The Extra's Odyssey

Gwen glared at the 7 holograms of the Councilmen.

The Councilmen only cared about their own positions. They were ready to discard Goliaths without a second thought.

Although they were 'only' revealing their identities to the world, it would bring scorn and hatred from entire humanity and they would be forced to take the brunt of the damage for Techno's action.

'If only Captain was here.' She could feel her anger rising. 'These bastards wouldn't think of doing anything like this.'

At that moment, the buxom lady spoke.

"Moving to the 2nd topic for this meeting. We will discuss the matters regarding Mr. Pepe or as his real alias…"

A hologram of a 16-year-old boy appeared in the air.

"Nathan Hunt"

"?!!!" Gwen's eyes widened to their limit and her wrath finally exploded. "What is the meaning of this?! I won't tolerate any kind of schemes that invo-"

"Huntress, please listen to the report first."

A man–and the only one whose hologram wasn't blurred–spoke.

"First Councilman…" Taking a few deep breaths, Gwen calmed down.

Although one could tell that she was barely suppressing herself, First Councilman was someone she respected and thus forced herself to listen.

The hologram of the buxom lady coughed before continuing.

"Techno didn't leave after hacking the servers empty-handed. He left..Phzzzztttttt"

Suddenly, the holograms fluctuated, and a new hologram appeared in the air.

A man wearing a long purple robe with a hood over his head was sitting on a throne made of what seemed to be the bark of a tree. Surprisingly, although the man wasn't hiding his face, it seemed like there were no features behind that dark shadow of his hood.

"Long time no see Vice Cap and Councilmen!"

"Techno…"

The man waved his hand heartily, almost as if he wasn't responsible for the upcoming destruction of Earth.

"Don't worry about them. Or rather, let me continue from where the 5th Councilman left!"

The holograms of 7 Councilmen were moving frantically. They were opening their mouths and straining their lungs, but Techno had disabled their voice feature.

He had hacked into Earth's one of the most secure places twice and effortlessly at that.

"Why are you involving my brother in these matters?"

She stared at Techno with blank eyes devoid of their previous rage.

"Sacry~ I didn't know you could get angry like that~" Techno spoke frivolously, showing a completely new side to him. "To start with, do you recall how I said I was one of the three chosen by God?"

Huntress nodded.

"That was bullshit~ Not the one of three chosen part, but the chosen by a God part~" He laughed. "And your brother is also like me! The one who fought in the Gladiator Championship was Nathan Hunt!"

His unrestrained laughter echoed.

"I can't believe he was going around like an idiot, believing that he was the only one and exposed himself like that!"

"Don't lie…."

"Did you say something~ I couldn't hear ya~"

"Don't lie!"

BOOOM-!

Maddening pressure swept over the room. Webbed cracks formed on the reinforced walls, but that only made Techno merrier. He was enjoying her suffering.

"I..I almost killed him" Gwen couldn't care less about the survival of humanity. "I tried to kill him a..again and again."

She no longer seemed like a warrior who could face armies alone, but a helpless girl who didn't know what to do anymore.

"Oh, how the mighty has fallen. But I'm not done~"

The cackling continued, leaving the Councilmen shell-shocked.

Only now they were realizing how important her brother was to Huntress and that made their back drench in a cold sweat. If they had continued with their original intentions, Huntress might had…

'Don't target her brother, no matter what.' The spokesperson of the Council had warned them. They had laughed at that warning, but it seems they should've known better.

Techno ignored the sorry excuse of world leaders and continued.

"Majority of Top 25 Cadets of Ward's first year are dead."

'How did he know? We made sure to keep the news under wraps, going as far as threatening the Families so that they don't disclose their heirs' death!'

The terror of a technomancer was finally sinking its fang into their hearts. No information, no matter how confidential, was hidden from Techno.

"What does it have to do with Eth?"

An ominous premonition dawned on Gwen. Techno, however, spoke to his own rhythm.

"The only surviving first years cadets who went inside the Dungeon of Trials are Rank 9 Anna Kenward, and Rank 23 Lilith Ashdown." He mused. "Everyone else has been confirmed dead thanks to their Life Oaths."

Her world was turned upside down. She knew from Tempo and Shadow that Nathan also went inside the Dungeon, and looking at the behavior of the Councilmen it didn't seem like Techno was lying.

However, her eyes brightened again.

"Eth doesn't have a Life Oath. He might be alive."

"tsk, so you are calm enough to come up with that conclusion, huh. But…" By the end of his words, his voice was filled with anticipation. "Why do you think he survived, but nobody else could? Maybe he was the one who killed others?"

Zap-

"–call them and request…."

The Techno's hologram vanished, and the Councilmen were able to speak again.

Noticing that no one was in the condition to continue, the First Councilman took the helm of the meeting himself.

"Huntresss, we have yet to get subject Nathan Hunt's Ward's schedule in past weeks, but it has been confirmed that his stigma is similar to the one ability Mr. Pepe used in Gladiator Championship. The timing of Techno's betrayal and Mr. Pepe's appearance is also too close for comfort."

Looking at her devoid eyes, he couldn't tell if Gwen could hear him, but he continued nonetheless.

"Moreover, according to the latest report from Goliaths, the shadow fragment following the subject Nathan was killed by him. From his combat rank analysis when he entered Ward, he shouldn't have been able to do this."

Gwen had yet to see this report, but by now it was clear to her too. No matter how much she tried to deny she couldn't do it any longer.

"Nathan Hunt is…"

Her brother was…

"Mr. Pepe."