Elvis and Caelithia quickly raised their hands in the air, as the brutality of these people was no joke.
"Are you Awakeners?" asked the short woman holding the silver badge.
Elvis instantly remembered the hovering panel that had appeared in his sight, which he assumed to be something related to Awakeners, but his experience as a con man allowed him to rein in his expression.
He gave a tiny shake of his head as he glanced at the swords from the corner of his eye, the blades held dangerously close to his neck, give the illusion of pressing against his next.
Being new to this world, he couldn’t tell the rules yet. The good and the bad were unknown. What was acceptable was still left to be discovered.
Then, he spoke in a quivering voice. "W-we were kidnapped from our village by a group of armed—"
A heavy blow struck the back of his head, abruptly cutting him off and knocking both him and Caelithia unconscious.
A sharp pain in his arm jolted Elvis awake.
Everything felt blurry at first, but a blink and a slight shake of his head quickly cleared his vision.
He looked around and found himself in a well-lit black room, illuminated by a small white bulb at the center of the ceiling. Across from him stood a long black table. On the table, directly in front of him, was a white crystal cube about half a meter tall, its rough surface looking as though it had been chipped away by a child wielding a flat chisel.
An odorless yet comforting white mist oozed from it, immediately ensnaring Elvis’s attention.
A feeble tug from his wrist pulled his attention away from the crystal to his right. He saw Caelithia beside him, still cuffed to his wrist. But what gave him a fright was the short woman, still clad in her form-fitting gray battlesuit, standing silently behind them like a shadow.
"Good. Awake now, I see," she said as she leisurely strode around Elvis before half-sitting on the adjacent side of the table, facing the wall.
With her eyes glued to the wall, she explained, "I’m Maria Crowe, a Silver-rank Enforcer of the White Order. Maybe you don’t know what that means since you said you’re from a village. Or perhaps you do, since you might be lying about your origins. But the White Order specializes in killing Devourers—a bunch of monstrous parasites who see their fellow humans as packets of Intelligence juice boxes."
She paused for a second before continuing in a soft voice, "So, I’m sorry for how high-handedly I handled the situation. But that still leaves us with one question."
Standing up from the table, she turned toward Elvis and locked eyes with him. Her entire demeanor changed.
Despite standing at only 1.6 meters, with striking, chin-length raven-black hair ending in blood-red tips that framed her small, diamond-shaped face, her diminutive stature did nothing to diminish the oppressive aura surrounding her, making Elvis’s breath hitch.
Bending slightly so that they were at eye level, she leaned closer, leaving only a short distance between their faces. Her deep-brown, piercing, predatory eyes seemed ready to bore straight into his.
’Heaven! Why only me?! Can’t you see Caelithia?!’ Elvis screamed inwardly.
"Are you a Devourer? Have you ever devoured the Intelligence attribute of a human?" she asked softly.
He quickly shook his head.
"I hope so. Otherwise, we’re going to have some cool fun," she replied with an eerie smirk.
"That goes for you too." She turned to Caelithia.
Caelithia nodded quickly.
Following that, she stood up and took three steps back.
"Place your palm on the White Nexite in front of you," she ordered calmly.
’Sh*t! Am I a Devourer or not?’ Elvis couldn’t tell.
And he was even more afraid to think about the panel, because if it popped up right now, it could lead to unknown but maybe disastrous consequences.
"Are you going to do it or not?" she questioned in a frigid voice.
Caelithia swiftly placed her free hand on the white crystal cube, but there was no change.
Elvis shifted his gaze from the unchanged cube to Maria, his heart in his throat. She hadn’t specified what kind of change would be considered positive or negative.
"Good. Next." Maria gestured toward Elvis with a smile.
Without a choice, Elvis placed his palm on the cube, his heart pounding with fear as he silently prayed.
The cube remained unchanged.
"Nice." Maria gave them a thumbs-up.
Elvis released the pent-up breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding all this time.
"Now that you guys are cleared of suspicion, you might not know much about Vinegard City, but I can connect you to a blacksmith who will buy your... handcuff for a good sum, as it seems to be made of a rare metal. With that, you can start living in the city while you look for a job," Maria suggested.
"Okay, ma’am," Elvis answered.
"You don’t need to be so formal. Just call me Maria." She waved her hand with a sweet smile.
But Elvis would never forget the predatory demeanor she had displayed a few minutes ago. Still, he followed her suggestion.
"Yes, Miss Maria."
She shook her head and handed him the supposed Arcanic Codex of Destiny. "Your book. But why are you carrying it?"
Elvis only then realized that he had forgotten about it because of the intense series of events.
"It was the only thing we had left of our family," Elvis said with a downcast expression.
"Okay. Follow me."
She led them outside, asking them casual, minor questions along the way, which Elvis answered smoothly.
After a bit of a struggle with some magical tools, the blacksmith finally removed the handcuff from their wrist, wearing a happy smile as he bought it from them for a whopping sum of three hundred thousand Terris Credits.
Elvis didn’t know the purchasing power of Terris Credits, but he was still surprised by the amount.
With Maria’s help, they registered in Vinegard City, obtained ID cards—which made Elvis expose their real names to avoid committing a crime if they plan to stay permanently in Axaeris—and even rented a nice, well-furnished two-bedroom flat. Maria warned them that they might not be able to keep up with the rent once the money from the handcuff ran out.
But they went ahead with the rental for a month and got a registered phone as well. By the time they reached their new home, they had spent eight thousand Terris Credits.
Once inside, Elvis decided to check his system after a while.
Meanwhile, in an office, Maria sat cross-legged opposite a middle-aged man in a suit with a short beard.
"You still feel something is wrong with them?" Jonathan asked Maria.
Maria nodded before explaining, "Yes. The fear in Elvis’s micro-behavior before he touched the White Nexite, and his intelligent yet vague answers about his origin. Besides, his strength is a bit abnormal for a normal unawakened individual. I think he’s an Awakener. Most importantly, I don’t know if he’s part of Silas’s plan."
"Just go ahead. But don’t leave a mess." Jonathan flicked his wrist dismissively.