"Wait... are you from the ancient magic civilization?"
Blurting out this question, Riezel's eyes on the priestess instantly changed.
Someone from the ancient magic civilization!
At this moment, if a third party had been listening to what Riezel said, they would probably have been completely stunned.
It was only natural.
One should know that the ancient magic civilization had already been wiped out 11,000 years ago. If the priestess before him was from the ancient magic civilization, wouldn't that mean she had been alive for over 11,000 years?
If that were true, it would be shocking!
On the Akasha Continent, even the dragons, known for their long lifespans, didn't have a single one that had lived for over ten thousand years.
It was said that the longest-living dragon today had been alive for about 4,400 years, which was nearly the entire time the modern magic civilization had existed and developed.
At the very least, that was the history of modern magic—the history of modern humanity went back another thousand years or so.
Given that, if this priestess had really survived from the ancient magic civilization to the present day, then there was no doubt she had lived far longer than any dragon—an utterly astonishing existence.
Anyone else wouldn't even consider such a possibility, but Riezel dared to make such a bold guess and didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
Eternal life—maybe it was something unimaginable to others in this world, but Riezel didn't see it that way. Not to mention, within Tier Magic, there were indeed some heaven-defying magic spells capable of granting eternal life.
In the world of Overlord, there were even a few humans who had achieved eternal life through magic.
For example, Rigrit, who was friendly with the Platinum Dragon Lord, had once fought alongside Evileye against the Demon Gods, had joined the Thirteen Heroes, had even asked Blue Roses to investigate Riezel, had been alive for at least two hundred years, and still hadn't passed away.
Similarly, in the Baharuth Empire, there was a great magic caster who had performed an incomplete ritual, managing to survive for several centuries. He was also the only human who could use 6th-Tier Magic, an outlier like Rigrit who had surpassed the Realm of Heroes.
Naturally, there were those with more questionable morals—some used the darker branches of Tier Magic to extend their lives by stealing life force from others, while others outright transformed into undead to escape humanity's short hundred-year lifespan.
Among the over a thousand magic spells Riezel had learned from the world of Overlord, there were many of this kind, so as long as he was willing, met the necessary conditions, or paid the required price, he could achieve eternal life.
Nonetheless, the simplest and safest way was to use the very first Super-Tier Magic Riezel had learned from Ainz—Wish Upon a Star. As long as he consumed enough excelia and was willing to pay the price of losing levels, he could use this Super-Tier Magic to wish for eternal life.
With such means at his disposal, and considering he wasn't exactly a native of the Akasha Continent, Riezel naturally dared to entertain the bold idea that the priestess had survived from the ancient magic civilization.
However, just as Riezel was thinking this, the priestess, upon hearing his question, suddenly froze for a moment before speaking blankly.
"Ancient magic civilization? What's that?"
"Huh? You don't know?" Riezel was momentarily stunned. "Aren't you the one who's been guarding this city all along? Or did you inherit this duty from someone else?"
"I..."
At first, the priestess started to say something, but then, as if realizing something, she suddenly snapped out of it, glaring at Riezel.
"Why the hell should I tell you?!"
Hearing this, Riezel frowned for a moment before his eyes suddenly flickered red as he stared at the priestess.
"Charm Species."
Riezel cast a mind-control magic without hesitation, but unfortunately, not only was the priestess unaffected, but she even scoffed at him.
"Using mental magic on me? Useless!"
Evidently, the priestess wasn't affected at all.
Riezel's frown deepened before suddenly reaching out and pressing his hand against the priestess's head.
"Control Amnesia."
Riezel switched to memory manipulation magic this time, intending to search through the priestess's memories, but as soon as the magic activated, he realized he couldn't enter her memory domain at all.
"It's useless."
Looking at Riezel, the priestess sneered like she was watching a joke.
"Maybe before, but not anymore. Right now, any mental magic can't affect me."
As the priestess spoke, her tone sounded less like she was mocking Riezel and more like she was mocking herself.
Ignoring the priestess's words, Riezel cast several mental magic spells on her one after another, but just as she said, none of them worked.
'Seriously, this kinda feels like the undead's mental immunity.'
Riezel withdrew his hand, falling into thought.
Because the undead race had no life and no normal mind, mental-based powers were completely ineffective on them. If someone wanted to mind-control an undead, they would need something like the World Item used on Shalltear, which could even rewrite the laws of the world.
