111 Recrui

Ed led the red-haired woman towards his workshop. "Ah, what was your name by the way?" He asked.

"Everyone calls me the Sun Goddess." She sighed while flicking her hair. "They say that not even the morning sun can compare to my infinite beauty. It really is a bit embarrassing."

Ed's eyebrow twitched as he tried to keep a straight face. Sure, the woman was decent looking, but she looked more like a muscular monster that could snap him like a twig as opposed to a graceful goddess. He forced himself to nod. "I see... Sun Goddess."

They reached the workshop and Ed hurriedly pointed to the towering mech. "Here it is. Made completely from manullium of 70 percent purity. It'd take an act of God for it to be broken through. Additionally, it wields two extremely powerful flamethrowers that utilize mana-powder technology. You could easily melt through the gate even if the original plan fails. So, interested in buying?" He grinned.

"Hmm..." She rubbed her chin as she examined the mech. She lightly poked the manullium-plating, and shockingly, it was easily dented. "It's pretty good quality." She nodded. "However, there is a problem." She turned to glare at Ed.

Ed felt cold sweat drip down his back. 'How strong is she to dent manullium with the press of a finger?! How much did she hold back earlier when she punched me?!' He gulped down his saliva while maintaining his business smile. "And what problem is that?" He questioned. "I'm sure we can work some kind of deal out."

She walked closer to him and placed her index finger under his chin, forcing his head up just slightly. She was quite a bit taller than him, which made it all the more intimidating. "The problem is that this thing is useless for escaping from the cage." She smiled.

"Ah... what do you mean? The flames are pretty strong." He felt a shiver go down his back. 'Did she realize the truth? Not even Tai caught me on my bluff when I tried selling it to him. The mech's greatest weakness...'

"You must have thought I was stupid." She leaned closer and whispered. "Only ordinary flames and purple flames can melt purified manullium. Your little toy might be useful if the gate was made from semi-purified manullium, but it's not. The gate is 100 percent pure, meaning that the flames your mech shoots are worthless for escaping." She frowned. "You've really got guts to try and scam me like this."

"Ah, it's not like that." He shook his head in denial. "I had no idea the gate was made completely from purified manullium. Otherwise, why would I put so much effort into creating this mech? I'm just as shocked as you are. Really!"

"Humph!" She snorted as she flicked her index finger upward, sending Ed flying back through the air like a rocket. He crashed into the workshop's metal wall, leaving a huge dent in it. The red-haired woman climbed up the mech and entered the pilot's hatch. "I'll be taking the mech anyways. It can serve as protection for my little sister. Maybe next time, you'll think twice about trying to pull a fast one over me."

The mech's steam engines started, causing the tank treads to spin. A large trail of steam was all that remained as she left with the mech.

'Damn.' Ed frowned as he stood up and rubbed his chin. 'I don't think I could beat her in strength even with my chimera strength times five. What the hell is she?' He sighed while shaking his head. 'When I first started working on the mech tank, I really didn't know the gate was made of purified manullium though. A gate the size of a football field made completely from purified manullium? Leave it to the government to waste such valuable resources on something so pointless.'

He exited the lab and pushed through the crowds of espers that had already began walking through the winding tunnels. Soon, he caught up to Tai, who was surrounded by some of his most trusted subordinates.

"Hey!" Tai waved, indicating for his men to allow Ed to pass. "Did you ever find someone to pilot your mech tank? He questioned.

Ed frowned. "An ogre stole it from me."

"Haha, so I'm guessing you've met Rubi?" He replied.

"Rubi?" He tilted his head. "She called herself the Sun Goddess."

"Pfft." Tai stifled his laughter. "Yup, that's her. Physically strongest esper in the cage, and she's a bit crazy too. First time I met her, I tried to take advantage of her in a trade. Man, did I get screwed. She's a lot shrewder than she looks, and even if you manage to pull one over on her, then she'll just resort to violence to get what she wants. I'd advise avoiding her in the future."

"Mm." He nodded. "It's not that big a deal. I needed someone to pilot the mech anyways, so it actually saved me the trouble of hunting someone down. At the very least, I'm guessing it'll be useful for intimidating the enemy."

