“Nah, you’d just get in the way. I’ll beat her to a pulp all on my own.”
“…Are you sure you’re not out for vengeance?”
The two of them glared at the Genesis Army headquarters sitting right in the heart of Pilca.
The Nike squad—the two members with the most dangerous task of all—was brimming with a quiet determination.
Klaus could feel his pulse quicken as he walked onward.
The city he was in was a good 250 miles away from the Lylat capital, Pilca. He was operating independently of the Lamplight girls, and he headed slowly toward his destination in the Galgad capital of Darton.
A mission he couldn’t skip had just fallen into his lap.
An audacious letter had been sent straight to the headquarters of Din intelligence.
“We surrender. Would you be so kind as to grant me a meeting with Bonfire?”
The message and the identity of its sender had come as a huge shock. Klaus had been informed immediately, and after a discussion with management, it was decided that he would accept the invitation.
The other party wanted to speak to him alone. Klaus hadn’t brought anyone with him.
His destination was a manor atop a hill. It was a stately building sequestered out in the suburbs away from the hustle and bustle of Darton proper. Although it had been kept in good condition, the design of its gate and other features spoke to its long history. It had been used several centuries ago to serve as an aristocrat’s holiday villa.
Once Klaus checked precisely what country’s style the design incorporated, he had a pretty good idea of who he was dealing with.
Nobody came out to greet him. There were no doormen or servants.
In all likelihood, nobody actually lived there.
There was a table set up in the villa’s sad garden next to its bone-dry fountain. It was flanked by a pair of garden chairs.
Sitting in one of the chairs was a man.
“Forgive me for calling you all the way out here.”
His voice sounded strained. He must have had some sort of procedure done on his throat.
What surprised Klaus most was how unexpectedly young his counterpart was.
The person waiting for him was a handsome boy in his late teens. He was definitely younger than Klaus. His features were understated, and there was something artificial and masklike about his face. Long bangs dangled over the rim of his glasses. He was wearing a high-quality brand-name jacket, and his perfect sitting posture gave a glimpse into the quality of his upbringing.
At first glance, he appeared feeble and unimposing. The moment their gazes met, though, Klaus was forced to revise that assessment.
Buried in his eyes was the conviction of a soul willing to walk the road of bloodshed. There was an intensity about him that made one instinctively want to look away.
“My position makes it difficult to move about freely. I am sorry about the inconvenience. I am grateful you came all this way, O pupil of Blue Fly.”
“Never call my mentor that again,” Klaus snapped as he sat down on the chair opposite the boy.
Klaus was on high alert, but he didn’t sense anyone else in the area but the two of them. The boy had come alone, and he’d done so despite knowing that it could very well get him killed.
“My apologies,” the boy corrected himself, then looked Klaus straight in the eye.
“As Serpent’s boss, I would very badly like to make a deal with you.”
Far away from the Lylat Kingdom, the two of them began their conversation.
Lamplight and Serpent were two spy teams that had fought to the death over the world’s secrets, and now their respective bosses were meeting face-to-face.