‘They’ve certainly prepared quite thoroughly.’
Released from her restraints, Elena, whose mouth was once again bound, was escorted under strict supervision to the 88th floor.
Upon seeing the floor, she scanned her surroundings with keen interest.
The 88th floor was the lowest level where complex magical engineering devices could operate, free from the heavy interference of residual magical power that permeated deeper floors.
This was precisely why the 88th floor had been designated as the magical energy extraction labor room.
It implied that precise and colossal magical engineering equipment would be required to extract Elena’s magical power.
“Using this machine, we can forcibly extract the magical power from your wretched body.”
[Who is this midget?]
Despite the extensive modifications and construction, the floor, spacious enough to house a small training ground, was now filled with a massive mechanical apparatus connected by countless gears and pipes, all orchestrated by none other than a dwarf engineer.
Elena let out a soft chuckle as she observed the gruff-looking man, who barely reached her chest.
Even though her mouth was clearly sealed with a gag and a mask, her voice echoed within the dwarf’s mind, causing him to scowl as he raised the short rod in his hand and jabbed it at Elena’s leg.
“My name is Bargon. Bargon Letan!”
The rod was a magical suppression tool, designed to generate a powerful, instantaneous burst of lightning from its tip, electrocuting its target.
This dwarf, who had declared his name without concealing his rage, watched Elena’s reaction to the electric shock—a jolt strong enough to render an ordinary person unconscious on bare skin—and saw her not even flinch, causing his abundant beard to twitch in frustration.
[Does he have a story?]
Elena offered a bitter smile, acknowledging the genuine resentment and hatred evident in his eyes.
When Bargon, further provoked by her words, began to thrash, Lunara swiftly rushed forward, seizing his body and dragging him back, desperately trying to restrain him.
She feared Elena might kill someone again.
“Bargon, keep your personal feelings separate from your professional duties!”
“But that witch…! That hussy…!”
“I understand the prisoner is your enemy, but there’s nothing we can do. Please, follow the orders from above.”
Lunara frantically tried to calm the enraged Bargon.
Elena was undeniably bound by the highest-strength restraints they had devised.
From Lunara’s perspective, the equipment currently binding Elena was several times more robust than the restraints used when Krasen was killed.
‘But what if that isn’t enough? What if the Empress is intentionally showing a weakness?’
Nevertheless, Lunara could not bring herself to feel at ease.
Since her capture, Elena had not resisted once, seemingly unable to exert her power; yet, her unblinking reaction to Bargon’s electric shock suggested she was far from being under their control.
Elena had already sown seeds of doubt and paranoia in their minds.
Was it enough? Was it insufficient? Was it real? Was it false?
Even when Elena did nothing, seemingly without a care, Lunara and the other administration personnel felt as though they were walking on thin ice and traversing a thorny path every single day.
The mental energy expended in this process was truly immense.
It was almost impossible to tell who was monitoring and restraining whom.
“It seems pointless, so release her mouth. At the very least, I wish to hear that witch scream.”
“…Understood.”
After taking a moment to compose himself, Bargon managed to calm down, and Lunara sighed, nodding her head.
Simultaneously, the mask covering half of Elena’s face was removed, and the gag was taken out.
“The magical circuits and their flow are quite intricately designed. Is the intention to deliberately clash disparate magical energies, then use the power core to amplify the spell’s output, thereby naturally guiding one magical current in a different direction?”
Following this, Elena was seated and restrained in an iron chair positioned at the center of the machinery that enveloped the room.
Magical power-enhanced chains from the straitjacket and the chair were connected, and her pale thighs and legs were firmly secured by numerous belts crafted from monster hide.
At that moment, the only parts of her body she could move below her face were her toes.
Despite this, Elena, having instantly deciphered the device’s structure and function, remarked on it with an air of curiosity.
Behind the chair where she was restrained, a main power unit, engineered with the latest magical technology, glowed and spun ferociously, while numerous pipes slowly extended from two devices rising on either side, drawing closer to her body.
They did not insert needles into her body, likely because they anticipated such a method would be ineffective.
“Hah, are you trying to act composed?”
‘How on earth…’
Bargon, who had placed a steel tube fitted with wires made of a highly magical conductive material onto her head, scoffed at her words, but inwardly, he stammered in confusion.
This was because Elena had merely glanced at the machine and magical structure he, a self-proclaimed leading dwarf magical engineer, had designed, yet she had instantly comprehended it.
To Elena, who had already transcended humanity into a half-human, half-demon state by fully merging with a demon’s heart, the flow of most magical energy was as clear as reading her own palm.
Since he had no way of knowing this, Bargon, who had spent years researching this very subject, could not help but feel tense.
“However, if you activate this device as it is, it seems it will be excruciatingly painful. Shockwaves from the tube on my head will directly impact my brain… and when my forcibly moved magical power is extracted from my body and flows into the extractors, I will feel a searing pain as if my flesh is being torn apart. Frankly, sticking needles in would hurt less.”
