Compliance.

The man who came in to see him next, Helga’s supposed ‘guest’, reminded Will a lot of Aoi. Not in that they looked alike, but rather that the intensity of their presence was very similar. He exuded pressure, and it was wholly intentional. Not just a show, either. You couldn’t fake that kind of calm, cold intensity. This guy, whoever he was, was strong, skilled and experienced.

He looked him up and down, from his tied hands to his feet. He was appraising Will as much as Will was appraising him.

Their eyes met, and though the man stared down firmly, Will’s tired and relaxed eyes didn’t look away.

“What kind of information were you trying to get out of him?” the man asked.

“Hah?” Helga exclaimed, confused and tilting her head.

“He has blood running down his mouth and his breathing is ever so slightly shallow. You hit him, did you not? If not to get information out of him, then what for?”

“I…”

The man shook his head, and Will thought the man looked disappointed. His eyes then scanned him further, and something seemed to draw his attention enough to kneel in front of WIll and move closer.

“These marks…” he muttered, looking at Will’s collarbone. “And your hair…” The man smiled with a faint chuckle. “You’re not right in the head, kid.”

Will raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, I haven’t had a chance to look at myself in a mirror. What are you talking about?”

Behind the man, Helga tensed up and took a step back. Regardless, the man kept a calm and professional tone. “Some spots on your lower neck and above your left eye have turned dark, almost like gashes. And then a few locks of your hair seemed to have turned white. I know what you did, and it’s foolish,” the man said, running his hand through his short, dark hair, making Will notice the graying spots in his as well.

“...” Will vaguely remembered feeling some sort of burning sensation as he tried to fight Helga, right before passing out. Burning like something was scorching his very skin. Had that left marks?

Oh, no. His perfect face! His gorgeous blonde mane!

Whatever.

Will was more interested in what it meant. “What is it that I did?” he asked.

The man raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know? An act of desperation, then? Even so, telling.” He stood up with hands in the pockets of his fancy pants, yet kept his eyes on Will. “I’ll be blunt. My boss wants the Spirit of Lust. Help us get her and not only do I promise your freedom, but I’ll even recommend you for his organization.”

“W-Wait, what!?” Helga suddenly exclaimed. “You’re offering him a recommendation? He’s useless without the spirit!”

The man turned his head to Helga. “Are you blind, girl? This man was touched by sexually-attuned aether, and the spirit he was possessed by is gone. Yet even now he’s still building up power on his own.”

Will held back the instinct to groan and click his tongue in frustration. He’d been found out. He didn’t think anyone would notice. It wasn’t anything notable compared to the bonfire of power that Ishtar was.

“W-What…? Then… Should we do something? Make him ****, maybe?” Helga suggested.

The man turned back to look at Will. “Whatever it is that you’re planning, it’ll be useless. You lack the power to do anything. But the mere fact that your aether became naturally sexually-attuned is worth a lot. You can either become one of us or be another guinea pig for the boss’ experiments.”

“Either way, you’ll keep me alive?” Will asked.

“People are resources. Wasting them would be stupid. So? What do you say? Will you help us capture the Spirit of Lust?”

“Do you really need my help? Helga just told me my… friends are willing to trade her for me.”

“She may believe it, but I don’t. The boss is willing to bring his full might to capture the spirit. We’re talking hundreds of soldiers and elites like myself. When we confirm that the spirit is indeed a Spirit of Lust, she will have no escape. Give up on whatever plans you have, young man. It’s to your benefit to cooperate with us.”

“...” Ishtar was coming to get him, likely along with Aoi and Johana. Those two alone were far above the average level of power Will had seen up to this point. He had seen Johana beat up a dozen guys with little issue, and Will himself had fought a few underworld fighters. That said, if this guy was equal to Aoi and there were more of him… “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to give the spirit back to me if I agree to work with you?”

“That your own aether underwent a change in nature from being possessed tells me your link to the spirit was strong. I promise to make a case to the boss that you might be more useful if we return the spirit to you, but that’s all I can promise.”

“...” Somehow, Will trusted the man’s words, but that didn’t mean he was telling him everything. In theory, agreeing to cooperate would give Will a chance to affect whatever plans were in motion, maybe even hinder his captors. But if they had half a brain, they wouldn’t let Will in on anything critical. They would account for him double-crossing them.

It would be better if he could somehow tell everyone to forget about him, to not agree to a trade and simply go into hiding. Now that Will was sure they wanted him alive, he could probably keep himself safe if he agreed to work with them.

But if they were trying to capture Ishtar…

“What would you have me do, anyway? You don’t really trust me to help, do you? Even if I genuinely agreed, you still wouldn’t believe me.”

“I would like you to try and convince the spirit to come willingly. Talk to her. If you do, you earn our favor. If you don’t, then we know what to do with you next. We don’t need you to help, young man. I’m giving you a chance.”

Agreeing to help was probably the more dangerous option, but also the only one that would allow him to have any kind of impact on the results.

“Alright. I’ll try to talk to her.”

“Smart man. Now come with me. Helga, untie him.”

Helga didn’t look happy at all, but she still undid his binds. Will was free, but with so little power, Helga could probably take him on her own, let alone this guy.

Will moved and stretched his numb shoulders as he followed him out of the room, realizing they were in some sort of abandoned warehouse. When he stepped outside, the sunlight blinded him and nearly burned his eyes, but after a moment of getting used to it he realized just how true the man’s words before were, how serious he was about catching Ishtar.

Outside the abandoned warehouse, in the large plot of empty land, was a sea of men and women, all giving the vibe of skilled mercenaries.