Supreme Magus novel Chapter 3529

"I never said you killed them, Mage Verhen." Sylpha pointed out. "Only that your spells did. There is a big difference."

Yerna and the members of the Knight Guard exchanged confused looks, wondering whether they had suddenly become dumb or if the Queen had forgotten how Tyris’ universal language worked.

"Gods! Those Emperor Beasts are monsters!" Solus’ outrage made just as much sense to them, confusing them even more. "They didn’t just recover Hatorne’s tattoo potion technology but also the parasites’ toxins."

"That’s what this looks like." The Queen nodded as Yerna and the others shuddered in horror. "By the time the Alchemists collected the sample, the poison was already too degraded to get a sample, but that has to be expected if it works like the rest of Hatorne’s toxins.

"Yet when the doctors cut open the corpses you brought them, they found internal injuries that didn’t match either your reports or the external injuries. The vital organs appear to have been cut open from the inside. That’s why they died so quickly."

"They couldn’t be saved." Lith slammed his fist in his palm. "Without knowing what we were dealing with, there was no way to capture a prisoner alive for interrogation. Cunning bastards."

"This also explains where this organization continued to make profits after the end of the famine." The King said. "They stopped selling food and started selling the toxins. They are a great tool for assassins and the power plays of the nobles.

"I’ve already ordered to cross reference all recent assassinations and sudden deaths. Just the anti-healing toxin is dangerous but until we learn more, we must assume the worst and plan our next moves as if the enemy has access to all of Hatorne’s toxins, including the anti-mana.

"Yes, Major Yerna?" Meron asked after noticing her raised hand.

"I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but even with the toxin, this still doesn’t make sense to me. They were powerful Emperor Beasts and could use perfect silent magic. Why not let themselves be captured and wait for a moment to escape?" Yerna asked.

"Because they knew such a moment would never come. At least not before they had been thoroughly interrogated." The King replied. "Sadly, in the past humans have abused beasts so much that now they prefer suicide to capture.

"Even if they believed they might have escaped, they would never risk betraying their comrades and increasing the number of our prisoners. It’s a habit we humans have ingrained into them." Meron sighed, still feeling the shame of his ancestors weighing on his shoulders.

"Just like for the toxins, there was nothing anyone could do. Beasts don’t think like humans. Capturing or killing them is the same. You can’t rely on interrogations, plea deals, or persuasion to find their leaders."

"This complicates things quite a bit." Yerna pondered. "It’s like having our wings cut off. The only options we have left are to track the shipping of materials, cross-reference the movements of our suspects, and hope they point us to the beasts’ base."

"No, that won’t ever work." Lith shook his head. "We are not dealing with humans. All Emperor Beasts can use dimensional magic and fly. All they need to do to foil an investigation is collect the ingredients at point A, store them in a dimensional amulet, and then Warp a few times to shake off a potential tail before reaching point B."

"In other words, the investigation has hit a dead end." Thaas said.

"Not quite." Solus replied. "Our raid failed because we didn’t know with whom and what we were dealing. Now we do. Start looking for another clandestine business. Once you find it, we’ll raid it again.

"This time, however, we’ll let a few of them escape and follow them straight to their base."

"How?" Yerna asked. "Won’t they notice you?"

"They’d notice us, but not my Demons after they merge with their shadow." As Lith spoke, Menadion came out of Yerna’s shade, making her yelp in surprise.

"Good gods, how long have you been there?" She asked.