VOLUME 13: CHAPTER 5

[Republic of Everfrost]

"Senator Sima, we received reports from the Inspector."

At the topmost floor of the highest building in the Republic, an old man was looking out of the window, his hands behind his back.

Sima Vou Arandale.

The current head of the Senate.

The man who held the highest authority when it came to the management of the ruins and dungeons in the Republic.

"And?"

"It seems the plan was a success, Senator."

Senator Sima remained expressionless even after receiving the news.

"The members of Zenith tried to fight back, as expected, but they couldn't do anything against the five Inspectors.

Everything was part of the Senate's plan.

The moment one of their magicians said that the dungeon discovered this time was far larger than the previous ones, Senator Sima immediately ordered the Inspectors to secure it.

They even captured the lover of Zenith's leader as a failsafe.

They were afraid of the chance that the members of Zenith managed to get their hands on some powerful artifact capable of blowing up the Republic.

Surely, Emyrson 'The Red Bear' Matias wouldn't activate such an artifact if his lover was nearby.

"And the artifacts?"

"They brought several of them upon returning, Senator."

"Hmm… an interrogation. I must be there to hear everything in person."

The man who made the report cautiously said, "Uhm… Senator?"

"Speak."

"Is this truly… alright? I'm aware of the value of artifacts taken from the ruins, but Zenith is platinum-ranked. I'm afraid this will cause dispute between the explorers and the government. Those ruffians surely wouldn't let this incident pass once it comes to light. And if the High Magistrate finds out…"

"The High Magistrate will turn a blind eye."

The young man was surprised upon hearing this.

It was well-known that the Executive and the Legislative branches were keeping each other in check.

"The Inspectors are strategic weapons capable of slaughtering armies on their own. How do you think we managed to dispatch five of them to a single location?"

"Ah…"

It was only then the young man understood what was happening behind the scenes.

The High Magistrate himself was working with the Senate for this particular ruins.

"The mana signature, no – should we call it mana waves?" said Senator Sima. "The mana waves measured by the mages this time is a hundred thousand times stronger than the previous ruins."

"A-A hundred thousand times?!"

"Rematus, we've finally found it. Just a little more and it'll be in our grasp. Just a little more and our Republic will have access to the power sleeping below our nation."

The discovery of the first ruins decades ago also came with the discovery of an ancient book. After deciphering it, the upper echelons of the Republic learned that an ancient city was sleeping deep underground their nation.

Ist' Tamat.

An ancient Empire that prospered back in the Age of Magic.

According to the ancient book they'd discovered, the lord of spirits, capable of destroying an entire nation on its own, was sealed along with the ancient city.

This was no different from discovering a Dragon Vein.

Even without awakening the spirit lord, it should be possible to siphon the mana leaking out of its body.

Furthermore, they would also have access to the ancient artifacts Ist' Tamat used back in the Age of Magic.

Even if it carried the risk of war with the explorers guild, the government needed to get their hands on this ruin, no matter what.

"Once we manage to tap that unlimited power source, the Republic of Everfrost will become the new hegemon."

Senator Sima turned around and faced the young man.

"Do you understand the importance of this event, Rematus? The reason why we decided to capture Zenith, despite their platinum rank. Why we've decided to risk everything to gain access to the dungeon."

Rematus gulped. He could see madness within the Senator's eyes.

"This dungeon is the real one. I'm sure of it," said Senator Sima. "Now, all that's left is to extract information from Zenith."

How did they bypass the second floor of the dungeon without fighting the Arachnias?

And what did they see after reaching the third floor of the ruins?

These were the things Senator Sima wished to find out.

***

"You fucking scum! Dogs of the Senate!"

Inside his cell, Emyrson 'The Red Bear' Matias growled.

His hands and feet bound by mana-suppressing shackles, he couldn't do anything but spout curses to his captors.

"Do you realize the gravity of what you've done!? Do you think we're mere bronze-rank explorers!? Do you think the Explorer Association will just sit by and do nothing when a platinum-ranked party is locked up by the Senate like this!?"

The soldiers outside the cell started shrinking from fear.

They also felt that this move of the Senate was over the top.

This could easily lead to an all-out war between the explorers and the government. And if the resistance groups took advantage of this, civil war would break out in the Republic.

"R-Red Bear, we're… we're just following orders."

"Orders my ass! Fucking dogs! You fucking boot lickers of old man Sima!"

"H-Hey! Even if it's you, you can't—"

"—can't what? Listen. I swear, the moment I get out of this cell, I'll twist off the heads of those who orchestrated this plan! Not only did you rob us of all our loot, you beat up my party members, and hurt my woman!"

"Oho, the boss admitted she's his woman?"

Emyrson froze when a playful voice was heard across his cell.

Out of anger, he forgot that his party members, who were locked up in the same dungeon as him, could hear him.

