Squad 2 proceeded to the mountainous area and they found the entrance to the base in that area. The Arcana they fought was fairly weak.
"I wonder if all of them are like that..."
Qiang muttered.
Everyone in the squad wore auto-translating earpieces as the team was split into two nationalities—Japanese and Chinese.
They fought the Hierophant [V] named Zyion. He seemed fairly religious and he specialised in illusions. Because he was an illusionist, he attempted to only fight at long range. However, once his illusions failed, there was nothing that he could do. They did not kill him but they took him back to the IS, Intelligence Squad, for interrogation.
"Looks like we have some guests."
Akane said, her hair bleached white now.
They were homunculi. They all had grey hair and red eyes, wielding swords, axes or guns.
"Let's clear them out and move on."
They were easy to handle. A bit too easy that they left them alive. The only ones who killed their portion of homunculi were Qiang and Lin-Hua. Kuroha and Akane held back.
No one dared to mention their difference in the execution of action.
"Let's move on,"
Akane suggested.
They entered the eastern entrance of the base. The first impressions were that the base was spacious. For its outside appearance, it did not appear so big, however, the interior was larger than they expected.
"This place is..."
They slowed down.
"It's far more barren than we imagined."
The room they entered, after running through a corridor, was filled with broken body parts of homunculi. They were all frozen to death before cracking apart.
"Well, it's easier for us to erase these guys, once and for all."
Kuroha said.
"Is your nose saying anything?"
"I may be a cat but my nose isn't that sensitive."
"Ears then?"
Akane asked Kuroha.
The girl sighed and her cat ears unfolded from her hair. They twitched, attempting to distinguish different sounds from each other.
"There's some enemies nearby. I can't seem to hear Emika though."
"Then, shall I?"
Qiang asked with a grin.
"No, you idiot. If you use Hephaestus' Infernal Crust, then you'll burn us alongside them. Use your brain a little."
Lin-Hua told him.
Qiang conceded when he thought it over. He glanced over at his comrade.
"Then, why don't you use your ability?"
"Why don't I, indeed?"
She smiled.
Lin-Hua was a part of the minority of Streia nobility born without a Singularity. She belongs to a family that specialises in communicating with the souls of those non-human and dead.
Although she was born without a Singularity, she was born with an irregularity. A gift. The gift of being able to control more than two souls at once.
Soul Form is a unique ability that takes the souls, of the dead, familiars or monsters and utilises them as armaments. For example, during the match she had against Akane a year ago, she used Soul Armour, a version of Soul Form, making two gauntlets with griffin heads.
Those gauntlets were made using the soul of a griffin that she had killed. Different souls can be used a different number of times.
"Kitty, where are the enemies?"
She asked, stretching the muscles in her arms.
Kuroha snapped her head toward her, scowling.
"My name isn't 'Kitty,' it's Kuroha."
"Kitty."
Kuroha gritted her teeth, annoyed.
"Ahead of us. There are some at nine o'clock too."
"Is that so? Then, Soul Form: Reaper."
Black gauntlets appeared on her forearms and she wore a sable skeletal that covered her mouth. The aura that emanated from her was extremely ominous. Almost like she was death itself.
"Follow my lead. I'll clear the way and we'll continue to search. Keep those ears twitching, Kitty."
"For the last time, my name is Kuroha!"
But Lin-Hua did not stay to hear that. She rushed ahead, forming an ebony blade in her hand.
Destroying the door in front of her, she was faced with a small army of homunculi, who attacked on sight.
They were all incredibly trained but they could not beat the Reaper.
As Lin-Hua ran, it was almost as if she was not there in the first place. That was because she had no footsteps. Not a single one could be heard. To some, these could be considered the footsteps of death.
As silent as she approached, she slit the throats of the homunculi like a shadow. None were able to counter.
The corridor was flooded with the blood of the homunculi. Their corpses painted the floor, leaking blood from their throats.
"Let's go,"
Akane encouraged, ignoring the bodies.
They ran past through the corridor, taking down more homunculi, and ended up in another room. This room appeared to be a garden of sorts. It was filled with plants and greenery, unlike the rest of the base.
"You've arrived, I've been waiting for you all."
A woman stood in the centre of the garden. It was clear that she was an Arcana. Her extravagant appearance was enough to confirm that. She looked different from the homunculi who were guarding the base.
Everything she had on her was a vivid colour of orange or yellow. She was radiant like the sun. With a large smile, she gazed toward the group.
"Let's all be friends, shall—"
"Hephaestus!"
Qiang wielded a fiery broadsword, raising it above his head.
He dashed toward the woman, swinging his sword. Due to how heavy it was, she could dodge the attack easily, however...
"Oh?"
From the edge of the blade, flames dispersed outwards, burning the grass and plants in the area. The woman was not affected. More accurately, she was nowhere near the flames.
"Yeah, she's definitely an Arcana."
Qiang told his squad members, who were walking toward him.
"That smile just ticks me off. I want to smack it off of her face."
Kuroha sneered.
"Seems like she's confident that she can beat us."
Akane formed an ice blade.
"Lesser Niflheim will be active for about 6 more minutes. I won't be able to use my Singularity to the fullest until then."
"We can beat her before then."
Lin-Hua said.
The woman smiled.
"Beat me? I thought we were friends."
She tilted her head.
Despite being the enemy, she had an aura of innocence about her. It caused confusion.
"Friends? Never? Who are you, anyway?"
"I'm Luminous! Call me, Lumi! I'm the Sun [XIX]. I like cake and making friends! Albeit..."
A bone-chilling sensation filled the air and Luminous kept her smile.
"I hate it when my friends attack me. That's why, I'll kill you all."