Ascenders Rift

Chapter 225: Arriving at the Underground Base

Time passed quickly, and the night had already fallen on in the X Space; by this hour, the morning's chaos had long since faded as an eerie quietness had filled the world.

A bloody scent wafted across the air, as just by a whiff of it, one could tell how many lives had been lost on this single day. A day now destined to be marked as a tragedy to all human natives of Qeodreona.

Currently, all the escapees from the City of Hope had already ventured towards their hideaway. If one were to trace their path from the area shrouded by the rubbles that blocked all passage, they would see a series of tire tracks trailing towards the unknown depths.

Within this underground passage, a dozen meters wide path leading to the unknown area was visible; its walls were laid with metal as a series of light sources were embedded. Each of these light sources being a floating mechanical orb that sparked with a fuse at their center.

Traveling through this passage for a few dozen kilometers, one would eventually arrive in an area with a massive metal door. A myriad of high-powered guns was positioned around it, each of which was glowing dim rays as if they could fire at a moment's notice.

At this time, four elite looking Evolvers were currently standing in front of this door; they each wore sturdy looking armor with high powered weapons at their sides as they stood on the lookout.

Suddenly, one of the guards sighed as they spoke in a weak voice, "Do you think we'll be able to make it past this?"

The other guards remained silent; none of them gave a reply as their eyes showed a trace of helplessness as if they knew full well that the battle was lost.

As the person who spoke knew what they were thinking, he sighed again, saying nothing, focusing his attention to the end of the passage away. However, as his eyes shifted back towards this area, they widened in surprise as he saw a new group heading over.

"We've got company, prepare the defenses!" The guard said in a loud shout.

"Right!" The others replied in unison, showing a great amount of precision; by the time the other party got close enough to do anything, all the defenses were set into motion.

The high-powered guns made mechanical noises as they aimed at the party while the guards held their weapons with a cold look.

"Who are y...?" One of the guards was about to begin his interrogation, but as he saw the party once more, his eyes widened in shock, before awe.

Like him, the others had the same reaction as they hurriedly made a salute and spoke in unison, "We welcome back the Heroes!"

Evan and the others seemed to be used to this form of address; they gave each of the guards a similar salute before Evan spoke, "Can you tell us of the losses? Have there been any major casualties?"

The guards looked at each other; one of them sighed as they prepared to answer Evan, but as if someone was waiting, a familiar voice spoke nearby, "I can tell you, but it's best we do it on the inside..."

When Evan and the others heard this, they turned in the direction and saw Oron leaning his back against the gate. While his manner seemed a bit at ease, just by looking at his face, one could tell that he wasn't in a good mood.

'It seems that the losses have been far more than I'd expect, from both Breya's and Rick's dodgy manner, someone significant might have taken a fall...' Evan thought with deep eyes; he didn't say anything for a while as he was pondering the circumstances.

Still, unlike Evan, Joe and the others promptly gave a reply to Oron.

"Oron, your face doesn't look so good; I'm already getting a bad feeling about this... were you waiting for us here?" Joe asked as he walked over.

Oron shook his head as he stared at Joe and spoke, "Yes, I chose to wait it out here; I also needed a little space from that previous atmosphere, Now come, let's not discuss these matters here, I'll take you to the others..."

Joe thought for a moment and nodded as he replied, "Fine, we'll do it your way."

Oron wasted no time as he turned around and went towards the door; he pressed his palm against a compartment, which then opened after a series of clicking noises.

Not long after, the door began to slide open as the sounds of gears turning was heard, its ever-expanding crack revealing a bright light that shrouded the scene behind it.

As Joe saw this, he couldn't help but mutter, "Eh? Is he taking us to Olympus or something?"

As if they grew disturbed at this, Emilia, Breya, and Layla looked at Joe hardly as Emilia spoke, "Brother!"

Joe scratched the back of his head with an awkward look as he replied, "Ah, my bad, I didn't mean it in a bad way..."

Oron didn't seem to mind, nor did the guards, their minds were preoccupied with their future.

Layla shook her head, not saying anything as Rick snorted when he looked at Joe as he thought, 'This guy is going to get us in more trouble one day...'

Breya was also troubled by his words, but she merely made a self-note as she spoke in a tone only she could hear, "And I'll add this to the punishment as well..."

Joe suddenly felt a strange feeling, but he couldn't pinpoint its location; thus, he no longer pondered it.

The door had opened soon, and the scene behind it was revealed, causing everyone to stare at it with surprised looks.

It was a magnificent view, the picture of a broad base camp built as if it were in open land, with a clear, artificial night sky that spanned a distance of a few kilometers.

There were many night-lit buildings and towers for as far as one could see, each of which was behind a well-secured area with high walls and mounted guns.

Many individuals were currently moving back and forth in this base; their faces carried a look of weakness as if they'd just experienced a tragic battle.

"This place... it's incredible..." Breya said as she still couldn't wrap her head around the kind of knowledge need to build such a base, she began to record its various constructs with her tablet.

"Yeah, I've heard of various hidden bases, but this one takes the cake..." Rick added with a similar level of surprise on his face.

Joe's mouth was open wide, but unlike them, only Emilia and Layla seemed a bit distracted; their emotions were conflicted as if implying they only felt terrible things.

Evan, who had only now awoken from his ponderings, glanced at the two and asked, "Emmy, Layla, are you two okay?"

Emilia shook her head and replied, "It's the whispers of the remnant earth spirits. I've heard some grim news..."

Evan's eyes narrowed as Layla also added with sad eyes, "The will of the people is low, and the air of desperation is rich..."

Evan gave the two girls a look before glancing at the injured Evolvers. As he stared around, he noticed that a few children were crying at the trolleys' sides with dead bodies; even the weaker elderly had tears in their eyes.

After sighing, he then shook his head, not paying them any mind as he spoke again, "Don't focus on it, even if there are losses, we're here to make the difference... for them, we are hope..."

When Layla and Emilia heard his words, they both nodded as their eyes had sharp looks, far different from their previous state a couple of months ago.

While talking, Oron had led Evan's party through the base camp; he brought them to pass the inspection channels and buildings built like those in cities before finally stopping at the most massive structure. It was a building built like a dome with many Evolvers surroundings, each carrying a stern look.

After stopping here, Oron looked at them and spoke, "Leon and the others have already gathered here; I've sent them a message of your arrival; it seems that they want to hold a meeting right away due to the current circumstances."

When Evan and the others heard this, they looked at each other before nodding; Evan then gave Oron a look and replied, "Fine, we have no problem with that, this isn't the time for resting after all..."

Oron gave Evan, Layla, and the others a look of appreciation as he knew that they must have fought much harder than them, even now they were more or likely tired from all their previous battles. Yet, they could ignore that jump into a meeting.

'They truly are the best kinds of allies...' Oron thought before cleared his distracting thoughts and led everyone into the building.

Evan and the others promptly followed along, vanishing behind the doors shut with an audible bang as they headed towards others.

***

Author's Note:

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