Extra's Descent

Chapter 197: Changing Tides [2]

The Imperial Army meeting room.

A general meeting was called.

A round table situated in the middle with all the highest ranking officers sitting on their respective seats.

In particular, the Field Marshals.

While on the corners stood the Generals.

One of them was Belle Locke.

The youngest General, and one of the rising stars of the Imperial Army.

Evelyn Cessna was supposed to be here.

But currently, she was on an important mission.

"Kuhum…"

One of the Field Marshals cleared his throat.

Bellion Van.

The Field Marshal closest to the Grand Marshal position.

The only reason he wasn't elected yet was due to circumstances that had recently happened.

And that was what the general meeting was for.

The tension in the room was palpable as Bellion Van cleared his throat, signaling the start of the meeting. All eyes turned to him.

"We are gathered here today to address the alarming reports we've received,"

Bellion began.

"Reports of the sudden deaths of several rankers within our ranks."

A murmur ran through the officers seated around the table.

The severity of the situation was evident on their faces.

Bellion raised a hand to quiet the room before continuing.

"It has come to our attention that these deaths may be linked to a tip received from General Constantine. According to her intelligence, there are illegal immigrants who have managed to infiltrate our society and blend in unnoticed."

Belle Locke, standing among the Generals, clenched her fists.

She had a deep respect for Amelia and knew the tip must have been significant if it warranted such a high-level meeting.

Bellion continued,

"These infiltrators pose a serious threat, and their presence has now led to the deaths of our esteemed rankers. We need to address this issue immediately and take decisive action."

One of the Generals, an older man with a beard and stern expressions, spoke up.

"Field Marshal Bellion, do we have any leads on the identities of these infiltrators? How have they managed to remain undetected for so long?"

Bellion nodded, acknowledging the question.

"So far, we've only identified one. But his current whereabouts are unknown."

Belle Locke stepped forward, her voice firm and confident.

"Field Marshal, with your permission, I propose we form a specialized task force to track down these infiltrators. We need our best men and women on this, and I am ready to lead the effort."

She decisively stated.

Bellion regarded Belle for a moment before nodding.

"Your initiative is commendable, General Locke. You have my permission to form the task force. We must act swiftly and decisively to protect our ranks and prevent further loss of life."

The room fell silent again, the gravity of the situation weighing heavily on everyone present.

The Imperial Army had a new mission, and failure was not an option.

Belle's volunteerism was greatly appreciated. The Imperial Army's hands were currently full after all.

Tracking the syndicate's whereabouts, as well as these 'immigrants' had put them through a lot of stress.

It was then when an attendant appeared behind Bellion, giving him a white device.

Bellion nodded and accepted the device. She bowed her head to the officers present in the room and left shortly after.

All eyes fell on the device in Bellion's hand.

He clicked on the device.

Whiii—

A hologram materialized and all officers thoroughly scanned the contents.

One of the officers suddenly asked. A woman with red fiery hair and green eyes.

"Is this him? Field Marshal Bellion?"

"It is."

Bellion confirmed.

The hologram displayed a man with navy blue hair and red eyes. A scar seemed to be etched on his left brow.

It seemed to have been surveillance camera footage of whatever event that transpired.

Noticing the tension in the officers' faces, Bellion played the video footage.

The man on the footage held what seemed to be an odachi. Around him were several rankers present.

And…

—Hieaaaa!

—Die you fucking basta—Kh!

—No, no. Get away!

It was a one–sided massacre.

And to their surprise, they couldn't identify the malefactor's affinity at all.

Just that, he used his odachi to swiftly murder the rankers.

A duelist, perhaps?

The thought was quite absurd.

They had identified the victims, and they were well on the A ranks. That, and they were all mages.

Yet for some reason, a duelist was swiftly able to take them down with ease.

The video ended there, and the last thing the footage caught was the malefactor's face.

A tentative silence fell in the room as everyone tried to make out what they had just witnessed.

The first one to speak was once again, Bellion.

"As you can all tell, we have no records of the man in our database at all."

"Agreed."

"If there was someone that powerful under our nose, and yet none of us know of his identity, then we could only conclude that he's one of the illegal immigrants, right?"

"That's right."

Bellion nodded at one of the officers' conjectures.

He turned towards Belle and opened his mouth.

"You can choose anyone to join your task force, General Locke. You have my full permission to do so. We must quickly apprehend this murderer before more trouble ensues."

"Understood, Field Marshal Van."

Belle saluted and stood up.

"If it's possible, could we recall Field Marshal Cessna? I'd like for her to participate in this hunt."

"Approved."

Bellion immediately accepted.

After all, what Evelyn was currently tasked to do was join up with the rankers and investigate outside the human domain.

The meeting lasted for two hours before it was adjourned. Belle quickly left the room and gathered her thoughts.

She already knew which officers she wanted to join her task force.

And coincidentally, one of them was standing right by the window. A man with blue hair and golden eyes.

It was her assistant, Ray Arcadia.

An officer, just a rank below her.

Lieutenant General.

They were more or less on the same skill level. The only reason Ray was still a  Lieutenant General, was due to the lack of feats under his name.

"We've got a lot of work to do today, Officer Arcadia."

"Understood, General Locke."

Ray straightened his posture and flashed a salute.

The two strode off the hallways shortly after.

For some reason, Belle had a bad premonition.

She halted in her steps. As if by instinct, she reached out for her phone and called a specific contact.

[Brandon Locke]

Ring… Ring…. Ring…

And for some reason, Brandon wasn't picking up.

This has happened before, and Belle was, of course, worried.

Ring… Ring… Ring…

And the call still didn't go through.

Ring…

Ring…

.

.

She had called a dozen times, and not once did Brandon pick up.

It was for that reason that she decided on sending him a message instead.

[Take care always, Brandon.]