Out of nowhere, a formation of soldiers materialized before the palace, stepping through what appeared to be invisible gateways.
They were outfitted in various types of metallic armor featuring intricate, complex patterns. Some of the suits seemed immensely heavy weighing perhaps a hundred or two hundred kilograms worn by burly men whose bodies were entirely encased, isolated from the outside world. They wielded bio-organic firearms.
Tiffany, who had been on her way to borrow some money, saw the spectacle and immediately turned back.
The palace guards snapped to attention, pointing their spears and swords at the intruders with evident hesitation. One of the soldiers, wearing lighter armor and holding a file in his hands, stepped forward.
"Greetings. We are Squad Allevi-5 of the Theology Interception Battalion, part of the Peacekeeping Forces. We hold an arrest warrant issued by the Global Alliance for Paranormal Interception . We suspect the presence of a potential 'Gary Stu' entity within the palace, and we have authorization to use excessive force if necessary. Summon Mr. Sahin, the owner of the estate."
The guard peered out from the small window of his booth, calling to one of the gardening maids.
"Bisan! Tell Lusihar."
The maid took off, sprinting toward the palace.
"No matter. We are entering."
The maid rushed inside, calling out for Lusihar, who came jogging down the stairs in fresh work clothes.
"Lusihar! The Peacekeeping Forces want to see Sahin. I saw them entering the palace gardens right behind me!"
"Damn it... Move, quickly. Send a message to Sadim to get inside, and tell them to stick to the truth."
Lusihar ran to the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and slid across the smooth, colored marble to the refrigerator. inside a small chamber next to the motor, she sliced open a hanging bag, resealed the compartment, and bolted to the front door with lightning speed.
Meanwhile, Bisan raced upstairs to an isolated room on the roof. It was filled with diurnal birds of prey creatures that resembled falcons but possessed larger beaks lined with sharp teeth. Their feathers were camouflaged: azure blue on the belly and underwing, and brown speckled with black on top. These birds were called Raeds 'Thunders' named for the explosive sonic boom they created when breaking the sound barrier. They were elegant, luxurious biological missiles, and among the best intelligent domesticated birds, nearly impossible to intercept.
Three birds landed on Bisan's head and shoulders. She signaled a fourth, which approached her. She tied a message to its leg, making clicking sounds with her teeth to communicate in their tongue. She took the others and attached duplicate messages to them, launching them all into the sky where they accelerated instantly.
Downstairs, Lusihar threw the front door open just a moment before it would have been smashed in.
"Hello, sir. How may I be of assistance?"
"We wish to see the palace owner, Sahin Bansilking."
"But Mr. Sahin is dead?!"
"According to the records, he is still alive."
"The Honorable Sadim was about to handle the..."
"Get out of the way."
Lusihar stepped aside without argument, and one soldier signaled another to shove her further back. Perhaps Farid's cover as the Ninth had been blown, but in any case, she knew the rules of the GAPI units. Their doctrine was deeply rooted in Hexagonalism, including the principle: Attack first, ask questions later.
"Notice to all occupants: You have two minutes to evacuate. Anyone found inside after that time will be terminated."
Lusihar tried to turn back to wake Farid, but a bone-rifle pressed against her face made her reconsider. She didn't dare speak. The maids were rushing out in a panic; none would be willing to go upstairs. Even Bisan was seen running for the exit—the aviary was on the opposite side of the complex from Farid's bedroom, and going to him would have meant getting trapped.
The heavy-armor squad stormed inside, smashing everything in their path. Locked doors were obliterated by high-caliber armor-piercing rounds that roared like cannons, while the light-armor security teams remained outside to secure the perimeter.
Farid slept deeply, like a child, half his naked body covered by the sheets. He was dreaming of Lusihar and the maids. Something red and white began poking his right shoulder. He swatted it away with his left hand, but the poking resumed. He tried to swat it away again.
The Commander spoke.
"You're coddling him. Move. Move away."
THWACK!
