CHAPTER 99: THE QUEEN'S DECISION
SERENA MAIZONO
20 DAYS AGO
My bar in this slums is getting criticized as we speak.
"Pweh! These bacon ranch fries are horrible!"
Alphonse immediately spits out the potato starch he made with his mouth right towards the garbage can. I understand how horrible that food is considering it's the newest snack on the menu of this bar. Besides, Alphonse is known to be picky about his own food. I already knew that our newest menu would be rejected by him.
"Here master. Try their drink." Z gave out a glass of dark bubble drink to his knight, which was immediately accepted.
Z poured down her own drink from the pitcher. She drank down the fizzy drink and softly slammed the glass to the wooden round table. She made a moan telling that she's refreshed in taking this bar's special club soda.
"Ah, This is good!" Z said. "You should remove the bacon ranch fries on your menu because it tastes horrible. But keep this club soda, I like it."
I am flattered by Z's praise, but this is not the time to think about my business. I have to ask them about the things they know about Xenon.
"Z… Do you happen to know where Xenon is?" I asked in a gentle tone.
"Blood Prison Island," Alphonse answered on Z's behalf. "That bastard willingly got himself captured just to end up in that filthy place."
"T-That's horrible! Xenon will..." I held my aching chest as I stopped speaking.
"Yes. Xenon will rot in there." Alphonse nodded carefreely.
Blood Prison Island has the highest level of security in all of Elysia, and there are also rumors that it is the most terrible facility in the whole world. That place is mostly used to contain worthless and heinous dragonoids that have no hope to be freed again. But considering what has happened between Eldritch and Xenon, it must have come to me without a surprise. Xenon killed his wife after all.
"I know that your anxious, Serena." Z said as she locked unto my eyes. "But I think Sir Xenon knows what he's doing."
"How can he possibly do what he's supposed to do when he's locked up in that facility!?" I panicked. "How can you say that it is still a part of his plan!?"
"Maybe you should put a little more trust in your knight," Alphonse said. Then he gulped a glass full of soda. "You know, Xenon is smart. In fact, he's a genius. But I'm brighter than him of course. I managed to fool everyone that we're still mind-controlled by that bastard Eldritch and that flowery bitch Sakuradrop. We've been fooling them for almost a year now."
I gave a dissatisfied look at Alphonse. I know he doesn't go well with my senpai, but he looks so carefree about this whole thing. It's like he's not worrying about Xenon because there's nothing to worry at all. Besides, I know Xenon. He's not that smart to plan ahead of time… Or maybe he is.
"Trust in your knight, Serena," Z said. "Sir Xenon has been waiting for this his whole life."
Suddenly, Alphonse pulled out a small blueprint from his pocket. When he spread it out, it was revealed to be the very blueprint of the Blood Prison Island. Alphonse also revealed another set of blueprints regarding the Elysia's Grand Castle and even Cheng Du's hotel here in Goldcliffe City. All those blueprints have notes, markers, and arrow drawings in it. On the Elysia's Grand Castle blueprint, there was a picture of the late Marisse Trystgade that has a marked X on it. The same goes for Cheng Du's hotel, in which his picture is also there with the same mark. The only thing different is the Blood Prison Island blueprint, where the picture of Michael Eldritch is still clean from any marks.
"Xenon is planning to kill Eldritch inside the prison itself."
"Your dragon knight is a weirdo, Serena," Alphonse said. "For the past three years, he has been plotting all the scenarios on how he can conduct his revenge. He may not look like the type, and he seemed to be an aloof lucky guy in terms of battles, but he has carefully counted the steps on how he could win a fight. You should know that better because you've been fighting with him for a long time."
Alphonse is telling the truth. All the battle scenarios from the raid on Arcadia, to battling the Pentagram Knights, he always briefs me with his own plan. Sometimes I would disobey his orders just to show off to the audience, but I never thought he put so much effort in battle tactics.
"I want to believe in what you're saying. I want to believe in Xen. But tell me, how smart is he?"
