Ch.79Forced Interrogation Is Dangerous (2)

Looking at Baek Eunha sleeping soundly in the interrogation room, Vieri, a B-rank hunter assigned to the interrogation, let out a sigh.

‘This is quite troublesome…’

Despite wearing specially made restraints, Baek Eunha had easily summoned her power and melted the table.

Vieri was also a B-rank, but if placed in the same situation, wielding power so effortlessly would be impossible for him. It meant his opponent was on a higher level than himself.

‘I heard she awakened less than a year ago, yet she’s already cultivated this much power?’

If that’s true, it’s an astonishing rate of growth. She might be equal to Beatrice, an S-rank hunter from Italy who holds the record for the fastest promotion.

‘…An aggressive approach would be meaningless.’

Though he had shouted loudly for show, Vieri, who was naturally gentle-natured, couldn’t bring himself to treat Baek Eunha, who looked like nothing more than a young girl, roughly. It was a frustrating situation all around.

“Twenty… seven seconds…”

As he stared at the sleep-talking Baek Eunha, completely at a loss, a sudden uninvited guest appeared before him. It was a special agent who had received orders from above.

Click.

“Are you Vieri? From now on, we’ll be taking custody of the suspect.”

“…Taking custody? Who are you?”

“Call me Federico. I’ve brought a message from your team leader, check it.”

“What…”

Whip.

Thud.

Crackle.

[Vieri? Well, that’s how it is. They say they’ll handle it from here on out.]

Though he confirmed the order from his superior Michele through the radio that was immediately handed to him, the situation was undeniably abrupt.

“I won’t explain further. If you understand, step aside.”

“Hey, even so, doing it this way…”

Whoosh.

Federico momentarily drew up his magical power and glared at Vieri, who felt chills running through his body and unconsciously stepped back.

‘A, A-rank!’

He could understand in an instant without needing an explanation. The man before him was a being far above himself.

“Tch. Worthless fellow.”

If he were an A-rank, Vieri should have at least heard his name, but this was a completely unfamiliar face. Only then did Vieri recall a rumor he had heard before.

‘Parbosa, the awakened unit directly trained by the government.’

Elite weapons composed of high-ranking awakened ones, deployed on missions under the direction of the upper echelons. The Federico before him was clearly one of them.

‘…I never thought they would mobilize even them,’

It meant that even the upper echelon personnel were that desperate.

Leaving the stunned Vieri behind, Federico strode over and forcibly lifted Baek Eunha, who was sprawled on the floor.

Thwack.

“Sleeping sprawled out like you’re in your own bedroom when you’re just a suspect, how incredibly brazen.”

And then, he immediately swung his hand and slapped her cheek.

Smack!

Thud!

“Hey! What are you doing…”

“I’m just following orders from above. Don’t interfere and get out.”

Strictly speaking, it was excessive. This could clearly escalate into a national dispute later. However, if those were the orders from above, there was nothing to be done.

‘…Damn it.’

After all, for Vieri, the most important thing was also the safety of his country.

Just as he was about to leave the room in silence, Vieri felt a murderous intent that nearly stopped his breath. He urgently shouted to Federico.

“H-hey! Behind you…!”

“What?”

And Vieri realized. The reason he had been able to conduct even a superficial interrogation with Baek Eunha was simply because he hadn’t irritated her.

BOOM!

A tremendous explosion echoed, and a fierce wind swept through. In a situation where it was difficult to even open his eyes, Vieri reflexively drew up his magical power.

“Ugh, what on earth…”

Whoosh!

After hastily using a skill to clear the dust from the air, he saw the large hole blown through the interrogation room wall and Baek Eunha, who seemed quite annoyed.

“Ow…”

Rubbing her reddened cheek, Baek Eunha began to leave the interrogation room with staggering steps, as if heavily intoxicated.

Following cautiously behind her, Vieri could see Federico rising with an agitated expression.

“…Trying to kill me outright, you’ve finally shown your true colors.”

Although he had allowed one strike, his expression was full of confidence.

Parbosa, said to be on a different level from ordinary hunters—it was impossible to even guess how powerful they might be.

Vieri swallowed nervously at the rising tension.

The only certain fact was that bloodshed could no longer be prevented.

Shing.

“Do you see this? It’s Zahar’s dagger, said to corrode the soul. Just a slight cut brings pain worse than death.”

“……”

“In three minutes, you’ll be crying and spilling everything you know.”

The result of the ensuing battle was truly horrific.

Even for Vieri, who thought he had seen everything in this line of work, this was too much to watch, and he had to look away.

Crack!

Snap—!

“ARGHHHH!”

Thud!

Federico, covered in blood with both arms broken, fell to the floor with an agonizing scream.

‘H-how is this possible…?’

The outcome of the fight was clear. It was Baek Eunha’s overwhelming victory.

With Vieri’s B-rank capabilities, he couldn’t grasp everything about the battle, but one thing was certain.

Baek Eunha possessed combat abilities far superior to what was publicly known.

Step,

Step,

Staggering forward, Baek Eunha sat on top of Federico, who had already fainted from the pain, and began to slap his face.

Smack!

Smack!

“Kuhak, kek.”

The wounds were severe, and the blood loss was already substantial.

Sensing the danger, Vieri hurriedly stepped forward and shouted at Baek Eunha.

“Stop it! Are you really trying to kill him?”

Baek Eunha tilted her head slightly with a blank expression, as if she couldn’t understand the question. Then she resumed striking with her previously halted hand.

Slap!

Smack!

“Get a hold of yourself! Don’t you know that if you go any further, this could truly escalate into a national dispute?”

Slap!

Smack!

“Keheuk!”

At that manic appearance, Vieri felt an indescribable chill.

She had no intention of stopping. She really meant to kill him.

Patter!

“Hey!”

“What’s going on?”

Naturally, hunters from the special operations department began to gather, having heard the commotion.

Beside them were suspects from other rooms and awakened ones from Parbosa, like Federico.

“…You’ve really done it now.”

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing, barging in like this?”

Trione and Joseph raised objections, but the Parbosa agents immediately entered combat stance upon seeing what had happened to their colleague.

“I’ll cast an area blessing. Subdue and restrain the target immediately.”

“Understood.”

Whoosh.

Flash!

A blessing skill that strengthened allies was activated, and all personnel drew up their magical power.

Each of them had at least B-rank hunter level strength. Moreover, they possessed coordination that surpassed ordinary guild raid parties through intensive training.

Any ordinary hunter would surely be crushed without a trace before them.

“……”

However, even in this tense situation, Baek Eunha didn’t bat an eye. She simply raised her hand again.

Smack!

“Charge!”

Boom!

The enraged agents immediately stomped the ground. However, their movements were instantly restrained.

[Grrrk.]

[Giiik.]

[Krrrk!]

A horde of undead, summoned from somewhere, surrounded them.

“What, how on earth…”

She had summoned this many high-level undead in an instant. It was incomprehensible by any standards they knew.

“Ugh.”

Upon realizing this, the man who was commanding the agents from the rear let out a groan.

The agents who quickly turned their heads saw a death knight who had somehow gotten behind their commander and was holding a blade to his neck.

“……”

No one spoke, but everyone understood. They should never confront the undead before them.

‘I-is this the aura emanating from just one undead?’

An incredibly dense and heavy magical power and death energy. He had never felt such overwhelming power on any battlefield before.

And even that fearsome death knight was merely an undead summoned by the girl over there.

Pierre, the leader of the Parbosa agents present and an A-rank hunter, finally began to vaguely realize.

Perhaps they had disturbed a being that should never have been disturbed.