Looking at the Thunderbird, who had lost all will to live, Alan knew his heart had died. Or rather, it had died the moment he accepted control from the Undying Elixir.
He looked at the man with a touch of pity, saying, "If I have the chance, I will not let your leader off, so you can consider it that I've agreed to your request."
"Good. That guy has ruined me, ruined our dignity, and even turned our painstakingly built club into a den of iniquity. I will make him suffer the consequence of losing everything, too." The Thunderbird's expression became incredibly ferocious, like a hellhound returned from the depths of hell.
"If you want to get rid of that guy, I will find and locate him. Tell me everything you know about Rune Serpent." Alan looked coldly at the Thunderbird.
"No problem. As long as you can get rid of him, I am willing to offer everything I have, including my treasures, my knowledge, and my spells!"
After consuming the Undying Elixir, the Thunderbird had been stripped of his self-respect and dreams, becoming a true madman. Normally, the reason he faced everyone with an arrogant and condescending attitude was actually to vent his frustration with a reckless, broken-pot mentality. Deep down, there might even have been a desire for death at play, but he himself lacked the courage to face death calmly. Or rather, that courage had been stripped away by Rune Serpent along with everything else. He longed for someone to end his suffering, yet he was also incredibly afraid of giving up his current immortality and power.
Ultimately, this gave rise to such a conflicted person. Indeed, in Alan's eyes, the Thunderbird was an incredibly twisted, contradictory figure. His heart was filled with too much resentment, which had transformed him into a true mad dog. It was only when he was defeated by Alan and forced to truly face death that he could calmly confront his true self. The courage he once had to face death gradually resurfaced from the depths of his heart.
Facing Alan, who brought him to this point, the Thunderbird's heart might have been equally conflicted—both hating Alan for taking away his hope of living, and thanking Alan for helping him regain his long-lost courage and dignity. However, at this moment, the Thunderbird concentrated all the malice in his heart on Rune Serpent, who had controlled and tormented him for most of his life.
Immediately after, the Thunderbird explained everything he knew to Alan, including information about Rune Serpent and the club. This included all the personal information he knew about the Silver Spears, as well as most of the black market addresses, contact codes, and communication methods controlled by the club. He meticulously revealed everything to Alan, including the interrelationships within the club, and even a lot of information about the Silver Spears within the headquarters.
Therefore, the Thunderbird was truly a very pure madman. His reckless personality was fully demonstrated when he betrayed his own people. This even startled Alan, who suddenly received so much information. He was selling them out too thoroughly. Furthermore, because the Thunderbird was one of the founders of the Silver Spears, the contracts binding him were not as strict as those for ordinary members. Aside from not being able to directly reveal the true identities of the Spears and the leader, and the core secrets of the club, he could essentially say anything else.
The value of capturing one Thunderbird was even higher than ten Aserias. He now felt a bit sad for the leader of the Silver Spears. How unpopular must he be for his top general to hate him so much?
It took an entire night, and Alan filled dozens of parchment sheets, yet still hadn't finished recording all the information the Thunderbird knew.
"I can only tell you that the club's headquarters is in Germany. Most of the data and materials are stored there, directly managed by Gold Flying Hero. The leader actually doesn't stay at the headquarters. That coward is accustomed to hiding himself in the shadows and distrusting everyone, so he doesn't even fully trust the club's headquarters. Aside from regularly adding Undying Elixir to the headquarters and collecting magical creatures, he mostly disappears without a trace. The young Thunderbird you are worried about is indeed still alive. They will raise him to adulthood before extracting his life force. Given that bird's condition, it will take at least another year or two. Also, the place where that creature is kept might not be at the headquarters. The club has other magical creature warehouses; the specific address is..." The Thunderbird systematically betrayed his own organization. His deep-seated destructive tendencies made him want to bring down the entire Silver Spears.
*This guy is truly too dangerous, whether as an opponent or a collaborator,* Alan silently evaluated.
"Finally, can you give me a wand? There are some things I cannot tell you verbally." The Thunderbird calmly extended his remaining left hand to Alan.
