Chapter 429: Bishop Bezios
"Hello, father."
"...What?"
Confusion. The hotel suite's massive interior was filled with almost nothing but confusion as Bishop Bezios, and two other guys that Van could only assume to be his bodyguards, entered the room with him just… standing there.
Van did not really expect Bishop Bezios to look anywhere what he looks right now. He thought he would be wearing white robes like those in the Circle, but Bezios was only wearing a tuxedo; his bald head, reflecting the warm light of the doorway.
His two guards immediately covered him and blocked him from Van's vision, but they too were sorely confused. The only thing they could do was look at each other– a mistake they paid for their lives.
Because before they could turn their heads back to the white-haired boy standing near the window, the next thing their eyes captured was the view of the floor; then there was a thud that whispered in their ears, followed by the endless darkness that is death.
And as for Bishop Bezios, he immediately ran back towards the door; not even looking at his two dead bodyguards. But alas, before his hand could reach the knob, Van was already blocking his path to safety.
Bishop Bezios slowly backed away, his breaths completely ragged– but perhaps he was deliberately doing so, as his hand slowly reached towards his pocket; this action, of course, did not escape Van's eyes as he immediately grabbed Bezios's hand up.
A small object then fell from Bezios's pocket, but Van caught it before it could meet the floor.
"What's this?" Van squinted his eyes as he looked at the small black sphere in his hand– almost as small as a marble, "What were you trying to do with this?"
"G… give that back!" Bezios tried to grab the black sphere from Van's hand, but the only thing he achieved was his butt on the carpeted floor as Van pushed him. Bezios still tried to get it back as he crawled his way towards Van, but Van only stepped on his head as he did so.
"...I'll put this one here for now," Van then let out a small sigh as he placed the black marble on the countertop beside the door, before grabbing Bezios's bald head and lifting him up in the air.
But due to their height difference, it was not enough to get Bezios's feet off the floor.
"..."
"..."
"...You are Bishop Bezios, correct?"
"Y… yes?"
"Prove it."
"W… what!?" Bishop Bezios could only stutter as the white-haired boy let go of his head, "W… what do you mean prove it? Isn't that why you're here because–"
"Prove you're Bishop Bezios or I'll kill you in 5 seconds."
"What!?"
Although Van was almost certain that the bald man in front of him was Bezios, he still actually had absolutely no idea what he looked like– it was better to be sure as he knows nothing about his enemy.
He was still very much wary of the systellions' strengths, so he immediately killed the two bodyguards before they could act. But if they died just like that, then there was a chance that Bezios wasn't that strong… but he is supposedly one of the richest men in their universe according to the two madams Van was with earlier.
So it was quite bewildering for Van that someone of that status would only have two bodyguards… or wouldn't have any strength of his own. Look at Gerald, he was force-fed Crystals since he was young and turned out to be a monster even stronger than Thor.
Apollo also mentioned that there were Systellions that were surely stronger than him… his caution needed to be at its highest right now.
"T… the TV!" Bishop Bezios's trembling hand pointed towards the living room, "T… there's a TV in the living room."
"...What do you want me to do with the TV?" Van then grabbed Bezios by the collar, pulling him away from the doorway.
"E… eep!" Bezios, of course, hopped several times as they walked across the two dead bodies in his doorway; Van, on the other hand, just pushed them off to the side, dirtying the robes he stole.
"..." Van then looked at the large TV strapped on the wall, and could not help but let out a small smirk. He suddenly remembered his time in Africa when… Charlotte was still alive.
"You turn it on," Van then said as he threw Bezos near the TV, "Remember, just a hint of you trying to do something I wouldn't like, I will send you to be guarded by your dead bodyguards in the afterlife."
Hearing Van's words; Bezios, who was about to rush to turn on the TV, quickly composed himself and carefully grabbed the remote on the coffee table; turning the TV on and quickly switching the channels.
His breaths stuttered whenever Van took a step near him; but finally, after a few more taps on the remote, he let out a long and deep sigh.
"T… there," Bezios breathed out as he pointed at the TV, which showed him in some sort of interview.
"...Hm," Van then nodded, before ordering Bezios to turn the TV off.
"What… what do you want from me?" Bezios gulped, glancing at Van from time to time as his trembling hands put down the remote, "Did… did the pontiffs send you? Or… or some other competition!?"
"..."
"Look, I can pay you double, no… Triple! I can give you anything you want!"
Van was not even saying anything, and yet Bezios was still trying his hardest to appease Van; his eyes, looking at the blood that was slowly oozing from the doorway.
