CHAPTER 91: DETAILS
Andrés stretched as he left the doorway.
“Thank you for joining me,” Clémentine said with a half-smile, as if she lacked energy.
“It’s fine. I needed to do a mission like this to relax,” Andrés replied calmly, and creating a portal in front of him, he asked. “I’ll go have breakfast. Are you coming?”
Andrés had gotten up early and, since he couldn’t fall asleep, he accompanied Clémentine, who was in a similar state, to do a mission to clean up a nest of creatures.
When Clémentine nodded, they both walked through the doorway and into the living room.
Looking out the window, they noticed it was an hour before dawn and they both sighed and headed for the dining room.
When they arrived, they found Nicole bringing their breakfast.
“Did you work out?” Clémentine asked curiously, noticing the clothes Nicole was wearing.
“Yes, I just got back from running,” Nicole replied, sitting down calmly and looking at the duo, she asked. “You guys just come in from doing a mission?”
“Cleaning out a Lycaons’ lair,” Andrés replied and, after asking Clémentine what she wanted, headed for the kitchen.
This building everything was mechanized, so they didn’t do as much work when they wanted breakfast or lunch.
They just had to order from the drones, and the drones used the various electronics to make their food.
This time, Andrés prepared his breakfast by himself while watching how it was about to get light.
After finishing, he brought Clémentine’s coffee and their toast, sitting down with their breakfast at the table.
The trio ate in silence, thinking about yesterday.
The Assault Mission was about taking care of General Kavuri!
Taking care of an individual who had a small army under his command with A-Rank militiamen.
No doubt they would never have believed that coming to the mercenary group would perform this type of mission.
Now they faced the decision... A decision that had already been made during the ark mission.
It was impossible to lie to themselves.
They were heroes, and while this new mission had far exceeded their capabilities; it was an opportunity to step in and change things.
General Kavuri’s forces in Nakuru City acted like psychopaths and they all felt helpless in the face of their actions.
This mission was different.
No matter how small their help, they would change something.
Still...
“Alice scares me,” Nicole muttered under her breath and when they looked at her, she gave a shy smile and explained. “My father is a former Terra nova player, but he didn’t awaken any innate ability or use of magic. Although he knows how to fight, he is not a skill user. My family is common.”
Andrés sighed as he heard those words.
“I am the same. My family is normal in every way. They don’t know how to fight or have any skills,” Andrés commented, shaking his head.
It was true that many people worldwide played Terra nova when they didn’t know they were traveling to another world with that machine, however, that didn’t mean they were all martial experts.
At that time, that game had endless possibilities and people who entered sometimes enjoyed being farmers, merchants, painters, sculptors, or thousands of other ways to play.
By killing creatures, they could level up, but it was such a realistic and diverse game that, for the players at that time, being a mage or a fighter was not the only way to have fun.
So one could always find families that were completely normal despite being players and other families that were once powerful players, in actuality, it didn’t mean they had any strength or skill.
They did not have the security to protect their families and more when they could not ensure their own security.
“I think you have to be prepared for more things. I don’t know how it is, but... They are performing a ritual and, depending on which entity it is for, then we will encounter horrible situations,” Clémentine said in a heavy tone.
There were quite a few gods to perform rituals for and although very few of them responded, each of those entities was terrifying and extremely dangerous.
The rituals differed regarding the gods they were targeting, but if they used humans as sacrifices, then it would not be simple at all.
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How could they prepare for such a situation?
“These situations are always difficult,” said a voice and when they looked, Shao Ya walked in and, seeing the group, added. “Sorry, I overheard your conversation.”
She was giving a soft smile of apology, even though the group members realized that the apology was not sincere.
There was a reason for it, and it was...
“In the future, they will be heroes and you will encounter even more complex situations. Perhaps at one point, you will be when you have to prioritize the mission over innocent lives or you may find yourselves in situations with bosses sacrificing subordinates for the ‘greater good’,” Shao Ya commented with a heavy, yet serious tone.
Did these situations that seemed almost inhumane happen?
The answer was simpler than one might think.
Those situations happened before the ‘Great Cataclysm’ and after it... That was the reality, one that did not change no matter what situations they found themselves in.
Sometimes those cruel actions saved people from an even worse end and sometimes they were just shocking mistakes whose consequence were lives.
“You haven’t lived it, that’s why you may not understand.” Shao Ya added with a half-hearted smile.
Hearing it from someone else differed greatly from living it firsthand.
Now they could talk about what they would do in some situation, however, once they were at the crossroads of deciding, that would be when their true thoughts would come out.
Still..
“Aurora always prioritizes innocent lives.” Shao Ya stated in a simple yet lively tone.
That was the vital point.
It was true that now they did not know where the hostages were and it was difficult to find out, but if Aurora had to choose the innocent lives or finish the mission, she would always choose the first.
