Turning Chapter 904

Chapter 904

He was confined in a solitary cell, looking emaciated.

Despite being shackled with heavy knight's leg irons on both his hands and feet, and having three of Alik's Awakener suppression devices around his neck, the man's gaze remained undimmed. Upon seeing Yuder, he immediately spoke.

"Your face looks quite battered. It's surprising that a monster like you could come back from death. It's a shame I couldn't see it myself."

No one had informed him of the events outside, yet he spoke as if he knew something. This indicated that not even the shackles and restraints could completely block his senses.

‘It can't be helped. Even I, before my death, was confined for a long time, but being in a half-dead state didn't mean I was completely ignorant of the outside world.’

If one was quick-witted and could think on their feet, deducing various events from minimal clues wasn't difficult. It was slightly easier to act as if one knew something significant, even without knowing the whole truth. Yuder had often used this tactic to extract information from his interrogators when he was a prisoner.

It was unclear how much Aton had guessed about the outside affairs. Though he was certainly skilled in speaking, Yuder, having already experienced similar situations as a former prisoner, had no intention of falling for it.

"You're not in any position to comment on someone else's appearance."

Yuder's cold retort caused Aton to twitch his eyebrows and faintly curl one corner of his lips.

"I may be in this place now, but I've never been told I have an unsightly appearance. Even Duke Tain greatly admired my face and trusted me immensely."

"I haven't thought anyone to be particularly handsome except for the Commander, so your pride in Duke Tain's compliments doesn't quite resonate with me, but I'll respect it."

A brief silence fell before Aton let out a disbelieving chuckle.

"...Indeed, you're even more handsome than what Duke Pelleta, the Cavalry Commander, described. Though his tongue is like that of a devil. Why hasn't he come here? Is he perhaps in a worse state than you?"

People who have been defeated always seem to demonize their opponents, as if they've agreed upon this somewhere. It seemed no different for someone from the southern countries.

Yuder looked impassively into Aton's eyes, which seemed to expect him to get angry, and replied.

"There's no need to elaborate that you couldn't win a verbal fight against the Commander. Probably no one in the entire continent could best him in that regard."

Yuder, looking as if he had struck a nerve, sat relaxed in front of Aton and drew in his chin.

"Let's end this pointless talk. I'm getting tired of hearing you think. We're hardly acquaintances to exchange pleasantries, so let's get to the main point."

Yuder placed his hand on the table dividing them. His fingers, wrapped in black gloves, rhythmically tapped on the table, producing a sound.

His hand, not particularly gigantic or muscular compared to an ordinary person, was somehow more intimidating and nerve-wracking.

Aton knew very well what Yuder could do with that hand. It was a hand that reminded him of his humiliating defeat.

"What do you lot want?"

His flat, subdued voice resonated ominously in the cramped room.

“The actions you and your cohorts have undertaken so far are numerous, even considering only what I have managed to discern. Coveting the Red Stone, attempting assassinations, recruiting spies throughout the empire, and even implanting agents like yourself in various social strata to stir up unrest. Now, you've escalated to destabilizing the balance of an entire region. It's likely there's even more I haven't uncovered yet."

"..."

"Such extensive operations couldn't have been executed in a short period. Surely, you've been preparing for at least several years, if not decades. Isn't that so?"

"..."

"At first, I suspected your aim was to provoke a war. However, the actions of your group in the south have been excessively beyond any logical reasoning. What could you possibly gain from such surreal machinations? Are you seeking the downfall of the empire?"

Aton's lips, dry and cracked, curled into a smile as he softly traced a curve in the air.

"You sound similar to your Commander. Indeed... it's both surprising and impressive. I regret not realizing sooner that the empire had such astute individuals."

"..."

"However, I see no reason to answer that."

As expected, Yuder wasn't taken aback by this response and continued his relentless interrogation, constantly changing his tactics and shaking Aton for information. Yet, Aton remained unyieldingly resolute.

Yuder prided himself on his tenacity, but Aton proved to be a formidably stubborn adversary. While wielding a sword, Aton had been overconfident, making him easier to exploit. But in this interrogation, he was like a different person, maintaining an unbreakable calm and showing almost no reaction, making it difficult for Yuder to rattle him. Among those Yuder had interrogated, few had been as tough as Aton.

Even the Cavalry members waiting outside grew weary and astounded at the length of the interrogation, yet Yuder concluded it with little significant information gained.

Disappointed, but not disheartened, Yuder mused, ‘Had it been so easy to extract information from him, the Commander and Kanna would have already achieved meaningful results when they interrogated him earlier.’

Kishiar had already tasked Kanna with analyzing Aton's belongings and fragments of his clothing to gather information. However, the insights Kanna gleaned were no more than what they already knew or had speculated.

‘Aton... he seems like someone trained to anticipate such situations. He never reveals his intentions or thoughts, making it nearly impossible to read him.’

While Kanna's ability often felt like mind-reading, it wasn't. She read existing 'facts' and based her conjectures on these to understand underlying motives.

Even the most dangerous and quiet individuals tend to loosen their mental shackles when alone or reveal subtle emotional cues through their body language during interrogation. These minute details, imperceptible to the five senses, could be vividly reconstructed in Kanna's mind. However, Aton was an exception, leaving Kanna with much less to work with than usual.

‘Perhaps they have someone with abilities similar to Kanna's on their side.’

In his previous life, Yuder had never heard of such a thing, but then again, nothing was certain. After all, Kanna's existence had also been unknown until recently.

Nonetheless, Yuder believed there was still a way to interrogate Aton. If he could just invoke Gloe's 'Card of Truth', it might provide the lead they needed.

Observing Yuder's confident expression, Gloe remained silent for a while, seemingly unable to comprehend. To her, Yuder must have seemed like an enigma. However, she quickly reached a decision. Opening her tightly sealed lips, she slowly expressed her agreement.

"I don't understand how you plan to do this... but if you, as the Commander's assistant, are so certain, then alright. I'll give it a try.......”

"Good. Even if it fails, the blame is mine, not yours, Gloe. You needn't worry.”

"When do we start? Is it right now?”

"You must be tired now. Rest first, and we'll test your power this evening. The actual task will begin tomorrow night.”

"Is it just you and me going?”

"No. One more person will join us.”

Gloe's gaze naturally drifted towards Kishiar, standing in the distance. The man, who seemed to embody a giant vase, smiled like a flower as he shook his head.

"Um, no. I'll just be observing from outside.”

Gloe appeared curious about who else would be joining them but chose not to ask further, simply nodding her head. It wasn't a bad choice, considering she would find out the next day anyway.