Death Notice Book 6: Chapter 25: The Key

By the time the two Apostles arrived at the warehouse, it had been burning for over half an hour. Flames roared intensely. Even the half-lowered steel gate showed signs of melting, molten droplets of iron dripping onto the ground before the entrance.

They approached to within ten meters but could advance no further. Waves of searing heat radiated from the building; the very air seemed ready to ignite, shimmering with violent, invisible ripples.

“I smell roasted meat. What are these natives doing? Setting themselves on fire?” Black Rat stared in bewilderment at the inferno.

“No, there are signs of a fight inside!” Silver Sail’s eyes behind his veil glowed with an eerie silver light. Moments later, he lowered his head, closing his eyes wearily. “But the fire is too big. I can’t see clearly.”

“This fire likely won’t be put out quickly. By the time it burns out, nothing will remain!” Black Rat’s expression shifted uneasily. “As soon as dawn breaks, other Apostles outside will come in. By then, there’ll be nothing left for us!”

“Yes, we wasted all night. Whatever happens, we must recover our losses in this final hour!” Silver Sail nodded grimly, pulling an ancient-looking Magic Scroll from his robes. His gaze was intense as he looked at his companion. “One for me, one for you. Let’s extinguish this fire first!”

“Fine. You use that Water Dragon water-type scroll. I’ll use the Earth-type mudslide scroll. Two Rank High Rank scrolls should suffice!” Black Rat gritted his teeth, reluctantly drawing a pale yellow Magic Scroll from his own robes, his expression pained.

As they tore open the scrolls, a ripple of magical energy brushed past the warehouse entrance.

Silver Sail acted first. The intricate magical array on his scroll glowed faintly. A thread-like stream of water welled forth, swirling in the air. In the blink of an eye, this silvery cascade swelled immeasurably, transforming into a massive, roaring water dragon that crashed through the warehouse doors.

The Water Dragon plunged into the blaze, forcing the flames back. Yet, its own size visibly shrank, evaporating rapidly.

“Now!” Silver Sail’s eyes flashed with pale silver light as he shouted to his companion.

“Got it!” Black Rat grunted. His short frame darted into the warehouse like lightning. The pale yellow scroll in his hand ignited. A thick, grimy torrent mixed with countless gravels surged forward, slamming into the fiercest heart of the fire.

Sufficiently subdued by this dual deluge of water and earth, the raging inferno finally dwindled. Apart from a few corners smoldering, the majority of the flames were extinguished, replaced by steam and white smoke throughout the devastated space.

The neatly arranged interior of the warehouse was unrecognizable, ravaged by fire and cascading explosions. Charred bodies of Atlanteans littered the scene, floating amidst the muddy sludge brought by the mudslide.

After numerous explosions and more than half an hour of intense burning, the corpses were grotesquely mangled and charred beyond recognition. Some entwined their limbs in a final embrace, heads pressed together, suggesting a grim acceptance of death even before the flames consumed them.

“Damn it! The food, the weapons – all reduced to ash. These Atlantean natives roasted themselves to charcoal! Even cannibalism isn’t an option now!” Black Rat kicked angrily at a blackened corpse fragment, his expression ugly. “Silver Sail, we lost big time. Two High Rank scrolls!”

“Whether we lost or not… that’s not certain yet,” Silver Sail murmured thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. His gaze fixed intently on a suit of Exoskeleton Mecha near the warehouse center.

“Hah! What’s so special about that? Just Atlantean engineering gear, common stuff!” Black Rat spat disdainfully after following his partner’s gaze.

“Black Rat, could you use your brain once in a while?” Silver Sail sighed, waving a hand towards the wreckage. “Look at those two real combat Mechs. Their armor melted halfway off in that firestorm. But this Exoskeleton Mecha? Only covered in soot…”

“You mean… no way! That thing’s huge!” Black Rat’s eyes widened slightly. With a sudden flash of movement, he was beside the Mecha. His hand touched its outer shell, and ecstatic joy instantly spread across his face.

“Hahaha! Silver Sail! We hit the jackpot! This is an Apostle Mech!!!” Black Rat’s eyes shimmered with excitement as he yelled to his companion.

“Something like this… inside a Fortress? The Celestial Wheel used Apostle Mech material to build this thing? How… utterly wasteful! Explains why they got wiped out by history!” Silver Sail murmured, stroking the Mecha, a look of distant awe briefly crossing his face. “Black Rat, covering our losses is settled. Whether we profit… that’s the question now.”

“What nonsense! It’s huge! A huge piece of…” Black Rat’s triumphant grin faded. He suddenly slapped his own face hard. “Oh damn! I forgot the Team Warehouse is sealed! How… how do we carry this thing?!”

“Black Rat, we can’t absorb something this large between the two of us. We can only dismantle parts!” Silver Sail’s tone was heavy with resignation. “And we can’t carry anything too heavy or bulky either. It would slow us down.”

