Extra's Revenge: Reincarnated As A Slave-Chapter 129: Cornered (Part 2)

"Tch!"

Rey activated two more Artifacts—a spatial distortion device that should have allowed him to phase between locations, and a temporal acceleration ring that would let him move faster than Thane could perceive.

Both Artifacts functioned... for approximately three seconds.

Then Thane activated his trump card.

Null Art, Nullification Technique, Sequence #4: Multi-Art Denial, shutting down multiple categories of mystical manipulation simultaneously.

Rey’s spatial distortion failed mid-activation, leaving him half-phased and vulnerable. His temporal acceleration flickered and died, returning him to normal time perception. Even his defensive barriers began showing cracks as the fundamental Arts powering them faced suppression.

"You’re resourceful," Thane acknowledged, his tone almost respectful. "But you’re fighting with tools while I’m operating with fundamental mastery. Every Scroll has limitations, every Artifact can be countered if you understand its principles."

Rey activated his offensive ring, launching a barrage of concentrated force attacks—not mystically sophisticated, but physically devastating. The compressed kinetic energy should have been enough to pulverize stone and shatter defensive barriers.

Thane created a wall using Construction Technique, absorbing the impacts with matter specifically structured to redistribute force. The attacks struck with tremendous power but achieved minimal actual damage.

Rey’s mind raced through his remaining resources. He’d expended most of his Mid-Sequence Scrolls on the Fanged Serpent leadership. His High-Sequence reserves were limited—perhaps five Scrolls that could match Thane’s demonstrated power level.

He needed to create an opening, force Thane into a defensive position long enough to attempt escape or negotiation.

Rey activated three High-Sequence Scrolls simultaneously—a desperate expenditure of resources, but necessary given the circumstances.

Spirit Art, Convergence Technique, Sequence #3: Reality Storm, creating elemental chaos that altered environmental laws.

Null Art, Fade Technique, Sequence #5: Existence Weakening, attempting to make Thane’s presence in reality less stable.

Soul Art, Death Technique, Sequence #4: Death Right Claim, asserting authority to end Thane’s life regardless of his defenses.

The combined assault was the most powerful Rey had deployed all night.

Reality within the Empty False World began behaving unpredictably as incompatible elemental forces merged and separated chaotically. Thane’s form flickered as Existence Weakening took effect, his solid presence becoming intermittently translucent. And the Death Right Claim settled over him like an executioner’s declaration, mystical authority asserting that his continued life was conditional on Rey’s permission.

For the first time, Thane looked genuinely concerned.

He responded with his own High-Sequence Technique—Null Art, Erasure Technique, Sequence #3: Concept Collapse, targeting the concept of "lethality" within Rey’s Death Right Claim.

The mystical authority that should have granted Rey power over Thane’s mortality simply failed to sustain itself. The concept it relied upon—the idea that Rey could declare death—collapsed under Thane’s superior Null Art application.

But the Reality Storm and Existence Weakening were still active, creating genuine problems for the Special Investigator.

Thane activated a Divine Artifact—different from the one creating the Empty False World, but equally sophisticated. A crystalline sphere that generated absolute stability within a defined radius, forcing reality to behave according to natural laws regardless of mystical interference.

The Reality Storm’s chaotic elemental interactions found themselves unable to manifest within Thane’s stabilized zone. The Existence Weakening lost its purchase as reality actively reinforced Thane’s presence rather than allowing it to fade.

Rey’s most powerful assault had been neutralized.

And now his resources were critically depleted.

He had perhaps two High-Sequence Scrolls remaining, a handful of damaged Artifacts, and his enhanced physical capabilities. Against a Category S Guard who’d demonstrated superior mastery of multiple Arts and access to Divine-tier equipment.

’I can’t win this through direct confrontation,’ Rey acknowledged coldly. ’He’s too experienced, too well-equipped, too thoroughly prepared. Every tactic I employ, he’s already planned counters for.’

Thane seemed to sense Rey’s realization.

"You’ve fought well. Better than most targets we pursue. But this ends now."

He activated a binding Technique—Spirit Art, Construction Technique, Sequence #4: Adamant Genesis, creating chains of indestructible material that wrapped around Rey’s limbs and torso.

Rey tried to phase through them using his spatial distortion Artifact, but the device had been damaged during Thane’s Multi-Art Denial. He attempted to break them using his offensive ring, but the Adamant material lived up to its name—completely resistant to the force he could generate.

His defensive barriers shattered under targeted strikes from Thane’s follow-up attacks. His mobility bracer sparked and failed, its mystical components overloaded by sustained combat stress.

Within seconds, Rey found himself completely immobilized, bound by chains that prevented both physical movement and mystical manipulation.

"Impressive," Thane said genuinely. "As expected of someone who managed to destroy an entire Noble House and escape detection for weeks. Your resource management, tactical adaptation, and willingness to commit to high-risk strategies—all of it demonstrates exceptional capability."

