2
Empire, capital of the fourth province, Visgehten.
This was where the one and only “unburied” vortex within the Empire had been preserved.
The one in charge of its maintenance was…
Omen’s first laboratory.
All astral power research was done here.
The facilities were always under the guard of the most state-of-the-art security system in addition to the Imperial forces stationed on the grounds.
However, both the security system and the forces had been crushed.
They couldn’t have ever known that they would one day be under attack by powers equivalent to those of ten purebred type mages.
Black smoke spewed from the facility.
The smoke billowed throughout the area, spreading black soot all over.
The facilities had been rendered to smoking ruins in some parts, while others had caved in to form gigantic craters. Some of the concrete walls had even been pulverized from existence.
Guns were scattered everywhere.
All over, there was proof of the Imperial soldiers putting up a fight only to be forced to withdraw.
“Well, none of this looks good. They gave us a good thrashing.”
Mei looked through night vision binoculars.
It was the middle of the night.
By the time she had arrived in Visgehten, the sky had already turned into a curtain of black.
As she looked over the facilities that made up Omen and its illuminated, whitewashed structures, Mei pulled out a comm with her free hand.
“Hey, Risya. You’re not at the Imperial capital yet?”
“The Lord ordered me to do some chores around here. Since I’m out and about, I’m supposed to go around visiting the neutral cities as the Lord’s staff officer. Since we’ll need to call for help from all over the world when we fight the calamity. It’s all in preparation for that.”
“Well, diplomacy’s good and all, but have you seen what it looks like over here at home?”
Mei let out a deep sigh.
“So, where’s Names? I’m pretty sure he was supposed to be here getting looked at. You know, for that Vice astral power he got doused with that’s supposed to be a Curse-type astral power.”
“He already finished his treatment and headed out on missions again.”
“Bad timing.”
As she answered, Mei signaled to the forces behind her to come close.
This was their strategizing headquarters.
A military tent had been set up about a dozen meters from Omen. Along its walls were an array of monitors.
The screens showed the blueprints of the facility.
There were the entrances, back exits, and even the emergency doors. They had marked out where they believed the hostages had been gathered and where the enemy forces were likely located.
“Commanderino, any contact from the other side?”
“Enemy forces have been quiet.” The HQ commander straightened himself up. “We considered the possibility they may have already left the facility, but our sensors recently picked up several strong astral energy signals. We believe it may be a purebred type’s power.”
“That must be Mizerhyby.”
As Mei held her comm, she stared at the monitor.
“If we have a signal from the second floor, then they’ve gotta be in the control room. In other words, they’re probably using our security cameras. Why are they holing themselves up in an Imperial astral power research lab? And why won’t they come out? Right, Isk?”
“I’d like to know, too…”
Iska shook his head slightly at Mei’s question.
……Everything about this is abnormal.
……Even if they have their best soldiers here, is their plan really just to go on a rampage with barely a dozen people?
Mizerhyby’s astral power Glory allowed her to power up mages to their greatest potential.
She alone had the power to create a legion with the equivalent of ten purebred types’ powers, which made her one of the greatest threats around.
……But that only applies in battlefields outside the Empire.
……As long as they’re in the facility, we have the home advantage.
In the end, the Imperial forces could resort to bombarding the facility with missiles.
Mizerhyby had to know that.
So Iska didn’t know what was happening, either. What was the Hydra princess’s aim?
“…Tsk. Looks like this is gonna be drawn out.” Mei ruffled her hair, seeming in a particularly bad mood. “We’ve lost the surveillance cameras to the enemy. And if we try to burst in, they might even have astral powers that can track our movements. This is a pain.”
“Um…”
The soft voice came from behind Iska.
A girl with bright orange hair in a ponytail hesitantly raised her hand.
“Is Ms. Risya still listening in over the comm? I have a question,” Nene said.
“Hmm? What is it, Ne?” Risya’s voice came from the comm in Mei’s hand. “You rarely have questions, Ne. I’m curious, so let’s hear it.”
“Um… Kelvina wasn’t researching the astral powers, but the calamity, right? I was wondering if the Imperial forces confiscated the materials?”
“Yeah. A while ago.”
