Broker-Chapter 193

BOOOOOOOM

The entire building shook. The ceiling trembled and the lights flickered as Sonya caught herself on the railing. Shuta grabbed his mother while Marta planted her feet and rode it out, a stern look on her face. Sirens blared. Sonya pushed herself up and whirled. A warning symbol appeared in her HUD, an alert from the local Carter Radar. Mana surge. Dungeon Break!

She pointed to Shuta, “Get your people upstairs down here, now!” she shouted.

He looked at his mother who gave him an admonishing look and he let her go, hurrying out of the room. Sonya turned to Marta, her heart pounding. She started to march towards the exit when her friend put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. She rounded on Marta, “What are you doing?” she demanded, “I need to be out there!”

“You need to stay right here,” Marta said patiently.

Sonya’s brows furrowed as a spike of anger rose in her chest, “I am Ishtar! If anyone can-”

“Sonya,” Marta soothed, “How’s it going to look if I show up around the same time Ishtar does? Ishtar’s not a hero either,” she shook her head, “You’re strong, I know. But right now we need you leading from the back. Let the heroes do their job. That’s why you helped create them, remember? For this kind of situation. It’s what they’ve trained for.”

Sonya’s lips trembled and she reached up to grab her friend’s wrist. She squeezed it as she hung her head, a lump in her throat. “Go, before I change my mind.”

“Yes ma’am,” Marta said and hurried out the door.

An aftershock hit, the waves of mana still spreading across the city. She started to approach Setsuna as a call came through in her head. She glanced at the name and answered without hesitation.

<”Sonya!”> Amos’ voice came through, <”You alright?”>

<”I’m fine, I’m at the Children of Dawn headquarters,”> she said, <”Marta is moving to support Crusader’s team. Give me a report on what’s being done.”>

<”It’s worse than you think, the timing on this was too perfect. It’s got the stink of artificial. A hidden seventh dungeon my ass. My readings say it was probably uncommon,”> Amos said quickly, <”All six dungeons managed by the Tokyo Guilds were on recharge with two coming up for culling. The guilds are scrambling all their people to continuously clear the dungeons to keep them from going up as well.>

Sonya nearly tripped, her legs faltering with the news. She was aware that the other dungeons existed but hadn’t realized just how close they were to a possible burst. Without the Japanese guilds, would Crusader’s team, Marta and Sapporo be enough? Uncommon. Then the monsters are all rare-tier. I need to let Marta know. <”Has anyone claimed responsibility? What about the International Team?”>

<”Just what you think, they can’t send too many or it’ll just cause more harm than good. Too many mythics on the ground will make things harder for the guilds. Sapporo is a huge mana producer too. They’re arranging teams of epics and heroics but that’s taking longer than just sending the main team,”> Amos explained.

She closed her eyes and let out a sigh through her nostrils. This stinks of Otis’ tactics from the past timeline. But I know he hasn’t made anything close to a move like this. Where’s the agenda? The angle? Who profits? Liberty is an easy person to blame because of our conflict but there’s no reason for it. She would have immediately taken credit, made some sort of showboating announcement. She exhaled as her mind sped up for the first time in a long time. The thoughts coming faster and faster.

TICK… TICK… TICK TICK TICK

Is there a strategy? An angle? Amos is never wrong about this sort of thing. This must have been manufactured somehow. She thought.

You’re looking at it from the perspective of a warrior and a hero. An investigator. Ishtar corrected.

TICK TICKTICKTICK TICK TICK

Then what? Why would a villain do it? Just because? Nonsense. There’s a reason. Multiple reasons. Sonya grit her teeth and concentrated as her mind worked harder. Her fists clenched in the neuron flashes between thoughts. No credit has been claimed after such a dramatic incident? The minutes after are the best time. Someone putting this much effort into an act would take credit. Which means… they aren’t done.

This was a demonstration ahead of a greater move, Ishtar agreed. They are making a point and perhaps using it for other means that we do not have enough information to recognize.

Sonya clicked her tongue as her mind wound back down.

TICK TICK …TICK TI-

<”ASTA’s response?”> she demanded as she took Setsuna’s arm and began escorting her back to her room. She didn’t know how close the break was and with rare-tier monsters running around she didn’t want to take any chances.

<”Dungeon Break contingency three, for major cities, as planned. Munitions, gear, everything we can. Contacts with medical companies are being pulled and I’ve gotten in touch with Euclidia to get it over there as fast as possible.”> Amos said, <”We’ve already started packing things on our end.”>

She and Setsuna made it to the small stairwell leading down to her level in the subterranean base, <”Thank you, Amos. Keep an eye on the radar and the media. Let me know if anything else comes up. Someone is responsible for this and they are going to make another move. I want to know before it happens.”>

<”Yes ma’am, good luck on your end,”> Amos said and ended the call.

