[Mission Acquired: Free the slaves]
[Reward: experience points. (Accumulated through slaves freed)]
[Would you like to accept?]
[Yes] or [No]
The notification hit hard, out of nowhere, blinding Ethan for a couple of seconds. He wasn’t used to it, but it was okay, and without a single hesitation, he clicked yes.
I will lean on this hope. On her.
He thought as he gazed at those crimson eyes looking down at all the men and women working below. She looked at Ethan, her intentions clear. She had risked it all and told him everything, and all she needed was one thing and one thing only.
A worthy reply.
Her hand was warm, ready to spew fire at any moment. Marcus knew it. He too had his hand on his gun, but he also knew it was useless. He could only look at Ethan and wait for his reply.
For wherever Ethan went, he would follow.
Ethan simply stood up and walked to the controls, analyzing them as he recalled the many manual training sessions. Both Marcus and Karisa looked at him, waiting.
He heaved, breathing slowly in and out. He knew what he needed to do. His hand filled with a slight current of divinity. He placed his palm on the controls and closed his eyes. A flicker of lightning flashed in his hand.
"Mrs. Karisa." He called.
Karisa kept looking, still waiting, hoping in her heart that she wouldn’t have to do what she had prepared to do if he said no.
"The Roman Empire must fall. You and I both know it. Can I join you in this revolution?"
Karisa finally let out a breath of relief, the heat in her palm easing down. "Yes." She simply replied.
Marcus too smiled, like someone who had just agreed to something idiotic. And it was. Going against something so big. Going against a whole empire, going against the very gods.
Ethan nodded, and with all his remaining power, he focused his lightning on what was before him. It took only a single second. Blue lightning flashed. The sparks and heat pushed both Marcus and Karisa slightly back.
It was only a single second, but gradually the whole control room began to smoke, lights blinking everywhere, across the working quarters, the insides of the base, the training regiment. Slowly but surely, the entire headquarters went pitch black, leaving the whole control room in darkness.
Ethan sparked his forefinger, giving off some light as he looked at both of them.
"Let the rebellion begin."
High in the sky, many floating airships approached. The chief of the headquarters watched them coming on his screen. On another screen, Ethan and Karisa were still talking.
He sighed the moment he saw the flag hovering above the airships. The division he had never hoped to encounter.
"It’s them." The chief said with a growl.
"Who, sire?" The woman behind him asked.
"The rogue division. They were given more power than our resource division?"
The assistant didn’t need to ask how or why. It was clear on the screen. Here they had been at this base for seven years already, and their division hadn’t been handed a single mage.
And there they were, three mages in their high-tech, god-blessed mage suits, flying in with their many airships.
"Is someone important coming here, Chief?" She asked, gulping.
"Yes, a relative of... Commander Karisa, let’s say." He said with a sigh. He turned to another screen, watching Ethan and Karisa talking, and canceled the recording, deleting it right then and there.
Karisa, we are running out of time.
Then, right at that moment, the lights flickered and darkness took over. The chief looked around, surprised himself. But his eyes remained firm, with no panic, and instead there was a smile. A satisfied one.
As the entire resource headquarters shut down completely, chaos and confusion began to spread. It was a definite blow, but it wouldn’t last long.
Ethan knew it. They all knew it. Every second counted. So in the darkness, their pace didn’t stop. Breathing heavily as they were, they kept running down toward the slave area. There were some soldiers, but in the pitch darkness they couldn’t see much, and hence couldn’t do much.
All they saw was a bolt of lightning, and they were paralyzed and down before they knew it.
"Hey, you know I can’t see either, right?" Marcus voiced.
"I know you can at least see my back. Just follow my plan."
"I don’t know the plan. You just started running after you took out the lights."
"Yeah, yeah." He said, his eyes sparkling blue. "You’ll know eventually."
"Know what?!!"
"Hehe..."
Karisa too was confused, but her small smile didn’t betray a single hint of it, because she had always had faith in him. In those grueling training regiments, Ethan would come out on top in the end. Even when others cheated or tried to bring him down, one way or another, he would come back first.
So the chief knew, and she knew, that Ethan was the right choice to start the spark that would consume the whole forest known as the Roman Empire.
The world is a scary place. Made for the ambitious. Made for those who can set aside their emotions when needed. A ferocious hunger that never quiets down.
There was no corruption in the Roman Empire, not in the common sense. Those who were naturally strong were promoted. The rules were rigged in their favor, so that nothing would come in their way. The chief was no different, his level reaching two digits, a rare breed among many.
But the one visiting now, the one who had three mages at her disposal, was someone whose level was beyond his own. That was the kind of individual he was about to meet.
The giant airship finally stopped, gradually landing below, destroying the grass and trees all around it. With a single beep, its wide gate opened, black and red-suited Roman soldiers stepping out before them, marching in two lines like a parade before a queen’s arrival.
And there she was, with blood-red eyes. Olivia. Olivia the Hound.
"Greetings, Madame." The chief muttered, bowing slightly toward her.
"Berry, you haven’t changed. You look..." she said, pausing. "...old, as usual."
The air turned slightly hot the moment she stepped out, her crimson hair flaring in the wind.
"And where is my beloved sister? I would much rather see her than your old mug, Berry."
Berry turned. He had called for Karisa, but it seemed they were busy with their own affairs. So his job for now was to stall.
"Captain Karisa is busy, as she takes her responsibilities seriously, unlike someone else from that renowned family."
"Oh, here we go. Finally showing your true self." She said with glee. "You know the consequences for this, for disrespecting your superior."
"Superior? You? I outrank you by two full steps. Don’t delude yourself just because you’ve been given more... power."
"You already know how the Empire works. Power is everything. Power is given to those who are worthy, and above all, power is given to the strong.
And you, dear old Barry. You. Are. WEAK!"
The echo of what she had just said rang loud and clear, reaching the chief, the soldiers, and the many Leviathan crew standing by. Their hands were on their guns, itching to shoot, having heard such open disrespect of their leader.
Some even aimed their guns at her, and at that reaction, Olivia’s entire crew went on alert as well, their weapons trained on anyone who stood in her way. That anyone being the whole of the resources department.
Barry raised his hand, and everyone listened, each and every soldier lowering their guns. He breathed out a long huff of air, like a tired old man. She was right. He was weak, weak in front of the three mages floating above, their enchanted rounds ready to rain down on them like bombs.
"Why are you here? I am sure it’s not just to taunt this little old man." He asked.
Olivia smiled, waving her hand as well, the three mages lowering their guns. "Well, shame the fun was over so quickly." She muttered, her red eyes already bored.
"I am here for the boy. I was told to survey his dead body. So where is this brat?"
The chief already knew what she was talking about. He had already filed the report and was ready to send fabricated images of Ethan’s and Marcus’s dead bodies.
But it seemed the higher-ups already doubted his loyalty, so much so that they had sent a literal hound. Which meant one thing and one thing only.
I was right. That boy is special. A jackpot, even. Otherwise...
He thought, looking at the woman before him, who looked like she was seconds away from biting his head off.
"Whom are you speak—"
BOOOOMM!
The light came first, blinding everyone there, then the piercing, ear-numbing sound. Then the impact, blowing everyone away, except the chief, Olivia, and the three mages, their bodies suddenly enveloped by a forcefield.
Olivia smirked, her tongue sticking out, her eyes turning hungry.
"There you are..."