CHAPTER 225: GIRL?
Aurora followed Alice, who was walking hurriedly, looking around.
They were currently in the center of Mamaia-Sat city, where bars and nightclubs were the most prominent.
As an area dedicated to entertainment, this city was prepared to keep the party going late into the night.
That kind of entertainment was prioritized, and even the city’s regulations favored the entertainment industry.
Now, even though the city had an abysmal portal nearby, it was filled with all kinds of people enjoying themselves in the bars, restaurants, and nightclubs.
Some were dressed to dance, elegant and lively.
Amid the crowds, they, too, seemed lively.
“It must be this way,” Alice muttered, looking around.
It was getting dark and even though bright lights covered the surroundings, there were a lot of people, so it was hard to be sure where they were.
Aurora looked at that serious expression Alice wore and laughed softly.
“I’m not lost. Only the signs are confusing,” Alice muttered with a serious expression, even though it was an excuse.
While Urfin had warned that when Theodore found out something he would send it to her, they had received no new orders since she spoke to her group in the morning.
For that reason, they spent their noon and afternoon visiting different places to eat.
From restaurants, confectioneries, and local food stores.
And at this moment they were going to dinner, and Alice was leading the way.
“If it’s this way,” Alice said, walking down the street, and at one part they had to go down some steps.
Aurora’s look became curious as she saw where they were descending to.
She had thought it was the subway but realized her mistake when she went down deep.
It was an underground street where people could move around, and on the sides were several bars and nightclubs.
Old nightclubs, elegant and lively restaurants, it was quite a striking collection of entertainment buildings.
There were even clothing stores with open-and-closed parade halls and even karaoke buildings or bars centered around different themes.
The area was large, and fairly deep underground, but it was very attractive to tourists.
Alice invited her and they moved quickly forward as Aurora looked around curiously.
There was no doubt that seeing buildings reaching for the sky in large cities was amazing, but right now, seeing several buildings underground that were quite large was also nice in its own way.
“The world has more to show than I expected...” Aurora muttered as she followed Alice.
If she were to be honest, she wasn’t very knowledgeable about all that Earth had to offer and this kind of place was something new to her.
“This place apparently was built by a Guild called ‘Victrix’ renowned for having several entertainment spots like this one,” Alice explained, and seeing that Aurora was looking at her, she commented. “The gourmet guidebook mentions it.”
Aurora’s expression quivered at that final comment.
Moving forward, they came out the other side of the subway after climbing the stairs and reached the main street.
Unlike the street on the other corner, which was centered around late-night bars and general entertainment, here it was high class.
The buildings, stores, and restaurants were high class, having in some cases meals with magical ingredients or clothing with quality materials.
There were fewer people than on the other side, although it was still crowded.
Walking away a bit, they arrived at a Romanian restaurant that looked elegant and after entering with their reservations, they sat on the balcony where it overlooked the street.
Alice took the menu the waiter brought and looked at it with full attention.
“What would you like to eat?” Alice asked earnestly.
Aurora looked at the letter and even though she could read the words thanks to being ‘baptized’ in the Church of Knowledge, some translations remained in the Romanian language.
There were always some words that mattered more than the meaning and, because of the literal translation, ended up becoming words that made no sense in another language.
The ‘baptism’ made possible the worldwide communication on Earth, giving the possibility to anyone to understand foreign languages by translating everything clearly, but sometimes you could choose not to translate some words for aesthetics or because of the meaning or the strength of the untranslated word.
It was something that was chosen just by thinking and in this case, Aurora saw it that way because she simply liked it better and...
“Pick something for me,” Aurora said, looking at her sister.
In the end, it was more fun for her favorite glutton to put in the effort by choosing for her, giving her a chance to try new dishes together.
“I understand. Then we’ll have to try several dishes today.” Alice answered seriously and after calling the waiter over, she literally ordered several dishes.
She was looked at strangely by the waiter and those who overheard, but Aurora remained unperturbed and the waiter noted down all her orders.
“Tch... Watch it, you bastard,” snarled someone from the entrance, pushing the waiter out of the way.
“Sorry...”
The man who had growled just looked at the waiter, releasing his powerful aura, getting the waiter to turn pale.
Then, sensing that the waiter was startled, he turned his gaze to the others, the diners bowed their heads.
Until the gaze remained on them, and Aurora returned the look indifferently and Alice ignored it as if she didn’t care.
“What are you looking at?” the man asked, extending the pressure of his aura slowly raising it.
From B-Rank to A-Rank and slowly rising as if to press it.
