Fleeing the Grand Olympus
I crane my neck back a bit, leaning away from the point of the sword. Escape is the only thing on my mind right now. I try to remember how it feels like to call upon my power.
"Are you coming in quietly, or do you want to die?"
Track 19
The coldness washes over my brain, turning the world crisp and clear. Instantly, I understand that from his position, his posture and the length of his sword, I have a straightforward way out. Had he backed me into the wall things might have been different. I throw myself backwards, out of his range. Surprise registers for only a second on his face before he is after me. This is the second time I've went up against a superhuman with my ability. He is at least on par with Erika in terms of strength and speed, but his movements are more brutal and straightforward, without the flowing grace she exhibits. He swings the sword in a predictable arc. If he wields his blade that way, his center of gravity shifts in a manner like... so. Then, all I need to do is step... there.
I dodge his next swing with an erratic move, forcing him to recover in an awkward position. I don't give him the chance. Pushing off against the carpeted floor, I ram into him, knocking the swordsman to the ground easily due to his loss of balance. I would have to find a way to escape before he gets up. Not only am I operating on a time limit, I don't have the speed to escape him successfully even if I sprint down the corridor. Every second I waste confronting him directly is a second I could use getting closer to the ground floor.
The only way out is the balcony. I run out on it and climb onto the stone railing. The building opposite is more than fifteen meters away - I would not be able to reach it. The man is already back on his feet. No time to really think now; I'll do it as I fall. I jump.
With my heightened senses I pick out a suitable column, one of many that decorated the walls of the hotel. My tendrils shoot out, their hardened tips piercing the stone. They won't hold for long, but still they provide enough purchase for me to swing from my tendrils. I go feet first through the fifth floor balcony, knocking over an unattended dish trolley as I do so. The tendrils have already crumbled by the time I'm back to my feet, all evidence of their existence fading into thin air.
I hold my breath, waiting, my feet preparing to spring.
His feet appear first. As I expected, he did not have the patience to go after me from the stairs, instead relying on his superior physical abilities to follow me. Already I'm running at him. The man starts to drop down onto the parapet, his arms still raised out of sight together with his sword. I throw my entire body at him right as his toes touch the stone. Together we topple off the balcony. I kick at the surprised swordsman and stretch out my hand, anchoring my tendrils again into the stone to arrest my momentum. This time I swing right into a wall. The ground floor of the hotel is significantly taller than the other floors. The impact crushes my arm against my body. I block out the pain and release the tendrils, allowing myself to drop to the pavement.
There's about twenty metres between me and the lobby's entrance, where Kyrie is waiting. Unfortunately we didn't prepare a getaway vehicle – not that either of us are licensed to drive – and running to meet her would probably just get her into trouble. If I flee by myself she has room to explain away her presence here. I'm also not sure the Dunamis would not take her in too if I tried to get her to help me. Letting Relius find out about the full extent of her involvement would be bad, both for her and for me.
The swordsman is staggering to his feet – the five-storey fall did quite a number on him. He had hit the ground first and attracted the attention of many passersby, allowing me to escape notice. I don't linger around to taunt him while he recovers, dashing into a nearby alleyway. The dark does nothing to hinder my vision, but the smell rocks my nose hard.
“Yua!”
“Yes, Master?”
“Directions, now!”
Yua understands intuitively where I want to go without my saying so. There is a brief buzzing noise, and then she begins to speak to me, telling me where to go. I follow her instructions, going left, right, up the next of stairs, right again, running through the maze of alleys. My legs begin to give up on me just as my time is about to run out, but I'm almost there. Thanks to my desperation, I seem to have pushed myself past my limits... by my count it has been seven minutes and sixteen seconds. It's too bad I don't have time to celebrate my new record. I hear a pair of footsteps behind me and another person running along the rooftops.
Two?
A figure lands in front of me, a shining arc of metal in its hand. At the same time, a burst of fuzziness swallows me. I lose my focus and trip. In the haze, I dimly feel something push through my chest. The metal feels cold and sharp.
Track 20
Ah, I was so close...
