Published at 6th of February 2026 10:58 am

Chapter 1481 Unravel Secrets

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Kenny was barely recognizable.

Several of his fingernails had been viciously torn out, leaving raw, bloody stumps. Dried blood crusted around his fingers.

A few of his teeth were missing, ripped out by force, his lips split and swollen. Blood ran down from the corner of his mouth and down his chin.

His bare torso was riddled with ghastly wounds. Dozens of cuts crossed his chest and stomach, some shallow slices, others deep enough to keep bleeding.

His skin was bruised dark purple and blue in places. In several spots, his flesh was black and blistered, the skin cracked and peeling.

He was slumped forward in the chair, barely held upright by the restraints. His whole body trembled. His breathing was weak and uneven. His eyes were half-open but unfocused, drifting in and out of awareness. He was still alive. But only barely.

"What kind of monster is this kid?" The other Mana Liquefaction Magus, the one who had kidnapped Kenny, couldn't help but grimace.

Devon, his hands stained by Kenny's blood, had a dark look on his face as he replied, "I was on the panel of judges that evaluated his training results. Believe it or not, the boy scored the highest in Counter-Interrogation Training. It's as if…"

"He enjoys the pain," A warden standing with his back against the wall spoke in a cold voice.

Devon nodded slowly.

"Yes," he said in a low voice. "That's exactly it. He's not fighting the pain anymore. He's accepting it and locking everything else away."

His gaze sharpened as he looked at Kenny.

"That's how you survive this kind of training. You stop being a person and turn yourself into a vault."

"Move." One of the Wardens stepped forward as he rolled his sleeves upward. "I'll make him speak."

Devon did as ordered and stepped aside.

The Warden produced a sharp, long pin from his storage artifact and, without hesitation, plunged it into Kenny's ear.

"AARGHH!!" The youth screamed at the top of his lungs, his body violently convulsing.

The Warden leaned forward and whispered into the boy's ears, "Tell me how you found out about the presence of the high-ranking Cultist. Tell me where you found all those confidential documents. Tell me, and I'll make this pain go away."

Kenny's eyes focused momentarily as he gazed at the middle-aged man. He mustered all the strength he could and stammered:

"M-ma-mana… o-oath…"

The Warden's eyes narrowed. He retrieved the long needle and stepped back. His eyes flashed with a hint of approval, but his face displayed frustration.

"He's good," he said. "Too good for a mere Mana Foundation Rank. Since physical torture won't put a dent in his willpower, I suppose it's time we move to his mind."

The other Warden replied solemnly, "It'll be risky if we do it ourselves. The process is delicate. If we're not careful, we could leave the boy mentally crippled. At that point, he'd be as good as dead."

"I know," the middle-aged man said with a nod. "That's why we'll wait for Meechum to return. Given how serious this is, I'm sure Lord Damon will be coming with him."

Lord Damon, Adam thought with glee.

They're calling him Lord. That means he must be a Councilor. Heh, this gamble paid off after all. Now only one question remains…

Which faction does this Lord Damon belong to?

For the next thirty minutes, Kenny was forced to drink one healing potion after another. The traitors made sure he was stable enough to survive the next round of torture.

It was imperative for them to know just where he had gotten his information. A leak of this scale hadn't happened in a very long time. T

They had to get to the bottom of this, especially now, when the Cult's grand plans for this world had already been set into motion.

***

Nyle Damon moved fast through the shadows of the tree, keeping to the darkest stretches of the forest. Branches brushed past his cloak, leaves crunched softly under his boots, yet he didn't slow down.

Meechum followed a few steps behind him, breathing hard, struggling to keep pace.

Damon could have flown there in minutes. But he didn't. Flight would draw attention, and right now, he couldn't risk anyone sensing a Mana Core-level presence moving through the night.

His jaws were clenched, and his thoughts were in chaos.

A leak this big… inside the Neo-Brotherhood, he mused with a dark look on his face.

Just who is this kid? Meechum tells me he's just a Mana Foundation Magus who has only spent a few years in the Brotherhood.

Yet he was already able to unravel secrets of such magnitude?

Do we have a mole in our faction? Or is this kid simply that good?

It didn't make sense. It should have been impossible.

His mind kept jumping between possibilities, as anger and unease twisted his gut.

How did he even find out about Lord Benton? Could there be a mole in Van Booth's house?

If Lord Benton learns of this leak…

Damon shuddered to even think about it.

The Blood Lord was an existence that even he was afraid of.

He gritted his teeth and pushed himself faster. He had to see the boy himself.

Soon, they arrived at their destination.

The outpost looked like a run-down storehouse on the edge of the woods. To anyone passing by, it was just another abandoned building.

Damon pushed the door open and stepped inside. Meechum followed.

The Councilor moved to the back wall and pressed his palm against a loose wall. It slid aside with a soft click, revealing a narrow stairwell. They went down, the air growing colder with every step.

The stairs opened into a stone corridor. They followed the passage to a heavy metal door. On the other side was the interrogation room.

Without wasting a moment, Damon pushed the door open and entered.

His gaze went straight past the Wardens and Agents. It locked onto Kenny.

The boy was strapped to a chair, broken and bloodied. His head hung forward, and his chest rose weakly. Dried blood covered his hands, face, and torso. Burn marks and deep cuts were still visible.

Damon's eyes narrowed as he approached the boy, his expression cold and hard.

"Meechum says the boy has divulged nothing," he murmured as he stepped in front of Kenny.

"Yes, my lord," everyone replied at once.

"That changes now," Damon said coldly. He grabbed Kenny by the hair and lifted his head.

But then, he couldn't help but frown.

Something felt off.

The boy in front of him didn't feel… real.

A dreadful sense of foreboding gripped Damon's heart. He cast a simple hand seal, channeling mana into his eyes. What he saw next made his blood run cold.

And right at that moment, an eerie sound echoed through the room.

HIISSSS!

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