"It wasn't easy, but we finally made it."
The person who emerged from the anchor light curtain was in his twenties. His short, pale-gold hair, almost white, fluttered lightly in the wind. He had deep-set features, lake-blue eyes, and a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
He surveyed his surroundings, then sent out a message on the compact tactical panel on his wrist.
A moment later, armored vehicles began driving out of the anchor light curtain. One after another, seven or eight vehicles emerged before they finally came to a stop.
The door of one of the command vehicles opened, and the young man with pale-gold hair, his hands in his pockets, jumped inside.
"Captain Byrne, thanks for the effort!"
The door closed. A young man in his early twenties looked at Byrne with an adoring expression and even saluted him.
"Corporal Rhodes, relax. Don't be so nervous."
Byrne patted the young man on the shoulder.
At that moment, a middle-aged man inside the command vehicle snorted. "This isn't an area under our jurisdiction, Captain Byrne. Don't let your guard down."
Byrne scratched the back of his head and laughed. "Colonel Pruhler, so you do know this isn't our jurisdiction. No wonder you had everyone take off their uniforms."
"Now, can you tell us why exactly we're sneaking into an area under the jurisdiction of the Strategic Affairs Department?"
The middle-aged man's expression darkened, and he nodded. "All right. It's time to tell you the purpose of this operation."
He picked up the walkie-talkie and spoke over the internal channel.
"Listen up. We're infiltrating Zone 22 because we received word that the Strategic Affairs Department discovered a secret passage here."
"Apparently, this passage leads to a sacrificial ground. There may be a Divine Remnant there, as well