Kapitel 27: Chapter 26: Illusion of Choice
"Fire.", Longitude said as he pulled the trigger. The recoil of the gun sending him a few inches back.
The blast from the rifle echoed across the street as the bullet whizzed through the air. The bullet zipping so fast it broke the sound barrier thrice before crashing into the black hover truck. It broke through the windscreen, through the driver's seat and then stopped at the storage unit.
Yet the hover truck didn't stop.
Must be AI controlled. Too bad...though that doesn't matter much when it's me.
Longitude stood up and gazed at the truck before saying in a cold voice, "Burst."
In an instant, a thunderous boom was emitted from within the truck. A shockwave caused it to implode from within causing it to crash unto the ground and slide towards the building where Longitude was situated. Sparks flew, as it slid across the street.
Longitude dropped from the 10-foot-tall building, creating a circular dust cloud as he landed.
The truck slide violently towards him before coming to a halt the moment it touched the sole of his foot.
A large dust cloud rose from the crash, covering everything in a brown haze. The wrecked rode, the busted truck and the impact crater all depicted a scene of utter chaos.
Longitude approached the truck, each step he took caused his silhouette to grow larger as he reached the end of the truck.
All signs of everyday life had long disappeared from the scene leaving behind a loud silence which was later interrupted by a loud sound.
A loud blaring sound could be heard from the distance as the ground rumbled; stones clinkered on the ground as the source of the sound approached.
Longitude turned towards the source with an annoyed expression before raising his hands to his com on his left ear.
"Guillotine, Charlatan. Handle the intruders."
"Don't tell us what to do you brat!", Charlatan screamed as he turned towards the approaching vehicles.
"...", Guillotine didn't respond, he simply cleaned his fingers and jumped into the air before kicking off a black platform towards the vehicles.
Guillotine and Charlatan raced to annihilate the law enforcement who responded to the citizens' call for help.
As the law enforcement readied their weapons to strike back at those two. Longitude had opened the truck's storage unit only for its contents to make him agape.
-+-
At the Rith Household.
"Why do you want my Ballista?"
A deep and raspy voice asked in a cold voice, commanding the asker to state their true intentions.
Mari's legs shook as she stared at the back of the chair, the master of the household sat on.
I glanced at her as she stuttered to speak but immediately, I cut in, "For training."
"Hmm...there are many other gun-based Ballista in the armory and Envisage can create training gear.", he said indifferently.
"..."
"Amanai, don't lie to me. What are you going to do with the Ballista?!", he asked again except this time in a rage-filled voice.
I shook, I tried to counter but couldn't bring out the words. I bit my lip and swallowed hard before saying.
"I... I want to save Iguro...", I said as I dropped my head.
I heard the man let out a sigh. He raised the book he was formerly reading back to his eye-level and continued.
Almost instantly, silence filled the room. It was ephemeral yet it felt like an eternity.
I took a deep breath as I stared at the posterior of the chair. The hush was so eminent that the sound of a clockwork clock could be heard through the room.
I straightened my posture as I awaited the man's voice, I knew exactly why he was silent.
He's using a manipulative tactic to try to wriggle out our true intentions. Through Amanai's memories am able to come to this conclusion. In instances like these, Amanai's father would stay quiet when Amanai asks for a proposal, the silence will force her to elaborate further and justify her intents.
But...against me, that's futile.
Just as I thought that the man chuckled. An action that sent a chill down my spine as well as Mari's.
"Very well then.", he said with a wave of his hand, "I'll contact Macron to hand it over to you."
My eyes widened with disbelief but then immediately I regained my composure and took a deep bow, "Thank you, father."
I glanced over to Mari who stared at me with eyes of bewilderment but when I peered deeper, I saw... a faint white light.
Hope...?
I held back a mocking grin.
She's trying desperately to believe it...that her reality is but a dream, that her perception is truly false but of course she knows certainly, she knows surely that deep down that...this is all an Illusion of Choice.
We both turned towards the door and proceeded to head out but then I heard the man's voice.
"Mari, I have a mission to brief you on later. Once you're done escorting her, you are to return here.", he said in a deep, commanding tone.
"Y-yes sir!", she stuttered as she responded before following me out the door.
"Again, thank you...Dad.", I said once more before shutting the door.
Unbeknownst to us who had just left, the man uttered, "You're welcome..."
".... Parasite."
At the Armory Room.
Macron, the head butler of the Rith Household and personal assistant of Mr. Rith, handed us a suitcase upon receiving a notification from his boss.
"Am sorry young miss but it's the usual protocol. I hope you understand.", he said as he bowed slightly.
I urged him to raise his head, "I understand sir, if you showed favoritism to any member of the Rith Household, then you won't have earned the title of chief butler.", I said with a slight smile as Mari took the heavy suitcase. I glanced at it.
Lambda...A special-class Ballista capable of decimating entire meteors with ease. Truly worthy of being held by that man.
"If I may implore, young miss, what are you going to do with it?", he asked as he adjusted his seemingly ultramodern monocle.
Amanai style getaway!
I raised my fingers to my eyes and gave him a peace sign before giving him a wink and a pop idol pose.
"That's a secret~", I said as I grabbed a dumbfounded Mari by the hand and turned to run away.
Macron's monocle fell out of his right eye and dangled off his vest as he watched the two girls get away. He was beyond flabbergasted.
Poor Macron, that was too much for his old heart.
-+-
Mari and Amanai were inside an AI-controlled flying car called Undawn. They were zipping across massive buildings and megastructures; ones so tall and vibrant, they'd put the Burj Khalifa to shame.
How did humanity manufacture such impressive buildings you ask?
That'll all be a question for the Perfect Human, Alex Dae.
Undawn was moving so fast, literally moving at hypersonic speeds. How were they moving that fast without breaking the sound barrier, you ask?
Oh well, I'll answer that one.
You see Undawn and many other vehicles have a device built inside of them. This device is called Bordeaux, a machine that absorbs waves emitted by the vehicle and converts it to energy, when the vehicle travels faster than the speed of sound it creates a sonic boom but before it can propagate Bordeaux absorbs it and converts it to energy the vehicle uses to sustain its speed.
It's a really impressive device, and of course courtesy of Alex Dae.
During my monologue, Undawn had already crossed the barrier that separated Kars from Statista in no time, of course to get to Atlanta we'd have to cross through Kars. It was soaring high in the sky and zipped past several megastructures inspired by concepts from the Victorian Era.
As I cleared out my thoughts and focused on the captivating scenery, the flying car had reached the Gantz; a building known to be the tallest in all of Kars but of course that wasn't what caught my eye.
What had arrested my attention was a deafening explosion coming from below...
BOOM!
An ear-piercing blast forced Mari and I to look downwards from Undawn...and when we peered down...
"Oh God...", Mari covered her mouth as her eyes widened.
I stared agape at the scene unfolding below.
On the streets of the Gantz district...
all hell let loose.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein