Chapter 163: The Ashcrofts’ Prisoners

The black crystal pulsed beneath Reinhard’s fingers, and for a fraction of a second nothing happened before Emily moved, her eyes flashing crimson as Space and Time wrapped around the relic.

The air around his hand distorted, and the Mana inside the crystal suddenly stopped moving, the black light freezing halfway through its next pulse, trapped inside a tiny region of distorted space.

"Well, that was almost annoying," Reinhard said, looking at it for a moment before smiling faintly.

The surviving A-Rank stared at Emily in disbelief. "That should have already activated."

"It didn’t," she said, keeping her attention on the crystal, and his expression tightened.

Reinhard studied the relic more carefully, its Mana feeling different from the weapons the other attackers had used. It wasn’t simply compressed energy waiting to explode. There was a strange structure inside it, as though the crystal had been designed to trigger something specific once its activation was completed.

"Can you tell what it is?" Maki asked, stepping closer but keeping a safe distance.

"Not yet," Reinhard answered.

Yuna’s Mana quietly spread through the room, passing over the prisoners and checking for any unusual fluctuations. "Then don’t let it finish."

"I wasn’t planning to."

Reinhard raised his free hand, and Space split open beside him, a thin black tear appearing in the air and leading into an isolated pocket of distorted space. He carefully shifted the frozen crystal away from the prisoner’s wrist while Emily maintained her control over it.

The prisoner suddenly struggled against his restraints. "Wait!"

He tried to activate the crystal again, but Emily’s control prevented even the smallest movement.

"I’m starting to think that means I should definitely throw it away," Reinhard smiled, pushing the crystal through the Space Tear until it disappeared into the isolated space, closing the tear immediately behind it.

The room fell silent.

"Was that going to explode?" Lily stared at the place where the crystal had vanished.

"Probably."

"Probably?" Maki looked at him.

"It isn’t in our house anymore," Reinhard shrugged. "That’s the important part."

"You really should work on your definition of reassuring," Maki sighed, and Emily finally released her control over Space and Time, letting the pressure around the room disappear.

"That wasn’t supposed to happen," the surviving A-Rank stared at Reinhard.

"What wasn’t?" he turned toward him, and the man immediately realized he had said too much and closed his mouth.

Reinhard’s smile widened slightly and then he looked around the room, taking in the full scope of what they had accomplished.

Thirteen Baal Awakeners had entered the Ashcroft Manor, and all thirteen were still alive. The three A-Ranks remaining conscious despite the injuries each had suffered during the battle.

While the ten B-Ranks lay unconscious and restrained by spatial bindings that would prevent them from moving even if they woke. The battle was over, and now came the interesting part.

Reinhard looked over the three conscious A-Ranks before suddenly shaking his head. "Honestly, I’m disappointed."

"Disappointed?" one of the prisoners frowned.

"I expected more," Reinhard nodded, as though discussing something completely ordinary, his gaze moving from the three A-Ranks to the unconscious B-Ranks scattered throughout the damaged room. "You came to attack the Ashcroft Family, didn’t you?"

None of them answered. "And this is all you brought?"

His smile turned shamelessly arrogant. "Thirteen?"

Lily’s lips twitched.

Maki looked away, clearly trying not to smile.

Yuna remained composed, though the faint amusement in her eyes was difficult to hide.

"No, no," Reinhard shook his head. "You should have brought at least twelve S-Ranks and one SS-Rank."

One of the injured A-Ranks visibly trembled with anger. "Don’t be arrogant, you—"

"You should be happy I’m arrogant," Reinhard interrupted with a grin. "Otherwise, I would have had the Aurelius security forces and Archon waiting here when I received information about your attack."

The man’s words died in his throat, and the other two A-Ranks froze. For several seconds, nobody spoke, and Lily looked at Reinhard, but he didn’t look back, instead stepping closer to the prisoners. "Now that’s a better reaction."

Maki watched him carefully while Reinhard leaned slightly toward the family and lowered his voice so only they could hear. "I’m guessing and baiting them. If they react, we learn something."

Emily’s eyes shifted toward him, and she understood immediately that he wasn’t going to explain how he knew every detail, not with three enemies tied up directly in front of them. He simply needed to make the prisoners believe he knew more than he actually had.

Reinhard turned back toward them. "So," he continued casually, "how did you expect this to go?"

One of the A-Ranks clenched his jaw. "We were given an order."

"I know," Reinhard replied. "I’m asking who gave it to you."

The man remained silent, and Reinhard didn’t pressure him.

Instead, he began tossing out possibilities. "Was it someone from the Executive Branch?"

The man’s eyes moved slightly, and Reinhard noticed, continuing as though he were simply making another guess. "Or did someone lower down the chain give you the information?"

Nothing.

"Maybe you were told there would only be a small amount of resistance?"

The man’s breathing changed, and Reinhard smiled. There. He had found something.

He activated Mind Glance, the ability connecting to the man’s thoughts not by magically searching for an answer but by following the thoughts his questions had already stirred to the surface.

A thought appeared: the operation was supposed to be clean.

