Chapter 4 Number One

     SD Chapter 4 Number One

[Roseblade domain, 7:00am, the morning of the day of the duel]

~Celt, we've been over this a dozen times already! I want a normal face, not this...conspicuous one!~

Number one spoke within his mind. The sun hadn't yet peeked over the horizon and he was casually dressed in a large floral shirt and a baggy gray pair of shorts. He was seated on a long stool, overlooking the road before him and the behemoth of a building across from him.

#we have indeed. But, being too inconspicuous... would make you stand out even more!#

A voice answered within his mind. He was arguing with his AI, the one that resided within the numbered mask on his face. Everything that he looked like now was simply a holographic projection. His appearance was the same as previously, the hooded robe and the mask. The mask had such highly advanced technology that Number One always wondered how Astealth even got it.

He sipped on his drink, the one he had ordered on this small stall. What had surprised him and attracted his curiosity such that among all the businesses on this street, he had chosen this one...was the fact that the person behind the counter was handling fresh ingredients and preparing everything by hand.

~Okay, let's drop the topic as even the other times, you didn't listen to me. Notify me when the Void ship appears!~

He ended that conversation because he wanted to satisfy his curiosity now that the owner of this establishment was not busy.

"Man... I don't know your name so I will call you that. I have a question for you, why aren't you using food printers and buying yourself one of those AI bots?" 

"...first of all, rude! And now the answer to your question is simply because I love what I am doing. I am getting old and I love this! It gives me a sense of purpose. If I handed everything to an AI bot and waited for profits, I would be rotting away at home." 

The man's explanation made Number One admire him. He too, was someone who liked the action. Leaving things to the others was a big NO. 

"You are just like, mate."

"So, what brings you to my humble establishment? Are you here to gaze upon the void ship that will take our Queen to the Cosmic Pit?" The man asked with a tinge of excitement in his voice.

"...something like that." Number One answered. 

#it has arrived!#

The moment he heard those words, Number One sucked up the rest of his drink, after which he walked out of the small establishment and raised his eyes to the top of the Roseblade city skyscraper. Something had appeared up above the building, casting a shadow that inspired both awe and fear into a person. 

'It looks like the mission is about to start. Two and Three are most probably in the vicinity of this place.' Number one couldn't stop the grin that appeared on his lips at the fact that he was going to compete with them. They had taken on the same mission, but each was going to be working alone. Whoever got the coordinates first would be the only one to get paid. Though, this mission had specifically mentioned that no one was allowed to back out until someone retrieved the valuable coordinates.

Number One acted like the rest of the crowd and waited until the goodbye speech ended before he made a beeline for the building after the void ship took off. The time to commence the mission had arrived!

Though, he made sure not to appear too suspicious, keeping his gait normal and relaxed. There would be no chance for another attempt if he was caught even before he made his way into the building. There was no security here, only surveillance cameras and bots that had that same role. He smiled and waved to a young woman who openly stared at him, causing her to blush, yet her gaze never left his face. He cursed inwardly at how the AI of the mask liked to give him attractive faces every time a mission required a disguise. It was a pain dealing with the other sex.

He passed through the doors to the building entered what would normally be called the lobby. For a moment, sound bombarded his ears, almost causing him to go back outside. There were simply way too many people here! And the various holograms advertising the various businesses, from restaurant chains to apartments to parks...practically everything a human could want was ensconced within this building.

Seeing this familiar sight brought up some nostalgia in him. The first time he had entered a city scraper...he would never forget that moment in his life. 

After a few seconds of regaining himself, he mingled into the crowd and moved on, making his way to the central elevator shaft. It was the only way he could get close enough to the top levels...and after that, the mission would start in earnest.

As he made his way though, he tried to keep a look out for the other two, though subtly such that he didn't expose himself to them first. But it was to no avail as they were simply too good at their jobs, just like him. Besides, if they were that easily discovered then he would be very disappointed. 

~Celt, will I be exposed if I try to board the elevators?~

He asked as these were managed by advanced AIs that were supported by quantum computers. Any fluctuation in a muscle, a twitch of an eye...basically everything that was observable by cameras or detectable by other kinds of sensors could give him away.

