"We're almost there, my lord," Amon whispered into the Emperor's ear. "Everything is ready."
He had watched the Emperor amuse the two Witches with joke after joke, making them laugh heartily. It almost seemed as though the overly pleasant atmosphere had made him forget the original purpose of their journey to the Himalayan Mountains. Amon believed the Emperor would not forget, yet he still wanted to remind him to prepare for the Witches—more precisely, to prepare for violence. He had already arranged for armed forces to assemble near the landing site. If the Witches intended to intervene by force, the armored units would unleash deadly weapons upon the landing site. Such an act would inevitably trigger an international dispute, but only if the satellite surveillance and radar possessed by weak Nepal and India could detect which force had launched the attack in the Himalayan Mountains.
Jeanne raised an eyebrow. Her silver dinner knife scraped across the ceramic plate with a shrill sound. "You made preparations as well?"
"I keep spirits and wine ready everywhere. Remember the hot spring we dug out atop that snowy peak in the Alps? I built a secret lookout within the ridge near the observatory. There's a hot spring there, shielded from the wind and snow with arcane arts. No one but me knows where it is. I'm sure you can have a wonderful vacation there."
"We've been on vacation all along. Earth's Planetary Defense System won't let us feed the little pets in Hell," Bayonetta said. "I'll accept your kindness, provided I see you complete that task and walk out of the courtyard at Kamar-Taj headquarters. I know that look in your eyes... What did your precognitive ability tell you?"
"There is a witch at Kamar-Taj called Lady of Calamity. Her precognitive ability is extraordinarily