W.R. Eternal: Hello. Here is this week's chapters.
Chapter 3: Interrogation
A few hours later, Kaito's body finally recovered from mana exhaustion and the mental strain from fighting. Kaito felt his muscles ache as he opened his eyes. he looked around to see his surroundings. He was in a grey interrogation room used by police officers, a large one-way, bullet-proof glass on the wall. He was sitting on one of the metal grey chairs with a large rectangular table. His black storage ring, katana, pistol, and magical dagger were on the table.
He currently wore a plain gray shirt, long gray paints, and string-less gray shoes. His mage cloak and cap were also on the table. Kaito had hand cuffs with long chains around his wrist. His ankles also had cuffs with long chains to restrict him from running or jogging.
He remained silent as he saw a short-haired blonde woman enter the room wearing a tuxedo. Two guards in bullet proof armor also followed her in. One stood before the door, the other stood in the corner to the left behind Kaito. The woman sat down on the chair opposite of Kaito and opened a portfolio.
"Your name is Kaito Lu, born in Black Horn City. Reported to have gone missing one year ago at age sixteen. What happened in the year you were gone?" the woman asked.
"What? Kaito Lu?" Kaito murmured and thought about what she said.
My name is Kaito Lu? Impossible. In this world, I should be Kaito Fang. Why is the family name Lu? Could that summoning spell that got interrupted actually have sent the body I was supposed to take into another world?
Where am I? What kind of world is this?
What the hell happened to me?
WHY ME? I didn't ask for THIS!
As Kaito was screaming in his head, the woman continued. "Kaito? Did you hear me?"
"Ah...yes," Kaito said, his thoughts disturbed by her voice. His mind still on the verge of breaking down.
"What happened?" the woman repeated.
"I don't know. I really don't know," Kaito said, shaking his head in confusion. "I....I just disappeared. I awoke in the forest. I...I tried to find civilization. I really did! I followed some fresh tracks and encountered the goblins. I had never fought them before. The dagger came from one of them. I don't know where the rest of the human corpse holding that pistol is. I swear!"
On the other side of the glass, one man in a dark blue tuxedo watched with one general and a scientist in a lab coat. There were also people monitoring screens and recording Kaito's words and actions. They could see Kaito struggling to accept what happened to him.
"What do you think?" the man in the tuxedo asked.
"Mr. Tseng, I believe that boy was kidnapped and experimented on. He must have escaped somehow. His mind is on the verge of a breakdown," he scientist answered.
"I believe that young man is dangerous. We already have many warriors capable of using Ki Blasts and very few have magical affinity. The mages we have are few, but this kid is also a warrior! I inspected the site we found him and the bodies of the ghosts. I believe this boy is also an esper! He had to have fought a ghost. No corpse was skewered or injured by the massive scale of rock spikes created by an earth spell. I also believe he had to have been kidnapped. There were no signs of a Ki Blast. Every Ki has its signature, unlike magic. Perhaps his kidnappers believed we wouldn't be able to find them if that boy hadn't learned how to use his Ki," the general voiced his thoughts after pondering a few seconds.
" He is a rank 1 mage and warrior, is also an esper, possess no knowledge of Ki, and has no memories of the past year," Mr. Tseng summarized.
"I believe it is post traumatic stress," the scientist agreed. "He is clearly breaking down after only hearing his name."
"What is his track record?" Mr. Tseng asked.
"Clean. No criminal records at all. His father, William Lu, is a lieutenant in the Imperial Army. His mother, Ting Lu, owns an herbal medicine shop. I've heard my subordinates claim that her tea is the best. He also has a younger sister, age seven, by the name of Mei Lu. As per national law, she was tested at age seven and is confirmed to have potential to be a fighter. Based on the readings, she can awaken as an apprentice warrior," the general answered.
"His academic scores are slightly above average. His athletic scores are very good as well," the scientist concluded.
"The Earth is watching all fighters. Demons and magical beasts have taken over the oceans and most of the land. Very few mortals become fighters, humans with magical energy. Can he be trusted not to go rogue and abuse his powers?" Mr. Tseng asked. "Where are his parents?"
"They've just arrived. They're waiting in another room. The sister is there too," the general answered.
"Good. Have the fail-safe been implemented?" Mr. Tseng asked.
"Yes sir. His family has been upgraded to a private villa in Black Horn City's fighter district. Two vehicles and other necessities are already in place inside the house. I believe this boy does intend to specialize as a mage. With his family in a richer and more secure housing area, I don't believe he'll take the law in his own hands," the scientist smiled. "All we need now is for Kaito to learn to use his Ki and add its unique signature into our Sensor Program. Once an agent wears the sensor, he'll be able to track Kaito."
"I get why the sensor covers the left or right ear, but why only have a rectangular, semi-transparent lens over one eye? Why not both eyes?" the general asked.
"Our studies have tested that agents are more likely to concentrate their sensors if they close one eye. Even though the sensors have a rectangular colored lens, the sensor can change color to look like a clear monocle. Returning to Kaito, I suggest he joins Black Horn City's fighter institute," the scientist said.
"Dr. Travis, are you insane? Why leave him there? He'll only be fighting magical beasts and monsters near Black Horn City. We never have enough mages in the army," General Raymond frowned with disapproval.
"If he joins the institute, he cannot join a sect. Institutes are allied to the nation, not sects. Sects rarely send any reinforcements of note, but institutes do," Dr. Travis explained.
"Good. I like that. Send in the parents. We need to know more about this new official ranked fighter," Mr. Tseng ordered, an attendant rushing out the door after a snap of the man's fingers.
