With their wounds healed and inspiration renewed, Chayse and Elma continued with their investigation of the Acolytes. The duo's first stop was Tartarus. Three weeks had passed since their prisoners had been locked up. Elma could only imagine the type of torture that they were forced to endure throughout their stay.

She believed that it served them right.

If the prisoners didn't want to suffer through the excruciating pain, then they shouldn’t have attacked the country and killed countless people in the first place. They earned no sympathy from her.

Elma had many questions that flooded her mind.

Where did they come from? Why attack the country with such limited manpower? Where did they get their hands on the artificial Vitalis?

After three weeks of torture, they had to be willing to talk. Even the most hardened of criminals would break down and answer her questions in that period.

Upon entry into the prison, the warden of the prison and a few security guards greeted the duo. After going through the formality of identifying themselves, explaining their purpose of being there, and even going through the routine body examination, they were allowed further entry.

They wandered through the secret tunnels and found their technical officer, Caz. The man half-heartedly waved at them before escorting them to the prison cells. There they stood, in front of the cages which held their prisoners of interest, Gigas, Maur, and Thelo. 

Heavy shackles kept the prisoners restrained against the wall. Around their necks were the infamous subjugation collars. No matter what kind of trick they tried, they'd never escape from their cells.

"Three Exousia locked away in their cells. That’s gotta be a record or something." Chayse said before he let out a small whistle, clearly impressed with the amount of work he'd put in over the past month.

"Definitely," Elma agreed with her partner. "We often only get one."

"Is a true that one surrendered himself?" Caz pointed to Gigas.

"Yeah, weird right?" Chayse asked. "I heard he could've killed Runa and the others back there. But instead, he gave up. What's up with that?"

"I'm not sure," Elma answered. Even she found it strange that a man with such immense strength and power would easily surrender himself to the country. It was thanks to that action that he was spared of any form of torture or mistreatment for the most part. Instead, he was only locked away without receiving any food or water.

"Has he spoken a word since he's been locked up?" Chayse looked at Caz for answers, only to get a head shake in response. 

"Not to me at least," Caz said. "But the other two won't shut the hell up about how they'll escape and get their revenge. You know, classic prisoner banter."

"Stop talking about us as if we aren't here!" Thelo barked as he relentlessly thrashed about in his chains and shackles. "You've made a huge mistake in keeping us here! Let us out!"

"Your incessant barking is annoying. Silence," Maur demanded. 

"Caz," Elma ordered. As commanded, Caz pressed a button on a remote in his hand. A glass wall lowered in the cells and blocked out all noise. "There we go,"

"Anyway, Caz, has the Director stopped by here at all?" Chayse wondered.

His question was soon answered once the door leading to the room opened. The person that entered the room was none other than the Director, better known as General Zofia.

However, behind her stood a surprising guest, Aion Faure. The greatest weapons manufacturer in the country.

"Director Zofia, ma’am!" Chayse and Elma saluted their boss.

"Why’d you bring the old man along?" Caz rudely questioned the Director. Elma immediately administered punishment for his behavior by driving her fist into his stomach. The man buckled and fell to the floor.

"Nice group you have here, Zoffy. Real nice." Aion sarcastically commented.

"I told you not to call me that," Zofia coldly responded then walked past Chayse and Elma. She and Aion moved over to the cell containing the prisoners. "These are the newest prisoners?"

"Yes, ma'am," Elma nodded her head and joined Zofia by her side. "All three of them are Exousia."

"Good work, Elma." Zofia placed a gentle hand on Elma's shoulder and smiled. Elma's face turned beet red as she returned the smile, finding it difficult to meet the woman's warm gaze. 

"Unfortunately, we couldn't get the ringleader." Chayse cut into the conversation. "She got away,"

"Don't worry about it," Aion assured the Hunter. "We get a chance to see our little sister again soon enough."

"Sister?!" Chayse exclaimed.

"Yes, Melanie, Aion, and I are siblings," Zofia revealed as she turned her head and glared at Maur from behind the glass wall. Maur noticed the glare and smiled, not feeling a shred of fear from the woman's sharp gaze. "I want answers from that man."

