Chapter 133: So close yet so far

"The facility is surrounded by ice. And the battle will happen outside that Ice. In the meanwhile, we will enter the facility through the tunnel, finish our mission and get out before anyone realizes what has happened. Pretty fun, isn't it?" 

An amusing smile remained on Caen's face as he explained the plan to Lucifer, which he hadn't told him yet. He wanted to amaze Lucifer at the right time when every piece was in its place.

It would have been embarrassing if they had told him and nothing had happened according to their plan. 

"The plan is good indeed," Lucifer answered as he nodded. He was getting more and more amazed at the work of this organization, but he was also getting warier. 

Their schemes and tricks, he wondered if they were using one such thing on him or not. If it was the same for him, he needed to be more careful. 

Meanwhile, on the side of the APF, Ayn started giving orders to her members.

"Yale! We are going to be outside, fighting the enemies and taking them out. You stay inside the facility with Dr. Rao and Dr. Layman. Keep them safe," Ayn told Yale to go inside the facility as she went out. 

Even though she believed that they weren't going to let anyone get past them, she still sent a powerful member of her team as a precaution. 

"But captain! We can send others as well. Let me be with you while fighting them. I can't be on babysitting duty!" Yale protested. 

"It's not babysitting duty. It's an important job. Their targets are those two doctors. If some of them get past us and kill the doctors, we will lose all our respect, including our face and credibility. Everyone will say that we couldn't even protect a single human against the Uprising; how will we protect millions?" Ayn asked Yale, frowning. 

"And more importantly, once they kill the doctors, they'll leave! We need to keep them here long enough to kill or capture them all!" She added. 

"And lastly! It's my command! You will do it! Now stop complaining! Yours is the most important mission here!" Ayn said before she turned back. 

"Noted, Captain!" Yale promptly responded, finally obeying her command.

Ayn also commanded the others to follow after her and be prepared for a long and hard battle. 

The men of APF were really excited as they heard her words. They had always wanted to fight the Dark Variants that they considered evil. This was the primary purpose of the APF, and finally, they had the opportunity. 

Moreover, unlike when fighting in a crowded city, in this place, they could fight to their fullest and use their powers to the best of their abilities. As an added bonus, the more freely they used their powers, the more their efficiency was going to improve. 

Ayn followed after Xander, who was walking towards the North Wall. He was prepared for an all-out battle to destroy everyone. His fist was clenched as a fire had started burning around it. 

He reached the ice wall on the north and placed his burning hand on the surface. As soon as his hand was placed on the Ice Wall, the wall started melting and evaporating.

But it wasn't simple. The area where he had placed his hand wasn't the only place that was evaporating. Instead, the area that was big enough to let him easily pass through had started melting. 

Soon, a door-shaped opening was made in the Ice Wall in which Xander could pass through to finally see all the enemies in the distance. 

Ayn also stepped out of the opening, which was made by Xander. 

As she stepped out of the enclosed space, she stared at Xander. 

"Instead of making an opening yourself, you could have waited for me to make an opening," Ayn told Xander. 

Xander lazily replied, "I find it hard to wait."

The rest of the APF members also stepped out of the opening made by Xander. 

Ayn glanced back at the opening and placed her hand on the wall, closing the opened space in her wall once again. Now that everyone was already out, there was no need to keep it open.

"I can't see Lucifer. This is strange. I thought they would bring him as well," Xander said, peering at his surroundings as he searched for Lucifer.

"I can't see Raia either. Moreover, why isn't Varant here yet? He said he would be here soon after us. Why are all the big players missing? Something feels strange," Ayn said, feeling puzzled. 

She was wondering if this was just a coincidence. However, she had a nagging feeling that something big was behind all of this.

"You're right. Something seems strange," Xander agreed. "Something is off. I just can't understand what."

"Doesn't matter. Even if they didn't bring Lucifer here, they brought all our other enemies. Let's catch them first and then ask questions," Ayn said as she rubbed her hands. 

She needed to focus on the enemies in front of them. This was not the time to keep her mind busy in figuring out the other things.

...

On the other hand, Lucifer and Caen's team continued traversing through the tunnel. The tunnel kept getting bigger and bigger as it closed in on the facility. 

Soon, they had traveled almost halfway. Coincidentally they happened to be right under Ayn at the moment, who was standing on top of the ground outside the ice tomb. 

Fortunately, the distance of the ground from the tunnel was big enough to not make any vibration on the ground. Ayn and Xander didn't feel a single thing. 

They didn't realize that the boy they were after was right under their feet at the moment—the boy who was too far yet too close. 

...

Caen had already told Lucifer and others to not make much noise long ago. Thus no one was talking. Even when Caen himself had to say something, he whispered. 

As the Ice Wall didn't pass through the ground at such depths, Henrik didn't have a hard time making his tunnel longer. They easily entered the place which was on the other end of the thick ice wall.