Both assassins grimaced at the sudden turn of events; it was completely out of their spectrum of possibilities. This new variable now meant their hopes of killing Arias had vanished, as they had not prepared for this. Their only hope now was escaping to reformulate a plan or contact the League and reveal this information. Sadly, Arias wasn't going to let either happen.
"Nothing to say?" Arias inquired casually, raising a brow and adopting a relaxed posture. Given the circumstances, he expected them to either plead for their lives or at least try to negotiate. But no...
The look on the two lovely women's faces hadn't changed; if anything, they looked even more determined to end his life. They didn't respond to his words and just continued to gaze at him viciously, making it clear they were not going to speak. Unlike mercenaries for hire, the League's assassins were incredibly loyal and disciplined. No amount of torture would make them talk.
Unfortunately for them, Arias had no reason to even try torturing them. If they weren't willing to speak, then he would get the information he wanted directly from their minds. "No matter, not like I would believe what you say anyway."
Without wasting time, he put the idea of talking to rest, and his eyes gave a dim glow as he stared at both of his captives. It didn't take long for both to feel severe pain developing in their heads. They wanted to scream and grimace in pain, but their training didn't allow them to show weakness in front of an enemy. Instead, they bit down on their lips hard, drawing blood even as they did their best not to utter a sound.
Despite his busy schedule, Arias would always practice his abilities during his free time, gaining further depth in them. As such, extracting information was not hard… as long as the target had little willpower or resistance. The less they had, the less effort he needed to put in, making the entire exchange quick and rather painless.
However, his two captives were anything but weak-willed as they battled the foreign invasion in their minds, making the entire experience very painful. On Arias's part, he too would feel worse and worse pain, along with mental exhaustion, the longer he went on… but he didn't care. With his body actively repairing any and all harm he caused himself, he had no reason to stop. Despite the pain… he didn't even try to negate it.
The forceful extraction didn't last long; soon, the two captives began to bleed from their eyes and ears, the damage being dealt to their minds immense. Their minds were waning, and it began to seem like Arias would finally have his way. Even then, they didn't let up until…
Pa~
A loud popping sound resounded throughout the room as both captives had their brains pop, the matter even shooting out of their ears and oozing out of the edges of their eyes.
"Tsk." It was a first for Arias and completely unexpected, but at the same time, it was an insightful experience. He had initially thought he could easily break any mind with just some practice, but this interaction showed otherwise. Looking back at what happened with Roulette, it made some degree of sense.
The more relaxed and unaware someone was, the easier it would be to enter their mind. Additionally, with her, he wasn't taking but putting something in her mind. With the two captives dead, Arias still tried to retrieve the memories, but they were beyond repair, with only a few fragments being discernable. This was the difference between a trained mind and an idle one.
'Not a total loss, I suppose.' Arias didn't dwell on the failure to gain information and just saw it as a learning experience. He sighed and took out his phone before calling Slade. The phone rang for a few seconds, and Slade picked up.
"[Boss, nice timing. Just dealt with mine. All good on your end?]"
"Just fine. Though I failed to get any information out of them. Any luck on your end?"
"[Don't bother; they were sent by the League of Assassins. Her tattoo and fighting style gave it away. Trying to get information from them is like trying to make a woman happy without money—pointless and without reward. Even if you did, from what I know, they don't know much to begin with. They get a target, they execute, simple.]"
"So, there's no hope of knowing who put a target on my back?"
"[Not unless you get Ra's al Ghul himself, the leader, to talk. Let's just say I have a better chance of becoming Miss Universe than that happening.]"
"Noted, a matter for later. Let's deal with what we came here for first."
"[Got it. I should probably tell them to heighten security at the venue too.]"
"You do that."
Click~
With that, the call came to an end, and Arias glanced at the bodies one final time before starting a small fire in the building. Safe to say the two didn't die by regular means, so he didn't want the League catching on. Arias left the house and area soon after and was casually walking with his face hidden when the same house had a huge explosion occur in the distance. Although he was many meters away, people still panicked while others immediately began to film the large burst of flames.
He only looked back once and continued on his way, meeting Slade at a designated spot where a whole security detail was ready to pick them up. Aside from dirtied clothing, neither Slade nor Arias had any injuries, so they wasted no time and asked to be taken directly to the venue.
…
At around 6 p.m., the duo arrived at a private dock's parking lot, where numerous lavish cars and security were present.
"A party?" Arias asked aloud with a furrowed brow as he got out of the car.
Slade soon followed and corrected him. "A cover. After all, yacht parties here are as common as whores in government offices."
"Right…"
From the loud exotic music to the topless waitresses, it really did seem like a lavish, over-the-top party. Arias and Slade were directed to a large yacht that seemed to be the core of the gathering. Once aboard, Slade led the way and Arias followed, not caring for the glances the duo attracted due to their dirtied clothes.
After leaving the deck and entering the interior, the loud music began to grow fainter and fainter until one couldn't hear it at all.
"Through here."
Slade led them to what appeared to be a maintenance area, only there was no one else present. Before Arias could say anything, Slade walked over to an electric box and dialed in a code. What followed was a hatch opening in the floor. Said hatch acted as a pathway to a small yet luxurious submarine underneath the yacht.
"Talk about thorough," Arias commented as the two made their way into the sub. Once inside, the hatch closed automatically, and the two took a seat in a lounge-like area, with food and drinks laid out before them on a square table mounted to the floor.
Slade chuckled and took a seat before nodding at Arias's words. "Well, we can't have people wondering why certain big shots are partying together. The yacht party is a fundraiser for some cancer sufferers or something, I don't know."
"Basically, everyone has a public cover wherever they are before being secretly taken away to the actual venue. Once the real meeting is done, you return to the cover and act like nothing happened," he explained while reaching for some whiskey. "Best get comfortable; it'll take half an hour to reach our destination."
"Your employers are elaborate; I'll give them that. That aside, tell me more about Ra's al Ghul, the one you mentioned earlier."