“Lady Erika? What are you doing here?” It is the man that had been chasing me.
“He is my prey. I have been tracking him for a week.” The voice comes from my front, from the person that had run me through.
Erika? I can't really see anything right now, but gradually my sight begins to recover.
“Lady Erika, this cultist was caught near our employer's room. If you would just leave him to us -”
“This prey is mine.” Her voice is almost emotionless, but not in the same way I am used to hearing her. This time it is authoritative, a bland statement of fact that matters can be no other way. Even on the verge of fainting, I can feel bloodlust belying her words, daring the man to challenge her.
He does not.
“Very well... but your brother will hear about your interference in the clan's affairs, my Lady. For your own sake I hope he will be lenient.”
I hear no more, as then Erika's sword leaves my chest and the cold, hard ground rises up to meet me.
***
Track 8
“Master!”
Yua's worried, teary face is the first thing I see when I wake up. The bed feels familiar... I must be at home. There is bright light shining in from the translucent walls. I seem to have slept away the night. I try to get up, but a piercing pain in my chest forces me back down. My head is still fuzzy from over-exerting my powers last night, but other than that and my wound, the rest of my body appears to be fine. My stamina and endurance are still increasing; just a month before a bout of running like that would leave me terribly sore in the morning.
“I can't believe this.” Kyrie walks into the room, a frown creasing her face. She is still in the dress she wore last night.
I can't believe it either. Why was she here? With some trouble, I manage to get up into a sitting position.
“Hm. You have that look on your face. Why am I here?” She leans over and flicks my forehead. “That's because a certain idiot didn't tell me and went running off by himself last night.”
“Sorry, but I thought it was necessary to keep you away from any attention. By the way, is my personal drive secure?”
“The first thing you ask for when you wake up is the data. Typical,” mutters the disgruntled princess. She walks over to my desk and picks up the drive. “By the way, Anna managed to cover up our retreat from the hotel. The staff at the Grand Olympus will never notice that the security feeds for yesterday is now a rerun pieced together from the past week.”
“Perfect. All that trouble wasn't wasted. I guess I do owe Anna one now,” I chuckle, taking the drive from her. “Did you bring me back?”
“No, it wasn't me. I just got here this morning.”
“Ms. Erika brought you back, Master.” said Yua.
“Ah... She was responsible for this.” I gesture to my chest.
“That was a pretty neat thrust, Master. It didn't hit your heart and slipped neatly between the lungs without cutting anything important. It should heal pretty quickly.”
I raise my eyebrows, impressed. I had no idea that was even possible, given the anatomy of the human body and the shape of a sword. Perhaps I should try to learn a thing or two from her. I grunt as I get up, clutching my chest. Taking the time to catch a few deep breaths, I shuffle over to the computer slowly as Kyrie watches impassively.
“Where is she now?”
“She's eating sandwiches downstairs, Master. Should I call her?”
I shake my head, plugging the drive in. “Maybe later. For now, it's time to check the fruit of our labours. Play it, Yua.”
“Aye-aye, Master!”
***
Track 16
The results are less than inspiring. There are plenty of financial records, evidence that he has been accruing more power in the ISC, and also proof that he has engaged in blackmail of politicians all over the world.
“That's... well, I think everyone on the board of directors would be guilty of this.” remarked Kyrie disappointedly.
“Is there nothing we can use?”
“I suppose... well, just by releasing these records the other directors will converge on him like a swarm of piranhas, eager to take him down. It's not a given that they'll succeed, but this gives them plenty of ways to try.”
I recall that Relius had proposed to Kyrie in order to overcome the other pillars of the ISC. I look at her, opening my mouth to speak, but she shakes her head.
“I won't be able to gain anything out of this just yet. The old bastards don't actually
need this information, so they're not likely to trade me any useful favours for giving the data to them. They're too secure in their power right now to risk giving me any undue influence. It would be a bad deal, although it might probably stop whatever Relius is planning.”