#dont worry, I have calibrated this form to such a state that they won't even be able to detect any flaws. These things don't even have sentience, don't lump me in with them!#

~they must have beefed up security now that they know that they have something the whole world wants...I am going to first watch and see...~ 

Number one decided to become cautious. Rosaline most certainly wasn't a fool. And he was sure that Astealth hadn't been the only organisation hired to try and learn the coordinates of her wormhole that led to the star system. He was going to wait and see whether there were any idiots that would trip the alarms.

The elevator was suspended within a wide and long glass pillar that was as tall as the building itself, and any that entered it had a spectacular view of the place whether they were ascending or descending.

#its made of carbon nano fiber plus another alloy that I can't make out. The chances of normal weapons damaging it are practically slim, except for light and energy weapons. Though, it would be simple for you to damage the structure with your sword. I wonder, how does having a powerful will allow people's weapons to subvert the laws of physics?#

The AI took the initiative to talk to him as he leaned upon a wall somewhere far from the elevators, waiting to see whether there would be anyone dumb enough to get caught.

~dont ask me. I have no explanation for it too~

"Is this your first time here?" He casually started a conversation with a woman next to him. She had pink ponytail hair and green eyes. She was dressed in a black skirt, blazer and shirt...the standard office attire. She must have been going to work, but judging by the fact that she too was standing here, there must have been a reason.

"No."

"Do you live within this Roseblade?" 

"Yes...could you please stop with the questions? I have met many like you...and I don't particularly like your type. You aren't interesting enough." After those words, the woman even scooted further from him.

"For real! She thought I was picking her up? Do women take me to be that simple? And what was that about my my type? Hey! Lady! What type am I?" Number one shouted in her direction but she didn't answer back, only proceeding to ignore him.

"..." He sighed exasperatedly and for a moment even wondered whether he should just continue on. Sneaking around like this didn't generate as much fun as fighting.

(Guest! Suspicious behavior has been detected from you. Would you please kindly follow us back for interrogation?)

Multiple bots spoke that same line as they surrounded a person who had been about to board the elevator. He had dark hair and that cold gaze of his had already told Number one that he was most definitely one of those with a mission to infiltrate the Roseblade domain.

The man hadn't yet drawn his weapon, probably because he was wary of the Flower knights. Number One hadn't seen or sensed any, but he knew that they were most definitely around here...some of them anyway.

The bots surrounding the man weren't a threat as they could be dismantled, but judging by his wariness, he probably didn't think that he had any chance of winning when the Flower knights were involved.

Actually, now that Number One was thinking about it, probably whatever the computer had detected about the man wouldn't have counted as a cause for an interrogation if it had been during normal times, but now that the city was on high alert, it had become a suspicion.

Number One further comfortably leaned into the wall and decided to appreciate the show. The man's eyes were darting about, probably already thinking of an exit strategy...but as a veteran in this business, Number One knew with absolute certainty that the man's only chance was to hightail out of here by fighting his way out. The bots were inconsequential. What really mattered was whether he could at least exchange moves with the Flower knights. If he could, then his chances of survival were a little over 50%. If he could fight on par with them, then his chances of escape were over 80%.

As Number One continued observing, the man finally lost his patience and summoned his soul weapon.

"Oh!" Number One became somewhat surprised and perked up. What the man had summoned wasn't some conventional or common weapon, but a string that shimmered with a silver light. It was being held by both his hands, but Number One was sure that it was deadly. 

Sometimes a human awakened a weird weapon when they came of age. And most weird weapons were so rare that the awakener wouldn't be able to find a master to teach them which made it incredibly hard for many of them to even rise up in the world of duelists. But his instincts were telling Number One that this man was at least as strong as those in the top 500 duelists. 

He found it a pity that this talent was going to die here.

The man moved even as Number One lamented the man's grim circumstances. With a flicker of his form, a droid's head was cleanly separated from its body as if the metal had been mere cake. And with his his bizarre footwork, the other droids too, met the same fate.