“It’s true that unexpected things could happen and Alice is trying to get them to accept those possibilities and prepare for it, but it’s useless to worry about it. Whether you accept or not, you will be safe and the mission will be accomplished,” Shao Ya added before leaving for the kitchen.
They weren’t necessary.
As cruel as it seemed, it was a sincere fact.
The mission would go ahead anyway and the group made preparations to carry out the mission successfully and prepare for the worst-case scenario.
That Akira and her group were present showed how serious Aurora was acting.
To some, taking along ‘rookies’ like the students might be counterproductive, but Aurora had also prepared for such situations and had assumed the dangers involved.
Possibilities always exist, there was no question, and students had to decide on those possibilities.
Then they needed to decide if they were willing to take the risks and accept the consequences.
******
Aurora watched the projection of the students listening to all the classified information of the assault mission and the preparations for their safety.
A secret mission in which the top brass from all over Zerzura was present.
From the military, the church, and the Apicius Company itself.
The ‘assault mission’ was bigger than their small group, and they performed a small part of that mission.
They only raided the mansion and arrested General Kavuri, but who was in charge of the ‘Somali Terror’, was General McLean himself, a famous SS Rank from Zerzura.
Accompanying him were Colonel Makeba and other S-Rank Colonels protecting Zerzura.
There were warlords present today.
The King of Madagascar, Ronald Einhorn, was a former warlord.
In South Africa, some former warlords united to maintain that status.
West of Zerzura in West Africa was the West African Republic, which, despite having a democratic system, the guilds of adventurers, mercenaries, and warlords held power.
In Somalia was the ‘Somali Pirate’, a lunatic who liked to go out to sea in magical ships to hunt magical beasts, keeping the Indian Ocean clean and under his control.
Each of them was SS Ranks and the only ones of that rank left in Africa after Zerzura’s arrival.
This was not Aurora’s first raid mission, nor was it Zerzura’s first raid mission.
Zerzura City acted as a regional power to maintain order, intervening in situations as it saw fit.
This kind of situation was.
General Kavuri performed rituals to unknown entities and the ‘Somali Terror’ supported him while provoking an unnecessary war, bringing chaos to the area.
On an economic level, the guilds and other companies in Kenya have losses every day, including the Apicius Company itself.
On a political level, helping the Lord of Mombasa to stabilize the area in his control would be considered a shrewd move that would bring benefits to Zerzura.
On a moral level, the Church of Time and Space, despite its neutrality, could not stand by while atrocious rituals were being performed.
It was true that in other, more distant regions, small warlords fought each other, but no one acted on this scale.
The conflict had started a few weeks after Aurora entered the academy on vacation, and in fact, the war that was about to approach was the reason her mother and Alice took her to Atlantis City almost obligatorily.
To get her away from an unnecessary conflict that could take her mental state for the worse.
However, that was before and now. Aurora was ready to take on her task of helping and moving on.
It didn’t matter if it was five years ago or when she was a young lady taking out creatures on her own, Aurora would carry her mission and her goal.
No one was forcing her to help and even with her past and problems, she was still in this place.
Aurora thought to the students.
That was what she looked to the academy for distraction.
Maybe she couldn’t hire them, as each had their own goals and duties, but it was enough for Aurora that one of them shared similar values to her.
Though helping for money, fame or gratitude didn’t matter as long as they helped and used their skills with that goal in mind.
Just as Akira did in Asia and surely as those who once worked with her did.
Tapping her desk with her finger, Aurora looked at her gluttonous friend.
“Liam is investigating, but it is impossible to find the hostages to be used for the sacrifice because of the actions of General Kavuri’s force,” Aurora muttered with a sigh that let it be seen that she was exhausted.
Finding out General Kavuri or his troops took which hostages was an impossible task for her.
There were too many things going on at the same time and Aurora had long ago stopped feeling bad about situations that happened far away from her and which she could not intervene.
Now she had her job, and she needed to concentrate on this task.
“The students have already been training with Akira’s group and this afternoon I will send them to the army to train with the military,” Aurora said after careful thought.
Whenever they had time, Akira’s group trained with the students, helping them improve their combat skills against humans.
Still, different training would help them.
Maybe they would not improve quick or improve in a few short days, however, correcting one or two mistakes was enough and could be of much help when they performed the mission.
“I’ll take it upon myself to teach them not to hesitate,” Alice said with a faint smile.
It was a rather charming smile, hiding a depth that Aurora could understand.
Alice’s methods were too excessive and over the top and could even be described as cruel.
She put Akira through hell and now that psionic ended up having a rivalry with her, which was quite possibly coming from deep fear.
However, Aurora couldn’t deny that she was very effective.
“I’ll ask Cardinal Brousseau to lend you the training area of the church,” Aurora said calmly, thinking it over as she let it be.
There was enough work to do, and everyone would be busy.