(Crux Coelestis Ship - Sacred Chamber)
The harsh violet light slowly began to fade as it landed in Olivia's palms. It didn't take long before the chamber returned to its original state. The golden tracks retracted and the sockets shut tight with a mechanical sound.
Sedem scratched his head, "Well, seems like Olivia here's the only one who was accepted."
"Huh?", Olivia suddenly winced. "W- Why are you all looking at me like that?"
*Beep Beep*
Sedem's wrist comm suddenly sparked to life as an incoming message projected itself on a holographic screen.
"Seems like I'm being called", fatigue washed itself over Sedem. "Aight then! I'll talk more about the sphere's effects later. Oh yeah, and also the reason why Sek and Candy girl had problems with the process."
The energetic boy bolted out of the chamber at a blinding speed.
Just after he left, I felt a tiny force pull on my clothes. I looked down only to find Shyza slipping down on her knees.
Was she asleep?
Sighing, I carried her carefully and walked towards the entrance.
I turned my head back a little, "Are you staying?"
The oblivious girl flinched, almost dropping her glasses as she turned to look at me.
"U- Uh, yes...", she paused briefly. "I'll stay here for a bit."
Without anything else to say, I left the sacred chamber and headed towards Shyza's room.
.
.
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(Bridge - Sir. William's P.O.V)
[Video assessed successfully, assess next?]
That was the 14th security footage I had watched since I began and per what I kept noticing, my observations seemed to be headed the right direction.
Every single footage had one person of interest, Olivia Light.
In each video, odd patterns would reveal themselves in her behaviour. Most noticeable of all was the completely confused and frightened expression on her face every 3 hours.
It was as if she kept seeing things we couldn't. Either that or something was interfering with her brain.
On the large holographic screen were various volumes of data based on Olivia's brain activity. The order needed her to be in the best of health considering that she had the holy scriptures in her possession. She seemed to hold some importance as she was ranked among one of the most important objects in the mission details.
If that was the case then I was highly responsible for anything that happened to her. Still, I couldn't understand.
There was nothing special about her in particular. Why did she pique the interest of the higher ups?
My thoughts were suddenly brought to a halt by the sound of mechanized doors.
"Sir. William. You called for me."
I turned my chair around and noticed Sedem panting quite hysterically. Did he run all the way from the sacred chamber to the bridge?
That chamber was about 90 metres away and Sedem was no athlete.
Running that distance was sure to kill him.
I shrugged those thoughts away, "Indeed I did. Is the process complete?"
"Yes", he promptly replied. "However, Seksulfur and Shyza were denied."
"I see", my eyes narrowed. "And Olivia?"
"She was accepted. however, without her tech gear the process really isn't that complete", Sedem sighed.
Olivia didn't have any tech gear?
I was confused. If Olivia didn't have one then what was that thing in one of the footages?
My seat rotated towards the large screen that floated in mid-air.
"Ship, locate all security footages containing sudden energy fluctuations", my eyes stayed glued to the screen as a series of footages were displayed.
Circumspectively, I scanned every single image.
Each ranged from footages that covered the ship's core to the very bridge in which we found ourselves.
"Is there something wrong?", Sedem's voice shook a bit.
My sudden change in demeanour must've induced unnecessary tension into the air but that was the least of my concerns at that moment.
There!
A specific footage immediately caught my attention.
"This was the first time she set foot in here", I muttered. "Isn't that-"
There was a small spherical object floating from one side of the bridge to the other simultaneously. It would've been basically impossible for a normal human to notice it but being a Paladin came with its benefits.
My eyes darkened at the end of the playback. That spherical object seemed to be a robot of some sort.
How in the world did it manage to slip through my senses?
Did I let my guard down?
No, that thing must've been with me in the bridge this whole time and I definitely felt its presence.
A slight smirk appeared on my face as I turned back, "You mischievous little intruder."
"Huh?", Sedem blinked in confusion.
"Activate ultra scan", I commanded.
[Activating...]
Harsh green lights swept through the entire bridge, thoroughly inspecting every nook and crany of the area.
[Foreign entity located. Revealing...]
The lights got even brighter, exposing a small spherical object floating in the space between Sedem and I.
"What in the world is that!?", Sedem stepped back.
Silently, the spherical object rose higher above our heads. A bright blue light shone from the side facing me. I assumed that was its eye.
[Blitz: I am Blitz, technological gear 5-Theta. I didn't expect to be caught before this hour. Interesting...]
I kept quiet as I observed.
