‘As always, entering this place is a hassle.’

Over half an hour had passed since Aria had her conversation with the President, and they were just finally reaching the last bottleneck of the enclosed prison. Most of the time was spent on sanitising and checking all of their equipment and clothes before they could enter the chambers. But a significant amount of time was spent on powering the defences of the prison as well.

Before the ancient man was discovered, this laboratory was a place where research of the profane was conducted. Viruses that no one knew the cure for. S-Ranked Magic Beasts that happened to wander away from their dungeons or even to jail S-Ranked criminals who were on death row. So, it was no wonder that there were multiple bottlenecks that Yudonia’s group had to get across. Not to mention, no one really knew how powerful the ancient man really was. Given the might of the two Guardians protecting him, the ancient man could be way beyond S-Class. He might be even stronger than the legendary hero who reached the SSS-Class and was in a category of his own.

Therefore, the prison was designed to be difficult to get into, but near impossible to get out of. Even if there was a party of S-Rankers incarcerated within, there was little to no chance of anyone to get out without proper authorisation. Though, the ancient man didn’t really care about that...

“Aria! You’re back! I’ve missed you!”

Seeing Aria visit him once more, the ancient man’s eyes sparkled like the stars of the night sky. If not for the chains binding his movements, he would have unquestionably bolted over to give the woman a hug.

“Aurum, you look well...” Aria’s mouth twitched at the over-familiar tone.

“Yeap, I’m slowly getting used to the current atmosphere!” Aurum replied merrily, unaware of the dastardly conditions that he had been placed under. “Though, I would do better if you stayed a little longer… There’s really nothing to do other than count down the minutes to your return.”

“... If you cooperated with my colleagues, I’m sure that your life would be more entertaining.”

Aurum paused and glanced over Aria’s back and scanned the people that came in with her. The President was standing there with a stern expression while the other researchers had poker faces. No, if one looked a little closer, they would be able to see the tremble within the researchers’ eyes.

“Nah, they’re too boring,” Aurum quickly lost interest in the group and turned his attention back to Aria. “Talking to you is definitely more interesting! Hey, could you tell me more about the outside world?”

“Can’t you just look into my memories?” Aria growled.

“That...” Aurum hung his head down, not willing to meet Aria in the eye. “You seem to have a dislike of me doing that, so I’d stopped doing that.”

“Huh?”

“Remember that time where you burst into anger at me talking about your memories?” Aurum raised his finger to his chin and prompted Aria to think back to the incident a few days ago. “I’m not sure about how the culture is about reading others’ memories, but I don’t want to do something that would make you angry…”

“So… you stopped looking into my memories? Is that even possible?” Aria was aghast. The ancient man was truly an endless box of surprises, from having an indestructible body to using magic that could alter the emotional state of others. Now, he was even capable of locking memories away? Just what kind of entity was he?

“Yeah, I can… To give an example, it’s like having a book that you could always refer to. Since you don’t like me looking into your private affairs, I won’t anymore...”

“... Thank you,” Aria furrowed her brows and sighed. Just as the President and Finn had said, she shouldn’t look at the ancient man as someone who wants to do her any harm. Instead, she should look at him as an obsessive child that wants to please his mother. With that at the back of her mind, Aria’s expression softened, and she lowered her tone to a hypnotic whisper.

“I know that it’s hard on you but please endure it a little longer,” Aria said. “After a few more weeks, I will try to convince the government to let you out. If you want to see the outside world, you should use your own two eyes.”

“Really?!” Aurum beamed with the brightest smile that Aria had ever seen.

“Really.”

“HAHAHAHA!!! Yay! I’ll get to go on a date with you very soon!”

“D-date… It’s not really a date...”

“Are you backing out of your promise?” Aurum turned to Aria with a horrified look. His expression directly mirrored that of a man who had been lifted up to the highest of heavens, only to be rudely kicked down to the deepest depths of hell. Against those shining golden eyes… what could Aria really do?

“No...”

“So it’s a date!”

“Y-yeah...”

“Hehe, I can’t wait!” Aurum flashed his teeth and leaned backwards, swinging his back to and fro like a pendulum.

