Jason shook his head, and he decided that he wouldn’t get anywhere by just staring at the runes. Jason looked up at the woman suspended within the Cage of Eternity, and he could feel a strange urge to speak to her. Jason didn’t really know why, but he just knew that releasing this woman would solve a lot of the problems that Jason had been facing and also answer a lot of questions that Jason had been trying to find answers to. It was a gamble, and there was a chance that releasing the woman wouldn’t solve anything at all. But Jason knew that fate had brought him to this moment for a reason, and he decided to put his trust in that fate just this once. Jason started to take off his jacket, and he heard Gina speak up from behind him.
"Babe, is everything okay? What’s going on?"
Gina had been watching Jason with Azrael and Vana all this time, and she could see that all three of them were in complete awe of the runes that were on the glass wall. Gina wasn’t a rune crafter, so she couldn’t understand the Aruna language at all, and she had no idea if the runes on the glass wall were really that complicated or not, since all runes looked complicated in her eyes. But from the way Jason was reacting, it was obvious that the rune wasn’t simple. Jason turned to Gina while handing his jacket over to Stella, and he said:
"I’m going to be focusing on this rune with Azrael and Vana for the next few minutes. We’re going to try and break it open."
"What? But why?"
Gina frowned as she looked over at the rune and the woman trapped inside again. It was just strange that Jason would want to put effort into freeing someone whom he had never met before. Jason’s brow furrowed when he heard Gina’s question, and he turned to glance at the trapped woman again before saying:
"I don’t know why. I just have a feeling that this is why we came all this way. Freeing her might give us all the answers that we’ve been looking for."
Gina’s eyes widened as she saw the look of certainty in Jason’s eyes, and even though there was no proof of what Jason was saying and no indication that Jason was right, Gina decided that she would believe in him. Gina had come all this way with Jason, even though she had no idea what they were really chasing after, so she wasn’t going to stop believing in him now that they were right at the end. Gina nodded before she went to her toes and gave Jason a soft kiss.
"Good luck, babe. I’ll be here if you need me for anything."
Jason grinned at his girlfriend’s support, and he leaned down and kissed her again before he turned around while rolling up his shirt sleeves. Gina watched as Jason put his hand on the glass wall, and he then began to speak with Azrael and Vana as they analysed the runes and tried to find where the Key and foundation were. Stella came up from beside Gina, and Gina turned to see that Stella had spread out a sheet on the floor with some cloth pillows for her to rest on. Gina looked over at Jason once more with a worried look on her face before she finally followed Stella to go and rest.
....
[The World of the Machina]
In the massive throne room belonging to the Overlord, the Grand General stood at the foot of the stairway leading up to an empty throne with his hands behind his back. The entire room was cast in shadows since there were no windows, and the only source of light was a bright beam that shone down on the throne itself. There were many pillars arranged on either side of the throne room, and each pillar was so large that an adult man wouldn’t even be able to wrap his hands around it.
Usually, it would be considered a great crime for anyone to enter the room unless the Overlord himself was in here as well, but the Grand General wasn’t interested in upholding that rule and he knew that no one could do anything to him no matter what he did, so he decided that this would be the best place to hold any secret meeting that he didn’t want anyone listening in on. The Grand General waited patiently for a few seconds before someone finally joined him in the throne room. The man who entered was one of the Generals in the army, and he walked forward with a lot of discomfort on his face before bowing respectfully. The General didn’t like being here since he knew it was a crime to enter the throne room without the Overlord’s permission, but he had no choice since the Grand General had called him personally. The Grand General motioned for the General to speak with a wave of his hand, and the General spoke calmly.
"Our troops are still searching across Riyad for any signs of Jason Marc and his team. We believe we are very close since there were dense traces of his mana within the surroundings."
The Grand General grit his teeth in irritation once he heard that report! What was the meaning of this!? The Grand General was sure that Jason would be there! There was literally nowhere else to go in Riyad, so where the hell could Jason be? The Grand General asked about the ocean. Did the army also check that?
"Yes, sir, they did. In fact, we currently have more than twenty of our professional divers looking around the ocean floors for any sign of Jason or his team."
"Useless."
The Grand General spat this out in irritation, and the General was a little angry at the insult! It wasn’t their fault that they weren’t finding Jason! Did the Grand General think that he was the only one who wanted Jason captured!? The General squeezed his hand into a fist to make sure his anger didn’t show, but the Grand General was able to easily notice the General’s anger, and he raised a hand and apologised.
"I didn’t mean to call you useless. I was simply angry that all our recent efforts have been in vain, especially since the Overlord will be back soon. It’s shameful that we couldn’t capture one man, even with all the resources we already wasted. You may leave and continue the search. Please let me know if there are any developments."
The General felt a feeling of shame filling his body as he listened to the Grand General’s words, and he knew that the Grand General was right! It was shameful that Jason managed to evade them so many times, especially after all the lives and technology they lost! The General let out a huff in defeat, and he nodded to the Grand General’s orders before saluting and leaving the throne room. Once he was gone, the Grand General frowned in irritation and clicked his tongue.
"Useless tin can."
The Grand General couldn’t believe the Machina dared to call themselves the strongest army in this Primordial Domain! They had all this technology, and yet their soldiers weren’t capable of capturing a single man! They had used up more than three thousand soldiers in this fight against Jason Marc, and it had all been for nothing! Why wouldn’t the Grand General think that they were all fucking useless! The reason the Grand General joined the Machina was because he believed there would be no one in this Primordial Domain who could challenge him, but the way things were going now, it was obvious that the Machina were about to lose all their prestige!
’It’s almost time for me to move on to a new identity. I can’t be here when the Machina inevitably implode.’