"I am from here, from Atlantis."
"Atlantis! But Gaia rules Atlantis. Are you one of Gaia’s soldiers?"
The giant’s features changed to a frown of despair and anger. Keno said, trying not to provoke him, "No, I am an enemy of this Gaia. I came from over there."
He pointed to the west. The giant looked at him with surprise. "Are you one of the outcasts?"
"Who are these... outcasts?"
"Those whom Gaia expelled from his kingdom and exiled to the farthest reaches of the earth."
"Yes, I’ve heard of them. I am here to help them. I am here to take down Gaia."
The giant’s features changed and he became cheerful. He said in a playful tone, "Really! Are you going to do that? You are very strong, but Gaia is invincible! He has this strong army of robots, and he also has another power beyond imagination. He is invincible. How will you conquer him, little one?"
Keno was silent for a moment, thinking about his mission and everything he was doing here. Then he said with feigned confidence, "I have supporters, and we know how we will take down Gaia if we carry everything out. And only a little remains until we take down Gaia soon. But why do you hate him, giant?"
The giant sighed deeply and sorrowfully. Then he said in a sad, mournful tone, "Because he hurt my friends and caused them suffering. I sit here, protecting them, eliminating any robot that tries to cross. But sometimes they cross while I’m asleep, and sometimes they cause me a lot of injuries, so I run away. I hope my friends are okay."
Keno said, trying to reassure his heart, "Don’t worry, after Gaia falls, I will go and look for them for you. After that, you will tell me your story and how you came here!"
The giant was delighted by his words. "I will tell you everything," he said joyfully as he scratched his back. "But when you return to me victorious. Now, tell me, you creature, where did you come from? And how do you know so much information?"
"I will tell you everything when I see you next time. Now, excuse me, for I have a mission to complete. But I have one request!"
"What is this request?"
"Prevent the robots from crossing from here for half an hour, and do not let a single one of them escape your grasp, because this could destroy the plan to take down Gaia."
The giant stood in a ready stance, his gaze sharpened. He said in a dark tone, "Don’t worry, no one will pass from here."
Keno bid the giant farewell and walked in the same direction that Akira and Yousef had walked, after he had located the capsule. He set off at a very high speed, cutting across the clearing, the sunlight falling on him, making his white body shine from its effect. After a few minutes, he reached the location of the capsule and saw it embedded in the ground like an ancient tree whose roots extended deep into the earth. He smiled, knowing that they had finished the mission. But he wondered if they had returned or if they had ventured toward the robot city.
Keno saw a battalion of robots crossing the bridge from a distance in a steady, orderly fashion. He felt extremely tense. He called Squad B. "Is anyone there?! Please respond quickly!"
One of them answered in a broken voice due to the poor connection quality, "Yes, we are here. Why were you so late, Captain? We thought you were killed."
"A lot has happened. Now, listen quickly. Have you finished the mission?" Dıscover more novels at 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⟡𝕗𝗂𝗋𝖾⟡𝕟𝕖𝕥
"Yes, we have placed the capsule in its correct place. What do we do next? We haven’t faced any enemy on our way. Have you seen... any... robots?"
He said it in a tone tinged with anxiety and fear. Keno replied hastily, "Yes, I have. They are heading toward me now, and we must activate the capsules immediately. Activate them now, then get as far away from them as possible and return to Atlantis."
"Your command, sir. We will do this."
Keno hung up with him and called Squad C and found that they had also reached their target without any problems. He ordered them to activate the capsule, get away from it, and return to Atlantis as well. They did as he said.
Keno put his hand on the capsule and then activated it. It lit up with a bright crimson color. Keno looked at the robots that were now in the middle of the bridge, and the flying bees were flying above them in large numbers, while giant robots were walking in the rear. Keno ran, heading toward the giant that was looming on the horizon, as it was standing in readiness, waiting for the arrival of any enemy. Keno reached him after a few minutes of running.
"They are coming," he said in a warning tone, tension running through it. "We must prevent them from crossing. Not a single one of them must cross."
The giant said, as if remembering something, "I forgot to tell you something, little one. But many of them have already crossed a few hours ago."
The words fell on Keno like a thunderbolt, shaking his very being with force. A shiver ran through his body. "What do you mean, many have already crossed hours ago?" he said in amazement.
"As I’m telling you. I saw hordes of them heading toward the forest, and I couldn’t stand up to this large number, so I curled up like a large rock and let them pass. As soon as they crossed, I began to think about where they were heading, and I was very worried that they might be heading toward my friends. I began to think whether I should go after them or not, then I found you had come out of my mouth, and what happened after that happened."
Keno stopped, stunned, the words caught in his throat. He couldn’t say a word. After a minute of complete silence and staring blankly at the capsule, Keno screamed like a madman, "Damn it! Why didn’t you tell me before?! Everything we’ve done has failed! Everything we’ve done has failed!"