Riezel did have items on that level, like the Caloric Stone that Ainz had given him as compensation or Divine Meloe, which was even above divine-class items in power, but regrettably, neither of them had any ability to control minds and the like, so they would be useless.
"Looks like there's really no way to force you to cooperate, huh..." Riezel said indifferently. "In that case, it would not be the easy way then."
Hearing Riezel's cold tone, the priestess suddenly felt a bad premonition rising in her heart.
"Wh-What do you want to do?"
With a tense body, the priestess couldn't help but ask.
"What do I want to do?" Riezel smiled faintly. "I just wanna ask you a few questions, but since you're being so uncooperative, I guess I'll have to use some... less respectable methods."
Apparently, the priestess misunderstood Riezel's words, as her expression twisted behind her mask.
However, after a brief silence, she let out a mocking laugh.
"Heh, do whatever you want. In any case, this body isn't normal anymore. If you're into it, go ahead and have your fun."
Hearing this, Riezel nodded expressionlessly.
"Since you're saying that, I won't hold back then."
Not wasting time, Riezel immediately cast summoning magic right in front of the priestess.
"Summon Monster 1st."
As Riezel chanted, a magic circle appeared in front of the priestess, and just as she started feeling confused, the next moment, something crawled out of the magic circle.
As soon as she saw what it was, she nearly screamed on the spot.
*Chirp!* *Chirp!* *Chirp!* *Chirp!*
Amidst the sharp cries, rats the size of small dogs crawled out of the magic circle one after another. All of them had red eyes, their teeth were sharp and thin, and drool dripped from the corners of their mouths. Just one look was enough to tell they weren't ordinary rats, and they definitely weren't herbivores.
Riezel's voice soon echoed faintly.
"They're monsters called Man-Eating Rats. While their strength is low, from their name, you should already have an idea of what their main food source is."
Hearing Riezel's eerie voice, as if it had come straight from the depths of hell, the ominous premonition that had just surfaced in the priestess's heart turned into a faint sense of unease and fear.
"Wh-What do you intend to do?!"
Glaring at Riezel, the priestess shouted, trying to sound forceful, but it was obvious she was just trying to steel her nerves.
Sadly for her, the man standing before her wasn't the type to feel pity for a stranger.
"I'll give you one last chance..." Riezel's voice remained just as eerie as before. "Do you wanna answer my question? Or would you rather get up close and personal with these cute little rats?"
At this, the priestess's lips trembled beneath her mask.
*Chirp!* *Chirp!* *Chirp!* *Chirp!*
Right on cue, the horde of rats let out another chorus of cries, making the priestess instinctively want to cover her ears.
She wasn't some coward who feared being eaten by monsters—that was a fate too gruesome for most people, but not something she was afraid of. However, any woman would feel a natural disgust and fear toward these nasty creatures.
Seeing the priestess's tension, Riezel applied more pressure.
"You should be grateful that I hate cockroaches, otherwise..."
Riezel left the rest unsaid since the priestess understood perfectly well what he meant.
"Y-You're a demon! Only a filthy enemy of God would do something this evil!"
At the priestess's accusation, Riezel acted like he didn't hear it at all.
"I just wanna ask a few questions. If you're not even willing to cooperate with that, then you really can't blame me, can you?"
Riezel spoke as if it didn't matter to him either way, but what the priestess said next made him take notice.
"I'm not going to trust outsiders like you again! I was already tricked by your kind once, I won't let it happen again!"
Hearing this, Riezel's brows furrowed again.
"...Someone other than us tricked you before?" Riezel asked seriously.
"That's right! I was willing to welcome them, listen to their requests, and even let them visit this city and the temple, but I never thought they would actually do something like that!"
"I'll never trust you outsiders again! If you still have even a shred of human conscience, then just get it over with and give me a quick death! Or else, even if I return to the Great God's side, I'll curse you for eternity!"
Hearing the priestess's furious words, Riezel fell silent on the spot.
*Chirp!* *Chirp!* *Chirp!* *Chirp!*
At the same time, the Man-Eating Rats kept crying out, itching to pounce, as if they couldn't wait to dig in, making the priestess stare at them in fear, hoping Riezel would just end things quickly.
A long silence passed before Riezel finally let out a helpless sigh.