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Volume 5
Chapter 07: Rafaela Appears Again
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The sound of rubber soles hitting a wool and cotton fabric floor echoed through the empty walls.
A calm pacing of footsteps, but heavy to the mind…
It was a dimly-lit hallway decorated by a red carpet, extravagant marble ceiling with carvings and sculptures of many kind, and walls laden by many great original paintings of famous painters born during the renaissance period.
A girl with long flowing black hair wearing a white mask decorated by a pinkish flower ribbon above the right eye stopped her footsteps in front of a bronze door wide and tall enough for two of her size.
Standing beside the door were two men in black suits, both wearing white masks of the same dull kind on their eyes.
When the girl stopped in front of the door, the two bid her a bow, right hand on their chests, a salute that acknowledged her status and her identity.
Tonight, she wore a long gorgeous black gown laden with countless glittering gems, giving emphasis to her curves and enticing shoulder angles.
In her hands was a small pinkish red handbag, also shining and shimmering as her gown was.
Upon taking a sigh, she puffed her healthy chest and one of the two guards pushed the door for her. She walked in to see a marvelous ball room with people wearing masks and dancing gracefully to the tune of a soft mellow jazz-over-salsa.
Her entrance was seen by many and upon seeing her, those closer to her proximity stopped what they were doing; where the men gave her a gentleman’s salute while the girls waved their hands to show their courteous familiarity.
A waiter approached her from the side, offering his tray of drinks. The young girl chose a light martini which she sipped to take a taste and then carried on as she made her way across the ball, into the stairs that ultimately lead to the second floor.
On the stairs, there were others who were already in the middle of socializing and as she paused to give way to a pair who’s already intimate trying to make their way down, she looked up to a particular part of the main floor overlooking the balconies on the left side wall.
There she saw her Grandfather talking to a holographic rendering of a man in white tux and a white top hat, holding a black cane.
The two of them were facing each other and from the look of the man in white tux, even if his face was covered with a white mask, she was still able to tell that the man wasn’t in a good mood.
She hurriedly made her way to the main floor where, as soon as she stepped on that upper floor, she was met with a curvaceous person with breasts at least twice as her own.
“Well hello there, Loni my dear, it’s been a long time since we’ve had a chat. Why don’t you accompany me so I can introduce you to some good-looking men?” The woman greeted. She held a half-full wine glass on her right hand and a foot-long gold-layered tobacco pipe on the left.
The woman’s tone had sincerity on them but Loni still felt that getting close to this woman would mean that she had to also get a taste of her taste in men.
Loni put on her most respectful demeanor and kindly declined the invitation, “I’m sorry, Aunt Rafa, but I still have a very important matter to discuss with grandfather.”
Although Loni did her best to be as courteous as she can, deep in her heart, she really never considered anyone in this family a family. After all, everyone in here wasn’t even blood relatives to begin with.
Rafa Millet, one of the big and main characters in her Grandfather’s family, was known to be a woman who always gets what she wants. The greater the challenge on getting it, the more effort and resources she puts in on getting whatever it is.
Hearing her reply, the woman made a charming and enticing smile that when caught by the men around them, made them all gulp and grit their teeth to stop and endure the lust building up under their crotches.
On her face was a pair of seductive red lips under a glittering blue domino; hair of black and blue with three peacock’s feathers as decoration at the side. In just one look, pairing it with her seductive nature and the way she sold it to everyone, she was, in a single word, the very definition of a temptress.
She took a step to close in on Loni and then caressed her right face with the pipe and then winked.
“Your loss.” She chuckled and then proceeded down the stairs while being followed by her two loyal men.
Loni only gave her one last glance before she went her way towards her grandfather’s balcony. Although he was the head of this family he was the kind of men who does whatever he wants and goes wherever he wants to go. As such, even though he was the HEAD, he still chose this side balcony and very relaxedly bid his time watching the ball.
As she made his way around, she eventually reached the door to his balcony. She was about to knock on the door when she heard the angry yell of the familiar voice of AG.
From his tone, he was actually trying to suppress his anger and rage while talking to The Father.
[…I shall see to it that he will not awaken. Genesis will begin and you will still see your Salvation take shape after it is launched.]
