"Whatever."
Damien waved a hand dismissively, unbothered, and asked, "Tell me about their situation."
"Yes, sir!" Minotaurus scrambled to his feet, pointing at Leonard. "Lord Damien, this guy's got a stubborn streak. I've been at him for a day and a night, and his mouth's still sealed tight!"
For the punishment of the six Saints, Damien hadn't given any specific orders.
He left it to the daemons to handle as they saw fit.
The only restriction was that they couldn't cause any permanent harm.
What counted as permanent harm?
Irreversible physical damage, mental collapse, or lasting soul injuries.
These were things Damien forbade the daemons from doing.
Anything else, he didn't care about.
"Stubborn, huh?" Damien asked. "What's that about? I don't recall asking you to extract information."
"Well, uh…" Minotaurus scratched his head, embarrassed. "It's just to break his spirit a bit, you know?"
Minotaurus interrogated Leonard, pressing him to reveal secrets about the Holy Empire of Ruberios.
Of course, these so-called secrets weren't actually important.
Damien already knew the inner workings of Ruberios, so there was no need to ask.
Minotaurus's goal was to shatter Leonard's psychological defenses.
Once he spoke, revealing Ruberios's secrets, it would be tantamount to betraying the Holy Church.
A traitor.
That was Minotaurus's punishment for Leonard.
He aimed to tarnish Leonard's shining, noble image, dragging him into the mud, never again able to claim justice.
"Not bad," Damien nodded, approving of the daemons' creative approach to punishing prisoners.
Leonard feared nothing.
Not death, pain, or torment…
But having his reputation destroyed would be worse than death for him.
"Keep at it," Damien said, unconcerned with letting Leonard know the daemons' sinister intentions.
He walked past the cell with Carrera in tow.
"Hey!" Leonard shouted. "Wait!"
"What did you do to the Captain?!"
'This guy's pretty loyal…' Damien noted.
He could tell Leonard's admiration for Hinata was genuine, not some melodramatic romance.
If anything, there wasn't a single member of the Crusader Order who didn't look up to Hinata.
But admiration was just that... none of them ever considered anything romantic.
After all, their icy, stoic Captain didn't exactly seem like the type to have a softer, girlish side.
"Hey!" Leonard yelled again. "Don't get too cocky!"
Minotaurus nearly exploded with rage at Leonard daring to address Damien directly, bypassing him entirely.
He'd just put on a good show for Damien.
And now, Leonard was displaying such strong willpower?
It was like a slap to his face!
It made it seem like his punishment had no effect at all!
Crack!
Crack, crack, crack!!
Not just the whip... Minotaurus brought out branding irons and even crueler torture tools.
Leonard's screams echoed through the fifth level of the prison.
"…"
Damien didn't look back, showing no interest in the scene.
Given his status, he wouldn't stoop to speaking with Leonard directly.
"Let's go," Damien called to Carrera, who shot a fierce glare at Minotaurus, making the minotaur break out in a cold sweat.
'You dare make me look bad in front of Lord Damien?!'
'Minotaur, I'll remember you!'
Though Carrera said nothing, Minotaurus was trembling in fear.
Among daemons, hierarchy was strict.
Lower daemons addressed their superiors with respect and never used their names directly.
Carrera was a Devil Lord!
An upper-tier Daemon, the pinnacle of daemonic evolution.
While the Seven Primordial Daemons were also upper-tier Daemons, their strength far surpassed ordinary daemons, capable of matching Demon Lords despite not being one themselves.
This showed just how terrifying Carrera's potential was.
And now…
Carrera had first evolved into a Daemon Duke (Demon Lord Seed) and then into a Devil Lord (True Demon Lord).
Facing such a monster, Minotaurus didn't even dare meet her gaze.
"Damn it!!" Leonard roared. "You bastard!! How dare you…!"
"I'll kill you!!"
Fortunately, Minotaurus had some restraint.
He couldn't disobey Damien's orders, so he didn't dare tear Leonard to pieces.
"I'll make sure that fool Minotaurus ramps up the punishment," Carrera said.
"Hm," Damien replied noncommittally, then mused, "This guy's got some talent."
"If he can hold out to the end, this ordeal might become a trial that pushes him to his peak."
Next, Damien checked on the conditions of the Wind, Fire, Earth, and Space Saints.
Their treatments varied.
For Fritz, the most defiant Wind Saint, his interrogator was a succubus-like daemoness.
No, don't get the wrong idea.
This was a prison, not a brothel.
The succubus's job wasn't to seduce Fritz but to use special skills to manipulate him.
For example, telling him his comrades had betrayed, that Hinata was dead, or even showing a projection of Leonard's severed head, eyes wide in death.
Similarly, Bacchus, the steadfast Earth Saint, was tormented by a nightmare daemon who infiltrated his mental world, weaving dreams to make him sink into corruption.
In short, the daemons' methods were as varied as they were ruthless.
"And this last one?" Damien arrived at Litus's cell.
The cells here had excellent soundproofing, making the inside feel like a different world from the outside.
That was why Leonard's screams didn't affect Fritz's loyalty trial.
"Interested in her, Lord Damien?" Carrera asked. "Makes sense, since she's the only girl."
"…" Damien felt Carrera was teasing him. "Do I look like the type to lose my head over a pretty face?"
"Of course not!" Carrera replied, knowing Damien's character well.
After all, whether it was her, Ultima, or Testarossa, they were all stunning beauties.
If Damien had any interest in them, all three would have eagerly offered themselves long ago.
***
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