Chapter 73
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“Lina is indeed dead. She was killed by the Dragon Queen. Back then, she said she was going to seek revenge on the Dragon Queen. I couldn’t stop her, so I had to bring her here. But, you know my usual habit—I don’t usually save people who are about to die at the hands of the Dragon Queen.”
“That’s nonsense! Iris doesn’t remember any pink-haired woman challenging her!”
“Isn’t it normal for her not to remember? Do you remember how many slices of bread you’ve eaten?”
“Don’t underestimate Iris’s memory. Tell the truth. You can’t fool me with that! Where is Lina now?”
Leo looked at Naya, noting the anxiety and anger on her face.
It seemed Naya was still attached to her old feelings.
The fact that Dragon Queen Iris had gone to great lengths to capture him for Naya’s sake showed how important Naya was to her. Back when Naya wasn’t around, the Dragon Queen didn’t even bother to stop him from escaping. It seemed he hadn’t been fast after all—Iris just hadn’t cared.
Since physical attacks had no effect, why not try a mental one?
Using the obvious lie that Lina was dead to provoke Naya had worked. Just as predicted, Naya got agitated.
Leo had achieved his goal of testing Naya’s intentions.
“What’s this? Still thinking about fulfilling your promise to her?”
“I told you, stop changing the subject. You don’t actually think you can drive a wedge between me and Iris, do you?”
Naya gritted her teeth, burning with rage, her chest heaving with anger.
But after her initial fury, Naya found Leo’s little tricks laughably absurd.
Fine, let Leo talk. Let him reveal everything about their past. Let him see just how strong her relationship with Iris really was.
Naya’s concern for Lina wasn’t out of love, but rather old friendship, and because she couldn’t stop worrying about how Lina was faring after Leo had sold her out.
“Dragon Queen, has she ever told you about her past flings? She had an engagement with a woman named Lina. They agreed to kill the Dragon Queen and then get married.”
Iris’s face remained cold and indifferent.
Leo continued to sow discord.
“Oh, right. I remember that night from seven years ago, under a bright moon. After making that promise, they stayed up all night. I could hear sounds from the next room. Can you guess what they were doing?”
“…”
Naya glanced over at Iris and saw her expression still unchanged, boosting her confidence.
She raised her head, staring at Leo.
“Can you make up something even more ridiculous?”
“Dragon Queen, as the ruler of all dragons, do you really fancy a secondhand lover?”
Naya placed her hands on her hips, even feeling a bit amused.
“Go on, keep talking.”
Leo began to realize something was off. Why wasn’t the Dragon Queen reacting at all? Could it be that they weren’t in love?
Apart from Iris’s raw power, Leo had thoroughly investigated her background. Since he couldn’t confront Iris head-on, he could try other ways to threaten her, such as by capturing Illya, whom he thought might be Iris’s weakness.
Over the past six years, Leo had noticed that Iris had never married. In fact, not only in the past six years but in all her hundreds of years of life, there had never been any scandal—she was completely solitary, without feelings or weaknesses.
Because of this, Leo could only engage Iris directly, luring one Hero after another to challenge her. Their deaths helped him gauge her strength, using them as stepping stones on his path to slaying the dragon and becoming a God.
But just a week ago, the Dragon Queen had announced on Minglong Island that she had taken a wife. Wasn’t that a clear indication of love between them?
Or maybe Iris didn’t care about past relationships?
Impossible!
Leo briefly imagined himself in Iris’s shoes. As an invincible Dragon Queen, marrying someone who had been with others would surely leave a bitter taste. After all, as a Dragon Queen, she had no shortage of potential consorts—there was no need to settle for less.
Moreover, since everything Leo said was a lie, Naya surely wouldn’t have told Iris about this fake past, making the lie even more effective.
So why wasn’t Iris reacting? Was she made of wood?
Leo started to panic. His plan to drive a wedge between them wasn’t working, and now it seemed his turn for a beating was fast approaching.
He looked at Naya.
“Can you really say you never liked Lina?”
“I can! I never even kissed her. Between us, it was purely friendship.”
