When the soldiers woke up one by one, they immediately turned their heads in all directions, growing even more confused as they realized they had awakened in a completely different place.
Before, they had woken up among lush hydroponic plants, a place so green and vibrant it could’ve passed for paradise.
But now? Now, they were lying right in front of a towering church. And when they turned around, they saw a frozen spring, its icy surface shimmering under the morning sunlight.
Had they truly arrived in heaven now? Or had the Messiah descended to Earth while they were asleep to bring his followers to paradise?
Finn’s face instantly darkened because he had cursed God a few times before! He was screwed! He was definitely going to be thrown straight into hell! Oh, wait, wasn’t the demon already here?
His gaze darted across the scene, and then, there she was. Medeia. Smiling at him from a distance.
His stomach dropped and his eyes widened.
That fucking demon was still here!
But before he could say anything, a soft, warm blanket was suddenly wrapped around his body, instantly bringing warmth to his freezing skin.
"Young man, you must be freezing."
A gentle voice pulled him out of his panic. He turned, blinking at the sight of a middle-aged woman in a nun’s outfit.
"A-A NUN?!" Finn jolted, almost jumping backward, only to find another woman behind him. Matilda smiled warmly at him as she said, "Your name is Finn, right? We’ve cooked warm soup to soothe your hunger. Would you like to eat now?"
A church. A spring. A nun. A kind, beautiful woman offering him hot food.
This had to be heaven.
But just as he started to relax, his eyes flicked back to the distance, only to meet her gaze again.
That. Fucking. Demon.
"...Am I hallucinating, or do they all go pale every time they see me?" Medeia asked, tilting her head. She turned to Lucian. "Honey, am I ugly?"
Lucian scoffed. "Nonsense. Only a blind man would think that."
Medeia went quiet for a moment before asking again, "Then ... am I scary?"
This time, Lucian didn’t answer right away, as if carefully weighing his response in his head. "No," he finally said. Then, after a pause, he added, "At least, not to me."
Which meant that, to other people, she was scary.
Well, that couldn’t be helped. In fact, she preferred it that way. Fear was useful. Fear kept people in line. Fear made sure no one dared to cross her recklessly.
Her gaze flickered to the soldiers. They still looked disoriented, but at least they weren’t panicking anymore. It seemed letting the women handle them instead of forcing the men to play nice had been a smart choice.
Who in their right mind would throw a tantrum with a group of beautiful women standing in front of them?
Unfortunately, none of them could truly appreciate real beauty. After all, in their minds, the most beautiful woman here wasn’t a goddess, she was a demon.
Medeia tapped her cheek, her expression thoughtful. "What about the new soldiers? I doubt they’ll be difficult to win over."
Unlike the ones with chips in their heads, the soldiers Lucian had just recruited had been through something far worse.
They had endured brutal, inhumane training—beaten down, broken, and molded into tools. And just because they were younger, they had been trampled on by their so-called superiors, treated as nothing more than disposable pawns.
As long as Medeia used the right approach, they wouldn’t panic or resist, but they would worship her instead.
"Should we just wake them up now?"
They still had other things to take care of, so waiting for the soldiers to wake up on their own would only be a waste of their precious time.
"How?" Lucian frowned. "Didn’t the flutes put them to sleep for a full eight hours?"
"Wait a second." Medeia turned around and lowered her voice, speaking to the system. "Can I force them awake?"
[You can. But waking someone affected by Nightmare’s Whisper is extremely difficult.]
Well, that was fair. If they could be woken up easily, the flute’s effect would be useless.
"What are my options?"
The system responded with a list of methods for waking people under the flute’s spell. Medeia scanned through it, nodding to herself as she finished reading.
Then, she turned to Lucian with a smirk. "Come on, let’s wake up our little Sleeping Beauties."
Medeia dumped a bucket of ice-cold water over one of the soldiers she had propped up in a chair. The water was so cold that even her fingertips felt a little stiff when she tested the temperature for a moment.
Still, despite the chill seeping into her fingers, it worked like a charm. The soldier jolted awake instantly.
He coughed violently, gasping for air. "What?! Where—where am I?!"
His head snapped around in confusion as he took in his unfamiliar surroundings, eyes widening in alarm.
"Good morning, sunshine." Medeia leaned in, her face stopping just inches away from his. The soldier flinched so hard he nearly toppled over in his chair.
Then, just as suddenly, she pulled back, her expression shifting—lips quivering, eyes shimmering with unshed tears, as if she were on the verge of breaking down.
"I thought I lost you," she whispered, voice laced with sorrow.
She took a deep breath, as if steadying herself, before continuing.
"Young man, I’m so relieved you’re awake." Her hands clasped together, like she was offering a silent prayer. "You almost died out there. The mist was crawling with monsters, ready to rip you apart. But I happened to be nearby, so I saved you." She tilted her head slightly, her voice soft but curious. "Do you remember anything?"
She was lying, of course. But it was the fastest way to earn trust.
The soldier was still disoriented, but as his wide, startled eyes locked onto Medeia’s delicate features and sorrowful expression, his tension eased. "I ... I think I remember something pulling me away ... Oh, Lord!"
Panic surged through him as fragmented memories flashed in his mind. He suddenly shot up from the chair, but his movement was too fast. A sharp pain stabbed through his skull, and he stumbled, groaning as he clutched his head.
"The ... the captain ... What happened to him? Where is he?" He continued, "No ... no. Actually, where am I?"