110 THE PRISONER IN THE CELL
"I didn't think it was important," she replied. "I've already submitted my report to the Assassin Workshop, and it said you're not a demon."
"So, the Assassin Workshop has me in their sights now?" Leo asked, alarmed. He added, "No wonder that Petunia seemed off."
"Who's Petunia?" Yun-Yun asked.
"She's this girl Bara introduced to me at the academy," Leo explained.
"And what does Bara have to do with any of this?" Grangya questioned, irritation flashing in her eyes.
"Ask her yourself. She's busy making a lot of new 'girlfriends,'" Leo replied with a smirk, which only made Grangya fume more.
"Back to this girl—what exactly did she do?" Yun-Yun redirected.
"She keeps dragging me to the Arena Tome, pushing me to fight," Leo said.
Grangya's expression darkened. "I knew it. She's setting you up for a duel with someone powerful, forcing you to use your demon strength to defend yourself. Once you do, she'll capture your demon magic using a device."
"There's a device that can do that?" Leo asked, surprised.
Grangya nodded. "I tested some crystals on you before, and they were negative, so I reported that to the Assassin Workshop. But I guess they weren't convinced, so they sent someone else to dig deeper."
Leo looked at her, his tone serious. "Grangya, we're teammates. No more fucking secrets from now on."
Grangya looked a bit sheepish. "I get it. Honestly, I didn't think it would fucking matter. Wait—are you a demon?"
Leo smirked. "I'm as much a demon as you are, fuck."
"Well, you're lucky this assassin didn't find any trace of demon power in you," Grangya warned. "If she had, they'd have ordered her to assassinate you."
"Assassinate… how?" Leo asked.
"One of their favorite methods is poison," Grangya replied.
"Poison? Like the stuff Bara rubs on her… breasts?" Leo asked, trying to sound casual.
"Yes, something like that. But the Workshop has even deadlier poisons they keep off the market," Grangya said.
"That's… fucking reassuring," Leo muttered.
Grangya raised an eyebrow. "Did she get close enough to use it? Like, kiss you or fuck?"
"No! Of course not," Leo said, glancing innocently at Yun-Yun.
Yun-Yun crossed her arms. "Are you sure?"
"You're popular now, and that means you're a bigger target than you think. We have many enemies here," she added.
"Relax," Leo said. "I have those special Lust Antennas for that, so I don't need to experience Lust myself while I'm here. But out in the field… well, there might not always be a fucking brothel around."
"We'll figure something out when the time comes," Yun-Yun assured him.
Kasshyek suddenly cleared his throat drawing their attention. "Back to our main issue—are we doing anything about the Koresh Guild of Brothers?"
Leo grinned. "Oh, I have it all planned."
------
"Brother Madoug, those fools at Court la Mood are opening for business again. Should we hit them again?" an underling asked Madoug.
"They killed so many of our brothers. I'll fucking settle the score with them," Madoug replied, his voice hard. "But not yet. We need to recover from that last battle. Besides, we have another place to raid tomorrow."
"Brother Madoug, everyone's here. Should we start the feast?" another asked.
Madoug grinned. "Yes. Bring the wine and meat! We feast tonight, and tomorrow, we fight."
As the gang prepared to celebrate, Madoug considered their next mission: collecting protection money from another defiant establishment. Since Court la Mood's defiance against them, more businesses were hiring private guards, challenging the gang's authority.
"Tomorrow's raid is crucial. We need to make sure no one in Sodom refuses our protection without consequences," Madoug declared.
"Yeah!" came the chorus of voices, lifting their cups.
"Cheers!"
Madoug took a deep drink and then paused, raising an eyebrow. "This wine tastes… different."
"Only the best wine from a new supplier, Brother Madoug. We checked it for poison before it went to the kitchen," an underling assured him.
The gang continued drinking. However, the wine was stronger than expected, and soon, many of them slumped over, succumbing to its potency.
Madoug felt his vision blur. "Useless fools…" he muttered before falling into unconsciousness.
-----
When he woke, Madoug found himself bound to the cold walls of a cell.
"Where am I? Who dares kidnap me?" he growled.
A familiar, icy voice echoed from the shadows. "Hello, scum. I promised I'd see you again, and here we are."
Madoug's eyes widened as Princess Bara stepped forward, a cruel smile on her lips.
"It's you—the bitch from the brothel! Did you poison me? How did you even—" Madoug spat.
"Oh, it wasn't poison. That was just the strongest wine from Koresh's brothels, they are a well-kept secret," a raspy voice chimed in.
To Madoug's surprise, it came from a small rat-turtle perched nearby, watching him with an amused glint.
"Great, now I'm hallucinating a talking rat," Madoug muttered.
The KGB gang usually took extreme precautions with their food and drink, thoroughly screening even the diners they frequented for any threats.
But this wine hadn't been subject to the usual security checks.
Letcha, the rat-turtle, had snuck into the diner's kitchen, swapping the usual stock for this potent wine. With enough cups, the gang had fallen unconscious, one by one, impossible to be woken until the wine's effect is gone.
"My work here is done. I'm off to my Roses," Letcha said, scurrying off.
Bara approached Madoug, picking up a pair of metal pliers from a table nearby.
"It's time for the truth," she said, her voice chillingly calm as she fiddled with the metal pliers breaking a carrot with it to test that the tool works.
Madoug's bluster faded as she came closer. "What… what are you going to do?" he stammered, fear settling in his eyes watching the tool in her hand.
"Oh, just giving you the time of your life," Bara replied, a dark smile spreading across her face.
"Message: Will you join our party – Black Cock"
"What the hell is this shit?" Madoug asked, irritated.
Suddenly, several figures appeared in the cell.