Chapter 9: Separate Grand Entrances

Rose zoomed along the streets with her Tesla smart car, and even passed by a secret underground road only those with access to Bunker X can travel on.

A few minutes later, she arrived outside a huge stainless gate with a blue neon signboard flashing outside.

The sign read, "Bunker X. Authorized Personnel Only" in capital letters.

They must have hidden a lot of security gadgets in this place.

She spotted thermal imaging devices, motion detectors, and computerized anti-magic machine guns hidden on the tall grass beside the road with her trained eyes.

She thinks there's even more inside.

"Target identified, Rose Hineki, niece of the Grand Master of the 77th Elorian lodge, Denver Hineki. Access Granted. "

A male AI voice said through a loudspeaker.

The stainless gate automatically opened sideways.

She drove inside, right in time before the gate closed again.

She could feel the envious eyes of the workers inside Bunker X, their eyes glued to her car and the stunning lady driving inside, as she drove straight to the garage.

She turned off the car engine, took her handbag, closed the car door, and flipped her hair before walking straight to the Function Hall of the bunker.

Rose could feel their envious eyes travel to her formal gold dress down to her gold heels, and to the way she walks.

She couldn't help but pity those workers.

Their envious eyes, not-so-fresh faces, skin tones, and way of speaking spoke volumes about the hard life of poverty they lived before managing to obtain work in Bunker X.

If becoming a member of Bunker X alone is hard, it's also hard to get inside the employee rank and file of Bunker X as you have to know someone inside who can give you access. And everyone inside the Order of Athena doesn't reveal their affiliations to just anyone in public.

Rose will see what she can do to help them.

All the more reason to support the Premier, she thought.

She won't let her deceased father's efforts be wasted in vain.

Tashiro's Jeep Wrangler raced through the streets and even passed by a secret underground road until he finally screeched to a stop right outside a stainless gate.

"Target identified. Tachiro Sasaki is a potential initiate for the 77th Elorian Lodge. Access granted."

Then the stainless-steel gate automatically opened sideways.

He raced inside before the gate closed, and screeched to a stop inside the garage.

The ordinary workers scampered to get out of his way before gawking at the brand-new Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.

He turned off the car engine.

He sensed the workers gawking at his car with awe.

He got out of his car, locked the car door, stood tall and proud, then checked his quartz watch as if in a hurry.

Then he brushed off parts of his polo, as if to remove dust, and straightened up his silver vest as if to remove imaginary crinkles on his otherwise flawless attire in front of workers who could only look on in awe.

He could feel their intense gazes as he walked in the direction of the function hall. He sprinted up the stairs of the function hall until he was finally inside.

Takeshi raced through the skyway on his latest BMW Big Bike.

He could feel the envious stares of the commuters stuck in traffic on the road below. He pitied them.

The expensive toll fee they grumbled about to use the private skyway is just a tiny chump change to him.

He passed through a secret underground road and eventually stopped right outside a stainless gate.

"Target Identified. Takeshi Nakamoto, son of the senior council member of 77th Lodge. Access granted."

Then the stainless gate automatically opened sideways.

He raced inside right before the gate closed, and sped through to the garage.

He turned off the engine of his big bike, took off his helmet, placed his helmet on the left handlebar, and got down from his big bike.

He straightened the neck cuffs of his long-sleeved polo and brushed off his blazer.

Then he conjured up a masquerade mask and put it on.

He checked his smartwatch as if he were in a hurry, then walked in the direction of the function hall.

He could feel the intense gazes of the workers right behind his back.

Kokoro raced along empty side streets, then into the skyway on her Chevrolet Suburban SUV.

She felt the eyes of envious commuters on her car as she sped past the skyway.

It reminded her of the time she had to do a lot of odd jobs to survive when she was not yet a college student.

She came from a poor family.

Her parents had no permanent source of funds and had 11 more kids with her being the youngest, and they lived on the seedy side of Akiko still filled with slum dwellers up to this day.

She met the professor through mutual contacts, who eventually agreed to help her in exchange for consistently high grades and constant involvement in extracurricular activities.

He eventually introduced her to the elite social circle and gave her access to the prestigious Akita University right after she finished junior high school, and her life hasn't been the same ever since.

Her mind returned to the present and sped past the almost empty skyway.

She then entered a secret underground road and stopped right outside the stainless-steel gate.

"Target identified, Kokoro Fukuda, a direct scholar of Prof. Mākasu Buraun, senior council member of the 77th Elorian Lodge. Access Granted."

Then the stainless-steel gate automatically opened.

She zoomed her car straight to the garage, with the workers scampering out of her way to avoid getting hit by her SUV.

Then she shut down the car engine, grabbed her Alexander Wang bag, went out of the car, and locked the door.

