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Chapter 21 - Chapter 20: Truth Tablet

"I have to say, Mr. Hector," Joseph said calmly, "your ability to resist my mental pressure is… impressive."

He didn't blink. He didn't raise his voice. But there was a faint note of interest beneath the words like a scientist watching something unexpected happen under a microscope.

Ren shrugged, chains clinking softly as he shifted in the chair. "What can I say? I've had a rough week."

Joseph reached into his coat pocket.

Ren's eyes tracked the movement instantly. Not fast enough to be threatening just sharp enough to show he was paying attention.

A red capsule emerged from Joseph's palm. Glossy. Perfectly shaped. It gleamed faintly under the overhead light like it had been crafted, not manufactured.

Ren's gaze narrowed. System. Tell me what that is.

Item: Truth Tablet (S-Rank).

Effect: Forces the target to speak only the truth for 20 minutes. Cannot be removed once swallowed.

S-Rank? The government doesn't mess around, huh. Expensive.

System Is it considered poison?

[Yes.]

Ren smiled inwardly. Good.

Joseph placed the pill on the table between them. His voice was smooth, rehearsed.

"Mr. Hector, let me explain. Cases like yours are rare but not unprecedented. The first man with no records turned out to be a spy from another nation using genetic obfuscation. The second… well, his DNA was rewritten by a Gate phenomenon. A walking question mark."

He steepled his fingers. "I don't believe you're hostile. But I do believe you're dangerous. That's why we have protocols."

Ren stared at the pill.

"This," Joseph continued, "is a Truth Tablet. Once ingested, you'll be compelled to speak only the truth for a short duration. It's nonlethal. Non invasive. But very effective."

Then he looked directly into Ren's eyes.

"We don't want bloodshed. And I don't want to chain you in a cell while we run tests for the next month. So I'm asking willingly will you take it?"

Ren didn't flinch.

He picked up the pill between two fingers, examined it for a beat, then tossed it into his mouth and swallowed.

Even Joseph blinked at that.

"…You didn't hesitate."

Ren stretched his neck casually. "Why would I? I've got nothing to hide. Right?"

Joseph's brow creased slightly. "I suppose not. Then—"

[You has resisted the Truth Tablet's effect.]

Ren smiled, calm and composed.

"Just to confirm," he said casually, "I can't lie now, correct?"

"…Yes," Joseph replied, cautious. "It's active. You'll be unable to speak anything but the truth for the next twenty minutes."

Ren leaned back in his chair. "Perfect."

He smiled again. But this time, it wasn't polite.

It was practiced.

And dangerous.

"I don't wish to be your enemy, Agent Baker. In fact, I hope we can work together mutual benefit and all that."

Joseph studied him for a moment.

"You're surprisingly cooperative."

"I'm a doctor," Ren said simply. "I save people. Most of the time. I'm also a Hunter now. That means survival. Balance. We're not enemies unless you make us enemies."

Joseph's eyes flickered. "Are you a human?"

Ren met his gaze. Steady. Confident.

"I'm human."

No hesitation. No twitch. No glitch in his voice.

Which, thanks to the Truth Tablet Joseph knew meant it had to be true.

He leaned back slightly, frowning. "Interesting."

Ren gave a polite shrug. "I might be inconvenient. But I'm not your problem."

.

.

.

Joseph Baker – Internal Report, Secure Log

What is up with this man?

He crash-lands out of the sky—naked—in front of a Bureau headquarters. Creates a ten-meter crater in the middle of a pedestrian zone. Doesn't have a single traceable record, not in Qintara, not in the Four Allied Systems, not even in blacksite archives.

He claims to be a newly awakened Hunter.

And yet… no ID. No aura registration. No history. Just that eerie calm and the unsettling presence of someone who shouldn't exist.

His name is Ren Hector. That's what he told me. And frankly, I have no reason to doubt it. Not because I believe him—but because he took the Truth Tablet willingly.

