Elemental Cats

Eventually, before Toz or Yill could do something drastic, Dyra, who had been too stunned to react, opened her mouth.

"Granny, take a step back, please."

Dyra looked a little conflicted as she spoke, and Yill could see that, so she unwillingly followed Dyra's request after letting out a reluctant sigh.

"That's right. If you want me to listen to you, you need to do at least this much."

Since Yill was a transcendent, trying to negotiate with them would immediately put Toz at a disadvantage. If Dyra or Yill were dissatisfied with something, they could just do what they wanted and put a slave collar on Toz.

But if Toz had Dyra as a hostage, they would have to reach an agreement both parties could agree to before moving on. Otherwise, both parties would only suffer. Dyra seemed to have realized this as she willingly let herself become Toz's hostage.

Toz changed his position so that he stood behind Dyra, with her between him and Yill, before he started conveying his demands.

"Where are my cats? And where is Brunswick?"

"In a few different cellblocks in this prison."

Dyra answered Toz's question before she continued.

"I can use a token to call a servant and bring them here if you want."

"If you're prepared to die if you lie, I can't really say no. I will cut off a limb or two as soon as I suspect something. And if you call reinforcements, I am taking you down with me."

Toz could hear Dyra gulp in response to his threats, but she stayed calm, and her voice didn't even tremble as she gave her assent. Dyra slowly pulled out a wooden token from a spatial bracelet. The token was marked with a cube in the corner and had the words 'Overseer' written on it. It seemed like a token given to an overseer of the prison. Considering Dyra's supposed status, Toz didn't think it weird for her to have such a token, but he was still ready to react.

After Toz nodded, Dyra injected some mana into the token. The enchantments on it glowed slightly. Toz used his mana vision to see that the token was indeed a communication token and that Dyra had sent a message. However, he couldn't tell what the message was, so he didn't relax just yet.

Toz met Yill's hatred-filled gaze before he turned back to Dyra.

"While we wait, how about you tell me what I want to know?"

"Alright. I might not be able to tell you some things, but ask away."

It seemed like having her life threatened made Dyra quite cooperative. Toz was a little suspicious, but it wasn't enough for him to cut off a finger, so he only maintained his vigilance.

"First off, what is this place?"

"It is a prison."

"You don't say. Where the fuck is it, and why am I and the others here?"

Toz lashing out in irritation at Dyra's basic answer seemed to have intimidated her slightly, and she rushed to give a better explanation.

"It's a prison for political hostages, and it's located not far away from the high level battlefield. You and the others are here to become more compliant and willing to participate in the war."

Dyra's explanation seemed like it had revealed a lot, but it only made Toz more confused. Toz stopped his face from showing his confusion, but his mouth moved before he could do anything about it.

"Why is there a prison for political hostages right next to a realm war?"

"Well… It's for political hostages from the war."

Dyra answered Toz's question as if it was obvious, to which he could only sigh.

"Miss, did you forget that you're talking to a country bumpkin?"

Dyra looked a little confused before she looked at Toz in surprise.

"Right! I did forget about that. It seems I'll have to take it from the beginning, then."

Toz's eyebrow twitched a little.

"Keep it short."

Dyra noticed that Toz had gotten even more irritated, so she explained as best as she could while still not drawing it out.

"Ahem. What you call a 'realm war' is, in reality, a proxy war between the Obsidian Empire and the Tribe of Death. Instead of those transcendent factions waging war, the Dragonglass Mortal Realm's factions fight on their behalf."

Toz was reeling at the shock of Dyra's revelation, and he did his best not to let it show on his face. But he had limited success. However, his mouth didn't stop, and he reflexively asked what was on his mind.

"And the political hostages?"

"Descendants, disciples, or members of different transcendent factions fighting in the proxy war in order to gain experience, make achievements, or because they're hired to increase one side's chance of winning. They're taken as hostages instead of being killed in order not to incur the wrath of those factions, but they are usually worth a pretty ransom, so it works out well for everyone."

"Okay, I think I'm catching up. But why the fuck am I here. I'm not part of any transcendent faction. Why should I take part in this stupid proxy war?"

"You should have guessed it already, but I am part of the Obsidian imperial family. I was sent here as punishment, but it's also a way for me to make contributions. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to participate in the battle directly since I am part of one of the opposing factions. If the Tribe of Death captures me, they're practically guaranteed victory."

"What's that got to do with me?"

"Well… I can get contribution by recruiting strong combatants to fight in my place. And honestly, you're one of the strongest people I have seen below the transcendent level."

"So your plan was to kidnap me, put me in prison to soften my attitude, make me fight in the war, and if that didn't work, put a slave collar on me? And do the same with my cats and friend?"