At dawn, Violet headed towards the Helios Clan with her friend.
Because of the mories of the previous ambush, we ford a convoy to move.
"Departure!"
"No enemies on the road. Moving forward!"
The convoy consisted of three vehicles, motorcycles, and a powered hang glider. Two pickup trucks were at the front and back.
The cargo bay was covered with a plastic sheet, under which an ard Violet hid, holding a machine gun. In case of ergency, she planned to pull off the cover and jump out to shower the enemies with bullets.
In the middle, there was an SUV carrying Irene.
Around it, delivery motorcycles moved at a distance.
"Is this enough?"
Violet No. 214 confidently sat in the driver’s seat.
The second vehicle, No. 2, shook her head while sharing the view.
"Not at all! Did you forget about the last ambush?"
No. 2 recalled the events of the ambush in her mind.
A scene of nurous suicide drones flying toward them unfolded.
The vivid mory made the Violets shudder.
"Ahh! They’re attacking from the sky!"
"This is dangerous!"
Violet snapped out of it.
Now that she thought about it, an attack from the sky was possible!
Several scenarios popped into her mind. Suicide drones, jet bikes, helicopters... It might sound grandiose, but it was entirely feasible.
In that case, we needed to keep an eye on the sky.
"Squadron, launch!"
Just before the convoy set off, the hastily assembled powered hang glider pierced the wind and took off.
"This is headquarters. We’ve traveled about halfway along the scheduled route. Report."
"All clear! The sky is clear."
Sowhere high up in the sky, a hang glider that had taken off from a nearby factory slowly followed the convoy from above.
I kept a vigilant watch around. Fortunately, nothing happened until we arrived.
"Headquarters reporting. We’ll arrive in 5 minutes!"
The clan headquarters building, located on the outskirts of the central district, was smaller than expected.
It was only about 10 stories tall.
However, as we got closer, we could see that the area around the building and its facilities were vast.
A large parking lot and various types of ard vehicles and armored trucks were parked in the hangars, and helicopters and small flying ships equipped with anti-gravity devices were being serviced on one side.
"Wow, it’s huge! I bet just one of those helicopters would be great to have..."
"It’s vast! So much space!"
As I admired the surroundings, a doubt suddenly arose.
How did such a well-off clan end up becoming so poor five years later?
"...This is our clan."
Irene muttered in a slightly proud yet restrained tone.
I parked the car in front of the building.
When I followed Irene out, the sign was displayed at the entrance.
After passing through the revolving door, a neat and stylish lobby welcod us. Many people were coming and going.
"Do you know what kind of work our clan does?"
"They do security and exploration, I heard."
As far as I knew, clans had a few ways to make money. Their main job was usually to hunt down beasts that attacked, but not many people made money just by killing.
Typically, they would make use of the byproducts and look for profitable opportunities within dungeons.
Helios Clan’s work was similar. However, this clan was more adventurous, as they actively sent expeditions to uncharted dungeons and eroded areas beyond barriers to collect resources and relics, while also taking down dangerous awakened individuals.
As we entered, a few hunters stationed as security ca toward us for a check.
"Stop, we need to conduct a brief inspection... Oh, it’s you, young lady. It’s been a while, how’s the academy?"
One man stood in an intimidating posture, blocking us, but then was surprised when he saw Irene.
"It’s been a while, Team Leader."
By the looks of it, they seed to know each other well. Irene exchanged a pleasant conversation with the team leader before moving on.
Due to security concerns, we had to go through the inspection, but since she was Irene’s friend, they treated us kindly.
"That’s Team Leader Land. He’s in charge of security. He used to visit here often for training when we were kids."
Irene briefly explained as we passed through the inspection and made our way to the lobby on the first floor.
After that, she exchanged pleasantries with a few others around the clan. It seed like she knew everyone here well.
"He trained here since he was a kid. Was he being grood as a successor?"
"Our friend is an amazing person!"
I followed Irene as we headed to the elevator.
The reason Irene visited the Helios headquarters building today was simple.
Currently, Irene’s bank account had been frozen.
During the last ambush, her house had exploded, and all the equipnt she had been storing there was destroyed.
During the battle with the awakened cyborgs, her spear had even broken.
So, she had consulted with her father’s secretary, who had been her guardian, to retrieve the personal equipnt stored here.
I followed Irene toward the elevator. Would it be fine to part ways here?
"Wait a mont, Violet. Could you escort for a bit?"
"Okay! Got it."
For so reason, Irene kept asking to stay by her side. Well, I was curious about how things looked inside.
Just what would the interior of Helios’ building be like?
***
As we rode the elevator to the 8th floor, Irene gathered her magical energy.
Though she tried to appear calm beside her friend, she was actually quite nervous. She slowly took deep breaths and focused on her surroundings.
‘I hope I’m wrong...’
Irene recalled the events of the previous ambush.
First, the attackers had planted bombs in the penthouse, a place that only she and her family could enter.
The attackers weren’t just any riff-raff.
The non-awakened rcenaries were well-trained, and they coordinated with awakened forces.
They also used Helios Clan’s unique tactics.
The robotic soldiers that had been pushing her were also a point of suspicion.
Their precise and powerful magical energy managent was sothing only humans or beasts typically possessed.
A robot that could use magic? It was definitely not an ordinary machine.
If her suspicions were correct, coming here could be dangerous. She had brought Violet just in case, but the unease hadn’t completely disappeared.
‘First, I’ll talk to Uncle Kress. Or maybe soone else...’
Irene and Violet went to the office. Before retrieving the stored equipnt, there were so people she needed to et.
