I walk across the room, passing the buzzing machine with crates of mana crystals by its side.

The wooden boxes filled with pink gems glisten in the morning light.

As I get closer to the stairway that leads down to the first floor, the muffled tones of two men having a conversation hit my ears. The first voice I recognize is the Sector 4 leader that I ran away from previously. He has a happy tone to his words today.

"So what do you think about them? They're the real deal, aren't they? Just like that dagger I have back in the trading office. Genuine Demonic Matter."

He lets out a chuckle and starts to walk around the room, leaving a long pause between his statements.

Using my All-Seeing Eye, I can sense the high-density mana items all over his body.

I slowly step forward, trying to get a better ear on what the response will be. Any clues about the man with an unreadable status will be of great help before I have to confront him. Or better yet, slip in unseen and take him out without any risk to myself or my teammates. By the looks of things, the latter won't be a viable option.

The items the second man wears aren't even showing up in my perception skills; there's an odd barrier between my mind's eye and whatever item or skill protects their identity. All I can do is try to listen.

Still, there's no response, so I creep closer and closer to the stairs.

An electronic voice, full of static, monotone, and extremely low-pitched finally replies.

The scratchy nature of the static makes me wince.

"Yes... these seem to have Demonic properties..."

Even so, his voice is clear, slow, and concise.

It makes my heart start to race.

This is the furthest thing from what I expected to hear from the room down below. There's a long pause before the slow and calculated robotic words escape this person's lips again.

"But they're impure... Replications... Intertwined with Demonic Energy from a mana-born Demon, not from the Abyss..."

The voice stops as the sonar beam behind me sends out another pulse deep into the darkness below the cliff. Then, the Sector 4 Director starts to speak again.

"Well, yes. These were the stones found on this team member from the Vice Region's Elite team. The attack on the City of Solara commissioned to take out the Labyrinth, along with many of the higher-ranking dungeons nearby. They're a fairly good team; once my number 2 comes back, I'd like to see if I can whip any of them into shape to work for me. Ha, I even-"

The monotone voice cuts him off.

"Enough... Chit-chat... I don't care about your plans... Do what you want with them when I leave... You're telling me this woman cleared the Final Floor...?"

There's a pause.

I swallow saliva and listen intently. My heart is racing, and I stay completely still, not wanting to miss a word that comes out of their mouths. There's still no information on this mystery man. The Sector 4 leader replies, with a bit of nerves to his voice now.

"No, apparently a younger man cleared the final floor. He didn't have any items of value on him, so we threw him in the mana-negating cuffs and let number 5 take care of him. You'll get to meet him soon too, but this one here has the stones you're always looking for to aid in your creations, so I assumed you'd like to see her first."

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The air falls silent again.

"Yes... Good, good... I wouldn't have made the trip from Sector 2 if there wasn't something worth my while...."

Silence fills the entire Observatory once again before the sonar breaks the awkward lull.

Meanwhile, a few thoughts start racing through my mind. This man just said he was from Sector 2. Based on the superior tone used while talking to the Sector 4 leader, it's safe to say he's a leader too. This means he's probably stronger than level 651... but by how much?

He continues speaking.

"I'll use my artifact... We'll see what's really going on in the mind of the mage who brought us Demonic stones..."

I sense a large amount of mana starting to build up into a small space on the floor below me. All of my appraisal skills are constantly blocked by the man's odd armor, so I can't get a real read on what's happening. However, it's clear a large amount of energy is being exerted.

This isn't good. It's most definitely a crucial moment, and I need to act fast.

Whatever the Sector 2 leader is charging up, it's about to be used on Lydia. I have to make a decision, but there are too many unknown variables.

The mana buildup gets more and more dense, tens of thousands of MP are being channeled into a tiny space. An equally loud buzzing noise starts to pulse from below me as it does behind me from the sonar.

This artifact is extremely powerful.

Pulses of white energy start to come up through the floor.

Then, I hear a scream...

A very familiar scream. One that belongs to my teammate.

The Sector 4 leader laughs through the noise.

"Look who finally woke up. You sure do have bad luck with timing. Hold tight, this will only hurt a lot."

Sarcasm fills his twisted words as the buzzing of the mana gets louder and louder, and the readings show it covers the entire body of the other man but concentrates most densely on his palms. Still, his armor suit distorts the waves about a meter from all sides of his body.

The man moves toward Lydia.

So, I make a decision to stop it. I make my move.

I let out a deadly wave of intimidation from above, rippling through the metal walls of the Observatory, focusing right at the Sector 2 leader with all my might.

It's not so much an attack; it's more of a distraction. This is my attempt to bring their attention elsewhere before it's too late. I don't know what that device does, and it's better I don't find out; but I have my suspicions. Lydia knows a few of my secrets. Having someone digging around in her memories would be directly against my best interest.

The buzzing halts, and the static-filled voice continues in an irritated tone. It's much louder than before and not focused on anyone in particular, more so to everyone who can hear it.

"Do we have... unwarranted visitors...?"

I feel a wave of intimidation exactly the same as the one I just launched downward come flying back up through the floor to ripple through me.

The Sector 4 leader's voice follows in a shaking manner.

"N-No, there's no way anyone would come out here. It's been abandoned by the city for weeks; there's-"

The angered static tone cuts him off again in slow, calculated words, pausing every few.

"That doesn't.... explain... the clear act of aggression... coming from the floor above..."

Down below, in the center room, a door swings open, and heavy footsteps walk out. Each one makes the very structure of the observatory shake and quiver.

A trailing voice of the Sector 4 boss replies but is overpowered by the static tones once again.

"This will only take a moment... I'll handle the intruder..."

The concentration of mana from the device the man was using fizzles out, but a new glow starts to cover his entire body. It looks almost like an impossibly thick suit of mana-imbued armor in my mind's eye. Over a meter away on all sides of what normal human size would be, just like before. It makes him look very round in my mind's eye, like a pure ball of energy stomping my way.

Even so, the mana density he's wielding is impressive. Still, it's impossible to get a proper read on with all the blockers in place.

I hop backward, making my way to the other side of the room closer to the sonar. With crates of mana crystals around my feet and the open sky above my head, I'm ready to leave and lure the man away so my teammates can infiltrate the base with better odds.

Still, my stealth skill is fully activated, while using air magic and small hush barriers around each footstep. I don't want to give away my exact position until it's necessary.

Other than the one wave of intimidation, it's close to impossible to notice me unless I wanted to be seen.

Or so I thought.

Heavy steps come up the stairs and are soon followed by the ear-piercing static squeaking and scratching sounds.

A suit of black armor comes walking up the steps onto the top floor. He stands over two meters tall with a mixture of grey and white light twisting around his entire body.

The armored Sector 2 leader looks straight at me as if my stealth skills are meaningless. Then, lets out another wave of intimidation, multiple times stronger than before.