Struggling as a Villain

During the negotiation, Richard suddenly received an unexpected message from someone back on Clion,

[My lord? Can you hear me?]

Richard frowned as he heard Jasmine's voice in his head. His eyes drifted away from the screen as he responded to the girl, "Yeah, I can hear you. What happened?"

He completely forgot that Jasmine could contact him through telepathy, or he would have sent a message to his mother through her.

[My lord, something massive is happening in the Capital. I have inquired through the soldiers and the civilians and found out that they have recently caught a being from another world.]

The frown on his face deepened as he said, 'Go on.'

Jasmine's voice was hurried, considering she couldn't retain the connection for long, as she said,

[Duchess Bellarine has been given the task of invading the other side and removing the cause of this mayhem.]

'The fuck…Mom never said anything about it…'

[The intruder was caught after you went to the other side, so her letters might not be reaching you.]

Richard clicked his tongue…this was problematic…'When are they going to invade this side?'

[Prob…th…ree…da…ys…]

Her voice was cut off, and instantly Richard texted Lena to change the terms of the negotiation.

The plan needs to be changed.

_____**_____

"Everything is going to be haywire now," Carl muttered while clutching the table edge with enough force to change its shape.

Jennifer added, "For you all to be so fearful of her…she must be strong, no?"

Ben scoffed, "Strongest witch in existence…a title she lives up to."

Bella added, "I have a fragment of her in me."

Those two comments made everyone conscious that they were not as nervous as they should be. Half of them were aware of Bella's might as such, it was easy for them to imagine how strong Bellarine must be.

And for her to be attacking Jin's base, with the intention to completely demolish him means,

"Rena is in danger." Carl muttered.

Richard heaved a sigh, "You all are panicking a lot. Mom attacking Jin would provide us the perfect window to liberate Rena."

Bella frowned, as she asked, "But we all know how ruthless Mum can be on the battlefield. What if we never gain the chance to save Rena?"

Lena was shocked, "Can she destroy that huge base all by herself?"

"Well, if she isn't enraged then she won't be that hasty," Richard assured(?) them.

"And what if she will be?" Josh asked.

A profound silence ensued in the room as everyone felt quite troubled about this sudden invasion of the other side.

Richard got up and first urged everyone to sit down. He offered some water to Carl since any possibility of not being able to save Rena gives him a panic attack.

Standing in the middle of everyone's attention, Richard said, "I have a way to let Mom know about my presence the moment she crosses the portal, so we shouldn't worry about her destroying Jin's base completely. Now, since Mom is out of the question, we need to focus on defending Jin's base until I can liberate Rena."

Ben frowned, "Why would we defend his base? Let all those fuckers die."

Richard nodded, "We could have, but considering the warriors of Clion and the man who would be leading them, if we don't keep them at bay for a certain period, they would reach Rena before me and would not think twice before attacking her."

Carl rose from his seat and asked, "But brother, there is a high probability that Jin would leave a soldier back to guard Rena's cell…what if you go there…and…"

Richard rested his hand on the younger one's shoulder before assuring him, "I promise you that I will bring her back safely, regardless of whatever situation I need to face."

Seeing the certainty in his eyes even though the situation had turned so unfavorable for them, Carl had no other option than to nod his head,

"I trust you."

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[Clion]

"Can't you just contact the Duchess and stop her?" Jasmine heaved a sigh upon hearing Elizabeth's words.

They were sitting inside one of the secluded pubs wearing clothes that made them look like regular hunters. Elizabeth has trimmed her hair to shoulder length to not attract others' attention.

Twirling the wine in her glass, she uttered, "There are people from the church at the palace, so I can't penetrate the palace without letting them notice. And the Duchess isn't leaving the palace these days; leaving no other option."

Everything has happened so quickly that she just couldn't think of anything as of now.

All the information she has gathered up until now was through the soldiers who seldom came out of the palace to unwind.

Nora suggested, "Did you try sending a letter to her?"

Jasmine shook her head, "I have never made contact with her through our Soul Beast. I tried to reach out to the maid working in her mansion, however, even the Duchess' mansion is under tight security."

Elizabeth frowned, "I have never seen the Emperor being so cautious about something. This seems borderline being paranoid."

It was like they were in a state of war.

Nora suggested, "We might not be aware of the actual damage the other side has caused...as such, this decisive action is being taken in such a rush."

Jasmine agreed to that; she has received a few reports from here and there, and also from the memories of those soldiers. She can say that the other side has been like bugging pests who don't inflict noticeable damage at once but slowly rotting the world.

"Then what should we do?" Nora asked, looking at the two alternatively.

Truth be told, the silence from the Apostles has left them with no clue where to find Ethan. So their only goal as of now was to train and prepare for the final war.

Jasmine was contemplative. She knew that it was not their war, and as such, she was about to suggest they hide while she would travel to the other side...when suddenly,

"Let's go and help Richard."

Jasmine raised her brows, surprised to hear Elizabeth talking about helping Richard out.

Seeing the other two looking at her with such a stumped expression, Elizabeth felt annoyed, "This is just returning the favor, nothing else."

Jasmine shook her head, 'Can't be honest, can you?'

Taking out a few bronze coins for the food and drinks she said, "Get ready, we will depart tomorrow."

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A/N:- The beginning of the end, starts from the next chapter. Approx 40-45 more chapters before we would reach the conclusion of the story.