Apophis woke up alone in a brightly lit room.
He was bound securely to a metal chair which was bolted to the floor, and he couldn't move an inch. There were two folding chairs facing his own in the room, but nobody was sitting in them.
However, it was another set of details which caught Apophis's eye: two huge automatic turrets and an advanced camera system pointing at him from above! The moment Apophis tried to escape, those weapons would unload their magazines in his direction.
Sure, he would just respawn…
But if Apophis had been captured, so had Antanria.
Who had even captured them, though? Bounty hunters? SuperGuild players… maybe from Hyrule?
Or what if it was adherents of the good-aligned gods, determined to punish him for killing the God of Truth?!
But no matter how many options Apophis considered, there was no way for him to know. If he wanted to have a chance at saving Antanria, there was nothing he could do but wait.
It wasn't a terribly long wait, all things considered. After about twenty minutes, two men entered the room. Apophis didn't recognize the first man… but the second was Colonel Ralfot!
Apophis wasted no time in scanning the stranger.
╔══════════════╕
╟─╼ NPC CHARACTER
║ ╰╼[Name]: Zareil
║ ╰╼[Title]: Colonel of the Federation of United Planets
║ ╰╼[LvL]: ???
║ ╰╼[Rank]: ???
║ ╰╼[Class]: ???
║ ╰╼[Biology]: ???
╚══════════════╛
Colonel Zareil had to be considerably more powerful than Apophis to be able to hide all his information like that. Could he perhaps be Rank A, or even higher?!
Apophis was in a terrible situation. Ralfot had betrayed him and was in league with someone even stronger than Apophis.
The two newcomers sat down in the folding chairs across from Apophis's heavy restraining chair. They stared at him in silence for a bit. Then, after looking uncomfortable for a few moments, Ralfot spoke up.
"Sorry for the theatrics, Apophis. The Human Supremacists are everywhere in society, watching us night and day, because we are one of the few institutions within the Federation which they haven't yet compromised. We brought you here not because we desire to harm you, but because we couldn't afford any risks of discovery. Now, we know that the Grand Admiral has spoken with you, and we would like to know what he told you."
Apophis did not answer.
Colonel Ralfot understood. Apophis was not the kind of man to cooperate with threats. He'd known this beforehand, and wished there was another option to arrange this meeting, but couldn't arrange anything better at such short notice.
So, trying to ease the tension of the situation, Ralfot released Apophis's restraints and left the room again. He returned shortly with food and water.
Apophis didn't know how long he'd been unconscious, but the first sip of water made him realize he was quite dehydrated!! After draining the glass, he turned to the food, which proved to be a packet containing a variety of odd cookies.
Ralfot, hoping Apophis was now in a good mood, said, "I'm sorry I was required to lie to you all this time. In truth, I am a member of the Federation Secret Service, tasked with monitoring Admiral Azerof. It seems that he discovered my role and so assigned me to keep surveillance on you instead.
"Given the circumstances, I can never contact Azerof again, but we know he is planning something important. Apophis, we need your help to stop the Human Supremacists! We are unaware of the details, but know for certain that he intends a coup against the Chancellor and the Senate!"
Apophis finally answered with a calm and level voice. "Where is Antanria?"
Ralfot removed a round hologram projector from his pocket, which he activated in the palm of his hand. An ultra-detailed hologram of Antanria appeared above it.
She was asleep in what looked like a comfortable cell with windows. Considerably better than where Apophis had woken up! Apophis stared at it for a few moments, skeptical. This could easily be a trick. "I need to see her."
Ralfot answered, "Everything in turn, my friend! Give us the information we requested, and then we'll go to see Antanria in person."
Anger burned deep in Apophis's chest! He did not easily forgive people who tried to coerce him, and he had a special hatred for people who betrayed him.
Nevertheless, he needed to cooperate for now. Ralfot and Apophis had a kind of understanding between them. Apophis knew that Ralfot knew that Apophis had no morals and that his word was meaningless. Therefore, Ralfot would take every precaution to protect himself as they dealt with each other.
Apophis could probably kill both colonels, even if the mysterious stranger was more powerful than him in some ways. The combination of ~ Ghost ~ and ~Susanoo~ gave him incredible defenses, after all. Even if all three of them died in the fight, only one of them would come back afterward.
Nevertheless, this was an interesting opportunity, and one that Apophis liked the idea of seizing.
In Apophis's old life, the Supremacists had failed in their coup. This had led to a civil war within the Federation between the Supremacists and the so-called "Pragmatists" who were currently in power.
However, things could easily turn out differently in this timeline. The war with the Orcs was totally new, and Azerof had never been Grand Admiral in the old timeline, instead being forced to play both sides of the civil war to keep his reputation and title of military governor.
So Apophis decided to give Ralfot the information he'd asked for. "Azerof wants me to raise 100,000,000 Eternal soldiers to help him in his coup!"