"Right." Tai agreed. "It's a shame you couldn't scam somebody with it though. Such a wasted opportunity." He sighed while shaking his head.

"Eh?" Ed rose an eyebrow. "You mean you knew it couldn't break through the gate too? Why didn't you say anything?"

"Say anything?" Tai smiled while waving his fan towards his face. "I was feeling so irritated from spending so many purple mana-cores, that I just so happened to go meet up with an old friend to complain. She's a bit intimidating, but she was really quite interested when I told her about the mech you tried selling me..."

"You!" Ed's eyes widened in shock. "You told Rubi ahead of time and fucked me over on purpose!"

"Noooo, I would never do anything like that." He laughed while looking away. "It must've just been a coincidence. Yup, a happy little coincidence."

"Tsk." Ed clicked his tongue. "Enjoy your victory while it lasts. I'll get back at you later."

"I look forward to the challenge." Tai smiled. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with the other seven gang bosses. They still don't know the full details of the plan, and they're growing quite impatient with me. Fortunately, it'll all begin soon." He turned to leave, his most trusted subordinates following behind him.

Ed continued walking near the front of the group, his hands behind his head. 'Man, I really miscalculated. If Governor Bustion was as smart as Tai, would I still have been able to win the war? I doubt it.' He sighed. 'I'm used to fighting above my level when it comes to combat, but I've never really had an equal in strategy. Then again, I do tend to just resort to blowing everything up. Dupe is better at logistics, and Ray is better at Tactics. If Tai has subordinates on the same competence level as Dupe and Ray, then I'm not sure I could beat him in a war...' He shook his head, disregarding the pointless thoughts. 'I guess it doesn't really matter. Not like Tai and I would ever have a real reason to fight.'

Hours passed, and they soon arrived just outside the gate. It seemed that the prison guards had already become aware of their activity, as they had stationed themselves at a chokepoint within the tunnels. However, this had been expected. After all, tanks, mechs, and over 8,000 espers were bound to make a lot of noise when marching through the maze.

Tai and Rubi moved to the front of the troops. The other six gang leaders stood behind them.

The white supremacy men's gang leader was a tall muscular bald man. His forehead had a large swastika tattoo on it. He went by the name Neo, though it was unknown if that was his birth name or a nickname he simply chose for himself. Next to him was a tall white woman that looked very similar, right down to being bald and having a matching tattoo. Apparently, she was the leader of the white supremacy women gang. Her name was Nao, and she was the sister of Neo.

The two leaders of the black supremacy gangs stood to the left of Neo. A tall black man by the name of Thur, and a short black woman by the name of Pan. They both wore their hair in ponytails and had black fists tattooed on their faces, though they didn't seem to be related. In fact, they glared at each other, seeming to have some bad blood between them.

Last were the leaders of the Latino supremacy gangs, who stood to the right of Neo. A beautiful Spanish woman wore a red dress, which contrasted heavily with the purple clothing and armor the other gang leaders wore. She had long curly brown hair and a bull tattoo in the middle of her forehead. She went by the name Titian.

Ed's eyes widened in surprise when he saw the other Latino gang leader. "Carlos?" He questioned as he stepped forward.

"Mm." Carlos nodded in affirmation.

"Weren't you supposed to be a freeman or whatever?" Ed asked.

"I was." He said while narrowing his eyes. "The Latino gang leader didn't want to play ball for the escape plans, so I fixed the problem."

"Ah, I see." Ed nodded. "Are you going to get a bull skull tattoo?" He joked.

Carlos frowned while shaking his head. "I'll naturally disband the gang once we escape." He sighed. "Actually, I feel a bit guilty letting these monsters out into the world."

"Oh?" Ed rose an eyebrow. "What about you? Aren't all the espers here monsters in one form or another? Are you any different?"

"Are you?" He countered back, a sharp look in his eyes.

"Hmm..." Ed rubbed his chin for a moment before shaking his head. "If anything, I'm probably one of the worst ones locked up in here. Truth be told, I've caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people between both my personal battles and the war I started in Florida. And all of that isn't even factoring in some of the inhumane experiments I've done in the past. So, while I may not discriminate like most the of the other espers in here, I'm certainly a much worse monster in comparison."