The man was tall and big, his eyes were intimidating and his scruffy beard gave him an unbridled touch... Aurora recognized him.
She was studying the Romanian guilds and leaders, and that man was the current leader of the ‘Victrix Guild’, Arminio Petra, an S-Rank fighter.
And coincidentally one of her targets, because his guild had some scandals that were forcibly silenced.
Seeing that the pressure was turning the diners pale, and that Alice was about to get annoyed at how they were trying to interrupt her dinner, Aurora just looked away nonchalantly.
The man let out a snort and sat down at the table on the other side, looking out over the city.
The diners, who were pressed earlier wisely chose to leave and Aurora could see the waiters bowing in apology for the restaurant.
That was the problem with having strength and more an S-Rank strength, people usually acted unrestrained.
They were powerful, that’s why they deserved respect... They were powerful, that’s why they wanted privileges, and because they were so powerful they could do whatever they wanted.
She, in a way, was the same only with an inclination to follow their goals, though the similarity was present.
“Dinner can continue,” Alice muttered as the waiter brought her several appetizers as an apology for what had happened.
Those words were spoken to herself, but also to the waiter who seemed to want to ask if they wished to change places.
“I think...”
Aurora’s expression trembled for a moment as she felt her instincts warning her of danger.
As if Alice sensed it too, she extended her shadow at a high speed and covered the balcony with the darkness that sprouted from the shadow, and the next instant...
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
*BOOM!*
Three consecutive explosions echoed nearby, the first one was one of the buildings in front of them and the other was next to the stairs to go to the entertainment area, while the last explosion was on the same stairs.
Aurora was stunned for a moment, but she could notice in the tangible shadow of darkness several metals were embedded.
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The fighter who had been eating shielded himself with his own body, but several pieces of metal also flew through the building.
“Ahhh...”
Someone’s cry of pain woke Aurora from her daze and she immediately looked at the damage in the surroundings.
The first explosion shattered the base of a building and blew up a car that was nearby, getting bits of metal to spread across the area.
Several bystanders were seriously injured.
Assumptions came to her mind as to what was happening and she went from the possibilities of a terrorist attack, demonic, players, and in the end, it was the same thing.
“Alice, you take care of checking the building. I’m going to try to help the wounded. Damage control,” Aurora ordered, giving three different orders.
They both immediately jumped to the ground and Alice nonchalantly walked into the building fire as the darkness put it out, looking for individuals inside.
Aurora, for her part, approached someone with a metal in her stomach.
“Hang in there for a bit. I have healing potions,” Aurora said to that person, who was groaning in pain.
It was hard to tell what to do when the metal was embedded in the stomach, but Aurora just pulled out a healing potion and spread it over the wound, then seeing that it was impossible for the man to drink it she pulled out a healing scroll.
The scroll was individual, although its effect was instantaneous and thanks to the scroll, the metal were pushed out of the man’s body and regeneration began.
Then she looked up at the others who were stunned... Yes, stunned, the fire had already been extinguished from the first building, where Alice was, and Alice just shook her head that no one had survived.
—The explosions were on this side of the entertainment area and the other. I have already informed the authorities and Urfin. Liam has also been informed and will go online immediately. The damage is... Severe and in the other area even more so.
Aurora took a deep breath, trying to control her trembling, and only needed a second to control her emotions and react.
“The authorities are coming. Stay calm, and help those who are injured. Don’t tend to wounds if you don’t know what you’re doing. I have potions here, use them, it will help keep the condition stable and secure the lives of the wounded,” Aurora said loudly, calmly enough for everyone to control themselves.
She didn’t just pull out a few potions; she pulled out quite a few potions in small boxes, most of them of medium and high quality.
To her, this situation felt like going back to a war zone where the wounded were everywhere, while everyone was stunned.
Here it was deeper because the ‘Peace’ they believed so much in was shattered so fast.
“Okay, let’s go,” Several older adventurers reacted immediately and started helping the wounded.
Aurora also did what she could, some wounded were more serious from being close to the explosion and others didn’t make it.
Some looked terrified, others were crying and others were with their cameras recording... But she ignored everything as she ordered those who were acting.
—I fail to identify the cause. However, the two tunnels to the entertainment area were buried and those inside cannot get out or people get in. No more attacks either, no players or demons are visible, but the signals and connections inside the entertainment area were disconnected.
The analysis of her system came immediately and her expression quivered, giving her a look at the tunnel with total seriousness.
That her system let on that everything was disconnected down there revealed that something might be going on.
