"Why the total silence? I thought you two loved playing with your toys. Can't your toys love playing with you too?" Kin asked.
"And you even get to play with a royal toy. Isn't that a great honor?" he added, his tone mocking.
Both of them stared at each other, unsure of what to do.
Seeing their confusion, Kin sighed.
"Even though my face is on the images your guards carry at the entrance, you still don't recognize me?" Kin asked. "Well, I get that a lot, and I'm not angry that you don't. But what I am angry about is the fact that you lot are turning the country my father struggled to set on the right path off course. Your inhumane activities and disregard for human life are a testament to your madness and disrespect for my father," Kin continued.
The woman looked at Kin again, her voice shaky. "Y-your Highness?"
The man secretly reached for his weapon as Kin spoke, but Kin acted as though he didn't notice.
"I'm going to become King soon, so I'd prefer 'Your Majesty' instead," Kin replied.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," the woman said, causing Kin to frown.
"You know what? Don't call me that. I'm not willing to be known as a king to the likes of you. I'd rather surrender myself to Jai instead," Kin said coldly.
The man immediately drew his weapon and attacked Kin.
He was swift, confident that Kin wouldn't be able to react in time. But his assurance was shattered as Kin spoke.
"You shouldn't have done that," Kin said.
To Kin, it was as if the man was moving in slow motion. He moved out of the way, and then hit the man with a massive punch, sending him crashing back against the wall.
"Pumpkin!" the woman screamed as Kin sent her husband flying.
"Ahh, look what you made me do," Kin said, his voice tinged with annoyance.
"What do you want?" the woman asked, her voice trembling. We will give you anything—anything you want. We will even betray Jai," she added desperately. We can be your allies," she begged.
"I don't need to ally myself with the likes of you," Kin replied. "But there is something I need to answer," he said, drawing closer.
Once he was close enough, he raised his hand and brought it down towards the woman's husband. She didn't see anything in Kin's hand, but then she suddenly heard a thud beside her, and blood spilled on her face.
She looked to her side and saw her husband's head, his life extinguished.
Just like that, he was dead.
The woman screamed in horror.
"Help!" she screamed, but she knew no one was coming. She knew Kin would have killed all the guards outside, and no one could hear them from around there. After all, no one heard their toys scream when they played with them.
"No need to scream. You'll join him soon. The only question is how. Will you suffer first, just like you did to your toys, or will you get the swift death you surely don't deserve?" Kin asked, his voice cold. "Please, make sure you choose the latter. I won't mind spending my time breaking you."
"I have only two questions," Kin continued. "Answer and you die without a shred of pain. Hesitate even for a second, and you'll regret it. Are we clear?"
The woman nodded frantically, desperate.
"Good. Now, is it true that the Sulten is responsible for attacking the nearby villages and blaming the resistance?" Kin asked.
The woman hesitated to reply, but in a swift motion, Kin used his axe to cut off all her left fingers.
The woman screamed in pain, clutching her hand as she stared at Kin, unable to believe what she was seeing.
"I'll ask again…" Kin said, his tone unwavering.
"Yes!" the woman screamed. "It's true. He employed some slavers to attack the villagers. He's not only trying to make the rebels look bad, he's also trying to take more land. Once the war is over, he will claim the land where the slavers raided as his. Dura is Wize's largest food output. If he controls most of the farms in Dura, he will control more than just Dura itself. His power will grow to become unrivaled amongst other Sultens."
"I see," Kin said, his voice softening slightly. "You did well. You don't have to put yourself in much pain. We both know you deserve it, but I'm willing to settle with simply killing you. If you answer my questions when I want. Is that clear?"
"Yes, yes…" the woman responded as quickly as possible, despite her pain.
"Good. Now, for my other question. The trafficking ring—I need you to tell me who the major players are. Names and locations," Kin demanded.
"My husband's diary," the woman replied. "It's under the floorboard there," she said, pointing to the be.
Kin turned to the area she pointed to. Using the Eyes of Ra, he confirmed that something was indeed beneath the floorboard. Kin turned back to the woman and smiled.
"See? You can play this game well," he said.
In one swift motion, the woman's head rolled to the ground.
Kin went to the floorboard and took out the diary he found beneath it. Inside, he found the names but it wasn't any name he recognized, or even human. Each transaction was written under a code name, and the places were written in codes too. Kin sighed, a part of him knew this wouldn't be easy. He wanted nothing more than to end everyone who had a hand in this trafficking, but all in due time.
"Ashell, can you store this in the Glaphnis Cube?" Kin asked.
"Already done," Ashell replied.
"Good. I don't need this," Kin said, throwing the diary onto the bed.
"So, what's next?" Ashell asked.
After Kin left the room to meet with Su Yin, he set the entire mansion ablaze before leaving. Since it was dark, it would take time before anyone could organize themselves to put out the fire. By then, Kin would be long gone.
Once they were far from the mansion, Kin stopped at a small alley. He used the Eyes of Ra to navigate the area and avoid the guards. He finally made it to a secluded place. Once there, and when he was sure they were alone, he spoke.
"You can come now, Commander Lei," Kin said.
Commander Lei stepped out, with Sanjay trailing behind him. The lieutenant was breathing heavily, catching his breath.
"How are you two able to move so quickly? Especially you—you're carrying someone," the lieutenant said, his voice filled with disbelief.
"Nice to meet you too, lieutenant," Kin said.
Commander Lei looked at Kin and asked, "Who's she?"
"Our new comrade," Kin replied. "Lieutenant Sanjay will help carry her until she can walk," he added, causing Sanjay to go pale.
Commander Lei stared at Kin with surprise. "Did you do that?" he asked, pointing in the direction of the smoke.
"Yes… and no more questions from you, Commander. Trust me, you don't want to irritate me tonight," Kin warned. He handed Su Yin over to Sanjay, who was still quite pale. "Drop her, and I drop you," Kin said and turned to Commander Lei. "I believe you met with the contact?" Kin asked.
"Yes," Commander Lei replied. "He has agreed to show us the rebels' headquarters. We would have gone there already, but we wanted to get you first."
"Can we still go now?"
"Well, I think we can make it if we move fast," Commander Lei said, much to Sanjay's dismay.
"Then let's go," Kin ordered.
"And one last thing, Commander. It's the resistance we're meeting with. The rebel is the one sitting on the Sulten's seat," Kin said before disappearing into the night.