The people around him only registered what had happened when the droids' heads hit the floor, upon which a panic ensured as the crowd went wild! The man on the other hand took the chance to travel towards the entrance of the building at the fastest speed his feet could carry him, essentially transforming him into a blur in normal people's eyes, while the experts managed to see him quite clearly.

Number One would have loved to catch a glimpse of who among the Flower knights was going to take action, but this was an opportunity that he couldn't pass up. Everyone was acting way out of their normal behaviour right now so, he acted as if he were a shocked and terrified normal person and raced towards the elevator, where he boarded and tried to squeeze towards the back, like any terrified person would do. His acting was top notch and he was sure that any flaws were being fixed by Celt.

Besides, there were many people like him taking the elevator. And since the AI had probably calculated that the people in the elevator needed to be taken away to safety, it started rising. 

Number One on the other hand had become calm, while the holo rendition over his body was still in a state of panic. Instead, he had started looking around, trying to pick out any other retrieval experts in the crowd. This elevator alone was about 10 sqm, making it capable of holding almost 100 people. And since there had been a situation earlier, it was almost filled to that capacity. 

Five candidates stood out among the many, though he was pretty sure that there were others who were as better disguised as him.

'Skill in stealth and espionage is going to be tested when the elevator stops on the last floor the public is allowed on, the 145th.' 

His heart was pounding in anticipation.

*****

Number One was pretending to browse the various forms of entertainment on the 145th floor of the Roseblade city skyscraper while searching for a way to the next floor...well, mostly that task was being overseen by Celt, who was scanning everywhere he was walking through using his eyes. 

The Roseblade building was composed 200 floors. You might think that this was too little considering that the building practically pierced through the very clouds themselves, but that was an understatement since every floor was so wide and high, that some floors had even been rented out to some people who had constructed 5 floored scrapers within the building itself!

So, from the 145th floor to the 200th, the goal was going to be about finding an elevator and impersonating someone with a high enough clearance to step foot onto the highest floor.

#staircase detected. Its hidden within that building#

Number One directed his gaze toward the particular building and cursed inwardly when he saw that the people entering within it looked like some sort of security company. This was most definitely a mere front. These people were most likely protecting the staircase, and, there was most definitely a Flower knight!

#there is also a security measure I can't bypass. A bio-electrical field sensor.#

This next piece of information caused Number One to feel like the mission just got that much harder. Every human had a unique bio-electrical signature and the sensors that were capable of even sensing such a thing were top of the line equipment that couldn't be sabotaged or lied to. A finger print sensor and a retinal scanner could be bypassed...but a bio-signature scanner couldn't. It worked on a principle that involved quantum mechanics. If he wanted to deceive it, he would need a bio signature copier, something that was expensive and rare.

Number One scratched the back of his head, not in annoyance but happiness. Finally! The time had come to compete and see who made it to then top first.

'...but first, I will wait for someone to get impatient.'

Only a few seconds passed since he developed that thought that he heard fighting within the building.

"Shit!" He cursed audibly. Someone had already invaded the building, which meant that he had been a few minutes slower!

He canceled his disguise and his black colored robe appeared. The mask on his face was the same, except that the number had been somewhat obscured. If he left it as it was, he will draw all the attention of the Flower knights, making it so that he wouldn't be able to complete his mission.

With a small application of force to the soles of his feet, he instantly appeared before one of the walls of the building where no other person was and his right hand made it out of the hood, revealing a 15 inch black dagger, whose blade was shaped like a meandering river. With little to no effort on his part, it dug into the wall and in mere moments, a rectangular cut that fit his form had been etched in the wall.

Willpower was a very important power as it made everything else useless in comparison. The top 500 duelists were monsters whose weapons were capable of cutting or outright shattering those of the people below that mark. There was absolutely no material on Kyaku that couldn't be cut or destroyed by them!

With a kick, the rectangular cutout fell inwards and a scene of multiple people fighting greeted him, with lasers and plasma bullets flying.

He instinctively dodged as an automated gun fired a laser beam at him. He didn't even pause for a moment before racing towards the general direction of the stairway while dodging plasma bullets or defending against them with his blade. The weapons were being managed by an AI, while the staff was fighting with their soul weapons. 

