OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Chapter 496: Momentary Celebration



Emir leaned back in the chair, his sunglasses slipping slightly down the bridge of his nose, revealing eyes that were as black as void.

"Judas is a professor... yes."

Aquila's brows furrowed.

"Then why?... Why the fuck is he still kept around? Why is the principal allowing someone like him to live?!"

His voice became louder at the end as his anger burned brighter with each word:

"Especially NOW after everything he did?!"

Emir's smile widened.

"I'm batshit crazy, yes? You are too, yes?..."

Before Aquila could say anything back, Emir revealed where he was going with this: "Amon isn't."

In a world where everyone was "fucked in the head," the scariest ones were those who remained sane.

Both of them understood that.

"He believes that if you keep your enemies close, you can bend them to your ideals, mold them into... deterrents. Judas is not a liability but a calculated risk. A chance to show even the most corrupt of us what 'good' could look like, in theory of course."

Aquila scoffed, the bitterness evident in his voice.

"And look how that turned out. Maharajah's death is on him."

He sighed and rubbed his nose.

"Though no matter how I feel... I get the strategy."

Emir nodded.

"You should. My allies aren't so weak they can't separate logic and emotion."

Rolling his eyes, Aquila waved him off:

"Don't think I'm blind to what you're trying to do. I won't allow you to use my alliance to kill him, no matter how much I want to."

Emir shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Aquila sighed once more, shutting his eyes tight.

"You know you're playing a dangerous game, right?"

Emir snickered.

"...I've been hearing that quite a bit lately; I can't say I'm annoyed, though. In my eyes... dangerous games are the only ones worth playing."

The two men sat in silence again, each in their own world, thoughts churning.

Outside, the sector lights blinked as people from all walks of life strolled on the pavement, blissfully unaware that within this small, sterile room, a decision was being made-one that would alter Earth's very future.

Then, once a minute had gone by, Aquila finally spoke, his tone a tad softer than earlier:

"And here I thought you came to wish me a good recovery."

"Oh, but I am~. Though, if you want nice, supportive, call a damn helpline."

"Yeah, yeah, you can fuck off now... I've got a lot to think about."

Tapping the end of his bed twice, Emir stood up and waved him goodbye.

"Don't go killing yourself now."

"FUCK! OFF!"

"I will~."

...

Though it didn't feel like it to most of the family, they had won.

Yesterday they stood victorious, having defied fate and its consequences.

At least for a time.

And so, to celebrate their victory, Emir had planned a small party back at base.

There, everyone had gathered, and yes, everyone, including those in the Platoon and Shadow Squad.

Everyone was fine with that, rather appreciating the thought, but not all was merry.

There was one man who wasn't.

Not because he didn't want them to be there, but because he lost the only excuse he had for not inviting his fiancée before.

"That 'man' was Ragnar.

"I'm telling you! She's gonna kill me for this!"

He chased Emir around the mansion's backyard garden, hands clasped together as if he was begging for his life.

"For once, just think about it man! You always said no, but I have no excuse anymore! She'll think that I don't want her here!"

Ignoring him, Emir pointed to a nearby worker and gestured for him to leave.

"Pack up; we already sent the payment."

The worker bowed slightly and quickly rushed off, not wanting to be there any longer than he

had to.

"Ak! Listen to me!"

Sighing out loud, Emir finally turned around and faced him.

"I thought about it."

"And?!"

"No."

Kicking the ground like a spoiled brat, Ragnar grabbed both of Emir's shoulders, holding him@@novelbin@@

in place.

"Why the fuck do you keep saying no? I see no logical reason!"

Emir stared at him for a few moments, then shoved his hands away and turned around.

"I don't want to kill her."

Stunned, Ragnar remained frozen in place, then quickly rushed after him, demanding an

explanation:

"W-What the fuck did you just say?!"

""

Emir, ignoring him like last time, kept walking and headed back inside.

