Chapter 319: Agitation ; First Contact (1/2)

Gazing upon the rather tall building in front of me, an overwhelming surge of emotions courses through me. After all, this was it. If I were to meet Dominion here after all this time, my departure from this Platform is essentially guaranteed.

Still, that's the reason for the current emotions that I am feeling. As it stands, there are more than quite a few things that I would miss if I truly left.

As for the reason I am so certain about my departure, it's simple. Once I contact Dominion, one of three scenarios is likely to occur, and each one of them has varying results.

The first scenario would be that Dominion is friendly and doesn't bear any ill-intent toward me. This is unmistakably the scenario I prefer most, but unfortunately, my hopes won't affect the matter in any meaningful way.

Anyway, the second scenario would be that she is neither friendly nor otherwise. In that case, my main objective would be to figure out her intentions for 'inviting' me over to this Platform and possibly get her to join forces with me - as risky as that may be.

Lastly, there is the third and unquestionably most troublesome scenario, which would be if Dominion is a foe. If such a scenario were to occur, I would have to either battle against her until one side perishes or simply fall back after witnessing a few of her capabilities - In other words, a tactical retreat.

Naturally, doing the latter would leave a bad taste in my mouth, but then again, I have no other choice, as, not doing so could result in me 'suffering' from a lot more issues.

”Shido,” Kurumi's voice brings a halt to my thoughts, ”I believe that staying here any longer would invite trouble over, don't you think so too?”

Certainly, it would be much better if we brought trouble over to the opponent since it could disarray their ranks.

Releasing an audible sigh, I circulate Holy Essence within my body and utilize Paragon's Eyes before scanning the building.

Expectedly, there are a lot of grays, but among them are a few with a fairly light shade of gray.

Lamentably, since they are all a part of the enemy forces, I have absolutely no need to show them any more mercy compared to the rest.

Also, I should probably get this done as soon as possible, since I would rather the enemy not make use of something like anti-matter or anything comparable.

”You're right,” I say as I consider to what extent should I utilize the abilities and equipment I have at hand.

If possible, I would deal irreparable damage to all sections of the building that I deem unnecessary for research. The reason for doing so is to prevent the enemy from recovering after our assault.

{Code waves detected.}

Hm? Inside the building?

{Affirmative.}

Could it be... The only two possible Codes I can think of are Dominion and the owner of the voice back on the island.

Where are the Code waves originating from? Can you locate the source?

{Affirmative. According to the direction the waves are emitting from, the source is underground.}

As soon as those words resound within my head, I sense some movement from above us, which upon closer inspection turned out to be a few girls equipped with CR-Units flying down.

Seeing this, I take a moment to deliberate on something before dashing toward the automatic glass doors at a speed that the sensors are unable to sense, resulting in me smashing through the glass and directly ending up at the center of the reception floor.

Surrounding me are a few shocked personnel whom are dressed in business attire, indicating that they're employees of the company.

”That was rude, Shido,” Kurumi's voice suddenly resounds within my ears as she appears to my right, ”Leaving the piffling pests to me as you enter like so.”

”Sorry about that,” I say with a small smile while using Clairvoyance to check outside the building, only to find no traces of the girls apart from two small pools of blood on the ground.

The heck did she do? In such a short time too, no less.

All of a sudden, I feel a shiver run down my spine as my vision distorts for a split-second before returning to normal.

[Come.]

An oddly calming voice resounds within my head as I sense the tension present within me gradually decrease.

The next moment, I snap out of the trance that I had briefly entered before putting my guard up as I use my senses along with Clairvoyance to check my surroundings.

”Hey, who are you?!” a voice suddenly reverberates around us as a woman standing behind the reception desk angrily points her finger at us.

Shaking my head, I will for Excalibur, which is currently 'disguised' as a ring, to change back to the shape it had when I first created it - a broadsword with a grand holy feel to it.

”That's an impressive-looking weapon you got there,” Kurumi joyously remarks.

”Let's begin,” I say before slamming the tip of the sword into the ground, resulting in a high amount of dense energy to be released.

Following this, the ground simply shatters along with the many glass panes around us.

Screams and shrieks fill the air as the ground slowly begins to 'sink'.

Beside me, Kurumi has a carefree look on her face as she easily keeps her balance despite the ground being caved in immensely.