A mont later, Irene struggled to suppress the growing confusion in her mind.
‘He retired? Why?’
It turned out that everyone had left.
Uncle Kress had been her father’s secretary. He had served as her father’s guardian when he fell into a coma after sustaining fatal injuries.
"She suddenly stopped responding, and I thought it was strange, but I didn’t expect sothing like this to happen."
It wasn’t just that.
"Oh, her? She transferred to another departnt a while ago. Her contact information? I’m not sure…"
The people in Helios who usually helped Irene either quit or transferred departnts within just a few days.
All the people who supported and assisted her disappeared at once.
Her limbs had been severed. Irene couldn’t find a better way to describe it.
"Irene, are you okay?"
When Violet, who had been trailing behind her, carefully observed her expression, Irene gave a slight nod.
After obtaining the contact information by pressuring the clan’s HR staff, she packed her equipnt and prepared to leave again.
And then, Irene ca face to face with a familiar person.
"It’s been a while since I last saw you at the clan, Irene. Are you feeling alright?"
As she walked down the hallway, a middle-aged man with blond hair appeared.
Behind him stood three ard hunters.
Irene looked up at her uncle with an expressionless face.
"Uncle Rigel, it’s been a while. I heard you were on a business trip."
"Ha-ha, indeed. I just got back to Rustlum a few days ago. But more importantly…"
Rigel trailed off, clicking his tongue as he gazed at his niece with a hint of pity.
"I heard what happened. You were attacked, weren’t you? What an unfortunate thing. But it’s a relief you weren’t hurt."
"Yes, fortunately, the Inspection Bureau arrived in ti, and I was able to escape safely."
"That’s good to hear. Whoever it was, the clan won’t let it slide."
On the surface, he looked concerned, but there was a faint trace of dissatisfaction in Rigel’s tone.
Irene could detect it from the subtle shift in his words.
Why was he suddenly bringing up the attack?
Though the thought crossed her mind, Irene maintained a composed expression.
There was no need to reveal her emotions prematurely. Stay calm.
"But, what’s with that equipnt? I hope you don’t mind asking why you’re taking the clan’s assets all of a sudden."
"So of my equipnt was damaged during the attack."
She raised her bag slightly as if to emphasize her point.
"And technically speaking, these aren’t clan assets. They’re under my na. See for yourself?"
"Hmm, I see. It must’ve been my mistake. Then there’s nothing to be done."
Rigel clicked his tongue briefly, and then, as if sothing had just occurred to him, he let out a short exclamation, "Ah."
"I thought you might be short on money or sothing. Lately, I’ve been hearing strange rumors about you."
"Rumors?"
"Oh, I don’t an to scold you or anything. But they’re saying that since you entered the academy, you’ve been living recklessly."
Then Rigel showed her his smartphone. Irene’s face twisted as she glanced at the screen.
"What… is this?!"
The blurry photo showed a girl with violet hair surrounded by bottles of alcohol, partying wildly.
On the table were white powder and syringes.
"This isn’t . The tiline doesn’t even make sense."
"Right? Of course, I believe you. But still, whether it’s soone playing a prank or not, these shoddy photos are floating around along with strange rumors within the clan."
"They’re even saying you’ve been associating with a gang. Obviously, it’s nonsense, right? Still, you should be careful with your actions for the ti being."
Rigel smiled kindly, but Irene felt a chill run down her spine as she looked at him.
His words sounded to her like, "If you don’t want your reputation within the clan to worsen, you should behave and stay put."
"I also heard that your account has been frozen. Such an unfortunate thing. Your house burned down, so do you have a place to stay? I can help you find a new place near the academy."
"I appreciate the concern, but I already have sowhere to stay."
Irene politely declined.
Rigel stroked his chin thoughtfully for a mont before gesturing toward the people behind him.
"Don’t you think you need bodyguards? You can’t be too careful until the ones who attacked you are caught."
"I’ve never seen these people before."
"They’re new recruits to the clan. Don’t you think even our clan needs so fresh changes?"
One of the so-called bodyguards standing behind him grinned broadly.
"I appreciate the offer, Uncle Rigel, but I already have bodyguards."
"Bodyguards? Oh, do you an the people who fought off the attackers before the Inspection Bureau arrived?"
Irene’s pupils trembled slightly.
‘I never ntioned Violet to him.’
And yet, it seed her uncle didn’t have a full grasp of the situation.
For the first ti during the conversation, Irene felt a sliver of relief.
She decided to mix a bit of truth with exaggeration in her reply.
"Yes, they’re part of a secret ard security team my father prepared in advance. They’re called the Ariel Group."
"What? Ariel Group…?"
Irene didn’t miss the first sign of unease on Rigel’s face, which had been dancing between composure and subtle arrogance.
"It’s a clandestine organization composed of only the best mbers of Helios. I was honestly surprised myself when I first t them."
"…Is that so. To think your father would have set up sothing like that…"
Rigel chuckled awkwardly, muttering under his breath.
"By any chance, is there a way to contact the Ariel Group…?"
"Unfortunately, they didn’t share that with . Uncle, may I leave now?"
While her uncle was still flustered, Irene quickly walked past Rigel.
At that mont, Violet, who had been waiting for her, waved her hand and ran toward her.
"Wait, Irene. We’re not done talking…"
"Irene~ I’m hungry!"
"Okay. What do you want to eat?"
As Violet spoke to Irene, she waved at Rigel.
"Who’s that?"
"He’s Uncle Rigel."
"Hello! Mr. Rigel, I’m Violet!"
"Oh, is that so?"
Just then, the elevator arrived.
Violet got in with Irene, and they quickly descended.
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