“Fine! Then I want this cockpit cover! This here’s Dark Gold Quality material. With some additions, it could make one hell of a shield.” The short Apostle leaped onto the Mech. But the next instant, he recoiled like he’d touched a live wire, scrambling back down. “Silver Sail! There’s someone inside!”

“Huh?” Silver Sail immediately tensed, body coiling slightly. Silver light flickered back in his eyes. After a few seconds, he relaxed. “It’s an Atlantean girl. Seems alive. Pull her out.”

Mina’s face was expressionless, vacant. Her once-lively eyes were dull and unfocused. She offered no resistance as the two Apostles hauled her from the Mech, moving her limp body like a doll.

“Seems like she’s lost her mind,” Black Rat remarked, pinching the fleshy flesh of the girl’s cheek with exasperation as he shot a helpless look at Silver Sail.

“Let me probe her a sec. Whoa, watch…!” Silver Sail had barely taken two steps when his eyebrows shot up, shouting a warning.

Mina, behind Black Rat, suddenly snapped her jaws down hard, biting into the short Apostle’s thigh. The skin beneath his Apostle gear was untouched, unharmed. But Black Rat’s inherently short stature, now weighed down by a small figure clinging to his leg, painted a particularly ridiculous picture.

“Ha! You dumbass!” Silver Sail couldn’t suppress his laughter.

“Damn! …Biting me?!” His companion’s mockery flushed Black Rat’s face with embarrassment. Furious, the short Apostle lashed out with a kick, sending Mina flying across the room.

The girl tumbled like a rag into a corner, curling into a motionless ball. A pool of blood began forming, slowly spreading beneath her.

Silver Sail cast a brief glance her way before dismissing her. More pressing matters demanded his attention. “You take the cockpit cover. That main command console screen back there belongs to me. Might be able to turn its components into an image projection device. Could synergize perfectly with my Yin Eyes.”

“Damn. He really picks the good stuff,” Black Rat cursed under his breath. He circled the Mech, inspecting it closely, hoping to uncover more Dark Gold Quality equipment.

A short while later, the two Apostles sat slumped on the grimy warehouse floor, breathing heavily and disheveled. Before them lay only a meager, pitiful collection of salvaged parts and materials.

“Screw this! It’s impossible to dismantle!” Black Rat snarled, his gaze predatory. “Some of the Blue Quality materials inside fused together from the heat! Solidified! Impossible to separate!” He turned towards his companion. “Silver Sail, what about using a High Rank scroll? Blow it apart? There are definitely more Dark Gold pieces inside!”

“Forget it. The Domination War’s barely started. Best reserve scrolls for survival,” Silver Sail hesitated, then shook his head firmly. “Even if we blow it up, we can’t carry much. Why hand free loot to whoever comes next?”

Meanwhile, Mina, forgotten by the pair, was undergoing unseen changes. Knocked unconscious by Black Rat’s kick, the cruciform pendant clutched tightly in her hand made contact with her own blood.

As the blood touched the pendant’s surface, its intricate depressions lit up. It slowly dissolved on one side, revealing complex inner mechanisms. A tiny needle extended outwards. Simultaneously, Mina, still unconscious, gave a small, shuddering twitch and let out a faint whimper.

“Mina, listen… The ‘Key’ your father gave you… it’s not just for your personal vault. It’s also… But the Apostle’s path is brutal. Daughter, if possible… I hope you never uncover the Key’s secret… If you do unlock it… it means your life is truly in peril… From that moment… you can only rely on yourself…”

“Father…” Mina slowly opened her eyes, her gaze foggy, staring at the pendant in her hand, beneath the needle.

But soon, raw determination hardened the young girl’s features. “Karu Grandfather is gone. Anlis Grandfather is gone. Tang and Meimei are gone. Hatred is all Mina has left. Maybe… I can’t avenge Atlantis against all Apostles… But that one person… Only that one is unforgivable!”

Mina’s small, plump hand clenched the pendant fiercely. The needle drove deep into her palm. A trickle of silver liquid seeped from within the pendant, merging with her bloodstream.

Mere seconds later, heat radiated intensely from her slumped body on the ground. The girl bit down fiercely on her lip, stifling any scream. Unimaginable pain tore through her being. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, joining the pool beneath her.

Swiftly, Mina’s body faded, becoming translucent, like a simple drawing sketched in pale outlines. Then, even these lines dissolved, collapsing inward, condensing into a single, tiny dark point.

The scene mirrored exactly what happened when Qin Lun was first drawn into the Shattered Starry Sky. Except, Mina’s form did not begin reconstructing itself immediately. Her consciousness was consumed by an incredibly minute black hole, vanishing from the warehouse without a trace.

“Just as I thought,” came a voice, barely a sigh, from the shadowed corner opposite the entrance. “Her father gave her an Apostle Mech. How could he not have equipped her for her final metamorphosis into an Apostle?”