"Arrggh",
There was no answer. Only a howl of resistance.
The man writhed on the ground in pain as the ice whip pierced his injured abdomen.
"Hiss!"
The bone chilling coldness was unbearable, to say the least. Before it could freeze him to death, his body glowed in red and he used his 'Fire Body'.
Shuaa!
From head to toe, flames covered him, and he turned from a human to a living torch.
This form was only accessible from Level 7 and was usually enough to ward off any cold.
Shuaa!
But not enough against an overwhelmingly superior Water Awakener.
An ice barrier wrapped around his blazing body and quelled the unruly fire.
Anwir's resistance was futile as he found himself powerless. Be it in absolute mana control or the amount of mana, he was a far cry from the woman in maid uniform.
He had to finally acknowledge the uncomfortable truth. Even with every trick in his sleeve, he wouldn't be able to escape her palm.
Then it was better to give them what they want. Of course, that'd be in exchange for his own safety.
"Anwir, who planned my assassination?" Sarah repeated, her gaze narrowing in on the man's struggling, yet clear eyes.
He was still restrained in the ice barrier; he was still in agony, but he didn't yield.
"Drop me at an address and I'll tell you." He hissed as the ice spikes entered his body and sent literal chills. But his tone allowed no negotiation.
Sarah was new to this line of work and scowled. "If you don't tell, I'll have you killed."
"Hahaha!" Anwir laughed like a madman despite him shivering in the cold.
He wasn't like the fat man who easily gave in to pain and confessed the truth.
A Level 7 Awakener was someone who stood at the top of the pyramid. To climb there, barring extreme luck, endless effort and hardship were necessary. A Level 7 was a high awakener, the backbone of the army.
Their mental fortitude was much tougher and normal interrogations wouldn't budge them.
'Normal' interrogations, of course.
"Aunt Anna, decrease the temperat—" Sarah turned to her maid in anger.
Anna's blue eyes glanced at Sarah as she shook her head. "Leave this to me, miss. You'll need some time to get used to these dealings."
Sarah bit her lip in frustration. Despite her being a Level 6, she was barely 20 years old.
She could slaughter magic beasts and massacre Abyssals. But dealing with humans, especially something like interrogation wasn't her forte.
It was also the reason she did the stupid mistake during her previous mission. She stayed in proximity of the captives during questioning and had to face the bombings at point blank range.
"I'll leave it to you, then." Sarah took a deep breath and walked to the distance.
Anna slowly turned back to Anwir, and her kind smile turned into a cold sneer.
Anwir shivered, not out of cold this time, but out of fear.
This woman was different from the still inexperienced Sarah. He could bargain with the latter, but not this one.
"Anwir Ostwell. Age 56. Level 7. Brought up and raised in Kadha slum. You entered the Imperial Defense Academy and tutored under a Level 8 Awakener." Anna glanced into his eyes as she emotionlessly spoke.
"Wait.. wait.." Anwir gulped as he tried to speak, but the ice barrier surrounding him suddenly thickened and the sounds out of his throat turned into whimpers.
It wasn't as if she knew everything. She didn't know the name of the Level 8 Awakener. She didn't know what transpired between him getting out of the slum and getting into the academy. She certainly didn't know who was backing him.
But…
"You are a selfish individual. But you married the girl from your slum and you have kids. The eldest one is a colonel and is stationed on Mars space station. The second one is less talented and married a tycoon."
Anwir's eyes widened, and he stared at her in fear. 'No more. Please. That's all you know. That's all everyone knows.'
Anna's lips curled into a cold smile and she said with thick killing intent. "Your wife was killed by your enemies a few years ago, but she left you a child. Now she's only 16 years old and you love her the most."
"Haa!" Anwir's heart stopped for a moment before he violently thrashed against the floor.
He channeled his fire mana, activated his fire body and burst out the strongest fire attacks he could.
Shuaa!
Shuaa!
The ice barrier started to melt, and Anwir's eyes shone with joy. He looked up at Anna's eyes only to see the mocking look in her eyes.
Boom!
"Kuh!"
Two impossibly cold ice walls crushed him like he was a human sandwich and broke nearly every bone in his torso.
"Please… she is innocent." Anwir pleaded.
Anna's emotionless face distorted with rage. "So is my young miss. So is the woman you nearly burnt to death. You hypocrite! Aren't their lives?"
Anwir turned silent.
Anna returned to her icy tone. "I have a friend in the Athena Branch. She updates me on your youngest's real time address. If you tell me what I want, I'll not touch her. I know you won't trust my promise, but you have no choice."
Anwir gritted his teeth and glanced at Sarah in the distance with a pitiful face.
Sarah's eyes flashed with a myriad of emotions before she finally shook her head and glared back at him.
There was no mercy in her eyes. Only hatred.
"You are responsible for your actions. Loving a person doesn't justify killing others." Sarah's stern tone surprised even Anna.
'Young Miss, you are growing ruthless. Miss would have been proud.' She smiled for a brief moment before she turned back to Anwir.
"Don't even think of leaving this place alive. What you should be thinking is would you like your children to follow you to grave or will you let them live in peace?" Anna's words were like steel arrows that pierced his final hopes.
Anwir closed his eyes as tears flooded his face. He recalled his wife's final words as she handed him their last child. The child that looked like her.
'An, take care of her.'
"Astor's Vice head…" He muttered with a struggling voice. "He asked me to monitor Sarah. I know he was going to assassinate her, but I didn't know they were affiliated with Shadow Order and the Abyssals. I… really didn't know."
"And?"
"They wanted me to send cadets to train them in the Sea Abyss. Truth is, they're using them as a coverup. There is going to be an important meeting on the Dreamer. That's all I know."
Anna squinted at his motionless body. He wasn't even trying to struggle anymore.
"Please… keep your promise and send her somewhere safe. They will kill her after realizing I leaked their information." He muttered.
"Of course." Sarah nodded from the side, and Anna sighed. "Fine."
Shuaa!
An Ice spear pierced his skull and ended his life.
Anna dusted her hands, and she smiled at Sarah. "Young Miss, his answer is the same as that of the Residence's Security Captain. Unless they corroborated, Astor's are the main culprit."
Sarah nodded.
The Security Captain was the one that reported her movements in and out of her mansion. The Mission Hall Supervisor was the one that knew the exact mission she took.
These two were responsible for the information leak.
"Then we can report this to your father." Anna spoke up, her voice persuasive.
"No. Just claims won't be sufficient. We need concrete evidence." Sarah responded strongly.
Anna sighed like she saw this coming. "So…"
"Yes, we'll find the evidence in their own residence. Their security would be the lowest during the meeting."
"I knew it."