Chapter Number 189 - A Battle of Questions

"I wish to speak with you all not as a leader or as a provider... but as a friend."

Who did this man think he was?

Calling Shane, Stella, and Gordon to his office, he sat them down like employees - yet he had the gall to ask them to treat him as a friend?

"Then... what do you want to talk to us about?"

While she had been extroverted in her previous life, Stella had become more reserved in this new world.

As a result of some of the dangerous experiences she had placed herself into as a result of her jealousy towards others, she had to rethink the way she approached things - and right now, she could sense one thing.

This man was not someone she should mess with.

He was not to be made an enemy of by any means.

"Indeed... well, I have many things to ask. And I'm sure you have many things to ask me, no?"

Closing his eyes, the man leaned back in his seat as he spoke with exhaustion in his tone.

"By all means, let us speak without reservation - not hiding anything from one another."

"Who are you?"

Without hesitation, Gordon made this inquiry - to which the man laughed lightly.

"Who am I? You already know that, don't you? I've already stated my name-"

"Who are you really? What is your goal in this world?"

Even as the man brushed off the question, the boy didn't back down.

Perhaps after witnessing those survivors, he could no longer hold himself back from asking such questions.

"My goal in this world... eh? It's such a deep question. You ask it as if I was someone who made this world the way it is. I'm just a victim of this calamity, like you all are."

With a wry smirk, the man gazed upon the boy with a smile.

"And I'm merely using my resources to do what I can to survive - just like you all are."

As the man said this, the woman set a few tea cups before each of the four, pouring the tea as if she were a trained maid.

"Do you have anything more specific you wish to ask of me? Your question was quite... open ended."

"What do you want of us?"

As Gordon asked this question, the man took his cup of tea, bringing it to his mouth before realizing that it was too hot to take a sip.

"Bailey, this is quite hot. Will you please blow on it for me?"

Placing the cup down on his desk, the man called out to the woman without so much as looking up, keeping his gaze focused on Gordon all the while.

"Of course, Sir."

The woman then walked over, taking the cup herself as she blew on it, at which the man continued.

"I'll be straightforward - you three do not trust me. Am I wrong?"

At the moment the man said this, the eyes of the three went wide in surprise, however before any of them could say anything, they were met with the hand of the man, who stopped them from speaking.

"Do not answer. I already am well aware of the answer. After all... worry is still present in your expressions."

Holding out his hand, the man motioned for the woman to hand him the cup of tea, at which she cupped the scolding teacup in her palms so that he could take the handle.

"You see... to those who trust me, my words tend to be very reassuring. However, to those who do not trust me, they are still filled with worry and concern no matter how many times I reassure them. Of course... there is nothing strange about that. But for me... it is particularly true."

Taking a sip of the drink, the man grimaced for a moment, glancing up to the woman with an irritated expression.

"I burned my tongue."

With this single word, he placed the teacup down, and the woman next to him seemed to freeze in place, not saying a word in response.

She did not apologize or beg for forgiveness, nor did she seem to be brushing it off as if she did not care. Rather - she seemed to be filled with a strange fear that completely paralyzed her.

"Ahem... I would prefer not to head off on such tangents, so I apologize. It would seem that her inability to cool my drink has resulted in something... unsightly. Where were we?"

As he sat back in thought, the man gazed to the ceiling as he raised a finger with a grin.

"Ah, that's right."

As if they were being sucked up into his display, Shane felt his body tighten as the atmosphere became suffocating.

"You all haven't fallen under my spell."

----

Danger.

Danger, danger, danger, danger, danger.

This man was danger itself.

Who he was, what he was - Shane did not know.

But he was danger.

'He concealed his true face... he acted like he was some sort of savior... he lured us into this place... and he somehow brainwashed all those people...'

"You're thinking something derogatory about me, aren't you? Quite rude, boy."

With the click of his burned tongue, the man let out a sound of irritation.

"Savior syndrome. When someone saves a person from danger, that person will idolize them. The greater the danger, the greater the image of that person will become. And yet despite being saved from such a scenario where your very lives were on the line... you all don't seem to have the slightest bit of trust in me."

Tapping his hand on the desk, the man seemed to be completely confused as he interrogated the three.

"Why is that?"