She met the oracles eyes and squeezed her arm before calling Marta.

<”Marta, I have intel.”>

–

Lillian came to with her body thrown over Snow’s. Sirens wailing in the distance. She wasn’t sure how long she was unconscious but everything hurt. Her skin itched and burned as she tried to move her arms. She pushed up and pulled away. Snow looked up at her with worry and tears in her eyes. She smiled, “I’m fine, see?” she said and showed her burned arm. She concentrated and gold flames washed over her skin, soothing her aches and slowly healing the burns. She forced herself up to her feet and shook off the wooziness that came with it before turning to check on Cass and Alex. Alex was kneeling with his arms up, his scales shining. Steam rose off of them. Behind him, Cass was sitting with a look of shock on her face.

Alive, good.

The buildings around them were largely untouched though the trees were scorched and leafless. She swallowed hard as she turned towards a group of shapes laying on the ground not far from them. Bodies lay on the ground, burned. How did we- she turned to Sapporo and her heart leaped into her throat. The big man was on one knee. His arms crossed in front of his chest. His head held high. Signs of the blast scorching the ground around him were plain. He covered us. She hurried to his side and gasped when she saw his face. Part of it was burned off, revealing bone and tissue, lipless, his teeth exposed to the air. One dark eye flicked towards her in a way that made her stomach churn.

“-ine,” he grunted, “-m, -ine,” he repeated and nodded towards the epicenter, “Go,” he commanded and got slowly to his feet, his body starting to glow with a golden light.

Lillian turned to the others, “Heroes! On your feet! We’ve got work to do!”

Cass was next to get up, looking around in horror, “Is this a dungeon break?” she asked.

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“Probably,” Alex grunted, pushing himself up as portions of his skin began to regenerate. He hissed at the pain before stumbling a little. Cass caught him and he steadied himself. Snow just sat there, stunned as she looked at the corpses littering the street leading up to the museum.

Lillian knelt down next to her and pulled her to her feet. “Snow, focus,” Snow turned slowly and looked at her with tear filled eyes. Lillian nodded, “I know, we can’t do anything for them. There might be survivors though. Can you move?”

Snow nodded then looked up abruptly as the sound of something moving fast came shrieking towards them. Lillian turned with her and looked up to see a line of white light streaking across the sky and bending in their direction. Lillian braced herself before relaxing when she sensed what, or rather, who it was.

With a noisy crash and the shattering of concrete beneath her, Handmaiden landed amongst their group. She stood tall and panned her gaze over the grim surroundings, a glint of recognition in her eyes. Her expression turned hard. She had a suitcase in one hand and Levi, Sonya’s familiar under her other arm. She dropped Levi to the ground and the dog let out an angry bark. A moment later a hawk’s cry filled the air and Alphonse landed on Lillian’s shoulder. He pressed up against her. Lillian let out a sigh of relief, “Good to see you too buddy,” she said and turned to Marta, “Do you have our gear?”

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Handmaiden nodded and set the suitcase down with a grim face, flicking the locks open and placing her palm on one side. “Dungeon reward from Sonya’s collector friend,” Handmaiden explained quickly. She opened it and reached inside before impossibly pulling Lillian’s broadsword out. She tossed it to Lillian who caught it followed by a duffle bag with her armor in it. Next came a duffle with Snow’s gear and drones. A third duffle had Alex’s gear. A fourth was thrown to Cass before Marta reached one last time inside and pulled out her own gear, equipping her gauntlets and breastplate.

Handmaiden stood and turned her eyes on Sapporo, “Sapporo, how long until you’ve recovered?”

He turned his battered face towards her, his lips having grown back, “Ten minutes,” he grumbled as his ability began to work on his arms, flesh growing back over exposed bone.

“I will take charge until then,” Handmaiden said flatly. He nodded. She turned to Lillian and the others, “Crusader, Snow, BLF, Harbinger, you are on duty. A quick briefing. This is a dungeon break situation. We are unlikely to find very many alive in the epicenter,” she said, “Save who you can but focus on the monsters. You may recall from your studies that a dungeon break releases the monsters within the dungeon into the surrounding area after the blast at a tier higher than the original dungeon.”

The four young heroes nodded as they equipped themselves.

“The other heroes of Tokyo will be arriving soon. We only have so long before the numbers of monsters become untenable. We need to pierce into the center of the blast zone and deal with the anchor monster, the boss,” she said quickly, “Once it is destroyed the broken portal will break down and no more dungeon monsters will spawn, the remaining monsters will be hounds and lurkers. Dangerous, but significantly less difficult to deal with.”

