After completely cleaning the inside of the Containment Unit of any Zephyx, the Champion walked back out again.
Without warning, he exploded with light, and the Technician's Barrier activated.
The Technician looked nervously at the Champion as his Zephyx was quickly being consumed.
Under the Champion's light, every place around the Containment Unit was scorched.
"You destroyed my beacons!" the Technician shouted, looking at the burnt parts of his beacons.
The Champion's light retreated.
"I had to make sure."
The Technician just groaned. "Fine. This is Julian Winter we're dealing with. I get it."
He looked at the destroyed remains of his beacons. "Just sucks for me."
The Champion furrowed his brows.
He did not current situation.
He felt like something was up.
His instincts were telling him that Julian was still alive.
The Champion felt like he was being played right now.
Sure, all evidence pointed to the fact that Julian was dead.
Even with the hole, how was Julian supposed to fit through a hole that wasn't even a millimeter wide?
He wasn't a Force Specter.
But what if he were a Force Specter?
What if, somehow, Julian Winter could transform into a Force Specter?
In that case, he could have maybe traveled in and out of the Containment Unit.
The Champion had been inside the Containment Unit for less than a second.
Julian would have never been able to escape the entire facility in such a short time, and the Champion didn't feel any strange movement in the facility.
He also inspected every single person currently residing in the facility.
He recognized all of them.
A moment later, the Champion's Barrier activated, and he checked everyone's credentials.
He wasn't checking if the credentials were real but if the person was supposed to be there.
After several seconds, his Barrier deactivated again,and he just kept looking forward with furrowed brows.
Something didn't feel right.
Something was going on.
The next moment, the Champion looked at the Technician, who just raised a brow.
In an instant, the Champion charged forward and punched the Technician with all of his power.
The Technician's Barrier activated, and he was blasted against the walls.
The Technician's eyes widened in shock as he looked at the Champion.
"Sorry," the Champion said. "I had to be sure that you're not Julian Winter."
"What… the fuck?!" the Technician shouted as his rage rose. "I can deal with your constant accusations, but you essentially attacked me twice in a couple of minutes!"
"What the hell is your problem?!" the Technician shouted. "I'm one of your Shields! I've been a Shield for far longer than you have been alive!"
"I've dedicated my fucking life to Aegis, and that's how you thank me?! You attack me?!" the Technician shouted.
The Champion also grew annoyed. "Julian is only a Mid Fallen. If you were Julian, you would have died under my attack. You didn't die, which means you're not Julian."
The Technician snorted and looked to the side.
"Fucking warn me next time," he grumbled.
The Champion kept looking at the Technician with suspicion.
"You were quite nervous just now," he commented.
The Technician looked back with a shocked expression.
"Are you serious right now? You fucking punched me! Of course I was nervous!" the Technician shouted.
The Champion just kept looking at the Technician.
"A bit too nervous," he commented. "You acted like you were not just fearing for your life."
"It seemed more like you were afraid of losing something you hold even dearer than your life."
The Technician took some steps back.
"Are you listening to yourself?!" the Technician asked. "You saw the Containment Unit.Nothing there! You cleaned the Containment Unit! Problem solved! You destroyed my beacons! Problem solved! You attacked me twice! Problem solved!"
"Julian is fucking dead! All evidence points to that fact!"
The Champion walked closer.
"You and Julian have been close. You-"
"What is your problem?!" the Technician interrupted. "You're unstable, my guy! You are chasing Julian's shadow! You are attacking and maybe killing people who are innocent!"
"You see his visage everywhere, and in your blind paranoia, you keep damaging the things you want to protect!"
The Champion stopped advancing.
"Maybe you are right," he said. "Maybe I am overreacting. Maybe I am chasing a mere shadow."
Then, his eyes narrowed.
"But I am Aegis. I need absolute certainty. Without certainty, I might make mistakes, and we can't have that."
"So, even if this is all baseless paranoia, I have to entertain it."
"Only when my baseless paranoia has been proven for what it is will I regain the headspace necessary to lead Aegis."
"So what?!" the Technician shouted. "Are you going to kill me?"
"No," the Champion said. "I'm not going to kill you."
"I know that you're not Julian."
"However, I can't be certain of your loyalty."
The Technician took a deep breath as rage appeared in his eyes.
Yet, he didn't say anything.
He took another deep breath.
"Alright," he said. "What do you want me to do?"
The Champion slowly pointed at an object.
The Technician's Space Bag.
"I want you to give that to me," he said.
"Why?" the Technician asked with furrowed brows.
"I am going to destroy it," the Champion said.
The Technician's eyes widened.
"No way! Do you have any idea how much stuff is in there?! That would destroy decades of my work!" he shouted.
"I will destroy your Space Bag, no matter what you say," the Champion said.
The Technician's body shook.
He closed his eyes and took another deep breath.
Several seconds of silence passed.
Inside the Space Bag, inside one of the beacons, Nick narrowed his eyes.
When the Champion had entered the Containment Unit, the Technician had swapped the beacon behind the Containment Unit for another one.
Naturally, Nick had been inside the first beacon.
Specters couldn't be transported in Space Bags, but that was because it could easily break from the inside.
Even just the vibrations of a Specter inside a Specter Cage could endanger the Space Bag.
Nick willingly compressed his mist body so that he could remain in the Space Bag, and he was very careful not to damage it.
If the Champion destroyed the Space Bag, Nick would also die.
'It's all up to you,' Nick thought as he focused on the Technician. 'My survival is no longer in my own hands.'
The author's . If he gets more than 1000€ per month, he will increase the number of words in the chapter.