He approached Rey carefully, maintaining defensive posture despite his apparent victory. "But you were operating with finite resources against someone with fundamental mastery. Scrolls run out. Artifacts break. And eventually, superior power and preparation prevail."

Rey tested the chains one final time, confirming they were beyond his current ability to break or manipulate. His mind calculated remaining options, finding them increasingly limited.

’Self-destruct the Artifacts I’m carrying,’ he considered. ’Create an explosion large enough to potentially damage the Empty False World’s integrity. But Thane would likely survive it given his demonstrated capabilities, and I’d gain nothing from mutual destruction.’

"I’m going to ask you questions," Thane continued. "About the Desgarron incident, about your connection to Aether forces, about your objectives in infiltrating the Dark Commerce District. You can answer cooperatively, or I can extract the information through less pleasant means. But either way, we’re getting answers tonight."

Rey remained silent, his mind still working through possibilities.

The chains prevented mystical manipulation, but they didn’t suppress his Ether reserves entirely.

If he could find a way to—

Thane activated another Artifact, this one creating a mystical seal that covered Rey’s entire body. "That prevents self-destructive techniques or attempts to damage your own life force. I’ve studied your patterns—you favor complete destruction of evidence when captured seems likely. This seal prevents that option."

Rey’s eyes widened slightly behind his disguise. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Thane had indeed prepared thoroughly, anticipating even desperate final measures.

"I’ve learned from all the patterns," Thane explained. "The systematic destruction of evidence at the Desgarron Manor. The explosive finale at the Coliseum. Tonight’s annihilation of the Fanged Serpent. You always ensure nothing useful remains for investigation."

He gestured at the seal covering Rey. "So I brought an Artifact specifically designed to prevent that. No self-destruct, no evidence destruction, no final spiteful elimination of intelligence value. You’re captured, and you’re going to provide us with the information we need."

Rey stopped struggling against the chains, his posture relaxing into something approaching acceptance.

Then he smiled beneath his disguise.

"Well done," Rey said quietly, genuine respect in his voice. "Your preparations were excellent. You anticipated my tactics, countered my strategies, and prevented the fallback options I typically rely on. I admit defeat."

Thane’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. "That’s... unusually gracious for someone in your position."

"Why wouldn’t I be gracious? You’ve bested me fairly through superior preparation and capability. I acknowledge when I’ve been outmaneuvered." Rey’s tone carried no resentment, just calm assessment. "I lost this round, Investigator Thane."

"This round?" Thane echoed.

"Mmm." Rey’s smile widened slightly. "Tell me, your seal prevents self-destructive techniques and damage to life force. Very thorough."

"Yes," Thane confirmed, still watching carefully.

"But does it prevent me from simply... letting go?"

Before Thane could process the question, Rey’s consciousness retreated from his body with deliberate finality. Not a violent severing or forced extraction, but a calm release—like someone stepping out of a room and closing the door behind them.

His Soul, rather than remaining anchored to his physical form, simply departed.

Not through suicide Technique that the seal would prevent. Not through self-destructive mystical assault that Thane had anticipated. Just... voluntary abandonment of corporeal existence.

Rey’s body collapsed within its chains, becoming an empty husk. The Soul that had animated it dissipated. The consciousness that had directed it vanished completely.

Soul Art, Death Technique, Sequence #5: Immortal Punishment, turned inward. Not to destroy, but to forcibly separate Soul from body through a loophole Thane’s seal hadn’t accounted for—voluntary dissolution rather than violent destruction.

The technique hadn’t damaged Rey’s life force or employed self-destructive methods. It had simply... ended the connection between Soul and flesh through conscious choice rather than mystical force.

Thane stared at the lifeless body, his expression transforming from confidence to shocked realization.

"No," he whispered, checking for any sign of remaining consciousness.

His enhanced perception found nothing—just an empty shell, a body without the essential spark that made it a person.

The Soul that had inhabited it was gone. Not destroyed in a way that would have triggered his seal, but departed through an act of will that no Artifact could prevent.

"He actually killed himself," Thane said, horror mixing with reluctant admiration.

He’d been so focused on preventing explosive self-destruction or mystical suicide that he hadn’t considered someone with enough control and resolve to simply... step out of their own existence.

Thane knelt beside the empty husk, his mind racing through implications.

The body contained no useful information—just flesh and bone, preserved by the seal but lacking the consciousness that would have answered their questions.

"Foolish," Thane muttered, not sure if he was referring to Rey or himself. "I should have accounted for this."

He looked at the lifeless form, at the chains that bound nothing important, at the seal that protected an empty vessel.

Victory, but completely hollow.

The perpetrator was captured but useless.

The questions remained unanswered.

The investigation had gained a body but lost the only source who could explain the Desgarron incident’s true nature.

Thane closed his eyes, forcing himself to acknowledge the reality.

He’d won the battle.

But this person had ensured no one won the war.

’Still, with this husk, maybe we can find a few clues...’

Whether or not such clues would really be useful was something Thane immensely doubted.