Caz nodded and pressed the button on the remote again, raising the glass wall from Maur's cell. The moment it raised, Maur's wicked chuckle reached the group's ears.

"My, my, General Zofia and Aion Faure, what a pleasure," Maur mockingly said. "This one wishes we could have met under more fortunate circumstances."

"Fortunate for you, right?" Chayse asked.

Maur answered with a smile.

"This is how this works," Zofia stepped forward, setting out the ground rules for the exchange between the two. "We ask the questions; you give us answers. Follow that simple instruction; perhaps we can work something out."

 "Is this the part where this one breaks under pressure and spills everything?" Maur questioned, not a shred of fear appeared in his eyes. That much everyone in the room could tell. "Melanie prepared this one of your tactics in case of our capture. Your tricks shall not break this one."

"The first question," Zofia ignored Maur's obvious provocations. Due to her years of experience, she knew how to respond to her prisoners of war. "Did Melanie bring you here for revenge? One of my subordinates told me that she went to the graves of the fallen to revive him."

"Pathetic," Maur chuckled. "This one told you the answer before, remember?" His eyes locked onto the Hunters.

The bodies of Chayse and Elma tensed up, knowing exactly what the Acolyte meant by his response.

"The revival of Mother, right?" Chayse nonchalantly answered, regaining his composure. "Mother, the Goddess of Destruction, Jaya, deity you fanatically worship."

"You mercilessly slaughtered hundreds of people all for her," Elma added.

Maur nodded his head, letting out a happy hum. "Correct. Mother is here. We can sense her. One way or another, she shall return. You may have prolonged her revival for now, but you are only delaying the inevitable. You cannot stop what is to come. The way of the New Path dictates that her second coming is at hand."

The man's expression grew deranged the more he preached about his supreme sovereign.

"Are you sure about that?" Elma stepped forward and gripped the cell bars. "We stopped your plot to destroy this country. Who's to say that we can't do the same for the others?"

"You can keep sending whatever you want our way. Elma and I will keep knocking them down." Chayse proudly stated.

Elma wasn't as brazen to agree with Chayse's announcement. She'd never admit to his face, but she didn't possess his boundless confidence. She wanted to end things then and there. 

Jaya Acolytes were dangerous.

There were no official records of how many members they had in their twisted cult. Hopefully, it would end with those three.

But, that was wishful thinking on her part.

"Do not make idle threats that you cannot hope to keep, Hunters," Maur scoffed at the arrogance of his enemies. Sure, he lied defeated in their cell, but, he was confident that his chance would come some day. "This one guarantees that your deaths are imminent."

"Why is Melanie so fixated on Jaya? Your motives are puzzling." Zofia asked.

"After you lot killed Melanie's father, her dear uncle opened her eyes to the truth of this world. He explained to her the deepest and darkest secrets that this country hides from its people. Like this place for instance. Does the council even know that this room exists?"

No immediate reply came from any of the interrogators. Countries had their secrets. The most common reason was to protect the people. That was the case for them. The secrets they kept were for the best interest of everyone. If they knew everything that they did, there would be inevitable massive panic among the populace.

That could not happen, no matter what. Panic and chaos bred Varvara. They couldn’t let those creatures back into the country again.

"This one wonders why you would want to keep this place a secret. What could you possibly be hiding down here in your maximum-security prison?" Maur continued to taunt the group before him, having no problems revealing that he knew a lot more than the others realized.

"Where's Melanie going?" Aion suddenly shifted the direction of the interrogation. 

"Who knows?" Maur shrugged his shoulders. "Know this, however, the next time she returns to this country, it'll be the end."

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"This interrogation is over for now," Zofia shook her head, knowing that she had to work on Maur a bit more and wear him down. She left the cell and had Caz raise the glass wall on Maur's side. Then, her focus shifted to Gigas and Thelo. "Those are in leagues with each other?"

"That's what Thelo said when we brought Gigas in here," Chayse informed her.

"We'll question him next," Zofia commanded. Caz raised the glass wall, allowing Zofia and the others inside the cell. "Good evening, Gigas Alcaeus."

Gigas lifted his head and returned the greeting, "Good evening, General Zofia."

