Squench. Squench.

....The sound was one that I was now starting to get used to. I took a sharp breath in, trying my best to calm the increasing anxiety.

Alongside the sound were the roots that would sprout from beneath the ground, slowly crawling up from the ground and tangling my feet and body.

At the start, they had only covered my ankles.

That was at the start.

"Haa..."

They now covered my body all the way up to the chest.

I felt my chest squeeze at the sight of the roots.

When...

Just when were they going to stop haunting me?

But if that wasn't bad enough,

"Who are you? What are you doing?"

I was now stuck in the middle of the hall with my back turned. With my head turned to face their direction, I made sure to keep my hat lowered to keep my face hidden.

"....What ridiculous question is this?"

I hoarsely said, trying my best to keep my tone calm.

The two guards appeared to both be around Tier 3. They were stronger than me. In a fair fight, the likelihood of me losing to just one of them was high.

Two...?

That was nearly impossible.

Of course, that was if I excluded Emotive Magic. With it, I'd be able to deal with one fast. However, by then, It'd be unable to deal with the other.

"Pardon?"

"We were just asking. It's protocol."

Though I couldn't see, just from the tone of their voices, I could tell that they were confused.

It made sense considering how I had blatantly dodged the question.

'....I should've taken this into consideration.'

My situation was not good at all.

I understood that.

However, it wasn't hopeless. They had yet to see my face.

Closing my eyes, I immersed myself in my mind and the world turned black. There were several dozen entities residing within my mind. There used to be more, but with time, I slowly started to forget them. There were only a few that actually remained.

They were the ones that I chose to keep.

At this very moment, I was looking for one specific entity.

'There.'

a familiar face appeared in my mind.

Walking forward, I reached out for it and memories coursed through my mind. They were the same memories I had relieved before. However, unlike last time, I made sure to properly analyze the tones, emotions, and habits.

I started to relieve his memories.

The process seemed to last forever. However, I knew all too well that only a few moments had passed.

Opening my eyes, my tone lowered.

".....I've got a job to do. Don't start annoying me."

It wasn't just my tone that changed.

From the way I was breathing, to the way I carried myself. An outline appeared in my mind, and I just followed it.

At this very moment, I was mimicking Javier.

A stern man who was hellbent on following rules and orders.

"This..."

"Sir, if you"

"You two should already be aware of who I am."

Turning to look at the door, I opened the door and took a step in. Just before entering, I placed my hand into my pocket and took out a pair of black gloves which I proceeded to put on.

"Ah...!"

That seemed to do it.

In the exact moment that I took out the gloves, the two guards appeared to have recognized me.

"Sir Javier!"

"....Sir Javier!"

Just as one greeted, so did the other.

"We apologize. Because of your hat, I wasn't able to recognize you."

"I apologize!"

"...."

I didn't say anything and took another step into the room.

Despite my outward composure, my heart was beating out of my chest. Maintaining the facade wasn't hard, but just a slight slip up and I knew I was done for.

"If I may ask, what brings you here sir? This is merely a storage room. From what I understand, you should be undergoing a task."

I stopped in my tracks.

I was just about to answer with a 'mind your own business' when I stopped myself. The real Javier would never do such a thing.

He was someone who disliked dragging things and always stated his business.

".....The cadet isn't budging."

As such, I could only try to make up some bullshit.

"I'm looking for other means to make him talk."

"Ah, that makes sense. But why the storage room?"

"I've asked my assistants to look elsewhere. I'm thinking of using something from here to get the cadet to talk."

".....I see."

Judging from the tone, he appeared confused.

I thought that everything was flowing smoothly, and for a brief moment, my heart calmed down. That was until the guard spoke again.

"If you don't mind, is it okay if I accompany you?"

"...."

I swallowed my saliva and felt the sound of footsteps drawing near me.

They were coming closer and closer before stopping right behind me.

I slowly clenched my hands.

"Sir, I'm sure I'll be able to help you if you allow me. Would that be okay with you?"

"...."

Yet again, I didn't answer.

I focused my attention on my hand.

'Shit.'

Then, taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes.

"How long?"

"Pardon...?"

"...For how long did you know?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not following."

Opening my eyes, I looked behind me and faced the guard directly.

"For how long did you know that I wasn't Javier."

"Ah."

To that, the guard smiled.

"...Since the start. While you act like him, you aren't the same height as him. Your hair is also not the same."

Right, I had thought about this and tried my best to hide the flaws. From the hair, to the way I carried myself.

I thought I had done a pretty good job at that but it was clear I hadn't.

"Did you seriously think I wouldn't notice?"

As he spoke, he was already making his move.

I stood in silence for a short moment before speaking again.

My voice layered.

"If you knew I wasn't Javier, why aren't you scared?"

"Eh...?"

The guard stopped in his tracks, his face turning pale.

I raised my hand and pointed my finger at his forehead. Our eyes met for a short moment before I pulled my finger away.

