Chapter 86: Duke Inferno? Does He Even Deserve to Declare War on Herta?
Ten minutes later, inside the imposing walls of Qlipoth Fort.
"That is... roughly the situation, Madame Supreme Guardian."
Pela stood rigidly at attention. Smudges of gray dust streaked her cheeks, and her usually immaculate uniform was rumpled from the chaos of the recent capture operation. She swallowed hard, her fingers nervously gripping the edges of her clipboard as she delivered the final details of her report to Cocolia.
Right now, the air in the Supreme Guardian's office felt heavy enough to crush solid steel. No one in Belobog dared to breathe too loudly in Cocolia's presence, let alone deliver bad news.
Despite the roaring, gossip-loving soul burning inside her chest, Pela kept her eyes glued to the polished floor. She braced herself, fully prepared to face an apocalyptic eruption of maternal wrath.
After all, everyone in Qlipoth Fort knew the truth: Bronya Rand was the Supreme Guardian's most precious jewel. Her pride and joy. The shining future of Belobog.
How would Cocolia react to the news that her beloved adopted daughter had just been abducted by a group of unknown outsiders?
Pela could imagine the terrifying consequences with her eyes closed. The Silvermane Guards would be mobilized en masse. The city would be locked down. Heads would inevitably roll.
However...
"Good. I understand, Intelligence Officer Pela."
To Pela's absolute shock, Cocolia merely offered a slow, composed nod. The Supreme Guardian leaned back in her ornate chair, her expression completely unreadable, before issuing a terrifyingly mundane order.
"Post a wanted notice throughout the city immediately. Have the Silvermane Guards increase their standard patrols."
Cocolia paused, her tone remaining as steady as a frozen lake. "The front lines are incredibly tense right now. We cannot afford to waste critical combat power on such trivial matters."
Pela blinked. Once. Twice. She stared at her superior in sheer disbelief.
'Trivial matters?!'Pela screamed internally.'Your beloved adopted daughter was just kidnapped! By heavily armed anomalies! Can that really be classified as a trivial matter?!'
"Then... what about Lady Bronya?" Pela couldn't stop the question from slipping past her lips.
"Bronya, you say?"
As she softly uttered her daughter's name, a fleeting, almost undetectable glimmer of helplessness flashed deep within Cocolia's icy eyes. She turned her gaze toward the frosted window, looking out over the snow-swept city.
Finally, she let out a faint, quiet sigh. "I hope she... fares well."
Pela: "???????"
'Sure enough!'Pela's inner gossip alarms blared at maximum volume.'There is definitely something incredibly fishy going on here!'
...
After taking a leisurely stroll through the Underworld, Leon finally decided to return to the cozy confines of the Astral Express.
The hiss of the cabin doors opening announced his arrival.
"Leon, you're back?"
Himeko sat gracefully on the plush parlor sofa, a steaming porcelain cup of freshly brewed coffee resting in her hands. She looked up, slightly surprised by his early return, before a warm, elegant smile graced her lips.
"Yeah, I came back to rest for a bit," Leon replied, returning the smile as he stretched his arms overhead.
He had already completed a rough exploration of Belobog's subterranean levels and figured he had seen enough for one day.
The Underworld society was primarily divided into three major factions: The Moles, the Vagrants, and the Robot Settlement.
He had already dropped by to see The Moles. The Vagrant camps didn't boast any interesting playable characters, so he completely ignored them. That left only the Robot Settlement.
Naturally, Leon had wandered over to take a peek at Clara.
Clara held a special place in his gamer heart. She was his very first five-star character, and also the first one he had ever pushed to max Eidolons.
Unfortunately, the harsh reality of power creep meant that an E6 Clara could barely hold a candle to an E0 Yunli. By the time the 3.0 era rolled around, Leon had practically retired her to the bench.
Still, seeing the barefoot girl in person brought a wave of nostalgia.
Of course, his little sightseeing trip hadn't gone unnoticed. Svarog had spotted him almost immediately.
'Who are you? Step away from Clara.'Hearing that deep, synthesized mechanical voice in real life had actually made Leon feel incredibly comfortable. It was just so familiar.'Analyzing... Analysis complete. Target does not belong to The Moles organization.''Background: Unknown.''Classification: Unknown data.''Threat level: Highest.''Recommendation: Surrender...'
The moment Svarog's optical sensors scanned Leon, the ancient robot's CPU had practically melted down. Its internal systems had flooded with blaring red warnings, violently reminding the machine to absolutely never, under any circumstances, provoke the smiling man standing before it.
Leon, however, had no intention of traumatizing the poor robot further or engaging in deep negotiations. That kind of diplomatic heavy lifting was best left to the actual Astral Express Crew, who were scheduled to arrive in the Underworld very soon.
"It seems you are quite satisfied with this particular Trailblaze journey," Himeko noted softly, observing the amused glint in Leon's eyes.