Feeling as if she’d lost the initiative, Aria struck back with a holler of her own. “Well, before I can plead for you before the government, you should give us some results!”

“Of course! Anything for you!” Aurum exclaimed.

“... Knowing that you’ve forgotten all of your memories, we won’t press you on questions about your past anymore. So let’s change the topic of our questioning shall we?”

Ever since the ancient man was extracted from the S-Class Dungeon, the main direction of Yudonia’s research had been focused on who he was and which time-period he came from. However, even after so many days, their questioning had gotten them nowhere close to the truth, and they would often find themselves back at the starting line. So, after much deliberation, Aria had decided to switch it up.

“Let’s talk about magic. What do you know of it?”

“Magic?” Aurum tilted his head, unsure of what the question meant.

“You used it didn’t you? When you calmed me down during my fit of rage. Also, your indestructible skin screams of mana enhancement. Based on our knowledge of magic, your abilities don’t classify in any of our models.” Aria patiently explained. “Your magic is completely different from everything that we have. So I would hope that you’ll show us a few examples of how your magic works.”

“Examples of magic? You mean like how that man over there is disguised as a female?”

Aria nodded her head thoughtfully. “That’s right. We would need you to demonstrate to us how… wait, what did you say?”

The Archmagus paused, the weight of Aurum’s words not sinking into her mind just yet.

“That man behind you, the blonde guy who transformed into the brown-haired woman. He’s using magic to do that right? I don’t think I have any magical abilities that could make me do that, though?” Aurum continued his unmasking, not knowing that his actions brought a cold tension into the room.

“Sabrina?” The President was the first to react. He turned over and glared at the young woman.

Expressionless, calm and placid. Those were the words that the President would use to describe the woman at that point. However… for a split second… those bright eyes that seemed to hold nothing but pure innocence… flickered.

That was enough for the President to make his decision.

“Jessica! Call in the guards!” A booming order flowed out of the President’s mouth. Blood and mana pumped through his veins and a distinct aura seeped out from his wrinkled skin. Without looking back, the former S-Class Monk pivoted his ankles and slowly made his way towards ‘Sabrina.’

“I don’t know who you are, but there’s no running now. Be obedient, and I won’t have to use excessive force on you,” the aged man with the fighting spirit of a lion on a hunt warned.

“What are you saying, President? Are you going to believe the words of that guy?” Sabrina protested, her voice just moments away from breaking into tears.

“Better safe than sorry,” the President didn’t care as he took many steps closer to the woman. “If you have nothing to hide, you won’t have anything to worry about. I’ll even compensate you accordingly. But for now… Do... not... resist.”

‘Tsk, there’s no way out!’

Number Six cursed his fate mentally. There wasn’t a flaw in his plan. Impersonate a woman from Yudonia’s top-secret lab and uncover as much information as he could before leaving the country. With a near-perfect success rate, Number Six was confident of pulling the feat off. His disguise was impeccable in which he could replicate Sabrina’s face, fingerprints and even retinas. Through a series of harsh interrogations, Number Six had even dug up personal information about Sabrina to make his disguise even more flawless. He had the full utility kit of Raklius backing him as well. Hidden spy-cams to record everything he had seen and a micro-computer to help him comprehend anything that he was unsure about.

Alas… Number Six had been far too overconfident. Never in a million years would he have imagined that his S-Class Camouflage magic would be so easily dispelled, particularly by the one entity that he was meant to monitor.

‘The minister told me to leave no traces behind… Self-destruction… Isn’t an option. So that leaves me with one option...’

The chambers housing the ancient man was by far the most secure place that Number Six had ever seen. Vents to escape, there were none. Doors to force through, basically impossible. Overpowering everyone in the room, even more impossible. Self-destruction was possible but… leaving any traces of Raklius would go against the minister’s orders. So, Number Six could only think of one remaining option.

