Chapter 97: Betrayers

Another gunshot rang out. This time, it hit the balloon dead center. It burst open, and several Anathema poured out from it, dropping into the ocean and drowning.

Freya’s boat had arrived first while we followed behind. The group then climbed the oil rig through the small dock located at the bottom. Many pterodactyls had surrounded the elevator they were on, but Freya vanquished them with her prided lightning magic.

“Careful now. We don’t know what level that usurpation rift is. Your level and combat ability are high, but you’re not at the top of the food chain here,” Felicia said as I docked my boat beside Freya’s and stored it in my inventory.

“...Got it.” I waited for the elevator to come down. A pterodactyl swooped in, and I picked it off with an ice arrow from my Icerail. I spawned another clone, and she took a shotgun rifle with her. Together, the three of us picked off the pterodactyls one by one.

“Please send clones to attack those hounds. They’re damaging the oil rig’s support.” An official messaged all MG in the area. Seeing Freya and Yellow Bee was already at the top, I accepted the request.

“I thought Anathema couldn’t stand water.”

“They hate water and can drown, but it takes time. There are some Anathema specialized in water. They’re rare, but they exist,” Felicia said as she pointed toward hounds swimming in the seawater and landing on the rig’s supports. They bit chunks of steel out of the rig’s support. Their body melted with black ooze, signaling that the water did damaged them, albeit only at the surface. Were they planning to collapse the rig? They were suicidal. They didn’t care if they would drown if the rig collapsed.

I summoned two other clones with sniper rifles. They would be tasked with picking off the hounds attacking the rig’s supports.

“The message has been sent, right?”

“Yes. The plan to rescue the exiles has been cancelled. General Armstrong confirmed it through encrypted message.”

“Does Freya know?”

“She should find out later. Right now, such a message would have been suppressed by her familiar because she’s in the middle of combat.”

“Are we going to have reinforcements? Pink Heart can be here in about a day, right?”

“I’m afraid not. Guardian Command said this oil rig isn’t the only one being attacked. We judged that Freya alone is enough to handle this usurpation rift. Careful now. That flying Anathema with claws is at least rank C. You might be able to win if you use your signature and fight it one-on-one, but there’s no such luxury on the battlefield,” Felicia said as she pointed to the Anathema that had just spawned from the rift.

It looked like a demon—red horns jutted from its forehead, bat-like wings sprawled from its back, and crimson claws extended from its fingers. Dark orbs, reminiscent of those the behemoth had used against me, shot out from its mouth at Freya.

“Roger,” I replied.

Freya held out her hand, and a translucent pink shield formed in front of her. That wasn’t Aura, but a skill. The black orb crashed into the shield, letting out an explosion. A lightning bolt flashed from her hand amidst the smoke. The demon flew about, dodging the incoming projectiles. One bolt landed on its shoulder, and black smoke oozed out from the wound. The exchange happened. Freya did not dodge the attack but tanked them with her shield. If she dodges, the attacks will damage the oil rig.

Meanwhile, I kept picking off the surrounding pterodactyls with my guns and Icerail.

“That one’s for you, Freya. Ugh. I’m not good at ranged attacks. Tell me if he comes closer—I’ll deal with him!” Yellow Bee shouted, punching a pterodactyl that came at him while the exiles and Lexus hid inside the rig.

This was my first time seeing him fight. Yellow Bee was a close-quarters combat specialist. With blades attached to his knuckles, he punched and wrestled with the flying Anathema. Each strike brought down one pterodactyl after another.

“On it. Just go down already!” Freya shouted, exchanging shots with the demon. She wasn’t at her best—I could sense she kept glancing toward the oil rig’s door. Occasionally, a pterodactyl I missed dove at her.

“Like hell I’m going to be outdone by a D-rank! Even if she’s a Dark!” Yellow Bee yelled. He had judged me to be his competitor after seeing how many I had downed. I had five clones with guns, while he had only one with his fists. He was being unreasonable.

“Another one is coming,” Felicia said. I wondered what she meant, but I found out the hard way. A demon similar to the first appeared—this one wielded a shield and a sword. Unlike the first, it headed straight toward Freya.

“That one’s mine!” Yellow Bee cheered.

“I’ll leave it to you. Be careful, these demons are at least C-rank!”

“I’m B-rank. I can handle this!”

“Got him!” Freya said as she finally hit the demon in the flank. It staggered for a moment, and a follow-up shot rained down on it before she finished it with her prized lightning strike.

“Don’t help me! This guy is mine!”

“Alright,” Freya replied.

The Anathema emerging from the usurpation rift began to ease up. When Freya struck the curse seed with her lightning magic, the rift popped out like baloon and the blue sky returned.

Meanwhile, Yellow Bee kept boxing with the demon knight. With every strike, the demon’s armor chipped, and black blood spurted out. The demon was helpless against his speed.

“Hah!” A straight punch blew a hole in its stomach. I summoned several clones and had them extract it.

[You have leveled up to Level 38.]

