"Any success? It has been three months, don't tell me you haven't found any clue yet," Raia asked Vega as he smacked his fist on the table. "Where is Lucifer?"
"None at all. I haven't been successful at entering their systems, but from what it seems like, there's a chance that Lucifer might not actually be there," Vega replied as he sighed.
"How can you say that?" Raia asked, frowning.
"I can say that because the APF is still trying to find Lucifer, it seems. In fact, their efforts have only intensified. Most of their field agents are trying to find Lucifer and us," Vega answered.
"Even though I haven't been able to hack into their core systems, I got some information out of their field agents. The higher-ups have been putting their full effort on finding him, without rest," he further said.
"Of course, this could all just be a diversion, but we can't reject any possibility. It is possible that Lucifer isn't there. But where is he then? And Caen? Where are those two? Did Lucifer really run away with Caen's help?" Raia asked, frowning.
"I'm not sure, but maybe. Still, there have been no strings of murder that match Lucifer's style. But we can't forget, we taught him to fight without using his powers. So he can kill without letting others know that he's a Variant. We trained him, and he might be using that to hide himself," Vega commented.
"That's why I've been trying to follow all the strange murders that have happened around the country. If Lucifer is involved in any of them, I'll find him," he further said before the entire room returned to silence.
Raia closed his eyes and didn't say anything, but frustration was evident on his face. They had Lucifer in their grasp, but they lost him. How could they be so stupid?
Only a few minutes had passed before he smashed his fist on the table again in anger, breaking the table this time.
...
"How's Varant's condition?" Rowen approached Riali, who had just come back after checking up on Varant.
"His condition is pretty good. He's recovering for now. He still can't move, but at least he's better than before. He should recover completely in the given time," Riali answered to Rowen.
"That's better," Rowen acknowledged. "I'll check up on him too."
As Rowen entered Varant's room, Riali left. Other than one doctor who was also a close friend of Varant, these two were the only ones that were allowed to see Varant.
Not a single person in the organization other than them was allowed to meet Varant after he was brought back unconscious around three months ago.
Moreover, this information was kept secret. The ones that had seen Varant being brought here unconscious were told not to spread it outside. It was confidential information that only stayed inside the APF headquarters.
In fact, the ones who had seen Varant that day weren't even allowed to leave the facility. If someone knew Varant was weak now, it had the potential to bring a calamity.
Fortunately, the Variant Uprising hadn't attacked any cities recently. Most probably because they had the momentum and public support. They didn't want to lose credibility in public by attacking an innocent City for no reason at all at this time.
In Varant's absence, Riali was the one taking care of the APF. He was the Vice-Captain of the Alpha Squad, and now he was in command in the absence of Varant.
...
Knock! Knock!
Riali was sitting in Varant's office, going through some important files, when he heard a knock on the door.
"Come on in," Riali responded.
The door of the room opened, and a beautiful yet powerful woman walked inside.
"Ayn, what do you need?" Riali asked as he saw Beta Squad leader Ayn before him.
"I'm here to ask about Varant. It had been three months since he was brought back, injured. Since then I haven't been able to meet him. What's happening here? What actually am I not getting to see?" Ayn asked as she took a chair and sat down.
"Don't worry; he is perfectly fine. He is recovering, so he isn't meeting anyone," Riali replied.
Only a few people knew about Varant's limitations, and he didn't want others to know either. The only reason Varant was like that was because of that. No one could be allowed to meet him.
"What actually happened to him? Where did you three go, and how did he end up like this? Who was strong enough to injure him? Did you guys fight anyone?" Ayn inquired as she fired many questions, confused. Why wasn't anyone telling her the truth?
All she knew was that Varant was hurt and nothing more.
"Don't think too much about this. He'll be back soon. When you meet him next time, you can ask him yourself. I'm in no condition to answer your question," Riali answered before he shifted the topic. "How is Xander now? Is he up?"
"No. He is still in a coma. I am not sure if and when he'll wake up. What has been happening to us?" Ayn informed Riali, who didn't seem interested in all that.
"Xander is hurt, Varant is hurt, Lucifer is missing. Moreover, public support has dwindled because of no appearance from Varant to handle this," she further said.
"Don't worry, just keep trying to find Lucifer. Public support is important, but we'll work on that later. Lucifer is more important. Keep your focus on finding him," Riali replied.
He still hadn't told her that they had already killed Lucifer since it was secret. Their own organization needed to believe that they hadn't found Lucifer for the enemy to believe it.
They couldn't just say they killed Lucifer after he was made a hero here. His death had the potential to be the last nail in the coffin.
"Alright. I'll keep my focus on Lucifer. We've been increasing our reach everywhere. We should have a clue soon," Ayn said before she stood up and left.
…
Two more days passed, and nothing of significance happened when one day, suddenly, someone knocked on Varant's office, which was being occupied by Riali for the time being.
"Come on in," Riali answered.
The door opened, and a man stepped inside who seemed to be a member of APF as well.
"What do you need?" Riali asked the man.
"Sir, someone special is here to meet Sir Varant," the man answered.
"Someone special? Who is it?" Riali asked, curious.
"Warlock King Salazar Lucia is here. He's standing at the entrance of the headquarters," the man answered.
"Salazar Lucia is here? What is he doing here at a time like this?" Riali exclaimed as he stood up, surprised.