"Whaaaat!? Tech gear!?", Sedem froze in shock but he had thawed out that very instant. "Who's your master!?"
The flying bot rotated, making sure it faced the young boy.
[Blitz: Olivia Light]
A twisted expression of concern and confusion crept up on his face, "What do you mean? Olivia herself said she had no tech gear!"
[Blitz: Indeed she does. You had knowledge of my existense. However, I wiped them all clean. Including my master's]
"Tch", rage filled Sedem's eyes as he pulled out a neuron gun. "I don't believe you! What do you want!?"
...
The bot responded with silence which lasted for about a minute until its eye suddenly switched to a red light.
[Blitz: My master's death]
"I've had it!", Sedem began to charge his weapon.
"Wait", my voice forced my subordinate into a state of pause. "Let's see what it can do."
My eyes gleamed with an aura of curiousity.
.
.
.
(Seksulfur's P.O.V)
*Zzt*
Tiny shocks suddenly sent my senses running haywire, stopping me in my tracks.
Something was coming
But... from where?
I looked both ahead and behind me. The empty hallway seemed eerie for some reason. It was as if I was being watched all around.
My grip on Shyza tightened as the silence got deeper.
Every inch of my body immediately shook as if to warn me of an immediate threat.
"Sek! something's approaching on your right!!"
Dzinu's voice instantly put me in an evasive stance, causing me to move further away from the walls.
*BOOM!*
The wall to my right broke down at that instant. A large mech bot then walked in with Olivia in its left palm.
The commotion snapped Shyza out of her sleep, "What- What's going on!?"
[Mech: Scanning target. Threat level ignored. Proceeding to Bridge]
Without wasting a second, it turned the other direction and began to leave.
Dzinu spoke with a voice full of worry, "That thing had Olivia in its hand and it didn't look like it was going to do anything pleasant."
I nodded, "I heard it say something about the bridge. It's probably headed there."
"S- Sekky!", Shyza pulled my clothes. "Look behind you!"
My attention shifted to the hallway behind me. Large mechanical doors began to shut tight with a menacing slam and it seemed to be getting closer and closer!
"Tch!", I immediately sprinted towards the direction in which the mech went.
"Will we make it!?", Shyza's grip on my clothes tightened.
Energy began to course through my body as my wolf abilities slowly surfaced. A faint blue aura then surrounded my body, boosting me into a sprint.
Weaving through the successive hallways was no problem for me.
Of course, that was the case until...
*Slam!*
A large door suddenly slammed shut just inches away from my face.
"Damn it!", I leapt back.
How was I going to get through that layer of thick metal!?
That thing was running loose and who knows what it planned to do once it got to the bridge!
"Sekky...", tears began to well up in Shyza's eyes. "You've gotta save big sis."
I smiled, "Don't worry. I'll blitz through these doors in no time."
Now I had to think. If only there was a way to disable the doors.
An idea then popped up!
"Dzilaiza, can you hack the system?"
[Dzilaiza: Negative. The system's already being controlled by the enemy. Unfortunately, our enemy happens to be a tech gear with extremely powerful hacking peripherals]
Another tech gear!?
But, who did it belong to?
"Sek", Dzinu called out. "Unleashing my aura has some kind of effect on these technology things."
My eyes lit up, "That's right!"
No time was wasted as I withdrew Dzinu's inner form from my horizontal sword pocket that rested on my lower waist.
An explosive aura suddenly poured out from the moon sword and clashed with mine, instantly shutting every single door down.
The doors were still closed though.
"We'll have to break through", I grinned. "Shyza, hang on."
Shyza respectfully obeyed, hiding her face on my chest.
*Slash! Slash! Slash!*
Every proceeding door fell victim to the merciless nature of my attack as each of them shattered into pieces.
The attacks kept ravaging until I finally reached the doors that led to the Bridge.
"Here we are-"
*BZZT!*
"Ack!", an intense shock zapped my brain with an immense jolt, forcing me to my knees.
My vision rapidly kept switching between a world of blue and red.
Dzinu frantically screamed out to me, "Sek! Get your hands off me now!"
I- I couldn't! My fingers wouldn't budge!
*Klang!*
A sudden force kicked the moon sword out of my hands, sending it sliding towards the door.
"Sekky! Are you okay!?", Shyza moved away from the legendary blade and towards me. "Sekky..."
My breathing fell into an irregular pattern. It was as if my lungs were completely choking up.
"Arm cannon", a chilling voice crept up from Shyza's mouth as a powerful weapon engulfed her right arm. "I'll break this door down myself."