9 June X780
Lahar stood outside the interrogation chamber, waiting for his commanding officer. Having joined the Magic Council's Rune Knight a few months ago, he had grown naturally into the role, and his Captain, a veteran by the name of Dermot Kinley decided to bring him along for an interrogation. A month earlier, a small mining community in Central Fiore had been brutally massacred, with only one survivor- an outsider, left. The young man had been unconscious since the incident, and had woken up just a couple days ago.
Lahar wondered what was taking his Captain so long, as he adjusted his glasses. He observed the witness, who sat expressionlessly, staring at nothing in particular. His wild blue hair fell over his shoulders, and his dark skin was lined with scars. The man claimed to be an independent mage, which was surprising. Most mages preferred to join guilds, which provided a more secure environment, as well as more and better job offers. It felt strange, almost suspicious.
"Sorry for being late.", Lahar turned to see his superior approach , and promptly saluted him. Kinley returned the salute, before shooting a look at the witness.
"Well, so what do we know so far about this guy?", Kinley asked.
"Independent mage, but apparently was in Fairy Tail before leaving a few months back. Accepted a job in Colgel, and that's all he's told us before passing out again. We waited for him to heal up enough before conducting an interview."
"Fairy Tail?"
"To be quite frank, sir, I'm not surprised. That guild has been allowed to run free for far too long, and something like this was bound to happen."
"Our friend here is a former member, though. And anyway, we can't pin the blame on him so fast."
"I guess old habits die hard.", Lahar remarked sullenly, as both men entered the room. The suspect looked at them coldly, without betraying any emotion.
"So, Kane, wasn't it?", Kinley said with a friendly tone. "My name is Captain Dermot Kinley of the 4th Custodian Division, and this here is my subordinate, Lahar. We have a few questions to ask, and then we'll let you go."
Kane simply nodded, his face looking as listless as it had for the past twenty eight hours. Lahar stared at him, and then his commander. There could be a very good chance that he was simply what he claimed to be: a very, very lucky survivor. But Lahar had his doubts.
"What was the purpose of your visit to Colgel?", Kinley asked, maintaining a friendly demeanour.
"I was looking for a job, and I happened to find one."
"What was this job?"
"A group of miners were stuck, so I offered to go and rescue them. "
"They didn't offer the job to any guild?", Lahar asked, having found a potential flaw in his logic.
"It happened while I was there. I was the closest Mage, so I just decided to take it. I could pull it off."
"What do you mean you could pull it off?", Lahar continued, taking lead of the interrogation.
"I'd been out of practise. The life of an Independent Mage isn't easy, you know. Sometimes I needed to have a second job just to make sure I didn't sleep hungry. Missions aren't easy to find."
"Then why didn't you just join a Guild?", Kinley interjected. Kane sighed, slouching into his chair.
"I didn't have the best experience in one."
"Fairy Tail, right?"
"Yeah."
"Tell me why you left."
"Is this necessary?", Kane asked, with a tinge of irritation in his voice.
"Well, it is unusual for a young mage to leave a more secure environment."
"Yeah, it might be? But how's that matter? I didn't like them, they didn't like me either, I realized I preferred working on my own. So how does that help you?", Kane said, growing agitated.
"That tone's not going to help you.", Lahar replied coolly, knowing they had struck a nerve. And if he was getting rattled so quickly, he'd end up exposing himself.
"Let's avoid any unpleasantness, now. So, Kane, tell me what exactly happened.", Kinley intervened.
"I was in Colgel when I found out that some miners had been trapped in a mine for a day or so, and they were about to send a request to the magic guilds, before I said that I could do it."
"And the job went awry?"
"Not because of me. I had no idea what was going to happen next." Lahar found this strange, even though neither Knight had implied that Kane could be responsible for the tragedy, but he was already denying any possible guilt. Lahar decided to press on.
"So what exactly happened?"
"There was this group of seven or eight mages, they had kept the miners hostage. Not all of them, actually. They'd killed one. Didn't take me time to realize that this was a dark guild."
"What do you think they were there for?"
"I didn't catch much, but something in the mine was necessary for their 'operations'. I've got no clue what it was exactly. Colgel is a copper mining area, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is. So what was this dark guild called?"
"Thin Priest. Dumb name, huh?", Kane chuckled at his own joke, quickly going back to a sombre mood.
Lahar knew the former Fairy Tail member wasn't lying. Seven of the bodies found in Colgel had been identified as the members of Thin Priest, a guild controlled by the Balam Alliance.
"So, did Thin Priest defeat you?", Kinley asked, while Lahar stared at Kane, knowing the teen's statements didn't quite add up.
"Yes. I could have taken two or three pretty easily, but they overwhelmed me. I guess it's kind of expected, given my magic is really shitty, if you can even call it magic."
"Oh, is that so?", Kinley asked. "How exactly?"
"It's a bit hard to explain, honestly. Whenever I'm hit by a magical attack, I get stronger, physically. I can't use that magic by itself,it just helps me to punch and kick.", the boy said, in a very matter of factly way. Lahar paused. A person who could absorb Magic? He'd never heard of something like that before, and if Kane was speaking the truth, he could be much more dangerous than previously thought.
"That's a pretty useful ability, maybe you could have actually beaten them.", Kinley remarked, but the boy shook his head.
"There's a catch. I can only take so many hits, and when I reach my limit, my body reacts pretty violently."
"How exactly?"
"No. I mean, there's not much left to lose control of. It feels like my body's blown up from the inside." Kane explained, as Kinley nodded, but Lahar wasn't so sure. Maybe the boy was right, but maybe he had been hiding his true face. What if that was the reason he wasn't part of Fairy Tail anymore. And if he had been thrown out of a guild as unruly as that, was he as innocent as he claimed?
"So you're saying that you were beaten by them before you even had a fighting chance?" Kinley continued.
"Yes. I blacked out, and the next moment I wake up, I'm here."
"And is that all you know about what happened?"
"Yeah. I didn't know about it until you guys told me."
"That will be all for today. Thank you for your time, Kane.", Kinley said, as he got up. Lahar followed him, still conflicted after what he'd heard.
"So, what now? Am I free to go?", Kane asked.
"Well, we'll still need to talk to you a few more times, so it's best you not leave the city. Also, have your injuries healed up yet?", Kinley asked, before heading out. Kane simply nodded, before walking out of the interrogation chamber. He was followed out of the room by two weird, half-toad, half-human creatures, who were Magic Council employees, probably ordered to keep an eye on him.
"You know, you don't have to follow me around everywhere.", Kane muttered, annoyed.
"Our orders are explicit.", one of them said, to which Kane rolled his eyes, before realizing something.
"You two have any idea where I'm gonna stay? Cause I don't have any money."
"Your wounds are yet to heal. We're taking you back to the hospital for the time being.", the guard said, solemnly.
Kane stared at them, as he walked into the hospital room. He knew he was fine, and it didn't take him long to understand why he was in there. The Rune Knights didn't trust him, and he knew he was a suspect. But what they didn't know was the one reason he could have never been the one behind the tragedy.
He was too weak.
Hi everybody, AbandonedBy here with 'Mark Of Kane'. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and do follow and favorite if you did. And please, do review!