COI C194
Tabitha’s head was held by Viste’s hands. There was no reaction from her as she fell unconscious. Inside Tabitha’s mind, she can’t rest herself back to her body with the numerous things popping up in her mind in front of Archivist. He can’t hear her internal screaming and can only show the expression of horror. Her hands grabbing her face like she is trying to squeeze off the expression she gives to him. The vision plays out where she solely going through the convention with fine samples of adult content. Her shame couldn’t try to hide elsewhere and the bind enhanced by the medicinal bath enforced with sharp perception inside the vision.
Moaning sounds, Tabitha’s head went down. Verbal erotic exchange, she goes deeper. The voice of a man that she wanted to hear, she groans out of dying in embarrassment. Then the sounds of making love. She stood up and scream inside the bind. Archivist didn’t say a word and experience her imagination. The bind is not easily going to cut them off, except for Kiege. She has only partial of it. Archivist observes the nature as his views have nowhere to hide and shame to. The Bind has strong powerful connection and shares their deepest thoughts.
Tabitha got distracted while she is in the vessel. He shouldn’t be asking her while she is in dark deep sea while her sexual fantasy is flashing at him, but he needs to stop it.
“Tabitha, we need to stop this”
Tabitha leaps to him as her imagination collided their sight in water ripples, and it was her herself causing more than him seeing it all. She embarrassingly cried
“Sob* wake me up, I don’t think I can see your face after you saw it”
“. . .”
“LITERALLY SPEAKING! Ah, sob* wake me up and don’t mention this to our friends. PLEASE!”
Tabitha woke up and her body feels light. The medicinal bath evaporates down to her hips. Viste focuses on her eyes and see the red stains on her.
“You were crying, aren’t you?”
“Please, don’t try to interrogate me. I accidentally feel the bind with your son. I don’t want to talk about it”
“I have a bind with him too”
“!!!”
“You look surprised. Get wash yourself, I think you need to rest more before getting out. The storage data will be dangerous for all of us when the vessel’s security is acting up”
Tabitha pulls herself up and place a towel to her top and reaches to her waist. Kiege sees her covered and says to her
“Suit up, Dewn is keep looking away and waiting for your checkup. He is already done checking me out. It is your turn now”
Tabitha wore her clothes and confront to him. The yawn from his breath gives signs that he was recently woke up and Kiege was diagnose only for a short time. It was now her turn. Dewn wrapped some bandages on her wrist and cut it and recovers itself by using Tabitha’s mana.
Once done, he places the bandage with fluids and continue his testing. Tabitha sees his quick reflexes as he almost done making a diagnosis. Dewn says to her
“It may look stupid, bandaging you without even a wound on your skin. In shamanism, there is wound there. I have to believe it exist and place some ointments for any sign of rituals collected itself into it”
“Yeah, Dewn. Say, about the suspicions about my people entered this place. Did any of the Enders found some clues?”
“They did, but there is one is not coordinating for the mysterious disappearance of the demon”
“Dexter Guild, right?”
“I assumed so. I remember that they are one of the other guilds who are able to subdue them. But now it will be our main priority is your data”
“Archscience, why didn’t Viste let me research with the Dexter Guild though?”
Viste hears her and answers it “Because they give you what you wanted, not the important parts. They always give your expectation, but not the crucial ones. It is better you need the data here, and learn it yourself. Remember not to share it with your city, you said it before. You need to find a way to stop any dangerous tech made by your people”
Tabitha checks her device and swipes off the personal contents, now seeing the data from the prep room and the security data. It will take time to convert and probably gives it to the Raker Mawn guild, to whom has knowledge on super computers like the Dexter guild member, the old man, watching over the sphere. Then again, they have too many outdated electronics. Still the data she has in her device is incredibly advanced, and the programs she couldn’t decipher literally. The diagram and videos explained a lot of it. The archscience is just their modern world.
