Chapter 61: [LX] - Vectoral Step
"Ooooh! Look who's here! You're so soon, missed me already?" — A childish like voice raised next to me in an annoying tone.
A silver, shining cascade of hair swept right next to me, sitting down on the only chair that was left in the room.
His irritating words have broken up the silence that painfully arose, since all of us have come here.
The same meeting room where the idea of the Cube has been explained to me. The same expression on the faces of my so-called colleagues, which today are slightly shaken by the fact that I'm here.
I hate it. I tried to find an other way, yet it failed.
I returned to the abyss.
"Silen... Shut up." — Aura has growled at the sight of the feisty man.
"What? I'm just happy to see our prodigal son return! You're happy too, right?" — He slapped me forcefully in the back, making me wail in pain.
"You're one of the reasons he probably hates it here..." — Meridies exclaimed quietly, swirling a finger around her curl.
"What are the other reasons then? I bet it's your shitty attitude..." — He proceeded to make everyone around uncomfortable, as always.
But this time, no one took the voice to respond to him. Seeing that everyone around seems a little bit off, he just murmured something under his nose, and proceeded to glare into the low ceiling above our heads.
...
The sound of the door being opened has woken me up. Seeing a tall silhouette in the doorway, my attention grew immediately.
"Where... Are you going?" — I shouted unintentionally, but was afraid that he would go away, not hearing me.
Stopping midway through, Bellus peeked from behind the wall, and answered.
"The mission meeting. All members should gather, but it would be better for you to stay and rest."
"I'm alright now. I will come. I can't hide forever..."
I lied. All I wished for was to hide in a secluded place and never show myself again to those strange people. But I knew this was just an idyllic dream. The reality is harsh. I wanted to have it behind my back already. The faster the humiliation passes, the better.
Just waking up, I think I didn't have enough rationality to take decisions at that moment. It was a mindless act of a fresh mind, in which the fears haven't set up yet.
Looking at it now, being surrounded by stone faces, it eats me from the inside.
Would it be better if they talked, or not...?
Would it be better if all of their gazes were locked on me, or rather glaring indefinitely into the table before us...?
I didn't dare to check. My eyes were stuck at the same place, afraid to even blink. I tried to avoid everyone's glares, especially Paul's, which was sitting on the chair the furthest from me.
But a bright light suddenly stung my eyes.
The big screen at the middle of the table lighted up. A 3D projection appeared before our eyes, out of nowhere, showing an indistinct layered map of a place I think I have seen before.
An image of a white building, a tall skyscraper with glassy panels on it. Countless floors grew from the top of the bottom, making it seem like an infinite well.
"Six days have passed. Having completed gathering resources yesterday, tomorrow will be the seventh, the day of our first mission such serious as this. To finally retrieve the Cube fragment." — A low voice of an older man arose from behind the group.
Mr. Vanus, the same old man which apparently was the chief of the group, approached closer, rotating and zooming the image with his quite slender hand.
His presence has made chills go down my spine, yet he didn't even catch an eye contact with me. No one did.
"I hope everyone is ready for the mission." — He smiled softly, yet I could say it was a hidden sarcasm attempt to hurt my person. — "There won't be another chance like this. My befriended acquaintances provided me with only three entrance permits. A group of inquisitive transfer scientists who have been working on improving energy renewal technologies. That will be the first group. The infiltrators. Stella, Bellus, and..."
He finally turned towards me, and my eyes have accidentally met with his. It was as if a lightning bolt has struck at the same moment. It lasted shorter than a second, but seemed to prolong into the infinity. My heart stopped beating at that sole moment.
"And Asha. You will be the first team that will infiltrate the building and get to know the information and location of the Cube fragment from the other workers."
The tension between the group members reached its critical point.
"What!? Why them? They literally have the worst socializing skills out of everyone! It will be obvious something is off, a nerd, a mute and..." — The silver-haired's glare pierced through me. It's teasing sparks, it made the hair on my head rise with despite. Why is he so... irritating?
"I agree with Silen. This group should be changed." — The one who has been silent all of this time, Noctis, has spoken harshly.
The petrifying glare he sent me, his dark eyes were filled with disgust.
