Chapter 697: Who knows?
Soon after the Red Demon left the underground arena, Wolf got up and walked over to the door of the hexagonal cage.
"Hey, where are you going?" Oliver asked.
"It seems there is trouble," Wolf said. "Let’s go check."
"That’s not a very good idea." Oliver’s eyebrows came down in a frown. "You’re a hero, you know? This makes it sound like you’re trying to spy."
"It’s just in case there is a fight. You don’t have that many EIs in your gang, right?"
The white-haired hero hit a pretty sensitive spot. With the exception of Riot and their boss, most of Inferno’s members were Level 0, with a few Level 1s. With the gang being in its infancy, that much wasn’t very strange. The problem was the kind of threats they had to deal with on a regular basis, and with most of them being useless, they had no choice but to rely on their boss.
’Maybe...’ Looking down at his, Oliver clenched it into a fist. ’Maybe I can do something...’
Making up his mind, he took a deep breath and raised his gaze, determination filling his eyes. It was then that he saw that the white-haired man was already halfway up the stairs.
"Hey! Wait!"
~[ ]~
"You seek an audience with them, huh?"
Swirling the drink in his glass, Dante raised it and took a sip. Gaia had more than one reason to contact him, considering what he had done recently. As usual, the problem was that they were too direct with it. In a way, that was to be expected. To them, Inferno was the front set for other factions to contact. They had nowhere else to go, and they were entirely unaware that the one they were speaking to was the same "entity" they were trying to meet.
"Since you seem to have done your research, you should know that he doesn’t do audiences," Dante said. "I can pass on any messages you might have, but other than that..."
There was, in fact, a way to get Ghost to show up. All they have to do is send someone powerful enough to draw him out. Unfortunately, three Level 4 Cyborgs were far from enough in this case.
"He does not take audiences?" GSS U12 said, sounding more than a bit confused. A sigh escaped him a moment later, and he shook his head. "I don’t believe you understand the situation. We are envoys of Gaia Industries. We-"
"I will go ahead and stop you right there." Dante interrupted, slamming his glass on the table. "We don’t really give a fuck who you are. I’m doing you more than enough curtsy by listening to what you have to say, so if you aren’t going to say it, kindly get the fuck out of my sight."
Gaia was one of the largest megacorporations in the world, so they probably thought they could get what they wanted by throwing their weight around. Of course, since he was going to war with Eidolon, Dante couldn’t care less about the others. If they were going to get in his way, he would just crush them.
"So, what is it going to be?"
The three cyborgs kept their gazes forward, but it was clear they were using something to communicate with each other. Dante decided not to ask Volcan to Dive into them for the time being. There was still a chance this could be solved without it turning into a bigger mess.
Eventually, the three Cyborgs seemed to come to an agreement, and once again, GSS U12 was left to do the talking.
"Approximately forty-six hours ago, several of our facilities around Riovanta were attacked." He said. "Large reserves of row materials, equipment, and personnel disappeared without a trace."
"And that relates to us... How, exactly?" Dante asked.
"We are currently investigating the incident." GSS U12 said. "Ghost is known to have incredible spatial manipulation abilities. He has been active internationally as of late, so he is the main suspect in this matter."
"I see, I see." Pausing for a moment, Dante made a show of thinking before turning to his left. "Hey Wolf! Come here for a moment!"
Dante was aware that the white-haired hero had been eavesdropping on them for some time now while pretending to get a drink from a bar downstairs. A couple of seconds later, he jumped onto the balcony, pretending to be clueless.
"You called?"
"Yeah, I have a few questions, that’s all." Dante motioned for him to come closer and turned to face the Gaia cyborgs. "This here is Wolf, better known as Werewolf. You see, Wolf here is a hero who works for the BEO. He knows a lot about these things, so he should be able to help us a little. Right, Wolf?"
"Y-yeah, it... depends..."
If there is one good thing about the golden egg spawn, it would be that they tend to have a good education, meaning they know a lot of stuff. As someone who works for the BEO, the white-haired hero was undoubtedly knowledgeable about matters concerning his organization. Not that Dante planned on asking him anything complicated.
"Say, Wolf. When it comes to incidents involving EIs, who’s usually in charge of investigating them?"
Though he seemed hesitant, the hero answered soon enough.
"The Bureau of Enhanced Operations."
"And that includes international incidents, correct?"
"Yes."
The BEO was a Radmir-born organization, but since it was the only one that had access to high-level genomes, as well as the backing of the most powerful nation in the world, one could say its reach extended beyond the Union’s borders. Most nations don’t have the resources to deal with big EI incidents, so they have no choice but to seek the help of the organization.
"I see, I see..." Dante nodded. "These gentlemen here say they are investigating something that happened in... Riovanta? That’s a country to the south, right?"
"Yes."
"Considering the scale, the ones responsible were undoubtedly Enhanced Individuals."
"That... seems to be the case," Wolf said.
"Is that so?" Holding his chin, Dante closed his eyes and furrowed his brows. "But... that’s strange, don’t you think?"
A moment of silence passed as the hero pondered whether he wanted to ask that question or not.
"You just said that the BEO handles investigating EI incidents, even international ones," Dante said. "In fact, I’m confident investigating crimes of any kind falls under the authority of the relevant law enforcement organizations, correct?"
"Y-yes, that’s... correct..." Wolf responded.
"But, if that were the case, wouldn’t it mean that these gentlemen have no authority to investigate this incident?"
Dante looked up, and, meeting his gaze, the white-haired seemed to quickly look for an answer.
"The security service of a corporation has the authority to investigate internal matters only. As this incident involves external factors, investigating it falls under the umbrella of the BEO."
"Is that so?" Turning his gaze to the three Gaia cyborgs, Dante pretended to be shocked. "That would mean these three, as well as their employer, have no right to demand anything, nor do they have the right to interrogate anyone."
"Correct..."
"I see, I see." Dante nodded and put on the fakest smile he could muster. "As you have heard, Gaia does not have the right to do anything regarding the incident you mentioned. You aren’t supposed to be investigating in the first place, so this visit could be considered an obstruction of the legal process. Isn’t that right, Werewolf?"
"Yes, that’s right."
"You can’t go around harassing innocent civilians simply because you suspect their involvement, with no evidence, mind you. I would appreciate it if you never attempted this again."
"I see." GSS U12 turned to look at Wolf, then returned his gaze to Dante. "Our intention was to inquire and negotiate the return of the missing Gaia assets, but it seems we might have overstepped." He stood up, and the other two followed. "Please forgive us if our actions came across as transgressions."
"I hope this incident will be solved soon," Dante replied.
The three Gaia goons soon left, and Dante was left in the VIP section with the white-haired hero.
"Man, having a hero by your side sure is convenient." He said, picking up his glass. "You scared them away just like that."
"Me?" Wolf raised an eyebrow at him.
"Those idiots came in looking for a fight. They probably didn’t see you coming in earlier."
Dante was sure the trio didn’t walk in straight from the airport. Surely they had people monitoring the area for some time now, making sure nothing would interfere with whatever they had planned. But if that were the case, how did they miss the six-foot-tall wolf person walking into the bar?
"Hey, was what they said true?"
"What?"
"The incident," Wolf said, looking guilty for some reason. "It was big enough for the news to reach us, you know?"
Staring at him for a moment, Dante turned his gaze to his drink.
"Who knows?"