Ragnar, about to repeat his question, his anger almost boiling over, was interrupted.

"She knows of my people, Ragnar. Her kind hunts mine down. They call us Blackeyes."

"...The fuck are you saying?"

Reaching the elevator, he entered and pressed on the second floor.

Quickly following behind was Ragnar, entering a moment before the doors closed.

"As you know, I'm a descendant of an Apex, Sultan of The Sands. That means I'm an Irregular, a man born with an Aether Core. My people, Najmat Al-Khulud, have been killed for that reason. We were too strong. Every single planet-hopping Celestial is tasked with hunting us, or at least those remaining of us down. Now think, if she happens to see my eyes, how do you think she would react? That's to say she doesn't have suspicions already..."

For the first time in his relatively short life, Ragnar was completely speechless.

No anger, no confusion, no nothing, just blankness.

Ting!

Emir stepped out as the elevator opened, leaving the stunned Viking behind.

Soon after, the elevator closed its doors with him still inside, automatically going back to the

ground floor.

He chuckled, already knowing that this was going to happen.

"Why do you think I refrained from saying anything, you dumbass?"

With those words, he shook his head and stopped thinking about it, entering an office at the

end of a hallway.

"Welcome, welcome!"

Nathan met him at the door, arms wide as if expecting him.

"Good to see you."

They gave each other a half hug and sat on their respective chairs.

"So what brings you here, bossman? I believe I have sent my report to Lyra."

"Yeah, no, I already checked that. I'm here to ask about their families, you know, the things

we keep out of the public report so as to not get the morale down."

Nathan let out a sigh.

"Heh, and that's the least of it. Some of them would've been completely broken if this got

out... The end of any war is never pretty. I know that, but still... A bomb... a car bomb blew up

one of my guy's family. He was happy he survived, you know..."

He chuckled softly.

"Another had his brother get shot in the back of the head buying a pack of smokes; one had his

wife vanish, just like that... Rat bastards went after anyone they could. Sure, we pulled them out and got them in safe houses before any more could die, but the damage was done."

A single tear threatened to fall, but he quickly wiped it away with the back of his hand, not

wanting Emir to notice.

"Our guys don't know loss. It's their first time... I guess when you play grown-up games, you face grown-up consequences."

Emir acted as if he hadn't seen anything and simply nodded.

"True... Both sides race to tie up loose ends, get revenge, or whatever... One way or another,

shit always ends up fucked."

"Mhm. You know, those I mentioned wanted revenge, as anyone would, and rightly so, but I

stopped them... Was that the right thing to do?"

"I don't know."

Emir leaned his head on his right fist.

"If I was in their positions, things would've been completely different, but we're talking

about them now, so listen. Most of the fuckers down in the bunkers are forced vegans. They can't even afford lab food. Actual rats. Breeding like there's no tomorrow. No matter how many you kill, more will come. But that doesn't mean that you can't exterminate them. Do it, but at once. If these men don't have the power to do so, then they should stay quiet. Otherwise, what remains of their family will be gone too."

Raising a surprised brow at his surprisingly long answer, Aquila slowly nodded his head.

"...Thanks for being honest."

"It's fine. But only ask me such questions. Like I said to Kiera, we leaders must never waver,

and this question is just that."

"No worries, I understand."

"Good. But don't sniff out their want for vengeance. Keep it alive. We can't have them getting

soft."

"...I don't like it, but again, I understand. Consider it done."

Emir looked weirdly at Nathan, not knowing why he was making that conflicted face.

"Ah, wait. Forgot you think that way... You're the type to say revenge is stupid, right?"

Nathan's answer was nearly instant:

"I do. It's a never-ending cycle that could end in one way. Meaningless Death."

Chuckling, Emir shook his head multiple times, deeming his words completely naive.

"If vengeance is hollow, then you simply haven't suffered enough."

With that, he stood up and turned to the door. "Now enough about that; we've got a victory to celebrate."