A flicker of surprise appeared in the depths of Number One's eyes as he took in the fact that there were about ten other people in the building and they were all trying to head towards the stairway, apart from the guards. They also included the woman who had thought that he had been hitting on her.

'That damn woman! I hope you survive! Because I am going to search for you and teach you that I am not someone of any particular type!' He gritted his teeth.

Not long after, a figure appeared in his path holding a pair of short staffs only for Number One's body to flicker, vanishing from the guy's vision entirely, before appearing behind the man and continuing on without so much as a glance behind. Such weaklings weren't worth his time!

The man wanted to turn around and chase after him only for his body to crumble as his limbs were separated from it. Number One didn't kill the man as that wasn't needed with this mission. Besides, he had the sneaking feeling that maintaining a positive image with Rosaline might lead to some truly interesting things.

He smiled beneath his mask as he went deeper into the building, escaping the scuffle from before. Of course, he met more security personnel, who he proceeded to dismantle like the one from before.

#through that wall!# 

Celt's timely words made him withdraw his dagger and once again make a rectangular cutout in the wall. The mask wouldn't give him away since it had been obscured and even their advanced AI was going to take at least 30 minutes before it could manage to expose the number on his mask, but his dagger was a problem. There were many videos that were circulating in the virtual world about this particular weapon and who its wielder was. So he was also making sure that he used the fastest speed possible when using it such that at least, the cameras wouldn't manage to catch it clearly, but he knew that exposure through it was going to be even earlier than the mask, so getting to the higher floors was a higher priority.

"Hmmm...using the staircase is a bit of a redundant idea. So far, I haven't seen any of the Flower knights. Could it be that someone is waiting up there?" Number One pondered loudly as he pulled on his chin.

~Celt, I need you to find a way to access some crawling space tunnels...in other words, air vents. I don't want to get into an altercation with one of the Flower knights this early.

After he had relayed his intentions, something appeared in his eyes as the walls vanished and he managed to catch a glimpse of the vents. There were various security measures in the ones he could see, but he was sure that he could deal with them.

So he cut into the wall and entered the vent. With an intention of will, he took control of every muscle in his body and crawled within the vents with a speed fast enough to almost rival a car. The laser nets, energy barriers and plasma saws were all dismantled in his wake as he rose through the vents.

While he was moving, he sensed a large explosion of will off to the side, verifying his speculations that a Flower knight had been waiting at the end of a staircase.

He moved within the vents until he found an exit, where he proceeded to let himself out after making sure that there was no one.

It appeared to be a storage area and everything was sealed within containers of a material that akin to plastic. 

~is there any piece of surveillance equipment I should be wary of over here?~

#none#

After the confirmation, Number One made his way to the exit. Whatever was being stored here was none of his business. Besides, there was nothing more valuable in this world than the coordinates of that star system. And he wanted to get them!

Number One's appearance changed as a disguise of a suit appeared over his previous appearance before he opened the door, courtesy of his dagger, before confidently and boldly striding down the hallway. Many doors and windows faced him, but he appeared unfazed at all. Many people within saw him, but ignored him as he appeared to be an employee. They probably assumed he was a newbie or a transfer. The first rule of deception was to deceive even yourself. According yo what he had managed to glean through Celeste, this place was an administration center that managed many of the things in the Roseblade domain. Even with the advent of AI, paperwork was something that couldn't be pushed to the side. A human touch was still needed.

Even while moving, he was searching for any signs of an elevator or a staircase that would take him upwards. Celt's search area was limited to about twenty meters, so he had to walk around in order to expand the area that she could search.

'So far, I haven't seen any of my peers. It seems I am either the first, or they have already ascended.'

He thought before coming to an abrupt stop, because Celt had managed to find an elevator. Though, it required a an employee data card and a bio-magnetic scan.

~Celt can you hijack the elevator?~

#i can try#

After that conversation, he waited for an employee to have themselves scanned and the doors to open, only for him to flicker through them with such speed the woman only caught a blur.

"...nice to meet you. I thought there had been no one." She spoke when she saw him within.

"Most people don't always see me. You could compare me to a wall. Nice to meet you, beautiful madam. I am Jerry." Number One put on a smile that caused the woman to have a faint blush appear on her cheeks.

