20. The Truth Behind the Grade VI Operation

Cale crossed his legs, holding his cup of tea before his chest, but he didn’t take a sip as he considered Master Livia’s question. ”Victor. A ring, or rather, as we all now know, a talus said to have been worn by a great emperor in the past – Julius Caesar. A Grade V magical relic that could only be wielded by a Class V or a Class VI. It’s one of the only four Grade V relics in the world, previously wielded by Beral. But for some reason, he did not use it two years ago.”

Cale believes power is useless when it is not being wielded. Perhaps, if Beral used Victor too, alongside his Godframe, he wouldn’t have been killed by Muriel.

“Yes. And it’s a wonder, no? How there are so many taluses in ancient history when the Awakened only came to existence around 300 years ago. Victor’s existence alone seems to point out that the Awakened existed in the past.”

“I suppose it’s another mystery of the aether.”

“What if I tell you that Victor is not of this world?”

Cale shrugged.

A light curl of Master Livia’s lips. A smile. “You seem very unsurprised. I’d have expected at least a bit of bewilderment.”

“It matters not to me. Xyz isn’t of this world too, no? Even you, Master Livia, I often wonder if you yourself is from here,” Cale started as he took another sip of his tea. Lovely. “Besides, why are we discussing Victor?”

“We have Victor. And the Order wants it.”

“I see. So rather than have the Defense or SPECTRA secure the sword, you chose to hide it at Noah instead,” Cale said. It must have taken them a lot of effort to transfer Victor from the League Treasury to Noah Academy. But the Academy is the most secure facility due to Master Livia’ existence, so it shouldn’t have been that hard to convince the government.

The question is: Why now?

“A bait. Victor is a bait. Everything is a bait, Cale. SPECTRA have tried hunting down the Order. But you cannot hunt what cannot be hunted. They are elusive. So, instead of finding them, you make them find us.”

“I understand the rationale. But if that is the case. Why not make it seemingly easy for them to acquire it?”

“You speak of a trap. But when hunting a predator, an effective trap must be subtle to avert any suspicions of a trap. This adds complication and may lead to situations we cannot control. So instead of hunting…,” Master Livia smiled.

“We fish,” Cale completed her sentence. “So, the Order infiltrating the Academy, it is you who caused that. You leaked Victor’s information.”

“Not me, but the Director. OPERATION: ROLLING PANDA is an invitation to the Order of Lewisia. If they win, Victor is their prize. And if they lose, Muriel is our prize. They have bigger risks to take on while we play defense.”

Cale's eyes sharpened. "Thus, the Grade VI Operation. We're hunting Muriel. A Calamity herself," he said, with the wizard responding with a sombre nod. “But we are operating under the assumption that Muriel would act herself or that she would play the game. But would she really do that with her injuries? She wouldn’t dare show herself especially with SPECTRA and Hera actively hunting her down.”

“She will because she needs to. She has no Godframe, and she’s already failed twice trying to acquire one; 12 years ago to try to steal Hera during the war, and two years ago for Ares. She needs Victor if she is to steal either of the two.”

“I see. But it still eludes me why Beral chose not to wield Victor against Muriel.”

“Premonition,” said Master Livia. “That’s what he told me. That if he were to have used it; it will forever be lost. And we can argue if it might or might not have been the best decision. But, it remains a fact, that if Muriel managed to steal the talus, she wouldn’t be hiding right now.”

Cale fell quiet in thought. If Muriel does acquire a talus that would provide her with an additional 300% Force. She would be more than a match even against any of the Sovereigns with a Godframe. After all, even if partially, Muriel is still a Calamity-grade Ashen herself.

At that, Cale briefly stole a glance over his shoulder, to a portion of the room shrouded in shadows. Looking back to Master Livia, the wizard had a frown on his face.

Understanding the situation, Cale, while he may not have agreed with the implication, could only silently sympathize with the decision. “One more thing. How did you even manage to have the League and the Consortium work together?”

“Their pride.”

“Mind expanding on that?”

"The League wants security, and the Consortium wants the honour that comes with protecting a magical relic," she said. “But it’s more important to note that it wasn’t I who came up with the operation, but the Director himself. He suggested that Victor be moved to Noah from the Treasury to ensure it is not stolen until the League finds a worthy wielder.”

Cale raised a brow. A worthy wielder? The League only has two Class Vs, and one of them is nowhere to be found – Eclipse. The other is the Director himself, who obviously has no interest in Victor.

As for their only Class VI, the Sky Sovereign and the Bearer of Hera, she already has a talus most compatible with her build. She doesn’t need a talus that increases her Force.

“I sense your confusion, Cale,” said Master Livia. “But remember we still have five Class IVs.”

