Chapter 117: Director
They continued deeper into the underground facility, moving north through corridors that grew progressively more industrial.
The walls here were bare cobblestones reinforced with metal supports and floor drains.
The doors they passed bore different markings, one had numbers on it, followed by letters that might indicate danger levels or clearance requirements.
Another door had a fire sign, and another had a book symbol, but they could see people speaking inside.
They used doorways and equipment for cover while Grand Scan continued guiding their path around patrol routes. Guards were less frequent this deep, but the ones present seemed more alert.
These weren’t young recruits complaining about shift work, but ones who took their job seriously and were focused.
The corridor opens into a larger space, which they stepped into.
The space was very big and perhaps forty feet across with a high ceiling. Doors lined the walls, each marked with increasingly ominous symbols.
And at the far end was a staircase that descended into darkness that seemed to absorb the facility’s lighting.
But what caught Reinhard’s attention was the emptiness. There were no guards, no workers, and just vacant space that felt deliberately cleared.
All of them furrowed their brows before they heard something near the staircase.
Reinhard’s expression shifted, confusion crossing his features. "This place goes further down?"
"I am surprised as well, but this makes me wonder if the Phantasm Beasts for this place are kept down here?" Marie says softly.
"I wonder..." Reinhard muttered as he furrowed his brows.
But then the room shook.
The vibration came through the floor first, traveling up through their legs and into their spines. All of their expressions shifted before they turned around, and they slowly moved upwards as they thought they heard noise.
Reinhard’s eyes widened when he heard smashing sounds. Then the sounds of metal being torn apart, and then walls being shattered alongside the grinding screech of structural damage.
"Could it be Phantasm beasts?" Reinhard muttered, leading to the other expression to shift.
"I hope so!" Scath says as they begin hearing screams.
Multiple voices rang out in screeching, screaming, and terrible cries. It was hard to tell if it was from workers or guards, but the terror and fear in their cries was unmistakable.
"Move!" Roana hissed as she moved to the side, and the others followed.
Just as the sounds of impact and screaming seemed to close in on them. Before a body flew through where they had walked, rushed past them, and crashed straight into the wall above the staircase leading down.
A crashing sound rang out!
Stones and debris spray out before they fall down onto the staircase, with the body falling onto the stairs as well.
"Multiple large figures are coming." Roana said urgently. "And an even bigger one behind it. We should find a place to hide, we can’t be seen by the workers and the guard."
Marie’s head glanced around before her eyes landed on a door. "There!" She pointed to a door on their right, marked with symbols that might indicate storage or equipment.
They rushed toward it before Reinhard’s hand hit the ground, his palm pressing against the shadow cast by overhead lighting.
Black spears formed behind the door, their forms visible through the gap beneath. They maneuvered the lock with practiced precision, and the door opened.
All four slipped inside while Reinhard pulled the door almost closed, leaving just enough gap to see through while remaining hidden.
Then, after a couple of seconds, multiple Phantasm Beasts entered the open area.
Reinhard heard them first with their steps lightly shaking the area, and then he began hearing an odd humming from them.
Then all three of them came into view as they moved towards the middle of the area.
The first was tall and thin with white fur covering its body. But embedded in that fur were dozens of black orbs that looked like stones, distributed across its form like eyes that didn’t blink.
Under the white fur was a black shadow with countless blue veins spreading everywhere like a circulatory system made of energy rather than blood. Its head bore two purple eyes stacked vertically rather than horizontally, both glowing with ominous light. The light followed each time it turned, as if those eyes were staring in every direction simultaneously.
When it walked, long claws scraped against the floor, making sharp, echoing sounds.
Behind it came another Phantasm Beast. It was tall and draped in white bone armor plates that covered it from head to toe.
Except for its chest and face, which opened up to display shadow with two burning eyes. Inside that shadow, orange flowers bloomed before wilting and dying, then another set would appear in an endless cycle.
And finally, the last one appeared, its body shining with soft light. Its skin was faint gold, and faint blue marks ran along its arms like veins beneath the surface.
Gentle wings of light flickered behind its shoulders, constantly shifting between solid and translucent, giving off particles of orange light that drifted downward like luminescent snow.
Reinhard watched as the three Phantasm Beasts moved around the area, their movements suggesting they were looking for something. They paused before the stairs leading further down and turned to face each other.
Their heads tilted in unison, some silent communication passing between them.
Then they trembled before they froze, and then they turned around as one. All three Phantasm Beasts seemed to be focusing their attention on something.
It was then that Reinhard began hearing footsteps echoing through the underground facility.
His eyes widened as he wondered if this was the workers and guard having regrouped.
But then why does it sound like one... Unless it’s Phineas?
But Reinhard’s thoughts were wrong as he saw it was a woman who entered.
She was wearing a mask that covered her entire face and hair with a smooth and featureless material that revealed nothing. She wore black pants with gold patterns of swords and spears embroidered along the legs. A black shirt with two necklaces around her neck that clinked softly with each step.
On her hands were black gloves, and boots that made no sound despite the hard floor.
She walked toward the three Phantasm Beasts without hesitation or fear.
Then she spoke, her tone familiar despite the mask muffling it. "Well, now. You three have been a bit difficult to locate, but it’s fine. Since you’re all here, why don’t you all follow me back?"
That voice... Is that the Director!? It sounded so familiar, and it’s similar to when Mimir was speaking.
The three Phantasm Beasts stared at her, then their bodies began to shine with magic, building visibly around their forms.
The Director tilted her head, observing the display. Then she glanced to her left and spoke. "What do you think?"
Reinhard froze as he saw the Director was looking to her left and toward their hiding spot. Has she discovered them? Was she speaking to them?
Reinhard felt the others also tensed up behind him, with Scath shaking, which he knew was in excitement. He didn’t do anything yet, only waiting to see what the Director would do and planning to use Drasil Step when she does.
But then the Director continued. "We have to capture them alive?"
Reinhard’s brows furrowed as confusion appeared on his face. She wasn’t talking to them, but she was speaking to someone or something they couldn’t see.
The Director sighed and nodded. "Fine. We’ll do it your way."
The three Phantasm Beasts smashed their feet on the ground, leading cracks to appear on the floor, spreading outward from where they stood.
The Director rolled her shoulders once, loosening muscles. "Let’s get this over with. I need to enjoy my good night’s sleep."
Then she moved.