Chapter 245 - Undercurrents
The Kraken and the Atlantis now created the megastructure known as the Leviathan. It allowed itself to sink into the ocean's deep dark parts where the pressure was immense and where long-distance communication was almost impossible.
Inside this massive structure was chaos where every man and woman were running about and trying to fix leak after leaks.
Inside the central command center, which was formed by combining the two command centers of the Kraken and the Atlantis, were three people. These three once held elevated statuses in the world.
Miranne Zoren Everhiss, a Preeminent Empress of the Black Seas.
Cort Reginald Triton, a Perfect Emperor of Constructs.
Voyer Odinsbane, a Peerless Emperor of Tartarus.
These three held powers that had not yet been revealed to the world. And yet, these three were sitting down and patiently waiting for several teenagers to finish their business in the bathroom.
"And that's about it. We call them the Progenitor. He has planted several seeds on Earth and told us to prepare for battle. He warned us that this enemy could suddenly be among us, and we would have to treat even our family members with great fear and assume them as enemies."
"So among the Emperors, only you have this?" Cort asked again.
"No. We were forbidden to seek out each other until it was evident who our enemies were. But I did so anyway. Our family believes that there are at least two groups among the Emperors. Among the seven, I believe apart from me. Another Preeminent Emperor holds this title."
"What about among the Perfect and Peerless ranks?"
"I do not know. My family believed that there was none. This is also the reason why I could not easily betray my family for love and choose to abandon him, even though I truly loved him. I suspect that Emperor Godgrant is one of the Seeds. But it's too risky to assume."
"Just tell us the truth!" Voyer shouted. Unlike Cort, he was still in the process of recovery. His Exoskeleton suit was connected to a power source that allowed him to remain awake despite his grievous wounds.
But in his eyes was burning anger and jealousy.
"You didn't do this because of that! You've been hiding this secret all your life! How could you easily abandon it! It's because of him! It's because of that man?! Isn't it?!" Voyer shouted.
"I heard it all! They say that Chase Brander is here!"
Cort was silent, but he gave Voyer a sad smile. He was helpless in this. The Empress had long smitten both of them. And now, in this very vessel, was the man who made half of Miranne's life a living hell. And it was shocking considering her great position.
The door finally opened, and it was the Admiral of the Kraken.
"Emperors. I demand an explanation!" He called out angrily.
Several Commanders of both the Kraken and the Atlantis also entered the room. Each had a different expression on their face. They could not enter the Leviathan's Heart. Only Admirals knew how to access it. And after everything that occurred, everyone was confused as to what happened.
The Emperors waited in the Leviathan's Heart, but no explanations were made as to what happened.
"Who was that enemy? The one who created the Red Moon? And who were those that attacked us earlier? I was labeled a traitor and nearly died nearly died from the attacks of my own men! And now, we don't know who it is to trust!" The Admiral shouted without any form of respect.
"Calm down. I am not the one at fault for this. Where is Commander Chase Brander?"
"So, he IS here!" Voyer shouted.
"Excuse me… Could you let me pass through?" An irritated voice was heard at the back.
"Who are you?! Why are you here?!" The Admiral couldn't take it anymore.
Cliff sighed and released it.
SMASH!
The Admiral lost his balance and stumbled. Most of the Commanders also stumbled after sensing the powerful paralyzing fear that broke through their hearts.
"Oh? What is he releasing?" The Empress was surprised.
"No techs… What's happening?"
Even Voyer, who was mad, was now looking at the mysterious youth.
The youth was in a terrible mood. There were no bidets in this place. And this was both a shock and a great source of anger for the already wearied Cliff Fangwood.
"Can we start now?" Another figure appeared. It was a large burly man. His attire looked terrible, as if a firing squad just shot him.
"Who is that?" Voyer turned his attention and gazed at the man warily.
"His body is strange! The heat signature is off the charts."
"Empress... Emperors." Amir Mann glanced at them and gave a sarcastic bow.
"Based on what that Seeker said, you must be Amir Mann."
"Seeker? That kid who took a lot of my blood? I hate that kid's smirk."
"That kid could easily kill you, you know. He fought the Empress and defeated her." A figure emerged out of nowhere.
It was a beautiful young lady. She was appearing from an invisible state and finally had form.
She had flawless white skin and a strange blue glow. Her eyes were as blue as this same glow, and she looked on to the Emperors and gave a respectful curtsy.
The Emperors were amazed at the technology. It was a cloaking tech that even they could not detect.
