Torrent (I)

"I didn't want to know either."

Jackson agreed and turned to leave the room.

"We should get back to our own business."

"Sir!"

A platoon commander was waiting outside the door, with a Nightblade standing beside him in a highly unusual manner.

"We found something new. It looks like an underground storage chamber."

It had indeed been a storeroom. The thick isolation door was proof enough.

But it had clearly been forced open. The marks left by energy weapons were unmistakable; they had undoubtedly been used to breach the door. There had obviously once been an elaborate locking mechanism on it, but it had now been reduced to slag by all-consuming heat.

Yet they found no clues as to what had once been stored inside. Only empty metal shelves remained in the chamber, forlornly reflecting the light from the ceiling.

"We've wasted enough time here."

After giving the few corpses on the floor a cursory glance, Jackson made his decision.

"We'll open the sluice gates now, then get out of here as soon as possible."

"I wholeheartedly agree."

Elena agreed. Then they hurried onto the lift and left the corpse-strewn graveyard without looking back.

Clearly, every Nightblade breathed a sigh of relief.

Jackson, however, quietly committed everything he had seen to memory. He might not be able to make sense of it, but Yushikin would certainly need to know.

When they returned to the hall bathed in soft lighting, Jackson felt an uncertain, oppressive sensation rise from the depths of his soul. They headed straight for the lift. Everyone's thoughts were now focused entirely on the most urgent task at hand.

The other search teams had found no hidden enemies, so Jackson could remain by the witch's side for the time being in case she needed help in the control