“Where are they now?”
In that moment, Iska’s and Mei’s eyes opened wide as Risya went silent on the other end of the line.
“I considered that possibility, too…”
Risya smiled wanly.
“The Hydra’s astral power research is leagues beyond anything at the Empire. I wondered why they would want our primitive research. The return and risks involved wouldn’t make sense, but they might if they’re after Kelvina’s experiment files. If she was the only one researching how to turn mages into witches.”
“Do you have the docs, Ms. Risya?”
“I’m afraid not, Ne. The Imperial forces did confiscate the documents, but they were still about astral power even if the experiments were illegal. We relinquished them into the care of the Saint Disciple with the most knowledge about them. That would be—”
“Newt.” Mei sighed, which echoed throughout the tent. “There’s only one Saint Disciple who’s interested in astral power research. And Newt is at this facility… Wait? Is he a hostage, then? Hey, Commanderino?”
“W-we’re still investigating!”
“Well, investigate faster. Newt’s real smart but he can’t fight. If he’s one of the hostages, that means all kinds of trouble.” Mei leaped into the commanding officer’s seat. “Kelvina’s research materials would be in a warehouse, but there are too many of those around. They’ve got eight big ones on the grounds.”
“Maybe the Hydra are having trouble finding it, too?” Nene muttered.
She had been talking to herself, but in the silent tent, her words were broadcast instead.
“Oh, s-sorry! I was just speaking out lou—”
“No, basically that means if we can get Newt, we win.” Mei crossed her legs in her seat. Her eyes glinted. “They’ve cloistered themselves in the lab because they’re still searching. They could stay here for a week without finding what they’re looking for. And Newt is the only one who knows where the stuff is.”
“But Ms. Mei, what if he’s already been taken prisoner…?”
“I know, Isk. We’ve gotta assume that he’s already been taken hostage. Like I said before, there are three things the rescue team needs to consider.”
One, where was Mizerhyby in the lab?
Two, where was Newton? (With the assumption that he was already being held captive.)
Three, where would be the appropriate place to attack from?
However, if the control room had already surrendered, the surveillance cameras would also be used against them.
They didn’t know the answer to question one.
They’re definitely wandering around the facility trying to find Kelvina’s documents.
Their assumption about question two was likely correct.
If he was captured, he’s probably in the first-floor hall. If he’s hiding, then he’s probably in the underground emergency shelter.
But moreover, from Iska’s point of view, number three was the most trouble.
Where should the Imperial forces enter from?
It was likely that Mizerhyby had someone on her team who could track the Imperial forces’ movements using their powers.
……If they can tell where we’re going, that’ll threaten the lives of the hostages.
……And that’s not all. If they know where we’re entering from, they might beat us to the punch and be there waiting for us.
Which route they chose would determine the mission’s success.
“Iska Big Bro.” Nene was whispering into his ear.
She pointed at the monitor that displayed the layout of each floor.
“If the researchers are in hiding, they’d be in the underground shelter, right? If the rescue unit goes in, then the most direct route is through the fifth emergency door.”
“That’s if the emergency door is still functioning…”
The enemy was made up of an elite group of soldiers, but only ten people couldn’t guard every exit. They likely would melt and seal the emergency doors to prevent a raid.
“Let’s think of another route. We can break a window on the north corridor of the first floor and go down the stairs to the underground floor? But the stairs are huge, so they might hear our footsteps?”
“Iska Big Bro, they’d hear the window breaking, too.”
“Then they’d know we’re there right away…”
“How about a helicopter, Isk? We can get on the roof and go down from the top floor.”
“They’d bring it down,” Iska hesitantly replied to Mei’s proposal. “Based on experience, we have to count each mage who’s been strengthened by Mizerhyby as a purebred type. Attempting reconnaissance using a helicopter or any large fighter craft would be dangerous.”
This was extreme, but if they entered the facilities and had to face mages who were powered up until they were as strong as Alice, they would be goners.
……We need to avoid fighting them.
……Basically, we have to get into the building without them noticing.
They had a clear goal, but no way to make it happen.
Mei crossed her arms in frustration. The commanders on either side of her were silent as they waited. Nene and Iska exchanged a look.