The promise they had made back then was only because slaying the Dragon Queen seemed like a distant goal. They were thinking of retiring one day and just settling down together.
After all, as fellow Earthlings and comrades who had fought side by side for so many years, living together in retirement seemed like it would have fewer conflicts than trying to coexist with the natives of this world.
“Really? Hahaha… but Lina took it seriously.”
Leo lowered his head, sadness showing on his face.
“Took it seriously? She knew it was just a far-off, uncertain promise.”
“Monet, this time I’m not lying. Five years ago, after you died, Lina blamed me. She blamed me for not protecting you, for taking you to challenge the Dragon Queen without her. She’s hated me ever since, you know? I told her I could give her everything you could, but she never accepted it. She kept insisting on avenging you. For five years, she’s been trying to find a way to do it. After the Dragon Queen opened the arena, she talked about it even more. But how could a priest challenge the Dragon Queen? To calm her down, I told her to stay at home and that I would go myself. Therefore, I never took her with me to face the Dragon Queen. I always went alone—for her, because of her attachment to you.”
“…”
Naya looked at Leo, feeling a twinge of pity.
Because she could see the sadness in his eyes was genuine.
“Of course, after I failed my third challenge against Iris, she lost all faith in me. She even suspected I wasn’t taking it seriously because I never took her with me. From then on, she left me and joined other teams, wanting to come to Minglong Island herself to avenge you.”
“And then?”
“Then, of course, she ran into obstacles everywhere. She was just a priest. She couldn’t do anything and could only be a backup. If she wanted to join the team of other strong men, those men would inevitably have bad intentions towards Lina, but she said that for you, it was all worth it.”
Leo stared at Naya, feeling like he was wearing a clown mask.
“Is she still holding onto that goal?”
“Do you want to know how it ends?”
“Yes.”
Leo’s emotions became more intense.
“It’s all because of you, because of you! For your sake, Lina…”
“What about Lina?”
“She…”
“What? Just say it already!”
Naya was growing anxious. Why did this blond guy like to drag things out so much?
“If I tell you, will you let me go?”
Let you go?
Not only would she not be able to settle the grudge from being betrayed, but the Heroes that you sold out and the System that had died for her would never rest in peace either.
But, poor Leo, he has to ask for help now.
Naya softened her tone a bit.
“If you tell me, I’ll make sure you have an easier death.”
“Hehe… Anyway, Lina has retired now. It’s so difficult for you to find her in this world. This secret is my only way to escape from you. If you are willing to let me go, I will tell you where Lina lives. You can ask her about the follow-up development yourself.”
“Are all the words you said true?”
“Whether it is true or false, you can ask Lina in person after you find her, and then you will know whether what I said is true or false, right?”
“Then how can I believe that the address you gave me after letting you go is true? Tell me the address, and I will let you go after I meet Lina.”
“I refuse.”
“You have no right to refuse. This is the only way you can survive.”
Naya will not break her promise.
Once she found Lina, she could release Leo, and have Iris help catch him again for further interrogation, couldn’t she?
“This is also my only way to escape from you. After all, I can lie—can’t you lie too?”
“Are you sure? If you don’t tell me, I’ll make you live a life worse than death. I could ask one of your former teammates, like Zelan. He might know where Lina is.”
“He won’t know. Lina has retired for a long time and no longer lives under the name Lina. Only I know where she is.”
Naya turned her head and looked at Iris.
“Could you bring someone to give him a little physical persuasion? Forced him to talk.”
“Sure.”
“Let’s arrange it right now.”
“What sort of punishment would you like?”
“Hmm… Since I ended up like this because of him… Let him suffer the same fate.”
Naya smirked, raising her hand and making a scissor motion with her fingers.
Leo immediately understood her meaning, and his limbs, which were bound to a crucifix by chains, began to shake violently.
“Hey! Monet! Don’t be so ridiculous!”
Oh, now he was panicking.
Naya looked back at Leo.
“Then will you tell me or not? Hmm? Where is Lina? I said, I will let you go after you take me to Lina.”
“Then catch me back? I don’t think you will let me go after you achieve your goal.”
He didn’t think Naya was a merciful person.
