After confirming Agnes hypothesis I understood that it will be hard to gather information on the organisation from the captives directly,I will have to think of a way to extract what limited information I can get with or without out triggering the prohibition placed on them by the organisation.After thinking for a while I decided to try a different approach.
"well Gustav let us start from you,you don't have to speak just nod your head if it is yes and shake your head if it is no"
"How many members are there in your organisation, Hundred or more than Hundred?
Hearing my question Gustav started to shake his head but soon he also started to scream in pain and passed out.
"Haa,it seems that even indirectly asking questions will trigger the contract"I sighed.
"Beatrice is there a way to undo the contract "young master,there are two ways where we can forcefully undo the contract, first by killing the person with whom they are contracted with other more traditional way is to ask someone else with contract mastery skill higher than the one binding them but there is a downside to it as it will alerts the other side if contract is forcibly annulled"
"well let us see what we can get from the limited options we have here"After Gustav passed out I went to Connor and asked him
"Connor how many lord realm combat professionals are your organisation,if they are more than twenty than nod your head ,less than ten then shake your head and if they are between 10 to 20 then stay still and don't move your head"
Hearing my question Connor remained motionless so I continued to ask"nod your head if more than 15 and shake your head if less than 15"
this time Connor started shaking his head but soon like Gustav he started screaming and passed out.
Now only Aurora was still consious so I went to her and said"I am sorry Aurora but you will have to answer some of my questions if you truly want to be free but let me tell you something freedom is something that is always accompanied by pain and lot of suffering there has never been a way to attain freedom easily so here help me out and I promise I will help you and your sister attain true freedom "
"Aurora is it the leader of the organisation that holds the contract or someone else.if it is the leader then nod if it is someone else then shake your head"
Hearing my words Aurora started nodding her her head and response to that the prohibition was triggered and she also passed out.
Seeing everyone unconscious Jeffrey said while shaking his head"young master it seems the interrogation can't continue as all of them have already passed out due to the contract"
"No,there is still one person consious who can answer young master's questions"
"Why don't you stop pretending to be asleep"saying that Beatrice plunged a knife in the assassin lord's thigh waking him up and screaming in pain.
After the assassin lord's screaming was over.
I went near him and asked "what's your name mister".
"If you want to torture me then go on but I won't answer any of your questions,I was already prepared to loose my head one day or another the moment took the first life"
Hearing him say that in adamant voice I sighed and turned towards Beatrice."Do you know Beatrice what is the thing most men are more afraid than losing their lives"
"This,I don't know young master"
"Then why don't I give you a demonstration "
"Jeffrey do you have any sharp disposable blades or items"
"Young lord there are some knives in the kitchen if you need them I can bring them to you"
"Okay, Jeffrey bring two knives and a rope"
Hearing my command Jeffrey left the basement and soon came with two kitchen knives and a rope.
"Here young lord "
"Now Jeffrey help me to hang this friend of ours"
Together, we secured the ropes around his shoulders and suspended him from the basement ceiling. I then carefully positioned the knives beneath him, pointing towards his crotch.
"Beatrice a man becomes more afraid when their precious manhood is at stake"saying that to Beatrice i turned towards the assassin lord and said
"Mr. If you choose to talk, Jeffrey will maintain a stable and strong grip on the rope. However, if you refuse" gesturing towards Jeffrey to loosen the hold on the rope.As he did the assassin lord started down falling towards the pointed knives and before he could be pierced by It I quickly halted Jeffrey's actions by signaling with my hand
"the grip might come become a little loose,and you will then be a Miss instead of a Mr so what is your choice".
The assassin lord trembled for a while with anger and fear evident in his face and started shouting"You bastard I will kill you and everyone one of you,I will cut you to pieces and will feed it to the dogs"
Hearing his hysterical swearing I said "Agnes why don't you calm him down ".
"okay young master"saying that Agnes went to the screaming assassin lord and started to electrocute him with her thunder.