Her device has the preparation room, meaning facilitating the maintenance and the security room giving grants to the vessel. Now they have to go through to the data storage. Tabitha asks Viste
“What findings will I have to get to learn about archscience?”
“The instructions on how to destroy it”
“What?! What about reconfigure it to our control. If we can do that, we will be able to access the vessel and its secrets”
Dewn pats Tabitha’s back. “You thought wisely, but you won’t going to see it as you’re going to leave this world anyway”
“But . . .”
“All you need is how to handle archscience. Our guild will be busy and won’t give you the time to talk about it. Yet, there is Myrrkei. He might know, but he has little interest about it”
“I heard Myrrkei is a researcher. Why didn’t he be interested?”
“Enders Bridge has their issues. A lone researcher like him will not be having to be involved with people who are sharing their studies. Myrrkei is competitive and his research is more dangerous than their methods. You won’t get any help when he is like that, even you can ask him for his files”
Tabitha’s wand, on her hand. She thought of it as archscience tech. It ignores the use of mana and held only the strength of the runes. Able to vibrate and casts mana to create shockwaves. She thought of this because Haw made it for her. She forgot to use it as she always used magic cards since she is at the back. The wand’s handle, gripping to her hand as she felt something off like it is normal. In archscience sense, how can it able to fend off against it? Her heart races up as she needs to do it by the front.
After their rest. They all gathered into the entrance where a long hallway that leads to the data storage. They hear echoes from the hallway. It was the Enders calling out to them
“What takes you so long? We need to go now as this place starts to leak. The old version of the cybernetics is turning ritualists”
Loud fighting coming from the echoes and one of the cybernetics fell to the floor dragging along leaving a robotic eye free as the curse moves to Tabitha’s team. Viste throws it and pierced its lens.
“We need to go”
Dewn brings out his rod and his bag filled with medicines. Kiege steps further back and Viste takes the front. The middle is Tabitha as she stepping up her cards and her wand to her side. Viste bends the floor and slide off from the floor plates as their hover board. The loud screeches on the floor as she drags it than bending it in the air. The rituals from the cybernetics were revealed by the awful noise. As the hallway is releasing ritual air enhancing with poison as their air filtration masks barely separate it.
“We need to hurry. The gas mask won’t have enough time to filter the toxins. We have only five minutes and the impurities will be into our miniscule air tank”
Dewn brought out the spare small air tanks and attached to their gas masks, attaching to the back. The cybernetics brought their rituals sending curses through them. Slowing their gas mask from entering the filtration. It will be difficult for them even more from the form of ashes arises around them.
Viste pushes out the ashes and the poisonous air. It didn’t work. The cybernetics catch it and siphoning the air and stored inside their bodies as batteries, and sacks the poison air itself, ready to use it. They discharge their energy as fast as it could. Its spells shoot in fast speed, but easily swipes away by Viste’s sweeping the air. This opportunity sprung to action, Tabitha uses her wand and waves the rituals around and casts the spell back to the cybernetics. The cybernetic creatures were pushed a bit as they quickly shift into their mechanical runes to resist their own spells and poisons.
Kiege saw Tabitha’s first attempt to fight against archscience with archscience. The wand is deliberately counter their abilities, but it only mimics as if the wand is like a tool to hold them off. She reaches out to her.
“Tabitha, give me your wand”
Tabitha quickly turns to her and gives it. Kiege takes it and quickly uses it as a mace and strikes it through the cybernetic rituals and rune plated armor. Tabitha gritted her teeth
“It’s a wand, not a club”
She quickly reacted as the enemies are attacking from the other side. She casts her cards and buffed Viste.
Viste phases through her team as she gets her hit against their enemies. She bends her magic and casts an image of herself. Continue to pushes from the back to attack the others in Kiege’s position from the back. The image braces through her enemies and returned back to Viste. The image gives information to her and Viste took it and sees Kiege using the wand. A weird way to use it as a melee weapon, but the materials it had grant powerful blow against all mana and it can only push them away on contact. It is indeed fully created archscience components.
