Thal, Underworld
In the command center, Marcus and the rest had gathered, listening to a conversation between Neil and Rowan.
"You wouldn't have brought me here without a plan of action now, would you?" Neil asked, and they waited impatiently for Rowan's response.
His next words made everyone in the room shudder.
"I have at least twenty plans, but I am an actor, you see. And every now and again, I have to remind my audience that in every single story, there is always a plot twist. Wouldn't you agree, Marcus?"
Silence followed, and then he spoke again.
"Advance."
Ed's eyes widened.
"He knew we were listening?"
Before anyone could answer him, multiple alarms rang out — the alarms that warned them of an attack from the Conspiracy in different cities. Every city had its alarm, but this time, multiple alarms went off at once.
"That fool!" Marcus bellowed, realizing that Rowan had deceived them.
What if this was his plan all along? To get them to lower their guard and strike when they least expected it. He had drawn all their attention to himself and Neil, making them forget about the possibility of the Conspiracy attacking.
"How many of our agents do we have stationed in every city?" Marcus asked, looking at Inquisitor Drake.
"We have five in every city except for Jakob. As for our law officials, every city has approximately a hundred, with only forty percent being system bearers," Inquisitor Drake responded.
"We also have system bearers in the working class. Those ones can help us fend off the attacks from the Conspiracy. As for the mundane citizens, I would like them to take a backseat in this fight and let the capable ones deal with it," Marcus explained to the Inquisitor.
"Noctalis and Edmund, try to get me their average numbers per city. That way, we can devise a strategy and salvage the situation. As for me and Sunphire, we are going to head to Jakob. Transfer me their signal location—"
"Oh, and Marcus, it would not be wise to leave the Grand Cathedral unprotected," Rowan warned from the broadcast before it went off.
The general's aura flared, descending in the command center like a tidal wave. Ed found it hard to breathe, let alone stay conscious.
"Dad," Elowen called out to him, her face visibly pale. The general regarded her with lightning arcs flashing in his eyes.
"Calm down."
Her words seemed to reach him as the aura slowly dissipated. Ed gasped for air. It appeared he had suffered the most from the general's outburst.
"It seems we underestimated the boy, old friend."
Noctalis's words hung in the air, making all of them suffer under their immense weight. No matter how one looked at it, the madman was correct. The reason for such an outcome was because they had neglected to question the possibility of Rowan deceiving them.
"Well, complaining won't get us anywhere. We need to come up with a strategy fast," Inquisitor Drake spoke.
"I don't have a strategy, but I kind of have an understanding of the situation," Edmund voiced after a moment of contemplation and gathering his thoughts.
"What is it?" the general asked. Edmund took a deep breath before answering.
"I think the whole attack is a decoy to cover his real intentions. While the nation is in turmoil, he will use the chance to further his unknown goal. I still believe Lord Neil is the central piece of his plan, and by diverting our attention to the Conspiracy, he's pulling us away from discovering his true objective," Edmund explained quickly.
"That boy must have carefully plotted all of this. If what you say is true, then how do you suggest we proceed?" Noctalis asked.
Everyone turned to him expectantly.
Edmund racked his brain. He knew a single mistake could cost them dearly, so he had to carefully think of a way to counter Rowan without risking too many casualties. It was obvious Rowan had planned for the general not to leave the walls of the Grand Cathedral — which meant he was planning an escape. Rowan knew the general was the only person fast enough to prevent that.
"Firstly, the general cannot leave the underworld unguarded, which means we'll have to send someone else quick enough to trail Rowan, since I believe he's planning an escape.
We cannot rush to mobilize all our forces when we don't even know the average number of Conspiracy agents attacking the cities. I suggest we let the Deadmen and law officials in each city deal with the invading Conspiracy and have the rest of our forces on standby.
As for Rowan, I believe he's a very powerful and unpredictable person, so we'll need our best combatants to intercept him. Regarding Neil, we must assume he's incapable of doing anything, and the tracker you built into his suit has lost signal.
We'll need a good hunter who can track them. I believe we have a hunter-path system bearer within our ranks," Ed explained.
The general nodded and turned to Inquisitor Drake.
"What do you think?" he asked.
"I'll get the hunter. Sipho, Sunphire, and Sister Elowen — you'll be coming with me. Noctalis, have two suits ready. Edmund, use that brain of yours to figure out Rowan's motives. I hate walking into situations like this blindly. It's easier when you're dealing with the Conspiracy — now we've got to deal with one of our own."
The Inquisitor got up and left the command center, followed by Sipho, Sunphire, and Elowen. Noctalis dragged Ed out of the command center and brought him to Section C. A couple of men and women in lab coats were all at their respective tables, working on different projects.
Marcus took him to his office, which overlooked the whole section. He looked serious — different from how he usually appeared.
"I do not like this situation at all. This Rowan is an anomaly," Noctalis said, running his hands through his hair.
"I need you to take the suits to dispatch." He took out two capsules and handed them to Ed.
Ed took them and left for the dispatch. The atmosphere inside the Underworld was tense. He quickly reached dispatch, where he met up with Inquisitor Drake and the rest of his team, including two additional members.
A woman, seemingly in her late twenties, with brown eyes and long black hair tied in a bun, stood there. Tattoos marked her arms and neck. She wore a military vest and combat trousers and had a certain aura about her — like that of a predator.
Beside her stood a middle-aged man with long blonde hair, sharp features, and bronze eyes. The man resembled Elowen; Ed was sure they were related.
This must be the hunter Inquisitor Drake had mentioned, and the man was likely someone fast enough to trail Rowan. Ed nodded at the two before walking up to the Inquisitor and handing him the capsules.
"Here are the suits. May the great Gods watch over you."
The Inquisitor smirked at his words and replied,
"We do not do that here. Deadmen, let's roll."
His eyes moved to Elowen — she noticed his gaze and smiled.
He handed the two capsules to Sunphire and Sipho before stepping inside a vehicle built like a hybrid between a standard military vehicle and a scout car. The vehicle was black and radiated a faint pressure that Ed couldn't explain — it felt like he was looking at a monster.
The middle-aged man and the tattooed woman stayed behind.
The vehicle took off. A large metal gate opened, and the vehicle passed through. The two left behind walked toward the gate side by side. When they reached it, the woman moved in front of the man and held him by the neck. The man wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in.
Blue sparks danced in the man's eyes, and then, with a flash of lightning, they were gone. Thunder roared a few seconds later as the gate slowly closed.
It hadn't even been two weeks since Ed's arrival, yet he was already in the middle of an intense situation caused by a single man — Rowan Ainsworth. A single man had caused so much damage in such little time, and no one truly knew his real motive. His words still lingered in Ed's mind:
"I have at least twenty plans, but I am an actor, you see. And every now and again, I have to remind my audience that in every single story, there is always a plot twist. Won't you agree, Marcus?"
Those words invoked a sense of dread within him. At the moment, it felt like he had figured out most of the man's plans — yet he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something he was missing.
Running his fingers through his damp hair, he exhaled and went back to Section C, hoping to find something — anything.