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Volume 6

Chapter 314: Rafaela Makes Contact

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“Dragon!” Captain Newgate exclaimed.

“Elementis.” still seated on her throne, Rafaela’s narrowed into slits with flashes and hints of ill-intent. “Is it him…?”

“Elementis? Isn’t that…”

“There’s no doubt about it since we both saw the report from [Julia] just a little bit earlier. The body of that Dragon, aside from its size, resembles the exact description from the report.”

“Assuming it’s true, then why is Elementis… no, why is he attacking Siva?”

“There’s no confirmation yet that’s it’s really his doing but my intuition is telling me that this thing is certainly Elementis.”

Rafaela made a mysterious smile as she heard the question and answered with her own opinion. The smile she made answered what her subordinate Captain’s question was.

“There are two possibilities: ONE, it might be that someone is instigating this attack; if not, then it’s the second possibility.”

“Which is?” From start to finish, although Newgate asked curious questions, his voice and tone never had any surprise on them. If something, then he was only just curious.

It wasn’t part of his job description to inquire the reason or intent when given an order but it was not against his rank to ask matters that concerns third party incidents.

Seeing a Dragon attacking Siva, albeit they had a short history before, it wasn’t enough to concern Newgate since ‘Siva’ was nothing more but a third party on matters concerning his principal, Rafaela.

So he only asked questions respectfully.

What is indeed the possible reason why Elementis is attacking Siva?

“Personal Vendetta.” Rafaela replied with a sweet and enticingly mysterious smile.

“I see.”

Newgate had a look of understanding as he turned his gaze back intently at the rare sight of a large Dragon attacking a floating island.

Rafaela sipped her wine empty and then righted herself on her seat as she placed the glass on the armrest to disappear.

When Newgate saw this, he tensed up because the leisurely lazy smile on her face had vanished with the look of seriousness.

“I don’t care what Father is planning but no one is allowed to mess with my Darling’s activities.” She stood up and then declared to Newgate: “Sound the alarm. We’re going into battle.”

Newgate repeated the command to the crew, “All personnel, to your battle stations! We are entering CODE: RED.”

He was calm when giving orders but the crew had tensed up when they heard the words. The ship-wide alarm rung and people started to run helter-skelter; the atmosphere in the Miranda Warship shifted from lukewarm to bitterly cold, edging the crew further into their seats.

With flashes of light, the crew that’s operating in the command bridge changed uniform into those that had purple and white in it, their moods dropping along the theme of their clothes.

Newgate also changed into his ‘Captain’ uniform while Rafaela wore an un-characterized uniform of pure white sleek and neat outfit.

Her clothes were at odds with the crew’s uniform and that was enough to put more weight on the shoulders of the crew members.

She wasn’t the captain, she was the Commander of the Miranda Warship… or, to correct this now, the “Commander of the Miranda Fleet”.

This ‘her’ is contrary to the constantly revealing-dressed Witch of Aarun, but only in terms of the clothes. Her lithe body and sexy figure was even more accentuated with this uniform and the abrupt change in impression added more charm to her unique enticing persona.

A tinge of playful seriousness flashed on her face as she stared at the Dragon who had long started to squirm in midair as if it was fighting something.

“Captain.”

Upon her prompt, the bearded Newgate cleared his throat as he used his right hand to fix the visor of his Captain’s Hat, while his left hand guided the part behind his head.

“Attention all crew. A Dragon had appeared in the vicinity of our allied force, The Union’s satellite territorial city, Alexandria, so our mission is to help them defend the city by fighting the creature and finally fend it off. This is the best opportunity for the Miranda Fleet to shine even brighter than the stars in the night sky! Put your mind, body, and souls to your tasks, for the sake of the glory of our unit, for the sake of the glory of the Empire!”

“““FOR THE EMPIIIIIIRE!!!”””

As he roused the hearts of the NPC crewmates, he gave one last courtesy glance at Rafaela who gave him a small nod before sitting down snappily upright on her commander’s chair.

This was a side that Siva hadn’t seen before since there was no need for Rafaela to get serious in the past when they were traveling together.

If Siva would be here, he’d even assume that the girl on that familiar chair was another person.

