Masteria Online: Shattering the Dark God's Grand Scheme-Chapter 103 - What was hidden in the snow

They began to excavate snow, carefully.

Marcus raised his hand. "I can melt it..." He offered, but didn’t do it.

"No thanks." Lumi replied. It would probably work, but he didn’t want any accidents.

As they dug, they revealed industrial metal beneath. They found a heavy hatch with electronic locks, clearly manufactured without magic. It was distinctly foreign, featuring smooth alloys and blinking displays.

"Definitely from Entei." Susie stated, examining the locking mechanism. "Hmm, what kind of system is this?"

"Can you open it?" Lumi asked.

"Give me a few minutes." Susie said, producing specialized tools from her pack. "I’m learning new things on the spot. I’m working entirely from theory! However, I should manage. Just give me some time..."

While she worked, Lumi considered their situation.

Given the proximity, it was clear this was related to Rena’s Glacier. They had been using ice from it as a power source, which made sense. No matter how old this glacier may be, it was a curse placed upon her by the Dark One himself.

It contained the energy of a God.

Apart from the energy, however, there was likely the goal of keeping her sealed. He was unsure how much the Wings operatives present knew. If they really knew that Rena had been sealed here, why did Rena escape in his past life?

He had theories, but no confirmation meant that he saw little point in pondering it further.

"Almost there." Susie muttered, dissecting wires and reconnecting them. "The encryption is good but not great. They probably figured the remote location was secure enough."

"Arrogant." Zara commented from where she watched their perimeter. "Assuming isolation equals safety is amateur thinking."

"I’ve got it!" Susie exclaimed, then explained. "I can open it, but I can’t disable any internal alerts. The moment I open this door, they will know we are here. Is that okay?"

Lumi nodded.

"Got it!" Susie exclaimed as the lock disengaged with a hiss. There wasn’t a sound made. She furrowed her brow. "It must be silent from here. I’m sure I tripped something."

"That’s alright." Lumi said, then turned to Valeria. "Direct your people for combat."

Valeria nodded, drawing her sword. "I go in first, Jin behind me, everyone else floods in behind. Questions?"

"What about prisoners?" Marcus asked. "If they have hostages-"

"We save who we can." Lumi said firmly. "But the mission comes first. Understood?"

Nods all around. Jin cracked his knuckles, electricity dancing between his fingers in anticipation. "Let’s light them up!" he said cheerfully.

Valeria nodded, and jumped down the hatch. Jin instantly followed behind her.

THUMP.

Valeria landed down first. Then, a brief pause, then-

THUMP.

Jin called up. "Ladder goes down about twenty feet! Corridor at the bottom, lit up a bunch! No immediate hostiles but I hear movement deeper in!"

The rest descended as soon as they could. It deposited them in a cold, stale corridor with panels, exposed conduits, and harsh lighting that hurt the eyes.

"No expense spent on comfort." Elara observed, rushing in with the others.

"Be prepared." Valeria commanded as they rushed forward. "They’ve had time to prepare. Expect contact immediately."

The lights went out.

Emergency lighting kicked in a second later, bathing everything in a demonic red. An alarm began blaring, and a mechanical voice spoke from hidden speakers.

"Security breach in entrance alpha. All units respond. Lethal force authorized."

"So much for stealth." Jin said cheerfully.

"Shut up. We never had stealth." Valeria chastised.

Several sections of the wall suddenly gave out, pipes appearing from them. A green gas began to spray out.

"I disagree." Elara muttered to herself, and with a swift movement of her hand, all the poison gas got deported back to where it came.

"They really tried to gas us?" Jin asked incredulously.

"Don’t ponder." Valeria demanded, still rushing onwards. "We continue."

As they moved, Jin pointed out. "This path has heavier power conduits." He pointed at the left-most wall. "The others have less. Presumably, that is the main path."

"Good eye." Valeria approved. "We follow the power."

They turned the corner, and at the end, the first defenders appeared. They were Wings of Darkness henchmen in tactical gear, taking cover behind portable barriers. None of them had an appearance that fit in Masteria. They held modern weaponry.

Lumi’s eyes widened. Before they even attacked, he already positioned his body behind Valeria.

[Wings Henchman - Level 29]

[Wings Henchman - Level 32]

[Wings Elite - Level 41]

[Wings Elite - Level 43]

They raised their guns and-

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Behind me!" Valeria shouted as gunfire erupted.

Bullets sparked off her armor as she charged forward, spraying golden light everywhere as she moved faster than normal humans could track. The level disparity was obvious, what would be lethal shots to ordinary people barely scratched her defenses.

The two henchmen jumped to the side while the two Elites held up their barriers, and joined forces to hold off Valeria.

BOOM!

The force of the impact sent the two flying, yet they were relatively uninjured.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

At the same exact time, the henchmen had fired upon the weaker Knights behind Valeria.

"?" A masked henchman was confused for a split second. He had clearly seen that they carried a weak mage with them. Where did he go? He didn’t have time to think further before several arrows made his skull explode.

[EXP +98]

To his left, the other henchman managed to dodge Jin’s punch at the last second, though ending up twitching from the electric wave. He struggled to get up before he felt a sharp pain in his leg. He looked down, finding that it lay pierced by countless icicles. The last thing he saw was Susie’s cold gaze before Zara put a dagger through his skull.

[EXP +99]

"Magic incoming!" Marcus warned, watching an Elite channeling a spell. "Orbital Flame!" His magic sped onwards, but the elites hid behind their large barrier which blocked the impact. At the same time, they fired their guns.

The bullets didn’t come out as simple bullets. Each one carried with it a dark tentacle. "Wha-" Marcus’s eyes widened. He had dodged the bullets, but he found himself wrapped in countless magical tentacles. Each one served as a rope, binding him, then via centrifugal force, the bullets all spun and hit him.

"Gah!" Blood leaked out of him.

Everyone noticed, but in the midst of a fight, there was no time to spare on the injured.