Chapter 169 - Zephyr's Interrogation (Part One)

The men were shocked the moment they heard the truth. Jasper turned the two small orbs into shurikens and hardened the blood. 

He threw it and killed two people along with it, and slashed at another person's neck with it. The blood that he had drawn again added to the orb, and there was a new orb that was floating now. 

The shurikens were growing in size, and the smile on his face sent shivers down everyone's spine. One of them began to run away, and he felt that he was running slower than he usually would.

"No way I am letting you get away. Now, who among you knows what business you have here?", he asked as he looked around. He heard a certain individual's heartbeat rise, and he was none other than the man who had tried running away.

"Oh? How amusing. Let me save the best for last", he muttered as he moved around. He stabbed and slashed at everyone he could see, and now had four orbs of blood behind him. 

He was weaving through the people like they were butter, and his dagger went only for one strike. Right after he had struck, he began to manipulate the blood flow of his opponent, drawing out blood he needed for the shurikens. 

The shurikens were growing in size, so he converted them into daggers and stood in place. The group, who were around a hundred people had been reduced to thirty people. 

He put his hands into his pockets and pulled down his hat again. He was covered and he looked around. There was a slight tint of orange in the sky, and he clicked his tongue in frustration. 

"And here I thought I could have some fun tonight", he thought as he looked at the orange hue in the sky. He controlled the daggers and began to kill the remaining thirty, leaving the only man who knew the information alive. 

He watched as the blood daggers were piercing through all of his comrades, and was shivering in fear. The way he looked at Jasper was filled with fear, and the thoughts of escape which he had were thrown out of the window.

Jasper squatted right in front of his face and asked the same question again. The man who wanted to run last time began to spill the beans. 

"We are here to kill the Beastmen that are living underground in this vicinity. They have long been in hiding, and who knows what they will do to humanity!", he exclaimed. The look in his eye was telling different, and Jasper knew the right man to extract the information.

"Zephyr, seems like the sun is up. I'll let you have a go", he said as he got up. Zephyr removed his hat and cloak. He was wearing a white shirt tucked into a pair of brown pants. 

He rolled up his sleeves as he brought out his kunai, and sat right to the opposite of him. The man who had talked was now shivering as he saw the look in Zephyr's eyes, and that look said it all.

"This is a violation of human rights! I call the Human...", he was stopped with a slap from Zephyr. His eyes were spouting fire, and the Kunai in his hand was shivering. 

"You have no right to talk about humanity! After what you had done to my best friend! You fucking bastards! Humanity can kiss my ass!", he bellowed. The Aura that he was hiding was released all at once, and the man shivered from his fear.

Everyone felt it and didn't stop him, as they all knew what had happened. It was an event that had happened way before they had become The Roaming Hermits when Zephyr was in his Adventurer Days.

The way he was holding his kunai and the look on his face was different from before, and he stabbed right through his thigh. The man screamed as he felt a twist inside, and the muscles began to twist along with it.

"AAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!", he screamed in pain. The pain in Zephyr's heart was so much that tears began to shed as he was torturing him. 

He removed one of his buttons, and there was a dog tag around his neck. The color of it was a deep purple, and that was the first time everyone saw it. It was none other than his best friend's.

"No way. They took an S Class Adventurer away? But that is impossible!", thought Maxine as she looked at the tag. Zephyr's eyes had turned red, and the tears didn't stop. 

He pulled the Kunai across his legs and tore the muscle. Blood was spurting and the man had fainted from the pain, and Zephyr noticed that. 

"Didn't you torture him while he was awake? I can wait until you wake up. You made me kill him with my hands! How can I ever fucking wash those away, huh?", he said as he put the Kunai back inside.

He sat right next to the man and slowly began to curl into a ball. He was on the ground, and after curling into a ball, he was watching the man through the gap between his knees.

"Let me show you guys how much pain I can inflict. You shall know pain like no other, and I will make you beg to kill you", he muttered. Vanessa who was coming next to him was taken aback when she heard his words.

She wrapped her arms around his head and began to stroke it lovingly. He began to calm down, and Maxine began to heal the man who had fainted. 

"Athena was right. I am going to need those eyes and the power to fight against these guys. If their experiments are like what I had to face before, I am sure that my current strength will not be enough", he concluded. 

The way Vanessa was stroking his head calmed him down, and he was now looking at the man that had fainted. He had regained back his calm composure, and this was the first time she had seen him lose it. 

"Honey, you know these guys are nothing but pawns. We need to find someone of high authority and interrogate them. That is the only way we will be able to get some kind of information about these guys, and who their leader is", she said in a calm and soothing voice.

Zephyr had a clear head now, and his anger had gone. He had suppressed it for a long time, and after crying for some time on Vanessa's shoulder, he began to sleep. 

Jasper and Maxine had tied the man up as Vanessa was watching over Zephyr. She was the only person who could keep him calm, and they left this task to her as they went around to gather some food for them to eat.

Things were not smooth for them right now, but both of them were hoping that Zephyr doesn't break out like that ever again. They were wondering if they will be able to control him if he was ever to go berserk.

After two hours, Zephyr woke up with a groggy head. He was looking around as he was thinking about the things he had done. 

"Hey there, you feeling better?", asked Vanessa as she looked at him. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. 

At first, she blushed slightly, but then she wrapped him back. He then looked into her eyes and placed his hands on her cheeks. She felt her heartbeat rising, and there was a flush on her face.

He leaned in to kiss her on the lips and had a passionate kiss. After a few minutes, Zephyr broke from the kiss and turned his head abruptly at the man that was tied and on the ground, and went towards him.

"Let me start again. My name is Zephyr Heart, First Prince of the Heart Kingdom. Trained in Kyoto in the Ways of the Ninja, and leader of the Shizukana Yoru. I think you must have heard of them", he said. 

Right after the man heard that he was the leader of Shizukana Yoru, he began to shiver in fear. That was because the group he was a part of, was the terrifying group in Kyoto, and was part of one of the leading powers there.

"How can an outsider become part of Hyogi-Kai? This is a lie!", he exclaimed. Zephyr had an amusing smile on his face as he looked at them. He brought out his kunai and stabbed him right in the shoulder.

"I didn't say I was part of the Hyogi-Kai, now did I? Seems like you know more than you let us know. Now, shall we begin the extraction process?", he said with a smile. He turned his head at Maxine, and she had the same look as he did. 

Both of them were now in front of him, and Zephyr pulled out more of his Kunai and Shurikens. They dragged him across the floor towards a tree and slammed his head on the trunk.

"Shall we begin?", said Zephyr as he picked up his Kunai.