The mercenaries had neither defensive coats nor any experience dealing with firearms. It should have been simple enough to escape from them using the pistol alone. Then why had Ratt been caught so easily?
Of course, he would not be able to escape the Surveillance’s pursuit forever, but he would have been able to hide himself for the time being. Isaac considered that Ratt had let himself be caught on purpose in fear of Surveillance, but it was nonsensical to think that Ratt would even consider such a thing. Information about Central was far beyond the reaches of his status. Then again, his knowledge of firearms in itself should have been impossible.
While Isaac was deep in thought, Soland ran over to him.
“No! Was I late?”
“What happened to the meeting?”
“It is finished. Did you kill Ratt?”
“He committed suicide. Why?”
“We found a witness. A homeless man who’d been hiding in the alleyways during the crisis testified to us. According to his account, Mr. Kalden and Ratt were in an argument. When Mr. Kalden shook off Ratt’s grip and turned around, Ratt pulled something strange from his pocket, creating a thundering noise. Mr. Kalden collapsed onto the ground afterwards.”
“Why did he say that now after all this time?”
“Ratt noticed the homeless man and chased after him as well. The homeless man escaped, but he didn’t know which city official to tell and remained in hiding. For all he knew, Ratt was also an officer within the city.”
“That explains why that bastard tried to escape this moment.”
Rivelia commented and Isaac nodded in agreement.
“That’s right. Who knows when the witness would have testified.”
Though this answered a few of his questions, new ones sprouted in its place. There was no reason for Ratt to waste time getting caught by the mercenaries when he knew he could have been found out at any moment with a witness still at large. He should have done everything in his power to escape, knowing that he’d be a dead man once the testimony was released. Yet he was arrested with such ease.
“Wow. Never thought someone like him would cause such a headache.”
Isaac kicked Ratt’s body in frustration when Lanburton appeared.
“Um…”
“Why are you here now?”
“That is…”
Lanburton continued to mumble to himself, eluded by a complete sentence. Isaac sighed.
“Alright. Let’s see how far this goes. What could there be that’d piss me off even more?”
Isaac sarcastically asked. Lanburton, his head buried in between his shoulders, squeaked out a sentence.
“… We lost contact with the airship that was transporting Anton. We believe it’s been shot down.”
“Yeah. That was a good joke. So what are you trying to say?”
“… The Directorate of Surveillance is deploying a search party as we speak.”
Lanburton swore to himself that he’d have Reisha take his place in this conundrum as Isaac let out a deep sigh.
“And I’m still supposed to believe in Surveillance after all this? Why don’t you just be honest and tell me what your plan is so I can just stop thinking and do as I’m told. Don’t you think this will benefit both party’s sanity?”
“The Directorate of Surveillance…”
“Yeah yeah. I understand you guys are just completely incompetent.”
Lanburton frowned at Isaac’s insult, but he could only keep his silence. The more he spoke, the more apparent Surveillance’s failings would be.
In the middle of night, John ran desperately through the forest. Heavy rain hindered his sight. The cumbersome baggage and rifle had been thrown away long ago.
Suddenly, his body swayed sideways, likely from a slippery rock. Losing his balance, John was thrown onto the ground. He moaned in pain—and then he realised he couldn’t feel the rain anymore. He opened his eyes wide and raised his head.
A sudden flash of blinding light forced John’s eyes shut. When he carefully opened his eyes again, he found himself surrounded. Rain didn’t fall here, as if repelled by an invisible wall. The orb of light that had blinded him before now emitted a soothing light, giving detail to everything within its range.
“Ha… Ha…”
Possessed by fear, John began to deny the reality in front of him.
‘This must be a dream. No way animals can walk on two feet like people. People wearing medieval armour can’t fly in the air either. Hands can’t shoot fireballs or lightning like in fantasy movies. And they’d most definitely not hunt us. This is a drea…’
“What the? I got all nervous hearing they were Navy Seals, but they weren’t much.”
Isaac muttered as he watched the white man before him. His dogged escape had exhausted the pursuing North Bears, who had also been carrying Isaac on their backs. In true fashion, he had refused to move a muscle.
“Please help me! I am a U.S. Navy! I will surrender!”
Isaac scratched his head, his first time hearing English in a long time.
“H, hello?”
John was noticeably relieved when his opposition spoke back in English. Isaac, who’d never exchanged words with a foreigner in his life, rummaged through his memories of mandated education for English phrases.
“Eh… What is your name?”
“My name is John Smith! U.S Navy Lieutenant.”
“Eh, so um…”
Isaac tried to say something before he gave up and sighed. It was impossible for him to remember English when he was beginning to forget Korean in the first place.
“How can a person like me speak English? Hey, John!”
John gave an awkward smile to Isaac, and Isaac returned with a smile of his own.
“Yankee go home.”
