Chapter 202: Extracting the Truth

Chapter 202: Chapter 202: Extracting the Truth

Lucian rested the black greatsword on his shoulder, his crimson eyes fixed on Farouk with a cold, unhurried gaze. "Give me the location of the Apeps."

Farouk’s frown deepened. His lightning-coated body crackled as he tensed. "Who are you? How do you know about the Apeps? Are you... also a vampire?"

Lucian chuckled, the sound low and humorless. "Give me the information. Or I’ll take it from your corpse. Your choice."

Farouk’s jaw tightened. He reached behind his back and pulled out a massive A-Grade axe. The blade gleamed with golden runes, and lightning immediately crawled along its edge, coating the weapon in crackling energy. Bzzzzt. Lightning enveloped his body, enhancing his speed and strength. His muscles bulged. His eyes blazed with golden light.

"Don’t get arrogant, boy," Farouk growled.

He launched forward. Boom. The ground cratered beneath his feet. The axe descended in a vicious overhead arc, lightning trailing behind it like a comet’s tail. CRASH!

Lucian met the strike with the black greatsword. CLAAANG! The impact sent shockwaves rippling outward. Sand exploded in every direction. Fwooooosh. Farouk’s arms trembled from the sheer force of the parry. His eyes widened. An Early Grand Core cultivator was matching his Mid Grand Core strength head-on.

Lucian parried the next strike — a horizontal sweep aimed at his ribs. Clang. He deflected it downward, sparks flying. Then another — a diagonal slash. Clang. Lucian redirected it effortlessly. Farouk’s attacks were powerful but predictable, and Lucian’s Primordial Sight mapped every motion before it began.

Lucian fired a Light Bolt point-blank. Pew! Farouk’s lightning speed activated — his body flickered sideways, the bolt screaming past his ear and detonating against a distant rubble pile. BOOM.

Lucian appeared behind him. Light Steps. Flick. The greatsword was already swinging toward Farouk’s exposed back. But Farouk was fast. Lightning Movement carried him sideways, and he countered with a spinning axe strike aimed at Lucian’s spine.

Lucian’s Blood Sense tracked the shift in Farouk’s blood flow before the movement even began. He was already turning. Mind Spike fired through his crimson eyes. Zzzng! A lance of pure mental energy slammed into Farouk’s consciousness.

Farouk froze. His axe stopped mid-swing. His eyes glassed over for a fraction of a second. Lucian brought the greatsword down toward Farouk’s shoulder. SWISH.

Farouk’s willpower shattered through the Mind Spike. His hand shot up and caught Lucian’s wrist, stopping the blade centimeters from his neck.

But Lucian kicked him. BAM. The blow connected with Farouk’s chest, sending him flying across the compound. He crashed through a collapsed wall, tumbling through rubble. Crash. Rumble. Dust and debris erupted.

Lucian didn’t pursue immediately. He walked forward unhurried. He didn’t want to kill Farouk. Not yet. He needed information from him.

Farouk erupted from the rubble, his face twisted with fear and desperation. He realized what he was facing. This wasn’t a fight he could win.

He ran.

BZZZZT! Lightning engulfed his body completely. He became a streak of golden light, blasting across the desert at blinding speed. Sand erupted in his wake. Fwooooosh.

Lucian followed. Light Acceleration activated — light mana coating his entire body. Flick. Flick. Flick. He moved like a broken hologram, tearing through the night, closing the distance.

Meanwhile, Mickey was in his element.

The first Early Grand Core master — the earth manipulator — raised a massive stone golem. Rumble. The construct towered over Mickey, fists raised.

Mickey fired wind blades. Slash. Slash. They carved through the golem’s legs. Crack. The construct stumbled. Mickey followed with a fireball that detonated against the golem’s chest. BOOM. Stone shards exploded outward.

The earth master lunged. Mickey copied his earth manipulation on contact, his Perfect Copy activating. He raised his own stone wall, thicker and denser. RUMBLE. The earth master’s punch cratered the wall but didn’t break through. Mickey fired water spears through a gap. Pew. Pew. One pierced the master’s thigh. Shhhhk.

The second master — the water manipulator — attacked from behind. A pressurized water blade slashed Mickey’s shoulder. Slash. Blood sprayed. But the wound closed in seconds — vampire regeneration knitting tissue together seamlessly.

Mickey spun, combining wind and fire. A flaming tornado erupted from his palm, engulfing the water master. Fwooooosh. Crackle. She screamed, her water barriers evaporating under the intense heat. Mickey closed the distance, wind blade extended, and drove it through her chest. SHHHHK. Her eyes went wide. She collapsed.

The earth master saw his companion fall. Fear replaced aggression. He turned to run. Mickey threw a compressed wind blade. FWISH. It severed the man’s arm at the shoulder. Slash. Blood arced through the air. The master screamed, stumbling.

