[ Belkan monastery, Walder / September 20, 0078 07:37 ]

The magic that held the massive main temple doors throughout the centuries was gone. Ripped off their hinges with inhuman force, the leaves lay on the cobbled ground.

A monotonous hammering sound came from the inside, beyond the ominous darkness of the entrance corridor.

Subaru quickened up the pace, pulling Tea after her. She wasn't scared, she kept telling herself, she just wanted to get to the people trapped inside.

But they weren't fast enough.

The hammering sound came from the main praying hall. Subaru didn't look at its source. Her gaze fell upon a young woman lying face-down between the stone pews. Her hair would have been blond if not for the blood it soaked from the floor.

She was maybe a few years older than them. She didn't make it to the exit. A gaping hole in her back revealed some of the innards. Subaru suppressed the urge to throw up.

A second later, her mechanical eyes adjusted to the darkness and noticed the other two bodies further ahead: both men, one young, one gray-haired. Professor Schwanstein, she presumed.

"Tea…"

"They are all dead," Tea's voice sounded hollow even telepathically. "How many Gadgets do you see?"

Subaru looked around. The mystery of the hammering sound solved itself.

"One on the other side, breaking the altar. Two near each wall. It's like they are digging for something…"

Just as she said that, a Gadget on their right broke through the stonework, revealing a glowing red object. Grabbing it with its "claws", it disappeared in an iridescent flash.

"A Relic!"

"These guys… they were killed for it." A wave of anger washed over Subaru. "Tea, we can't…"

"We cannot," Tea confirmed slowly. "Take down the remaining one on your side."

"Roger!"

Admiral Harlaown's final order was forgotten.