After the surge of black dust finally thinned and the corpse of the behemoth vanished in full, Sauer rose from where he had been seated for hours.
By strict protocol, it was necessary to remain until every trace of a neutralized beast had dissolved. With one of this magnitude, he could not afford to risk an unforeseen resurgence. At the same time, the pause granted his authority a chance to recover.
His eyes swept over the fractured cityscape, studying every collapsed structure, every half-buried ruin, searching for anomalies. Even after finding none, he remained watchful, unwilling to lower his guard.
"Command—"
Kenya's voice broke the silence as she suddenly appeared, only to be met by a blade halted just short of her throat.
"Jeez, second time in a row today," she groaned, raising both hands. "Don't you think it's about time you let this whole thing go?"
Sauer sheathed the weapon with a faint nod.
"Sorry. Nothing has felt right since we arrived."
"Really? I thought the same. My head hurts, and I feel like throwing up a little."
He sighed in disappointment, eyeing her sharply.
"That's not what I meant. And in your case, that's radiation poisoning. What I warned you about the first time you came here."
"That's all? My suit should mitigate it, and we'll get cleared when we're back anyway."
"Less fortunate people wouldn't have the luxury of saying that. There may also be dangers beyond what we can identify. Try not to be so careless."
"Hey, I feel for the less fortunate." She placed both hands to her chest with mock sincerity. "I even had to privately take off my uniform when my body suddenly got itchy."
"..."
"…?"
He stood, walked toward her slowly, and rested his hands firmly on her shoulders.
"You did what?"
She blinked, then pointed a thumb toward a toppled building some distance away.
"I temporarily took off my—ah?" A sly grin spread across her face. "Commander, are you getting shy on me? If so, there's no reason to—"
"You do realize your suit only mitigates radiation? It doesn't cancel it, nor heal the damage entirely."
"Well, yeah, but what does that have to do with anythi—oh damn, I am so dead."
He sighed again as comprehension finally dawned on her.
"You'll be returning to Earth inside a quarantine caution bubble."
"What? But I hate those! They make it look like you've got the plague or something."
"You're harboring something far worse. Just tell me the initial issue."
Kenya quickly perked up, pulling a file from her side.
"Right, the International Cluster has been sending proposals for a reciprocal defense accord for the past few hours." She squinted at the screen. "Actually, multiple offers. Different nations, different concessions. Some of them involve sweet deals with those weird crystal energy pockets."
"Ignore them."
"Sorry?"
"Our job is done. Entertaining those offers isn't our responsibility."
Kenya shut the file and slumped clumsily onto a slab of debris.
"Are you sure, Commander? Our duty includes capitalizing on any new energy discoveries."
"Not when it involves political bargaining or trade concessions. A second wave from headquarters will handle that. We will return home."
"That's fine by me. I'm due a shower." She sprawled onto the stone, legs crossed, body arched lazily.
Her upside-down gaze fixed on him. "So, what was it that had you so bothered?"
"About that… are you certain about the information you gathered on why the shadowbeast woke?"
"Well, that was all I could confirm. The culprits confessed, and they'll be dealt with."
"I don't believe it woke merely because someone tampered with its shell. For as long as it's been here, long enough for a city to rise around it, something else should have triggered it far earlier."
He recalled the battle in full. From beginning to end, the behemoth had fought as though burdened, as though it was in a hurry to get somewhere. And its bursts had drained its reserves before it expected to. Like it couldn't control the release of its energy.
"I think it lost something critical. Something that kept its output in check, letting it control how much energy it released at once. Without it, every strike was wasteful, pushing it toward self-destruction."
"As far as anyone was aware, the crystal veins on its back were consistent with how it looked while dormant."
"It doesn't need to be external or even visible. It could have been buried deep inside, an unseen mechanism that rationed its power. All I know is that things didn't unfold the way they should have. An external factor must have interfered before we even arrived."
Kenya sat upright, interest flashing.
"Then… should we include that in our report?"
"We should. But without proof, it changes nothing."
She stretched, then turned, only to have something triangular and flat slap against her forehead.
"What the—"
In an instant, a transparent sphere snapped shut around her. Kenya flailed, palms and elbows striking its slick inner walls.
"Hey! Let me out!"
"Can't do." Sauer kicked the bubble forward, ignoring her protests. "I'll keep this up until you're secure. We're heading back now."
"Ow! Not fair! And stop kicking!"
…
Towards the emergency transport hangar beneath Lumevale and ahead of the evacuation shelter, a woman in a black dress that shimmered like the night sky drifted across the hard floors in a dance.
She moved with the ease of breath, each step folding into the next, her body carrying an unbroken stream of motion.
And yet, without any sharpness in her technique, every gesture clung to the air.
Each extension lingered beyond its moment, giving her the image of a spirit drawing motion out of silence.
In her left hand she carried a glass container, and inside glowed a strange, looming orange crystal.
"The scar has flattened. But as I was told, the lifeline remains intact within this chamber."
She lifted the container above her head, twirling as she did so.
"Hold it! Keep your hands away from all surfaces and do not move!"
"Control, this is unit seven. We have eyes on the unauthorized individual. Copy?"
The woman gave no reaction to the security officers who confronted her.
Her gaze never wavered from the container she held aloft as they raised their left arms in her direction, their right arms braced at the floor, each one fixed into a strange gauntlet.
"Drop the item and comply with our warnings, or we will use force."
At once, her head turned at an uncanny angle.
"Force?"
The sudden motion forced them to step back, and then at last, she lowered her hand.
"Force… force… force… force… you want to use force… force…"
As she muttered, the tremor of her voice pressed into their bones.
"You've been warned!"
They slammed their gauntlets against the ground, triggering jagged crystal-like spikes to burst upward in violent towers, streaking forward in a line toward her.
And when the barrage reached her position—
"What?! How—wah!"
The spikes passed through her, carving the air, phasing through her body as though she were no more than a shadow. Yet the ground around their own attack gave way, crumbling into nothingness, dragging the officers down.
The crystals sprouted through and past her, almost as if she was a phantom.
The attacks failed to attack her form one bit, but simultaneously, the floor around the spires began to crumble, the same effect removing the ground below the officers.
"You want to use force? Why? Why not let free?"
She extended her arm.
"Why must you grip so tightly? Why deny the wings their flight? Let the land free. Let the butterfly free." Her voice swelled, thick and consuming. "Free! Free! Free!"
The pit widened into a deep abyss, and the officers fell screaming into it, their cries fading into the dark.
And seamlessly, she resumed her dance across the hangar.
A tear soon fractured the air beside her, spreading wide into a void.
"Sweet Root, have you acquired the regulator?"
A man emerged, his right arm replaced with a four-clawed hook, his tone measured yet expectant.
Still, she danced, as if oblivious to his arrival.
"Sweet Root. I need your attention."
She did not yield, until—
"The boss has been expecting your return."
At once she stilled.
Her dress swayed before finally settling.
Her fingers closed around the container, tight and trembling.
"R-really?"
The man exhaled, a sigh edged with fatigue.
"He has been undone with worry, desperate for your safety. But he knew your freedom must come first, and so he never forced your hand. I ask you to ease his concern."
She rocked in place, dizzy with delight.
"So he misses me?! Then what are we waiting for? Let us return at once!"
She vanished into the tear, and the man followed close behind.
Then the tear sealed, leaving silence in its wake.