Chapter 74: Nightfall and the Deserters

A short while later, as night fell, Clyde, Celes, Casca, Craig, and Corie were once again standing before the Chimaera Z-X, though this time they were accompanied by Mary, Selma, and Irena. Naturally, Mary and Selma, upon seeing the Chimaera Z-X resting with its extended legs braced against the hillside, its body blanketed by foliage and trees, were momentarily awestruck by the robot’s immense size and form.

Meanwhile, Irena, who had already seen its specifications in GDAB’s files, studied the machine with a serious gaze.

"Behind the Chimaera Z-X is the aircraft hangar belonging to the man named Silas, who rules over that city," Clyde explained to Mary, Selma, and Irena, gesturing toward the town sprawling below.

"Don’t worry, the situation inside is secure and completely empty," Craig added.

"And... inside the truck next to us... feel free to take a look," Casca offered.

Corie unlatched the wing box and revealed the interior of the truck. The expressions of Mary, Selma, and Irena shifted instantly; their jaws tightened and their eyes narrowed as they took in the condition of the young women and girls of various races, shattered, broken, and bearing the unmistakable signs of profound psychological trauma. Mary turned her gaze toward Celes standing beside them.

"What on earth happened to them?" Selma asked.

Celes recounted everything that had transpired: the debt trap, the human trafficking, and the slave market operated behind the scenes by Silas, who ruled over the city like a local warlord. The more Celes shared, the more enraged Mary and Selma became, while Irena’s expression remained as cold as ever, though her eyes stayed locked on the women and girls inside the truck as her jaw clenched tighter.

"They’re safe now, but frankly, we’re at a loss as to where to take them. If we bring them back into the city, it’s no different than throwing them right back into the very place that broke them," Clyde said, turning his head to glance inside.

"We’re taking them to Safe Haven," Mary declared firmly.

"I agree. Even though not all of them are human, we can’t just leave the non-humans behind here," Selma added.

"Alright, the Chimaera Z-X can carry this truck and fly us all to Safe Haven," Celes proposed.

"Ah... now I finally understand your actual plan. You intend to fly toward Safe Haven using the Chimaera Z-X in the dead of night, don’t you?" Irena asked, looking at Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie.

"Spot on. In just a few hours, we’ll be ready to depart," Clyde answered.

"Um... but before that, Sister Mary, Sister Selma, and Sister Irena should probably check out the inside of the Chimaera Z-X’s cockpit first," Casca suggested.

Corie motioned for the three of them to hop up toward the cockpit. Psssh. Craig opened the hatch, and the faces of Mary, Selma and this time, Irena as well, instantly turned pale and sickly green at the sight of the cockpit’s interior, which resembled pulsating flesh or perhaps a beating womb.

"How about we just ride in the truck instead?" Selma asked, turning to look at Craig.

"Hmm... actually, our original plan was for the three of you to ride in the truck anyway... but we just wanted to offer you the option inside," Craig replied with a grin.

"Haha... thanks for the offer, but I’ll pass, sorry," Mary said frankly.

"Shut it back up, please," Irena added, turning on her heel and leaping down to the ground.

Craig sealed the cockpit shut once more, after which they all climbed down and gathered in front of the truck. They sat down together on the grass in a circle.

"Now we just wait here, Sister," Clyde told Mary.

"Right, let’s just relax here until midnight," Mary agreed.

With that, they all settled into a quiet silence to pass the time. The atmosphere grew still, peaceful, and serene, broken only by the occasional hoot of an owl echoing through the forest. Clyde sat cross-legged in a relaxed posture, with Celes leaning against his arm and resting her head on his shoulder, while Casca and Corie lay back with their heads pillowed on Craig’s lap. Mary and Selma leaned against one another, and Irena sat cross-legged with her arms crossed over her chest and her head bowed slightly.

Clyde kept checking his wristwatch to track the time. They had been sitting quietly in front of the Chimaera Z-X and the truck for an hour and a half; it was now 10:00 PM, meaning they still had two hours or more before they could lift off. But suddenly,

Wruooooooong.

The city’s alarm sirens wailed across the valley. Instantly, Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie bolted to their feet, sprinting to the edge of the ridge to look down. Across the urban sprawl, numerous spotlights swept through every corner of the city. Every single streetlamp blazed to life, and from a distance, tiny figures could be seen frantically running through the avenues. Clyde, blessed with exceptional vision, stepped closer and narrowed his eyes as his pupils flared crimson. He could clearly see squads of soldiers swarming the streets, conducting house-to-house searches. Not only that, but numerous gang members and thugs appeared to be assisting the military patrols.

Mary, Selma, and Irena hurried over to join the five of them, pulling up beside Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie.

"What’s happening?" Selma asked.

"Definitely not an enemy attack. There are no monsters or giants running loose in the city," Corie observed.

"Hmm... chances are they’re looking for me. They seem to be rounding up the locals and searching every house," Irena noted in her characteristically cool voice.

