My Wife is a Dead Villainess, and I'm Her Living Weapon-Chapter 99: Options

"Tsk, I am just a low man on the totem pole. Why do they even need me here?"

A tall man grumbled as he walked down a narrow hallway. He was wearing a suit that seemed a size too small and made his bulk nearly rip the fabric apart.

"You look adorable, though, commander. Like a teddy bear playing dress-up." His companion teased, her formal suit sharp and her hair pulled into a bun.

"Ha, if only my wife thought the same. How is your family doing, Tess?"

"Safe, I sent them to a different continent. With the things you have been making me do, it was the only option."

The pair eventually reached the end of the passage and were greeted by a guard.

"Commander Steel, Ms. Potts, we have been expecting you. The delegates have already arrived and are making their way here. Please wait in the drawing room."

The guard quickly opened a door and gestured towards a small office with a couch and a few luxurious chairs.

When they entered, Tessa fumed as she sat down on one of the seats, "Tsk. These bastards still won’t call me, Mrs. Johnson. I am married! Why are they still calling me by my Breaker name?"

The man with her checked on the room before grunting as he paced, "Because the bastards here do not need Tessa Johnson the housewife. They instead need Tessa Potts, the A-Rank breaker. Besides, even when you taught at the school, you hid your last name."

Tessa grew angry and folded her arms in displeasure, "Tsk, if I didn’t need the money, I wouldn’t be caught dead back in this line of work."

Marcus smiled wryly, "Never mind that; how did the new kids do on their assignment?"

Tessa Potts pulled up a tablet and presented a live video feed to her commander. Despite being annoyed, she knew better than to mix personal gripes with her work. It was one of the qualities Marcus liked so much about having her on his team.

"They did very well; they were able to successfully extract Tom and Susan Reed safely. Funnily enough, a young Class F Crusader was involved."

"Crusader? Did the choir boys already before the announcement? Who was he?"

"Nedeshwar Patel. Or Ned for short. He even managed to figure out that Ryner and Bridget were trying to protect the Reeds from assassins," Tessa added with a smile.

"Who? Why should I care who this Ned is?"

"He registered for the Crusaders almost two months ago. And I brought it up because his presence proves what we already suspected."

"He does?"

Tessa nodded, "Yes, he is the known best friend of the target. He was involved in the Crestfall incident from a year ago."

"Wait—Crestfall? That was the Red Ants job, right? That was before you returned to the breakers."

"Yes. I was a retired then."

Marcus smacked his fist on his hand, "Then this Ned kid already knew about W01! Otherwise, he wouldn’t be guarding the Reeds!"

"Indeed," Tessa nodded.

"So, the Beacon party ran into him, what happened next? What do we know of his background? Can we use him?"

"Ned is from the lineage of immigrants that came to the country long before the dungeons. His parents died in an accident and thus he had joined a church-led adoption home."

"Crap! We can’t let the choir boys know about W01! Where is he now?" freēwēbnovel.com

Tessa smiled and presented an image of Ned in a holding cell.

"Relax. I personally knew W01 and Ned Patel, so when Charlie told me his name, I instructed them to apprehend him. He’s been reported missing for over a month but has been in our custody ever since."

"Damn! That’s my girl. Good job!" Marcus began to brush his chin in high spirits, "Just Imagining the choir boys scrambling after he vanished fells so good."

"Hush, commander, this summit was called for W01. All the information on our operation to capture him is included in the briefs you will be giving today, one of them anyway. Although the president has yet to decide which one we will do."

"I have more than one? Then how am I supposed to know which to present?"

"If President Shang calls for White Metal," she said, "You give them everything."

Marcus grunted. "And if he says something else?"

"We deny knowing anything about W01."

"Remind me again why I don’t just quit and let you handle this crap?"

"I will retire if you quit; I’ve synced your brief and injected notes into your nanomachines. You shouldn’t have trouble presenting it."

"Thanks," Marcus said as he began reviewing the material.

"Don’t mention it. Which do you think the president will choose, Commander?"

"Hard to say, Shang is quite crafty. But Gerard and Seraphi are no slouches either. Of course, I am just the muscle, so whatever Shang decides is up to him."

Marcus looked toward the window and watched the peaceful scenery.

