Chapter 214

Seeing that Efnir seemed unwilling to say more, Lapith didn't press further. She glanced at the information about the water tower in her hand and then put it down—the information was full of details about its purpose.

After waiting a while longer, Efnir finally received a communication, but it wasn't from Ayse and the others; it was from Anilas.

"Anilas?"

Without giving it much thought, Efnir answered the call.

"This is Ai..."

"Efnir, are your parents Takuma Yanase and Kaoru Yanase?"

"Yes." Efnir frowned slightly; she could clearly hear the unnaturalness in Anilas's tone. "... What happened?"

Anilas a moment.

"I...have something very important to ask you," Anilas's voice lowered, "In person."

"Wait a minute, you..."

However, before Efnir could react, the communication was cut off.

Why would Anilas suddenly ask that...?

Efnir reached into her robes and pulled out a deep blue pendant, frowning in thought.

"What's wrong?"

Lapith came over to ask.

Efnir shook her head, recalling the names of her parents that Anilas had mentioned, and sensed something unusual.

"Anilas seems to have something to do here," Efnir said, glancing at the water tower before turning away. "I don't know why, but I feel like something's off about her."

Anilas led the Muse Squad in an investigation mission within the ICS Research Institute headquarters, which wasn't too far from the water tower where Efnir and Lapith were located.

Efnir waited for less than four minutes before Anilas appeared before Efnir.

But Anilas acting strangely at this moment. Her eyes were gloomy and her aura was very unstable. She didn't even take a car. Instead, she used the Order Force to traverse the streets and get here as quickly as possible.

Efnir gazed at Anilas, whose "dust" swirled and undulated like the tides.

"Anilas, what's wrong? What happened?"

Just as Efnir was about to step forward, Anilas suddenly raised her hand, leveling the muzzle of her gun and pointing it directly at Efnir's brow. "Don't... go any further!"

Click--

The sound of the mechanism turning was unusually clear, and the surrounding Engineering Corps soldiers were startled by Anilas's sudden action.

Efnir slowly lowered her foot, her eyes obscured by sunglasses, making her expression unreadable.

The air fell silent.

"Anilas, what are you doing?"

As soon as Lapith took a step forward, Anilas immediately drew her pistol, pointed it at Lapith, and said coldly, "Colonel Lapith, this matter is none of your concern. Please do not interfere."

Neither Efnir nor Lapith entered Exile Form, while Anilas wielded a Second-Generation Order Weapon, which would undoubtedly be a dead end for any ordinary agent.

But Lapith merely frowned, her warm gaze instantly turning cold, until it became icy.

"Lieutenant Colonel, you'd better put down your weapon. This is your only warning."

117. Vows and Nightmares

"Don't make me say it twice, don't interfere in my affairs!"

Anilas inch. Her crimson eyes, sharp as blood from a knife's edge, gleamed against the black muzzle of the pistol. Despite her usually gentle nature, she displayed an unusually assertive attitude at this moment.

Her gaze shifted to Efnir.

" --Efnir, tell me, where are Kaoru Yanase and Takuma Yanase?!"

Anilas's eyes held an expression Efnir had never seen before—a mixture of anger, sorrow, bewilderment, and even struggle and pain. Her voice was even slightly off-key, and everyone present could tell that her mental state was very unstable.

It's hard to imagine what could possibly shake Anilas is usually so gentle and composed.

"I have no idea."

Although Efnir was concerned about why Anilas was suddenly so fixated on her parents, and could directly sense the hatred in Anilas's eyes, Anilas still told the truth.

--There's nothing to hide. The Yanase couple didn't tell Efnir their destination before leaving, because they were researchers for the Human Federation, and not only their identities but also their whereabouts were kept secret.

"Then let's find out!"

Anilas took a step closer, her fingers gripping her weapon extremely tightly, glaring fiercely at Efnir. "Or do you not want me to know either!?"

"What do you want with them? Do you want to kill them?"

Completely ignoring Anilas's approach, Efnir's tone remained largely unchanged, yet her sharp aura confronted Anilas as if it were tangible. "But since you know their names, you must also know their identities, right? Anilas, this isn't the person I remember. Tell me, why did you do this? We should sit down and talk things over."

"There's nothing to talk about... What I do has absolutely nothing to do with who they are or what their identities are! It's precisely because I know who they are that I came to you! Yanase Naoko! Or should I call you Efnir? I need to know where they are! No matter what!"

Anilas stared intently at Efnir, then suddenly gave a dejected smile and lowered her gun. The soldiers around her, whose hearts had been pounding with anxiety, finally relaxed a little, but the situation hadn't improved much.

