Speak Up
He didn’t laugh anymore.
“Talk.”
I’d tortured him a bit too much.
Honestly, if I just cut off his limbs, he wouldn’t be able to move, so there’d be no need to burn him.
But I got a little personal.
That's why I burned the bandit in front of me with “Inferno.”
“Where’s your heart?”
I couldn't find it anywhere nearby, so I thought it would be best to ask the person himself.
I figured the one who hid it would know best.
Thinking that, I asked—
“...Kill you.”
“Oh.”
With those words, he charged at me with incredible speed.
Clang!
I heard the sound of the multiple barriers I’d layered breaking.
For a moment, there was a gap.
But.
[Wind Cutter]
I used the magic I learned at the academy.
The spell formula wasn’t that difficult.
I cast the magic easily—
Slice!
The bandit stood there with his arm cut off.
“You should just give up.”
Honestly, the bandit couldn’t even touch me right now.
He may have made a contract with a demon, but if I had my wand, I felt like I could even defeat a demon.
As long as it wasn’t a high-ranking one.
Despite having both arms cut off, the bandit ran straight at me—
Thud!
He slammed into me with a powerful impact.
In the blink of an eye, the bandit’s arms had regenerated.
“That must hurt.”
I heard the pain of regeneration was excruciating.
Dontas endured it well, and I was considerate enough to regenerate him slowly.
Most people would be writhing in agony.
And the bandit’s expression right now—
“Your expression changed a little, didn’t it?”
It seemed he wasn’t immune to pain.
The expression that hadn’t changed even when he was on fire had shifted, just slightly.
That meant regenerating all at once was extremely painful.
It also meant that continuously regenerating severed limbs while fighting wasn’t something just anyone could do.
“...Shut up.”
The bandit finally spoke.
He hadn’t said a word until now, so I thought he was mute, but thankfully that wasn’t the case.
This made things much easier.
With that in mind, I cast the spell formula again.
[Wind Cutter]
[Inferno]
I cut off the bandit's arm with Wind Cutter and burned the wound with Inferno.
Then—
“Ugh...”
I saw the bandit writhing in pain as he regenerated.
There couldn’t possibly be such a ridiculous thing as ‘if you hide your heart well, you won't die or feel pain.’
I knew what I had to do.
“Now, let's talk.”
It was time for a physical conversation.
*
“Argh…!”
“You know, it would be nice if you just told me. I don't have a lot of time.”
“You think I’d tell you where my lifeline is?”
Ptooey.
He spat after saying that.
Of course, the spit was blocked by the barrier and fell back onto the bandit's face.
Even after 20 minutes of conversation, the bandit refused to reveal the location of his heart.
He was needlessly stubborn.
It couldn’t be helped.
I had to use my trump card.
‘...This is a bit much, though.’
Even though it was my trump card, I couldn't help but feel a little ashamed.
I felt a little sorry for him.
Maybe even a tinge of sympathy.
But it couldn’t be helped.
This was his own doing.
He had to face the consequences.
With that thought, I spoke.
“...Then I have no choice.”
Healing magic required more mana and caused greater pain when regenerating vital points.
And the most important vital point for a man was—
“Don’t blame me.”
“...Fuck you.”
Still unaware of what I was about to do, the bandit clung to his pride.
That would soon change.
I said a silent prayer—
[Wind Cutter]
Slice!
“Aaargh!!!!!”
I cleanly severed the bandit's most sensitive area.
And then, a moment later.
His severed body part began to regenerate.
The bandit screamed again.
“Are you insane—!!!!”
“I told you it would be easier if you cooperated. You wouldn’t have to go through all this.”
I played with the bandit for another 30 minutes.
And then—
“Go to the second floor of the sewer, tap the third wall twice…”
“Ah, thank you.”
He finally cracked.
I was grateful.
It hadn’t been a pleasant experience for me either.
That’s why I’d been saving it as a last resort.
As I was thinking this, the bandit collapsed.
He seemed to have fainted.
But I wasn’t taking any chances.
[Lightning Chain]
I cast the spell.
It was similar to before, but this time I was extra careful.
I couldn’t let him escape.
If he moved even an inch, he’d be electrocuted.
