"I repeat. Who has been directly affected by Noir Dust?"
Every agent in the front yard went silent, looking around in the hopes that one of them would break the silence—even if it meant raising a sacrifice to the ground.
Fayrl turned to the right. Her gaze rested on a tense look on Debora's face. But more than that, Brissia, who stood beside her, raised an unsettling face.
"One of them must be thinking about someone else."
Hansen followed Fayrl's gaze, found Brissia who pressed her lips together. His attention then turned to Harris, who seemed to be clenching his fists.
Been by his side for a long time and Debora convinced him of what they were worried about. Even so, there was one Hansen's concern that he hoped they wouldn't hear about.
"Nobody is affected!"
Harris's exclamation made Hansen massage his forehead and sigh. Except for Brissia's colleagues who had come with her to the celebratory party, most agents glared at Harris as if they wanted to throw him into the abyss alive.
Drey approached the balcony railing and looked down at Harris. "Then why was Noir Dust IV found on the archive room's floor, burnt?"
"So we shall look for the source of the fire!" Harris said with furrowed brows and a displeased look. "After all, who would want to confess if the same thing from last year ready to befall them?"
The agents on the ground pondered upon his words. However, Drey stared coldly for a moment at Harris who was looking at him without fear and doubt.
"You're blaming me?" Drey asked with a raised eyebrow and an hostile, low tone.
As the two agents beside Davina and Drey took a step forward pointing their rifles at Harris, the agents looked up in surprise. However then, a girl with shoulder-length brown hair parted the crowd as though the sky had heard their prayers.
"It was me!" replied Brissia loudly.
All the agents hid their surprise in silence, Drey was no exception.
Debora and Hansen dropped their jaws, Fayrl gave her a level look before looking away, while Harris stared at Brissia in shock.
"Brissie," Harris called softly.
Drey glanced at Davina who walked past him to the end of the balcony. The woman stared at Brissia, who looked back at her sternly. After a deep inhale, Davina said...
"You'll be placed under quarantine for a while, Brissia."
However, Brissia shook her head slightly. "I did get poisoned, but I don't need quarantine because I have my power."
Drey flinched. He walked hastily to the end of the balcony, making Davina rush out of the way with an astonished look at him.
"You…"
A small, sarcastic chuckle escaped Drey's lips.
"...You can't possibly be more powerful than him to be able to heal yourself, can you?" Drey continued with raised eyebrows.
Brissia snorted a little. A second later, she directed a bluish light onto the balcony where Drey and Davina were standing, making all the agents' eyes widen.
The four people standing there ducked down immediately. They were left in a lasting silence as the passage's wall behind them cracked.
"I've been locked in a cage once."
Just as the same colored light on Brissia's palm vanished, so did the bluish light coming from her irises.
"And I don't want to go through that again," Brissia stated, looking fiercely at the balcony.
Davina, who had been standing perfectly on the balcony, chuckled irritably. She pointed her two fingers at Brissia, causing the two agents beside her to nod and turn toward the ground floor.
Drey eyed Davina suspiciously. "What are you…"
"Brissie, no!"
His attention was instantly drawn to Brissia, who was struggling to free her arms from the clutches of two agents wearing golden crow emblems. She kept struggling, even as she was escorted to the edge of the crowd.
Every agent who made way for her stared at her traumatized, piquing her curiosity. However, she turned quickly at the sound of a bullet being loaded behind her.
"Back off, Debora!"
Her eyes widened as she saw Debora freeze in front of the rifle of one of the agents escorting her. Harris, while observing the movements of the agents escorting Brissia, pulled the dark ruby-haired girl's shoulders back.
"Were you... aiming a gun at your fellow?"
With the exception of the two agents escorting Brissia, every agent there cast a worried glance at Debora.
"You believe that you are allowed to kill us, yet you continue to live on the memories of those who have lost them?"
Anger flared in each agent's eyes at the sound of Debora's quivering voice. Their sharp gazes landed on the two golden crow emblem agents beside Brissia. Even so, neither of them softened their faces nor lowered their weapons.
"Release her, Caroline."
Drey moved closer, catching everyone's attention as he touched the body of the rifle aimed at Debora.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
He turned to Davina who hurriedly approached him, brushing his hand away from the rifle with a glare.
"Don't you remember there was a punish—"
"It's fine, Davina," Drey cut in with a solemn look at Davina. As Drey passed in front of them all and instructed Brissia to head back to the line of agents, it made her speechless.
"I must have surprised you all by discharging her so suddenly," Drey said, sweeping across the agents' face with his serene gaze.
All the agents listened carefully to Drey's words, including Brissia, Harris, and Debora.
"This isn't an false interest. If you wish to avoid the same incident from occurring again, I'm interested in seeing how you guys will collaborate to make sure it doesn't happen. Ultimately, it is up to us to survive. So together, let's figure out a solution."
Brissia stared at Drey as she could think of nothing at all. Their gazes met for a moment until thunderous applause broke the silence.
"He's right! This is something we should overcome together!"
Drey saw an agent fluttering through the crowd. He gave a small nod to all the agents who stared at him enthusiastically.
Excitement echoed through the front yard, lasting until Drey's no longer in front of them. He glanced at Davina, who looked at him in surprise and annoyance. She pursed her lips as though she resented his choice, but it didn't stop Drey from leading two agents bearing golden crow emblem into the building.
"Brissie!"
A warm, clear voice succeeded in making Brissia turn to her side. Her eyelids felt wet when she found a dark brown haired man who was looking at her compassionately through a pair of his hazel beads.
"Harrid, why am I feeling… moved?" Brissia said in the midst of the clear tears escaping from her eyelids.
"Then you're alright! Come here!" Harris answered with a big smile while spreading his hands.
The girl jumped into his arms, making Harris embrace her tightly.
"Weren't I reckless enough?" Brissia chuckled, between amused and guilty.
Harris let go of their embrace and wiped Brissia's tears away. "You did well, Brissie. Your courage inspires everyone."
Next, Harris fell to one knee in front of Brissia while holding her hand, making Brissia stare at him without blinking. The man looked at her with loving eyes.
"Thus, will you…"
Dash!
"HAH!?"
Brissia sat on a white bed in a room with dark gray walls. A mysterious hum dominated her hearing, causing her to look down and squint her eyes. She also gripped her head tightly.
Not long after, the door opened. A woman in a long-tailed black dress stepped lightly into the room. Brissia widened her eyes at the reflection of the purple glint in the woman's eyes. Flashbacks of her doppelganger attacking her and Harris in the archives frightened her in an instant.
"Well, well," the woman chuckled with a small smile, "have you had enough sweet dreams?"
Those words were like a sword strike to her chest. "When… did I fall asleep?" she muttered, holding her head while looking restlessly at the bed.
The woman stroked her chin while staring at the ceiling for a moment.
"Hmm, about after you attacked the SURVIVE's superiors with your power?"
Brissia froze in an instant.
The woman gave her a deadpan look, emitting a purplish light while Brissia was oblivious to what she was doing. However…
Crash!
A piece of furniture shattered as it hit the wall beside the woman in black. It would cost her more than just an eye if she was too late to dodge for even a split second.
The eyes of the shoulder-length brown-haired girl in front of her flashed with rage. As she walked toward her, she said, "Don't try to get into my head."
The woman chuckled softly, glancing at the ray of neon-blue light enveloping Brissia's fist. "Do you even remember what had happened?" asked the purplish-black haired woman with a slight smirk.
Brissia threw a bluish light in her palm at her, causing her to block it with a purplish glow. Sparks of light blue and dark purple danced in the room. Gorgeous to look at, but incredibly dangerous.
Hence, neither of them relented.
Smoke blanketed SURVIVE's great front yard. Building walls and grass were covered in prints of explosions. Many agents struggled to stand, limping along with the help of their colleagues.
Harris walked limply past his colleagues. He wiped the ashes off his right cheek, looking around him breathlessly.
"Cough! Cough!"
Fayrl helped Debora to her feet, who looked so shabby. Debora was the first to come face-to-face with the explosive power of the two people who fought earlier.
"Is anyone unconscious?!"
Davina and the three agents bearing the golden crow emblem walked hurriedly to the agents who were trying to get up. Despite not being injured, her face was full of worries.
Behind the half intact balcony railing, Drey stood in his formal suit that slightly torn and stained with ashes. His cold gaze was fixated on the mess before him. Truly an unexpected chaos, as though a crazy knight had just let loose a dragon on the headquarters.
"Senior, we can't find her anywhere."
His grip on the balcony rail turned into a clutch.
"After all of this mess…"
Drey looked at Harris, who was helping his friends up while seeing if the person he was looking for was among them.
Harris growled under his breath hearing none of his colleagues see where Brissia had gone. He put his hands on his hips, remembering how the girl had fallen unconscious trying to protect Debora from the blinding purple light.
He then looked up at the balcony only to see Drey was nowhere to be found. That made him walk toward the south door with firm steps.
"I'm coming. You want to see him, don't you?"
Harris nodded briefly at a blonde girl who caught up with him, leaving Debora and Hansen to stare in surprise.
Back to the quiet and peaceful Brissia campus, suddenly a girl was thrown out of the building, leaving a great hole in the wall after getting a strong blow. Cries of fear were in the air, mostly came from the crowds of young people who were running in droves to save themselves.
"Ouch…"
Brissia groaned as she slowly got up, looking around for something she could use as a weapon. However, the arrival of a purplish-black haired woman brought her attention and her vigilance back.
Madame Ouden aimed her purple light at Brissia's neck before she could dodge, sending her flying a meter off the ground and suffocating for air.
"I-I don't… have it!" Brissia screamed, clutching her neck as she thrashed in the air.
Half of Madame Ouden's eyebrows were raised as she gave her a menacing smile. "Really? The power must have come from me since you crossed dimensions with my help. So…"
Brissia scavenged for as much oxygen as she could, but it was as if her strength was being absorbed by the purple halo choking her neck.
"...Give back what has been—"
"Mrs. Olivia!"
Madame Ouden glanced back quickly to see the teaching assistant that Brissia hated so much looking at her fearlessly, but not defiantly either.
Thud!
"Ah!"
Brissia fell to the grass as soon as Madame Ouden's grip on her was released. She immediately unleashed a neon-blue light at her until she slumped onto the ground.
The teaching assistant ran toward Brissia, causing Brissia to stare at him in surprise before realizing it was her only chance to escape.
Madame Ouden stood up while patting her dress lightly, sighing with her eyes fixed on Brissia who ran with the teaching assistant to the other side of the building.
***
"Senior!"
Drey turned to Harris and Fayrl who were hurrying toward him. But suddenly, someone who appeared from the side with four agents bearing the golden crow emblem formed a formation facing back to Drey, making Harris and Fayrl come to a halt.
"Marius Pagan?" Drey muttered with a frown.
"Drey will not be answering your questions from now on."
Drey, Harris, and Fayrl froze.
"He'll be placed in a separate sector of the intelligence agency, where nobody is permitted to meddle in his matters," Marius continued.
"How could it be?!" Harris shouted as he stepped closer, causing the agents beside Marius to point the neon blue emblems on their palms at him.
"He was in charge of a lot of things during this time. Also, since he had recruited Brissie, wasn't he also accountable for her disappearance?" Harris continued with annoyance.
Drey glared at Harris, Fayrl stared at Harris in surprise, while Marius Pagan just laughed softly.
"Hey, brat. Shouldn't you be offended that he has seen her in secret?" one of the agents beside Marius said.
"You think you are prouder than him by turning sides?"
"Fayrl."
Fayrl and Harris's gaze fixed on Drey who shook his head slowly. That made Fayrl flinch and Harris glared furiously.
With cold eyes fixed on the two young agents, Marius said, "I have appointed Davina in charge of labor department. Go see her if you have any problems."
As Marius turned around, the agents beside him turned Drey's back and motioned for the gray-eyed man to walk in the same direction. After that, Marius's voice echoed in the passage.
"Tell all special agents to bring the girl to me as soon as they find her! This is my order as head of headquarters."
His order not only sent chill down Harris and Fayrl's spine, but also made Drey's expression tense up. He looked back for a moment, saw Harris and Fayrl who didn't move and looked shocked to death.
As he left the two of them in a quiet hallway and crossed the hallway intersection, the three of them were still speculating about what Brissia was going through in a place they didn't know.