Game Opportunity Becomes Reality Episode 95
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Game Opportunity Becomes Reality Episode 95
25. A Step Over the Line (4)
"Goddammit!"
Lewis Fairmont, moving to the presidential bunker under the escort of the Vanguards, let out a curse.
The Vanguards thought he was worried about the people he'd left behind in the party hall.
No matter how selfish a man he was, weren't those people invited to the party by his own hand?
"What a disgrace this is!"
But at the shout that followed, the Vanguards had no choice but to acknowledge that the man they were protecting was a far worse piece of work than they'd imagined.
'Even in a situation like this, his own pride is what matters to him?'
'Trash of a man.'
Still, there was nothing to be done about it.
They were soldiers who followed orders, and Lewis Fairmont was a man vital to the future of this nation vital enough to have invited a declaration of war from the Bringham Empire.
Of course, if Lewis's character had been as good as his importance, that would have been ideal, but what in this world is ever perfect?
No matter how unlikeable Lewis was, the trump card he held was a treasure that could not be let go.
And so, no matter how uncomfortable it was, the Vanguards remained faithful to their duty.
"Huh? Hup!"
"Block them!"
-KRAKOOM!
Before long, however, an anomaly occurred, plunging Lewis Fairmont and the Vanguards escorting him into chaos...
"Wha what the hell!? What do you think you're doing!?"
One of the Vanguard units guarding the presidential palace had suddenly turned its attacks on Lewis Fairmont and his party.
There were two thousand Vanguards guarding the presidential palace.
If one thousand were on duty, the remaining one thousand were on standby at rest.
The Vanguard unit attacking them was supposed to be the one at rest.
"You're the ones who need to wake up! There's no need to shield that bastard!"
"What the hell are you saying!? You traitors! Assemblyman Lewis Fairmont is the future of the Republic! What do you hope to gain by attacking a man like him!?"
"Our actions are for the future of the Republic!"
For a moment, they wondered if these were enemies disguised in their uniforms, but after exchanging words, they were truly their own comrades.
"For the future of the Republic!"
"For the future of the Republic!"
As if under a mass hypnosis, they shouted those words and unleashed a ferocious assault.
Even with the reinforcement magic cast over the entire presidential palace, nearly a hundred Vanguards pouring out their power caused destruction and collapse everywhere.
-KRAKOOM! BANG!
"Don't just attack blindly! Explain why you're doing this!"
"What do you mean, why! We just refuse to sit by and watch the corruption of this nation, the Fairmont family included, any longer!"
"Y-you bastards..."
"That's right, it means we're lending our strength to the revolution!"
They had known that a group called the revolutionary army had been causing trouble lately, but for the handpicked presidential guard unit to turn like this anyone with half a mind could tell something out of the ordinary was happening.
"Do you know that the criminal acts of the trash you're protecting are all over the internet? That bastard is a parasite eating away at this nation along with the President!"
There wasn't a single person in the presidential palace who didn't know that the Fairmont father and son were less than clean.
Even so, they were protected to prevent the collapse of the nation.
Their conduct had its problems, but the Prius Republic was one of the strongest nations in the world, and when commanding such a vast country, all sorts of incidents were bound to occur.
"You're protecting that bastard to prevent the nation's collapse? Don't make me laugh! The ones collapsing this nation are the two Fairmont bastards! Can you honestly say throwing a raving party while the Bringham Empire is pressing in every moment is the right thing to do!?"
"Ghk!"
"If we just hand him over to the Bringham Empire, this war ends in an instant! Stand down now!"
"What? You bastards want to sell out the Republic's future to cling to your lives!?"
"If we can't guarantee tomorrow, what use is the future!? And we don't need the kind of future the goddamn Fairmont family envisions!"
As their shouts poured out as if venting all their pent-up rage, Lewis's guards began to be pushed back.
It wasn't a difference in skill or equipment it was a difference in resolve.
"Th-treacherous traitors, how dare you!"