Before the President could pounce onto ‘Sabrina’ and unmask her identity, a patch of black mist shrouded her small frame, making her silhouette blurry. Experienced enough to tell what’s going on, the President knew he had to make the first move. Kicking the floor, his monk body was propelled into the air and within milliseconds, was within range of the black mist. Performing a full-body swing, the President attempted to grab hold of the person hiding within the fog in hopes of restraining him but…

“What?!”

There was nothing there. Or to be more precise… There was nothing that the President could grab. It was as if… ‘Sabrina’ herself had become the black mist.

“A Metamorph? One that could turn into smoke no less!” Aria exclaimed. Among all of those present, only the learned Archmagus could immediately recognise the intruder that had entered into Yudonia’s holy ground. “Careful! Only S-Class Metamorphs can turn into smoke! Against them, physical attacks won’t matter! You’ll need to use magic!”

Aria threw off knowledge from the top of her head. Metamorphs were dangerous beings with many of them capable of destroying an entire nation if they played their cards right. In the past, there was even a witch hunt to murder all known Metamorphs, and in today’s society, all known Metamorphs were under stringent surveillance, some even ostracised for what they were capable of. For one to grow to the S-Class…

“An S-Class Metamorph?” The President sweated. “Capture him! Don’t let him leave this place!”

“Blabbermouth...” Number Six’s cold voice came out from the black mist, his attention falling right on the Archmagus’ poorly defended body.

‘Bingo!’

Aria, not knowing that she’d become the prime target of the assassin, unknowingly put her guard down. Not one to miss a window of opportunity, Number Six willed his ‘body’ to charge forward and within milliseconds, was enveloping the poor Archmagus like a snake.

“You want to use me as a hostage? Not so fast!” The mana within Aria’s veins started to pump as her hands began to glow in a brilliant yellow hue. An Archmagus of her calibre only needed a second to cast a magnificent protective barrier that would shield her from any kind of harm. Unfortunately, her cast speed was just a fraction of a second slower than Number Six’s movements.

“Don’t resist.” A frosty voice entered Aria’s ears, and an equally chilling blade tapped the supple skin of her neck. Reforming himself in the form of ‘Sabrina,’ Number Six held Aria by the hair with his left hand while his right was just inches away from digging deep into her windpipe. “Any sudden movements and the girl dies.”

“Shit!” The President cursed. Among everyone present, Aria was probably the most valuable target for the assassin to capture. She was also the weakest physically. If the assassin wanted to escape from the chambers, it wasn’t surprising that he would take Aria as a hostage.

“Let her go!” the President demanded.

“Sir, you and I know that’s not how it works,” Number Six replied. “I’ll be happy to let her go if you forget this ever happened.”

“And let you run away with our state secrets? Dream on!”

“So are you going to let her die on your watch?” The sharp end of the blade dug into Aria’s neck, creating a distinct red line.

“Argh!” Aria groaned in agony.

“Her skin is more delicate than I’d thought.”

“You fucking-!” The President wanted to scream, but the blade that hung right at Aria’s neck seemed to be digging deeper each time he moved forward.

“Now that’s better… Let’s negotiate shall we?”

Taking the upper hand in every situation… That was the method that Number Six had used to enjoy a mission success rate of over ninety percent. Even in this no-win situation, Number Six had somehow managed to thread the needle and find the only way out of this death cage. But, just as he was about to celebrate his victory…

“Hey… What are you doing to Aria?”

The hand which held the knife to Aria’s throat was suddenly dominated by an external force, one that was strong enough to crush Number Six’s wrist with just the slightest touch. Number Six was an operative that had countless espionage experience and had been at the heart of enemy territories more often than his own home. He knew how to sense if someone was around him even without his five senses. However, Number Six was completely unaware of the presence that was just behind him. The presence that he should have been acutely aware of.

‘Wh-what?!’ Panicked, he abruptly turned his head back. And right before his eyes… Two golden suns were staring right at him.

At that moment...

It was as if… the entire world was looking down at him. The helplessness of how an ant would feel when an elephant was towering over it… That was Number Six’s current predicament. The S-Class Metamorph, Raklius most skilled operative and one of the top powerhouses of the underground… was now a mere ant.

“Are you… hurting Aria?”