Kelvin was considering what to do with the man when he heard Wrath say to him, "There is someone behind you."
He turned immediately, but he didn't see anyone. He didn't doubt Wrath, though. The shadow spirit can see more of the spectrum of light than humans can, so it can tell a mirage apart from a living human, and it can see beyond some invisibility abilities.
So with this confidence, he unleashed a hail of bullets at the hall behind them.
Someone shouted, "Don't shoot."
But it was too late. Red blood splattered into the air as a figure was revealed. It was the quiet poison lady that killed politely. Her yellow skin had gained more red and holes. She was naked as she slipped from the wall she was clinging to.
It appeared that she had been using some kind of camouflage ability to hide her presence from everyone. Now she was dead.
Everyone was looking at Kelvin and the dead villainess on the ground. He shrugged in response. He didn't know what to say, and he didn't think he had to explain himself to anyone.
His actions were clear to everyone. He shot someone who used to be invisible. That person could have been a friend or foe, but he wasn't willing to take the chances. Now it doesn't matter that she was supposed to be on their side. Nothing matters now that she is dead.
Everyone was already at tentahooks because of the sudden shooting and dying. The man was extra spoked as he had hid behind blue crystal.
The noise seemed to wake Blue Crystal up. He looked at them with eyes that were completely white and said, "Help me."
The man behind him shushed him. "Now now, don't go scaring the guests."
He took a syringe from the tray table beside him and plunged its contents into Blue Crystal's body. Blue Crystals eyes became heavy. He blinked several times. Then he fell asleep.
It was a sight no one saw coming. Even Kelvin was surprised. He pointed his gun at the man and said, "I'm guessing Blue Crystal is not the boss of this operation."
The man chuckled nervously and said, "Don't mind him. He has his part to play. He is the foundation of this operation after all."
Kelvin had wanted to kill the man and end this mission, but Blue Crystal's state and the man's apparently harmlessness are giving him ideas that have prevented him from shooting the man.
He was mulling over those ideas now, but he was interrupted by the sound of footsteps from behind them. This time, they all turned back with sudden alertness, only to see someone else that they were familiar with it come through the door.
It was Red Dream. She stepped lightly on the ground barefooted as she dragged the corpse of the lady that had quit on them earlier behind her with her vine hair.
Red vines were growing on the ground and across the roof behind her. They dragged the corpse of the villainess and deposited them next to the body of the poison lady. Then they tore the two corpses apart and used the blood to grow thicker.
They formed into a thick wall of vines that sealed the door behind Red Dream. That door also happens to be the only way out of the hall. So she has sealed all of them in here.
This sight didn't feel anyone with ease. Everyone stepped back, including the villains and their previous captive. Only blue crystal and the people on benches with crystal growing out of their skin didn't move.
One of the villains asked, "What is the meaning of this?"
She replied with a smile, "I want to thank you for helping me clear out his base and cornering him. I couldn't have done this without you. But I have to keep my acquisition of this resource a secret. I'm sure you understand. After all, there is no honor amongst thieves."
Kelvin understood. That's why he had disabled his sense of smell and taste. It is also why he put a gun to Blue Crystal's head.
He threatened his previous boss, "Let us go or you lose everything."
She chuckled and said confidently, "Go ahead."
Wrath said to him, "I don't think that will work. Maybe your sniper rifle will be able to penetrate his defenses, but it might not kill him. His physiology is different from normal humans because of the crystal."
As if that wasn't bad enough, Wrath had more bad news to say. "Don't bother shooting her either. This is not her real body. It is probably some plant manifestation."
He cursed, "Damn."
He didn't bother to call her bluff after the series of news. He put away his gun.
Someone else didn't have the information he had. He shot Blue Crystal in the head. This created a hole in his head. But then crystals filled up the hole and returned it to its previous condition.
Blue Crystal didn't even wake up throughout the process. It was as if he couldn't feel pain. The villain felt pain though. He felt grave emotional pain enough to to make him fall to his knees and beg, "Please, you don't have to do this. You could have hired us to retrieve Blue Crystal for you, and no one would have battled an eye."
Kelvin said, "It is clear that this mission was a scam. She is hiding something that she does not want others to know. She has to do this to keep us quiet."
Red Dream chuckled. It was a low sound of amusement that echoed through the hall. She said, "You are mostly right. I didn't have to do this. I wanted to. I wanted to because I didn't want some people to know about my acquisition of Blue Crystal.
That meant I had to deceive the Thunderstorm Villain League when I created the mission."
"I was able to set the mission up with less money than normal and acquire a lot of cheap labor. You know how the Thunderstorm Villain League gets about people cheating them out of their money. So you have to die. It's nothing personal."