"...Sure," Van then squinted his eyes as he looked Bezios straight in the eyes, "I was sent here by… Cleric Adimus."
"Cleric… Adimus?" Bezios furrowed his eyebrows, "...Who's that?"
"..." Van did not stray his eyes away from Bezios, and judging from the look on his face, he seemed to be telling the truth– he did not know Rechiel's father.
He was going to use Bezios to try and locate Cleric Adimus, but if someone of Bezios's status did not know of him… then Adimus was practically useless in the long run, there was no point using Rechiel as a bargaining chip.
"Never mind, then," Van then let out a small sigh as he shook his head. He had a better card now anyway, he thought as he once again looked Bishop Bezios in the eyes.
"D… don't kill me!" Bishop Bezios then quickly raised his hands to cover himself, and as soon as he did so, some sort of… bubble was released from the watch he was wearing– almost instantly wrapping around his body like armor, similar to what Rechiel's ship turned into.
"..." Their ships could fit inside a small watch? Just what kind of technology do these people have?
"I can give you anything! Anything!"
"Can you give me your watch… ship thingy?"
And as soon as Van said that, Bishop Bezios quickly removed his watch and handed it over to Van– his bubble armor, however, was still wrapped around his body.
"You–"
"That still has 3 more, all the latest models!" Bishop Bezios bellowed as he pointed at the watch in Van's hand.
"...And I can use them?"
"Y… yes, they're not locked to me! I have hundreds of them! I can give them all to you if you want just please let me live!" Bishop Bezios then suddenly kneeled on the ground, "Please… I can give you anything you want."
"...Where's your child?"
"...What?" The tone of Bishop Bezios's tone then suddenly changed as soon as he heard Van's words, "W… what child?"
"Where is your child? Don't lie to me, I would know."
"Why are you asking me that?" Bishop Bezios then stood up, "My child… is dead. Wait… did you mean Cleric Adonis, not Adimus!? He's the only one who knows about what happened to my son… Did he send you to blackmail me!?"
"..." Van had no idea what Bishop Bezios was on about, but from the talks of the two gossiping madams he was just with earlier, then to the public; Bishop Bezios's child was alive and well, just hidden.
This… is quite convenient, isn't it?
"Let's work together, Bishop Bezios."
"W… work? What do you mean–"
"Kya!"
And before Bishop Bezios could finish his words, a shrieking scream could be heard coming from the doorway.
"M… Mary?" Bishop Bezios whispered, before letting out a roar and telling the woman called Mary to run.
"Run! Call the–"
However, before Bezios could once again finish his words, he felt a small breeze past him; he looked, only to see a woman standing beside her.
"M… Mary!?"
The woman called Mary then quickly clenched her stomach, as she felt her inside almost leave her body from having been carried by Van.
"Madam Mary, what happened!? Are you alright!?" A loud banging could then be heard echoing in the room as the door of the suite was knocked on several times.
"Tell them everything is fine or I will kill him."
"..." The woman seemed to still be confused as to what was happening, but seeing Bezios's struggling face, the only thing she could do was grit her teeth before shouting, "I… It's fine! My husband just surprised me!"
"..."
"..."
"...Okay, please call us if you need anything!"
"..."
"..."
And after waiting for a couple more seconds, Van then let go of Bishop Bezios's neck.
"Husband…" Van then whispered as he looked at Mary.
"W… what's happening, Bezios?" Mary stuttered as she looked at her husband, "Who… who is this boy?"
Bezios, however, only shook his head several times; as if telling Mary not to speak.
"I'm your new son, mother."
"S… son?" Mary blinked a couple of times as she looked at Van from head to toe, "Are… are you doing this for money? We… we could give you anything you want just–"
"We can just work together," Van then repeated the words he was going to say before Mary interrupted, "I pretend to be your child, and I don't kill you– it all works out."
"W… what? Why–"
"And in return for keeping you alive and safe, I need information in–"
"!!!"
And before Van could finish his words, a loud beeping sound echoed through his ears.
"What is that!?" Van then immediately pinned Mary and Bezios's necks on the walls, "Where's that sound coming from!?"
"W… what sound!?" Bezios hollered, "I… I don't hear anything!"
"...What? What do you mean you're not–"
[Ans…]
"Hm!?" Van then quickly backed away as he heard a voice hum near him.
[King… Evans, do you hear me?]
Van then looked behind him to see where the voice was coming from; but after a few more seconds of spinning around in place, he finally recognized who the owner of the voice was.
"A… Athena?"