The secret chamber was enormous, but the shelves holding the Recording Crystals were all pressed against the walls, leaving the middle of the chamber completely empty.
At that moment, a Recording Crystal floated between Norris's tentacles. One piercing scream after another came from the image, repeatedly battering Norris's mind within the empty chamber.
"So that's how it is. Underwater Adaptation actually causes the lungs to change like this!"
In the image, a middle-aged D-Rank man had his limbs half-embedded in a mycelium wall, unable to move. His chest had been cut open, yet healing magic kept him alive.
A Puji took notes while occasionally prodding the man's internal organs. Every touch made his screams even louder.
"I only wanted to teach them a lesson—I never meant to kill them—I've already repented—" Amid the endless torture, the man wept tears of blood as he admitted his mistakes. "Great Ixion—save me—I've reflected on it!"
His repentance seemed to have had an effect, as the surrounding Pujis suddenly stopped their tentacles.
"Hm? What are you talking about?" The Puji paused, seemingly searching through some records elsewhere. "Let me see—Julian Hayes, beat that mother and child to death while collecting a debt—oh, you mean them."
The Puji looked as though it had suddenly understood, then shook its mushroom cap. "Julian, it seems you've misunderstood."
"That was indeed why you came here. But from the moment that D mark appeared on your body, none of that mattered anymore."
"This is Paradise! There is no past, no redemption, and no gods!" It leaned closer. "There's only you and me~"
"So stop repenting already. Why keep bringing up other people's names when we're alone together?"
As if a casual chat during work had ended, the Pujis surrounded the man again under his terrified gaze, completely swallowing him