Nichole planted her hand to her face, shaking her head in disappointment as she continued.
[Now's not the time to be childish. Elder Charles is still recovering from his injuries, which means both the Library to Enlightenment and the nation's barriers are unprotected.
On top of that, Elder Joshua and Ezekiel are currently outside the country, dealing with our economic and diplomatic relationship with other parties.
And the cherry on top, the strongest frontline warrior and assassin, Melinda, is currently recovering as well. Oh I almost forgot-]
Gradually, parts of Hiroko started to vanish. Blue and orange heatless flames drifted from her body as everything about her became more vivid in color and enchanting. Like her name would suggest, Feather had the delicateness of a freshly picked feather from a mythical bird.
[ Alright, Alright, I get it already; things are not looking so great.] Adjusting her neck within her light green sweater, Feather turned to Nichole with her medium-length, rich, golden color hair and turquoise blue eyes.
In an instant, the blue-golden flames turned into a barrier enclosing. It swallowed Nichole's room in protection, shutting them in.
Feather sat up in her chair, turning to the next page of her book. [ So what's next on the to-do list.]
[ You did everything Melinda asked for, am I correct?]
[ Yes, I marked every book in the Library with Phoenix Property and set up a barrier to sense all non-Insight-based signatures entering in and out those doors.]
[ Are you sure you can handle it? Charles used to be in charge of those types of things. I hope it's not eating away at your Concentration.]
[ At the moment, I'm working with 97%. Charles might be a master at Barriers and Protective Management, but that doesn't mean I'm some slouch. However, the barrier to the library is very minimal. It won't be sensed, but it will allow anyone to pass through it. ]
[ I see…]
Nichole looked, marking things off while also making a note of their conversation. After a moment, she looked up. [ Do you have a list of the people who walked in the other door or anything else I should note?]
[ Everyone that visited was regular based on Charles's records. I also cross-referenced the missing member's list just to make sure nothing got passed. That being said, there was one thing I would like to report.]
[ Go on.]
[ Jared Insight borrowed a book on the Consequence of Creating Life, The Truth Behind Pets. ]
[ Jared… Jared, Ah yes, Aizen's younger brother, right. That kid sure is a handful, just like his brother. His track record is long… That's one of the restricted books, if I'm not mistaken. You marked him also, correct?]
[Correct. But that wasn't all I had to report. I checked this morning, and it seems Jared and the book are a decent distance away from each other, and he is not at home. I think it's for the best that we send someone to retrieve both or at least make sure they're ok.]
Nichole pondered in silence. After a moment, she replied.
[ Actually, leave the book for now, I have a feeling that it will show itself again shortly, and that information might be useful, but for Jared, I'll send someone shortly to make sure he's all alive and well…. We'll put that on hold for now.]
…
"LET'S GO Move it!"
Lines of kids walked forward, with one thug standing watch on either side. In front was a large container filled with soup, and each child was served appropriately. The surrounding area was active, filled with BT members, sharpening their weapons as the others practiced their fighting stance.
Calmly sketching on a blue piece of paper, Viktor dropped the bottle of water to his side, without lifting his eyes from the sheet.
"So if I cut down on the metal here, it would definitely be lighter, but production would be down by 40% since we haven't manufactured something like this before. But that would only be temporary. " He said, mumbling.
Messy black and red hair hid the heavy bags under his eyes. Viktor continued to slave over his work. "That being said, the weight balance is going to be off."
Viktor reached for his neck, clawing at the bandage wrapping, loosening it.
A familiar voice rang out- "Yo Viktor, where are you at?"
"Ugh, back so soon, huh…." Viktor muttered before slowing down his work. "I'm in my tent."
"Got ya."
Walking through the open tent, the mismatch-eyed fellow walked forward, holding his shoulder. Taking a random seat.
"Back so soon, Breeze. Journalists sure do work fast, don't they."
Breeze- "You act like I was tasked with conquering the world. I just had to walk around Precast to make sure the Insight army or patrol guards weren't too active. Maybe with your scrawny legs, that would sound like an impossible task."
"Walking for hours on end is just not my cup of tea, and I'm ok with that. But watch yourself; you're a hired reinforcement, don't forget who referenced you to do the job."
Viktor looked up from his sheet. His eyes passed over Breeze with concern. "Looks like it wasn't as easy of a task as you were making it seem."
Pressing down on his shoulder while applying a free wrap around it, Breeze turned to him. He cracked a smile as he tossed his bag onto the table.
"Well, not like it didn't come with its own merits."
"I have no idea what you're talking about. And don't waste our supplies. " Saying this as he glanced at the bag on the table.
"Yeah, I know. The operation you have here didn't prepare for mistakes. Well, in this case, the Insight family being quick to respond."
Finishing the wrap around his shoulder, Breeze walked over, looking at Viktor's weapon design. On the paper was a gun. Compact and one-handed, looking a little lopsided due to its design not being completed.
Breeze- "Interesting design you're working on."
Viktor's eyes slowly turned, each pupil dripping with malice. "It's not something you need to concern yourself with."
Whoosh. Both figures snapped to the door as yelling echoed from outside. Suddenly, a guild member ran through the doors.
"Viktor, campsite three was wiped out! Some guy with an "I" on his jacket just walked in and started devastating everything."
Once hearing those words, Viktor slowly started to rest his pen in silence.
He stood up, pushing the members to the side as he walked out of his tent. With a commanding voice, everyone frantically started to ready themselves.
"Someone, get in contact with Tanya. Tell her to quicken phases two and three. Get the hostages out of the country and report back to headquarters."
Breeze walked up behind him, yawning. "So what do you want me to do? Abandon ship?"
"... No, we'll continue, but we don't have time to prepare as much as we wanted to for phase three. We'll just have to do without setting up as many explosives."
Viktor turned, looking at Breeze. " Just make sure to give them a show."
"Will do."
…
Time passed, drifting through to the evening. Although it's only been eleven hours since her conversation with Melinda, distancing herself from Insight's affairs, resting in front of Kaelin was another one of their members.
"ugh…" she annoyingly sighed, removing the hood from over her head.
'Another problem I need to deal with.'
"I can't enjoy a meal in peace while in this town, huh."
Gentle and frictionless, her hand brushed through her deep and dark purple hair. She effortlessly pushed it back, the strands hanging over her face.
Gradually getting up, Kaelin reached for the sky, stretching as she held the plastic bowl and wooden spoon in her hand.
"There's no point complaining about it. Ore."
The black and white polka-dotted rabbit appeared around the corner of a tree with herbs poking out of her bag.
Handing Ore the utility, re-attending her unpacked bag. "Have you decided? You're going to have to take care of that some time you know. It's only going to get worse."
"About that." Kaelin reached under her shirt, taking out her Journal that was strapped to her back. Although tightly covered, a circle indent could be seen from the outside.
"After everything that happened this past week, I won't be surprised that the situation is worse."