“What is this?” The rioters, while relishing the traitor’s torment, also felt a sense of awe and fear at the burning brand-like mark and her screams.
Furthermore, they soon discovered that they too bore the same brand on their lower abdomen. Their revealing leather armor made the golden mark easily visible to others, though it wasn’t obvious as it wasn’t lit up.
“This is the Holy Seal I’ve placed on you to prevent you from falling into darkness again. Your inner hearts still retain memories of your fall, and you could revert at any moment, so this is necessary as insurance,” Jayad explained.
The core of corruption and demonic transformation indeed does not stem from magic power itself, but from the human heart. When demons seduce mortals, they plant a seed within their hearts. When people fall into negative emotions like suspicion, hatred, or bloodlust, the demonic seed transforms these emotions into magic power, eroding its host.
The downfall of the human heart is the root of corruption. The original sins corresponding to the Seven Great Demon Kings are mostly based on personality and emotions, directly linked to mutation and madness.
They retained memories of their fall, which included killing and arson, indulging in carnal desires, and the mental pollution they suffered from seeing the true forms and knowledge of demons. The possibility of them falling again was extremely high, and they could become demonic at any moment.
Older Brother Jayad had offered to erase these memories, allowing them to start anew with their pre-fall sense of self. However, I believed that preserving these dark histories would give me more control over them.
If they remained strong and proud female warriors, how could they be willing to submit to me and obey my commands? They would surely be longing to return to their Sisterhood of the Blind.
But now, their bodies and minds had suffered immense blows. The memories of their past submission to demons had shattered their dignity and will. As they say, the first time is the hardest, the second time is much easier.
They knew their sins were unforgivable. Even if they were pardoned upon returning, their sisters would look at them with strange eyes and ostracize them. And they absolutely did not want to return to a place like Hell.
With nowhere to go, their subconscious minds would give up the idea of escape. Especially when burdened with guilt and self-reproach, they would adopt a self-destructive mentality, as if seeking self-punishment. This was exactly what I wanted.
Of course, to prevent them from becoming demonic again due to their past memories of corruption, I asked Older Brother Jayad to place marks on them. These divine marks automatically emit Holy Light if they detect any signs of demonic transformation, purifying them once more.
Naturally, the marks also served as another layer of insurance against the rioters betraying me. This was something I wouldn’t tell them; I only told them about the function of preventing demonic transformation and corruption.
Upon hearing the function of the Holy Seal, the rioters, who had been resistant moments ago, immediately accepted it. “So that’s what it is! Thank you so much. With this Holy Seal, we no longer have to worry about becoming demonic.”
Having fallen into demonhood had become a memory the rioters could not bear to recall. No matter what, they did not want to be plunged into Hell again. Therefore, when they learned that the Holy Seal could automatically prevent demonic transformation, and that even if demons attacked them, they could no longer be turned into demons, the rioters were extremely satisfied. They did not reject it at all and even began to appreciate each other.
I didn’t know if their customs were inherently very open or if they started dressing this way after becoming demons. I leaned towards the belief that these were their original clothes, as these women showed no signs of shame even when being observed by me and Older Brother Jayad.
Their tattered leather armor fully revealed their full and fit figures. The breastplates, similar to bikinis, and the two strips of cloth below them barely covered anything. One female rioter’s breastplate was even damaged, directly exposing half of her chest, yet she made no attempt to cover it.
As for the traitorous rioter rolling on the ground from the burning, we saw everything. Only when it seemed enough did Older Brother Jayad wave his hand, stopping the purification.
“Whew! Whew! Ha…” The traitor gasped for air, unable to recover for a while. She looked at Older Brother Jayad with fear, seemingly terrified by his methods.
“Listen up. I don’t care what your relationships were before. Now, your status is that of my servants. Your past identities are irrelevant. You can choose not to get along, but violence or killing each other is strictly forbidden. Violators will have their summons revoked and be sent back to Hell,” I declared.
At first, they were a bit defiant upon hearing my words. Although they had developed some positive feelings towards Older Brother Jayad for purifying them, my impression on them was that of a witch who had schemed them into this situation.
However, as soon as they heard me threaten to send them back to Hell, they fell silent. Almost no one would enjoy the environment of Hell, which offered only endless pain and torment. That was why so many demons were willing to answer the summons from the mortal realm, just to get some fresh air, or perhaps to never return to Hell again.
But there was one exception. The traitor’s eyes lit up; she actually wanted to return to Hell. Noticing her reaction, I told her, “You are different. I will not send you to Hell, but I will make you experience the Holy Seal’s purification for three days and three nights.”
“No, I don’t dare! I will do whatever you say!” the traitorous rioter pleaded, kneeling on the ground in terror. It seemed Older Brother Jayad’s presence was truly intimidating.
“Alright, now, introduce yourselves. Each of you, state your original name and origin,” I commanded.
After listening to their introductions, I got a general understanding of their origins. The Sisterhood of the Blind was a faction that developed from the Amaz of South America into a branch in Europe, primarily operating within their patron country, Iberia, and was officially recognized.
Their name, “Blind,” came from their founder, a blind priestess who could predict the future to some degree. The Sisterhood of the Blind currently made a living by training Adventurers and fighting demons.
The Sisterhood of the Blind also accepted many local women or women of other races, but all were female. They trained these women using the Amaz methods.
The Amaz excelled in primitive hunting techniques such as archery, javelin throwing, and blow darts. The rioters, trained in the same way, were also proficient in ranged combat but less so in close-quarters fighting with knives and spears.
This resulted in the rioters being somewhat specialized. They were skilled in ranged combat but at a disadvantage in close combat. Therefore, they were generally dispersed among various Adventurer Squads, gaining experience and earning money as ranged combatants. They were only gathered when the organization required it.
Furthermore, the Amaz valued women over men, and men held extremely low status. They also revered robustness as beauty; the Sisterhood of the Blind passed this tradition onto the new rioters, none of whom seemed to mind revealing their strong muscles.
