Tragedy of the Greatest Heroes

Chapter 9: Interrogation Tactics

I found myself walking down a well-decorated wooden hallway. Left and right of me there were awards and trophies from the Principals time as a student, a hero, and as a principal. They lined the deeply brown wooden walls with their shiny gold luster, drawing in the eyes no matter where you looked.

Slightly behind me was Arthur, walking beside me with a smile on his face. Looking up at him I felt that he seemed somewhat happy to be walking with me again.

“Mark, I want you to know that I appreciated talking to you in our last meeting.”

Ah, so that's what it was. The last time I had met Arthur I had nearly punched him in the face out of rage before sitting down and having a conversation with him. We talked about how it felt to choose between human life, and how it left the chooser broken and forever guilty inside.

‘I guess heroes might not talk a lot about their mental health.’

I smiled at Arthur now, hoping that I could send warmth to him with just my facial expression. I wanted him to feel happy, living as a hero couldn’t be easy. Civilians would probably never understand the types of sacrifices that must be made, the nights of regret that a hero lives with, and the times when they would wonder about the things they could have done differently.

“I should be the one thanking you Arthur. I never got a chance to talk about it myself before.”

Arthur and I continued to walk down the hallway in silence for a while more. Merely appreciating the company of the person next to us, another kindred spirit in a world where kindred spirits weren’t cared for.

“Arthur,” I began to ask, “do you have any clue at all why the Principal might want to see me?”

I had been wondering this question for quite some time. After all, an SS-Rank like Principal Sever, who also ran one of the most prestigious psychic hero academies in the world, would have to be busy. For him to go out of his way to meet a student privately he must think something special of them. (Note: ranks explained in chap 7 altho not needed info this chap)

Arthur looked at me and shook his head. “Unfortunately I don’t have the slightest idea beyond a stray guess. He might want to talk to you about your test choices. After all, nobody expected a single applicant to get even 50%, much less a perfect score. You made a statement back there.”

I looked at Arthur suspiciously. When Arthur had taken me back to the test after our conversation I found all the test materials in front of me destroyed and with no time left on the clock. Thinking about this, I decided to ask Arthur a question I had been pondering for a while.

“Did you put in a good word for me to change my score?”

“Hah! No. Although if it would have worked I probably would have done it to pay you back. But no. Your answer choices that test gave you 100% beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

I breathed out in relief. I wouldn’t have answered any of those questions even if I were given another 2 hours anyway. In the end, I had gotten a perfect score off my own merits, not the bribing of a staff member.

Soon enough, Arthur and I came to the end of the hallway. There was a wooden door in front of us, its handle and rims both a bright gold. Around the door were floating candles, lifted by the Principal's power. A status I could feel even from beyond the door. I gulped in anticipation.

“Mark,” Arthur said, causing me to turn around to him. “Whatever you do, try not to make the Principal upset. He is an SS-Rank after all, none of them get this far without losing a few screws in the head.”

I gave a small chuckle and looked Arthur in the eye. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

Giving me a final smile and a wink, Arthur walked away from me, down the seemingly endless corridor we had just walked through. As I watched him go I smiled, looking at the back of a brother in burdens.

I felt a presence on the other side of the door beckon me. I could feel my skin tingle and my hair prick as a small wave of energy came out. I turned back towards the door, grabbed the handle firmly, and pulled.

On the other side, I saw a simple wooden desk in a simple wooden room. On the right, there was a couch and a plant. On the left, there was a mini-fridge. And directly ahead there was the Principal at his desk, spinning a pencil in his hand waiting for me.

“Mark, I’ve been waiting for you. Please sit down,” he said, gesturing to a seat that was in front of his desk.

As I began to take my seat I asked the Principal “Why is your voice no longer filled with power like earlier? Previously it shook through my chest like it came from a giant speaker.”

The Principal gave a hearty laugh despite the relatively unfunny nature of the moment. Arthur was right, making it to an SS-Rank usually meant a small amount of sanity was lost in the process.

“Keeping my voice active like that for long periods strains my throat. I’ve been told to not do it for very long for health reasons.”

That did make sense. Amplifying muscles in the body with psychic energy to provide them a boost in power could sometimes take a strain. For someone of Principal Sever's age, it could prove to be rather painful if done without breaks.

The Principal once again gave a hearty chuckle. His face beamed with a warm and beautiful brightness. It was like the sun had decided to inhabit this man in front of me.

“Now Mark,” the Principal said, his face still beaming brightly, “I’m sure you are wondering why I asked for you to be here.”

I nodded my head, feeling the weight on my neck tossing up and down.

“Yes Principal Sever, I myself have been suspecting it’s because of the test scores. Is that a correct guess?”

The Principal chuckled again, it appeared to be a favorite pastime of his.

“Not quite that Mark. Although it was a good guess, I was thoroughly impressed by your answer choices. Arthur also spoke very highly of you.”

So Arthur told him about the conversation we had. I felt somewhat embarrassed that the Principal knew of a time of vulnerability from me.

“Mark, what I brought you here for is to ask you a question.”

I saw the Principal's eyes begin to twinkle brightly, small stars lined the inside of eyes like the galaxies that dotted the universe all over. His face somehow to brighten even further and I was overwhelmed with comfort and relaxation. This was a man that I could trust. Not only that, he was someone who could and would protect me from danger. He was an SS-Rank after all. I smiled back at him, my back slouching back a bit and my face warming up.

“Mark, why do you want to be a hero?”

‘...’

I felt myself suddenly pull out of a trance as he asked this question. Sweat had begun to run down my forehead and my back, causing my shirt to drip onto the chair.

