He exclaimed, "I can confess, I can tell you everything, then give me a quick death!"
The immediate response shattered Julius’s last hope; to the Evil God, he had no bargaining chips, and for those "Evil God’s Followers," he would just use serum to open up their minds.
Ethan dragged Julius’s body from the ground, then revealed a look of disgust.
The high and mighty Pope had actually lost control.
This was indeed something he hadn’t anticipated. Had he known the Pope’s mental resilience was so poor, he should have transformed more parts to prevent Julius from emitting a stench continuously during the upcoming interrogation.
This would surely be a long night.
Lindong had prepared thirty bottles of serum for him, along with a dozen rolls of parchment.
Julius was dragged out of the cell, which he had personally designed, with many interrogation rooms equipped with torture tools, although the serum made interrogations straightforward and efficient, some "old-school" interrogators still preferred employing "academic" methods.
Such as Lindong, who was curiously placing a branding iron into the forge as they entered.
This scene instantly terrified Julius, and Ethan placed him in the interrogation chair, his hands resting on the armrests fused with the chair visibly.
"Here, Your Holiness, have a drink."
Ethan picked up a freshly made serum and approached Julius.
Your Holiness would need these magic potions.
When dawn arrived, all thirty bottles of the potion were left with just empty bottles, and the parchment was filled with dense writing. At the call, the bribed Prison Warden walked into the interrogation room and dragged out the lifeless Julius.
Before leaving, Ethan didn’t forget to commend him, "Your Holiness holds his liquor well."
Afterwards, his gaze lingered on the descriptions of the "Divine Hall of Time" on the parchment.
Even though they used the potion to pry open the Pope’s mind, delving into his inner thoughts, they couldn’t glean much about this mysterious organization. However, they confirmed Turzan as a member of this organization, and another Saint Lindong had seen before was likely also affiliated with the Divine Hall of Time.
In Julius’s eyes, the Divine Hall of Time was an ancient organization formed by Saints, recruiting only Saints.
They spread across the continent, seeking and researching the relics of High and Middle-Level Gods, including removing the vows’ influence, and the Descending Ritual Julius used in the antechamber was knowledge they found in the relics.
To gather more intelligence, Julius collaborated with other groups like Dreamsunder under Turzan’s directives.
He safeguarded many large sacrificial rituals for the Evil God’s Followers, ensuring all sacrifices were completed before the Reception Bureau and the Kingdom Army arrived. In exchange, these Evil God’s Followers’ organizations would provide him intelligence on relics outside the Empire and occasionally help him eliminate obstacles that couldn’t easily be branded as "Evil God’s Followers" by the Church.
"Teacher, have you heard of this organization?"
Lindong shook her head. She had never heard of such an organization that only recruited Saints while she was in Dreamsunder.
Of course, that also had a lot to do with her usual dislike of dealing with strangers.
Her life was pretty simple back then; besides hunting people on the "Must-Kill List," she liked staying in the inn, not going out.
"However, when I was teaching at the academy, I heard the dean mention some news, saying that from the Fourth Era, most Saints he knew would leave their countries and disappear without a trace."
The dean speculated she would also eventually fade from the public eye like other Saints.
This phenomenon hadn’t improved even in the Sixth Era; even the powerful Empire publicly had only Henry VI, a Saint in command, because he inherited the bloodline of the Henry Royal Family.
Meanwhile, in some council hall.
Thirteen puppets sat before a round table, one of the puppets on a seat was shattered into pieces, its arms and legs fallen to the floor, leaving only a bare torso.
"I assume you all know why I’ve summoned you this time."
One of the puppets emitted a human voice, "Turzan died in the capital of the Empire, where something unusual seems to be happening."
"I had long warned him not to indulge in power; no one will avenge him if he got killed because of it."
With another puppet speaking, the conference room fell into discussion.
"Henry VI is dead; holding power in our own hands is more conducive to our research. After all, the knowledge inherited by the Margaret Clan is key to the ’Descent,’ and only they can create the purest vessels."
"I heard that the inheritors of the Margaret from the current two generations seem to be a bit unruly."
"Her name is Ave-Margaret, a descendant of mixed blood."
"The problem is, Turzan is dead; we need to find another agent in the Empire."
For a moment, the council chamber fell into silence.
Their choices were limited; in nearly a century, the Empire had produced a very few Saints, one of whom was the Henry VI, who owned royal blood.
The Dragon Slayer Warrior was too invested in family and Kingdom, unable to align with their ideals.