Chapter 44

"Ugh," Mar groaned, slowly regaining consciousness. Blinking through the haze, he realized darkness surrounded him, and a tight fabric covered his eyes, blindfolding him. Anger flared within him as he snarled, attempting to move his hands to free himself, only to discover that they, too, were securely bound behind him, along with his legs. "What do you four want?" he barked, looking at Xain, Zee, Grace, and the angel.

"How did you know we were here?" Zee asked, her confusion evident. Grace, in response, pointed at her own nose mockingly. "You can smell us, can't you, doggy?" she taunted. Mar bared his teeth at Grace, who merely smirked. "Maybe don't mock the guy we're going to interrogate," Xain suggested, casting a pointed look at Grace. Rolling her eyes, Grace shrugged her shoulders. "Fiiine," she conceded with mild annoyance.

The angel shook his head at Grace before kneeling down in front of Mar. "Oi, you're going to tell me what I want, or I'm going to—" he began, but Mar cut him off mid-sentence. "Kill me? Go ahead, I don't fear death," Mar retorted. The angel, visibly annoyed, exclaimed, "Huh!? If I kill you, you're going straight to hell, you bastard!" Mar remained unfazed. "I'm not religious," he replied matter-of-factly, further irritating the angel. "There's an angel right in front of you! The fuck do you mean you're not religious!?" the angel shouted in frustration, but Mar didn't respond.

"That's it, I'm going to punch him!" the angel declared, reeling his fist back. However, before he could strike, Xain intervened, grabbing the angel's arm. "Calm down, would you? We don't want him to get knocked out again," Xain urged, attempting to defuse the escalating tension. The angel pulled his arm out of Xain's grip, stepping back from Mar and the others, visibly annoyed and seething with frustration.

Xain sighed, expressing his frustration. "Why didn't we capture one of the regular mercenaries? Interrogating these two is going to be such a pain," he lamented. Mar's ears perked up at his words, prompting him to ask, "Where is Jakel?" Grace turned to him, a hint of amusement in her voice as she teased, "What? You can smell us, but you can't smell him? He's to the right of you, about 12 feet away."

Mar turned his head to the right, focusing his sense of smell. True to Grace's words, Jakel was indeed nearby. "Why are you interrogating me instead of him?" Mar questioned, turning his head back to face Grace. Before she could respond, Xain jumped in. "He's not doing all that well right now in the mental aspect, so we don't really have a choice other than you," Xain explained, knowing that Grace would find a way to insult both of them somehow.

If they could see Mar's eyes, they would notice the intense glare directed at them. "What did you do to him?" Mar asked, his voice low and threatening. Grace raised her hands in a nonchalant gesture. "I just reminded him of how much of a bad person he is, nothing more," she said with a grin, clearly unapologetic.

Mar snarled in anger, putting immense effort into trying to break free from his bindings. He violently pulled at his bindings, attempting to shatter them with his strength. Xain instinctively took a step back, expressing his concern. "Uh, those vines will hold him, right?" he asked nervously, a bead of sweat rolling down his face.

"Don't worry, Xain. Those tree vines are really strong; I know they'll hold," Zee reassured him. She was the one who had found the vines and was confident in their strength. Grace chimed in, adding to Zee's assurance, "Yeah, and besides, I also strengthened them with magic, so they'll be fine." Her words held a tone of certainty, having buffed the durability and toughness of the vines with her magic.

Mar growled in frustration as he attempted to bite through the vines, but his efforts were futile. His canine teeth met an unyielding resistance, as if he were biting into solid stone. The angel returned, noticing Mar's struggles. "What's up with him now?" he asked, his annoyance evident in his tone.

"Grace told him about Jakel's condition, and he started doing this," Zee explained, gesturing toward Mar. The angel shot Grace a annoyed look. "What? He's the one who asked," Grace responded, pointing at Mar with a casual demeanor.

The angel walked back up to Mar and kneeled down again, grabbing him by the muzzle to stop him from biting his bindings. "How about we do this? You tell us what we want, and we won't do anything to your friend over there," the angel proposed, motioning towards Jakel with his head.

"You holding him hostage does not give you power over me," Mar retorted, glaring at the angel, who clicked his tongue in frustration. He then turned to Grace. "Can't you do anything about this?" he asked, surprising Grace, Xain, and Zee. "Wait, are you asking me to interrogate him?" Grace questioned, pointing at herself.

"Yeah, are you asking her to interrogate him?" Xain chimed in, sounding concerned. Zee nodded in agreement. "Isn't that dangerous?" she added. Grace felt annoyed by their words but chose to say nothing. The angel sighed. "I don't want her to, but it's not like we have a choice," he admitted.

They all turned to Grace, who glanced at each of them before shrugging. "Okay, it's not like I mind or anything," she said casually as she stepped up to Mar, while the angel backed away from him.

Grace looked down at Mar, her eyes glinting with a mix of amusement and disdain, as she slowly bent down to his level. Mar, sensing her proximity, snarled defiantly, "Do your worst." Grace, unfazed, shook her head, her voice dripping with condescension as she replied, "I don't have to do my worst for someone as weak as you," as she gently grabbed him by the shoulder. Just as Mar felt a searing sensation beginning to burn his shoulder, a tired voice suddenly rang out, "Stop."

Startled, they all turned to the source of the voice. "What are you doing?" Mar demanded, glaring at Jakel, who let out a weary sigh as he turned to face Mar. "I'm saving our asses, dumbass," Jakel retorted with a mix of frustration and exhaustion evident in his voice before addressing the group. Xain noticed the redness in Jakel's eyes, evidence of recent tears. "Leave that poor wolf alone. I'll tell you everything I know."