The girls were visibly disappointed that their fight had been interrupted, but they didn’t complain. They had other priorities for now. Still, this didn’t prevent them from glaring daggers at each other.
Damien decided to change the topic to defuse the tension a bit. “Wow, I didn’t expect that you’d have grown so strong already. What was that last move you did? And the one with the roots too.”
Elena beamed as she proudly explained. “About a year after you left, I gained a new life affinity. I didn’t quite understand it, but its purpose is geared more towards healing. Still, it also encompasses nature so I can do cool stuff like that.
“As for that last move, it’s a skill I created. Judgement is a light element skill and you could see its effects from the battle earlier. In the beginning, I could only form a single sword and have it strike an enemy, but now I can do more creative things like the arrow shower I used.”
Damien was truly impressed. Not only was her combat prowess enough to join them on their mission, but it might also be better than Damien and Rose’s own combat prowess when they were at her level.
They were both able to jumó levels within 3rd class and fight stronger opponents, so for Elena to put up such a good fight against Rose was a true testament to her capabilities.
‘Not to mention that her light element seems to be a direct counter for Rose’s illusions.’
Though, Damien wouldn’t mention this out loud. He didn’t know what kind of backlash he’d suffer if he did.
Zara soon joined the girls as they chatted for a few hours while recuperating their mana. Since things were already decided, there was no more need to hesitate. It was almost time to infiltrate Niflheim.
ᴘᴀ ᴅᴀ n ᴏ ᴠʟ
Damien took the time when the girls rested to think up a plan. After all, at this point he was still planning on charging in head-on, even if he was doing it in a more concealed manner.
He could easily ask Rose for he’ll, since she had been the main planner in the Monolith Code event during the tournament, but Damien wanted to practice his skills in scheming a bit. It was something he’d need to master in the future, so it was good to get an early start.
‘Hmm, even if I want to practice, I have no guidelines to go off of. All I can think of is the fact that we need to infiltrate.’
Still, this wasn’t an area Damien could excel at effortlessly as he did with more physical training. Even when it came to comprehension his abilities were top tier, but for some reason, it seemed his brain wasn’t geared towards long-term planning or scheming.
‘I need at least a basic ability to scheme. If not to scheme myself, it will still be helpful to unravel the schemes of others.’
Damien continued to think about the plan after infiltrating. He started basic, assigning the team composition. That part was easy. He was able to act as a one-man army on the smaller scale of things, especially on earth. Thus, he only needed help with concealment.
‘But I still haven’t mastered my vector control. Using the light refraction technique would be a good way to practice sustainability.’
Even if he got caught, it would be light work for him to escape. He was sure there wouldn’t be any formations or anything that could lock space, especially since there wasn’t even an illusion formation to hide the location.
pᴀda nᴏvel
‘Then, I’ll put Rose and Elena together since Elena doesn’t have her own concealment methods. At least I think so.’
There was no way for him to know all of Elena’s cards unless she told him, and he respected her privacy so he never asked. However, Elena had light element so she hypothetically should be able to use the same light refraction technique as him, even if it was implemented differently.
‘Maybe she just hasn’t thought of it?’
Either way, he decided to put the two girls on the same team. As for him and Zara, they would work mostly alone. They would still stay near each other though, so it could only technically be counted as moving solo.
As for location, that wasn’t something he could plan yet. He did not know the layout or structure of the base, which would be a problem. But none of them possessed memory reading techniques so it would be hard to get a foolproof answer.
p ᴀ da n ᴏv el ‘I haven’t tested the waters when it comes to torture yet.’
This would be the easiest method for him to gain information. Plus, since the victims had virtually sold their souls for power, he didn’t need to feel remorse for his actions.
‘Good, let’s do that. After I figure out the floor plan, I’ll put together a rough outline for the rest of the plan.’
With that thought, Damien vanished from where he stood. The girls were startled at first, but Zara assured them that he was just doing some more preparation before they left.
Knowing that he would be gone for a while, Rose and Elena once again fiercely glared at each other.
“You’re not bad for someone at your level,” Rose said in a slightly condescending tone.
“Yeah, and you’re pretty weak for someone at yours.” Elena was quick with a comeback.
“If it wasn’t for the fact that light was a natural counter, you wouldn’t have done so well.”
“If you were really as good as you claim to be, wouldn’t a natural counter be too little to stop you?”
“You’re just lucky I went easy on you!”
The girls argued for hours on end. Zara got a kick out of watching this since their fight had king devolved into petty insults. Neither of them was willing to back down, but since they didn’t see each other as enemies and just as rivals, they were limited on the insults they could actually use.
When night finally fell, Damien reappeared in his previous position. The girls had already sensed the spatial fluctuations and stopped their argument.
“Alright then, here’s the plan.”
Naturally, both Rose and Elena were dissatisfied that they had been paired up, but in the end, they said nothing. It was for the success of the plan, or at least that’s what they told themselves.
After splitting up the teams, Damien went on to the further details.
“There’s nothing much that needs to be said. The hideout is like a bunker that spans deep into the earth, but I don’t know much else. However, the entire 3rd floor of the bunker is sealed off to all personnel, since it’s where their leaders reside.”
This was all the information Damien could get, even after using any torture method he was creative enough to come up with. The usage of the facilities from the 4th floor down were also outlined, but everything after the 65th floor was unknown even to the strongest of the villains he’d captured.
When Damien told this to the girls, they were able to connect the dots.
“That must be where the juicy stuff is.”
“Right, if we want to find anything besides run-of-the-mill villain stuff, we’ll have to get into those floors.”
Damien also agreed with this. He had already told them that the enemies were otherworlders rather than the villains of earth, so their opinions were formed with all information they currently had.
“Also, I learned that the security isn’t that tight until you reach those deeper floors. They don’t seem to have many branch locations, so there’s a constant influx of villains going in and out.
“The personalities of these villains are also varied, with some of them being super eccentric. A lot of them are stuck in crazed delusions because they have power. As long as we aren’t obvious, it shouldn’t be a problem fitting in. All we need to do is figure out how to infiltrate the 65th floor.” Damien added.
“Well, we can each use our own methods to get past that hurdle. If we plan too thoroughly, we won’t be able to react with fluidity if things go south.” Rose explained.
The other two also nodded. And from then on, there was no need for further talk. Damien warped them to the concealed location he had marked previously and Rose promptly put the three of them in disguise.
Zara returned to her old spot within Damien’s shadow, which had gone unused for the past many months.
At least until they had made proper entry into the building, this type of move was necessary. Quickly, the three of them split into the predetermined teams.
“Be safe, and if you get caught, your first priorities are your lives,” Damien said as he looked at the two girls.
They nodded back in affirmation before parting ways.
Around half an hour after the girls left, Damien also made his way towards the entrance of the large dome.
‘Now, Niflheim, let’s see if you can show me something interesting.’