134 Chapter 134: Over the Edge (1/2)
”Please!” the guy begged tearfully. ”They'll kill me if they find out I was the one who told you!”
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”Then we just have to make sure they don't find out, right?” I responded flippantly as I watched the guy dangle from the edge of the cliff. ”And what makes you think I won't kill you if you don't tell me?”
”No!” the guy pleaded desperately. ”Please, don't! I'll do anything!”
”Anything?” I repeated with a raised eyebrow. ”Then why won't you answer my question?”
I loosened my grip a little and he yelped as he slid down a few centimeters. From his point of view, the vast open space billowed up below him, showing him the full fury of the sheer drop. Almost a kilometer up from sea level, it would take him quite some time to plummet downward before he crashed onto the ground and ended up as little more than a bloody stain.
Just like the poor Mountain Trolls Capricorn had knocked off the trail earlier.
”NO! Please!”
”Feel like talking now?” I asked as I watched him dangle precariously from Canis Major's mouth. ”After all, there's no use keeping you alive if you can't give me what I want.”
”Okay! I'll tell you! Please!” the guy was crying now. ”It's Frank Franklin! He's the one who hired us! And he's the one who created the Foundation Research Group! That's the group those researchers belong to!”
For a moment I paused, and then I nodded at Canis Major. Without me voicing a word, he obeyed my mental instructions and pulled the poor guy back from over the edge, dropping him down on the cliff roughly. He landed on firm rock, stunned for a moment, then realized how close he was to the edge, and quickly scrambled inward gratefully.
Troy stood in front of him, barring his way.
”We didn't say you can go,” he said.
”But…but…” the guy spluttered.
”What? Don't worry, we aren't going to take your life. Unlike your boss and friends, we will honor our words.” The murderous expression on Troy's face seemed to say otherwise, but I wisely didn't mention that. Instead, I tilted my head thoughtfully.
”Foundation Research Group? Have you heard of that before?”
”No.” Kureha shook her head. ”But Frank Franklin is my uncle. My mother's cousin. I did hear that he wanted his nephew, Fred, to succeed the title of the Sword Saint, but to think that he will go as far as to assassinate me and my sister.” She sighed and shook her head. ”I didn't know he established a group outside the Franklin Conglomerate.”
The Franklin Conglomerate was known more for producing arms, weapons and Divine Devices, and not exactly for research. Certainly not research on trying to control rank A monsters such as dragons. At least not from what I had heard about them.
”Hmm…I might have.”
Both of us turned to Troy in surprise. He shrugged.
”My brother's part of that group.”
”No shit?” I demanded. Troy nodded.
”I'm not kidding. I had to infiltrate a facility belonging to this Foundation Research Group to locate him. Apparently he was heading a huge project there.” He scowled. ”Something to do with weapons of mass destruction.”
”Like Richard's spells?” Kureha asked sarcastically.
”Worse than Richie's spells.” Troy looked much grimmer than I had ever seen him be. ”Biological weapons. Viruses. Good thing I intervened and stopped him before he finished creating a sample, so he used more conventional weapons to destroy the city.”
I remembered Troy's frustration when his brother escaped from his fingers. The latter had accomplished that by razing a city and forcing the former to save innocent civilians over capturing him. What a bastard.
”Good thing you stopped him before he developed those bioweapons,” I said with a shudder. I didn't want to think what Troy's brother intended to do with those. Probably destroy the world. The lucky ones would be those who died.
I then turned to the guy, who was trying to crawl away without us noticing. If he thought we wouldn't realize, he must be more stupid than I thought.
”Hey.”
”Eek!”
He shrieked and jolted upright, flipping over to stare at me in fear. I glared at him.
”So what were the researchers doing? Were they really trying to control a dragon?”
”…yeah.” The guy saw no point in denying it, and nodded frantically. ”It's true! We overheard them talking! The boss and everyone thought they were crazy, but they set up all that equipment in the cave to monitor the dragon.”