However, it seems like it doesn’t have the same damaging impact. It can only give crowd control to move the cybernetics around then break when it hits a wall. They ride the plated board as they fight. Kiege tastes again the curse and Dewn remedied her, then he turns to Tabitha as he pours the medicine on her as the attack hits her as where he splashes it. He then throws some flares around as he tears off the middle and quickly burns the phases to the last one. Their enemies were caught by the flare. Attracted as they moved closer to it in ritual winds.
Gathered into the corner. Viste dashes the board loudly given Kiege the position to swings the wand at them, they were knocked back as it explodes. Dewn repeats the process sending all of his flares at the back. Continuing the loud noise of the floor plate, it sparks the grind as they go closer to where the Enders are. Tabitha sees them moving faster and faster as she barely using her cards. The noise deafening her senses. They made it. Viste flips the board, throwing it to the other side and expands it to block the hallway. She bends it to enforced it tightly.
The wall is formed. The cybernetic creatures rushed through and dent the wall with its body, molding itself with it. The Enders come to Viste’s aid and grabs any scraps they could find. One of them using their magic elevating the scraps and pierces through the wall and impaled them. The cybernetics pierced through its body as they drained the mana of the Enders spells. The Enders didn’t stop, he let his mana being drained. He solidifies the mana line and sown the cybernetics together into one single thread. Then he pulls the thread to drain it back to him including their batteries.
Viste sees his gloves are made from archscience materials. The twitch of his fingers indicating, combining with mana and which types of spells he is trying to combust together. He hid it back to his sleeves. He said to her
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Prosecutor, still eyeing for justice against the Dexter Guild I see”
The wall is sealed, but not for long. The dent of the metal plates is already taken to rust as the cybernetics are getting through despite their efforts. They closed the door and let the AI banging it.
The Enders who fought the cybernetics before them, apologizes to them “Pardon the incident, my impatience have attracted them here. I was supposed to escort you people as interest overwhelmed me”
Tabitha asks “What is he talking about?”
Kiege answers “It’s you, your device had able to collect the numbers of data so far. Let’s hope this time we can get this vessel”
“Oh yeah, that’s reminds me. What kind of vessel did Ma’am Viste send me?”
The Enders responds “This is the medical vessel facility. Both good and bad if you learn about its secrets”
Tabitha gives her device to them “Ok, first let us get it done with the data gathering and explain me about this vessel. I was taken here because of my interest of archscience”
“It is not the right decade to relearn about the advancement of archscience. This vessel though is indeed the hypocrisy of what archscience tried to avoid. It’s old name I don’t know, but it supposed to be a tool, not the source of all answers and replacements”
“What my colleague is trying to say is, mostly ideologue driven purpose. History wise, it was the first mana type didn’t rely supernatural sources but depends them as resources. Created by one and only one maker individually, and left into ruins such as this”
“Anyway, this vessel you see so far, is the prime era back in the day. Before these destructive forces, back then a civilization used it for the better”
Kiege thought was strange at first, but she can’t understand a few “Then that hot tub and those showers, it is really made by archscience?”
“It is certain, and I won’t doubt what this vessel has that was supposed for great comfort. My guild chose the side of prosperity while the others chose to fight back what apocalypse have ruined this once land filled continent”
Dewn watches one of them collecting the data storage. Another protective power surge lowering the power to this room. They placed back up the energy to keep it on. The backups were easily drained as fast as it could. The defensive protocols really wanted to the protect it at all cost. The power comes back and all the backups are used up. Dewn seems to be wary as they did this for Tabitha’s share.
