Chapter 51 Motive

They found a place to rest near the exit of the forest. Since they were attacked while inside the forest the possibility of an ambush increased once they got out of the woods. The mage hunters who came after them surely had some of their fellows waiting for them just in case the others failed.

"Can we even reach the next town like this?" Nina was shivering, she had no energy left and even her mana was running low. She had been staying beside Cygnus ever since they temporarily settled down in that area.

"You don't have to worry about that. We will reach the town safely once our back up comes," Ginehart informed them. "I've already sent them a letter after the fight, now all we need to do is to wait here patiently."

"How about my brother?" she asked. He was still unconscious and they didn't have a doctor with them while the mage's healing magic did not heal his wounds completely since Astrophos did not have the affinity with the element of light.

"Regil is fine. He just needs to rest for a while, although some of the wounds seemed to be life threatening, they're not so you can be rest assured." Astrophos came beside them and patted the woman's shoulders.

Nina looked at the butler and he nodded so she was a bit reassured. She was still worried but not as much after the words of reassurance. For the rest of the night, together with Mr. C they stayed with Cygnus. Astrophos joined in patrolling the perimeter of the area and hunting for prey that they could cook and eat.

The next day, Cygnus finally opened his eyes and even though he was still weak, he was able to eat small amounts of food. Ginehart's gaze did not leave the man throughout the day as he carefully observed all of his movements but he did not see anything out of place. He was indeed weak and the blood from the bandages were real. After he had enough, he left to interrogate the other two magic users they caught.

Cygnus smirked secretly after the major left. 'Ah how easy to fool,' he silently chuckled.

On the second day of their waiting, the major did not appear. He was busy asking questions to the magic users. He even asked Astrophos to restrain them so that they can't commit suicide. He stood in front of the two with his stern face.

"Who sent you?" he asked in a low voice. He had his arms behind his back while waiting for any of them to answer but to his disappointment they remained silent.

"We've been asking them since morning but they still refuse to answer." Lisbon stood beside the major. They've tried using verbal conversation to get information but it seemed that they needed to employ other methods to make them speak.

"Call the Grand Mage for me," he ordered to one of the soldiers who were standing behind him.

Astrophos went to see them and based on how dark their faces were, they were not successful in their questioning. "What do you need me for, major?" he asked.

"Do you have any spells that can make these people talk?" the major asked without even giving the mage a look. His gaze was still focused on the two people who decided to stay mute.

"I do have a truth spell but are you sure that you want me to use it?" Astrophos was not sure if the major would be pleased to see what that spell can do. "This spell can destroy their minds and you might not get any useful information from them."

"Yes," he nodded and his voice was firm. "If we don't get anything from them then that's it. I can still find out who their master is even if it takes me years." They don't have enough options right now, if they were back in their military base then he could have some other means than asking a mage for help.

"Alright but I ask that you do not judge me when you see how this spell works," Astrophos told them. He stepped in front of the magic users then stretched his arms and touched their heads.

A red magic circle appeared on the surface where he touched then he started to mumble an incantation which made the magic circle glow. As the glow of the circle intensified, the men started to scream too. Major Ginehart frowned when he saw what was happening but aside from that, he did not do anything. The soldiers who were on standby did not flinch at the screams since they were already used to it but the method was a bit uncomfortable to them.

They torture their prisoners for information but what they mostly do was to inflict physical injuries. What Astrophos was doing right now was directly penetrating their minds and forcefully breaking through the mind's natural barrier against intruders. This method was more painful than any physical method of making someone admit.

This process took a whole five minutes of concentration to control the mana so that it cannot do any damage to the mind. Large beads of sweat started to fall down from Astrophos's face while doing the spell. Slowly the magic circles lost their glow and finally Astrophos retracted his hands. He took deep breaths before he managed to step back.

"Once they wake up, you can ask them anything but you can only ask important questions because that spell will not last. At most, it will take effect for an hour." Astrophos faced the major who only gave him a curt nod. "I'll leave then since I also need to rest." He walked away without looking back since they might think that he was intruding.

The magic users woke up after five minutes as they stared with wide eyes at the man who was hovering above them. "Now then, let's try if that man's spell will work. Who is the mastermind behind your attack?" Major Ginehart did not waste time and asked his first question immediately.

"We don't know. We were only hired through a third party and we haven't even met the person who commissioned this assassination." One of them finally answered and at the mention of the word assassin, the major's face turned black.

"Who is your target?" The question immediately followed but the answer they heard was not what they expected.

"We were told to kill Major Linius Ginehart and everyone with him. We were instructed to make it like they were killed by monsters." The other one answered without even blinking.

"It seems that my enemies really wanted me dead." He shook his head and even chuckled for a bit. "Who was the middle man?" he followed up.

"We also don't know. We only saw him a couple of times and during those meetings the other always wore a coat with a hood." The second captive answered once again.

"Whoever they are I will find them and I'll make sure to give them due punishment," he announced. After that they continued to ask them questions until the effect of the magic disappeared.