Chapter 186 – Cooperation (2)
The back of his hand was destroyed, leaving no form behind.
On Drevus's right hand, only the thumb barely remained, while the other four fingers and the staff he was holding were scattered everywhere.
A ghastly sight.
The pain came after.
"Neuaaaaaaaaagh!"
Drevus let out a grotesque scream as he frantically grabbed his wrist.
Fwoooosh! Even though he pressed down with all his might, the fountain of blood showed no sign of stopping.
Drevus felt his consciousness fade for a moment.
'If I can't stop it, I'll die...!!'
The last of his reason was replaced by instinct.
With bloodshot eyes, teeth clenched, he moved his magic power. Through a sloppy approximation of spell calculation, he froze the entire wounded area.
"Ggghhhhk?!"
Because he had not controlled the power, everything below his elbow was badly frostbitten.
Reattaching the limb was already impossible.
Even with potions, his arm would never regain its function. Yet Drevus had no luxury to worry about such things.
Cold sweat dripped, his breath came ragged.
But this was only the beginning.
Step.
When he raised his head at the sound of footsteps, Verden was standing right before him.
Seeing those icy eyes, Drevus staggered back.
"W, wait...."
"One leg."
Leg?
───Crunch!
The Oculus swung down, shattering his shin.
Drevus collapsed with a short scream, and the staff rotated to press hard against his neck.
The same method used to subdue the black mage who had tortured Warrens.
Back then, the man had exploded alive because of some curse, leaving no information behind, but this time, perhaps things would be different.
"Y, you...!"
Drevus's face flushed red.
He tried to push the staff away with his remaining left hand, but there was no way an ordinary mage could overpower Verden.
At last, when he stopped struggling, Drevus gasped and wheezed for air.
"Hm."
Verden studied Drevus's eyes.
There was fear, shock, and panic, but... resistance still lingered.
'A mage's pride, is it.'
Well, he was, after all, part of the court mages.
Verden, too, had once belonged to the magic tower, so he could understand.
But in the face of overwhelming power, such pride meant nothing.
Crack!
The gray dagger at Verden's waist sank into Drevus's left hand.
"Aaaaaaaaagh!"
Unable to endure the pain, the last traces of his magic power scattered. With that, he was completely neutralized.
But that still wasn't enough.
'They said, when interrogating, instill fear first.'
Recalling Perne's advice, Verden placed his foot on Drevus's knee.
Crrrk, crrrk.
The [Weighted Boots] activated, momentarily increasing their weight. As Verden pressed down with strength, a gruesome sound came from beneath his foot.
Though Drevus screamed for him to stop, it continued.
After a short while, Verden asked,
"Now, do you feel like cooperating?"
"...!"
Drevus flinched.
Refusing once had cost him a shattered limb, what would happen if he refused a second time... he couldn't even imagine.
Perhaps he would simply be killed.
The agony etched the emotion into his mind.
Drevus felt fear toward the mage before him.
That man was insane, a mad mage capable of wielding 5th-tier magic.
In such a situation, clinging to pride would be nothing but foolish. Drevus justified his own choice that way.
Swallowing painfully, he forced out a voice.
"C, cooperation... I will cooperate...!"
***
Using a high-grade potion found in the laboratory, he performed emergency treatment.
His frostbitten right arm and shattered shin could not be healed, but the pain was eased enough for him to retain reason.
Drevus knelt, breathing heavily.
Verden, who had been examining the secret laboratory of the temple, wondered where to begin, then soon started questioning.
Better to start with the essence.
"The elf corpse from a few days ago, and that blond elf over there. Their internal organs were destroyed and in chaos. It looked as if something had stirred inside them for a long time. What kind of experiment were you conducting?"
"...."
"Answer."
When Verden threatened, Drevus spoke.
"T, that is... to refine magic power."
"Explain in detail."
"Elves possess a unique form of magic power, different from humans. It is closer to nature's mana, yet resistant to alteration... unlike human magic, it cannot shift into multiple attributes, but as fuel, it is incomparably superior."
Countless magic stones were drained of power, then that magic was gathered and transferred into a special container. The intermediary used in this process, was the elf.
"Forcing mana into them, refining it? Unless you remove their resistance, that shouldn't be possible."
Though, there was one way.
Just as Verden had used the magic tower's power source, by directly driving magic into the heart, one could bypass resistance.
'Of course, they wouldn't last a few minutes before dying.'
So it didn't fit the case of the elves.
There were no traces near the chest, and the internals had been torn apart over a long duration.
To this, Drevus replied.
"The royal family has a special artifact that temporarily cancels magic resistance. I've never seen it myself, but judging from the traces, nothing else fits."
"So, what are they trying to do with elven mana?"
"T, that I don't know."
Verden gripped the Oculus.
"No, wait! I, I truly don't know! I'm not lying!"
"You, a member of the court mages, involved in the experiments, don't even know the purpose?"
"Y, yes, but it's true! My role was only to make use of discarded test subjects, to find ways to recycle them after the real research. And while it's true that many were involved, including the First Prince... the true purpose is known only to His Majesty and 'that person'."
