"How do I know you won't just kill the mont I tell you everything?"
Seeing that Steven was finally interested, the cloaked man felt a wave of relief.
As long as there was still sothing to talk about, there was still room for negotiation.
"Hmm… that depends on whether your information is valuable enough."
Steven stroked his chin.
Honestly, if this matter didn't involve Gladiia, he would've already chopped this guy into pieces and been done with it.
"How about this? I swear that if the information you provide is true, I absolutely won't kill you. Does that satisfy you?"
After a brief mont of thought, Steven decided to give the cloaked man the assurance he wanted.
It wasn't like he was good at interrogation techniques anyway.
Rather than waste ti playing mind gas, it was more efficient to just get the intel first.
As for the promise…
Well, technically, he wouldn't be breaking his word.
But that didn't an he couldn't bend the rules a little.
Fortunately, due to Steven's previous laid-back and unpredictable deanor, the cloaked man assud he was just a powerful but rule-abiding person—
At the very least, not soone who would easily break his oath.
And right now, trusting Steven's word was his only choice.
"Alright."
The headless body shifted slightly, turning toward Gladiia.
Even without eyes, he seed to be examining her carefully.
"The one beside you… she's a Abyssal Hunter too, isn't she?"
"Cut to the point." Steven cut him off imdiately.
He already knew Gladiia was a Abyssal Hunter—
Hell, he was the reason she lost her mories in the first place.
"…We captured another Abyssal Hunter."
"Half a year ago, a massive energy disturbance erupted in the deep sea. Afterward, we found a stranded Abyssal Hunter along the Iberian coastline."
The cloaked man didn't ntion one important detail—
Not long ago, another energy disturbance had been detected near the coast.
Which likely explained why the Inquisitors had shown up.
Of course, if he had ntioned it, Steven probably could've helped him understand the reason—
It was most likely because of his own arrival in this world.
"We captured that Hunter and conducted so… academic research."
The cloaked man instinctively took a step back, expecting Steven to explode in rage.
But surprisingly, Steven simply stood there calmly, waiting for him to continue.
Instead, it was Gladiia who reacted, her fists clenched tightly, eyes filled with rage and murderous intent.
It was as if she was experiencing a deep, inexplicable fury from a long-buried instinct.
Still, since Steven was holding her back, the cloaked man pressed on.
"And then?"
Steven's expression remained neutral.
It was obvious what kind of "academic research" this cult was conducting.
Just looking at the monstrosities they had created was enough of a clue.
But in the end, it had nothing to do with him.
Steven had only co here for Gladiia's sake, not for so random Abyssal Hunter he didn't even know.
If it weren't for his self-imposed mission of finding this amnesiac idiot's real family, he wouldn't have even bothered listening.
"The Abyssal Hunter's physique is truly fascinating. Even after we injected her with a high concentration of condensed Originium liquid, she still didn't show any signs of Oripathy. It's simply unbelievable!"
As the cloaked man recalled his research, his tone shifted. His voice overflowed with obsession and madness, as if he was entirely consud by his experints.
"So her companion is still in your hands?"
Ignoring the cloaked man's delirious excitent, Steven calmly pieced together the conclusion.
"No."
The cloaked man gritted his teeth.
"Not long ago, she was rescued by a group of people claiming to be from a dical company. But those bastards were worse than terrorists! They stord our laboratory and violently snatched the Abyssal Hunter away from us!"
His tone grew venomous, seething with resentnt.
It made sense.
If it weren't for those people ruining their experint and taking away their test subject, this cloaked man wouldn't have been reassigned to this remote place.
And if he wasn't here, he wouldn't have run into Steven, the absolute disaster.
"Go on."
Steven's interest was piqued.
A mysterious dical company that rescued an Abyssal Hunter?
That sounded… strangely familiar.
"That's all I know. The specific research on that Abyssal Hunter was handled by my three superiors. I was just an ordinary researcher."
This ti, the cloaked man wasn't lying.
He wasn't one of the lead researchers on the Abyssal Hunter experint, a fact that still haunted him with regret.
"Where are your superiors?"
"And more importantly, who exactly was that group that took your test subject?"
Steven leaned forward slightly.
This felt just like a mystery ga, slowly gathering clues, piece by piece.
As long as he didn't hit a dead end, it was actually pretty fun.
Unfortunately, the worst possible scenario had arrived.
The cloaked man, who had answered every question so far, suddenly shut his mouth.
He wasn't stupid.
He knew this was the most critical information.
Giving it up too easily would be putting his last bargaining chip on the table.
And right now, that chip was his only hope of surviving.
If he could just stall for ti until his superiors noticed sothing was wrong…
Maybe—just maybe—he could be rescued.
"Until I can be sure of my safety, I don't think I should say any more."
His voice carried undeniable distrust toward Steven.
Clearly, he wasn't willing to continue the conversation.
"You might as well speak now."
A new voice echoed through the ruined chapel.
"Those who abandon the land and embrace the monsters of the deep… no longer have a place on this land."
A fourth guest had arrived.
Standing at the entrance of the old church was a young girl with short, light-green hair and cat-like ears.
She calmly stepped forward, answering Steven's question in place of the cloaked man—
"The ones who saved your companion… were us—Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals."
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