"You're surprisingly civil," Chayse commented, feeling slightly awkward around the two. Both Gigas and Zofia were renowned for their cruel deeds in combat. And yet, there they were, having a decent conversation without an ounce of bloodlust.

"Figured you'd be thrashing about like your friend there," Elma indicated to Thelo.

"He's not my friend," Gigas corrected. That was one thing he wanted to get straight with them. Dire and Thelo were far from his friends. They were associates at best, and even that irritated him.

"Then what about Dire?" Zofia brought the man's attention back to her. "We have received numerous reports of you two wandering throughout the country together."

"That's true."

"Why is that? What are two notorious criminals like you doing here?" Elma inquired.

"Idiots! Do you really think Gigas will tell you anything?" Thelo taunted the others. He didn't Gigas long, but from what he could tell, the mercenary was one of the hardest, tight-lipped people he'd ever met in his life. "No matter what method of torture you try, Gigas will never tell you a thing!"

"I was ordered by a powerful man to come here with Dire and Thelo. He wanted all three of us to cause trouble in the country and test your defensive measures," Gigas gave up the information without hesitation, shocking nearly everyone in the room. 

"Defensive measures?" Chayse repeated. "That doesn't sound good. The only reason someone would want to test that out is because--"

"They plan to infiltrate themselves," Aion concluded. 

Thelo's jaw almost reached the floor. Never in his life did he expect his colleague would give away the secret of their mission.

"Why did you suddenly surrender then?" Zofia asked.

"I'm tired..." Gigas admitted before he heaved a heavy sigh. "The mission combined with babysitting Dire and Thelo, and dealing with the Acolytes and Varvara, it all took its toll on me. I'm through with Mercenary work."

"Gigas?! What the hell are you doing?! You'll get us killed!" Thelo snapped.

"I don't care," Gigas shook his head. "I've done so much over the past few decades, caused the deaths of many. I don't want to do it anymore. If given a chance, I'd like to use my talents for good."

"Would you like that chance?" Zofia suggested. All eyes affixed to her.

"What do you mean?"

"My subordinates confirmed that you're an Exousia. Is that true?"

"It is,"

"Then, work under me. Use your skills for good, and I will pardon you of your crimes if you prove yourself useful." Zofia offered.

"I'd be honored," Gigas bowed his head to the woman. A soft smile formed on his face at the thought of turning over a new leaf. After decades of fighting and killing for the sake of money or personal gain, it lit a fire inside him to try and do some good in the world.

"First, you must prove your loyalty," Zofia walked over to Gigas and released him from his chains and shackles. Chayse and Elma immediately reached for their weapons, preparing themselves for combat in case the mercenary dared to try and escape.

"What would you like me to do?" Gigas asked.

"Kill that man," Zofia pointed at Thelo. 

"What?!" Thelo exclaimed.

"What good would killing him do?" Gigas wondered. He wasn't entirely against the idea of killing his former partner. However, it wasn't his most ideal first chance at turning over a new leaf. 

"He is not useful to us. He has refused on numerous occasions to assist us in our mission. Therefore, he must be eliminated," Zofia answered. 

"Y-You can't do this, Gigas! Don't do this! Kill her and free me, damn it!" Thelo demanded. 

Gigas looked back and forth between Zofia and Thelo, weighing his options. It didn't take the man long to walk over to his former partner while cracking his knuckles. If killing another person meant that he'd be on his way to redemption, then it was a small price to pay in the long run. He clenched his hand into a fist and swung.

Before it could make contact with Thelo's face, Zofia's hand suddenly caught Gigas' fist. Oddly enough, it didn't budge. Gigas put in enough strength into his fist to obliterate Thelo's face, and yet, that woman's firm hand halted all its momentum. Surely, the General's were not people that he could ever underestimate.

"Well done, Gigas," Zofia flashed a smile at the man. "You completed my first task with flying colors. That was definitely a killing blow."

"Thank you?" Gigas lowered his fist down to his side.

"Caz, take Gigas to a different cell. We have to prep him along with the others," Zofia ordered.

"Right, right," Caz scratched the back of his head and sighed, knowing that he'd have more work to do thanks to her. "Come on, big guy."