But in fact, until just now, the "dust" surrounding Anilas had been very stable, without any abnormal fluctuations or undulations. Clearly, Anilas had no intention of shooting Efnir.

This is why Efnir felt so emboldened.

She shook her head at Lapith, upon seeing this, slowly withdrew her imposing aura and stood aside.

Anilas glanced at Lapith, then looked at Efnir, "... or rather, you have no idea what your parents did?"

"Their work is confidential, I'm sorry I can't answer you."

"Classified, again..." Anilas bitter smile, lowering her head. "Efnir, do you know how many heinous things those people have done under the guise of 'classified'? They deserve to be torn to pieces!"

"Watch your words, Anilas,"

Efnir's tone fluctuated slightly before settling back down. She paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and slowly began, "They are researchers, Human Federation's research projects. They are fighting for the future of humanity. And we are fighting for humanity's present. They have given everything; like us, they are warriors."

"They don't deserve to be called warriors!" Anilas retorted passionately. "They keep chanting about the future and hope, yet they do countless filthy and despicable things. Such people don't deserve to be human! What 'heroes'? What 'redemption'? There are countless nice-sounding embellishments, but no one will ever cry out for those betrayed and sacrificed souls!! Efnir ... perhaps you don't know? My name... Gotō Chizuru, the original owner of this name, my most cherished friend, she died because of those guys' ridiculous experiments, tortured to death!"

"347 test subjects! None survived that so-called 'accident'!"

That's how that "accident" ended.

All the test subjects died, including Anilas's most important friend, Gotō Chizuru.

"This is a pain I will never, ever forget! My nightmare!!"

Anilas impassioned and indignant. Everyone present, except for Lapith and Efnir, was shocked and shaken. On one side were Efnir and Lapith, and on the other side was Anilas. All three were reliable and trustworthy agents in normal times. For a moment, these soldiers did not know whether they should believe Anilas's words.

But no matter how you look at it... Anilas doesn't seem to be faking it.

"I will never forget Chizuru's wailing and despair as she collapsed before my eyes, and I will never betray the promise I made—everyone who participated in the experiment! I will not let a single one of them go! They must be buried with those three hundred and forty-seven souls who will forever wander in sorrow!" Anilas spoke these words with extreme hatred. "I swear, I will inherit her name and her last wish, and live this life solely for revenge! And Kaoru Yanase and Takuma Yanase, these two are the original initiators of the experiment! Efnir! Even if they are your parents, I will never give up."

"Anilas, there must be some misunderstanding," Efnir shook her head, her tone sincere. "I assure you, my parents are not like that."

Anilas's voice lowered, "You vouch for me... Ha, can you vouch for the more than three hundred lives that have died! They were praying for hope and salvation until their last breath! They were deceived into countless experiments, tormented by drugs and radiation every day! And in the end, they were betrayed by their own faith! Did you even consider their feelings!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Anilas raised her gun again, pointing it straight at Efnir.

The "dust" swayed extremely unstablely; this time, it was no longer a deterrent, but a threat that would stop at nothing to achieve its goal.

Tell me! Where are they?!

"There must be some mistake here, Anilas. I'm willing to investigate with you and find out the truth. Otherwise, even if I tell you now, can you leave here to assassinate them?"

"That's none of your business! I just need you to tell me! -- How do I find them!"

Now that things had come to this, Efnir shook her head. "Anilas... we all have the same things to protect, so you can absolutely understand... I will never back down."

Efnir stepped forward, staring directly at Anilas.

Anilas hard it bled, and her finger rested on the trigger. "I... will never give up."

Pulling the trigger will launch an attack on Efnir.

Just then, Lapith shouted, "Put down your gun! Lieutenant Colonel, do you really know what your actions mean?"

Lapith narrowed her eyes slightly, slowly raising her tightly clenched hands, her sculpted knuckles taut inch by inch, her entire body surging with imposing aura, the "dust" stirring restlessly. Anilas, pointed her pistol at Lapith, her knuckles on the trigger, ready to fire at any moment.

"Don't act rashly! Don't blame me for not warning you!"

At this distance, both Anilas and Lapith possess the power to severely injure or even kill their opponent with a single blow.

Because of this, the situation was extremely tense. The intense atmosphere between the two men made everyone increasingly nervous, and a battle was imminent. Some of the soldiers nearby had already made communications to report the situation to Shinomiyami Nami and the other agents who were on a mission.

While Lapith was confronting Anilas, Efnir noticed that Lapith was making a gesture to her from behind her back.

It means – "Cooperate with me, and I'll take her down."