An S-Rank consumable. Something that high-level interrogators aren't even allowed to use without executive permission. He picked it up and swallowed it like a vitamin. Didn't even blink.

Even I hesitated the first time I used one.

Let's be clear: Ren Hector has to possess a Unique Class. There are only two ways to gain one.

Option One: Survive and complete a Trial so abnormal and extreme that it breaks system calibration. Usually reserved for borderline impossible scenarios. Most survivors awaken at Rank B or higher.

Option Two: Reach S-Rank naturally. Near-impossible without years of combat, influence, or miracles.

Given his claim of being freshly awakened, I suspect he's a product of the first type. But the strength he demonstrated—the impact he survived, the resistance to my Killing Intent, the unflinching posture in that interrogation chair…

He might already be as strong as me. Maybe stronger.

And I'm not just anyone. I'm the Reaper of the Government.

An A-Rank Assassin. Known throughout Qintara's internal security as a top-three interrogator. My Killing Intent has driven veterans to their knees. I've broken B-Ranks with one sentence and a smile.

My skill lets me feel the emotional state of those I interrogate. Fear. Anger. Sadness. Desperation. They all bleed into the air like perfume to me.

But when I faced Ren Hector?

Only a flicker.

Mild irritation. The kind of emotional noise you'd get from being stuck in traffic. That's all. No fear. No confusion. Just… vague annoyance, like I was taking too long.

"Mr. Hector," I said finally, "can you describe your past for me?"

He didn't hesitate.

"My name is Ren Hector. I was a doctor. I'm twenty nine years old. I'd just returned from a night shift when I got pulled into the Trial. That's the last clear memory I have."

"Do you remember anything else?" I asked.

He looked down for a moment, then shook his head.

"Not much. It's strange. I know my name, my job. But everything else feels… gone. My parents' faces. My apartment. Even my dog's name. I know I had a pet. I just… don't remember."

I glanced at the tablet in my hand.

Truth Tablet still active. No signs of deception. His tone was neutral. Matter-of-fact.

This wasn't a lie.

Not even a half truth.

"Do you remember your Trial?" I asked next.

That was the first time he paused.

Just a flicker of something. A shift in posture. Then he nodded, perfectly composed.

"My Trial…" he began, "was mundane."

"Mundane?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He gave a weak smile. "I lived as a doctor in a hospital called Johns Hopkins. I did my job. Treated patients. Went home. Lived peacefully."

"That's a Trial?"

"That's what I thought. But then I started noticing… strange things."

I leaned forward slightly. "What kind of things?"

Ren's voice dropped a little, calm but deliberate.

"Everyone was too happy. I watched a mother laugh while her child died on the operating table. People smiled at funerals. No sadness. No fear. Just constant, shallow joy."

He shook his head.

"Then I started seeing other details. People with no shadows. Janitors sweeping perfectly clean floors. A homeless man crying as he pulled food from an empty trash can."

Something about the way he said it made my skin crawl.

That kind of detail subtle, cumulative dread it's the mark of a high-grade illusion Trial. Psychological. Unstable. It messes with your sense of what's real. And the ones who make it through don't usually come back the same.

I took a breath. "That sounds… disturbing."

He met my gaze.

"That wasn't the worst part."

I frowned. "What could be worse?"

He didn't break eye contact.

"The part where I woke up. Inside a cocoon. Surrounded by other cocoons. Each one filled with people I'd seen in the dream. A monster was feeding on their dreams—paralyzing them with fake lives while it consumed their minds. And it had saved me for last."

A chill passed down my spine.

He said it with such calm, such certainty.

And the tablet was still active.

Still glowing faintly on my scanner.

All of it true.

Conclusion: Ren Hector is either a miracle survivor or a system anomaly wrapped in human skin. Possibly both.

He passed an High Rank psychological Trial. Has physical resilience equal to an A-Class Hunter. Mental resistance off the charts. And a Unique Class with unknown parameters.

He's dangerous.

But he's not hostile.

And for now… he's playing nice.

I just hope we don't give him a reason to stop.

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