Chapter 5: Enigma and discovery
07:44 AM (Normandy Time), Sunday October the 17th…
"… Report…"
"R-roger, sir! Nothing odd has happened and no suspicious people have come close to the manor…"
"Good enough…"
"W-what should I do, sir?"
"Keep it like that..."
"R-roger, sir…"
"Stop speaking like that!"
"I apologize, I was nervous, sir…"
"Hmpf. I take it that I instill fear into you?"
Ferné stood within a small wine cellar, talking with the man wearing the armored helmet using the Hunter VG.
The man sounded dull at first but then began to sound interested.
"You do, sir!" He confessed.
"Hmpf. Fine… Any problems with the hostage?"
"No, sir. I am keeping my distance but there have been no problems insofar. I made sure to lock all possible exit routes. There's no danger of the hostage escaping either, sir…" Ferné listed.
"Hmpf! If I bothered to use you, it is because you have intelligence. However! Do not disappoint me, Ferné. Or else blood will flow across that manor until nothing is left alive…" He threatened.
"R-roger, my lord!"
"Over..."
"At last, it's over…!"
"That wasn't Hyde…"
"See? I am under extortion!"
"I can see that. I don't think he's kidding!"
Misora walked into the cellar, unimpressed.
She began to talk with Ferné over the contents of the call.
"That voice… The foreign accent… I'm sure I've heard it somewhere before, but I can't place where or when!" She muttered.
"So maybe you knew him?" Ferné asked.
"It's a possibility. I'm off to the living room. I'll tune in some random anime and hope it's half-decent!"
"Do what you like to do, Miss The breakfast will soon be ready…"
"By the way, Ferné… You wouldn't mind if I turned on the fireplace, right? The living room was cold!" She brought up.
"Go on ahead!"
She headed upstairs and entered the living room.
She grabbed one of the armchairs and brought it closer to the fireplace.
She turned it on and sat down on the armchair while extending her hands towards the fireplace.
She then turned on the screen and began to shuffle through it at random.
Wait a minute! Fireplace! The chimney MUST climb up and end up on the outside! I can try "linking" my chip implant with Dr. Kazemura's computer onboard the HQ! It'd be like a phone call! Let's try it!
She crouched next to the fireplace and looked up the chimney to see a blue spot at the very top.
Hello? Dr. Kazemura?
Hibiki! Is that you? A "voice" replied.
That's right. You can be at ease, I'm alright!
Thank goodness!
I'm in Normandy and the kidnapper is a young man, Alexander Ferné.
We'd just figured it out. Queen Tia told us about the "Book of Glyphs" and Mr. Van der Miar also added what had happened to it. Some conversation with Chief Inspector Ferné's old colleagues and lawyers revealed that it should've been passed down to the local library of Cherbourg, but it was stolen shortly after it got there. And we began to suspect Ferné Jr. However, he'd vanished off the radar and we couldn't question him!
But Ferné isn't the true culprit! I just witnessed him having an exchange over a modified device with a man named "Centurion", who wears a medieval armor helmet. He's under extortion, and "Centurion" must be the true culprit at work!
No wonder… Yesterday they set up trap after trap in an old abbey which had a vast network of underground tunnels and there was a robot imitator of you which tried to kill Subaru!
WHAT!?
Another proof that this "Centurion" is dangerous! By the way! How are you managing to uplink with me?
The fireplace! This place has a duplicate ground floor downstairs, you see! It has two basement floors. Can you triangulate into my location?
I'm on it! 6km SSW of Cherbourg, the west coast of Normandy! I'm going to check property registers around the area to find out the exact address!
I leave the rest up to you, Doc! Tell Subaru – kun that I'm counting on him! I don't want to look suspicious if Ferné and his cousins come in!
Roger. We'll try to come as soon as possible! We'll gather as many hints as possible about the culprit in the meanwhile. We need something to plan a counterattack on that criminal!
Roger!
08:33 AM (Normandy Time)…
"… A ghost district, indeed! Queen Tia must've scared everyone with her "royal diet of doom"…"
"Shidou… Let us not bring up that again!"
"What a panorama… It feels like no-one's been here for a long time and it's fallen into decay…"
"And they call this place Evreux? Weird name!"
"Be considerate, Rock!"
"Let's keep on. If the French police told us that they believed that their anonymous caller was serious when he reported "mysterious sightings", we'll surely find something!"
Subaru, War Rock, Akatsuki, Acid and Blood Shadow walked down a street of abandoned and sealed up houses in a decadent status.
"Look! That house…" Blood Shadow gasped.
They looked at the right to find a burn out house.
