131 In Charge
"Relax."
Crux stopped Belladoll from just storming outside. "Are you blind? There are at least a dozen D Classes in there, probably a few hundred E Classes, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a C Class or two hidden in the weeds. We're not storming out like idiots."
Belladoll rolled her eyes. "You're overthinking things. Zarek is not here."
"You don't know that."
"I do. Whenever you start overthinking his actions, he's got you in his trap. We go now. We go fast, and we go hard. As if we need to worry about D Classes—and is the number of E Classes even relevant? If C Classes appear, maybe I'll finally get a little bit of a warm-up."
Belladoll swept the tip of her umbrella in an arc in front of her feet. The sunlight peeking through the windows reflected across its surface and concentrated into a laser that effortlessly cut into the thick concrete so deeply its end couldn't be seen.
It didn't even seem like Belladoll had tried to do such a thing, but the warriors from the Green Corporation couldn't help but shudder.
This was a high-end jewelry store. It could be said that though everything here was on display, it was crafted to the highest of specs to avoid robbery. Something like tunnels being dug under their building would have certainly been accounted for as well, but the protective slab might as well have been tissue paper in front of a casual swing.
Crux rolled his eyes when he saw this.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You're super powerful now. Just wait until I finish my Suki-made Armament, then you won't be so fucking cocky."
"If you think it's all the Armament, you're lost."
Belladoll smiled sweetly. "But I'm glad you understand that I'm the one making decisions right now. That way I don't have to waste my breath anymore.
"We go."
Crux took a breath, but in the end, he bit his tongue.
There was nothing extremely wrong with Belladoll's analysis, at least nothing that stood out immediately. Plus, if things went wrong, he would at least be able to blame her.
"Get ready. We're moving out. Who has the scouting report on all the surrounding Turned?"
"Here."
A young man who might have been maybe 17 or 18 years old—certainly not much older than Priya or Zarek—approached with a crystal. Within it, there was a snow globe-like effect where the surroundings, 300 meters or so, were reflected in a world of transparent gems.
This young man didn't have much combat ability, but he had a light ability like Belladoll's. It was just that he could send out laser-like pulses to map out a region quickly and efficiently.
However, because of the unique frequency he sent out pulses in, he wasn't obstructed by most things. In addition, he was able to guestimate the strength of a target depending on how many of his rays they were able to absorb.
In fact, he was able to change the model in real time, though this took a tremendous amount of stamina.
Belladoll took the crystal and sent a pulse of light through it that made it radiate a strong pink light. Then her smile brightened.
"Follow me. Thanks, cutie. If only you weren't so scrawny, I might show you a good time."
The teen flushed and looked down at the ground, but this only made Belladoll happier.
**
"We've received a signal."
Dalton stood to his feet, his black, Japanese-style robes fluttering slightly as he shifted the blade on his hip. "We'll be moving out soon."
There was a sternness in his eyes as he took the vanguard, creeping out from the shadows of an alley.
"Sir Dalton, I've detected two C Classes," a young woman, Correa, said softly.
"I understand. Where?"
"The portal is in the city square, and there's a large water fixture and statue that it stands above. There's a complex network of pipes to feed the water fixture, but it feeds into a nearby underground sewer system which also seems connected to the subway system and yet another series of tunnels.
"The C Classes are taking up residence there. Water seems very good at carrying the red energy, and they're benefiting from the portal while remaining out of direct spotlight.
"But from what I can tell, the D Classes have fallen in line because of them as well."
"Is there any way for them to make it to the surface quickly?"
"With their strength, it's likely they can just break directly to the surface. But given that they are intelligent enough to hide, they're displaying plasticity in intellect that we haven't become used to. The odds that they understand cause and effect is very high, so they might be unwilling to damage their chances in the future just for the sake of acutely stopping us."
"If your deduction is correct, what do you believe they will do?"
"That would depend on whether they coordinate or not. But… one of the C Classes is small enough to take advantage of the plumbing to the water fixture. The other is likely to use the sewer system.
"But all things considered, accounting for their likely speeds, it would take them about half a minute to appear—maybe up to a minute for the latter C Class."
"Can you see anything about their abilities?"
"Apologies, Sir Dalton. I cannot see such details. I only have vague information. The smaller of the two C Classes seems to be a one-eyed mink of some sort, but it has the sharpened fur of a porcupine, and its claws extend quite far, though I have no exact figures on that.
"However, while it seems like a Dexterity Type, I would be wary of this conclusion. This C Class has very strong control over energy from what I can see—it absorbs it at a much faster rate than the other.
"The second C Class is much larger, but it isn't huge either. From what I can see… it's best summarized as a lizard man."