Final Interview

Blood poured onto the wood, staining it a dark red. Though the being known as the Demon Lord had seen many deaths upon a multitude of battlefields, for Theodore, there was a difference between the recollections of things he had never experienced firsthand and what he saw with his own eyes.

There she was, laying there as the colors drain from her complexion, her white, priestly robes dyed in discomforting red. She was one of the two women who raised him, Maria. While she wasn't the wisest or the most experienced, she was hard working and caring. For the sake of the children, she worked tirelessly without neglecting her priestly duties, never once complaining.

Why was it that a person like her had to meet such a fate? Why does this world function so? Theodore was asking such questions in his head.

"Well, what are you waiting for!?"

A yell brought Theodore back into the present. When the hare's neck was so mercilessly slit without warning, its fur stained red with its own blood, Theodore found himself suddenly dragged into the past. He felt as if he was still there, trapped in that very moment in time. It felt as if he had never left, and perhaps it had never left him.

Theodore looked up to the risen podiums, his eyes met with the one who had yelled at him, the large man with a fiery mane, his arms crossed as he watched with impatience. As the urgency of his present situation sank into him, Theodore gently laid his hand upon the hare, caressing it as he felt the creature's warmth slip away.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Theodore reached deep within himself, to the core of his being, and forcefully pulled at the body of Aether within him, imposing his will upon them and dragging them to the surface.

Around fifty-odd threads of Aether emerged from his body, every single one extended towards the hare on the table and entered its body, slipping past its skin, muscles, and bones. Though the Aether within the hare showed resistance, it was minimal and Theodore's threads easily invaded the creature's flesh.

With as much speed as his brain's processing power could handle, Theodore quickly began to repair the hare's wound, stopping the bleeding and mending the flesh. So quickly he worked, the closing of the wound could be seen occurring with the naked eye.

In less than a minute, the hare's injury was gone with not even a scar remaining. Though, it had lost not an insignificant amount of blood and would be considerably weakened if not faced with complications that would end up killing it regardless.

Slowly, the hare began to open its eyes. Though it seemed frightened, it did not move. Apparently too weak to even attempt to run away, it could only tremble on the spot.

Taking pity on it, Theodore took it into his hands and held it as he gently caressed it.

"The creature yet lives. Impressive, for a novice," the scrawny, bald man voiced his amazement.

"A fine display of speed and precision," commented the elegant woman in a golden mask.

The bushy-browed old man and the Archmage seemed to have some thoughts as well but kept to themselves. Meanwhile, the large man with the fiery mane glared at Theodore with an intense gaze while keeping silent.

Just as Theodore thought that the large man wasn't going to say anything, however-

"So, who are you supposed to be the reincarnation of?"

The question presented by the large man was so blunt and direct that Theodore, who was expecting all sorts of trickery, had his mind wiped blank at the complete unexpectedness of the situation.

"Darius, I thought we agreed to be subtle about this," said the elegant woman as she held her masked face in her hand.

"No point beating around the bush. I'm sure he knows that we're trying to figure him out as well," the large man, Darius, argued. "Either he tells us, or he won't. If he does, good, if he doesn't, then you lot can go back to your tricks."

At those words, the scrawny bald man began cackling in a manner that could only be described as eerie.

"Well, I suppose Elder Darius has a point. Even if the boy lies, there are plenty of methods to get the truth out of him."

There was a disconcerting grin across the scrawny man's face as he said so, his eyes locked onto Theodore with a look filled with ill intent as he thoughtfully rubbed his hairless chin.

"I'd say it's rather unbecoming of us elders to act so rashly, but if this proves to be more efficient, I won't complain any further," said the elegant woman in the mask, easily relenting. It was almost as if she was not as upset as she had shown to be.

Overall, while the elders present were displeased with the willful action of the one called Darius, none of them appeared to be overtly opposed to him.

"So, I ask again, who are you?" Darius reiterated.

The situation was unforeseen. It seemed that the subtler methods had been abandoned. The mages ten years ago were never this impatient. In part, perhaps it had to do with the current position the mages had found themselves in within the empire. Having lost their prestige and being under constant suspicion from the imperial court, their impatience may be the result of their loss of leeway.

Slowly, Theodore brushed his fingers across the hare's soft fur. Outwardly, he appeared to be confounded by the elders' conversation, pretending as if he didn't quite understand what the elders were talking about. On the inside, however, he was in great distress. He understood fully that if his answer was found unsatisfying, he might very well find himself in an interrogation room later.

Mages, with all their magical might, were known to have quite a way with torture.

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End of Chapter 25

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