CHAPTER 262: JUST BUSINESS.

Mr. Pike’s statement echoed through the dark warehouse, and for a moment there, nothing seemed to change. As the seconds passed, the sound of metal shattered the silence. It was only a light tap, followed by another. Once they heard the third, it became clear that the sound was that of footsteps.

Looking in its direction, they watched as a dark figure manifested out of thin air. They seemed to be wearing a power suit of some kind, which explained the heavy, metallic sound of their footsteps. As the veil hiding their presence was lifted, a blue skull-like visage was revealed. With eyes glowing a deep red and knife-like horns jutting out of its forehead, it gave off a frightening demonic feeling, even when it’s clearly just a helmet.

As they stopped a couple of meters from where they were, the demonic headgear popped open, unfurling as it revealed the face hidden behind it.

"You don’t seem too surprised. Did you perhaps anticipate my arrival?"

Rose recognized the voice more than she recognized the face. Of course she did. That voice had left such a deep impression on her, so much so that she hoped to never hear it again.

Shirogane Ushida, head of security at the Blue Ember hotel and leader of the Stahlkorps. The last time she saw him was when he followed Klaus Stahlwölfe into that secret room, but now that she thought about it, keeping track of his location was almost impossible.

He had just proved it to them. With his perfect camouflage sorcery, they wouldn’t have noticed even if he were riding with them in the car. There was nothing strange about his tracking them to the drop-off location, but Rose was still shocked by his appearance.

"Revealing yourself this early," Said Mr. Pike. "Are you sure you don’t want to wait for the client first?"

"That was the plan, but alas..." Plastering a polite smile, the sorcerer added. "My patience ran out, you see. Things... came up, and I can no longer afford to wait."

Viktor gave Kirk a glance, and the tall man turned to the sorcerer. After getting a nod, he lowered his gun, grabbed the feminine bag from the fixer’s hand, then retreated to the sorcerer’s side.

"No hard feelings, Vic." He said. "It’s just business."

The fixer didn’t reply, turning his sight to their guest instead. He held his gaze for a moment before speaking, keeping his tone even.

"I thought the heroes would have kept you busy a little longer."

"Then you thought wrong." As he spoke, Ushida took out the Moon Dagger and examined it. "If you know anything about our clan, then you should be aware that direct fights aren’t our thing."

"Yes." Viktor smiled. "You stab people when you get the chance and stay hidden when times get tough. That’s how you survived this far, right?"

Ushida’s expression darkened, his eyes narrowing into sharp slits.

"We call that choosing our battles carefully, Mr. Sokolov. You should learn to do the same."

Viktor’s legs buckled all of a sudden, causing him to fall to his knees. His head jerked back the next moment, his hair stretching as if being pulled. The same thing happened to Mr. Pike and Rose. Though it appeared like quite the strange situation from the side, they all understood what was happening, so when men in black suits started appearing behind them, they weren’t too surprised.

"You’re going to silence us? Really?" Viktor said. "I know you have nothing to lose, but..."

"You are correct." The Sorcerer said. "Getting rid of you was never a problem, and I can let you go if I want. It all depends on how I’m feeling." Putting away the white scythe, he added. "Unfortunately, I’m not feeling very charitable today."

A red line appeared on Viktor’s neck, and a single drop seeped from it, drawing a trail as it slid down. The fixer didn’t as much as twitch, watching as the Sorcerer’s blue helmet closed, hiding his face behind that of a blue demon.

[You see, my son and nephew were supposed to be guarding the elevator you escaped from.] He said. [They wouldn’t have let you pass just like that, and you don’t have any injuries that show you fought them.]

"Why bother asking us?" Rose said. "You already have someone with all the answers."

She turned to Kirk with a smile that caused him to shiver. The tall man was with them the entire time and had seen everything they saw. With that being the case, interrogating them when he could just ask his mole was nothing but a waste of time.

[Of course, I can always do that. But as I said, I’m not feeling very charitable right now.] The blue demon turned to face Mr. Pike, and his eyes began glowing red. [Now, I need you to answer me truthfully. Who was it that cleared the path for your escape?]

As soon as he spoke the question, a sudden pressure fell on the suited man. The demon was using his truth sorcery, and with the usually stoic Mr. Pike grimacing, it was clear that the pain it caused was much stronger than last time.

"I think you are mistaken, Mr. Shirogane." Mr. Pike said. "How would we know who cleared the path when taking it was a last-minute call?"

[... Not good, Mr. Pike. Not good at all.] The demon shook his head. [I know that you know who I’m referring to. Do you expect me to believe that you chose to go through the thirty-sixth floor, and someone clearing the Stahlkorps guarding it was just a coincidence? Even when that someone protected you from the heroes chasing after you and stayed behind to buy you time?]

Remaining silent for a moment, Mr. Pike raised an eyebrow.

"I see. So that’s why there were no pursuers." He said. "I thought it was strange that no one caught up to us."

Though giving indirect questions would have helped before, it didn’t seem like that worked anymore. The strain caused by the sorcery kept getting stronger, and the suited man was growing pale, sweat beading his face as if he was struck by a sudden illness.

As if letting him suffer on purpose, the blue demon remained silent for a while, only speaking after it appeared he was on the verge of collapsing.

[The white one.] He said. [He who can negate sorcery. Who is he?]