"That person?"
Hesitating, Drevus revealed the identity.
"L, Leonil Bertanas. Commander of the Court Mage Order I belong to."
***
Leonil Bertanas, the Estiria Kingdom's strongest 6th-tier Magus.
A great pillar supporting the royal family, a single man who could represent a fraction of their military might, and also, the leading figure behind some secret experiment.
"Anyone other than him in the experiment is merely an accessory. The purpose of this experiment, where it is conducted, whether it is even proceeding at all, only he and His Majesty know."
"So you're saying you're just spare parts?"
"If, if I had to say, yes. I can be replaced at any time. Do you think they would ever reveal the inside story to such people?"
Hmm.
Narrowing his eyes, Verden asked another question.
"What does Leonil Bertanas look like?"
"What he looks like... you mean his appearance? Well, he has a gray beard that reaches down to his chest, and also... he is old. That's all I can explain."
A crude description.
But even that was enough for Verden to be certain.
'The man who kidnapped the elves is the same as Leonil.'
The same appearance. The overwhelming power that subdued spirits and elves.
Circumstances left no room for doubt.
Verden fixed his gaze on Drevus.
Judging by his reactions, it didn't seem like he was hiding anything or weaving lies... but Verden left a sliver of doubt and continued the interrogation.
"I recall seeing not only elves but also human corpses among your test subjects. For what reason were humans used in the experiments?"
"T, that..."
"Don't think, only say what you know."
Whoosh.
The dagger flew, grazing Drevus's neck.
Its path brushed so close it nearly cut his artery. Feeling the blood trickle down, Drevus spoke.
"T, that human was a mage with a special trait."
A special trait.
Verden tilted his head.
"What for? The same purpose as with elves?"
"No, probably not. I heard they extracted the mana circuits separately... but again, I don't know the details. The only thing I know is the supplier..."
Supplier?
"I mean the First Prince and Vintert. The two of them have been abducting trait-holders for a long time and sending them to His Majesty. Each time, His Majesty rewarded them... though I don't know with what."
'So Vintert is involved as well....'
The Royal Family of Estiria.
The shadow rulers of Roafra.
The two greatest powers in the kingdom conducting experiments together.
Whatever it was, it could not be ordinary. For a nation to move, it meant vast resources and manpower were invested.
And on top of that, a 6th-tier Magus was leading it.
'The scale is no joke.'
Not just some organization, but the royal family itself orchestrating a conspiracy.
Perhaps Verden had stepped into an event even larger than the one with Gluttony.
Verden fell into thought, his expression grave.
Drevus, stealing a glance at him, cautiously asked,
"S, so... are you done questioning me?"
Verden's gaze shifted back to him.
No, the urgent task now was to handle what was here.
"No, not yet. Where is the research journal you've been recording all this time?"
"What? H, how did you...?!"
How could he not know.
Unless one had perfect memory of every moment, recording one's research was natural for both mages and scholars.
Verden pressed him silently.
At last, Drevus slowly raised his left hand and pointed to a drawer.
"...It's there."
Verden's mana swept through the inside of the drawer.
A thick stack of papers, handwriting carved across them. Seeing the word " elf ", it was clearly a research journal.
Now, only the final question remained.
"In the underground prison beneath the spiral staircase, a Flame Golem roams. It seems to be for burning corpses, so where did you hide its core?"
"The core... it's hidden in the wall at the center of the prison. I suppressed its mana so the golem couldn't detect it. But why do you ask...?"
Verden gave no reply.
He had pulled about all the information he could from Drevus. If he continued, he might extract finer details, but there was no time to spare.
So the conversation ended here.
Mana gathered in Verden's hand.
Sensing the chill, Drevus's eyes widened.
"W, w, wait! I did as you asked, I cooperated, so why...!"
"Did you think I would let you live?"
"That...! Hold on, listen to me. If you kill me, His Highness will come after you. No matter how strong you are, you can't defeat the royal family, can you? So let me help you. I'll cover it up with His Highness..."
Though Drevus begged for his life, Verden didn't so much as flinch.
Of course not.
Drevus had seen Verden's appearance directly, and he wasn't the type to keep secrets. More importantly, he was a mage who had conducted human experiments.
Even if there were no other reasons, Verden had none to let such filth live.
The spell was calculated in an instant.
Drevus's death drew near.
At that moment.
"...!"
From behind, a surge of murderous intent.
Canceling the spell, Verden slid across the floor. His body rotated low, waist bent. Above him, a surgical knife sliced through the air.
Then───thunk!
The blade pierced Drevus's brow.
"Ah... ah..."
Completely unreacting, Drevus's body shook violently. Blood flowed, his eyes rolled upward, and he collapsed with a thud.
Instant death, clear to anyone.
In this laboratory, besides Verden, the only being capable of killing Drevus was one.
Verden turned his head.
As expected, the blond elf stood there.
"You've awakened."
"H, human...!"
Eyes burning with deep hatred fixed on Verden.