At the highest point of the skyscraper, in the heart of the city, Leader stood in a large room of a luxury apartment, after the floor had been thoroughly checked.
With his face uncovered, he rested both arms on an improvised table, made from a concrete slab placed over four smaller blocks that served as legs.
Of masculine appearance, he had short black hair and a youthful face, appearing around 27 years old, but with a serious gaze, he leaned over a large map spread out before him.
Covering the table almost entirely, several small maps had been pieced together to form a single one, representing the entire city.
While still analyzing it, four people entered the room, causing him to lift his head.
At the front, a beautiful woman with skin white as snow and emerald-green eyes, but with long black hair as dark as night tied in a ponytail, led the group.
"They're done."
In a monotonous tone of voice, she made way for those following close behind her, stopping by the entrance, leaning against the wall, and crossing her arms.
Advancing, the three, now with their faces uncovered, stopped in a line in front of the table with the map, standing with straight backs and hands behind their bodies in a military posture.
Of different statures and appearances, they were a diverse group.
At one end, a man with long brown hair reaching his shoulders had a medium build and a distracted gaze. At the other end, another man, with light blond hair, had a lean body and short stature, with pale skin, as if he were ill.
But, looking at the man in the center, Leader asked:
"So, what did you find, Bernd?"
Stepping forward, the largest of them took a step.
With a robust build, he had light brown hair in a short, almost military cut, but with a face that, though serious, carried a gentle expression.
"The floors were practically clean, with no visible signs of combat or any clue that stood out. The only anomaly was a beast that Einhart found wandering on one of the floors."
Leader, slightly surprised, looked at him, noticing the cuts and bloodstains on the cloak he wore.
"…Dangerous?"
Einhart, who had a distracted gaze, upon being questioned, shifted his posture and responded:
"It wasn't. This cut was due to my lack of attention, sir. It attacked me as I was leaving one of the apartments, but it only tore the cloak, it didn't injure me."
"I see…"
Leader, removing his arms from the table, crossed them as he stepped back, thoughtful.
The place is secure… at least, it seems so…
Since they arrived, they hadn't found anything dangerous, but precisely because of that, things became even stranger.
"You may leave, but stay on guard in three groups: Einhart at the top of the building, Bernd on the staircase, and Felix at the elevator shafts. Take some soldiers to assist you."
"Yes, sir."
Turning their backs, the three left, leaving only two of them in the room.
Leader, turning his gaze to Fran, who was still leaning by the door, asked:
"So, what do you think?"
"Everything is very strange. Just like this floor, the building was left practically untouched, with personal items and equipment abandoned, but the things they would normally carry on them are missing. Whatever attacked them was very well planned."
As she spoke, she cast a more serious look at Leader, making him sigh.
"Even if you try to blame the humans, there's no sign of a fight inside the building, something that would be noticeable. Besides, being the first group to enter their territory in a long time, they were elite scouts. Even if attacked, at least one would have escaped."
"But we don't know what happened with the humans during this time, what they might have created anew."
Pausing, Leader turned back to the map on the table, remaining silent for a few seconds.
"Do you really believe we're dealing with the same humans from before the war?"
With a melancholic gaze, looking at that paper, he recalled the past of that city.
Berlin, one of the greatest cities in Europe, in complete ruins…
Being old, the map depicted an intact city, vibrant and full of life, but that place no longer existed, only a ghost of its former glory.
"We're nearing the end of the four hundred years of the ceasefire, and this place is abandoned, left just as it was during the war."
Looking away, Fran sighed lightly, unsettled.
"I know they're not the same, but it's hard to think of something that could wipe out a group like that, killing them without even giving them a chance to fight back."
The humanity was far from its peak, but rather in a decadent state.
Taking his eyes off the map, Leader responded:
"You're already assuming something, that there was fighting or that they were killed…"
"What do you mean by that?"
"That perhaps we need to consider other possibilities, like desertion…"
Hearing this, Fran's cold expression broke, with a certain surprise taking over her face.
"What?"
"We don't have many options left, at least not with what we have so far…"
"Roger, are you sure about this? You know well what will happen to the families of that group with the mere possibility of desertion. Besides, why desert when we're not even in conflict?"
Feeling a bitter taste in her mouth, she grimaced.
