My sword was pointed at his head at his every move, and I could strike him down instantly, even though I didn’t think he’d be able to fight anyti soon.
After all, he was more valuable to alive than dead.
"That was a good warm-up. Thank you. I got used to my body and gained an idea of the limits of my new power."
His eyes widened, revealing his shock.
"So, it took you this long to figure out the riddle."
"You see, I’ve spent years with nothing but my own thoughts to keep company... If I don’t count that voice in my head, of course. If it even exists. But that’s not the point."
"After so much ti alone, anyone would surely go insane."
"As you can see, I am not. Because you’re still alive."
"Anyway, even I would naturally want to have a... let’s say, civilized conversation with another person."
"Oh, and I also have questions I believe you can answer."
"Don’t worry, this is an adult discussion, so you won’t be the only one talking. And to show my good faith, I’ll answer one of your questions."
He remained impassive, staring straight into my eyes without a single tremor of fear. I think I underestimated his resolve.
"You prefer to stay silent? In that case, let guess what you want to know."
"Where did the dagger lodged in your back co from? I’m not ungrateful, so I’ll tell you as a token of my appreciation for being my training dummy."
"After all, it would be sad to die without knowing why you lost. It would haunt you even in death."
Oh, now there was curiosity in his gaze.
"No need to thank ."
"It’s quite simple: at the beginning, if you rember, I had two daggers. After the first attack you blocked, one of them turned to smoke. But it never truly disappeared. I simply kept it in that state, waiting patiently for the mont you would let your guard down."
"Until your blade was on , ready to decapitate ."
"Naturally, you believed you had won the fight. Who wouldn’t? Your opponent on the ground, unard, begging for rcy... You instinctively lowered your guard."
"All I had to do was materialize it back into solid form, using part of the smoke to create an explosion and propel it with enough force to pierce through your mountains of muscles before making it explode again on impact."
"My turn to ask the questions."
My sword traced a delicate path from his head to his shoulder.
"Why are Enforcers cooperating with an army of Calamities?"
No response. Yet, his eyes briefly betrayed his surprise before he recovered. It should have gone unnoticed by anyone else, but not by . He must be wondering how I knew.
Interesting.
"What are you aiming for by forcing people to awaken?"
This ti, he opened his mouth, proudly proclaiming:
"It is their right to defend their lives, and it is an honor for every human to shed their blood for humanity’s survival! A traitor like you, who aligns with Calamities for a corrupted power, will never understand!"
"Oh? So you’re playing ignorant? Very interesting."
"I will never betray my commitnt to humanity’s cause. You can torture all you want; you will get nothing from ! My comrades will hunt you down, you and the Calamities you serve!"
His eyes were filled with determination. Does he think of himself as a martyr?
Sure, I had defeated him, but his will remained unbroken. Well, for now...
"That’s your choice. You have the right not to answer my questions."
I made my sword disappear, and a ring reappeared on my left hand.
I picked up his claymore from the ground, examining it carefully, detailing every aspect of it.
"It’s a fine sword. You must have taken great care of it, and I bet it has saved you more tis than you can count. Long enough for you to beco the fighter you are."
"Earlier, I answered two of your questions, but you refused to return the favor."
I positioned the claymore over my shoulder.
"That’s not fair, is it? So, I’ll take the sword instead. How about that? Satisfied?"
I turned my back on him, took a step forward, then suddenly spun around and swung the claymore in one swift motion at his shoulder.
Where I expected to hear a cry of pain, there was nothing.
His left arm detached from his body. Blood poured out like an open faucet, yet his expression remained unchanged.
As if he didn’t feel the pain. Or rather, as if he wasn’t even aware he had lost his arm.
Now, this was getting more and more interesting.
A smile crept onto my lips.
"I’ll take your arm for not answering my second question. That’s what we call an equivalent exchange."
I bent my knees to et him at eye level.
"Do you understand what a civilized conversation is?"
No reaction. It was as if he had disconnected from everything happening at that mont.
That works for , too.
"I’m in a good mood, so I’ll explain it to you again."
"You ask a question, I will answer it. Then, I will ask you a question, and you must answer it."
"If you refuse, I will proceed with an equivalent exchange."
"So? Are you satisfied with my answer?"
This ti, I placed the sword on his right shoulder.
"Now, it’s my turn to ask a question... Hmm, what do I want to know?"
"How did an army of Calamities reach Astoria without anyone noticing?"
No response.
"You don’t want to answer? Well, that’s your right."
I raised my sword, feigning to sever his right arm, before instead leaving a deep gash across his left eye.
This conversation was going to take a while.
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