A thick wooden plank smashed into Farid's face, shattering his nose and teeth. His body jolted for an instant, his muscles seized, and then his entire form went limp. His eyes opened slightly, but the pupils had rolled back into his head.
No scream, no moan, nothing. It was as if someone had unplugged a living machine. His breathing slowed, but a gurgling snore rose from his throat as his face turned blue. Soldiers in light armor entered and hoisted Farid's unconscious body.
White fog flooded the garden. Bisan saw Lusihar staring into the distance—no, that was Delta.
"< Heh, what a fool. >
Stop her! Stop her, she's a monster!"
The soldiers trained their weapons on the entity and opened fire. Delta dodged some rounds, while others struck home, but she healed instantaneously. Suddenly, another group of soldiers charged her, and an explosion erupted from nowhere, blasting Delta into scraps of flesh.
But Delta began to reassemble. Her pieces rolled and gathered together.
The squad commander muttered to himself,
"Non-generative regeneration."
Quickly, the soldiers who had charged before the explosion began containing the pieces, keeping them separated. Lusihar burst out laughing at the sight, speaking to Bisan.
"Is she in her right mind? Trying to defeat a Theology Interception Squad? But why did they send a team this powerful just to detain her? The Black Shield Squad would have sufficed, or..."
"They used a term I didn't understand,"
Bisan whispered.
"It was 'Gary' something... I don't remember well."
"What does that mean?"
After failing to reassemble, Delta's separated pieces began to grow, turning one problem into many.
A soldier in heavy armor spoke into his comms.
"Allevi-5-1 to Command. We have an off-mission anomaly. We are facing issues with a generatively regenerating entity. We do not have a Mereological Splitter. Requesting permission to engage the Attribute Cutter."
"Request granted. Condition: Activation of firing boundaries."
"Copy."
Miral heard this from the side. Her eyes went wide. She immediately dropped to the ground, covering her ears and signaling for Brihan to do the same.
All sounds outside ceased. A rotary engine sound began to whine, rising from nowhere.
The others imitated Miral and Brihan, even Lusihar, though they didn't understand why. They held each other's hands. A soldier screamed:
"Everyone down! Cover your ears and eyes! Hold your breath!"
Everyone dropped, except for the soldiers wearing Reality Stability Armor.
Suddenly, a thunderous sound exploded everywhere—a noise like a monster screaming, deafening enough to make reality itself ache. Everything trembled in ripples that intensified, accelerating toward infinity, warping the shape of existence. In a fraction of a billionth—trillionth—of a second, in a time shorter than the vibration of an electron, a duration the eye of Time itself could not see, reality collapsed into a zero point.
The device struck Delta ontologically, executing her instantly on an abstract level, making her return to life impossible.
In a flash, everything snapped back to its place.
"Reality here is at standard levels. You may move."
Alfonso spoke up.
"Finally, got rid of her. It was overkill to slaughter a low-tier entity like that with a god-killing device..."
Lusihar looked back to see Farid being dragged out, unconscious. She bolted toward him, but a light-armored soldier blocked her path.
"What is happening here? I thought you came for that cancer..."
"Take one more step, and you'll be saying goodbye."
Prison wagons drawn by horses arrived to take the servants for interrogation. One of the heavy-armored soldiers looked around.
"Where is the maid with the red hair?"
"She's right there! With that soldier..."
"There is no one there. He is talking to himself."
"Huh?! But I see her right there."
Lusihar was actually running toward the city. In the distance, she spotted Tiffany and her entourage.
"Tiffany! Wait!"
"Look who we have here. Salin? Do you want me to help you or something? Hehe."
"My name is Lusihar now. We had an agreement. You owe me for providing a service that satisfied your... sick tendencies."
"My tendencies are sick?! Hah!"
"Because of your 'tendencies,' Sahin is dead, so keep your mouth shut."
"You hated him anyway. And you hate me too, because I remind you of your past. I mean, seriously, do you really expect your sins to be forgiven? You are more evil than I am."