Thump!

With a low 'thump' the body fell to the ground, a small hole appearing on his forehead as blood pooled out from behind his head.

"Haaa... Haaa... Haaa..."

I started to breathe heavily in the process. While Emotive Magic didn't use much mana, the mental toll it took, alongside my immersion was quite high.

The mental toll was especially intense when dealing with someone who was stronger than me.

"Shit."

Still, this wasn't the end of my problems.

There had been two guards moments prior. Although I had been able to dispatch one, the problem was the fact that the second guard had been missing.

"He must've used the chance to leave and relay to the higher-

ups about the situation."

I clenched my teeth.

The worst-case scenario had occurred.

Soon, the entire bunker was going to come after me. It became abundantly clear to me that I was on the verge of getting caught.

My body tensed all over.

However, strangely enough, I wasn't scared. In fact, my mind started to calm down as I immersed myself in Javier's memories and recalled the map of the inner area of the bunker.

Soon, I had a direction.

Glancing at the body on the ground beside me, I rushed forward.

Time was ticking, and if I lost my chance, I knew it'd be the end of me.

Thinking about the vision, I clenched my teeth.

'Over my dead body.'

....I didn't want to face such a scenario.

***

At the same time.

"Let me get this straight... Did you just say, you'll make sure that you won't break him?"

A certain regal air surrounded Aoife as she sat down on her chair while staring at the post-leader of the Black Hound Guild.

There was a clear difference in strength between her and the rest, and yet, for some strange reason, the aura around Aoife's body appeared to suppress that of those in the room.

'As expected of the Megrail Bloodline.'

Many of the Post Leaders thought to themselves while starting at Aoife.

It was a pity that they could not covet her given that in the future, she was most likely not going to join a Guild.

"Ah, yes. That's what I said."

Offering a smile, the Post Leader of the Black-Hound guild rubbed his hands.

"....Currently, he's the most suspicious person present. I took it upon myself to make sure that we extract all possible information from him. You might never know who might fall next. I hope you won't mind my methods."

'Won't mind...?'

Aoife frowned.

Of course, she minded. he was directly talking about torturing a cadet to get information out of them.

This was clearly something that she didn't look favorably towards.

Perhaps noticing Aoife's displeasure, the Post leader spoke,

"Are you perhaps acquainted with the cadet? Please don't worry. Like I said, I made sure to tell the people in charge to not go too hard. He might suffer a bit, but his mind will rema

"

"Pftt."

His words were abruptly stopped by Aoife who laughed.

Confused, everyone looked at her.

This was especially so for the post-leader of the Black Hound Guild.

"Princess? Is there something funny?"

"....I apologize."

Covering her mouth with her hand, it took a few moments for Aoife to recover.

When she did, she looked at the Post Leader before shaking her head.

"I'm disappointed in you."

"Pardon?"

Aoife turned her head to look at all the Post Leaders present.

"....It looks like none of you here did your research."

"Research? About...?"

Staring at them, Aoife shook her head again.

Given that they were extremely busy with the raids and situations, it made sense that they didn't know. However, it was still disappointing.

Looking at them, or more specifically Karl, the Post Leader of the Black Hound Guild, Aoife leaned back on her chair.

"That guy that you're torturing. He's a maniac who reached a score of 8.23 in the mental examination."

Her words brought silence to the room.

It gripped it in its entirety.

"....I saw it with my own two eyes."

During the mental examinations, Aoife had been there.

She had seen him seated in that chair.

Completely unmoved as the numbers counted. Recalling the moment that his score was revealed, Aoife remembered her mind blank.

It was a score she refused to believe was possible.

And yet,

He had done it.

For that reason, she found the entire situation funny.

Break his mind?

She found that to be laughable.

Aoife looked straight into the Black Hound Post-Leader's eyes. At the same time she did, she found herself unable to hide her smirk.

"Make sure to not break him? It'll be a miracle if you can even get him to say a single word. What a waste of time."

It truly was.

....And following her words, the room once again fell into a complete state of silence.

None of the post-leaders said a word. This was especially true for the post-leader of the Black Hound Guild whose face was red. He looked like someone who had eaten shit.

Just as someone was about to say something, the door of the room burst open.

Clank!

"Emergency report!"

A man rushed into the room. With heavy breaths and a red face, he looked around in panic. Before anyone could say anything, he shouted.

"There's an emergency! We've got an intruder! I believe it to be the cadet who has been put under interrogation! Dressed as Sir Javier, we caught him in one of the corridors as he tried to escape."

"What?!"

"What did you say?"

Immediately, several people stood up.

However, before they could move, Aoife's cold voice echoed.

"Sit down."

Instantly, all eyes turned on her.

A tremendous pressure bore down on Aoife.

'I can only do so much.'

Bearing the pressure, Aoife closed her eyes before opening them up again.

".....Until I say so, nobody is to go out of this room. That's an order."