Chapter 59: Candidate 005 is the Chairman?

Kai woke with a gasp that bounced back at him in a muffled echo, his eyes snapped open, for several seconds he could not understand what he was looking at, a ceiling, a very high ceiling of dark stone interrupted by enormous beams and faint golden lights embedded in the walls. The unmistakable hostile Atmosphere that belonged to the prison..

He tried to move, his wrists pulled painfully against something solid, Kai’s breathing stopped, he looked down, his hands were bound tightly behind the chair he sat down on, his ankles were tied to its legs, a thick cloth had been forced between his teeth and secured around the back of his head, he tried to speak, only an unintelligible muffled sound escaped.

Cold water ran down the side of his face, he blinked, he was completely drenched, his clothes clung to his body, his hair was plastered against his forehead, and a small puddle had already formed beneath the chair, his memory returned in fragments, the street, the sudden attack, someone behind him, a cloth, darkness, then nothing.

Kai pulled against the restraints again, they didn’t move, he leaned back and tried to examine the room, no windows, one enormous door, a table positioned several meters away with a few metal instruments arranged upon it, his stomach tightened, this wasn’t a holding cell, it was an interrogation room.

The familiar voice appeared inside his head.

[Host consciousness restored.]

Kai nearly sagged with relief.

[Conducting immediate status assessment.]

The system went quiet for a moment then several notifications appeared.

[Physical restraints detected.]

[Vocal restriction detected.]

[External water saturation detected.]

Kai frowned.

Yes.I noticed.

Another notification appeared.

[Foreign appearance alteration detected.]

Kai’s eyes widened.

What?

[Analyzing previous appearance parameters.]

A pause.

[Previous disguise: Dave Crest.]

[Disguise integrity: 0%.]

[Cause of removal: Forced washing and cleansing of physical body]

Kai’s stomach dropped, the system continued.

[Host’s original appearance has been restored.]

Kai went completely still, this meant his black hair was gone, the freckles gone, the carefully constructed appearance of Dave Crest gone, he could already imagine his real face reflected somewhere in the room, he closed his eyes, of course, of all the things that could have happened, he had spent weeks traveling as Dave Crest precisely because his actual appearance attracted far too much attention, and now whoever had kidnapped him had apparently decided to wash the disguise straight off him.

Fantastic.

He tried pulling against the restraints again, nothing, his thoughts became increasingly irritated,

I survive Voltra, I survive an entity that nearly killed everyone, I get promoted to A-rank, I finally start getting comfortable with my new life, then somebody kidnaps me and washes my face, he sighed through his nose, this world hates me.

The door opened, Kai immediately stopped moving, a man walked inside, he was dressed entirely in black with a thin silver mask hanging from one side of his belt, his appearance wasn’t particularly intimidating at first glance, tall, lean and almost elegant, then Kai noticed his eyes, there was something wrong with them, too much curiosity, too much excitement, the man looked at Kai for several seconds then his lips curled upward.

"Interesting."

Kai glared at him, the man walked closer and slowly circled the chair, Kai followed him with his eyes, the man reached toward Kai’s face, Kai immediately jerked away, the man’s hand stopped inches from his cheek, that reaction seemed to amuse him.

"So you’re not completely helpless."

Kai glared harder, the assassin eventually lowered his hand.

"I’ve heard quite a lot about you."

Kai said absolutely nothing.

"Apparently you are Elias’s lover"

Kai’s eyes narrowed, there it was, Elias, the man noticed the reaction.

"Ah. So that name means something."

Kai internally cursed, the man pulled a chair over and sat directly in front of him.

"I’ll ask simple questions. Where is Elias? Who else is working with him? How much do you know about the Dome?"

Kai remained silent, the assassin sighed.

"I was hoping you’d be cooperative."

Kai gave him the most unimpressed expression he could manage while gagged, the man laughed.

"You have a very expressive face."

Kai’s irritation deepened, the assassin stood and walked around him again, this time his fingers brushed through Kai’s wet hair, Kai recoiled, the man smiled.

"That’s quite the face. Now I understand. Elias really has terrible taste."

Kai’s eyes narrowed, the assassin laughed.

"No, that’s not what I meant."

Then what the hell does he mean?.

His fingers touched Kai’s chin, Kai jerked his head away, the man’s smile disappeared for a moment then returned.

"You know, most prisoners become very cooperative when they realize where they are."

Kai’s muffled response was unmistakably hostile, the assassin chuckled.

"I suppose you’re different."

He grabbed Kai’s jaw and forced his face upward, Kai struggled, the restraints dug into his wrists, the man’s gaze wandered over his face with uncomfortable interest.

"Such a waste."

Kai’s eyes hardened, the assassin released him.

"Someone like you should never have ended up in a place like this."

Kai didn’t know whether that was supposed to be a compliment or a threat, at this point he didn’t care, the interrogation continued, questions, silence, more questions, more silence, every time Kai refused to answer the assassin found another way to make him uncomfortable, he invaded his personal space, touched his hair, ran fingers along his jaw, made comments about his appearance that Kai had no desire to hear.

The situation stopped being an interrogation and became something far more disturbing, Kai’s anger slowly gave way to genuine discomfort, not because he was weak, not because he couldn’t fight, but because he couldn’t move, that was the part he hated most, his body was restrained while somebody else decided what they were allowed to do with the space around him.

The assassin eventually stepped away.

