“According to the news we’ve heard, the expedition ship Tritaenus was hijacked, and we don’t know who was behind it yet,” Zeke revealed, “All we know is that the Tritaenus released 108 Perses Missiles all over Piloq before disappearing. The Tritaenus hasn’t been seen since it left, meaning that the GPS and special navigation system got hacked.”
“As you can imagine the higher-ups are now utterly bewildered and enraged – for good reason,” Kaleb included heavily. He had never seen his sister that angry and flustered. It was terrifying.
“The Battle Exchange was interrupted and too many lost their lives, civilians as well as prodigies. The families who lost their precious Descendants won’t sit quietly. They will definitely get moving to nab the culprits. As for the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs, who died in the attack…their families are even worse. To see their children die in such a manner is one of the most dishonorable ways to die possible. It is a disgrace to their families and the honor of their children’s Battle Spirit.”
The group, or organization that hijacked the Tritaenus was bound to get hunted down by the combined efforts of the three races. Everyone desired to catch them and tear them apart publicly. Michael comprehended that point very well.
“Did the Tritaenus encounter a foreign race that hijacked the ship?” He inquired.
“No, that’s not possible. The large-scale radars in Piloq would have sensed the frequencies of foreign races several hundred thousand kilometers before they entered Piloq’s range. The Tritaenus had to be much closer than that for the Perses Missiles to hit the targets in Piloq precisely…and that they did…” Zeke explained.
“That means the Hijackers were…”
“Humans, Berserkers, or Warlock Centaurs,” Lincoln clarified, only for Zeke to add, “Humans are the most likely though. Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs would never do something as honorless as attacking weakly with missiles. In fact, they don’t use weapons like missiles in the first place.”
Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs were naturally fond of close-combat battles. Their inborn Battle Spirit was extraordinary and they were honorable fighters who could only find eternal peace by dying on the battlefield, covered in scars. Even the most annoying, arrogant, and disgusting Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs wouldn’t dishonor their existence by using the Perses Missiles to kill the innocent in a cowardly attack.
That was what the history books of the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs said. Of course, the history books might not be 100% right.
“We have to deal with traitors,” Kaleb got straight to the point.
Zeke nodded before he continued summarizing to Michael what they had theorized on their way to the Colosseum, “We predict that some hostile organization is trying to destroy the delicate relations between Humans, Warlock Centaurs, and Berserkers. That is also why we rushed to the Colosseum. We were hoping that everyone survived and that the Tritan Alliance helped one another. Therefore, it was very good that Maria didn’t distinguish between the races when she used her Inheritance Technique to heal everyone. If she healed only the injured humans…it would have been a lot more troublesome than you can imagine.”
“Losing the trust of the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs would have been the worst…that’s true,” Michael concurred wholeheartedly.
‘It was a good thing that I confronted the Descendants,’ He could only think, giving himself a pat on the back, only for Zeke to hit his sore spot. “But you seem to have gained a bunch of enemies. I genuinely doubt that it’s all because of Maria and becoming her Primal Amplifier.”
“Hmm?”
Michael’s gaze swept around the remnants of the Colosseum and he smiled lightly at what he saw. A bunch of Descendants were staring daggers at him. It felt like their hands were itching to tear him apart on the spot. Michael found that quite entertaining.
“Yeah…well… I might have shouted at them, telling them that they’re fucking cowards and losers. Maybe I also added some other stuff, but I don’t really care that much. They didn’t want Maria to heal the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs and chose to abandon them to focus on their own well-being. Fucking bastards!” He cursed, resulting in a stifled laugh from Zeke.
Meanwhile, Lincoln looked at Michael with a faint smile. It was truly hard to dislike Michael.
“I can tell why they hate you. Most Descendants don’t take insults well. And most of them are selfish because of the way they’ve been treated as they grew up. Though I understand their way of thinking to a certain extent. Maria was the only healer who survived the attack, and she is not yet a High Lifeform who can use the full potential of her 7-Star Soultrait. The Descendants wanted their friends and colleagues to be saved as long as Maria had some energy left – rather than having her use up her entire energy for strangers of another race.” Zeke said, seemingly torn between what to say.