"I am trying to change! Two hundred years of... ugh... illegal and inhumane acts are enough. I'm fed up with the crap I used to do. I hope you change for the better too, instead of—"
"You're just forcing yourself to be 'good.' I see the regret in your eyes. Do you want me to believe you've changed? That you switched from the far right—absolute freedom, exploiting your influence, power, and beauty to do whatever you wanted—to the far left? To a slave? Actually... [She pointed at Lusihar's stomach] ...to a sex slave. Either you've become a masochist, or you hit your head and your settings got scrambled. Isn't that right, boys?"
"Yes."
"Yes."
"Definitely."
" The Honorable Tiffany is always right."
"Hehe, I liked that answer. Remind me to reward you when we get back."
"I would debate this with you, but I am in a hurry. I need..."
"You don't want anything from me? Come on, leave this profession. I'll help you reclaim your wealth. What do you say?"
"Truly, Tiffany, I appreciate the gesture. But I really have changed. I've become religious. Don't you see these tattoos? It's a moment of enlightenment, a desire for change that transcends logical justification. As I told you in the past, we aren't robots driven only by logic and objectivity. There are subjective things, desires to change... Hey! You're distracting me with talk!"
"Meh. Fine. What?"
"The Ninth has been detained by GAPI. I am asking you to mediate for me with Kylie. Have her speak to her brother; perhaps he can find a solution."
"Hmm. I don't know. I saw them—that was a Theology Interception Squad. The matter must be massive. I can't guarantee you, darling, that Saher can find a solution."
"Where can I find you?"
"Hotel Altair, Room 102. I'll be staying for about five more days."
"One last request. Can you transport me to the Bansilking Palace? I barely escaped by luck; I hope they don't notice the illusion too quickly."
"Hmm... Dima, have we been to that place?"
"Yes, Honorable Mistress. It was during the trade exchange agreement, and you left a location marker there."
Tiffany tried to recall the memory and locate the marker. She conjured a curtain of magma which cooled rapidly, becoming a sheet of glass facing Lusihar. Gradually, it transformed into a mirror, its perfection increasing rapidly until it reflected with high-definition clarity. Lusihar's reflection began to vanish, canceling out the repulsive force.
In a green open field adorned with bright red flowers caressed by a mountain breeze, shards of glass gathered into a ball of lava, flattening into a mirror that sharpened in perfection, reflecting the scene back at Tiffany.
Both views continued to clarify until they distorted from an overload of detail. The scene began to tear like burning paper without fire, and the reflected space warped like dough. The two locations were linked by canceling the reflection's push.
The process took ten seconds. Lusihar stepped forward to enter. She felt the void of the perfect mirror, a distortion of space between every single atom of her body. It was a sensation like an annoying tickle, like a tongue licking both the inside and outside of her body as she crossed through.
Lusihar thanked Tiffany, but Tiffany couldn't hear her, so she signed her thanks instead.
Glossary of Terms
Mereological Splitter
An interception tool used to sever the bonds and connectors that allow the parts of an entity to communicate within the Setosphere. Even if an entity's physical parts are disconnected, they belong to the same mathematical "Set" defined as that entity. This device intervenes to dismantle this Set. In other words, it cuts the identity that binds the parts together. Its name is derived from Mereology, the study of parts and wholes.
Attribute Cutter
An omnipotent metaphysical pointer used to dissect non-material entities. It is used to separate the hypostases (underlying realities) and attributes of a being; if its attributes are removed, its existence ends. The device reduces the reality around the entity to point-zero in less than Planck time, striking the target metaphysically without puncturing reality and creating an "Existing Nothingness" in the area.
Existing Nothingness
A modern term referring to a region that does not exist...
One might ask, how can it not exist?
It is a hole in the universe that the mind cannot comprehend; therefore, the mind fills it with what is supposed to be there. For example, if this hole is in a furnished room, you will see a furnished room—nothing different. However, entering it means your total destruction, down to the constituent atoms.
An observer next to you will simply see you enter. They do not know you have literally had your existence destroyed; they see only an illusion. But if your illusion attempts to exit, it will appear as a dynamic cross-section until it vanishes completely.