The High Inquisitor's black and golden armor was so heavy it sunk a few centimeters into the dirt floor while he walked around the mangled man in the center of the interrogation room. The stone walls had been adequately enchanted to prevent the Imperial Adjudicator's screams from being heard outside.

The adjudicator was naked, as suited to anyone being questioned by the High Inquisitor. Nudity deprived the scum of their last psychological defense, and it was good for them to be disabused of the notion that they could defend themselves from him.

First came the emperor, then his Inquisition. Everyone and everything else was disposable.

Though the adjudicator seemed to be aware of this truth when they had talked at a distance, when the High Inquisitor came to ask questions in person, the adjudicator tried to escape. Such resistance was an unforgivable sin, as much as ignoring Imperial Law and allowing two vassal nations to go to war without the emperor's explicit consent, especially when a border nation was involved.

Few knew the emperor's vision for the empire. The High Inquisitor himself was aware of only a few things, but he knew that the stability of the Thenor Empire was paramount. Any country that expanded its borders became a problem, and offenders, together with those who facilitated any crime, were to be executed.

As such, capital punishment was coming for both the king of the Ralethean Kingdom, who had waged unlawful war against the Illyria Kingdom, and this Imperial Adjudicator, who had taken bribes to turn a blind eye to it. However, the most important thing now was to unravel the details of the betrayal.

"Let us try once more," said the High Inquisitor slowly. A defensive pattern on his helmet had the side effect of distorting his voice, making it slightly metallic. "We both know you couldn't ignore the Imperial Loyalty Pattern by yourself. Someone aided you. Who was it?"

The adjudicator didn't respond. He had stopped speaking completely after his second arm was removed and thrown into the pile of meat containing his twenty fingers and two legs.

But the High Inquisitor was a patient man, and there were many ways to get people to talk. He even had some class skills for this, though he preferred to use more organic and natural ways to secure cooperation.

Sooner or later, the adjudicator would confess.