Clearly, Lapith's confrontation after discovering Anilas's unusual behavior was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather the result of her immediately devising what she considered the safest battle plan. On the surface, she presented herself as someone ready to launch an attack at any moment, but in reality, she was looking for an opportunity for Efnir to launch a surprise attack or provide support.

As for Anilas's warning— Lapith wouldn't take it seriously at all; to her, the only fate of an enemy was "execution."

Anilas is undoubtedly dangerous to Efnir and Lapith in the present moment—even though Efnir and Lapith are confident that they can fight and defeat Anilas alone in this extreme situation, they are also clearly aware of the risks involved.

Efnir and Lapith did not enter into Synchronization. In Lapith's own opinion, her chances of winning against Anilas in her current state were 40/60—of course, this included the certainty of successfully entering Synchronization.

Therefore, she needs Efnir's help to improve her chances of winning.

Anilas couldn't handle attacks from two sides at the same time, while Lapith believed that Efnir had the ability to at least protect herself from being killed in this situation, making such a battle strategy highly feasible.

At this moment, Efnir seemed not to have seen Lapith's gesture, and instead turned to Anilas and said:

"Anilas," Efnir said in a calm voice, "Don't drag innocent people into this. Our differences should be resolved between the two of us."

Anilas remained silent.

Seeing this, Efnir gave orders to the surrounding Engineering Corps soldiers. "Get out of here. Don't come any closer without my permission—and can you leave the rest to me?"

The next sentence was addressed to Lapith.

Although Efnir hadn't fully grasped Anilas's situation, she knew she absolutely couldn't allow Lapith and Anilas to clash and fight.

Efnir didn't know why Anilas had suddenly turned on her with knives and guns, but in any case, Efnir believed that Anilas didn't really want to kill her—otherwise, Anilas would have chosen to snipe her from a great distance, ambushing her from another location while Efnir was fighting; that was Anilas's preferred fighting style.

Instead of running up to her and shouting "Stand still!" at a distance where she was likely to make a mistake and be countered, Anilas's personal strength far surpassed that of her colleagues, second only to Efnir. Therefore, she understood Efnir's level of strength better than any other agent. Under such circumstances, a reasonable strategic choice should never be so reckless.

Even if we take a step back, Anilas could choose a shameful but highly effective path: kidnapping Yukina.

But she didn't do either.

In other words, did Anilas come here with the mindset of "being killed by someone" rather than "killing someone"?

--Perhaps just as Efnir wouldn't want to see Anilas like this, Anilas wouldn't want to see Efnir as Naoko Yanase, the daughter of the Yanase Naoko Yanase.

That's incredibly ironic.

That's why Efnir absolutely cannot allow Lapith and Anilas to clash.

Lapith is Suzuda City's agent, and in this life-or-death situation, she might not show mercy. If Lapith goes all out, Anilas will most likely be seriously injured or even killed. Suzuda City's "Chief" title is well-deserved.

It's unlikely that Lapith will be hit by Anilas's close-range "killer attack," in which case Lapith will undoubtedly be severely injured.

Furthermore, if these two were to fight, how would the Funeral Bird and Muses's various agents act?

Neither the former nor the latter is the ending Efnir wants to see.

The only option then is to remove Lapith from the battle and stand between Lapith and Anilas. Lapith will be hesitant to act immediately because of Efnir, who "doesn't understand the code," and Anilas will shift her attention back to Efnir as Lapith's threat level decreases.

Even in the worst-case scenario—if Efnir and Anilas cannot avoid a battle—it would be far better for Efnir to fight Anilas herself than for Lapith to face off against Anilas.

"If you want... I'm fine with it. I'll just stay here and watch, I won't interfere."

Whether she sensed something from Efnir's gaze behind her sunglasses or not, Lapith's eyes flickered slightly. She then spread her hands and took a step back, restraining her aura to indicate that she would not interfere. Seeing this, Anilas also put away her pistol and pointed it at Efnir.

Soon, all the soldiers retreated. Anilas did not stop them; she simply stared intently at Efnir.

"Efnir... you are an excellent and responsible person, and that is why I never want to fight you."

Anilas rested the rifle on her shoulder with one hand. "But I will never give up, Efnir. Tell me, Kaoru Yanase, Takuma Yanase, how do I find them?"

"Anilas, my parents aren't like that. They wouldn't do such a thing."

Efnir knew Takuma Yanase and Kaoru Yanase's character all too well. Efnir would never believe that they would conduct such inhumane experiments. The only possibility was that they were being used or misled. On this point, Efnir would never back down.

"I'm sorry then."