I Possess the SSS Skill: Future Sight-Chapter 52: Revocation of Immunity

We all froze. Even Valisera’s groaning stopped for a moment.

"Terrorism?" Damian whispered, his eyes widening.

"Us?"

Suddenly, the red message disappeared, replaced by a high-definition live broadcast.

It wasn’t directed only to our lounge; it was a public broadcast, displayed on every screen in the intelligence headquarters, and on every advertising screen across the streets of Elysium City—from the Golden Sector down to the Lower Sector F.

On the screen stood "Alexander Vance."

The FBI Director. The foremost authority of internal security.

He stood behind an elegant wooden podium bearing the emblem of Magical Intelligence: an eagle pierced by a sword.

He wore a formal black suit and a dark tie. His face carried an expression of deep sorrow, absolute resolve, and sacred anger. A performance worthy of an Oscar.

"Citizens of great Elysium," Alexander Vance began his speech, his deep, steady voice echoing through our crimson-lit lounge.

"With a heart weighed down by pain, and a grief beyond words, I stand before you tonight to announce a betrayal... a betrayal from within. A betrayal by those who swore to protect you."

I swallowed my dry saliva. My mind began connecting the threads at insane speed.

No... don’t do it, you old fox...

"We have discovered, with irrefutable evidence and documented recordings, that the special assault unit known as ’Alpha Team,’ led by the rogue agent ’Valisera,’ has fallen into the swamp of corruption and Eitral madness."

"What is this pig saying?!" Eva shouted, raising her rifle as if she wanted to shoot the screen.

"He’s lying! He’s the one who signed the arrest order!"

Alexander continued, his eyes fixed directly on the camera with absolute confidence:

"It has been confirmed that Alpha Team, driven by delusions of grandeur and what is known as ’Eitral psychosis,’ has assassinated two intelligence heroes in cold blood in the Middle Sector: the distinguished investigator ’Arthur Sterling,’ and his assistant ’Marcus.’"

Oh... they pinned Arthur and Marcus’s deaths on us! I laughed bitterly in my mind.

What a brilliant setup!

"And their crimes did not stop there," Alexander continued, raising a white document in his hand—the very same one he had signed for Valisera.

"They kidnapped and executed Chief Inspector ’Thorne,’ and Captain ’Miller,’ fabricating false charges against them as a cover for their crimes! We have uncovered that Alpha Team has been operating all this time as the military arm of a terrorist organization... an organization led by the sadistic criminal known as the ’Black Joker’!"

"The Black Joker?!" Damian shouted, nearly dropping Valisera’s head.

"We’re working with the Black Joker?! We almost died because of him!"

Eva looked at me, then back at the screen, her mind refusing to process this absurdity. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

And me... the Black Joker himself, standing among them in the uniform of an insignificant recruit, listened in absolute astonishment at the seamless perfection of this logical trap.

Brilliant... absolutely damn brilliant! I thought, analyzing the situation with the mindset of a professional thief and strategist.

Why did Alexander Vance suddenly turn on us?

The reason was as clear as daylight—to anyone who understood power.

Valisera had been blackmailing Alexander with secret files regarding a massacre in Zerathion village.

She used that leverage to force him to sign the arrest order for Thorne and Miller.

But... the Volders—or Saint Hilarious himself—learned that Alpha Team was planning to raid the secret hospital.

So what did Saint Hilarious—an S+ rank—do?

He surely approached Alexander Vance and offered him a deal he couldn’t refuse:

—Eliminate Alpha Team and Valisera. Declare them terrorists. In return, we will protect you, and ensure any blackmail files Valisera holds against you are dismissed as "terrorist propaganda," never to be believed, since they come from criminals who murdered intelligence heroes—

For Alexander Vance, this was a golden opportunity! He could eliminate the teenage girl blackmailing and threatening him, cleanse his reputation, satisfy the hospital’s allies, and gain the Volders’ covert support—all in one move. Turning Alpha Team into perfect scapegoats.

"But the greatest danger..." Alexander’s tone shifted, becoming more urgent and fearful, "is that we have intercepted their latest communications. Alpha Team, under the instigation of the Black Joker, is planning to carry out a horrific massacre—a full-scale terrorist attack using toxic gas targeting... Saint Hilarious Central Hospital!"

"Saint Hilarious Hospital!"

Everyone in the room shouted at once.

That was the checkmate.

The decisive move that sealed the chessboard trap.

The hospital—the angelic institution housing hundreds of thousands of civilians—any attack on it would be seen as pure madness and terrorism!

And if Alpha Team approached it now... the world would not see them as heroes uncovering a slaughterhouse, but as terrorist monsters seeking to kill patients and doctors!

The Volders had turned our intention to expose them... into the very motive that proved our guilt.

"Therefore," Alexander concluded, his tone cold and final as death, "in my capacity as Director of Magical Intelligence, and with the approval of the High Command... I hereby officially revoke the immunity and ranks of all Alpha Team members: Valisera, Eva Blackwood, Damian Ivaris, Sia, Aiden, and Recruit Kyle Valtier. They are now classified as S-Class terrorists. Lethal force is fully authorized against them. Anyone who shelters them is a traitor to the city. May God protect us, and protect Elysium."

The screen went dark.

A silence fell over the lounge unlike anything I had ever experienced. A silence that precedes the collapse of worlds.

"We’re... terrorists?" Aiden whispered, his tablet slipping from his hand and shattering on the floor.

"I... I just paid off my combat suit loan yesterday! I was dreaming of a promotion next month! How did I become an S-class terrorist who wants to blow up a hospital?!"

Eva was breathing hysterically, clutching her head with both hands.

"My credit cards! My security clearance! My family! They stripped us of everything! We’re wanted criminals! We’re open targets!"

"To hell with credit cards!" Sia shouted at Eva, tears covering her usually calm face.

"We’re trapped inside FBI headquarters! In the heart of the central wing! We’re in a hornet’s nest—and everyone just received orders to kill us!"

I looked at Valisera.

She was still lying in Damian’s arms.

Her breathing was faint, her crimson eyes fixed on the red-lit ceiling.

She showed no sign of anger or shock. Only... a broken, bloody, mocking smile formed on her lips.

"Alexander... you cowardly fox..." Valisera muttered weakly.

"You sold us cheap."

"Where is Kirion?!" Damian suddenly shouted, as if remembering the last lifeline.

"Kirion Drathis! He’s our direct commander! He knows we’re innocent! Where is he to defend us?!"

Bzzzt...

The small communication screen on Kirion’s desk suddenly lit up with an encrypted audio-only call.

Damian rushed forward, gently lowering Valisera’s head, and pressed the receive button.

"Commander, sir!" Damian shouted desperately.

"Please tell me this is a nightmare! Tell me you’ll intervene and explain to command that we—"

"Shut up, Damian. And listen carefully."

Kirion Drathis’s voice was heavy, aged, and broken. It was not the voice of the legend everyone feared.

It was the voice of a defeated man wearing invisible chains.

"Kirion..." Valisera whispered from the floor.

"Valisera," Kirion said, his voice trembling slightly with suppressed rage,

"I’m surrounded. Four ’Paladin’ knights from the High Guild Council are standing outside my private office. They’re S- and S rank. Alexander Vance sold you out to protect his position—and to appease the backers of Saint Hilarious Hospital."