That is the crux of the matter, isn't it? Relius's plot. None of the information I had obtained confirmed his plans in Olympia. There were plenty of writings from the Apostles of Hiranyagarbha detailing their beliefs and their rituals, and certainly some evidence indicating that Relius might be a believer, but there is no “RELIUS IS COBBLING TOGETHER EVIL FISHMEN” file that simply spelled out what he hoped to achieve here.
“Wait, go back to that file.” Kyrie interjected, asking to look at one of the documents. I comply, bringing up the information.
“That date's familiar...”
“It's about two months from now.”
“Ah, that's it. My father is coming to visit the Academy at that time. We're having a big ceremony planned.”
I check the file again. It's a raw text file that had been pieced together from scrap data in his inbox. “He's corresponding with a Julius Gallardo when he mentions this date. Have you heard of him before?”
“Gallardo... Julius. Right, Julius. He's a student at the school.”
“You mean, our school?”
“Where else? He's the class representative of 4-A. You would have met him if... well.”
“Thank you.” I reply acidly. She has the good manners to be embarrassed about it, and does not respond. “It is suspicious that Relius is writing to a student at the academy about a date when your father is supposed to arrive. Maybe he plans to try something with monsters?”
“That would be a little too obvious, and my father is quite well guarded. Besides, there's still the mystery of why he would hire the Dunamis security group.”
“Speaking of which, how long are they staying, exactly?”
“If I'm not mistaken, their stay has been booked for another two months... ah.”
“It seems too convenient to be a coincidence.” It seems that everywhere I turn, more questions pop up. I'm probably in over my head here... perhaps I should just call it a day and stop this probing.
“Hey.” Erika pops her head into the room. I turn off the screens. Though she seems to have saved my life, I'm not exactly sure if I should trust her fully.
“Ms. Erika, did you enjoy the sandwiches?” Yua hovers over to Erika, who is wiping her mouth.
“Yes, thank you very much. They were delicious.” She nods. “Senya, there is something I need to tell you. I forgot because of the sandwiches.”
“Oh, right. What is it?”
“My uncle gave me permission to join your swordsmanship club.”
That's one obstacle down. I try not to look at Kyrie. "That's great! I suppose we can start the training soon. I'll need you to teach me how to fight with a sword."
"Oh, there's one more thing he told me. My uncle requested something from you."
I suppose I should try to comply in return for allowing Kyrie to join the club. “What does he need from me?”
“He says... I think, that he will give you advice if you bring to him a copy of the data you got from Engura. It's something to do with the clan.” Erika seems utterly uninterested, conveying the message with boredom.
“When did he tell you that?”
“Last night, after I carried you home.”
I had no recollections of being carried, and I'm not sure whether I should be glad about it or not. Still, what does her uncle want with Relius's data? Could it be a trap?
“Erika, what connections do you have with the Dunamis group?”
She shrugs. “My brother leads the clan.”
“And your uncle?”
“Uncle is unrelated to the clan. He just looks after me, that's all.”
That clears some of my suspicions, though I still can't be certain whether or not Erika's uncle is trustworthy...
***
A. Ask Kyrie to hand over the information to the ISC's board of directors. Their actions might just unwittingly stop Relius's plans from coming to fruition without us having to do any more dangerous stunts.
B. Give the data to Erika's uncle, seeking his advice. If he already knows that I have Relius's data, I might as well be at his mercy should he decide to tell on me. At least if I meet with him I can have a better gauge of his character.
C. Give the information to both Erika's uncle and the ISC. Why not do both? With any luck I will be able to get even more information from both sides, as well as put a wrench into Relius's plot while I'm at it.
D. I will keep the data private for now. With time I can use the information and contacts inside to build a proper network of my own, amassing power to myself. Whatever Relius has got planned I can handle without needing to seek outside help – already I have gotten another lead in the form of Julius Gallardo.
E. Fuck it, all his personal information, including the photographs he took and the dead girl I found in the bathtub, is going on the internet. Let's see how you like the court of public opinion, you smarmy murderer.
"Shepardz Pattern Power Armor" with "Emotional Engagement Protocols?"
Not probable, but nice anyway.