Crusader stood up straight, slipping her sword onto its spot on her back. “Understood.”

“Initial readings from Doctor Carter estimate that it was originally an uncommon-tier dungeon. Enemies will likely be Rare-tier,” Handmaiden added brusquely, marching past them in the direction of where the blast had been, “All of them,” she said gravely and looked back at them, “Do not hold back under any circumstances. You will die.”

“What about the international team?” Harbinger asked as they hurried forward. She conjured up her hammer and slung it over her shoulder, horns beginning to grow from her temples.

“I’m sure the Pandora Committee knows about the situation, I don’t know how long it will take for a response force to be organized and sent here. Also, with as much mana in the air as there is and the number of managed dungeons in the city, they need to be careful,” Handmaiden said, “Let's do what we can.”

“Right!” The four of them acknowledged and hurried after her. Crusader glanced back at Sapporo who knelt on the ground in their wake. His glowing body slowly healing from his wounds. She felt an uneasiness in her chest that she quashed when she met his gaze. He nodded at her and offered a small smile. She nodded to him and drew her sword.

Handmaiden set a breakneck pace and Snow was forced to ride in Crusader’s arms as they traveled. Every city block further towards the blast zone was another horror to take in. More bodies, vehicles crashed, fires starting, half-burned civilians crawling out of hiding spots. Ultimately, it was decided that Handmaiden would go on ahead while Crusader and the others helped save who they could along their path. Alphonse flew overhead, darting left and right in search of survivors, gathering them up along with some scattered police they picked up along the way.

Two survivors soon became a dozen, but even then the number of bodies compared to those who were still breathing was so painfully small. They stopped outside another building where it looked like survivors were hiding out. BLF made his way inside while Crusader took a moment to breathe, stepping towards an alley she’d spotted a few moments before along the wide main thoroughfare. That was when the sound of quiet sobs pricked her ears.

She turned, her lips thinning into a line. “Got another one,” she said, her shoulders starting to sag. It sounded like another kid. A big hand landed on her shoulder and she looked up into Harbinger’s blue eyes. The giant hero frowned at her and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. Crusader sighed and nodded, patting her hand in gratitude as Alphonse landed on her shoulder.

She wasn’t sure she could have handled this on her own.

Crusader dipped into the alley, the sickly scent of burned flesh reaching her nostrils. She set her shoulders and marched on, Snow coming up behind her, ready to assist if necessary. She spotted two figures curled up against a wall, one small and trembling, the other just a bit larger and barely moving. She froze, her eyes going wide and she darted forward, startling Snow as she slid to a stop in front of the pair. She dropped to a knee as the smaller figure let out a startled squeak.

“Arata!” she gasped, reaching out to look at the little boy who stared at her with wide, terror filled eyes. They flicked between her face and the hawk on her shoulder, recognition slowly dawning through the mind numbing horror. She examined his face for a moment, several angry purplish welts marked the skin on his face and neck from exposure to the intense mana wave. Gold flames danced from her fingertips without fanfare, leaping to the wounds. From an outside point of view it looked like the flames were consuming the injuries, leaving healed skin in their wake. The little boy let out an anguished sob and looked down at the figure laying on the ground at his feet.

His sister, Crusader realized, horrified. Her wounds are bad, her entire back is burned. She shielded him with her body. God damn it, she cursed, closing her eyes and drawing on as much power as she could muster in that moment.

“Please,” he said weakly.

“Al, stick with him, please,” she said quickly. The hawk made a small sound of acknowledgement and fluttered over to sit on the boy’s shoulder, pressing up close.

Snow hurried up behind her as Crusader’s hands hovered over the girl. She heard Snow let out a gasp. Crusader grit her teeth, gold fire erupting from her palms in a cascade that doused the young woman. She could only imagine how traumatizing it would be for a burn victim to be healed by fire, but she didn’t have a lot of options. She clenched her jaw, Come on. She urged herself before shooting a glance at the boy. She met his terrified gaze and wondered what kind of face she was making. She looked up at the hat on his head, singed, but her name still visible on the side.

She let out a shaky breath and shoved her own feelings aside, letting her power do the work. It took several minutes of concentration before the girl started to move again, small groans of pain the sign that she was alive and on the mend. Crusader wanted to sag with relief, her chest heavy. Arata’s sister shifted and looked up, her eyes going wide when she met Crusader’s gaze.

“You’re going to be alright,” Crusader said, keeping the tiredness off her face, forcing her best Sonya grin, “Your brother is fine too.”

“Lil,” Snow’s voice popped into her ear, her tone grave. Crusader didn’t react, keeping up appearances. “Two bodies, ten feet away. I think…”

Crusader’s jaw nearly cracked behind her carefully constructed smile, “Arata, can you help your sister get to the end of this alley? We met some nice policemen on the way. They can help,” she said before nodding to Alphonse who darted back up into the sky.