Contrary to his anger, The Father was calm as he gave AG a snicker before answering.
“Little boy, you really are trying to go against me, are you?” Loni’s grandfather’s voice was gruff and though old, it was still imposing and frightening that even she, despite only eavesdropping, could still feel the icy coldness of what these words meant.
And yet, contrary to the expected, AG’s voice only laughed and tapped his cane on the floor.
[Old man, you made me. Have you forgotten who I had become after your training? Hmp. Rest assured, my Project Genesis will still encompass everything you are hoping to accomplish. And don’t forget that even though you hold the world in your hands, I still have my means to infiltrate it.]
After this threatening exchange, Loni couldn’t help herself from getting angry as she barged on the door.
With the bang of the door, the two men looked at her angry expression as AG made a warm smile.
Loni roared, “How dare you speak to him like that?!”
AG made another laugh while The Father bid the other man a light laugh. Then, AG stood up and turned his back against him, saying in a voice layered with delight.
[See you around, old man.]
The call got disconnected and AG’s bluish white yet colored rendering vanished. What was left to where he was displayed at was just an empty chair.
“Grandfather… that man! How could he…”
“Hush, child. Sit down.”
The Father motioned to the empty chair as he himself faced the opening of the balcony. With a wave of a hand, a waiter appeared from the darkness behind the curtains and brought with him a tray of non-alcohol drinks. He gestured, “Child, drinking is only for the adults with big responsibilities. You may also be considered a young adult but you are still young to my eyes. So why don’t you put that martini down and have some soda instead?”
Being treated like so, Loni blushed under her mask and seeing this made her grandfather laugh aloud as he patted her head.
And yet, Loni really didn’t like drinking alcoholic beverages so she put down her glass of martini and then picked up a wine glass of sparkling white soda on the tray instead.
After a sip, she sighed and then asked, “Grandfather, that man… I heard him speak about Project Genesis and Salvation. Can you tell me what it is?”
The Father only looked at her for moment and then swiped the air and flicked a panel towards her.
In that panel, Loni gasped. It hasn’t been that long since he last saw who this person was but now that she was looking at him, she couldn’t help but feel all of her body’s hair standing on end.
How could she have forgotten?!
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“Th-This…!”
Her grandfather studied her expression and her shaky hands prompted him to speak. “Project Salvation is the original name of a project that I’ve put a great deal of investment on some years ago. But then, after a boy’s accident, an unprecedented mishap had occurred which led me to changing a few details on the plans. Project Salvation is… just like I told you that night when you first met this man, if you play the game long enough, you will realize what it meant for you. Salvation is… the person you are looking at right now. He is Project Salvation. The birth of a real God amongst men.”
Loni gulped down her dread as she recalled that time in Terroa… that fight… that God named Siva…
Salvation… giving birth to a God?
Creating a God?!
An idea hard to swallow and yet, when it came from this old man in front of her, it sounded as if it was already happening. It was as if it was already a fact.
She recalled his face, his actions, his very existence, the things he had provoked, the things he was chasing after, the things he had created on his wake…
This person in her panel right now and the person she had been hearing and been chasing for quite some time now, was her grandfather’s project salvation…
But how could a person be a project?
What exactly is Project Salvation and why is it that… thinking of the words she heard from AG and his Project Genesis… how is it able to create the same results as her grandfather’s Project Salvation? Just what kind of person is this Rex that he was just so important to these two people?
This man named Rex back then… he was an injured man with a cast arm and a broken leg. But to be in the center of it all, is that the reason why she felt irritated at him back then?
Because her grandfather held the man in high regards that it was enough to put even his profile on a TOP-1 Priority Security Tag that even her status as The Father’s only blood relative was even inferior to?
She clenched her fists, the anger she felt against AG is now being channeled towards this ‘Rex’ that was also, now that she realized this easy fact, the man in the game named Siva.
She thought to herself, “So that’s why I felt very irritated whenever I was seeing his face in the game.”
It is because she jealous.
Jealous of the fact that for a bright young woman as her, for someone sought out by her country as a lady with talents and looks… she was inferior to all levels against an invalid.
Throughout her life, she had excelled in all contests and many things… there hasn’t been a person –no!
