Chapter 221: A blood-red orb.

--Saturday, May 30, 2172 “But more importantly, never let your guard down.” Kai said in a serious tone, looking especially at Mirko. “The last time I came here, that mistake almost cost me my life. If you see an opportunity, it's highly likely it's a deliberate opening—a trap. Your job is only to distract them; I’ll be the one going all the way to the end.” As the heroes watched with a hint of surprise how All Might’s and Mirko’s burns healed in a matter of seconds, the Symbol of Peace looked at Kai and spoke seriously. “Saito-shonen, while it’s true that splitting up is almost our only option right now, that doesn’t mean you have to face the spiders alone. The moment you need help, call us—we’re in this together.” “I’ll keep that in mind.”  Kai replied in a calm tone. Meanwhile, Shino bit her lip in hesitation, but after a few seconds, she gathered her courage and sent Kai a telepathic message that left no room for argument. [Kai, don’t even think for a second about sacrificing yourself to save us—especially not me. I came here fully resolved to either make it out together or die by your side. If you do it, rest assured I’ll take my own life the moment I can. There’s no place in this world for me if you’re not in it.] Upon hearing Shino’s declaration, Kai turned to look at her with an expression of absolute disbelief. Shino met her beloved’s gaze with complete determination. After all, it was a decision she had made a long time ago—the only reason she had hesitated to share it was because she didn’t want Kai to see her as some obsessive lunatic. But when Kai’s life was placed on the scale, the choice practically made itself. For his part, seeing the resolve in Shino’s eyes, Kai felt a weight comparable to a mountain suddenly land on his shoulders. While he had always known Shino struggled with self-esteem, he never imagined she would say something like that. To him, his own death wasn’t such a terrible thing—he had already died once, so in a way, he saw himself as living on borrowed time. And with how good his life had been, even if this was the end, he was at peace with it. But the lives of those he loved… that was something else entirely. Maybe it was because he had had to say goodbye to his mother twice, but the death of a loved one was one of the things that terrified Kai the most. To the point that, even knowing he wouldn’t be there to witness his family’s suffering or death if he died, he still did everything in his power to ensure their well-being and safety after he was gone. That’s why the idea of Shino taking her own life because of him was something he simply couldn’t accept. [Shino…] With a voice full of discomfort, Kai tried to respond through the mental connection that had formed. But Shino quickly sent a new message, her tone full of unwavering resolve, cutting off Kai’s words. [You can’t convince me otherwise. Just like you’re willing to die to protect us, I’m not willing to live without you. So remember: your life counts for two. I’ll support you in everything you want to do, and I’ll always be by your side—in life or in death.] […] With a strange feeling that mixed helplessness and fear, Kai decided not to respond. Instead, he quickly reached out to his trusted assistant. [Sage, any ideas?] [None, Master.] With an expression of helplessness on her face, the beautiful fairy replied, then added a bit hesitantly. [Though… I’ve read that having a child helps a lot with women who think like that…] […] Kai could only sigh at his assistant’s reply, but after a few moments, he looked back at the others and spoke in a serious tone. “One more thing—try to create as much chaos as you can from a distance. I’ll do the same while trying not to expose myself. That way, the spiders will have too much to focus on to concentrate their efforts on wiping us out again.” After all the heroes nodded, Kai focused entirely on healing Mirko and All Might. However, the expression on the rabbit hero’s face looked somewhat dissatisfied. While the idea of causing chaos everywhere sounded appealing to her, the fact that Kai would be the one infiltrating alone didn’t sit well. It made her feel like just a decoration. … Shortly before the duration of [Absolute Fortress] ran out, Kai managed to almost completely heal both Mirko and All Might. As he pulled his hands away from the pair of heroes, he spoke in a serious tone. “The barrier will disappear soon. Form groups as you see fit and head out in different directions. I’ll stay until the barrier fades.” At that moment, Ryuko opened her eyes and began looking around, which allowed Chatora—the first to notice—to let out a sigh of relief. Shino, who also noticed her teammate’s awakening, quickly sent her a telepathic message to bring her up to speed.  “The Pussycats need to split up…” Still a bit dizzy, Ryuko quickly spoke in a serious tone. Upon hearing her, all the heroes turned to look at the beautiful hero in blue armor. As she stepped down from Chatora’s arms, Ryuko explained after taking a deep breath. “My quirk, along with Mandalay’s and Ragdoll’s, will be key in this. If we all stay in one group, we’ll limit our potential to cause chaos and draw attention.” “You’re right about that.” Edgeshot quickly commented, nodding his head. “Mandalay will be our ‘communication channel,’ Ragdoll our ‘eyes,’ and you the path.” “Then the teams should be formed like this.” Shino said in a calm tone. “Ragdoll, Tiger, Ryukyu, and Mirko will be on All Might’s team, and Kamui Woods, Edgeshot, Pixie-Bob, and I will be in the other. We’ll move erratically to create confusion, while your team will move with precision to hit key points and retreat.” “Sounds reasonable.” All Might agreed with a nod of satisfaction. At that moment, Kai spoke in a serious tone. “Ten seconds left—go.” Upon hearing Kai, everyone nodded solemnly, then formed their teams and exited the barrier. As the heroes left, Kai quickly summoned the [Shadow Cloak] card, but just before activating it, Shino’s voice echoed in his mind. [Kai, I love you. Please come back safe and sound.] [Give it your all, Kai! I know there’s nothing you can’t do—you’re the love of my life and the best man in the world!] Immediately after, Tomoko’s energetic voice rang out in his mind, followed by Ryuko’s. [Darling, I know you're angry with me. But I want you to know that I truly love you. I’m just a stubborn fool who fell hopelessly in love with you and needs to apologize properly, so please… don’t leave us alone.] [I love you all too, and don’t worry — I won’t let what happened last time happen again.] Kai soon replied, his voice serious but filled with affection. Then he added with unwavering resolve and certainty. [I will never lose again!] [[[We love you!!]]] Shino, Ryuko, and Tomoko sent the message at the same time, which made Kai smile slightly. He responded sincerely as he raised the card and activated it. [I love you more — and don’t forget to make full use of the Accomplices. Your safety matters more than keeping secrets.] “[Shadow Cloak] on!” … … … As she leapt out of the barrier, Ryukyu held her breath, finding herself completely surrounded by smoke. At the same time, she transformed into her dragon form to take flight—just as the other heroes landed on her back. Moving silently through the haze, Ryukyu turned her head to look at the enigmatic metal wall, realizing that it was actually floating in the air. The crater created by the explosion was colossal. Though surprised by the overwhelming power of the spiders, the dragon hero was even more impressed by the strength and resources of the man in the black armor— something that made her keep her gaze fixed on the barrier. Just as she reached the edge of the crater, Ryukyu heard Pixie-Bob’s voice in her mind, along with a mental image of a massive crater laced with multiple tunnels. [I created a tunnel network using the maximum range of my quirk. I’ll keep digging and sharing a mental map of them so you can move around.] Upon hearing the announcement, Ryukyu quickly headed toward the nearest tunnel. Just before entering it, the dragon hero cast one last glance at the metal wall—just in time to see it turn into a beam of light and vanish. But to her surprise, the area was left completely empty, with no trace of the man in the black armor. “Let’s move quickly.” All Might said in a serious voice. “Ragdoll will guide us. We’ll strike and retreat as fast as we can.” “““Understood!!!””” Ryukyu responded in unison with the others, then entered the tunnel and reverted to her human form, beginning her first sprint through the underground paths. … … … Cloaked in the black veil of [Shadow Cloak], Kai slipped out of the walls just two seconds before it vanished, letting himself fall to the bottom of the crater while extending his Observation Haki. Just a few meters above the lava that had become the crater floor, Kai kicked off the air and shot forward at high speed toward one of the tunnels Ryuko had created. As he ran through the tunnel, Kai noticed that the mental image shared by Ryuko was changing rapidly. His beautiful girlfriend was creating a vast and complex network of tunnels while moving at full speed around the crater. Quickly, Kai crouched down and touched the