Nero frowned as he held the cards in his hand. Both were supposed to help him find his way in low visibility conditions. One was called Echo Location, and the other was Mind's Eye.
Name: Echo Location
Image: A sonar radar
Type: Scouting
Star rank: 0
Ability: [Use sound to detect all objects and items within 20 metres of yourself. An image of all objects within this region is directly imprinted in your brain.]
Flavour text: "I'll never need to ask my mother to find things for me again," Artie
Name: Mind's Eye
Image: A third eye appearing on the forehead
Type: Scouting
Star rank: 0
Ability: [See through obstructions and obstacles within 10 metres of yourself]
Flavour text: "No barrier shall bar my sight," - ???
Both of these had been prepared for the basements, but the issue was that while in essence they should have resolved the visibility problem, Neophyte remained the weakest in every aspect of a card master. That meant that the cards themselves were weak.
He had used both of them, but the feedback he got was very different from what the cards stated. Echo Location still worked, although the range had reduced drastically from 20 metres to just a few metres around him, since that is how far sound travelled without being completely absorbed by the fog.
But Mind's Eye was completely useless. Perhaps it really could peer through ordinary obstructions, but the fog was far from ordinary, and it refused to be overlooked.
The others also tried out the cards, becoming familiar with them.
"We will wait here for exactly one hour outside for your return," said Jack. "If you do not come back within the time frame we will retreat, alluding to the possibility that you have set the bomb but for whatever reason were unable to escape. Your primary objective is to find and disable the security node. If you cannot disable it, then you will have to rely on the bomb.
If you cannot disable it, and for any reason do not feel like activating the bomb will complete the task, your objective is to gather as much information as possible and come back to transmit what you learned.
"I have to warn you that although this bomb can be activated by a Neophyte level card, its strength is far beyond that. We have confirmed that the impact power of this bomb can easily destroy even these reinforced Eldrim structures. The bomb is also set with a ten minute timer to give you enough time to get away from it. Be very clear about this.
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If you are anywhere near the bomb when it goes off, your chances of survival are nil."
For a moment Nero considered if his flames could protect him from the explosion, but then dismissed the idea. If he were just concerned about the flames then maybe, just maybe, he might be able to survive. But chances were high that just the shockwave from the explosion would be enough to kill him.
"That's all well and good," said Nero. "But how do we open this door?"
Everyone looked towards the metal door in front of them. If they brought their face close enough they could see that the metallic door was sealed shut. Even if Nero and the rest had access to get into the lab, how were they supposed to use it?
"There must be some mechanism to open it nearby. We're looking for it," Jack said awkwardly. If Remi were here, she would have been able to identify how to open it by trying out the random machines nearby, but none of them could do that.
Still, they had gained access, so it was likely that if they scanned some terminal nearby, the doors would open.
"That's not how to do it, you're wasting your time," said a familiar voice from behind them. Nero turned around to see the blonde girl from Arter's team - the one Vanessa was disguised as.
She had been suspiciously subdued the entire time they were in the research. She had not secretly ventured off somewhere the entire time, nor had she made any remarkable achievements in any of the fights. Nero had kept an eye on her the entire time, but she did not even look back at him, as if she never knew him at all.
He had to admit, her acting skills had definitely improved since he first saw her. But he knew that her goals would never be so simple, and he had been proven right.
Jack, Arter and the rest were surprised, but more than anyone Arter was confused. The blonde girl, whose name he hadn't even bothered to learn, was just one of the guards assigned to him selected by his family. She had no role other than to obey him and protect him, so why was she speaking up now?
More importantly, why did it seem like she knew more about this security door than Jack, who had been briefed by the army.
"If you step aside, I can open it for you."
But while others felt curious or confused by her actions, Jack reacted differently. Nero noticed how his right arm suddenly gripped the handle of his sword. The man's aura became extremely fierce as turned to glare towards Vanessa.
"State your name and position, soldier," he commanded, not ready to hear her words just yet.
Vanessa did not put up any resistance and immediately stood at attention and stated her identity.
"Jessie Marrin, drafted private, member of team Sapphire-7."
Jack observed her, trying to judge her intentions, his thoughts unknown. When he didn't speak for a moment, Arter stepped forward.
"She's a member of my team and has a vetted background. Let her speak."
The only conclusion that he could come to was that she had been assigned a secret mission from someone in his family, and so spoke up on his behalf. Nero observed the situation in silence.
He genuinely didn't know if the Ferro family was aware of Vanessa, and had helped her come into the city, or she had infiltrated the team. But he was sure that if she had spoken up, she would definitely know something.
After all, Nova was one of only two countries with access to Eldrim ruins, and their knowledge regarding it had to be immense.
Jack glared at Arter as well. Clearly he did not like being told what to do, especially since he was under the impression that he had been briefed completely by the command centre. The fact that Jessie was speaking up now meant that her involvement was not under the orders of the command centre, but some other faction within the army most likely.
"State what you know," Jack ordered her at last.
"Like I said, there is no mechanism nearby with which you can open this door. The way to access highly secure zones is entirely different. If you step aside, I can open the door for you."
"Absolutely negative. You will tell me how to open it, and I will do it," Jack stated.
Vanessa scoffed.
"You don't have the authority to access this information," she said plainly. "If you did, then you would already know. If you want to get in, let me open the door. Otherwise you can continue to waste your time until you decide to let me open it eventually once you fail. Take your time, it's not like we're under any time constraints."
Jack growled, but stepped aside eventually.
Vanessa stepped forward and took out several cards from her case, though Nero could not see what kind of spells they were. One by one she placed them against the metal door, and they seemed to stick there like magnets. After placing nearly a dozen cards, she took out a final one, and activated it.
Surprisingly, the metal doors slid open, without any fuss. For a moment, Nero was amazed at how simple that was. Usually, something tended to go wrong with these things.
"You can't see it, but there's a protective barrier covering the door. Anyone without access cannot step in," Vanessa said. She looked at Nero, winked, and then stepped through the door.
Suddenly she disappeared, disconnected from whatever technique was keeping all of them in view.
"No!" Jack roared, angered and tried to rush after her, but an invisible barrier rebuffed him, pushing him back.
The man was actually growling in anger, as if he were some kind of animal. Before Nero, or anyone else could respond to the situation, the invisible force field acted again, throwing something back.
None of them were ready as a massive monster, covered in tentacles, was thrown directly onto Jack.
*****
Up in the command centre, those soldiers who were too wounded to continue fighting, but had received medical attention, were being gathered together in one tent. Soon they would be escorted away from Lumina, as there was no point in them staying here. They would only occupy space and resources, which they could not afford to spare.
Wendy and Harold sat beside each other, covered in wraps. For now some spells had been used to keep their wounds from worsening, but they would eventually need casts. Harold, especially, had to be careful since he had broken a few ribs.
But even so, the two of them were better off than Jackal and Remi, who lay unconscious still in a bed right next to them.
"Hey, hey, hey, what's going on?" Wendy suddenly said, feeling panicked.
Harold looked in the direction she was staring and saw Remi. Except, it wasn't Remi. Her facial features were changing, and the girl laying in bed in front of them was a complete stranger.