'....I killed him.'

Staring at the officer's body, I massaged my wrists. They were hurting slightly.

In all honesty, I didn't have to kill him. Simply knocking him out would have done the trick, but I didn't want to risk it.

In the chance that he woke up earlier than I anticipated, he'd ruin my plans.

Well, at least, if he wasn't still broken then.

But I doubted he was. While I had indeed managed to manipulate him using his past, and Emotive Magic, it wasn't to the point where I completely ruined him.

....I was still not there yet.

But I was following the right path. Of that, I was sure.

I was confident in being able to break someone with just words in the future. I just needed to grow more familiar with these strange powers of mine.

"Haa."

Looking around, I took a deep breath and removed my clothes, replacing mine with his.

I was quick with it and in a few minutes, I was wearing the same clothes he had been. Taking his hat, I placed it over my head and lowered it.

"Not really a good way to hide my face, but it'll do."

The current situation was eerie.

For some reason, it felt as though I was being targeted.

No, I probably was.

But who? Who was targeting me...?

That was the problem. Besides Leon and the others, I couldn't really trust anyone else. Especially not the Post Leaders.

What if they were in cahoots?

The fact that I was tortured right after mentioning the Tree of Ebonthorn was suspicious in itself.

"I need to get out of here."

That was the only option I had left.

The bunker was not safe.

Escaping would've been problematic before, but I now had Javier's memories.

I more or less understood the inner structure of the bunker.

There were two exits to the bunker. One was at the very entrance where I had come from, and the other was in the inner area. It became fully clear to me that I could no longer stay here. I needed to get out of the bunker.

Turning around, I stared at the reddened world outside of the window.

".....This is going to be difficult."

The Crimson Shade was still gripping the outside world. The moment I exited the building, I'd have at best a few hours before running out of mana.

However, I needed to go out.

'I need to reach the library of the Guilds.'

I knew that the information that I needed was going to be there.

It was vital information that I needed. Since whoever was responsible for this was trying to stop me from finding anything about the tree, I figured I'd be able to solve the situation if I understood the reasoning why I was being stopped from finding out about the tree.

The only problem was figuring out who to give the information to.

"Huuu."

I took a deep breath.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to think about that for now.

Perhaps later when I found the information.

Right now, I needed to deal with something else.

To Tok

Someone knocked on the door.

"Javier? Javier? Did you find anything?"

It was a greasy tone.

Whoever it was, they didn't strike me as pleasant. In fact, I already had an idea of the identity of the one behind the voice.

I had seen it in the memories.

"Javier?"

Seeing him call for the captain again, I cleared my throat before murmuring.

"Come."

It was just one word.

However, it was all that I could afford to say in the given moment.

My voice and Javier's voice were too different. It'd be easy for anyone to recognize it if they paid close attention.

"....."

I stood there in silence, my heart gripping at my chest.

Did he figure it out? ....Is he going to call backup?

The silence felt eternal, and my body tensed.

Clank

The door soon opened, and his voice echoed quietly from behind.

"Judging from the silence, it looks like you're done."

A round man with receding hair entered the room. Having already moved Javier's body, he didn't notice anything amiss as I stood by the end of the door.

"That's good. Post Leader will certainly be hap"

I pressed my finger against the back of his head, and he froze on the spot.

He tried to scream, but I placed my hand over his mouth.

"Mhh! Mhm!"

Clank

I then kicked the door shut.

"Mhh! Mhm!"

The man's face was white as he looked at me. He was clearly stricken with panic. It was a completely different sight from the ones in my memories.

.....It was good that he was also not very strong.

About the same Tier as me.

Clenching my hand, threads emerged from everywhere, grasping onto his arms, and legs.

"Mh!"

Hanging suspended mid-air, I looked at him wordlessly.

He was still screaming and shouting, but he could hardly make any noise with his mouth covered.

Tak.

Calmly walking, I reached out for his pockets and took whatever he had in them.

From keys to money, and anything in general.

Then, placing my hand over his head, I activated the second clover ability.

"Huuuu."

Absorbing his memories, I leaned my head back.

From him, I got an even better idea of how the inner system of the bunker worked. But not only that.

"Black Hound Guild."

.....So they were the ones that were responsible for this.

Finally, I had gotten a lead and a destination.

I had previously been planning on going to the library of the Order of the Silver Seraphs. However, things were now different.