ground with his hand. He sent out his aura like a sonar, trying to find a tunnel that wasn’t included in Ryuko’s mental map. Soon enough, Kai did detect a tunnel not too far away, so he quickly sent a message through the mental link created by Shino, sharing a mental image at the same time. [Pixie-Bob, create some tunnels that intersect at different points with the one I’m sharing.] [On it immediately.] Ryuko, who was just within range to create the tunnels, responded right away. Soon, Kai could sense several tunnels opening nearby, allowing him to feel a bit of what was inside them—where a large number of spiders began to emerge. At that moment, the blue-eyed young man contacted Sage while sprinting toward the nearest tunnel. [Once the outer layer of the tunnel breaks, I can sense the inside…] [We should collect a few more samples from those tunnels, Master.] Sage replied seriously as she gathered as much data as she could about the tunnels. [I’d like to.] Kai shook his head and answered. [But I need to use this moment to move forward. Just look at the spiders—they’re moving so erratically it’s like they’re in a panic. Whoever is controlling them probably didn’t expect this outcome.] [Or maybe the previous trap was a major effort, and now they’re recovering their strength.] Sage added thoughtfully. Kai nodded and sent a new message through the telepathic link. [That’s also possible. But whatever the case may be, right now we just need to focus on getting as far ahead as we can.] Running with all his strength while dodging the erratic spiders, Kai soon entered the tunnel, which was packed with them. Leaping and flipping to land on the ceiling, Kai used his aura to stick to it and continued sprinting at full speed. But after a few seconds, he sensed something in the distance with his Observation Haki that instantly caught his attention. Right at the edge of what his Haki could perceive inside the tunnel, there was a relatively strong ‘voice’ that seemed to be taking its final breath. Curious, Kai pushed forward with everything he had through the spider-filled tunnel, until, after a couple of minutes, he finally saw what was going on. In the middle of the tunnel was a massive white spider, about eight meters long, lying on the ground and drying up rapidly — as if something were draining the moisture from its body. But the strangest thing was that near the large spider were two small spiders, about 50 centimeters in size, with a strange pattern on their oversized backsides that resembled an electronic circuit. Upon seeing the two small spiders, Kai immediately realized they were most likely electric spiders—the kind that moved faster than he could using Shadow Cloak. [Should we take the risk and mark them with Trace, Master?] Sage asked hesitantly as she observed the spiders. [It looks like they’re waiting for something before they run off.] [It’s not worth the risk.] Kai replied, still upside down. [ Most likely, once they finish whatever it is they want to do, they'll run straight to where all the spiders gather. We'd better watch and see what they're waiting for.] Sage nodded toward her master and focused her gaze on the two small spiders and the now almost completely hollow giant one. Soon, the massive spider began to crumble and turn to dust until it nearly vanished—at which point, a blood-red orb, about 20 centimeters in size, dropped to the ground. The instant the orb appeared, the two small spiders leapt toward it, surrounded by electric sparks, striking it at full speed. As if it were made of glass, the orb shattered into pieces, then turned into reddish points of light and vanished. At that moment, the electric spiders sprinted down the tunnel at incredible speed, quickly disappearing from sight. [I wasn’t expecting that…] Kai commented, his tone filled with surprise and confusion. Sage could only nod, wearing a similarly puzzled expression. [Let’s keep moving. I have a feeling we’ll find out soon enough why those two destroyed that orb.] After a few moments, Kai added in a thoughtful tone before dashing through the tunnel at full speed. After about five minutes of running, drawing closer to the location of the spiders he had marked with Trace, Kai noticed a change in their behavior. From their previously erratic movements, the spiders now moved in a more controlled manner. Some began running in unison toward the spot where he had entered, while others moved through the tunnel as if searching for something. Moving more carefully to avoid raising any suspicion, Kai continued down the tunnel until he suddenly sensed a "voice" with a strength similar to the one