Rise of the Eromancer

Chapter 190 Rhys the Director

Rhys doesn't know how long he has been staring at Stacey's corpse. It felt like hours, but he knew that wasn't the case at all and it had probably not even a minute since he placed Stacey's corpse on the floor.

He wasn't really thinking of anything, he was just staring at her. It wasn't until he remembered that he was still being watched through Stretcher's body cam that he snapped out of his completely silent stupor.

The terrorist attacks, the streaming of the Secretary's execution, the entire Dregs of Society — all of this was planned by him… and Stacey. They needed the right time to proceed with it, and him being in Enkland was just the chance they were hoping for.

Stacey dying, however, was not part of that plan — he truly promised her that she would be a part of Wilder's Harem, an integral part. Everything was going well, there were major changes, of course; impromptu, as is the case with any script and play.

Rhys wasn't even supposed to be here, at least not yet. The Dregs of Society would have been a long and grueling arc for the country, burning Secretary Stacey was just the beginning of it — it was supposed to be a very long act, good vs. evil. But his forced involvement by the President fast-forwarded everything and they had to change the script.

But it wasn't supposed to end with Stacey dying. Stretcher wasn't supposed to appear in this plot, which is why Rhys made sure to keep him away; even making a show of slamming his head on the truck to get rid of him because he knew Stretcher would find a way to discredit him somehow, that he would watch Rhys's every move.

Everything was perfect until he reappeared… or was it?

Rhys once again turned to look at Stacey's decapitated corpse.

Was… he actually going to let Stacey live if Stretcher didn't arrive?

No.

No, he wasn't.

Stacey was too unstable.

Rhys could really only let out a small chuckle as he realized that his lies were getting to the point that he was even subconsciously lying to himself. Even if Stretcher didn't arrive, he was probably only seconds away from taking Stacey's life.

That was why he didn't even wait for Stacey's 5 Hearts to be filled. He… felt guilty. Or perhaps his guilt was another lie? Perhaps he was just thinking that if he gets Stacey's abilities, people would start snooping around as soon as they saw him using it.

Rhys… doesn't even know anymore.

Was he even planning on keeping Stacey alive at all from the start?

"Commander!"

Fortunately for Rhys, he was rescued from his overwhelming thoughts as Lincoln and the other men started arriving from the stairs. And as soon as they did so, Rhys started collecting himself; shaking his head off of all the thoughts he was having.

The most important thing right now was to just get through with this and finish the play. His only problem now was… just how much did Stretcher's body cam capture? Seeing as he and the others broke their body cams, Stretcher's camera was the only one being fed back to the base… that would mean everyone back home was focused on his feed.

"Commander, what… what happened here!?" Lincoln's voice turned meek by the second as he examined the area, "Isn't that… Stretcher? Commander…

…just what happened here?"

***

"How do you explain this, Mr. Rhys Wilder?"

"The most peaceful way to terminate the situation."

"Lies! You're clearly in cahoots with the woman!"

A few days after the successful but tragic end of Rhys's mission with the Navy USEALs, he was now currently being kept in a dark black box, literally. He had stayed there for more than 12 hours before a couple of men in suits entered the room and started asking him questions about the mission.

"I had my options, I chose the path of least resistance," Rhys said as his eyes watched the footage that was currently being shown to him — and fortunately for him, it would seem the Fates were on his side as Stretcher did not really arrive until after McArthur and the others were dead.

The laptop did, however, show Stacey being extremely close and intimate with him.

"The target was clearly infatuated with me," Rhys calmly breathed out, "I saw no reason to be violent, I was going to bring her alive so that she could face justice for everything she has done… but then Lieutenant Stretcher suddenly arrived and…

…asked Stacey what she was doing, and that she should kill me since I was part of the people hunting them down."

"Are you really insinuating that Lieutenant Stretcher is involved with the Dregs of Society!?" One of the interrogators slammed the laptop shut, "Lieutenant Stretcher, who is deeply known for his dislike of Lowborns!?"