"Get ready, everyone... someone’s coming up this way," Casca warned.

"Yeah... I can sense a few people approaching as well," Craig added, bracing himself.

"No need to worry, they’ll be here in a moment," Clyde said calmly.

"Huh... who’s coming, Clyde?" Celes asked.

Clyde didn’t answer. Instead, he glanced up toward the cliff ledge where the mansion stood. Sure enough, three figures materialized from behind the crag, looking utterly shocked and terrified at the sight of the massive, dormant Chimaera Z-X. Clyde leaped into the air, floating upward with Celes right behind him, while Craig grabbed Casca and Corie by the waist and vaulted up after them. Seeing this, the three shadows above started to back away in retreat, but,

"Where do you think you’re going?" Clyde asked.

Startled, the three figures whipped around, only to find Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie hovering right behind them. Naturally, the trio spun around and dropped into defensive stances, but upon realizing who they were, Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie immediately lowered their guards and stared at the three individuals with utter astonishment.

"Wait... Sister Walter... Sister Ellie... Uncle Oscar... what are you doing here?" Clyde asked, completely bewildered.

The three people standing before them turned out to be Walter and Ellie, both clad in military service uniforms and carrying standard military sniper rifle cases, alongside Oscar, who was wearing a casual button-down shirt. All three carried backpacks and duffel bags. The siblings immediately noticed that Ellie’s face was bruised and Walter bore fresh cuts; the three of them looked terrified and stood frozen in silence.

"What on earth happened?" Celes asked.

"Sorry we came running to you like this... Ellie and I... we just killed Silas Ward, and we knew you were up here because we tracked your position from the security cameras," Walter confessed.

"Wait... seriously?" Craig gasped in shock.

Walter and Ellie hastily recounted the brief sequence of events that had led them here, blowing the cover off their true identities: the two of them were actually undercover military secret agents tasked with keeping tabs on Silas and reporting his illicit operations. But earlier that afternoon, they had received direct orders from the governor to detain the five siblings in the city so that two personnel from Neo Ark could meet with them and coerce them.

Because their cover had been blown by Silas, and because they owed a massive debt of gratitude to the five siblings, the couple had teamed up with Oscar to hatch a plan to eliminate Silas. Ellie had gone to Silas’s building under the pretense of surrendering herself, begging him to release her husband and in-law. Silas had accepted readily, having lusted after Ellie for a long time. Once he brought her up to his penthouse office, Ellie intentionally seduced him, leading him toward the window.

When Silas tried to force himself upon her and attempted a kiss, Ellie bit down hard on his lip. Wincing in pain, Silas struck her hard enough to send her crashing to the floor. In that exact instant, a sniper bullet fired by Walter from the building across the street pierced straight through Silas’s head. Ellie then scrambled out to the balcony, deployed a grappling hook gun to zip-line across to the opposing building, and met up with Walter. From there, the two of them escaped in a car driven by Oscar, fleeing the city limits as full-blown deserters.

"Oh... so that’s what happened. Seriously... that’s so cool," Corie murmured.

"So... we came here looking for safety... sorry if we’re just dumping our mess on you guys," Walter said apologetically.

"Right now, they’re probably tearing the city apart looking for us, setting off the citywide alarm. Our actual mission was only to keep an eye on Silas, not execute him... because Silas is the governor’s brother-in-law," Ellie explained, her head dropping in remorse.

Hearing that, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie exchanged glances with Clyde, finally understanding why Clyde had ordered a tactical retreat just as they were about to finish Silas off. Clyde’s face remained completely devoid of surprise, as if he had known Silas’s true connections all along.

"Hmm... in that case, let’s head down and talk things over on the ground," Clyde suggested.

"Alright, thank you, Clyde," Walter replied gratefully.

With that, Clyde carried Walter down with a gentle float, Celes brought Ellie down beside them, Craig lowered Oscar, and Casca and Corie carried their duffel bags. Once they reached the base of the hill, Walter, Ellie, and Oscar were understandably startled by the sheer scale of the fully exposed Chimaera Z-X.

Mary, Selma, and Irena hurried over to greet them, causing Walter and Ellie to instinctively step in front of Oscar to shield him. Walter glared suspiciously at Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie.

"Who on earth are you people really?" Walter demanded of the five siblings, who simply stared back without answering.

Yet before they could answer, boom! the hangar door behind the Chimaera Z-X suddenly exploded, sending flames spreading in all directions. They all raised their arms and turned away, though they remained fully shielded by the force field of the Chimaera Z-X, which protected both them and the truck beside it.

At the same time, explosions echoed from the city below; the five siblings turned back to see multiple detonations ripping through the town. Celes turned her gaze toward Clyde.

"Clyde... this means," Celes began.

"Yeah... Silas is dead, which triggered the countdown for the self-destruction systems across his facilities," Clyde stated with a grim expression.