Godslayer Lysette: Chapter 206

Chapter 206: Evening Interrogation

Evening approached, and Lysette floated over the town of Ciricu, keeping watch for anyone else who might have harmful intent for the denizens of the town.  Mirae floated right next to her, the lovers’ fingers interlaced between one another as they enjoyed a brief respite from the myriad tasks they each had.

They’d both been extremely busy with everything that had happened the previous evening.  Both of them had been busy with stabilizing and transporting the victims, and even Lysette’s avatar was working overtime trying to grow some extra foodstuffs.  Both for the remembrance ceremony and for the now forty-five extra mouths the village would have to feed.

The detention facility would still need plenty of modifications before it was suitable for longer-term use, and then there were yet more projects to work on once the spring started.  And even all of that didn’t take into consideration all the work in the back of their minds continuing to support the Cultivation of their fellow comrades.  With so much constantly going on at all hours of day and night, these brief respites of relative quiet were one of the few times they both could relax and unwind, if only a bit.

“Are you sure you want me to accompany you, Lyse?” Mirae asked.

“I do.  I want to build rapport with Julianna and Kathleen.  And I think having my own partner beside me to show that I’m not just a heartless demon will go a long way in that regard.”

“Just?”

“I’m trying to do better about accepting that demonic side of me without letting it overwhelm or supplant my other sides.”

Mirae shook their head.  “You’re not heartless, love.  I’ve felt your warmth and love firsthand.  So many, many times.”

Lysette wrapped Mirae in her embrace before teleporting the pair inside the detention facility.  After knocking on the door and waiting a few moments, the pair walked in and greeted the couple of detainees.

“Miss Lyse,” Julianna said curtly.  “And?”

“Mirae, Miss Julianna.  Lyse’s partner and confidant.”

“I asked them to join me to talk with the two of you.  I apologize that the accommodations are still somewhat less than ideal, but we’ve had to improvise on this facility in the past sixteen hours.  Hopefully it should be a bit more comfortable in a few days.”

“Why?” Kathleen asked.  “We’re prisoners of war, and yet you’re doing all this to try to make our lives more comfortable.  I– I don’t understand.”

Lysette grew a small sofa out of a couple of small vine cutlets in her cloak, then sat down with Mirae beside her.  The other couple sat down on the bed on the other side of the room, across from the door.

“Earlier this afternoon, you said that I wanted to ‘amass a demonic army to scour all of Aimarion under my infernal embrace.’  Or did I mishear you then?”

“N–”  Julianna held her head low.  “I did say that.  That’s what I was told.  That’s what I believed.  Now that I see how magnanimously you’ve treated us, I know better than to have blindly assumed that what I was told is the objective truth.”

Lysette gripped Mirae’s hand a bit tighter.

“Recently, I’ve come to question most of the truths about this world myself.  I used to live in a village a bit smaller than this one.”

“You’re not from here?” Kathleen asked.

“No, I’m from Domaria.  We both are.”  Lysette shrank their makeshift sofa to pull her and her love a bit closer together.  “One thing led to another, and now I’m overseeing this village and its people as a guardian and protector.”

“One thing led to another?” Julianna shook her head.

“Perhaps some other time,” Mirae said.  “If you agree to cooperate with our questions and provide us the information we need to defend ourselves from any further attacks, I’m certain Lyse would be willing to go into greater detail.”

Lysette nodded.  “I’d like to start with some information about the Terean army.  As I understand, a colonel is quite a high rank, just under the generals.  And you were quite a bit stronger than some of the other detachments that have come our way in recent weeks.  Just to confirm my suspicions, are higher-ranked officers also more powerful Cultivators?”

Julianna nodded.  “It’s not always a strict progression of power to rank, but in general, a weak Cultivator is not going to be promoted to a position of high rank.  At the same time, Kathleen here only holds the rank of lieutenant, even though she can tussle with nearly all the captains and quite a few majors.”  A short pause followed.  “Well, she could before.”

“How do you compare to the top generals in the Terean army?”

“I don’t.  The two of us together might have held our own against some of the one-star generals, but a three- or gods forbid Terea’s chief four-star commander?  They would dispatch us effortlessly.”

“Do you know what happened with the scarlet moon last night?”

“I don’t.  All I know is that it had been critical that we carry out our mission last night.  Although in retrospect, I’m not sure that was such a good idea.  I felt my power was somewhat weaker than normal once the moon turned red.”

Lysette furrowed a brow at that.  The Highest Priestess of Thosse certainly knew of the Blood Moon, but completely miscalculated her strategy and got routed as a result.  Are Thosse and Asterion secretly trying to backstab one another?  Or is this just a ruse— a sacrifice of yet more human life— to give that implication?  But then why didn’t Asterion modify his power to increase the strength of the Terean forces?  Or why couldn’t he?

“It would have been the same for me, if not for circumstances.”  Lysette didn’t want to reveal everything before securing their trust and cooperation.  “However, I am afraid that you were likely sacrificed as part of an elaborate ruse in a greater scheme between gods.”

“On what grounds?” Kathleen asked.  “We are loyal and faithful subjects of His Eminence, as well as adherents of Her Grandest Divinity!”  Kathleen’s eyes narrowed and veins protruded from her temples.  “Explain yourself!”