Wait!
There was someone…
Three years ago, at the height of her blooming popularity in the world as a young genius, there was someone in this third rate country that was rumoured to have been at the same level of genius as her.
Loni gasped. “H-How is this… this can’t be… could it be… him?”
Her lips were trembling. She stared at the picture and the name, pondering. As far as she knows, three years ago was the time that a name had begun to be talked about alongside hers. At the time, because it was just a new name, she did not pay it any attention.
…a name that excelled in academics, sports, and even had a natural charisma that attracted people to him.
Yet now… now that she tried to recall that name, it may have been the same as this guy’s name… may!
Because as far as she was concerned, that guy’s name, as soon as he begun to be famous, he also just suddenly disappeared. She didn’t even bother knowing what had happened to him and only treated it as a mere stroke of luck.
Loni was in deep thought for a many moments.
With her silence, The Father spoke nostalgically as he made a sigh, “My Project Salvation centers on the aspect of bridging the gap between a person’s limit and his potential. There are many candidates for this project, Loni, but out of all of them, we chose this young man because he had something else that wasn’t on the other candidates.”
Loni glanced beside her. Her grandfather’s play in words and the way he said them was noticeable since she had been a writer and she was practicing this same technique.
As such, as someone who was able to pick up the clues, he inhaled deep to gather her poise and then smiled at her grandfather a charming smile.
“Is that… his reason?”
The Father laughed loudly and he nodded with a strong sense of approval. “Hahaha! Correct! What very sharp perception, child, you are slowly learning bit by bit. It is indeed his reason. He is not aware of it all but because of his strong drive and the tenacity it sparked within him, the project is steadily heading to a grand completion… only…”
Loni thought for a moment and recalled the people that were chasing him, especially Volt’s crew and that person named Scion… the Fairy of the Lake.
Putting aside her personal goals, she recalled all of the details that revolved around the people that are going after The Destroyer… after Siva.
Scion calls him Rex –much to Loni’s frustration for not realizing this small connection early on– and from FlowerLord’s own words as well, Loni could at least patch a few information together… especially the last moment after his fight against Hagrid.
“He was looking for his brother.” she said and looked up to face her grandfather. “He was looking for a person in the game, Baron… if I recall it. He said that he must find him…”
The Father glanced at Loni and then made a smile.
“Child, you seem to have dug in deeper in the game than I have anticipated. Tell me; are there other people involved in this?”
Loni felt horrified of this question. She wasn’t stupid and an innocent girl. She knew what kind of business her family had and what kind of man her grandfather was before she met him… she had seen the business and she chose not to stick her nose in it. But now that she unwittingly discovered and was even deliberately briefed about the nature of the man named Rex and their connection with each other, she knew that her grandfather wouldn’t let anything stop his plans.
After all, this family is all about investments.
If considering investments, then wouldn’t this Rex be someone who’s already bound to her by the investment of her grandfather?
With her identity as his only blood relative, wouldn’t these investments eventually become hers?
So why not help out a bit?
It wasn’t that she was being greedy it’s just that if she were to choose from the four options that her grandfather had introduced to her… AG, Rafa, and those two reclusive and unsociable ones… then she’d choose herself instead.
Considering the talk between him and AG earlier, the implementation of both their Projects centered in the man named Rex… and his character named Siva.
And yet, what she couldn’t fathom is how both these projects are connected to Rex.
How is it connected to the game and his avatar, Siva?
Who is Rex, anyways?
Now that Siva is connected with the Grand Quest, is this the «Project» they were talking about?
So many confusing things made Loni chase her breath as the suddenness of it all and the grandness of its size were both utterly terrifying to imagine.
To be able to plan this big and plan these things ahead was frightening to her imagination. She felt that both these men –and what AG meant by [he was trained to be like this], actually meant a scary fact.
Geniuses run in their family.
As much as this fact made her happy, it also wasn’t.
That guy, Augustus Laniary, is, after all, not even her blood relative.
Her family, this family… was the pillar that moves the underground world of Goldwyn City. She had been living here for some time and the world above fears the existences that live down here.
Why couldn’t she realize this sooner?
“Loni…?”