“We are able to stop the power surge getting to this device. The files were almost corrupt if a single second of the data cut, we will be resetting everything taken at this hour”
Viste is relief “Thank goodness. Tabitha, take this time asking these guys questions. They seem to be experts about archscience”
Viste left and leaving both Tabith and Kiege to the other Enders. They are no Dexter Guild but has familiar emblems and sigil coming from the guilds she saw in the island. Tabitha thinks about it. She said to them
“This is not about the archscience. I saw those emblems before near Isekai City, those Enders banner. They were there after Dexter Guild taken up their service in Taiyou Industries. I want know what are you guys doing in Rune Isles?”
The Enders look at her eyes. A mana loosely flowing as one of them was able to see through her past. Only glimpse with the symbols of their guild passing through personal memories as it is worthless to their search. There they see the guild masters and mistresses. The purpose remained hidden but an offer as any neighbor to the guilds to help one another. There was no future interaction after that. He breaks the trance as he feels tempted that she in the hideout of the Dexter Guild. Tabitha reaches out as she offers her hand.
“What happened?”
She let him stands up without her help “Trying to feel the trace of magic from my guild, but it was the other Enders who uses ritual birds”
“Yeah, he was the first one to introduce me to them. Wait, you actually did say you can trace me with their mana on me?! Am I being watched?”
He shakes his head and returned to work.
Tabitha watches them continue. The thought of this man can trace her made her suspicious. She remembers the incident with Archivist. She moves her lips slightly, but Viste stops her. Whispering to her ears with earnest and strong tone.
“Don’t waste your favors over a past experience. If you used it now, what will happen that you really need it as these people you just met will greatly be useful for the future”
Tabitha stops and smiles “Well, I think I learn enough. Let’s meet again, because your guild had something for me when I’ll be back to the city. Bye”
Kiege comes to her and pulls her back to them. Using her ocesl as she switches the frame scrolls to eavesdrop. “Good call for not using favors, girl. Listen . . .”
Tabitha hears from her ocesl. There’s a conversation between them. “You know you are getting what you wanted to get the data into your hands”
“I didn’t mean to end the favor. Her curiosity to our guild is no payment for me”
“What if she asks more like a personal problem?”
“If it is indeed traded her past for this data. I think it would be sufficed”
“What if it is more valuable?”
“Her past is as invaluable as the data we are trying to get. It will never change the fact it will never recreate the events. But for her, she can do it with our abilities. Sadly, you’re over thinking to a girl who shared our interest of archscience”
Viste ends their conversation and leaves. Tabitha and Viste passed by and Tabitha whispers to her
“Thank you”
“Repay it to my son”
Kiege watches the two acted like troubled girls not giving good friends vibe and only with negative benefits.
“You two are not compatible being friends”
“I think so too, but a favor from them. Are these guys can do something for me?”
“Archscience as magic spells, that’s all I can know about that guild”
Kiege nods to agree what Viste is trying to do to help her. Then she thinks the most honest approach
“I think she did it just to ease the burden for her son’s involvement with you. You put Archivist to the bed with minor demonic burns. I am getting at the future she fears that you might hurt him again”
Viste left. Dewn sees her coming to him as they are almost done downloading the data.
“Are you almost done? I can feel the vibration that something big is coming to us”
The Enders next to Dewn responds “It is, but outside. I think the vessel is collecting itself to protect the data. We have all expected where the data is a treasure for them”
“Could you make it clearer?”
“Apologies, the machines are getting stronger”
The sound of Tabitha’s device ping as completed. The Enders read the data space as he can’t describe how it was able to contain it all.
“Your guild member was able to gather a total of 5,890 Gb. Isekai City has truly made an advance storage system”
Dewn picks up his things. “This is as far as we can stay . . .”
The main vessel data storage turned dark, then backs up in red lights. The warning siren spread into the vessel. As the laser lights are pointing at Tabitha’s device.
“Warning! Hacker ALERT! ALERT!”
The entrance is closed and it is being sealed, and more while defensive measures open up as static shocks coils into the room, slowly moving down from the ceiling.