Newgate remained standing and as soon as the last note of their war cries ended, then came the series of his commands.

“Lower the bridge!”

The sky was blue and the 220 degree panoramic glass of the command bridge made sure that the bridge crew would be able to see what was happening outside their warship.

But now, it was lowering towards the belly of the ship and only when they knew that the fight was going to be a difficult one would there be a need for the bridge to be lowered.

They truly are in the highest level of alert.

“Deploy the fleet!”

When given the order, the 760 meters long, 250m high, and 450m wide “warship” made a pulse of light and its edges… the parts that are externally connected to the main warship’s body, all started to detach themselves from the true Miranda that was located at the very heart of the feet.

In a span of twenty seconds, 13 warships in many different sizes now floated around in a formation, escorting the Miranda who measured 180m large at its midst.

After that, Cyclones also started to escape the bellies of the warships and even the Miranda, and they, too, took formation around their mother ship like little spiders hatching from their eggs.

Twelve fleet-sized warships carrying one very eye-catching large cannon each and a total of 350 Cyclones now floated around Miranda.

All of them purple and red themed, their formation became eye-catching from the evacuating citizens below them.

“What is that?!”

“A fleet! A fleet had appeared above our city!”

“Is it going to attack us?”

“Mommy, I’m scared. That looked like a giant monster…”

“Look! The flag! That’s the same flag as the one on the City Lord’s mansion!”

“But look… isn’t that also the flag of the Flowerion Imperial Forces?”

“By the Gods…!! Since when did The Union and the Flowerion Empire become allies?!!”

Of course, not only the Citizens, even the Players were also surprised. Yet, beyond even surprise and shock, those in-the-know had recognized the implications of this sudden revelation.

The Flowerion Empire of the Western Continent of Flowerion is the only unified force in the entire game world of Terroa.

It was the largest country in the game.

Everyone and every guild, NPC-controlled or not, all work for the ‘glory’ of the empire.

Before the establishment of the Kingdom of Jeremiah after the Great War, 56 years ago, the greatest force and largest country was Flowerion.

Now, it only held the title of the largest country.

The strongest force in Terroa had become the [Kingdom Knights] of the Kingdom of Jeremiah, who, by the way, is in the middle of searching its new king with the “King Tests”.

The meaning behind a Union Agent carrying the flag of the Flowerion Empire is a really big news to the players of the game.

Because this only meant that the choice the Blue Card Legion made when they attacked a Union Territory has always been a mistake. Now that a Flowerion Imperial Representative had just shown itself mere days after The Legion’s invasion, it means that they’ve been on their way in the city ever since the attack had happened.

Not only that, the Miranda, appearing with a flash of light above their heads also meant that the once locked Teleportation Ability of the city has been finally restored.

*****

“Sigh, there is no need to hide it then…”

Back in the temporary City Lord office in the West Quadrant, Billion heavily heaved his breath as he gave the order for the reinforcements who came from The Union to make their appearance.

“We are still the main force in the defense of the city. Do not leave the territory of the barrier.”

*****

“Activate FCS tracking. Fix geo-mapping system to Gamma-Three settings. Deploy satellite imaging drones to a 100km sphere and identify forces with red and green alpha to omega labels. Deploy Nano-Field at 60% concentration output. Load main cannons. Also start charging the Longhorns and Azeroths!!”

The Commander Level was higher than the crew level by four steps and the Commander’s Chair is even higher by two steps than Newgate’s feet.

Panel consoles beeped and buzzed, voices and orders, communications, relay points, instructions, and reports made the command bridge noisy; but this was all part of what it truly makes this crew a bit special.

They are veterans on their own fields.

A spherical display of the 100km area floats at the center of the entire command bridge and in it was the [email protected] rendering of the floating continent with the image of the dragon battling ten tiny dots and one large dot with red and green labels on them.

The larger dot was Akhenaton.

Zooming in, they could all see the detail of the fight and a few readings and predictions were at a corner of the sphere, being read by a few crew members.

“Inform them we’re ready to help.” said Rafaela in a cold voice.

“Yes Ma’am.”

Newgate didn’t question whether they should also inform City Lord Billion or not about their planned interference.

