Author notes:
Last chapter before the longest side story arc I have ever written! Enjoy and say after me!
Explosion is an art!
P.S: Still short 4 dollars as always
P.S.S: Nicolae cuz why not?
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"Master, permission to enter?" a couple of knocks pulled Yuki out of her trance. Looking up from a stack of blueprints, Yuki calls out to whoever's outside the door. "Door's not locked, come in."
"Excuse me for intruding." With a slight opening sound, the door is pushed inward, revealing to Yuki that Dreamer has arrived. "Ah! Just the one I wanted to see right now." Yuki happily greeted her long-time subordinate. "How has the day been treating you?"
Moving closer to Yuki's desk with a stack of reports, Dreamer nods while letting out a small smile. "Considering that I was staying up all night to analyze the data, I am surprisingly energetic, Master." The Einheri, with a similar height to Yuki, then place the papers on a corner of her desk.
"Much appreciated. Can you give me a short rundown of what you have gotten for me?" Yuki asked while triple-checking the numbers on her blueprints. After all, just a single misplaced dot can prove to be costly. "Oh, right! Just make yourself at home. I think Agent made a new set of drinks earlier."
"I will take up on that offer then, Master." Dreamer proceeds to sit on a nearby sofa, pouring herself and Yuki two cups of a milky liquid. "London Fog, huh? She is tasteful today." Dreamer commented before taking a small sip. "Agent made the correct choice in making this drink. I think you will be needing it, Master."
Placing down a cup for Yuki, Dreamer then says. "After verifying the sensors' data and comparing it to the footage from the Ravens and Sky Eye, I've figured out the possible reason for Natasha Ciora's astounding stealth."
Yuki stops when she hears that. "Do tell, to fool our technologies and the keen sense of the Ravens required more than just skill."
"That's because Natasha Ciora has utilized the Helm of Hades, or at the very least, has a fragment of it bound to her soul. However, I think that she doesn't know about the Helm, otherwise, the effect will be much harder to detect by our current means." Dreamer explained, making Yuki freeze at the implication.
"And you're saying that this is possible?" Yuki asked immediately.
"Without a closer inspection of Natasha Ciora, I can only say conjectures, Master. I would like to-." Yuki cut in with a raise of her hand. "No, we will not capture her for invasive research. Natasha has her uses, especially when Kallen Kaslana dropped a bomb in Spain."
Looking at Dreamer in the eyes, Yuki added. "And that means she is to be left untouched by Section Four."
Bowing, Dreamer responds. "As you wish, Master."
Sighing, Yuki continues. "Nevertheless, your conjectures are highly possible. If what you're saying about Natasha is true, it does answer the question as to why we have a hard time triangulating Auschwitz. Hades is perfectly capable of creating a pocket dimension and hiding it from our search parties. However..."
Dreamer finishes the sentence. "Hades is dead, at least the original one is dead."
Yuki nods while crossing her hands, pondering. "Yes, the original Hades is dead, hunted down by Zeus for disapproving of his corrupted ambition. Finally, she performed a kamikaze attack, killing off both Zeus and herself. And since there aren't any Gods in this universe, being a blank one to escape the Omniversal Wipe, we can rule out a Hades here."
"Is it possible for a Hades from a different universe to interfere in the matters here?" Dreamer posed a valid question. Yuki instantly shoots it down though. "Impossible, Yggdra is here for a reason and not to mention the fact that Viola is still out there. Any and all invasion into this universe will have to go through both of them first. Even if the target is the Concept of Stealth itself, they still can't bypass the Primordials. So it leaves us with one answer."
"An inheritor?"
"Correct, an inheritor of the first Hades. Perhaps in a way not dissimilar to Elysia too." Yuki turned thoughtful. "Huhm... It explains a lot, with a possible inheritor of the first Hades in the mix, Sardegna can safely advance their Crusaders project. Natasha having a potential fragment of the Helm can be chalked up as a blessing from the inheritor. Whether this is intentional or not is still to be seen. I am more interested in the identities of this inheritor though. To gain the legacy of the first Hades means that they must have been aboard the seed ship during Ragnarok. This, by itself, is already a major lead."
Looking at Dreamer, Yuki adds. "You know what to do."
"I will investigate the passengers of the seed ship right away." Dreamer replied.
"No need for that just yet. Tell me, have you formulated a countermeasure for the Ravens on the ground." Yuki asked, not wanting any mishaps to occur with her Ravens.
Dreamer smiles, answering with confidence. "You will be glad to hear that I've formulated upgrades for our detection suites and spell. The former needs only a software update while the latter is a revision of one of our scanning spells. They can be implemented in no time."
Dreamer then smiles smugly. Seeing that, Yuki chuckles before raising a hand to pat the Einheri's head. "Thank you, Dreamer, I know I can count on you to work out solutions smoothly. Sorry that you have to lose your sleep over this."
Not expecting Yuki to compliment herself like this, Dreamer blushes before nodding. "You don't have to be sorry, Master, I am perfectly fine without any sleep! I'm an Einheri for a reason!"
Smiling, Yuki says. "I know, but I would like for you to take a rest after this. Just send the new spell to the Ravens in the next transmission."
"I will do just that, Master." The pair then resumes their normal work ethics. "Having said that, do you require anything else from me on my out, Master?"
"Oh, right! Perhaps you can hand these blueprints to Einstein. She will know what to do with these." Yuki then put the blueprints in a leather bag before handing it over to Dreamer.