“The Blood Moon is a manifestation of Asterion’s power reaching its peak and influencing Aimarion to its greatest extent.  During the hour of the Blood Moon, his allies and supporters are bolstered in strength and resolve, while all others have their power suppressed.  So then, why would your power have been suppressed?”

“Asterion doesn’t consider us his allies?” Julianna asked.

“Precisely.”  Lysette continued.  “Knowing this, why would the Highest Priestess of Thosse specifically choose the night of the Blood Moon to carry out your operation?”

“Wait, are you an ally of his?  Of Asterion’s, that is.” Kathleen asked.

Lysette shuddered.  “Absolutely not!  I want him dead more than anyone!”

“I suppose I don’t know,” Kathleen said.

“You were manipulated,” Mirae said.  “Your Devotion to your country and god was betrayed.  Right now, we don’t know who betrayed whom.  Asterion tricking Thosse, Thosse playing a long con against Terea.  Both of those gods working together and using you as a sacrifice toward some greater power play.  Or some sort of internal power struggle within the Terean power hierarchy.  Or something else entirely.”

“I know it’s not easy to accept,” Lysette said.  “But the gods do not have the best interests of humanity at heart.  They have, over millions of years, continually used people as fodder while they jockeyed for power and dominion over Aimarion.  My family were also the victims of one such attack.  Only I survived.”

“But they are gods!” Kathleen exclaimed.  “The creators of this world.  The rulers, the overseers, almighty and far above even the strongest of us!  We are but insects to them.”

“Not so fast,” Lysette said.  “Think about what you’ve just said.  Very carefully.”

“I don’t understand,” Kathleen said.

“No, wait, Lyse is right,” Julianna said.  “That doesn’t make sense.  We were sent on a mission on behalf of the gods.  But if they really are so all-powerful, why would they send us rather than dealing with the problem themselves?”

“They are testing us, of course!”  Kathleen’s tone indicated doubt behind her words.  “We– We have to show our faith in the gods to receive their blessings!”

“And kill innocent civilians?”  Lysette clenched her fists.  “And die for the gods’ cause?  The same gods who marched you straight to your deaths, had I not been able to restrain myself just enough to avoid killing you on the spot?  Even if the gods are allegedly testing you, what good does it do if you end up dying?  Or worse, if one of you had lived while the other didn’t survive.

“Think about it, both of you.  Julianna, how would you feel if Kathleen sacrificed her life because Thosse asked her to?”

“I–  I don’t want to think about it.”

Kathleen clutched her partner’s hand.  “I hope you’d live life to the fullest in my stead.”

Lysette stood up and drew her Ice Blade, pointing it at Kathleen.  “If you really want to sacrifice your life, Kathleen, I’m not opposed.  But perhaps you should reconsider your statement after looking at what Julianna has to say.”

Julianna had all but shielded her partner from Lysette with her own body, quivering and clutching onto Kathleen with all the strength she could muster.  Tears were streaming down her eyes, and even with just her aura, Lysette could see the puffiness building in her eyes.  Lysette put her weapon away and sat back down next to Mirae once more sharing a hug of their own while the prisoner couple consoled each other.

About five minutes after Lysette’s stunt, Kathleen turned back to the demigoddess, wiping tears from her own eyes.  She lowered her head and spoke quietly.

“You’re right.  And Jules, I’m sorry that I didn’t think enough about what you would want in such a situation.”

“Don’t you ever think about becoming a heroine by martyring yourself again, Katie!  I need you by my side.  Not just as my lieutenant, but as my partner as well!  We are going to get through this together just as we have every other challenge we’ve faced so far.  And then we’re going to live our lives together!  As a couple!  As we promised!  That’s an order from your commanding officer as well.”

Lysette smiled.  “I’m glad I was able to help you two figure that out.  Now then, I’d like to know what you want to do.  If you want to remain as my prisoners, I promise that I will take care of you to the best of my ability.  I can’t promise extravagant living quarters, but I’ll make sure that you are fed, kept warm, and as safe as I and my comrades can make you.”

“You would release us?” Kathleen asked.

“Not immediately.  I would still like to talk with you and your comrades some more before I decide on that.  But with your Cultivation abilities gone and your not being a threat to the people I look after, I don’t see why that can’t be arranged.  In fact, yesterday, I was just talking about the same thing with Captain Potani.”

“Wait–  He’s still alive?” Kathleen asked.

“Unless something happened within the past four hours.” Lysette gazed toward the town’s primary jail facility to verify.  “Yes, it looks like he still is.  Though, I’ll have to get going in just a moment.  I think the remembrance ceremony is going to be starting soon.”

“Wait,” Julianna said.  “Why are you doing all this?  Why not just kill us and be done with whatever it is that you’re trying to do?  Why expend all this time and effort on our account.”

“Because, what Thosse’s priestess said?  It’s all true.  I’m the big bad demon lord amassing an infernal army to scour the current order of Aimarion and one day smite down the gods of this world once and for all.  And now that you’ve experienced firsthand what the gods are really like, I’d like the two of you to join us in our cause.”

“You want us to join you?” Kathleen and Julianna asked in unison.

“Of course, you don’t have to decide immediately.  Please, take a day or two, think things over.  I will respect your decision either way, but I’d love to have more allies on my side.”

Chapter 205: https://www.patreon.com/posts/112051728

Table of Contents: https://www.patreon.com/posts/101896170

Chapter 207: https://www.patreon.com/posts/112051730