"Hey, do you think they dug this out with manpower alone?"
"Do I have to answer that right now?"
"W-well, no, you don't have to..."
"I suggest you sate Kirito's curiosity."
"Fine, I'll tell you. When performing underground construction on this scale, you'd normally use the dark excavation method."
"D-dark...?"
"Oh, I see." I glance at the walls for the millionth time in our quiet, uninterrupted descent. We've dived as far as three floors now, but there hasn't been an exit from the stairwell since the first floor. Wherever these stairs lead to, that's the only destination, so all we can do is keep going down. It'd just be nice if the place was well-lit or had guards around.
Under those circumstances Eolyne spoke of, the matter-devouring nature of dark elements could be used to dig a whole of this size. Bedrock, with its higher priority than soil, would require more power behind the dark arts to erode through it, much as it would require powerful machinery in our world.
"Empress aside, not many people have great mastery of the dark arts. Precision over the dark arts is harder than mastery of the heat elements, so one has to have high mastery of the sacred arts. How is it you were able to safely manipulate them then?"
"We were only able to safely make use of this method with the light permeation steel plate formula that..." Eolyne pauses and points straight ahead. A door, signifying we've finally reached the basement level after descending five levels' worth of stairs. All of us sharing a look, I decide to put my sneaking skills to the test. I grab the door handle, no keyhole in place, and slightly ajar the door open. Beyond the door is more metal walls. In the distance is the first bright light in this place.
Eolyne takes the lead again as we continue to the light. It's centered in the corridor, with the other end leading to a door with a control panel beside it. Guess that's an elevator of sorts...huh. Wonder how we made those possible, given that the only elevator I know of is the one Airy manned 200 years ago in the cathedral. Well, I guess I woke up in Obsidia Palace inside an elevator, but I was more concerned about the knights who had me and Kureha in custody.
We reached the light, that being a glass window three feet off the ground. The wall between the floor and the glass remains iron, in which we duck down and peer through the glass to the other side.
I don't know how Kirito kept his mouth closed, but I let out a subdued, "Oh shit" as my eyes are locked on the stunning sight.
The room on the other side is rectangular in shape and is the size of our school's gym. It looks like a research lab of some sorts, and in the center is the specimen itself: the snake, fully grown...or its sire. Its black scale glint smoothly in the light, covering its lengthy, coiled, thick body. If I had to estimate its lengthy, its about seventy feet long, no less. Much longer than Eydis' pet dragon Kirimai.
"...A Divine Beast..." Eolyne gasps with fear and awe.
Divine Beasts. In video games, we'd call them "named monsters" or "bosses." In the Underworld, they're ancient creatures, sometimes said to predate all human and demi-human lives. In the Star Empire —then the Human Empire — Kirito and I would have been told that Aministraotr purged most of them to eliminate any contenders to her power. Some became materials for the Integrity Knight's powerful Divine Weapons, such as Deusolbert's Conflagaration Bow and Eldrie's Frostscale Whip. But that's not the full story either. I would face some when Administrator tried resurrecting herself, such as the Western Ravine's guardian dragon.
That's what we remember, but that's still not all.
Many of them would return when Primus and his family attacked two years after the war, and they weren't just Divine Beasts, but coined "Ancient Apostles" for their powerful might. If normal Divine Beasts were bosses, think of the apostles as "superbosses." Some were Underworld-original, like the guardian dragons, but others came from the strangest places. One was a derivative of the Headless Horseman story, and four were familiar bosses in Illfang the Kobold Lord, the Skull Reaper, the Gleam Eyes and the Fatal Scythe.
Had I not been told by my soul about the Ancient Apostles, I would equally share in Kirito's surprise. "Y-you mean there are Divine Beasts in this age, too?"
"Of course there are. But all the Divine Beasts are fiercely protected by Stellar Law, and it's forbidden to even enter their domains. To lock one up underground like this is truly the act of a barbarian who spits in the eye of God..."
Imagining someone spitting in Stacia's eyes is partly hilarious only because, to me and Kirito, that's Asuna.
Red and green tubes trail across the lab's floor to the wedge-shaped head of the snake into its mouth, held in place by giant needles. Whatever is going through those tubes is keeping the snake asleep, which irritates me a bit. Maybe it is the memory of Sylvie's face forty-plus minutes when I almost squashed the baby worn or the multitude of memories of Silica's face when she's around Pina and other animals or the kindness instilled in me by Koharu or a mixture of the three, but I have half a mind to rip those tubes out with Incarnation.
