Ishiki blinked a couple of times and was left dazed. "Someone has come to see me? Here?"

He couldn't believe it, actually it wasn't worth believing anyways... who the hell would come here in this prison to meet him?

His mind ran calculations based on who might be looking for him. 'Is it Kenji? or Yuki?'

He could only think of those two... there were a few more people too. Like his squad members, it might even be his captain. Kaori and Nina were not authorized enough to enter the secondary ring.

They would never know what happened to him until word gets out.

Ishiki nodded once and then crawled out of the cell. The guards took him straight to the interrogation room.

On his way here, he didn't even bother to use Ghost blade or look around... his mind was completely occupied by the question of who was it that had come to see him and, what might their objective be to come here?

Soon they reached the interrogation room, the guards opened the rusty metal door and pulled Ishiki inside.

The interrogation room was different this time.

Not in any outright way... the place was just as usual, with a table, a chair and a guttering torch.

But today... instead of the interrogator, there were three people waiting for him inside. Ishiki's eyes widened as he looked at them.

There were two new people with the interrogator... he was accompanied by a larger man in expensive robes. He was some high ranked personal, judging by the golden chain embroidered on his chest.

But it was the third person who made Ishiki's blood run cold.

The woman from that day—The leader of the guards serving the representative who was killed. She stood near the far wall, arms crossed over her chest.

She wore simple leather armor reinforced with metal plates, and her dark hair was pulled back in a severe bun. Her eyes were sharp, calculating and hostile.

'What the hell is she doing here?'

"Prisoner 447," The man in expensive robes walked forward and pulled the chair on the other end, before sitting down and then began, his voice was smooth and practiced. "Ishiki, I believe... Thank you for joining us this evening. I am Aldric Thorne, a legal advisor in Partike Organization."

The man introduced himself with a smile.

Ishiki said nothing, his jaw clenched tight. His wrists ached where the manacles bit into flesh.

"Not much for conversation, I see." Thorne's smile didn't waver. "That's understandable. You've had a difficult few days. But I assure you, I'm here to help. Think of me as... an advocate for your interests."

"My interests?" Ishiki repeated flatly.

"Precisely." Thorne gestured to the woman standing against the wall. "This is Operative Mira Ashven, head of our security division. She was present during the incident that led to your arrest. Mira, would you care to provide your account?"

Mira pushed off from the wall, her expression twisted with barely concealed disgust as she looked at Ishiki. "This is the one who killed representative Hollis and then he went on to kill one of the army guards." she said, her voice clipped and cold. "I witnessed the second one personally."

'What is she talking about?'

"I didn't—" Ishiki started, but she cut him off.

"Don't bother lying. I was there and I saw what happened." She turned to Thorne and the interrogator, her hands gripping her arms tightly.

Ishiki gritted his teeth tighter and glared at her. "What do you mean you saw? Did you see when I killed that your goddamn representative? And in the second case... I was merely trying to defend myself. You guys attacked me first!"

"Defended yourself?" Mira's laugh was bitter and sharp. "You killed a trained guardsman in seconds. A man with years of experience and then you vanished into thin air and ran."

She paused, her expression darkening further.

"If not for Captain Renji, we never would have caught you."

Ishiki's heart stopped.

'Captain Renji?'

The name hit him like a physical blow. His mind raced back to that night—running through the streets, with his skill [Ghost Blade] active... he was indeed invisible to normal eyes.

But then... he remembered.

The alley that lead to the main street... The moment before he exited, He had seen something in the darkness that resembled two pairs of glowing orbs, inside them there was a pattern that looked like flowers blooming...

They were actually eyes, watching him from the shadows.

"How?" The question escaped before he could stop it.

It was when he remembered another piece of information and connected it with what was going on.

Renji had some weird skill as told to him by Yuki... his skill had to do something with his eyes and illusions.

'Holy hell... don't tell me he can trap people in illusions just by looking at them.' Ishiki felt a sudden shudder run through his body at the thought.

How powerful was Renji from that point then? He considered Yuki and Filch to be strong... but how powerful was he compared to them? Yuki and Filch might have an advantage in physical prowess... but they were useless against such an enemy.

Actually... why was he even thinking that. He was not an enemy to start with.

Mira's smile was cold and satisfied. "Captain Renji has abilities that far exceed normal captains. He tracked you across half the city while you were using whatever stealth skill you possess."

Ishiki's stomach sank. But he was suddenly pulled out from his thoughts by the voice of Aldric.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" Thorne said, drawing Ishiki's attention back to the present. He leaned forward, fingers steepled on the table. "You possess abilities that mark you as Awakened—someone with access to the God's gifts. Skills, powers and capabilities that place you far above ordinary humans."

He paused, letting the words hang in the air.

"Which brings us to why I'm here, Ishiki."

"What do you want?" Ishiki asked, his voice tight.

"To make you an offer." Thorne leaned back in his chair, the picture of relaxed confidence. "The Partike Organization is always in need of talented individuals. People with unique skills who can handle situations that require... discretion. Delicate matters that can't be entrusted to ordinary guards or soldiers."

"You want me to work for you," Ishiki said flatly.

"Precisely!" Thorne's smile widened, as if Ishiki had just solved a particularly clever puzzle. "Join the Partike Organization as a contracted operative. Put your abilities to use in service of the organization. In exchange, we drop all murder charges against you, expunge your criminal record completely, and provide you with housing, a generous salary, and our considerable protection."

He spread his hands in a gesture of magnanimity.

"You'd be free, Ishiki. Free to live your life without fear of arrest or execution. All we ask is that you occasionally handle assignments as they arise. Surely that's preferable to dying on a gallows in three days?"

Ishiki stared at him, his mind working frantically. The first thing he thought about was if he could kill all the three people here in just thirty seconds.

If he used Soul Archive right now and break free from his constraints... could he kill two awakened and two guards in just thirty seconds and there was the matter of escape too.

After thirty seconds of use, Soul Archive will leave him venerable for some time... he could be caught again and worse even killed on site.

On the other hand.

The offer was almost reasonable—if he ignored everything he knew about what the Partike Organization actually did. If he pretended he hadn't seen what he'd seen.

"Assignments," Ishiki repeated slowly. "Like what? Kidnapping more children for the Velvet Market?"

The temperature in the room dropped by several degrees suddenly.

Mira's hand moved immediately to the hilt of her sword, her whole body tensing like a coiled spring. The interrogator in the corner stiffened, his eyes going wide. Even Thorne's practiced smile faltered.

The silence stretched.

The interrogator who was silent until now moved forward, but Aldric placed a hand against his chest to stop him and then looked at Ishiki.

He laughed—a soft, measured sound that held no genuine amusement. "My, my. You are well-informed for someone who's supposedly a simple vagrant. Tell me, Ishiki, where exactly did you hear about the Velvet Market?"

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