After extensive questioning, Kaito's eyes narrowed as three more chairs were placed at the table. His eyes widened as he saw three familiar faces, but his heart ached as they were not HIS family. His mind numbed as fragmented memories of yet another Kaito entered his mind, his memories only including his family and not the rest of the world.
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"Kaito," his mother wept as she saw her son. A guard stopped her with a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. He pointed at the chairs and William Lu held his wife's hand and helped his wife and daughter into the chairs.
"Do you recognize these people?" the interrogator asked.
"They are my family. My dad and mom, William and Ting Lu. She is my sister, Mei," Kaito answered.
"It would seem you are clueless about the world except for your family," the interrogator voiced as she wrote in her portfolio.
"Where have you been?" Ting asked her son.
"Ma'am, I'm afraid I ask the questions. You are not to speak unless instructed to do so via the Bluetooth connected to the people on the other side of that glass," the woman said bluntly as she pointed a thumb to the glass behind herself. "Kaito, what is the last thing you remember before your appearance in the forest? Do you remember how you disappeared?"
Kaito closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. He began searching the memories of the second other Kaito, the Kaito Lu of this world. Kaito Shen Drake was meant to be a mage, but became both a mage and warrior thanks to Kaito Fang's memories. What benefit did Kaito Lu bring him? What happened to this Kaito?
"I see.....a tank. A large cylinder tank full of some blue-green liquid. It is very heavy and....I'm in it. I have nothing but a pari of white shorts on, a breathing apparatus covering my face from the nose down. There are....tubes connected to my arms, legs, back, and the back of my head....." Kaito said as he frowned with his eyes tightly shut.
"Go on," the woman urged as shocked voices began discussing on the other side of the glass.
"I....can a hear a voice. My memories start fragmenting there....Project Cerberus....genetic experiment...." Kaito muttered before opening his eyes, his eyes now blue-green and possessing a permanent slight glow. "I remember bits and pieces of how I got kidnapped. I...was heading back home from school. Four guys in a large black van grabbed me and five others. We were not official mages or warriors. We could hardly resist them....I remember them killing one girl because she pepper-sprayed one of them in the eyes....that is all. What happened between then and the tank, and what happened between that tank and my appearance....I can't remember."
"Let them talk with their son. Get out for now and come in here," the woman heard Mr. Tseng order through her Bluetooth. She informed the parents and left the room.
"What are your thoughts? You are the expert," Mr. Tseng asked the woman and the analysts in the room.
"He's telling the truth. Lie detector confirms," one analyst said.
"There was no fluctuations of magical in his body nor did I sense any psychic countermeasures. He told the truth. Why his eyes only glowed now is a mystery. Perhaps, as his memories return, the results of the experiments will reveal themselves?" the woman proposed.
"What do you two know about this Project Cerberus?" Mr. Tseng asked the general and Dr. Travis.
"I know nothing," Dr. Travis shook his head.
"Well, this is an ominous day indeed. Something that you don't know that I do," the general said gravely, causing everyone to turn their heads to him, even the analysts and attendants in the room. "Do you remember that incident forty years ago? The White Demon of Nagasaki?"
"That monstrous result of human experimentation? He nearly wiped out the Japanese fifty miles in any direction. To this day, no one knows what official mage and warrior rank he was. Wait....his eyes glowed too! He was also an esper," Mr. Tseng realized. "Could this boy be...?"
"No, but I'll bet it was something similar. There were three corrupted, irretrievable files in the database where we found the chief scientists of the forbidden experiment that created the White Demon. What we could salvage included that the test subjects must have psychic abilities. This young man could see ghosts," the general replied as he gazed at Kaito being trapped in a hug with his family. "I believe that young man was a failed experiment to be scrapped. There might be others out there."
"You're saying those scientists are back?" Mr. Tseng asked.
"They're not just back. They've resumed their experiments," General Raymond said. "There are also signs of demons gathering in different parts of the globe. Sir, I strongly believe war is coming. There are human traitors obsessed with demonic skills and magic while demons and magical beasts can assume human form after reaching an unknown cultivation of power. Animals and humans mutated into monsters by magical energy can also assume human form."
"What do we do?" Mr. Tseng asked.
"Whatever we can. We must raise more official mages and warriors while restricting the amount of people who can join sects to increase our nation's fighters. These demons and magical beasts came from outer space and brought along magical energy which has devastated our world. We don't know what other threats are out there and the amount of humans whose fighter level is high enough to explore outer space is too few. The threat of nuclear arms is the only reason whatever brought those abominations has not made a move subjugate us all," the general answered.
"My guess is that they used some transport. We do have visual images from our satellites deep in space and from those orbiting the planet," Dr. Travis chimed in.
"Regardless, we must strengthen our security or we will fall," the general shouted. "Black Horn City will fall."
"I understand," Mr. Tseng, the City Lord of Black Horn City, nodded. "No need to inform the F.N.U. until we have evidence that those scientists have returned. Once the Federation of Nations United finds out, the whole world will be notified and we might be able to find those scientists. They must have spies in the inside of the F.N.U. to avoid being captured for so long. General Raymond, take some elite platoons and secretly investigate the whole of Nagasaki and the rest of the province."
"Yes sir!" the general saluted.
"Dr. Travis, resume your experiments. The enemy used to have the advantage in magical items, skills, and spells. Now, those enemies include humans. We need devices which can detect inhuman D.N.A. or foreign Ki in all life forms ranging from within Black Horn City to fifty miles in all directions. You have authorization to use one of the abandoned satellites for the endeavor."
"It will be my pleasure," Dr. Travis bowed and the three men stared silently at Kaito and his family, each of the men with different thoughts and internal conflicts.