"How... how do you know that we don't-"

"Oh, please. Enough with the formalities. Drop the facade, will you? False faces tire me enough, given that I have to deal with them every moment of my life."

With a deadly tone, the man whispered under his breath, as if ignoring the very people that he directed his words at.

"Don't show me one when I don't have to see it."

The three children immediately stiffened with these words, Stella's gaze falling upon Shane as she asked him with her expression what they should do.

But he had no answer.

They had been strung along by this man, and could not merely leave this place without causing a stir.

"Sigh... fine then. You wanna see my true colors. Is that it?"

And at this, Shane slumped down in his seat, taking up a vulgar tone with the man.

"Here it is, you bastard. What the hell do you want from us?"

Stella and Gordon could do nothing more than drop their jaws at Shane's rash words, however a chuckle of amusement sounded out from the man known as Donovan.

"That's more like it. No need to be so stiff, right?"

"I was getting tired of that anyway. Are you going to answer my question or not?"

"Straight to the point. Indeed, that is how things should be. Such a shame that we have to trouble ourselves so often with these wasteful formalities."

As he continued to mumble, the man sat up as he lowered his tone.

"Marcus Coran and Sylvia Berith - these are the two that you had met before, correct?"

At the sudden mention of those people, Shane immediately shot up in his seat.

"What about them?", he asked.

"You seem quite interested. I wonder just what they are to you? Tell me, boy."

With a grin, the man took another sip of his tea, this time careful not to burn his tongue.

After a long sip, the man gently placed the cup at his side, leaning forward as he gazed upon the boy with a grin.

"Tell me everything you know about them."

----

Shane found himself at a loss for words.

What did this man want to know about Marcus and Sylvia?

No - how much did he already know?

"Why do you want to know about them?"

"I am the one asking the questions here."

With this sudden statement, the man laughed to himself quietly.

"Is what I would say... but I said that we are in this conversation as equals... as friends. Therefore, I will answer your questions."

Tapping his chin with his fingers, the man seemed to be in deep thought as he prepared his answer.

"My uncle was recently killed by those people, and they've overtaken and enslaved the group of people that he was leading - as Dictators."

And with this blunt statement, Shane's heart seemed to drop into a pit.

'Wha...'

The unbelievable statement that came forth from the mouth of this man was one that Shane should have immediately denied - and at first, every ounce of him denied it.

However as the scam artist before him spoke, Shane came to understand one thing.

There was no trickery in his words.

"Therefore... I need to understand who they are in order to defeat them."

----

Shane wanted to deny it.

He wanted to tell himself that such a thing was impossible.

That it was a lie. A sham. A tactic used by this man, who had finally revealed his true colors only to the three present in this room.

Shane knew that this man was a liar on many fronts, so convincing himself that this was just another one of his lies would have been simple.

Terrifyingly simple.

Were it not for one simple fact.

'Seven... and One.'

Just what had those two done in the time that Marcus and Sylvia had left?

Had they taken over their bodies permanently, and now ran free throughout this world without any limitations?

Or perhaps they never had any limitations in the first place.

Perhaps they could take over Marcus and Sylvia at any time they wanted, and had merely refrained from doing so before - but now had decided to do so.

"Tell me... tell me more about the current situation with those two."

With a trembling voice, Shane accepted the words of the man at face value.

He needed more information to confirm the actual situation, and whether or not this entire thing was just a series of lies.

"I've revealed something to you, so now it's your turn to reveal something to me. Come now, boy. This is a mutual exchange, not a CHARITY."

"Then... what is your first question?"

Careful with his words, the boy wouldn't give up information about Marcus and Sylvia so easily. The existence of Seven and One in particular was something that should be kept hidden from this man.

Or should it?

Should he tell this man about the existence of those two monsters? Even if he did, what good or bad would it do?

'I'll keep it a secret... for now. Until I understand things better.'

"Hmm... what to ask first... I suppose I'll go with that one."

Tapping his chin in thought before a smile wrapped itself around the man's face, he lowered his gaze as he asked his first question.

"What concept have they been reawakened as?"

As the man posed this question, Shane and the other two tilted their heads in confusion, unable to understand the meaning of this question.

"I'm sorry? I... don't know what you mean by that. Could you rephrase your question?"

