3
Omen, first laboratory.
Down the central stairs toward the underground floor, there was an area sectioned off by fire shutters. This was the emergency shelter.
“This is terrible, Michaela!”
An emaciated, bearded man yelled, unable to hide his excitement.
The Saint Disciple of the tenth seat.
Sir Karossos Newton, the laboratory’s chief.
His nickname was “the sickliest researcher.” The man’s shoulders and limbs looked as though they would snap with a light breeze. They showed he was an exception—a civilian among the greatest military force called the Saint Disciples.
He spread his arms out as though testing whether the world had more to throw at them.
“The power of these purebred types! I had heard that the Founder Nebulis’s bloodline had the strongest astral powers there are…but this is the power of barely more than ten of them! They have enough firepower to drive out a whole battalion of Imperial soldiers! It’s meaningless to resist!”
“Please don’t sound so gleeful about it!”
The medical officer next to him who had been crouched down stood up before she had realized it.
“And please don’t yell, Chief. Even if we’re in the underground shelter, they might hear us…”
“Oh, pardon me. Ah yes, Michaela, you’re right. This is no time to be shuddering in delight.”
“You are the only one who feels happy about this, Chief.”
“Then let us analyze this situation logically. The enemy forces are likely Nebulis Sovereignty assassins. We believe there are ten or so individuals from the astral corps. And several are likely purebred types. And purebred types are—”
“Chief, I think this is quickly moving away from analysis and going into lecture territory.”
“Oh, pardon me. Though…”
As he stroked his full beard, Newton cleared his throat.
“I do wonder what has brought the enemy here to attack this facility. I can think of several possibilities…”
“Found you!”
There was a roar.
Violet flames engulfed the shelter.
The fire that burned on the other side of the door slowly seeped in through the crack that was less than a fraction of a centimeter wide.
“A fire?!”
“No! This light…it’s astral power, Michaela!”
They screamed. The ten or so researchers hiding in the shelter all turned pale. Only Newton dared to slowly approach the flames.
“So, what are you, then…?”
“A monster.”
The witch’s coquettish voice echoed around the shelter. From beyond the wall of violet flames, a human outline emerged.
“Since it seems you like exposition, allow me to explain it to you. This isn’t astral power, it’s pure astral energy. The same astral flames that burned the Imperial capital to a crisp.”
“Eep?!” Michaela let out a gasp of terror.
The witch hadn’t been human after all.
What appeared from beyond the flames was a grotesque monster. Her ruby hair had solidified into something metallic, while her skin was transparent like glass.
“Now what do we have here…?”
As he hid the cowering Michaela behind his back, Newton couldn’t help but give the monster a rare, strained smile.
He knew what the monster was.
“Kelvina Sofita Elmos… As far as I knew, she was a peculiar yet brilliant astral power researcher who was passionate about her field. I wanted to see this once in my lifetime. One of her ‘experiments’ or what have you.”
“Oh?”
The experimental subject herself blinked several times.
“You recognized what I was on sight? And you even know a lot about Kelvina. Interim Head, there’s an interesting Imperial over here.”
“I’m glad that this will go quickly, then.”
The violet flames silently disappeared.
From beyond the melted shelter door, they heard the bright sound of the clack of shoes as a woman with blue hair revealed herself.
“Why, aren’t you a beautiful young lady. I see that you’re no ordinary person.”
“I’ll tell you who I am, since you seem to know enough to make this go quickly. I am Mizerhyby Hydra Nebulis IX. Or perhaps I should introduce myself as a princess of the Sovereignty.”
Mizerhyby took one step, then another, into the shelter.
She looked at Newton and the other researchers who had withdrawn to the wall, their faces drained of blood.
“I’ll tell you this now. I do not intend to let a single one of you live.”
The Hydra princess’s tone did not fluctuate in the slightest as she spoke.
“You and the rest of this lab will be rendered into ash. However, you have one way of saving yourselves.”
The researchers had fear in their eyes.
They had all likely thought the same thing: It was a lie.
“Oh, but don’t worry. I have no interest in whether you live or die. I don’t have the time for that. To put it in a way that’s easier to understand, there is someone more loathsome than any of you Imperials whom I must have revenge on.”
“I see. How curious, indeed, Princess Mizerhyby.” Newton faced the princess. “What would a Sovereignty princess such as yourself want from a place like this?”
“The strongest power in the world.”
“Oh?”
“You should know already. Bring me all the research materials Kelvina left behind.”
“All I can say is, I thought as much…”
Newton narrowed his eyes from behind his monocle.
She had declared her demand so firmly that he knew she wouldn’t believe him if he said the research materials didn’t exist. If he attempted to negotiate in the wrong way, he would risk all the lives of the hostages, including his own.
“The materials left by Kelvina are indeed in this facility. But she left behind so much. If you tell me exactly what you are looking for, I will be able to procure it much more quickly and with more precision. Does that sound fitting to you?”
“No.”
The Hydra princess smirked.
She seemed to have seen through him. The glint in her eyes telegraphed it clearly.
“If I tell you what I want, then you’ll change your tune and never give it to me. So I will not tell you.”
“How harsh of you… I was simply trying to be considerate.”
