Varian smiled brightly as he looked at the changing situation.
A few feet away from him were Enigma and Blue Flash on a sofa. Opposite of them were Kyle and Maya. On the third front was Sarah.
The five looked at each other and turned to Varian.
Their gazes were all different, but with one similarity.
Shock.
It was unbelievable what Varian was able to accomplish in a matter of days.
He changed the public opinion of not only Enigma but also Shadow Guardians and now, he's demonizing two core members of the Xander family.
Previously, Enigma and Blue Flash didn't understand why Varian artificially raised the reputations of Cail and Iris.
Now that they finally did, they felt a chill down their spines.
His move was a deliberate political trap for the Xanders. They took the bait and publicly admitted their actions against Guardians. Not only that, they even exaggerated and attributed more 'achievements' to these two.
Now, every one of that achievements turned into a sin.
Of course, Varian could've chosen not to bring up these two people into the limelight and could've still proceeded with the plan.
But then, Xanders could've easily escaped from this issue by sacrificing two useless Xander members.
Now, their hands were tied.
The people in question were the second most important in both the old and new generations.
Cail Xanders was the strongest after Julius.
Iris Xander was the best genius after Charles.
But now…
"When did you become so scary?" Kyle gulped and asked his friend whose smile didn't seem to vanish.
"Scary? Me?" Varian pointed to his face with an innocent smile. "Don't be kidding. I'm the good guy of the town."
"…" Enigma rolled her eyes while Blue Flash and Maya shook their heads in exasperation.
Varian clicked his tongue at their reactions and crossed his arms. "You guys are seriously boring. Why can't you enjoy the situation?"
Blue Flash stared at him intensely before sighing. "The people think everything is happening separately."
She squinted her eyes and continued. "Gamma potion is found by Enigma. Blocker proof is invented by Uranus' head scientist. Shadow Guardians' topic was naturally brought to the limelight, not by any artificial agency.
But they don't know…it's all your doing. One person did all this." In the end, her stare at him turned into a complex one, as if she was seeing an absurd existence.
"If they know, they won't enjoy the situation. They will be shocked and they will be numb. Like us." She said and her shoulders slumped.
Varian rubbed his chin and nodded. "I'm taking that as praise. Thank you very much."
"…" Sarah threw a pillow at him.
"Hey!" Varian caught it and looked at her in confusion. "Can't I praise myself?"
"We've reached the secret realm already." She said lightly and gave him a glance. "Oh and please continue to praise yourself. I will record them all…for the future."
"…" Varian froze, imagining Sarah showing these embarrassing moments. "Never mind."
He glanced out the window and realized that they did indeed reach a secret realm near Uranus.
After the news blew up, Varian once again asked Irene for help regarding the teleportation formations.
If it was before, she wouldn't be able to help as the Sovereigns kept her actions under monitoring.
But with the Enigma threat proven as fake, there were no such restrictions.
So, the ghost ship once again reached Uranus. This time too, once they reached here, Enigma couldn't suppress the tracker any longer and gave off the signal.
But contrary to the previous times, they weren't chased.
In fact, the public came out into the streets and cheered for them.
"Enigma!"
"Dreamer!"
It was truly a sight that even he didn't expect, much less the rest. Nonetheless, it was very heartwarming.
Irene also ordered the military to turn off the trackers.
So, ghost ship traveled unhindered towards their destination.
A secret realm owned by Trade Union. In a few minutes, ghost ship was above a tall building.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Blue Flash exited the ghost ship and entered it in a second. But this time, she was throwing a young man in her hand.
He crashed to the ground and rolled like a log before eventually stopping. Raising his head, he yelled.
"Hey! Who are you guys…Dreamer? Enigma?"
The man recognized the two people in the room. Like the rest, they were also wearing masks, but these two were famous with their masks on.
"You're not a fool." Varian nodded in acknowledgment.
Between their words, ghost ship already left the secret realm and in a matter of seconds, the people that were chasing after them were thrown off.
"Release me!" The handsome man growled. "Do you know who I am?"
"Head of Uranus' Trade Union branch." Varian smiled.
"Also the husband of Sovereign Vianne!" The man growled.
"Correction, one of the ten or eleven husbands she has." Varian clicked his tongue. "If you die, she'll replace you, don't worry."
"YOU!" Veins popped up on the man's forehead as he felt a vulnerable issue of his life being poked.
"Shut up," Varian said lightly, but the man flinched and shivered.
A huge, terrifying force entered his mind and nearly scared the living hell out of him.
The power of a telepath!
But as the head of the Uranus branch, he wasn't an ordinary man. He calmed himself down and asked the most pressing question.
"What do you want from me?"
"We have a scientist you see." Varian chuckled, recalling Dr. Thomas who was tasting torture after torture every day.
"I asked him to make something." Essentially, a treasure to break Enigma's tracker.
"He agreed?" The young man, who in fact, was already seventy years old raised his voice.
"Oh yes, he did. Even with a smile." Varian grinned.
"…in exchange for freedom?" The young man asked with anticipation. He felt that he'd also face the same choice as that scientist. So, it was better to know.
"Freedom? Don't make me laugh." Varian held his stomach and laughed before he suddenly stopped, stared into the young man's eyes, and said in a chilling tone.
"In exchange for death."
"Hiss!" The young man took a step back as he felt a shiver down his spine. The hair on his neck stood up and he nearly cried there.
"Aw, come on, man." Varian frowned. "Anyway, our scientist asked us for materials. A lot of precious materials. I need it."
"B-But, even if it's me…" The union leader still wanted to bargain. As expected of the dark-hearted profiteer.
"Hm…?" Varian raised a brow.
The union leader put on a pitiful face and looked at him in grief. He looked like a righteous officer that was bullied by gangsters.
"Oh fuck it. You really think you're a saint or something?" Varian sneered. "A lot of smuggling happens in the black markets from Valos city.
And guess what? Some of the top brass of the Trade Union helped Black Market from the start. I even got documented evidence for it. There is a certain head also involved in it."
"…" The young man looked at Varian's smile and felt that it resembled a demon.
"Now, you either get hanged for your crimes or you help me get the materials and I might let you live. Choose carefully."
"...Fine, I'll do it."
"Say that again?"
"Yes, Sir!"