“Right… I failed to consider that,” admitted Cale. "And these–– preparations. If I may be so bold. I presume it has considered factors that might lead to the overall operation’s potential causes of failure? We both understand that a gigantic operation like this must be free from the greedy, the ambitious, and the unreasonable for it to be successful, no?”

Cale insinuated that the League was partially at fault with the destruction of St. John. Top secret reports dictate that Muriel has warned the League about her imminent attack, even multiple times, to provide them with an ‘opportunity to minimize civilian casualty’.

But apparently, the federal government took this as an insult, believing that Muriel had already been slain 12 years ago and that remnants of the Order of Lewisia ‘faked’ her liking as a foolish attempt at deception.

In hindsight, they should have taken the warning seriously, so Cale had little to no trust in the federal government’s competence.

“Speak plain, for you are justified behind that which you imply. And while I can only provide you reassurance, do know that the League now understands there is no place for arrogance. They’ve learned their lesson, albeit with such a tragic cost…,” said Master Livia as she lifted her right wrist, showing a star symbol – the Contract.

“Right. And Muriel? She must have something up her sleeves.”

“We’ve taken into account Muriel’s brilliance as a strategist. She’s quite fond of diversion as one of her tactics, if I may say so myself. So, we’ve simplified various aspects of the operation to minimize any potential complications–– including Case Farewell. We had to make sure your mission is as simplified as possible and no trails would lead to your true identities. At least, at the early phases of the operation. This is partially why you both have been given minimal information and why we’ve deigned it necessary to have an equally minimal contact until today.”

“You made sure that even the Consortium and the League don’t know that we’re with SPECTRA.”

“Yes. As far as they are aware, SPECTRA is helping out. Just not the ‘How’. That applies to the other operatives, as well.”

“Is it possible to know where the others are? What their missions may be?”

Master Livia shook her head.

“I see. Well. Let us hope you are right, Master Livia. Though, I suppose it only makes sense, as the government would be foolish to ignore your counsel,” said Cale. Anybody could talk about enacting justice; or revenge against Lewisia. But to act without thought is akin to a child walking in a den of mindless, hungry Ashens, ultimately provoking his own death.

And Muriel and her Order are more than mindless. The White Sovereign wouldn’t be as much of a personification of crisis herself if she were only powerful in the body and not the mind–– for her true strength lies in her wit.

For instance, SPECTRA analyzed and studied Muriel’s attack in St. John.

First, she warned the League that she would be attacking St. John, and advised to evacuate civilians.

The League didn’t listen.

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Muriel then sent a group of Ascended from the Lewisia to destroy a portion of the wall at the City of White Hills (at the southern border of the League), requiring Godframe Hera to respond.

The League fell in panic, but they thought they at least made the right call by not heeding Muriel’s warning to evacuate St. John, and focused their efforts on defending White Hills.

However, while they were convinced, they didn’t know why they were supposed to think they made the right call. They thought they got lucky.

But they were wrong. White Hills was a diversion.

With Hera out of the equation, Argus and thousands of Ashens attacked St. John. So, the League ended up dispatching Beral and his Godframe Ares.

And they must have thought that Muriel was stupid, believing in their old beliefs that two Godframes are enough to defend the entirety of the League from extreme threats. Of course, they were wrong. Muriel’s true purpose was to kill Beral and steal Victor and Godframe Ares.

She made sure to only show up when Beral was already weakened after killing Argus.

The ploy worked. When Beral fought Muriel, he reportedly only had less than 50% Shield remaining. And as everybody already knows, that was enough for Muriel to kill him.

Only after the loss of St. John and Beral did the government finally learn their lesson. They were outplayed. Embarrassingly so.

Does that mean the League is incompetent? No. They simply have grown too complacent and Muriiel realized that.

If there was an upside to all of that, it was that Muriel was too wounded to steal Ares after their battle.

Attempting to steal the Godframe meant suicide because she wouldn’t have been able to escape Hera and several Archframers who were already on the way.

In hindsight, Muriel’s tactic was painfully simple. But often, when executed well, a simple tactic is far better than a complicated one. And Muriel took advantage of the League’s arrogance to ensure an almost perfect execution.

She may have failed to steal Ares, but she still managed to destroy a Dominion and kill the League’s number one. She killed the War Sovereign.

And a Sovereign hasn’t been killed in over 50 years.

Master Livia nodded as if she read Cale’s mind. “There will likely be many diversions. But that’s for us to worry about. Just worry about finding the spies.”

Cale glanced to a corner of the room, to a silhouette hidden in the shadows. “Is that enough to assuage your concerns, Lucas?”