"I'm not making a final decision. I intend to request an investigation from the senate first, a discreet one to avoid scandals, to check if there's anything that justifies such an action, but that will take time. In the meantime, we'll investigate the city. Maybe we'll find some clue."
After a moment of silence, returning to her previous monotonous expression but with a slight unease in her gaze, Fran turned to the map.
"I understand. So, where do we start?"
Roger, placing his hand on the map, slid his finger across the paper until reaching one of the marked points.
"With the closest ones. Call Bernd, Einhart… and Felix."
***
In the city center, ten figures moved through wide streets overtaken by nature, where large trees grew inside cars, having already broken through the asphalt and sidewalks.
Surrounding these streets, tall buildings, though rarely exceeding thirty stories, formed long corridors.
Using the wreckage of cars and concrete blocks fallen from surrounding structures to leap several meters, the group moved forward at high speed.
At a certain point, leaving the streets, they jumped toward the walls of a building, climbing it toward its top.
Upon arriving, Bernd, approaching one of the building's edges, began to study the structure ahead.
"This seems to be the place."
A large complex, with around fifty buildings within it, was separated from the surrounding city by a five-lane road encircling it and by high walls with turrets and watchtowers at various points.
Additionally, there was barbed wire atop the walls, and guarding the entrance were two bunkers with some Czech hedgehogs blocking the large metal gates.
But enveloping all of this, though with less intensity than the surroundings, vines and trees grew throughout the place.
Puzzled by all this security, Einhart, right behind Bernd, asked:
"Wasn't this place supposed to be a research base? Why so many defensive structures for a facility like this?"
Looking at Bernd for an answer, but right beside him, in a low voice, Felix responded:
"It was, but during the ceasefire agreements, the city was set as the boundary of the demilitarized zone, with this base serving as a control post."
Glancing at him out of the corner of his eye, Einhart turned back to the complex, indifferent.
"Hmm…"
Finishing his analysis of the structure, Bernd stepped back from the building's edge.
The place is abandoned…
Turning to the group behind him.
"Well, I don't think I need to repeat myself, but we lost a group in the city, and we still don't know why, so stay alert. Also, any clue you find, no matter how small, will be of great help."
Turning his back.
"Let's go."
He jumped from the structure, with the others following.
In free fall, after leaping from a thirty-story building, they hit the ground, bending their knees to absorb the impact, then darted toward the control post.
Crossing the empty street, they headed for one of the gates, which was half-open, while carefully observing the turrets atop the walls.
Upon reaching the entrance, without wasting time, they entered the complex, finding, right in front of the gate, a small plaza with a roundabout surrounding it.
In it, a large bronze statue, with some pale green tones and covered at its base with moss, depicted a man wearing glasses and a medical coat, but with an aged face, full of wrinkles.
Though well-preserved, one of its arms, which extended forward toward the entrance, had broken off, falling onto one of the benches surrounding the pedestal where it stood.
Slowing down, Bernd stopped near it, looking at the three cobblestone streets branching into the complex.
Even with three directions, splitting up too much could be dangerous… With three paths, the ideal would be to divide into three groups, but he knew that would be risky.
"We'll split into two groups to check the place, but only outside the buildings for now."
The next moment, as soon as Bernd finished speaking, Felix took off, taking five members with him.
Watching them leave, Einhart grumbled:
"Those bastards don't even wait for the division to be made?"
But he was quickly reprimanded by Bernd.
"Be more careful with your words and your attitude. We don't want to cause trouble with another house."
Shrugging his shoulders, Einhart continued.
"Does it make a difference? We're among members of our house, so we can talk about them freely."
Though he said this, the other cloaked figures accompanying them were visibly uncomfortable, exchanging glances.
"Besides, they're the ones who left without waiting for a division. Where's the hierarchy in that?"
With a tired sigh, Bernd looked toward where they had gone.
Within the hierarchy, leaving before a superior's permission was a sign of disrespect. Moreover, the group division hadn't been decided, with Felix leaving without permission with half the group.
"I understand your complaint about that, but control your tongue, because it's that attitude that's kept you in the same rank for so long…"
Ignoring the warnings he received, Einhart continued nonchalantly.
"Come on, brother, you don't think that differently from me about him or that house, the Banksons, do you?"
Upon hearing that name, Bernd felt a bitter taste but chose to ignore it.