And that's not all.

If Emyrson wasn't mistaken, Margaret should also be here.

Emyrson felt sweat flow down his spine.

"What's with the pause, boss? Haha! Margaret, you heard everything, right?"

The rage in Emyrson's face vanished completely. In its place, fear started surfacing.

Unintelligible words came out of Emyrson's mouth, "Ah, I-I mean, n-no…!"

"Hahaha! You sound pathetic right now, Boss!"

"Cough! Cough! Fuck, I shouldn't laugh. My wounds are opening, but this is too funny!"

Even Aster joined in the fun, "Hahaha! This is my first time being beaten and locked up, who knew it'll be fun!"

Emyrson groaned.

His party members were truly nutjobs.

How could they laugh in this situation?

"Sir Emyrson…."

A soft voice, which was a stark contrast to the gruff voices of his party members, was heard.

"M-Margaret?"

"Do you like me? Is that true?"

For a moment, Emyrson felt his world spinning. He would rather fight several trolls at once than be asked so directly like this.

He wasn't ready, and words wouldn't come out of his mouth.

"I-I… M-M…."

"Boss, what? Even a toddler can speak better than you!"

"Hahaha! Did the Boss choke on his own saliva or something!"

"Gyahaha!"

Margaret also chuckled, "I understand. That's enough, Sir Emyrson."

His ears red from embarrassment, Emyrson faked a cough.

His party members, each locked up in a different cell, snickered.

The guards, on the other hand, were simply glad that the Red Bear had stopped cursing and threatening them.

After several minutes of awkward silence, Emyrson finally managed to mustered his courage to speak.

"M-Margaret."

"Yes?"

Emyrson nervously gulped.

"Once we escape from this place, I-I'll tell you everything."

Although he couldn't see her, Emyrson felt that Margaret was smiling right now.

She said happily, "Yes. I look forward to it, Sir Emyrson."

Ah, how blissful.

Her words were more than enough to somewhat calm the rage in Emyrson's heart.

But his joy was short-lived.

The members of Zenith heard the steel door upstairs open, and the sound of footsteps followed soon after.

A group composed of seven soldiers and one Inspector appeared right in front of the cell of Emyrson.

"Emyrson, Senator Sima wishes to speak with you."

The guards opened his cell and dragged him out, his hands and feet still shackled with mana-suppressing devices.

"Tch. You want me to come with you with all of my limbs tied together?"

"Even with shackles, moving shouldn't be a problem for someone like you."

"And if I refuse?"

Emyrson's eyes were fearless.

Before getting captured here, he even fought five Inspectors at once despite knowing it would be futile.

"Then we'll just take one of your party members instead."

It was the perfect approach for someone like the Red Bear.

It seemed they knew that he wasn't afraid of being tortured or even death. They knew that he cherished his party members more than himself.

"Disgusting bastards. Fine, I'll play along with you. Take me to where old man Sima is."

"Boss…."

"If you find an opportunity to escape, just run. Forget about us."

Hearing this, Emyrson wryly smiled.

Running and escaping on his own never once crossed his mind. He would rather die than abandon his people.

"I'll be back everyone. Just wait for me."

"Enough with the chit-chat, come."

Escorted by the soldiers, Emyrson left the prison. He was taken to an underground chamber right beneath the convening hall of the senate.

Waiting for Emyrson at the underground chamber was not only the Head of the Senate, but also the five other senators and the High Magistrate.

He realized that despite what they showed on the outside, it seemed the two branches of the government were working together all this time.

"Oho, what's this? It's not only old man Sima. His loyal dogs are also here. Even the High Magistrate? Hahaha! Fucking! Pathetic!"

Only the Five Courts weren't present. It seemed that Senator Sima had yet to win them over to his side.

It was no exaggeration to say that almost all of the powers of the Republic were currently at this place.

To protect all of these prominent individuals, a total of seven Inspectors stood guard nearby.

"I didn't know the High Magistrate is working with the damn bastards of the Senate. You're also a dog wagging her tail to the old man, huh?"

"You! Watch your mouth!" one of the Senators snarled.

The High Magistrate's eyes were cold. She ignored the words of Emyrson. "Red Bear, in recognition of all your achievements, I'll give you a chance."

Honestly speaking, Emyrson found the High Magistrate scarier than the Head of the Senate.

Although old man Sima was cunning, Emyrson could at least read his expression.

But this woman?

She looked more like a doll than a living person.

"Tell us everything you know about the ruins and the dungeon. How to bypass the Arachnias on the second floor, and the things you've seen on the third floor."

Emyrson remembered the words uttered to him by the cloaked figures living in the ancient, underground city.

According to them, Elementals – gods capable of destruction – were slumbering in that place.

If he divulged the information he knew to these people, it might lead to the destruction of this nation.