She flipped her hair and straightened the neck cuff of her polo shirt, before walking in the direction of the function hall, not minding the fact that she could sense the workers staring at her all along.

She used to do the same back then when she still lived the hard life mired in poverty, so she understood exactly how they felt.

Riku raced on an almost empty road on his Lexus L600, oblivious to the intense glares he got from the poor commuters.

He could feel the envious gazes of the commuters on the other side of the road stuck in heavy traffic, while his side of the road is practically almost empty, with just a few vehicles zooming along.

Then he zoomed along the road until he reached the skyway.

The power of money must work wonders, he mused as he focused his eyes on the road.

He could still feel the envious gazes of the commuters as his car raced across an almost empty skyway, and zoomed through an underground road.

He stopped outside the stainless gate.

"Riku Aikawa, son of a new initiate to the 77th Elorian Lodge. Access granted."

Then the stainless-steel gate automatically opened, and he raced right through the gate before it closed, and to the garage.

With intense glares at his car, the workers scampered out of his way.

Then he turned off his car, went out of the car, and locked the car door.

He brushed off his suit and gave his vest a sharp and snappy tug, then looked at his Bulgari wristwatch.

Then he walked toward the function hall, with his hands in his slack pockets, his chin held high and proud, his back straight.

He didn't even make a move to acknowledge the workers staring at him.

He walked towards the function hall, then sprinted up the steps of the function hall with his hands still in his pockets.

Denver sped through the streets.

He could sense commuters and even passersby glancing at his vintage car.

A lot of heads turned at the sight of his bright yellow Ferrari 250 GTO zooming along the street.

He paid no notice to them and sped along until he reached the skyway.

Then he sped along the skyway, onto the secret underground road, until he stopped outside a stainless-steel gate.

"Target identified. Denver Hineki, current Grandmaster of the 77th Lodge. Access granted."

Then he entered just before the gate automatically closed.

He sped straight to the garage, then turned off the car engine.

He went out of his car, locked the car door, and walked straight in the direction of the function hall without even acknowledging the workers who could only stare at him in a mixture of both awe and envy.

Kenji sat down at the starboard seat.

"Don't tell me you're planning on unplugging those tubes by force, Sana. If you do, hightail it out of there. Do what you need to do, then retreat to the ship. I got you covered. "

"Copy that, sir."

Then he saw Junior Lieutenant Sana securely lock the door of the laboratory from inside and conjure up pliers and cutters.

While the young woman is busy cutting the cords and wires that kept the homunculus alive, he chanted a confusion spell effective against sailors.

"O Watatsumi, Great God of the seas, confuse the minds of enemy sailors manning those four ships and cause them to fire at each other."

He finished chanting.

"Is it the last set of glass tubes you're cutting off from life support, Junior Lieutenant? You don't have much time before those ships fire at each other, and you get caught. Hurry. "

The young lady finished cutting off the wire of the last glass tube, chanted a quick teleportation spell, put on an invisibility cloak, and reappeared in the bridge of ELS Techno right in time before armed mercenaries dressed in fatigues performed an unlocking spell, then kicked the laboratory door down only to find an empty laboratory with the containment flasks already disconnected from the ship's electricity.

"Damn it, that bitch escaped. We've been tricked. Whoever let that bitch inside should die." One of the marines said in a husky voice.

"Good job. Welcome back aboard, Junior Lieutenant Sana Yamamoto. Now run off to your station and await further orders."

The young lady gave Kenji a snappy salute, then went back to her station.

Right at this moment, Kenji's chant became effective when they could hear missiles whistling through the air and underwater, the sharp staccato of ship turrets, and cannons firing at each other from a safe distance.

The crew couldn't believe their eyes as they watched the four enemy ships fire at each other.

Did someone just place the whole crew under a sea confusion chant, including the captains?

They knew it must be Kenji who did it.

Kenji sipped a hot cup of brewed coffee while watching the battle unfold on the monitor screens.

"I know what you lot are thinking. Yes, it's me who caused them to fire at each other. There's nothing better than outsmarting your foes and watching them kill each other. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show."

Kenji said proudly and confidently while sipping hot coffee and watching a battle unfold.

The Andromeda, which is a fully submersible privateer ship, broke free of its escorts right before the battle by submerging underwater and waiting out the battle between its four escorts.

The battle raged for an hour until loud explosions could be heard from the distance.

They watched the 4 ships explode before sinking.

"The Andromeda will soon resurface and try to escape. Let's block its route and open fire first."

"Prepare for a battle with The Andromeda. Let's show those Renegade bastards what we can do, and piss on their watery graves afterward."

"Everyone to your battle stations! Fire at will!"

The crew laughed at his last statement, then got ready at their battle stations with boosted morale.

Sharp bursts of gunfire from the ship's turrets erupted from the ELS Techno as the privateer ship resurfaced, and answered with return fire.