“Iska.”
“Imperial swordsman.”
He heard two people address him from a corner of the tent.
He turned around.
Behind two soldiers holding guns and sweating from nerves, there sat three witches on simple folding chairs.
“That plan…” Kissing pointed. “If we help, then it should be possible, shouldn’t it?”
She pointed not at herself, but at Rin, the earth mage.
“We can go from below the ground!”
“Don’t get the wrong idea, Imperial swordsman! I’m only doing this to ruin the Hydra’s plan.”
Before continuing, she crossed her arms as though her hand was being forced.
“If you assume that the researchers are hiding in the underground shelter, I can dig a hole from the tent and we can just get to the shelter directly, can we not?”
They wouldn’t need to travel from the first floor.
Rin’s astral powers could get them an underground path directly to the shelter. Then they could erase the concrete of the shelter walls using Kissing’s thorns.
And if they approached from underground, they couldn’t be sensed.
“W-wait!”
“Keep quiet…!”
However, the commanders had turned red in the face.
This was an Imperial forces strategic headquarters. Witches should not have been openly sitting in such a place, and it seemed that the commanders had found it a disgrace for them to comment on their tactics on top of that.
“Why not? Don’t worry about it, commanderinos.” Mei seemed unconcerned as she waved her hand at them. “We brought them here to put them to work. Don’t get worked up about it.”
“T-to work…?”
“The witches can say what they want, and we’ll take what we can use. The ones making the decisions are the Imperial forces. So chin up.”
“…I see. All right.”
It seemed that had addressed their concerns. Both of the commanders stood down.
Meanwhile…
“Tell me all the deets. I dunno about that brown-haired girl, but I know your astral power is gonna be useful in a raid, Thorn Witch. You can erase walls and dirt and everything, right?”
As Mei looked at Kissing, she gave her a cold, provocative sneer that was anything but friendly.
“You surrendered to the Imperial forces, too. I like your stance, witchy.”
“I am not here to help the Imperial forces.” Kissing was serious in contrast. “I have a grudge against the Hydra family as well. That is all.”
“I feel likewise. I said it earlier, too, but don’t get the wrong idea.”
Rin nodded with a serene look on her face.
She actually seemed much more composed than the commanders when she talked.
“Kissing and I will be able to create a direct path to the underground shelter by digging. I could even make an earth golem as a decoy. The decoy can distract them on the surface while we take that time to dig the tunnel to save the hostages.”
“Wow, Rin. That’ll be great,” Iska said.
“Huh. Looks like you are useful.” Mei’s eyes glinted in curiosity as she leaped from her seat. “Question time. Tell us exactly what your astral powers can and can’t do. We’ll make a plan based on—”
“Wait!”
The tent went silent.
The golden-haired witch had gallantly stood from her seat. Everyone’s eyes gathered on Alice, who hadn’t had a chance to speak until then.
However…
Though she had yelled loudly, she was pale for whatever reason.
“Um…uh …what about me?” Alice faltered.
She had realized that in this plan to dig underground to save the hostages, she was the only one who was useless.
“I-is there anything I could help with…?”
“Just stay out of the way.”
Kissing was merciless.
“You can only freeze things. There’s nothing you can help with in this daring plan when what we require is delicacy.”
“Please rest assured, Lady Alice.” Rin bowed. “You needn’t trouble yourself, Lady Alice. I, Rin, will do this important task!”
“Uh? No, that’s not what I mean… Um, where do I come in…?” Alice muttered in a quiet voice.
But the group had all already left her behind to gather around a round table.
“Hey, little witch, you sure the tunnel’s going to be strong enough? Wouldn’t want to be buried alive partway.”
“You won’t need to worry about how sturdy it is. In the worst case, we’ll dig a new path.”
“I can help with digging,” Kissing added.
Both she and Rin seemed confident in their abilities.
“All right, commanderinos! Get together the size and location of the underground shelter. Make sure it’s accurate. I’m leaving it up to you to figure out the plans for the tunnel we need dug.”
“Yes, right away!”
“Let me in on this, too!”
The strategic headquarters was bustling.
Only Alice, who had nothing to do in the operation, wailed to herself.
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