Episode 23: Sharka the Persuader
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I rendered Barbat unable to fight.
I burned off his left leg and left arm with an extremely thick Meteor Ray, so he shouldn’t be able to move anymore.
Barbat had more combat sense than I thought.
Considering he withstood my sure-kill combo twice, taking him down here is a big deal.
(I should probably get him to spill some information before finishing him off.)
I managed to capture him alive, so it would be a waste to dispose of him without getting any information.
I crouched down and grabbed Barbat’s hair, lifting his head.
Looking into Barbat’s eyes, I was surprised to see that he hadn’t lost his will to fight.
“Guh, ugh…”
“Barbat, you can’t do anything anymore. If you don’t want to die, tell me everything you know about this operation.”
Of course, there’s no option to let Barbat live, but that’s just the beauty of persuasion.
“Ptooey! Rot in hell, you Ortenos scum…!”
Barbat spat at my face.
Barbat’s saliva dripped down my cheek.
To curse me without any Magical Power, he’s quite tough.
I raised my evaluation of Barbat, which had been plummeting, by one level.
“Barbat, you’ve already lost. If you talk, nothing terrible will happen to you.”
“Like hell I’ll talk… I won’t yield to Ortenos…”
“Then I have no choice.”
I didn’t really want to do this in front of the military officials, but Barbat doesn’t seem like he’ll open his mouth, so I guess I have to persuade him with a slightly forceful method.
“Barbat, you can’t gather Magical Power right now.”
“Huh?!”
“Right now, you’re in the same state as Dust. What do you think will happen if you’re exposed to my Magical Power?”
“What’ll happen? Hah! You, you don’t mean…!”
I grinned evilly, and Barbat seemed to understand my intentions.
I roughly gathered Magical Power and leaked just a small amount, letting it flow into Barbat.
He doesn’t need that much Magical Power in his current state.
“Ugh, wh-what is this! Ughhh!”
Barbat looked at his right hand and noticed the abnormality.
An unpleasant sensation, like hearing a fork scratching a ceramic plate, began to invade Barbat’s brain.
“Stop, stop it! Ah, my head… I’m going cra-cra-crazy!”
“Who is the mastermind behind this operation?”
I didn’t think Barbat came up with this operation himself.
There are two reasons: first, Barbat’s personality doesn’t seem like he could come up with a meticulous plan.
Second, there’s no benefit for House Hoshiros to cooperate with Barbat.
As long as there’s conflict between Barbat and the Naia Royal Family, supporting Barbat as king would only make both Ortenos and the Naia Royal Family enemies.
“Ooh! Ooh! I-I won’t tell you! Guh, st-stop, stop it, I-I was wrong! I was wro-wrong! Hah, gyahhhhh!”
Barbat is still resisting, so I’ll strengthen my persuasion a little.
The man’s filthy death throes echoed.
(This is bad, the adjustment is difficult.)
Because I have so much Magical Power, I’m not suited for tasks that require delicate Magical Power manipulation.
Right now, I’m walking a tightrope, squeezing out one drop at a time from a faucet that seems like it’ll gush out if I turn the lever even a little, so if I make even a slight mistake, I’ll kill Barbat.
“Tell me, who connected you to House Hoshiros?”
“…Hii! Guh, damn it, damn it all…!”
Barbat trembled and pointed at one of the military officials.
I see, that military official.
If I remember correctly, that’s the military official who tried to help Barbat when he collapsed earlier.
(Is he really the mastermind? No…)
There’s no way a mere military official could move a Stella-Class on his own.
There’s a possibility that there’s someone else behind that military official.
Alright, I have no choice but to capture him too and persuade him.
“You answered well, Barbat. Then let me ask you one more thing.”
“What! You said you wouldn’t do anything if I talked!”
“Huh? I never said there would only be one question.”
“Ugh…!”
Barbat is glaring at me, but he doesn’t seem to have the energy to resist.
Magical Power persuasion must have been that meaningful.
“Who are the perpetrators of this operation? The three Stella-Class from Hoshiros and Barbat, are there any other Stella-Class?”
“…No, just the four of us.”
Only four?
Then the Stella-Class who have been chasing us all this time are separate from Barbat and the others?
“Barbat, it’s not a coincidence that you guys came near Pekion Village, is it? It was like you knew in advance that we were coming here.”
“…”
“I’ll take your silence as agreement. We’ve been preparing at a rapid pace, and there were no delays in our march. In that case, the only explanation is that there’s a traitor or spy in Ortenatris who’s been passing information to you.”
“Fuhahaha… That’s right!”
I don’t think the possibility of a spy is high.
The checkpoints in Ortenatris are strict, and there are “Magical Tools” installed on the outer walls that detect the intrusion of Magic Users who enter the city, so it’s extremely difficult to enter without being detected.
“Who exactly gave you our information?”
In response to my question, Barbat smiled eerily and opened his mouth…