The first to regain consciousness after a bright light surged around was Diakonos.

As he opened his eyes, emitting a pained groan from the sensation that something was binding him, he quickly realized the sight of the members of Dolos House being restrained by heroes.

Their demeanor in dealing with them was akin to that of treating serious criminals, and Diakonos sighed softly as he thought to himself, So, it’s been discovered, has it?

Diakonos understood well that the activities Dolos House had been engaged in were of a nature that would not easily be understood by the public.

It was only natural that those who did not know the happiness of serving their Master could not comprehend it.

Of course, that didn’t mean he could accept this situation gracefully.

How could there be no discontent?

They had dedicated so much effort for the happiness of humanity, and for such devoted individuals to receive this kind of treatment was morally wrong.

Thus, as a representative of Dolos, Diakonos spoke to those who had them restrained.

“…There’s no need to go this far; I’ll comply with the interrogation willingly, so please release the others. It’s simply wrong to treat those who have devoted themselves for the people like this.”

Hearing Diakonos’s words, Dwight, who was watching them with a complicated expression, asked in a concerned tone.

“…For the people, you say? Do you truly still think that way?”

Diakonos felt a pang of regret at Dwight’s question.

To be misunderstood was indeed a painful thing.

Why didn’t they understand?

It was true that the deaths of people were sorrowful, yet there were sacrifices in the world that sometimes occurred out of necessity.

The previous incident had been such a case.

Those people who had died had sacrificed themselves for the happiness of those remaining.

Serving their Master was true happiness.

Yet, why was it that they could not grasp this obvious fact?

That fact which was so painfully evident…

“…Huh?”

In that moment, as Diakonos thought as he usually did, he felt an overwhelming sense of unease for the first time in his life.

Why…?

The idea that serving his Master was happiness, a notion he had always accepted as self-evident.

Why does it suddenly feel wrong?

No, why hadn’t he thought all along that this was wrong or strange?

To dismiss the deaths of people as an unavoidable sacrifice was, indeed, a strange notion.

“Uh… uhh…?”

Once he started to think it was strange, overwhelming discomfort flooded Diakonos’s mind with no end in sight.

It was bizarre, indeed.

It felt as if the very foundation of his life had been flipped upside down.

He could no longer comprehend what happiness in serving his Master truly was.

He could not understand why they had strived to dedicate themselves to this so-called Master.

And he could no longer fathom why he had assumed people would inherently find happiness in it.

Reflecting back, it was unbelievable.

Why had he never felt this strangeness before?

After all, this supposed Master was…

This strange, ever-growing discomfort and suspicion…

At the end of it, Diakonos realized he had been living his life under false premises and blankly stared at his own hands.

Those rough, callused hands were the hands of a laborer.

Until now, he had felt a sense of pride whenever he looked at them.

For that roughness was proof that he had lived his life serving others.

Yet now…

Diakonos let out a soft sigh.

“…Ah.”

Long ago, a man realized he had been born into a blessed body and later established his family, naming it Dolos.

Dolos, which means servant or slave.

The reason he chose a term that was virtually a derogatory name for his family was that he wished for his descendants to use their born strength not to boast or wield power, but to help others.

Following the legacy of such an ancestor, Dolos became a family that labored for the people.

That was their belief, and that was their pride.

Dolos was such a family.

They lived without a shred of shame, proudly toiling like servants for the people.

However, who had they truly been working for all this time?

Diakonos looked down at his hands once more.

He saw those hands that had devoted a lifetime to serving a witch.

He saw the hands of a fool that had driven the very people they should have helped into peril.

He could no longer feel any pride in his hands.

“Ah, ah…”

The servant, awakened from a long sleep, covered his face with his hands and cried out.

What remained for him upon awakening were the sullied pride left by the years of enchantment and the horrific truth of his actions against those he claimed to serve.

Realizing the weight of the sins he had committed, Diakonos crumpled to the ground, as if crushed by the revelation.

As the beliefs that had upheld him collapsed, wrinkles appeared on his once robust body, and even his seemingly indestructible hair turned white.

In an instant, Diakonos aged significantly, and a whimpering sound escaped his lips continuously.

The sound of Diakonos’s cries seemed like a wail rising from the depths of his soul, leaving those around him speechless.

Only those from Dolos who could empathize with his feelings slightly understood his anguish.

“Wh-what have I done until now…?”

“Aah… Aaaah!”

The screams of Dolos echoed for a long time.

 

After setting the mansion ablaze, I stepped outside with Sylvia for a moment to catch the wind, letting out a deep sigh as I muttered.

“…Hah. This feels awful, really.”

“…I agree.”

In a lowered voice, Sylvia echoed my sentiment, and I noticed several others nearby wearing equally somber expressions.

From their faces, it was clear that everyone was feeling quite dreadful.

Seeing the Dolos members weep after having escaped the domination of the Lust Witch, who had so long controlled them, who could blame them?

“…The interrogation will end like this, right?”

“Yes, well… it’s not a situation to blame them for.”

Although we hadn’t discussed it formally, it seemed we would indeed conclude the interrogation without any special measures.

I suppose everyone felt the same way.

