The metal chains around the Torturer's hands whistled through the air, creating loud sonic booms along their way.

Although they seemed to be made of ordinary metal, this effect, coupled with the powerful aura they exuded, made it clear that they were a pair of formidable weapons.

Their speed was fast, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived before Liora, attacking her from both sides.

At this time, the Bear Devil had just collapsed to the ground, and Liora had yet to retract the giant axe in her right hand.

Facing the Torturer's unexpected blow, she seemed to have no time or a way to defend herself.

However, Liora showed no trace of panic.

With a move of her mind, the axe in her hand melted back into shadows, while she raised the hand she was leaning on to meet the fierce metal chains.

Two loud screeches soon spread throughout the large hall as the chains collided with Liora's Myriad Devils Armor and bounced right off it.

Taking advantage of the momentum, the Torturer didn't continue her assault but retreated behind the other ranked Devils.

She turned to look at them and urged:

"What are you waiting for? Can't you see that she is our enemy? She is the newly risen Devil—Crimson Maiden.", she spoke harshly.

Facing the Torturer's speech, Liora neither denied nor confirmed that notion.

Instead, she calmly shifted her gaze toward her, as if examining her for the first time.

"I'm wondering, aren't you worried about losing your life? Didn't I already tell you that I've placed a restriction on you?", she couldn't help but ask, unable to hide her doubts.

In response to her questions, the Torturer, who had always shown an obedient and submissive look, let out a mocking laughter.

"Do you think that I'm really an idiot? I've already inspected my body. There are no traces of Devil Runes or arrays on me.", she said proudly, regaining her original attitude—the one she showed while torturing the helpless prisoners.

Obviously, everything she had shown so far was merely an act. No one could tell whether this act began when she found herself kidnapped or after she left the dark room.

Faced with her rude remarks, Liora didn't lose her composure.

Turning her head to look at the now-dead Bear Devil, her eyes flashed with a rare trace of pity.

If her guess was correct, the only reason he lost his mind earlier and charged at her like that was because of the Torturer's influence.

Liora didn't know whether the Torturer had just now influenced him or if it had been part of a long plan of hers.

But at the same time, she didn't care enough to ask.

The Torturer believed that she had only mentioned the restriction to intimidate her, but she was clearly mistaken.

Staring at the self-assured Torturer, Liora still didn't get up from her seat.

Instead, she slightly parted her lips.

The next moment, a powerful wave burst from her mouth as countless garbled, inexplicable words spread throughout the hall.

It was as if they came from a broken radio or from an unintelligent monster that was just learning to speak.

Facing what could only be described as a sonic attack, the Devils in the room raised their guard.

Having learned of Liora's identity as the third-ranked Devil, they no longer dared to underestimate her.

But surprisingly, as the distorted sounds echoed in their ears, they didn't feel pain—only a slight tingling sensation on their forehead.

Just when they were wondering why her attack was so weak, though, someone noticed that the Torturer had changed.

Unlike the others, the Torturer was far from calm, as if specifically targeted.

Countless Devil Runes emerged from deep within her flesh and took root on her skin before transforming into tiny mouths. These mouths soon opened, and from within, many unintelligible words came out.

Matched with Liora's Tongue of the Abyss, it seemed like an uncanny symphony was being performed.

The eyes of the Torturer flashed with fear as she felt an invisible hand reaching deep within her body and grabbing her soul.

Then, its fingers closed and it gave her soul a gentle squeeze.

"No! Don't—"

The Torturer had no time to finish her words as her soul exploded into pieces.

As if they had lost their target, the many mouths on her body retreated, while Liora's lips closed again.

With these, the otherworldly sounds in the hall vanished in an instant, the only evidence that they had ever existed being the Torturer's cold corpse.

The many Devils in the hall were horrified.

If Liora's earlier killing of the Bear Devil had shocked them, then the strange manner in which the Torturer died brought them terror.

The small confidence they had about cooperating to deal with Liora instantly disappeared.

No one could understand how she had slain the Torturer, and none of them was willing to give it a try.

Countless thoughts raced through the Devils' minds as they wondered what they should do.

Before most of them could decide, though, a Devil among them took the initiative and stepped forward.

"May I ask... is Your Excellency the Crimson Maiden?", the Ant Devil—who had remained silent all this time—was unexpectedly the one to step forward.

Seeing this, the other Devils were relieved.

With the Ant Devil's strength and identity, he was the most suitable person to represent them.

After all, not only was he the thirty-sixth Devil in the Crucible Ranking, but he was also a close friend of the Blasphemer, the second-ranked Devil.

With him taking the lead, the chances of the Crimson Maiden going crazy and slaughtering them all would decrease, albeit slightly.

Hearing the Ant Devil's question, Liora nodded her head in agreement.

The Ant Devil was not surprised by her answer.

He already had doubts the moment his eyes fell on her, since Liora's appearance was surprisingly suitable for the title Crimson Maiden.

The fact that she was easily able to kill the Bear Devil and the Torturer only served to reinforce that idea, making him even more certain.

"I wonder what's the matter with Your Excellency gathering us here? I believe that someone of your status and strength wouldn't be idle enough to merely discuss with us.", the Ant Devil spoke, his voice respectful yet confident.

He understood that although Liora killed the Bear Devil and the Torturer, both acts were instances of self-defense.

He guessed that she didn't have any malicious intentions, but was instead planning to request them to do something for her.

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