Kuro and Hajime had been taken by the throat. Ivan's strong grip was powerful enough to snap their necks if he wanted to.
But that wasn't his intent. At least not the clever part of him, which was screaming not to kill them and to find out who they were working for.
"Well!? Are you going to answer my questions?!"
"Kkkh... Fuck you, asshole!" (Kuro)
"I guess I'll have to soften you up a bit!"
Despite his confidence and bravado, Ivan knew he didn't have all the time in the world. His two opponents were trying to waste precious minutes, giving their reinforcements a chance to save them.
He wouldn't allow that. He wasn't stupid enough to face an entire team working for who knew who.
Keeping a firm grip around the neck of the black-haired teenager, Ivan extended his metal arm and shoved the boy against a wall of the factory.
The impact made Kuro spit blood and saliva from his mouth, while his equipment and mana armor tried to absorb the blow that had torn through the wall.
"SHIN!!!" (Hajime)
"Gghht... I'm f-fine! Hits like a granny!"
"Oh really?" (Ivan)
The old mage hurled Kuro's stepbrother against another wall. The boy with the skull mask clearly felt some of his bones break this time.
"What do you say now?" (Ivan)
"Y-you're a pathetic old—"
For the third time, Kuro was used as a wrecking ball, crashing into another wall of the factory, slamming into steel, iron, and other materials inside the structure. His armor could not hold up for long; after several impacts, some of his bones had begun to fracture this time.
"Damn it!" (Hajime)
Meanwhile, the stepson of Goto was desperately trying to free himself.
The muscles in his arms burned as he struggled to pry open his enemy's iron grip.
"(He's too strong! Even while torturing Kuro, he can still hold me like this without effort!)"
Hajime began kicking Ivan in the chest, but it was all useless; every time he struck, his opponent's magic would react, turning the impacted metal into a mix with his armor, defending against his kicks.
"I'll keep going until you tell me what I want to know. Your friend won't survive if you don't start singing, dear thief!"
The wielder of the Grimorio would never say a word. He had been told so many times, to the point of nausea, that the strength of New Dawn lay in secrecy, which allowed him to move within the shadows of Fumetsu without being noticed by the White and Black Corps.
He couldn't spill anything, not even under torture, especially to an individual like the one he was fighting against.
Nevertheless, the Black Ghosts weren't fools; the psychological weight that Kuro's stepbrother was bearing wasn't a joke.
Just one word from him, and Ivan would stop breaking Kuro apart. They all knew that.
"(I can't talk! I can't talk! Even Kuro would understand! I can't......)" (Hajime)
The boy's mind went to the promise he had made to Cloe. He had promised her that everything would be fine. That he was there to watch over her brother during the mission.
"(Damn it......I-I can't.....)" (Hajime)
"It seems you don't want to talk. Then it's time to finish this!"
Ivan lifted the battered body of the young mage, whom he had used as a wrecking ball.
Kuro was in really bad shape; his bones were broken, he was suffering from internal bleeding, blood was oozing from his head due to an injury, and many other visible fractures.
His mask was half-broken, showing his face, which was engulfed in pain. Nevertheless, his black eyes still defiantly stared at his enemy.
"You're younger than I thought, but it doesn't matter, it's not the first time I've killed a teenager. Die!" (Ivan)
"Stop! I'll talk!" (Hajime)
"S-stupid......d-don't......do it." (Kuro)
Ivan's attention turned to Goto's stepson. The mind of the silver-haired teen was in overdrive; he needed to find something convincing to say that would buy time until reinforcements arrived.
"Good, great choice, who do you work for?"
"N-no, we—"
"Don't waste my time, or I'll break the remaining bones of your friend."
"Okay! Okay! We work for a third faction! We wanted your files, the ones on the White Corps!"
"Why?"
".......We want to expose Goto's crimes and those who work with him."
"And how did you know I had them?"
"We had an infiltrator in the Black Corps who saw you steal them."
"Interesting, truly interesting news. Do you have control of the informants in the underbelly?"
"Yes, to some extent, but I don't know the details."
Ivan couldn't help but smile at the news. He could really free himself from Goto's grip if he helped this group take him down.
Just like when he was part of the Black Ghosts, the man already knew how to make himself useful to avoid being eliminated once the job was done.
"(Good, I can negotiate with them. I have so much information that wasn't on that USB drive that I could help them heavily with their goal. All I have to do is let these two go to send a message to—)"
Ivan's mental ramblings were interrupted by an attack he received.
Someone, from behind him, delivered a well-placed kick to his groin.
His magic had automatically protected him, but the fact remained that whoever had done that possessed a power level similar to his: a Beta Rank.
The man lost his grip on the boys' necks. Kuro fell to the ground and lost consciousness from the pain, while Hajime hurried to reach him, observing the newcomer.
From behind the Black Ghosts, a female figure appeared, who until then had been invisible, or rather, camouflaged with the surrounding environment.
The girl seemed to be using equipment similar to that of Kaori's stepbrother and his teammate. But unlike their Oni and skull masks, she wore some sort of gas mask.
"(Who the hell is she!)"
The newcomer charged her magic in her hands, a flow of electricity manifesting from the tips of her fingers to her forearms.
"(She doesn't want.......)"
"Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?"
The stepson of Goto looked on in shock as Ivan was electrocuted.
The metal that had protected him until now became his greatest vulnerability. The man remained paralyzed from the shock for a few seconds before falling face-first to the ground.
"Did they really call me to help you get rid of this idiot? They told me you were strong."
"W-who are you? Who sent you here?!" (Hajime)
The girl removed her gas mask to introduce herself. She had beautiful light blue hair and gray eyes. Under one of her eyes was a tattoo shaped like a red teardrop, and her fierce smile reminded Hajime entirely of a troublemaking thug he usually saw around his school. The boy really had no idea how right he was about that last thought.
"Are you stupid? Isn't it obvious that we work for the same person? And my name is Owari Kimiko, pleasure."
The conversation between the two was interrupted by a clear and loud groan coming from Kuro.
The black-haired teenager seemed to be suffering heavily from his injuries.
"Damn it! Shin, don't give up now! I'll take you to a medic!"
"He'll die before getting out of here."
"Then help me! You're not one of us!"
"Okay, okay, just don't move too much."
With deliberate slowness and nonchalance, Kimiko approached Cloe's stepbrother and placed a hand on his forehead.
"[Heal]!"
A light enveloped the boy's body, beginning to heal most of the internal and external injuries he had sustained.
"I can't do more than this without running out of my mana. I don't believe he'll kick the bucket for at least a few hours, so no problem."
"Thanks....watch out!"
Hajime jumped toward the newcomer, saving her from being hit by Ivan, who had used his elongated arm to try to grab her by the collar.
"Damn bitch! How dare you do that!"
It was clear to everyone that he was filled with rage. Being defeated in a face-to-face fight was one thing, but a surprise attack to the groin was a whole different story. The pride of the mage couldn't endure something like that.
Kimiko, who had just gotten up from the ground along with her savior, put her gas mask back on, unconcerned that someone had seen her true face, while smiling at her opponent.
"How dare what? Hit that obviously, little thing you have between your legs? I was doing a favor to the world by getting rid of a useless worm. You should thank me."
"YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!"