Chapter 177: Personal Mission (4)

The scene was heavy with thick air. Suspense hung sharply in the corridor as Filmos stood alert, calculating his next move. Behind the patrol leader, Trillo blocked the path with a sinister smile.

"We have already sent the alarm. You won’t be able to escape," the captain said, a clear threat lacing his voice.

Filmos, on the other hand, was worried and concerned about his missing parents, but he did not panic. He had a clear vision of how to handle this situation.

"I know..." Filmos said quietly, his eyes falling onto Trillo. "But that doesn’t mean you are going to escape either."

The three enforcement guards’ eyes widened in shock as Filmos’s Twin Snake slowly slithered out from inside his sleeves. Without warning, the creature started spraying a toxic liquid at the three guards while Filmos drew his shortsword.

The captain crouched down instantly, narrowly escaping the sprayed unknown toxic liquid. Unfortunate for the two enforcement guards behind him, they were caught directly in the line of damage.

Trillo, with expert agility, swept his leg across the floor to dodge the toxic spray from Filmos’s attack. With the two guards down on the stone floor, agonizing in pain and curling themselves into tight balls, the captain found himself in a desperate situation where he had to fight two tamers at once.

Filmos didn’t give the captain a moment to rest. He attacked relentlessly alongside his Twin Snake, while Trillo joined in from behind, keeping the only escape route tightly secured.

In an intense stalemate, the captain felt himself truly cornered for the first time in years. He gasped for air, unable to summon his bound beast in the cramped corridor and completely incapable of using even Skill Share to boost his physical stats.

"You two... you do know that dragging this fight out is a massive disadvantage for you, right?" the captain spat out through gritted teeth.

Filmos nodded, for once equipped with an unwavering calmness he drew from a new well of confidence. He could feel he held the tactical advantage despite the ticking clock.

"So, we have to end this immediately," Filmos declared.

With his parents in mind, Filmos launched forward as the Twin Snake coiled around his shoulder. As he extended his arms, the Twin Snake suddenly changed size, expanding its body rapidly toward the captain.

The captain’s eyes widened in sheer terror. Following pure reflex, he threw his body sideways to dodge Filmos’s expanding snake, but Trillo was already waiting behind him. Trillo delivered a heavy kick straight to his lower back, pushing him forward and causing him to lose his balance.

For the next few seconds, the captain was forced to continuously dodge and weave without finding a single opening to retaliate.

Still, he tried to stall. Reinforcements should be on their way down the central shaft by now, and that was his only hope of survival. If these two boys landed a critical attack, he would be dead before he even realized it.

These two were surprisingly in sync with their movements; they had definitely received high-level squad training. Reading the quick communication in their eyes, it was obvious they had extensive experience fighting side by side.

Mentally noting this, the captain’s scarred nose scrunched in utter frustration.

"You’ve got to be kidding me..."

Filmos caught up to him instantly. His leg extended out close to the captain’s ankles, and before the man could push his body to the side, he was swept onto the hard brick floor, falling heavily onto his back.

A sharp shortsword followed immediately, pressing against his exposed neck and stopping just short of breaking the skin.

"You are a good fighter," Filmos said softly, staring down at him. "But being in the Anti-Nustra means that you are also evil."

Filmos’s eyes flickered with clear hesitation about delivering the final strike. Trillo noticed this instantly. Letting out a quiet sigh, Trillo walked forward, raised his boot high, and slammed his heel down onto the flat back of the sword’s hilt, thrusting the blade straight through the captain’s neck.

Filmos instinctively pulled his hand back in horror, feeling the sickening sensation of flesh being pierced. He was deeply displeased, his wide eyes looking up at Trillo with shock and alarm.

"Why did you do that?!" Filmos demanded, his voice trembling.

"Hesitation on the battlefield opens your defense," Trillo replied coldly. "You could be killed if you keep that naive attitude."

Filmos bit his lower lip tightly, blood nearly breaking the surface.

"I don’t want to kill!" Filmos pressed, emphasizing every single word.

Trillo shook his head indifferently. "Whatever. You will learn the hard way in the future. I can’t force you to do what you don’t want to do."

Filmos let out a shaky breath and turned toward the heavy iron door of Block 3. Holding the brass keys in his trembling hand, he pushed the master key into the keyhole and turned it.

The heavy door creaked open, revealing the interior of the cell. But what they saw inside wasn’t Filmos’s parents, it was simply a dark, empty room without a single human inside.

"Did we get to the right block?" Filmos asked, stepping back to check the iron plate on the wall. But they weren’t in the wrong place; it was clearly marked as Block 3.

"Why...?" Trillo muttered, equally confused. He quickly pulled up his tablet to verify the intelligence files.

As soon as Trillo scanned the updated report on the screen, his eyes wavered, his hands freezing in total shock. The information in the database had changed without them knowing, and a sudden, heavy dread stopped him from speaking the words aloud to Filmos.

"Let’s check the other blocks," Filmos said frantically, turning around to run down the hallway. "Maybe they moved them!"

Filmos rushed forward, but Trillo reached out and grabbed Filmos’s wrist in a firm, unyielding grip.

"I think we should leave now," Trillo said softly, his voice dropping into a low, somber tone. "You won’t find your parents here, Filmos."

Filmos’s brows furrowed in deep confusion as he tried to pull his arm away.

"What do you mean? The program notified me with their exact location! They should be here!"

Trillo shook his head slowly, then raised his tablet and projected the flickering screen into the space between them.

[Data Match Updated: Target Location]

[Subject: Lurdous, Marc & Lurdous, Elena]

[Status: Deceased]