The windows were broken, and part of the façade's paint had jumped off, revealing plain brick beneath it.
The threshold didn't have any door and there were charred parts scattered around the walls.
"Arson?" Akatsuki wondered.
"Let's check it out!" Subaru suggested.
"The Arson Squad is on the move!" War Rock joked.
"We are not the Arson Squad. We are Satella Police. Remember it, because else you will give the wrong image…"
"Did ya say something, Claw Man? My ears are ringing! Ya gotta be talking about your doom!"
"Wrong…"
"Shut up, Rock!"
"Sheesh! No sense of humor!"
The group stepped inside of the hall.
The hall was burnt out and blackened, filled with sooth.
The other rooms were in the same state.
The stair to the first floor had been demolished.
One room contained a set of stairs leading to the basement.
"Bingo! Cave Man is down there!" War Rock laughed.
"Stop saying nonsense. Move it!"
They climbed down and stepped into another chamber, which was also missing the door.
This chamber was in a worse condition than all the other ones, given how almost all the wall paint had jumped off, revealing the plain bricks beneath them.
A charred circle had formed in the middle of the floor, coupled with an identical circle on the ceiling.
There also were several black patterns drawn upon the ground, indicating the flames' trails.
"Lovely!" Akatsuki sarcastically muttered.
"Ox was here!" War Rock laughed.
"Ox doesn't set fire to things 'cause he likes to!"
"A cylinder was here, on the center! There are molten metal traces around these two stops. There are also imprints of wires. Maybe there was some device here…"
Blood Shadow analyzed the ground, crouching next to the imprints.
"Look there!" Akatsuki gasped.
They looked at the farthest wall.
There were the remains of a pyramidal, metallic platform which had largely melted down.
What caught their attention was a blackened "Hand of Wisdom" glyph drawn on the wall plus the words "GLORY TO HIGH COMMAND" written below in caps, using red oil-based spray paint.
"High Command…? Then… That "Centurion" is not the real culprit?"
"Hard to say at this point… It could be but it could be not. That painting could be a fake hint. Yet there had to be something they didn't want anyone else to find or else they wouldn't have bothered to set the whole thing on fire using gasoline or whatever they used for the job!"
"I think we won't find anything else here… Let's move out!"
"Before that… Last one buys "Rotten Korn"!"
War Rock shot out of the room while the other four rolled their eyes and weren't amused in the very least.
They climbed up to ground level and came out without noticing a silhouette watching them from the 1st floor's windows.
I dunno what's going on, but they take this seriously! Master did well on sending me to scout! I'm proving my worth! Wander in despair and fear! Destruction! Bloody festival! Half-kill! Overkill! Those fuel me! Hmpf! Fools! If you thought that Master is no big deal, think again! He has intriguing contacts! And, with their help, this nation will soon be brought down to its knees! I can picture it! Master will allow me to exert my arts! Fool around while you can! Before this year is over, your nation will be subjugated by Master's "connections"!
"… What's wrong, Subaru?"
"I had the feeling that someone was spying us…" Subaru muttered.
"We're overreacting. Let's move out…"
"Agreed! This place is too spooky!"
15:49 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Mr. Vadous? I hope I am not interrupting you, sir, but I dug out some information which may seem to be useful, sir…"
"Is that so? Then come. You're welcome anytime, Kiboyama!"
"T-thank you very much, sir!"
Kiboyama had stepped into a room.
The floor was a narrow steel corridor wide enough for one person to stand, shaped as two trapezes connecting each other by a line.
The ground was lowered and covered in a grid on the spaces between each trapeze and to left and right of the corridor.
Another room could be seen expanding downwards below this one through the grid's openings.
The Central Hub… It still impresses me!
There was a small circle which marked the start of a rail crossing across the room until the other end.
If one followed it with their sight, they found a black metallic armchair with the purple letter "V" painted behind it, placed at the end of the rail and giving the visitors the back.
The other end of the room contained a console which was filled with several LEDs, indicators, switches, levers and buttons plus a built-in keyboard and mouse pad.
Three gigantic and interconnected LCD screens had been affixed to the wall to be above it.
The room's walls had several stripes built into it which contained round LED lights.
The centermost point of the room had a hatch built into the ceiling which was currently closed.
That's the emergency hatch…
"Come, come!"
The scale of this place still impresses me, even though it's been a month after I started living here… He can monitor the whole HQ from here…
"Roger, sir!"
Kiboyama walked over the armchair, which turned around.
"Good afternoon, sir."
"So? What have you found out?"
Vadous was a man on his early twenties whose hair was black and had blue eyes.
He sat on a black metallic armchair.