"Ahhh ahhhh ahhhhh ahhhhh"the assassin lord started to howl madly and after her half an hour he calmed down."So what is your choice"
"please stop,I will talk"
"So what's your name"
"It's Kevin"
"How long have you been working for the organisation "
"Don't know exactly 22 or maybe 23 years"
"How many people have you killed these years working for the organisation "
"I don't know maybe hundreds"
"How many of them were women or children do you remember them"
"No,but several"
"Do you hold any remorse for the innocent people you have killed"
"It seems apparently not"Seeing the lack of empathy on his face I concluded.
"Now don't answer any of my questions from now on just think about it "
Saying that I activated my skill Heart"s gaze.
"How many people are there in your organisation"
"Hundred"
"no maybe more than Hundred,umm two hundred,how about five hundred"
as I said the numbers the assassin lord's heart skipped a beat and his emotions started to flicker and fear crept inside him.
I continued to ask questions while reading his emotions.
"How do you people communicate?"
"Some magic device""Letter"
once again there was fluctuations in his heart.
"How often do you people communicate.
Once a day,once in three days,once a week"
His heart started beating wildly."So you communicate once a week by letters".As I said that he was starting to becoming more anxious and afraid.
"So do you have to go go headquarters periodically to give the reports in person"
"What is the time for periodically reporting in person"
"Once a month "
"What is your position in the organisation"
"Leader"
"Vice leader"
"Executive"
"Ah so you are an executive "
"How many people are above you"
One,Two, Three"
"How many executives are there like you in the organisation"
"Five,Ten, eleven, twelve"
"Are they all lord class combat professionals like you"
"Are there any king class professional in your organisation"
"How many"
One,two,three"
"Are nobles also involved in this with you"
"Is someone from the duke's household backing you guys"
"Who is it,The Head butler,the knight commander,the city guards"
"Ah the City Guards also have a stake in your organisation"
"Who holds all the contracts that bind you all in the organisation"
"Is it the leader"
"what class does your leader hold"
"Assassin"
"what is the class of other king class professionals"
"Are they also assassins"
"So,No all of them are not assassins.Then maybe a
"Mage or warrior perhaps"
"when was the last time you communicated with your headquarters"
"one week ago,two weeks ago,three weeks ago"
"can anyone in your group write the letter reporting to the organisation or you have to do it personally"
"Will the leader find out if you are dead due to the contract"
"Apparently not"
After asking all those questions now I have a general understanding of the organisation they work for.I was not able to directly hear the answers from his mouth but with my heart's gaze skill I was able to obtain it in an unexpected way.
"Now Kevin let me tell you something sometimes life gives us second chances but most often it doesn't and in your case I am sorry to say that you don't have any second chances left"
"Beatrice please put him out of his misery"
Hearing me say that see took out her daggers and sliced through Kevin's neck.
"Jeffrey burn his body and for the rest of them keep them locked here in the basement."
"Young master you didn't ask him about their headquarters location "
"I don't need to ask them for that Agnes "saying that I fully opened my mind's eye and used my skill Karmic insight.As I focused my mind and activated the Karmic Insight skill, the world around me shifted. Mana particles shimmered in the air, and the interconnected web of cause and effect materialized as ethereal karmic chains. I delved into this mystical sight, seeking the common thread that linked these captives together.
With my heightened perception, I followed the karmic chain as it soared through the ceiling of the basement, piercing through the clouds, and descending upon Wintercrest City. It led me to a building nestled within the slums.As the chain reached its end,I saw a striking young man,blonde haired green eyes, in a finely tailored suit, seated at a desk. To gather more details I activated my Appraisal skill, trying to gain insight into the young man's true nature. As my gaze fell upon him, he abruptly stood up and glanced directly at my direction. Our eyes briefly locked. But as quickly as it appeared, my vision wavered, and the world shifted back to the confines of the basement.
A searing headache washed over me, threatening to overwhelm my senses. I clutched my head, fighting against the pain as waves of dizziness threatened to consume me. Eventually, the throbbing subsided, leaving behind a sense of lingering knowledge, albeit obscured.
Though I was able to see some of the details, like stats and skills of the young man. The connection was fleeting, but the young man's identity was confirmed as the leader of the organisation.