An image followed it, a dark meeting room with several Baal Family members seated around a table, before disappearing almost as quickly as it had come.

Reinhard kept his expression relaxed and continued speaking. "You were expecting the Ashcrofts to be weaker, weren’t you?"

The man’s thoughts reacted immediately.

Yes.

Another image surfaced, a briefing document, thirteen names, three marked A-Rank, ten marked B-Rank, and then another line: Emily Ashcroft, Capture Alive.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

That confirmed what they already knew, that Emily was the objective, and there was no reason to waste time asking something obvious. Instead, he asked, "Who decided thirteen people were enough?"

The prisoner’s thoughts shifted.

The mission was assigned directly.

Another image appeared, a man seated behind a desk, the details blurred, but Reinhard could recognize the Executive Branch insignia, and then a name surfaced in the man’s thoughts.

Nisan.

He withdrew from the thought and continued speaking naturally. "Nisan?"

The prisoner’s eyes widened, and Reinhard smiled. "That reaction tells me I said the right name."

"You..." the man’s expression tightened, but Reinhard ignored him.

He had learned something important. This mission had not come from some random Baal operative. It had been handed directly to this man’s Executive superior.

He continued his questioning. "Your superior gave you the mission directly?"

The man remained silent, but his thoughts answered instead. Executive Nisan gave me the order himself.

Another image appeared, Nisan standing in the same dark room, a document being handed across the table, the Ashcroft Manor, the number thirteen, Emily’s name, capture alive.

Reinhard kept his expression neutral and asked, "When did you receive the mission?"

The prisoner’s mind reacted again, a clock, a date, a meeting, then an image of the strike force preparing to leave. The timing was precise.

They had received the mission shortly before the attack.

His thoughts grew more focused.

We had the timing and number of forces... Our superior gave the order and now he needed to know how much information the Baal Family actually had.

"And you were given information about our current strength?"

The prisoner’s thoughts shifted.

Yes.

Another image appeared, a rough assessment of the Ashcroft Family: Reinhard, Emily, Yuna, Maki, Lily. The information was outdated, some of it badly so, but it explained why thirteen experienced Awakeners had been considered sufficient.

Reinhard almost laughed. "They really did their homework."

"What did you find?" Maki glanced toward him.

"They have an assessment of our strength," Reinhard lowered his voice slightly, keeping his eyes on the prisoners. "I’m guessing the rest from their reactions." Maki understood the excuse and didn’t question him further.

He turned back toward the prisoners. "But something doesn’t add up." One of the A-Ranks stared at him. "You knew enough to send thirteen people."

He paused. "You knew where we were."

Another pause. "You knew Emily was the priority."

His smile faded slightly. "And yet you didn’t know we knew you were coming."

The three A-Ranks froze, and Reinhard watched them carefully as their thoughts began racing. How did they know? Who told them? The timing was correct, the number of forces was correct, even the location was correct. One thought became particularly clear: this mission came directly from Executive Nisan. Another followed: unless.

The man’s expression changed as a new possibility surfaced. Could one of the opposing Executives have known?

The thought grew more frantic. Was the information intercepted? No, the mission was given directly to me. Only Nisan’s branch knew the details.

Reinhard continued speaking, giving the man enough room to keep thinking. "You’re wondering how we knew."

The prisoner’s eyes snapped toward him.

"That’s the interesting part, isn’t it?"

The man’s thoughts grew even more unsettled.

How did they know the time? How did they know the number of forces? How did they prepare the entire manor? Was there a traitor? Another possibility surfaced: one of the opposing Executives.

The thought stopped as the man suddenly realized how serious that possibility was.

If information about this mission had leaked from inside the Executive Branch, then the problem wasn’t simply the Ashcroft Family. There could be a problem inside Baal itself.

Reinhard withdrew from the man’s thoughts, his expression remaining casual. Maki glanced at him, and he quietly murmured, "I’m just baiting them." She nodded. That was enough.

He turned back toward the prisoners. "So, which one of you wants to explain why your own organization might have a leak?" The three A-Ranks exchanged glances, and none of them answered.

"Nothing?" Reinhard smiled. Silence. He shrugged. "That’s fine. I already have a few guesses."

One of the prisoners suddenly looked away, and Reinhard noticed, activating Mind Glance again. The man’s thoughts immediately returned to the same conclusion.

There must have been a leak.

His expression changed slightly as the thought was followed by another: but from where?

He watched the uncertainty spread through the man’s mind, the prisoner having begun questioning the very people who had sent him.

That was more interesting than anything Reinhard had expected.

He looked toward Emily and the others. "Interesting."

"What is it?" Emily studied him.

"It seems Baal has a problem," he smiled faintly, and the prisoners remained silent.

Reinhard looked around the damaged manor.

Thirteen people had come here expecting to capture Emily, and instead all thirteen were alive, restrained, and sitting inside the Ashcroft family’s ruined home.

Now he had learned something else: the attack had been ordered directly by an Executive, the attackers had accurate information about the family but not enough to account for their recent growth, and the attackers themselves couldn’t understand how the Ashcrofts had known they were coming.

His smile returned. "This is getting interesting."