"Hm… I see. I understand the situation now," the Guildmaster said softly, not panicked at all as she spun her chair around to stare out the window at the bright blue sky. "I recall that incident with Alpha Lupi all those years ago… to think someone still bore a grudge, all this time."
"… Will you help us?" Iris asked hesitantly, nervous.
After a short period of silence, the Guildmaster swung her chair back around to face them, deep maroon eyes shining sharply.
"Naturally, a squadron leader capturing another one without permission from higher-ups is forbidden. Normally, I would speak to Heartbeat personally… but I'm afraid that won't work."
"Why? He's afraid of you, is he not?"
The Guildmaster sighed. "He used to be, yes. But Heartbeat's squadron is now one of the best, highest-performing squadrons of the guild. I know him very well. If he is doing this, he must have already predicted you to come looking for me… and set countermeasures in place beforehand. Namely…"
"… Revolt," Finn finished quietly.
"Correct. With the devastating consequences of the Perfect Outbreak at hand, I cannot afford to dispatch any forces powerful enough to deal with his rebellion. He chose the perfect time to capture Archon — all this was planned."
"Then why hasn't he revolted already?" Iris asked. "Why wait until we force him to?"
"Fufu… because he doesn't want to leave the guild unless absolutely necessary, little girl," the Guildmaster giggled lightly, tone somewhat reminding Finn of Zelestria. "The Phantom Slayer Corps provides a stable source of income and high-quality resources for them. They gain fame, wealth, and power. Without my backing, while they will still be able to form their own smaller guild and live, they will no longer be able to enjoy the luxuries they once did."
"But Heartbeat is still willing to sacrifice all that, just to torture Archon…" Finn muttered. "Goes to show just how deep his hatred runs."
Iris sighed. "So then… what's the plan here?"
"I did say I know Heartbeat quite well, did I not?" The Guildmaster chuckled softly, a dangerous and calculating gleam in her eyes. "I know everything about him — his base, his Squadron, and most importantly… his weaknesses.
Tossing the apple in her hand to her other, she continued.
"Don't worry, little girl. I have a plan in mind. All it takes are some fake bodies, brilliant acting, and... a spy."
*****
Once she was done explaining the general outline, Iris decided to speak up.
"It's a good plan, but there are various problems. For one, how will we infiltrate his base, even if we knew the location? It must be heavily guarded, considering it's an A-Class Squadron. And where will we get the fake corpses?"
But the Guildmaster merely smiled and stood up from her chair, setting down her apple and walking closer to Finn and Iris.
Once she was right in front of them, she silently directed her palm at the ground, channeling her mana. A bright white light with a faint trace of blue surrounded her body, glowing more prominently than anything Iris had ever witnessed before. Even Finn, who couldn't see, was able to feel the power waves fluctuating through the air.
Bright white energy poured out of the Guildmaster's hand and pooled on the ground between them, slowly taking the shape of a humanoid figure outlined by a faint blue glow. She then took her other hand and did the same motion, forming a second human body right beside the first.
As Iris stared in wonder, the two bodies gradually began to take shape into that of a man and a woman. And when the Guildmaster closed her palms at last, letting her Angelica's power fade away, the glow on the bodies faded away as well, leaving behind two perfect replicas of Archon and Melvia, with blood dripping out of their mouths to depict suicide.
"So this is what Melvia looks like…" Iris gasped in awe. "And the extremely rare Mimic Angelica, able to replicate Abilities and objects alike. To think you would have it, Guildmaster…"
"Yes… it is quite powerful in combat, but its true shine lies in its versatility and utility in situations such as these," the Guildmaster laughed softly. "Fufu, I am quite fortunate to have been blessed with this Angelica. It is what allowed me to climb to the position I am in today."
Finn, hearing this, couldn't help but want to steal it for himself, but reaching out to touch the Guildmaster right now was obviously a no-go. He could only hope an opportunity would arise in the future — and besides, there were more pressing matters to be worried about right now.
"Do you two have phones?" The Guildmaster suddenly asked, taking her own off the table.
"Er… I don't, but Finn does, I'm pretty sure," Iris replied. "Since he can't see though, I'll be doing the actual receiving and responding."
Finn nodded and gave his number. "XXX-XXX-XXXX."
The Guildmaster typed it into her phone and sent a quick message. Immediately, Finn's pocket buzzed with a notification. He pulled it out, told Iris the passcode, and let her handle it from there.
"Yep, got it," she said, confirming that she had received the message.
"Good, good… I will send you the exact location of Heartbeat's base soon," the Guildmaster said with a seductive smile. "But first…"
She walked back to her comfortable leather chair and sat down in it, crossing her legs one over the other.
"… Allow me to explain how you'll be infiltrating it."
*****
- Later That Day -
Finn, Iris, Reaper, and Fanatic sat in the back of a truck, each holding onto the large crates with them to avoid tumbling over. The ride was quite shaky… mainly because Octane was the one driving. Storm was sitting in the front as well to keep him in check, but he didn't actually know how to drive. Otherwise, he would've driven himself instead of letting this daredevil do it.
"Just to confirm, you all know what to do, right?" Iris asked, looking around at the three others.
Fanatic nodded firmly. "My job is just to hack into their security systems. I've done similar things before, no big deal."
"You say that, but…"
"Relax. I know what I'm doing. It might take some time, but I'll figure it out."
Iris sighed. "Alright. And Reaper…?"
[Mission: Break Subject-ARCH0N and M3LV1A out of captivity. Acknowledged.]
"Good… Finn and I will take care of any guards in the way," Iris said. "With the help of this special perfume the Guildmaster gave us, we should be able to sneak past them with relative ease…"
Finn slipped his hand into his pocket, where the tiny vial of perfume was held. There wasn't much inside, perhaps enough to last about seven to eight minutes or so. That would be far more than enough time though... hopefully.
"Everyone, prepare yourselves," Storm's voice suddenly buzzed in our specially-made invisible earpieces, as it was the only way to contact us from the front seat. "We're 500 meters away from the mansion. This is the closest we can get without being seen. Get ready to disembark."
The truck skidded to a stop and Octane pushed a button up front to open the back doors, allowing Reaper, Fanatic, Finn, and Iris to move past all the cargo and jump out.
It was a bit difficult for Finn, as he carried the two fake corpses in a bag on his back and had to hold Iris on his shoulders as well, but he managed to pull it off since they weren't all that heavy — just troublesome to move around with.
"We're good now, you can close the doors," Fanatic said into his earpiece once everyone had gotten off successfully.
"On it, Prof. Good luck," Octane chuckled.
"You too."
With that short exchange, the two cut their comms for the time being. The truck slowly began moving again, heading up the ramp that led to a mansion atop this hill. That, was where Squadron 7's headquarters — Heartbeat's team — were located.
"Come on," Fanatic said, adjusting his backpack and lowering himself into the tall grass beside the road. "We should hurry."
Iris and Finn nodded solemnly and followed, with Reaper hovering behind them to take up the rear.