Chapter 813: Misunderstanding
Lucifer stared at Jian before turning to Joana. He nodded. He wanted to do many things now that he was here. There was a storm of emotions inside his heart, and he wanted to let that storm manifest into a Tsunami.
However, he also knew that finding the stones was a priority. If Joana left without being able to find the Stones, it was going to be hard for him to locate them on his own, especially now that the core of Uprising was gone.
He had lost everything. All the fear and the reputation he had created before the world was gone in just five days. He couldn't use that influence to find the stones without having to jump through many loops. This was the best option for him this time.
"Good decision." Joana looked up. "Maya, beam us up."
Two rays of light came penetrating through the dark clouds. The beams engulfed Lucifer and Joana. Both of them disappeared along with the body.
"So I was right. They did come from that ship. Now only a few questions remain. How does Lucifer know them? How close are they? And what's the strength of this Star Alliance? What's the purpose of coming here? We need to prepare for the worst."
Jian seemed like he was talking to the middle-aged man who stood beside him. However, he talked to only himself. He turned around and started walking back inside the building.
He turned around and walked back inside the building.
"Milena is taken by him. They will probably heal her. She will be back with Lucifer. Both of them together will be a much messier situation than before. But it'll be fun as well. Let's see how it turns out. I'm excited for his return."
....
Lucifer and Joana appeared back on the ship.
"Take her."
Joana gave the body to Maya. "We don't have much time. Take her to the medical and help her up. We need an answer from her, and we need them at least five minutes before we need to go back so we can take care of the contingencies."
Maya took the body of Milena. Joana and Lucifer followed her.
"You want to say something?" Joana asked Lucifer, seeing him silently follow behind.
"Why did you stop me? Why did you help them?"
"Didn't I already tell you? I didn't help them. I helped you," Joana smiled.
"Now that we're working together, you can think of me as a friend. I noticed that you cared for this girl, but you forced yourself to sacrifice her to take care of an enemy. I didn't want that to happen. I didn't want you to sacrifice her."
"Who said I was going to sacrifice her?" Lucifer asked, confused.
"You weren't? What do you mean?"
"The Trident was just to break the barrier and to kill them. It wasn't going to hurt Milena. The barrier was blocking my teleportation on the other side. The trident was going to break the barrier, so I could teleport inside and bring Milena out," Lucifer explained.
"I would've been successful if you hadn't interfered."
"This..." Joana didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He thought he was helping Lucifer, who had lost his reasoning. Who knew that Lucifer was perfectly fine. It was him who had underestimated Lucifer.
"I suppose I should apologize. I misunderstood you. I shouldn't have intervened."
"It's alright. You brought her back safely. That's enough," Lucifer replied. "Now locate the stones, and we'll be done. You can go back. The next time you return, you'll see a different earth."
"I can't wait to see what the world will be like when I come back. I wish you the best, Lucifer. I hope you achieve great feats that I can use to put in a good word for you in the reports. That can help you climb the ranks fast. But just remember one thing."
"What thing?"
"Star Alliance isn't a conquering organization. We don't conquer worlds. We just help them and the officially selected governments. So If possible, try to get a good reputation amongst the majority of the people in this world. That would be even more beneficial."
"Get a good reputation?" Lucifer blankly stared at Joana. "I think you're a few years too late for that. My reputation is already made. And it's impossible to heal it. I don't want to heal my reputation either. I would rather keep what I have than be a fake person like all the fakes I met in my life."
"Sigh, I won't force you. It's not a mandatory thing. It's just a suggestion that I thought could help you. But it's no problem even if you don't do it. Do what you find right. I told you, you'll be free after you join my organization? And that will be the case."
"I hope that's true." Lucifer nodded.
They entered the lab. Milena was placed on a bed. A green light started shining on her body.
"She should be up soon. But we're literally in a race against time. We need to leave this place soon if we don't want to be late. I hope she kept the stone where we can reach fast. It'll also take time to scan them and scan the world for their traces."
Joana sat on a nearby chair, lost in thought.
Maya walked to him. "I think it's impossible to be on time. We'll be late in any case if we wait to locate the stones. The only question is how late we will be."
"What are you suggesting?" Joana asked.
"I think we should leave. We can find the stones when we come next time. If we are late, we will get negative points. That won't be good for your future perspectives as a captain. You shouldn't take the risk."
"Risk? What risk is there? Not like I had many perspectives in any case. Still, you're right. It's not a question of if we'll be late. Instead, it's a question of how late we're going to be. I think I'm willing to take a few demerit points for my friend here. When he gets to a higher position, I'm sure he'll remember me and help me."
Lucifer glanced at the man and nodded. "I will."
As soon as he answered, he felt a terrible headache. He started feeling dizzy. His vision turned blurry, and soon, everything turned white.
When his vision returned to normal, he noticed a different place. He wasn't on the ship anymore. Instead, he was in a strange room. There was a Sword in his hand, which was covered in blood.
A man was sitting on his knees before him. The man was bleeding from his chest, which had a sword wound on his chest.
The man looked up. Blood trickled out of his lips.
"Joana?" Lucifer exclaimed.
"Don't take my name from that vile mouth of yours! Trusting you was the biggest mistake of my life!"