"I shouldn't waste any more time."

Looking around, I met the eyes of the secretary. He looked to be pleading with me. From the way he was moving, and the tears streaming down the corner of his eyes, he looked scared.

Staring at him, I eventually nodded.

"Sure."

And clenched my hand.

Pftt!

He died in an instant.

It was unfortunate, but I couldn't afford to keep him alive.

Especially not him.

"Huu."

Taking a deep breath, I lowered the hat to hide my face properly and opened the door.

Clank

What greeted me upon exiting was a long and narrow corridor that separated from left to right side. The corridors were dimly lit with a few doors on the sides, and in the distance, I could hear the faint sound of footsteps.

Knowing where I needed to go, I headed for the left side.

Clank

Of course, I made sure to close the door behind me.

"Ten minutes."

I quietly murmured to myself while walking along the corridor.

That was how much time I had at my disposal before they would find the corpses.

The corridors were further divided into many separate ones the deeper I went. If I had not read the memories of the secretary and Javier, I would've thought of this place as a maze.

It was good that I did read them.

"How long do we have to stay here?"

"....I'm not sure. Until the Crimson Shade lasts. Last I heard, it usually lasts a few days to a week. We'll be here for a week."

"Ugh, that's long."

"What can you do about it?"

In the distance, I could hear the faint sound of a conversation. My heart clenched, and my steps paused.

It was coming from another corridor, and they were headed my way.

I looked around me.

There were several doors in front of me. Hastily reaching out for my pocket, I took out a set of keys that contained over thirty keys and hastily made a move for one of the doors.

"Oh, yeah. What are we having for dinner?"

"From what I know, it's nothing special. Meatloaf, and some potatoes."

"That's not bad."

The voices grew nearer and nearer.

In the meantime, I slotted each one of the keys into the sockets.

'No, not this one.'

'Not this one too.'

'.....This one isn't it either.'

A tingling dread crept through my body as I slotted one key after another.

I couldn't afford to be caught.

....The moment I was caught, my plans would fall entirely and the Post Leaders would move.I couldn't afford to let that happen.

'No, not this one.'

I continued to try each key.

"Still, I'd rather cook for myself. My wife makes some amazing dishes. Once we get out of here, I'll make sure to invite you."

"For someone who brags a lot about his wife, I'm starting to grow really curious about her cooking."

"Hehehe."

The voices drew nearer.

It was only a matter of time before they spotted me.

I felt my breath caught in my throat as my chest tingled, and my hand felt light. I slotted each key into the hole, sometimes slipping due to the rush of the situation.

'Fuck.'

My hands trembled slightly.

It made it even harder for me to slot the keys, but I had no choice.

I didn't know how strong the guards were, but they were certainly stronger than the secretary. There was a chance I might be able to fight them, but how long was that going to take?

By the time I defeated them, I'd be caught again.

....And if before I seemed suspicious, I'd now look like the culprit.

"Haa... Haa..."

Unknowingly, my breath grew heavy.

Anxiety started to gawn at me.

'Not this one either...'

'This one... No.'

'Again.'

I'd look back from time to time. A deep sense of urgency rested in my chest as sweat accumulated on the side of my face.

'This...'

"Oh, right. Did you hear about what happened with Jacob last night?"

"No, what happened?"

The voices were now extremely close.

My pulse raced, and my insides tightened.

I took a hot, and impatient breath.

"Haa... Haaa..."

I continued to insert one key after another.

The keys rattled with each attempt, and the voices drew near. My toes started to tingle, and I was no longer breathing.

I felt suffocated.

"You don't know? Everyone was talking about it."

"Is that so?"

I could now hear the sound of their footsteps.

'Oh, no.'

Just when I thought I was going to fail, one of the keys finally entered and I turned the key.

Click

My eyes lit up at the sight.

"....Yes."

Hastily opening the door, I was about to get in when I suddenly stopped.

Squench. Squench.

"No,no,no,no,no,no..."

Hearing the familiar sound, fear prickled the base of my spine. Looking down, roots covered the entirety of my body, stopping all the way up to my chest, squeezing me tightly.

"No, why now... no, no...!"

My face shook.

And then,

"Who's there!?"

"Who is that!?"

The guards spotted me.

Turning my head, I was suddenly overcome with despair.