Saber leaped down from the rooftop and landed in front of the guards and me. The wind and lightning around her dissipated.
"Let her go," Saber commanded them.
The guard captain scowled at Saber, then at the Seekflower.
"Seekflower," he asked, "where is Jordan?"
The Seekflower turned slowly, to one of his subordinates. The crowd mumbled among themselves, and I heard a loud gasp.
I saw the captain's finger twitch, as though involuntarily.
Before I knew it, his hand burst into blue fire, and he swung his burning fist at the Seekflower. The flames swelled, licking the air with menacing heat, scorching my eyes with their brilliance.
Saber intercepted the blow with the flat of her sword. The scream of metal synchronized with a splash of inferno. The crowd began to scream.
Pinned down as I was, I couldn't tell what happened next exactly. But I think someone tackled the guards holding me down, and before I knew it, I could move again. I rushed toward Saber's aid, where she parried punch after punch from the guard captain. Before I reached her, someone in the crowd – likely a mage – had blown the captain away with a great blast of air.
Saber took the opportunity to pass the Seekflower to me.
"Run to the cave," she huffed. "Take Hei."
I looked into her panicked eyes. "What about you?"
"I'll follow soon. Just need to make sure no one dies here."
I hated leaving her behind, at a time like this. But I gave her a nod. Hei, as though understanding the situation, tossed his hostaged guard aside and came running. The guard captain, recovering from the knockback, rushed toward me with wide eyes and fiery fists. Saber stomped the ground; a great and crystalline wall rose to block his advance.
"Go!" she shouted at Hei and me.
And with that, we sprinted off to the east.
At first I heard footsteps chasing behind, though I dared not slow down to check whether those belonged to the guards, or to civilians that wanted to join us, or both. But after a while they faded away. And soon, we had already made it to Ring Three, where scarce few farmers worked the fields outside, tending to swaths of low-growing vegetation. They merely stared at us, for brief moments, as we ran past. I turned back to check the path behind us, and saw no one.
"The guard tried to burn the flower," Hei said as we ran.
"I know," I panted. "No idea what he was thinking."
Did the guards already know the truth about 6E12, yet chose to side with Fink nonetheless? I didn't have attention to spare on idle theorizing; we had a cave to raid. I passed the Seekflower to Hei momentarily, to free my hands to conjure a Cold Grenade. I fetched my Magus Battlehat from under my white coat and put it on. And as customary nowadays, I had my crossbow at my waist. If battle broke out, I'd be ready.
My eyesight sharpened, until I could see the wave of every tree branch, and the flight of every bird in the sky. My hunter's eye was back. I felt my body lighten, until running became acheless, effortless. And my focus had never been crisper.
At my side, Hei fell into step with my footfall, and even our breaths seemed to sync. The two of us, on one last mission together in this world.
Hold on, everyone. We're coming to save you.
We soon left the town behind. Heavy clouds hung overhead, and it began to snow.
We eventually arrived at the cave. We slowed and quieted our steps as we approached the stairs leading down to the iron-grate door. Just as I remembered, three separate locks kept the door shut. On the other side of the door, in the mouth of the dark cave, stood a lone guard. Just as he began to wave at us, I threw my Cold Grenade through the grates of the door and detonated it.
Frigid white vapor bloomed inside the cave, for but an instant. Hei Voidstepped behind the now-frozen guard and pinned him down. I closed in, conjuring a Frost Missile as I neared the gated entrance.
"Hei?!" came the guard's voice.
Oh. Wait.
That was the assault-rifle guy from the tournament. The one that got wrecked by the martial artist girl in the first round. Sure enough, his dark, metal rifle sat leaning against the cave wall not far away.
He was in the Combat Division, right? Did he work directly for Fink or not?
Another guard came running, a girl with spiked plate armor. She pointed her trident at Hei.
"Wait!" the rifleman shouted. "What's going on?"
"Surprise raid," Hei said. "Human trafficking suspected here."
"Put your hands behind your head," the trident-girl ordered Hei. Her plate armor glowed orange, as though heated upon a furnace. It made her look like a crab.
"No, it's fine," the pinned rifleman assured. "Hei's a good guy, I think. And he'll kick your ass."
"Criminals in the Institute are likely hiding a missing person here," I explained, still on the other side of the door. I decided to go along with Hei's narrative, and left out the details about 6E12 for now. "Please cooperate with our search. As soon as we make sure everything is alright, we'll head out."
The rifleman voluntarily freed his keys from his belt-loop and passed them to Hei, who then let him go and opened the gate for me. As I entered into the darkness of the cave, my eyes adjusted just enough to see the trident-girl staring daggers at the rifleman. Hei locked the door behind us.
"The Institute sent you?" the trident-girl interrogated me.
"Saber did," I said plainly.
"Ah. You got a written perm–"
"No paper trail," I cut her off. "Surprise operation, you know, with lives on the line. Now let me ask the questions. Any suspicious activities around here? Secret rooms, where they might keep a prisoner?"
