Chapter 112: Grapple Force

The train moved through a dark tunnel, its motion akin to silence. There was a single tube light illuminating the long compartment, the luminance it radiated proving to be insufficient.

The seats were hard, bereft of any cushion, made from reinforced materials, manufactured to bear tremendous weights. The tube light was situated at the rear end of the compartment, affixed far from the seated duo.

His back was directed towards the source of light, casting a shadow on his face. He listened with focus, glancing straight at the visage of the lady before him, feeling his heart rate accelerate.

The environment was slightly chilly, looking like the tunnels did a perfect job of insulating the heat radiating from the earth. Situated 600 metres below ground, the path the train travelled through the lower Strata was ought to have been hot.

Feeling his body shudder from the cold, Jyorta created a psychic arm and wrapped it around his body, preventing his body heat from seeping out. Seeing his actions, and sensing the psychic energy he had emitted, Atika Light snapped her fingers, producing a crisp sound.

The sound echoed within the compartment, travelling towards the door connecting to the preceding compartment, making it vibrate. The frequency of vibration conformed to a designated tune, the signal transmitted to the other party.

Soon, hot air gushed in through the vents, warming up the compartment. Atika Light looked at Jyorta, glancing at him retract his psychic arm, "This room has soundproof systems installed. Unless an Esper unleashes their domain to listen in on our conversation, the stuff we say here will never make it out. Even then, I can detect the psychic energy emissions of any Esper except Ancestor Marble; so, I'll know."

She held her cane, hoisting it up, placing it on her lap as she caressed it, inspecting its condition. "Coming back to the topic at hand, we want you to use your speciality to convert Heima's Wisdom Parasite into your subsoul."

"Ma'am, can I ask something?" Jyorta raised his hands, hovering his palm next to his cheek, "I am unclear about the Essence of Frenzy. I have gone through the information in our Portal but, I am still unable to understand why my sister was wounded until almost losing control."

Atika Light sighed once, massaging her forehead, "The Essence of Frenzy is a substance that is generated in the bodies of the Frenzy Beasts. The higher their Tier, the more concentrated the essence. It is a product of Rhachis Ancestor Parasite, specifically designed to combat our Wisdom Parasites."

She glanced through the window, making a mental note of the signboards that occasionally flashed by. "The Essence of Frenzy is capable of corroding substances, both organic and inorganic. Moreover, it has a property where it doesn't affect the body it was produced from. Meaning, the Essence of Frenzy is capable of affecting other Frenzy Beasts too."

'Corrosion…' Jyorta focused on the word, remembering it. The blue soul in him extracted the memory fragments and collated it to a corner of the soul, intending to browse through the contents at a later date.

"You should have learnt about the Caterpillar and the Centipede, right?" Seeing him nod in all seriousness, Atika Light continued, "They are the manifestation of the psyche of the Wisdom Parasite. In Heima's case, after the Essence of Frenzy encroached her body, it was absorbed by her Wisdom Parasite, making it irrational, unwilling to comply with her commands."

She placed her cane on the seat beside her, making the pillars of the seat creak a little, exhibiting its heaviness. "The only difference between the Wisdom Parasite and the Frenzy Parasite, other than its manufacturing, is the Essence of Frenzy. Wisdom Parasites won't generate the Essence of Frenzy in our bodies, as experienced by even you."

Seeing him nod, she continued, "Other than its properties of corrosion, the Essence of Frenzy also raises the body's resistance towards psychic energy. This makes the healing energy such as the one created by the Unranked Skill Regen being less effective. It also makes the Wisdom Parasite irrational, making it similar to a Frenzy Parasite, increasing the chances of losing control."

"Heima's case was similar," Atika Light shook her head once, her expression bordering on pity. "She was repeatedly attacked by a newly discovered Frenzy Beast and wasn't given sufficient time to treat herself. By the time she reached our city, her situation had taken a turn for the worse."

Atika Light then turned silent, having closed her eyes, seemingly in a meditative state. Her expression was calm, her demeanour similar to a rocky mountain—unwavering. On seeing her silence, Jyorta opted to gaze into the window, looking at the dark tunnel.

Soon, he noticed a signboard flash by, the contents on it being two words, '4th Ring'. He closed his eyes, allowing his blue soul to work on the false persona. For some reason, he had a sense of foreboding, allowing him to hurry with it.

