Chapter 128 – Hope

The three of them had moved to an armored office in a secluded part of the main sector for complete privacy.

The guards and several mages had stayed outside to secure the perimeter, but within those four walls there were only Matt, General Salcedo with his cigarette burning down between his fingers, and the rank-nine mage standing off to one side in complete silence. Markdown pegado

Matt slightly adjusted his hold on the unconscious mage still tucked under his arm.

Then a soft female voice broke the silence inside his head.

"Sorry for speaking up now, Dad..." the white-haired girl murmured from the depths of his mind, sounding a little subdued. "But be very careful. Ever since we came in here, I've been getting these really sharp pains in my head."

Matt didn't answer. He kept his expression completely blank and ignored her for the moment so he wouldn't take his attention off the two men in front of him.

General Salcedo exhaled a puff of smoke to one side and chose his words with extreme care, as though he were walking through a minefield.

"What you're asking for..." the general began, gently tapping the ash from his cigarette into a metal ashtray, "is rather difficult to obtain. The scientific staff on that project are subject to very strict protocols, and—"

"Then don't give me the researcher," Matt cut him off before he could finish his excuse. "I want that, or an entire briefcase full of samples of that so-called cure."

Salcedo closed his mouth and fell silent for a couple of seconds.

Behind him, the rank-nine mage didn't even seem to be paying attention to the diplomatic discussion. His eyes remained fixed on Aurora's golden shaft with an almost unhealthy intensity, studying every line in the metal as though its very existence had hypnotized him.

Meanwhile, the veteran general's mind was working fast.

Handing over chemical samples was infinitely more feasible and easier to agree to than handing her one of the company's leading minds on a silver platter.

'Is she using that old trick of demanding something outrageous first to make the second option look reasonable?' Salcedo wondered, studying the supposed vampire's cold expression.

Whether it was strategy or simple impatience, it was an opening.

"I need to speak with the people directly in charge of the medical department first," the general finally replied, keeping his tone measured.

"How long will that take?" Matt asked flatly.

"Give me an hour," Salcedo said, raising one finger. "In an hour, I'll have a definite answer for you. But first, I need to know something... What rank do you hold in that kingdom that gives you the authority to negotiate this?"

Matt held his gaze without blinking.

"My rank is high enough," Matt replied, his voice calm but sharp. "High enough to tell you that, as for rescuing that guy someone from the kingdom took... it could take me up to a week to track him down and bring him back. Though I can't guarantee what condition he'll be in."

Salcedo's eyes widened slightly as he barely managed to contain his surprise.

They had spent months stuck on this damned deployment.

Months of losing resources, suffering logistical losses, dealing with impenetrable barriers, and going through hell just to establish a functioning base without finding a single solid lead.

And now some unknown vampire had appeared out of nowhere, promising to accomplish the mission's entire objective in less than a week?

'This has to be a trap,' the general thought immediately. 'It's too good to be true.'

Still, Salcedo swallowed discreetly and decided to see how far this could go.

"Let's say I believe you," the general said in a deep voice. "Besides the briefcase of samples... what else do you want in return?"

"For you to withdraw all your troops from this territory and get the hell back to your own world," Matt said bluntly.

The general blinked in silence.

He had mentally prepared himself to hear outrageous demands: absurd tributes, the surrender of magical weapons, political hostages, or humiliating terms of surrender.

But she only wanted them to pack up and leave?

'Is this really the supposedly ruthless, irrational race that lab has spent months complaining about in all those reports?' Salcedo thought, barely able to believe it.

Of course, the underlying problem of Earth citizens being abducted was still on the table. But that was a diplomatic headache they could address at another round of talks in the future.

And best of all, someone else entirely could take charge of that next operation, freeing him from this hell once and for all.

Salcedo stubbed out the rest of his cigarette in the ashtray and gave a firm, solemn nod.

"If you hold up your end, I give you my word that we'll stop all attacks against your kingdom and withdraw our forces," the general promised. "All I ask is that you bring the senator's son back safely."

"I already made it clear that I don't know what condition the idiot who kidnapped him has left him in," Matt warned coldly. "By now, that boy could easily be serving as a slave in some mansion... or be in the middle of turning into a female vampire."

Salcedo frowned, briefly surprised by that last revelation, though when he connected it to the strange absence of powerful men in his intelligence reports, it made a disturbing kind of sense.