"Not really," the rifleman answered. "I mean, there are mostly just coffins, and all that sort of thing."
I checked my Seekflower. It pointed downward and ahead.
"Stay on guard," I said. "Follow me."
We twisted through several chambers of carved stone, all lit with what seemed to be strangely undying torches mounted to the walls. In some were rows of dilapidated tombstones. In others were coffins of metal or stone. But no sign of secret chambers. As we followed the Seekflower, we eventually arrived at a featureless, solid wall.
"...Well?" the rifleman asked.
"You're the guard here," I replied. "Well?"
"I don't usually come here. I mean, I just guard the entrance."
I sighed. These guards…really weren't professionals, were they?
The Seekflower still pointed diagonally downward, which meant we had to go even lower somehow. I bent down, to check for anything suspicious on the ground, like a trapdoor, or any sort of strange gaps. But there were none.
"Stand back," I told everyone as I conjured a Cold Grenade. When they cleared the area, I detonated it right under my feet.
The cold smoke of the grenade expanded outwards and cleared. In that instant, I checked for wind, for the slightest vortex in the dissipating plumes. If I found one, that'd indicate wind, and perchance airway into an adjacent, hidden chamber. But I found nothing.
Should I use Khan's envelope? But what if he were to send me something as useless as last time…
"This coffin has a keyhole," the rifleman piped up. He had knelt down at one of the coffins not too far away.
"...Don't they all?" I asked.
"I don't think so," he said. He tried several keys on his keyring, but none of them would fit inside.
Hei raised his spear high, then slammed it down on the coffin's stone lid. A pulse of gravity burst out, resonating within the caves and shaking me to the core. But the lid cracked. I ran up to check, covering my mouth and nose from the dust of shattered stone. Inside the coffin, there was no bottom panel. Instead, hidden there was a stairway that led down. A narrow one, wrought from coarse, solid rock. Glowing white gems jutted out of the walls periodically, lighting the path down. And it was a long, long descent. Despite the stairway being straight, I couldn't see the bottom, even as I squinted and peered. But the Seekflower pointed right down the path.
I shot a glance at the guards. "You know about this?"
"...Never knew," the rifleman stammered. He took a shaky step away. "This is getting kinda scary. Want us to wait up here? While you two check it out?"
I shrugged. "Hei?"
"Sure," he said, stepping over the rubble of the shattered lid. He took the first steps down, and I followed him, descending together into the unknown.
Saber leaped down from the rooftop and landed in front of the guards and me. The wind and lightning around her dissipated.
"Let her go," Saber commanded them.
The guard captain scowled at Saber, then at the Seekflower.
"Seekflower," he asked, "where is Jordan?"
The Seekflower turned slowly, to one of his subordinates. The crowd mumbled among themselves, and I heard a loud gasp.
I saw the captain's finger twitch, as though involuntarily.
Before I knew it, his hand burst into blue fire, and he swung his burning fist at the Seekflower. The flames swelled, licking the air with menacing heat, scorching my eyes with their brilliance.
Saber intercepted the blow with the flat of her sword. The scream of metal synchronized with a splash of inferno. The crowd began to scream.
Pinned down as I was, I couldn't tell what happened next exactly. But I think someone tackled the guards holding me down, and before I knew it, I could move again. I rushed toward Saber's aid, where she parried punch after punch from the guard captain. Before I reached her, someone in the crowd – likely a mage – had blown the captain away with a great blast of air.
Saber took the opportunity to pass the Seekflower to me.
"Run to the cave," she huffed. "Take Hei."
I looked into her panicked eyes. "What about you?"
"I'll follow soon. Just need to make sure no one dies here."
I hated leaving her behind, at a time like this. But I gave her a nod. Hei, as though understanding the situation, tossed his hostaged guard aside and came running. The guard captain, recovering from the knockback, rushed toward me with wide eyes and fiery fists. Saber stomped the ground; a great and crystalline wall rose to block his advance.
"Go!" she shouted at Hei and me.
And with that, we sprinted off to the east.
At first I heard footsteps chasing behind, though I dared not slow down to check whether those belonged to the guards, or to civilians that wanted to join us, or both. But after a while they faded away. And soon, we had already made it to Ring Three, where scarce few farmers worked the fields outside, tending to swaths of low-growing vegetation. They merely stared at us, for brief moments, as we ran past. I turned back to check the path behind us, and saw no one.
"The guard tried to burn the flower," Hei said as we ran.
"I know," I panted. "No idea what he was thinking."
Did the guards already know the truth about 6E12, yet chose to side with Fink nonetheless? I didn't have attention to spare on idle theorizing; we had a cave to raid. I passed the Seekflower to Hei momentarily, to free my hands to conjure a Cold Grenade. I fetched my Magus Battlehat from under my white coat and put it on. And as customary nowadays, I had my crossbow at my waist. If battle broke out, I'd be ready.