After all, he was just following her commands.

*****

“Boss, someone’s trying to contact you.”

Dodging a speeding giant paw of the True Dragon fifty times his size with difficulty, Siva stabilized his bearing and cursed inwardly.

“I don’t have time for distractions. You talk to them and just tell me the important things they tell you.”

“Yes sir.”

A pop up window appeared on Cortana’s ‘panel’ and the female ‘Fleet Admiral’ made a surprised (and almost jealous) reaction when she saw her; her left brow was raised like the Everest.

“Hello. My name is Cortana, the boss’s secretary. I am sorry to inform you that The Boss is busy and cannot take your call at the moment.”

The Everest lowered in height and a few seconds passed by before Rafaela smiling at the bland and seemingly expressionless woman.

“Are you his Battle- AI…?”

“Yes.”

“From the Online Shops?”

“No.”

“From Jeremiah?”

“Yes.”

Of course, just as Cortana had reported it to Siva, she also mentioned her origins as a Battle-AI to the caller who obviously had something for Siva.

Although Cortana doesn’t care about her boss’s personal matters, she was still commanded to only relay the important matters to Siva about this call.

“I see.” Rafaela nodded accordingly. “Well, it seems that you’ve been set this way by Darling. I would like you to inform him that the Miranda had come to help him fend off the Dragon. Also, if we are able to defeat it, please relay to him that I would like to speak to him in private.”

“I will relay your message. Is there something else you’d like me to tell him?”

Rafaela looked at Cortana’s expressionless face, seemingly looking for any ‘openings’ on her stone cold indifferent expression.

When she failed to see none, although she did not lower down her guard, she just nodded.

“There is nothing more. I will wait for his reply.”

Her vide call ended and Cortana told Siva, “Boss, the caller said that she is from the Miranda and they are here to help you against this Summon.”

“Miranda? The Miranda?!!”

Siva’s voice snapped in surprise as he glanced at the city. Cortana helped him by using Akhenaton’s specs and ability, as a holo-panel appeared with a zoomed image of a now unfamiliar ship that once brought him for a ride from Zenturo to Espada, and “FORCED” him to participate in the War of Two Powers, propelling his fame and infamy in the gamers’ talks in RPG: Terroa.

But what surprised Siva even more was the sight of an entire fleet around it.

“The color is different and the frame had changed but the shape is still the Miranda I know of. Is it really her?”

“It is her.” Of course, Cortana had seen the image of Rafaela from Siva’s memories. “Oh, dodge that attack by diving below.”

“WHOA!!!”

“You have no time to be distracted.”

“Why does your voice sound bland and indifferent when reporting something that important to me?”

“Please just focus on the fight.”

“But I need their help to get away from here!”

“I will inform them.”

Perhaps for the first time ever, Cortana’s image disappeared from Siva’s vision but he was too busy to pay heed to that so he just focused on the difficult task of dealing damage while dodging the Dragon’s attacks to him.

Is she jealous? Siva thought but then dismissed it since he was told by Cortana that she doesn’t have any kind of these so called emotions.

And indeed it was true.

Cortana wasn’t jealous or anything. It was just a big coincidence and it was only Siva’s own mind having conceited thoughts after getting a lover by the name of Amanda.

*****

The call connected and Cortana’s image appeared on Rafaela’s vision.

“Commander of the Miranda, the boss said that he is in need of your help to get away from the current situation plaguing him.”

Rafaela smiled, “As his Battle-AI, can you share to me the plans that Siva had made?”

“In less than 9 minutes, we will teleport away from Alexandria’s territory. Before then, Boss said that you are allowed to help him escape by dealing the damage while he focuses on receiving its aggro.”

“Alright.”

The call ended and Rafaela sunk in thought.

“What’s your order?” Newgate spoke from the side with an indifferent expression.

“Are you able to scan her?”

“I’m sorry, My Lady. It seems that her Grade is the same as mine, if not higher.”

“Higher than you?” Rafaela became curious.