"Bringing him back alive will be enough," the general conceded after a brief silence. "We'll take care of treating him as soon as he crosses back."

Matt gave a slight nod, his shoulders relaxing a fraction.

"Then I guess you could say we have a deal," Matt said.

For the first time since the alarm had sounded throughout the base, Salcedo felt the crushing weight on his back begin to lift.

Yes, the operation would end with heavy material losses he would have to justify in a report, but if they established a formal channel of communication with this vampire going forward, relations could take a historic turn.

Though, of course, that would be a problem for the next poor bastard in charge.

Could she be lying to his face? Yes. But considering the alternative, it was a risk he was more than willing to take.

Matt loosened his arm slightly around the unconscious mage, preparing to keep his word and set her down on the floor.

It was in that fraction of a second that a voice rang out like a piercing scream straight from the weapon in his hand.

"MORE ENERGY, NOW!!" Aurora roared in his mind with fierce urgency.

Matt didn't think or ask why. His body reacted on pure survival instinct, and he channeled the full flow of his magic into the shaft in a single rush.

Across the office, the rank-nine mage, who had stood as motionless as a statue throughout the negotiations, opened his eyes wide.

Throughout that silent stretch, he had been gathering and compressing mana beneath his feet almost imperceptibly, concealing the fluctuation until the last possible moment.

And just as Matt lowered his guard to let the hostage go, the mage unleashed it without warning.

BOOOOOOOOOM!

The golden flash that erupted from Aurora collided head-on with a cataclysm of pure energy that began as a blinding blue but shifted to a violent, ravenous red in a thousandth of a second.

The rank-nine mage's shock wave obliterated the office's armored walls in an instant and swept away absolutely everything around them.

"What the hell—?! BARRIERS! PUT UP BARRIERS!!" several mages shouted from distant hallways as they felt the entire base shake down to its foundations, desperately raising magical shields to withstand the searing blast that swept through the sector.

But the guards and escort mages unfortunate enough to have remained posted near the door as a precaution didn't have half a chance to react.

Apart from the man responsible for the attack and Matt, every living thing nearby either died instantly or was smashed into the rubble and left mangled and critically wounded.

In the middle of the smoking crater and scorching dust, Matt gasped for breath, digging his heels into the molten ground.

At the last instant, he had spun Aurora at an insane speed in front of his body, creating a golden vortex that managed to deflect much of the direct blast heading for his head and torso, leaving him with only shallow cuts and minor burns on his exposed skin.

Unfortunately, the unconscious woman he held in his other hand hadn't been so lucky.

As the smoke began to clear a little, Matt slowly lowered his gaze to his left arm.

The lower half of the rank-eight mage's body and part of her side had been completely vaporized by the red blast.

All that hung from his grip now was half a charred corpse that wasn't even bleeding because of the explosion's extreme heat.

Matt looked farther ahead, toward the spot where the desk had stood five seconds earlier.

There was absolutely nothing left.

No desk, no ashtray, not a trace of General Salcedo.

The only reasonable human, the one he'd just struck a deal with, had been reduced to ashes by his own ally.

An icy fury boiled in Matt's veins, making his red eyes glow through the curtain of smoke.

'That sick bastard...' Matt thought, tightening his grip on Aurora's shaft until his knuckles creaked.

Dozens of mages and soldiers rushed through the dust and the gaps in the demolished walls to see what the hell had caused such an explosion, and the first sight that greeted them as the gray cloud cleared stopped them cold.

The command office was gone.

There was no trace of General Salcedo or the escorts who had been nearby.

All that remained in the center of the ruins was that half-naked vampire with a few minor scratches, coldly holding the mutilated, half-vaporized corpse of their fellow mage in one hand and her golden spear in the other.

Several meters in front of her, with only the edges of his robe slightly singed, the rank-nine mage held both hands up in a combat stance.

"The vampire broke off negotiations and showed hostile intent!" the rank-nine mage shouted, his powerful voice booming throughout the facility before anyone could ask questions. "She murdered General Salcedo! She's a direct threat! Everyone, prepare for battle!"

The troops' stunned silence lasted less than a second before turning to pure rage.

At the sight of the mage's grotesque remains dangling from the hand of the intruder staring at them from the crater with an expression full of contempt and fury, dozens of mages gritted their teeth and brought their spells to life in unison, blinded by rage at the arrogant vampire they believed was responsible for the massacre.