‘He was using his powers on me? Some form of mental manipulation?’

I looked now warily at the Principal. I felt a chill run down my spine and the hairs on my body stood up on end. The Principal's smile was gone, replaced with a serious face and dangerously curious eyes.

“Interesting Mark. People usually only break out of that technique when they have something to hide…”

I felt my heart begin to race. If he found out here. If someone found out. Especially someone of his power if he found out, things could go bad. I struggled to control the pace of my breathing and calm myself. I did my best to respond to the Principal calmly.

“I’m sorry sir I was just caught off guard. I just want to be a hero to help people in need, sir. I want to do what others won’t because if I don’t then nobody will.” I said, confidently repeating my father's favorite phrase.

The Principal looked at me, sadness in his eyes. He began to tap his fingers on the table. As he did I felt each tap pierce through my head as though any one of them could end with my heart speared, my head flying or my bones shattered. I felt my breathing begin to quicken and my heart began to beat harder and faster.

“Mark, it isn’t good to lie.”

The Principal began to glare at me, his eyes like knives, peeling away my skin and finding my true self beneath the surface. I instinctively began to push back away from him but the bottom of the chair I was on suddenly leaned back as I did, causing me to fall onto the floor. When I looked up I saw the chair floating in the air and the Principal looking at me.

“Mark, what exactly are you hiding from such an innocent question?”

I tried to stand up to talk to him again but soon felt a weight pressing me down on all parts of my body. Confused, I attempted to use psychic powers to push me up again but the force pushing me down completely overwhelmed me and I collapsed. I felt the wood beneath me begin the crack and bend under the pressure before completely shattering and causing me to slam into the concrete floor right beneath it.

“Mark, tell me the truth now. Why do you want to be a hero.”

‘No. I can’t let him know. I can’t tell him about it. If I do then the consequences could be devastating.’

I felt the concrete floor now begin to crack beneath me and my bones felt like they were being flattened. The Principal put his hand onto the concrete ground and saw him send psychic energy through it, causing it to be reinforced. The pressure pushing down on me then increased and I felt parts of my body beginning to ache and crack from the force. I winced in pain as I tried to focus on the Principal who no longer had any sense of warmth or care emanating from him.

“Principal I told you the truth earlier. Please let me go. It hurts.” I asked, attempting to sound as honest as I could.

The Principal merely shook his head sadly, disappointed in me for my response and another attempt at deception.

“Mark, Mark, Mark,” he said while shaking his head. “I can tell you’re lying. If you would just tell me then it would be much easier.”

I felt a sharp pain enter my mind. The Principal’s words began to hold a profound truth and authority in my mind.

‘If I tell him no harm will be done. It’ll be easy this way. It’s a good thing to tell the truth.’

I struggled to keep my thoughts straight. The pressure forcing me to the ground began to increase and I felt my body scream in pain. I gritted my teeth and held in my voice as I focused on using my powers to lessen the physical pain I was in. However, by being split between reducing physical pain and preventing myself from being crushed, my defense against the Principal’s mental attacks became even weaker.

I once again heard the Principal's voice, this time piercing through my head and full of the power it had when he was in front of all the other applicants.

“Mark. Tell me why you want to be a hero.”

Against my will, I felt my mouth slowly open trying to respond to him.

‘NO! CLOSE YOUR DAMN MOUTH MARK!!!’

I struggled against the psychic mental attack and eventually decided to divert more energy into enhancing my mental defenses. With this, at the cost of extreme pain, I was able to close my mouth shut once more. I felt the ground beneath me shatter all of a sudden and I plunged straight into the second layer of concrete beneath this one, resulting in me slamming my head into it painfully.

I heard a long and high-pitched ringing sound and my vision spun around for several moments. I felt confused, and lost, as though someone had scrambled up my brain. After a few moments, I was able to regain full cognitive prowess and found that the pressure on my body was completely gone. I looked up again at the Principal, his face back to his warm cheerful self.

“Mark,” he told me, “you’ve done incredible once again.”

With that, I felt someone place their thumb on my head and I fell asleep, sinking deep into the black unconsciousness.

…

A young man with auburn hair and a suit approached the middle-aged-looking man, removing his finger from Mark's head.

“Sir,” the man with auburn hair asked, “are you sure that you felt a presence with Mark? He didn’t respond to spiritual pressure, mental piercings, or even mental coercion.”

“Hahahaha,” the older-looking man laughed. “I have no doubt about it. When he was pushing that door open for a split moment I could sense it.”

“Sense what sir?”

The older man looked at the Auburn one with a smile on his face.

“Something of extraordinary power. It has been many years since I felt a power like that. He is undeniably holding something of incredible strength inside him. I currently suspect that he’s a spirit host. I hate to ask considering how much you like him but I need you to report to me his behavior, ok?

“Yes sir of course.”

“Oh and give him some points. Let’s say… 15 points for his performance and resistance.”

The man with auburn hair nodded and turned back towards Mark. He gently picked Mark up and dragged him away to have his memories of this even wiped from his mind. By the time they were done, Mark wouldn’t even remember a fraction of a second of this meeting. Although they would have to replace the memories if they wanted Mark in top condition.

…

‘...’

‘...’

‘Yes, I know. But we can’t allow us to forget about this time. We can’t let him get so close to finding everything else.’

‘...’

‘No. If you had come out here, everyone in this facility would have died in the ensuing battle. We can’t allow that.’

‘...’

‘Yes… looks like we can agree on a few things after all.’

End of Chapter 9