The moment Zero fled in defeat also marked the complete failure of the Radicals' operation.
With support from armed squads dispatched by the Nathen Conglomerate, the Conservatives swept through the territories controlled by the Radicals, launching simultaneous attacks and seizing them almost effortlessly.
Having secured victory, Yucas immediately boarded a Hovercar and headed toward the Peacekeeping Forces' headquarters.
There, Conservative soldiers had already surrounded the building with Tactical Mecha. The people inside offered only token resistance before they were all subdued.
On the rooftop, Clio, who had become the Radicals' sole leader just yesterday, stared at the scene before him in despair.
Mecha surrounded the building below, while small warships and drones hovered overhead. He had no hope of escape; he could not even kill himself now.
With Zero's flight, the Federation's support vanished as well. His greatest backer had collapsed on the spot.
Only now did Clio realize how powerless he was. This supposed struggle between the two factions of the Peacekeeping Forces was nothing more than a stage Jonas had set.
And he was the self-important clown upon it. They had let him prance around as he pleased only to draw out the Federation behind him.
But by the time Clio realized this, it was already too late. What little value he had left had been squeezed dry.
Thud!
A heavy bang sounded behind him. The rooftop's iron door was kicked open, revealing a familiar, corpulent figure.
Clio slowly turned to look.
It was Delt, with several fully armed Conservative soldiers following behind him.
The fat on Delt's face quivered, his crooked eyes narrowing smugly amid the folds, exposing all the ugliness of a petty man triumphant.
"Clio, so this is where you were. You certainly made me search." His eyes brimmed with mockery and arrogance. "After all