Whoosh!
Elena's body was like a wisp of flowing wind as she moved swiftly through the Black Dragon Clan facility.
In terms of layout, as she'd noticed before, this facility wasn't complicated at all. It was merely a collection of corridors and areas that followed a very basic rectangular structure. As long as Elena knew where she came from, it wouldn't be difficult to get back.
The only strange part of the architecture was the size of the rooms that stood between those corridors. They were irregular and some even dipped several hundred meters below the average level of the base.
And naturally, the sheer size of a facility made to house several million troops couldn't be small.
Darrius was currently causing a commotion due southeast of where Elena currently was, and as she moved deeper into the base, placing a number of devices across the walls, she got closer and closer to said commotion.
'He's holding up quite well.' She thought to herself.
She genuinely didn't think Darrius would be able to hold on for so long under the siege of so many troops, but it became evident that they were hesitant to subdue and oppress him, likely due to his talent or status.
'If I place these here…'
Elena stood in a specific corridor and scanned the area intensely, her eyes darting around in search of something.
'Nice.'
It didn't take her long to find the perfect positioning.
She immediately took out four more devices, much different in appearance than the previous group, and attached them to four different spots on the wall.
Elena grinned to herself as she vanished from the area, heading deeper into the base and concealing herself as best as possible.
'Now then, it's time to stir up some trouble.'
She dashed through the corridors, and in no time at all, she was practically parallel with Darrius and the congregation of troops around him.
And this…
This was her cue to act.
She hid herself in a nearby room, covered herself in a thick film of mana, and finally…
She pressed the red button.
***
"Darrius, don't make us use force!"
The man named Peter headed the unit suppressing Darrius in place, roaring his pleas to solve this problem peacefully.
Not only was Darrius a good brother of his, but he was also a valuable asset to the Black Dragon Clan, a talented younger generation who had the potential to become a High Elder one day.
Ruining a genius like this, despite the nature of the situation, wasn't something Peter wanted to do, nor was it something the higher-ups desired.
After all, there was a reason they imprisoned him instead of directly killing him for insubordination.
Nevertheless, Darrius was of no mind to listen. He held a pair of axes in his hands and stood ready for battle. Smoke curled out of his nostrils as he deeply exhaled, making him appear more beastly than ever before.
Peter gritted his teeth.
If it was like this…!
"Fuck! Restrain him! Try not to injure him, but do what is necessary if the situation calls for it!"
He immediately gave the order despite his internal hesitation.
The troops around him charged, engaging Darrius in a furious melee.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal clashing mixed with the sound of spraying blood and echoed through the corridor. Contrary to anyone's expectations, Darrius held his ground even while being sieged by several soldiers near his strength level.
He swung his axes with ferocity, oozing black mana into the surroundings that disturbed his opponents' mental states and made it difficult for them to react properly. Using this semi-instinctual tactic, Darrius was slowly pushing through the crowd, ignoring his accumulated injuries as his focus remained solely on reaching the exit.
"Dammit!" Peter roared.
He slammed his large foot down on the ground, causing cracks to spread throughout the hallway.
He didn't have to step in, but for the sake of the Black Dragon Clan, he…!
RUMBLE!
"Hm?"
Peter's gaze snapped to the side. He suddenly felt a strange rumbling shockwave spreading from that direction.
'What could that be? The base is definitely—'
BANG!
The door leading to a nearby corridor burst off its hinges and slammed into the crowd of troops, directly crushing a few of their bones into powder.
Peter's eyes widened.
This pressure was…!
"Everyone, run!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The tsunami of flames entered the room before Peter's words could properly land. The flames engulfed all things, spreading further and further through the base until the entire structure was enveloped in flames!
"AHHHHH!"
"SOMEONE HELP!"
"IT HURTS! IT HURTS!"
The wails of those beings under 4th class sounded like evil spirits howling. They burned without any ability to resist, slowly being suffocated to death as their flesh and bones were melted down into liquid that soon evaporated in the heat of the flames.
'Shit! What's happening?!' Peter panicked inwardly as he burst through a nearby corridor and rushed deeper into the base.
'Where are the commanders at a time like this?!'
As he sifted through every possible scenario in his head, Peter's ears caught wind of a recurrence of the first rumbling he heard.
Why did it sound like…
Even more explosions were going off?
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The cascading explosions got closer and closer, and the roaring fire that swallowed the base only got hotter.
Soon enough, entry-level 4th class beings were also falling to its claws.
Clang!
Two axes dropped to the floor. A man stood with widened eyes as he observed the incomprehensible scene around him.
He suddenly understood.
He had…lost the gamble.
With the raging flames and chaos surrounding him, he felt an odd moment of peace.
The crystalline black structure in his spiritual world turned into a fog that endlessly devoured his mana and life force.
But he felt a strange sense of peace.
'Father, mother, uncle, sis…' he thought as he stared into the facility's burning ceiling.
'I'm finally coming to meet you.'
Nobody noticed it in the current situation, but slowly, that man's body turned into an empty husk.
And without any support, it soon burned into cinders.
A black shadow imperceptibly snuck out of that burning body and made its way through the halls of the facility, finally reaching its destination.
"You did well."
The praise it craved, the validation from its savior…
It was absolutely delighted to hear these last words as it returned to Valhalla.
***
Elena swept her hand through the air and collected the final impure soul remaining in the base. As she observed the surrounding damages, she nodded in satisfaction.
Now, there was only a single step left.
And her targets…were currently making their way towards her at their fastest speeds.
'Is it ironic that this will probably be the easiest part of the operation?' Elena thought wryly.
She stuck to a nearby wall and used Light Laws to conceal herself, laying in wait.
Not even 30 seconds later, three figures could be seen flitting down in her direction.
"Sir, headquarters will definitely ask for an explanation. We need to find a method to survive." The woman from earlier pressed with a solemn look.
"I know. I already have a plan. As long as we can—"
The three people, a familiar group of two men and one woman, took a collective step.
A step that they shouldn't have ever taken.
Immediately, four shining devices lit up on the walls to their sides.
"Watch—!"
The leader tried to warn his comrades and dodge, but the mechanism wasn't so slow as to allow such actions.
Within an instant, a solid cube of iridescent blue energy formed and trapped the three individuals.
And in the next instant, it shrunk to the size of a Rubik's cube.
Elena walked up and took the Rubik's cube into her hand.
Her mission had been accomplished.
The time taken?
Roughly 2 hours.
Left with 22 hours, Elena rushed out of the burning facility.
And as soon as she made her exit…
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The entire base was blown to oblivion.
