Chapter 40: Arriving at the Silver Moon Bar
His voice carried an uncomfortable tone. The last thing she wanted was to see Richard looking for alcohol to drown his sorrows after everything that had happened."Besides… what do you plan to do in a bar?"
Richard kept his eyes fixed on the straight road opening ahead of them."It's not an ordinary bar." He pointed at the map with a dry gesture. "It's a center for buying and selling information. And we need it."
That place was his only best option to learn about the locations of other tombs he could unearth. That tavern had been one of the largest organizations in his past life, operating even before the world collapsed into the beginning of the infection.
"But the best thing is that when we get there, you don't manifest yourself. I don't even want to imagine the uproar they'll cause when they find out weapons could also be infused with special abilities."
Isolda watched him in silence before nodding seriously.
Richard turned his head toward Luna. "You too. It's best if you act like a normal crow. You'll have to reduce your size… or they'll think you're infected."
Luna clicked her beak, offended, but eventually nodded as well.
If it had been a year in the future, perhaps the Silver Moon organization could have better controlled its clients, giving him greater reassurance about his secrets. But currently it was an organization that, although it had its channels of information, did not possess the strength of its army of Awakened.
Richard got out of the vehicle.Just as he imagined, the city of Phoenix had prepared itself too well, just like in his past life. Bodies were still burning in the surroundings.
The entire place reeked of charred flesh; that stench, without a doubt, would spread even to the farthest areas, where, according to what he had learned in his previous life, soldiers and citizens who had not managed to Awaken resided.
"Quickly collect the cores of those infected! Don't you dare lose a single one! We already have the number of bodies and the amount of cores we should have counted!"
Richard observed closely. All the cores scattered on the ground glowed with a pale yellow hue, possibly from partial infected who had never reached class 1.
They possessed the same energy as a class 1; however, what was discovered in the future was that they contained five times more impurities. And those impurities, if accumulated, could provoke a strange mutation after the death of whoever had ingested them.
"None of them have impurities in their bodies…" Richard murmured.
Now that he paid closer attention, he was able to perceive the inner network of each soldier.
There was only one answer to that phenomenon. Just as he had suspected from the beginning, some events had advanced ahead of time. And among them, the genius of alchemy had also appeared prematurely.
"Johny…" he whispered.
It was unlikely he would encounter that young prodigy so easily. But if the situation favored him, he could obtain an energy nullifier capable of blocking all abilities of a creature below class 3.
He still remembered the recipe to craft it. The teachings he had received from Emma —and that at the time he thought useless— now turned out to be valuable for what he planned to do.
"Identify yourself!"
The voice cut through the air like a gunshot. A group of soldiers surrounded Richard in seconds. Each one aimed their assault rifle at a different part of his body. The laser sights turned him into a human colander.
Richard calmly raised his hands, trying to appease them."I am an Awakened. I've come to request a mission from Silver Moon."
He hoped the soldiers would be understanding and let him through. He prayed that, with Johny's early appearance, they hadn't yet eliminated the policy of free transit for the Awakened.
The Phoenix base, in those early stages of Awakening, desperately sought external help to strengthen its ranks. They offered abundant benefits to anyone who showed the slightest bit of talent: safe lodging, extra rations, access to training, and even quality weapons. All in order to maintain good relations with the Awakened and convince some to stay under their banner.
It wasn't the brightest plan, but it worked well enough. That policy of attraction was what allowed Silver Moon to grow quickly and, eventually, absorb total control. Later, once power was secured, they eliminated from the root any benefit for those not directly affiliated with their force.
A high-ranking officer pushed through the soldiers.His boots rang with metallic force against the scorched asphalt as he advanced toward him. The impeccable uniform, adorned with shining insignias, revealed that he was no mere captain: he was the general in charge of the garrison.
He looked him up and down, his gaze dripping with suspicion and a hint of disdain."Do you have a Silver Moon credential?"
The silence grew heavy. Richard felt the barrels aimed at him pressing him down to the ground. The general wasn't asking out of protocol: he wanted an excuse to measure him, to crush him right there if necessary.
Richard slowly shook his head, careful with every gesture so as not to appear provocative.
"An acquaintance told me about this place. They said they gave free access to high-ranked Awakened."
His voice was calm, trying to lighten the mood that had been building.
The general arched an eyebrow, incredulous.
"Yes… sure. Next time come up with a better excuse. Pigs will fly before a hairless kid becomes a high-ranked Awakened."
The remark drew a dry chuckle from some soldiers. The firm footsteps of several of them echoed behind Richard as they moved in to subdue him and put the cuffs on.
Richard, however, did not move. His mind worked fast.
He knew that, at that point in the timeline, the free-pass policy still existed. If the general tried to deny him, it would be because he wanted to humiliate him… or because he wanted to test his strength firsthand.
"You made a mistake judging me so soon," Richard thought, grinding his teeth.
The beam of a red laser stopped right in the center of his forehead. The weapons were ready to blow his head off at the slightest move.
A third commanding voice broke the tension.
"General, I told you any Awakened entering the city must pass through us first!"
The woman's boots rang on the cold training-ground floor. When her eyes, golden as the sun, landed on the general, the anticipation was palpable: she demanded an answer to his excessive attitude.
"Remember, General, that we — Silver Moon — allow the army into our base only on the condition that the Awakened who enter pass through us first."
At her commanding tone, the weapons began to rise, lifting from the soldiers' hands as if invisible threads pulled them upward. The metal floated around the men, spinning in the air with a dry hiss.
"Also, he comes from the Angels' Base… General Noah told us everything in his last report."
Richard was taken aback by the mention. "Wait… what did she say?" he murmured, still not recovering from the surprise.
A greenish energy began to surround his body quickly, and little by little he was lifted off the ground until he found himself several meters in the air.
"See you, General. And remember: don't be so grumpy, or you'll die alone, with no woman to settle down with."
Her last comment ignited the general's fury.
"Damned brat, if it weren't for the fact you have the alchemist, I would have driven you out of the city."
His teeth clenched in rage.
"Soldiers, withdraw!"
* * * * *
The welcome had been peculiar, but Richard remained silent throughout the entire journey.
" I see you're quiet, are you shy by nature?" asked Eimy with a mocking smile, as if trying to provoke a reaction out of him.
"Relax, I'm not going to eat you… by the way, my name is Eimy."
She raised her hand and, with a slight movement, Richard's body slowly descended. He had been floating the entire way, suspended by the girl's power.
"Now then, let's introduce ourselves properly. As I said, my name is Eimy…"
Richard observed her for a few seconds before replying.
"My name is Richard. Although Noah must have already told you about me, right?"
As he spoke, he clenched his fists and let the energy of his core flow. Instinct compelled him to scan her, to make sure that the girl was not under the control of some creature. If the matriarch had discovered his location, nothing could be taken lightly.
Eimy noticed, but showed no discomfort. On the contrary, her calm gaze seemed to challenge him.
"If you mean the report my foolish father sent me, don't worry. I'm aware of his condition."
Richard frowned, without lowering his guard.
She continued naturally, as if speaking about the weather.
"I discovered that place had been infiltrated when one of his men died. That was when I learned about the leech. And by the way… just because of that you'll have to undergo some tests later. We don't want you to be a risk."
"That's also the reason why we demand that any outsider Awakened pass first through the Silver Moon base. Only after the studies do we allow them to stay."
Richard shifted his gaze forward. At last, they had arrived.
Just as he remembered, the entrance stood before him: a worn wooden door, without a single ornament, like that of a rural tavern lost in time. Nothing on its façade revealed that behind those walls was hidden one of the most dangerous and coveted information centers on the continent.