Conqueror Of The Dark Soul

Chapter 13 - Mind (2)

Ten minutes passed.

"Is it too difficult to understand?" Alden said in frustration.

"Uncle! Hug me!" Alphonse shouted again.

..." Alden looked at him with disgust.

He sighed deeply before dropping himself to sit and lean against the wall. Holding his chin, he began to mutter, "This won't yield results. There are no relevant answers to what I'm looking for."

"Yeah, it does require patience," Black Orb commented casually.

During this time, Alden started to look for another way to extract information from Alphonse. At least, he knew that Alphonse had information about the keybearer based on his answer. Alphonse loudly mentioned dwarves, but he didn't provide additional clues.

While Alden was contemplating, Alphonse suddenly shook his head several times. "Urgh..." Alphonse groaned in pain, seemingly experiencing a headache.

"Is the effect gone?" Alden asked, puzzled.

On the other side, Black Orb provided a brief explanation, "Yes. It just proves that he has a very strong mental fortitude; an average person would be affected for thirty minutes."

Although Alphonse's gaze still seemed somewhat vacant, he slowly began to recover.

One thing for sure, Alden couldn't use the same method twice in a row. It would damage the target's mind, although in Alphonse's case, it might take three or four uses of the same Dark Dimension spell to truly lose his mind.

However, Alden didn't want to risk destroying someone else's mind. While he was currently acting as a villain, he still adhered to morals.

Slowly, Alphonse began to regain consciousness. As his gaze started to shine, he immediately directed a look of hatred at Alden. Alden just sighed with that.

"Come on, tell me about the dwarves you mentioned." Alden said bluntly, unsure of what else to use.

At that moment, strangely, Alphonse responded with a shocking answer, "There's a village east of Heinburg. It's hidden by a barrier spell created by mages to conceal the presence of dwarves."

Alden looked incredulous, slightly doubting Alphonse's words. He held his chin while staring sharply at Alphonse, finding no signs of lying. "...Are you serious about what you just said?"

Alphonse gritted his teeth, "Okay, forget what I said. Use your strange magic to get information from me."

"Ahem!" Alden coughed deliberately.

"Alright, can you tell me about that village?" Alden asked.

On the other side, Black Orb remained calm; he also seemed curious. "In the past, there was nothing like a hidden village; the keybearers blended in with the community."

But he quickly nodded, although not visible, "The Guardians made a good decision. With that, the key won't fall into the wrong hands."

Alphonse turned his face away from Alden and began to speak, "Dwarf Village. What you call the key is there. I don't know the details."

"Don't you ever enter the first floor of the Dark Dimension? You should know about the key's existence," Alden asked.

"No. The chosen Guardians undergo a special consecration at the church to receive the key. Usually, the keybearer comes to the church to hand over the key to the chosen Guardian."

"Mmm. Then how do you know about the village?" Alden inquired.

"I heard it from my superiors."

Alden consolidated all the information first. Although still confused about why Alphonse was more cooperative now, he suspected that this was the effect of the spell he used. But Black Orb assured that the spell shouldn't overly affect the target's mind on the first use.

"That means you know the appearance of the keybearer?" Alden asked again.

This was already more than what he said at the beginning, that he would only ask three questions.

However, strangely, Alphonse still answered, "...Have you ever seen a dwarf?"

Alden frowned, clearly the answer was no.

At that moment, Black Orb began to explain, "Dwarves have almost identical appearances. It's challenging to distinguish them, especially if you've only met them once."

Alden sighed; at least this information was more than he expected. Alphonse gave a possible location for the hidden village.

After getting that information, Alden immediately released Alphonse from the icy prison.

As soon as the ice melted, Alphonse knelt exhausted on the muddy ground. His whole body was numb, perhaps from the cold of the ice, plus the fact that he hadn't moved his body for a certain period.

"Okay. That's it..." Alden smiled at Alphonse.

However, Alphonse, in contrast, stared at Alden with a hostile gaze.

"Thank you for the information. And sorry for the mess I caused..." Alden lowered his head.

"By the way, may I know why you changed your mind and decided to answer my questions?"

"Go before I change my mind again." Alphonse said coldly.

After a moment of silence, Alden then took a step before stopping for a moment, "Oh, I almost forgot."

He snapped his fingers, canceling the silencing spell.

Then he walked away, leaving Alphonse in the tunnel.

...

Five minutes passed after Alden left the tunnel. Alphonse was now able to move his body. He tried to stand up, looking in the direction where Alden had gone.

"Could that even happen? How could he go through something like that? Does that mean I'll soon forget about his existence too?"

Next, he looked puzzled at the tunnel exit. "What am I doing here?" Alphonse was confused. Then, he walked out of the tunnel as if nothing had happened.

...

After leaving the tunnel area, Alden took a detour, avoiding the vicinity of the church.

"Look at the results of your actions," Black Orb chuckled softly.

The entire city was in chaos. Some linked Alphonse's disappearance to something like an opened Gate.

"I released him; it should return to normal," Alden grinned foolishly.

He had obtained information about the hidden village; he needed to verify the truth of that village. But first, he needed to meet his daily needs.

"Urgh, I need snacks like lifue root!" Alden murmured.

Then he entered one of the bars. He spent two hours inside.

After finishing three glasses of drinks, he left and walked unsteadily. "Okay, east, east."

Black Orb didn't say much during that time. Currently, Alden asked him, "Why do you think the Guardian changed his mind?"

Black Orb sighed shortly before answering, "The spell you used is a spell that disturbs the mind. Under normal conditions, it will last for thirty minutes. But there are some exceptions, including those with certain immunity or strong mental fortitude. They might be affected for a maximum of ten minutes."

"I didn't see that the Guardian earlier fell into that category. So according to my guess, he has his own way to escape the spell's influence."

"How?" Alden asked.

"Probably, he used a magical item. And, from his reaction, it seems like I know what kind of magical item he used." Black Orb answered casually.

"What item is that?"

"Such magical items are usually used to counter mind-affecting magic. Perhaps it's an item with effects similar to Memory Black."

"What is that?"

"Such magical items are typically used to reflecting the effects of mind-affecting spells on the caster. This is done through a process where the item's user explores the caster's memory."

Alden stopped in his tracks, his face serious. What flashed through his mind was a memory from the past, an event several years ago in the city of Virshire.

...