What stops me is Eolyne brushing against Kirito's shoulder and saying, "Did you just see something...moving?" He points towards the snake's head.
"Huh?" Looking in that direction of the large snake's head is a squirming black tube, up against the larger's snout. "Eo, do you think that's the black snake we were chasing?"
"Oh...I think you're right...but how did it get down here?"
"Probably through that vent up there," I point out, finger aiming at a slatted vent in a corner of the ceiling. It's definitely small enough to slither through.
"If that's for air circulation, then it must go up to the roof of the structure.".
"Good point. So the place the black snake was born was here...or maybe..."
"Its offspring...which means they're forcing it to give birth, implanting the babies with dark elements and parasites, and turning them into missiles." My anger boils as we watch the baby bump against its mother, trying to wake it. Forget Stellar Law and Imperial Law, this is a crude manipulation of nature that would get scrutinized in the real world. If it weren't for the fact our espionage would be ruined if I use Incarnation and get detected by Incarnameters, I would save the beast right now.
"Eo...what do we do?"
Eolyne is silent for a few seconds again before he answers in frustration, "It galls me...but there's no way to save the Divine Beast and its child right now. We know the location of the base, so the best course of action would be to return to Cardina, report this to the Stellar Unification Council, and send an official inspection to—"
He pauses once again as a metallic sound on the other side of the lab enters our ears. On that wall, a door slides open slowly, then allow two figures to emerge. They wear hazmat-like suits that cover their body as they approach the baby and mother snakes. One carries a metal stick with it, and once they reach the baby worm, they use the plier-shaped tip to grasp it and take it away from its parent.
Turning away, I follow Kirito and Eolyne to a nearby door. It turns out to be an observation room of sorts, and we're able to hear what's being said by a pair of men within the lab.
"...but it can't lay eggs on its own. The last stimulant was eight days ago, so it should be another two weeks before the eggs it's carrying reach the bare minimum size."
"Still, where did this juvenile come from, then? Did we miss it when collecting eggs before, somehow?"
"That's hard to imagine, given the steps...but in any case, we've got to deal with this— and fast. Should we prep the juvenile for guided combat again?"
"Nah, it's already past the size where we can outfit it. It's too large for the insect to take over its brain entirely. Just gotta dispose of it."
The second man, who spoke last, reaches for a metal case on his belt, taking out a large syringe. "Hold it down tight." Te man removes the syringe's cap and lowers the needle towards the desperately writhing baby snake.
But before the needle reaches the baby's throat, it cracks at the base, then the rest of the syringe follows. The two men are surprised, and so are we. We dip back out of sight, all looking at each other.
For the record, I had no part in breaking the syringe. I was aiming to hurt the men, but it seems Eolyne and Kirito took apart the syringe with Incarnation without knowing what the other was about to do. That was a good idea and all, for it freaked out the men who race back to the door they entered from. The baby slithers back to its mother.
But the entire base is full of annoyingly loud alarms.
"That was bad... They detected the use of Incarnation," Eolyne notifies.
"Wh-what should we do? Run away?"
"No... It was an instant that we used it, so they shouldn't have been able to pinpoint our location. it's better to stay hidden in here than rush through the base."
"Commander, with all due respect, we're not safe here eith—" Before I finish that statement, there's a sound of pressurized air being fired out into the hallway we came from. Kirito crawls to the window that looks out and comes back seconds later.
"The guards are coming."
"From the elevator, I take it?"
"Yeah."
"Don't worry, you two. I'll use Hollow Incarnation again." Eolyne leaves use no room to argue as he grabs our arms and pulls us close. While our heads rest on his shoulders, his hands on our back, we're overcome with the strange sensation of melding with the air around us.
And not a moment sooner do a stranger chill — not the chill of cold temperatures, but an awfully familiar chill of a devouring darkness — enters the observation room. Slowly and carefully do Kirito and I turn our heads towards the source of the cold darkness.
Black boots made of glistening leather click against the steel floor, stopping in front of the window between the deck and the lab, just ten feet away from the trio of us huddled by the window in a corner. Two more sets of feet enter afterward, halting behind the leather boots. Then everything, including the alarms, goes silent.
Following Kirito's example, I carefully turn my head some more to observe the three people. The two who entered last wear the same dark-grey uniforms as the guards, but have swords instead of guns at their disposal. Their hats hide their faces well enough to make a educated guess of their age as either in the twenties or early thirties.