“But it was a good thing she used her Inheritance Technique with you since you have so many Soultraits storing Soul Power. If not for that, she would have never been able to rescue everyone, which would have worsened the relations of the Tritan Alliance.”
Michael didn’t react to the part where Zeke mentioned his Soultraits and shrugged. “I am just glad that we could save so many people. The Mark of Fate issue is still a little bit annoying, but that can be solved at a later point. The most important was to survive!”
“But what are we supposed to do now? The Tritaenus ship disappeared and too many people have either been injured or killed. Will the Battle Exchange end now, or will we continue like normal? The Interdimensional Flag War won’t wait for us…so we will continue, I guess?”
Michael was not really close to anyone who died. He was pretty sure that Thoars, Lokai, and Mekhaz were fine. As for Alice, Kaleb just told Michael that she was furious but physically in top form. That meant he wasn’t too affected by the attack of the Tritaenus spaceship…or so he thought at first.
He didn’t even realize that he stared at the cloudless sky through the collapsed rooftop of the Colosseum every few seconds. It was almost like Michael expected another barrage of Perses Missiles to strike them.
The attack of the Traitors was a great surprise. It was terrifying. If he had been an ordinary citizen in Piloq, Michael wouldn’t have been able to do anything against the Perses Missiles. Even today he had been lucky that his arm received most of the impact and that the Perses Missile impacted far enough from his position.
The destructive power of the Perses Missile must have been weakened, in the first place. The Colosseum had its own defensive mechanism that was activated in emergencies. Michael hadn’t noticed anything but upon thinking about it a little longer, he realized that Perses Missiles were uttered to be far more destructive than the damage he had witnessed.
When he was young he researched all kinds of spaceships and the weapon system they’d installed. Perses Missiles had been introduced as one of the deadliest missiles that could be manufactured on a large scale.
‘Did I survive because I was lucky…again? No. We all survived because we were lucky. The Colosseum saved us…some of us… I am still too weak…’
Attacks like today could happen on any day, any time, and anywhere in the future. The Space Guards tried to protect everyone, but who uttered that it was possible to protect everyone? Traitors of mankind could appear anywhere, and they could cause devastating damage.
‘I need to grow stronger. Strong enough to make sure that I don’t have to be worried about a Traitor’s terrorist attack ever!’
“Our mission for now is pretty simple. We’re trying to catch these bastard traitors!” An unfamiliar voice reached Michael and his friends as a Berserker appeared next to him. He was four meters tall and Michael recalled him as the Berserker, whom he had carried to Maria after getting impaled by several metal pipes.
“I owe you my life. Thank you for saving me…No, for saving everyone. You stood up for us and made sure that your people helped us. Your help allowed us to escape an honorless death. We Berserkers don’t forget something like that. No matter what others say or do to push you down, don’t ever forget that you are a true warrior!” The Berserker said, making a unique gesture, and left after expressing his gratitude.
‘What was that?’ Michael thought, his eyes following the Berserker as he disappeared from his view.
Michael then headed to the entrance – or what had been the entrance – of the Colosseum. They wanted to leave together now that everyone had already been tended to by Maria. There was a lot for them to do.
But before he could leave, Michael was stopped by a group of Warlock Centaurs.
“Thank you for saving us. Your people might dislike you now, but I hope you know that your actions meant a lot to us. If you ever need help don’t hesitate to ask for it. I am Kaladra Velchion. Remember my name, and know that we will do everything in our power to be of use to you whenever the need arises! We owe you big time!” The head of the Warlock Centaur group said before they all did a similar gesture as the Berserker before leaving as well.
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“It looks like you collect enemies and friends side by side. That’s quite entertaining. Except that you make enemies of your own kind and friends with others,” Zeke said, teasing Michael a little, “You will have a hard time once the Seraph Family pushes you into the circle of the High Society.”
Michael pressed his lips together and gazed at Zeke.
“I liked you better when you judged me silently,” He responded, but Zeke only chuckled at that.