“Sigh, I’ve told you, you don’t have the right to choose, but you can choose a less painful way to die. Are you going to talk or not? Where is Lina? Three, two, one…”
Naya waited in silence for a while, but still didn’t get a response from Leo.
She then turned around and threw herself into Iris’s arms.
“Now, let’s begin the punishment.”
“Mmm.”
Iris held Naya, her eyes filled with a doting smile.
She glanced at Leo, and in an instant, her gaze turned sharp and full of anger, like a blade.
She lowered her head and kissed Naya on the ear, making Naya shrink her neck.
“Ah… don’t do that.”
Leo looked at the two in disbelief. Was this silver-haired dragon woman, blushing shyly, the same iron-willed old friend he once knew?
Was this the same decisive, unyielding Hero that Lina admired?
Iris let go of Naya, then turned to look at Leo again, her eyes full of disdain.
Holding Naya’s hand, she left the chamber.
Outside, she instructed the dragon soldiers standing guard at the door, relaying Naya’s request.
The soldiers received the order and left. A few minutes later, a professional dragon interrogator dressed in black arrived, dragging a black box to the chamber door. The box was likely filled with torture instruments.
“Your Majesty.”
The interrogator bowed before Elise.
“The human toy is in there. Go in and cut off his manhood.”
“Yes, your Majesty.”
“Any other requests, Naya?”
“For now, no. Oh, wait—cut slowly. Make sure he feels the full process of losing his most prized possession.”
“Yes, your Majesty.”
The interrogator’s face remained expressionless.
It seemed this kind of punishment was just routine for him.
The door opened.
When Leo saw the black-clad professional, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he shouted loudly at Naya.
“Monet! Are you really going to do this? Have you forgotten the friendship between us? Have you forgotten our original promise, the one where we vowed to become dragon slayers together? If you do this to me, aren’t you afraid that Lina will get angry? She has always cherished the bond we shared…”
“When you sold me out, did you ever remember that so-called friendship you’re talking about?”
“I’ve said before, on the path to godhood, sacrifices are necessary. Everything I did was for our ultimate wish, Monet! Besides, aren’t you doing fine now? You’ve even become the Dragon Queen’s consort, and you’re still alive, aren’t you? Monet, we are of the same root—why rush to destroy each other?”
“Close the door.”
Iris found Leo’s dying struggle rather noisy.
She pulled Naya away from the chamber door.
If Leo kept shouting like this, the entire dragon race would find out that Naya had once been a human.
“Begin, interrogator.”
The door closed.
The noise from inside was instantly cut off.
The spell Iris cast on the chamber not only blocked magic, but also had perfect soundproofing.
This was to prevent any crucial information from being leaked to the soldiers outside while torturing Leo.
However, within three minutes, the interrogator opened the chamber door and came out.
“Your Majesty, I haven’t even started, and he’s already passed out.”
“What? He’s that much of a coward?”
Naya was a bit surprised.
Holding Iris’s hand, she walked into the chamber.
As soon as Naya stepped inside, Iris raised her hand to cover Naya’s eyes.
“Don’t look!”
Then she turned and glared at the interrogator.
“Why didn’t you cover that thing first?”
“My deepest apologies, Your Majesty! I—I failed to consider that!”
Before the execution, they had torn Leo’s pants.
Since there were no other covers in the chamber, and the interrogator was used to seeing prisoners naked, he hadn’t realized that the Queen and consort were not accustomed to such sights.
“Hurry and use your box to cover it!”
“Yes!”
The interrogator hurriedly dumped the torture instruments out of the box, then used chains to attach the box to Leo, covering his private area.
After confirming that nothing was exposed, Iris finally let go of Naya’s eyes.
Naya looked confused—she hadn’t seen anything!
Getting closer to Leo, Iris took a serious look at his ashen face.
“It seems he knocked himself out to avoid the pain, not because he was scared.”
“So, what do we do?”
Now, the torture couldn’t proceed.
Leo was really cunning—using pain to make himself pass out. It seemed that using physical torture on a magic user like him wasn’t an effective method.
This guy could really endure.