"You’re remarkably stubborn."

Kai breathed heavily through his nose, the assassin looked toward the table then back at him.

"Perhaps we should try something different."

Kai’s eyes hardened, the next stretch of time blurred into pain, questions and exhaustion, the assassin wanted information about Elias, Kai gave him none, he wanted to know what Kai knew about the Dome, nothing, he wanted to know why someone of Kai’s appearance had been traveling with an S-rank assassin, Kai remained silent, eventually even the assassin became frustrated but Kai himself did not have an answer to literally all these questions. He didn’t know what the hell he would say if he was even motivated to say something.

"You really would rather suffer than talk?"

Kai stared at him, his answer was obvious, the man leaned closer.

"Fine. We have plenty of time."

Kai’s heart sank, then the man’s tone shifted, the curiosity in his eyes darkened into something hungrier, he circled the chair again, this time slower, his hand trailed down Kai’s wet chest, over the soaked fabric of his shirt, Kai tried to twist away but the bindings held him fast.

"Damn," Kai thought, the words sharp in his own head, "is everyone somehow gay in this world?"

The assassin’s fingers paused at the waistband of Kai’s trousers, then moved lower, he laughed softly when Kai’s muffled protest turned sharper, the man reached down, freed himself, and without hesitation pressed the half-hard length of his cock against Kai’s cheek, dragging it slowly across the gagged mouth and the side of his face, the skin was hot against Kai’s cold wet skin, the action deliberate and filthy, Kai’s eyes burned with pure hatred an panic, he jerked his head but the assassin held him in place by the hair and continued the slow, mocking friction, murmuring comments about how pretty he looked when he struggled.

The door opened.

The atmosphere changed, not gradually, instantly, a pressure filled the room that was not simply killing intent, it was something heavier, something that made Kai’s instincts scream before his mind could understand why.

Kai looked up, he was tall, very tall, his physique was lean rather than bulky but every movement carried the quiet strength of someone who had spent decades mastering his body, yellow hair fell loosely around his face interrupted by unmistakable silver streaks, he looked to be in his middle thirties at first glance despite the mature sharpness of his features, his face was handsome in a distinctly masculine way, strong jaw, sharp eyes, a calm expression, he wore a dark shirt beneath a black coat embroidered subtly with gold, Kai knew instantly that this particular person thag had just entered would be someone very respectable.

"Chairman sir" the interrogator panicked.

The man stopped several steps into the room, the interrogator froze with his cock still against Kai’s face, the Chairman’s gaze settled on the scene, for a fraction of a second nothing moved, then the interrogator’s body jerked as if an invisible hand had closed around his throat, an unseen force slammed him backward into the far wall with a sickening crack, he slid down and did not move again.

"Disgusting trash."

Aster Ludacris’s voice was quiet and absolute.

He turned fully toward Kai.

The system flared.

[WARNING.]

[High-level individual detected.]

[Analyzing target.]

[Multiple abilities detected.]

[Combat analysis incomplete.]

[Target’s overall combat capability exceeds current appraisal parameters.]

Then every notification disappeared, a new one appeared.

[SPECIAL DETECTION.]

[HUSBAND CANDIDATE DETECTED.]

[Candidate designation: 005.]

[Identity: Aster Ludacris.]

[Position: Chairman of the Dome.]

[Initial Affinity: 23%.]

Kai’s brain practically short-circuited.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.

The System continued.

[Candidate 005 proximity confirmed.]

Kai wanted to yell at it.

Now? Seriously? Is this a fucking joke?

[Negative! The collection System makes no mistakes]

I’M TIED TO A FUCKING CHAIR.

[Observation acknowledged.]

I’M BEING HELD BY AN ASSASSIN ORGANIZATION.

[Observation acknowledged.]

AND YOU’RE TELLING ME THE CHAIRMAN IS MY FIFTH HUSBAND?!

A pause.

[Correct.]

Kai nearly lost his mind.

Aster walked toward him, the dead interrogator was already forgotten, Aster’s eyes briefly moved toward the restraints, then toward the gag, then toward Kai’s wet clothes, his expression darkened.

"Who authorized this?"

No one answered because none aparr from the two of them were consciously present, Aster looked at the empty air where the interrogator had stood, then back at Kai, he reached behind Kai’s head and untied the gag himself, the cloth fell away, Kai immediately coughed, he took several breaths, his throat hurt.

Kai looked directly at him.

"Thank you" he said.

"What’s your name?" The chairman asked.

"My name?"

"Yes."

Kai considered giving him Dave Crest then remembered that his disguise had already been removed, there was little point.

"Kai."

Aster’s eyes softened almost imperceptibly.

"Kai."

He repeated the name as though testing how it sounded, Kai frowned.

"Yes."

Aster looked at the restraints again.

"Untie him."

No one moved, Aster’s gaze hardened, an invisible force snapped the bindings on Kai’s wrists and ankles in the same instant, pain shot through Kai’s arms as blood rushed back into them, he clenched his teeth, then nearly collapsed forward, Aster caught his shoulder before he could hit the floor, the contact lasted barely a second yet the System immediately reacted.

[Candidate 005 proximity increased.]

Kai looked at Aster, Aster looked at Kai, neither spoke, then Kai remembered exactly where he was, he pulled his shoulder away.

"Don’t touch me."

Aster, however, didn’t seem offended, instead something dangerously close to amusement appeared in his eyes.

"You’re bold."