The sound of heels clashing against concrete echoed in the hallway as Charlotte made her way into the octagonal hall with the Crimson Knights behind her.
Her expression unreadable, she remained poised as she found Damian lying on the meeting table with his gaze facing the ceiling.
Judging from his aura, he seemed quite weakened, drawing Charlotte’s attention.
Acknowledging her presence, Damian remarked while still staring at the depictions on the roof. "How did it go?"
"The Silver Knights are all dead."
"..." Damian stayed silent for a moment before asking. "And the Dark Lord?"
"Still alive. He got help from the homunculus."
"I guessed it wouldn’t be easy to kill him and take his Authority but it seems we grossly underestimated him."
"No, you aren’t at fault." Charlotte conceded with a pained expression. "I underestimated him and due to my anger, ended up making a rookie mistake."
"It’s understandable. He murdered your subordinates in your presence. I doubt few people can withstand such a thing." Though Damian tried to sound empathetic, it was shallow at best.
However, Charlotte was too enveloped in her feelings to care.
"You captured the Dukes?" She inquired after a minute of silence in a bid to change the topic.
Damian sighed. "Your timely information helped me capture them before they escaped."
"I got news that there’s some sort of barrier surrounding Krobridge."
"... It belongs to an acquaintance. I believe he’s trying to help us." Damian replied after a brief hesitation.
Even though he’d sought Crow Mask’s help with completing the ritual, he never would have imagined that he’d do something like that.
Sure, it helped him by preventing word from leaking out about the circumstances in Krobridge and most importantly, prevented the Dukes from escaping after receiving information from the 1st about Damian’s true intentions.
But it was just too flamboyant.
There was no way a dark wall encircling Krobridge would be passed off as a normal occurrence.
"Hmm." Charlotte seemed to have her reservations about the situation as well but regardless didn’t bother questioning further.
She didn’t know why, but a certain fear rose in her heart as a result of wondering what would happen if she learned about the truth.
"In any case, the materials are ready and now all we need is the sacrifice."
"Do you still plan on carrying out the ritual on the Emperor’s birthday?"
"I wanted to get it done tomorrow to catch that bastard Dark Lord off guard but the capture of the Dukes was harder than I expected. They might be weak but they do have some tricks." Though Damian tried to downplay it, Charlotte could sense that Damian had depleted most of his strength while carrying out the attacks.
"How long do you need to recover?"
Damian sighed. "A day. Once I’m fully recovered, the ritual can begin. Until then, ensure that the tension in the city remains low so the Emperor’s birthday will go as planned. Though it won’t change much, having the sacrifices gathered in one location is better than having them spread out. Do you understand what I’m saying?"
"What about the need to ensure the hearts of men are filled with fear?" Charlotte couldn’t help but ask.
Damian sighed. "Don’t worry, the acquaintance I mentioned will take care of that."
"... Alright then. Don’t worry, everything will go according to your wishes."
Nodding in satisfaction, Damian sat up and leaped off the table before making his way out of the hall, leaving Charlotte to handle the rest.
Seated in bed with a teacup in her hands and a melancholic expression on her face, Claudia listened to Arwen, who was seated across from her, explain their current situation.
"So you are saying due to a telepathic attack we were knocked out before we got a chance to reach the escape route?"
"So where are we now?"
"The Department of Special Relations."
"...What?" Claudia’s eyes widened in surprise.
Arwen nodded as she continued. "Kane and Aunty Elizabeth brought us here after Ada helped to ensure we were safe."
"...I see." Claudia knew that Arwen had no reason to lie about their current location but still found it hard to wrap her head around it.
"Is it really okay for me to be here?"
"Hmm?" Arwen raised a brow.
"I’m a Vampire and this is the Department of Special Relations..." Claudia trailed off, hopeful that Arwen would connect the dots.
Thankfully, she did. "Oh..."
Unfortunately, her response was a bit lackluster.
"Ugh, it’s fine. What about Roland?"
"In the meeting room with Aunty Elizabeth and the others."
Stunned yet again by Arwen’s response, Claudia needed yet another minute to digest everything properly.
Once she regained her composure, she couldn’t help but remark.
"...Now, we hope for the best."
"That..." Claudia trailed off unsure of what to say.
She couldn’t deny that she wanted revenge against the bitch that killed her father but knowing her limits, she understood that there was no way she’d be able to accomplish that.
But still!... Was there no way to give her father the justice he deserved?
As silence reigned in the jail cell turned bedroom, both ladies kept to themselves, pondering on their fate.
The meeting was over and apart from Elizabeth and Alex, every other person had excused themselves and left, allowing the two ’powerhouses’ some alone time.
"Are you better?" Alex inquired.
Elizabeth shook her head. "It’s a miracle I can still talk normally as it is."
"I’d need a day," Elizabeth remarked before wistfully adding. "Of course, I doubt I’d be of much help in the final confrontation."
The utter trouncing she received from Charlotte was enough to cause Elizabeth to doubt her capabilities as a guardian of mankind.
"As long as you pull your weight with the incoming clash, that’s good enough." Alex calmly replied.
Elizabeth pursed her lips, seemingly pondering something before glancing at Alex.
Their eyes met and for a moment, none spoke, with each evaluating the other silently.
It didn’t take long before Elizabeth broke the silence, a slight hesitancy in her voice. "Tell me something."
"Do you believe we can overcome this crisis?"
"Are you asking the man you nearly killed not too long ago?"
"I would still try to kill you if the conditions were right but now is not the time. If your words are to be believed, then Damian isn’t the one we should be wary of but the one behind him orchestrating all this for unknown reasons. I need to know that you won’t abandon everything and run when the time comes."
"And why should I stay knowing fully well that you’d attack me once this is all over."
"... Because we’d all die if we don’t."
Pausing momentarily, Alex chuckled lightly. "Indeed."