Chapter 177: Damage Assessment

Chapter 177: Damage Assessment

Late Evening - Mid Summer : Deep Ocean (West of Central Sirathian Mountains)

-I should probably explore the rest of the structure before I risk blowing it apart trying to power this room, shouldn't I...- Wanting to check out the rest of the building even if the power was off, I thought about what to do before making my way up to the door. -How should I try and open this?-

Figuring I should just cut open a hole, I set my hand on the door but quickly noticed a very serious problem. -Uhhhh... Why is the hallway full of water?-

Unable to think of a better plan, I cleanly cut open the door and carefully held the water back with a vacuum barrier.

*Clank-Thunk* As I pulled away and set the heavy door to the side, I looked out into the water-filled hallway.

-Well... That is a problem...- Walking through the doorway, I steadily pushed the water back and resealed the control room, making sure it could handle the water pressure. -That should be good enough...-

Continuing down the hallway, I passed several massive ruptures leading into the research display rooms. -The water pressure really did a number on this place...-

Trying to resist the urge to go and explore the rooms now accessible through the ruptures in the display room walls, I continued forward and got around a third of the way down the hallway before having to stop.

But it wasn't because there was debris blocking my path. Instead, the hallway had simply come to an end.

As I stood there looking out into the debris-filled water, I sent my aura out as far as I could to see if it was just a really big rupture, but my aura found nothing but more debris and water.

-Well.. It's big enough for my dragon form at least...- Wanting to get a better look at things, I changed to my dragon form and released the barrier holding back the water.

*Splash-Crash* *Blub*

Taking a moment to adjust to the pressure, I swam out and expanded my aura back towards the hallway.

It only took me a moment to notice the several other rooms that were now exposed, but the damage caused by the water pressure was similar to the display rooms. Most of the exposed rooms didn't have walls that could handle the pressure, causing them to rupture and fill neighboring rooms with water as well.

"Haah..." Trying not to dwell on my ever-dwindling chances of powering the control room back on, I swam down and followed the damage.

Unable to hold back my curiosity, I hastily cleaned up and fixed all of the runes, but as I did, a rogue thought came to mind. -What if these cables lead back to the lab...- I stood there, frozen for a moment before doing my best to shrug it off. -If the Acardi got to the point that they can utilize antimatter power, I'm sure they have safety measures in place.-

As that thought passed through my mind, I remembered the 'controlled discharge' and felt a shiver pass down my spine.

- Liv Sigmond ~

It had been a few days since we confirmed the deaths of Commander Dolph, the squadron leaders, and the soldiers now, and we were finally making it back to headquarters.

*Creaak* The metal gate creaked as we lethargically made our way into the base.

"Commander... Can we.. f..finally rest?" Quite literally everyone but the squadron leaders and I were completely out of energy after running for nearly 3 days straight.

"Yes, you are all dismissed except for those I already spoke to! Please take the day to relax. There won't be any training today!" -They’ve earned some break time...-

As I yelled out the information, they let out a collective sigh and fell to the ground.

Under normal circumstances, I would chuckle since it reminded me of my early days in the military, but today I felt nothing but a mix of anxiety and the urge to sleep. -If only Dolph wasn't such a dumbass, I wouldn't have been put in this situation...- "Squadron Leaders, I need you all to write a report by lunch tomorrow. I know it isn't much time but we don't have a choice."

"But-"

"This situation could easily jeopardize the safety of the entire city so I won't be taking any complaints. Also, those that don't get the report submitted in time will be subjected to a month of tier 12." [1] Seeing that they all understood the urgency of the situation, I double-checked to make sure I had everything done and ran across the base to my room. -I need to get cleaned up and changed quickly!-

Slamming open the door, I ran into the restroom and cleaned up as fast as I could. -Alright, next I need a fresh uniform...-

Dashing over to my closet, I threw on my formal uniform and fixed the newly delivered rank badge to it. -This is good enough!-

Quickly throwing it all together, I dashed back out into the hallway, sent a messenger to retrieve the guild master, and hastily made my way to the Duke's estate. -Great Gods, please grant my prayer for this meeting to go well!-