"Madam is a bit too old for me, don't you think, Number One?"

That one question caused his heart to almost skip a beat. He almost impulsively attacked, only for his rationality to take over.

"Number Two...you are certainly faster than me." He spoke casually while the elevator rose. But beneath the mask, he was frowning hard. How had the woman recognised him? He was sure that there had been zero flaws in his act!

~Celt, is there a tracker on my body? Or is there something that I slipped up with?~

#none#

This woman was dangerous!

"Tell me something...how did you know? Depending on your answer I might hunt you down." Number One's voice was cold enough to freeze lakes and the murderous aura permeating from him caused the very atmosphere to become gloomy. She had her back to him and her expression wasn't in his sight but, he really wanted to see what face she was making right now, though the holographic projection over her was something he was sure he wouldn't be able to breach with Celt.

"I study humanities. You are my greatest competitor...so I spent a very long time studying you. I have mastered all that I could from you...now, I want you to vanish. When I get your position, I will be able to do many things."

"What are you plotting?" Number One asked as the atmosphere within the elevator continued to spiral into darkness. He was becoming increasingly alarmed by the woman. She was showing a certain creepiness to her that wasn't there before.

His heart was palpitating and he was starting to feel a sense of growing danger, like something was about to happen, something fatal to his very life!

And that's when it clicked! This woman had reached the same level of willpower as him! Every time they had met, he had been the one with an edge, yet here, she was exhibiting signs of competitive equality.

Number One's grip on the dagger tightened. No matter what happened after, this woman had just become a threat worthy of taking his very life!

Sparks fluttered and a burst of will caused the very air to distort as he blocked an attack towards his navel.

"Sweety, you will have to do better than that!" He taunted, his voice appearing as if he wasn't struggling even one bit.

"Number One, I suggest you start taking this seriously. Honestly, the entire reason I am on this mission is to kill you, or prevent you from getting the coordinates."

"You have never spoken this much before, are you perhaps, ill?"

Both their disguises fell off and Number One peered into her eyes that were screaming murder.

With small shift of his footsteps he parried her black dagger to the side, where it dug into the elevator wall.

"I have always suspected something..." He spoke after they had switched positions, with him standing closer to the elevator's exit.

"...that you have always been a pawn of those old geezers. Those things like plotting and keeping secrets, just like you. You have always spoken about how this peace is good. Rosaline must have drawn the ire of someone among them, someone impulsive..." Number One speculated while staring directly into her eyes, trying to glean a response. He wasn't really trying to fish for something as he already knew that his speculations were most likely true.

"Ah! Now I remember something! Number 34 did tell someone that whoever became number one became the leader of Astealth. That wouldn't have anything to do with you, would it?" Number One's expression became colder as he beheld the woman. This memory allowed him to connect many of the dots. This woman wanted to place the organisation into the hands of the old geezers. Probably some of the Numbers had already been compromised.

She didn't give away anything, but the increasingly potent murderous intent radiating from her had already confirmed his theories.

With a blur of her hand, she tried to slash at the air, but he moved faster and blocked her dagger. Her Will technique was very troublesome to deal with for those not in the know, but he already knew how to counter it.

"You are going to die here." Number One spoke before pulling back a little and slashing towards her neck.

But the dagger mysteriously dug into the middle of her forehead and shattered her mask.

"What...?" She never managed to complete her sentence before her body crumpled onto the floor of the elevator.

'What an idiot! She challenged me without even thoroughly researching about me?' 

Though, that couldn't be blamed on the woman as he had misled many people, giving them the impression that his intent allowed him to attack twice in the same spot.

He didn't even bother trying to hide the body as it was pointless at this point and he had also been exposed. Instead he started wondering about who he was going to find blocking the path.

'The old geezers will most probably try again, but for now Rosaline will act as distraction that will give me enough to time to get rid of all those Numbers that have thrown in their lot with them.' 

With a chime, the doors opened, and what he saw momentarily caused him to blink his eyes in shock before realisation set in and he regathered himself. All this happened in a split second.

