Chapter 233

In the heated venue, Vani sat cross-legged in a chair.

“Hey, Vani.”

“Eriksen….what are you doing here? …..and why are you wearing a suit…..It’s absolutely stuffed. I can hear those buttons screaming.”

When Vani turned around, she saw Eriksen, Mjolnir of Delta. He still has the lower half of his face covered with beard, but today that beard was pleasantly trimmed, and he was dressed in a secret service-style suit. And it’s in a blink of bursting with muscles.

“Security. Agatha suddenly asked me.”

“Delta too? Why not just Alpha?”

“They seem pretty tense this time around. Oh well, the situation has changed. It can’t be helped.”

Eriksen’s chin scrunched up, and on stage, Agatha was busy giving instructions to her men.

“By the way, who are those kids with you?”

“Abigail’s acquaintance. Nothing to be wary about.”

Natsuki was sitting uncomfortably next to Vani. Yakumo was also with her and he was holding Diamond. Their seats are near the wall of the hall.

“Captain Eriksen.”

Eugene called out from behind Natsuki.

“Eugene, Are you a goddamn ghost haunting me or something?”

“Don’t call someone like that Captain. Today is a public debate with the media, so it’s not surprising that I’m here.”

Eugene took off his hat and addressed the group. He pointed to a group of reporters with their cameras already set up. The venue has a somber atmosphere.

“Come to think of it, so you’re a journalist after all? I thought you are just a UMA fanatic.”

“That’s outrageous, Captain!”

“You can’t blame me that, If all you do is ask about the UMAs I’ve seen on the front lines every time I do an interview…… By the way, Vani –“

Leaving Eugene to protest, Eriksen turned his head as if searching for something.

He turned to Vani, bring his face closer to her, and lowered his voice.

“What about InoRyder? She was invited today……..”

“Sleeping at home. Stomach ache.”

“……”

The corner of Eriksen’s eye twitch as he looked at Vani.

“– I hope you’re not planning something strange.”

“If we were, How can you stop us?”

Vani asked. Eriksen sighed and covered his eyes with his hands.

“If it’s about Abigail They abruptly changed it to online participation. The lieutenant general’s appearance has also been canceled. Some terrorists were planning to attack the city apparently. I think it’s called the Beast of Gevaudan or something.”

“Hmmm. fine.”

Vani replied indifferently and continued.

“I don’t care about the occult stuff. It was never his intention to get Abigail here in the first place, was it? Abigail is a valuable source of information and a useful link to the central, so there’s no way they’d put her in such a public place so easily.”

“Don’t do anything stupid. You can’t pull your usual fox this time because this is no joke.”

“Many soldiers commit suicide while on leave.”

“I don’t see how that’s an excuse.”

Eriksen rubbed Vani’s head, then reminded her once more and walked away.

This place is a large hall on the lower level of the central headquarters building.

Yasmin and Rutherford had already entered the hall and chatted with the audience before the debate.

Today, all the influential people of the 88 are scheduled to meet here and discuss their own political agenda and the future direction of the organization on the public broadcast.

In the middle of the debate, Abigail will be called as a witness. Perhaps some new information about the location of the gate, which can be a vital point for the aliens or the structure of the enemy. She is expected to be asked for those kinds of inputs.

The crowd of influential people filled the hall.

As Vani and the others looked at the stage in front of them with a bored look on their faces, Rutherford spoke out loudly with his thick voice.

“Shouldn’t we allow people to ask questions to Ms. Abigail freely? Isn’t this more of a spokeswoman for the government than a witness?”

He was protesting the fact that questioning Abigail is not allowed other than what the military has prepared for her. He said it was unfair that the scheduled questions were all in favor of Yasmin and that Rutherford was not allowed to ask the questions he wanted.

Suddenly, representatives from both camps began arguing about Abigail’s situation.

“It doesn’t mean that Ms.Abigail has been forced to, you know?”

Yasmin said.

“Her statements must be limited to only those that have been carefully fact-checked in advance. We cannot give the aliens a chance to take advantage of us if any misleading information is spread around 88–“

“Enough of this.”

Logan interrupted Yasmin’s remarks with annoyance.

“How can Abby be an alien spy?”

“You can’t make a judgment based on personal feelings.”

“Personal feelings?!”

Logan raised his voice, sounding irritated.

“She’s looking for Nigel, someone who might be her sister. A Fox soldier who once fought here in 88! She just wanted to confirm the veracity of it! That’s why she stayed in this dangerous place to search for personal information about Nigel, who was “somehow” missing! It is a false accusation to call her a pawn of aliens without knowing how much she has sacrificed herself for humanity!”

When he finished shouting, the hall fell silent.

But Yasmin was the only one who didn’t seem bothered, and she looked into Logan’s face.

“–Did you say Nigel’s sister……the Fox team Nigel? Really? Are you sure?”

Her penetrating glare sent chills through Logan.

However, he cannot let such weakness be perceived by his political enemy in front of him. He glared back at Yasmin with all the strength he could muster.

“–There’s a high possibility of that, so what about it, Secretary General Yasmin? How is it that information about Nigel, other citizens and soldiers from the past is missing? Do you mind you explaining this?”

“That is…..”

Yasmin doesn’t answer but looks away, her mouth clamped in thought.

Then, from the back of the stage, an old voice said, “I can.”

From the back of the crowd, Benedict walks up to him.

“Yasmin. Unlike you, I had a close relationship with the soldiers in the field. I remember Nigel well. She had the same kind of courage as her.”

“But You didn’t tell General Benedict or me?”

Benedict unabashedly looked straight back at Yasmin’s cold gaze.

“I’m not sure what you lot are up to, after all”

“…… tsk…… Garnier, you ………….”

Yasmin clicked her tongue and muttered in a voice that no one could hear.

“–Hey big shots.”

Then Agatha and Eriksen came up to the tense stage, side by side.

“I received a call from the Lieutenant General just a few moments ago. I have to tell you all something here.”

“Lieutenant General?”

Logan looked back at Agatha, and she told him with a tense look on her face.

“It’s important to inform you all that there is ……… a butcher hiding in 88.”

–.

…… and after a moment’s delay, tension flared up on stage.

“No way!”

Logan groaned.

Agatha continued.

“It’s reliable intel. And sure enough, it’s going around assassinating influential people. It is very likely that it will target today’s debate as well. Therefore you all should refrain from acting alone from now on. We, Alpha and Delta, will be working together on the security.”

“That’s……”

“What was the military doing?”

“Is that the beast of Gevaudan that’s been floating around?”

Agatha cut off the voices that began to arise one after another with a screeching, “That’s enough!”

She turned from the stage to the audience and announced to the reporters.

“Today’s debate is canceled! In addition, Martial Law is expected to be enforced at Fort 88 starting tonight!”

Agatha’s shouts send the room buzzing.

Flashes flew from the crowd of reporters, and the careless ones began to roll their cameras in a flurry.

Logan panics.

“Wait a minute! Then the election is–“

There he clicked his tongue inwardly.

The lieutenant general must have set this up, Logan thought.

If the elections were held under a state of emergency, Yasmin will surly win.

“Citizens.” She said, “take your guns and wait for the Commander-in-Chief’s orders! Also, the election is scheduled to be online according to regulations …… and …………?”

Agatha’s face on the stage gradually turned confused, and her voice trailed off.

“………… Colonel Declark?”

Her gaze was fixed near the very end of the hall.

A figure staring blankly ahead steps out silently from the back of the hall, dragging a dirty bag by his hand.

“–Oh, Flint! What are you doing here? There was a hack yesterday, and the server room was in chaos……. Are you still alive then?? You suddenly disappeared…….”

Someone said.

“Natalya! Where have you been all this time, we were all worried about you–“

Someone also stood up and said.

“Marco, why’re you in this high-class place?!”

“I’ve seen that woman in a casino’s backroom before…….”

“You mean the Colonel’s wife? are you blind?”

“Hey, are you guys out of your minds? How is that a woman? He’s looking like he came straight off the bodybuilding contest…”

Gradually, the confusion spread throughout the hall.

They looked at each other and began to panic at the incomprehensible situation.

“—- ha!”

The first to come to his senses was Eriksen, a veteran with many battles under his belt.

He raised his assault rifle and shouted.

“–Get away from it, all of you!”

As if in response to that voice, the person who was the source of the chaos threw the bag in his hand onto the stage.

The bag fell with a thud.

The string loosens and then came a voice.

“〆●＆○、Gevaudan、★●■□〓△※▼▼▼▼!!”

A shadow jumped out from inside, opened its mouth wide, and bit the neck of the host man standing nearby.

A corpse bit the man’s throat

The corpse of a woman, cruelly disfigured, her limbs severed and her organs freakishly exposed. It bobbed and jumped and clattered its teeth as it fell onto the stage, looking for its prey as it moved around the stage.

“Hi-“

“What is-?”

“What the hell is this — ahhhhhhh!”

Agatha’s furious shout echoed through the hall.

“Get your guns up, Agatha! —That’s an alien!!”

Eriksen yelled then his muzzle flashed with fire.