114. You have two choices
XX Month XX Day, Friday 05:30 PM
Half an hour before the Operation started.
"Everything ready?" Lex asked for the last confirmation. There are only Stella and Rae around him.
"We're ready," Rae replied. "Everyone is on stand-by at their positions."
"What about on Carter's side?"
"Everything is Ready too. We just had his confirmation half an hour ago," Rae reported.
"Stella," Lex called. "Is there anything strange on your side?"
"Negative, Sir! Everything is clear! There's nothing unusual with Brad the Vampire, Sir!" Stella saluted at him.
"You really love to act, huh" Lex was already exhausted at this point that he started to rethink his decision to associate with her.
"Sir, yes, sir!" Stella saluted again like a military man.
"Haa~" Lex sighed tiredly. "Remember, do not play around when the operation starts," he reminded.
"Sir, yes, sir!" Stella saluted.
"Now then we-"
"Sir! Yes, si-" *Bonk "Ouch~" Stella pulled her head down slowly and softly caressed the part hit by Lex with slight crocodile tears in her eyes.
"Stop pretending I hardly use my strength!" Lex said, annoyed.
Stella erased her tears and stared innocently at Lex. "Teehee~" she did exactly what those anime girls do.
(It's cute. Still, even if it's adorable) "don't you dare move from there!" Lex stood up from his seat.
"Uwaa~" Stella also stood up in an instant run away from Lex.
While Rae watched them playing cat and mouse with a warm smile for a moment before she realized (Wait... Don't these make me look old!?) She also stood up! Who knows which side she's going to help.
If there's another person with the proper logic inside the room, there's only one thing he/she will think about... 'is this Operation going to be okay while shaking his/her head as he/she watches the leaders of this Operation.
***
XX Month XX Day, Friday, 06:00 PM.
"Operation Sweep... Commence!" Crimson Eagle's and Guild's personnel heard the command from their communication device.
*Boom *Boom *Boooom
Multiple small explosions exploded from various places inside the city. However, all were silenced by magic items only a few individuals from The Hidden World realized.
Rae and Stella were in the command center directing all personnel. They will catch all those who are charmed by both Vampire and Succubus. Stella knew the one she charmed it's already halfway done.
However, those who were brainwashed without any recovery possible were disposed of on the spot. Many of them are already listed as missing, so there's not much of a problem to be missing for real. At least it makes their work easier.
While most of them moved in a group destroying and freeing the puppets. Lex was alone, and he was moving away from the others. He arrived at an abandoned church not far from First Middle School.
The Church was only recently abandoned. The building is still in quite good condition. Except for the absence of the god's idol and dust, there's not much difference from a functional church.
A straight laneway from the entrance into where the god's idol used to be, there's a podium right under it where the priest preached from. On each side of the straight road, medium-long chairs are arranged neatly. That's where believers were seated to hear the preach from the priest. And a few steps ahead of the podium, the ceiling was decorated with colored glass, which would shine beautifully under the moonlight. The dust lowered its beauty, but it was still quite picturesque.
And now, right under that light, stood a man. He had long red hair and red blood eyes with black lines. His face was handsome enough for people to mistake him for a painting. He wore a white tuxedo, and everything from him looked serene and noble except for his agitated expression.
"What the hell happened!?" The handsome man roared in anger. Now at this moment, with every passing second, he could feel the connection between him and his subordinate/puppets being cut one by one at an alarming speed. With many unpredictable things around him, he decided to take his leave first. What about his partner, who he promised to meet? Brad didn't care about her. If she died, and that's all for her, if she could escape, Brad didn't mind using her more.
When he wanted to leave, he suddenly felt the presence of another person nearby, and Brad also already expected who he would meet here. "Q!!" He yelled again. "Come out and explain what happened!"
[A/N: Q, you pronounce it as (Cue) in my mother language. Just some explanation notes if someone feels the name's strange]
*Bamm
The Church's entrance opened.
*Step *Step
Footsteps echoed inside the Church. There was no other noise besides the footsteps, which made every step could be heard clearly.
And slowly, a silhouette appeared at the entrance. Then before long, the silhouette showed its appearance, and it was none other than Lex.
"!?" The handsome man in the tuxedo was shocked to see Lex. "Who are you!?" He shouted with hostility.
Lex kept walking toward him without minding the handsome guy's reaction.
At that moment, Brad also recollected himself and became a bit calmer.
"Where is Q? Did you guys catch her?" He asked again.
However, Lex didn't reply to him. Instead, he asked back, "Brad, a Mana Race, the Vampire?"
"You!?" Brad took a step back. "How do you kno-" 'how do you know my name!?' was what Brad wanted to say, but he stopped midway because he got a realization. "Ah, I see, now I understand, so she betrayed me, huh?"
Lex stopped for a moment. He didn't expect Brad would find out this fast.
In his normal state, Lex wouldn't be caught off guard like this because he knew no matter what his opponent was, being careless was the stupidest thing someone could do, yet Lex was caught off guard. He's now in a state far from normal.
A slight reaction from Lex was enough for Brad to think that his guess was on the point. "Tch! As I thought that B*tch can't be trusted. I agreed to use her because I had had enough hiding in here for almost a decade. With her help, the plan moved faster, but it became like this instead." He grumbled, then let out an annoyed sigh "Haa… This is another lesson for me too. Nothing good comes from being unprepared," He monologue as if there was no one else except him on the spot. He already considered Lex no longer existed in this world. "But, that B*tch also had her brain impaired to think she tried to betray them after knowing how far 'they' reach."
Lex also didn't get disturbed by Brad's words. His expression and eyes were serene and cold. There were no fluctuations in them. "You have two choices," Lex said in a flat voice. "First, you tell me all you know about Vetus Orbis. Second, I'll make you beg me to talk about them on your own"
"Pfft! KukuhahaHAHAHA" Brad madly laughed out loud. He hugged his own stomach, trying his best to hold his laughter. "Are you out of your mind? Do you think this ME will beg you!? You should think of your way out! Rather than wasting your last few minutes! Oh, maybe just pray that you will have a better next life," he mocked.
The usual Lex would think something like (If Mio is nearby, I'm sure she would shout 'Uh Oh, you just raised the flag') and joke with himself, yet Lex was still quiet as the sea. There's no such thought in his mind.
"I repeat, which one?" Lex asked again.
"Tch! Some people don't understand their place! You should have taken my kindness!" Brad replied in an annoyed voice. He started to confidently walk his way toward Lex.
"So, you chose the latter," Lex replied.
"Tch!" Brad clicked his tongue again, "I'll make you shut up now!" just when he was about to gather his Mana. "Huh?" he was shocked in the blink of an eye. Lex disappeared from his place.
And *Bammm!
The next thing Brad knew, a fist came straight to his face, and his body was blown away and stuck on the wall behind the podium.