Receiving the bag, Dreamer smiles at Yuki. "Then allow me, Master. I hope you have a nice evening."
"You too, Dreamer."
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"So?" Carter asked Catherine who is their handler.
"Overlord sent over a data package, as per usual. An update, a mission, and a bonus of a new detection spell." Catherine said before mentally sending over the new spell for the rest of Noble. "It's both passive and active just like the old ones. However, we can detect that Crusader now instead of being caught off guard."
Emile chimes in. "I'm not sure about you guys but that's a load off my shoulders. I need not fear about being stabbed in the back now."
Jun chuckles sarcastically at Emile's words. "And here I thought that's more your things."
Emile gives a mock bow after that. "While I do give out that impression, I am more of a dishing-out participant than receiving it. Thank you very much."
"Back to the point, people." Carter stopped the banter before turning back to Catherine. "Alright Kat, what's the mission today?" They're currently hiding in a cave system, rarely going out in full force unless the mission requires all of them.
"A surprisingly easy one for this guy." Catherine points at Jun who then raises an eyebrow at her. "Infiltration and assasination."
Chuckling, Jun says. "Now that's more of my style. Pay up, scrub." Jun holds out a hand to Emile who then deadpans at Jun with his skeletal mask. "I owe you a bear."
Jorge can't help but interjects. "Hold on, you guys are betting over this?"
They shrug. "It's a good way to kill time. And maybe earning some chummy changes."
Looking at them, Carter can't help but sigh. Catherine just snickers. "Alright big boys, listen up!" She clapped her hands. "Even with the Crusaders pulling out of the game, the Coalition still fail to regain half of the territory they lost. Being too outnumbered, they will soon be pushed back by the growing number of Sardegnians. That's where this next mission for Jun will come in."
Catherine then explains. "With the increase in troop placements, there must be an increase in the number of commanding officers. ONI identified a Sardegnian transport plane will be carrying a batch of high-ranking COs. Jun will be tasked with assassinating all of them to disrupt the enemy army. Without the officers, the Sardegnians will have no choice but to dig in and hold the stalemate."
Jun hums. "Interesting task. Do we have all the required information?"
"All of them, I will send it to you shortly. If you time it well, you may need only a single shot." Catherine commented, earning a nod from Jun.
"Got it in one, that's my plan." Jun said.
Emile chimes in. "Remember to take a picture mate. I wanna see the big boom."
"Aye. Gonna make it as spectacular as possible."
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Stealth op is fun, Jun thought. Alone, calm, and in his environment, Jun performs best when he's allowed to roam free. Just a man and his rifle against the world. Though in this case, Jun is needed only to kill ignorant officers, soldiers that serve a country for whatever reason it may be.
Laying prone in a camouflage position atop a deserted mountain, Jun overlooks the airstrip that is a kilometer away. It's twilight with breezy wind, there's no moon currently so the airstrip is lit brightly for the incoming aircraft to land. This is just making it too easy though. Especially, when Jun is using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The SG-14.5 packs ridiculous firepower for a sniper rifle, capable of disabling a tank with a well-placed shot. On its own, it's already absurd enough, yet, the non-human certified version is enhanced with runes. Even the bullet, a mana-conducted payload munition, can be used as a catalyst to send a high-power spell down range. In short, Jun has a mini thermobaric launcher at his fingertips.
Spotting the transport plane from afar, Jun isn't hasty, not making the shot just yet. To maintain his 100% kill-confirm ratio, Jun bides his time until the aircraft is on final approach. While waiting, Jun recalculates the firing data with his excellent mental gymnast. Ever so slowly, the Sardegnian plane reduces its speed and altitude. When Jun sees the landing gears deploy, he starts injecting mana into the gun, and by extension, the payload munition.
Once the plane is less than 200 meters off the ground, Jun pulls the trigger. Though the rifle's report is silenced by noise-canceling magic, the supersonic 14.5 bullet leaves behind an audible crack wherever it travels. A second later, the red trace impacts the fuselage of the aircraft, and then...
"Kaboom, baby." Jun muttered. It wasn't a joke that Jun is holding a mini thermobaric launcher.
The payload bullet he just sent out, engraved with programmable runes and miniaturized spell circles, has two primary effects. One is that it gathers the flammable gases behind it mid-flight and condenses them. The second one is the bullet will detonate powerfully upon successful penetration of the target, and along with it, the accumulated gases will be ignited. As the flaming gases expand rapidly, anything in its bad will be consumed to fuel the fire. In this case, the onboard oxygen and fuel of the aircraft. It's no wonder that the whole transport plane is engulfed in burning hellfire, breaking apart near instantly as the pieces come crashing down on the airstrip. It's such a beautiful sight, the blooming thermobaric fireball, the burning fuel, all of it... Explosion is an art!
The dozens of lives aboard were gone with a press of a trigger. Due to the split-second expansion of the fireball, it's doubtful that anyone aboard would realize that they're already dead. Understandably, with such happenstance suddenly occurring in the evening hours, the whole of Murcia sounds the alarm. The entire city is mobilized to investigate and perform damage control for the airfield. Losing its airstrips due to the wreckage of the aircraft, that airbase will be out of action for a few days. An unintentional benefit for the Spanish Coalition that is still fighting out there.
Oh, and before Emile says that he has forgotten, Jun just need to snap another picture as a souvenir.