Chapter 27: Outcome No One Expected
Workers Street, inside the Golden Lion.
"This is today's report." Croc said as he handed Percy the documents. He scratched his tanned skin as he noticed Percy looking colder than before, as if he were seething in rage. However, he didn't think too much about it since everyone had been on edge ever since the war started.
Percy pinched his glabella and nodded. "Thank you. Have you heard from Russell? Has he returned?"
"Yes, sir. He returned and went to check on the vault." Croc said while looking slightly weird. "He was mumbling about finding the true culprit and needing more clues. I don't know, he acted weird."
"Hah." Percy leaned on the chair as if a boulder had been lifted off his shoulders. He nodded as the corners of his lips curled slightly. "You may leave."
"Yes, sir." Croc bowed before leaving the study room.
After the door closed, Percy took the documents and placed them in the desk's drawer. Before he could close the drawer, the door opened, and a skinny-looking woman with a round-shaped face entered the room with a diary in hand.
"Lea, what is it?" Percy closed the drawer and checked on the rest of the letters while keeping one ear open for Lea's words.
"We finished emptying Perseus' room." Lea looked at the diary in her hands and placed it on the desk. "We found his diary."
Percy stopped reading the letters and placed them back in the drawer. He then sighed, closed the drawer, and looked at the diary with its brownish cover. "Have any of you read it?"
"No, sir. We thought you wanted to." Lea answered honestly.
"Alright, you may leave." Percy didn't seem too interested in the diary's content. He still opened the first page and scratched his head. "Bring me coffee with white milk."
Lea nodded and left the study room.
"Yawn." Percy yawned before even reading the first sentence. He rubbed his eyes and tried to keep them open as he nonchalantly started to read it. After he finished the first sentence, his expression had already solidified as if it had turned into stone.
His eyes skimmed through the content, and then he flipped to the next page. However, there wasn't anything after the first page, as if the diary were brand new.
He turned back to the first page and read it entirely. After Lea returned with the cup of steaming coffee, he still hadn't moved. She curiously glanced at the diary without reading it.
After placing the coffee cup on the desk, she walked to the door while thinking. 'Percy really cared about his brother if he was that interested in the diary.'
Slam... the door closed.
The sound woke Percy, and the hands holding the diary began to shake. As he squeezed the cover as tight as he could, the pages slightly wrinkled. He then dropped the diary and hid his face in his hands.
Without further ado, he screamed.
All the Golden Lion members in the lounge and in their rooms flinched. Lea almost tripped on the stairs and hurriedly turned towards Percy's study room's door. The screams slowly disappeared as if they were forcibly muffled.
In the room, Percy revealed his blood-red eyes. "Hahahaha! That little sh*t. To think I mourned for him."
He stood up and pushed the door open as he entered the hallway. He grabbed the handrail and looked around the quiet lounge. They were all looking in his direction.
Percy soon saw the person who handled the Golden Lion's graveyard and shouted.
"Turk, dig up Perseus' corpse. He doesn't deserve a f*cking grave! Burn his corpse and scatter the ashes into the garbage disposal!"
Percy then returned to his study room and slammed the door shut.
Turk, a slightly plump middle-aged man, was utterly shocked. He looked at the other Golden Lion members, and they didn't understand whether it was a joke or an actual order. However, going against his orders, joke or not, was a bad idea. Thus, Turk scratched his head, picked up his shovel, and left the building to do a quick visit at their graveyard.
...
1 Beeker Street, inside Scarlet Arrow.
Red skimmed through documents while sipping green tea with his remaining hand. He was reading the casualty report. He was pleased to see his enemies suffering immense casualties, but it also hurt his heart to see his own subordinates losing their lives. However, as long as his enemies lose more than he does, he could live with it.
He then left his seat and walked to the square-shaped window, which was as tall as a 10 year old kid. It showed perfectly the distant iron walls and the circular-shaped Inner Circle. Beeker Street was nicely situated at the farthest corner from the entrance. There were only two roads where they could get attacked. Thus, making their guild location the most secure out of seven.
At the distance, he could see sunset which turned blue sky into orange. Even a beautiful view such as that couldn't heal his wounded heart. The window clearly showed his reflection, but he saw something completely different. The reflection was Rosa Ferwett, smiling as she looked like she wanted to hold hands. However, when Red put his hand forward, he touched his own reflection.
"I will avenge you..." He swore silently as hatred bloomed inside his heart. At that moment, the door swung open as a familiar figure ran inside, even when Scarlet Arrow members tried to stop him.
"Red, you have to take a look at this!" Rook shook off the Scarlet Arrow members who tried to drag him out of the room. He walked up to an absent-looking Red and handed him a diary with an older brownish shade. "Please read the last page."
"A diary?" Red scoffed and took the diary. "I didn't know you could write."
"Shut up." Rook ignored the obvious taunting and said. "This is not mine. Its Perseus's."
"Perseus's?" Red flipped to the last page just like he was instructed. "Didn't he die? Why would I care what he wrote."
"Just read." Rook got seated and massaged his temples. He wasn't sure whether he was dreaming when he read the last page, but now that he had thought more, everything made so much sense.
Red scoffed and sat on his seat while slowly skimming through the last page. At first, he was surprised to read about his intention to scheme against seven guilds, but when he got into tricking Red and Rook, his body froze. Perseus' writing was so vivid that he could imagine him grinning and laughing.
After reading it all, he sat there in a daze. The diary slipped off his hand and fell to the ground, bouncing once before falling cover-first.
