After that, Hanz quickly turned around with the body camera.
[Shit.] He cursed because he saw something. It was a girl with white hair that was tied in a twin tail. The girl wore a white suit, and her appearance was similar to Bel's when Naomi first met her.
Hanz quickly used his ability. But then, the girl suddenly appeared in front of him and swung a knife in her hand at a fast speed. Before being fully melted into shadow, the knife cut Hanz’s body a few times.
The video was cut off after Hanz exited the building and made his way back to the hotel where Selena was waiting. His subordinates also got some information, but it was not as crucial as Hanz’s. All of them were injured in one way or another from the attack of the same girl. There was also a report that some were attacked by a boy with white hair instead of a girl that looked similar to Bel.
The room was silent for a while. That was until Naomi rewound the video to the underground room.
“You know what these are, right, Angella?”
“I do know something about it. Rather, I heard a rumor.” Angella affirmed with a nod. “But… maybe my knowledge about it isn’t that complete. Avos seems not to trust me about it. Maybe he already knew about my betrayal beforehand.”
“I don’t mind. Tell me everything.”
Angella took a deep breath. “Alright.”
***
After hearing Angella’s explanation, Naomi returned to the flying island with Mischa. She had calmed herself down considerably. She now felt sad rather than angry.
When they returned, Julia, Anna, and Dan-Bi were in the living room. Maybe sensing their heavy moods, they excused themselves by saying they wanted to have a walk at the park below. Julia prepared tea for Mischa and coffee for Naomi before they flew down using her ability.
Now, sitting on a couch, Naomi had an apologetic look.
“Sorry, Mischa. It’s all my fault.” She apologized.
“Huh? Why did you apologize, Naomi? Mischa was confused and surprised because Naomi suddenly apologized.
“About that... Do you remember the girl that was taken away by the Esper Association when we were on our date in Japan?”
“Yes, I do remember h– Wait, Naomi. You don’t mean?!” Mischa realized what Naomi was trying to say with just a little hint. “Oh, no…”
“Yeah, I noticed that girl was among the people inside the tube. She was the farthest away, so I guess she will not be transformed into those ‘Dolls’ as Angella said soon.”
“Doll. They name them as if they are a plaything.” Mischa looked down, clearly dispirited.
“Angella only heard it from rumors around the Esper Association. But there is no smoke without fire. Surely, they are really called Dolls. Their appearances are similar to Bel, Melaine’s clone, and Avos. They also used those girls and boys as a base. That means, they might have 2 abilities like us.”
“That will be troublesome.” Mischa nodded. “But, what should we do? We know where they are, but…”
“It will be dangerous because Avos and all Executives are in the US. We have secured Andrew, and Angella has betrayed them. If we attack them, we surely can win, but the casualties will not be small either.”
“Then, what will we do? What can I do to help?”
“For now, nothing.” Naomi raised her head, looking at Mischa. “Maybe resting. I will think of a countermeasure tomorrow. Destroying them is easy, I can just pull some meteors again. But, a lot of lives, including the ones we are trying to save, will be lost if I do that.”
“Haha…hahaha. Please don’t pull a meteor again. That still left a trauma in me.” Mischa laughed wryly, hearing Naomi say lightly that she could pull some meteors to destroy the Esper Association.
“That’s why I said it. We can’t do anything for now. I have instructed Melaine to think of a countermeasure with Angella and the others. For now, I will put a little trust in that guy. If he somehow betrays me in the future, then I will kill him personally.”
“Alright, then.” Mischa answered. She slowly got closer to Naomi and hugged her from the side. “How about we rest for now? You must be tired of trying to rein back your raging ability earlier.”
“I’m not really tired, but I will rest if you give me a lap pillow, Mischa.” Naomi smiled mischievously. The atmosphere instantly changed. The cold and heavy atmosphere turned warm and fuzzy as soon as Naomi calmed down and joked around.
“It can’t be helped,” Mischa replied with a smile as she scooted away to the side a little, giving Naomi some space. She then patted her thighs, inviting Naomi. “Lie down here. I will let you sleep on my lap for today. It’s special.”
Naomi blinked a few times before grinning, “Oh, I will take your offer.” S
he leaned closer and put her head on top of Mischa’s lap. “This is comforting and soft.” Enjoying the sensation, she closed her eyes. She put her hand above her chest to keep them from moving.
“I am glad.” Mischa smiled. Her hand went toward Naomi’s long hair and stroked it gently. “Your hair is soft, Naomi. I love it.”
“Yes… I love yours too.” Naomi’s voice became quieter. She woke up early today to train her Adjustment, followed by stressing work immediately. She couldn’t even rest easy after they confessed to each other because of the information inside the memory chip. She couldn’t even make sure what her relationship with Mischa was after that. Today was exhausting for her.
Mischa knew that; hence she offered a lap pillow to Naomi.
“Somehow, I feel sleepy,” Naomi muttered, and her breathing became calmer.
“You can sleep, Naomi. I will wake you up if something important happens.”
Mischa stroked her head gently. Sleepiness took over almost immediately.
“Thanks. I will take up your offer… Good night, Mischa. I love you.”
“Good night. I love you too.”
***
In the underground base, right after Naomi slept, Melaine held a meeting to inform the others about Dolls’ existence.
The meeting was the biggest one ever held in the underground base. Ingrid and General Nicholas from the military even attended the meeting.
Melaine first briefed them, and then dropped a bomb. This bomb was information sent by Hanz to Chi. This information was in a separate document that wasn’t included in the Memory Chip given to Naomi.
Obviously, Naomi knew the information from Chi, but the others didn’t know yet. Hence, this meeting was the perfect occasion to tell them.
“50 Dolls and around 1000 Espers from the Esper Association will attack Germany in a week. Possibly, there will be 2 Executives involved and more than 5000 ordinary soldiers involved. According to our intelligence, the force will increase as they pass through the countries where their bases are located. They will come from all directions and be divided into 4 large groups.”
Melaine glared seriously at the people present in the meeting. The atmosphere was heavy, and no one smiled. Even those who loved fighting frowned. The situation was that serious.
After making sure that everyone listened to her, Melaine declared.
“It’s time for war, people. I hope you are ready.”
***
A shadow of a person appeared in the room where Andrew was imprisoned. No one seemed to notice this person because they were still in the meeting.
Once he saw the shadow, Andrew grinned and said.
“Took you a long time, Abel. Now, take me out of here and get me to Lord Avos.”
“No.” The shadow, Abel, answered.
Abel took out a handgun and pointed it at Andrew’s head. “You need to be disposed of.”
“W-Wait! W-What are you doing?!” Andrew panicked and crawled to the corner. “I am an Executive, you know?! You can’t do this to me!”
“Unfortunately, this is my decision. Someone has enamored me. I want to support her, so… Goodbye, Andrew.” Saying so, the one called Abel pulled the trigger. The bullet flew from the muzzle toward Andrew’s head and pierced through right at the middle of his forehead.
The light from firing the gun illuminated Abel’s face shortly. If anyone was there at that moment, they would realize that the person, Abel, was someone they knew very well. It was a girl in her mid-twenties with long black hair tied in a ponytail. That girl was someone that stayed by Naomi’s side for two years as her convenient transport, Hotaru.
“All for that person’s dream to be a Hero.” She hugged herself as her cheek reddened. “Naomi~.”
RaizarP
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