The raid [8]

Rita had never fallen in love before. She spent most of her life within the walls of her house.

Sure, she had a timid personality, but it was also because of her sisters. They wanted to protect Rita.

She had five sisters that worked as 'luxurious prostitutes', and her mother was the one who made them that way. She often said, "Give up on your dreams and face the reality. In this world, if you are unlucky at birth, your life is already set in stone. At least, now you have more opportunities than when you waited for your death in that damned village."

Nonetheless, Rita's sisters wanted to entrust Rita, their youngest sisters, with their dreams. They saved money by themselves and encouraged Rita to get a proper education.

They knew that Rita was kind and sweet, someone that shouldn't be tainted by the darkness of the world.

Rita loved her sisters. And her sisters never showed their pain in front of Rita. They were always smiling.

That was why Rita didn't see anything coming… That was why she hated that ignorant and powerless part of her.

Lucian said that she had potential, however, she never noticed such a thing. What could she possibly do? Did he give up on her after all?

She was the only one who seemed weak and powerless standing among these knights, adventurers, and royalties. Why was she even there? What could she even do? Wouldn't she just be deadweight?

She realized that Lucian could get anything he wanted. Women, wealth, power, everything was easy for him to obtain.

When Rita looked at Rezalea, an ominous thought appeared inside her mind. 'Disappear! Lucian is mine!'

However, it wasn't as if she wanted to think about such a thing. Why did she have such a thought? She hated such a thought.

What was happening to her? Since she woke up this morning, it was a mess inside her head. She felt emotions that she had never felt before.

*****

Among the adventurers that were gathered on the open space of the lowest floor, a group stood out.

"Caesar! You should know better than anyone that the Emperor is just going to spout random bullshits! Nothing will change! We need to take action!"

The man who said these words was called Welsch. He was one of the black adventurers and one of Caesar's companions.

"And what exactly are you suggesting that we should do? Don't tell me you are referring to what Zebal did," the one who answered him was a woman with a pixie cut called Zoe. She had long and pointy ears and a real beauty.

"What? Zebal was stupid, but at least he isn't a coward. What we need to do is to prove that without adventurers this city, this world would be destroyed," Welsch said, his eyes burning with conviction, almost as if he was completely convinced that he was right.

While Wilsch said these words, Caesar observed the other adventurers that were talking in groups here and there and didn't even look at him, but he heard what Welsch said.

"If you just take a minute to think about what you said, you would understand that it's pointless," Caesar said with a calm but calm voice.

"What?!" Welsch was enraged and it showed on his face. "Are you really going to do nothing? Where did all of that confidence go? They are making us stand here like mere servants waiting for their master's order!"

Welsch got it all wrong, Caesar thought. In the first place, Caesar's goal was to make it so that every human would be access to the advanced technology that was monopolized by the Emperor.

Resorting to violence was just a last resort after all of the pieces of the puzzle were put in their place. If not controlled, the usage of violence caused an all-out war, and such an outcome must be avoided.

Nonetheless, if what the Emperor said was true, this was not even the time to be preoccupied with such a thing. Caesar had been thinking about the abyss and that suspicious invitation.

Still, it was quite annoying to be asked to stand there, if he were, to be honest. But if the Emperor was just bluffing, standing with the other adventurers would give him a certain advantage in the psychological battle. If he went to the upper floors, he would put some kind of distance between himself and the adventurers that were his main supporters.

It was easier for the adventurers to listen to a leader that stood with his men, rather than looking down at them. This would make the Emperor look more like a bad guy. This was part of the plan.

"Welsch. I thought that you were better than this. Don't disappoint me any further," Caesar said.

"Tch!" Wilsch clicked his tongue. Caesar's ability was quite troublesome, he thought. Moreover, there were Zoe and Doris were also black adventurers. He just needed to bear with it for now. 'Just you wait, Caesar…'

*****

Lucian and Solomon stared at each other without saying anything.

"What is this disrespectful attitude?" George shouted, seeing Lucian. Still, he couldn't do anything because of Rezalea.

Looking at this, everyone present there held their breath.

There was nothing to be said, Solomon thought. He knew that somehow, Lucian was already aware of everything.

It was not a question of power, status, trust, or pride. It was just survival instinct. His survival instinct told him that Lucian's ability was needed.

"Let's begin." Solomon signaled his attendant to bring him to a location where all adventurers gathered on the lower floor could see him.

"Your attention please," Solomon began, his voice echoing throughout the entire building. As the Emperor he learned the ability to increase the volume of his voice. However, he also had the charisma of a ruler.

Solomon knew the importance of the words that he would say, thus, he needed to choose them carefully. His goal wasn't to frighten his listeners but to urge them to act, to fight for their survival.

Nonetheless, Solomon had not yet realized the real importance of this moment.

Somewhere in the universe, a being had already put all of the pieces of the puzzle together.

It was the beginning of a new age, whether humans were ready to take a step forward or not.