Kill the Sun

 While Nick remained inside his Containment Unit, the city was going crazy.

What the fuck was going on?!

One of their most powerful Heroes had been killed, and no one even saw a trace of her killer!

It was clear that it hadn't been a human who had killed her since there was no one inside the city who could kill her this quickly.

However, it also couldn't be a Specter since no Specter would be able to get through the magnetic field surrounding the city.

Sure, they could get through, but every powerful human inside the city would know that they had entered.

As far as they knew, only a single Specter had entered the city over the last two months, and that one was safely suppressed.

They had checked the Containment Unit, and everything was fine.

Additionally, that was a Late Fanatic. It couldn't possibly kill a Mid Hero this quickly!

It was impossible.

And yet, it happened!

No obvious solution was left, which meant that an unlikely possibility had to be the truth.

Was it truly a Fallen?

Had a Fallen actually entered the city?

While the magnetic field was technically impenetrable without alerting someone, none of them actually reached the seventh level.

Nurse Alice managed to enter the city without alerting anyone.

So, maybe a Fallen could do something like that as well?

However, if there was truly a Fallen inside the city…

What could they possibly do?!

They couldn't fight something like that!

While the city was going crazy, Nick just waited.

A couple of Extractors visited him to check up on him on the off-chance that he had suddenly vanished.

Naturally, they had never expected Nick to vanish, but they were grasping at straws.

Hours passed.

Nick wasn't sure what was going on outside.

But at some point, his Containment Unit opened again.

Then, an old man with a serious expression stepped into the Containment Unit together with the city's Governor.

"This is our newest Specter," the Governor said.

The old man looked at Nick with furrowed brows.

Suddenly, a voice appeared in the Extractor's ears.

"Hello."

When the old man heard that voice, his eyes narrowed even further.

This was not just any old man.

Nick could tell by the uniform that this was a Judge from Aegis.

A Protector.

It seemed like the city had called for help from Aegis.

"How can your voice appear in my ears?" the Protector transmitted back to Nick.

Of course, transmitting one's voice wasn't unusual among powerful beings, but the specific way Nick used was more than shocking.

This Protector was old and knew a lot about abilities and, more importantly, Barriers.

The old man knew that Nick had to know about the accessible ports in Barriers manufactured by Aegis if he managed to project his voice like this.

How could a Specter possibly attain such intimate knowledge of Aegis' equipment?

"I have all the answers you seek," Nick answered. "I can tell you who killed the CZE, and I can also tell you much more about this city. I would prefer talking in private."

The Protector closely inspected Nick while the Governor looked at the Protector with confusion.

Why was the Protector so silent?

"Leave the Containment Unit," the Protector said to the Governor.

The Governor was surprised, but when the Protector looked at him with a steely gaze, he turned around and left.

"There," the Protector transmitted to Nick after the Governor left.

"Thank you," Nick transmitted back. "Now, I am willing to tell you all about this, but I need you to know about the context first. Since you won't believe my words, I will give you the context via a trustful source."

The next moment, Nick named a long string of digits and letters.

"A database entry," the Protector answered with a dark voice.

Nick nodded.

The Protector grew more and more concerned.

Not only did this Specter know about Aegis' Barriers, but it also knew about database entries!

It even had a specific code!

"Check the code and read through the entry. I will wait," Nick transmitted.

The Protector was confused by this Specter.

This mere Late Fanatic knew so many things about Aegis, and even more, it told him all about these things.

Usually, Specters wouldn't unveil that they knew these things since that would make them appear more dangerous, increasing the likelihood that they would be killed.

Not only did this Specter know things that it shouldn't know, but it also acted very differently.

It acted almost like a human.

Under normal circumstances, the Protector was the one giving the orders, but this time, he was doing what a Specter told him to do.

How strange.

The Protector wordlessly walked out of the Containment Unit.

The Containment Unit isolated everything, which meant that the Protector's Barrier couldn't contact Aegis while inside.

He had to leave first.

The Governor looked with concern at the Protector. "Is everything alright?" he asked.

The Protector didn't answer and just typed away on his Barrier.

DING!

'Access denied?' the Protector thought in shock as he read the message.

He was a Judge!

There were not many things that he wasn't allowed to know!

How did this Specter get its hands on such a high-level database entry?

While the Protector looked at the message, he suddenly received a call.

When the Protector saw the details of the call, his eyes widened in shock.

This was a high-priority call!

Only a person superior in rank to one could send such a call request!

Anyone who received a high-priority call was mandated to accept the call immediately, or they would be punished severely.

The fact that this was a high-priority call meant that a Justiciar was calling him.

A Peak Protector!

The Protector vanished from the room since he didn't want to accept the call in front of an outsider.

The Protector reappeared outside the city,took a deep breath, and accepted the call.

"Judge Heiner," a dark female voice spoke.

The Protector's face turned white in horror.

"Greetings, Left Arm!" Heiner answered respectfully.

"How did you get your hands on this database entry?" the Left Arm asked immediately.

Heiner grew even more shocked.

This was because of the database entry?!

How high was the level of this database entry that the Left Arm called him immediately!

"A-a Specter told me to look it up," Judge Heiner answered.

"Describe the Specter's appearance," the Left Arm demanded.

"It was a Late Fanatic. It looks like an adult male with black hair. Its height is about 187 centimeters, and it looks very muscular. Its aura seems dark but controlled. It told me that it would help me in this investigation and told me to look up the entry," Judge Heiner said.

"I see," the Left Arm answered with an even tone.

Then, there were some seconds of silence, which felt like years to the Protector.

"What has the Specter told you about its existence?" the Left Arm asked.

The Protector thought back to the conversation.

"The Governor of Grand Extractor City told me about it, but it hasn't told me anything about itself. It just told me that it would help me. That was everything," Heiner answered.

"Has it mentioned a name?" the Left Arm asked.

"No."

"Has it mentioned anything about Aegis?" the Left Arm asked.

"No, but I noticed that it knows a lot about Aegis and our equipment. It has an ability that accesses the free ports of Aegis Barriers to transmit its voice."

Silence.

Seconds passed.

Nick kept looking at the wall.

Finally, the door opened, and the Protector stepped in.

His entire aura had changed.

He seemed almost uncertain.

"What did she say?" Nick asked.

The Protector felt like he was in a dream.

What the hell was even going on?

"The Left Arm told me to ask you if you want to return," the Protector said with a bit of confusion.

Nick nodded. "Yes. I've been here for long enough."

The Protector released a sigh.

"Then, I am to escort you," he said.

Nick nodded.

"However, I have to finish my mission first," the Protector said.

"The dead Chief Zephyx Extractor, right?" Nick asked.

"Correct. You told me you know what happened," the Protector answered.

"I do," Nick said.

"I killed her."

The Protector was taken aback.

It what?

Killed her?

Sure, there were very strange things going on, but that was just straight-up impossible.

"You are in a Containment Unit," the Protector spoke carefully.

Nick looked at the Protector.

Then, he wordlessly walked over to the employee entrance.

DING!

DING!

The Protector's eyes widened as the employee entrance opened, and Nick stepped outside.

Outside, the Governor was also looking at Nick with horror.

What?!

How?!

Specters couldn't walk through employee entrances!

Also, even if this thing weren't a Specter, it needed permission to pass through!

Nick turned to look at the Governor and nodded.

"I am going to leave with the Judge," he spoke.

The next moment, the employee entrance opened again, and the Judge walked out.

"Okay…" the Governor said, perplexed. "Goodbye."

Nick turned to the Judge.

"Shall we?"

The Protector took a deep breath.

What the fuck was this Specter?!