"Ah, I see. I've already received my answer. If you don't understand what I've just said, that tells me everything I need to know. You may ask me another question now."

On seeing the reaction of the three, the man immediately waved the question off, which gave Shane a strange premonition that he didn't know something that he should have knowledge of.

"Wait... explain that. I'll make it my question. What did you mean by that?"

As Shane asked this question, the man laughed lightly to himself in a mocking manner.

"You're going to waste a precious question on that? Very well. I'll explain."

As the man took another sip of his tea, the woman seemed to be watching intently - not making any move to intervene with the interaction.

"At the time of the Calamity, some people obtained certain abilities. While these ability users aren't exactly common, there are at least enough that I myself can list around 5 or 6. These abilities are called reawakenings, and they are when a person becomes one with a concept."

Taking another sip of his drink, the man motioned with his hand, at which the woman wiped the liquid from his mouth.

"In other words... the person is reawakened to embody that very concept."

With the snap of his fingers, the man turned his attention back to Shane.

"That is all I will say for now. Next question. How did you meet Marcus and Sylvia? Did you know them before the Calamity or did you meet them after?"

Giving the three no time to recoil from the vast implications of the information they had received, Donovan pressed them with another question.

"Wait... wait just a minute... that..."

Holding up his hand as he tried to comprehend what he had just been told, Shane halted for a moment.

"Ability users? Embodying a concept? What does that even mean? Is that like... magic? Superpowers? And you're telling me... that there are multiple users that have been awakened... as a direct result of the Calamity?"

"Ahem... I won't be answering any further questions until you answer mine. So please give me your answer, and then choose one of the multiple questions you just listed so that I can answer in return."

Even though Shane had so many questions, the man refused to budge an inch on the agreement. Shane would have to answer him if he wanted any more information.

'I'm already in a battle... aren't I?'

With a gulp, the boy forced the gathering saliva down his throat as he continued to speak.

"Alright. I get it. I'll play your game."

With distaste, the boy looked up to the man, gathering his resolve as he replied.

"We met Marcus and Sylvia after the Calamity when they saved us from some undead in our apartment complex. We never knew them before that. Now for my question."

The man seemed amused at the fact that Shane had picked up so quickly, revealing only necessary information to answer the question before posing a question of his own.

However the question that Shane posed to Donovan was one that he never would have expected at this stage.

"What is your ability?"

----

"Hmm... so you've jumped straight to that?"

The man bitterly smiled as his gaze fell downward, at which he reached for something inside his coat.

"But you've taken a bit of a risk with that question. After all - what if I don't have an ability? I'll let you ask another question if you don't want to risk wasting one that might not have an answer."

Pulling his hand out of his jacket, a glimmer of silver entered the eyes of Shane, which found themselves glued to the item in the man's hand.

Placing the item on the desk, a light clatter of metal was heard, and the three immediately sat up in their seats upon witnessing the item.

After all - the man had placed a revolver before him.

'Is he threatening us? Is he telling me not to ask that question?', Shane wondered as he froze in place, considering his next move.

"I'll answer any question you have, and I will answer truthfully. Of that... you can rest assured."

The fact that the man had placed this weapon before him meant that he was no longer playing games. From this point on, there would only be business.

Of this, Shane was certain.

"Why did you pull out that weapon?"

Shifting his question, Shane needed to confirm the man's intentions.

Even if it meant wasting a question here, he couldn't afford making any mistakes in assuming the reason for such an action.

"Hah... I see. I will be frank. I need you three to understand the situation here. Right now, I am counting on your honesty, and you are counting on my honesty. In the case that any of your answers are dishonest... then you can be certain that an appropriate punishment will be enacted."

"That's pretty one sided, given that we have no way of guaranteeing the honesty of your answers."

"Indeed it is, and so is this world. But I have already given you my word, have I not? I will not use my weapon for any boorish reason - I merely wish for you to understand that it is an option that I have, should I feel the need to resort to it."

"And if we push you into a corner, you'll feel the need to use it? Isn't that just a scenario where your victory is guaranteed?"

"My victory? Boy, you seem to be misunderstanding something here. We are merely talking to one another. Victory and defeat have no place in this room. Whether you come out victorious depends solely on your own definition of victory."

With a smile, the man fixed his tie as he spoke.

