Chương 26: Interrogation

Following Leona and her party's lead, Zane and Scarlet were soon brought to the headquarters of the Knights of Radiance. This was the Steel Maiden's personal guild, and although it wasn't exactly big, it was actually pretty sizable for a third-rate guild—private guilds, so to speak.

As soon as the Steel Maiden entered the building, a petite girl wearing glasses sitting at the counter stood up with a bright smile on her face, and bowed respectfully.

"Welcome back, Madam. How was your day?"

"Good," Leona replied, smiling warmly in reply. "Can you help everyone else settle in? Lucifer, stay with me."

"Of course! Everyone, please follow me."

As the cheerful girl led everyone else away, Zane couldn't help but notice her steal a glance at him, and then at Scarlet. The surprise and curiosity in her eyes were clear, but she quickly turned away the moment after seeing as how Leona was right here. It simply was not the right time to ask any questions.

Noticing how closely-knit everyone was in this guild, though, Zane couldn't help but compare it to other places. This was the first guild he'd seen a while that was more like a family than a business corporate, and it seemed like everyone here were real friends who all knew each other quite well. Had Zane still been his old self, he may have considered joining a place like this eventually—no normal guild would want him, after all.

"… Follow us."

Together, Leona and Lucifer—a young man dressed like a butler who also wore glasses much like the girl earlier—led Zane towards a private room deeper in, with the latter keeping a close eye on him all the while. It was uncomfortable to say to the least, but it's not like Zane had much of a choice. He hoped they would just ask him a few normal questions and let him go, but given how insistent Leona had been to drag him here, he doubted things would be that simple.

Sighing internally, he trailed after the two, with Scarlet pattering along beside him. Upon reaching the door, Leona stepped in first, while Lucifer kept the door open with his arm, spread invitingly as if motioning for Zane go enter. Yet again, he was hesitant, but decided to just play along for the time being and entered through the doorway.

"Take a seat," Leona said, gesturing her hand towards the chair opposite from her. Once Zane did settled down, Lucifer shut the door tight, and walked beside Leona to stand there like a guard while the Steel Maiden stared deep into Zane's eyes.

"Now then… let's start with the basics. What occurred inside that Dungeon? What happened to your party? Tell me everything—from the beginning."

Beside her, Lucifer held out a pen and a notepad for recording purposes, as he waited for Zane to speak. With a sigh, he began his story—the lie that he'd thought up on the way here. He did not want to attract any unnecessary attention to himself due to the intricacies of the Second Awakening and that mysterious cube, so until he got to the bottom of that, he needed to lay low.

"The Hunt went smoothly, for the most part. Right before we entered the boss room, however, we were taken by a surprise attack," he said, keeping a straight face without even batting an eye. "The entire party was wiped out, but thanks to the help of this Dragon, entrusted to me by a now-deceased friend, I was able to survive."

"… How odd. It took your party an entire week to clear a E-rank Dungeon?" Leona lifted an eyebrow in suspicion. "According to the information I received, there were multiple C and D-rank Hunters in your group, and you had far more people than the norm for a E-rank Hunt. Even if it was a Catacombs-archetype Dungeon, it shouldn't have taken 7 full days to clear."

"I did say 'for the most part', didn't I?" Zane countered, leaning back and folding his arms. "Near the middle of the Hunt, our party's Cartographer was killed by a trap. As a result, our party was forced to navigate our way through the maze-like catacombs without the assistance of a map."

"Hm… is that so…"

Leona didn't exactly look convinced, and narrowed her eyes further.

"… Then how do you explain your sudden transformation?"

His lie was a reasonable explanation. However, there were several other mysteries to be solved in Zane's cover story, and the Steel Maiden was an insightful woman.

At this, Zane paused for a moment, while Leona continued.

"According to the rumors I've heard, you are known as the 'weakest Hunter'. The man I see before me today does not quite fit that image—in fact, far from it. Not only are you taller than most, you also have a strong and well-built body. I can tell that much just from glancing at you, and not to mention… you are Level 13, which is already almost enough to become a D-rank Hunter. What made you grow so much?"

'Level 13…?' Zane resisted the urge to lift an eyebrow. 'But I'm Level 18… why does her System read me as Level 13? No… that's not the point here. I can't tell her any more than this.'

"Forgive my bluntness, but that does not affect my Dungeon report, does it?" Zane countered, folding his arms. "My personal progression has nothing to do with you, nor even the Hunter's Association, for that matter. If you must know, it's because I received the XP for taking down the final boss. Of course, it was Scarlet who actually did the job, but I received the rewards since it's my Familiar. Does that satisfy you?"