[Quest Completed!—Usurpation Zone Cleared]
[Description: Defend Oil Rig 17 with Yellow Bee and Freya. Your task is to prevent low-level Anathema from destroying the rig’s supports and overwhelming the defenders.]
[Difficulty: Easy]
[Reward: 300 Points]
[You have defeated a horde of Anathema! You have earned 200 coins for your kills.]
[Remaining Points: 10,020]

I finally crossed the ten-thousand mark. I could now buy the next vault—the Masterwork Vault.

“You should hold off on buying the vault, Lily. At the very least, you’d need a thousand points or more,” Felicia said.

“Alright. I understand. I need to buy the weapon as well. Not just the vault.”

“Since we’ve reached this point, it would do you well to look at armor enhancements instead of just weapons.”

“Later.” I followed Freya and Lexus toward the oil rig. Lexus had arrived earlier with the exiles. I wondered how the officials stationed here would handle them.

“Huh? What do you mean we must leave?” Freya’s father and the exiles protested.

“We only allowed you entry earlier because of the attack. However, now that I recognize you as exiles from Eden, I’m afraid we can’t let you stay much longer.”

“But we have a notice from Freya and Guardian Command we can work here!” the exiles argued, clearly panicking.

“I’ve received no such notice. I’ll call Mister Kageyama for confirmation.”

I sighed in relief, knowing the plan had been canceled. But when I looked at Freya—her face filled with despair—guilt flooded me. She said nothing; she must have read the message from General Armstrong about the cancellation.

“This can’t be…” Freya muttered.

“See? There’s no way Guardian Command and the other corporations would smuggle exiles. Lexus, you’re too suspicious! You should trust people more,” Yellow Bee yawned.

Freya gaped at him. She hadn’t trusted me when I said these guys were traitors. The betrayal must’ve hit her like a brick. She only had herself to blame.

“Yellow Bee. You said you supported their cause earlier,” I said.

“It was obviously a lie. Lexus told me there were traitors among the Guardians and Shirayuki. He told me to just nod at every word he said,” Yellow Bee shrugged.

Freya gasped in horror. The mask had finally come off.

“That’s not very nice,” I said.

“Are you really supporting these exiles? Freya’s nice, and we welcomed her if she wants to migrate. But her father? Not really.”

“I don’t mind them. None of my family was killed in NewHill or NewLake.”

“Well, typical of a Dark’s answer. So apathetic. Anyway, let’s go home, Lexus.”

“Lexus! You said you would help me! You traitorous bastard!” Freya’s father lunged at him. The other exiles followed suit. Officials and Yellow Bee rushed in to subdue them as curses were hurled at Lexus for his betrayal.

“...Lexus.”

“Ahem. Freya, I do care about these people. But like I said, I can’t go against the Zenith’s orders.” Lexus then glanced outside, careful not to let Yellow Bee see his gesture. He motioned for Freya to follow him while Yellow Bee and the officials apprehended the exiles.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Freya demanded once they were alone.

“Like I said before, I can’t go against the Zenith. You know most Guardians and the populace don’t look kindly on exiles, right?”

“So, what now?”

“Did Shirayuki and Guardian Command really reserve this place for the exiles?”

“Yes. But the plan was cancelled. They knew you were coming. Judging by Yellow Bee, I think they made the right decision.” Tears began to roll down Freya’s cheeks.

“I see.”

“Lexus, can you help me? NewStar has oil rigs too, right? Or maybe a local mining outpost?”

“NewStar has them, Freya. But under the new rules, Guardian Command would find out.”

“That’s fine. Guardian Command is on our side.”

“Are you sure? It doesn’t seem like they trust you that much,” Lexus said.

“It was because you and Yellow Bee showed up.”

“But Guardian Command couldn’t possibly know we were here. From afar, the officials would only see a boat with people on it.”

“But…”

Duh… The boats are different, Freya… Besides, the official should’ve canceled the order himself if he saw anyone besides the exiles and us. This operation was a top-secret project. Nobody was supposed to know about it.

“This is bad. Freya is being manipulated. Lexus exploited an opening in her mental state,” Felicia said, breaking my concentration.

“Huh?”

“Freya’s mind isn’t calm right now. She’s desperate to save her father. That creates a moment of weakness.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s like a scam,” Felicia explained. “When someone calls you, begging for help and claiming to be your father or mother, they exploit a moment of weakness in your consciousness. You might sneer at how stupid the victim was—transferring money immediately—but the scammer uses a gap in your worry to trick you.”

“I see.” To be honest, it wasn’t my problem.

“This is all because of Shirayuki. Maybe Guardian Command is on your side, but I don’t think Shirayuki is. This oil rig belongs to Shirayuki, right?” Lexus said.

“I see.” Freya nodded.

“What? Is he serious?” I shouted out loud. Yellow Bee and the others looked at me. Embarrassed, I waved it off and motioned that nothing was wrong. Then I excused myself, looking for a place to calm down.

“The report on NewStar is complete. You don’t need to listen to them anymore, Lily. Let’s focus on Enra when we get back. We still need to find out whether Ling Shi has the same nature as Lexus,” Felicia said.

Despite taking a few deep breaths, the rage within me still burned. I could only thank Felicia for always being there for me—so calm and reassuring. I was truly glad to have a familiar like her.

“Yes. I’m going to call Freya now,” I said. NewStar was finished. Now, I needed to investigate Enra.