Chapter 25: Arc 3: Dark Witch and Domino (7)

Betty tried to get her heart in order, while staring at the two ‘Etaceh’ in the room.

Betty stared at the Etaceh leaning by the wall in confusion, “What is that?”

Etaceh switched off the hologram, “That is my newest project for mass communication,” the head of the Magic Tower said in a sleepy, drawn out voice. “Isn’t it neat? I can make a recording of myself and project it for the entire city to see.” Etaceh sleepily moved to the table. “But it is nothing to this.”

Betty watched Etaceh produce a strange-looking lamp, and began boasting about her latest invention.

“I discovered how to amplify emotion with Mana,” Etaceh said. “Black and Green is still beyond, but I already get Red, White and Blue down pat. Trust me, Betty, this will be huge.”

“Yeah,” Betty wasn’t impressed. “Emotion manipulation. What can you do with that?”

Etaceh gave Betty a mysterious smile, “You can do a lot, but let's shove my newest breakthrough for now. I want to talk to you about one thing.”

“Well, feel free,” Betty replied. “I am not going anywhere.”

“What do you think about unifying the Eastern Continent?” Etaceh stated the titanic declaration like saying she wanted to go shopping.

Betty thought she misheard something, “Excuse me?”

“I said we should unify the continent,” Etaceh repeated. “Think about it, Elizabeth. Eleanor’s corruption and Montgomery’s dangerous behavior require immediate attention. Yulong has already become the central power of the Southern Continent, but we are still playing geopolitics like balance actually matters.” Etaceh walked to the far room and pulled down the rolled World Map. “I have plans, Elizabeth. We can assemble the greatest army in history and conquer this continent, ridding it of the ingrained problem and opening it to a new age!”

“Etaceh,” Betty was a little disturbed by the surfacing megalomania. “Where did you get this idea?”

It was then the woman who founded the Magic Tower slid in her greatest trick.

“From the Dark Witch,” Etaceh said, pinpointing at the psychological weakness of Elizabeth La Louve. “Isn’t she awesome? Think of being the hero wiping the stain in the capital during the night. We can become the Dark Witch for the entire continent, wiping the taint and opening a gleaming age. Think of all those people cheering our name. The roar of the crowds as we travel down the road in a monumental parade. Isn’t that wonderful?”

Betty must admit Etaceh’s sales were truly sweet. She was tempted to say yes. However, there were several things still nagging at the back of her mind — Xia’s warning, Ciel’s concern, and the most recent discovery.

“Etaceh, did you know anything about the human experimentation project?” Betty asked, proving her head was still screwed correctly.

“Yeah,” Etaceh replied honestly. “I made a rough draft and left it to Spade. The rest is history.” She dropped Betty some clues. “If you want my opinion, I believe some rogue element in the Magic Tower stole the note and forced Spade into backing it.”

Betty barely believed it, “You slip? You, of all people?”

“No, humans are perfect, Betty,” Etaceh smiled slyly. “Even I have trouble controlling people's ambition. Anyway, is that a helpful tip for you?”

Etaceh offered her hand, and Betty took it.

“Thank you, Etaceh,” Betty replied.

Betty turned to leave, but Etaceh called out.

“Oh, one last thing,” Etaceh spoke. “I heard you are looking for some of your father's old notes.”

“Someone asked me for it,” Betty replied.

“Ah, Xiahana right?” Etaceh quickly deduced the truth and wrote several numbers on a paper. “I believe the history section of the library under this shelf will put you on the right track.” She handed Betty the piece of paper. “I hope this will be helpful.”

“Wow, Etaceh,” Betty couldn’t believe her friend’s helpfulness. “I really thank you.”

“No problem,” Etaceh waved as Betty left the room.

After making sure she was alone, the Lord of Mechanical Magic finished her sentence.

“Elizabeth,” the Lord’s eyes were devoid of light. “I should thank you for tipping Hunter.”

…

Beneath a plot of land near Janus, Ciel was building the cave beneath the glow of a lamp.

Caislean, once again, displayed her helpfulness, “Master, are we building the place to bury our enemies and feed their remains to the swarm of flesh-eating scarab?” she addressed the gloomy cave with a spin, “the atmosphere looks just right.”

“Yeah, why don’t we make a death-cult center on that,” Ciel sarcastically replied, while reshaping rocks with [Construction].

“Oh my god,” the secretary yelled with excitement. “That is an excellent idea. We can have personal assassins!”

“Caislean, one of these days I will have Xia lecture you on the meaning of Sarcasm,” Ciel finished the room.

According to the blueprint, the cave should have three rooms. The purpose of this room was to maneuver the Military Police into ‘accidentally’ discovering Xia’s research on the Lords. To make the prize extra believable, Ciel built an obstacle-course.

The first room would be a pitfall trap decorated with spring-loaded arrows behind the walls. It contained the same spyware frying artifact presented in their store in Janus. This would remove Etaceh’s bug.