Lucas revealed himself from the dark, yawning with tears in his eyes. “So, to sum it up, nothing changes, aside from old people playing politics again. Doesn’t change our job of just finding the spies and protecting Aoife,” he said.

“It’s your job to protect her. Not mine.” Cale felt the need to clarify that. Of course, he would help Lucas with fulfilling his favour for the wizard, but Lucas has to be constantly reminded that he shouldn’t expect help if he’s choosing to be a help to someone. Not unless he asks for it or begs for it.

“Right, right,” Lucas sighed, before turning his attention back to Master. "Anything else we should know about?"

Cale was tempted to yawn himself, but that would be uncouth. However, he understood his friend’s exhaustion. It has been a long day.

Master Livia shook her head. “No. But I must remind you, that your mission isn’t an assassination mission. I would suggest against drastic measures not unless the situation truly calls for it. Your job, I repeat, is simply to find out who works for the Order.”

Lucas slumped on a couch, giving her a thumbs up. “Yes, ma’am.”

Master Livia kept his gaze on Lucas, narrowing her eyes. “You’re worried about something.”

Lucas tilted his head as he crossed one of his legs to the other, meeting Master Livia’s eyes. His demeanour immediately shifted. One of poise and cold indifference. He's in Avernus-mode.

“There are too many holes in your plan. Too many uncertainties. And too much division in the government. A Contract is not absolute. We haven’t even found the traitor––,” said Lucas before halting as he narrowed his eyes.

Cale himself realized why Lucas stopped as he recalled that conversation two years ago at the headquarters, before Hummingbird departed to find Godframe Hades.

Lucas asked the Director, “But what about the Order?”

The Director abruptly halted at the question, the atmosphere in the room turning suffocating and cold. “They’ll be quiet for a while. But it won’t be long. I have a way of drawing them out from where they hide,” he said, adding, “You’ll all know when the time comes.”

Cale locked his jaw at the recollection. So that time has finally come, he thought. Has the Director and Master Livia been working on this for the last two years? I admire the patience…

Master Livia smiled. “If the Order is able to infiltrate the Academy, they must have help from the inside. And that help may or may not be the same people who tried to steal the Ring of Avernus in the past. Even if that’s not the case, it would be foolish for us not to investigate it–– to find out who’s helping Lewisia. This is why you and Cale have been assigned to the mission. Everything is just noise, Lucas. Everything. From us working with the League, to using Victor as bait, to eliminating Muriel, to OPERATION: ROLLING PANDA as a whole–– they’re all just diversions.”

Cale sipped his tea. “This is all a show to find out more about the Ring of Avernus, assuming that those traitors even know something about the ring in the first place. And just for that, he does all of this. I must admit… the Director is clinically insane.”

Master Livia nodded. “It took two years of preparation to find a possible solution for a simple uncertainty. But drastic measures are required when dealing with something of a cosmic origin. Remember Cale, finding out more about the ring may help us find Godframe Hades,” she said, before looking at Lucas.

The wizard briefly paused, with Lucas meeting her eyes with a raised eyebrow. Then Master Livia continued. “Not only that, but we might find out more about this beacon. The door that your mother, Lucas, is hoping to find and open,” she said. “Our ultimate goal is to destroy all of the Ashen. Remember that.”

With a raised finger, she stopped Lucas from interrupting. “I’m not saying your quest for vengeance is irrelevant. After all, all this search for information about the ring does not change the fact that we’re still at war.”

Lucas muttered as he closed his eyes. “Killing two birds with one stone. One is to find information about the ring. Two is to kill Muriel with ROLLING PANDA.”

“Yes. Muriel herself have already told you–– the war of 12 years past has never ended. We are still at war, even if we might presently wage them in the shadows, and it is a given that things will go wrong with war. Many of us will die, and I do not exclude myself from the possibility of it. But I wish you both come out of it alive.”

When Cale looked over, Lucas slowly opened his eyes to recite SPECTRA’s Oath. “We are spectres of the night. In the shadows we tread to shield the light.”

Master Livia nodded. “Men scheme because they lack absolute power and that applies to Muriel. She who schemes to destroy because even she cannot topple the League through sheer power alone. She schemes because she also fears us,” she said.

Lucas gave a light nod, his silver eyes gleaming coldly. “I–– understand,” he said, each of those two words trailing off like a wisp of smoke before he vanished into thin air.

“Go take some rest, my friend,” Cale whispered to himself, despite no longer feeling Lucas’ presence in the room. “It’s going to be a long, long year.”

Who knows who or what they will encounter. The Order will likely send out high-level Awakened one way or another, and there will likely also be students who are actually working for the Order.

