"So the mission failed, huh?"

A group of about fifty men sat together in an isolated room. There were no windows, and no external source of lightsave for a few candles.

The men were coated in the black, though the turbans they used to wrap their faces were now pulled down so their faces were shown.

This was Scylla's Recon Unitthough it was members short.

"Is that what you're mostly concerned about? Who the hell was that man? How could he kill Leader Jawl just like that?!"

Jawl was often compared to the Nine Heads of Destruction in strength, so when they first saw his corpse, none of the Recon Unit Members present believed their eyes.

However, after seeing how the other Heads of Destruction struggled against a single Undead made by the mysterious black suited man, they instantly realized how big of a threat the enemy was.

Once the other squad reunited with them, they planned their escape. And, when no eye was on them, they stealthily left the premises.

"Do you think they're all dead?" One of the Unit members asked.

"I think so."

"R-really? Even with Five Heads of Destruction leading the charge?"

For a moment, there was silence.

No one really knew how the fight had concluded, considering they left prematurely.

Still, none of them regretted their decision.

"At least we were able to secure the merchandise for Lady Scylla."

"It's in the other room, right?"

"Yes."

"Whew! I wouldn't want her to chew us out for failing to do that along with failing the rest of the mission."

"Haha indeed!"

As they laughed among themselves, a creaking sound began to echo from the door.

"H-huh?"

"I-is that?"

All the eyes in the room darted towards the only entrance and exit within the dark room. Some even reached for their weapons and waited.

The creaking continued, and the door slowly opened.

Gulps could be heard, and a few now had their hands on the hilt of their blade.

Ready to strike.

Then

"How troublesome"

A man entered the room.

The moment they saw him, their faces melted into relief, with nearly everyone exhaling and relaxing their muscles.

After all, the man who just entered was the Deputy Leader of the Recon Unit.

"What's with all of you?" He asked with puzzlement as he stepped into the room, locked the door, and went to have his seat at the corner of the room.

Many leaked out silly smiles, though a few still watched the Deputy Leader with anxiety.

"So, how did the call with Lady Scylla go? Was she understanding?"

This was the most important question to all of the members of the Recon Unit at the moment.

Despite being in the secret Scylla Safehouse within the Capital, they couldn't feel safe until their Boss and Master had deemed them so.

The Deputy Leader had stepped out so he could use the Communication Device with him to communicate with Scylla, since the walls of this particular room was made from dense Orichalcumhence preventing any signal involving Mana to pass.

Now that he had returned, they awaited the news.

"She wasn't answering. It's strange, considering she always makes time to respond to our calls"

The Deputy Leader appeared worried, and for good reason.

Without some sort of external intervention from Scylla, or at least some kind of order, they were stranded in the Capital.

With such a monster within the Capital, it was easy to see why they weren't at ease despite being somewhere safe.

"Do you think something happened on their end? Perhaps some kind of interference?"

"Maybe things aren't going according to plan in the Dark Gathering too"

"What should we do now?"

Murmurs turned into echoes of confusion as all the parties stared at each other indecisively.

None knew what to do.

Even the Deputy Leader had a guilt-ridden and absolutely confused expression on his face.

'If only Jawl was here' His thoughts trailed in silence.

He would have been able to lead everything and everyone better.

'He just had to die to that thi!'

"Looks like Master is pretty much done with things on his end."

The voice of a stranger echoed amidst the group of people who didn't instantly pick up the sound. Its amused tone had a strange sense of familiarity, but there was no doubt about how detached it was.

By the time the Recon Unit members realized what was going on, it was too late.

The dark suited man, Ater, was sanding in their midst.

"H-how?!"

"This is a top-secret Safehouse!"

"How did he get in!"

"I-impossible!"

"Eeek!"

The blood-red hair of the ebony man flowed as he looked at them with a condescending gaze of amusement.

It felt like they were nothing but maggots in his eyes.

"Safehouse, huh? Is that what you see? Interesting"

Suddenly, the safe and cozy comfort of the room began to crumble.

It was replaced by an open field under the night sky.

They could see the clouds, the dull glow of the moon, and the scarce stars in the sky.

A completely different sight from what they remembered a few moments earlier.

"This is just on the outskirts of the Capital. You never retreated to your Safehouse." Ater said as he took his seat in the air.

Everyone who saw him exclaimed in overwhelming shock. They couldn't even pick what to be surprised about, since everything was happening too quickly.

"W-what did you to do us?!" One of them screamed, only to cover his lips in fear.

In response, Ater only smiled warmly.

"[Illusion]" He answered calmly. "From the moment you stepped into the Capital, you were all under my power."

As such, everything they experienced from that moment on was subject to him.

Was it real? Was it not?

They could not tell in the slightest.

"Now, it's my turn to ask a question." Ater narrowed his gaze as he looked at the paralyzed group.

"Why do you think I let you escape?"

*

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*

Thanks for reading!

I understand that some readers might not like how Ater is taking a lot of screentime, but do be patient.

The night will soon be over.