“Oh, you understand quite well! Indeed, there’s no reason to show mercy to a criminal like you. You shall repent in endless agony!”
With all preparations complete, Bargon returned to the safety zone where Lunara was waiting and activated the extraction device.
Simultaneously, a massive surge of energy, flowing from a power unit capable of pulling even heavy trains, began to violently churn within Elena’s body through a powerful repulsive force.
‘Just as she said, this is a technology to forcibly extract a target’s magical power from a distance. It was never going to be gentle or smooth.’
Bargon gazed at the extraction chamber, where a powerful magical energy field was forming amidst crackling sparks.
According to his calculations, Elena’s stimulated magical power should have been forcibly expelled from her body, flowing into the extractors that were thrust forward like muzzles.
And from the immense pain felt during that process, Elena was supposed to writhe and scream.
“Engineer! Magical power extraction is impossible! It’s not coming out of her body, even at maximum output!”
“What?! That can’t be!”
However, Bargon’s calculations had been flawed from the very beginning.
The most crucial magical power extraction itself was completely blocked.
‘Yes, I knew this would happen.’
Elena, meanwhile, yawned amidst the swirling energy field and watched their bewildered expressions.
She had already known that the technology, sophistication, and output of the completed equipment were utterly insufficient to manipulate a demon’s magical power as intended.
Like blood obstructed by a clot, her magical power, which should have been drawn out, remained stagnant, unable to pass through the narrow channels of her magical pathways.
From the outset, they possessed no true understanding of a demon’s power.
After all, it was the protagonist party’s mission to gradually uncover clues and find solutions regarding Elena’s power and how to dismantle and purify it.
“What happened, Bargon? Haven’t you assured us all this time that your machine could certainly accomplish this?”
“W-well, yes, but… this is impossible. Designing equipment with a stronger output than this right now is simply unfeasible…”
At Lunara’s bewildered urging, Bargon slumped down, his face blank with shock.
This extraction machine was Bargon’s magnum opus, a project to which he had dedicated everything.
Had the opponent not possessed the extraordinary power of an ancient demon’s magical energy, even the strongest individual would undoubtedly have been unable to endure, their power completely siphoned away.
“The extraction of the witch’s magical power was one of the achievements the higher-ups particularly emphasized, and now if this happens…”
As Bargon, utterly despondent, fell silent, Lunara pressed a hand to her throbbing temple and let out a sigh.
The labor imposed upon Elena was the culmination of various intentions held by the Republican Government.
The magical power of the witch, a former Empress, was unprecedentedly potent.
Though they had denounced the magical power she amassed through the exploitation and slaughter of imperial citizens as wicked and abhorrent, now that magical engineering had ushered in a new era, they could not help but covet such a unique and concentrated force.
If properly researched, it might even bring immense wealth and power.
While the publicly declared justification was that it served as a punishment for the witch and research material for the public good, certain members of the Republican Government’s upper echelons sought to siphon off Elena’s power, intending to use it as a precious resource for their private gain.
‘Already? This is going to be interesting.’
Observing them through the glass partition and eavesdropping on their entire conversation, Elena’s lips curved into a faint smile.
She had anticipated that others at this current juncture would never be able to fill the void she left.
She wanted them to truly feel the burden she had carried and to regret it.
It would be remarkable if the Republican Government, established around Aequitas, could even maintain its position.
She had been certain that it would descend into internal chaos, fragment, or be battered by new problems, yet it was already showing signs of such instability.
“It seems things aren’t going smoothly for you. How about we negotiate?”
Elena, a sly smile playing on her lips, spoke.
At her words, Lunara’s face hardened, and the administration staff, their eyes wide with surprise, all turned to look at her.
“N-negotiation? A negotiation?”
Bargon was utterly shocked to hear Elena, a prisoner, utter the word “negotiation.”
However, Lunara, quick-witted, swiftly reached out and clapped a hand over Bargon’s mouth.
What was crucial now was to somehow deliver the magical power extracted from Elena to the higher-ups.
Whatever transpired during that process would be the responsibility of Lunara herself, as the facility manager.
After all, this was deep within the labyrinth of the Imperial Frontier—a top-secret facility known to no one, and the sole prison, Tartarus.
“What do you want?”
Of course, a negotiation could only proceed if Elena made a reasonable proposal.
No matter how urgent the situation, Lunara still regarded Elena as the worst kind of prisoner.
“I’ll cooperate with the magical power extraction. In return, grant me just one thing: provide me with proper meals, not that dog-awful food.”
“…Meals?”
However, to the anticlimax of their heightened tension, Elena’s demand was absurdly small and trivial.
A request for delicious meals in exchange for cooperating with magical power extraction.
Lunara, her mind reeling, was momentarily speechless. Her brain worked furiously, trying to fathom what this wicked witch could possibly be thinking.
‘If I change everything from the start, it won’t be fun. But if I do this every time they make a clumsy blunder, it could be quite entertaining.’
However, Lunara did not know this.