“Alice, see if you feel anyone under the rubble of the tunnel,” Aurora ordered immediately, and using her holographic watch, she asked. “Liam, are you there?”
“Yes, boss. Do you want me to do something?” Liam asked immediately over the comm system.
His lethargic voice made it evident that he had been resting and was just getting up, but his slight tremor made it clear that he had been debriefing.
“I need you to search the surrounding area. Check for any attacks or how they started... Also, tell me if this happened elsewhere or just here,” Aurora ordered and pulled out several drones from her space ring.
The drones were there because they could allow Liam to connect from anywhere and act as support.
They were mixed drones with various functions and advantages, but with no strengths.
“There’s no one alive,” Alice reported after glancing at the tunnel.
Those words came from a person who had extremely keen senses, and that response caused Aurora to frown before controlling her expression.
“But I sense several things in the entertainment area... Although I couldn’t pinpoint it. Something is happening,” Alice said solemnly.
Aurora looked down the tunnel, she knew it was deep to the entertainment area underground and with a glance decided what to do.
“Can you take care of the situation? Try to keep things stable until the authorities arrive. We’ll go to the other side to see what’s going on,” Aurora said to a more composed-looking adventurer.
There was also the S-Rank man, but he had stood still, frowning.
The authorities’ alarms were going off, and even though about five minutes had passed, there was still no sign of them.
“I understand,” replied the adventurer as he felt her serious look.
“Don’t worry, some drones will stay here and report back to me if anything happens,” Aurora commented with a reassuring smile.
She had noticed his fear in case an attack happened again, and she left him the necessary potions and took the rest, understanding that she would need it.
The drone stayed and, giving Alice a signal; she created platforms to head to the other entrance.
She felt that running was faster and for that reason she moved through the air, generating platforms under her feet as the buildings rushed by.
Alice was following her using a flying artifact.
In the middle of her journey, she could feel the S-Rank fighter following her, but she only accelerated faster and faster, using even her ‘blink’ ability from her combat suit, that was immediately equipped.
“Everyone stay calm, try to stay calm!” said a heroine with a trembling expression.
Aurora recognized that young woman because she was the one who had stopped them before, ‘Adala’ the ‘Blue Tide’.
Her expression showed that she herself was shaken, dazed, and frightened, but it was normal.
The disaster on this side was even worse than on the other side.
The explosions destroyed the interior of some buildings, several cars also exploded and the tunnel collapsed, and that was nothing.
The destruction, the screams of pain, and those motionless were what caused people to be stunned, feeling the unreal of the event... Just like Aurora.
There were several injured, some with minor burns, others extremely serious, there were also those whose limbs were lost or those crushed in the rubble of a building.
And above all, several motionless bodies were no longer breathing.
Aurora had spent most of this year at the academy, sheltered from the cruelty of reality. Where her only mission was in the middle of the year, where she only saw a glimpse of what was happening because of her limited participation in the intervention in Kenya.
This was the reality... This was the cruelty of the reality that could change in just a minute.
They were not at ‘peace’ and although they were now living it, other people were suffering the same and even worse fates.
On the African continent... In the Middle East or simply in a place they did not know.
Aurora moved immediately, pulling out a scroll in case of emergency, and tore it up.
“Everyone, please remain calm. The authorities will soon arrive and order is needed now to help the injured,” Aurora announced, her voice spreading thanks to her magical energy.
The scroll spread a light that helped subtly suppress pain while aiding recovery.
She wasn’t a healing mage; she was a fighter and swords woman, so being equipped with these tools was the basics.
She had made mistakes in her work where such healing scrolls were necessary, and for such a reason, she now always carried a few scrolls in case of emergency.
The situation calmed down and while it was hard to tell if it was her voice or just the scroll; it was helpful.
Looking around, she approached an adventurer who was a healer and left him several potions and scrolls.
“I think you’ll know best when to use it,” she said with a sigh.
He was a healer, and it meant he was knowledgeable on this subject... After all, it took studying in magic and a lot of it.
Then she went to help as she watched Alice put out the fire in the darkness, checking the buildings and preventing it from causing further damage and at the same time using her senses to look at the tunnel, which also had no result.
Getting a person out of the rubble or putting out the fire was easy and possible when someone could cast a spell or lift a truck and, at this point, the ability users moved to support.
After three minutes, firefighters and ambulances arrived in this area.
Maybe because it was night and the area of the city was hectic, they took too long, although they arrived.
Aurora waited calmly, trying then to finish helping.