The Enders, all three of them who helped Tabitha’s team to get here. One is carrying runes and magic fused together with an item on hand purely made from archscience. The Enders who carried loot trophies with cybernetics, start to operate to his controls. Lastly, the Enders brings out rituals with in the carved steel plates and other scraps forged into an item. Tabitha sees the same magic and abilities carried out from their guild. Raker Mawn is a mix of free agent guild members, but she never seen common themed guild members.
These guild members, showing the theme of their guilds. Like Dexter Guild in use of modern post apocalypse techs in different forms of groups. From what she heard they are colonizers to rune isles. Now setting foot to the door, The Enders with archscience magic able to hack the door as his gloves come out from his sleeves and control the system by hand. Then braces to the door and opened it by his own hands. The door opened as it slides down, while he spread his arm. He casts a barrier and pushes forward. Everyone starts running to the saferoom. The hallway triggered the traps and unleashed powerful volts. The barrier stops them as they rush back.
The archscience barrier wasn’t resisting the volts and scattering the hallway, but redirect to the storage data. They run as fast as they can, the volts hit the other volts from the ceiling causing two electrical lines to hit creating multiple short circuits destroying the data storage. Kiege was in shock
“WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!!”
“It’s over, your friend has the full data”
Kiege turns around, Tabitha is running with her magic cards. “DID YOU REALLY?!!”
“Calm down, they already told us. Remember?!!”
They made into the saferoom. The hallway loses the barrier and start exploding inside. The door closes leaving what left there continue to burst. Three of the Enders checked her device, with lack of knowledge how to use it. They give it to her.
“Since you know how to use it. You’ll protect it with everything you have”
Meanwhile the storage data is gone. They don’t want to lose the most valuable assets to recover some old post war technologies, her device is now the most valuable. The other door starts knocking, their enemies are coming to stop the data from escaping.
Either fight or use their guild’s secret passage. Tabitha sees on her device where the security cameras are aiming on her device. She doesn’t mind letting this thing destroyed. She can upload her personal files into the internet. Except, she can’t allow to bring the data to the internet either. This vessel is both saint and devil. A technology that would save lives and forced into a monster with cybernetic limbs. Her team seems not to care too much as they focus on escaping.
She can’t understand the life and death in this situation that her life is threatening from the start and ends with her device meeting its doom. The Enders approach her
“They seem not care for the sake of the data”
“Well, I was the one who is curious and Ma’am Viste sends me here in the first place. Medical vessel from what you guys said. Archscience is looking scary for me”
“I won’t be that scary, it is still a tool that everyone controls until someone make it personal”
“Yeah, like my device. If I going to lock it, no one else will going to use it, but it feels like my device is alive or something”
“I don’t know about that, but if we are going to escape with your device intact. Then we should use the escape pod and get us out of here. Or we can dig through here and reach the other Enders with a long massive hole”
The other Enders spoke “It’s better we should be doing the most optimal response. This enemy will be new. There is nothing else we can do to fight against with the infestations”
The Enders continue to talk to themselves as Tabitha sneakily returned to her team. Kiege waves at her while the two are discussing other things.
“I got a feeling that we are not going to push through the securities. Viste is telling us that something big is coming for your device. How’s the signal though? Does it still work?”
“Well, it seems my signal is still fine. I know this is a security breached. I can see my account active”
“Skip the technical stuff, I am hoping you can contact other Enders with it”
“I don’t know about that, but I am not going to try it here”
“Look, those guys are talking with Viste and Dewn. I hope we can find a way to get out of here”
Meanwhile with Viste. “The defense in Enders Bridge did lessen your numbers. I would be surprised to use your colonizer’s magic array”
“It’s an archscience tech, and we would be using it too when your friend has the data. If only there are nobody in this vessel, we will used it at will”
Dewn agrees “Surely, I have seen enough of the capabilities of destroying all around you when I heard the term array””
“It’s archscience. The array will be greater than you can imagine”
Viste returns the topic “From what you are saying before. The main control deck, it is our only way to go, right?”