"Pardon Irvana. She's a bit obsessed at the moment. But she's right, you know. That kid was the one fighting the Empress. Even I don't think I can survive fighting that Invoking. Scary stuff." A laugh was heard on the hallways leading to the entrance of the command center. Five figures walked in. A tall man entered. He was nearly twice as tall as the girl and was a head taller than Amir Mann. The figures that followed him were four men, each of different expressions.
But before Amir Mann could answer, a small thud could be heard, and several figures appeared out of thin air.
At the front, the leader almost stumbled, and his subordinates immediately supported him.
"My liege." One of the Ninjas behind him tried to support him.
The Emperors and the Empress were surprised.
"You!" The Admiral recognized them.
"Oh? An organization that even I do not know about? Impressive!" Grant Hermes was intrigued.
"Teleportation!" Voyer was astounded.
"How? We don't even have a working framework of that?!" Voyer was eager to interrogate, but the Empress immediately reached out and tapped him.
"Trust me. That's the least of your concerns." She warned.
"This was the man that I fought! He appeared in the Main buoyancy chamber and-"
"No need to defend yourself, Admiral. Things will all be revealed soon." Another voice echoed out, and Chase Brander stepped in.
"You!" The Admiral's anger rose to the limits.
"What are you doing here?"
"Honestly, I want to know what this whole this is about." Chase smiled and glanced at the Empress. His heart was beating faster. At last, he met her.
Voyer immediately acted. He rose his hands and sent out a bright beam that blasted towards Chase.
"Chase!" The Empress shouted.
But meters away from Chase, pale green energy appeared, and it was as if a small mouth appeared and devoured the incoming attack of the Emperor.
"That energy! It's the pilot of the Horn!" Cort recognized this energy as he fought it with his Titan.
Cliff immediately retreated to the far edge of the room. Noticing this, the Ninjas also followed suit and brought their leader away.
Everyone wondered why Cliff suddenly retreated, and then they felt it.
Wounds began to gush out, and it was as if knives were slashing them apart.
The Emperors began to create a strange shield, but the rest weren't so immune to it. Some of the Commanders rushed towards where Cliff was.
Grant Hermes and Amir Mann stood their ground, but even they were not immune to the wounds.
"What a terrifying power." Grant Hermes felt a sense of caution towards this enemy.
The Four Winds assumed a battle position out of instinct. They all felt fear.
"Don't. The way we are now, we'd only lose. None of us here can kill him." Grant gave his assessment.
"It wasn't the Horn! It's actually him! He holds that power!" Cort was horrified.
"The Black Dragon of China. So he lives." Amir Mann frowned.
"Master. I believe that will do as a greeting." A voice urged.
Greydon Meng wore his large Exoskeleton suit, and it began to prevent the desolate energy from leaking out.
Typical stood next to Meng. But what was amazing was that he bore no wounds. As the painful and wounding presence disappeared, everyone felt the room temperature drop.
A breathtaking woman was walking next to Meng. Her snow-white hair, pale-white lips captured everyone's attention, and then her deep blue eyes began to glow as it released a painful frost that caused everyone to withdraw their gaze.
Aside from those wise enough to not look at her, only the Emperors were unaffected.
"Emperors, I hope you no longer doubt my words. The Seeds of the Progenitor is here. Look around you. Do any of them hold any equipment or techs that create their power? Look at that girl! Look at the Dragon. The techs we all saw back then are all inside of their bodies! And we can't even detect any form of metal inside of them! They are the Seeds!" The Empress stated as the woman went inside.
Voyer's heart quivered as he saw the woman. It made him difficult to breathe. He continued to gaze at the woman.
"Emperor. Continue to stare at my wife, and I'll gauge your eye out." Meng gave his threats as he moved forward.
"Don't fight back! I couldn't even wound that man when I made the Call of Titans!" Cort reprimanded. Voyer had already opened fire once, and with his impatience, he might do it again.
Suddenly, lightning struck an empty spot between where Meng was and where Voyer was.
"Greydon, stop." At first, the figure was that of a man and spoke. But a split second later, the electricity reformed and created a man with clothes.
"I hate the way he looks at my wife."
"He will be sent to her. Don't worry." Lennox explained.
Typical smirked as he heard Lennox's answer, and Meng casually moved towards the long table and pulled up a chair for the woman to sit on.
"Please. Everyone. Have a seat. I know that all of you have questions, and we will answer them." Lennox explained.
Voyer was silent and moved towards the seat. Cort and Miranne could tell that he was shaking at the appearance of this man.
"So that's how he infiltrated the Atlantis!" One of the Commanders of the Atlantis realized what was happening.
Soon, a strange crowd also entered. With them was a scientist who was long believed to be dead. Damien Jones walked in alongside who was also a beauty but had such a rich and dark complexion.
