Though they heard about the thirty-seventh floor containing a whole mansion, the four members of Team Silver Wind didn’t expect the change to be so drastic. It was as if the elevator opened into a whole different world, which they didn’t get the leisure to observe, as they were met with an army of cyborgs and sorcerers the instant they arrived.
Carving a path through the forces filling the thirty-eighth floor was a brutal endeavor. Though they managed at first, the overwhelming number disadvantage soon became a problem, and they only managed to get through once the rest of the raid forces caught up to them.
The biggest help they got was the strange bursts of light, however. Not only did they disarm the Romano sorcerers, robbing them of their powers, they also exposed the invisible Shirogane clan members whom even Werewolf’s nose and ears were unable to detect.
After getting access to one of the four elevators leading to the thirty-seventh floor, they held their ground and waited for the reinforcements to arrive. From there, they were able to make their way to the lower floors.
They stood in front of a large wooden door carved with intricate patterns. According to their intel, that was the room Klaus Stahlwölfe stored his collection of ancient relics, and where the target of their mission was being kept.
"Five... Six..." Werewolf’s snout twitched. "Six people went inside. None have left yet."
"Six, huh?" Night Gale muttered. "We just dealt with worse, I guess."
"I’m betting my next check on Klaus being one of them." Said White Arrow.
"I hope not," Werewolf said. "Getting him is Blizzard Force’s job. I don’t want to deal with those elite guards of his."
They were there for one thing and one thing alone. The divers on Cloud Chaser worked through the lock quickly, and once they were done, Night Gale unplugged the cable and put away her phone just as the large double door opened.
The situation required utmost caution and a great deal of focus, but the team still found themselves taken aback by the interior of the room. It was as if they had walked into a museum, and going by the type of relics on display, it was one dedicated to ancient eastern cultures.
The four had to extricate themselves from the sense of awe overwhelming them and quickly began their search for the relic.
"... I don’t see it..."Said White Arrow.
Knowing the significance of their target, they expected it to be placed in a prominent location, one where it’s easily spotted. From the way the room was organized, it was clear that the more valuable items were placed at the very back, but it didn’t seem like what they were looking for was among them.
"Hey, was a door supposed to be there?" Sunray asked, pointing at the dark rectangle on the wall at the back.
"No," Night Gale squinted at the entrance, trying to see what was beyond it. "We would have heard about it if that were the case..."
"A secret room, then?" Werewolf said.
"Hey!" White Arrow seemed to snap. "Didn’t you hear what I said? The relic, it’s not here!"
"We heard you, alright?" Night Gale said. "They said the display case is in the back, but... It’s empty?"
One look at it and the four knew right away that something was off. The relic was missing from its case, and going by what was left behind, it didn’t feel like it had been put away or moved somewhere else.
Werewolf sniffed the air once more, and the next instant, the air around him changed as he turned in a particular direction. When he spoke, his voice sounded far more serious, giving the heavy air surrounding them an almost tangible quality.
The others tensed up as well, seeing that he wasn’t looking at the door in the back. For some reason, they expected the six people who had entered before them to be in the secret room in the back, but it turns out that might not be the case.
Werewolf glared at one of the display cases as if trying to peer at what was beyond it. He was sure someone was hiding behind it. One person, female. Could smell the strong scent of perfume on her, and he could hear the erratic beating of her heart. He could feel her nervousness even from afar.
As he began to suspect she wasn’t one of Klaus Stahlwölfe’s bodyguards, Werewolf took a step in her direction, and another. Someone that nervous couldn’t be prepared to fight him and his teammates, so he thought that handling her might not be too difficult. Just as he took the third step, he noticed some movement and was about to make a move as well, but then he noticed the light rising from the floor and momentarily froze.
White Arrow’s annoyed voice was the last thing they heard before the light filled the room. Werewolf sensed the woman who had been hiding move and turned in her direction, intending to chase her down, but at that moment his ears turned around and the fur on the back of his neck stood.
A blade was about to cut into his neck. It spawned out of nowhere and was already in motion, carrying with it a silent bloodlust and the intent of a clean murder.
"Huh? That’s- STOP RIGHT THERE!!!"
Hearing White Arrow shout, Werewolf realized that the others only noticed the woman rushing toward the exit. Their senses might have been better than the Basic human, but if even he failed to see an attack coming, the others had no chance of reacting fast enough to survive it.
Straining every muscle in his body, Werewolf snapped his arm forward and pulled his head back. The tip of the blade only grazed him, but his fist collided with something, sending it flying. Not bothering to check, he whipped his hand in a different direction and caught an outstretched arm and the blade it pointed toward Sunray.
Night Gale and White Arrow were fine, but that was only because two more people were standing a short distance away, as if they had just stopped in their tracks. Realizing what was happening, Werewolf looked down at the one he had just caught, his eyes torn wide open.
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