"If it happened normally, I think he would sit on the information. But that system message complicates things. Things will get hairy if W01 actually gains two more marks."

"Sigh, I had hoped we would never crown a Tyrant in my lifetime. If something like Vulkanus pops out again, I don’t think I’d survive it this time."

At Tessa’s comment, Marcus’ body flinched. Memories of the terrible event flooded his mind. The memory hit like a hammer—magma swallowing a city whole. Golems marching through broken gates. The smell of burning flesh and screams without end.

No matter how many we took down, the world kept burning. If Heaven’s Fist wasn’t there that day, humanity might have met its end.

Only those who participated in that battle knew how horrible being invaded by a different race was. Especially the races that belonged to the crucible. Leaving the preliminaries meant making such events commonplace.

We aren’t ready. If we officially join the crucible, we will be on borrowed time.

Despite the many wars in which he participated, none made Marcus tense up like the battle with Vulkanus. It was the day he understood how outgunned humanity was against the other worlds.

A few moments later, a maid appeared and called for Marcus and Tessa, "The delegates are ready for you. Please come with me."

They followed the maid who brought them into a large conference room. There was a single triangular hardwood desk in the room. A single person sat at each point, with over ten people standing beside them.

One of the people seated gestured to Marcus as he entered.

"You all know Commander Marcus Steel; he leads the Breaker unit for The Bloodright of Conquest. Under my orders, he has been investigating this matter long before the fourth arrived. Commander, please present Operation Black Metal."

Black, huh? So we’re keeping them in the dark. Guess they didn’t come to an agreement.

Marcus placed his heart over his chest and then beside his temple with his fingers outstretched. He saluted to the right, then to the left.

"As President Shang has said, I am Marcus Steel. I greet Her Holiness, Pope Cavour, and His Highness, Duke Nobel. It is an honor to meet the strongest Ascendants humanity has to offer."

A beautiful, youthful woman in sacred robes was seated at the western point of the table, her miter casting a shadow over her face.

On the eastern point was a blond man who exuded a feeling of wealth and nobility, his every gesture full of grace and elegance.

Duke Nobel gestured to those behind him, "The rest of you, leave us. From this point on, only Commander Steel and his aide will stay."

The people behind the Pope and the President didn’t comply and turned to their leaders. Both nodded without a fuss.

After the other delegates left, the Pope sighed and removed her miter from her head.

"Since everyone present is a veteran of Liberation Day, can we drop the formalities? Jian, Gerard, is that okay with you? Before we discuss what Marcus has to say, I want to confirm. You both noticed, right?"

Noticed what? She looks spooked.

Although Marcus was an S-Ranked breaker, compared to the three seated, he had a much lower standing. For one, he was only a soldier, while the ones seated were listed as official Tyrant Candidates—recognized by the System.

President Shang bowed his head and began to massage his forehead. "Yes, I did. I was hoping for it to be a mistake. Frankly, that surprised me more than the Earth-Wide World Message."

The Duke frowned and clicked his tongue, "Tsk. Then it’s true. He’s dead? I doubted it when I suddenly saw the quest disappear."

Unable to follow the discussion, Marcus turned to President Jian Shang. The man furrowed his brows as he explained.

"A few days before the announcement about W01, the three of us lost one of our quests. It was called The Trial of Heaven; it was given by Heaven’s Fist. It’s basically a duel in the future with the old bastard."

"W-Wha...?" Marcus stammered in disbelief.

If the quest disappeared, then it means he retracted it.

"But why would Heaven’s Fist retract that duel?"

The one who answered was the Duke, "He didn’t; he died. Seraphi, he should be guarding the Flame Swallow Dungeon, right? Have you sent others to confirm?"

"I have and I had them watch the place ever since the Snow Wolf Dungeon fell. And..."

"And? And what?" Shang asked in irritation.

The Pope bit her lip before she added, "She is back..."

Both the Duke and the President made faces of confusion as they waited for Seraphi to explain. The room fell silent. Even the lights felt colder.

"Bianca Valestra. The Witch of the Frozen Night; she protected Elian Reed when we tried to kill him," the Pope declared solemnly.

Blood drained from Marcus’s face when he heard a name he feared almost as much as Vulkanus.

Looks like we just ran out of options.