Chapter 149. Soul Kidnapping
After the brutal torture by our monsters, Ethan passed out.
His body was so damaged that it was unrecognizable.
Of course, he would regenerate to be tortured again later.
But for now, the torture ends here.
I couldn’t afford to spend more time on someone who had already fallen and couldn’t even keep his memories intact.
[Are you stopping already? If torturing that prisoner isn’t fun, do you want to try torturing another one?]
“…I’m fine.”
I politely declined Wifra’s suggestion.
I didn’t have the hobby of torturing others.
It was better to tame one more new monster than to waste time doing this.
【Mir-Stin】─That Wifra monster seems worth taming too, but it’s a shame.
【Rizenova】─It can’t be helped. She’s already been tamed by a former Assisted One, after all.
【Yumi】─Not a shame at all.
【Mysticism】─No thanks to that pervert monster! 😠
【Pururu】─Aside from the horns on her head, she doesn’t look much different from a human, so taming her would be awkward.
【Mir-Stin】─?? Aren’t there already plenty of humanoid monsters?
【Bubble Bubble】─I don’t mind the humanoid part, but it might be best to stop taming female monsters for now.
【Luna-chan】─Why? o_O
【Bubble Bubble】─Just because.
【Mir-Stin】─These people are being overly cautious.
Though I couldn’t tame Wifra.
Judging by her favorable attitude toward me, I felt we could maintain a good relationship in the future.
After a short conversation with Wifra.
I slowly looked around at the other jailers and lowered my voice, asking Infernos.
“Nos, I’m late in asking, but is it okay to tame monsters from Hell?”
[As long as you don’t dominate them, it’s fine. Sublime Bone Fiend is friendly toward the Assisted One, after all.]
It seemed there was no issue.
Well, that was only natural.
If taming was a problem, things would have gone crazy when I tamed Infernos earlier.
【Mir-Stin】─The Assisted One trait has so many advantages.
【Luna-chan】─True. Just having that trait seems to win the favor of monsters. ><
【Bubble Bubble】─Choosing the Assisted One trait was definitely the right call.
I asked Infernos another question.
“Is it okay to tame a monster that plays the role of a jailer?”
[Of course. Unlike the ability to forcibly dominate, your trait simply allows you to befriend the other party, doesn’t it?]
“Then what about the Sublime Bone Fiend?”
[It probably wouldn’t mind making a friend either. But just to be sure, ask it directly when you meet.]
That was a relief.
I had asked because I wondered if the Sublime Bone Fiend had been tamed in the past, but hearing that answer meant it likely didn’t have such a history.
【Pururu】─But, so far, every SSS-grade monster we’ve met hasn’t been hostile.
【Mysticism】─😮
【Yumi】─Wasn’t Solorb in the Grasslands a dangerous monster?
【Rizenova】─Not at all. It was a monster that prohibited killing under its rule, so in a way, it has a similar nature to the Sublime Bone Fiend that maintains the order of Hell.
【Pururu】─Why is that?
【Bubble Bubble】─Because SSS-grades are extraordinary.
【Pururu】─What the heck. ㅅㅂ
【Mir-Stin】─ㅋㅋ Why does the reason matter? Isn’t it good if things are good?
【Luna-chan】─So far, we’ve been lucky, but there are bound to be hostile SSS-grade monsters. We need to be careful. (꒪ȏ꒪)
Anyway.
For now, I decided to tame one of the jailers.
Taming a monster mixed in with another group could be helpful at some point.
Especially when it came to the large group of jailers in Hell.
‘Taming a monster from another organization would make it easier to maintain a friendly relationship with that group.’
That said, I had no intention of taming all of them.
That would draw too much attention.
It felt like it might provoke resistance too.
So, I planned to tame only one jailer.
‘Let’s see. Who, besides Wifra, seems favorable to me…’
[Bwoing.]
“….”
As I scanned the jailers.
A cute-looking monster caught my eye.
Is that one a jailer too?
I poked at Infernos’s leg and asked.
“Nos, is that cute one over there a jailer too?”
[Hmm? Where is this so-called cute jailer?]
“That one.”
I pointed directly at the monster I was talking about.
It was a beast-like monster with one long tail and two big horns. Its size was about the same as a Dog Spider.
Upon seeing it, Infernos tilted his head.
[Hmm. I don’t see what’s cute about it, but… yes, it is a jailer.]
【Pururu】─That one? ㅋㅋㅋ
【Mysticism】─🤭🤭🤭
【Yumi】─There’s even a cute jailer, huh?
【Mir-Stin】─ㅋㅋ It looks really weak.
【Bubble Bubble】─Don’t underestimate it. Even though it looks like that, it’s still S-grade or higher.
Elise was right.
Despite its cute and gentle appearance.
That jailer monster also had a nerfed danger level of B-grade.
In other words, its real danger level was S-grade.
According to Infernos.
That monster’s name was Nightmare.
It was a jailer responsible for infiltrating the dreams of prisoners and giving them nightmares so they couldn’t rest when unconscious.
On the contrary.
I also heard that it could give sweet dreams instead of nightmares.
‘But why has it been staring at me for a while now?’
Nightmare was staring at me with a seemingly aggrieved expression.
Of course, that expression meant nothing.
I had heard it just looked like that by nature.
Anyway.
It was clear the monster had an interest in me.
It had been staring at me intently for a while now.
I didn’t sense any hostility.
After a brief moment of thought, I made my decision.
I decided to tame this cute Nightmare jailer.
[Bwoing?]
As I approached, Nightmare wagged its tail.
It seemed it had been waiting for me to come to it.
“Hello?”
[Bwoing!]
After greeting it lightly.
I carefully placed my hand on the spot on its back marked with a patch.
It didn’t resist my touch.
It was as if it had been waiting for this from the beginning, quietly offering its back.
And, as expected, the color change happened quickly.
So fast that I didn’t even need to bring in the Necro Puppet Master to use mind control.
While I was taming Nightmare, Artpega Unibicorn began updating the Monster Guidebook right beside me.
■Nightmare
─Real Danger Level: S-grade.
─Current (Nerfed) Danger Level: B-grade.
─Ability: Nightmare.
I successfully tamed Nightmare.
But I had no intention of taking it with me.
Nightmare had a role as a jailer in Hell, after all.
“See you next time, Nightmare.”
[Bwoing…]
“I’ll come visit often.”
[Bwoing!]
Not only Nightmare.
But I didn’t plan to take any of the monsters I tamed in Hell back with me.
Taking monsters out of Hell could potentially upset the Sublime Bone Fiend.
***
Sublime Bone Fiend.
I planned to meet with it later when I had the chance.
To ask if it was okay to build a village in Hell.
Of course.
I wasn’t planning to ask if I could tame it at that time.
Asking such a question out of the blue would definitely leave a bad impression.
There was no need to rush.
So I decided to hold off on mentioning taming and take my time, building trust and approaching slowly.
In any case.
I postponed meeting the Bone Fiend for later.
For now, we were touring Hell under Infernos’s guidance.
Along the way, we encountered monsters called ‘Reapers,’ who were responsible for kidnapping souls.
The first Reaper we met was named ‘Warp Reaper.’
As soon as Artpega saw it, she quickly started updating the Guidebook.
■Warp Reaper
─Real Danger Level: S-grade.
─Current (Nerfed) Danger Level: B-grade.
─Ability: Dimensional Travel, Soul Reaping.
Reapers have different ways of kidnapping souls.
I heard that Warp Reaper crosses over to other worlds, kills wrongdoers, and reaps their souls.
In other words, it doesn’t collect the souls of those who have already died.
It takes the souls of living beings.
[You must be the famous Gauntlet. Nice to meet you.]
“Nice to meet you too. But you say I’m famous?”
[Your name has already spread throughout Hell. They say a very strong explorer has arrived in Hell. Oh, and there’s also an order not to antagonize you since you have the Assisted One trait.]
Word had already spread everywhere.
It was probably because Hell was a world ruled by a systematic organization.
The order not to antagonize me…
I guessed it must have come from Sublime Bone Fiend.
Bone Fiend was friendly toward the Assisted One, and news about me had surely reached its ears by now.
【Luna-chan】─
You became famous in no time. ( ̵˃﹏˂̵ )
【Mir-Stin】─ㅋㅋㅋ You’ve become Hell’s idol.
【Mysticism】─I’m your first fan! 😃
【Pururu】─I’m the first fan.
Anyway.
I finally met a monster that could travel between dimensions, but unfortunately, Warp Reaper could only travel alone. Moreover, it couldn’t choose which world to cross into, being drawn to filthy and vile souls that led it to warp between dimensions.
In simple terms, even Warp Reaper didn’t know which world it would end up in.
Of course, it could return at any time.
[Gauntlet, I wanted to show you how Reapers kidnap souls, but… I can’t show you the process for this one.]
After saying that, Infernos looked around and then pointed to another Reaper.
[Gauntlet, let’s go to that one.]
Infernos took the lead and walked over.
Then he explained that the Reaper holding a fishing rod was named Soul Reaper.
[You can watch how that one kidnaps souls. Soul Reaper uses its unique tool to fish souls from other dimensions.]
At that moment.
Soul Reaper suddenly stood up and violently yanked the fishing rod it was holding.
[Oh! Got a big one… no, never mind… tsk.]
Soul Reaper clicked its tongue as it inspected the soul.
Then it grabbed a lump from a pile beside it and stuffed the soul inside.
The lump squirmed and started to take on a human shape.
Before long, the soul-filled lump transformed into the form of a middle-aged man.
【Mir-Stin】─Huh?
【Mir-Stin】─That looks exactly like my uncle who died two days ago!
【Bubble Bubble】─?