"Rosaline's garden." The rumors were true. The woman had created an entire garden of exotic flowers in her building. He stepped off the elevator and started travelling along the trail. The various scents assaulted his nostrils, with most of them being sweet. He didn't care if there was poison as he could expel it in just a matter of seconds, or he could even isolate it and prevent it from affecting him.

A soft light illuminated the plants and flowers allowing his eyes to follow a bee which was jumping from one flower to the next, completely oblivious to him. Many other insects were also crawling among the plants and the soil too.

It was like a jungle as no one appeared to have taken the slightest action to look after it. Even the path that his feet were treading on was about to be overgrown with the plants.

As he continued on, his heart started to faintly palpitate with both feat and excitement as his instincts started to scream at him. He was about to come into contact with someone strong!

This was the second last floor before he could reach his goal.

With every step that he took, his will roamed the inside of his body, searching for any discrepancy in his body's transmission of energy, which he solved with a thought. His fingers twitched and his head moved side to side like he was setting the muscles in his neck.

This was going to be one of the biggest fights of his life. And his life was even going to be in danger, so every little thing had to be in working order.

He smiled as his excitement reached the peak. How long had it been? How long had it been since he had last felt this rush? He didn't remember for now and didn't even want to recall.

He turned a corner and finally, someone appeared in his sight, a woman. She was dressed in a long dress with double slits that reached her waist. It had a white background with green thorned vines entwined around themselves swimming within the white.

She was simply standing there but the pressure of will that buffeted him made him sure that she was absolutely strong!

"Number One...Astealth truly moved out this time."

A whip was in her hands and its green length was covered with spikes, echoing the dress itself.

Even though she was uttering his name, she appeared almost relaxed, like she wasn't at all worried about him. It wasn't that she was looking down on him, no, she was instead supremely confident that she could take him down.

There was a crackle in the air, and Number One's eyes which hadn't since left the woman saw her whip elongate and move while she spun around in place.

Without even a moment's hesitation, his feet tapped the ground and his body rose into the sky.

His pupils constricted as everything within a radius of 10m around the woman had their height reduced to waist height!

"The plants would have been troublesome." She spoke as he landed, while petals, leaves and plants rained down.

"Were you scared that I might hide within the plants?" He bantered after his feet once again touched the ground.

"That's an impossibility. I don't have any experience with reading people, but I can sense the fighting intent you are giving off."

She spoke even as her whip had come to rest on the ground beside her.

With a stomp filled with force, Number One accelerated, appearing right before the woman, with the tip of his dagger parting the air as it headed for her neck.

But, he felt nothing when the tip entered the neck, concluding right away that it was an afterimage, only for a crackle to sound within his ears. The pressure of the air upon his back, including the chill, already told him that it was the target.

So, with another stomp, he accelerated even further in front, but the pressure upon his back didn't alleviate, so with a third application of pressure upon the ground, he pushed himself to the right and plant matter scattered as his speed alone caused everything within his path to be shredded.

With another step, he spun around in place and faced the direction where the woman was, only to see the whip once again heading towards him, like a snake swimming within the air currents.

He started running towards her, and just when the whip was moments away, he crouched down, evading its thorn tip, yet still continuing towards the woman. This was a very bad match up for him as his intent was more suited for close combat.

Even as the tip passed by, the length of the whip still headed towards him with a twitch of the woman's arm, but with a well-timed placement of the broadside of his dagger, he pushed it away with just a minute application of force, not at losing momentum as he barrelled towards her.

The moment he reached within range, he further increased his momentum with another stomp on the ground, leaving behind an afterimage and his body passing right through the woman. 

'Another afterimage...'

With another application of force on the soles of his feet, his forward momentum was arrested and he spun around, placing the broadside of his dagger right in front of a thorned tip, causing sparks to scatter and the force of the attack to push him backwards, causing grooves in the ground.

With a small twitch of his hand and tilt of his body, he caused the tip to slide by him, before spinning around on the spot and slashing at the length of the whip, though, he didn't manage to sever it.

But that hadn't been his intention in the first place, instead, the slash pushed it away and he once again proceeded to attack the woman, and this time he made himself even faster.

