Records of the Weakest Emperor

Chapter 134: Interrogation

Depicted in the medallion was the image of a humungous sun with eight rays of light. If this wasn't imposing enough, then the crow holding a severed hand in its beak was sure to shock anyone. Everyone let out a gasp as the cogs in their mind madly spun.

Ashlynn and Bruce felt their own medallion vibrate.

"A resonance!"

"It's the same!"

Bruce exclaimed, "When the sun sets in the battlefield, crows descend from the heavens and feed on the dead..."

"It's really the Medallion of a Crow Within the Sun!"

Bruce and Ashlynn reeled in from shock while Charlotte stared at them baffled.

"Do you perhaps know anything about this medallion?"

"Yeah..." 

Bruce awkwardly replied.

Ashlynn glanced at Calvin and mumbled, "You will be coming with us. I expect that you are able to explain yourself."

She then made a sidelong glance at Charlotte and the medallion that she had in her hand, "Madame... You will also be coming with us." Ashlynn couldn't help but surreptitiously glance at Calvin once more as she continued, "From now on, this is the matter of the Cavaliers."

"The Cavaliers?" Charlotte asked in confusion.

"I'll explain the details later, Madame... For now, you will be coming with us." Ashlynn nodded to Bruce.

Bruce didn't say anything in return. He walked up to Calvin and stood behind him.

"Wait, wait, wait... We are the victims? Why are you detaining us?" Charlotte asked.

Ashlynn shook her head, "We are not detaining you, madame. We are detaining him."

Calvin revealed a look of shock on his face, "Wait, what? Why am I being detained?" He turned to look at Ashlynn and Bruce and discovered that they had grim looks on their faces. He took the hint and closed his mouth.

Although annoyed, he understood that they were trying to disturb Charlotte's mind in order to extract relevant information from her memories.

Calvin was now a half-member of the Cavaliers, even though they hated their methods.

He really couldn't complain about what they were trying to do since it made sense.

"Go ahead, Charlotte. I'll be fine. I am sure that these people won't do anything bad against me." Calvin reassured.

Charlotte hesitated.

But since it was now clear that these people knew about the medallion that her late husband left for her, she knew that they wouldn't do anything illegal to him. She was just genuinely concerned for Calvin.

"Nothing will happen towards me, just follow her and be obedient." Calvin smiled.

Ashlynn couldn't wait anymore and she dragged Charlotte away from the warehouse. 

Bruce also dragged Calvin away towards the nearby docks.

Standing near the waters of the Revoir River, Calvin couldn't help but crack a joke.

"Are you going to tie me up and push me down the river?"

"Surely, you jest. But I really am curious. Just where did you get the confidence to fight against the Yellow River Gang. What's more, how did you know that the Yellow River Gang was in this particular warehouse? Could it be perhaps that you are still possessed?" Bruce's eyes shone in a critical light. His movements were all too normal, but his body was already surging with magical power. 

But Calvin merely chuckled, "I have an informant."

"Oh?" Bruce didn't expect Calvin to be completely honest, "You have an informant?" 

"Yup... My informant was the landlord..."

"And how did you coerce him to become your follower?"

"That is what I want to know..." Calvin's expression changed.

Both men stared at the filthy waters of the Revoir River, their thoughts were unknown.

"I have a confession to make." After a certain amount of time, Calvin finally spoke, "I want to tell you, Captain, and the others about what happened that day..." 

Bruce's eyes widened. He could still remember that scene that he saw through the divination ritual. But he didn't say anything about it to Calvin. He merely nodded his head and replied, "Whatever that confession is, I suggest you tell it to us back at the cafe. The captain will make a judgment." 

Calvin let out a sigh but he didn't say anything.

The two men then continued to walk towards the Yang Bridge into the Center Borough. Along the way, Bruce suddenly stopped at the top of the Yang Bridge and said, "I don't know what is going on with you, Calvin. But one thing is for sure. if you have gone mad and listened to the whispers of those unknown gods, then I will be the one to end your life..." 

Calvin was shocked by what he had heard. Bruce seemed to be carrying a far too heavy grudge against the gods up above. But in that case, why was he a devout follower of the Goddess of Compassion and Light? 

"I know... I won't blame you if you do that to me as well... But if I was indeed summarily executed by the church, then can I ask you for a favour?" 

Bruce raised an eyebrow. He didn't understand why Calvin was asking him for a favour when the two of them had just met recently. It was weird, yet it piqued Bruce's interest.

"What is it?"

"Nothing... I just want to ask you if you can ensure the safety of my wife and daughter after I'm dead, that's all..." Calvin simply said before he turned around and continued to walk towards the direction of the Center Borough, leaving an astonished Bruce behind. 

At the Captivating Fragrance Coffee Shop, Charlotte could be seen talking to the Captain.

Calvin walked into the cafe and the first thing that he saw was the Captain handing over a bag full of something over to Charlotte.

"Thank you for enduring all this while, and I apologize for our insufficient response. I know that this may mean nothing to your loss, but please accept this compensation. The death of your husband is on us and there is no one else to blame. He died a hero and he will forever remain in our hearts..." The Captain made a sign with his closed right fist placed over his left chest and with his head bowed onto the ground.

The others followed suit and the scene immediately became solemn.

Calvin who was about to inform the Captain about his arrival paused on his tracks. Unbeknownst to him, Bruce had made the same sign and he had a completely grim look on his face.

The silence continued for a few minutes until it was shattered by the Captain.

"You've finally arrived..."

