Alex returned to the empire with Cassandra and Zol, heading straight to a facility where his hunters had gathered the returned hunters since the beginning of the incident.
"How are they?" Alex asked Elina the moment he arrived. "Anything strange with their behaviour?"
"Negative." Elina shook her head, leading Alex and his party to the holding area. "Aside from expressing their displeasure for being captured, there is nothing unusual about their behaviour."
"Mm, I'll be the judge of that." Alex replied.
Sometime later, they arrived at the large chamber where the hunters, ranging from Class A to C gathered as they made small talk about their situation.
"Hey, look who's here." One of the hunters noticed Alex before he even entered the chamber. "It's Lord Alexander himself."
Hearing the familiar and most famous name in the universe, all the hunters turned around to look. Under their awe-filled gazes, they watched as Alex made his way to the platform.
"Greetings, everyone." Alex greeted, getting the attention of all the hunters. "I apologise for the treatment meted to you, but it was a necessary precaution I had to take."
The hunters had not told them anything upon their detainment; only that they were to wait here for some checks.
But seeing as it was on Alexander's orders, whatever ill-feeling they had vanished like it never existed.
"There was a recent storm that was heading for the empire." Alex continued a moment later. "Everyone who was outside the protection sphere at the time was at a risk of exposure."
"Exposure?" One of the hunters muttered. "Aren't we immune to the radiations in the universe?"
"You are," Alex replied. "However, that storm was slightly different, and to remove any hidden risks, I have to personally check you." He didn't get into the real issue as there was no need to, at least for now.
The hunters exchanged confused glances. While they believed in Alexander, they had a feeling there was something he wasn't telling them.
"I know there is more to what you're saying." A female stepped forward, attracting the attention of everyone. "But I speak for everyone when I say we know the kind of being you are and what you've done for us.
"If you feel we aren't ready to know the true reason, so be it."
No one objected, remaining quiet for the woman to continue.
"Do what you must." The woman smiled. "We trust you."
Alex gave a curt nod in the woman's direction and then looked at everyone else. He could see the trust they held in their eyes for him.
"Thank you." Alex smiled. "It will only take a second."
His eyes began to glow a golden colour, something he found himself doing more and more as a show of proof. He could do without it, but the show was important for the people.
Some of the hunters gulped, feeling the change in the air. A surreal feeling of power surrounded all of them. They couldn't see it, but they could tell the power was washing over them.
Alex performed a thorough scan of the souls of the gathered hunters, soon spotting foreign signatures clinging to three hunters.
'So they did leave a trail on some of the hunters.' Alex thought and then made a gesture towards the crowd.
"What…?" The hunters gasped as they felt a gentle tug of power push them to the side, making way for three hunters.
"Relax…" Alex assured the three hunters. "No harm will come to you."
The three isolated hunters nodded, their hearts racing despite the reassurance. Once before Alex, he made another gesture, bringing out the signatures tainted in dark hues.
"What is that?" The hunters echoed, shocked at what they were seeing.
"So that was what he was talking about?"
Of course, it was a colourless signature that was easy to miss. Alex was once again trying to be transparent with the hunters, giving them a visual of what he meant.
The foreign signature clinging to their souls was designed for surveillance, aiming to collect as much data as possible.
'Don't know why they did this, but I'm guessing it was some sort of backup to gather information in the event I passed their little test or something.'
"Done." Alex put his hand down, the dark auras held in his hand. "You are free now."
For a moment, the three hunters and everyone remained silent, taking a movement to process what they saw.
"T-thank you." One of them said, snapping everyone out of their daze.
"Of course," Alex replied as the three hunters made their way back to their colleagues.
"Thank you for your understanding." He gave a polite bow before adding. "You can resume your hunts. Also, during your hunts, make sure to report any unusual happenings you see to the appropriate authorities."
Without waiting for them to say anything else, he and the others left. He still had to drop off his prisoners before heading home.
"Wow…" Sometime later, the hunters recovered from the visuals, feeling a greater sense of awe for Alexander's abilities. "Seeing him in action is a completely different feeling."
"Right? It will take a lot of work to reach the level where we attract his attention. Attaining the honour of being his chosen will be life-changing."
Everyone, most especially hunters, was aware of the power Alex granted some people, boosting their powers to unimaginable heights.
It was a dream for most people to catch his eyes. Unfortunately, it wasn't so easy catching his attention if you didn't know him in his early years.
Still, it was a dream for most people.
...
Somewhere within the empire, a private facility.
"Don't try to force them beyond the usual tactics." Alex instructed the hunters he put in charge of the interrogation. "Also, inform me should anything happen."
"Yes, Sir." The hunters nodded in acknowledgement before turning around to leave.
Alex had already placed the three dragons in different chambers, their strength as dragons further sealed to prevent any accidents.
"I don't think they'd talk," Cassandra said, glancing at Alex's side profile.
"I know…" Alex replied. "At the very least, we have to try. Also…" He turned to look at Cassandra, a smile gracing his features.
"I left a sliver of my awareness on the lead interrogator. They might not talk, but that doesn't mean they won't have surface thoughts about the questions we ask them."