Alan pondered for a moment, then returned the Thunderbird's wand to him. He wasn't afraid of him when he was at his peak, so there was no reason to worry now. Moreover, he had made ample preparations around the camp; even if the Thunderbird wanted to run, he couldn't.
"What courage!" The Thunderbird took the wand and nodded appreciatively. This young man might truly be able to destroy that person. Then he looked at his wand. "Old friend, we've been together for so many years, and now it's time to part."
After a sigh, the Thunderbird placed the wand against his temple, extracted a sliver of his memory, and gestured for Alan to store it.
"This memory fragment marks an address where all my treasures are, including my magic notes, which even contain the method for learning blue Fiendfyre. Now, I'm giving it all to you." The Thunderbird paused, then looked up. "Although it may be inappropriate to say this, it contains the essence of my research over these many years. I hope you can inherit it for me and not let them vanish in the darkness."
"I never hold prejudice against knowledge. I can explicitly guarantee you that." Alan nodded solemnly.
"That's good." The Thunderbird nodded in relief. "Also, among my treasures, there is a badge with the Deathly Hallows symbol. Show that badge to the Acolytes outside Nurmengard, and you will be able to see Gellert Grindelwald. Although if you force your way in, they won't be able to stop you, this can at least save some unnecessary trouble. If—and I mean if—you have a chance to go to Austria, could you please visit Gellert for me? Just a simple message: 'Gerald can never forgive him, but he doesn't regret fighting alongside him!'" After saying this, the Thunderbird wistfully handed back the wand he held.
"I can promise you this. I also want to meet this famous, legendary wizard." Alan nodded readily. This Thunderbird truly embodied the words 'conflicted' and 'contradictory' to the fullest. He neither understood Grindelwald's betrayal of their ideals nor could he forget the time they spent together.
"Thank you, Alan." After receiving his promise, the Thunderbird seemed to have settled a matter, then looked at Alan with some curiosity. "May I know how you plan to deal with the Silver Spears and Rune Serpent?"
"Heh, actually, I noticed it long ago," Alan said as he picked up the Thunderbird's faceless mask, then slowly put it over his own face. "Doesn't your Thunderbird codename suit me well?"
"Uh... you? Are you saying?" The Thunderbird's eyes widened in surprise. He clearly realized Alan's intention, then burst into laughter. "Heh heh, hahahaha! I'm really looking forward to the expressions on those Silver Spears' faces when they meet you."
After Alan put on the mask, his face transformed into the appearance of the Thunderbird, and a smile of unclear meaning appeared at the corner of his mouth.
...
After finishing the interrogation of the Thunderbird, Alan returned to the inn and arranged for Hog to guard the prisoner at the camp. He was not dead yet, at least not before the bloodline alchemy was complete.
Each Silver Spear's mask was bound by bloodline. If Alan wanted to disguise himself as the Thunderbird, he had to transform the mask through bloodline alchemy, just like Aethonan's mask. And this would take at least a week.
As for what was next, Alan now had to deal with Sphinx in Egypt. According to what he learned from the Thunderbird, Sphinx was one of the few alchemists in the Silver Spears. Their organization's masks were made by this particular member, and he also participated in the construction of the Mentos magic circle at the headquarters, even helping to train special units like the Infiltration Squad. It could be said that Sphinx was a workhorse in the Silver Spears, performing a considerable amount of work and making high contributions.
The main reason he was responsible for so many tasks was also related to the fact that he had not yet consumed the Undying Elixir. Most of the other leaders in the club had already used the potion, or had not drunk it but had disguised themselves as having done so. Therefore, these people entered a life of complete anonymity, and it was usually impossible to even contact them. Only Sphinx was the one leader in the club that everyone was certain had not used the Undying Elixir. So, who else would they use if not him?
Alan also learned about the relationship between Sphinx and the tavern owner, Martin, from the Thunderbird. It turned out that Martin was once an Acolyte and used to be good friends with Sphinx. However, he was not quite like Sphinx, who was blindly loyal and conservative. Martin directly left the Acolytes. Or perhaps 'left' is not an accurate description. The Acolytes itself was on the verge of disbanding back then, and Martin was merely one of the members who had drifted away.