Chapter 28: Apostle

“‘Agent’?”

Ephnel paused, stunned.

She hadn’t received any orders from the Order Organization to dispatch additional forces for support.

‘Could it be Lily?’

But Lily was supposed to be inactive due to her unhealed injuries.

And what did “unknown matching signature” mean…

“No, it’s not… at least not any Agent we know.”

Yonomikenami immediately replied.

“The signal source is a complete mismatch with the database. It doesn’t belong to any known ‘Beacon’.”

“Could it be…”

“I can see her from my position.”

Canary’s voice came through, slightly breathless as she spoke quickly.

“Target confirmed. Looks like an ordinary young girl. No visible offensive weapons, no ‘battle suit’… Miss Yonomikenami, I’m sending you the visuals.”

“Received. Headquarters is beginning analysis in sync.”

“The target is approaching us. What’s strange is that she isn’t being attacked by the ‘Erosion Organism.’ Senpai Ephnel, I request permission to advance for further confirmation.”

Ayse added.

“Wait a moment, Ayse, Canary, don’t be reckless.”

Ephnel denied Ayse’s request for action.

‘An “Agent” that isn’t attacked by Erosion Organisms?’

For some reason, Ephnel had a very bad feeling.

Two giant Erosion Organisms appearing out of thin air within five days, a headquarters half-destroyed, a Beacon stolen and then appearing on Yukina.

It felt like something had been missed somewhere in all this.

If all of these events were connected, what was the thread that tied them all together?

And, why… Yukina?

Ephnel absolutely refused to believe this was all a coincidence.

“Miss Ephnel… did a… a new Erosion Organism appear?”

In her arms, Yukina looked at Ephnel with worry.

“Are you going to fight?”

“It’s not certain yet.”

Ephnel held Yukina tightly.

“I’m getting you out of here right now. Hold on.”

Ephnel leaped straight down.

Yukina let out a startled cry, the intense feeling of weightlessness forcing her to shut her eyes.

Then, the sensation of falling stopped abruptly.

Ephnel’s soft touch came from behind.

Using a “Stairway” created from the Power of Order, Ephnel carried Yukina away, heading towards the exit of the venue.

At the same time, Ephnel issued a command in a loud voice.

“Ayse! Canary! Maintain communication and keep an eye on the ‘Whale’! Also, observe the target’s next move! I’ll be there soon!”

Just as Ephnel’s voice fell, a hurried shout came through the earpiece.

“Ephnel! I’m afraid there’s no time!”

“The target is rapidly approaching Ayse!”

Yonomikenami said quickly.

“She’s too fast!…”

“Senpai! Ayse is under attack!!”

“Damn it… Just as I thought, she’s hostile. Codename Canary! Prepare for battle!”

“The target’s energy reading is changing… High energy reaction detected! It’s an energy attack!! Ayse! Canary! Evasive maneuvers, now!”

“Zzzzzzt—“

The earpiece connection was momentarily cut off by a harsh burst of static.

Ephnel looked back.

At the edge of her vision, a silver-white flare of light shot up into the sky like a raging flame.

It was followed by a massive roar that swept over them like a wave.

“Ayse! Canary!!”

Ephnel shouted, but the earpiece was silent.

After about two breaths, a coughing sound finally came through.

“This is Ayse… cough… This is… Can you hear me…”

“Ayse?”

“Senpai Ephnel…”

Ayse’s breathing was unsteady, like a withered leaf fluttering in the wind.

“Are you two alright?! What’s the situation?”

“I’m fine, just a minor injury. Canary is okay too. But… the target vanished from sight. We can’t find her…”

“Vanished?”

“Yes, she disappeared in the explosion… We can’t track her from here…”

Ephnel frowned slightly.

Before she could ask further, a streak of silver-white light appeared in her vision.

Like a silver ribbon, it flew straight and fast from the site of the explosion in Ephnel’s direction.

In the span of a single breath, it had already crossed nearly a third of the sports venue.

Ephnel’s eyes narrowed.

“Ayse… stop looking. The target is already headed my way.”

“Towards you, Senpai…?”

“This is Yonomikenami! Ephnel! Can you hear me?”

Yonomikenami’s anxious voice cut in through the earpiece, interrupting the conversation between Ephnel and Ayse.

“This is Ephnel. I can hear you.”

“Ephnel! We’ve detected the target approaching you at extremely high speed! Headquarters has issued a support command. Please intercept the target.”

Ephnel stared at the rapidly approaching target without a word.

“Senpai Ephnel, we’re coming to help!”

Canary and Ayse’s requests came through the earpiece simultaneously.

“No need. Follow my orders from there. Since the target chose not to engage with you, her objective was likely here from the start. Therefore… Ayse, Canary, I have another mission for you.”

“Senpai Ephnel…”

Ephnel lowered her gaze to Yukina.

In her arms, Yukina held on to her tightly, looking anxiously at the black “floating island” in the distance, holding her breath.

“The personnel dispatched from the command center are under Ayse’s command! You are to intercept the ‘Whale’.”

“Roger!”

“Canary, you’re faster, so the other task is for you. Go to the location I’ve marked immediately. There’s a girl there. You are responsible for protecting her and ensuring she evacuates the danger zone safely.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“There’s no time to waste! Move out!”

Ephnel cut the connection and quickly scanned the venue structure below her, then jumped down.

