Aurora Over a Dead World

"What’s your problem? Do you have some kind of problem?" I tell Maya that not only did she refuse to leave my house, but she also stole some of my things and took them apart just to put them back together in completely random ways.

"Come on, Zenith, I’m curious about... certain things. That Hooded woman is putting on quite a show, and I’ve noticed you seem to be at the center of it, which genuinely interests me."

"After all, she created monsters, and she literally eviscerated Astrid, but she didn’t do anything to you. Why?"

"...And how the hell am I supposed to know what crazy people think?" Despite saying that, I have my own doubts. Not once did the Hooded woman try to fight me. In fact, she always fled even when she clearly could have won, and she also claims to know my past and seems to be trying to guide me toward something.

"Hmmm... not to be self-centered, but I think this Hooded woman is running from me!!" Maya says confidently.

"...Huh? That’s pretty arrogant of you. And why do you think that?"

"Think about it. First, she didn’t show up for Nadir, and I was with Nadir at the Ship. On top of that, she made sure I wasn’t nearby when she released that electric monster you killed."

"She also stole the monster’s corpse, and guess who could take that body apart and uncover its secrets? Me!!! She’s clearly running from me." Arrogant as she is, Maya does have a point about what she’s capable of.

"Could you just leave my house? I have better things to do..."

"I know, you’re a teacher now. Early retirement, right? Lucky you."

"..." I don’t see how it’s lucky when I didn’t want to leave the position I had, and being a teacher is proving to be just as dangerous as being a soldier.

"Think whatever you want, Maya, but I don’t want you here. You’re one of the worst roommates ever." I open the window for her to jump out.

"...Tsk, you’re so petty." She gets up from the couch, placing a cube on the armrest as she heads to the window.

"But I’ll stay close by. If the Hooded woman contacts you, let me know... my instincts never fail, and I feel like something’s wrong about all of this. If I can get a look at that Hooded woman, I can figure out who she really is." She says with a smile, jumping down.

"...Haaa... what a loss..." She took apart some expensive things. I’ll have to buy everything again.

...

...

...

"Who are you?" I point a gun at this suspicious hooded woman who appeared here. I know she’s not part of our team even though she tried to disguise herself.

And while I was alone checking some papers, she suddenly appeared sitting on one of the tables staring at me without me even noticing.

"Well, well, well, how perceptive. Just what I’d expect from Commander Nadir..." She says with a mocking tone. I look around and realize there’s no one nearby I could shout to alert the team.

"I’m just someone interested in something. You don’t need to be so harsh with me. I didn’t come here to fight..." I shoot at her, which causes her to dodge as I advance with a kick. She grabs it and spins me against the wall, taking me down.

"You’re just like Zenith. Shoot first, ask questions later. You two should be more welcoming." She complains, shrugging at me as if my attack was irrelevant.

CRACK

"...!?" Her arm falls to the floor as she staggers back and looks at me, her hood preventing me from seeing her expression because it’s made in a way that almost completely covers her overall silhouette.

’Looks like it worked.’ I look at the gun in my hand. This is one of the weapons they developed for me. It’s in [Pile Driver] mode. It uses heat to generate a powerful natural air wave and fires it with extreme pressure.

It’s basically just superheated wind, but because of the pressure it becomes a sharp blade without vector energy, which prevents it from being easily detected.

"You bastard..." She steps back, grabbing her own arm, and to my shock she snaps it back into place and it starts moving again.

"You’re not human!!" I point the gun at her, but she quickly releases a smoke screen. I fire, creating a hole in the smoke curtain, and use one arm against the floor to propel myself upward and jump, which allows me to dodge her.

’The enclosed space will help me if she doesn’t have anything dangerous...’ I use the [Moon] state for my movement and land a kick to her head, trying to get another shot off. She grabs my leg and spins me, throwing me against a wall.

"This is really frustrating, you know? I just wanted to mention something that would interest you, but you and Zenith are exactly alike. I guess that’s to be expected from a being that split into two."

