Milluki shouted into the communicator several times, but all that came through his earpiece was the same irritating static.
He cut off the call, his hands moving across the terminal so quickly they nearly left afterimages. Several rows of surveillance feeds were forcibly arranged side by side on the main screen. On the left was the final footage sent back by the Mechanical Spider—Bai Zhu vanished, and the black sphere appeared. On the right was the live feed from the Mechanical Ant that had just slipped past the pump room entrance.
The equipment was not broken.
It was that black sphere, like a signal black hole, swallowing everything inside it.
Milluki's fingertip hovered over the command for "Forced Detonation" for a long time, but he ultimately did not press it. He had no idea how the thing was constructed. If the energy shock directly affected Bai Zhu trapped inside, it would not be a rescue—it would be a finishing blow.
He sprang from his chair, turned around, and grabbed the bag containing the Pope's head from the corner. He slammed it down in front of him together with the terminal with a bang.
"I'll give you one chance." There was not a trace of unnecessary emotion in Milluki's voice. "Do you recognize it? Think it through before you answer this time."
The Pope's head swayed inside the bag, his gaze focusing on the smooth black sphere on the terminal screen. He had Milluki replay the instant Bai Zhu crushed the thin shell and the black curtain swept up.
After watching for a long time, a flicker of fear passed through the Pope's clouded eyes.
"...These are paired Nen Tools." He finally spoke, his voice dry. "They were brought back from the Dark Continent by the previous Pope. Those thin fragments