The hidden headquarters of the Killer Skull Society.
S-0 trembled a little when she looked at the call on her Star Watch and accepted it after calming her wildly beating heart.
"Greetings, my lord!" She tried to be as respectful as possible, but the fear in her voice couldn't remain hidden.
"Hmph, it seemed you're doing quite well. Does this mean my assets and data have been secured?" The ghastly voice asked with scrutiny.
S-0 quaveringly implored, "T-this… I'm still looking for clues about the Faceless Ancient. But that rat is too careful, and no one is able to find any trace of him. I'm sure my lord should know about how even the three leaders of the three hegemonies wanted to capture him or kill him. But even they had failed to find him.
"We had been underestimating him all this time, and he's clearly not just anyone. I'm afraid he might have a backer from higher plains helping him. Please give me more time!"
"Hehehe…" The ghastly voice burst into eerie laughter, which made S-0's heartbeat widely with trepidation because she knew better than anyone that the person on the other side was angry, not joyous.
The voice suddenly stopped before stating, "Your luck is really something else. I know you're telling the truth, and that pest is really not some trifle. But it doesn't give you the courage to try negotiating with me!
"You only have until the trial plains beginning. Once the trial begins, you'll no longer be the S-0, but S-1 and S-1 will be replacing you since he has been far more useful than you lately. I've even decided what kind of Dark Skull Mission I would give you, so look forward to it, hehehehe!"
The call suddenly cut off while the echo of that ghastly laughter rang for a long time in S-0's mind like some nightmare.
In the end, she couldn't help but roar with hatred, "Faceless Ancient, you bastard, just why?!"
After a few moments, just when she started to calm down, a static voice rang, "Lord S-0, I have urgent matters which need your utmost attention!"
S-0's eyes narrowed as she felt something was amiss, "What is it?"
"Just a few minutes ago, 9 of our secret bases, base no. 62,83,89 in the Alliance Region, base no. 48,50 in the Alchemy Region and base no.44,97,99 in the Bank Region has been fully annihilated!" The static voice emotionlessly reported.
"What!? How did those leaders find out? Not even a single survivor is left? Three of those bases are in the medium size cities. How could they get annihilated so quickly?" S-0 asked in disbelief, as it was simply too unrealistic.
"Please watch this footage, Lord S-0. You might be able to understand the situation from them. These footages have been trending on the Star Network News, and they are posted by none other than one Dark Skull Target with the star ID, The Society Killer!"
S-0's eyes contracted when she heard this name. The Dark Skull Targets were the mortal enemy of the Killer Skull Society and the highest-level priority targets. These targets must be eliminated because they were a direct threat to the existence of the Killer Skull Society.
Even the Faceless Ancient, despite his continuous interference with the Killer Skull Society's Plans and after stealing their important assets, was still a Red Skull Target a level below the Dark Skull Target.
"Why did he appear now of all the time?! He was silent for over 22 years after he got nearly killed by S-1." S-0 muttered as her day was getting from bad to worse very quickly since she knew nothing good would come when the Society Killer was involved.
At this moment, a few projection screens appeared in front of her, and the video started to play. She frowned because of the video of a few landscapes and three large cities, not their secret hideout, and was confused.
However, the very next moment, she jumped in alarm when all of a sudden a blinding white light suddenly appeared, followed by a deafening sound. What happened next was nothing but out of a nightmare as the white light grew and terrifying shock waves spread before a huge thick smock could rise towards the sky.
"W-wh-what is this?!" She stuttered as her horrified eyes were glued on the screens as the same scene was playing on all of them.
"Lord S-0, after analyzing the comments on these star news posts, over 84% of people are calling these explosions caused by the Atomic Grenades created by the famous and also Red Skull Target, Faceless Ancient. No survivor or living being below the epic rank in the area of over 150 miles radius managed to survive, and our agents are all dead with the base thoroughly destroyed.
"Although the Society Killer didn't give credit to the Faceless Ancient, he only left three words, 'Skulls, I'm Back!' on the star news posts. But many people are suspecting that he's related to the Faceless Ancient."
The more S-0 heard, the more her blood boiled, and her eyes turned bloodshot. She was already having trouble with Faceless Ancient, and now the Society Killer has come out of nowhere.
Not only that, but that guy might've been working with Faceless Ancient so they could get rid of their common enemy. S-0 didn't dare to imagine just how deadly that combination could be. Because the Society Killer was too cunning, he always somehow dug out their secret hideouts.
But they were never able to find any traitor among themselves. It was simply impossible with the brain chips planted into every skull's brain.
That's why the Society Killer was so dangerous and was made in the Dark Skull Target List so quickly.
Furthermore, he wasn't like Jacob, who wasn't actively seeking trouble in the Killer Skull Society. That guy seemed to live just to destroy the Killer Skull Society, and he didn't care about the lives he would sacrifice to achieve that goal.
Just like right now, he directly annihilated three medium-sized cities where the Killer Skull Society's bases were hidden, and he clearly didn't care about the collateral damage. That's what made him so dangerous.
Now, if there was a possibility that the Society Killer had teamed up with the Faceless Ancient, that was simply too terrifying. Just thinking about it made Skull No. S-0 shivered, and she knew she might not escape her pitiful fate after all!
