Extra's Descent

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It took a while to convince them, but with Amelia's backing, Brandon managed to persuade Belle's subordinates that Lumian was already weakened when he beat him.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

Belle spoke in a worried tone as she grabbed Brandon's shoulder, peering out for any signs of injuries.

"No, I'm fine."

Brandon shook his head.

Once again, Brandon and Amelia exchanged glances, her brows furrowed.

Belle didn't seem to notice the exchange as she was already staring at Amelia.

"Amelia, did you not get the announcement?"

"Announcement?"

"Check your phone again."

Amelia did just that. Shortly after, she shook her head and showed her phone to Belle.

"There's nothing."

"Alright. Seems like the mana is still disrupting the signal."

Belle retrieved her phone and showed it to both Amelia and Brandon.

"Here."

Brandon and Amelia leaned close and scanned.

Brandon was indifferent about the whole thing but Amelia's eyes widened in shock.

Amelia turned her head and looked at the body before speaking.

"So this man is one of them…."

"Exactly."

Belle nodded her head.

"We were sent to take him dead or alive."

Those words weigh heavily. After all, they needed to interrogate Lumian for information.

But it was for the reason of Lumian being powerful, that he was sentenced dead or alive.

It just went to show how powerful he really was.

But yet again, Brandon harbored no such feelings for the entire ordeal.

Lumian was dead.

Belle was still alive.

And that's the end of the story.

He had completely rewritten Belle's fate.

But regardless, he knew this wasn't the end of it.

A war was coming, whether he liked it or not.

And with war comes death.

"This is quite a feat. The army will reward you generously."

One of the officers spoke up. Black hair and yellow eyes. Brandon was well aware of who this was.

Ivan Albarn.

An S ranker. He had appeared briefly in one of Brandon Locke's memories.

And it was of a similar scenario as well—being Belle's subordinate.

Brandon shook his head at his statement.

"No. I don't need any reward."

"I've heard about you from General Locke. It's quite shocking to see you're still alive, Sir Brandon."

Another voice cut in. Blue hair and blonde eyes. Ray Arcadia.

Belle's assistant officer.

Ray continued.

"Circumstances must've forbidden both you and General Locke to reveal your survival, Sir Brandon. Still… we need to reward you with something."

'Got them.'

Brandon thought to himself.

"Like I said, I don't need any reward."

"General, please convince—"

"However,"

Brandon cut him off.

"I might need your help."

Brandon turned around and looked at Belle, asking for permission.

"Is it alright, sis?"

"Sure. I hold complete authority over all actions taken by this task force."

"Okay, thanks."

Brandon nodded his head and looked back at Ray. Scanning her subordinates expression, they had a serious look on their faces as they listened intently.

Brandon opened his mouth.

"I know where the syndicate is."

He began to elaborate on his plans. Of course, they had questions for him, such as 'How do you know all this?'

But Belle immediately cut them off, telling them that questions will be entertained after Brandon finishes.

Brandon continued.

The entire operation needed to be covert, and the small task force was sufficient for this purpose.

If too many people were involved, the syndicate would be suspicious and the entire plan would fail.

"I understand. But how do you expect us to infiltrate?"

Ivan suddenly chimed in.

Brandon had more or less finished proposing his plan. For that reason, he started entertaining questions.

"I'll handle the infiltration. I have an insider who will assist me."

"What?"

"Huh?"

They were taken aback. Even Belle had similar reactions as her brows raised.

Brandon continued.

"I was the one who gave Amelia the tip."

He had to reveal it to gain their trust. The fact that he knew the syndicate's location was suspicious enough.

But since he had an insider, it all made sense to everyone present.

"For how this happened, I've been tracking the syndicate since a year ago."

"What? Is this true?"

Belle suddenly spoke with a raised tone.

Brandon confirmed.

"Yeah."

"Then, that time…. When you were in the hospital…."

"I'm alive, aren't I?"

"...."

Belle was speechless and Brandon shrugged his shoulders.

Ivan's voice cut in.

"This is big news. But are we sure we can trust your informant?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about it. If you can't trust him, then trust me."

"...."

"Alright. But if you want this plan to succeed, the army should at least know about it."

"That's where you guys come in. I'll start infiltrating once I've finished my preparations. But remember, none of you must make a move until I give the go signal. Resume your regular army operations."

Ivan looked at Belle—who stood behind Brandon, asking for permission. Brandon didn't need to see to know that Belle accepted the proposal.

Brandon continued to elaborate. He had told them he would send the location of the syndicate in a few weeks, after confirmation.

At the end of it, everyone understood the tasks given to them as they all discussed.

Giving them space, Brandon returned by Amelia's side. She raised her head and met his gaze.

Brandon opened his mouth.

"This is goodbye for now. You'll be returning with them once we get back to the human domain."

"Ah.. Uh…"

She seemed to hesitate as her mouth opened and closed continuously.

Brandon shook his head.

"Your face is too recognizable. The syndicate would easily identify you."

"Right."

"Don't worry. I made a promise, didn't I…?"

"Okay. But… be careful."

"Since when was I not?"

Brandon chuckled.

Amelia frowned and stared at his gloved—hand.

"You two sure have gotten close."

A voice suddenly cut through, and Amelia flinched.

It was Belle.

"Wonder what happened when I wasn't looking."

"A lot."

"Oh…? Is this true, Amelia?"

Belle looked at Amelia—who seemed to have been embarrassed.

"N-No, no."

She stammered.

Brandon continued.

"You don't even want to know what happened, sis."

Yeah.

'I lost an arm. You died. I saved you.'

A lot happened.

"What are you saying…."

Amelia suddenly leaned close and whispered in his ear, she seemed like she was about to burst.

"What? I wasn't lying."

Brandon shrugged his shoulders.

Technically, he wasn't lying.

"Something like this happened, sis."

All of a sudden, he grabbed Amelia's chin and raised her head, their eyes locking.

"Ah."

And Amelia twitched. Her eyes seemed to be spiraling, flushing beet red out of embarrassment.

Belle sighed and shook her head as she stared at the two.

"Haaa…."