Chapter 133: Rising Tension
Silas' previous actions and words were intentional. It was an attempt of his to gain an advantage in the situation he is in currently.
He knew that he would be in a weaker position as he was the one that came to them. Even though he acted all tough on Natasha, the lady in front it him is different.
Also, he knew that he would in an interrogative position as the lady would be suspicious of him and would try to get any possible information out of him.
It would be strange if she doesn't suspect someone who was able to resist the attempt of Natasha who tried to get into his head. Also, even though Natasha is weak minded as she said, the fact that he forced her to the point that she had to bring him to their base before she can get rid of him is something for her to be curious about.
From what the lady said, Silas understood that Natasha attempt to get into his mind was the first time she tried to use her power. This got him curious as what her power could possibly be.
For now, Silas isn't interested in Natasha but the lady sitting beside him.
From the information he got from Luna, the lady, The Empress, is one of the documented Phenomenals in the country.
Actually, among all the documented Phenomenals in the world, she's one of the strongest and she's also someone with huge influence.
This is thanks to her identity as a Phenomenal and also due to her identity as the daughter of one the country's past senators.
The lady in front of him is the one that runs the underground arena and from the information he got from Luna, she's not into it alone.
The underground arena is a business that's being managed together by the young scions of the most powerful political and extremely wealthy individuals in the country, spearheaded by the lady in front of him, Elizabeth Frederick.
This information answers Silas' question on how the underground arena is still up and running up to now without any hitch. It's only because it's something that's created by the rich to entertain themselves during their leisure time.
This information on the underground arena reminds Silas of how the ancient Romans entertain themselves with gladiator fights.
The situation with the underground arena is almost the exact same thing, if not exactly the same.
The underground arena is exactly hidden as almost anyone can access it but either of two conditions has to be fulfilled first.
The first of the two conditions is that one has to be a Phenomenal, either documented or not. Two, you can access it by paying any amount they stipulates for entry tickets, and this entry tickets prices are not fixed and their prices are also exorbitant. All this information is available on the dark web.
Though almost anyone can gain access, just as Silas said, it's made by the rich for the rich to enjoy themselves.
Back to the lady, Silas knew that he has already achieved his aim when he heard the slight politeness in her voice when she introduced herself and asked fot his name the second time.
Though he knew that she was being slightly polite to him, he wasn't going to just allow her to achieve her aim easily.
He's in their base, surrounded by a lot of Phenomenals, weak Phenomenals and one of the strongest of the all is beside him, but he's not scared.
Instead he's enjoying the current situation. It might be seen as an intentional act on his side to look for trouble but trouble is something he afford and beside, he has been looking to fight a Phenomenal. Maybe he will get his chance today.
"They call you the The Empress but your name can't possibly be that, right?" Silas asked with a smile.
Hearing what Silas said, Elizabeth clenched her fist lightly and brought it down. She looked at Silas and nodded, her thoughts unknown.
She felt like she was being toyed with, something she has never experienced as she has been in a position of power.
She has asked Silas multiple questions but he didn't answer any of them, and even after she went out of her way to be polite and friendly by offering an handshake, he left her hand hanging.
She would had taken action if it was someone else that did that to her but she can't, at least not for now. She felt that there's a definitely a reason behind his confidence or it would actually be foolishness.
She decided to probe him one more time but if she doesn't get anything out of it, then she would take care of things the hard way.
"I understand that I may have been rude to you initially but you also have to understand that there are things that has to be done before one can come down here," She said.
"Yeah, I know of either of the two conditions that one has to fulfill before they can be given access to the underground arena. It's not exactly a secret," Silas said with a nod before continuing," But you can't blame me. Someone sneaked up to me and pressed a finger to my head, and told me to sleep. I got curious as to what the person actually wanted to achieve by telling me to sleep. That's all."
Elizabeth facepalmed when she heard what Silas said. She looked at Natasha who was standing at one corner of the room and she mumbled something to herself.
"What a dumb bitch."
She let out a sigh and shook her head, before looking at Silas.
"I'm sorry about what she tried to do to you. Now, let's talk between ourselves. I have introduced myself, can I know your name?... Please?" She asked with a forced smile on her face, making it to look stiff.
Silas decided to let things be at this point. He knew that Elizabeth was trying her best to be polite to him, even though she's forcing it.
Also, he didn't come here for a fight but only to satisfy his curiosity. Yes, he can afford trouble but it seems the lady doesn't and Silas would respect that.
"The name's Silas," He replied.
Elizabeth nodded when she heard Silas' reply. She made sure to commit the name to memory as she intends to investigate him later.
Though she doesn't know if the name is fake. She wasn't worried as she can use the image of him gotten from the CCTV footage to investigate.
"Silas, since we're on an even foot. I would like to ask you something and you must be completely honest with me," Elizabeth said in a solemn voice.
Silas only smiled in response to what she said.
'To be completely honestly with her? She's definitely joking,' Silas thought to himself.
Elizabeth saw Silas' response and sighed.
"I know that I can't make you unsee what you saw back there. The only way to do that is to silence you completely and you know what that means.
That's something I don't want to do," She said and paused for a brief moment, before continuing,"You said you know about either of the two conditions one has fulfill before gaining access to the underground arena, which means that your someone of status in the country—"
She was cut off shortly by Silas.
"Let cut straight to the chase. If you're going to ask for my identity, then sorry, I can't help you with that. If you're going to ask if I know about people with superpower, actually this is my first time seeing them. If your question is out of the range of what I asked, then you can go ahead," Silas said.
He felt he knew what Elizabeth was trying to do and he wasn't in the mood for it. He had already satisfied his curiosity and he now has a new way to entertain himself, which is by watching Phenomenals fight each other in the arena.
Silas actually feels like leaving but he knew that it would be close to impossible for Elizabeth to allow him to leave without getting what she wants.
Elizabeth felt that Silas was being too difficult when she heard what he said.
'What does he mean by he can't help me if I want to know his identity?' She thought to herself.
She felt that he was attaching to much importance to his identity. Even her who's a Phenomenal doesn't keep her identity as one hidden. At least that's what she would do if there's no policy against it.
She sighed and looked at Silas with her eyes narrowed.
"You know, I have been trying my very best to be nice to you but your attitude is started to get on my nerves. I do not want to be rude to you but you're forcing my hands. You might be confident even after seeing so many Phenomenals but are you really confident on being able to fight off every single one of them," Elizabeth asked, with a cold smile on her face.