“That place is where our guild masters are placing their facilities. With an escape route, we can able to get there with proper use of her device like a line bait”
Dewn checks his supplies “I have all the necessary things to go against physical injuries. Many things I have to defend myself are already used up. The thought of the last effort I can give in responds to protect you all is truly desperate”
“Then we need to move now before the creatures are becoming cybernetics. Or what else it can become with rituals”
The security is breaking through the infestation and other Enders are safely hidden from the surrounding saferooms. They saw most of the creatures were easily fought back. It is very unnatural as it was the creatures’ advantage to fight at the moment. Then something strange occurred to the vessel’s movement. The endless floating starts to shift as it releases it wants to dive down. The suspicion of its hidden generators is activating. They didn’t ready themselves from this stasis ship is reacting from their trespassing. The large machine is on the move, following the files that activate it to destroy the user.
The Enders faced as soon as they are out from the room. Tabitha’s team are running up to the ceiling starting to blast up and climbing to the main deck. The strange machine with its rituals charging at them. It quickly stops and chained by the Enders. It re-adapts and transforms. The machine turns into ritual air passing them through. It reaches them and Tabitha gives it to Viste
“Here!”
Viste takes it and runs away from the machine. It transforms again into elven magic and passed through in a gust of wind. The air is collected its poison spraying at them with their protective gasmask. A little shamanistic to the air passed through but it seems it has no concern to the living.
The elven air though, it is forsaken and leave the three drained from their strength. Aching down to the worse possible moment. Tabitha fell down as she climbs. Kiege catches her in her arms. The stubborn girl tries to raise her arms to try again. The pain she endures is nothing to compare than the UI disorienting her mana.
“I can do it. Viste is far away and . . . No way!”
As they climb up, Viste is already in their route. She was trying to stall but she returns and failed.
Their effort doesn’t work against this security. The Enders behind them are coming to stop it. But they chose a different action and helped them push. They can’t distract it
“It can’t be stop, the machine has terrible forsaken magic. The magic of the dead gods, easily beaten our mana without any chances”
The machine misses Viste, but hits Dewn in the process. He was pulled away into the elven wind, disappeared into the darkness. Tabitha reaches out to him, but too weak and carried away.
They reached to the main deck and the seals of other guilds kept it from opening. Concealed to prevent the machine from entering, the door reacts to the presence of the robot but couldn’t interact with it. The two of the Enders are trying to open the door, but they soon get caught and pulled away. Its limbs barraged at them giving them no chance to escape. Kiege holding Tabitha as they keep themselves away from the attacking machine.
The last Enders steps back from the door and directly come and fight against the machine, casts his magic, and sends his rune tools to his trophies as weapons. They are struggling to get this far, and the machine is rushing at them. Tabitha tries to use her cards but blown away from the powerful elven wind. Kiege can’t do anything else besides carrying Tabitha, neither she must not use magic because of the so-called forsaken magic. Kiege sees it ramming Viste to the wall. The way it behaves as if something is holding off its target.
Then she has an idea. Kiege runs to the door and distracting the machine. The machine randomly hits everyone with precision. Then it hits Kiege. Kiege position herself and dodges the attack. The Enders finish forging his weapons and enforced the machine’s charge by hitting it at the back. Amazingly broken through the door of the main deck. The elven wind disappears. Dewn and Viste managed to negate the forsaken magic. Dewn throws all of his medicine to the ground so the others will heal the wounds as they went in. All of them couldn’t heal much as the dead gods’ magic is resisting it.
The machine malfunctions as it enters the main deck. The Enders saw the escape pod ready, then they all gathered and quickly launch it. The sea water gets inside the main deck cause a flooding and activate the defenses to forced out the water from sinking in. The machine didn’t give up and tried to grab the escape pod. It transforms one last time to use magic to chain and pulled them in. It failed as the sea creatures had come and consumed the mana. The escape pod escapes and returns back them to the surface.