that had dried up earlier. Wearing an expression full of intrigue, Kai ran toward the spider, soon managing to see it with his own eyes. The spider, though with some subtle differences, was nearly identical to the one that had dried up — same size, same white color. [Could the orb be some kind of signal repeater used to control the spiders?] Kai asked curiously as he looked at the massive spider. Sage quickly replied in a thoughtful tone. [It’s likely, Master. The timing of the spiders’ behavior shift doesn’t seem like a coincidence.] [If that’s the case, then there must be a limited number of orbs. That’s why those other spiders destroyed it.] Kai remarked, a subtle glint in his eyes, before sending a message through the mental link Shino had created. [Keep an eye out for white spiders around 8 meters in size. When you kill them, avoid destroying the red orb inside their bodies.] [Did you discover something?] All Might quickly asked, somewhat surprised, prompting Kai to promptly explain what he had seen. … [Your idea makes a lot of sense. If we see any of those orbs, we’ll avoid destroying them.] After hearing the whole story, All Might responded in a serious tone, secretly a bit impressed by Kai’s insight. After all, they had been in the tunnels the same amount of time, and Kai had already uncovered an important clue—while they had only been killing spiders here and there. [We’ll do the same.] Soon, Shino’s serious voice echoed in Kai’s mind. The blue-eyed young man sent another message. [I’ll keep investigating. If I find anything else, I’ll let you all know.] With extreme caution, Kai landed on the ground and analyzed the spider’s movements for a few seconds, then reached for his belt. He pulled out a small disk, and at that moment gave a firm order. [Sage, give me the best moment to move.] [Understood.] Sage quickly responded in a serious tone. Using the full computational power of both her own and her master’s armor, Sage analyzed all the spiders. She was searching for the perfect moment for her master to drop the disk without anyone suspecting the presence of someone invisible—since that would immediately cause Shadow Cloak to deactivate. [Now!] After a few seconds, Sage gave the signal urgently. Kai immediately dropped the disk right where he was standing, then leapt to the ceiling and sprinted down the tunnel upside down. After gaining some distance, Kai let out a quiet sigh of relief upon seeing that Shadow Cloak was still active. He hadn’t been detected. Soon, the white spider ended up striking the disk with one of its legs. The disk deformed slightly and subtly adhered to her without raising any suspicion. Seeing that the spider continued moving without hesitation, Kai finally relaxed and kept moving through the tunnel. That disk was actually a bomb—one he and Keiko had worked on—designed to incapacitate the spider in case of an emergency. … Kai continued moving through the tunnel at the highest speed he could without raising suspicion, all while analyzing the spiders’ behavior. Interestingly, although the spiders near the white one behaved like a well-trained army, the farther away he got, the more “independent” their actions became—a clear sign that the control had a limited effective range. [Take note of the effective range, Sage. I’ll send the info to the others.] [Approximately two kilometers, Master.] Sage quickly replied. Kai was about to send a message through the mental link when suddenly, the voices of All Might and Shino echoed in his mind at the same time. [[We’re under attack!]] [Sage, give Sentinel control of the bomb on the spider.] Kai quickly ordered his trusted assistant. [Done, Master.] Sage responded immediately in a serious tone, prompting Kai to send a new message through the mental link. [It seems the spider’s control range is about two kilometers. Beyond that, its effectiveness drops sharply, so try to move away. If you can’t, or things get complicated, I’ve planted a bomb on the white spider. Sentinel can access its location or detonate it if necessary.] [Sentinel?] All Might asked, confused. Shino responded immediately. [The virtual assistant in our armor. I already have the spider’s coordinates—I’ll send a mental image.] Quickly, a mental image showing the spider’s location appeared in everyone’s mind, though Kai didn’t have time to look at it. After all, he had just arrived at a junction similar to the previous trap—but what caught his attention wasn’t the structure itself but rather a strange, half-destroyed stone statue in one corner of the chamber. *** You can support me on /lordanl and get up to 10 advanced chapters.