An imprisoned traitor seemingly has answers they didn't know needed.
April 26, 2023, 2:00 pm, Minhyuk's Settlement, Daegu, South Korea.
It was now afternoon, and Zeke and Jihyo were now going to Vanta, with Hangyeol as their guide. The place where he was imprisoned is far off at the edge of the settlement---away from the people and important places, so that he doesn't cause trouble should he choose to do so.
A few minutes of quiet walking has passed and soon, they arrive.
The place was near one of the construction materials, scraps, and Koul'in technology parts that Hyungwon and his team had salvaged over the past few months. It wasn't as properly fixed like most of the buildings in the settlement, but there were a few intact rooms that were seemingly reinforced with steel.
"I've... never seen this area before." Jihyo looks as she scans the area.
"Minhyuk-nim plans for everything, you see. He wasn't indifferent to the possibility that we would eventually take alien prisoners for interrogation or something, so he went ahead and made this small prison area after your battle with Shintel." Hangyeol explained. "....But he never focused on it much because we've been pouring resources on keeping people safe on the main base, so... yeah."
"I see. And on this one room... Is where Vanta is?" Zeke asked as he points on one of the reinforced doors with a lamppost open next to it.
Hangyeol nods in response.
"I don't know what to ask him." Jihyo said as she turns to Zeke. "I mean... Interrogating people for information isn't something of my expertise, especially if the being in question is our enemy."
"Don't worry. I'll do it." Zeke replied. "It's just going to be like taking interviews from applicants back in the office..."
The three of them took a deep breath, and Hangyeol soon opens the door.
The dark blue room was a bit colder than the outside. It was nothing short of a regular room--- with a cot, a small table and a few chairs. Sitting on the white tiled floor was Vanta, seemingly fixing up the seams on his leather and metal armor.
They walk inside, and Vanta notices as he looks at the four of them with his dark blue eyes. Hangyeol then closes the door as he stood guard infront of it, and brings out a pouch of mango juice to drink.
Zeke quietly grabs a chair and offers it to Jihyo, and grabs his own chair and moves it right infront of the Koul'in soldier. He observes him intently for quite some time.
Jihyo notices the sudden seriousness in Zeke's eyes, and the obvious change in aura. It felt like he's a totally different person--- as if he's hellbent on drawing information out of Vanta by any means necessary.
Jihyo then looks at Vanta. He looks like he's intimidated by Zeke's presence as he shudders faintly. It was quite obvious that he was willing to give information about what was going on regardless of what may happen, and that Zeke didn't have to be all too serious about his interrogation.
But precautions had to be made. Zeke knew that if he approached the Koul'in soldier with a lax attitude, then Vanta might use it against them. He's not taking any chances.
"I'm going straight to the point here." Zeke began. "Why are you helping us?"
"I just... don't want to die." Vanta replied.
"I'm not convinced, not one bit." Zeke replied. "Self-preservation is just a basic goal; a natural response to a threat of death. I believe if you remove that threat, your goals will change. Now you're completely safe here and your life is spared, I'm sure you now have something else in mind, hmm?"
"It's..." Vanta just looked at Zeke. He was radiating with an aura of animosity, as if he's going to kill him if he said the wrong answer. Vanta just sighs, and tells him the truth.
"It's... because unlike the rest of the Koul'ins, I didn't come here to invade you. I want to escape and live here on Earth."
"....Huh?" Jihyo was confused. "You want to what?"
"I know, I know, it's absurd since I came here in a literal invasion, but in all seriousness, I didn't come here to hunt Manifests and kill people. It's just that... there was no way I would've been able to fulfill my plan of escaping my homeworld without boarding the invading Fleet's ship..."
"Why are you even escaping in the first place?" Jihyo asked. "Are you some sort of criminal?"
"By the ancestral gods, no. I just... found Earth to be a nice place to escape into... No one would even notice. I just want to be... in peace.." Vanta mutters as he looks down.
Zeke suddenly stands and holds Vanta by the collar.
"Zeke...!" Jihyo was alarmed at Zeke's sudden action as she stands up and tries to hold him back. Hangyeol spits his mango drink in surprise.
"Peace? Peace?! A lot of people have died in this stupid invasion of yours, and now you have the audacity to desire peace for yourself?! You're ignorant as hell if you believe you'll get peace here because there aren't any left for you!" Zeke gritted his teeth in anger, his eyes turning into a fiery shade of orange.
"I... I know that...!" Vanta exclaimed in fright. "I didn't want this to happen. I didnt want the deaths either... I only wanted to be here in peace, I swear!"
Zeke just stares angrily at Vanta as he paused.
"...I can't do anything back then to try and save those humans, I was just one Koul'in...! Look, look... there's absolutely nothing we can do about those who died... but... but... I can help you prevent more deaths..." Vanta concluded, his eyes filled with worry and sincerity. "So let me tell you what I know, and hopefully, it may help you in your fight against my kind..."
It wasn't usual for a Koul'in to be soft like this--- all the soldiers they've fought so far were bloodthirsty beings in nature. Vanta was obviously different.
Zeke slowly calms down as he lets go of Vanta's collar, and the fire in his eyes dies out. A couple minutes of eerie silence followed as everyone just remained silent.
"....from what I've observed, you're probably on a quest to find and kill the Ten Generals." Vanta suddenly began.
"The what now?" Zeke asked as he looks at him.
"The Ten Generals. The ones collectively responsible for this invasion." Vanta replied.
"I don't have any plans on finding each and every one of those Ten Generals you speak of. I just want to find my friend who's captured by one of them..." Jihyo replied.
"Either way, they'll most likely search for you. You're still a Manifest wielder, after all." Vanta replied.
"I'll worry about those when we get there. All that's important to me is to find my family and friends, and try to help people along the way."
"..." Vanta just looks at her.
"....If you know about the Ten Generals, then surely, Platina is one of them. I need to know everything about her." Jihyo spoke.
"General Platina... She's a technology loving general. She's also one of the generals that once surveyed this place to get humans for experimentation. Checking out their biology and using technology to dissect or study them."
"Human experimentation...?! That bastard...! I swear... if she ever does something to Mina..." Jihyo said as she clenches her fist.
"So you most likely know her location, am I right?" Zeke asked.
"No. The generals usually never specifically tell any soldier their exact location. Come to think of it, we didn't know where General Khera actually was when we landed on the amusement park... So it's the same for the other generals, I think."
Zeke sighed in a disappointed tone.
"....But... I know where one of her subordinates are. He's known as Erythos." Vanta suddenly added.
Jihyo's eyes light up as she scoots her chair closer.
"Tell us more about him." Jihyo said.