Caz and Gigas exited the room. Meanwhile, Zofia and the others left the prison cells and wandered even deeper into the hollow caves. 

"Director Zofia, are you okay?" Elma wondered, showing a surprising amount of concern to which Chayse found strange.

"I am fine, Elma. Do not worry about me." She answered sternly. "The two of you did an excellent job bringing those three here. We will continue to probe them for information until I am satisfied."

"So, you're really gonna bring that Gigas guy into our ranks? I don't trust him," Chayse blurted out, showing no restraint when it came to serious matters like recruitment. He had no problems chasing after and capturing Exousia. But, bringing them onto the team was something he never really agreed to when he first came onto the job.

"Don't question the Director," Elma slapped her partner against the back of his head. 

"We will have Gigas work for us until he helps us locate the ones that hired him," Zofia said. "He showed no hesitation in trying to kill his colleague, so he will be useful when we hunt down Dire."

Chayse and Elma lowered their heads and frowned, knowing that their Director inadvertently mentioned that they weren't strong enough to take down Dire themselves. 

"Maybe he will prove useful in tracking down the other Acolytes as well. We will continue to use him until he drops," Zofia callously stated. Not a shred of remorse hinted in her words.

"What about Melanie?" Aion asked. "What're you gonna do when you find her?"

"Eliminate her after I get the answers that I need,"

"Eliminate?" Elma struggled to keep her voice low. "Director Zofia, you intend to kill her? Your sister?"

Zofia turned around then glared at Elma. Her cold, emotionless eyes made her blood freeze. She didn't know why she even bothered to remind her of that fact. Zofia was a hardened woman that led an army for Goddess sake. She's made many hard decisions that resulted in the deaths of many.

She helped her siblings overthrow and execute her father. That only hardened her heart. As far as she was concerned, what was another death to her? Keeping the country safe was her top priority. She'd do anything to achieve her goals.

She's made that clear on more than one occasion.

"I will not let my relationship with Melanie deter me from my path. Yes, she is my dear sister. However, she must be punished for her crimes against the country. Like our father and the others before her." Zofia announced.

"You’re right. I’m sorry, I stepped out of line." Elma nodded her head.

Deep down, she admired Zofia. But, she could never be like that. It was never her intention. Zofia was powerful, cool-headed, and dependable. Anyone could always count on her to make the tough choices in dire situations.

However, sometimes her tough choices weren’t morally right. Elma knew that. Zofia knew that. Everyone knew that. But, things like that just had to be done to ensure the safety of the kingdom. So, if Melanie had to die, then she was going to die.

"Fuck, well, if that's how it's gotta be," Aion scratched the back of his head. It wasn't the ideal situation, but he figured he didn't have a right to complain. "Melanie's long gone. There's no changing her now."

"Perhaps if we can get her to cooperate, the council will be lenient with her sentencing. But, that is only if she cooperates." Zofia stated.

"How do you plan on getting her to cooperate? With more torture?" Aion shot Zofia a questioning glance.

The atmosphere suddenly grew tense as the two forces traded glances. It overwhelmed Elma to even be within the same room as the two of them.

"That is the plan,"

"You know, for someone renowned for her limitless brilliance, you sure are acting like an idiot."

Elma gasped at that moment. Out of all the times she heard people badmouth the Director, she had never seen someone have the audacity to say something to her face. While she respected Aion as one of the country’s greatest heroes, even she wouldn’t allow him to disrespect the Director.

When Elma stepped forward to reproach the man; Zofia held her arm out to stop her

"Is that so? What coerced you to make such a ridiculous statement?" She asked.

"It’s been three weeks, Zoffy. The jailers starved them for that long, and that Acolyte hasn't given up an ounce of useful information," stated Aion, "you add torture into the mix, and he'll say whatever you wanna hear to make the pain stop."

"Do not underestimate our methods of information gathering, Aion. From now on, I will personally conduct Maur’s torture. He will answer all of our questions, one way or another."

Aion’s fist suddenly smashed through the nearest wall in the cavern. "You don’t understand, do you?! Torturing Maur will do you no good! You have to try another method!"

