Chapter 16

Click, click…click.

The polished black leather boots cut across the floor of the little room and

stopped in front of the window for observing the captured Divine Beast. Then

two more people came through the doorway, halting directly behind the first

one. As if on cue, the noisy alarms fell silent.

Eolyne and I were huddled under the window, not ten feet away from the

intruders. In my head, I knew we were invisible because of Eolyne's Hollow

Incarnation trick, but in practice, I could scarcely breathe.

I didn't even want to move my face, but I couldn't stay staring at the floor the

entire time. Careful not to make a sound, I slowly craned my neck upward to

catch sight of the intruders—though, really, we were the intruders in this base.

The side effects of the Incarnate veil over my senses made everything hazy and

smoky in outline, but they were close enough that I could just barely make out

the finer details.

The two guards in the rear wore the same dark-gray uniform as the ones at

the gate up above. But they didn't have the same simple rifles, wearing thin

swords on their hips instead. Because of their deep-brimmed hats, their eyes

were lost in shadow, but they both seemed to be in their twenties or thirties.

But the person staring into the large chamber in front was difficult for me to

identify initially. What was their gender? Were they young or not? I couldn't

tell.

They wore a dark-gray coat that extended below the knees. The three-lined

sleeve insignia and laced epaulets were a cold silver. They weren't wearing a

hat, but between the tall standing collar and richly flowing black hair, the only

thing I could see was the sharp, thin bridge of their nose. They seemed a bit

taller than me and Eolyne.

The color of their uniforms was not the deep blue of the Integrity Pilots, nor

the gray of the Imperial Guard, nor the white of the Central Cathedral security

forces.

Earlier, Eolyne mentioned that Admina had its own military command. That

might make their uniforms technically the Underworld Space Force's Admina

base issue, but if so, it meant that the ones who forced the serpentine Divine

Beast to have children in a horrific live experiment and who used guided

missiles to damage the X'rphan Mk. 13 were part of Admina's army.

I regretted not asking Eolyne what uniforms the guards at the rear gate were

wearing, but it was too late to do anything about it now. The pilot commander

was gripping my hand and breathing quickly and shallowly. It wasn't a situation

for idle questions like this.

After using Hollow Incarnation to get us through the gate, Eolyne had looked

fatigued enough that his face had a blue tint. Now he'd been forced to use it

again without an adequate break in between; each and every moment had to

be grinding him down. I thought about picking up Eolyne and escaping the little

room, but didn't know if we'd be able to disguise the sound of a door opening.

All we could do was pray that the trio would leave as soon as possible.

However…

"…The high-intensity Incarnation anomaly was detected by the Incarnameter

on this floor, you said?" said the person in the coat, staring down at the larger

chamber. Their husky voice was androgynous in sound, so I still couldn't tell

their gender.

One of the guards behind them said tensely, "That's right, Your Excellency.

The first-floor and rooftop Incarnameters reacted, too, but the highest numbers

came from this one in the basement."

The other one added, "Plus, we had a report of unexplained phenomena from

our researchers."

"Unexplained?"

"While attempting to administer a solution to the Divine Beast's juvenile in

the isolation room, the syringe apparently exploded. The researchers thought

the Divine Beast used Incarnation and are refusing to leave the analysis room."

"Hmm…"

The Excellency looked down behind their standing collar, lost in deep thought,

until they suddenly pulled their right foot back and turned to face my direction.

The movement swung the flowing hair aside to reveal parts of the face that had

been hidden.

When I made contact with this person's aura, I thought of powerfully swirling

flames of darkness, but their face had a cold, delicate beauty that did not match

my initial impression. Their long, narrow eyes were graced with fanciful lashes,

and their thin lips were red and bold, their eyes pale blue with streaks of silver.

The moment those icy eyes pointed directly at us, both Eolyne and I tensed.

But they soon passed by us, and their attention returned to the hallway

window.

"…Are you certain the Avus shot down an enemy dragoncraft?" said the

Excellency. The breath of relief I'd been ready to exhale caught in my throat

instead.

That confirmed that these were the people who shot the guided missile at the

X'rphan. We also learned the name of the large black craft outside, although I

didn't know if it meant something.

The real question remaining was whether they realized that they'd attacked

the Integrity Pilot commander and member of the Stellar Unification Council,

Eolyne Herlentz, himself…

"Yes. The dark-element blast and black smoke were visible to the naked eye.

We sent a search party to the area where the craft crashed, just in case, but

haven't heard any reports yet saying they've found it," answered one of the

guards.

The Excellency faced the large isolation chamber once again. "In that case, it

is possible the crew jettisoned before crashing."

"However…even if the riders survived, it would be impossible for them to

infiltrate this facility, or even discover it, I feel."

"Hmm…" The Excellency nodded in agreement. They treated this like a

teachable lesson for their subordinates. "But Incarnate power is what makes

the impossible possible. If you trust your Incarnameter or Incarnate-resistant

gear too much, you'll regret it."

"Ah…are you saying someone might have already infiltrated the base, Your

Excellency?"

"I wouldn't know about that," said the black-haired beauty, shrugging.

I felt a horrible, spine-freezing chill, and tugged on Eolyne's arm on instinct,

pulling us down to the ground as quickly as possible without making noise.

Just after that, the Excellency plunged their right hand inside their coat,

removed a saber from their left hip, and drew a line with it in our direction.

We were over six feet away from the saber's range, but I swore I could feel an

invisible slash grazing my nose. White sparks jumped from the metal wall just to

our right. The impact left a very fine line in the surface as the force continued

onward. I was so startled that I didn't deploy an Incarnate wall out of sheer

reflex. It was that crisp of a strike.

And the only reason we dodged it was because it was a level swing. If another

swing came toward us vertically, there would be no way to avoid it.

Through the heat haze of my vision, I saw the beautiful person pull back their

hand and then heard the cool clink of the saber sliding back into its sheath.

"Y-Your Excellency, what is the matter?!" asked the startled guards.

"Nothing at all," the figure said with a wave of their hand. "Sugin, Domhui,

return to the ground floor and strengthen defenses at the front and rear

entrances. I will investigate the isolation room, just to be sure."

"Then we should join you…"

"No need. Go!" the officer snapped. The two men bolted upright, saluted, and

left the little room.

Once they were gone, the Excellency walked to the door on the left wall,

which presumably went to the analysis room, as they called it. The door had a

grip handle, but the officer stopped before reaching for it.

The Excellency turned back in our direction one more time, and I felt I had to

take my eyes off their side profile—it seemed dangerous even to look directly at

them. That possibly did the trick, however, because I soon heard the door's

heavy sliding as it opened.

More hard footsteps. The door slid again, followed by the click of a latch going

into place. Faint footsteps got quieter until they were gone.

Immediately, the haze filtering my vision evaporated. Eolyne had released the

Hollow Incarnation. I patted his back; his full weight was resting on me.

"Good job. You saved us," I whispered, relieved. "Now, let's get out of this

base while we have the—"

I stopped short. Eolyne slid off me and onto the floor.