Sami found himself inside a security facility, one of the specialized facilities of the "Colosseum", known for its defensive strength. This was because it was built from materials extracted from the ordeal world. This wasn't limited to just security facilities; most important places in the "Gloomy Winds" clan were constructed from these materials, making breaching them nearly impossible. And this made sense, as the clan was, after all, not just an ordinary area but the largest prison in the current world.
When he received the notification about the terrorist attack, he felt as if struck by lightning. He never expected anyone to be foolish enough to attack a prison; reason and logic say the usual thing is to escape prisons, not attack them. But at this moment, none of that mattered. The priority now was surviving with his life, which wasn't difficult for him thanks to the harsh experience he went through during his first ordeal, which had honed this aspect in him well.
Sami sighed and got up from the spot where the supervisor had thrown him, then began examining his surroundings. There wasn't anything interesting; just a massive, extremely solid, extremely black square, plunged in darkness. But he didn't have a problem seeing; thanks to his special ability, he could distinguish many Bound in their white uniforms, looking panicked and extremely confused. This wasn't surprising—who among them would have expected their "school" to be destroyed on their second day? For Sami, this wasn't surprising; he was used to his bad luck.
He started moving through the crowd, hoping to find a familiar face. The sound of battle outside wasn't decreasing; on the contrary, it seemed to be getting more ferocious. Although he was usually an introverted person, sometimes he wanted companionship without realizing it. And luckily for him, he finally found someone he knew.
In a corner of the wall, a lone man was sitting. Despite being in his forties, his weary appearance made him look like an old man. With short black hair, a tired face, and dull, expressionless eyes, his slender body was leaning against one of the metal boxes. It was "Turtle of the Water".
Sami approached and waved at him, saying: "Hey there, man... You're here? What good luck!"
Despite the darkness, the old man seemed to recognize him. Perhaps he had a similar visual ability, or maybe because he was a sniper, this was one of his aspect's features.
"Oh, it's you, Sami... Thank goodness you survived."
Sami sighed and stood beside him, speaking with a touch of agitation in his voice.
"If you can call this surviving... Anyway, what's on my mind now is: who are these attackers? Our clan isn't the strongest, but it's not weak enough for anyone to think of attacking it... unless the ruling clan is behind this, which I doubt. What do you think, Turtle of the Water?"
The old man sighed, then adjusted his sitting position and looked at Sami with the same dead gaze.
"I really don't know... but does it matter now? Ah, I almost forgot, have you seen 'Little Eagle'? I lost him while we were running to the nearest facility."
Sami wasn't so stupid as to not notice the old man's attempt to change the subject, but the new information was unexpected. He looked at him in confusion and spoke in a tone mixed with worry:
"You mean you lost him?... I hope he's okay. I haven't even met my roommate yet... but I don't think we need to worry too much; they are Bound, they'll find a way to manage."
But even as he said it, he wasn't sure of his words. It was true that the Bound were considered superhuman compared to ordinary humans; a Bound could lift five times their weight, run as fast as a horse, and stay without food or water for more than two weeks. But in the bigger picture, they were the weakest link. All humans in the current world were Bound, except for those who hadn't entered an ordeal yet. And some of them were very weak, either due to their uninteresting Ability or lack of combat skills.
What added to his worry was that the attackers were of the "Aspirant" rank. However, there was nothing he could do but wait.
The old man looked at Sami and replied curtly: "Yes, you're right."
And so, their conversation ended. They sat next to each other in a comfortable silence; the old man seemed lost in thought, perhaps thinking about his family, while Sami was trying to analyze the situation.
A terrorist attack on the Colosseum... why? Did they want something specific here? Or was this just a diversion for another attack somewhere else? Perhaps they were trying to break out a prisoner? It was known that the clan's prison held some of the most dangerous criminals... And if you ask me, this is the perfect timing for an attack, as the clan is going through the worst period in its history. It hasn't had a "Lord" for a while, and its current ruler is just an "Aspirant" who hasn't become a Lord yet. After the death of the previous Lady, his mother, he hasn't undergone—or perhaps deliberately postponed—the third ordeal... and now he's paying the price.
Other thoughts crept into his mind about his family home, near the center, and the possibility of it being attacked, but he quickly expelled those thoughts from his head.
"That woman can take care of herself."
In the end, there was no way to know the truth without obtaining information, and that wouldn't happen until a bit later.
The sounds of battles outside began to gradually fade until they stopped completely at some point.
Sami looked at the old man and said: "Well, man, it seems it's finally over... Let's go out and look for that rascal; it's already getting late."
The old man stood, ready to leave, and said calmly: "Yes... let's do that."
Sami didn't fully understand what was going on in the old man's mind, but he didn't try to delve into it. He headed towards the facility's door and waited for it to open.
After a short while, the door finally opened, but the person standing at the entrance wasn't as he expected.
He wasn't wearing the white uniform with the black stripe across the shoulders. He wasn't one of the Colosseum supervisors.
Sami froze in place, feeling a coldness sweep through his body.
Had the supervisors truly lost the battle?
It seems my bad luck has outdone itself this time.
To be continued...
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