The Extra's Odyssey

"Are you going to speak or should I blow your hea-It's you!"

Isabell shouted in disbelief when she finally saw me.

It must come have come to her as a shock that 'Mr. Pepe' was also an intruder.

However, she quickly regained her composure.

"Raise your hands and don't move."

I did as I was asked while secretly using my art.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw her placing a small bluish metal plate over the black orb.

The metal plate shone brightly for a second and started expanding. Small metallic pieces appeared from inside it incasing the black orb.

Isabell picked up the orb and placed it inside the satchel she was carrying.

She pressed the intercom over her right ear.

"I've secured the item. Also, I've caught the other intruder. How should I proceed?"

I still couldn't believe how lucky she was.

If I take into account what she said earlier, the alarms were purposely triggered by her.

However, since barely any devices are working right now, she must have wasted a lot of time to find them.

The time it took her to return, from god knows where she went, I was looting the place and she caught me red-handed.

"The intruder is…Mr Pepe."

Time was running out but with a gun pointed at my head, I had to move carefully.

And I had to move fast.

"He is injured severely. I don't think I would have problems capturing him."

C..racck- C..crack-

Five cracks appeared behind Isabell, each with a spear inside it.

"What are you doing?"

I slowly turned around with my hands still raised.

"Trying to negotiate."

Isabell was wearing a black full-body suit. The suit stuck to her figure accenting her curves.

'Are those magic circles?'

An intricate design of looped magic circles was carved densely on her suit. I could only marvel at the knowledge of its creator.

This suit was a cumulation of magic technology.

Magic technology, the combination of magic and technology, the only weapon which humanity weilded better than anyone.

After giving Isabell a full minute to digest what was happening, I again spoke.

"I don't want the 'item'. My goal here is something else. There is no need for us to fight."

"And that is?"

"I can't tell you that."

Isabell contemplated, probably waiting for Huntress' instruction.

The only reason I spoke so confidently was because, after picking the black orb Isabell didn't even look at the 'Mermaid's Tears' or question about the missing skill scroll.

She wasn't even considering the fact that I was here for 'Mermaid's Tears'.

Truly, one man's trash is a treasure to another.

"I don't think you have a choice. You are in critical condition while I'm in perfect condition. You have no chance of winning if we fought."

I walked toward the altar with a calm gait. Even if she didn't know she might take the 'Mermaid's Tears' if she got suspicious.

I could not allow that. Absolutely not.

Reaching the altar I leaned on it. However, I did not take the blue vial.

The tension between Isabell and me was taut. One sudden move and a fight might erupt.

"But can you guarantee that you will come out unscathed?"

I picked the purple vial and played with it. If I wanted to steal it before her eyes it has to appear 'natural'.

Even though she was wearing the headgear I knew she was looking at the vial in my hand.

To distract her I threw the security access card of the Enma-rank man in front of her.

"It's from someone I met along the way."

She picked it up. She was going through the card when her body suddenly trembled. The card had the man's identity and rank on it.

She got a lot more vigilant knowing I defeated an Enma-rank.

However, that wasn't my goal. The moment she trembled due to the revelation I quickly stored the vial in my storage ring.

Then slowly, without any sudden movements, I placed the hand behind my back and used it to lean on the altar.

"Why are you showing me this?"

"I only want you to understand that I do not want to fight. However, if you still want to have a go then I won't refuse."

Isabell raised her hand to use the intercom and contact Huntress. But my weapons inched closer to her and stopped her before she could use it.

"Uh-huh. It's rude to a third person when someone is speaking to you."

From her tense shoulders and tight grip over the sniper, I knew that she was thinking hard about her next actions.

However, I could not have her contact Huntress.

There was a possibility that Huntress after knowing that I could defeat an Enma-rank might think Isabell was in danger and come to her rescue.

Isabell took a good minute before coming to a decision.

"Okay, there's no need to engage in a needless fight. I need to get out of her quickly too."

"See that wasn't hard, was it?"

Watching Isabell lower her hands a small sigh escaped my lips.

I had zero confidence in winning against her. ZERO.

In the novel, many-a-times her opponent slipped and bashed their heads, killing themselves. Or someone came to her rescue. Or, some other lucky coincidence happened and saved her.

Isabell had the ultimate plot armor, luck, on her side.

Besides, fighting her I might have to go all out and it would be a pointless waste of Ether.

"I'll be leaving then."

I kept my eyes on eyes on Isabell and slowly walked towards the door.

'Let's get out of here. I've already defeated all the sentries inside the building so there shouldn't be any more problems coming up.'

Isabell also kept her eyes on me and waited for me to leave. I guess she didn't want me to see her suit's abilities.

I was about to reach the door when I sensed someone on the other side.

The next moment there was a sudden spike of energy outside.

Schwing-!!!

Hundreds of red lines appeared on the door. In the next second, the door burst into thousands of pieces, and debris shot out.

Boom-!

Dust covered the entire room.

I was crouching behind the altar along with Isabell.

Both of us rushed to hide behind it when we felt the spike in the energy.

Tap- Tap-

'From the footsteps, there are two people'

I signaled to Isabell. The newcomers broke the door, that even destabilized [Zero] couldn't damage easily, in one move. It said a lot about their strength.

Isabell nodded.

This was no longer the time to fight. The only one who will appear here beside us would be on Underworld's side.

Both of us were thieves. We had to cooperate or get taken out individually.

She was about to use the intercom when the sword again whistled.

Schwing-!

A horizontal red line appeared on the altar. Suddenly, the portion of the altar above the red line slid away and fell to the side.

Tap-

Tap-

"You are not part of the Goliaths. Why are you working with her?"

Ba..dump-

Ba..dump-

My heartbeat sped up when I recognized the voice.

Finally, the dust settled and revealed the newcomers.

"Is it that shocking that I came here?"

Why is she here?

'Why Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?'

No, they only look alike.

'No, it's not her. It's not her. It's not her. It's not her. It's not her. It's not her. It's not her. It's not her.'

I need to calm down and escape.

'I need to escape. I need to escape. I need to escape. I need to escape. I need to escape. I need to escape.'

My head was drowned in a jarring cacophony.

Thousands of voices were speaking to me. Each having their own opinion.

Everything felt like a blur to me.

Was Iris talking to me? Why is everyone looking at me like that? Eth, are you trying to say something?

I need to escape I can't waste my time. But why are Iris and her aide here? Shouldn't they be fighting Huntress?

Should I talk to Iris? Why does she resemble Lily? Will she know the answer?

What should I do?

Isabell, why are you shaking me? Ah, you are speaking?

"Hey, what happnnnneeeeeee..."

Her voice suddenly stretched and her movements slowed.

'No, it's just not her.'

Iris and the woman behind her were also moving slowly. I could see Iris blinking in slow motion.

'What is happening? No…'

I realized one more fact.

'I'm okay?'

I was looking straight at Iris. I knew whom she resembled but this time my emotions were a lot calmer.

My head felt clear.

Almost as if I had two heads to make use of.