After the Poet of Great Love stepped in for Hyperion to speak face-to-face with Antanas of Protection, the atmosphere in the cell instantly became taut and still.
Hyperion glanced at Antanas of Protection now and then, trying to read something from her expressions and gestures.
Silence lingered in the spacious, pure-white cell for a long time.
"Ridiculous... Do you even know who Talia is?"
Antanas of Protection let out a cold laugh. Her voice was calm, yet carried a force that could not be ignored.
A rare trace of killing intent surfaced in her eyes, as though the Poet of Great Love's words had nearly crossed her bottom line.
If foolish humans thought they could use lies to strike a deal with them, it was not only an unforgivable offense, but an outright insult to great demons like them.
Antanas also noticed that the masked, black-haired, green-eyed figure had a rather peculiar voice. Merely hearing it speak made the emotions that had long been worn down in her weary heart begin to flare anew.
"Of course. I have even met her."
The Poet of Great Love gave an assured nod.
Hyperion stared at Lanqi. How could Lanqi have possibly met her legendary aunt?!
True, Hyperion knew Lanqi always managed to inexplicably pull out useful intelligence—like drawing portraits of the three Blood Clan Progenitors in front of the Creti Empire's imperial princess at the Banquet of Sanctuary Villains, or casually sketching the likenesses of three great demons a few days ago at the Domination branch's secret stronghold in the Protos Royal Magic Academy. As it turned out, Lanqi's drawing of Antanas of Protection bore an uncanny resemblance to the real person, whereas his drawing of the Ice Snow Witch had been a complete and utter mess.
Even so, Hyperion was certain that her aunt Talia was a missing great demon whom even the Church of the Goddess of Fate could barely locate. Fulfilling a promise to help Antanas find Talia was something that would take immense effort even for the Church of the Goddess of Fate, with no guarantee of success!
Hyperion had no idea what kind of psychological warfare Lanqi was playing now, but she dared not let her expression waver for fear of ruining his plan. She could only swallow down all her shock and doubt, keeping a straight face as she waited for Lanqi to communicate with Antanas of Protection.
"..."
Antanas fixed the Poet of Great Love with a gaze that grew noticeably colder.
She felt this figure before her seemed rather unafraid of death; there was not the slightest fear of dying in those eyes.
As an eighth-tier great demon, Antanas could generally tell whether a lower-tier creature was lying simply from the fluctuations of their mana. The mana of the black-haired, green-eyed girl before her was faint and simple, showing no signs of deceit.
Yet the words that suddenly came out of her in this situation were far too preposterous.
In Antanas's eyes, it was as if this black-haired, green-eyed girl had only come up with this response on a whim right after listening to Hyperion's conversation with her.
"How will you prove it?"
Antanas finally asked, though her tone held little inquisitive inflection.
"If I can prove that I know Talia's whereabouts, will you come with me?" the Poet of Great Love asked.
Antanas's tone was somewhat reminiscent of Talia's; Lanqi had long found it familiar.
"Of course. Then I would have no reason to stay here. But if you dare toy with me over this, even if you are Talia's niece's human friend, I will obliterate you without hesitation."
Antanas's gaze lingered between the two intern guards, her eyes revealing a profound depth of emotion as she waited for the other party to prove herself.
Since she insisted on courting death, she had no one else to blame.
In truth, no matter what the girl said, Antanas did not intend to believe it. There were far too many ways to deceive someone through words, and she did not think such a matter could be clearly proven.
Antanas's rage was already simmering at its peak. As for the vile act of humans lying about her dearest friend's whereabouts, had it not been for Talia's niece, she would likely have made the girl pay the price moments ago.
Right now, she only wanted to see just how far this foolish creature would go to seek death.
"..."
Hyperion was terrified. She almost wanted to grab the Poet of Great Love's forearm to give Lanqi a warning.
She could sense Antanas's extremely volatile state.
Having pushed things this far, even if Lanqi managed to deceive Antanas through his peculiar mind and silver tongue to coax her into a deal, the moment the truth came out later, Antanas would be enraged beyond measure and drag him down with her at any cost!
The air in the cell grew exceptionally suffocating, until Hyperion could hear only her own racing heartbeat.
Beside her, facing Antanas's countdown-like death glare, the Poet of Great Love remained as calm as ever.
The Poet looked at Hyperion and gave a faint smile, as if telling her not to be surprised by what came next.
Amid the dead silence, the Poet of Great Love took off her mask, tossed her hair, and looked straight at Antanas.
"..."
In that instant, the bright light in Antanas's eyes gradually went blank. No one could tell what she was thinking.
After an untold number of seconds, she parted her lips slightly, yet could not bring herself to speak a complete sentence.
From the moment the Poet of Great Love's figure was reflected in her pupils, Antanas could no longer look away from her face.
"What... what is your relationship to Talia?"
The killing intent Antanas had gathered earlier vanished entirely, replaced by an anxious, lingering terror as she asked.
The black-haired, green-eyed girl before her bore far too much resemblance to Talia. Even if a century had passed and her memories had faded somewhat, Antanas would never forget the most beautiful appearance in the world!
After all, Talia's defining feature was how gorgeous her face was!
No matter how she looked, the black-haired, green-eyed girl seemed like a pure-blooded human.
Perhaps she was wearing disguise magic.
Perhaps she had simply taken on a likeness close to Talia's.
The only thing Antanas could be certain of was that she must have seen Talia!
"Then before answering your question, can you tell me first—are you willing to believe my words, and can we have a proper talk?"
The Poet of Great Love stood before Antanas and asked slowly.
Although the Poet of Great Love had nothing in common with the word 'princess' by nature, under Lanqi's control, her graceful, dignified bearing surpassed even Talia herself.
"Of course... no problem..."
Antanas stared blankly at the Poet of Great Love's face.
Antanas, who had harbored no hope before, was now willing to learn anything as long as there was even the slightest possibility of information confirming Talia was still alive.
Meanwhile, watching this complete reversal of control, Hyperion was entirely dumbfounded.
What just happened?
When someone mastered mind control and brainwashing to the absolute extreme, could they really just defy the common sense of the world like this?
Chapter 412