The sound of metal crushing and Talos powering down followed as I clenched the mechanical heart in my fist, covered in a faint golden aura.
Talos guard fell over with a thunk.
"You – How?!" Yugo froze, the scalpel still in his hand.
I coughed up blood. "No time to explain, could you heal me before that?" My body swayed, the aura around me dissipating.
Yugo rushed over and stabbed my chest with the scalpel. Although I felt the sharp pain, it was immediately replaced by a calming sensation. I felt my wounds heal and my mind clear up.
"Sorry about refusing 'treatment' earlier." I stand upright, making sure my expression remains neutral.
"That's fine, it's reasonable not to want to be stabbed." Yugo replied.
Glancing at the fallen Talos guard, I felt a slight sense of familiarity. "I really lucked out."
"Seriously! Please warn me before doing something so shocking!" Yugo sighed. "I'll report the situation to the office, rest here." He turned around the corner as he pulled out his pager.
I sit down, leaning my back against the wall, hugging my knees. 'Something about my ability felt different…'
"Discharge" As I activated my ability again, a golden aura radiated off of me.
There was no difference in the activation and effect of the ability. But the condition to activate it is…
Right after I dodged diagonally opposite to the Talos guard and decided to stop overthinking, I felt as if my 'energy' returned and I could activate my ability. However, as soon as I doubted the reason, the sensation was gone. I opted for electrocution to return my energy.
This must mean there's a different way to activate my ability.
The sound of static followed as I deactivated the physical boost.
As I looked up, I noticed a huge guide map on the wall labelled "Armament Wing" with important locations marked.
The Armament Wing was quite literally shaped like a triangular bird wing, with the "South Feather" at the farthest right. To the top and Bottom were East and West Feathers, respectively, and to the farthest left was the North Wing.
Finally, in the middle was the circular "Commander's Office".
I glanced at the windows in the electrical room, which were still pitch black, 'Why would an underground facility need windows AND be named after bird parts?!'
I heard the sound of shutters opening and mechanical whizzing, which resounded throughout the South Feather. My eyes widened as I witnessed the 'pitch black' part of the windows retreat upwards.
'No way…This is too embarrassing!' Heat rises to my face. 'Why didn't I think I was on an aircraft?! Aircraft and Spaceships are a staple when it comes to aliens!' I shove my face into my knees.
The sunlight from the windows filled the hallways. Soft clouds were floating about at a distance in the surrounding blue sky.
"What're you doing?" Yugo questioned, startling me. My back straightened, expression returning to neutral. "Nothing. How'd the report go?"
Yugo looked confused but continued. "The South Feather is completely safe now. We're no longer in lockdown. The on-filed catalysers have isolated all the Talos guards in the North Feather. Let's get to the commander's office."
I get up with a groan. "Yeah, let's go."
---
The hallways were now lit up with gentle sunlight, causing them to feel less clustered and depressing.
I was holding the head of the Talos guard as I was asked to.
"We're finally here!" Yugo sighed. He swiped his keycard on the scanner and opened the gate before us to enter the commander's office.
As we stepped in, we were greeted by the sight of a grand hall with numerous panels and floating holographic screens being operated by many people in white coats. At the center of the circular room, a raised platform carrying Principal Seiron, Amari and a few others was floating. "Amari!" I yelled as I waved at her.
Yugo's eyes widen; he quickly slung his arm over my shoulder and turned me around. "You know Captain Amari?!" he whispered.
'Captain…?' I looked back at the platform to see that she wasn't responding. "Yeah. She's like a big sister to me."
Yugo slowly retracted his arm. "No wonder she made a fuss about evacuating a single person…"
My ears perked up. "She did?"
Yugo took the Talos head and pats me on the back. "The infirmary is that way. I'll be at the evacuation center." Yugo points at the platform with nurses tending to the wounds of other people while walking towards another room.
I stretched a little and walked towards the infirmary when I heard a soft voice call from behind me. "Mr Kansai?"
I turned to see a girl in the Seiron Academy uniform with her uniform modified to make her look like a gyaru. Her eyes looked tired, a strand of her blonde hair flailing at the side of her face.
"That's me. You are...?"
"Kanegawa Aira." She stretched her hand out. "The commander is waiting. Let us go."