“This has happened only here. Urfin says he already sent Alros in case of an attack. I’m checking the area, but I’ll need time to verify the cause,” Liam reported.
—No trace of magical energy or anything psionic. The explosions must be the result of a bomb.
Aurora had heard stories of terrorist attacks after the Great Cataclysm, and several of those attacks were carried out by players while magical defenses were low.
A bomb hidden with concealment magic or dropping a bomb with space magic could be as devastating as carrying several bombs in a space ring.
There were many ways to cause destruction.
“I’m going in,” Aurora said as she approached Alice.
She could feel several stares from the other adventurers and mercenaries along with the authorities.
“I think it’s best to wait,” said a police officer seriously.
“Yes... We don’t know what’s going on and it will cost to get the debris out of the tunnel to descend. It’s better to wait,” Adala said with a worried expression.
One could tell she was too frightened and distressed by what had what happened, still in shock.
It was obvious to Aurora that this was her first time in this kind of situation, even though she was an S-Rank.
Maybe she had been that way once upon a time, but not anymore.
“The explosions around were to cause damage, but the main objective was to bury the tunnel to prevent passage,” Aurora reported cleaning herself using an artifact and checking her equipment and inventory to see what was available, she felt the gaze of Adala and the officer. “The tunnel is deep, but everything has collapsed and that’s why no one is alive... When it’s possible that many people were moving when everything happened.”
Her words stunned both individuals, but she hid the fact that everything was disconnected and Alice couldn’t feel what was happening.
Whoever collapsed the tunnel was meticulous about it being buried deep.
Seeing Alice nod in readiness, she walked towards the tunnel and halfway down, someone stepped in front of her.
He was tall and huge, releasing a dangerous and intimidating feeling, but Aurora looked at him as she signaled Alice with her hand to restrain herself.
“They already told you it’s dangerous to go. Besides, if you try to do anything, you might cause a cave-in and ruin my business,” said the fighter with a serious tone, but at the same time letting out his S-Rank crushing aura.
Aurora’s expression didn’t change.
Was it reckless to walk into an unfamiliar place without knowing what was going on? Yes, it was, but it was more reckless to wait.
The bad guys never waited... They murdered people, tortured and performed rituals in the time someone thought to act.
Arminio let on that he was the leader of the ‘Victrix Guild’ who respectively owned this entertainment area.
“So girl, step aside and wait,” Arminio ordered coldly, putting his hand on her shoulder, squeezing hard.
He was trying to intimidate her, and Aurora shifted her gaze from her shoulder and into the man’s eyes.
“Take your hands off me if you don’t want me to cut it off. And get out of my way,” Aurora ordered with her sword in her hands.
Girl?
She was no girl.
She was someone who had gotten blood on her hands and had gone through warlords and lunatics.
Her S-Rank aura was spreading for the first time in a while and Arminio’s expression trembled.
It was a heavy aura that gave the feeling that it could cut through anything... That it let it be seen that the person it emanated from was someone who could pave her way through her sword, even if she had to walk away in blood.
Her sword was a weapon to take lives, but she was the one who used that weapon, and even if she wanted to deny it she was good at it.
“Get out of my way,” Aurora ordered, again, putting her hand on the handle of her sword ready to slash.
That man had been silent without moving or helping since they came from the other side, and it was at this moment that he acted to hinder her.
She didn’t mind him standing still, though the situation changed when he stood in her way and Aurora was annoyed.
Behind her back, another, colder, more sinister aura spread, and Aurora could see black spears out of the corner of her eye to her side, all of them aimed at the fighter.
The tension rose, and the fighter looked behind her back and took a step back.
Aurora didn’t have to look to feel other presences approaching.
“Tch. You hinder the authorities that much to now run with your tail between your legs?” Theodore questioned with a cold stare and, looking at Aurora, he asked. “Do you have a way in? I sense something is wrong downstairs and we need to move fast.”
His first words were not a taunt, Aurora noticed.
Just as he didn’t appreciate having ‘students’ and said so... Now he didn’t even hold back, even though the fighter’s expression was filled with rancor.
“Yes, there’s no need to delay us,” Aurora said, giving Alice a signal with a solemn expression.
As a member of the Executors of Order, Theodore was an experienced in this sort of thing and as if that wasn’t enough, he was psionic.
While his primary skill controlled fire, there was no doubt that he had trained his senses.
Aurora was the same way, and her instincts told her that something was going on down there.
She knew it was deep and she could feel that everything was collapsing, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t go through it and Alice was the one who would open up that possibility.