Lament of the Slave

Chapter 19: Agent?

The words of Imperial Agent Hal took my breath away. Did he know that I was trying to resist the effects of the interrogation room? Of course, he knew! I was sure I wasn't the first to try it. Why did I even think he wouldn't notice?

I was stupid for trying at all.

However, he was wrong about one thing, "I didn't lie to you."

"Hmm," he snorted, straightening his uniform before continuing. "Yes, you didn't lie, but not because you didn't want to."

"How can you know this? How can you know what I wanted to do or not?" I objected.

"This is not my first interrogation. I can easily tell when someone is trying to resist the effects of the interrogation room, meaning hiding something from me." Agent Hal said, confirming my concerns. "Did you think that the change of skills in front of me would go unnoticed?" He noticed that too?!

I was fucked.

I know I screwed up. But was I supposed to show them everything, all my skills? Skills that even Dungreen didn't know about tell them all my secrets just because they wanted to? I don't think so!!

It was probably a combination of Captain Rayden's aura and [Indomitable Will] that I dared to face the Agent. Whether my rediscovered courage was a good thing at the moment was uncertain. Facing him might have cost me more than I could afford, but I did, "It doesn't change the fact that I didn't lie to you. You said it yourself."

"I don't doubt what you told me, but I'm interested in what you're trying to hide from me," Agent Hal said, smiling for the first time. "You know, one of my skills has, let's say, a similar function to this interrogation room. It's a very practical skill for investigations, especially in the field."

"Okay," I said, afraid of what he was getting at.

"Now that I know you tried to resist the interrogation, that you are trying to conceal information potentially important to my investigation, I am authorized to use this skill to re-verify your statement," the Agent continued his explanation.

The smile didn't fade from his face, and it scared me. Because he was obviously just looking for an excuse to use his skill, pleased that I had given him one.

He sat motionless in a chair, his eyes fixed on me. I was afraid of what he wanted to do, I had no idea how to prepare for it, and I hoped that all this was just a bad joke. I looked at the Captain, hoping she would help me somehow, but she didn't even look at me. Her eyes were fixed on the Agent.

Without warning, a powerful force struck my mind. At that moment, the room, along with the Captain and Agent, was replaced by the darkness that surrounded me, taking my breath away. I couldn't even tell where the attack was coming from, but one thing I could say immediately. This force, this agent's skill, differed from the effects of the interrogation room. The effect of the room, of this massive magic tool, was not violent, unobtrusively forcing me to tell the truth. Right now, I felt like someone was trying to seize me, control me by force.

That bastard lied.

Of course, I tried to fight back with everything I had. However, I felt like an ant trying to push a human shoe away. Even though I fought back like never before with [Indomitable Will], he quickly pressed me into the corner of my mind.

If Agent Hal thought I was giving up so easily, he was wrong. There in Arda in that dungeon, I promised myself that if I ever managed to escape and regain my freedom, I would rather die than lose it again. So I was determined to fight to the last breath, just not to be controlled again like a puppet. I didn't care who my opponent was. The beggar or king, if they tried to control me, they were the same to me.