Chapter 9: I Guess I Don’t Get a Quiet Morning

The capital city of Ourea Primis glowed under the pale dawn. Hover-caravans moved through the air lanes, leaving silver trails high above. Hana stood on the balcony of the Elite barracks, watching the first light hit her Aetherblades. They were folded neatly against her forearms, and when the magenta plasma caught the sun, they looked like they were bleeding light.

Protocol Status: Stable | Level 45 | Sync 91%

She flexed her hand, and the Heads-Up Display faded into her gauntlet. She wanted a moment of quiet before the duty started.

"Morning, Protocol-Queen," a voice purred behind her. It was Chinami, already in her glossy white armor.

Hana didn't turn. “I’m still on break, Chinami. Don’t start.”

Chinami leaned on the railing, her smile huge. She was armed with her Graviton Lance. “Such a shame. She was just admiring how the sun hits the angry side of your face. It really highlights the jawline.”

“I’ll let the sun hit your face with a plasma blast if you don't find a window to jump out of.”

“Elite squad briefing room, now,” came Emica’s voice, sharp and immediate, over comms. The quiet moment was officially over.

Hana followed Chinami into the war room. Kotaro was already there, sharpening a titanium Stormfang. Itsuki was checking his Ion Gauntlets, muttering nervously.

The war room lights dimmed as Emica, in her silver armor, brought up a projection: a hologram of a shattered energy crystal streaked with black veins. It looked like burnt, corrupted ice.

“This,” Emica said, pointing at the projection, “was recovered from an arms bazaar in the mid-continent civilian belt. Traders called it a shadow core. The chemical signature matches the unstable fragments from the Neptune relay breach.”

Itsuki pulled his hands away from his Gauntlets as if they were dirty. “So Malice is already smuggling pieces onto Earth. She hates black markets. The air quality is probably eighty percent fungal spores and dust mites. Do they even monitor for airborne disease, or am I just going to contract space flu down there?”

Emica ignored Itsuki’s panic. “Precisely. Malice is already spreading corruption. Someone high-level is helping them smuggle this. Your job is to find the connection and shut it down. Discreetly.”

Kotaro crossed his arms, pleased. “You want us to raid a black market? Finally, something fun and destructive. Can I bring the high-explosive shrapnel?”

“No, Kotaro,” Emica said, rubbing her temple. “Keep the collateral low. The political fallout of an Elite incident there is unacceptable.”

Chinami twirled her massive Graviton Lance. “Low collateral. Right. I’ll make the ground only swallow the really bad people, like anyone who wears socks with sandals.”

Emica gave her a chilling look. “You’re an Elite agent, Chinami. Not an earthquake. Understood?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Chinami mumbled.

Hana studied the black crystal’s pulse. It was the same sick rhythm she felt near the Nexus Tree.

“If these fragments spread and integrate into Earth’s Protocol Network,” Hana said. “The Core Keys won’t stay stable. We could lose our defensive SYNC entirely.”

Emica nodded. “Then stop them before they reach the wrong hands, Hana.”

Six hours later, the Undercity Bazaar was hot, smoky, and loud. Stalls glowed with neon, selling everything illegal. The crowd moved out of the way for the Elite squad.

“Split up,” Hana ordered. “Kotaro, north sector. Itsuki, watch the exits and try not to touch anything. Chinami, you’re with me.”

“Always the lucky one,” Chinami whispered, her grin wide. “It must be my charm, getting all the quality time with the team leader.”

“It’s because you have the best Graviton dampeners,” Hana snapped. “You can suppress the Black-Type energy better than anyone. Now move.”

“Oh, sure. Dampeners,” Chinami replied, giving a huge sigh. “It’s never because I’m the best-looking one you could pick. Always the equipment.” They moved through the crowded aisles.

They found a stall guarded by three figures wrapped in gray cloaks. Underneath, Hana saw a flash of metallic green, scaled skin. Neptune smugglers.

Hana raised her wrist. The Aetherblades hissed into life.

Skill Ready - Radiant Slash Lv 1

The nearest smuggler froze. “Easy, off-worlder. We just sell. We don’t fight.”

“Then you won’t mind showing your stock,” Hana said.

He hesitated, then opened a case. Inside were dark crystal shards, half-dissolved, pulsing black light. The air felt heavy with corruption.

Core Fragment Detected - Black-Type Energy | Sync Hazard High

Chinami’s visor flared red. “That’s the exact resonance from Neptune’s dissolved soldiers.”

Hana reached out, but her Protocol warning instantly blinked red.

$$Danger | Resonance Overload Imminent$$

The smuggler slammed the case shut, now confident. “You shouldn’t touch what belongs to Malice.”

The floor shook. A pulse ripped through the bazaar as sphere-shaped drones shot up from beneath the stalls. They glowed the same sickening black light.

Kotaro shouted over comms. “Ambush! Guess I won’t be getting that giant tomato slice on sourdough I wanted for lunch!”

The room exploded.

Chinami’s Graviton Lance unfolded with a snap. “Gravity field, twenty percent!” The drones slowed mid-air, caught in invisible drag. “I slowed them down for you, darling! Aim for the cores!”

Hana dashed through the gap. Magenta light trailed from her Aetherblades. She cut through each drone's core.

Combo Chain × 3 → Sync 95%

Itsuki’s Ion Gauntlets crackled from the stairwell. “EMP pulse, dropping in five seconds! And please, everyone, try not to generate too much dust! I’m still worried about the spores!”

Electric blue arcs fried half the machines.

Kotaro somersaulted in, twin Stormfangs drawing silver arcs through the smoke. “You owe me two lunch specials, Hana! And if that artisan sourdough place is sold out of the sun-dried tomato slice, I’m putting the collateral damage on your tab, not Emica’s!”

“Focus, you idiot!” Hana snapped, parrying a drone that almost clipped her shoulder. She felt a sting and saw her own blood mix with sparks.

The final drone detonated against the ceiling. The bazaar went silent except for the hiss of cooling metal.

Threat Level Neutralized | Experience +320 | Level Up → 46

Hana’s HUD blinked softly. She knelt beside the scorched case. A small fragment of the dark crystal still pulsed.

She carefully placed the fragment in a containment vial.

Item Acquired - Corrupted Core Shard (Black-Type)

Hana stood up, her voice grim. “Emica needs this. Malice is already testing Black-Type resonance on Earth. They aren't just selling weapons.”

Chinami's playful look vanished. “Testing for what?”

Hana looked toward the city lights far above. “Testing for whoever’s strong enough or desperate enough to use it. And testing our Core Network to see what breaks first.” She met Chinami’s gaze, which was suddenly serious. “They’re looking for a weakness, Chi. They’re looking for a gap in the armor.”

Chinami leaned in close, her tone soft and challenging. “And is that what you’re looking for, Hana? A gap? Or are you looking for a reason to finally let go of that control and blow something up?”

Far above, on Neptune’s storm-crowned horizon, Queen Rin watched the captured shard through her own secure feed. Her pupils narrowed, and her Protocol flared.

Core Link: Shadow Core-Gem Active | Corruption Progress 13%

She smiled faintly, a look of grim satisfaction. “They’ve taken the bait. Now, the real test begins.”