CHAPTER 802: INVESTIGATION 3

Aldrian’s avatar then followed Barmun inside the cave, and as they stepped deeper, they only had the illumination crystal as the source of light on one side of the passage. The path was wide enough for three people to stand side by side, and the height was about three meters.

The avatar observing the path knew that this cave was artificially created as they continued walking downward. The deeper they went, the stuffier the air became, which was quite strange because this place was right under the World Tree, where the environment should have been rich in oxygen and freshness.

It was because of the formation’s barrier at the entrance that the air was like this, as it also acted as a seal to prevent anyone inside from escaping. After walking for more than a kilometre and passing several guards and trap formations, they finally arrived at a pair of double doors guarded by another two guards.

The two guards, upon seeing Barmun, straightened their bodies as he gave his order.

"Open the door."

The guards did not waste any time and instantly touched the cave wall beside them, injecting their energy into it. This was the mechanism to open the doors, and after they channeled their energy, the double doors slowly opened.

The sound of the opening doors was soon followed by a foul smell from inside, mixed with the strong iron stench of blood. The avatar could also hear groaning voices coming from within, and he knew what kind of place this was.

Barmun continued walking as the double doors opened. They passed many small cells filled with prisoners from different races.

"This is a special place for specific offenses. It is the worst place for those who have committed capital crimes, for once they enter this place, death is almost certain. Besides being caged, they must also endure torture every day," Barmun said.

The avatar said nothing, and they kept walking until they reached another passage with several doors on both sides of the cave walls. The avatar could hear the screams of a few figures from behind those doors, but they ignored them and continued until Barmun stopped in front of one door.

Dong, dong, dong.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty. My apologies if I disturbed your time, but I brought Empress Sylphia’s guardian here. He said that he was looking for you," Barmun said after lightly knocking on the door a few times.

There was a brief silence before the door finally opened. It was opened by a masked man whose cultivation was at the low pseudo-immortal stage, the same as Barmun’s. He was the one responsible for interrogating and torturing prisoners.

"Come in," the masked man said.

Barmun then turned his head to the avatar.

"You can enter by yourself. I will go back to my post," he said before leaving. The avatar did not hesitate to enter the room.

Once inside, the masked man closed the door. The avatar finally saw Empress Vilena, who looked completely different from her elegant and refined self. At this moment, she wore a black dress that accentuated her body, and her long hair was tied in a bun, making her look extremely alluring. There were bloodstains on her face, and he thought the black dress was also meant to hide the stains on her clothes.

She no longer looked like an empress but rather a punisher. In front of her, Baron Stargis was already in a pitiful state. His face was covered with injuries, and blood trickled from his forehead, lips, and cheeks. His chest was bare, and several spikes were stabbed into his body, carefully placed to avoid his vital parts. A pool of blood had already formed beneath him as it kept dripping from those wounds.

However, despite the gruesome sight, the avatar’s expression behind the mask did not change. He had already seen far worse scenes from the memories of his real body. Empress Vilena, seeing him approach, finally let out a sigh.

"Did Her Majesty, Empress Sylphia, send you here, or is this your own initiative? Because I don’t recall asking for Her Majesty’s help yet," she asked.

"This is my own initiative. Tonight’s incident is a major conspiracy that has crossed the red line of His Majesty Aldrian the Great, and I intend to resolve it tonight. This comes after what I discovered within Her Majesty’s body, and I hope that Empress Vilena can assist me," the avatar replied, causing Empress Vilena to frown in confusion.

"Inside Empress Sylphia’s body? Is there something wrong with her? What did you discover within Her Majesty?"

"Empress Sylphia has been poisoned with a Thousand Year Black Lily poison."

His answer shocked both the empress and the masked man. A chill ran through their hearts as horror filled their expressions. The Thousand Year Black Lily poison was an odourless, deadly toxin with a mortality rate of ninety five percent once consumed.

Once someone consumes it, the poison spreads throughout the body, especially to the victim’s vital organs, regardless of dose. The toxin acts like a virus that replicates inside the victim, but unlike a virus it is a deadly substance that destroys the victim’s internal organs without their awareness.

The poison also contains an anesthetic property that prevents victims from realizing they have been poisoned. Its effect is not immediate, the time it takes to activate depends on the dose consumed. The larger the dose, the faster the poison takes effect.

By the time the victim’s internal organs are destroyed beyond repair, it is already too late to save them. The anesthetic effect then disappears, and they finally feel agonizing pain until they die.

Because of these properties, combined with its odourless and traceless nature, this poison is a favored weapon among assassins on the elven continent. The delayed effect makes investigation and detection extremely difficult.

Fortunately, the black lily that serves as the main ingredient for this poison only grows on this continent, and it is quite rare. However, because of that, the cure for this poison is also difficult to find and just as rare. The imperial family possesses only a limited supply of the antidote, but even then, if the victims are already in the fatal phase, they still have no way to save them.

"What?! She was poisoned by a Thousand Year Black Lily poison?! Quick, we have to cure her as fast as possible before it’s too late! I will look into—"

"Calm down, Your Majesty. Fortunately, I have already removed the poison from her body completely. There is no danger anymore, so Your Majesty doesn’t need to worry," the avatar said to calm the panicked empress.

Empress Vilena was stunned for a moment before letting out a long sigh of relief. Still, she looked at the avatar with concern.

"Are you sure there’s no poison left in her body? That poison is truly tricky and deadly to remove, and its nature is troublesome since it completely mixes with the bloodstream," she asked.

"I’m sure. I have my own way to cure any poison, and I have already checked Empress Sylphia’s body thoroughly."

Empress Vilena sighed again and nodded. "Alright, if you say so."

She wanted to say more about the poison, but Aldrian spoke before she could.

"So, what about Your Majesty’s investigation? What did you get from this person?" the avatar asked as he looked at Baron Stargis. The empress turned to the baron and frowned.

"We tried to search his memories, but it seems someone put a mind seal on him. The seal is quite fragile and will take time to break, so we chose traditional methods. However, he really did not want to tell anything. He has a strong will to keep information even after several torture methods. It is still too early to conclude that we got nothing, as we have only tried a few methods and still have many more to try on him."

"We will see if he can hold on until tomorrow before we use other mental techniques like hypnotism, although that might break his mind and turn him into a fool, leaving us with nothing. That is the last choice, however," she said.

Aldrian nodded and walked toward Baron Stargis. The baron’s expression blank as if he no longer cared about anything. It was as though he had already given up, and even death now would not trouble him.

However, how could he die right now? He was an important piece of evidence, after all.

"Well, let’s use my method then. It will be much quicker," the avatar said before placing his hand on Baron Stargis’s forehead. He stayed like that for a few seconds.

Empress Vilena, knowing what Aldrian intended to do, wanted to warn him not to be too forceful, but she was stunned when he suddenly lifted his hand from the baron’s forehead.

’Did he give up breaking the seal, or...?’ She was unsure, but then she saw Baron Stargis finally react and turn his gaze toward Aldrian. At the same time, she noticed Aldrian walking toward the nearby table. The avatar took out an information crystal before placed it on the table, directed it toward Baron Stargis, and then returned to the baron’s side.

Finally, he cast his hypnotic technique, and the effect became immediately visible to both the empress and the masked man, leaving them in shock.