Room No. 2 was a pool. To proceed forward, the challenger must swim through the underwater tunnel. However, the water was an Ether-rich liquid that would ruin golems and any artifact more complex than weapons and clothing. Ciel prepared this for Etaceh’s more sophisticated devices.

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The final room was the prize. Ciel planned to create a cave with several pin-ups, relating every historical text and event regarding the Lords to Etaceh and tipped the Military Police about the enemy in their midst. The room also possessed the Faraday cage effect to make sure the communication couldn’t transmit out.

Ciel looked at his plan, and he didn’t believe it would Etaceh from winning the information war. His best bet was for this attempt to shack the board.

…

When Ciel returned to Holmes’ General Artificer, he was in for a surprise.

Betty was there, glancing nervously at a woman beside her.

The woman was a brunette in a neatly pressed military uniform and a cute beret hat. Unlike Xia who let her wavy lock down to her shoulder and Betty who let hers cascade to her waist, this woman sported a short blob that barely hid the scarlet eyes and pale eerie skin. Ciel instantly knew this woman spelled trouble.

“Ciel,” Betty tried to hide a sense of alarm under her voice. “This is—”

“Carolina Westerna,” the Deputy Commissioner of the Military Police introduced herself. “You must be Ciel. I am here to talk about the disappearance of an officer from the Hecate Expeditionary Force.”

It was then Ciel knew the game was officially on.

…

The interrogation was extremely polite, but oppressive. Westerna was relentless for details. She squinted for the tiniest clue regarding Ciel and Lycane. The question drilled into his opinion about their relationship. Ciel responded with the usual, ‘I don’t know.’ It was an intense match waged over the tiny table in the humble store.

“Let me guess this straight,” Carolina said. “You, a handsome young man, were asked out by a woman who later disappeared that same night.”

“Yes,” Ciel answered.

“And you have no clue where she went?” Carolina said.

“I heard she passed away,” Ciel leaned to the truth. “I heard her body is unrecognizable.”

“And where do you hear this?” Carolina dug in.

Ciel decided to be clever, “Look, I shouldn’t tell you this. Many people will be mad if I do, but I like you, Miss Westerna.” Ciel lowered his voice into a whisper. “I think Lycane is part of the human experimentation.”

That got Carolina interested, “And what makes you think that?”

“She said she wanted me to work for Etaceh, and left after I refused,” Ciel gave her a half-true version of the event. “After that, I heard there is a fire, and I never saw her again.”

The eerie woman nodded, “Quite a good theory, and it coincides with the investigation, but you forgot to mention one thing.” Carolina's voice shifted into the realm of hostility. “You are directly connected with the Dark Witch, who appeared to save you in Springsong. Ciel, dear, you are a prime suspect for many things, and that makes you incredibly vulnerable.”

“What do you want?” Ciel said. “I know nothing about the Dark Witch, and I already told you everything I can about Lycane.”

Carolina got to the point, “I want the information about your main sponsor — Xiahana La Louve.”

Ciel knew the stake was up, “What do you want to know about her? I believe she is a hero, isn’t she?”

Carolina snorted, “A hero and a major headache for the Military Police, she is too much of a national security threat. The power she displayed in Cutler raises too much concern, and our best effort can’t even find her shadow.” Carolina gave Ciel a seductive look. “Ciel, you are the best lead we have on her. Tell me where she is, and everything about Lycane goes under the rug.”

“Look,” Ciel unleashed his trump-card. “Xia is my friend. She meant a lot to me. I can’t sell her out, but she mentioned she would contact me for a talk soon, and she wanted to patch thing up with Hunter Westerna, so I will contact you then.``

That was true. Xia wanted to fix her relationship with Hunter with a fist.

“That will be good enough,” the brunette rose from the chair.

…

When Carolina left, Betty had one thing to say.

“Ciel, are you planning to buy time?” Betty was worried. “I doubt you can stop her for long with the lie about Xia.”

“It isn’t a lie, Betty,” Ciel replied. “This is an exit strategy. I am being pulled out of Janus.”

Betty blinked, “I have no idea about this.”

“Yes, that’s what I want to tell you,” Ciel said. “Here is what will happen. To clear my name, I am going to investigate the facility associated with the human experimentation Holmes’ detect in a plot of graveyard near Hecate, and disappear in a ruckus.”

Betty couldn’t believe the daftness of the plan, “You are planning to attack a fortified facility? That is suicidal.”

“I need leverage, Betty,” Ciel said. “You are right about the plan, but exposing the facility will be a huge step to grant me a measure of defense against the Military Police, or at the very least a cover to escape.” Ciel nodded. “Or would you rather let me wait for Carolina’s trustworthiness?”

Betty considered her option for a solid second.

“You can’t do this alone,” Betty decided. “I will get some help.”

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