"Heh!" Alphonse crossed his arms and leaned on the chair. "He's smart. He's the type of person who would only answer eighty questions if he knew that eighty is also the passing score. And he never fails an exam… Hey, why don't you know that? You should know better!"
"Well, master…" Z explained on my behalf. "Serena is a ghost student in the academy. She would always be absent due to her hectic schedule in her pop idol career and promoting the Dragonoid Rights Bill. Most of the time, Serena copies her homework from me."
"Ah...Ahahaha!" I forced a smile as I scratched my head. "Y-You don't need to tell them that, Z."
"Anyway," Alphonse continued. "You shouldn't be worrying about your knight. He knows how to take care of himself. I'm pretty sure he'll get out of that prison sooner or later."
"Then we have to help him!" I pumped my fists excitedly. "Sir Alphonse! Z! I need your help!"
Suddenly, the mood became silent. I saw Alphonse and Z putting an end to what they are doing, and both of them made a sad look on their eyes. They frowned as if they are worried about something more critical for everything.
"Actually, our main reason for coming here is to ask what you wanted to do, Serena," Z said. "Going undercover for almost a year made us learn a lot of things about Eldritch's true plans. This world domination is just a step. And his goal is not bad at all."
"He's planning to build an empire that could defend the world from Necross," I muttered. "Eldritch told me about his intentions. I'm a little bit in doubt at first, but now that you're telling me this, I think Eldritch really has a plan to save the world."
"That's not all," Alphonse said. "That fucker is developing an anti-world weapon. A Global Psychic Amplifier, to be precise."
"Global Psychic Amplifier?"
"It's the same thing as a normal Psychic Amplifier device, but it's much more horrible. That kind of thing is bound to control the minds of all living things, including cockroaches like Z."
"Hey, I'm not a cockroach!" Z protested.
"That's bad! Is Eldritch trying to make everyone mindless puppets?" I gasped.
"No. At least, not now. He's in current control of the whole world now that he's the emperor of the four empires. He is only willing to use it once the world has rebelled against him. That Psychic Amplifier can only be activated by a person possessing the Eye of Deus, which means, Eldritch is supremely capable of using such absolute world-domination device. One he uses it, it's all over for us."
"Even if Xenon managed to kill Eldritch and get his revenge, it can still be activated." Z continued. "Sakuradrop possesses the Eye of Deus too, and her goal and god-complex are just the same as Eldritch."
"So unless we can take them both at the same time, we have no chance of winning," I muttered. "Do you have a plan for it?"
"No, we don't," Alphonse said. "We can't even device up a plan in defeating Eldritch or Sakuradrop either. Those fucktards can kill anyone with just one look with their Heartstopper Curse. We'd be dead before we could even blink."
"As of this moment, my master and I concluded to stay with the flow and cooperate with Eldritch in the meantime. Eldritch promised that he will save us from the incoming Necross Ascension, so it will be best to have him as an ally. However, if we're planning for a world-wide rebellion, then it is better to do it after the great calamity." Z explained.
Z's argument has no flaws. Necross is coming, and we need all the help we can get from allies or foes. We should all set aside our differences and fight for the banner of the living. This world should not return to the void of the undead. As Eldritch said, the person who owns the Eye of Deus will save everyone from Necross.
However, that promised savior is not Eldritch. Not Sakuradrop. Not my Xenon senpai. And I know it wasn't me either.
For a brief moment, I looked at the hostess of my bar who is busy wiping the wine bottles on the shelf. I don't know why, but whenever I think about the Eye of Deus, my friend Airi always comes to mind even though she is in no way related to any of this.
"So…" Alphonse disrupted my daydreaming. "What should we do? Should we wait and cross our fingers for the best chance?"
"S-Sir Alphonse, why are you asking me?" I almost freaked out.
"You're the fucking Dragon Queen, so act like it. Whatever your decision, we'll back you up." Alphonse answered.
I looked at my platinum bracelet on my wrist. I drew out my futuretech glove that my knight used as the main weapon. I equipped the glove on my left hand, which immediately turned it on, saying: "Futuretech Glove Online." Hearing the cybernetic voice cleansed my mind on what I should do.
"Let's save as many people as we can," I said with a smile.