Ch. 74 - Squeezing Out Some Answers

Seeing her four companions so easily plow their way through a literal platoon of thugs served as a major shock to Maven. Intellectually, she knew there was no way two goddesses and two top tier humans would ever lose to some random schmuck, but actually seeing them do so as easily as breathing still served as a shock. She'd never seen them in a real fight before.

Regardless, it was a relief for Maven to have those distractions out of the way, enabling her to focus on the Apostle.

"You're not getting up?" Maven asked, pointedly directing her teasing voice toward his crumpled form as he lay on the floor. "I know you're awake... There's no point in trying to play dead with me."

"Tch…" The boy said as he climbed his way up from the floor, his beautiful face marred with dust and splinters. "You've sure changed a lot over the last few minutes, annoying girl. Can't say I expected the supposedly kindhearted Saintess to act in such bad taste."

"Hehe, it's all thanks to you…" Maven said with a calm tone. "You're the one who showed me I can't afford to hold back when dealing with trash like you."

Irked by Maven's words and calm tone, the Apostle just glowered silently at her as his mind churned desperately - looking for a way, any way, out of the beating Maven's eyes promised him.

Noticing the sly look in his eyes, Maven was determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past. To ensure he wouldn't be able to slip away again, Maven would have to seal that troublesome space element of his. Her best guess on the way to do that would be to wrap every inch of him in divine power while simultaneously blocking his ability to interfere with dimensions.

Smiling guilelessly, Maven crafted an almost endless length of shining chain out of dense divine power as the boy tried to regain control of his body. Infusing it with her desire to capture the boy, she sent the brilliant set of fetters snaking towards him.

"No!" The boy shouted in horror as the chains slithered faster than he could react.

Still suffering from the aftereffects of the robot's punch as he was, there was precious little he could do to prevent his ensnarement as the chains wrapped him up from head to toe.

"Let me out! Let me out of here, you blasted Saintess!" The Apostle shouted in anger, struggling against the chain with all his might - to no effect.

"Not a chance," Maven said curtly. "You're finally going to have to answer our questions, you brat."

"Hmph!" The Apostle said he turned his head to the side, any cuteness he possessed ruined by the atrocious state of his face.

"Looks like you still haven't learned your lesson…" Maven said as a vein twitched on her forehead. Sending a command to the chains, Maven steadily pulled them tighter and tighter as she said, "Do I have to squeeze them out of you?"

Stubborn as sturdy as his Apostle body was, a young boy like Nikol could hardly maintain a defiant attitude with the full force of Maven's divinity bearing down on him.

"Fine! Fine! I'll tell you! Just stop squeezing me already!" The Apostle shouted, his voice defeated and full of despair. He could sense his chances of victory were practically zero.

"Great!" Maven said with a smile. "So, tell us... Who are you people? Why were you after Ela in the the first place?"

"We are..." The Apostle began, trying to get out of the chains with all his might before he had to speak any further. Unfortunately for him, Maven was wise to his tricks by now. Wrapped tightly in divinity as he was, only his voice would be allowed to escape his fetters.

Letting out a defeated sigh after sensing the intractable nature of his prison, he continued, "I serve as an Apostle of the Malum Dictum... One of the weakest, at that. Don't go and get full of yourself just because you managed to defeat me. We're everywhere... and there's nothing you can do to stop us. Struggle as you wish, but Avalon is doomed. We will open the path to paradise."

"Soooooo, you're just small-fry number one in some lame cult who wants to end the world… Got it!" Maven said as she nodded lightly. "And… why are you after Ela in the first place? She's very cute and all, but I doubt that's a reason for a disgusting group like yours to target her."

Perhaps it was the odd time or place, but Maven's words caused Ela's face to redden so quickly that it practically caught fire. Still, Ela forced herself to ignore her embarrassment and stare toward the Apostle. She had to know, why had her friends been killed? Why had they come after her?

Sensing the elf's gaze on him, the Apostle stared levelly back at her as he replied, "I honestly don't know. Nobody ever told me why, they just asked me to retrieve her."

Annoyed by his answer, Maven said, "That's not good enough. Even if nobody explained it, you have to know something." She even gave the chains another gentle squeeze, warning the Apostle what would happen if he couldn't come up with anything.

"...All I know is that she has something that the gods I follow want. Whatever it is, they thirst for it desperately. They'll chase her to the ends of the earth to get it." His tone turned a bit cheerful as he continued, "Even though I failed, more will come. Why don't you just give her to me and let me go? Spare the world all that potential bloodshed."

At these words, Ela's face became ghastly pale. Even so, she forced herself to glare back at him - determined to show she would not be cowed by him.

Impressed by Ela's bravery, Maven stroked her head comfortingly as she continued the inquiry, "And these gods of your, who are they? What kind sneaking cockroaches do you serve?"

"I-"

"Shut your mouth, worm." An infinitely cold voice suddenly echoed in everyone's minds, carrying the chill of a razor's edge. "You shouldn't have answered a single question of this petty demigod."