"!?" For a moment my focus breaks when she says that, which allows her to get too close. I try to shoot, but she grabs my hand and twists it, making the shot go into the ceiling and open a hole. She slides her thigh between my legs to break my stance while grabbing both my hands and pinning them against the wall—an exceptional immobilization.

If I try to use my legs, she’ll take me down and have a very dangerous window to attack me, which makes me stay still.

"..." I look down and see her equipment belt. Unfortunately, she keeps her head somewhat lowered, which doesn’t allow me to see her face.

"You’re too skilled and rational to be a mere monster, but you’re not human. I know that. There’s no vector that allows what you just did." Reconnecting an arm in seconds and it already being able to move? That’s not possible even for Kairas, who has powers that help with body regeneration. Not to mention I didn’t see a single drop of blood fall from her arm.

"Did you do something to Zenith?" I ask, having my doubts. From what she said, I know she’s already appeared before Zenith.

"No, she’s completely fine, but she also attacked me. You two really are annoying... although you’re interesting in some ways she isn’t." She takes my gun and moves away, jumping back.

"..." I try to draw the other gun of the same type that I have as backup, but I realize she stole it from me at some point too.

"Clever boy. I know veterans well. Did you think I’d believe you only had one?" She crushes my gun while pulling the other one out from her hood, spinning it between her fingers too.

"What do you want? If you wanted to kill me, I think you could." I press my body against the wall, activating an alert to Cecilia.

"Nothing much. I’m waiting. Zenith should arrive here soon."

"?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh, that got your attention? Just be patient. Don’t leave this place for the next few days. If you do, I can guarantee I’ll make Zenith die."

"This laboratory... do you have something to do with it?"

"No, humans did that." She just admitted she’s not human, but for a monster she’s deeply strange.

’A monster that doesn’t immediately try to kill humans... why?’ Even intelligent monsters still try to kill humans whenever they see them or have the chance.

"However, you and that girl are connected to it, and for my research that’s quite useful... you’ll understand why once she arrives... did you think I didn’t notice your little alert? Looks like it’s my time to go, but I hope you accept my request for Zenith’s sake." She activates a black smoke screen that messes with my perception as she disappears. A few seconds later Cecilia appears using her ability to dissipate the smoke.

"Commander Nadir!! What happened here!!" She asks, alarmed, holding a gun pointed in all directions. From the alert she received, it seems she came prepared. I think about everything I heard and what I should say.

’Zenith is coming?... this could be a lie, but... she didn’t try to kill me... and she was truly skilled...’

"An intruder, but she already fled... for now I need you to reinforce the security of this place... we’ll stay here for... some time still, and I don’t want this intruder showing up again." When I say that, Cecilia seems suspicious of something.

"As you wish, Commander Nadir... so an intruder got in, bypassed all the defenses, and now fled, huh..." She looks at my broken gun on the floor.

"I’ll go... inform the others that there’s an intruder. What kind of monster is it?"

"...I don’t know how to classify it exactly, but I can say it was strong."

"..." She heads to the door as her rabbit ears perk up.

"Commander Nadir, I sensed something very dangerous while I was getting here. Please, I hope you’re making a rational decision. Normally these things would make us retreat to prevent the Ship from being damaged..."

"...I’m sure of what I said. Don’t worry about that. I know well that if the Ship were damaged, we’d be stuck here." She knows me so well, but she can only obey since I’m in command.

’Who is this Hooded woman?... at least she was wounded without much difficulty...’ I take a deep breath, thinking more calmly about all of this as Cecilia leaves the room, acting quickly to alert the others.

"She needs me and Zenith to be together?... but why... could it be... was she the one responsible for the ship changing direction? But how..." If she had been on the Ship, Cecilia should have noticed.

"Tsk... so many problems... why now of all times?" I just wanted Zenith to be safe, but it seems like the problems never end.

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