Overlord's ears prick up when he hears 499's voice, and he glances in his direction. "Captain 499, Captain of Ozania's Training Division and former member of the Five Black Swordsmen. I couldn't have asked for a better opponent."
499 unsheathes his blade, and a slight gust of wind blows from it as Wind JōKai surrounds it. Navar grabs 499 by his cloak, halting his attack. "Captain, Jax has the Great Plague! We need to get him to a doctor before he dies!" says Navar.
499 stares back and forth from Navar to Overlord, contemplating whether he should come to Jax's aid or battle against Overlord. "Understood," 499 sheathes his sword and gestures to his soldiers to help Jax and the other rookies. "Tend to their wounds. And give Jax immediate medical treatment."
Once everyone has been taken care of, 499 walks toward a door in the arena. "Let's go."
"You have the chance at defeating me, yet you leave because of one whelping."
"…"
499 cranes his neck to look back at Overlord. "We'll be back soon," 499 and the Ozanian soldiers march out of the room, their boots clattering against the stone floor.
Overlord presses his pager, and a piercing beep echoes throughout the base. "Attention all squads, don't engage with the Ozanians. We'll let them leave and prevent casualties."
A goblin squadron leader directly pages Overlord. "But my Lord, they know the layout of our base. Isn't letting them leave unwise?"
"Whether they leave and whether they know the layout of our base. It Won't interfere with our plans…."
After a few minutes of trekking across the base, 499 and his troops, followed by the recruits, make their way toward the exit. Once they exit the base, A soldier gazes at Pikati with fear and suspicion. "Hey, Captain, was it wise to take this little goblin with us? I saw him lying unconscious on the seats, so I guessed he was with them."
"Yes, he is with us. He helped us get through the base. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have made it as far as we did." says Navar.
"That's good and all, kid, but what in the hell were you guys thinking, trying to fight Overlord on your own?"
"We didn't just wanna sit around and do nothing. We wanted to help."
"It would have been preferable for all of you to wait and train as instructed. Now come on aboard the ship. You all have a meeting with the commander once we arrive on Evac-12," says 499.
Juyon shoots a curious glance toward 499. "Meeting? Will it be our punishment?"
"You'll see," Everyone clambers aboard the spaceship, and the pilot revs up the engines, preparing to launch back to Evac 12.
A couple of hours into the flight, Navar sits in deep thought, his eyes fixed on the stars visible through the spaceship's window, replaying Overlord's words in his mind. "Trick her? You don't know or understand the truth behind what your empire really is. They have tormented my and her brethren, then covered it up as if it were nothing to sustain their "image" amongst the other great dynasties. For that, all I desire is to bring forth their destruction. I'll start by eliminating you brats to give them a taste of their own medicine.."
"Cruelty towards his race? What is he talking about?" Navar thinks to himself.
Miri notices Navar's dejected countenance, so she walks up to him and settles into the chair across from him. "Are you alright?"
"Sorta. Defeat isn't exactly the best feelin', but to be toyed with like we did the doesn't sit well with me."
"Look at it this way, we all could be dead right now, but thanks to Captain 499, we're alive. So because of that, we'll live to fight another day."
"Yeah, when you put it that way, I guess you got a point," Navar's lips quirk up into a quick smile before turning back to a frown, his eyes still trained out the window.
Miri peers out the window with Navar, her face etched with worry like his. "You're thinking about it too, huh? The thing he said to Nozomi about the cruelty?"
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"I think we're all thinking that. I also think that may be why they're having this meeting."
"Yeah, I guess so...".
"I sure hope Jax pulls through."
Navar gives Miri a warm, comforting pat on her shoulder. "He will. I know he will."
After four hours of traveling through the vast expanse of space, the spaceship's pilot finally glimpses the sight of Evac-12 in the distance. "We're closing in. Everyone prepare for landing!" As the spacecraft descends onto Evac 12, a loud thump sounds when they touch the ground, and the ramp descends with a creaking sound.
"You all have three hours until the meeting. You may take this time for downtime and recovery," says 499.
While everyone else departs, Navar and Miri see the doctors wheeling Jax away, the wheels rolling against the linoleum and echoing down the hall. "Should we follow them?" asks Navar.
"Yeah, let's do that," says Miri.
Navar and Miri trail behind the nurses until they reach the bustling waiting area of Evac 12's urgent care center. They approach an elderly lady at a help desk. "Can I help you?"
"Yeah, we're Navar and Miri Okayasu. We're here to visit our brother," says Navar.
"Sorry darling, he's under procedure, so you'll need to stay in the waiting room until it's finished."
"Ok, thank you," Navar and Miri sit in the waiting area, the sound of hushed conversations filling the air for two hours until a doctor finally approaches them. "Our procedures are done. He's no longer in critical condition, and he no longer has the virus within him. Unfortunately, he's in a coma and won't be up for another few days."
"Can we visit him?" asks Navar.
"Of course, you can follow me!" The doctor guides Navar and Miri down the sterile hallway to Jax's hospital suite. "Let me know if you two need anything." The doctor leaves the room, and the curtains swish behind him as they close.
Navar lets out a hearty chuckle and gently runs his hand along Jax's face. "I'm just glad he's still alive. I don't know how we'd explain it to Mom and Dad if we let him die."
"Yeah, you got that right. Mom would kill us."
Navar places his hand on Jax's shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze. "I'm glad you're still alive, brother. Hopefully, you're awake soon," Navar thinks to himself.
"So what now? Do we go to the meeting room or just sit here and relax?"
Miri sits on a four-legged chair, the legs of the chair scraping against the floor as she settles in. "I guess we just relax. Not too long ago, we had a crazy fight and almost died."
Navar settles on the seat next to hers, their arms almost touching. "Alright, let's just not fall asleep, so we aren't late."
"Agreed," Navar and Miri doze off until their pager startles them awake with its loud beep. "Heh, we fell asleep," Miri gives Navar a light tap to rouse him from sleep. "Navar, come on, we have to make our way to the meeting now."
"Ok," Navar unfurls his body with a long, drawn-out yawn as he rises from his chair. Navar and Miri make their way to the exit, and Navar's eyes fill with joy as he glances back at his brother, motionless in the hospital bed. "We'll be back soon, brother, I promise," Navar thinks to himself.