Chapter 297: The False Offering

The Dark Elf lifted her chin defiantly despite being completely immobilized. A mocking smile appeared on her beautiful face.

"Hah... Why should I answer you?" she said arrogantly, her yellow eyes gleaming with contempt. "You think just because you caught me, I’ll start talking like some pathetic little girl? Dream on. I have nothing to say to the likes of you."

Lilith’s expression didn’t change, but her crimson eyes grew colder.

Isolde stood beside her, arms crossed, watching silently.

The Dark Elf let out a small, arrogant laugh.

"You two are wasting your time. I’m not going to—"

Before she could finish, Lilith raised her hand. One of her threads slowly moved toward the Dark Elf’s right hand, wrapping around her index finger like a living blade.

Lilith’s voice dropped into a soft, almost gentle tone yet it was filled with unmistakable sadism.

"If you don’t want to talk... then I’ll just start cutting off your fingers one by one," she said calmly, as if she were discussing the weather. "I wonder how many fingers you can lose before you start begging? Five? Three? Or maybe just one will be enough?"

The thread around the Dark Elf’s finger tightened slightly, the edge pressing against her skin.

The Dark Elf’s arrogant expression faltered for a split second. Her yellow eyes flickered with a trace of fear, and her body tensed involuntarily. Even though she tried to keep her face calm, her fingers trembled slightly.

Lilith noticed.

A small, cold smile appeared on her lips.

Isolde, who had been quietly observing, spoke in her mind.

"...Lilith’s intimidation is working. She’s scared, even if she’s trying to hide it.’

Isolde stepped forward and spoke in a calm, emotionless voice.

"If you still refuse to talk after that," she said quietly, "then we’ll move on to more... creative methods. We have plenty of time. And trust me, we know how to make someone talk without killing them."

The Dark Elf’s yellow eyes darted between Lilith and Isolde. She tried to maintain her arrogant expression, but the slight tremor in her bound hands betrayed her.

She stayed silent for a few seconds, clearly weighing her options.

Lilith’s thread pressed a little harder against her finger.

"Well?" Lilith asked, her voice soft and dangerous. "Should I start with this one... or would you like to try answering first?"

The Dark Elf stayed silent for a few more seconds, her yellow eyes darting between Lilith and Isolde. The thread pressing against her finger made her visibly tense.

Finally, her arrogant expression cracked.

Her voice came out slightly trembling.

"...M-My name is Azrynn Nocturne," she said, avoiding direct eye contact. "I’m from a Dark Elf tribe that lives... not far from here. I didn’t mean to cause any real trouble..."

Lilith stared at her coldly.

Then she let out a small, disappointed sigh.

"Lying is not good, you know?" she said softly, her voice carrying a dangerous sweetness. "Especially when you’re this bad at it."

Azrynn’s body stiffened.

Isolde glanced at Lilith.

"What do you mean?"

Lilith’s crimson eyes never left Azrynn’s face.

"Her aura..." she said quietly. "It’s the same as the presence that guided us here. The same faint trace we felt when we first entered this place. She’s not just some random intruder."

Isolde’s eyes widened slightly as realization dawned on her.

"...So you’re the one who lured us here?"

Azrynn’s yellow eyes widened in panic. She realized her lie had been completely exposed.

Her voice grew more frantic, the trembling becoming more obvious.

"I-I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!" she blurted out, her earlier arrogance completely gone. "I didn’t have a choice! My village... we needed a sacrifice! If we didn’t offer one, the monsters would’ve attacked us again! I thought if I brought strong people here, the temple would accept them and leave us alone for a while!"

She looked at Lilith with genuine fear in her eyes.

"Please don’t cut my fingers! I-I won’t be able to shoot arrows anymore if you do! Please, I’m begging you!"

Isolde’s expression turned colder.

"Sacrifice?" she repeated. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

Azrynn swallowed hard, her voice small and shaky.

"Our village is located behind this temple... deep in the mountains. For generations, the temple has protected us from the monsters in this area. But in return... we have to offer sacrifices. Living beings. If we don’t, the protection disappears and the monsters will swarm our village. That’s why... when I sensed strong people entering the area, I guided you here. I thought the temple would accept you as the offering..."

She lowered her head, silver hair falling over her face.

"I’m sorry... I really am. I didn’t want to do it. But my people... they would’ve died if I didn’t."

Lilith stared down at Azrynn with a cold, unimpressed expression. After hearing the Dark Elf’s explanation, she let out a small, mocking laugh.

"...What nonsense," she said flatly. "The Loom of Fate is a place where people go to repair powerful artifacts and undergo trials to receive blessings. How could something like that possibly require living sacrifices to protect some random village? That doesn’t make any sense at all."

She tightened one of the threads around Azrynn’s arm slightly, making the Dark Elf wince.

"You’re either lying again... or your people have been misunderstanding the true purpose of this place for generations."

Isolde nodded in agreement, her crimson eyes calm but serious as she looked at Azrynn.

"I agree with you," she said quietly. "It doesn’t add up. The Loom of Fate is far too ancient and complex to function on something as crude as blood sacrifices. If your village has been offering living beings all this time, then it’s very likely that you’ve all been misunderstanding its true function."

She stepped closer, her voice steady.

"Perhaps the temple was never meant to be fed sacrifices at all. Maybe your people have been doing something completely unnecessary... or worse, something that has been angering whatever power actually resides here."

Azrynn’s yellow eyes widened. She looked genuinely confused and shaken.

"W-What...? But... our village has been doing this for hundreds of years. Every time we offered a sacrifice, the monsters would stop attacking us for a while. It always worked...!"

Lilith’s crimson eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Then either you’ve been lied to... or something else has been accepting those sacrifices instead of the Loom."

She leaned in slightly, her voice dropping into a cold whisper.

"Tell me the truth, Azrynn Nocturne. What exactly happens during these ’sacrifices’? And who or what actually receives them?"

Azrynn’s body trembled slightly in the threads. Her earlier arrogance was completely gone, replaced by visible fear and confusion.