Chapter 152: We'll Plant Our Own Undercover Agents
2023-10-23 Author: Rowing Without Oars 233
Beyond Earth, in a certain hell-like dimension.
A demon's eyes opened in the darkness.
The familiar ceiling...
The same development, the same ending. But this time was different. When Belial opened his eyes again, he felt none of his previous indignation or anger. All that remained was a Zen-like attitude.
He let out a long exhale, feeling a little relieved.
However, this thrill didn't last long before it was interrupted by a fist landing on his face.
Belial's head snapped to the side, and he was sent flying a great distance.
Lifting his head to get a clear look, he saw an enraged Saraka.
"What do you want?" Belial demanded.
"Do you even need to ask? I'm here to beat you, of course!"
Enraged, Saraka flew forward, lunging like an afterimage. Belial spread his wings and soared into the air. Saraka's claw swiped empty air beneath him, and the wall cracked with a boom.
Belial, airborne, unleashed a blast of magic. Its force and the ball of light thrown by Saraka collided in mid-air. A burning shockwave erupted, and the recoil sent Belial flying back, his back slamming heavily against the dark brown rock.
Saraka flew in and punched him in the face. The rock behind him was instantly blasted through, and the demon's body fell, trailing a crimson trajectory.
Saraka accelerated to catch up, grabbing Belial and forcing him into a dive. The two of them, one pinning the other, crashed to the ground with a boom, creating a giant pit in the scorching surface. Belial used the momentum to flip over, desperately trying to get into a mounted position, but before he could stabilize himself, the other demon used a burst of strength to reverse the mount. The two demons scuffled in a tangled mess within the pit.
"Enough!"
A grim voice rang out. A wave of blood-colored magic erupted between the two demons, sending both of them flying.
A new demon flew down, landing between them. It was exceptionally tall, with bruised-purple skin and a body that burned like a blazing flame. Its deep, sunken eyes emitted a blood-red light, and a pair of pointed horns protruded menacingly from its head.
It was Tisak, a Son of Trigon.
It seemed this demon's power was greater; as soon as it appeared, the other two demons stopped fighting, merely continuing to glare at each other.
"What happened?"
"It's all this good-for-nothing Belial's fault!" Saraka rebuked furiously. "We ran into that creature of light Belial mentioned before! This time, even I was defeated by him."
"Did Belial collude with the enemy to scheme against you?" Tisak asked.
"Uh, no, not that."
"Then did Belial switch sides mid-battle and stab you in the back?"
"N-no, not that either."
"Then why are you hitting one of your own?"
Saraka was suddenly at a loss for words.
He had been furious the moment he returned, but on second thought, what Tisak said made sense.
After holding it in for a long moment, he glared viciously at Belial. "If you hadn't fed him so many times before, letting him figure out our magical properties and combat methods, how could I have been defeated so easily?"
"You're blaming me for this?" Belial's eyes widened. "Every word I said was true. This operation proved that our sister really exists and that the creature of light is real! You were the one who refused to believe it and insisted on going to feed him a kill yourself."
"He became a Big Daddy because you kept feeding him kills! Who else is there to blame but you?"
"You—"
Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, Tisak quickly mediated, "Stop! That's enough. More importantly, tell me the details. What's the situation with this creature of light, and our sister?"
After a pause, the demon's lips curled into a smirk.
"I'm starting to get interested."
This undercover operation among the Blood Cultists went even more smoothly than expected. The two bishops he caught seemed to hold high positions in the organization. From their den, he even unexpectedly found a list of a large number of Blood Cultists in the Central City area.
The registration archives were remarkably clear, listing everyone's name, gender, profession, contact information, and address. Even their email addresses were recorded perfectly. It had everything, saving the relevant authorities a great deal of trouble.
Of course, these were basically just minions, the expendable cannon fodder from the lowest rungs of the syndicate. These people came from all walks of life and were scattered throughout the city. Going door-to-door to round them up would be repetitive, mechanical work, not something that required heroes to handle personally.
But as for contacting the Central City Police Department, he considered that even though they were minions, they were still weaklings with slight magical protection. A standard police operation might result in some casualties.
So, Orin Vale once again used his "Mike Williams," special agent, pseudonym to report the operation to his superiors.
The process was very smooth. The Blood Cultists were a religious organization dabbling in the supernatural, so they were already on A.R.G.U.S.'s radar. In fact, A.R.G.U.S. already had a dedicated Response Team for this group.
Such a precise list of personnel and information was undoubtedly what the Response Team needed most. A.R.G.U.S. immediately allocated manpower, and professional agents launched the arrests based on the intelligence.
The Blood Cultist members in the Central City district were completely unprepared. Some were in their own beds, some were in someone else's bed, and some were even eating hotpot and singing songs, completely oblivious, when their doors were suddenly blasted open. A smooth combo of "FBI, don't move!" followed, and they were hauled away in a single, streamlined operation.
The Central City Blood Cultists suffered an unprecedented blow. The bishop and several deacons were all caught in one fell swoop, and the majority of their members were dealt with.
Special Agent Mike Williams was even commended for this, receiving a major merit award within A.R.G.U.S., and his promotion seemed imminent...
Inside a gloomy cathedral hall.
A few candles flickered in the darkness. Heavy stones formed the inner walls of the hall. Stifling air filled the room, yet the faint light from the lone candles was somehow enough to illuminate the entire hall.
At the front of the hall stood menacing statues, appearing to be various types of demons. The faint candlelight made the statues and the mural seem exceptionally oppressive. The mural depicted an entirely crimson demon treading on a red lotus—it was the master of another dimension, Lord Trigon.
"The Archbishop."
A black-robed person knelt on one knee, speaking respectfully to a person in the depths of the hall.
"It seems the ritual in the Central City district has failed. Intelligence says A.R.G.U.S. somehow got wind of it. Not only did they disrupt the ritual, but they also obtained a list of a large number of our members."
"The Central City subdivision has suffered a devastating blow. Most of the members have been dealt with..."
The believer known as the Archbishop pondered for a moment, then said faintly, "It seems we underestimated our opponent. A.R.G.U.S. is more of a threat than we imagined. This loss should be taken as a warning."
After a pause, he asked, "Were there no survivors among the personnel deployed for this operation?"
"That's not entirely true... a small number of believers managed to evade this purge. But overall, the loss was still severe."
"Hmph. A.R.G.U.S.... fine. If they want to start a war, then we will give them what they want," the Archbishop said coldly.
"You mean..."
"We lost this intelligence war, but it will not happen again."
The Archbishop turned around, a scarlet gleam of light flashing in his eyes.
"...We are going to plant undercover agents in A.R.G.U.S."
(end of chapter)