Just leaving the administrative office upstairs, Angelina was on her way to the docking port when she noticed Armoured Hero standing by the 2-metre thick glass while observing the Ghoul Defectors flying around inside. These creatures seemed to have endless stamina. They never grew hungry or tired which made them the perfect annoyance to keep the site’s staff busy 24/7.
“Hey…” Angelina wanted to offer her gratitude to the Armoured Hero for what he did for her but she retracted the thought and continued walking her path.
“Why?”
Angelina’s feet came to a halt after hearing this one word hitting her ear from behind. She glanced back at the person who had just spoken. “Why what?”
Armoured Hero took his gaze away from the Ghoul Defectors swarming behind the ghostly glass; his sombre eyes peered directly into Angelina’s soul. “The Ghoul Graveyard isn’t some kid’s playground. If you’re looking for fame, go somewhere else. This expedition involves life and death.”
“I’m already aware of that.” Angelina replied without turning around fully.
“Then why do you want to go so badly?”
“That’s…” Angelina was about to reveal her secret but pulled back when she thought of how silly it might have sounded if she told him she was going there to rescue her father who may or may not still be alive.
“…” Armoured Hero waited for a suitable answer but the only thing he received after his long wait was:
“None of your business.” Angelina walked away and never looked back until she arrived inside Magnum Opus Fx3.
***
On the third day of touring the Ghoul Graveyard site, Angelina was absent from the group. Cockroach along with other affiliates of her wondered if she had stayed on board the Magnum Opus Fx3. What none of them expected was that Angelina was at the opposite side of the base inside of a large auditorium where a lot of high ranking Tomb Riders were gathered.
Among these elite group of individuals, Angelina felt as if she was a tiny ant who was going unnoticed. Not many people paid much attention to her and those who did wonder about her identity. She was wearing her battle suit in accordance with her helmet that concealed her celestial countenance.
The reason for the large gathering of professional Tomb Riders was to get them organised and prepared for the soon to be held expedition. On a raised platform were some renowned scientists standing by a rotating 3D imagery that was displaying a rough geological scan of various terrains inside of the Nox Ghoul Graveyard. The 3D imagery was floating around a fixed programmed space.
“Excuse me.” Angelina forced herself to the front of the crowd so that she could get a better view and hear clearly what was about to be said. Reaching the front, she saw a plump middle-aged man stepping forward with his hand poised behind his back in a dignified manner.
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
The organiser of the expedition cleared his throat then addressed the large gathering of elite Tomb Riders. “Greetings everyone. I am Zenur Banshee, one of the organisers of the expeditions that usually take place at this Nox Ghoul Graveyard. Most of you are probably eager to go exploring the unnatural realm, however, I must warn you that the dangers waiting for you inside could lead to your deaths. The last expedition that took place at this site resulted in the loss of 72 Tomb Riders. I’m not mentioning these numbers to scare you off, only to reassure you that the task will be extremely difficult.”
“So many people passed away inside.” Angelina got scared when she heard the number of deaths mentioned. It was a good thing she had her masked equipped, otherwise, her shocking face would have been exposed for others to take notice of.
Angelina wasn’t the only person among the large group of elite Tomb Riders to have some trepidation whispering to her heart. The majority of them were discussing about the number of losses.
“72 people died during the last expedition? Just how terrifying is the Ghoul Graveyard? Will I be able to come back out alive?”
“You can be sure that the majority of us here will lose our souls on the other side. I won’t be among them though.”
“Talking cocky when you are not aware of the dangers that await.”
“It’s better to act tough than to wimp around like you lot.”
“Alright, everyone. Settle down, settle down.” After garnering all of the Tomb Riders’ attention again, the organiser went on to say: “I know most of you are uneasy which is why we are having this debriefing. Now, due to our past blunders that caused a major reduction to our exploration forces, we’ve thought of a way to mitigate our losses in the upcoming expedition. We’ve carefully selected a skill chain of individuals who have returned alive from multiple expeditions in the past. These special individuals, can you kindly join me on stage.”
A small group of Tombs Riders began advancing on the stairs leading to the podium. Among them, Angelina recognized two faces. One was the Armoured Hero donned in brilliant vestment and the other was the Dragon Slaughterer, Meliodas with many unruly scars to his visage.
“Those two…” Angelina began reflecting on why Dr Sherlock showed such reverence towards Armoured Hero as well as why Unruly Ban behaved so unsightly that time at the rave when he got scolded by his older brother.
Finished lining up properly on the podium, the organiser went ahead to introduce the veteran Tomb Riders to the audience. “These six special Individuals are the elite Tomb Riders whom I’ve previously mentioned. They’ve racked up quite a lot of achievement during their past successful campaigns. Allow me to introduce from my left, this brilliant Tomb Rider who has brought back many wounded from beyond death’s door, Armoured Hero. Next, we have the Dragon Slaughterer, he has slain the most Ghouls on all of his expeditions. After him, there is Water Lily, a highly skilled tactician whose strategies have saved and destroyed many enemy combatants. Moving on we have Mad Cobra. Although is cognomen might sound insane, his brutality is only directed at the Ghouls. Next, there is Ghost Rider, the flaming soul that never cease to kindle. Lastly, the Tomb Rider who defies fate and creates her own destiny. The person who has inspired countless women across the globe to become sharp blades, Cool Zephyr!”
The cacophony of voices started up again after the organiser finished introducing the six elite Tomb riders on stage. When the noises finally subsided, the organiser continued with his briefing.’
“These six individuals will be the spearheads of the upcoming expedition. Because there is not much time to get you all accustomed as a cohesive unit, each of you below will choose which of these elites suit your style of riding. This way, there will be less confusion when the expedition begins.”