"I am not insinuating it, Sir — I am only telling you everything that I recall about the mission," Rhys let out a very long and deep sigh, "And no matter how many times you asked me the same question over and over again, my answer will remain the same because I am not lying."

"You—"

[That's enough.]

And before another loop of the same questions could start again, Rhys was finally saved from his situation as a voice resounded across the black room. And almost like clockwork, the two people interrogating him just completely stopped and walked out of the room without even saying another word.

And before the door could even close, Ayesha suddenly barged into the room and held it open.

"What you cooking there, Recruit?" Ayesha smiled as she saw the somewhat stressed look on Rhys's face.

"I'm the one being cooked, Ayesha," Rhys just let out a very long and deep sigh as he stood up and approached Ayesha, "How are the others?"

"Waiting back for you at the HQ," Ayesha forced out a chuckle as she placed her arm over Rhys's shoulder and dragged him out of the room, "You have no idea the kind of trouble you've been creating, Rhys. Your freaking goddamn balls are everywhere now."

"...Sorry," Rhys could really only sigh as he stepped out of the black box; slightly squinting his eyes to adjust to the light, but as soon as his eyes were able to adjust, however, the only thing he saw were people looking at him with disdain and hostility.

"Well, we better get out of this shithole fast," Ayesha scoffed as she shook her head, "They asked for your help, and when you gave it, they start shitting on you."

"It's… fine," Rhys shook his head as the two of them continued to make their way out of the building, "Their antagonism is justified, it really did look like I was sympathizing with the enemy, after all."

"And what's wrong with sympathizing with the enemy, Recruit?" Ayesha breathed out, "As soldiers, we should always see things in the eyes of our enemies — only then will we truly know what we're fighting for."

"...Wow," Rhys could not help but blink a couple of times, "When was the last time you gave me words of wisdom, Commander?"

"When was the last time I was actually your Commander?" Ayesha scoffed, "Simpler freaking times. Now everything's just shit upon another load of shit…

…You're lost, Recruit. And the worst part of this all is that you actually don't know where the fuck you are going."

"..."

"And even worse… is that I am willing to follow you anywhere," Ayesha then turned to look Rhys in the eyes, "We've already been in hell, Recruit… and I am willing to follow you even further down."

"I know," Rhys breathed in and nodded. The two did not really exchange any words after that, and just continued to make their way out of the building. And as soon as they did so, a barrage of flashes once again welcomed Rhys — he was used to it at this point.

"Mr. Wilder! There are people saying that people died because of you during the mission, is this true!?"

"Rhys, did you actually jeopardize the mission by sympathizing with the enemy!?"

"Mr. Rhys Wilder, please look here!"

"These maggots always seem to know where you are," Ayesha was about to start pushing the reporters away, but Rhys gently grabbed her by the shoulder.

"That's because I tell them, Ayesha," Rhys then whispered as he stepped forward.

"What…?" Ayesha raised an eyebrow as she watched Rhys approach one of the reporters; a reporter very familiar with Rhys, Karl Harper.

"Mr. Rhys Wilder, I have heard you hugged the terrorist, is there any truth to this!?" Karl Harper asked, and he was the only reporter Rhys really turned his head to.

"I did," and as soon as he answered, everyone gave an audible gasp, "I am sure it's not a surprise to you that the… terrorist has a certain obsession with me — I judged that the fastest and most effective way to disengage and terminate the situation was to… understand the enemy. That is the only way to know what we're truly fighting for, if we're really right."

"Then…" Karl Harper and Rhys both looked each other in the eyes, "Lieutenant Stretcher…

…is it true that he was working with the enemy?"

And once again, the other reporters kept quiet as they all looked at their fellow reporter.

"Lieutenant Stretcher…" Rhys breathed in for a few seconds, "...Lieutenant Stretcher is a very confused individual, very much like Stacey. Stacey's the name of the terrorist, by the way. She has a name, much like any of us."

"So, you're saying that Lieutenant Stretcher really is a part of the terrorist organization?"

"Well, I'm not at a liberty to say, but—"

"Lies!" And before Rhys could finish his words, a stone was thrown straight onto his face.