He wore metallic body armor complemented with a purple cape.
He also had two sword sheaths attached to his belt.
"It's about those robots that the Satella Police and the others battled! They all brought up a "bloodthirsty God of Essence", if I'm not mistaken! I've been investing. Archaeological investigations in central Asia uncovered a sacrificial chamber with engravings on an ancient language… Some natives helped them decipher them and those engravings talked about that "bloodthirsty God of Essence", also referred as "High One"…"
"That name sounds familiar. But I can't place it where I've heard it before! I guess it'll eventually come out. I have bad memory for small things which I have only listened once or twice!" Vadous muttered.
"It is said that this civilization was invaded by Mu and their royal bloodline was destroyed, too. Some remains of it are left nowadays yet I couldn't find their name…" Kiboyama added.
"Hmmm… Suspicious!"
"Sorry for the interruption, Boss… I found Ferné's address! We can raid it anytime now!"
"Good job, Lartes!"
A man walked into the room.
He was his mid-20s.
He stood at close to a meter and eighty tall.
He had jet black hair and brown eye irises.
He had reading glasses on.
He wore a medic's coat with the ID "Dr. Kazemura Lartes" written on it over a green wool jumper, brown pants and brown shoes.
He carried a Hunter VG on his right hand.
"Châteaux de Ville-Sante. Its ownership is registered under the alias of "Monded Tendés". It's quite isolated, making it a good hideout!"
"By the way, Kiboyama – kun! If you need any help, then don't doubt to come to visit me…"
"Thank you very much!"
"I know the person who could know something about this. Solo of Mu… He's our man…"
"Solo? I remember. He came with us to the cinema when Phantom Black showed up to try to rewrite the film…"
"If I send Subaru to speak with him, since he's the only one who can get a reply outta him. Good work, Kiboyama!"
"T-thank you very much, Boss!"
"You can head back. I'll contact Subaru!"
"Roger!"
"Black Ace! Open a line with Hoshikawa Subaru ASAP!"
"Roger..."
"Bossing bossy of bosses! What's up?"
"Jeez! Rock! Be nice to Boss!"
Subaru and War Rock appeared on the middle LCD screen.
Rock began joking and Subaru didn't find it funny.
"Can you do me a favor?" Vadous asked him.
"Please ask!"
"Locate Solo and ask him about what was the name of that civilization which revered a "bloodthirsty God of essence" also named "High One"… You know, just like those robots said. Kiboyama did some research and he found out there was such a civilization. And I'm sure Solo must know something about that!" Vadous detailed.
"Hmmm… That rings a bell somewhere…" Subaru muttered.
"A rusted bell?" War Rock laughed.
"Jeez. Be quiet already. Or do I tell him my list of reasons why you deserve to be stored in the server?" Subaru growled.
"Sheesh! You're always using that to shake me off!"
"Anyway… Please leave it to me, Boss. I'll get the information!"
"We'll prepare Hibiki's rescue in the meanwhile. I'll keep you informed of the proceedings!"
"Roger!"
"Uncle Roger is gonna play hide-and-seek with ya~!" War Rock laughed.
"Stop making up non-existent people, Rock!" Subaru grumbled.
"I'll make up the new slogan of the Big Wave store!"
"I'm so impressed!"
"It'll be "little waves will wash over the big waves"!"
"How innovative of you…"
"I'm smarter than four-eyes!"
"Sure, sure. Solve the strings theory and we're at peace…"
"What's that? Gonta's new snack?" He laughed.
"You wish…"
"I know that Acid Disaster will eat up the Rotten Korn!"
"He won't. Stop saying nonsense…"
"Beware, Vaddy! Vlad the Vampire is coming!"
"I'm so IMPRESSED…" Vadous dully replied.
"Sheesh! Omega is too stiff as of late!"
"As one should be!"
"Only Sigma can understand my aloofness!"
"Don't be overly dramatic… You just want a prank accomplice…"
"Don't you have enough with Moon Disaster?"
"Sigma has more sense of passion!"
"Sheesh. Guess I need to reprogram the mole, too…"
"Not fair!"
"Fair. Sigma is one of my men, I decide how he should behave!"
"Sheesh. I miss the thrill…"
"Then maybe you want 100 battles against hordes of 10 viruses?"
"YIKES! T-that's… I take it back!"
"So much for "mighty" War Rock…"
"Sheesh! Fine! I'll go chase the crows!"
"About time. Alright. Handle that topic. I'll work on the rescue plan…"
"Roger, Boss. I'll handle it…"
"The sooner, the better… The foe is closing on us…"
"I get that feeling, too!"