Chapter 368: The key?

She took a deep breath. "Beauty, search. Do a deep scan of everything we have brought back with us. You scanned that vault, so I don’t even need to check manually."

[Host, I have searched all the loot that you all brought back and Hunter brought with him something that seems to be giving off a wave of energy. Like a beacon.]

Zyra turned to Hunter, pointed at his beast pocket and relayed exactly what Beauty had told her. ℯℯ𝑙.

Hunter reached into his beast pocket and pulled out the star-shaped artifact Achilles had messed with. It was the only thing in the vault that seemed important. The purple resonance stones on the star were glowing with a bright, pulsing light.

"This has to be it, It was not glowing before though!" Hunter gasped.

[Warning!] Beauty’s voice rang out sharp and loud. [Turn that device off immediately! That signal is how you were tracked back to the valley!]

"We have to turn it off." Zyra shared frantically.

Hunter stared at the glowing star. As if guided by some deep, hidden muscle memory he didn’t even know he had, his fingers automatically gripped the circular center button, twisted it counter-clockwise, and pushed it firmly inward.

It made a click, and the bright light died instantly.

Hunter tossed the star device onto the command console, "How the hell did I do that! This is starting to freak me the hell out!" He shouted.

Zyra let out a heavy sigh and touched his arm. "Okay, you losing control right now is not helping things here. If anything it is putting me on edge."

Hunter folded his hands, "I apologize for that...I am calm." He said as he took a deep breath.

Outside the barrier, the beast-man suddenly stopped his frantic digging in the dirt. He threw his head back and let out a terrifying, earth-shaking roar that rattled the building.

"Give me the key!" the beast-man screeched, his voice sounding like grinding rocks. Even though the signal was gone, he refused to leave, violently tearing up the trees and soil around the invisible barrier.

"System, engage security protocols now!" Zyra ordered.

[Shelter invisibility protocols already active, Host. What would you like to do with the hostile Orakuns?]

Zyra turned her head and gave Hunter a sharp, deadpan glare. "Hunter. Care to give me a little explanation? Anything in your memory...perhaps it’s returning because you are doing strange things like you are on a control remote."

Hunter looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole. "Zyra, I swear on my life, I have no idea what’s happening! First I saw Auntie Zena’s necklace, and then_ then I shifted the cabinet and saw that star thing. I don’t know why I took it! My mind just told me it was super important!"

"Important to who? Let us start there." Zyra yelled throw-your-hands-up in the air style.

[Host, prompt decision required,] the System chimed in cheerfully. [Current available disposal options for the trespassing beast-man: 1. High-voltage electrocution. 2. Heavy drone strike. 3. Spatial teleportation thrust.]

Zyra didn’t even hesitate. "Kill him and teleport his corpse far away from my lawn, what if he returns with his friends."

[Done.]

Outside, a giant beam of high-density energy blasted down from the sky, vaporizing the wild Orakun in a split second before sweeping the remaining ash miles away to the other side of the world.

Silence was restored.

Hunter opened his mouth to apologize again, but his throat choked up. He couldn’t form the words. He felt utterly terrible. People had been severely injured today, Nero’s arm was broken, and the people that he was with were almost all wiped out_ all because he foolishly grabbed the star device.

Zyra looked at Hunter’s miserable, pale face and let out a long, soft sigh. Her anger melted away into deep empathy. He looked like a kicked puppy who genuinely had no idea he’d done anything wrong.

She stepped closer and gently wrapped her hand around his trembling fingers.

"Hey," Zyra said softly, nudging his arm with her elbow. "Stop looking like your half life beast just died. We’re going to figure out what this weird key is, and what these Orakuns are up to. And what this has to do with you together, okay? Everyone knows the state of the world today. We all took a trip outside, knowing that we were risking our lives. Nobody is to blame for what happened...only that dead alien. We have killed it and avenged them."

Hunter looked down at her warm hand, swallowed the lump in his throat, and gave a small, deeply relieved nod. As long as she said it, he was willing to believe it.

*****

By 2 PM, Trinity finally received a confirmation message from Anuvis. He had found the blackmailer, but during the high-speed chase down the street, the idiot had been killed in a wild gunfire exchange along with his crew. The core motive was just like Trinity had suspected. The greedy fool had betrayed the high leaders for a fat bag of money, plain and simple. Nothing deeper than basic greed.

What she didn’t know was that Anuvis had lied, and he was planning to vanish. He was planning to change his identity and disappear. No one failed the divine maiden and lived...not unless they had an escape plan.

Trinity let out a long, dramatic sigh of relief. "Finally," she muttered, slumping back. "Everything is getting back on track."

The moment she passed the good news to Iron Regent Goch, the grand world leaders suddenly lost all their mysterious excuses. They filed into the arena VIP section with pomp, showing up just in time for the last two battles of the day.

The only empty seat in the VIP box belonged to the mayor, whose poor wife had tragically died of gunshot wounds incurred during a robbery last night.

Meanwhile, seated deep among the roaring crowds, Ava watched the bustling arena. The time was absolute perfection. The golden opportunity to release the Veyrot gas had arrived! There was just one tiny, tiny problem: the guy that knew the codes to activate the gas switches wasn’t here.

Yuda leaned over, chewing on her lower lip. "Where on earth is commander Leif?"

Ava shook her head, feeling a headache coming on. "I am just as clueless as you are. He left the hideout yesterday evening and hasn’t shown his face since."

Ava closed her eyes and exhaled a long, frustrated breath. "This right here is why I should have known the codes! But no, Ivar had insisted that I hold onto the tablet while Leif held onto the switch codes. Now, we are stuck sitting on our hands, missing the perfect opportunity."