At these words, Old Lady Viktor stirred from her silence. A look of sorrow spread across her face as she gazed at the black-haired beauty.
“Hua, I’m not angry. Just a little sad.”
“Sad? Mrs. Viktor, are you grieving for Baka?”
Hearing her words, the black-haired beauty recalled the very first time they met, when the old woman had kept emphasizing the concept of “family.” Thinking she understood at once, she asked.
Old Lady Viktor simply shook her head. “No. I’m not only mourning Baka’s passing. I’m also mourning the innocent people from the Abnormal Affairs Bureau who will soon die by my hand.”
“Innocent people from the Bureau who will die by your hand? Mrs. Viktor, you’re not thinking of…?”
Realizing what she meant, the black-haired beauty couldn’t help but ask.
Knowing exactly what she wanted to say, Old Lady Viktor made no attempt to hide it. She quickly answered, her voice laced with sorrow yet unwavering resolve.
“That’s right, Hua. I plan to kill everyone in the Windbreak City Abnormal Affairs Bureau. Since neither of you knows exactly who poisoned Baka, this is the only way I can ensure his soul finds peace.”
Hearing this, a chill ran through the black-haired beauty. Though she hadn’t known the old woman for long, during this time, through other association members, she had gained a decent understanding of her personality. She felt deeply unnerved, because when this woman said something like that, she absolutely had the strength to back it up.
“Thank goodness Maka and I tampered with that report, and that the association’s infiltration of Xia is still shallow. Otherwise, Mrs. Viktor might have torn both of us apart on the spot.”
Swallowing her fear with that quiet thought, she steadied her emotions and quickly spoke to the grieving old woman. “Yes, indeed. Only by doing as you say, Mrs. Viktor, can Baka’s soul truly find peace.”
“Alright, let’s put aside the matter of Baka for now. Tell me, how far has your current plan progressed?”
Putting away her mournful expression, Old Lady Viktor hadn’t forgotten why she had traveled all the way here from abroad. She promptly asked Maka and the black-haired beauty for details about the plan they were executing.
Neither Maka nor the black-haired beauty dared hide anything from the vice president. They soon laid out every detail of the plan, leaving nothing out.
After listening to their report and confirming that all preparations for their organization’s plan in Windbreak City were complete, Old Lady Viktor’s face broke into a satisfied smile. “Well done, Maka and Hua. This way, when tomorrow noon arrives and the three-star Abyssal Rift opens automatically, all the effort we’ve put into summoning the specter of ‘Death’ will be a success.”
“Um, Mrs. Viktor, may I ask you a question?”
Hearing her words, the black-haired beauty knew the organization had sent the three of them here to Windbreak City specifically to summon the specter of “Death,” one of the four Abyssal Gods. But she had never understood what the point of summoning this specter was, so she couldn’t help but ask.
“What do you want to ask, Hua?” Old Lady Viktor turned, fixing her gaze on the black-haired beauty with a chuckle.
Hesitating only a moment to gather her thoughts, the black-haired beauty boldly voiced the doubt in her heart. “Mrs. Viktor, I’ve never quite understood why the organization wants to summon the specter of ‘Death.’ If you know the reason and don’t mind sharing, please enlighten me.”
“So you want to know the reason behind summoning the specter of ‘Death,’ Hua. I can answer that for you.”
“Is there a ‘but’?” the black-haired beauty asked, a little nervously.
At this, Old Lady Viktor, who had merely paused for a moment, let out a light laugh and then said, “No ‘but.’ After all, the plan begins tomorrow. You would both find out the reason anyway. Telling you a day early doesn’t matter. The reason our organization wants to summon the specter of ‘Death’ is that our esteemed leader currently needs a portion of ‘Death’s’ power to complete his flawed supernatural abilities. Otherwise, he will never be able to become a four-star supernatural in this lifetime, and he won’t be able to fulfill the wish we all share—to bring the people we cherish back to us.”
Hearing Old Lady Viktor’s explanation, both Maka and the black-haired beauty couldn’t hide the shock on their faces. They had just learned that their organization’s leader, a supernatural of great renown in Britannia, the Holy Roman Empire, and Ruthenia, had already reached the peak of a three-star supernatural. He needed only a tiny extra push to become a four-star supernatural, something that had never before existed in this world.
“So that’s it. No wonder the organization sent us all this way to Windbreak City in Xia to summon the specter of ‘Death,’ and arranged so many means to suppress it. It was all so our leader could smoothly break through his shackles and become a four-star supernatural.” Maka, having recovered from his initial shock, spoke up.
“That’s correct. Everything we are doing here in Xia is for our leader,” Old Lady Viktor affirmed, looking at Maka.
“Mrs. Viktor, may I also ask a question, like Hua did?” Having grasped the true purpose of their mission, Maka thought of something else.
“What do you want to ask, Maka?”
With her permission, Maka bluntly voiced his question. “Mrs. Viktor, what I want to ask is, after our leader becomes a four-star supernatural, will he be able to bring the dead back to life?”
“So that’s what you wanted to know. To be honest, I’m very concerned about that question too. But whether our leader’s supernatural power can actually resurrect the dead after he becomes a four-star supernatural—we’ll only know once he actually reaches that level.”