Also, the safety of the nation aside, Emyrson disliked divulging any information, no matter how small, to these bastards.

"We didn't reach the third floor."

"Do not lie. We've received intel from Black Arm."

"Tch. I said we didn't reach the third floor. Why are you asking me about something I know nothing about!"

The High Magistrate snapped her fingers, and one of the soldiers respectfully handed a book to her.

"Then, you're telling me you got this on the second floor?"

Emeryson remembered the book.

It was the same book they took back with them since Aster said it would be useful to decipher its contents later on.

"Although old, this book remains in good condition. It wouldn't have been able to maintain its preserved state had it been stored in the second floor, where arachnias freely roam."

Emyrson sighed.

"Haah. Listen. High Magistrate or whatever. I have no intentions of saying anything to you people. So—" he looked at all of the officials in the room. "—Fuck off!"

The moment he uttered the last few words, he felt a blunt force strike his head and stomach.

His neck twisted to the side, and his abdomen bent back from the impact, sending him flying and rolling on the ground several times.

It was so fast Emyrson hardly saw it – one of the Inspectors punched and kicked him after he cursed the High Magistrate.

As expected, the Inspectors were really monsters clad in human skin.

A platinum-ranked explorer like him could barely keep up with the Inspector's speed. He could only imagine what would happen if a lower-ranked explorer fought him.

It was no wonder Black Arm – those damn murderers – chose to obediently hand over information to them.

"Cough! Cough!"

Emyrson slowly stood up. He spat blood on the ground.

"Kehehe, getting rough now that I wouldn't speak, huh? Listen! As I've said before, you'll never get anything out of me even if you torture me! Just go to hell, assholes!"

The High Magistrate said, "Senator Sima. This is the extent of my benevolence."

The old senator nodded. "Such a pity. The fool doesn't even realize the grace you offered. Mages!"

Several mages clad in cloak stepped forward. Each of them was holding a fist-sized orb.

"Extracting information is top priority. Even if his mind breaks, do not stop."

"Yes!"

The soldiers grabbed Emyrson and forced him to kneel before the mages.

"What are you doing!" roared Emyrson.

"What else?" said Senator Sima. "We chose to believe you when you said you'll never speak even when tortured. So, we'll just use this method instead."

Upon receiving the signal from Senator Sima, the mages started activating the orbs.

Light, which resembled threads interlocked with each other, flew out of the orbs and entered Emyrson's head.

"KKUUUUAAAHHHHRGGHH!"

Emyrson screamed.

He had his chest pierced by a spear before, but even that wasn't as painful as this one.

This was probably the most excruciating pain he'd felt in his entire life.

It felt like someone's thumb was boring a hole through his head, and upon reaching his brains, started stirring it with a ladle.

Senator Sima smiled. "A forbidden spell. Memory extraction. It's really the correct decision not to destroy the orbs back then."

They were artifacts excavated from the third ruins.

Using the orbs, the fragments of the most recent memories of Emyrson were extracted one after another. The mages didn't stop even when Emyrson writhed around in pain, even when he screamed at the top of his lungs.

The explorer's life no longer mattered.

The moment Emyrson died, they would just take another member of Zenith and extract information from them.

It just so happened that their leader was the first target.

Soon, the memory fragments flowed into the orbs.

The time he declared he would confess to Margaret.

The time he fought the Inspectors on his own.

The time they met the unknown figures in the ancient city.

The time they saw the massive city.

The time they effortlessly breached the floor where the arachnia lived.

By the time the spell was done, Emyrson slumped there, his mind in shambles.

Emyrson's eyes were rolled back, his body squirming.

With just a single glance, everyone knew his mind had been broken by the artifacts.

Now that they'd extracted his memories, they no longer had any use for him.

"Such a waste," said Senator Sima. "Fool. The High Magistrate gave you a chance but you refused it. Take him away and throw him into the furnace."

"Yes!"

One of the mages spoke, "Senator Sima."

"Hm?"

"We've obtained substantial information from the Red Bear. Should we also extract the memories of his party members?"

It was a tricky question.

Under normal circumstances, the Senator would have immediately said yes.

But currently, the High Magistrate was here.

The mere fact that she gave Emyrson a chance to live showed that she wasn't as cold-hearted as she seemed.

"We'll look into the extracted memories first," said Senator Sima. "And if we find them inadequate, we'll supplement them using the memories of his party members."

At the corner of his eyes, Senator Sima saw no changes in the movements of the High Magistrate.

It seemed that he made the correct judgment this time.

"Understood, Senator Sima."

Senator Sima opened his arms wide.

"Now then," said the old man. "Shall we look at what Emyrson saw in the dungeons?"

The mages took out another artifact, placed the orbs inside it, and channeled their mana inside.

The artifact whizzed, and light shone from its tip.

Slowly, the fragmented memories of Emyrson were displayed for everyone to see.