Newgate nodded, “It’s possible. I may have been able to disguise myself as a player and an NPC from everyone else by being part of the Red Dragon Flag of the Walled City of Prontera. This body you gave me is really handy and it allows me to use my abilities to the fullest. In everything else, I have confidence… but I really have to apologize to Milady for being useless this time. I am truly unable to scan her.”

“Ho? It seems that Father or perhaps it’s AG who had gifted him this advanced AI. If not, and if her words were true that she really came from the Terran-Human Alliance, then I could only say that Siva’s luck is pretty decent for succeeding.”

When she said this, a blush tinged her face as her voice slightly became gently lower in volume.

“Well, I wouldn’t be coming here if he wasn’t lucky enough to catch my attention.”

Newgate was still looking indifferent.

“But despite of me having come from the same origins, for not being able to get anything from her means that her default level may have been truly high to begin with.”

Rafaela closed her eyes. Since the call ended, 10 seconds had long passed but in the tense air of this battlefield, those ten seconds were long and very important seconds.

She then opened her eyes and a serious gaze fell on the sight of Akhenaton in the sphere.

“First that Warship, then an advanced AI… I truly wonder why all these events happening just when he was around.”

“I’ve noticed it myself as well, My Lady. There are many things happening when he’s around and we can even assume that one of the reasons why Elementis is attacking him is because he has something that the instigator wants. She may be this very reason itself, this time. Her programming may have been at the level of Maki and receiving it will do trigger greedy desires to the instigator of this attack.”

“Maki…” Rafaela was temporarily lost in thought by the mention of that name.

Although she wasn’t from [The Naturals], she was still aware of a few secrets behind the Humans of Jeremiah —all thanks to her sister’s education.

To the Humans of this planet, Maki was one of the greatest contributors to their survival.

He was part of the Grand Quest.

Rafaela was one of the very select few who had been privy to that information.

“But Maki’s current whereabouts are unknown and only the late King Altair, as the successor of his father to the Star Ship Odyssey, is aware of Maki’s location. This Cortana being at the same level as Maki is a little bit irrational, even if it’s based on luck. But if it’s true, then she might be the AI from Star Ship Pandora.”

He may not have the ‘memory scan’ that Cortana has, but Newgate still agreed with this notion.

“Perhaps.”

Maki… Odyssey… Pandora… 3 important names that no ordinary person would know about; it’s not just any kind of secret information nor was it even an information that can be known even by the so called Pioneers of RPG: Terroa, nor all of the Human Pioneers of this game… no.

Only those who had access to the inner workings of the Kingdom of Jeremiah would be aware of the butler named “Maki” and “Star Ship Pandora” who carried these humans to this planet.

Star Ship Odyssey had carried Neth Kingsley and his Hercules Team to Planet Terroa as a scouting unit, and information about it was available to the Grand Knight Level existences in Jeremiah.

Star Ship Pandora, however, carried the surviving humans of Earth to Terroa and it was a very high and confidential information.

They are the so called [Naturals] in this game!

(AN: these are all part of my Prologue Novel that had 76,000 words in it. I pulled it down and plan to rewrite when I get the chance and the time in the near —far (maybe a year or two) future)

If what Rafaela said is true, that “Cortana” is the AI that brought these Humans to Terroa through the legendary [Star Ship Pandora], then Siva’s luck is really good.

So why then…

Why did he become so unlucky enough to actually become a pawn on the games started by AG and The Father?

But then again, getting “Cortana” under these odd reasons may have truly been the reason why the instigator of this attack decided to send Elementis.

Luck or not, everything has its counter.

One Lucky Encounter = its corresponding trial

If he succeeds this trial then he gets a reward. It’s how fate works. The underlying reasons on how the trial came to is just a trivial matter.

“It really wonders me. Is this attack personal or is it because of her? Elementis… for a new player to be roused by the instigator is highly likely if this Battle-AI ‘Cortana’ is indeed what we think she is; but it’s also a possibility that this Volga isn’t a new player but a returnee with a vendetta with Siva.”

“Milady is really concerned about Siva…”

Rafaela glanced at Newgate and then to the view of the fight, sighing helplessly in the end of it.

“Sadly, I feel that we cannot go further than this.”

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The planet of salvation is where the universe’s apocalypse is sleeping…!!

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