3

She continued talking while looking right at me the whole time "We are overjoyed that you were able to survive, and that we were able to be of assistance to such deserving individuals. By the way, you can call me Lina, and this is my husband, who goes by the name Karel. Please don't hesitate to ask if there is anything else that we can do for you."

""Thanks for the offer, but I think we're good for now," Rex reassured her, "Besides, it seems like our friends upstairs are eager to discuss matters with the boss himself." "Thanks for the offer, but I think we're good for now." Soon enough, you can expect to find us on our way there."

Karel let out a muffled giggle "They almost always are in today's society. However, you shouldn't worry too much about them because, in general, they aren't this hostile toward people from other places. Especially those who managed to save their sorry asses from an inevitable fate."

Lina redirected her attention to her husband and questioned him, "Do you really mean that, or are you just saying that to cheer me up?"

He showed no emotion and simply shrugged "Who could say? Maybe I am. Since they are forced to carry out the tasks assigned to them by the supervisor, it is highly unlikely that either of you will be harmed by them. In addition to that, they owe us one considering that we rescued them from those soldiers who had attacked them earlier."

Both Rex and I glanced at each other for a moment before nodding in agreement with his evaluation. Even though they weren't our favorite people, we understood why it was necessary for them to abide by the rules that had been established by the leadership of the Red Order. Aside from that, I had my doubts that they would put their jobs on the line simply because a few individuals had a few minor disagreements with one another. Not to mention, compared to many of their contemporaries in this organization, both of these gentlemen gave off the impression of having relatively mild manners. Naturally, this did not in any way guarantee that they would not resort to violence if they were angered. Despite this, we felt that it was highly unlikely that anything serious would happen to either of us while we were there. At least, not until we reached the top floor, but regardless of that fact. Regardless of how we felt about one another, once we reached our final destination, we would likely have to act with extreme caution in order to avoid any potential dangers.

After saying that, we continued walking past the two of them without engaging in further conversation with either of them. After we made it through the doorway, we continued down a narrow hallway that was lined with bookshelves that contained old volumes with illegible writing scrawled across the pages. As we made our way down the dimly lit corridor, the sound of our footsteps reverberated loudly against the hardwood floors. At some point, the corridor opened up into a large open space that was dominated by a towering wooden desk that was situated smack dab in the center of the room. In addition, there was a single chair that was placed behind the table. Presumably, this chair was used by someone to sit and complete paperwork whenever it was necessary. Unfortunately, the person who had been sitting there was not present at the moment. In addition, apart from our party, there did not appear to be any other people living in the area that we could see. Because of how quiet everything was, I suspected that everyone inside had instead gathered together in another part of the building. It's also possible that they were holed up in their respective offices, reading the information contained in the outdated books that lined the shelves. Regardless, none of them gave any indication that they were going to come out in the near future, which meant that we had no choice but to wait for them to come back. We were aware that they would reappear at some point in the future and start conversing about business as usual. As a consequence of this, we came to the conclusion that we should make the most of the opportunity to take a moment to ourselves, catch our breath, and unwind before contributing to the conversation.

After taking a few long, deep breaths, I positioned myself next to Rex and sighed quietly while leaning against the wall. A gentle breeze was blowing through the area, which caused the papers that were on the shelf above our heads to flutter ever-so-slightly. I wondered aloud "Is it true that this one individual is in charge of the whole operation? It's strange that he hasn't revealed himself to anyone yet, to be honest."

Rex indicated his assent by nodding his head in agreement "Indeed, it would appear that he is the genuine article. But look, I'm not trying to mislead you; he could be hiding around here somewhere, just waiting for us to leave before he reveals himself. After that, he will sneak away and act as if nothing has transpired."

I shook my head adamantly "No way, that's not going to work out. It turns out that this is the same individual who gave the order for the soldiers to attack us earlier. After being caught in the act of murdering someone, there is no way that he would give up his post. He was going to have to deal with the consequences at some point."

