Varian explained his findings in the ruins and Sia personally showed the metal leaves.
After verifying the evidence, Bali wiped the sweat off his forehead as he took short breaths to calm his pounding heart.
When Pluto was conquered, Neptune Sovereign's artifact was lost. Now, Kreo's artifact—which was supposed with him until his death—vanished under the nose of all that heavy security.
If it was only the loss of Neptune's artifact, Bali could still convince himself that this was a conspiracy theory.
But the loss of Kreo's artifact was something he couldn't ignore. While there's a possibility that one of those level 9s stole the artifact, it might as well be zero.
There's no use for them and it's impossible for one person to steal under the gaze of that heavy security. What's more, there wasn't one faction of the military at that time. There were multiple factions, even hostile ones.
So, there's no question of them all colluding to snatch the artifact.
This only meant one thing.
"Who is the traitor?" Bali gripped his seat and asked in a heavy tone.
"I thought it could only be the people who visited all the ruins—Ares or Albert. After all, that's how Enigma learned that secret." Varian looked at Sia who was a few feet away from him.
At his words, she raised a brow in confusion. Why did he change his opinion?
Varian gave her a small smile and continued. "But seeing how Abyssals could easily cut off their connection with Dungeons, I can't help but think since Ruins are interconnected, maybe you don't need to visit them all to learn this secret. So, every Sovereign is a suspect."
"…This is ridiculous," Bali admitted.
"Except you, since you're a new Sovereign," Varian said, to lighten the mood.
But Bali couldn't come out of the shock even five minutes after they entered the Mirage Abyss.
For someone like Bali who spent most of his life in the military, Sovereigns, regardless of their personal lives, were protectors that upheld the peace of humanity.
Knowing one protector was killing another didn't sit well with him, even if the one killing them might be doing so to save humanity.
What's more, that bastard surely cooperated with Abyssals and led to the death of a billion humans.
Bali felt the neck on his nape stand as goosebumps covered him from head to toe. He wasn't an inexperienced teenager. Yet, this one piece of news made him question his life.
"I…I really want to get some good rest after this mission." Bali finally said with some exhaustion.
Varian nodded. "You'll get plenty, once we're done."
"Don't push me to my death and send me off saying death is the eternal rest." Bali made a grim joke and laughed.
Varian shook his head. Bali still hadn't recovered from this news. So, it was better to push back the attack for some time.
Meanwhile, the Ghost ship traveled to the regions untouched from last time. After some basic inquiry through psychic powers, Varian learned that the level 9s of each province of the Abyss were concentrated in the province capital—that way, they could better defend against the terrorist attacks by Varian and his level 9s, if they happen again.
'Three per province, not bad.'
But it's not like Varian could attack however he liked.
If Bali recovered completely, he could teleport and attack. Even Mirage Queen would be hard-pressed to track him down.
But Bali was injured. And he's not getting back to his peak strength anytime soon.
He could barely match Mirage Queen under the Abyss Will. Teleporting and attacking carefreely would only put him in danger.
'We don't have to clean up the whole Abyss. Just attacking a few times would be enough.' Varian narrowed his eyes and glared at the province capital under the clouds.
"Sovereign Bali," Sia called out in a neutral tone. She was silent the whole time and didn't interact much with Bali.
This was the third time she called him and due to her lukewarm tone, Bali snapped out of his trance and looked out of the window.
Bali's space sense pierced through the illusions that were projecting his childhood and reached the city.
'Three level 9s,' He found out. 'And five million Abyssals.'
"One shot. We don't know the steps Mirage Queen took by now. So, one shot and we're leaving." Varian said in a serious voice.
Bali nodded with a confident smile and stood in front of the ghost ship's exit.
The space around Bali warped for a moment and he disappeared. The moment he appeared above the province capital, Mirage Queen suddenly opened her eyes.
"It's him!" The Queen's eyes turned bloodshot as she recognized the Abyss Will's message.
Without hesitation, she boarded her spaceship, went underground a few miles away from the capital, and reached a special altar.
Above the city, Bali's face turned pale as the Abyss Will forcibly tried to punish his
mind.
The illusions in his mind grew wilder and wilder.
But Bali simply raised his hands and a sphere of spatial power enveloped the whole city stretching for several hundred miles.
The next second, he snapped his fingers.
It's like a huge crack was drawn out in the city. The grey opening was the size of a fingernail at first, but in the blink of an eye, it devoured the entire city.
Several fireballs and powerful punches shook the space crack, but it successfully withheld all these attacks and disappeared.
Bali sighed as he watched a huge track of empty land in the place the city was a second ago.
Now, there was only a huge crater.
"Cough." Bali touched the blood spilling out of his lips and smiled wryly.
His injuries with Mirage Queen were mental and he was already having trouble facing them.
Now, the Abyss Will was exploiting his mental injuries and attacking him.
"Get in! Hurry up!"
Hearing Varian's shouts, Bali felt his lips twitch. If possible, he wanted to beat this boy at least once. But now, time was of the essence.
So, Bali entered the ghost ship and left the scene.
Three seconds later, an altar, underground a few miles away from the city, shone and Mirage Queen's spaceship rushed out of it.
The spaceship transformed into full-body armor and Mirage Queen walked towards the empty land with heavy steps.
With each step she took, her eyes grew a shade darker. The face armor lifted itself and the cold winds hit the Queen's face.
The winds were harsh and for a split second, Mirage Queen heard the voices of the citizens.
The cries of her people who were brutally killed.
Even though she witnessed the destruction of cities and watched as the casualties hit tens of millions, her heart still ached every time it happened.
"It's war…it's war, deaths are normal," Mirage Queen told herself as she gazed at the place where a great city stood a few minutes ago.
As she was about to leave, the wind blew and carried a few pieces of cloth with it.
Mirage Queen held out her hand as she saw the blood-stained clothes of the little children.
Something inside her snapped.
Mirage Queen straightened her back and her ice-cold voice reverberated for hundreds of miles. "Varian, you've crossed all lines."
