Interstellar: Exploring The Cosmos With My Anomaly System
Chapter 66: Clashing allies

Chapter 66: Clashing allies

The place were swarming with guards the minute the alarm was sent off, their hands held their weapons at the ready as they stomped down the streets.

Belk watched it all happen, he and Astra sitting in an alleyway waiting for things to die down, their backs pressed against the cold concrete walls.

"I think they spotted us—" Belk murmured.

He and Astra crouched behind a crumbling brick wall in a narrow alleyway, watching as a patrol of guards sprinted past, weapons drawn.

"Gee, you think?!" Astra hissed, pulling further into the shadows.

Belk followed close behind, keeping low.

Astra’s thoughts raced.

’Celi, anything yet?’ she asked silently, hoping the message would reach the AI.

Far above, Lailla crouched on the edge of a rooftop, the city sprawling beneath her like a living circuit board. Thousands of lights flickered across the skyline, each one pulsing with silent potential.

Her eyes—softly glowing with a cybernetic blue—narrowed. She focused on a towering structure in the heart of the district. Holographic overlays bloomed across her vision: heat signatures, security routes, architectural schematics. Two figures moved beneath the top floor, their outlines pulsing faintly through the walls.

’Affirmative,’ Celi’s voice chimed in Astra’s mind, cool and clear. ’Tanaka and the scientist are within my sights. Sending you the layout now...’

Astra exhaled as a precise image unfolded in her mind: rotating guard patterns, the internal structure of the building, the positions of their targets—everything she needed.

A smirk tugged at her lips. "Follow me," she said, rising into a brisk jog.

Belk nodded silently and kept pace, their movements soft against the damp pavement. They melted into the alleyways, slipping through shadows like ghosts.

Lailla stood on top of a building, her gaze robotic and lifeless. The HUD statistics disappeared from her vision.

"Now to find Veira..." She noted to herself, dropping down from the roof top with a solid landing.

"Hey—"

The sudden voice caught Lailla’s attention, her gaze turning to see Godric who towered over her. His eyes narrowed with skepticism.

"Didn’t know you were back," He muttered. The girl turned, her head raised to look him in the eye.

"I simply escaped, They weren’t much of a challenge" She responded, her gaze focused on the man’s arm that held onto his weapon, his grip tightened around it as the seconds went by.

He looked into her now lifeless eyes, her pupils glazed over with nothing but a repressed soul.

"That right?" He huffed, his axe falling to the floor with a loud collision. "You mind telling me how you did it?"

Despite his words his mind was already made up.

Lailla clicked her tongue in annoyance as she got ready for further confrontation, Godric struck, the axe digging into the earth, tearing up the concrete that as Lailla effortlessly avoided the attack, her cold calculated gaze never leaving him.

"I don’t know what that scientist did..." Godric gruffed, resting the axe on his shoulder once more, tilting his neck to the side and letting out a loud crack. "But whatever it is, I’m gonna undo it right here..."

"You have no idea what you’re speaking of," Lailla muttered, standing up straight as the two faced off against each other, a tense silence hanging above them. "If anything, you’re the one being mind controlled,"

Godric clicked his tongue in annoyance at her words, the red warrior walking forward before pushing off hard on the ball of his heel, darting forward to deliver a devastating blow upon Lailla.

Lailla’s eyes widened as she saw she could hardly move in time to react, leaning as far as she could to the side of her. The debris of concrete cutting her cheek, only to be met with the backhand of her opponent, sending her flying into one of the buildings. Her body rickashay off the hard surface, only leaving a small imprint of her body.

[Danger, danger, danger, danger!]

[Shut...up–]

Lailla grunted as she stood slowly, her eyes snapping wide open as Godrick’s axe was sent flying straight for her, her head tilting ever so slightly to the right to avoid the attack.

[Danger, Danger, Danger!]

[Survival 0.1%! Survival 0.1%!]

Lailla let out a shaky breath as Godric walked closer and closer. Each step made her new nerves flare, her breathing faster as her hands reached up to grab at her heart. Her fingers brushing against the fabric of her clothing.

[This feeling...]

[Heart rate critical!]

[Oxygen intake low!]

"Come with me quietly..." Godric offered, towering over her, his hands clenched into fists. "We’ll have Viera fix you,"

[I want to run...]

[I want to— but...]

"Activate, S.Y.S.T.E.M," She muttered out of nowhere, Godric’s brow raised suddenly at her words, confused as to what she means. "Code, 776"

[neuromuscular inhibition off!]

[Skill tree open!]

[System currently down for user #11920181]

[S.Y.S.T.E.M Activated,]

______________________________________________________________

"Intruders! Intruders! Someone do something!!"

The guards’ frantic voices rang out, cutting through the twilight like shattered glass.

The city, bathed in a sudden darkness as a portal enveloped the sky, multiple shifting circles of energy appeared around the village. For a while the guards starred in confused silence.

Silence that was broken by countless thunderous cries from countless Aelvarian soldiers that poured in from the dark purple portals, under a sky filled with a dark void.

They burst open with a deafening crack, and the warriors came pouring through like a flood unleashed. Shadows danced across their figures, blades catching what little light remained from the setting sun. Their war cries rose like ghosts in the dark.

Then came the collision.

Steel slammed against steel in a devastating impact. Screams echoed between the stone walls as the once-orderly courtyard devolved into a nightmare.

From his high perch atop the wall, Zelr stood like a statue carved in shadow, his silhouette almost blending into the giant void that towered over them. The wind tugged at his clothing as he looked down on the battle, his eyes scanning the city below—cold, calculating, and unmoved.

The flames of the first torches caught in his gaze, reflected like distant stars.

"Well Astra... what now?"