Chapter 54: I Ask, You Answer, Okay?
No one answered. Shelley shook his head helplessly and let out a long sigh.
“Sigh…”
“I really didn’t want to go this far…”
“You all forced me to do this.”
Hearing the curses and arguments from the other cells behind him, Shelley clicked his tongue, then turned and shouted, “Please keep it down, thank you!”
The entire dungeon fell silent for a moment, but the next second, the commotion didn’t lessen. Instead, it grew more intense. Someone even started banging on the iron bars and whistling in their direction.
“Hey little girl, come over here, I’ll make sure you can’t stay quiet!” a prisoner in one of the cells shouted the loudest, but what he didn’t notice was… the guards who had been brought in yesterday were all looking at him with pity.
Sighing helplessly, Shelley stood up, walked out of the cell, and scanned the area. Then, he unleashed his most potent killing intent.
“Please keep it down, thank you.”
Everyone was like a chicken with its neck wrung, staring in terror at the man who now exuded a demonic aura.
“If… you don’t want to be skinned.”
“Also, please, please do not wet yourselves.”
“I don’t want to smell that in such a confined space.”
“Although it already smells bad enough in here, please don’t torture me further.”
Appreciating the scene before him with satisfaction, Shelley felt his mood lighten considerably. The cat-fight was bound to happen sooner or later, and he had handled it reasonably well, but it was still a headache.
“Very good. It seems you are capable of understanding, of communicating.”
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
Returning to the cell, Shelley looked at the terrified Earl Rupert and the clearly trembling Congreve, and a brilliant smile spread across his face.
Rupert fought back the strong urge to urinate. He asked in a hoarse voice, “Who are you!? You’re not Shelley!”
It can’t be him! Absolutely not!
Ignoring his contorted posture, Shelley placed the small knife back on Congreve’s forehead and said, as if making small talk, “Of course I’m Shelley, Rupert, my dear friend.”
“It’s just that you’ve never really looked at me, have you?”
“Do you know me? How many words have we exchanged?”
Lifting the hair with his left hand, he applied a little pressure with his right. Shelley smiled elegantly.
“Alright, enough nonsense. Let’s begin.”
Shelley’s hand was incredibly steady as he cut into Congreve’s scalp and slid the knife downwards. He casually chatted with the stunned Rupert beside him.
“I’m actually not very good at this. For real skinning techniques, you’d have to find a priestess of Lolth, the Spider Queen. Those cruel female Drow are the true masters of this art.”
“They can peel off a complete human skin while the victim is still alive, and even weave those skins into clothes.”
[Human Skin Demon Armor · Special Item: Wearing it greatly increases your unholy charisma! Note: You will provoke strong hostility from humanoid creatures.]
My, that’s really quite bloody. Hard to stomach.
“I’m different. At most, I can only peel off the skin. As for whether it’s intact, I can’t guarantee that.”
“But! This is beneath the Temple of Justice. I don’t want to, and I can’t, make the scene too bloody…”
“So let’s just peel off a small piece, shall we, Mr. Congreve, who is currently trembling?”
Huddled in a ball, Rupert looked at the blood trickling down Congreve’s forehead. He could no longer suppress his fear and asked, tears streaming down his face, “You devil! Don’t you call yourself a paladin!?”
[At this time, please call him a demon!]
[Why is everyone so ignorant!]
“Are you crazy?”
[And you should reflect on your own actions!]
[Act like a demon for once!]
“Tsk!”
“Of course I’m a paladin! But you must understand, you are followers of an evil god…”
“You see, when justice deals with evil, it’s okay to be a little rough.”
Lilith: “…”
You call this ‘a little rough’???
Watching the two prisoners trembling as they were persecuted and Shelley skinning them with a brilliant smile, Lilith had a strong urge to scream.
Are you kidding me? Who are the real villains here!?
“And in the end, I’m not even an official paladin yet. At most, I’m just a paladin apprentice.”
Congreve, who had been playing dead, suddenly shouted, “I’m your brother! Shelley! Let me go!”
The small knife in his hand didn’t waver. Shelley raised an eyebrow.
“Brother? Are you really sure? The cat’s out of the bag, you know.”
“Let’s not play these embarrassing brotherly games anymore. I’ve put up with you for many, many years.”
“Alright, be a good boy now~”
Shelley continued to cut downwards. Congreve screamed in terror.
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Just stop cutting!”
Stop!
“How can I do that? I said I’d cut a piece, so I’ll cut a piece.”
“Don’t move, okay? Otherwise, I don’t know where I might cut… for example, your eye, or your nose.”
“If you don’t want to be blind for the rest of your life, I’d advise you to stay still.”
“Oh, and don’t tremble. Otherwise, it won’t be a complete piece, and I might want to cut another one.”
“Aaaaaaaaaah!”
Hearing the blood-curdling scream, everyone looked at the cell in fear and shock, not daring to speak.
Shelley gently peeled off a small piece of skin and presented it to Rupert.
“See? Isn’t it a very complete piece?”
Rupert nodded frantically in response. Congreve slid down from the wall, his eyes vacant, and collapsed onto the floor.
Pressing the piece of skin back on and casually casting a Cure Wounds, Shelley, his hands covered in blood, smiled.
“Alright, can we talk now?”
“I ask, you answer, okay?”
Nodding with satisfaction, Shelley straightened up and looked down at the two of them.
“First question. Who is Congreve’s father, or rather, who is the person behind you?”
Swallowing dryly, Rupert shook his head.
“We can’t say… We’ve all made a pact. We can’t say it!”
“Really! It’s true!”
Although Shelley had expected this, he still felt a little helpless. He clicked his tongue.
“Alright, in that case, why does Congreve’s father want to deal with me?”
“That… I don’t know either…”
“You’re lying. Please, don’t lie to me, okay?”
“Please don’t play these games with me, these tired old tricks that I’ve used a thousand times. As I said before, your acting is worse than a noble girl who has just entered the social circle.”
“I’m only giving you one chance. Each of you gets to lie once. If I catch you lying a second time, then I’m sorry.”
“Let’s continue. I ask, you answer.”
⁂