The boy, shellshocked, could only nod as he helped his weakened sister to her feet. The two of them ambling towards the light. The girl glanced back over her shoulder but only found Crusader standing in the way with a smile that didn’t quite meet her eyes. She jerked her chin towards the little boy helping the girl walk. The girls eyes filled with tears but she nodded, keeping her cool as they made their way out.

Crusader sagged when they got out of eyeshot, “Damn it,” she croaked.

“I’ll make sure the cops know,” Snow said shakily, walking over to touch Crusader’s arm.

Crusader looked back at the bodies that were likely Arata’s parents. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to calm herself, her heart cracking a little more. She nodded at Snow and walked out of the alley, rallying herself as much as she could. She stopped just outside the alley, watching Arata and his sister meet with the cops they’d picked up along the way. She barely noticed Harbinger's approach.

“We can’t take them much closer,” Harbinger said, walking up next to her.

Crusader frowned and closed her eyes, “I know,” she sighed before turning towards her. “What if we find more kids, though? Who are they going to go back with?”

“We’ll figure somethin’ out,” BLF said grimly, glancing towards a shadowy corner just past where they’d found the kid, he shook his head, “Damn. Are those his parents?”

Crusader didn’t look back, “Probably,” she said. So much death. How could this have happened? What about the Carter Radar? Shouldn’t it have seen this coming? She clenched her fists and hung her head, emotion burbling up in her chest like a torrent. A small hand wrapped around hers and she turned, breathless, to see Snow looking into her eyes.

“Stay strong,” Snow said through a haze of static and gripped her hand tighter.

Crusader reached out and put a hand on her head, stroking her hair as she looked towards the survivors. There were over two dozen of them now, all looking to her with haunted eyes that gleamed faintly with infant hope. So easily crushed. She nodded and gave Snow’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “We’re going to save as many people as she can,” she declared, “That’s why we’re here.”

She turned back to the wide street and her team joined her. The damage stretched on and on towards the distant point where the street ended and the Kato ward began. “It’s horrible,” Harbinger said.

“Do you think this was intentional?” BLF asked.

Snow frowned, “Maybe,” she tapped her implant, “I can pick up on Carter Radar alerts and I didn’t get anything.”

BLF scowled, “If someone caused this, I’ll-”

“One thing at a time,” Crusader growled and forced herself forwards, “But yeah, we’ll get to that for sure.”

Crusader and her team moved on. Grim faced, each new horror confronted with as much strength as they could manage. They didn’t have time to weep, to mourn, to crack under the emotional strain. They had a job to do. A job they kept doing as they made their way down the wide street. Further and further until they arrived at the edge of the blast, her spirit already heavy before they’d even arrived.

Tall buildings were tilted back and away, the ground was cracked beneath their feet. Instead of sirens and screams there was nothing but an eerie silence. They stopped at a decorative archway that led into what had been a multi-story outdoor shopping center. Not out of hesitation, but because there was someone barring their path.

The man that stood there was tall, with long hair that hung down to his shoulders. His body was slim and lithe, lanky. He stood with his shoulders slumped and his hands down at his sides. His fingers were long and spindly, gleaming like steel. His lips were spread into a bloodthirsty smile of razor sharp metallic teeth as he cast his gaze over the four of them.

Crusader fixed him with a stare, “Are you a local hero? Why are you just standing there?” she asked, holding her arm out for Alphonse to land. The hawk tilted its head to eye the stranger with caution.

He pointed at himself, blinking at her, before bursting into laughter, “Ishtar said you heroes weren’t all that bright, but man! What does it look like?” he laughed and shook his head. “I’m Rivet, and I’m here to keep you guys away from the boss.”

Next to her, Harbinger snarled and raised her hammer, “Liar,” she spat, “Your name is Sir Conway.”

Crusader whipped her head towards Harbinger. Right. She’s Liberty’s sister. She’s met Liberty’s Round Table. She knows what they look like. But… why is he claiming to work for Ishtar? She turned towards the villain, Rivet, who was looking at Harbinger a bit perplexed. He squinted and leaned forward, holding his hand over his eyes to get a better look without the sunlight interfering.

His eyes widened, “Oh I almost didn’t recognize you, young miss! Well now,” he sighed, “This is a problem,” he frowned and tilted his head left and right, “I was only supposed to slow you down until the situation became too much to recover from, but now?” He shrugged, “I guess I gotta kill you,” he said lightly before vanishing.

The next thing Crusader knew she was looking into a pair of glowing white eyes with gray sclera.

Fast!

“Shoulda kept your mouths shut, Heroes!”.