Child soldiers. That’s a pretty common occurrence among terrorists and even among the six nations.

“Cale?” said Master Livia, trying to grab his attention.

“What is it?”

“You’d also teach Lucas that not everything could be solved with just brawns, right?”

“That's an odd question. But that’s the plan. Why do you ask?”

“…Well. He’s around that age when he won’t listen to adults. To kids, someone around their age with the mentality of an adult can sometimes be the best guide.”

“Am I not a–– kid, as well?”

“I’m talking about an older brother, Cale,” she said with a chuckle that tinkled like bells. “But I suppose you are different. It’s as if… you have all these wisdom, but you’re not afraid to be wrong. It’s as if you have already lived through a lifetime… or more.”

Cale couldn’t help but smile as he closed his eyes. Ah, to smile, he often doesn’t do that. It’s not that he didn’t want to smile, or is deliberately not trying to smile, but there are simply a few things out there that could make him smile.

And he didn’t expect her words to be one of those. “I read a book when we were in Samirthya,” said Cale.

“Oh, that one lead on Hades? Where at?”

“Yes. In Nivatara.”

“Ah. Their capital. It’s a wonderful place.”

“Indeed, it is. The book was written by a Tenzin Yeshi, a Samirthyan wizard,” said Cale. “Somewhere, he talked about how sometimes people mistake knowledge for wisdom, that the two are two but one,” he said. “Do you know what that is?”

Master Livia smiled before shaking her head. “It must have been the translation, but while what you said isn’t entirely wrong, what he said was that sometimes, people mistake that there is only one kind of wisdom. That there are not one, not two, but many. You must be referring to the part when he was criticizing the Samirthyan Empire.”

Cale nodded. “Yes. He said that while the nobility may be called nobles, that doesn’t mean they’re nobles.”

“Indeed. He referred to phronēsis, a Hellenistic philosophy on practical wisdom,” she said before pausing, tilting her with narrowed eyes at Cale. “But I see now what you’re saying. You’re saying that you only appear smart and full of wisdom.”

Cale smiled.

Master Livia shrugged as silence briefly descended. After taking a sip of her tea, she broke the silence with a giggle.

Cale raised a brow. “What is it this time?”

“I’m sorry. It’s just… His pattern of speech. His tone. It has slightly changed,” said Master Livia as she stood up.

“Lucas?”

“Yes. His voice seems more lively when he’s not–– Avernus. What happened? It hasn’t even been a day yet.”

“A girl,” just said Cale.

Master Livia chuckled. “I see. He must like her so much.”

“…I suppose he does,” Cale said with a pause to scrutinize the wizard’s features.

“May I ask who?” Master Livia said, eyes sparkling at her own inquiry.

Cale resisted rolling his eyes but did provide an answer. “It’s Chloe. Chloe Auclair.” But he did not reveal Chloe’s name simply to satisfy Master Livia’s curiosity. No.

Because as expected, the wizard frowned at the mention of Chloe’s name.

“You’re not confident you can heal her, are you?” asked Cale before he stood up. “…What am I saying,” he said with a shake of his head. “Of course you’re not. Let’s just hope you’re not providing her a false hope.”

Master Livia let out a hum as she gazed back to the outside, to the orbs of light that lit the forest’s paths below. “There might be a way. But you are right. It might be impossible.”

“Does she know?” Cale asked as he headed for the door and placed a hand on the doorknob.

“Of course,” Master Livia nodded. “Even she does not believe it’ll work.”

“Oh?”

“She only wishes to live her life as meaningfully as she could. And if working with us, even if it may ultimately not benefit her in the end, means we will be helping people like her in the future––?”

“…then she is happy to cooperate,” Cale completed her sentence as he twisted the doorknob to exit. “What a sad fate.”

Master Livia smiled. “Is it?”

But at the question, Cale stopped, glancing back to Master Livia.

“She may actually be happier and more fulfilled than most, Cale. She, who understands what most of us take for granted–– how to live.”

"Right..." Cale then opened the door to leave.

But.

"One more thing," she said.

Cale wanted to groan. He needs rest as much as everyone else. "What is it?"

"Any leads so far?"

"There's one. The deal with the Manners family. It may not be as irrelevant to the mission as we have previously thought," he said. "And if I'm right. The Order will make a move soon."

Master Livia narrowed her sights at Cale. "How soon?"

"Before next week."

"That's very specific, but I'm not going to bother you too much about the details," she said. "But it looks like you and Lucas will see action far earlier than we've all expected."

"When there's a lull, it's usually just an illusion," said Cale with a sharp gaze at Master Livia.

Master Livia looked out the window. "I couldn't agree more...," she said with a wispy breath.