She landed at the edge of the spacious venue.

The main foundation of the venue was reinforced concrete, supplemented by a network of heavy steel frames, making it extremely sturdy.

Ephnel set Yukina down.

“Yukina, I have a mission for you too.”

“Miss Ephnel…”

Yukina wasn’t stupid.

She had a good idea of what Ephnel was about to do.

She looked at the girl before her, a full head shorter than herself, her eyes filled with worry.

But even so, there was nothing she could do.

Ephnel pressed her lips together and took a deep breath.

She took out a button-sized metal object and brushed it lightly against Yukina’s collar, where it stuck.

Her gaze fell on Yukina’s neck—a milky-white neck with a small, crimson bloodstain in the middle.

Ephnel looked away.

“This is a locator. Don’t take it off until I say you can.”

“Okay…”

“I’ll send someone to protect you. Until then, don’t wander far from here.”

Yukina nodded, looking at Ephnel, and chose her words carefully before speaking.

“Miss Ephnel… are you going to fight again?”

“Yeah.”

“I see…”

Yukina lowered her gaze in understanding.

She suddenly leaned in and gently hugged Ephnel.

“Please come back safely…”

“I will.”

With that, Ephnel took a step back, gave Yukina one last deep look, and then left.

…

A silver light flashed, and the spear materialized in her hand.

Ephnel’s gaze was sharp as she faced off against the girl who stood no more than twenty meters away.

The girl wore ordinary clothes and had chestnut-colored hair.

At a glance, she looked no different from a normal person.

“Yo, it’s you.”

The other party spoke unhurriedly, a sly smile on her face.

“We meet again, you kind, little, missy.”

Ephnel said nothing.

She just stared intently at the girl, her gaze cold—she knew this person.

Six days ago, the day before the headquarters was attacked, Ephnel had received a sortie order to a suburban town in the Outer Sakahi that was under attack by an A-grade Erosion.

Ephnel had gone with Fifina.

The town wasn’t large, nor was its population.

It survived in the Outer Sakahi, protected by a single Sakahi and the shelter of Seikyo City.

It was one of Seikyo City’s most important agricultural areas, supplying the city with a large amount of crops.

Due to its limited size and population, the Order had only stationed a single Agent there.

By the time Ephnel and Fifina arrived, the town had been torn to pieces, and the Agent stationed there was already dead.

It was then that Ephnel had encountered a pair of sisters who had been cornered, saving them in the nick of time.

That was also when Ephnel’s waist had been pierced by an attack.

Afterward, Ephnel brought them back to Seikyo City, where they were settled by the Special Disaster Section.

Ephnel remembered the two sisters; their bond was something she envied.

But Ephnel never imagined they would meet again like this, that the “target” before her would be the older of the two sisters.

Ephnel suddenly understood—why that sparsely populated town, despite its size, had been devoured so quickly by an A-grade Erosion Disaster.

If she connected it to the disasters she had encountered in the past five days, a chilling speculation immediately surfaced in her mind—the disaster in the town likely occurred much earlier than when headquarters received the warning.

That town must have encountered the exact same situation as the attack on headquarters five days ago and the Erosion Disaster today.

An Erosion attack without warning, a sudden enemy, a massive disaster that caught everyone off guard.

In other words, starting from that town six days ago, these three large-scale Erosion attacks shared a spine-chilling similarity.

If the sisters Ephnel met in the town were the ones behind this, then everything from the attack on the town six days ago to what was happening today must have been orchestrated by the enemy.

Everything clicked into place.

The town was attacked, she saved the sisters at the last second, but was then suddenly attacked from a hidden corner.

Ephnel had walked into an ambush set by the Erosion Organism.

Even at the time, Ephnel had felt a subtle sense of incongruity—how could a mindless Erosion Organism execute a tactic like an “ambush”?

Or was her injury just a coincidence?

And the next day, because she was recovering from her injuries, Ephnel couldn’t rush to the scene of the headquarters attack immediately.

Because she wasn’t there, Seiran and the others failed.

Because of that, Fuurin Shion was critically injured.

Several Beacons were retrieved and placed under the management of headquarters.

And headquarters itself lost a massive amount of data in that disaster, and its warning system was damaged, creating an opportunity for someone to sneak in and steal the Beacons later.

All of this was interconnected, clearly all by design.

Including the girl before her being saved by Ephnel, and using that to enter Seikyo City.

That small town was a tool from the very beginning.

And so was Ephnel.

At this thought, Ephnel took a deep breath.

The anger in her heart, contrary to expectation, made her feel even calmer.

She raised her spear, pointing it directly at the girl, and questioned her.

“Who are you? You didn’t come here just to say hello, did you?”

“No, don’t get me wrong. I’m just here to correct a mistake in the plan. I never intended to say hello to you. You know? Your sanctimonious act gives me the creeps so much my skin is about to fall off.”

The girl smiled maliciously.

“But, I can be merciful enough to tell you…”

The girl raised her hand, her fingers curling slightly.

The vision in front of them dimmed almost instantly as motes of light gathered in the girl’s hand, forming a fist-sized, dazzling sphere of light.

The girl laughed loudly.

“I am an ‘Apostle,’ and I am the one who will kill you!”

With that, she swung her hand violently, and the sphere of light transformed into a terrifying blast of pressure, crashing down on Ephnel.

…