Hearing the words "Scarlet King" and "Core," Coppelia was astonished.
"You stole them?!"
"You misunderstand," Kelvin denied immediately. "The Scarlet King is no longer pursuing those lines of research. I just felt it was a pity, so I wanted to bring them out, hoping to continue exploring them under Greater Lord Rukkhadevata." His voice dropped even lower. "But I fear them falling into Khaenri'ah's hands."
"You're worried Khaenri'ah will get that technology and cause trouble?" Coppelia understood his concerns.
"Correct." Kelvin nodded. "I was knocked unconscious by those Khaenri'ahn machines this morning. I didn't have time to tell everyone before you moved the camp. I'm not sure what consequences would arise if that technology fell into Khaenri'ah's hands, but to be prudent, I want to retrieve them." He looked at Columbina. "But I am new to the rainforest and don't know the way back at all. The items are also quite scattered, so I wanted to ask Miss Columbina for help—to use her teleportation ability to bring them directly near the Akademiya."
Seeming to fear his persuasion wasn't enough, he added, "With Miss Columbina's current capabilities, it should only take a few breaths' time to finish."
"I will help you," Columbina agreed immediately.
Columbina should be able to teleport those debris directly back to the Akademiya...
Coppelia looked at Columbina. Just as she was about to suggest this simpler plan, Kelvin had already swiftly grabbed Columbina's empty left hand.
Kelvin spoke quickly: "Great! Let's go over there right now!"
Columbina responded with a sound of affirmation: "Mm."
The next second, the corridor outside the quiet room was empty. The three were already standing amidst the rainforest. Beneath their feet was that patch of sunken earth left behind after the soil had been "cut" away by a depth of thirty centimeters. Surrounding them was the dense yet quiet rainforest.
Columbina had just steadied herself when she sensed a person standing behind her. It was a tall woman dressed in a black coat and trousers, with white hair and eyes as red as blood.
The white-haired woman's left hand gripped a sharp sword. The blade thrust forward, from back to front, piercing through Coppelia's back. At the same moment, the woman's right hand reached into the black hair at the back of Columbina's head, fingers tightening to clamp onto her nape.
Columbina's cry of alarm was still in her throat when that hand erupted with immense power, shoving her entire body forward until her cheek slammed into the damp mud. Next, the white-haired woman's hand twisted her wrist, lifting it upward and wrenching it back. With a soft crack, she pinned Columbina's left arm behind her back.
It wasn't until her cheek was pressed against the cold dirt that Columbina's consciousness caught up. She tremblingly lifted her head, seeing Coppelia fly forward and crash a few steps away. A trace of purple electric light flashed at Coppelia's fingertips, but the glow was faint and extinguished as soon as it appeared.
A "Field Tiller" approached with heavy steps, its giant metal palm spreading open to grab her from the ground, holding her firmly in its grip.
Teleport! Must teleport away immediately, take Coppelia, and Kelvin too—
This thought struck her mind like lightning. But from the palm gripping her nape, a tyrannical force was seeping into her body, stabbing straight toward her power core.
The Lunar Force she attempted to mobilize, as well as the Authority of Space that should have moved at her will, now seemed "dead," offering no response. Only a thin wisp of Lunar Force could still circulate, but it was completely insufficient to counterattack, insufficient to cast a teleport, and she couldn't even squeeze out enough strength to break free from this hand.
Her power had vanished. Panic entangled her heart like vines. Columbina began to struggle, her body twisting on the mud, trying to throw off the suppression from behind.
The white-haired woman's right hand suddenly released her nape, circled to the front of her neck, and choked her by the throat, lifting her upward. Columbina was forcibly dragged to her feet by that strength, her feet barely touching the ground. She struggled even more violently, kicking her legs and twisting her pinned arm with force.
The white-haired woman seemed to lose patience. Her left arm hooked around from the side, tightly hooping Columbina's body to fix her within her own embrace. Then, she leaned her head over from the left, her gaze sweeping over Columbina's body.
That set of snow-white clothes had been pressed tight against the mud just a moment ago, yet now they were as bright and clean as new, stained by not a single speck of dust.
"Heh." The white-haired woman's voice sounded right against Columbina's ear. "Is this a god? Truly unstained by dust."
A figure walked closer from the front. Kelvin stopped a few steps away, bowed slightly, and performed a salute.
"Lord Ikhtiyar," Kelvin said. "Are you satisfied?"
The white-haired woman called Ikhtiyar raised her chin. "Not bad. The higher-ups won't forget you."
Kelvin bowed again, his waist bending even deeper. "My thanks, Lord Sword Noble."
Columbina stopped struggling. She stared blankly at Kelvin before her, lips parting and closing. Several seconds passed before she could squeeze out a few words: "Wh... y?"
Kelvin acted as if he hadn't heard, straightening up and turning to walk aside.
Ikhtiyar jerked her chin toward the front left. "What about that machine? See anything?"
Columbina looked in that direction as well. Coppelia, gripped by the giant metal palm, had already lost consciousness. Her head hung low, legs suspended in the air, swaying weakly with the "Field Tiller's" subtle movements.
Several men wearing long black coats and trousers, with grey hair, were huddled around the "Field Tiller's" fingers, observing the exposed gaps in Coppelia's mechanical body through the cracks.
One of the black-clothed men turned around to face Ikhtiyar. "To build this kind of machine... the technical level is likely on par with the Kingdom." He paused, then added, "Of course, the Kingdom's technology is still superior."
Ikhtiyar: "Hyperborean technology?"
The man shook his head. "No."
Ikhtiyar raised an eyebrow. "There's actually a nation I haven't seen... Hmph. Take her away too. Those old geezers at the Institute of Deep Mysteries will definitely be very interested."
Having said this, she looked left and right, raising her voice: "Let's go!"
A "Field Tiller" approached at the sound, kneeling on one knee before Ikhtiyar. It extended its left palm, flattening it at the height of her thighs. Ikhtiyar turned and sat upon it, then used her arm strength to pull Columbina over, pressing her down to sit on her own lap.
"We move!" she commanded.
The "Field Tiller" beneath them stood straight, adjusted its direction, and strode forward. Its heavy metal feet stepped into the soft soil, making dull thudding sounds.
The other "Field Tillers" also mobilized, using their giant palms to lift a black-clothed subordinate in each hand, keeping up with the leader's pace ahead.
Kelvin sat on one of the giant palms. He raised a hand to gently press against his chest cavity and spoke to the person sitting on the "Field Tiller's" other palm: "Who was in charge of the operation this morning? They struck so heavily."
A smile that wasn't quite a smile floated onto that person's face. "Don't know."
Kelvin: "You definitely know. Afraid I'll retaliate in private?"
That person looked away, answering a question with a question: "Did you know all along that the Moon God of the Frost Moon would return to the rainforest? Is that why you came to lie in ambush a month in advance?"
Kelvin gazed at the swaying branches deep in the rainforest. "I don't have the skill to predict the future. I just wanted to see an old friend and look for those stones while I was at it." He paused. "Running into the Moon God was indeed an accidental harvest."
When Suleiman returned to the quiet room, it was already empty.
The books he had brought in were still arranged neatly on the table, and the chairs had not been moved. He stood at the door watching for a while, whispering to himself, "Already gone?"
He shook his head. "I should have hosted them a bit longer." Walking to the table, he picked up the stack of books. "However, leaving quickly isn't a bad thing."
He turned with the books in his arms, walked out of the quiet room, and headed along the corridor toward the House of Daena to return them.
____
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