It was hard to predict the Captain's feelings through his voice, but it made everyone in the room inexplicably nervous. 

Charlotte turned around and exclaimed, "Calvin!"

Calvin dismissed her with a nod.

Then, he awkwardly scratched his head and smiled, "I guess I have some explaining to do?"

"You sure do..." James Branzuela couldn't even laugh. 

He gestured to Ashlynn and the latter understood his intentions. She walked towards Charlotte and dragged her to another room. Then, a few minutes later, after having finally convinced Charlotte to stay put. She returned with a serious look on her face. 

"All right, close the doors."

Bruce and Ashlynn flanked Calvin from both sides while James stood near the exit. Calvin noticed all of these minute details but he remained steadfast in the presence of life and death. Seeing his calm expression, the Captain's doubts became deeper. How could he remain so calm? Could it really because he has already gone mad and has nothing to lose? 

The Captain didn't want to believe that Calvin had listened to the whispers of the other shore, but the signs were clear. Staring right into Calvin's eyes, he said, "Why did you kill those gangsters?"

Calvin didn't even look surprised anymore as he replied, "As expected of the Captain, being able to use superpowers. It shouldn't be unusual for you to know that I was the one who killed the gangsters. But answering Captain's question... I killed them because I had no choice but to do so..."

"You have no choice but to do so?" The Captain audibly whispered. But before he could even say anything, Calvin continued, "Those bastards are vicious, for the sake of money they are able to do anything so why must I spare them? What's more, I believed that if they didn't get what they wanted, they would be willing to silence us for their security... And also, Captain... Is this really what you wanted to know?" 

"What are you talking about?" The Captain's eyes narrowed into slits.

Bruce and Ashlynn immediately became tense as the energy within their bodies stirred. 

Calvin remained calm and said, "You just don't strike me as a man who would care about those pieces of shits... In other words, I believe that what you wanted to know is how I was able to kill them with a single strike..."

"Right?" Calvin deliberately intonated the end of his sentence causing Bruce to almost pounce upon him out of nervousness.

The might that Calvin had displayed at that time was just so unbelievably strong that even Bruce wasn't sure if they would be able to take him down without suffering any casualties. After all, those that have fallen into depravity didn't only have superhuman strength but also immunity against certain supernatural abilities. 

One could say that this particular immunity was the reason why the Church of the Three Orthodox Gods wanted to keep them dead.

"The three of you, calm down..." The Captain noticed the agitation of the others, "If he has gone mad, then he would've already started his rampage the moment he noticed that we know about what he had done. The fact that he's still senile and can even accurately deduce my train of thoughts means that he's still here... He still hasn't listened to the whispers of the other shore..." 

With the reassurance of the Captain, the others significantly calmed down.

"Yes, you are right... That is what I want to know... Just how did you manage to kill those men with a single strike? It doesn't make sense. I apologize for my words, but it just doesn't make sense that a cripple would be able to hurt those men much more kill them..." 

"Since you are so smart, then that makes everything easier. Depending on your answer, you will be spared. But if I have judged you to be a ticking time bomb for society, then you will be summarily executed..."

"You need not worry about your family, I will tell them that you have died as a hero and they will also be properly compensated and given a monthly pension as if you have been a part of us for three decades." The Captain gave a chilling smile. 

The temperature in the room went down and Ron Samuel's eyes changed into that of a night's sky. Calvin suddenly found himself standing in a dark space, surrounded by nothing but the innumerable stars up above. Then, as if in a trance, his mouth opened itself and answered...

"I don't know..." 

"What?"

The dark space was shattered along with Ashlynn's gasp. She just couldn't believe that even though the Captain himself had hypnotized Calvin with his superior abilities into answering the truth, they still weren't able to acquire a conclusive answer to their questions. 

James Branzuela stared wide-eyed at Calvin as if he was looking at a monster.

Bruce felt his sweat covering his palm.

Calvin was even more of a monster than they had thought.

But the Captain, Ron Samuel didn't seem to be nervous than the others. 

In fact, a touch of curiosity could be seen in his eyes as he whispered, "Interesting... This is indeed too interesting... Just who are you? Are you really the Calvin that we know? Or are you a monster hiding behind the identity of Calvin?"

Calvin himself didn't know what to say...

He just stood there with an awkward look on his face. 

Ron Samuel saw through his emotions and he chuckled, "I can sense that you were telling the truth just now and I am not doubting it, however..."

"What if the truth that you know is false?" 

"In that case, then hypnotizing you to tell us the truth wouldn't work alone..."

"There needs to be something that must be done so that we'll get to that truth that we are looking for..."

"However, is it really worth the effort? Sacrificing so many resources for a crippled man...?"

The Captain made a sidelong glance to the others. 

"Captain, I think we should just execute him..." James Branzuela coldly said. He didn't feel good that the Captain whom he thought to be invincible was surmounted by a random man who had just recently encountered a supernatural event and had just recently become one of them. How could he feel good about it? 

The Captain has always been his goal and he was doing his best to overcome Ron Samuel ever since he became a Predator. But one day, some random joe was able to surmount the man whom he always thought to be an insurmountable mountain? How preposterous!

"Not so hasty, James..."

"There's still one option left for him..." 

"One option left... Captain! Are you saying that...?" James Branzuela's eyes widened in shock. 

"Yes, that's right..." 

"We can have him meet the Goddess through that particular Spiritualistic Ritual..." 

"We'll use that ritual, have him meet the Goddess and the Goddess herself would pass on the judgment to him..."

"What do you think?"

The Captain, Ron Samuel smiled.