The ECD facility stood silent, emptied of its personnel, leaving only sealed entities and artifacts behind. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the government became fully aware of the catastrophic events unfolding within the base.
In a closed-door meeting, President Tonald Drump authorized the deployment of a classified contingency plan. It was codenamed "Project Purge," a self-destruction protocol embedded within the ECD facility. Buried deep beneath the base were seven active mana warheads. Their detonation would ensure the total annihilation of the facility, its entities, and all individuals inside, including Carn and his allies.
The directive left no room for negotiation. Everything had to be erased from existence to protect national security.
Ferdinand, the now-disgraced vice commander of the ECD base, exited the Pentagon with a hollowed expression. The president had personally berated him for the debacle, stripping him of his rank and placing him under the looming threat of court-martial. Yet, before his dismissal was finalized, Ferdinand was entrusted with one final mission.
Boarding a military helicopter, Ferdinand flew to Central Park under cover of night. Law enforcement had already evacuated civilians to ensure no witnesses remained. The park, tranquil and seemingly innocent, was now a staging ground for an ominous ritual.
Once the helicopter touched down, Ferdinand stepped out, carrying a small, unassuming case. Inside lay ten bone rings, artifacts imbued with dark energy. One by one, Ferdinand buried the rings at precise locations throughout the park. The first ring was planted at the base of a sprawling oak tree. The rest followed, hidden beneath soil and roots in a carefully calculated pattern.
When his task was complete, Ferdinand boarded the helicopter without a backward glance. The mission, though unsettling, was merely a stepping stone in a grander scheme. He scoffed as the helicopter ascended, confident that whatever Carn attempted to accomplish within the base would be rendered meaningless. In Ferdinand’s mind, their "master scheme" to secure infinite wealth and resources for the nation was already in motion.
"I am inevitable."
.
Meanwhile, Rosa, Merlin, and Arthur arrived at the chamber housing ECD-77. The containment area was instead an enormous warehouse. It stretched for hundreds of meters in every direction, and its interior was illuminated by gold liquid within containers inside. However, all light sources had already been turned off as Merlin already disabled all defensive mechanisms in the facility.
Rows upon rows of massive water tanks filled the space. Each tank contained glowing golden liquid. Organized with military precision, the tanks formed a grid that hinted at industrial-scale extraction. The ECD extracted several cubic tons of holy water, exceeding what they could imagine as being used for legitimate purposes.
Arthur’s gaze lingered on the tanks. He thought of a certain researcher that he had arrested.
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"No wonder that kiddy aunty pockets the juice. Obviously, they have too much! What are they planning to do with these? Bathing?"
Merlin revealed the truth, "Of course, they’re hoarding it like greedy scalpers. Holy water from the chalice can purify the undead, cure cancer, and regress one’s age. Those conniving bureaucrats are surely planning to unleash hell on Earth first. Once people start dying in droves, they’ll swoop in claiming they have the cure! And then—boom! PROFITS! WEALTH! INFLUENCE! POWER! Pfft. Classic politics."
Arthur nodded and glanced at his holy spirit guardian. The angel, clad in an ethereal glow, smiled and materialized before the group. Her gaze turned toward Rosa, whose expression soured.
Without a word, the holy spirit raised her hand. Instantly, the golden holy water within the tanks evaporated, transforming into radiant golden smoke that condensed into threads of divine energy. She directed the threads toward Arthur’s chest, allowing him alone to receive them.
Steam of divine energy entered Arthur, but he clenched his chest in pain. Unlike Carn, who gathered his power in his arms, Arthur instinctively drew the divine energy into his heart. Over 100,000 golden marks surged through him, threatening to tear his very essence apart.
Rosa, noticing Arthur’s poor condition, opened her mouth as she inhaled a portion of the excess divine energy, redirecting it to herself. The tension in Arthur’s body eased, though his expression remained strained. Instantly, 30,000 gold marks were transferred to Rosa.
The angel narrowed her eyes and scowled at Rosa. However, Rosa met the divine spirit’s glare with a defiant smirk.
"Your precious incarnation was about to die because of your carelessness. I’m helping him, and you’re angry at me? How typical." Rosa mocked the angel.
The holy spirit let out a faint, disdainful snort before vanishing into the ether, refusing to engage further with her former follower.
As the angel disappeared, Rosa’s taunting expression darkened. She complained.
"If her dedication was as half as this, I wouldn’t have died or turned into a gargoyle. Tsk!"
Merlin wanted to shake his head, but he had nobody to do so. He soothed her with words, "At least, you get to be an immortal. You don’t get old anymore… like me."
"Meh, I want to have a regular family like a human, too. I guess I can only date fellow monsters now."
Merlin laughed, "How about me?"
"I’m not into books."
"Bah! Picky girl! Anyway, where is the chalice? I can’t sense it."
"Me, too. I can’t find it."
Arthur, Rosa, and Merlin scanned the warehouse. However, the chalice, which was the source of the holy water, was nowhere to be seen.
As they couldn’t find it, they revised their agenda.
"Let’s go find that Netherworld envoy next. Is he still in the same enclosure, geezer?" Rosa proposed the next move.
"He’s not in the facility."
"Eh? Then, where is he? Has he escaped?"
"I don’t know. I can’t sense him in the facility. He might be outside or in his dimension."
"…"
"So, what’s next, stone lady?"
Arthur observed the duo and came up with an idea, "Instead of searching for helpers, how about we leave the kiddy facility first? We rendezvous with your kiddy boss, later?"
Rosa frowned at Arthur, annoyed by his buzz words, "Can you stop saying KIDDY, for once?"
"…No."
"How about I turn you into stone?"
"…I’m sorry, stone lady. Please forgive this sinner."
"Tsk."
Rosa grabbed Arthur and Merlin. They teleported together, heading to the surface.
A second after they had left, a loud siren echoed in the facility. Without a typical evacuation warning, the entire underground building collapsed.
.
Meanwhile, Carn and Gawain were still in the facility. The ground below them trembled, and everything collapsed on top of them.
"Oh, dear."
Carn and Gawain looked up, unperturbed. They vanished, teleporting to the surface as well.
