Robert felt the knives leave his neck one after the other, as if to remind him that there was one for each of those around him. He didn’t even dare to look behind him, and as a wave of panic struck him, all he could do was try not to show it.

"Change of plans." He turned to the other, doing his best to communicate the severity of the situation without saying it outright. "We’re heading back to the mining rig."

Of course, there was no way that they would agree to just do that, especially with the situation they were in. They had just lost contact with most of their squad members, so their first course of action should have been to look into what happened. Thankfully, after seeing the way he insisted on going back, they seemed to realize that something must have happened and agreed to follow his order.

Forgoing the stuff they left in the hotel, they headed straight to harbor where they left the boat they used to reach the shore. An hour passed after their departure, then another, then another. As the mining rig finally came within sight, Robert once again wondered if he was doing the right thing. Whatever it was that targeted them, he was bringing it straight to their base, helping it infiltrate a facility that belongs to their employer. Even if the intruder doesn’t get caught, a quick investigation would be all it takes to find out that he helped get them inside, and once that happens, his life would be over.

Robert realized that he was doomed, but if he had to choose between dying right away and dying after screwing his employer, then he would choose the latter every time. At least then he would still have a chance to live.

Unfortunately for him, he was never going to make it to their destination. Before they entered the facility’s security parameter, a hole opened in the ocean, and the entire boat sank into it, disappearing from the surface of the Earth.

~[ ]~

Cold.

As he lost more and more parts of his flesh, Dante found himself enjoying the sensations it provided even more than before. Thanks to Volcan’s sensory input, he could tell when it was hot, and when it was cold. Right now, Dante felt that it was absolutely freezing, which was to be expected of the ocean this far in the south. One has to be entirely insane to go swimming in such a location, but Dante didn’t think he had been sane for quite a while.

-You aren’t crazy. Just a colossal moron.-

-A useless, pathetic moron.- 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

His bionic lungs allowed him to breathe underwater, and using 2-3’s Modules on both his arms and legs, he was able to swim like a fish. Though he wanted to wear the Type’s armor instead, the place he was trying to infiltrate had quite the superb security, which required him to use his oni mask.

Of course, he was only doing it to avoid alerting the facility during the first stage. He had tried teleporting inside right from the start, but from the looks of it, the area around the mining rig was enveloped in the space stabilizer field, making it appear blacked out on his 3D model.

’I guess they don’t have an anti-Sorcery field...’

Teleportation blockers have become more common as of late. Practically all important locations had something that prevented things from getting inside without passing through the intended routes, and those places usually have security on such a level that it was impossible to infiltrate them the normal way. Of course, that was only in the case when dealing with normal intruders. If he wanted to get inside, Dante was sure he would find a way.

Climbing up from the pillars holding the artificial island proved to be a challenge, but Dante managed with a little effort. He reached the lowest platform before long and found the first door, which seemed to be rarely used. Volcan handles the lock, and before point inside, Dante made sure to swap out his soaked clothes. Doing so while still outside made it feel like he might sneeze at any moment.

Most of the mining was done on the ocean floor, and the island above it was used for the first stage of processing, as well as a cargo hold and maintenance hub. Volcan took a couple of minutes to acquire a map of the place, and as he attempted to crack its security, Dante headed for the barrier room, which he assumes was where the anti-teleportation device was being kept.

On his way, Dante met several Castor members, as well as Gaia employees. He paid them no mind as he continued to his destination, and soon enough, he was there.

’Make sure it doesn’t send any signals.’

[Understood.]

It would be a royal pain in the ass if it turned out that shutting down the anti-teleportation device would alert the entire facility, or worse, one of the so called heroes. After all, the only ones who would need the device shut were those who could teleport, and anyone having that power puts them among the most dangerous people in the world.

[It is done.]

Seeing that no alarms went off, Dante heaved a sigh of relief and almost removed his oni mask by mistake. As it turned out, his resident AI required a few more minutes to finish taking over the facility’s security system. When he was finally done, Dante turned off the Silent Breath and removed his Oni mask. Right after, he equipped 8-6 and teleported to the highest floor of the building, appearing inside the control room.

Dante had nothing personal against the people who worked in the mining rig, but since it belonged to Gaia, he didn’t feel bad about sending them to rot in one of his pocket dimensions. Spatial Awareness finished scanning the entire facility in a couple of minutes, so he went about portaling everyone else, and by the time he was done, the entire mining rig was entirely empty.

Finally alone, Dante instructed his resident AI to handle anything related to it and sat down. His heartbeat no longer accelerated whenever nervousness overtook him, but Dante still felt it, and that brought pain to his chest. Taking a deep breath, he activated Spatial Awareness, and its reach extended beyond the area he already mapped, Dante watched as another part was added to his 3D world map.