The battle continued, raging through the plants like a hurricane, causing grooves and greenery to rain down without stopping. Number One tried his best, following after the woman, sticking to her like glue and making sure that he didn't give her any chance to push him back.

Their figures flickered across the entire garden, leaving destruction in their wake. 

Even within him focusing on staying close, the woman's Will technique was troublesome to deal with as her whip became akin to a living thing when she activated it, causing him to fail injuring her multiple times, only managing to leave behind some small cuts that disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Number One's intent allowed him to deceive an opponent's eyes causing them to block an attack that wasn't there as his Will technique could create illusions. But the woman's whip was circling her, almost reacting to the attacks with autonomy, completely separate from her intent.

After another unsuccessful exchange, they both separated.

~Celt, how long?~

#16 minutes and 27 seconds#

Number One breathed out a hot breath, with the vapor visible to the naked eye.

This was getting troublesome. The woman was strong enough to give even him a great measure of danger...and judging by how evenly matched they were, it would take a very long time for any of them to achieve a result they wanted. Bypassing her wasn't an option as she would still try to obstruct him. He racked his brains for what to do as their eyes locked. Her green pupils were serene, and there was no emotion portrayed on her face.

She was like a machine, yet there was also some laziness within her gaze.

"If the Queen hadn't ordered me to appear, I would have been comfortably asleep. Could you please let yourself be defeated so that I can go back and sleep?" She yawned as if she hadn't really been in a dangerous battle, yet with his eyes he could see some beads of sweat on her face. And her dress had to be wet since it was emphasizing her curves and nipples.

Even he himself, was feeling his own clothes within the hood had become extremely uncomfortable.

"...all this would go away if you just let me on my way. I promise I ain't going to destroy the place."

"The woman really is a worthy opponent." 

The voice cause both him and the woman to turn towards the side, where a figure exited from a bush that was still intact further away.

Flowers and leaves and dew stuck to the black robe and the half-mask on his face had a crimson number three upon it.

"Number Three...I had started to wonder where you were." Number One spoke in genuine surprise. He had already offed Number Two, yet hadn't seen this guy as if he hadn't participated.

The woman, the Thorn knight, had an additional wariness added to her visage as her eyes flickered, but all around she gave off the feeling of calm.

There was a very thin line that separated predictability and unpredictability. That line was sanity. Number three was a person who stood firmly on the side of unpredictability. If Number Two had been a schemer with cards she hadn't known whether they were aces or trash, then Number three was a joker, a wild card that couldn't be placed within the normal thought parameters of a human.

Number One had always been wary of the guy the most. Why? Simple. He was very certain that Number Three had had what it took to replace Number Two yet hadn't acted against her, instead appearing as if he were content with his position. 

Even though the guy had appeared, there was absolutely no way Number One would entertain the idea that he would be on his side. If Number Two had been here, he could have been capable of persuading her, but Number Three...?

The sound of air movement caused his eyes to focus on the Thorn knight, whose whip was now coiled like a spring with the tip facing Number Three. She had even took on a posture that suggested that whatever attack she was about to use had immense recoil, so she had steadied herself.

With a movement of her arm like she was thrusting, the very air exploded infront of the whip as its tip instantly hit the broad side of Number Three's crimson dagger. The man was blown back into the bush that he had just exited from, before Number One also felt a hint of a threat, causing him to duck while his hooded robe was torn from his body.

The moment the whip passed him by, he instantly pumped force into his legs, turning into a beam that instantly materialised in front of the Thorn knight, his dagger slashing out horizontally.

Sparks scattered as his dagger was stopped by the handle of her whip, after which, he withdrew as she kicked out, but he didn't even pause for a moment before once again shooting towards her.

Once again they fought brutally, each trying to kill the other. Number One was gradually becoming frustrated as they fought. Her Will technique which made it so that her whip behaved as if it were living, was troublesome to deal with. The problem came from the thorns mostly, as he had to watch out for them, because the moment he became trapped, he would die.

A whoosh sounded as something cutting through the air entered his ears. Sensing some danger, he hastily used the rebound from his latest collision with the woman to pull back, only for a spinning crimson dagger to pass directly between them.