"Though... if I were to speak in terms of victory and defeat, then my victory was already set in stone from the moment I laid eyes upon you three."

His presence was suffocating.

Every action he took was made with elegance, every word he spoke with meaning.

As he looped Shane in circles with mere words, the boy felt unable to win - yet even so, he would press on in this game.

"You answered a couple of my questions just now for free. Was that part of your calculations? Or did you simply make a mistake?"

"Hahaha... and now you ask more questions, expecting the answer."

The man merely laughed at Shane's assessment, which was followed with a sinister grin.

"You've gained nothing from my words just now, so consider it to be overlooked. And now it's my turn again."

Closing one eye as he gazed at the woman, the man held up his cup as he asked for a refill.

"You all haven't touched your tea."

"Ah, sorry. I've been too busy talking to realize. Thanks."

At this statement, Shane took the cup, downing it in a single gulp.

"It was delicious. Thanks, woman."

And with a brutish statement, he asserted dominance over even the subordinate of the man before him.

"Quite rude of you to speak to my subordinate like that, even after she has served you."

"Ah, sorry, sorry. Was I rude? I didn't mean to be. Really. Now where were we? Ah, you were about to ask a question, weren't you?"

Even as the man rebuked him, Shane continued the conversation, to which the man could do nothing more than bitterly grin in amusement.

"Very well. Then, I am going to assume that you were able to witness Marcus and Sylvia fighting the undead at some point. What type of weapons did they use to fight?"

As Donovan asked this question, Shane immediately realized that this man had likely deemed any investigation regarding their abilities to be useless.

In the mind of this man, these 'Reawakenings' were likely the only ability in the world. The existence of Seven and One were completely separate, and so Shane didn't expect any such questions regarding them.

Because Shane and the others had no knowledge of these reawakenings, he was almost certainly trying to ascertain their capabilities through their experiences with Marcus and Sylvia.

"The last time I recall... Sylvia was fighting with a spear, and Marcus was fighting with a bat."

Giving his answer, the man seemed to nod in approval, motioning for Shane to ask his own question.

The boy seemed to pause for a moment in thought as he came up with his next question, at which Gordon decided to speak up.

"Can I ask something?"

"I have no issue who is asking the question, so long as there is only one question per turn.", the man replied, to which the decision fell upon Shane.

"Go ahead."

And with this permission, Gordon turned to the man with an inquisitive expression.

"How do you know that Marcus and Sylvia took over your Uncle's group? If your uncle was killed, who told you everything that happened? There must have been someone who escaped... or perhaps there was a spy?"

As Gordon asked this question, the man slowly reached forward, grabbing ths revolver in his hand.

Flipping out the chamber, the man spinned it around in theatrical fashion, clicking it closed after showing the three that it was fully loaded.

"You boys are certainly set on asking some dangerous questions, aren't you?"

Placing the gun back on the desk in front of him, the man looked to the ceiling as he replied.

"You're correct. We had a man report this information to us. He witnessed everything, including a certain... performance that those two made."

At that moment, the man did something ludicrous.

Taking the weapon on the desk, the man slid it over, as if passing the ball over to the opposing party.

"What are you-"

The three merely looked at the weapon, at which Shane stopped himself from asking another question.

Taking hold of the weapon, the boy held it in his hand, feeling it's weight before placing it before him.

"This makes it fair, doesn't it? Whoever is asking the question gets to hold the gun. This way, they can guarantee an answer - though whether that answer is true or not will be another matter altogether."

As the man said this, Shane looked at him strangely, unable to comprehend.

After all, if he wanted, he could just keep hold of the weapon and force this man to answer all sorts of things.

"I don't know why you would do such a thing, and we just asked a question, so it isn't even our turn."

Shane looked to the man with suspicion evident in his eyes, but the man seemed to have a strangely relaxed expression despite the fact that his opponent now held a weapon in his possession.

"You're thinking that you can point that thing at me, but you'd be wrong if you thought that. Believe it or not, we have security cameras operational here. If footage of you pointing a gun at me were to be released to the other survivors, how do you think they would react?"

With a chuckle, the man waved the boy off.

"Keep it for now. Consider it your own little method of protection while we continue this game. After all..."

Cracking his neck, the man smirked as he looked upon the three with a condescending expression.

"I don't need such a thing to protect myself."