Free Web NovelChapter 77: Chapter 76 - Scouting(Part 2)
Point-of-View: Aurora Pretorius
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"Hey, where’s the guy that guided us to the suspected Eden hideout!? Tell me, now!" Snapped Tara, grabbing a random guy by the collar and shaking them violently.
It was a short while later, and we were at the Harmony base in this area, having brought the captive Chaos member with us. And Tara had been absolutely fuming the whole way here, seething with rage.
While he did answer most of our questions, it soon became apparent that the really crucial details, like the identity of his leader, had been wiped from his memory using a Dark Skill technique known as Memory Manipulation.
Normally, that technique isn’t very effective on Meta-Humans, and is supposed to be easy to break free from...unless the target actually consents to it, then it’s unbreakable. Additionally, it’s a dangerous technique that can inflict backlash on the caster, but again, if the target consents to it, the backlash won’t come into effect.
It’s typically only used against normal humans who’ve witnessed a Meta-Human’s powers, to make them forget...consent or not, it’s highly effective on normal humans either way. But if they do resist it instead of consent to it, then yes, the caster will have to suffer the backlash.
Anyway, once we got to the base, Tara tossed the guy we captured to one of the men stationed here and told him to lock the guy up. Her foul mood was obvious for everyone to see, so there was an intense, palpable tension in the air.
I guess Meta-Humans betraying their factions is rare, huh...I don’t really care all that much about their loyalties, but if this ends up triggering a major conflict, I’ll almost certainly get dragged into it too. This situation has really taken a turn for the worse...
"P-please, calm down, Miss Tara, I-I’ll get him right away!" Responded the Meta-Human she was threatening, looking absolutely terrified.
"There’s no need for that...I’m right here," Remarked the guy we were looking for, as he walked into the room with a smirk, "Oh, and I have a name, it’s Pravin."
"Do I look like I give a shit? Now, I’ve got a good mind to tear you apart, but first, you’re going to answer every question we’ve got for you," Growled Tara, as she stomped over to him and grabbed him by the collar.
"By all means, I’m happy to talk," He responded with a smile, "Also, mind letting go? You’re kinda strangling me here."
"Hey, shouldn’t we call Neo and have him take this guy to someone who specializes in interrogation?" I pointed out as I tapped Tara’s shoulder.
"Tch, I’ll call him afterwards...who knows how long it’ll be before I get the information they extract from him? First, I’m going to interrogate him until I’m satisfied, he’s Neo’s problem after that," She replied, before dragging him away to a nearby room.
That probably isn’t the best idea, but she’s in charge of this mission, and I don’t really care either way, so whatever. That said, we’ll lose a valuable source of information if she kills him, so I should tag along to make sure she doesn’t lose her temper. Which is very likely to happen.
She then swung open the door as she reached the room, before tossing him inside, his body hitting the floor with a loud thud. As she entered the room, I followed in after her and shut the door behind us.
"Hey, Aurora, you can tell when people are lying, right?" She asked me as she glared at Pravin.
"Sort of...I wouldn’t say it’s foolproof, and there are some people that I find difficult to read, but yeah, I can usually tell when someone’s lying," I nodded in response.
"Hmph, good enough, I suppose. You’re gonna be my lie detector. Now, then, as for you...you had better answer all my questions, or else. First, you’re a member of this so-called Chaos faction, right?" She inquired icily.
"Yup, sure am," He answered affirmatively, showing no hesitation or fear.
"Just what the hell were you trying to pull back there, huh? Did you really think those weaklings stood a chance against me?" She growled angrily.
Uh, I was there too, and I also did most of the work, I’d say...
"Oh, of course not! That was simply our leader’s way of killing two birds with one stone," He informed her with a smug look on his face.
"Grr, you’re really starting to piss me off...just what do you mean by that!?" She snapped, clearly starting to get irritated.
"Sheesh, you should really consider anger management, lady. And to answer your question, there were two objectives to this...the first, to trim some of the fat from Chaos, the ones you killed turned out to be ill-suited to our faction, so we used them as sacrificial pawns. And the second objective...was to announce ourselves to Harmony."
"Huh? And why would you do that? Seems pretty stupid to me," She frowned skeptically.
"Well, it’s the truth. You see, we’ve slowly been amassing power and growing in number over the course of a few years, and now that we’ve got to a fairly strong position, our leader wanted to make our presence known!" He exclaimed with a look of amusement, before adding with an ominous smirk, "Because knowing about us won’t do you any good. Either way, we’ll crush Harmony, and Eden too, of course."
"Why, you little...!"
"Hey, I can sense your desire to kill him, please calm down," I sighed in exasperation, "Oh, and so far, I’m fairly sure that he’s telling the truth."
"I’m so fucking pissed right now...," She growled, before kicking a chair across the room in frustration, which slammed onto the wall and broke.
Hm, I’ve got a hunch...if an Eden hideout never existed under that waterfall, then it’s more than likely that...
