They remained silent for a moment before Nara said, “Well, why not wake these people up so we know the details?”

“Yes, but let’s get rid of their equipment, otherwise, we’ll be in a tough spot like before,” Zen pointed out.

Agreeing, they quickly rummaged through their clothing and easily managed to take off the extra accessories that were providing the extra boost in power and strength to these villains. Once they checked that the men were unarmed, they agreed to wake them up.

“Rise and shine,” said Zen shortly, and he proceeded to wake up one of them using the magic spell, “Awaken.”

There was a green light that surrounded the man before it disappeared before he slowly opened his eyes groggily. He mumbled something inaudible to them and looked around before seemingly becoming wide awake and aware of where he was. In an instant, he was about to lash out against Zen, but Nara was on top of him and had him pinned to the ground with his hand grabbing the enemy’s neck and clamped the man’s mouth shut with his other hand.

“Shut up and stay still, otherwise I’d kill you right here and I wouldn’t feel so bad doing it either. Your choice,” said the War Titan in a deadly voice with a fierce expression on his face, which instantly crushed all resistance from the enemy. Once he became complacent, he turned to the Phoenix Emperor and asked, “You’re up.”

Zen nodded and thought briefly on what they needed to know before deciding on performing a unique interrogation in the middle of the road with a lot of onlookers. The crowd was too stunned to make a move, especially after coming to the realisation that they were incredibly powerful warriors that should not be messed with.

Zen addressed the man by saying, “I’m going to ask you a question and all you have to do is nod your head to say yes and shake your head to say no and don’t bother trying to lie. I will know if you do. Do you understand?”

The man was momentarily surprised and widened his eyes in reaction before nodding silently in agreement. Zen smiled a little and began asking him the following questions while receiving their respective answers in return.

“Is your boss in this capital?”

The man nodded.

“Is he watching us right now?”

The man nodded.

“Is your group involved in attacking us and the Phoenix Titan?”

The man hesitated, but when Nara increased his grip on the man’s neck, he immediately nodded with a fearful expression.

Zen’s expression darkened, but he controlled himself and asked the next question.

“Are you part of a large group consisting of more than five people stationed here?”

The man nodded.

“Is your headquarters located underground?”

The man looked momentarily surprised before he nodded his head.

Zen instantly narrowed his eyes and said, “You lied.”

As he said that, Nara reacted by punching the man so hard in the face that there was a loud cracking sound as the man’s nose was broken. He began to yell out in pain before the War Titan placed a firm hand over his mouth and clamped it shut tight so no sound escaped.

“That’s what you get for lying,” said Nara coldly, “now speak the truth.”

The man looked up at him weakly before shaking his head, to which Zen nodded with satisfaction.

“Why are you doing the yes or no questions?” Nara asked curiously. “Wouldn’t it be easier and faster to ask direct questions?”

“Perhaps, but I don’t trust these kinds of groups as they tend to kill themselves if they’ve failed their mission, even resorting to using words filled with curses to take their own life,” explained Zen, to which Nara nodded in understanding. Then he thought to himself, “That was how the Assassins Clan once worked before being defeated and integrated into the Phoenix Clan by the Phoenix Titan so long ago.”

He looked down at the man, who was groaning with pain and could feel no sympathy for him whatsoever.

“Alright, but you should’ve been truthful with me from the beginning, now look. Your nose is broken and bleeding,” remarked Zen about it, to which the man glared at him fiercely. Zen snorted when he saw that expression before asking, “Final question. Is the king of Mardana Kingdom involved with your boss and your activities?”

The man opened his eyes with shock but before he could give his response, they heard a shout, “What is the meaning of this?!”

He, Nara, and Valerian turned to look in the direction the voice came from and saw the crowd get pushed aside as the Mardana Kingdom’s King, Athurus walked towards them with a furious look on his face. He glanced once at the man Nara was pressing down before turning to look at the three of them with an angry expression.

“Phoenix Emperor, Zen Phylon!” Athurus roared angrily. “What is the meaning of this?!” He waved his hand around at the other two and said, “The War Titan and the Storm Titan! Why are members of the Nine Pillars of Power here and causing havoc in my kingdom?!”

“We’re not here by choice, your majesty,” replied Nara coldly, saying the last two words in a sarcastic manner that made Athurus look at him with the utmost fury.

“We are here in suspicion of an organisation conducting criminal actions against us and have come to apprehend them,” explained Zen, to which Athurus looked a little taken aback.

“What? A criminal organisation? Here in my kingdom?” Athurus asked back and let out a light laughter. “I know you’re new to your job and all, but aren’t you perhaps making a mistake, Zen?”

“Me?! Making a mistake?!” Zen thundered, becoming enraged by the opposition’s words. “How can you say that when the Phoenix Titan and the rest of us were attacked by them?!”

This information surprised Athurus, who asked, “What? The Phoenix Titan was… attacked?”

“Yes!” Zen thundered with the utmost fury. “Not just him, but all of us were as well while we were with him!”

“O-Oh,” said Athurus, looking both surprised and taken aback. “The Phoenix Titan was attacked. T-That’s… unexpected.”

Zen saw him mumble something under his breath but could not pick up what he said, but he was diverted when Athurus turned back to him and asked, “How is he? The Phoenix Titan, I mean. Lakshman. Is he alive?”

The phrasing of the question raised a lot of flags inside Zen’s mind, which made him widen his eyes in shock. Valerian narrowed his eyebrows with a suspicious look on his face while Nara fired back heatedly at him.

“What the heck?! You’re asking us if he’s alive?! What the hell is wrong with you?!”

Athurus sighed and asked, “I’m merely concerned for my neighbouring kingdom’s king’s health and safety since he was attacked if what you’re saying is true. So, is it wrong to wonder if he was alive or not after the attack?”

