As night fell, Revis sat on a bench in the advanced armory, carefully wiping down his dagger. His back was straight, his expression solemn. Even though standard-issue Divine Keys remained as bright as if they had just left the factory without being wiped, Revis considered it a ritual. Through this meaningless repetition, he could focus his mind and ensure that his emotions did not affect him.
Hatred was a double-edged sword.
"The sky has darkened. Prepare to turn on the lights." An obvious message came through Revis's miniature earpiece. He gave no response and continued wiping his bayonet.
He repeated in his heart, 137 times... 138 times... 139 times... Just as he counted to the 219th time, the armory lights suddenly went out. Shouts of surprise came from outside. It seemed the entire base had suddenly lost power, leaving only the emergency supply powering the research and detention sectors.
He turned to look outside, then rose to his feet and sheathed his bayonet.
R-765 Detention Cell.
Ling sat on the bed in her cell, hugging her knees as she stared beyond the bars, lost in thought. The lights in her cell suddenly flickered, then returned to normal a few seconds later. The lights outside in the hall did the same. She looked around in confusion, sensing that something was wrong.
Does this usually happen? Ling asked herself.
When bored, Ling had once roughly estimated that the mechanical patrol guards responsible for the security of this detention sector passed by her cell about every fifteen minutes. Yet since dinner today, she had not seen them again.
The alert girl keenly sensed that something seemed different today, but even if she knew the entire incident was directed at her, what could she do?
Even if she noticed something unusual, she was