He might not feel much pain, but being electrocuted and paralyzed was different from not feeling pain.
After trapping the bandit, I went down to the second floor of the sewer.
“Is this it?”
I found the spot the bandit had described and tapped the wall twice.
Then—
Creak!
With an eerie sound, the wall disappeared, revealing someone’s heart.
“This is unsettling.”
A dangerous aura emanated from it.
I wanted nothing to do with it.
However—
“Looks expensive.”
It looked incredibly valuable.
It wasn’t just any heart; it belonged to a Contractor, someone who had made a direct contract with a demon.
It was sure to fetch a high price.
Or maybe I could use it to upgrade my wand.
With that thought, I cast a spell.
[Gravity]
It looked like something you wouldn't want to touch.
So I used [Gravity] to retrieve the heart from a distance.
Then I went back to the first floor of the sewer.
The bandit was still there, in the same position.
When he saw me holding the heart in the air—
“...Fuck.”
He offered a concise review of the situation.
*
And that was that.
I’d caught the bandit who’d been harming the people around me.
But this time, I didn’t go to the lord.
I went home.
—Ugh, the stench of demon.
“He’s going to be living with us from now on.”
—Mage, do not be ridiculous. How can you possibly live with such a thing?
“He’ll be dead soon anyway, so just bear with it for a bit. I’m planning to use this and need to figure out how.”
I said, placing the heart in mid-air.
I didn’t touch it directly.
I had a bad feeling about it.
—...Oh my, you did acquire something good.
“Right? You have no idea how much I went through to get this.”
I said, handing Basil a tanghulu I’d bought on the way home.
And then—
“Thank you.”
Basil bowed to me and ate the tanghulu.
She seemed to really like them.
I’d noticed it before, but she had a huge sweet tooth.
That’s why I often bought her sugary treats.
‘If only they weren’t so expensive, I’d buy them for her every day.’
I wasn’t exactly rolling in money at the moment, so I couldn’t afford to buy them every day.
I bought them for her occasionally, when I remembered.
As I was thinking this, I spoke to the bandit.
“So, would you mind telling me who you made the contract with?”
“...Halphas.”
“Excuse me?”
“Halphas, you idiot.”
I was momentarily taken aback.
Was there really a demon named Halphas?
I hadn’t studied demonology, so I wasn’t sure.
There were hardly any books on demons at the academy.
With that thought, I went on the forum.
[Author: ReallyDirtPoor]
[Title: No but fr is there actually a Halphas???]
[Content: I’m so shook rn is Halphas <<< actually a thing? I can’t believe this]
As soon as I posted it, comments flooded in.
L: Oh you sweet summer child
ㄴ: Oh my god
ㄴ: Please
ㄴ: Don't do this
L: Yeah it’s real lol
ㄴ: FYI) He’s ranked 38th
ㄴ: ㄹㅇ???
ㄴ: 38th is no joke lol
ㄴ: He must be strong af
ㄴ: What’s going on??
L: You like Halphas, huh? ㅎㅎ I’m quite fond of him myself
ㄴ: ?
ㄴ: Blocking this guy immediately
ㄴ: Why…
He really existed.
This was ridiculous.
What kind of demon was named Halphas?
“...Oh.”
Wham!
I channeled mana into my fistand lightly struck the bandit on the head.
“Ugh…”
His skull seemed to cave in.
Of course, he’d recover eventually, so there was no need to be gentle.
With that in mind, I asked Griffin for a favor.
“Make me a mana-draining magic circle.”
—No.
“I’ll milk you.”
—...Fine.
He could have just agreed from the start. Why did he always have to play hard to get?
Griffin was strange.
Thinking this, I helped Griffin create the magic circle.
It was designed to drain mana only from the spot where the bandit was lying.
Right now, the bandit was nothing more than an ordinary person with a slightly tougher body and no heart.
Which meant Basil could handle him.
“I’ll be back soon.”
Just in case, I decided to make a quick trip to Amelia’s shop.
[Wind Cutter]
Slice!
“Why, why the hell—!!!”
“Yippee.”
“Yippee, my ass. You’re insane.”
“Because it’s fun.”
And with that, I headed for Amelia’s general store.
He wouldn’t even think about escaping now.
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