"W-Why are you here?"
The moment Cain uttered that question, his body seemed to lose strength like a doll whose strings were cut. The boy’s knees touched the floor; his breathing was ragged, echoing in the spacious room.
"Cain!?"
Faster than Rika, who was standing still. A golden flash dashed past her toward Cain and pulled his arm to rest it around Abel’s neck.
"Are you okay?"
Without answering, Cain raised a hand to gesture that he was fine, but that was his big mistake because when he raised his head. Abel could see traces of blood on Cain’s face.
The blonde boy’s expression turned white, and he turned to the other as he opened his mouth.
"Cain is hurt."
"W-Wha!?"
Rika holstered her pistol and ran towards the two of them. She threw the iron table that blocked her way and stood beside Cain’s other side, then placed her right shoulder under the boy’s left armpit.
Her beautiful expression twisted, and she bit her lip hard until the wound that had closed opened again. This time, the stinging pain squeezed her heart, causing her to stifle in her breath.
The girl immediately touched her left thigh, a habit of hers, and reached for a handkerchief.
’Ah!?’
But what she felt was only the cold, solid armor, blocking her way to wipe the blood that smeared Cain’s face. Her right hand coiled around Cain’s waist, unknowingly pulling the boy’s body closer.
The girl’s red eyes swept through the room. A blue glow that connected like a circuit, pulsed like a human vein, emanating from the large computer that displayed a stack of holographic notes.
Although this discovery was something highly anticipated and sought after by most people, the group instead gathered around the wounded Cain.
It was not an exaggeration to call this group a gathering of fools. The fools, who also held principles in their minds.
The four of them stared at Cain’s figure, showing a stark difference from what they had in mind.
A boy named Cain was fierce, honed like a sharp blade that cut through darkness. He was also a ruthless killing machine who slaughters every enemy that stands in his way, or his comrades.
Yet the boy mentioned was shivering; he couldn’t even muster the strength to stand on his own two feet.
"Aah, I just need a little rest after reading so much data."
Hearing the small groan that escaped his mouth, it turned the atmosphere within the group heavy. Rika peeked at the others. She saw Abel wrinkle his forehead, and Peter and Louise put on stiff expressions.
With this, she was sure that despite his shortcomings, Cain’s figure had grown into them as a respected leader, including herself.
"Enough, don’t talk too much for now. Rest! Abel, let’s put Cain near that wall."
"A-alright."
Abel flinched, he nodded furiously, and supported Cain’s body gently as if afraid of crushing him.
"Heh, you guys are overreacting."
’Shut it!’
Hearing the giggle and sarcastic tone that came out of the gray-haired boy’s mouth almost made Rika curse him.
The two of them lowered Cain and leaned him against the wall. Instead of looking at the data that kept ’beeping’ nonstop, Peter and Louise approached each other and sat together to form a small circle.
Silence began to descend between them, not awkwardness, but rather a comfort in knowing that their group was still intact, and even though they didn’t read the data displayed on the hologram.
The four knew this was a major discovery that would even have the higher-ups in the training facility widening their eyes.
All of this happened because of the courage of one person, namely Cain, who insisted on trying the impossible, and he made it happen as easily as flipping a palm.
Rika peeked from behind her visor, watching Cain close his eyes while regulating his heavy breathing.
She let out a long sigh and leaned her back against the wall to sit next to him. The girl scoffed, but couldn’t hide a faint smile on her face when she felt the strong presence beside her.
’Hmph, such a reckless man.’
Time passed in silence, and Cain, who was constantly closing his eyes, opened them. He looked up and made eye contact with Louise, who was sitting in front of him.
"L-Leader, are you alright?"
Louise’s expression was stiff and pale when she saw the bloodstains on his face.
"Yes, I’m fine. Just feeling a headache from trying to swallow so much information."
"Information?"
Abel asked, and his cheerful voice, even in a situation like this, gave him a sigh of relief.
"Don’t push yourself too hard, rest!"
Rika cut the conversation, her low voice laced with authority, leaving the other to submit.
The blonde boy slumped his shoulders. Cain held his breath for a moment and couldn’t help but chuckle, seeing the same situation not too long ago, yet in reverse.
Everyone looked at their leader. Cain tightened his core muscles and stood up, making the other four gasp.
"Cain!?"
"Leader!?"
Four people with two different nicknames seeped into Cain’s ears. He raised a hand to indicate he was fine.
After taking a deep breath, he walked to the center of the room, followed by the others. The boy gazed at the blue hologram, pondering how he should complete the remaining information absorption.
’If only I had a connector.’
With that, he could transfer the data from this place to his smartwatch. And also because his smartwatch was disconnected from the highest authority, the boy would have a monopoly on this information.
"Hm!?"
From the corner of his eyes, Cain caught a small panel that showed a map of the whereabouts of the attributes being researched in this place.
His eyebrows wrinkled as he read the small note that was deliberately hidden among other larger notes.
"This!?"
Rika gasped, realizing how important the information they obtained in this mission was. Not only her, but Peter and Louise had tense expressions on their faces, except for Abel.
One long paragraph floating in his eyes. It was enough to throw the boy’s attention into disarray. Abel stood with his mouth closed. His index finger slid the panel that was floating in front of him and started playing with it.
After reading the hidden data, Cain nodded, and in front of everyone, his voice boomed.
"Initiate, open a teleportation gate toward the Main Base!"
All eyes were on him, and the hologram in front of them beeped, followed by a hissing sound coming from outside the room.
Cain turned around, leaving the other members who were frozen still because of his sudden action just now. He halted his steps around the door entrance.
"What are you doing? Hurry up and get out of there! I’m going to close the door."
Abel was the first to run up to him and exit the place, followed by Rika, Louise, and Peter, who kept staring at the gray-haired boy. Their eyes gleam in curiosity.
Yet the boy and Abel both pulled the door simultaneously and closed the room for a while with a dry thud.
"Cain, what just happened?"
Rika, who wanted to approach, stopped midway and followed Cain’s gaze. Her red pupils shrank. Peter and Louise were the same, barely holding their jaws from dropping.
At the end of the underground room, the wall was hollowed out. There was a machine with a circular frame standing. White lines began to coil around it, creating a magnetic field that distorted, tore, and twisted the space until a wormhole formed.
"Let’s go, everyone. Follow me!"
The other four people moved their legs without opening their mouths. Their attention was focused on the machine that connected them to an unknown foreign place.
A place where danger might swallow them all?
Or a place that stored data and equipment from the golden age of human civilization?
No one knew, except Cain, who had copied most of the notes from the researchers in that place. He welcomed the incoming event with his fists clenched tight.
Cain parted his lips and accidentally activated his scan protocol, which changed his perspective to a blue colour. A panel appeared, giving him information about the portal in front of him.
[A wormhole that connected to the main base located in the Northern Area.]
’What!?’