“…”
There was silence. Even though the barrier repelled all rain and wind, it felt as if a gust had passed by.
“I don’t like the way you guys are looking at me.”
It seemed that Isaac was not yet immune to embarrassment, as he looked back at those around him with a menacing glare. Everyone turned their heads elsewhere when Rivelia walked over.
“He’s the last one.”
“What about Anton?”
“We found his corpse in the debris. His body was disfigured beyond recognition.”
Isaac frowned at Rivelia’s report, grabbing for a cigarette.
“It feels like something crucial is happening, but we’re missing the core of it.”
Flying on the Emperor’s airship at full speed, they arrived at the crash site and cooperated with the Directorate of Surveillance in investigating the area. They soon found the tracks of the Expeditionary Forces.
Strangely, the Expeditionary Forces seemed unprepared for Central’s pursuit. The ambush threw them into chaos, and they scattered in all directions.
“I’d love to ask why they were just standing around in the crash site among other things, but I can’t even talk to them… Anyone here know how to speak English?”
Isaac asked, and everyone’s gaze naturally fell on Rivelia, who was looking far off into the distance.
“Wow, I’d like to be in the position to say something, but I’m not. I can’t believe I’m feeling bad for knowing English in another world. I guess English really is global.”
Isaac groaned and Rivelia coughed dryly of second-hand embarrassment before speaking.
“We will transport him to the headquarters for now.”
“So who’s going to take them and Anton once you bring them to headquarters?”
“Dark Royale will most likely carry out the interrogation.”
“I have to admit—from experience—that what they do feels like shit, but it’s bloody effective.”
The Dark Royale was a rogue department that prioritised the ends over the means and was thus shunned by other parts of Central. For a result, they’d even contract demons and train turncoats.
The same method Isaac had fallen victim to was leaps and bounds more effective than torture and blackmail when it came to interrogation. A captive’s sanity was the least of their concerns.
And when the extraction process was over, the victims were left in a vegetative state. They would recycle this body in dissections and medical experiments to the disgust of other Central agents.
“That must mean that Anton held information from me just to screw me over…”
The information must have been important, seeing that an airship on a clandestine mission was shot down. Seeing how their special forces—which were thought to have escaped long ago—were still out and about, Isaac could assume that the information was regarding the Expeditionary Forces. But other than that, Isaac didn’t have a single hint as to what it could be about.
A soldier, especially a special forces soldier, cost a fortune to train. But what bit of information could be worth a renowned Navy Seal shooting down the airship, knowing that Central would give chase?
And how did they triangulate the airship’s location, especially since it had been operating under a communications blackout? So far, Isaac had found Kalden’s killer and figured out that Expeditionary Forces had caused this using an alliance with a demon and a traitor within Central.
But doubt lingered in the corner of Isaac’s mind, insisting that this wasn’t the end. His head itched; there was still something, something hidden beneath what was already revealed to him.
“I heard that you can still extract information from a dead man, right?”
“From what I’ve heard, it is only possible if the brain is intact. But Anton’s head was completely crushed when the airship crashed.”
“So that’s done and dusted?”
“Yes. But we might find new clues from our interrogations of the Expeditionary Forces.”
“Then we’ll wait until we get new information. Get ready to withdraw.”
John, who had been watching the elves approach him at Isaac’s order, suddenly collapsed onto the ground. The elves quickly checked on John in a panic and shouted to Isaac.
“He’s dead!”
“… Why is everyone around me dropping dead all of a sudden?”
“We received reports from other teams who were transporting their captives.”
“Are they dead too?”
“Yes.”
“Then they all died at the same time.”
Isaac walked over to John’s corpse. John’s pupils seemed to draft throughout the whites, and blood trickled from his nose.
“I’ve seen this in a movie before. They shove a small bomb in their nostrils and detonate it, I think. Every captive is a liability—they aren’t going to leave any for us..”
“This is the first time this has happened.”
Rivelia replied with a frown. Central had captured many soldiers in their history of frequent clashes with the Expeditionary Forces. But this was the first time they were denied prisoners.
“Things are becoming more interesting.”
Isaac pondered as he peered through the observation window made using the membrane of a dragon’s eyes, watching the city. He could tell something had started, but he didn’t know who moved first.
Who was planning to use the combat gear in the warehouses? How did Ratt figure out how to use firearms? What demon did Anton contract? Who was Central’s traitor? Was Central really innocent from this event? And most importantly, how could he use this situation for his own plan?
This was much more stimulating than what he’d expected. Assassination aside, to think they’d blow up his warehouses and mines. Having fired off with such a magnificent start, Isaac found it difficult to keep a straight face.
‘Now that everyone’s starting to put their plans into action, I should move accordingly with them.’
Though he lacked the information, it wasn’t such a big deal. In fact, he could consider that the foundations for his plan had been laid. Now, they’d provided him with an excuse to act in any way he wished.
