"Shall we ask him ourselves?"
Flint kneeled beside the unconscious archer and delivered a sharp slap to his face, jerking him awake. Jerome Flagrant's glazed eyes gradually regained clarity. When he realised his position and the people in front of him, blood drained from his face.
Unsheathing his sword, Armand put the sharp blade to Jerome's neck as Flint removed his gag.
"Jerome Flagrant."
Hearing his name coming out of Armand's mouth, what little colour remained on his face was drained completely.
"Who sent you?"
Jerome sweated profusely, fear evident in his face. But he did not open his mouth.
Flint clicked his tongue. "Well, we know it's never that easy. Ah, looks like Lady Mizan and Sir Regulus are back."
From a distance, they watched as the slender mage and the mousey-haired knight approached. The latter figure seemed to be carrying someone on his shoulder. When Jerome saw who they managed to capture, he nearly fainted again.
"Hmm, how impressive, you guys managed to capture a mage?" Flint commented while the group examined the female captive.
Sir Regulus brushed his hair in embarrassment. "Uh, no, actually, I didn't do anything."
Everyone there raised their eyebrow, but Seraphine's face was flat, and she offered no further explanation. Instead, she gestured at the staff she was holding. It was a plain-looking staff except for a dull, grey stone at its tip.
"This belongs to her. I'm going to check if I can find anything from it."
Without waiting for a reply, she turned her heel and left.
Dame Ardent and Sir Regulus were flabbergasted by her sudden departure, while Sir Kingsley looked deep in thought. Meanwhile, Armand, Flint, and Darryl had gotten quite used to this kind of development, so they refocused their attempt at interrogation.
The mage was still unconscious, so Armand instructed Dame Ardent to strip her of her belongings to see if there were any identifying features. Sir Regulus stayed with her to provide backup in case she woke up and attempted anything. Armand and Kingsley continued their interrogation of Jerome while Flint finished cleaning up the bodies to avoid attracting wild animals.
"Jerome Flagrant." Kingsley's voice was a deep growl. "What are you doing here? Does your father know you're here? Do you know who did you attack??"
Jerome's face tensed, but still, no word escaped his mouth. Armand mulled over the best way to extract information from the two captives - would pitting them against each other work? Torture might work on mages, as they were not used to relying on physical prowess, but a trained soldier like Jerome would most likely have received some resistance training. Most importantly, they were running out of time to find the missing children and any surviving knights.
"...Sir Flagrant, do you know what the punishment is for attempted murder of the Commander of the Holy Knight of the World Tree Temple?"
Armand's voice was even as he looked straight at the pale-faced man. "There is also attempted murder against Archon Sylvarion's men...this goes beyond simple insubordination, doesn't it? It could be considered treason towards the Archon and the Temple. And what's the punishment for treason at this scale?" His piercing gaze met Jerome's trembling one. "I would suspect death by beheading for your entire family, down to three generations, would be a light price to pay."
"My family knows nothing of this!" Jerome shouted, panic in his voice. "I-I acted on my volition!"
"Are we supposed to believe that you, a foot archer of the Dohara's knight company, hired 50 people - including mages - to kill seven people without the financial help of the Flagrant family?"
"I-" The man was now breathing very fast. "I-I was just following instructions."
"Do you think the Justicar would accept that excuse? Do you have a wife, Jerome? Children?"
Jerome's body shook like a leaf in a hurricane.
Without missing a beat, Armand continued grilling him. "Instruction to do what exactly? From who?"
"..to stop you from entering the cave at any cost, even if it means killing everyone."
"How did you know we're here?"
"...we had insider information."
"Who?"
"I-I can't say! He'll kill me!"
Armand narrowed his eyes. "You will die either way. The question is whether your family will die along with you."
"No!" The man fell to the ground, sobbing. "You don't understand...he'd do more than just kill me. If he reports me to the Usurper..."
Tensing up, Armand thought to himself that this matter seemed to have gone beyond a missing children case, or even possible human trafficking. There seemed to be some hierarchy amongst the attackers. He kneeled beside the man, who was now swaying back and forth. "Jerome, who is the Usurper? Is that the man behind the kidnapping of the children?"
"The Usurper...is no man."
Hearing this, Sir Kingsley furrowed his forehead. "What do you mean by that?!"
"He's no longer a man." Suddenly, as if possessed, Jerome sat up, his previously tear-stained face devoid of expression. His body stopped trembling, and he sat eerily still. A chilling smile slowly bloomed on his face, giving an unsettling feeling. He stated calmly and forebodingly.
"He's become a God."
As Armand listened, his face darkened. He had seen similar behaviour in the past when interrogating cult worshippers, and recognised the look of a zealot. From his experience, it was incredibly difficult to gain fruitful information from a fanatic. His tone unintentionally became harsher and more urgent.
"Jerome, where are the children? What happened to them?"
However, before Jerome could speak another word, a loud boom echoed through the air.