Cli Clank--

Rupert locked the door behind him.

"I've got you."

A small smile spread across his lips. The escapee was now trapped. He made sure that to be the case.

"Hooo."

At the same time, he felt cold sweat trickle down the side of his face.

Had he not been paying extreme attention, he would've been in trouble.

Thankfully, he had been on high alert. While he did believe the story at first, the fact that his so-called 'colleague' refused to even look at him once was fairly suspicious.

Of course, that wasn't enough to warrant Rupert's actions.

The real reason why he was able to find out was simply because of the threads that were coming out of his body. They were thin, almost imperceptible. And yet, if one paid close attention, they'd notice them.

It was almost as if he wanted him to detect him.

"...No, that's unlikely."

Why would he want himself to be detected if his goal was to escape?

While he wasn't sure why he was there, Rupert made sure to close the door behind him and lock it.

Unless he had a key, he wouldn't be able to go out.

And even if he did have the key, it wouldn't matter since he left his own key in the socket.

Like a rat, he was trapped.

"I'll wait for the others. They should be done chasing the other guy."

The fact that there was someone else helping the cadet was somewhat suspicious, but Rupert thought nothing of it.

Although the cadet looked weak to him, he didn't want to underestimate him.

Given how he had managed to come all the way here, his abilities weren't something he dared to underestimate. That, and the fact that he'd be in trouble if he engaged directly.

"It's a pity that communication devices don't work in the bunker."

Things would've been so much simpler with them.

"Hm?"

It didn't take long for him to hear footsteps.

Turning his head, he could see his other colleagues rushing at him.

"Rupert! It was a decoy! He was dead...!"

"Where is the person that passed? Where is he?"

They looked startled, and worried.

With a smirk, Rupert pointed at the door behind him.

"Don't worry, he's right in there."

"Uh?"

"What...!?"

The two guards paused, looking at him with startled looks. That was when Rupert elaborated.

"I was waiting for the two of you to come. I need one of you to leave and relay the information to the leaders that we've caught him. He was the one disguised as the other guard. Thankfully I managed to catch up and had him trapped in the supply area. He won't be able to escape even if he wants to."

"Ah! I'll be on it!"

Realizing what had happened, one of the guards immediately nodded before dashing away.

The other guard on the other hand looked at Rupert with a frown.

Rupert looked at him.

"What is it?"

".....Do you really think it was a good idea to have him enter the supply area? There's a lot of resources in there. Some dangerous stuff too."

"Ah, don't worry."

Rupert waved his hand dismissively.

"It won't take longer than five minutes for Ryan to get back."

"And?"

"You've seen how big the supply area is. It'll take him days for him to find anything useful. And we both know that the important stuff is locked in protected areas. Unless he knows the codes and has the keys, it's impossible for him to get his hands on them."

"That's true."

Only after hearing Rupert's words did the guard calm down.

Indeed, there was no time for the cadet to do anything significant. And even if he did have enough time, it was impossible for him to know where what was, and have the means of access to them.

Just as the guard nodded his head, the two heard a sound coming from behind them.

To Tok--

It was the sound of someone knocking.

".....I'm done."

And a voice echoed shortly after.

Done...?

Rupert frowned, meeting the other guard's gaze.

"You're done? That quickly?"

"Yes, the water was quite close."

"...."

Rupert pursed his lips.

He didn't quite understand what was going on.

Did he really just go in for water? That made no sense. Why would he risk doing that in the middle of an escape?

'Was he really just that thirsty?'

Either way, looking at the other guard, Rupert made sure to keep the door closed.

"You're done? Great. Just give me a minute. The key is stuck in the socket."

Clank, Clank!

He moved the key up and down to make it sound like it was stuck.

He thought he had done a pretty good job at it.

"It's stuck?"

"Yes, just give me a minute."

Clank, Clank!

"These damn keys...!"

He continued his act for the next few seconds. Rupert could almost imagine the look of anxiety on the cadet's face on the opposite side as he continued to move the keys.

'I would've loved to take care of you myself, but orders are orders, and I'm not keen on seeing whatever trick you have in store. I'll keep you stuck here until reinforcements arrive.'

In fact, he almost wished the cadet could leave the room. That would give him an excuse to be able to fight him.

While he didn't underestimate him, that didn't mean he wasn't confident in taking him down.

"Hmm, this damn key. It's been a very long time since we've used the bunker so I hope that you're n--"

Halfway through his sentence, Rupert felt a subtle vibration coming from the other side of the door.

Frowning, he stopped and placed his ear next to the door.

His colleague did the same.

As he did, he could almost hear the sound of tape being used. Tape...?

Why would he use tape?

'Wait...!'

A thought suddenly struck him, and he hastily turned his head to look at his colleague who was still confused.

Rupert hurriedly grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away.

"Hurry up and le--"

But it was too late.

BOOOM--

A massive explosion sounded, tearing the door apart and swallowing Rupert in it. The same was true for the other guard.

The area rumbled, and the surrounding was covered in a layer of smoke.

Tak.