Then the remaining master fired one last desperate attack — a concentrated stone spike that pierced Mickey’s shoulder from behind. Shhhhk. Mickey jumped back, hissing through clenched teeth. The wound sealed in seconds. He rolled his shoulder, the bone and tissue already repaired.

He smirked at the one-armed earth master, who was now on his knees, clutching his bleeding stump.

"Not bad," Mickey said, cracking his neck. "But not enough."

Mickey then frowned realising he was becoming a monster himself but quickly shakes it off as he remembered this people were criminals.

Farouk raced across the desert. Lightning propelled him at incredible speeds, the sand blurring beneath him. His heart hammered. His mind screamed at him to run faster.

BOOM.

A fist connected with his face.

Lucian had caught up. The punch sent Farouk crashing into the ground, carving a trench through the sand. Crash. Rumble. He tumbled, rolling end over end before coming to a stop face-down in the dirt.

Before he could rise, Lucian drove a blood spear through his right shoulder. SHHHHK. The spear pinned him to the ground. Farouk screamed. SHHHIK. A second blood spear pierced his left shoulder. He was nailed to the desert floor, arms spread.

"AGHHH!" Farouk thrashed, but the blood spears held firm.

Lucian crouched beside him, his crimson eyes glowing. Mind Read activated. Mental Power surged, pressing against Farouk’s consciousness like a flood against a dam.

Farouk resisted. His mental walls were strong but Lucian’s Mental Power, honed under Allistar’s training and amplified by his Mind Palace, was relentless. The walls cracked. Crack. Fragments surfaced.

Meetings with robed figures. A desert location. Coordinates. An underground fortress. Deliveries of human cattle in chains. Apep family representatives with crimson eyes and ancient auras.

Lucian pulled back.

"Where is the Apep family base?" Lucian asked, his voice cold.

Farouk’s jaw clenched. Blood trickled from his mouth. "I don’t—"

Lucian grabbed Farouk’s index finger and snapped it backward. Crack.

"AHHH!"

"Wrong answer." Lucian grabbed the next finger. Crack.

"STOP! I— I don’t know!"

Lucian paused, scanning Farouk’s surface thoughts. The man was telling the truth — or at least believed he was.

"Only my elder brother meets with the true Apeps directly," Farouk gasped, tears streaming down his face. "The rest of us only deliver supplies to whoever the Apeps send. We never see or go to their base!"

Lucian’s eyes narrowed. "Ramses Khalfani. Where is he?"

Farouk’s breathing was ragged. "Cairo. The cartel’s main headquarters. He’s attending a secret meeting tonight with World Government officials."

Lucian processed the information, cross-referencing it with the memories he’d pulled from Farouk’s mind.

"I guess you’ve proven quite useful," Lucian said, standing up.

Farouk exhaled shakily. "Can... can I go now?"

"Well of course," Lucian said casually. "Thanks for your cooperation."

The blood spears dissolved into crimson mist. Farouk pushed himself up, his shoulders screaming in agony. He stood, wobbling, his broken fingers dangling at his sides.

In his mind, Farouk’s thoughts raced. I’ll kill this kid. I swear on my family name. I’ll find him. I’ll torture him. I’ll make him beg. I’ll kill everyone he loves. His family. His friends. I’ll burn everything he—

Lucian’s crimson eyes flickered.

Mind Read was still active.

Every thought. Every dark fantasy. Every threat against everyone Lucian cared about — laid bare.

Farouk took one step forward.

FWISH.

A wind blade tore through his neck. His head separated from his body, eyes still wide with shock. His body crumpled to the sand. Thud.

Mickey walked up, lowering his hand. Wind mana dissipated from his fingertips. He looked at the headless corpse, then at Lucian.

Lucian met his eyes. "Good job."

He turned back toward the compound. "Let’s move."

The compound was a ruin. Fires burned across the rubble. The light cubes around the blood farm buildings still held, their golden glow steady. Lucian dissolved them one by one. Inside, emaciated humans huddled together — men, women, children. Chains hung from their wrists and ankles. Their eyes were hollow, haunted.

Lucian broke the chains with blood manipulation. Clink. Clink. Clink. The metal links shattered like glass. The captives stared, unable to comprehend that they were free.

"Contact the Hunter Guild anonymously," Lucian told Mickey. "Give them the coordinates. They’ll handle the rescue."

Mickey pulled out a communicator and began typing. Lucian stood among the freed humans.

"We’re heading to Cairo," Lucian said, watching the fires burn. "Ramses Khalfani has more information."

Mickey pocketed the communicator and looked at Lucian. "We’re really walking into Cairo — one of the most fortified cities in Africa — to kill a Late Grand Core cartel leader?"

Lucian smirked.