Not only was there basic mental confusion, but in severe cases, some were on the verge of self-harm due to guilt — it was truly a relief to get them calmed down.

It was simply pitiful that Dolos had to suffer so much despite merely being used by the witch.

“…I wonder if Florene is alright.”

“…Hmm. Marin and Dwight are trying their best to soothe her…”

Among those who had suffered the most was indeed Florene.

It appeared that Florene was feeling even more intense guilt since she had been directly manipulated by the witch.

Just as I felt guilty about hurting Si-woo because of Evangeline taking control of me, Florene was struggling to cope with her actions that had put others in danger repeatedly.

Especially toward me, she seemed close to crying in apology.

Despite not fully comprehending her words as she sobbed while saying something about the front lines and cosmetics, I could tell she was distraught that it was because of her that I had nearly faced a dire situation.

It pained my heart to see Florene, who was always bright and innocent, weeping with such a distorted expression as if the world was ending.

Amidst my growing thoughts of not being able to forgive the Lust Witch for these deeds, I noticed Dwight and Mr. Diakonos emerging with worn anticipation on their faces.

Having just been with Florene, I carefully asked Dwight.

“Dwight, how’s Florene?”

“…I put Florene to sleep with magic and left her with Marin. I think if left alone, she wouldn’t stop crying. More importantly, Mr. Diakonos would like to make a request of you.”

“Request? From us?”

Upon hearing that Diakonos had a request for us, I looked at him, and he slowly lowered his head toward us with a vacant expression.

“…First, I wish to express my gratitude. Thank you for liberating us from that accursed witch’s curse. And regarding that, I have a request.”

The resolute demeanor he had shown earlier had dissipated, and he appeared remarkably weak as he spoke.

Most likely, the burden of representing his family was the only thing keeping him standing.

As Sylvia and I nodded, he weakly stated his request.

“…I would like you to finish this.”

Along with asking for this, he provided further explanation.

He told us that there were still lesser demonic beasts remaining in the basement of Dolos Manor.

When we heard this, Sylvia, Dwight, and I were taken aback and quickly led the group toward the Dolos Mansion.

And in the basement, guided by Mr. Diakonos, we witnessed…

A large pit was in the basement.

Black waves roiling of their own accord.

“Ugh… Could that be all…?”

“…Yes, those are the lesser demonic beasts.”

Mr. Diakonos elaborated.

Until now, Dolos had periodically conducted a ceremony referred to as a ‘baptism’ involving that pit.

While submerging themselves in that pit filled with lesser demonic beasts, they had regarded it as something holy, and the look on Mr. Diakonos’s face as he recounted this was one of shivers and revulsion.

Naturally, I had thought he would ask Sylvia to purify the lesser demonic beasts, but to my surprise, he made his request to me.

“…I would like you to burn down the mansion, basement and all.”

“…Burn it down?”

“Yes… Everyone would like that. Looking at this will only bring back unpleasant memories. So I hope you will leave no trace and burn it all.”

I could feel the urgency in his plea and silently set the mansion ablaze.

As the lesser demonic beasts burned, what was that sound?

The mansion blazed ominously.

Mr. Diakonos silently watched the burning mansion, tears streaming down his face.

I could not even begin to guess what emotions were behind those tears.

In any case, once the mansion was completely consumed without leaving even ashes, Mr. Diakonos stopped crying and bowed his head to thank me, wearing a somewhat relieved expression.

I only hoped this act would help settle his heart, even if just a little.

 

After burning down the mansion, on our way back to the interrogation room where the others were, Dwight had been making a look of discomfort for some time, so I asked him.

“What’s wrong, Dwight? You’ve had a bad expression for a while.”

“…It’s nothing. I’m just bothered by the conversation I had earlier with the Lust Witch.”

“What part?”

“…How she easily laid everything out without hesitation. Until now, she’d been hiding everything so tightly, yet upon being caught, she suddenly spilled everything without much of an excuse—doesn’t that seem odd? She acted as if it didn’t matter that she got exposed because she had already outlived her usefulness.”

Hearing his point made, I realized that indeed, there was something peculiar about that.

Moreover, I also had something weighing on my mind.

“…Sylvia, you mentioned earlier that before the witch disappeared, she said no matter what you did, it was all over for you now?”

“Yes… I’m not sure if it was just to frighten us or if there really is something to it.”

At Sylvia’s words, I felt a chill creep up my neck.

Could the attention-seeking witch really have said that without any ulterior motive?

Perhaps she had truly already committed some atrocity—

Wooooooonnn

“…What? What was that sound? Did everyone hear it?”

“Yes… I heard it.”

At that moment, a strange noise echoed from somewhere.

Sylvia seemed to think little of it, but for some reason, I couldn’t shake this ominous feeling.

Why was that? In the back of my mind, I felt as if I had heard that sound somewhere before.

Before I could think further, I saw Dwight pale as he muttered.

“…This sound, could it be.”

Then, in the next instance, I recalled when I had last heard that sound.

Yes, this was undoubtedly the sound I had heard when superior demonic beasts invaded the city…

As that thought crossed my mind, Dwight murmured.

“…The barrier.”

The sound that occurred when the barrier collapsed.