The blue soul created numerous soul tendrils, siphoning all the energy from his Brain Crystal, working on the false persona—a transparent face mask affixed with tiny white hexagons.

Sometime later, he felt the train begin to slow down, the change in inertia waking him up. Craning his head to look into the window, Jyorta noticed a signboard flash by, its contents shocking him.

'We have reached the 3rd Ring.'

"Let us proceed," The moment the train arrived at a station, Atika Light shot her eyes open, her voice filled with calm echoing in the compartment. She got up and proceeded towards the exit, alighting on the platform, watching Jyorta follow behind her.

There were numerous platforms, situated next to one another, lining up trains in each of them. A plethora of people exited each train, sporting luxurious clothes, their disposition one of grand. The ones nearby swerved their heads, glancing at Jyorta, feeling surprised at finding a student in their midst.

Donning his tracksuit conforming to the military academy, not to mention his young age and state as a Line Controller, he stood out among the rest. Jyorta glanced around, trying his best to act properly to avoid offending the others. He followed Atika Light, marvelling at his surroundings that looked different from the rest.

He only had the opportunity to see the Lower Strata in the 7th Ring, the only time being when he accompanied his classmates to arrive at the military academy. Even then, just the platforms in the 7th Ring and the one before him had startling differences.

Everything was a shade of magenta, from the railroads to the numerous platforms, even the steps that trailed to the surface. Everything of value was magenta; the remaining was yellow, from the seats in the platform to the stand showcasing some magazines.

Jyorta tried to sense the strength of the people surrounding him based on the aura they emitted, feeling baffled. All of them looked no different than regular people, ones that hadn't gained any superhuman abilities. But, judging based on the demeanour they carried themselves with, he could articulate some guesses.

'They are all Shifters or Ground Controllers at the very least.' If not for the fact that he might offend them had he used his psychic arm to get an accurate grasp of their strength, Jyorta would have very well tried it to satisfy his curiosity.

He trailed a step behind Atika Light, walking to her left, ensuring to stay in her line of sight, visible from the corner of her eyes. The duo then proceeded towards the end of the platform, watching the train they had arrived in depart from the station.

Situated at the very end was a lift, spanning a wide boot space. It looked capable of transporting 50 people at a time. Atika Light entered first, followed by Jyorta who trailed after her, standing at one corner. The lift was soon filled to the brim with people, all standing like pillars, unmoving, not producing even the slightest of sounds.

The lift took almost three minutes to arrive above ground, opening to reveal the reception hall of an expansive building, spanning at least 10,000 square feet in area. Exiting the lift, Atika Light motioned for him to follow through eye contact, leading him through a hallway situated on the right of the expansive reception.

The hallway spanned 10 metres in width, expanding through his line of sight, covering a long distance. Situated on both sides were large double doors, spanning 5 metres in height, trailing 10 centimetres to the ceiling. Each door had a width of 2 metres, looking built to suit large traffic flow.

After walking in such a manner for a minute, Atika Light opened a certain double door on her right, entering it to reveal another corridor. It seemed like each double door lead into another path, their destination unknown.

The moment he stepped foot through it, the double doors closed, looking automatic. He followed Atika Light in silence, matching her slow pace, heeding Madam Mary's advice to not talk unless asked otherwise.

The hallway had a steady declination, its right end forming a slight concave curve, making the path seem like a downward spiral, the direction of travel being anti-clockwise.

After travelling 100 metres, Jyorta once again noticed the appearance of the large double doors, situated in fixed intervals of 10 metres per each. Atika Light took the third door on the left, revealing a small room. Affixed on the wall next to the entrance was a lift, its door opening upon sensing their approach. There was only a single button inside it, placed due to formality, the lift being a device that shuttled between its two destinations.

The lift began the descent, its speed slow as compared to the lift that shuttled between the Lower and Upper Strata. Five minutes later, the lift doors opened, having once again arrived at the Lower Strata.

"Welcome to the Headquarters of Grapple Force." A voice resounded upon their entry, the tone mechanical. Jyorta gazed at the narrow path ahead, looking at the people walking, noticing their expressions filled with pride and confidence.

"Let us visit your sister now." Atika Light smiled, glancing at Jyorta. The air stirred, creating numerous waves upon her voice. Having noticed her presence, the people filled with the emotions of pride and confidence bowed in her direction and disappeared, looking like they had escaped in fear.