Chapter 90

Chapter 90: Chapter 90

"He’s awake!" Freya’s voice cut through the silence, and Ingrid immediately opened her eyes. "He’s really awake!"

Ingrid turned towards Hunter G’s bed, Freya was already holding his hands, tears filling her eyes again. Hunter G’s eyes were still drowsy and for a moment, he seemed confused about where he was. He attempted to push himself up, only for Nurse Maya to press a hand against his shoulder and stop him.

"Don’t move, Hunter G. Your vitals are still unstable, you haven’t recovered enough to sit up on your own," Maya warned, adjusting the equipment beside his bed. "I need you to stay still while I check you over. Can you tell me how you’re feeling right now, are you experiencing any pain in your chest?"

Hunter G blinked several times, trying to clear the heaviness clouding his mind, but even that simple movement seemed to exhaust him. He swallowed before answering, his voice so weak that Freya had to lean closer to hear him properly.

"I’m still very dizzy, and my head feels like it’s spinning around. I can’t seem to focus on anything for too long. I honestly feel like I’m going to pass out again any second now."

Freya tightened her grip on his hand, tears gathering in her eyes all over again as relief washed through her. She had spent what felt like an eternity watching him lie motionless, wondering if she would ever hear his voice again, and now that he was finally awake, she could barely contain everything she had been holding inside.

"I’m so glad you’re okay, Zeke. You have no idea how scared I was. I thought I was going to lose you."

Hunter G turned his head slightly towards her, though the movement made him wince, and his tired eyes settled on her tear-streaked face. Despite the weakness he felt, the corner of his mouth lifted into the faintest smile.

"Don’t cry, Freya. If you keep crying like that, I’m going to have nightmares even while I’m sleeping. It’s not pretty." He teased, but his thumbs settled on her fingers, rubbing them slightly.

Freya let out a laugh that broke halfway into another sob, and she immediately wiped her cheeks with her free hand. Even now, he could barely keep his eyes open but Zeke still had enough energy to tease her.

"Stop joking around, you idiot! Do you think this is funny? You nearly died, but you’re laughing?! It’s not funny! Not funny at all!"

"See?" Hunter G murmured, his voice growing weaker. "You’re shouting at me already. I just woke up, and you’re making me regret it."

"Zeke!"

"All right, all right." He swallowed with some difficulty, then closed his eyes briefly before forcing them open again. "I think I need to sleep for a few seconds. I can’t seem to stay awake, and my head is getting a little heavy. Just let me rest a little, okay?"

Freya immediately turned towards Ingrid, who was watching from her seat with Lysander standing beside her.

She looked frightened all over again. "What do you think, Ingrid? Should we keep him awake? What if he goes back to sleep this time and he doesn’t wake up?! What should we do?"

Ingrid shook her head gently. "It’s fine. Let him sleep, Freya. His body has been through a lot, and he needs the rest. The pill has already done its job so he should be fine now, although he still needs time to recover from the damage the poison caused. Don’t force him to stay awake when he’s clearly exhausted."

Freya searched Ingrid’s face for a moment, trying to find any sign that she was only saying those things to comfort her, but Ingrid’s expression remained calm. She finally nodded, then turned back to Hunter G and carefully brushed his hair away from his forehead.

"All right, you can sleep, but I’m staying right here beside you. I’ll stand guard until you wake up, I won’t let anyone come near you or hurt you again."

Hunter G managed a faint nod, his fingers curling weakly around hers. "That’s my Freya," he whispered, the words barely audible before his eyes closed again. It took only a short while for his breathing to settle into a more regular rhythm. He fell asleep pretty fast.

Freya remained beside him for a few moments, watching his chest rise and fall while Maya continued monitoring his condition. She didn’t want to move away, not even to wipe the blood that had dried on her clothes, but she eventually remembered that Ingrid had been the one to save him. After gently placing Hunter G’s hand on the blanket, she stood and walked towards Ingrid, stopping directly in front of her.