"Uh, how about I take over?" I suggested, taking a step forward and shifting my gaze to Pravin and voicing my suspicions, "Hey, when you reported that an Eden member had been spotted here, you ’followed’ him by yourself, right?"
"Heh, looks like you figured it out...yeah, that whole thing was a farce to set this up. I ’spotted’ him because I was already expecting him, and then ’followed’ him alone. I told the others who were with me that it’d be suspicious and too difficult to be covert if too many of us follow him, and they complied, so it was ridiculously easy to pull off," He laughed carefreely.
"Tch, so you were in on it from the start," Muttered Tara, tapping her foot on the ground repeatedly.
I see...just as I thought, that part was premeditated, and I’m guessing it didn’t really matter who Harmony sent out to investigate, they just had to be competent enough to not get killed by the eight that were sent.
Pravin said that they had been sent as sacrificial pawns, unbeknownst to them. Despite being used like that, most of them were actually willing to throw away their lives to protect information about their organization, but that loyalty was brushed aside by whoever gave them their orders...how cruel...
"Disgusting...those people killed themselves to protect your faction, and yet, you-," I began with an appalled glare.
"Huh? Oh, I think you’re misunderstanding something...loyalty is great and all, but they were just fanatical. Of their own accord, they became slaves to our cause...but by doing so, they contradicted our objective. We have no use for brainless idiots that would do something as dumb as blindly sacrifice themselves for our cause," He scoffed in response.
What?
"The hell?" Mumbled Tara in bemusement.
"That doesn’t make sense...if you’re all about freedom, shouldn’t that include the freedom to choose to be slave to your cause or whatever!?" I snapped, clenching my fist in anger.
Time and time again, humans prove themselves to be a vile species...how disgusting...
"Huh, well that there’s another contradiction, isn’t it? Heh, you got me there!" He laughed it off after a moment of silence.
"You think this is funny? You sent people to their deaths and then laugh? What the hell is wrong with you?" I growled in disbelief.
"Hm? I see, so the rumors about you are true...you’re incredibly powerful and apparently can be pretty brutal when push comes to shove, but deep down, you’re still just a naive, innocent little girl, aren’t you?" He smirked knowingly.
"And? So what if I am, huh? Maybe I am naive, I won’t deny it...but even so, what kind of person treats unnecessary deaths that they caused with such disdain?" I shot back in disgust.
"A fairly normal one, actually. Sure, humans can be kind and caring...but there are two sides to every coin. Be it normal humans or Meta-Humans, malice and cruelty are no less human traits than kindness and compassion are."
"That’s not-!"
"I call you naive because you don’t understand that, or rather, you refuse to. Some people become malicious and cruel because of what they’ve been through and experienced...but plenty of others are just as malicious and cruel despite having lived perfectly good lives. Meanwhile, even so-called ’good people’ have likely lied to or hurt someone at some point in their lives, that much is unavoidable unless you live a hermit’s life. Why do you think that is? Because malice and cruelty are much more human traits that kindness and compassion are."
"Tch, that know-it-all tone is pissing me off...," Muttered Tara with a grimace. frёewebnoѵēl.com
"For proof, all you need to do is look through the history books. There has never been an era where conflict didn’t exist...be it minor skirmishes or full blown wars, humans have never let peaceful times last for long. Even now, in the modern era, this world isn’t free from conflict," He pointed out objectively.
"That may be true, but the world is a lot more peaceful that it was about a hundred years ago!" I countered in response.
"Is it really, though? No, if you ask me, the conflicts are a lot more hidden that they used to be, but they’re still very much there. If humans really are naturally compassionate creatures, then why would that be the case? Because even when they have everything, humans still want more...more land, more money, more power, there’s no fathoming the endless greed that defines humans. And that’s the freedom that Chaos is striving to establish...why chain down your true emotions? Why not be free and do exactly as you please? That’s the kind of world we want to see!"
"Hah, what a joke! That’s a world of contradictions, nothing more...having the freedom to do whatever the hell you want without fear of consequences, are you stupid or something?" Scoffed Tara in disgust, "So, in this world you’re trying to establish, someone would have the freedom to, say, enslave people...in other words, the people enslaved will have their freedom taken away. All you people are really trying to do is create a lawless wasteland, nothing more."
"Well, that is what Chaos means, right?" He laughed in response.
"Enough...there’s no point in talking about this anymore. What are the names of your leader and other members?" I inquired, changing the subject. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
"No clue. Just like the guy you brought it, I had my memory manipulated too, you see, of my own volition, of course. But don’t get the wrong idea, I’m not being selfless or whatever, this is just a measure of self-preservation. Since I didn’t resist it, the effects are highly complex and intricate, but not to the extent where it’s impossibly unbreakable...so, if you want the information hidden away in my brain, guess what?" He smirked maliciously, "You’re gonna have to keep me alive."
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