"That's the girl who has the same power as my Invoking." The Empress could sense a strange fluctuation around the woman and determined that this woman could control water. They had witnessed how this woman moved inside the Kraken and drew the waters on various places out.
Following the girl were the members of Warfreakz. Their appearance caused the Commanders of the Atlantis to shout in shock.
Stanley Vagrant and Roselyn Distork entered and was followed by the Covenant of the Strongest.
Danny Haze, Dara Park, John Octavion III, Titan Turk Tristle all walked inside and took their respective seats. All of them look exhausted.
Finally, one man walked in. Arthur Arthinar Humphrey.
"Shall we start?" Arthur asked.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the right-hand man of our leader and is coincidentally my son, Arthur." Lennox introduced.
Everyone was stunned.
"Our leader?" Voyer exclaimed. Lennox was so terrifying, yet he wasn't the leader?
"Seeker Carlean is the leader of your group?" The Empress immediately asked.
"Let me summarize what happened. As you have just witnessed, we face an enemy that can easily destroy the most powerful weapons that Earth has to offer." Arthur ignored the Empress.
"And to all of you, you all easily succumbed and fell into the various traps that we set. The most powerful structure in this world, the Kraken and the Atlantis, easily subdued by a group of teenagers. Do you know why you failed?" Arthur asked this question.
"You've had traitors in our midst the whole time! Of course, you defeated us!" The Admiral could not let his pride remain tarnished.
"There were no traitors. The only traitor in the Kraken is Chase Brander. And the truth is, it wasn't until these two infiltrated the Command Center that Chase became our ally." Arthur pointed towards Roselyn and Stanley.
"We were the soldiers who brought the wounded guy in and claimed we were ambushed." Roselyn clarified with a smile,
"Impossible! How could-"
"Supersonic communication. When these two got inside, they talked in supersonic frequency that allows the rest of their team members to make the necessary traps. I won't go into details, but what I've said is true. There were no traitors who helped us infiltrate and destroy the Kraken apart from Chase, who only helped out on the last part. The truth is, several teenagers managed to infiltrate the Kraken and create so much chaos and even defeated the Call of Automatons. That's how powerful we are. We were so powerful that we used our abilities and skills to make it look like there were traitors among you."
"It's true. It wasn't until they brought in that wounded man inside the Command Center. He- told me about the Empress. She is..." Chase hesitated to say it.
"I am his wife. The Admiral of this Atlantis is our daughter." The Empress revealed without hesitation.
Voyer was stunned. If it weren't for the fact that his Exoskeleton covered his face, everyone would have seen his ugly expression.
"I am a fugitive to the WGP because of that. When Sammy was brought in, he talked to me using his strange powers. And it was only then that I allied with them. Everything that happened after that was all part of their plan. I can confirm. That aside from those youths, a few others who aren't here, they have no other allies. The traitors we thought existed was simply them using their abilities to make our soldiers kill themselves. Those ninjas also made things more confusing. But, you- no... we were all played the fool." Chase explained.
"But all that wasn't to kill you. Although we did kill a lot, it had to be done." Arthur then added.
"It had to be done? My men killed each other out of paranoia! That's your answer?! It had to be done?"
"Yes. Because while there were no traitors who helped us, there are traitors among you. These are traitors that serve an enemy far more powerful than our team. I've already asked my team to check on the medical records stored in both the Atlantis and the Kraken. We created a very chaotic environment, and the real traitors must have sent whatever reports they could in that battle to create the illusion that I wanted to make. But now, in this deep ocean, they have served their purpose. They won't be able to make their reports, and their masters think that they are dead." Arthur explained stoically.
"So, that's the plan!" Cliff finally realized it.
"This entire mission was developed to achieve several things. The first is to gain technology. A presumed-to-be dead Emperor and Empress are the best. The second is to gain a base that can secretly develop and study this technology. This Leviathan is the perfect place. We not only have a base but an army."
"Amazing..." Austin could not help but exclaim.
"The third is to gather more information and to understand more about the current state of our enemies. All three points are designed to counter the undercurrents that the Aragarians will be making from now on."
At the mention of the word Aragarian, two people in the room felt their heart stop.
"The Aragarians will be making undercurrents in the world. Hence, we will be diving deeper to shroud ourselves from them. I expected that the Kraken and the Atlantis would host many Planted and possibly even Pioneers. Commanders Jorvic and Shane. Your hearts are not in the right place.. Do you want to tell us about the Aragarians now, or do we have to torture you first?" Arthur then addressed two Commanders.