Then she bowed deeply. "Thank you," Freya said, her voice thick with emotion. "Thank you for saving Zeke. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t woken up when you did, and I don’t think I could have survived watching him die. I owe you my life, Ingrid, and I won’t forget what you’ve done for us."

Ingrid looked at her for a moment before waving her hand dismissively. "You don’t need to thank me like that. I had something that could help him, so I used it. That’s all."

"No, it’s not just that." Freya straightened slightly, her eyes shining with tears. "You could have refused to help him, especially after what happened to you in this Guild. You had every reason to hate us, and yet you still chose to save him. I won’t pretend that a simple thank-you is enough, so if there’s anything you need, just tell me. I’ll do whatever I can to repay you."

Ingrid’s expression changed slightly. "Anything?"

Freya nodded without hesitation. "Anything I know how to do, at least. I won’t make a promise I can’t keep, but if it’s within my power, I’ll do it."

"Good." Ingrid shifted in her seat, "Then I have a few questions for you, and I want you to answer them honestly. Don’t hide anything."

Freya’s expression became serious. "All right. Ask me anything."

"Was Hunter G forced by the higher-ups to conduct the memory search on me?"

Freya’s face tightened, and she glanced briefly towards Hunter G’s sleeping form before returning her attention to Ingrid.

"Yes," she admitted. "He didn’t want them to do it, and he tried to stop them. He argued with Berthanon and told him the procedure could damage your mind, but Berthanon refused to listen. He used his authority to force the matter, and when Zeke continued resisting, he threatened him with the poison. Zeke was left with no real choice, and even then, he tried to find a way to protect you."

Ingrid’s fingers curled against the armrest. She had suspected as much, especially after seeing the way Hunter G had behaved before the memory search, but hearing it confirmed still left a bitter taste in her mouth. The man had been willing to risk his own life to resist the higher-ups, yet the procedure had gone ahead anyway.

"Then tell me something else," Ingrid said, keeping her voice steady. "How many people have been injured by that machine? I want to know how often they’ve used it on people or if I’m the first person they’ve treated this way."

Freya hesitated. "I don’t know the exact number since the higher ups usually hide this kind of thing but I’ve heard enough stories from other hunters to know that a lot of people have been injured by it. Some of them suffered severe mental damage, while others never quite recovered from the procedure. There are hunters who went in perfectly capable of doing their jobs and came out unable to think clearly or remember basic things."

Maya, who had been listening while checking Hunter G’s readings, lowered her eyes. She didn’t interrupt Freya, but the darkness in her expression suggested that the words were not news to her. Ingrid noticed the reaction and felt her anger deepen because it meant that the dangers of the machine were not some secret known only to a handful of people.

The Guild had continued using it despite knowing what it could do, and people like Berthanon had decided that the lives and minds of those they considered inferior were an acceptable price to pay.

"Were most of them hunters?" Ingrid asked.

"Many of them were," Freya replied. "The Guild used to claim that the procedure was necessary for gathering information, especially when they believed someone was hiding something important. Some hunters were forced to undergo it after being accused of withholding information, while others were used as test subjects during the early stages of its development."

Ingrid fell silent, absorbing the information. She had already decided that she wanted to leave the Hunter’s Guild as soon as possible, but now her reasons had become even stronger.

After a moment, she asked her next question. "What about the companions I came here with? Are they safe?"

Freya immediately understood who she meant. "They’re safe for now. The fox Beastmen are still being kept within the Guild’s territory, and as far as I know, nobody has harmed them since you were brought here. But I can’t promise they’ll remain safe for long, especially after what happened today."

Ingrid’s expression darkened. That was precisely what she had feared. "Thank you for telling me," she said quietly. "At least now I know what I’m dealing with."

Freya nodded, then waited as Ingrid seemed to consider something else. She was prepared to answer more questions, but she hadn’t expected Ingrid to look directly at her and ask, "What’s your relationship with Hunter G?"