In the midst of all this, Lewis Fairmont chanted a spell that boosted the traitors' combat power, making their attacks even more ferocious.
"Lewis Fairmont!!!"
Handing Lewis Fairmont over to the Bringham Empire was a simple war-ending solution everyone knew about.
But even so, the reason they couldn't easily choose that option was because the title of Opportunity Seeker, having obtained Grand Duke Lucas's legacy, was that powerful.
Even if things were difficult right now, once they got past this crisis, the Prius Republic would only grow stronger.
This was the common thought among the soldiers loyal to the President even amid the war with the Bringham Empire.
"We can't hold them like this! We'll keep them occupied you lot, escort Assemblyman Lewis!"
As Aura raged before his eyes and the presidential palace crumbled in terrifying fashion all around, a frightened Lewis stumbled backward, and the senior officer commanding his guard unit shouted that order.
"No! Stop them!"
The attacks of the Vanguards calling themselves the revolutionary army grew harsher in response, but breaking through Vanguards who fought to block rather than to kill was no easy task.
"Heh! Lewis Fairmont! You have no allies! Always watch your back!"
At the curse-like cry of the ambush squad leader, Lewis Fairmont shuddered and fled the scene with his dwindled guard Vanguards.
"G-General Laminerus! Where is General Laminerus!?"
"He should be near the bunker..."
"Contact him at once and have him come to receive us! Tell him there are traitors hiding among the palace Vanguards!"
"Understood!"
General Laminerus was one of the eight Aura Masters representing the Prius Republic and a close aide to his father, Katro Fairmont.
Even during the war, two Aura Masters remained at the presidential palace, and while he couldn't vouch for the other one, this one was certainly not the type to pull something foolish like a revolution.
"He says he's escorting the President to the bunker and coming to receive us right now!"
Once she realized he was already moving on her behalf, Lewis Fairmont felt a wave of relief and ran and ran through the chaotic presidential palace.
Before, he'd thought this presidential palace was a bit small for the Prius Republic's reputation, but now that an emergency had actually struck, he felt it was far too large.
There was a direct elevator to the bunker from the presidential office, but unfortunately it was far from Square Hall where he had been.
Setting up the party venue in the annex rather than the main building's banquet hall for leisurely fun had turned out to be a mistake.
But no matter what, once he reached the underground bunker, he would escape this threat.
The bunker wasn't just sturdy it was a place equipped with multiple escape routes.
"Lewis Fairmont!"
"Eek!"
But the traitors appeared before General Laminerus did.
Over a dozen Vanguards rushed at him, shouting his name.
-Swoosh!
But their attacks never reached Lewis.
"Assemblyman!"
"Oh! General Laminerus!"
Because Aura Master General Laminerus and his men appeared right on time and cut them down.
Seeing General Laminerus like that, Lewis felt immense relief.
As if he had already arrived at the bunker.
But...
-KRAKOOM!
"Hah!"
The wall of the building they stood in burst apart, and a blue energy swept over Lewis.
Startled, General Laminerus urgently threw himself forward to block it.
"How disappointing."
And the person who appeared was someone unexpected.
"General Nathan! What is the meaning of this!"
Because it was General Nathan, the second Aura Master stationed at the presidential palace alongside General Laminerus.
General Nathan, his flamboyant red hair spread out like a lion's mane, fixed his gaze on Lewis with his characteristic blood-red eyes.
General Nathan had always looked at Lewis like a bug, and Lewis had long despised his blood-soaked appearance, so he could shout without hesitation.
"So it really was you, the traitor who incited the Vanguards! General Laminerus, attack General Nathan! He's the ringleader!"
"What!?"
General Laminerus hesitated for a moment, but given the attack just now and the current situation, he couldn't deny that whether or not the man was the ringleader he was an enemy.
And so General Laminerus aimed his sword at General Nathan, and General Nathan, with the aura of a beast of prey, curled his lips into a smirk.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten how to swing a sword from all that brown-nosing the President?"
"What did you say!?"