"Not quite," Leona said, not backing down despite the tension in the air. "While your story is believable on the surface, one thing doesn't add up. How come when all the other Hunters in the party were slaughtered, you, being the weakest of them all, ended up being the only one left alive?"

At this, Zane smirked.

"That's obvious, is it not? As stupid as Dungeon Monsters are, they still know how to prioritize targets. Being the weakest one, they don't see me as a threat, and therefore save me for last. How do you think I've survived up until now, even after seven years of being a porter?"

Deadeye. Faced with this statement, Leona was left at a loss for words. She didn't have evidence to prove that Zane was wrong, and his argument certainly made sense.

"Tch…"

"We're done here," Zane replied coldly, the smile on his face vanishing. "If you want to dig more private information out of me, forgive me, but I won't be able to comply. My report has finished, and I still have other things to do. Farewell."

Standing up from his chair, Zane headed for the door, but at that moment, Leona suddenly stood up and slid the table across the room, causing it to slam into the door and block Zane's way.

"… And if I insist?"

Bright orange mana flared up all around her body as she activated her Domain, and Lucifer gently set down the notepad and pen as he too prepared to fight. Zane, mimicking their actions, gently rested his hands on the handles of his daggers, as Scarlet bared its fangs.

"Then I'm afraid things will have to get a little… unpleasant."

Faced with this response, Leona couldn't help but be slightly surprised, even though she didn't show it on the surface. 'This man… he is nothing like what the rumors described. According to the System's inspect feature, he's only Level 13, while I'm Level 65—a whole fifty level difference. And yet… he doesn't seem to be fazed in the least, even after I activated my Domain? Not only that, he seems… to have a Domain of his own?!'

From Zane's body, a dark, violent black energy emitted, contrasting directly with the Steel Maiden's bright orange mana. His eyes seemed to glow with ruthless, cold determination—determination that could only have been developed through irreversible trauma. And while Zane's mana Domain was not nearly as strong as Leona's, for some reason, she felt chills run down her back as she stared at the man before her.

There was a voice inside her head, telling her that this was not worth it. She may be able to take him down, but there were weak Hunters inside her guild—E, D-ranks that wouldn't stand a chance against Zane. If a fight were to really break out here… she couldn't say how many of her guildmates—her family—would survive, not to mention the existence of that Dragon Familiar that would most likely go wild and destroy everything in this city after its owner was injured.

Gulping in fear, Leona calmed her breath after considering the consequences, and slowly dissipated her Domain.

Her threat, which she'd originally thought to be effective, was completely useless against Zane.

"… You can go. Hunters fighting one another in broad daylight is not good for the public to see."

'So, that's your excuse?' Zane almost laughed, but kept it inside his head and continued with his stone-cold expression. 'Hmph… threats are meaningless to me. I've already died once. What's one more?'

With that, he and Scarlet brushed past the table and left the building, wordless and determined. As they passed, the other Hunters in the guild made way, wary—scared, even—of just how much the number one porter had changed. In their heads, they wondered just what happened in that Dungeon to make a person shift so much, but no matter how hard they thought, they would never be able to comprehend the horrors that Zane had to live through.

But Leona had another reason to think about this, far more than anyone else. The scale of the transformation that Zane had went through could only be chalked up to a Second Awakening. But according to the annals of history, Second Awakenings were only given to extremely talented Hunters as a kind of reward from the gods. Zane Silverdale, the porter of porters, was just about as far from talented as one could get.

Which would mean… whatever lay inside that Dungeon, could potentially have the power to gift even the weakest of Hunters with a Second Awakening.

'… I need to get to the bottom of this. That man… he knows the answers.'

Once the two were out of both sight and earshot, Leona turned back to her entourage, and glanced at a young man with glasses in a butler suit.

"Lucifer."

"Yes, milady?"

"Go deliver the Dungeon report right away. And… keep an eye on that man, as close as you can. Alert me immediately if he does anything out of the ordinary—but whatever you do, do not engage in combat with him. Is that clear?"

"With all due respect, he is a mere E-rank porter, not even a Hunt-"

"𝐼𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟?"

After the Steel Maiden repeated herself in a more emphasizing tone, the man named Lucifer fell silent.

"… Yes, milady."

"Good. And in the meantime…"

Leona turned back to face the closing blue Dungeon Gate, and narrowed her eyes.

"… I will figure out how to re-open a closed Dungeon."

Shortly after, the association sent out a clean-up crew to take down the signs and barriers at the major intersection where the Gate had closed, and signaled that the roads were safe to use once more.