"Ha." Carlos laughed. "Well, at least you're not pretending to be something you're not. I suppose when all things are considered, I'm quite the monster as well then."

"It's pretty funny actually." He smiled. "There was a time where I was afraid of sinner groups because of all the shit they pulled. Those groups seem kind of like tame kittens when I think about them now."

"Mm." Carlos returned the smile. "I know exactly what you mean. The dark side of humans truly has no limits. The sinners aren't really much to write home about once you've been around the block a few times."

"Say, Carlos. What are you gonna do when you get out?" Ed questioned. "I originally planned on recruiting strong espers when I came here, and yet here I am without a single one to show for it. Interested?"

"Pfft!" He tried stifling his laughter. "And why the hell would I do that?" He questioned. "I'm one of the strongest espers in America just based on the fact that I control purple mana. What could you possibly offer me in exchange?"

"Uhh, what do you want?" Ed replied.

Carlos frowned, seeming hesitant to discuss it. He sighed, "You won the war in Florida, right?"

"Mm." Ed nodded. "Originally, I was going to take over the state and try becoming a vassal to the President." A sharp look gleamed in his eyes. "But now, the plans have changed. I'll be traveling to the other hemisphere, and I'll learn everything there is to know. Mana, technology, and golden faith energy. I'll master it all, and then, I'll return and conquer the entirety of North America, making it my personal kingdom."

"Heh." Carlos laughed. "So, you want to become a dictator, huh? As an American, shouldn't you be all about democracy?"

"Democracy only works when the people have the power to enforce it." He replied. "In the past, this worked in the form of guns. After all, it's not like the government could nuke their own people if things ever escalated too far. This created a balance between man and government. But now? Espers are far too strong. The democratic process is a show put on for the people for the sake of convenience. A total sham."

"And how will you becoming dictator be any different?" Carlos questioned.

"Simple." He smiled. "I won't be a hypocrite painting it up as something it's not. Besides, I believe that the most effective form of government is a benevolent dictator. In the past, this was an unsustainable model due to the short lifespans of humans. But things have changed. It's been confirmed that espers can live at least 500 years, so I'd say that the benevolent dictator model has become far more sustainable."

"Humph!" Carlos snorted. "You call yourself benevolent? Weren't you just talking about all the atrocities you've committed?"

"I was." He agreed. "But a lot of my decisions were due to external circumstances. I'm not trying to excuse my behavior, nor am I saying I would give it up completely, but I still think the country I want to make is a worthy one. A country of true equals, regardless of esper or human. I would treat my citizens well, giving them a high-quality standard of living. I even plan on killing the nightmares while I'm at it. As for test subjects? I'm sure there are espers out there that could allow me to continue my experiments without harming real people. Or I could just kidnap bad people from other countries. There are plenty of options."

"Tsk." Carlos clicked his tongue. "You sure are a twisted one... What do you plan to do after conquering North America? Will you invade the south?"

"Hmm..." Ed folded his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. "I'm not really sure yet. After all, I don't know how difficult it is to manage an entire country. More territory will make it more difficult, but ideally, I think I'd like to conquer the entire western hemisphere at some point."

"I see." Carlos nodded while looking down at the ground. After a moment of silence, he looked up and spoke. "I've heard from Tai about the things you've done, not to mention your insane powers and insane growth rate. I'll join your Harmony group on a single condition."

"Oh?" Ed rose a questioning eyebrow, eagerly awaiting the answer.

"You'll let me keep Mexico." He said. "Even if you manage to conquer the entire western hemisphere, you'll leave Mexico as an independent state that belongs to me."

"Sure. I can agree to that." Ed nodded. "However, you'll need to keep things under control there and allow passage if I decide to invade South America."

"It's a deal then." Carlos agreed.

"ATTENTION!" Tai's loud voice echoed through the tunnels. "The time has come! Prepare for battle!"

"HOO-RAH!!!" A chorus of voices echoed as they slammed their spears against the ground repeatedly.