As the battle between the two Aura Masters began, the Vanguards nearby quickly grabbed Lewis and fled.
Getting caught in the middle of a great hall duel between Aura Masters meant death in an instant.
"Damn it!"
With the protection of General Laminerus who had been like a sturdy wall gone, Lewis had to gnash his teeth.
"W-What!? The ones attacking the capital aren't the Bringham Empire's army, but our Republic's Defense Force?"
And as they approached the bunker, he was able to piece together what was happening.
According to reports relayed through communications, the Defense Force, centered around Field Marshal Ansen, had joined hands with the revolutionary army and had formed a surprise strike force to oust President Katro.
Furthermore, Field Marshal Ansen was publicly exposing the President's and Lewis's corruption to the citizens, whipping up public opinion, and many citizens were being swept up in the revolutionary fervor.
"Then the internal rift in the President's guard was also the work of Field Marshal Ansen, not General Nathan?"
"It seems so."
Finally understanding why betrayal had cascaded into betrayal, Lewis ground his teeth.
If Field Marshal Ansen had turned his back, nowhere could be considered safe.
Even among the Vanguards guarding him right now, it wouldn't be surprising if a traitor emerged at any moment.
And whether the Vanguards tasked with his protection shared the same thought, they kept eyeing each other warily even as they ran.
"Sir Lewis!"
"Chief of Staff!"
How long did they run like that?
They safely reached the elevator leading to the underground bunker, and there he saw the President's Chief of Staff, who had come to receive him along with a number of Vanguards.
"Please, board quickly."
"Much obliged!"
Having hurried all the way from Square Hall, it had taken only five minutes.
But those five minutes felt like an hour.
Lewis Fairmont, guided by the Chief of Staff, stepped into the elevator.
Once the elevator doors closed, he would be heading straight to the underground bunker.
-Thump. Thump.
The few seconds it took for the elevator doors to close felt unusually long.
What if, like in the movies, someone stuck their foot in just before the doors shut?
A nameless unease washed over him.
-Thud!
-Whirrr!
Fortunately, the elevator doors nearly a meter thick closed without any interference.
And with a slight sensation of weightlessness, he felt the elevator descend rapidly underground.
"Phew."
Lewis Fairmont finally let out a sigh of relief.
But along with relief, a wave of displeasure washed over him.
"Why must I endure such humiliation?"
Everyone in the elevator except himself knew the answer.
But no one voiced their thoughts aloud.
"Those contemptible bastards won't die easy."
And with fierce hostility, Lewis's face twisted into a venomous scowl.
-Ding!
Moments later, the elevator doors opened at the underground bunker.
The presidential palace's underground bunker was nothing special.
It was essentially a heavily armored sky-fortress buried underground.
The interior was rather small, consisting only of a bedroom, a restroom, and a situation room.
"L-Lewis!"
"Father!"
The elevator was connected directly to the situation room.
Thus, he was immediately reunited with Katro Fairmont, the President of the Republic and his father.
Judging by his grim complexion, the President had been greatly shaken as well.
But Lewis paid no heed to his father's complexion, complaining about all the hardships he had endured to reach this place, as if appealing for sympathy.
"You have a plan, right?"
Yet when his father said nothing and averted his gaze, Lewis had to tilt his head in confusion.
"Father?"
And then, Lewis Fairmont sensed something was off.
"Father, who are those people?"
For inside the bunker, there were people Lewis Fairmont had never seen before.
A young man with absurdly handsome features, flamboyant silver hair, and blue eyes, and a woman with captivating beauty and figure, brown hair, and green eyes, were both staring at him.
They were clearly strangers, yet strangely familiar why was that?
Moreover, the mischievous smile curling at the lips of the silver-haired, blue-eyed young man stirred an inexplicable sense of unease.
"I thought he was a low-class thug, but he's just a fool, isn't he."
The silver-haired, blue-eyed young man, Adrian Lawrence, tapped his own shoulder with the Magic Staff he held like a walking stick, saying those words.