Chapter 279: Warzone

Shortly after, Cassius also returned, dressed in a different attire that still suited him. His short dark hair still seemed slightly wet as he had just finished a shower. 

Reaching the car, he opened the door of the passenger side before he sat inside. 

"Let's go. But you need to be careful. After the rain, it's slightly harder," Cassius reminded Lucifer.

Lucifer pressed on the accelerator to get the car moving. 

Bringing it out of the Estate, he advanced towards the city.

....

"Pretty good. You're doing really great. And it hasn't even been two days. Your control is incredible," Cassius complimented Lucifer, who seemed to be driving like a proper driver and not like someone who had just started learning. 

"Yeah. It really isn't hard. I was wrong," Lucifer replied.

"That's right. As long as you're careful, it's not hard. But you need to keep your speed in control. The control gets much harder at high speed since your reflexes also come into play," Cassius said. 

As Lucifer reached the crowded part of the city, he slowed down a little.

...

"Why are we walking outside now instead of resting like planned?" Arne asked Riali, who had dragged him out. 

"Think of it as a casual walk. I was getting bored inside the room. A short walk is good," Riali responded as he walked on the side of the road with Arne.

He was looking at the shops that were finally open, but it wasn't as crowded as he believed this place to be in the evening. Probably because of the storm. 

"Many people must still be depressed about what had happened. I guess this can't be helped. After we find the person who is causing it, the city should return to normal," he said. 

"Hopefully."

As they were walking, they noticed a sports car move past them. They couldn't see who was driving it though. Neither did Lucifer see them. 

"That car is pretty good. But it looks like it'll be a bit too small for us," Arne said, commenting about the car. 

"It's just a car for show. It won't protect you when an enemy attacks, unlike the ones we use. But yeah, they're good to go on a trip," Riali commented.

He didn't realize that instead of being concerned about the car, he needed to be concerned about the people who were sitting inside. 

After driving around the city, Lucifer turned the car around and started driving back. 

Arne noticed the car coming from a distance. 

"It's returning," he commented. 

"Must be some rich guy trying to enjoy. It's such a waste though. This car deserves to race on an empty street, not move like a snail in the city. Whatever, this doesn't concern us," Riali responded. 

The car soon reached near them. Unlike before, Lucifer's gaze did fall on Riali and Arne. He was initially attracted by their odd clothing, but he soon recognized them. 

He had seen the images of a few of the well known members of APF, and these two happened to be one of them. A smirk formed on his face as his car drove past them again. 

"Did you see those two? Their clothing was pretty interesting," Cassius commented. 

"That wasn't the only thing interesting about them," Lucifer replied, smiling. "Looks like my bait worked for both sides."

"Bait?" Cassius asked, frowning. 

"That's right. I already expected that the base of APF was going to be heavily secured. Conversation with Ayn only confirmed it."

" That's why I had already decided to drag APF here while not explicitly giving them any proof. A simple black lightning storm was enough to do that," Lucifer explained. 

" If I'm not wrong, Varant didn't come, which is expected as well. Now I just need to bring Varant here as well. It's going to be interesting indeed," he added, smiling. 

"Everything will depend on how the meeting with Raia goes the day after tomorrow," he commented. 

....

"The kid who was driving that car, he looked a bit familiar," Riali said as he looked back at the yellow car that was racing away. 

"You must be confused. They seemed like typical rich kids to me. Not the people we would remember," Arne replied, shaking his head. "That reminds me. Look there, a restaurant! Let's eat something."

Riali kept looking at the car, which went far until it disappeared from his sight entirely. It was only then that he turned around. 

"Yeah, let's eat. Maybe I'll remember something," he muttered. 

...

The yellow sports car reached the Welling Estate. The guard opened the door for them.

As the metallic doors were opened, Lucifer drove the car inside and stopped right at the entrance of the mansion before he stepped out. 

"If you're telling the truth, then this place is soon going to become a Warzone, I guess." As Cassius stepped out of the car, he was still stunned at what Lucifer had told him. 

The strongest people in this nation were coming here, and they were in the middle of it. How it went entirely depended on them and a little on luck too. 

Lucifer glanced at Cassius as he smiled. "It became a Warzone the moment I stepped in the city..."

"Do you regret coming here now? You still have time. You can go back if you want to," he said. 

"I'm not scared, actually. It's just that I'm concerned about this city. If a battle happens here, a lot of innocent people will die," Cassius said, not knowing how to feel about it. 

"A lot of innocent people die every day in the world. And they'll keep dying. But if it's worth anything, I'll try to keep the battle contained as much as I can if the need of battle arises," Lucifer responded before he stepped inside the Mansion. 

Cassius also stepped inside behind him. 

As it was the time of dinner, they found the food already served on the table and waiting for them. 

"That reminds me. She hasn't eaten anything. Bring a plate and follow me," Lucifer told the maid.

The maid did as he said and followed after him.

Lucifer went to his room and unlocked the door.

"What?"

As he stepped inside the room, he found it empty. He seemed shocked as he looked around. 

Where did Ayn go? Did she run away? No, the door was locked. It wasn't broken, and the key was with him. How could she leave?

Frowning, he walked towards the bathroom to check if she was there. 

There wasn't any sound of water coming from the bathroom though, which made him doubtful. If she wasn't there, he didn't know what he could do. 

Standing before the bathroom door, he tried opening it. The door opened right away.