The lead, however, is different. I can't determine the age or gender of the person. Their uniform is more decorated than the others, with a silver triple-lined insignia and a laced epaulets of the same material. Their hair is black and flowing, and all of their face I can see is the tip of their nose.
I wonder if the dark-grey uniform is for Admina's forces. The Pilothood's is deep blue, while I have no idea about the Star Empire's other forces, the Imperial Knighthood's remain purple based on what Sylvie, Acras, and the two other knights wore.
So Admina is indeed rebelling against Cardina...and a forgotten suspicion rears its head in my brain. Is it Admina that's rising against Cardina, or is it the worshippers of the First Son manipulating things? While Archer and Berserker wore different clothing (or little to none, in Berserker's case), there was nothing that indicated they were part of the cult.
I regret not asking Eydis how to identify our enemy, but I guess that would be a dumb question. I guess cult members would have a certain item that allows others in the same circle to recognize them, but any group would have that. The integrity Knights had their armor and emblem. Crimson Squad has...uhh...well, our vibrant personalities.
...And now I realize that Sylvie is outside the base, waiting on us. No telling on Cordelia's status. I wanted to avoid bringing them into danger, and by putting myself in danger, I brought them into it as well. Good job, me. Eydis is going to kick my ass, Kureha is going to kick my ass, and Medina will await me in the afterlife to kick my ass.
"...The high-intensity Incarnation anomaly was detected by the Incarnameter on this floor, you said?" says the leader, staring down to the lab, their voice too androgynous to determine their gender.
One guard tensely responds, "That's right, Your Excellency. The first-floor and rooftop Incarnameters reacted, too, but the highest numbers came from this one in the basement."
The other one adds, "Plus, we had a report of unexplained phenomena from our researchers."
"Unexplained?"
"While attempting to administer a solution to the Divine Beast's juvenile in the isolation room, the syringe apparently exploded. The researchers thought the Divine Beast used Incarnation and are refusing to leave the analysis room."
"Hmm..." The Excellency looks down over his opposite shoulder for a moment in thought, then swiftly turns in our direction. Instinctively I reach for my sword, but as quickly he continues turning to the hallway windows.
Despite seeing their face, I still cannot tell if the person is a delicate-looking man or a woman. Their eyes are narrow and long, with long lashes and silver irises. Their red lips resume movement once they are at the window. "...Are you certain the Avus shot down an enemy dragoncraft?"
"Yes. The dark-element blast and black smoke were visible to the naked eye. We sent a search party to the area where the craft crashed, just in case, but haven't heard any reports yet saying they've found it."
"And the other?"
"It remains in low orbit, but we're almost prepared to shoot it down as well."
"In that case, it is possible the crew jettisoned before crashing."
"However...even if the riders survived, it would be impossible for them to infiltrate this facility, or even discover it, I feel."
"Hmm... But Incarnate power is what makes the impossible possible. If you trust your Incarnameter or Incarnate-resistant gear too much, you'll regret it."
"Ah...are you saying someone might have already infiltrated the base, Your Excellency?"
"I wouldn't know about that." shrugs the Excellency, then he does something that somehow Kirito noticed first and drops us to the ground. The leader moved their right hand to their left hip, then a thin silver streak is swung in our direction. Its a saber, horizontally scratching the wall six feet to our right. I was so shaken that I couldn't move my arm to reach for my sword.
"Y-Your Excellency, what is the matter?"
The Excellency sheathes his blade and waves his hand dismissively. "Nothing at all. Sugin, Domhui, return to the ground floor and strengthen defenses at the front and rear entrances. I will investigate the isolation room, just to be sure."
"Then we should join you..."
"No need. Go!" With that fierce snap, the guards salute and bolt out the room. The Excellency steps towards the left wall towards the lab's door and remains for a moment longer, taking a glance in our direction once more. Unsure whether they know we're here and playing with us or is taking a shot in the dark, I frown at them and finally grip Falchion.
However, he turns away and walks out to the lab. Once the heavy door slides close, Eolyne ceases Hollow Incarnation. While he slumps onto Kirito, I get up and check the window. I see the cloak walking away from the door, but my alertness remains high.
"Good job, You saved us," Kirito whispers to Eolyne. "Now, let's get out of this base while we have the—"
The next noise I hear is the commander collapsing to the ground.