In the Eastern Execution Ground of this castle...
The scene was bleak.. drenched in the suffocating stench of death...
There stood the duo—Michael in his demonic form and Elliot in her female form—side by side on an elevated spectator platform, positioned at a safe distance from the central wooden gallows.
In the seats beside them, dozens of demon sacrifices had gathered..
Their bodies trembled with genuine terror and panic as they watched, in these critical moments, a gigantic executioner—built like a tank and clad in steel armor—force rough black canvas sacks over the heads of the two condemned demons. One male demon, one female demon, their demonic horns recently severed as a symbol of shame and stripped ancestral dignity!
As their heads were completely covered, the two demons wept bitterly, their shaky screams piercing the heavy silence blanketing the square:
"Please!.. Please, Executioner!.. We swear on our souls we won’t dare think of escaping again!.. I swear we will never think of it!.. Have mercy on us!"
Yet those desperate pleas were nothing more than a lost echo with zero value. The executioner didn’t even bat an eye; instead, his massive hand extended steadily toward the large iron lever responsible for dropping the gallows floor, ready to finish off the pair and complete the execution!
Amidst this violent, gruesome spectacle, Michael and Elliot looked on with cold indifference, exchanging a fleeting glance before offering each other the faintest nod. That nod wasn’t a gesture of surrender or a sign that they would turn into well-behaved sacrifices as expected.. It was a shared silent language that spoke clearly without the need for telepathy: We need to hurry up and execute the escape plan immediately before our turn comes!
Elliot initiated a telepathic dialogue with Michael:
{They think we’re naive idiots like the rest of the herd here, convinced we’ll shake in fear at this little theater performance!.. Think about it logically for a second without panicking, Michael.. Why would the castle administration need to publicly execute them and erase their existence, instead of forcefully pumping them full of aphrodisiacs and sex stimulants, forcing them into endless sexual rounds until the Sacrificial Mark consumes them entirely?!}
Elliot posed the question mentally, gazing at the scene with a blank, cold expression while the bodies of the two hanged demons thrashed violently on the gallows rope after the floor dropped beneath them!
Michael responded via mental link, analyzing the logic of the world:
{Now that we’re inside this world, I think its laws have filled in the plot holes somehow!.. Do you know how many sacrifices have died from escape attempts and rebellions? Millions!.. So it doesn’t matter to the castle administration if two more demons die. Instead of wasting resources on direct discipline and expensive stimulants, executing them publicly in this terrifying manner disciplines and deters hundreds of other sacrifices from trying to escape—all without wasting stimulants or magic resources!}
Elliot fell silent for a few seconds, reflecting on the response, before asking through the mental link again without turning toward Michael, avoiding any suspicion from the guards:
{Still, I’m wondering in my head.. Why don’t they just force-feed sex stimulants to all the sacrifices in their daily meals, breaking their minds and wills from day one instead of giving them free will and a chance to think and rebel?.. I always thought giving them free will in the novel was just an irrelevant plot hole in the draft we wrote!}
Michael’s direct response carried a deeper breakdown of the world’s mechanics:
{There are no obvious plot holes anymore, Elliot.. I think it works just like the official marriage rituals they hold for the sacrifices here. Why do they need to marry them off and conduct ceremonies and contracts before putting them in bed together?.. Why not just throw them together immediately without these formalities? And why not have a single male try to fertilize dozens of women, or a single woman impregnated by dozens of men simultaneously?.. I deduce it’s tied to the spiritual conditions of the Sacrificial Mark itself, and the requirements of the God of Destruction, which demand a psychological contract, emotions, or a specific environment to succeed!}
In truth, the original novel plot written by the duo hadn’t focused on strict logic as much as shock value, controversy, and hype. Thus, they hadn’t bothered during the writing process to close every logical loophole in the fantasy worldbuilding. Back then, they believed logical plotlines had taken a long vacation in their draft!
After a few agonizing minutes of horrific struggling on the rope, the demonic couple’s strength gave out completely. Their bodies stopped twisting, and not a single tremor remained to prove they were still alive..
In the eyes of the demon sacrifices surrounding the lower platform, terror and panic had reached horrifying heights, their faces pale and shattered as they witnessed this inevitable fate..
Meanwhile, in reality, Michael and Elliot watched the execution with neutral boredom and complete detachment! However, to avoid exposing themselves to the demon servant and the two massive guards standing behind them like shadows, the duo deliberately put on expressions of horror, trembling, and mental breakdown! They even went as far as turning back in mock terror to ask the servant foolish questions like, "Is.. is there really no chance of forgiveness for them?", expecting intimidating answers from him to reinforce their fake fear!
At their core, neither cared about the deaths of those two stranger demons. Sure, watching an execution up close brought a chill to the spine, but they had made a firm inner vow to show no empathy for any human or demon in this world, ensuring emotions wouldn’t derail their escape plan!
Elliot, in her female form, cleverly turned toward their accompanying demon servant, asking in a shaky, manufactured tone while scoping the area:
"This castle seems extremely remote and far from any form of life in the surrounding areas.. What is the official name of this castle, anyway? And where exactly is it located on the map?"
The moment Elliot asked the question, the demon servant shot her a look of utter bewilderment and contempt, his eyes widening in suspicious surprise!
At that exact second, a cold shiver ran down Elliot’s spine.. It seemed she had stumbled right into a fatal slip-up! The two bodies they currently inhabited were supposed to know this basic piece of information clearly, or it was common knowledge among everyone; asking about something so obvious was a massive red flag that raised immediate suspicion regarding their identity!
The demon servant spoke in a sharp, mocking tone: "Are you kidding me, Lady Alyona?! Giving away strategic and geographical information like that for free, without paying points for it?!"
Elliot didn’t understand the last part of his words, her feminine brow furrowing in suspicion: "What?.. Points?!"
The servant replied with scoffing disbelief: "What do you mean ’what’?! Are your minds really that hollow to forget the rules of this place?! Don’t you know that all extra services you request here—even simple inquiries and geographic information—are bought with special points granted to sacrifices based on good behavior, compliance, and completing assigned tasks?!"