"Red... I think we have made a huge mistake. We confirmed it. The writing style is exactly the same as Perseus's." Rook grabbed his head as though he was in great agony. "Did our anger cloud our judgment that much? How couldn't we see behind Perseus' lies?"
"Because..." Red's voice trembled as he spoke softly. "We wanted to direct our anger towards someone..."
"W-what should we do?" Rook bit his lip till it bled. "Can the war still be stopped?"
"Let's... go to the Golden Lion." Red sighed and picked up the diary from the ground. "If our deaths end the war, it shall be so."
Rook nodded solemnly and followed Red out of the study.
'Maybe I will meet you tonight, Rosa.' Red closed his eyes as he prepared himself.
...
Workers Street.
The members of the Golden Lion stood at the entrance with their weapons drawn. They had already heard from their intelligence officers that Red, Rook, and their core members were marching towards Worker Street. They didn't have apparently have any intention to attack, but they didn't drop their guard.
"Lower your weapons." Percy ordered as he looked at the two guild masters. He glanced at the diary in his hand and sighed. 'They will never believe its content.'
Red and Rook stopped at the end of the sidewalk, where crossing the street begins. Crossing the street would lead directly to the Golden Lion's entrance.
"Red, Rook." Percy let out a sigh. "Why have you come here?"
"Because of this." Red showed a diary with an old, brownish cover. "Read the last page, and you will understand."
He hurled it across the road, and it landed perfectly in Percy's hand. He didn't even have to move his hand to catch the diary. Red's incredible aim wasn't only with the bow and arrow.
Percy curiously flipped through the pages before checking out the last page. His eyes widened in shock and confusion. The text was in Perseus' handwriting, and he already read it all from the brand-new diary!
'What in the hell? Perseus made another copy? Why in the hell...' Percy looked at Red and Rook. He saw their remorseful expression. 'They believed what was said in the diary... they had their own way to confirm its legitimacy. It means... Perseus indeed met them and lied to them. What a bastard.'
He shut the diary down and hurled it back at Red, who caught it. They shared glances before stepping forth simultaneously. Scarlet Arrows and Metal Paladins drew their weapons. Golden Lions were about to protect Percy, but then he stopped them with a wave of the hand.
Red and Percy stopped in front of each other. They reached their hands forward and grabbed each other's hands firmly. Under the shocked gazes of many, they shook hands and returned to their previous positions.
"War is over! You all deserve vacation!" Percy shouted and entered the building as a path was formed before him. The members of Golden Lion were utterly baffled. They could only wonder what in the f*ck just happened!
"Bring me a bottle of whiskey!" Percy shouted to the new front desk lady and ran up the stairs with a relieved expression. 'Thank God it's over.'
Red and Rook left with their guild members. They both planned to take a long vacation.
...
As the night dawned on Inner Circle, the previously battle-scarred streets were again bustling with activity. All the bars had lights on for the first time in three weeks, and guild members from each of the seven guilds were drinking till they passed out.
A laughter and songs drifted across the air as the end of the war festival was held in a hurry. Just this morning, everyone expected this to be another bloody day. However, shockingly, it had ended in mutual agreement between Percy and Red!
It came as a shock to everyone. However, they were glad, and many even shed tears. The previously enemies were now sharing drinks as they laughed together.
However, one place wasn't filled with happiness.
On the second floor of the Adventurer's Guild, Lucas looked coldly at the streets through the gap in the curtains. Seeing everyone laughing, drinking, and eating in a festive atmosphere angered him.
"It failed. What happened?" Lucas closed the curtain and turned to the corner of his room, where only shadows resided. "Didn't we do everything perfectly? How the hell did Red and Rook's anger suddenly vanish?"
"I don't know..." A soft voice came from the darkness. It was a feminine and elegant voice, definitely befitting a woman of high status.
"What are we going to do now?" Lucas's voice grew gentler when he spoke to her. "There isn't another Perseus, whom we can "encourage" to do the hideous hidden desires they have."
"Perseus was a rare specimen." The woman spoke softly. "We were lucky that he wanted to do harm to Seven Guilds and to his brother. We don't need a second one since we already missed our chance. Tricking the Seven Guilds into going to Mach Island had only one chance of succeeding, but when they all didn't die, we also had Plan B.
"Now, Plan B has failed. We don't have Plan C currently, but we don't need one."
"What do you mean, ma'am?" Lucas asked curiously.
"I have waited for a long time... I can wait slightly longer. The Seven Guilds will be wary since they weren't tricked once, but twice. Their guild masters aren't fools, and they might find out that there were others who planned to use the war to their advantage."
"So, stay low and continue living a normal life." Lucas sighed and felt frustrated that suddenly everything went from perfection to utter failure. Ever since the war started, they thought that was it; they had succeeded. Now, the strangest outcome appeared. It was as if Red and Rook forgot why they were fighting!
"Patience, Lucas." The woman giggled with her heavenly voice. "The city shall be yours. My dream will also come true in time. Now, I shall enter another sleep..."
"Already? But you just woke up!" Lucas panicked, not wanting her to leave. "W-when will I meet you again?"
"Patience... patience..." The voice faded away as the woman vanished from the shadows.
...
Global Realm Station.
"Whew!" Jason heaved a sigh of relief as he almost fell to his knees after stepping out of the spatial tunnel. He barely managed to outrun zombies untill he reached the contact point, where he immediately ripped his ticket.
After arriving at the station, his phone vibrated in his back pocket. Jason wiped his sweat and checked the phone quickly. But then his expression froze when the shocking piece of news showed up on his screen.
'The war has ended! What the f*ck! I was gone for six hours—what in the world happened?!'
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone