Mr. Pike watched their purple haired crewmate leave, and once the door close behind her, his gaze shifted, meeting that of Shirogane Ushida right after. The head of security acted surprised and raised his cup a little, smiling as he nodded. Doing the same, Mr. Pike then averted his gaze and sipped his Champagne.
Unbeknownst to anyone, he had opened a different contact on his OAM
Mr. Pike: If I wasn’t sur before, I am now.
Viktor: Are you sure?
Mr. Pike: There is no doubt about it.
Then out biggest problem would be the extraction.
As more time passed and the tension in the banquet hall continued to rise, the air in the room seemed to change all of a sudden, as if an invisible wave had washed over the everything. Lowering his cup, Mr. Pike glanced in Shirogane Ushida’s direction and watched his expression darken. A moment later, a faint tremor was felt from the upper floors of the mansion, followed by the unmistakable sound of gunfire.
"Can’t believe they’re having us guard this place right now."
Shirogane Ken groaned as he leaned back into his seat, his entire demeanor oozing with annoyance and boredom. He complained and complained, but no one seemed to bother reacting to him anymore. After all, this was the fifth time he said the exact same thing in the last hour alone.
It wasn’t that the others didn’t understand where he was coming from. Being made to guard an elevator door was far from the most glamorous job, even if said elevator was the only one that connected the thirty seventh floor with the lower half of the hotel. There was the Sentry Field as well. As most of the Stahlkorps was stationed in the white mansion, it fell on them to maintain the alter that acted as the nexus for the barried.
Guarding it before was one of the Stahlkorp’s top priorities, but after the building went into lockdown, the visitors they were expecting never came, leaving them to wait while the battle was heating up on the higher floors.
"That’s it! I’m going up there!"
Ken jumped to his feet, unable to take it anymore.
"Cut it out already," Said Makoto.
"How can you be so calm!!?"
"Damn you and your orders!"
"They’re your father’s orders."
Though he could’ve just gone up and joined the battle above, Ken knew all too well that angering his father was a very bad idea, which is why he sat back down right away. One would expect him to get some leeway for being the clan head’s son, but in reality, his punishments were always several times harsher, intended to make an example out of him.
At the rate things were progressing, it seemed like they would remain there until the mess was over. Best case scenario was them getting summoned as backup, but Ken wasn’t holding any hope for that happening.
As he ground and gritted his teeth, he noticed his cousin look up with a start, and just as the confusion hit him, Ken noticed it, too. The unmistakable sound of an elevator bell.
"Guess we won’t be just sitting around anymore." Said Makoto.
Not wasting a second, Ken took off running. The others were stunned for a moment, but when Makoto spoke again they seemed to come back to their senses.
"What are you waiting for? Follow that idiot!"
The members of the fourth team took off running after their leader while Makoto and the his team stayed behind to guard the elevator. He would be lying if he said he didn’t want to go as well, and there was no doubt that his team felt the same, but they couldn’t just abandon their post.
Some of them were secretly hoping that one of the intruders make it past the fourth team just so they would have something to do. Not a very smart way of thinking about their situation, but they couldn’t control how they felt.
As they waited for the sounds of battle to reach them, tension pulling on their nerves, the air vibrated a little and something very odd happened right before their eyes. The entrance to the room they were in vanished, then the walls surrounding it. The decorative plants followed suit, and the carpets on the floor were no different.
A wave of pure white light was washing over everything, and by the time Makoto and his team realized that, it was already too late. They didn’t get the chance to activate any defensive Arts and were entirely helpless by the time the light reached them, and then-
Looking down at themselves, the Stahlkorps members saw that they were completely fine. No one was injured, and the room was completely fine, too. Their eyes seemed to be working just fine so it didn’t feel like they were hit with a flashbang, which added to the confusion. Just then, they all felt it.
Makoto’s eyes widened as he finally noticed. The Sentry Field was gone. Not only was the subtle mana threads connecting him and the others to it severed, but the Art as a whole disappeared, as if it was erased entirely.
Chaos rampaged through his mind as he attempted to understand what had just happened. The only explanation would be that the alter acting as the nexus for the Art was tempered with, but said alter was right there beside him, and he hadn’t let it out of his sight this entire time.
Realizing what had just happened, Makoto was about to rush to reactivate the Art when Ken’s voice came from his earpiece.
[Makoto! This is bad! Really bad!]
"Just keep them busy! I will start the barrier again right away!"
[Huh? Wai- the barrier s gone? When did it-]
The reply added to Makoto’s confusion. He thought that his irresponsible cousin was panicking over his connection to the alter being severed when he hadn’t even noticed, but if that was the case, why did he sound so alarmed?
[Makoto! Nothing is working!] Came another cry. [The bastard isn’t effected at all! Everything we throw at him gets- GAHH!!!]
"Ken? Ken!!! Answer me goddamn it!!!?"
Glancing at the alter once, Makoto gritted his teeth and turned to the rest of his team.
And he took off just like that, activating several physical enhancement Arts even before exiting the room. Rushing through the corridors, it took him less than five seconds to reach the area where the fighting was taking place. The first thing he saw was the magnificent white armor that seemed like it had been cut from marble, then he noticed his cousin kneeling on the floor, grasping his left shoulder, the arm that should have been connected to it now gone.
Only one of team four’s members was still in fighting condition, but a second later, his right arm was pierced by a white spear of light. Seeing that, Makoto knew what needed to be done right away.
Channeling his mana, he activated one of the Shirogane clan’s most basic Arts: Air Missile. Three translucent spikes manifested right above him, each one shaped like a drill. As more mana poured into them, they began to spin until they turned into a blur then suddenly exploded forward, filling the corridor with the devastating boom of several cannons firing at the same time.
The enemy had no time to react, and no matter how tough that armor of his was, it would never survive a strike from the perfected version of the Shirogane Air Missile. Makoto didn’t let his guard down and went straight to preparing for a follow up, not intending to give the invader an opening in case he managed to evade. That was when he saw something his mind failed to process, and by the time it happened, it was already too late.
The invader let go of his spear and raised his right hand, but instead of trying to block the missiles, he brought his thumb and index fingers and-
Light shimmered on the surface of the white armor, then it began to expand. It turned into a dome first, swallowing the missiles, then continued to spread until it filled the entire corridor. An instant later, it was at Makoto’s feet, once again leaving him with no time to do anything before swallowing him entirely.
Though he realized it was the same white light as before, he didn’t make the mistake of thinking it wouldn’t affect him. He felt it wash over his skin, and though no pain accompanied the sensation, an unmistakable change occurred at that moment.
Coming to a sudden stop, Makoto looked down at the blade he had just formed and watched its remnants disintegrate. The realization hit him once more, and when he looked up at the enemy they were fighting, his fears were confirmed.
The white armor was unscathed, showing that the three air missiles hadn’t reached it at all, as if they had been disintegrated midair. Regardless of their base material, they were supposed to be charged with enough mana to blow up a tank. Despite that, they were erased in a fraction of a second, as if they hadn’t existed at all.
The shout snapped Makoto out of his momentary daze, but the sharp pain that followed turned him told him he was far too slow. Looking down, he saw that a long beam had pierced his right thigh. A moment later, he noticed that the mana flowing through his body had suddenly halted, and that filled him with dread right away.
The confusion that had tormented him a few seconds ago was quickly replaced with fear. He looked ahead and saw the white armor finish off the last of team four’s members. He then walked over to Ken, holding a hand up and forming a new spear of light.
Makoto wanted to scream for him to stop, but he found himself unable to. He could only watch as the white clad enemy walked over to his cousin, faint clangs following each of his steps.
Even with one of his arms missing, blood steaming from the wound it left behind, Ken refused to give in, forming a weapon of his own as he prepared for the clash. Just as he was about to rush forward, the enemy raised his marble gauntlet and snapped his fingers.
Light filled the corridor once again, and by the time he opened his eyes, the only thing that awaited Makoto was the sight of his cousin’s body as it hit the floor. Ken might not have been as skilled as his father, but he was powerful enough to be considered a Level 3. A Sorcerer with his skill shouldn’t have been defeated so easily, but...
’... Why...’ The question floated in Makoto’s mind as he watched the enemy turn to him. ’How...’
The answers shouldn’t have mattered. Right now, warning the others and informing the clan leader was the priority. Makoto knew that all too well, but when he tried to move his body, it refused to follow his orders. The light spear that pierced his leg had already disappeared, but the disruption to his mana flow remained, making it impossible for him to activate any of his art.
Gritting his teeth, Makoto raised his right hand and struck his leg. He felt the pain but still couldn’t move, so he struck again, and again. The sound of footsteps got closer by the second, but no matter how much he tried, his body refused to listen to him. When they finally stopped, Makoto cursed in his mind and looked up at the enemy, putting all the hate he felt at that moment into a single glare.
The monster in white armor seemed to look down at him, and for an excruciatingly long moment, there was only silence between them. Just as it seemed like he was about to kill him without saying anything, Makoto heard a familiar voice coming from the intricately designed helmet, and for a moment, the image of a red-haired youth flashed in his mind.
[Hey, I got a question for you.] Holding a hand up, he formed another spear of light. [Is there a market for the corpses of dead Sorcerers?]
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