He jokingly shrugged.
But that was the goal. He had meant to make a tempting proposal so he could find the enemy’s weakness.
“Do you know how many battlefields I’ve survived? You’re obvious.” Mizerhyby extended her hand. “Now, bring it all out without another word. Bring me all of Kelvina’s things from her lab. You have all of tonight… Yes, I would like to have it before the sun rises tomorrow.”
The Imperial capital was asleep.
Few lights remained on in the buildings of the business district, and one could count the number of people still on the streets.
The same held true for the Imperial forces.
Most of the soldiers had retired for the night at the women’s barracks.
“Ugh… I finally finished with work.”
As she shivered in the cold evening wind, Mismis quickly walked to the barracks.
“Ugh! Nene would normally be so happy to help me write a report, but Jhin was so stubborn and told me to do it! And I finished so late!”
She hadn’t eaten any dinner.
She thought of cooking something light from what little she had at home. Then again, taking a shower and burrowing into her sheets sounded nice, too.
Would she eat? Or have a shower?
Or maybe she would skip both and just go straight to bed?
“I know! I’ll eat while showering! Oh, but I need a good way to shower without getting my food wet… Oh?!”
A gunshot rang in her ears.
It was close enough that she could feel the sound waves against her skin. She couldn’t see anything in the dark of the night, but she knew it had happened right in front of her.
“Huh?! Who’s there?! Did something happen?!”
The gunshot had been close.
But no one answered her. Should she run over to the barracks? Before Mismis could decide, the bushes rustled.
“Who’s there?!”
She saw two figures behind the bushes.
One was sprawled on the grass, and the other ran toward her out of the bushes.
No one said anything.
Mismis quickly leaped back from the silent figure. She felt a draft right in front of her face. It was only a moment later that she realized it had come from the person swinging a fist at her.
Who was it?
The streetlights were behind the person—a blond woman of large build who glared at her. It was then that Mismis came back to her senses.
“Noro?!”
Former commander, Shanorotte Gregory.
She had been Mismis’s friend and a coworker since she had graduated the forces’ academy…or so Mismis had been led to believe. But Shanorotte had been a Nebulis Sovereignty operative all along.
And she had been hiding in wait at the Imperial forces’ barracks.
“What are you doing here?!”
The last time they had seen each other had been in the Sovereignty.
But what was she doing here in the Empire on an Imperial base?
“Tsk!”
Shanorotte held out her right hand.
This was bad. She was a Lightning astral mage, which made this deadly range. Could she run? Or would it be better to draw the gun at her hip? The moment Mismis wavered, Shanorotte let out another, “Tsk!”
Instead of firing off lightning she looked up from the corner of her eye and turned around.
The barracks were equipped with astral energy sensors. If she fired at Mismis, she would be discovered. She was likely afraid of that.
“…”
Shanorotte turned and fled.
Mismis immediately gave up on the idea of running after her.
“Are you all right?!”
“…Ugh!”
The woman on the grass weakly mouthed something.
She had a gun in her hand. She had likely fired it after Shanorotte had jumped out of the bushes at her. Then they must have had a scuffle.
“Took…it…”
Shanorotte had taken something?
But what? It wasn’t the gun. What would Shanorotte want?
“Huh! Your ID?!”
“…”
The soldier weakly nodded.
She had known it. Mismis felt a chill run up her spine upon realizing she had guessed right.
An Imperial soldier’s ID.
With just that card, Shanorotte would be able to get through an Imperial forces’ gate as though she belonged there. She was a former commander, so she even knew how to act like an Imperial soldier.
But why?
It couldn’t have been easy sneaking into the forces’ barracks. Why had Shanorotte gone to all the trouble to procure an ID? What was she planning?
“I need to tell someone! Uhhh, HQ? I know! Risya!”
She was a lot smarter than Mismis.
But it was the middle of the night.
“Risya, please wake up!”
“Hello! What is it, Mismis? Are you doing overtime?”
“Risya!”
When she heard that cheerful voice, all of her anxieties disappeared and she loosened.
“It’s awful! You know the one who was on the security footage, Nor…I mean Shanorotte, the ex-commander?”
“You found her?”
“She was hiding in the Imperial forces’ women’s barracks!” Mismis yelled into the comm. “Someone was assaulted, and she stole her ID. Shanorotte already ran off, but I think she’ll head to an Imperial base soon! With that card!”
“Hmm…” She heard Risya let out a low groan. “An Imperial, huh? But why would she want to go into a base?”
“I—I have no idea! But Imperial bases have secret information…”
“I suppose so. I’ll talk to HQ. You go talk to the barracks’ surveillance room. Once the attacked soldier recovers, we’ll question her as a witness and a victim.”
“Got it!”
“I’m counting on you.”
The line cut off.
The area around her went quiet until only the sound of the insects in the grass could be heard.
“Hold on to me! I’ll take you to the medical room!”
Mismis helped her fallen colleague up and started to walk the path into the night.
“Noro…”
Her former coworker had disappeared as quickly as the wind.
Recalling the hate toward Imperials that had glistened in Shanorotte’s eyes, Mismis bit her lip.
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