Mind Demon's Path of Domination

It didn’t take long for Yuri to have page after page of information on the Silver Savage corpses. She scribbled the drawing of a heart in her note and then closed the book. Mark was just beside her, looking at the dissected form of a savage corpse.

Dona, on the other hand, was beside them, sprawled on the rocky floor of the island.

It didn’t look gory, it looked clean. She had just made some cuts, and those were precise and for the purpose. No nonsense.

The scientist twiddled the pen in her hand and looked at Mark.

"So, how’s it?" he asked.

"A savage’s body is completely different from a human’s body, for one." She pointed at the mask of the creature. "It’s not like the Hunters. You can still see that a Hunter is born from a human, but this? This seems like an entirely different species." She frowned. "But what makes me the most interested is their heart."

Mark looked at the corpse—which was laid on a small boulder—and saw its heart through the hole Yuri had made in its chest. The organ looked different from a heart, it was silver-colored, and there were no nerves in it.

"Not only the color but functions too. Their brain, stomach, and everything also feels like another heart for some reason. Moreover, they seem to have another, normal heart, too. In short, their anatomy is a completely different field of study compared to that of a human."

"What about the normal humans of this world, are their anatomy like that of the humans from the Hunter World?"

"Yep. That woman with a scar on her neck was sleeping in our house, and Dona went and checked up on her—she is as human as any other human from the Hunter World. Yeah, there are slight differences but she is a human at her core."

"So are you saying that a savage is not a transformed human?"

"That’s my conclusion, Mark. But I can’t be sure. Maybe, there is some power out there that can turn a normal human into... this."

A faceless, masked creature. The savages. All of them looked alike and smelled alike. Why? They even felt alike.

"Why are you so interested in their heart then?"

"Oh, that’s because it seems like the most important organ in them. Even though you can’t see nerves, my scalpel did come across them. And guess what? All the nerves in the silver heart of this creature stretched across even its brain and the masked face itself is grown out of the heart’s nerves. It’s a complicated, in fact, convoluted system."

Mark squatted down and touched the mask of the savage. It felt ceramic to the touch.

"What do you think?" Yuri asked.

"The weird heart could be the source of their Savage Magic. But we need more information, and we do have a source." He stood up and walked towards another body that laid beside the savage corpses.

It was unconscious. Mark woke him up with a small slap on the face. "You can stop acting unconscious," he said.

The creature’s dark eyes snapped open—it looked like the only human part of them. Two sets of eyes with eyelashes right on the tribal mask.

Yuri squinted. "This guy was awake, I didn’t know at all."

"He is slow and just has a Defensive ability, he could do nothing to you."

The Defender stared at Mark, face an emotionless mask.

"Tell me about yourself, Defender. What is your name?"

The man was silent.

"Oh, you are shy? Tell me about the savages in general then."

The man was silent.

Heart Input!

Mark appeared inside the man’s mind. It was a chaotic land filled with thoughts and values. The man valued his tribe, and that was about what Mark could read from the chaos.

He whispered into the man’s mind a new thought, "I can tell the demon before me non-sensitive information to keep him calm."

The man opened his mouth. The mask split open in the mouth area and Mark whistled in amusement, so they do have mouths. They didn’t open it when they were battling him, so they can speak even without opening their mouths.

"Why are you in this world, demon, what is your goal?"

"So you can speak." Mark’s golden eyes shimmered. "My goal is simple, I want to grow stronger in this world and go back to my own. I have a battle royale waiting for me, you see?"

"Why are you different from other demons we have come across?"

"Oh, you mean why I am intelligent?" Mark said. "That’s because I am different. Well, coin me as the strongest Middle Demon you have ever come across."

The Defender squinted. "What do you mean you want to grow stronger? What are you going to do exactly?"

"I answered one of your questions, Defender. Answer mine now, I have no use for one who doesn’t answer."

Heart Input.

"Answer."

"So, what are the savages like?" he asked.

"We are a tribe of protectors for the land. We destroy Demon Caves and keep them from conquering our world."

So they conquer dungeons. But that was unimportant.

Mark felt impatience running up his spine.

"Whatever," he said. "Let me see if I can break you easier."

The savage froze, not knowing what was about to happen.

Heart Input!

"Tell the demon everything you know about savages."

Why would I do that? The savage blinked for a moment but didn’t do anything else. This demon is intimidating but even if I die, or even get tortured, I will not reveal my tribe’s secrets. I didn’t expect myself to be such a coward in the face of death.

Mark smiled.

Heart Input!

"Obey the demon."

Heart Input!

"Obey the demon."

Heart Input!

"Obey the demon." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

He used the same Heart Input repeatedly for nearly a hundred times before the savage’s eyes grew completely blank. Mark blinked.

"Tell me about savages," he said.

The savage didn’t do anything.

Heart Input!

"Tell the demon everything you know about savages."

The blank savage began speaking, "Savages are the mightiest species in this world. We protect the land from demons and are the heroes that no other lifeform deserves to have. We live in cities, and as a Silver Savage, it is my duty to patrol around the city to see if any new Demon Caves have popped up."

Mark stared in interest. He had filled the man’s thoughts to the brim with his own inputs and the man had broken completely. Now, he completely listened to all Heart Inputs!

"How are savages born?"

"Golden Savages are born naturally from a female and male savage having intercourse. If they are not born as Golden Savages, they can never become Golden Savages. As for Silver and Bronze Savages, we are born when a Golden Savage shares their Heart Blood with human kids, their Heart Blood transforms us."

Mark contemplated those words for a long time.