Perseus stord into the command center, his heavy boots echoing against the cold floor as he moved with urgency.
Outside, a group of soldiers stationed at the entrance exchanged glances, their nervous expressions betraying their knowledge of what was happening inside. One of them stepped forward, raising a hand.
"Sir, it’s probably not the best ti to—"
"I don’t care," Perseus barked, his thick beard quivering as he pushed past them. "This is an ergency."
The doors swung open, and Perseus froze for a mont, his eyes widening slightly at the sight before him. Enel lay sprawled across the command room’s central platform, his arms around two won—Tomato and Allison—both entirely unclothed, their heads resting against his chest as they slept. Tendrils of Allison’s fading dark aura still lingered faintly in the air, casting fleeting shadows along the walls.
Perseus, clearly put off by the naked figures, but determined, muttered sothing under his breath. With a wave of his hand, a thick blanket materialized and gently draped itself over the trio. Clearing his throat, he stepped forward.
"Boss, we have a problem. You really need to see this."
Enel’s dark eyes opened slowly, and a low growl of frustration rumbled in his throat. He shifted, careful not to disturb the won, though his gaze carried the weight of a man who did not enjoy being interrupted. "You had better not be wasting my ti, Perseus."
Perseus shook his head. "I’m not."
Enel sighed, covering the won properly with the blanket before he stood and began dressing. Tomato stirred for a mont but settled back into sleep, her tail curling around her body. Once ready, Enel gestured for Perseus to lead the way, his mood clearly soured by the disturbance.
In the adjacent room, Perseus activated the communication console. A holographic interface flared to life, crackling with static. "This is the last transmission we received from Commander Kael’s unit," Perseus explained, his voice grim.
Kael’s panicked voice ca through the speakers. "This is Commander Kael—requesting imdiate backup! There’s sothing here—picking us off one by one! We can’t—" Gunfire erupted in the background, followed by the unmistakable sound of n screaming. The transmission ended abruptly, leaving a heavy silence in its wake.
Enel frowned deeply, his jaw tightening. "Tomato was supposed to be there," he muttered, shaking his head. "But instead, she left to indulge herself." His hand clenched into a fist. "Have you sent a rescue team?"
Perseus hesitated. "Not yet."
"Why not?" Enel’s voice was sharp, his patience wearing thin.
Perseus motioned toward a table in the center of the room. A large leather bag lay on top, the outline of a body faintly visible beneath it. "Because we found this," he said, pulling back the cover.
Enel stepped closer, his gaze narrowing as he looked at the lifeless body of one of the natives of the plane. The creature had elongated arms, an oversized head, and skin that was an unsettling mix of black and blue.
Perseus brought up an AI interface, the holographic display analyzing the creature’s biology. "These beings," he began, "are known as the Ghel’reth. Despite their appearance, their internal biology is remarkably similar to humans."
Enel tilted his head. "And that’s a problem why?"
Perseus tapped the interface, zooming in on a specific section of the analysis. "Because of this."
The display highlighted the creature’s cranial cavity. The brain was entirely absent.
Enel frowned, pulling on a pair of gloves. He examined the head, running his fingers along its surface. "No external cuts," he noted. "The chest wound is clearly from Tomato, but this…"
He waved his hand, and surgical tools appeared in a neat array beside him. Without hesitation, he began carving into the skull. The mont he pried it open, the truth beca clear.
"The brain isn’t just missing," Enel said, his tone carrying a mix of curiosity and amusent. "It was taken."
Perseus raised an eyebrow. "Taken? How?"
Enel’s hands moved deftly as he examined the marks inside the skull and along the spine. Tendril-like impressions lined the interior, telling a story of sothing that had invaded and extracted the organ with precision.
"Ah," Enel said, a sly smile spreading across his face. "Now this is interesting."
He looked up at Perseus, his eyes gleaming with recognition. "Sothing—or soone—is using these bodies. Puppeteering them. This isn’t a simple infestation. This is art."
Perseus frowned. "Art? Enel, we’ve lost an entire unit out there."
Enel chuckled softly, pulling off his gloves. "Relax, old man. I know exactly what we’re dealing with."
Perseus crossed his arms. "And what’s that?"
Enel leaned back against the table, his grin widening. "The Greed royal family."
Perseus blinked. "Greed? You an like—"
"They’re hoarders," Enel interrupted. "Everything is a resource to them. Even waste. Even bodies. If it exists, they’ll find a use for it."
He gestured toward the corpse. "This? This is just the beginning. And trust , Perseus, they never throw anything away."
Perseus stroked his beard thoughtfully. "So, what’s the plan?"
Enel smirked, his confidence unwavering. "We remind them why so things are better left untouched."
Just then he got an alert from the system
This was the sa alert Enel had gotten the first ti he faced against the inhabitants of this world when he had gone to say ’Hi’ to Vandora. And Now, he was receiving it again.
Enel’s expression shifted abruptly at this thought.
He turned sharply to Perseus, his voice slicing through the tense air like a blade. "Inform Vandora she’s in charge of the city’s safety. Make sure she knows this isn’t just a drill. Gather the n—we move out imdiately." He barked the order loud and clear.
Perseus gave a curt nod and was already reaching for his communicator when the entire room trembled violently. The ground beneath their feet seed to ripple, and distant crashes echoed through the walls as if sothing massive was clawing its way toward them.
"What the hell—" Perseus started, but Enel raised a hand, silencing him.
The AI screens that lined the walls of the command room blinked to life, alarms blaring in sync with a flashing red warning. Text scrolled rapidly across the displays: **"WARNING: CITY UNDER ATTACK. STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY AT RISK."**
Enel stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as the screens shifted to live footage from the city’s exterior. The caras revealed massive, dark tendrils coiling up the fortress-like walls of the city. They moved with unnatural fluidity, their sheer size making them appear as though they could snap the city’s defensive barriers with ease. The tendrils pulsated with an eerie, otherworldly glow, their movents calculated and deliberate, like a predator toying with its prey.
Perseus cursed under his breath. "What in the depths is that?"
Enel didn’t answer imdiately. Instead, he leaned in closer to the screen, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. He tilted his head slightly, his eyes gleaming with a mix of curiosity and sothing far darker.
"Well," he said, his voice dripping with amusent. "It seems our guest didn’t have the patience to wait for an invitation."
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