Being called, Loni shuddered and she gasped and chased her air to steady herself.
“Sorry, I spaced out.”
“As I was asking earlier, are there people that are trying to stop Rex’s avatar on progressing inside the game?”
Gulping down, Loni can’t think of an answer and so she just pointed out one fact. “There are some people who are going after him now because he is connected to the Grand Quest of the game.”
Hearing this, The Father smiled warmly. “Is that so?”
Loni added hastily, “But in regards to people that are trying to stop or hinder him… I think you could generalize it all as all of the players of Terroa.”
“Ah, I see.”
The Father leaned back and then stroked his chin in a carefree manner. Then he faced Loni, “What about you? What side did you choose?”
Loni thought for a moment and recalled their guests in The Archangel. She said, “I’ll choose to… to help him on his goal… to destroy Terroa.”
“Oh?” Amused, The Father beamed a wide smile at her. “Isn’t that going against the world? Are you sure you can handle everything this choice implies? It means that you are going against AG’s plans, you know. He might target you using his goons of white masked men.”
Loni frowned and then spoke, “We’ve been enemies with the Masked Organization to begin with. There is no actual change on our plans.”
The Father glanced at her and Loni felt that he took note of her ‘our’ part on her speech. It was a mistake on her choice of words but since she had now openly declared to him that he will follow Project Salvation and fight against the completion of whatever AG’s Project Genesis entails… he could only move forward and stand firm with her choice.
“Very well.” The old man nodded gently. “By the way, why did you come here? I remember seeing that your name wasn’t on the guest list…”
Loni blinked and chuckled lightly, “Actually, I came here to talk to you about something but after all that we have talked about and after all I’ve heard, I actually got more than I came here for. I’m taking my leave then, grandfather…”
As Loni stood, she kissed her grandfather on his forehead before tapping his shoulder.
But before she could even make it to the door, she turned her back. “Oh, there is actually one thing.”
The Father smiled at her, “And that is?”
“If I help accomplish your goal and do a great job with it, grandfather, will you consider not considering AG as a successor?”
The Father laughed for a long while as he patted the arm rest of his chair. “Silly girl, just enjoy the game and don’t mind these adult things. You will have your own time in the future.”
These words were the last things Loni heard before she sighed in defeat and escaped the balcony.
After she left, The Father shook his head and lifted up the wine glass in his side of the table. He raised it towards the lamp light hanging on the ceiling above the stage.
The red light shined through wine as the red liquid inside the glass danced around, creating a silhouette cross shape.
“Now, all my pieces are in place, let’s see whose plan is going to take shape first… mine or yours?”
As he spoke, he drank the wine and then let the open holo-panel with Rex’s locked file hover in front of him. He didn’t tell Loni…
…that the ‘boy’ who had an accident and created the mishap that ultimately led him to change his plans and give AG the seed to his own [Genesis] plans was the same Rex in this panel; and that he also knew of the restrained spirit of competitiveness hiding in her chest because of her upbringing.
Furthermore, the Project Salvation he implied to Loni was different from the original Salvation that he had been pushing since a long time ago.
“If that accident didn’t happen, times would have changed today…”
In fact, the REAL Project Salvation was already half-done and only needed the proper catalyst to fully manifest itself on its vessel.
Drinking the wine, he made an ominous smile.
“Now, let’s just see what this variable called Mefisto going to do to our Siva… Hahaha… I can’t wait to see him in his complete form when he wakes up in this world… haha! Hahahahahahahahaha… hahaha… hahahahahahahahahahahahha… haahahahahahaha…!”
His laughter echoed in the entire balcony and pierced through the noise of the jazz music.
The startled crowd looked at his direction while on a dark and secluded corner is the seductively gorgeous Rafa Millet pulling a younger-looking version of herself and sending a whisper on her ear. The young girl that was on the same age bracket as Rex giggled but hen hearing the whispered words, she looked at the older her and blinked as if to ensure that she didn’t mishear whatever it was she had heard.
Rafa nodded, caressing and tapping her right cheek before leaving.
The latter held her face and a dreamy look of joy could be seen through her blushing cheeks.
With the same enticing looks she had in the game, this alluring girl is none other than Rafaela.