Erik made his way to the makeshift interrogation area, a hastily cleared section of a building inside the Law Gate's eastern area. It wasn't much, but it still was sothing more than
nothing.
Hundreds of Chimaeric Demons stood guard over twenty prisoners, all of them with high enough rank, judging by their uniforms. The captives sat bound in a line against the wall, their faces showing mostly fear, but so defiance.
When Erik first entered the scene, no one was scared of him. Every single ti he captured a blackguard for interrogation, they never showed a hint of fear. They showed only insolence, arrogance, and pride.
Yet with all Erik did in the past year, now his na, his face, turned into the very source of fear that the blackguards lacked for years.
Erik Romano had shown these people exactly what he was capable of through his actions, not words. He didn't need to make threats or put on a show of strength. Instead, he proved his power by following through on what he said he would do.
His actions changed the way they saw him. They realized that true power cos from getting things done, not from trying to look intimidating. Yet he proved to them what fear really was.
Without their masks, the blackguards were powerful but regular people-just n and won who had made choices and whose position turned them into monsters.
Their bare faces showed they were still human, displaying fear, worry, and other emotions like anyone else.
Erik reminded them they were just humans.
"Report," Erik said as he strode into the room. The air inside slled of copper and smoke- remnants of the battle that had raged hours ago.
A Chimaeric Demon stepped forward. "Master, we started the interrogations, but the prisoners kept silent. Your presence might persuade them to reconsider."
Erik ran his fingers through his hair, still damp with sweat from the earlier fight. Around him, his clones were busy sorting through the captured docunts and equipnt. "What ranks are we dealing with?"
"Mostly mid-level commanders," the clone said, pointing to a stack of uniforms piled in the corner. "We captured them before they could execute their superiors' suicide protocols. Among them are two logistics officers we caught trying to destroy so docunts. We salvaged what we could from the papers they burned."
Erik nodded. "Did they try to resist?"
"Of course they did, Master. No one lets others willingly imprison them."
"No, I an, after you got them."
"Ah. Yes. So tried using their brain crystal powers," the clone said. "We subdued them quickly, and after we showed them it would have been futile to try to escape, they stopped." A second Chimaeric Demon stepped forward. "Master, these guys might know about Mur's situation. We might be able to have a general idea of their plans, or at least where to find their last division commander if we read their minds."
Erik paused. "Yeah, this is exactly the reason I am here. I'll start the interrogations as soon as they are ready. Prepare a room. I don't want to waste more ti than we already did."
"Yes, Master."
The Chimaeric Demons nodded.
"And bring their personal effects-insignias, docunts, anything that might show their level of access to sensitive information," Erik said. "I want to know exactly what we're dealing with before I start probing their minds."
The Chimaeric Demons didn't waste ti and started doing their job.
"Master, should we separate them for individual interrogations, or would you prefer to question them as a group?"
Erik quickly thought about it. "Individual sessions," he said. "This way, we can keep control of the situation and get the information we need. Get the highest-ranking officer ready."
After giving his orders, Erik found himself alone. He walked to a dirty window and watched the sun going down.
They were running out of ti, but he knew he couldn't hurry. Then soone knocked on the door. "The first prisoner is ready, Master."
Erik turned away from the window. "Good. Let's begin."
...
...
...
Erik spent hours interrogating the prisoners one by one. He asked seemingly innocent questions while using his Instability brain crystal power to read their thoughts.
The problem was that while these blackguards had once been well-inford about operations in Mur, recent months had seen them cut off from such intelligence.
Apparently, it was Bill's idea-the second division commander. The blackguards knew Erik would attack the Law Gate, and if they failed to protect it, he would inevitably interrogate
soone.
The less they knew, the better it would be for the organization.
"Tell about your communication with the first division," Erik said to one of the logistics officers, watching the man's thoughts flicker in response.
The officer's mind wasn't hard to crack, especially because of how scared he was, and that ant he had trouble controlling his thoughts. Not that he knew Erik could read his mind. Before the two divisions cut contact with each other, supply routes changed, communication channels got severed, and any news about Mur beca more vague.
Yet pieces slipped through. In the months before communications were cut, the blackguards processed many reports about increased activity in the Lorogia region. The first division had concentrated their forces there, apparently at least, searching for sothing. The problem was that they didn't know what.
Erik pieced together these fragnts, building a picture of the blackguards' activities on Mur. The first division's search seed important to their plans, enough to risk concentrating forces in one of the most dangerous regions of that hostile continent.
Erik had never visited Mur, even less in the Lorogia region, and neither had Becker and his soldiers. Only Erik's father, Lucius, had been there. Still, from reading the blackguards' docunts, Erik understood just how dangerous the area was.
[Most likely, but I can't tell if they are in the right place. I was sleeping when your father took from there, so I don't know where he found .]
[Did he say sothing about it?]
[This ans that, for all we know, the place where I was made could still be standing.] Lucius said that he found the biological supercomputer in the Lorogia Region. The problem was that he also said he went to the place after having learned about it from the blackguards. That ant they knew where the Biological Supercomputer was.
[If they are still searching, it ans they found nothing where I was kept.]
[I wouldn't expect less. Your father already understood the blackguards went on Mur to find that specific lab, aning he would have been a fool if he didn't destroy the place.]
[Yeah.]
Then Erik paused. There was sothing he couldn't understand about all of this.
The system paused for a little. [There are two reasons. The first is that I'm not stupid. More biological supercomputers, especially in the hands of the blackguards, would just bring the world's destruction, and as much as I'm here, I'm bound to live here too.]
[And that is also the second reason. Whoever made made sure that I wouldn't be the only one around. Even if I do nothing, more of us will be born, so day.]
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