Number Three had recovered. 

This was his chance! Number One instantly tried to pass by the woman's side as Number Three appeared, going for his dagger that had dug into the ground close to their battle.

Once again he heard the crackle in the air as the whip sailed through it. He hadn't dropped his vigilance towards the woman for even a moment, so with an application of force in his right leg, he jumped out of the way and onto the side.

The whip made contact with the ground and the force from it alone caused a deep groove to appear within the ground.

He sped up even more after dodging, his goal being the far reaches of this garden. He needed to find the means to get to the next floor. Now that Number Three was here, he could take up her attention.

He heard some movement behind him, the clashing of weapons, which signified that the two were clashing. But...he didn't even drop his vigilance for even a moment!

The garden had previously lacked any semblance of order, and now, it had become even more chaotic, with the upturned soil and plant debre. 

His black pants and shirt were now exposed, not to mention his jaw, with the mask being the only thing making it so that his identity wasn't given away. A few pieces of his hooded robe were still dangling by his neck, but he made no move to discard them since they weren't getting in the way or making him uncomfortable.

Thorn knight was the strongest of the Flower knights according to public records...but Rosaline was far from a simple woman. Number One felt that the other knights were probably just as strong or stronger than the woman. He had wasted time fighting her. The others who had been on the lower floors were probably about to arrive so he had to get to the last floor as soon as possible.

The moment the silver doors of the elevator to the next floor appeared within his eyes, he slashed out instantaneously, hacking the them to pieces and overriding it with the help of Celt. Energy had been consumed in the battle and getting into another battle would only be detrimental to him now.

As it rose, the glass around it allowed him to get a clear view of the massiveness of the garden. The place where they had been fighting had just been a small sector of the whole.

His eyes moved towards the battlefield, where the Thorn knight was trading moves with Number Three, whose entire dagger appeared to have caught fire.

He removed the tattered cloth from his body and asked Celt to once again apply a holographic illusion upon him. And this time, it was of a woman with black hair and black eyes. She was tall, and had a cold expression that practically screamed, 'don't talk to me.'

When the doors next opened, he had expected to find a Flower knight or even a group of scared panicked people, but what greeted his eyes caused him to even wonder what was wrong with the world.

The people on this massive open floor appeared to have been introduced to something that had caused them to suffer from extreme shock as all their eyes weren't even locked at him, but at the massive holographic screen floating right in the middle of the hall.

Judging by the way that the people were placed, they must have been facing his direction only for something shocking to steal away their attention.

Many workspace cubicles and the numerous heads he could see within them that were all gazing at the projection, revealed to him how massive the staff in this place had to be.

The reason his eyes had widened imperceptibly was the fact that he was looking at a planet with various shades of green and blue that appeared to have achieved interstellar travel. And no, this wasn't Kyaku because there were already many images of the planet taken from outer space on the virtual web.

"Oh my God!" A woman patted her plentiful chest, her voice coming out in a whisper. There were many emotions tied to those words with the most prevalent being shock.

Number One had also had the urge to exclaim before the woman beat him to it.

"A space faring civilisation...and one that has also managed to discover the technology to open wormholes..."

"This civilisation appears to be further along than us!"

"...and look at those massive objects! What the hell are they?"

"One is a triangular prism, a cube and a sphere. I wonder what they are!"

Number One took in all those comments even as his eyes gazed at the massive objects, each almost a tenth the size of the planet.

"Won't they discover our probe? Their technology must be more advanced than ours!"

"We can't hastily withdraw the damn thing! Even if they destroy it, we must dig deeper! Continue maneuvering it! We must find out what those three massive objects are!"

Someone, a woman who appeared to have studied extensively in the scientific field spoke up. Number One was surprised by her...less than expected behavior as most scientists appeared to have the gift of eloquence.

He blended in with the crowd after regaining his wits, passing through them until he reached a suitable distance from the quantum core, a pentagon shaped cylinder that was tall enough to be mistaken for a pillar. It was dark, with blue light occasionally lighting it up by travelling in a vertical direction. 

~Celt, try to save whatever I am looking at... Also, try to get whatever is on that core!~