Out of Options

Many ideas shot through the man's head.

He thought of resisting and activating his Skill, but

'I'd just be defeated like the last time, now that I can see his aura, I know for sure that he's stronger than me, it'd be futile.'

Also, he was feeling his body getting weaker every moment, he wasn't sure that he would be able to resist for long

The other option was

'Wait until someone sends a signal to my ring then reveal my location'

Inside the room, he couldn't see the outside, so he couldn't tell exactly how much time had passed since he was captured

'But it should be hours at least'

Thus

'Elio must be searching for me. Assuming that I'm in the base, he should already be aware of my location ... Then why is my ring not vibrating?'

When his thought process reached this point, he glanced at his fingers, and that's when he noticed it!

He was so absorbed in his situation that he didn't notice it before

'My ring ... My ring is not there!'

The man started frantically fiddling with his fingers, and of course, Leus noticed that, so he asked with a smirk

"Are you perhaps searching for your ring?"

When the man heard that, a shiver ran down his spine.

This was the moment that he realized the gravity of his situation

'I'm .... out of options'

Leus didn't miss the cue and added

"I destroyed it, it was looking suspicious.

You know? Vibrating and such, so I shattered it"

The man didn't need to hear anything else, he had already given up the moment he realized that he was not wearing his ring.

"How do I know that you'll keep me alive after I tell you everything?"

Leus scratched his chin in thought

"Hmm ... Right.

Honestly, I didn't think about that"

He looked at Bones and said

"Give him a sip"

Leus looked at the man

"Just a sip, if you try to do anything funny, the only cure in the room might spill on the floor."

Bones gave the man just a small sip.

Instantly, Leus noticed the man's Life Force brightening just a bit, and the man felt the difference

"As you can see, this is the only cure for the Elixir of Death I created, If you provide me with the information I need, of course, I'll let you have it, otherwise why would I create it?"

Knowing that there was an actual cure helped the man feel a bit of hope

'There's no way for me to know if he's lying or not, but there are three things that I'm certain of:

One, He could've already killed me

Two, There's a poison in my body

Three, This is the cure for the poison.'

Of course, the man knew that there was still a chance that after revealing the information he'd still be killed but

'A chance of being alive is better than a guaranteed death.'

And it's not really like he had a variety of options to choose from

'Maybe ... just maybe, he'll let me live.'

"My name is Kye"

Leus smiled

"Finally! Are you ready to talk, Kye?"

Kye nodded without saying anything

"You've made the correct decision.

I promise to let you go after I make sure everything you say is correct"

Kye nodded without saying anything

Leus began his interrogation

"For how long have you been entering my area?"

"This is my first time entering"

Bones said in a mocking tone

"Lying on your first question? We've already detected intruders at least three times so far, we just couldn't catch any"

Kye shook his head

"Those you've detected are Knights"

Then he pointed with his head at Leus

"They were surveying the area waiting for his appearance"

Bones became confused, he thought these people were just from a rival gang or something.

"Knights? As in job or Realm?"

"Uh? Both?"

Scar asked

"If they were Knights, what are you?"

Kye looked at Leus

"Did you not tell them?"

Leus shrugged

"They didn't ask"

Kye looked at Scar and replied

"I'm an Elite Knight"

Scar and Bones' eyes widened upon hearing that

Scar repeated

"El- Elite?"

Then he looked at Leus for an explanation

Leus spoke nonchalantly

"Yes, he's an Elite Knight. There was another one too but he escaped."

Scar gulped

"Elite? Like those Killing Machines in the military? That kind?"

Leus then remembered

'Ah, right ... Scar is still traumatized about that'

A moment of silence passed.

Seeing their conversation, Kye concluded

'These people have no experience in interrogating at all'

Leus asked Scar

"Are you alright? Do you need to leave?"

Scar shook his head

"Continue"

Leus looked back at Kye and continued

"What's an Elite Knight doing here?"

"Our mission was to follow you back to your home and discover your identity"

"Mission? And from where did you get that mission?"

"My Boss"

Leus narrowed his eyes

"Don't act funny, start from the beginning"

Kye took a deep breath and then revealed everything

"I'm a Crimson Guard.

We got information that a gang, you, expanded out of proportion, the report stated that the leader's alias is The Purple Saint and that he's not a native to the Slums.

Our mission was to follow and discover the identity of that individual"

Leus scratched his chin in thought

'The Crimson Guards... Why do they want to know that?'

"Then what? Assuming that you succeeded and discovered my identity, what happens after that?"

"I'm supposed to report it back. I'm aware of the mission's details but nothing beyond that, I'm not that high up the chains."

Leus realized that the situation was more serious than he expected

'My Moral Code saved the day ... Good that I didn't kill him'

He looked at Kye and asked

"Why didn't you just stand and say that you're a Crimson Guard from the beginning? We could've discussed things peacefully..."

Kye explained

"My orders strictly prohibited me from coming in contact with you"

"Why?"

"I don't know ... We just follow orders, we don't question it."

"What proves that you're a Crimson Guard? You aren't wearing the armor"

"Wearing the armor would defeat the point of being undercover...

However, my ring proves it, if you'd have taken it to The Citadel they'd have confirmed that it's a legit ring of the Welfare Department."

Leus looked at Bones and said

"Give him the cure"

'I'll probably have to involve Arno in this, even if I ignore the incident of kidnapping a Crimson Guard, they still wanted to know me for some reason...'

As soon as Kye drank the Potion, his Life Force brightened up again and he was back in peak condition.

Leus smiled

'I could be a good Alchemist one day'