My eyesight sharpened, until I could see the wave of every tree branch, and the flight of every bird in the sky. My hunter's eye was back. I felt my body lighten, until running became acheless, effortless. And my focus had never been crisper.
At my side, Hei fell into step with my footfall, and even our breaths seemed to sync. The two of us, on one last mission together in this world.
Hold on, everyone. We're coming to save you.
We soon left the town behind. Heavy clouds hung overhead, and it began to snow.
We eventually arrived at the cave. We slowed and quieted our steps as we approached the stairs leading down to the iron-grate door. Just as I remembered, three separate locks kept the door shut. On the other side of the door, in the mouth of the dark cave, stood a lone guard. Just as he began to wave at us, I threw my Cold Grenade through the grates of the door and detonated it.
Frigid white vapor bloomed inside the cave, for but an instant. Hei Voidstepped behind the now-frozen guard and pinned him down. I closed in, conjuring a Frost Missile as I neared the gated entrance.
"Hei?!" came the guard's voice.
Oh. Wait.
That was the assault-rifle guy from the tournament. The one that got wrecked by the martial artist girl in the first round. Sure enough, his dark, metal rifle sat leaning against the cave wall not far away.
He was in the Combat Division, right? Did he work directly for Fink or not?
Another guard came running, a girl with spiked plate armor. She pointed her trident at Hei.
"Wait!" the rifleman shouted. "What's going on?"
"Surprise raid," Hei said. "Human trafficking suspected here."
"Put your hands behind your head," the trident-girl ordered Hei. Her plate armor glowed orange, as though heated upon a furnace. It made her look like a crab.
"No, it's fine," the pinned rifleman assured. "Hei's a good guy, I think. And he'll kick your ass."
"Criminals in the Institute are likely hiding a missing person here," I explained, still on the other side of the door. I decided to go along with Hei's narrative, and left out the details about 6E12 for now. "Please cooperate with our search. As soon as we make sure everything is alright, we'll head out."
The rifleman voluntarily freed his keys from his belt-loop and passed them to Hei, who then let him go and opened the gate for me. As I entered into the darkness of the cave, my eyes adjusted just enough to see the trident-girl staring daggers at the rifleman. Hei locked the door behind us.
"The Institute sent you?" the trident-girl interrogated me.
"Saber did," I said plainly.
"Ah. You got a written perm–"
"No paper trail," I cut her off. "Surprise operation, you know, with lives on the line. Now let me ask the questions. Any suspicious activities around here? Secret rooms, where they might keep a prisoner?"
"Not really," the rifleman answered. "I mean, there are mostly just coffins, and all that sort of thing."
I checked my Seekflower. It pointed downward and ahead.
"Stay on guard," I said. "Follow me."
We twisted through several chambers of carved stone, all lit with what seemed to be strangely undying torches mounted to the walls. In some were rows of dilapidated tombstones. In others were coffins of metal or stone. But no sign of secret chambers. As we followed the Seekflower, we eventually arrived at a featureless, solid wall.
"...Well?" the rifleman asked.
"You're the guard here," I replied. "Well?"
"I don't usually come here. I mean, I just guard the entrance."
I sighed. These guards…really weren't professionals, were they?
The Seekflower still pointed diagonally downward, which meant we had to go even lower somehow. I bent down, to check for anything suspicious on the ground, like a trapdoor, or any sort of strange gaps. But there were none.
"Stand back," I told everyone as I conjured a Cold Grenade. When they cleared the area, I detonated it right under my feet.
The cold smoke of the grenade expanded outwards and cleared. In that instant, I checked for wind, for the slightest vortex in the dissipating plumes. If I found one, that'd indicate wind, and perchance airway into an adjacent, hidden chamber. But I found nothing.
Should I use Khan's envelope? But what if he were to send me something as useless as last time…
"This coffin has a keyhole," the rifleman piped up. He had knelt down at one of the coffins not too far away.
"...Don't they all?" I asked.
"I don't think so," he said. He tried several keys on his keyring, but none of them would fit inside.
Hei raised his spear high, then slammed it down on the coffin's stone lid. A pulse of gravity burst out, resonating within the caves and shaking me to the core. But the lid cracked. I ran up to check, covering my mouth and nose from the dust of shattered stone. Inside the coffin, there was no bottom panel. Instead, hidden there was a stairway that led down. A narrow one, wrought from coarse, solid rock. Glowing white gems jutted out of the walls periodically, lighting the path down. And it was a long, long descent. Despite the stairway being straight, I couldn't see the bottom, even as I squinted and peered. But the Seekflower pointed right down the path.
I shot a glance at the guards. "You know about this?"
"...Never knew," the rifleman stammered. He took a shaky step away. "This is getting kinda scary. Want us to wait up here? While you two check it out?"
I shrugged. "Hei?"
"Sure," he said, stepping over the rubble of the shattered lid. He took the first steps down, and I followed him, descending together into the unknown.