Nara could not believe what he was hearing and said, “It almost sounds like you’re checking whether he was dead or not!”

This made the Mardana Kingdom’s king chuckle and reply, “You jest. Why would I want him dead?”

He was smiling coolly as if provoking him, to which Zen looked seriously at him while Nara and Valerian remained silent.

“I don’t know. You never seemed to like him one bit,” replied Zen, being careful with his words.

“Of course not. You’re mistaken,” said Athurus casually with no substance behind it. “He’s our hero that saved our world and everyone else many times. It’s just that he’s so powerful that his very existence brings enemies from every corner of the world, so I fear for the safety of everyone and the world itself. You know this to be true as well, right?”

Before Zen could respond, he turned to the crown watching silently and said, “The Calamity Titan was indeed defeated by the Phoenix Titan, but we know that the demons’ attack was because of a long-held grudge he had against our hero. Even before all of that, think back to the time when we were under dictatorship by the Slavemancer, whose ideology was based off the concept that the previous Phoenix Titans laid out for us. Even now, there is an enemy that attacked the Phoenix Titan and in return, his people came to look for them and caused trouble, which will fall on us to take care of eventually. So, it seems like the Phoenix Titan’s very existence is a magnet to trouble and danger, don’t you think?”

“W-What?!” Zen and Nara exclaimed while the watching crown began to murmur and slowly nodded their heads in agreement. “You can’t be serious!”

“But I am considering all that’s transpired for so many years,” replied Athurus coolly. “You don’t have to believe me, but if we open the pages of our history, you’ll find how peacefully we lived before the Phoenix Titan was recognised and began to bring forth trouble with him.”

“Dammit!” Nara exclaimed angrily, but Zen held him back by extending his hand to the side.

The Phoenix Emperor was very angry, but he was not sure how to proceed to calm the situation as the people began to view the Phoenix Titan as a dangerous person; a threat to their safety. Valerian watched the man with suspicion silently and glanced around at everyone’s reaction before finally breaking his silence.

“A question, sir,” said Valerian.

“Yes? What is it?” Athurus asked him with a smile.

“How do you know who I am when we never met before?” Valerian asked him.

Athurus was taken aback by the unexpected question and reacted with, “W-What?”

“I’m asking you how you know who I am when we’ve never met before,” said Valerian clearly for everyone to hear. “The Phoenix Titan recruited me into the parts of the Nine Pillars of Power not too long ago, and I have only met very few people. However, you somehow knew who I am and even my title. Not only that, but you seem capable of conversing in the Water Language unlike the rest of your people here.”

As he said that, he spread his hand out to gesture to those around them while keeping the same cool expression as before. The people had no idea what he was saying and yet, Athurus was able to understand him for some reason. Even Zen and Nara suddenly looked suspiciously towards him as if this was an odd behaviour on the king’s part.

“Yes. How did you know about Valerian when we never introduced him to you before?” Zen asked suspiciously.

The Mardana Kingdom’s king looked troubled for a moment before he smiled and replied, “Well, I saw him at the recent meeting we held and guessed that was who he might be.”

Zen blinked twice before asking, “Yes. Val was there, but we never introduced him to you or anyone there let alone reveal him being part of the Nine Pillars of Power with the position of the Storm Titan. Yet, you somehow were able to figure all that out on your own just by guessing? Who are you trying to fool, Athurus?”

“Yeah! I might’ve been fooled if it weren’t for the fact that Zen is with me right now,” said Nara from beside him. “How did you know so accurately? That is unless… you were spying on the Phoenix Titan.”

“W-What? S-Spy on the Phoenix Titan? Why would I, and for what purpose would I do that for?” Athurus fought back with a serious look while trying to hide the panicked expression that momentarily appeared on his face.

“In order to attack him like those attackers did today,” said Zen coldly. “Spying on him, knowing what he was doing, and waiting for him to return along with all of his close friends and family. Waiting until he and the Dragon Titan were in a weakened state before attacking them with such force that might’ve destroyed a portion of the Floria Kingdom. The writings on the wall, Athurus; you clearly had been spying on him and prepared to strike when he was at his most vulnerable state.”

Athurus was stricken by this accusation and struggled momentarily on how to respond to counter his claim. However, he was saved the trouble when a loud voice suddenly began to reverberate throughout their surroundings.

“Looks like the cat’s out of the bag, doesn’t it?”

“What?!” Zen and Nara exclaimed and looked up at the sky and then their surroundings as the voice seemed to be coming from every direction.

“Looks like this is the end of the road for us, King of Mardana Kingdom,” said the voice, and all faces turned towards Athurus with looks of shock, suspicion and fear.

He ignored their eyes and exclaimed, “Wait! What are you doing?!”

“Cleaning up your mess,” said the voice cold sinister.

A moment later, there was a brilliant flash of light from a distance and everyone turned in that direction to see the light died. However, something was flying towards them at high speed and a few seconds later, it landed firmly on the ground, facing them.

It turned out to be a person, a girl to be specific, with long black hair as she wore a strange dark stylish clothing. She had stature similar to Zen, who was slim and around 170cm in height. The unknown girl kept her head facing down as everyone there could not see what kind of expression she had that way. However, Zen, Nara, and Valerian instantly recognised that she was a dangerous being as an intense deadly aura began to emanate from her.

“Meet my servant, fool. My servant… kill them all,” the voice ordered before letting out cold sinister laughter.

Following his words, the girl raised her head and faced them with a deadly look on her face. She was beautiful in appearance, but that perspective changed when she opened her mouth to reveal fang like teeth while glaring at them with a mad expression. Then she unleashed a gut-wrenching roar that caused the wind to blow wildly around them and buffeted them from the shockwaves released from her roar as she prepared to unleash her power on them all.