I shook her hand and followed her up the stairs connecting to the central levitating raised platform.
"Four out of six Captains who oversee the six companies of Seiron Sanctuary are present in the room above, along with the Commander. Please be respectful in your actions and words." Kanegawa explained, her eyes drooping as if she would fall asleep at any time, climbing the stairs.
'I doubt I'll have a chance to talk.' As we climbed, I saw something glint. 'A glass covering the entire room? That's why she couldn't hear me earlier.'
"All the Catalysers are currently guarding the North Feather's gate. This meeting is to plan what to do about the Talos guards, as well as the appearance of The Talos outside." Kanegawa continued.
'The Talos? How is it different from the Talos guards?' I refrain from asking. Instead, I ask a different question. "What are Catalysts?"
Kanegawa stopped and turned around. "We have to start from there?" She scratches the back of her head and sighs. "Fine…Catalysts are special items that are said to hold the will of the universe. More precisely, they can output the will. Meanwhile, Catalysers are humans who can push the catalyst to carry out that will. The wills are different for different items, and there are different classes to them…but that's all you'll need to know for now."
A drop of sweat formed at the side of my head. "Right." I followed her silently, trying to digest what I just heard.
Kanegawa opened the door and held it open as I entered the room.
"Kansai Yuuhi, you've arrived." Seiron Makise greeted me, her eyes still closed shut. She stood at the other end of the room in the center.
To the left were two people dressed peculiarly. One of them was a woman dressed in a sundress, wearing an intricate, unbuttoned biker coat over it. "Can we hurry up? My hubby is waiting for me at Falonia." Her face was covered with over-the-top makeup, although it wasn't hard to tell she was fairly attractive beneath it all.
The other was a middle-aged red-haired man, with tired eyes like Kanegawa's, a slight stubble for a beard, wearing the clothes of a Church's High Priest. At a glance, he could be misunderstood as Kanegawa's father if he weren't of a different race.
To the right, Amari was waving at me. "Yuuhi!" She seemed to have changed into something resembling a combat suit, with a whole lot of white ammo pockets forming a skirt.
I saunter over to her side to take my place in the meeting, but bump into something halfway there and hear a yelp. "I'm sorry—"
"Look where you're going, dumbass!" I heard a fiery feminine voice and felt something hit the back of my head.
Clearly, there wasn't anyone in front of me. But I deduced that perhaps it was the power of a catalyst and just walked around the invisible woman and stood beside Amari, who smiled at me. "I'm glad you're okay."
Principal—no, Commander Seiron cleared her throat and started her speech. "The Catalysers can hold off the Talos guards at the North Feather's gate till we reach the Sanctuary, where they'll be intercepted by Captain Fuji and company at the dock."
"You'd better explain everything once we're done." I whisper to Amari. In response, she nods.
Commander Seiron continues. "Captain Daria, you will be the backup for the Catalysers." She said, looking at the woman in the sundress.
Captain Daria sighs. "At least I'll be able to run to Falonia immediately after my job is done." She flipped her long, dark hair over her shoulder.
"Captain Minai, you will be sweeping through the West and East Feathers to find any survivors and any Talos guards that might have gotten away." Commander Seiron orders.
"Roger that." I heard the invisible woman reply.
"Captain Amari, Captain Collins, and Mr. Kansai, we'll be dealing with The Talos that has appeared outside." Commander Seiron tapped a button on the monitor behind her.
The giant monitors around the glass room displayed the view outside. Armament Wing was floating atop the clouds, surrounded by the blue sky and other types of clouds. One of the cameras switched positions to reveal the sight of a gigantic bronze hand piercing through the clouds at a distance.
The hand slowly moved forward, and the clouds cleared, sending chills down my spine.
A gigantic statue of bronze, modelled after a knight, each of its limbs ten times larger than the Armament Wing. The bronze rusted from the moisture in the clouds.
'That's The Talos? What the hell am I supposed to help with?' My hands shivered.
"Captain Amari, aim to disorient it using the cannons and your sniper rifle from the Cannon Bay. Meanwhile, Captain Collins and I will—!" Commander is cut off by the sudden appearance of a gigantic knuckle of bronze crashing through the Commander's office.
-----