Chapter 213: Can We Reconcile?
The python finally made a sound again. This time, unlike the serpent's hiss from before, it was the explosive roar of fire bursting: "Are you willing to accept an Unbreakable Vow? Both sides must make an Unbreakable Vow."
"Unbreakable Vow"... anyone within the DGSE who dared to utter those words in a positive light would find themselves in an interrogation room.
The DGSE Director, turning the thought over in his mind, naturally didn't believe the wizard was referring to the song. He leaned towards the idea that wizards possessed a magic capable of forging such an alliance.
Perhaps the alliance truly couldn't be broken, or perhaps the price of breaking it was so great that no one could bear it, hence the name "Unbreakable."
He hesitated. How could a political creature have an unbreakable alliance?
If word got out, he'd be the laughingstock of the world. His political enemies and so-called allies would mock him for a lifetime. Even after he was buried, politicians for generations to come would dig up his memory as a negative example to educate their children...
If creating an unbreakable alliance could benefit him, he wouldn't mind sacrificing his posthumous reputation.
In reality, he originally wanted an alliance to gain a springboard, a bridge to talk to wizards, thereby using the power of the state apparatus to enter the magical world and appropriate a portion of the wizards for his own use.
Admittedly, he didn't know the capabilities of wizards, the social structure of the wizarding world, or their living conditions.
But he believed that as long as they were human, there must be hierarchy. As long as there was class opposition, there must be room to maneuver. No matter how great the gap between wizards and ordinary people, or how convenient and advanced a wizard's life was...
The wealth and glory a national President could offer would absolutely far exceed what the lowest-tier wizard in the magical world could obtain.
So he couldn't accept an Unbreakable Vow, let alone swear one.
Silence fell. On the surface, the python seemed to be waiting quietly for an answer that would never come. Underground, invisible waves became more frequent, repeatedly piercing and polishing the operating tables where the Magi-Metal Wizards were imprisoned.
"Honorable Wizard, you may not be aware of the treacherous nature of French politics. In this era, we ministers appear to hold power, but the reality is far less glamorous than the exterior suggests."
"We are ministers responsible for France, so our stance must change with France, and can only change with France. We must sacrifice everything, abandon everything for France."
"France belongs to the people, and the will of the people is always elusive. I have no ability to influence my own stance..."
As he spoke, he carefully observed the movements of the fire python on the monitor.
On the screen, the fire python coiled its body like a living snake, its several heads swaying rhythmically, seemingly judging the truth of his words.
Steady, don't panic, he told himself. My future is to be a world-class politician, a top orator. Making lies sound like heartfelt truths is an essential skill.
Suddenly, a strange noise sounded behind him.
Then came the exclamations of his soldiers.
"Oh my God! The operating tables are glowing!"
"Heavens, where are the prisoners?!"
"How did they all disappear?!"
He turned slightly, keeping part of his peripheral vision on the monitor.
Then he saw that all the operating tables were empty. Only the lingering warmth and body outlines on the thin blue paper covering the beds remained.
These traces proved to the agents that this wasn't a hallucination: they had truly captured the Magi-Metal Wizards and strapped them to the tables, but in that instant, all the Magi-Metal Wizards had vanished.
"What?!"
Everyone present felt as if an invisible hand was choking them, making it hard to breathe.
It was a cardiac contraction caused by sheer shock and surprise, leaving them breathless with only astonishment and panic remaining.
Realizing something, the DGSE Director immediately whipped his head back to the monitor.
He actually saw mockery on the snake faces formed by the fire!
Perhaps the controller behind the scenes felt micro-expressions weren't enough to convey their mood, so they directly changed the snake faces into comical "funny faces."
Nine large, ridiculous faces bobbed up and down in the air.
The people underground watching the monitor felt a tightness in their chests. They felt mocked, and they had ample evidence, but the only regret was that they couldn't fight back.
Unable to fight back, they were reduced to helpless agents, left only with worry—worry that the python above would launch another attack and slaughter them all.
This was very likely. After all, according to the Director, the wizard controlling the fire python had hesitated earlier out of fear for the hostages' safety.
Although it now seemed the Director's words were nonsense. The wizard outside cared deeply about his compatriots' safety, unlike the Director's comparison to Russian special forces. The only reason he had been "persuaded" was purely to stall for time!
The DGSE Director's face looked like a sketch class project—patches of white, patches of black.
He had underestimated the wizard's methods and failed to control his own greed.
Before this, although he knew wizards could teleport away from a place, and had hypothesized they could transport others instantly too, he never imagined a wizard could teleport others away from a great distance! This was like a god from mythology!
Regret and despair flashed through his mind. A man cannot fight a god, nor could he fight a wizard who controlled such means...
No, wait. For a wizard to do this couldn't be easy. It needed a long preparation time; otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to stall... He spotted the clue, then sighed weakly.
What use was spotting the clue now?
He suddenly realized he held no substantial chips.
With no chips in hand and a massive threat overhead...
For the first time since ending his career as a field agent, he truly felt he might die.
So, rolling his eyes, he quickly came up with a plan and began a true-to-form performance of a political creature. He declared generously, "Although my stance aligns with France, for the sake of forming an alliance with the honorable wizard, I am willing to abandon my original stance. I agree to make the Unbreakable Vow."
In the dense forest, hearing these words, Ryan's mind was filled with a famous scene: Can we reconcile now?
"At this moment? Are you joking?" he said in the forest.
The python hovering over the deep pit also let out a terrifying hiss that struck fear into the heart: "AT THIS MOMENT! ARE YOU JOKING!"
~~~
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