"I suppose that's the case," Rex conceded with some reluctance. "However, even if this is the case, it's still possible that he has his own reasons for concealing his identity. It's possible that he's worried that we'll try to kill him if he reveals his true identity to us."

"I conceded that it was possible, but I didn't think it was very likely, especially considering that he had already sent the army after us. If he gives chase knowing full well that we are capable killers, he must have some measure of trust in us."

Rex gave a casual shrug in response "If you say so. However, until we confront him in person, I guess we won't know what the outcome will be until we witness it for ourselves. However, let's keep our fingers crossed that he does not intend to immediately kill all of us. If that doesn't change, we'll never know the whole story."

Lina's reassuring voice came over the phone and she said, "Don't worry, Rex." "In contrast to the jerks downstairs, our fearless leader will treat each of you with respect and consideration. In most situations, however, he behaves in a just and honest manner, despite his occasional callousness and cruelty."

***

After some time had passed, one of the cult members sent us a message informing us that the leader wanted to speak to us as soon as possible. After that, we made a hasty retreat down the hallway in the direction of the room that had been indicated by the messenger. We found a short, stocky man dressed in a black robe sitting at the desk, staring at a map that was spread out on top of it when we finally arrived. The light that was coming in through the windows that were situated at the very top of the walls that surrounded the building made his balding head shine. The thin mustache that covered almost every square inch of skin below his chin was the only distinguishing feature on his otherwise unremarkable face. It appeared as though the upper lip had been ripped off of some unfortunate victim who was not paying attention and then reattached to the man's face with wax and glue. Aside from that, there wasn't much else noteworthy about him other than the fact that he had a sharp gaze that reminded me of a hawk surveying its prey. Other than that, there wasn't much else noteworthy about him. It would appear that he noticed something noteworthy on the map because he abruptly stood up from his seat and approached us with a frown etched across his lips.

The manager eyed us in a suspicious manner "What is it that brought the two of you here today? Are you prepared to work with us to accomplish our goal and cooperate with us?"

Rex's prompt response was, "Yes, sir." He then went on to say that it shouldn't be too difficult to convince the rest of your followers to follow suit given how badly they want to save humanity from eternal damnation. "Yes, sir," he repeated.

The manager chuckled ominously at that "Ha ha! Very funny, kid. I'm not sure if you are aware of this or not, but the majority of the people in my congregation aren't exactly enthusiastic about the entirety of your proposition. They consider you to be insane because of your desire to wipe out this world and begin again somewhere else."

""But we've done our research, and we're confident that we can accomplish our goals," I chimed in, "I can understand their concerns." In addition to that, the alternative is a much worse option. In order for us to reach Heaven, it is necessary for humanity to perish first."

"The manager scoffed dismissively as he continued, "Yeah, whatever. Let me guess: you plan on sacrificing yourselves along with everyone else when the time comes." Am I getting there?"

When I looked back at him, my pupils contracted in a potentially dangerous manner "Obviously, I thought about picking that particular path at first. On the other hand, I came to the conclusion that it wouldn't make any sense for us to make the sacrifice. Why would God allow us to be saved if we haven't even finished what we were supposed to do yet? Do you truly believe that He would bless us with a reward if we were to pass away before we could fulfill His wishes?"

He snorted condescendingly and rolled his eyes "I apologize for even considering asking such a silly question. You really are the definition of an ignorant fool, don't you? Who in their right mind would think that way?"

I gave him a piercing look as I walked away "It seems to have a lot of intelligence. Now, would you mind elaborating on the reasons why you believe that I am stupid? Because, to tell you the truth, I don't like it when I'm embarrassed in front of my significant other."

As a defensive maneuver, he crossed his arms over his chest "Hey, don't accuse me of being the one who insulted you! You should be ashamed that your mother gave birth to such a pitiful excuse for a human being."