Koori and the orange-haired woman glared at each other. Their eyes weren't blinking, as if the first one to break eye contact would die or something.
"Wheeze...! But Flame...!"
The thin swordsman raised his voice, gasping for air. However, his complaints were silenced with a single glare from the woman.
"I said enough. This much should be sufficient for a little greeting." The woman scoffed, sparks flying from the corner of her eyes.
SIZZLE!
At the same time, the ice shards that were sent toward her at the same instant she averted her gaze were quickly vaporized. She didn't even have to look at them, as the ice turned to mist in a literal flash.
Koori's surprise attack didn't work at all!
"Kumamoto Koori... I suggest you stay your hand." She continued speaking, even without looking at the one she was addressing. "You don't want everyone here but you to die, do you?"
"...!"
That was, no doubt, a threat. But seeing her ability to instantly vaporize solid ice, it didn't sound like an empty threat in the slightest. Koori herself tucked her chin, frowning deeper as she kept her gaze straight ahead.
Although it pains me to admit, with our current lineup, we're at a disadvantage.
"Ugh..."
Even Neun was down on one knee, suffering from hypoxia due to the earlier conflagration consuming the surrounding oxygen.
"Wheeze...! I... I can still fight...!" The thin swordsman stubbornly claimed, voice laced with impatience and anger.
"You..." The woman glared at him one last time, eyeing him from head to toe. "Do you even see how messed up you got, even though you're fighting against kids?"
"I-It was... Wheeze... A lucky hit...! Given enough time, I can... wipe them...!"
"Enough excuses..."
A flash of flame washed over the thin man's face, burning off what was the remainder of his thin eyebrows. "ACK!" He groaned as he held his face in pain, dropping his sword to the ground with a loud clang.
"I already said we're retreating. My orders are absolute." She continued, unfazed.
Her coldness was completely different from Koori's.
Koori might seem strict and harsh, but you can still feel a slight warmth hidden beneath her words. But this woman... it felt rather than speaking with a subordinate, she sounded as if she were speaking to trash.
"Who the heck are you?"
Unable to hold her curiosity, Koori asked. However, the other party barely acknowledged her question. Not even bothering to look back.
"Don't worry, Kumamoto Koori," she said, a sinister smile crossing her lips.
At the same time, the space behind her and the thin swordsman began to warp, as if the space itself became a disturbed water's surface. "This wouldn't be our last meeting." She said as she slowly walked away, entering the still-rippling space.
The swordsman, still holding his slightly singed face, quickly grabbed his sword's hilt and took small steps backwards.
"You brat..." He glared in my direction, red eyes filled with hatred and vengeance. "Remember this... I'll make you pay dearly...!"
"... Typical underdog's lines, yep." I nodded.
"You...!"
Insulted by my response, he looked like he was about to jump at me again. However, I could also see his eyes turning to the other "portal" uneasily. In the end, he clicked his tongue and entered the portal behind him.
The two mysterious figures vanished, and the rippling space calmed down. As if nothing happened at all.
"Phew..." I sighed in relief, finally relaxing as I let myself lie down on the ground. "What the fuck was that? Your acquaintance?" And asked Koori beside me.
Koori was still staring at where the woman and the swordsman disappeared, his frown tight.
"I... don't know." She muttered, sounding lost. "Anyway, we should retreat for now too. Our objective is over, and the operation is a success."
Just as she finished her words, as if waiting for this exact timing, I heard the silenced sound of engines roaring overhead. The next moment, beam lights flashed towards us three before a rope ladder was lowered for us to use.
"... So they don't just beam us in or something, like in sci-fi..." I sighed, a little disappointed.
🔷🔷🔷
The Night Hawk was the only aerial vehicle that the Batch Zero Operatives possessed. As the name implies, the design made it easy to blend in with the dark night sky, with an angular design that deflects radar signals, completely hiding it. A perfect, stealth aircraft.
They use it mostly for returning to base, like some sort of service vehicle—but it was equipped with weapons too. At the worst case, it should be able to handle itself even if it was sent in the middle of a warzone or something. Not just surviving, but wiping out enemy forces and gallantly returning to base.
Thud!
"Read this, and this, and this..."
As soon as we returned, as I was led to my personal room, Koori dropped a tall stack of books on top of the only table in the room. Just a rough count, I could already see dozens of them.
"Finish reading them all before morning." She continued, mercilessly. "As you are now, you're too clueless. Use this information to fill that empty brain of yours."
"..."
It's not like I hate books or something... No, I can't even recall if I liked reading. However, seeing this tall stack and my short time limit that is practically just three or four hours away, I couldn't help but start to hate looking at it.
Still, she has a point. I am too clueless about everything.
Although I could guess a lot of things from listening to their conversation, it's still different from learning them directly from books. However...
"Are there no e-books?" I muttered, shocked.
The base looked so advanced, it wouldn't be strange for these files to have an e-copy... but it seems my thinking was too naïve.
"This is all classified information. We wouldn't dare put them in our database, letting hackers have a shot at stealing it, no matter how low the chances are." She scoffed.
"The information you have before you can turn the current world upside down if released to the public. So keep that in mind."
And even added a little "threat" at the end.
What sort of information can destroy the current society, even...? Curious, as soon as Koori left, I grabbed a book and started on my assignment.
And not long after, I realized.
"... Damn, she wasn't lying."