"Toriel not only failed but was also captured alive. That's quite a pickle, isn't it?"
The bishop's voice carried a hint of regret, but the bishop's expression was as normal as ever, even leisurely sipping a drink.
The three reporting followers were kneeling on the ground, not daring to lift their heads. Even though they were all wearing cloaks, their bodies were trembling slightly, as if they were trying their best to suppress their fear.
"I've always warned Toriel about her competitive nature, but it seems it wasn't very effective. What do you think we should do?"
"Uh... Bishop, Toriel is probably being held under strict custody right now, this..."
"What do you think we should do?"
The bishop's voice hadn't changed, but the followers shut their mouths tightly. The hearts of the three reporters turned cold, and they quickly corrected themselves.
"No, we will definitely bring her back."
"Very good. However, we can't rule out that we have been exposed. Begin the evacuation."
The bishop turned away and waved a hand, signaling that they could all leave.
The icy feeling of someone grabbing their hearts disappeared, and the three of them quickly retreated. The surrounding followers also withdrew. Finally, the bishop was left alone.
The bishop took another sip, eyes looking into the distance, and whispered.
"Sasha, I guess you win this time."
...
Noid opened his eyes and immediately assessed his current situation. He was in a room with a very sci-fi style. He recognized this place; it was the room where he had his robotic arm surgery.
His left arm was gone. Not far from him was his robotic arm, which had been completely repaired. Noid sat up and reattached his robotic arm.
He moved his body a little. He felt that his body had recovered very well, especially since he had swallowed two healing capsules before.
Sasha came in. Seeing that he seemed fine, she led him outside.
"How long was I asleep?"
"Only 14 hours."
The two of them returned to the coffee shop. Since it was almost closing time, Noid didn't plan to open the shop. He just led Sasha inside and made her a cup of coffee.
Afterward, he began to tell her everything from the beginning. Starting with when he found the clue about Orna city, followed by the surveillance and being tricked into Toriel's "game," and the final battle.
As for why Sasha found him, she explained that she was also there when he was tricked. To be more precise, the troops returning from Karj city were temporarily stationed there and would only return to Rorgh city after getting enough supplies.
While she was on patrol, her armored suit detected a strong energy field underground. Not only her but the other five modified humans also felt it. Suspecting it was the Doom Cult, Sasha directly broke through the ground to the source of the energy, accidentally saving Noid.
As for Toriel, she was not being held by the police but was directly held and secured by the military. The Doom Cult had no chance of getting her back.
Noid also understood. The energy that the armored suit felt was likely the energy from the seven stacked paralyzing bombs.
It was originally a tactic to fight, but it unexpectedly saved his life.
Since neither of them had eaten dinner, Noid volunteered to cook. Because his training method consumed a lot of energy, there was never a shortage of food.
After dinner, Sasha left. Before she left, she didn't forget to tell him not to be so reckless. To this, he could only say, "I'll try my best." She would notify him if she got any information from Toriel.
After Sasha left, the A.T.A Armor immediately covered his body. He disappeared from the cafe, starting his hunt for the night.
Because Noid had been away for the past few days, the Doom Cult followers had the most enjoyable time they'd ever had. They started to become more brazen and caused trouble everywhere. The people of Rorgh city had also changed, perhaps spurred on by him, and began to form small groups. All of them, dressed in black, fought with the Doom Cult at night.
Today was destined to be a nightmare for the followers, because their black fear had returned.
...
Inside a sealed room in the military base, there was only a single table and chair. Toriel sat on it, her face calm, no longer showing the defeated look she had when she confronted Noid.
The door opened, and Sasha appeared. Toriel showed no sign of fear; she even opened her mouth to taunt her.
"Look who it is, one of humanity's strongest. I didn't know I was worth so much."
"You are indeed worth that much."
"Oh, so what are you going to do when I don't talk? Torture me?"
Toriel gave a cold laugh. As one of the bishop's close associates, she had been trained to withstand unimaginable pain. This was also why the bishop could be so calm about giving the followers the task of getting Toriel back, without fearing a quick leak of information.
Sasha didn't say anything, she just took out a drawing. In the drawing was a warrior completely in black, with only two eyes emitting a faint green light, surrounded by the city at night. The overall style of the drawing was very fantastical.
This thing had been circulating in Rorgh city for a while, and there was even a rumor that if you hung this in your house, the Doom Cult wouldn't dare to sneak in. Although everyone knew it was just a rumor, it didn't lessen the appeal of this thing.
The moment Toriel saw the painting, she almost bit her lip until it bled. Despite her best efforts to remain calm, her whole body couldn't stop trembling. She unconsciously tried to pull her chair away. But her hands were cuffed, so she couldn't move very far.
Especially her eyes, besides fear, there were no other emotions. She didn't even dare to resent the person in the painting.
"Get... get that thing away!!"
Sasha ignored her and put the painting on the table, then slowly pushed it toward Toriel. She struggled even more violently. In Toriel's eyes, the man in black seemed to be reaching out from the painting and grabbing her throat, making it impossible for her to breathe.
"Are you scared?"
"Get it away... please..."
Sasha's mockery was met with a weaker Toriel.
"I can get it away, on one condition..."
"No... no way..."
Sasha left without a word, leaving the painting on the table.
Toriel tried to suppress the fear in her heart by closing her eyes. But when she closed her eyes, she saw that haunting pair of eyes appear.
Outside the room, Sasha didn't leave. Instead, she stood in front of the one-way mirror, observing Toriel. The staff next to her couldn't help but ask.
"Sasha, will this method... really work?"
"I don't know, but normal torture methods can't make her talk. These people are trained to be terrifying, so we can only try a psychological approach."
Sasha was a little unusual now. Toriel reminded her of someone, a figure she had buried deep in her memory and didn't want to recall.
After struggling for a few hours, Toriel was too tired and couldn't help but fall asleep. In her dream, she seemed to be back to being the bishop's personal attendant, freely manipulating and designing the lives of others. But suddenly, everything was burned down, and a black figure emerged from the flames. Toriel was no longer the noble personal attendant; she was just a filthy, tattered person.
She woke up and screamed with all the strength in her throat.
"I'll talk! I'll talk! Just... just take that thing away!! Anything... anything at all..."