Chapter 690
Interrogating the Honey Badger
Cardinal Dominic chatted as he led Eivass and his group inward, soon arriving at the deepest part.
This place was completely different from the loose, nature-oriented correctional facilities outside.
The surrounding buildings, without anyone knowing when, had suddenly been covered in a layer of silvery-white light metal. Dense black runes were drawn on the walls, giving them a peculiar artistic style.
Just by being in this space, Eivass felt a sense of tightness on his exposed skin—a sensation as if his skin were wrapped in plastic wrap. He felt a faint discomfort in his wrists, like wearing a slightly heavy watch, but a quick glance down immediately confirmed it was just an illusion.
This was the influence of overflowing Authority on the Material Realm.
—This entire building had transformed into a “Shrine” of the Silver Crown Dragon.
Even though the entire Eighteenth Ring was equivalent to the Church’s prison, this silvery-white shrine was the “prison within a prison.”
In this area, even a First Tier Law Master could easily exert Third Tier binding power.
This was a domain field with a distinct Church style—if one were to achieve such intense continuous buffs through purely ritualistic means, the price would be almost unbearable.
The elves’ approach was to build a sufficiently large shrine. This was much simpler than the former… simply assigning enough Bishops based on the land area would allow the entire building to be continuously sanctified.
Eivass estimated that this heavy-duty criminal prison, which was essentially a “shrine,” covered at least thirty thousand square meters—an area equivalent to four standard football fields.
This was not because there were enough criminals incarcerated within.
It was because everything inside was completely isolated from the outside world—it was a self-contained circulatory system, and the criminals’ “atonement” actions had to be completed internally. Unless specifically approved, even the Bishops entering could not leave at will… because even the Warden of this place was one of the prisoners.
—In other words, Cardinal Dominic himself, wearing restraining clothing.
“…What crimes have you committed, Dominic?”
Eivass asked curiously upon hearing this.
Cardinal Dominic replied gently, “Oh, more than you can imagine, acting Pope Eivass.
“The Church has no [Law], so no one can naturally judge another person—and as I said before, the Church’s criminals must demonstrate their value.
“Those who can heal should heal others; those who can synthesize medicine should work as alchemy laborers. If you have talent for research, writing, or calculations, there are places where you can exert your abilities. Even if you can’t do anything, the Church generously trains them… You can learn anything, as long as you ultimately contribute enough value.
“But even so, there are still stubborn fanatics. Some are truly incorrigible, good for nothing but evil deeds, unable to learn any valuable work; their contributions are far outweighed by the losses they cause. Others are unwilling to cooperate…”
As he spoke, Cardinal Dominic raised his hand slightly.
A heavy door without a handle opened upwards, like the mouth of a beast.
There was a woman in the room. Her body was unclothed, her hands spread to the sides, held in the void by a silvery-white triangle of light. Her feet hung down naturally, and a larger triangle of light bound her feet together, suspending her in the void.
Simultaneously, at least twenty strong light sources shone on her from all directions, making her body sparkle with dazzling radiance. No part of her body was connected to “shadow.”
The woman raised her head in shock, unable to clearly see who had arrived at the door, and then closed her eyes again under the stimulus of the strong light.
Isabel immediately blushed and subconsciously turned her head away. Seeing Eivass still focused on the woman, Her Majesty the Queen pouted. But considering it was a serious matter, her puffed-out cheeks deflated like a popped bubble.
Cardinal Dominic continued, “Because they are unwilling to cooperate, they cannot provide any value.
“And for these people, the ‘Decomposition Institute’ is deployed.
“To completely decompose the irredeemable and valueless sinners… such an act is equivalent to murder. And it is a more serious sin than murder… Someone must bear such a sin.
“—That person is me.
“I sign all these documents; the Church’s ‘Necessary Evil’ is all my sole responsibility…”
…Necessary Evil?
Eivass suddenly heard a familiar term and turned back to look at Cardinal Dominic.
Cardinal Dominic stepped forward, gazing at the Master Assassin locked by the strong lights.
“Master Assassin from Eagle Eye, a Fifth Tier [Shadow Dancer]. Hired by Cardinal Loki for one million Star Antinomy gold coins to assassinate Eternal Saintess Grey.
“Sixty-five years old this year, with a Fourth Tier Path of Beauty and a Fifth Tier Path Adaptation, codenamed [Honey Badger], Kote Ludwig. A disciple of [Butterfly], mentor to [Xiaolu], [Wuqun], and others. You have served the Eagle Eye organization for fifty-eight years.
“Your initial motivation for joining Eagle Eye was that your parents, a councilor and a renowned dancer, were attacked and killed by the Children of the Moon. Your mother was awakened as a new Child of the Moon and, using her memories, turned back to hunt you, who had been placed with your uncle’s family. Though she didn’t find you, she killed your uncle’s entire family and transformed some of them into new Children of the Moon.
“You currently hold three public identities: Dance Teacher, Councilor’s Widow, and Female Fortune Teller. As the Councilor’s Widow, you have had four lovers, marrying two of them. One divorced you due to incompatibility, and the other was a Child of the Moon you orchestrated into an assassination.
“You have three children, one son and two daughters, all of whom have joined the Eagle Eye organization. None of them know your true identity, and one of them is your disciple, ‘Xiaolu’…
“…Do you want me to continue?”
Cardinal Dominic’s expression became solemn and merciless.
She read out the other person’s identity word by word, dissecting their secrets.
Kote Ludwig, codenamed [Honey Badger], merely gave a wry smile, “What else do I need to say? Haven’t you already seen my memories clearly?”
In the past, this would have been handed over to Cardinal Loki for stargazing and divination.
But Cardinal Dominic did not use divination techniques—she used a High-Tier Divine Art of the Path of Authority, directly reading the other person’s memories.
“Do you have any requests?”
Cardinal Dominic said calmly, “If you are to be sentenced to death, what is your last wish?”
“…Anything?”
Honey Badger retorted.
She did not fear her own death; in fact, as a failed assassin, she had long anticipated it.
“Not necessarily, but you can say it first… perhaps anything is possible.”
Cardinal Dominic shook her head slightly, noncommittally.
“Then I wish… you would spare Alice de Harcourt.”
Honey Badger pondered for a moment and replied, “Because she truly did nothing, and if she has any responsibility, it’s at most for failing to report. Based on her position, she couldn’t betray her identity and could at most remain silent. You can thoroughly verify the authenticity of this matter… I merely used her.”
“Why do you want us to spare her?”
Cardinal Dominic retorted, “Are you close to her? Or do you feel you shouldn’t drag an innocent person down with you?”
“…Because the Eagle Eye cannot easily withstand Duke Harcourt’s wrath.”
Honey Badger gave a helpless laugh, “Especially Eagle Eye after losing me.
“Alice is Duke Harcourt’s most beloved daughter. Both Eagle Eye and the Iris Flower Gazette have exploited her identity. If it succeeded, then great; but now that it has failed, a price must be paid.
“—If Duke Harcourt develops a grudge against Eagle Eye because of this matter, those old nobles who are like fence-sitters will also distance themselves from Eagle Eye. But Eagle Eye is an organization fighting for the freedom of human souls—
“It would be too ridiculous if the Children of the Moon were to seize power because of this.”
