one of his metal cutlasses—to not kill him, but also save the civilian at the same time.

“Huh?” The hooded figure turned to me in surprise as his blade was knocked out of his hand and dark purple liquid that seemed like… blood? Leaked out of his hand where I shot him.

Instantly, his glowing orange eyes widened, and he attempted to flee, but I gave a snort.

“Hmph. Trying to run from me?”

*Space—Eliminate.

Immediately, I erased the space between him and I, and I caught him by his hood. Surprisingly, instead of pulling his neck back like I expected to happen, I ended up pulling his entire head back instead. It was as if his hood was glued to his head—either that, or I just grabbed his hair as well by accident. Either way, I wasn’t complaining—this made for an easy takedown.

Following up my grab with a knee to the back, I slammed the assassin into the ground forcefully, and pinned him there.

“… Speak. Who sent you here, and what are you after?”

But to my surprise…

“Hngh~” 

The assassin let out a soft, female moan. I blinked momentarily, then realized what he—or rather, she—was gesturing at. My eyes wandered down, and I realized I had pinned her down by the…

… Breasts.

“Sorr-“

“Got you!” The girl beneath the mask smirked smugly as she kicked upwards, straight into my balls.

“—!”

Instantly, I dodged out of the way and maneuvered myself behind her, pulling her into a headlock.

“… Sorry, can’t let you hit that spot,” I muttered, pulling tighter. “Now… you’re going to answer my questions.”

“N-Never!” She screamed, thrashing wildly, like a little girl.

*Hm… wait. Like a little girl?

Heheheh…

I turned to Eve, and gave a nod. Understanding my intentions immediately, she giggled and bent down. Then, slipping her hands underneath the assassin’s armpits, she…

“K-Kyah~! W-What are you doi- ahahaha! HAHAHA! P-Please, STOP!”

I glanced at Eve, signaling for her to pause, and she obeyed.

“Well? Will you talk now?” I asked, whispering in the assassin’s ear, and slowly, she nodded.

“… I am from the Void Order,” she stated quietly.

“The Void Order?” I arched an eyebrow, confused.

“What? You don’t know what the Void Order is?!” The girl cried in surprise. “Tch… how shameful.”

“The Void Order…” Eve narrowed her eyes slightly, sinking into thought. “That is a cult from ages ago. I thought they were wiped out… but it would seem not. If I were to compare them to something… it would be the Midnight Syndicate, but far far more sinister and stronger.”

“So, an ancient evil organization that was wiped out,” I muttered. “Why have you guys suddenly began being active again, then?”

“Heh. That’s because we finally found something worth it, of course,” the girl replied. “Would you believe me if I told you there’s a power hidden here in Demon Territory that can change the world itself?”

*… Uh, yeah. I’m the wielder of it.

“… So, that’s what you’re after?” I arched an eyebrow.

“… Yeah,” the girl replied, but at that moment, Eve gave a laugh.

“She’s lying.”

“Wha-?!”

“Fufu… Xuan Kai, step aside.”

“Ah… I see. Don’t kill her—that’s all I ask,” I said, stepping away. The assassin, as expected, tried to get away, but…

“Wha…”

… Also as expected, she failed.

“There’s no running from desire,” Eve whispered, bending down and staring into the assassin’s eyes. It was as if she could see straight through that mask. The girl behind it, completely mesmerized, could only stare in awe at Eve’s beauty as she was charmed.

“Now… tell me everything you know,” Eve demanded alluringly, cupping the assassin’s chin in her hand.

“We’re… here to look for a woman,” the girl said, and immediately, my ears perked up. I opened my mouth to speak, but Eve held a finger up against me, wagging it, signaling that I should stay silent or else the hypnosis would wear off.

“… What does the woman look like?” Eve asked softly. “Her age? Her appearance? Her name, perhaps?”

“… 33. Long white hair, blue eyes. Name… I don’t know…”

I clenched my fists tightly, Long white hair, blue eyes. Age, 33. Those descriptions matched my mother perfectly.

“… Where is she?” Eve asked, knowing what questions I wanted her to ask next.

“Last spotted inside… Nazeroth… we’re looking for her… right now… she holds the ‘key’…”

Eve narrowed her eyes. “The ‘key’?”

“The key to enter that place… the key to obtaining the power…” The girl whispered in a daze, still in a charm.

“… Any other information? Anything else at all?” Eve questioned, but the girl remained silent. It would seem that was it.

With a sigh, Eve finally moved away, closing her eyes, and the girl flinched, snapping back to reality.

“Wha… what just…”

Immediately, I took over, pressing a finger on her forehead. She flinched yet again but couldn’t resist as my strands of Chaos energy entered her head and down through her bloodstream, into her veins, and down into her soul. Once there, I tied her soul with my own:

*Forbidden Magic — Soul Shackle.

Instantly, her eyes snapped open, and I backed away.

“You can go now.”

“E-Eh? You’re just letting me go free? I won’t thank you, you know. I’ll gather my brethren, rally together, and come back for reven- ow!”

I flicked the back of my hand just enough to create a sense of pain, and in response, the girl’s entire body spasmed in pain. She clutched her wrist tightly, trembling in agony as searing pain rippled through her entire body, and she promptly collapsed, breathing heavily.

“Listen closely,” I whispered by her ear. “You are now mine.”

“E-Eh? Wait, this is moving too fas-“

“Not like that,” I muttered. “As in, you’re my pawn. Understand? You will give me any information I want, while continuing to disguise yourself as a member of this… Void Order, or whatever.”

“I-I can’t! They’ll kill me if they ever find ou-“

“Well, would you rather be killed right now, or later?”

“You don’t understand! They’ll use the most horrible torture tactics, the pain, the agon-“

“I will tickle you.”

“You win, deal!”

The girl clasped her hands together and knelt before me, giving in without even an ounce of hesitation. I gave a chuckle and rose to my feet, then waved her off.

As she disappeared, Eve walked up beside me. “I doubt she will be able to get any useful information, you know. Judging by the looks of things, she isn’t a very high-ranking member.”

“Be that as it may, a spy is better than no spy at all.”

“Fufu… fair enough.”

“Come on. We’re not done here yet—now that we have a spy, whenever we encounter one of these guys… just kill them outright.”

Eve nodded. “Understood. But what about this old lady…? She seems to have fainted from the immense pressure, but is still alive.”

“Leave her be here,” I said. “They won’t come back around to this area because they’ve already searched through it once. She should be safe. When she wakes up, let the Knights of Nazeroth take care of her.”

The Knights of Nazeroth, of course, were the City of Nazeroth’s military force, composed of supposedly strong Demon men. But the true powerful force of Demonkind, according to Nael, were the Twelve Devils. Each specialized in their own method of combat, and each had very different personalities. They all shared one point in common, however: and that was their loyalty to the House of Lucifer—the House of Pride, home to the Demon King. Unlike others, they did not submit to any of the other Demon Generals or their Houses. Only the Demon King and the Demon King alone—in other words, Luisfer, whom I had a decent relationship with.

Speaking of which… that was going to be the next person I visited after cleaning up the mess here.