The Truth

Drip—, drip—, drip—

The water droplets echoed in the dimly lit place as they fell on the ground before sinking inside the gap of the soil.

Chilling winds occasionally breezed through the small cracks of the place, sending cold shivers down her spine. The eerie noises awoke her and as her eyes opened, the sight of darkness greeted her pupils.

Clang—, clang—

She moved her hand, only to realize that it was bound between two metal chains which seemingly became rustier over time. In confusion, she moved her feet but it was bound with chains as well.

Clang—

As reality hit her mind, the woman raised her head. Her hazelnut pupils scanned the room before shifting towards the only place where lights could enter— the window.

Unlike what she expected, the snow plastered on its surface wasn't as severe as yesterday. Due to it the scene from the outside could be seen through her naked eyes.

Even then, she could only see the snowflakes drizzling down the land and the height of her current place seemed to be two feet underground.

'How many days have passed now?' she mumbled.

To her surprise, she couldn't even remember the day she was abducted and kept inside this room for torture. Every day she would receive various unkind treatments from seemingly the members of this organization.

She was burned alive, subjected to lethal poison injections, brainwashing, and even became a training target for those members who practiced their attack skills.

It was brutal torture, enough to make anyone die of pain or even despaired to death.

However, her natural regeneration as an Awakened kept her from being close to Death's grasp.

Adding her fortitude to not be easily swayed, she managed to survive to this day.

Even then, there's no telling how long she could continue surviving.

Freya glanced at the mechanical box just beside her foot.

It was a magical device that in her eyes, was physically a carbon copy of the pandora's box. The surface has these random lines slithering throughout all areas. Occasionally, it glowed in a sky blue color before switching back to its red state.

However, unlike the pandora's box, this thing didn't contain evil, but rather her mana.

This small box functions as a mana absorber. Once attached, it would drain the mana from the target.

On its top, a small tube was embedded and the other end of the tube was attached to her neck. It served as a pathway for whenever her mana was sucked out of her core permanently.

It was a painful process that she had to go through all the time. However, despite the box being literally on her side throughout her time here, it hasn't even absorbed half of her mana yet.

It might be due to her mana points being overwhelmingly massive or rather, this box functions really slow.

[Name: Freya Taylor

Age: 28 Level: 300 (Limit)

Race: Human

Potential: SS-Class

Title: Strongest Mage, Queen Incarnate

….]

[Mana: 2,061 (-1,637)]

Her mana, which was more than 3,500 in numbers, was slowly decreasing. At this rate, if no one could truly save her from here, she might die from the lack of mana.

All living creatures have mana. This was what she realized as she went further from the path of the mage. Even a newborn child has mana kept inside either their cores or soul.

It was hard to believe that everybody can be Awakened. If this news reached the ears of everyone, they might jump through their houses and seek answers from her, hoping to become Awakened through her means.

She could do it.

As a mage who has touched her limit, this is nothing to her. The only thing holding her back is the riot this would cause once people heard it.

Even then, this method is truly beneficial to humanity as they might even find people with potential above S-class.

However, she doesn't want to do it. It wasn't because she didn't want to but rather, the cost would be too much for her.

She'd rather not do it, after all, she didn't even need to do it if there's that guy, right?

'Hans…'

He might be able to save her but she knows he is weak. His potential is there but even then, the gap between her and his power cannot easily become equal.

Freya smirked at herself, wondering why he would think of him in these painful times.

'At least, thinking about him made me forget about the pain for a moment.'

The first time they met, he still had this aura of immaturity. It was clear back then that he was inexperienced being Awakened and easy to be fooled.

The fact that he didn't notice the tracker she put on his clothes proves that.

'If only we had met a little earlier.'

He was a friend she could lean on and she was a little reluctant to part ways with him. But everything must come to an end.

[Mana - 1]

Surprisingly, her meeting with him in Italy was the last they would meet.

Her only regret was not being able to say a proper goodbye.

'Gia, Dad, Mom…'

It was painful to think that she might not be able to see them anymore. At this rate, her life might end in a week at most.

Perhaps, the saying is right.

'Time is such a precious thing.'

If only she had spent more time with them…

Kacha—

Her thoughts were interrupted when the metallic door opened. A man sauntered inside. He wore a goofy outfit and his nefarious grin attracted Freya's eyes.

The man stared at her and his eyes brightened.

"Well, well, well, would you look at that?" His eyes glanced at the box before shifting back at her. He continued, "You're still alive huh? As expected of the Freya Taylor I know, tough as always."

Freya glared at him for a moment before lowering her head as she lost interest.

Seeing her uninterested face, the man raised his eyebrows.

"Oya? At least say something, girl. I mean… my mind might even change and I'll let you escape."

Freya closed her eyes. The man couldn't help but touch his head.

"You know, I have many other ways to kill you mentally so you better listen."

"..."

However, despite his threat, Freya seemed unbothered. The man puckered his lips and placed his hand on his chin.

"Should I kill Gia? Or your father? Hmm… your mom might be the best option hehehe~."

At that moment.

The chain was seemingly stretched out as Freya prowled towards the man.

Clang—, clang—, clang—

However, her attempts prove futile as the chains prevented her body from even approaching his location. In the end, she screamed her emotions out.

"You dare!!!!"

The man giggled. "Hehehe~, of course, I dare."

Freya's face rapidly lost color. Her eyes reddened and killing intent burst out of her body as she glared at the man.

"If something happens to them, I will drag all of you to hell!!!" she yelled.

Hearing her threat, the man wrapped his arms around his shoulders, and a terrified expression formed on his face.

"I-I am actually scared! What is this sorcery! I-It can't be…"

"I will kill you!!!"

Hearing another threat, the man embraced himself even more tightly.

"Am I actually scared?" The man voiced out his thoughts.

He raised his hand and saw it trembling intensely. However, at that moment, his terrified expression instantly changed. His lips formed a crescent as he stared at Freya's reaction.

"Hehehe~, no, it's just my Parkinson's disease acting out again. A trifling woman like you won't be able to scare me."

Then, the man started walking back and forth and continued, "Anyways, the organization still needs you for other purposes. Our goal isn't even halfway yet and to reach that, we would need your help. Well, your help isn't really needed but it could speed up the process."

"What is your goal? And what do you want from me!?" Freya shouted.

With a swift hand movement, the man projected the picture mid-air. It was a photo of a man she didn't know.

It was blurry so she couldn't even identify his appearance.

"This here is our boss. However, he was kinda missing and we have to find him. According to our last reports, he was last seen entering a dungeon in Venice after that, he vanished."

The man took a deep breath and narrated the story.

"So we actually found him but he was like… trapped. Yeah, very confusing right? Like who could even trap our boss and then we found out… he went into prison. We're like wow, how did you become a prisoner boss?... Crazy, isn't it?"

"..."

Freya rolled her eyes. She didn't understand a thing at all. Additionally, she didn't have an idea if this man was even telling the truth or not.

If in case he's telling the truth, she could vaguely guess what their goal is.

'Freeing their leader from that… prison.'

As for what prison, she had no idea.

"Why do you still need me when you already found him?"

The man rubbed his nose and sucked his lips.

"Freya, are you dumb or like… a dumb person but pretending to be one. Of course we not only need you but we also want to prevent you from interfering."

Freya chuckled. "Aren't you giving too much information? What if I could escape here?"

The man rubbed his chin.

"Hmm… that makes sense but it's not like you can escape anyways. Even if you can, unless we unlock your core, you're basically useless."

The man walked closer to Freya and intensely stared at her eyes with a playful smirk. He raised his hand and caressed her cheeks. Sweats trickled on Freya's forehead as she met the man's cold-blooded eyes.

"Actually, there's a way you can leave here without being harmed. You can reunite with your family again and live happily in freedom."

The man's smile grew widely. He didn't want to kill Freya due to her usefulness and versatility. However, the circumstances are dire and he would have no choice but to harvest her life.

'She might be the missing link to my plans.' He thought.

Freya's heart fluttered as he heard the man's sweet words.

Is he telling the truth?

If so, can she really escape here?

But first, she needs to know the conditions for her freedom.

As she steeled her mind, Freya asked, "What is it?"

The man nodded.

"I see… you're finally interested."

"Tell me."

"Hmm, nothing much. It's just you can think of it as a proposal."

"Proposal?"

"Yes, a proposal." He answered.

The man pulled himself back and walked towards the metallic table filled with items for torture. He sat atop of it, set his jaw, and lit up a cigarette. Gray smoke pervaded the air as the man exhaled.

"You see, many things won't go as planned even if there's a 99% chance that it will happen. There's always that 1% clinging tightly in the shadows trying to pull everything down to ruins." The man turned towards Freya and smiled, "And I am that 1 percent. I really don't want to see my boss any more."

"Are you trying to betray the group and pull me into your mess?" Freya asked.

The man shook his head. "No, rather I want you to join the Illuminati and help me bring them down."

Freya was conflicted. Hearing his words felt like freedom was in her hands now. At the same time, she didn't want to become part of this organization which clearly has a far more terrifying goal.

Additionally, there's no telling if he was just baiting her or telling her the truth.

"Aren't you afraid that I will tell this to your superiors once I join?"

"Hahahaha, you are really funny, Ms. Taylor." The man giggled before continuing, "For a woman famous for her intelligence, you are a disappointment."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Have you ever seen someone visit you other than me and my minions?"

"N—"

Freya stopped herself and peered intently at the man's question.

'Come to think of it…'

Through the past few days, aside from this man, she had never seen someone with a high rank in the Illuminati enter this room. Occasionally, some guys with a mask entered but they only gave her water to hydrate herself.

Even then, judging from those dead-like eyes, she could vaguely guess that they were merely lower ranks.

But why?

Freya secretly gave the man a puzzled look. However, as if sensing her gaze, the man spoke.

"What? No idea?" he asked.

"The Illuminati didn't want me to interfere. The only option they have is to kill me."

"Oh, you actually guessed that? I guess you're not dumb as I expected."

Freya swallowed the lump in her throat and peered intently at the man.

The Illuminati was a secret organization formed with a goal. Anyone who gets in their way must be killed.

If what she guessed is right, they should have already killed her.

But… they didn't.

There are only two reasons she could think of.

First, the Illuminati will use her to bait the other 14 remaining SS-Class Awakened but that's unlikely.

Now the only remaining reason was that.

At that moment.

"I get it." Freya said. She gulped her saliva and continued, "The Illuminati was never involved in that ambush."

The man stopped and raised his eyebrow. Seeing his reaction, Freya's was even more certain.

"It is you. You're the one who abducted me right?"

The man clipped the cigar on his fingers and exhaled a load of smoke.

"Yes."

Freya's eyes sharpened.

"Just… who are you?"