Chapter 110: Number 16

Even though it was only a brief moment, that one word, “compress”, continually echoed throughout the room with no other sound to challenge its dominance. Although the thought of my next move has finally come to mind, Emma is reacting at least twice as fast.

I can see her fangs growing from here–pointing towards the intruder who now has the orb in hand.

Zateon’s orb.

“You WILL give me back my master this instant–no, forgive me for being unclear. I’m taking him by force!”

“Emma, wait…”

Squinting my eyes a bit, I can identify more details; the intruder’s face is concealed with a mask–scarf hybrid that goes up to their eyes. Given this person’s body shape, he is likely a man…

A man who is skillful enough to conceal himself, ambush a target, and effectively use his curse to accomplish his mission…

This is no ordinary, random person. Treating him like one would be a grave mistake.

Emma, baring her fangs, dashes straight ahead–preparing to tackle the intruder with her protruding claws. The man does not flinch or move arbitrarily; he holds his ground, holding up his palm as though he were preparing to catch a pitch being thrown at him.

And in his palm…there’s no mistaking it.

It’s a tattoo of a shadow star!

“Emma!”

“Oomph?!”

THUD

Blindsiding her before she could advance further, I tackle Emma at her side, halting her momentum as much as I can. The unfortunate consequence for Emma and I is that both of us crashed onto the hard cold floor.

The unfortunate consequence solely for me is that Emma’s bloodthirst is now directed at me.

“Are you an accomplice to that thief?! I refuse to allow anyone to get in the way between me and my master!”

“Hold on, stop struggling! Didn’t you see his crest? That guy is a Dark Mercenary.”

“His identity does not matter in the slightest–he has my master in the palm of his hand. He is my enemy!”

“You were this close to becoming an orb just like your master! We have to think of a better strategy or all of us will be immobilized.”

“No, he’s going back to the elevator; we at least can’t let him escape!”

Not even uttering a grunt, the Dark Mercenary turns his back, returning from the place of his ambush. All that remains is man struggling to hold down an enraged demi-human.

And that man is me.

“I need you to listen, Emma! That guy has a compression curse. I don’t know the details about how it works, and I’ve only heard a little about him in passing, but if he touched you…understand?”

“...okay.”

Emma takes rhythmic deep breaths, slowly retracting her fangs and claws. Thank goodness she is a reasonable person, else we might’ve experienced in-fighting.

Her sensible mind is returning to form, that fact is crystal clear…but that still does not address this new problem: that Dark Mercenary.

If I remember correctly, that guy goes by a code name…16 was it?

Why would he ambush Zateon at his supposed secret base that only he and the other apostles know of? Who commissioned him to do this? An apostle? No, that makes no sense. But who else would know about Zateon’s…

Ah.

“...your face has shifted, Vex. Share your thoughts…I can listen attentively–please.”

As she says that, Emma slightly angles her face away from looking straight-up, directly at the man–me–on top of her.

Now that I am recognizing the situation, or rather, the position I’m in…

Yeah, I’d better release her before any awkward moments even have the chance to occur.

“That Dark Mercenary is likely a clone; there is no way a guy like him would know about Zateon’s secret base and be well-prepared to ambush him there. Somehow, Klia must have acquired the real guy’s DNA…now she has a powerful minion at her disposal.”

“That means that Klia knew where Apostle Zateon would retreat to…and she planned to capture him all along. Since that clone did not bother pursuing us, Zateon was indeed the sole target…but I cannot fathom why. Klia despises me, so it would only make sense for her to capture me instead–”

“It’s bait. For what I can only imagine to be for sadistic reasons, she wants to bait you into throwing yourself into her clutches. Unfortunately for her, there’s someone else she didn’t account for.”

“...?”

Everything I need for this situation is on my person–it’s all in order. So, I brace myself and give the chute my undivided attention.

“If you don’t mind, please watch over Lily for me–I’ll chase 16 down straight to where Klia is hiding! Even though I’m helping, make no mistake–I still expect Zateon to take full accountability after all of this is settled.”

I could hear the sound of Emma’s lips beginning to move, but that doesn’t matter.

Nothing she had to say to me mattered.

Before Emma could fully pronounce a word, I already sprinted into the elevator.