"This setup is shit."
A voice I never thought of hearing again, has nonchalantly stated his opinion.
The same tone, a low, bothered response, with the air hoarsely getting out of his mouth. The word "shit" being accented in the same way as all of those years ago.
"Well, I've come to a conclusion that this will be the most logical decision, the ones that are curious by nature, to be fit to this task. It's about setting the stage safe, and getting to know the enemy well. The task of the group is to infiltrate the laboratory and familiarize with the workers. Compare our layout to the ones they have, and localize the place of the Cube fragment. They will also open the passage for the others to come. A quite important task for... Collected people. Not hot-headed and bad-mouthed ones, like you Silen."
— The old man smiled wryly at his younger underling.
Silen's face fumed with red, boiling blood coming to his cheeks. He was visibly upset. The others were too.
Bellus' face was constantly staring at the white dot flashing on the building's visualization. He didn't blink an eye at the mention of his participation.
Stella's eyes were rapidly shifting from one person to another, surrounding the whole room. When her pale eyes met with mine, she struggled for a second.
The hell... I just returned, and he is already sending me away on a mission? Does he have a death wish? Because I do. Giving me such a responsible task, not even trying to humiliate me in front of the others for what have I done, it's truly making my mind swirl in pain. Maybe it's a punishment... For me and Stella, who helped me... But why Bellus then?
"Bellus, by using his ability, will search through the system for useful information, while opening the door for the other group waiting outside. Stella will attempt to gather emotional information, and Asha... With his ways of getting out of the problems, and attracting them at the same time, I'm sure he will provide usefulness to this part of the task."
This old man, he definitely knows how to speak words saturated with bad intents. Or... Maybe it's just my imagination.
"Ugh... What about the others then?" — Ignis has finally spoken up, visibly disappointed.
"There will be two other teams, divided in three-person groups. The first one, Meridies, Aura and you, Ignis, will be waiting by the door, waiting to be unlocked by Bellus. After getting inside, you will make sure that no heisty opponents await for our demise, and be sure to retrieve the Cube and bring it back here safely."
"Huuuuh? So, we will be just waiting for a quick assault then?" — Meridies exclaimed in a curious manner.
"Because no more than three people can get in first, you will have to wait or provide yourself with the opportunity to get inside. They can't take any weapons with them, so you will be the, I hope so not, armed card in our sleeve."
"Making us do the dirty work then." — Aura growled to herself.
"If the third group fulfills their duties, then no blood should be spilled." — The old man smirked at the three that were left to form the last group.
"Oh... If you put me with Silen I'll make sure his blood with be spilled first." — Noctis smashed the table surface with his fist.
"This is the stupidest plan I have ever heard from you, old man. We will literally kill each other." — Orbis covered his face in disapproval with a pale hand.
"Well then, why haven't you yet?" — Mr. Vanus asked, laughing.
The whole group was grabbing their heads in a visible headache. Expressions of frustration and concern were filling their faces. Do they not like... each other that much?
"Now then, the third group will be staying on a watch, to make sure no unnecessary damage happens, and no unauthorized people intervene in our plans. Just on the roofs of the surrounding buildings, you will monitor the area for the patrols and people coming in and out."
"Yay! But I still would prefer to explore that laboratory myself..." — A candy voice of a grown-ass man put a nail to everyone's tombs.
"If things get awful, you will." — Aura was the only one who responded to his childlike needs.
"Should I sabotage then...? Oh."
Everyone's eyes were menacingly piercing through the place he was at. Thinking that no one would hear his quiet mumble, Silen was surprised that in the silence that occurred, even the old man has heard it himself.
"Hey... I'm joking guys. What's with those looks?" — His voice shivered unusually.
"You're a one big joke." — Noctis punched the table the second time, but this one he stood up, and without saying anything further, turned towards the exit of the room.
"I haven't finished. Yet."
The unheard, low voice of the old man has stopped the other one halfway through. The chills it sent down everyone's spine, it was a visible sign of this mission's seriousness. The group has seen this idea as a bad made joke, but at this moment, they all realized it isn't.
The old man's words should be taken seriously, it's what all of their faces were telling me right now.
Weekly Power Status
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