"I am open to ideas." Zofia spread her arms out, patiently waiting to hear something from her brother. When nothing came, she continued, "I thought as much. From my perspective, you are still attached to Melanie because of your guilt. As I mentioned years ago, perhaps I should have been the one to kill our father. Unlike you, I would not regret the decision."

"You wouldn’t? Or you couldn’t?" Aion narrowed his eyes as if gauging Zofia’s expression.

Surprisingly, Zofia lost her calm composure and smacked her lips. Then, she turned her back to her brother.

"I am doing the best that I can for this country and its people. I am aware that my methods are unsavory. But, my concerns are more focused on the people than a madwoman." She said. "Sadly, in human affairs, it is necessary for one to be sacrificed for the needs of the many."

"And what would you know about human affairs?" With those last words of contempt, Aion parted from the room.

Zofia stood there in silence. It was a rare moment, seeing the Director appear so conflicted.

"Director?" Elma softly called out to her.

"Any other reports regarding Exousia hunting?" She demanded with an assertive tone as she suddenly walked down the hall at a quick pace.

Elma snapped out of her trance and answered, "No ma’am. Those are the only three that we have found in the kingdom. We haven’t heard any mention of new ones showing up from Caz."

"Bellamy and Rasmus haven’t reported any findings either," Chayse added.

"Is that so?" Zofia brought her hand to her chin. "I guess we can take that as a good sign for now. However, we will need more members if we want the plan to work."

The Director stopped in front of a massive security door at the end of the hall. She pressed her hand against the scanner then stood back at the door opened. From there, she led the group into a large room with a single podium located in the center. Resting on the podium was a small, black box.

However, it was heavily chained up. But, despite that fact, Elma and Chayse felt an ominous presence around the box. Elma instinctively reached for her bow and arrow just in case something would escape and attack them.

Although embarrassed by the unnecessary action, Elma took comfort in the fact that Chayse had the same reaction.

"Okay, I’m just gonna go ahead and ask," announced Chayse. "What the hell is with that box?"

"This, Chayse, is what Melanie and the other Acolytes were after," Zofia answered.

"Really? A box? Hundreds of people died over a stupid box?" Chayse threw his hands up into the air then angrily paced around the room mumbling to himself.

Elma felt like doing the same. However, she refused to do so while in the presence of the Director.

"Director, is it too much to ask as to what exactly is inside of that box?" Elma inquired.

"It is." Zofia coldly responded. "Know that from now on; things are going to get more hectic. Now that I am aware of the Acolytes plans, we will have to be prepared for anything."

"No problem. Elma and I can handle anything the Acolytes throw our way." Chayse boasted.

"Your enthusiasm and seemingly endless optimism are admirable, Chayse. However, do not let your success get to your head. This is only the beginning." Zofia warned them. "Now that I know what the Acolytes are after, we must increase the defenses of the kingdom."

"Is that box really worth all the trouble?"

"Don’t question the Director, Chayse!" Elma quickly chastised her partner.

"Unfortunately, Chayse, it is. If they got their hands on this box, I fear for what would happen to this country. No, the world even." Zofia reckoned.

Those solemn words of hers—Elma didn’t want to believe them. The Director was never the type of person to make jokes or tell tall tales. So, no matter how absurd her statement, she knew that there was truth behind them.

Elma racked her brain trying to figure out what could’ve been inside the box. What could’ve been so alluring for the Acolytes to attack an entire country?

"Well, I’ll take your word for it." Chayse accepted her statement without complaint or question.

"What do you need for us to do?" Elma eagerly asked, ready to take part in the next mission.

"Continue with your previous assignment as planned. Locate and capture as many Exousia in Soteria as you can. We are going to need all the firepower we can get for what is to come in the future." Zofia warned them before she led them out of the room.

From there, the group parted ways. Zofia returned to the surface while Chayse and Elma remained in Tartarus. They wasted no time in using any resources they could to locate any other Exousia in the country. Soteria was a large place. There were plenty of places for the rats to hide.

But, no matter where they hid, Chayse and Elma would find them. For as long as they chose to hide within the walls, they were nothing more than caged animals. Sooner or later, they’d get hunted down.