"Oh, definitely. I'm very satisfied," Leon nodded, dropping onto a nearby chair. "I expect the others will have a great time down there too. I'll just kick back here and relax for now."
Right on cue, Pom-Pom waddled into the parlor car, holding a projection device.
"Hmm? Pom-Pom, put that video on the main screen so we can all watch it," Himeko requested.
Leon leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand as the holographic image flickered to life. The fiery, imposing visage of Duke Inferno filled the screen, his voice dripping with theatrical malice.
"The Aeons are detached from worldly affairs, caring not for the myriad beings. Only the scarred Savior can command all worlds to bathe in the flames of destruction. There are always cowardly, insignificant men, presuming to refuse such grace, attempting to flee from the bestowed wounds. Flee, by all means, flee... but no matter where you run, Annihilation will eventually arrive."
The projection fizzled out, leaving a dramatic silence in its wake.
"That is Duke Inferno, the leader of the Annihilation Gang," Himeko explained gently, assuming Leon might be unfamiliar with the galactic terrorist. "Recently, they officially declared war on the Astral Express, as well as the Herta Space Station."
She took a calm sip of her coffee, completely unbothered. "But you don't need to worry. Although the Annihilation Gang fervently follows the Path of Destruction, they have never once received a single glance from Nanook. This isn't the first time they have issued grandiose declarations of war against various major factions across the universe. Every single time, it amounts to absolutely nothing."
The Herta Space Station had indeed made the hit list this time around, but both Herta and Asta had completely ignored the threat.
Duke Inferno? What even is that? Does a rabid dog really deserve the right to declare war on Herta, a genius of the highest order?
While Asta wasn't the least bit afraid, she did use the declaration as a convenient excuse to massively upgrade the space station's armed forces. She had even casually ordered several military-grade Star Destroyers on a whim.
Asta's logic was flawless: 'Yay! Now Arlan has absolutely no reason to stop me from buying Star Destroyers!'
"Hmm... they seem a bit like clowns, don't they? Honestly, with that level of comedic timing, they'd be much better suited worshipping Elation," Leon remarked with a chuckle, casually picking up a mixed drink from the table and taking a sip.
Of course he knew exactly who Duke Inferno was.
Back during the version 2.0 updates, Duke Inferno's 'Myriad Celestials' trailer had been an incredibly grand affair. The guy had arrogantly declared war on four different Paths simultaneously. He and his four adopted children had spoken with such eloquence, backed by massive pomp and circumstance.
Countless lore bloggers had spent weeks analyzing the footage, speaking with absolute certainty that Sam the Stellaron Hunter must have had some secret deal with the Duke.
And what was the actual result?
He got casually swatted out of existence by Acheron like a minor speed bump.
Duke Inferno didn't even get the dignity of appearing in the actual main story. Only his charred relics remained to prove he ever existed.
It was so pathetic that every time Leon looked at this 'Prison Duke' now, he had to fight the urge to burst out laughing.
With such a ridiculously grand entrance, Leon had genuinely thought the guy would be a formidable overarching antagonist. Then, halfway through the Penacony questline, Aventurine just casually dropped the bomb that the Duke was already dead.
Leon had laughed so hard his sides hurt. The villain was wiped off the map without even showing his face on-screen. The last time Leon had seen a character get hyped up only to die that pathetically was probably the 'Nine-Bends Evil Lord' from some trashy cultivation novel.
At that moment, his phone buzzed. The intergalactic chat group was currently exploding with activity.
[Aha]: @Nanook @Nanook Look at your precious soldiers!
[Aha]: Hahahaha, the group leader is absolutely right! Why don't you just hand them over to me? Aha thinks very highly of their comedic potential~
Aha was clearly having the time of their life, relentlessly tagging the Aeon of Destruction. The text practically vibrated with the sheer joy of watching a galactic-scale drama unfold.
[Nanook]: If you want them, take them. Do not bother me.
Nanook didn't even bother hiding His absolute disdain. He refused to acknowledge the Annihilation Gang as having any value whatsoever, viewing them merely as defective objects waiting to be purged. In the eyes of the Destruction, the total significance of Duke Inferno's entire existence was roughly equivalent to an infant accidentally knocking over a cheap vase.
[Aha]: You don't want them? Then I don't want them either! If even Nanook looks down on them, how entertaining can they really be?!
[Aha]: Hahahahahahaha!
[Aha]: @Leon Group Leader, Aha is so miserable! The Annihilation Gang actually had the nerve to declare war on The Tavern! Can you do something about Nanook's trash~
Leon stared at his screen.
[Leon]:????
[Leon]: The Annihilation Gang declared war on The Tavern? What exactly did you do to them this time?
Leon was genuinely stunned. He hadn't recalled any lore stating that Duke Inferno was stupid enough to declare war on the Masked Fools' headquarters during this time period.
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