Shortly after, a figure walked out from behind where the door had once been.

Holding onto a few small circular objects, Julien scanned the surroundings.

Tossing one of the objects and catching it, his gaze fell on a figure lying down on the ground with his eyes wide open.

"You've survived."

.....It made sense to a certain degree.

The device in Julien's hand was a mana bomb. Only activated through the injection of mana, it was a rather powerful device. However, its radius was quite small, and it wasn't very effective against extremely powerful people.

In particular, those that were well-versed in the [Body] classification.

But it was a different discussion if they were caught off-guard.

"Pft... Kh...!"

With his back against the wall, blood spilled out from Rupert's mouth as he looked at Julien.

He seemed to want to say something, but he was in no state to speak.

Julien was also not in a situation where he could waste time. Therefore, extending his hand, threads emerged, crawling down from beneath and helping Rupert up.

Staring into his eyes, Julien remained silent.

Rupert appeared to be struggling to say something, but it all went to deaf ears.

Holding onto the mana bombs, Julien slowly placed them into Rupert's pockets.

"....!"

"Shhh."

Bringing his finger to his lips, Julien's other hand turned purple as he placed it over Rupert's face.

Then, with this, Rupert's body grew limp.

That's when Julien finally placed his finger against his temple and ended it.

Because the guard was on the stronger side, it was a lot more difficult for him to kill him with just the thread. A thin, almost imperceptible film of mana had been protecting his body.

Only after using 'Grip of Pestilence' did the film disappear and Julien finished.

Maneuvering the threads around the body, he turned to face the end of the hall.

"Though his clothes are somewhat messy, it should do."

Catching his breath, he rushed ahead.

He only had a few minutes to spare. By now, everyone was aware of the explosion. Guards were going to flock in this direction, he knew that much.

With such thoughts, Julien coiled one of his threads around one of the mana bombs before tossing it away and guiding it away from where he was.

At the same time, he rushed in the opposite direction.

Xiu!

The speed at which the thread moved was a lot faster than he was.

Before he knew it, the bomb was already quite far away.

".....This should be good enough."

He flicked his finger.

BOOOM

A distant rumble echoed.

***

"There's growing unrest in the outer area of the bunker! Please send someone to calm the situation down!"

"The unrest is growing!"

".....They're demanding to open the inner area. Please send someone."

Reports flowed one after another from panicked guards as they entered the meeting run. Listening to what was happening, the post-leaders felt a massive headache.

It had been like this for the past several minutes.

"One of the cadets is being especially loud! She's been leading the protests."

"We're having difficulty dealing with her. She's from a rather respectable family, and nobody wants to offend her."

"Not only her, but several others! Please do something!"

The same couldn't be said for Aoife who looked at the scene with strange amusement.

'It must be her.'

She could only think of one person who would do such a thing.

Who else but Kiera...?

'I guess she does have her uses after all.'

While Aoife wasn't sure if Kiera knew of the situation, what she was doing was extremely crucial. With all the attention from the guards focused on trying to capture Julien, Keira's unrest was making the situation more difficult for the post-

leaders.

It was perhaps going to lead to more guards being stationed at the outer area to calm the situation down, making things easier for Julien.

For a moment, imagining how the situation was unfolding in the outer area, Aoife almost found herself laughing.

Thankfully, she was able to restrain herself from doing so.

"Calm down for a moment."

Calming the situation down was the post-leader of the Moonshine Guild. He was a tall man with dark skin and long, flowing dreadlocks that cascaded to his shoulders. His deep, white eyes scanned the room.

"....Please elaborate on the situation so that we can get a better understanding. You're saying that there are protests outside, correct?"

"Correct."

The guard replied curtly.

"What exactly are they saying...?"

"That..."

The guard looked uncomfortable, turning his head to look around. Frowning, Lennon Conroy narrowed his eyes.

"Spit it out, what is it?"

Feeling Lennon's gaze, the guard pursed his lips before eventually speaking.

"....Do you know who my father is?"

The room turned silent right after that.

None of the post-leaders muttered a single word.

The silence was uncomfortable, almost tense. However, it was soon broken by a certain someone.

"Pftt."

Holding onto her mouth, a laugh escaped Aoife's lips.

Despite her best attempts, she wasn't able to hold herself back and let out a strange sound.

Instantly, all heads turned in her direction.

Feeling their gazes, Aoife's expression twitched.

She was just about to say something when everyone's attention flicked elsewhere. A subtle rumbling could be felt in the distance, accompanied by the muffled sound of an explosion. It came from within the inner area of the bunker.

"This...!"

Several post-leaders stood up simultaneously.

"Wait!"

Aoife tried to call for them, but her words no longer had any effect on them as some directly left the room.

"Quick! Check what's going on!"

"I'll come too."

"Let's go."

It didn't take long for most of the post-leaders to leave the room, leaving her sitting on her chair by herself.

"Ah."

Staring at their backs, Aoife bit her lips.

'.....I hope I've bought enough time.'

This was the limit of her power.

The post-leaders had finally made their move.