"My opinion doesn't matter now. We're on a mission, but I'll report his behavior to the sir. Let's go."
Turning his back, he started to move but was stopped before he could continue.
"Wait."
Turning around, he asked in an already tired tone.
"What is it?"
Einhart, looking at a street passing right in front of them, asked:
"Were the streets of this place supposed to be like this?"
Turning to where he was pointing, Bernd furrowed his brows, surprised.
"This…"
With low vegetation growing between the gaps in the stones, two parallel rows caught their attention. In them, part of the vegetation was flattened, while on the stones, having worn down the material, the marks of a wide track were visible.
Moreover, due to the depth and poor growth of the plants in those lines, it seemed something had passed through there multiple times.
Looking around, surprised, Einhart commented:
"It's not just this street. It seems the others have them too…"
Though partially hidden by the vegetation, those two rows were also present in the three paths they could follow.
Taking the lead, Bernd drew his sword.
"Draw your swords."
With everyone prepared, they moved again, following the freshest-looking track toward the heart of the complex.
Cautiously, they advanced through the streets of the place, passing by small bus stops and bike racks, filled with rusted metal and worn-out tires.
In a few minutes, following the tracks, they reached a large plaza at the center of the complex. Without entering the open area, the group quickly hid behind car wrecks and pieces of fallen buildings.
Looking carefully from behind one of the ruins, Bernd studied the place.
With a large fountain at the center, still retaining some white tones beneath the dirt and vegetation, it was surrounded by low grass beds, with weeds and small trees growing.
Additionally, some wooded areas, though somewhat chaotic, formed small groves, with broken concrete tables and benches amid the vegetation.
Though abandoned, it seemed to have served as a leisure area for the base's former employees, but now, without any care or maintenance, it was a chaotic place, with overgrown trees and collapsed structures.
"This is…"
But, drawing attention, at the center of that park, a large machine sent a chill down Bernd's spine.
With two parallel triangular tracks, they served as a platform for a robust body with two arms carrying machine guns, while, atop one of the shoulders, a large cannon was raised, with an ammunition belt running to a sort of backpack on the machine's back.
Next to the cannon, a large head, square with some angles, was laden with lenses and visors, with a small antenna attached to the side.
"… a sentinel."
Over five meters tall, the imposing machine stood still in the middle of that park, facing away from the group.
Still in disbelief, Bernd murmured:
"These things are still functioning…"
Even after four hundred years…
Though it was stationary, the tracks they found indicated it was active, to the point of having deeply marked its path.
Also impressed by its presence, while feeling a contained terror, Einhart kept his gaze on it while speaking softly.
"Yes… but luckily, it seems it hasn't noticed us yet."
With the corner of his eye, Bernd observed the group behind him.
Should I call Felix? … No, if it starts moving, it'll be hard to take down. I think the five of us will be enough.
It wasn't the first time they faced one; everyone there had encountered others before, but precisely because of that, they understood how dangerous it was.
Turning back to the sentinel, he began to explain the plan.
"I'll try to advance alone to catch it off guard, but I need you to position yourselves on the flanks, because if it notices me, you'll have to move in to draw its attention."
I don't know if it still has a lot of ammo, but if it focuses all its firepower on me… it'll be hard to dodge…
Fully armed, it was a machine designed for high-intensity combat, with two heavy machine guns in its hands and a continuous-fire cannon on its back.
"Einhart, go with one of you, while the other two take the other side."
If it opened fire, it would be an impenetrable wall of bullets preventing him from approaching.
"Understood."
Nodding, the group split into three parts, with Bernd staying alone while the other two pairs moved out.
With quick and careful movements, the two groups headed to the flanks, always staying under cover, which was amply provided by the environment.
Shortly after, with everyone well-positioned, Bernd began to move.
Leaving the cover of the wreckage, he ran at high speed to the next cover in the plaza, a small grove.
Upon arriving, he closely observed the sentinel from behind a trunk, alert to any movement, knowing full well that if it noticed him, he'd have to flee quickly. For as soon as it aimed its cannons at him, it would vaporize any cover he tried to use.
After a few seconds, moving from there, he headed to the next point, hiding crouched behind some concrete benches and tables.
Thanks to his speed, he had already covered most of the distance, but from there on, there was no more cover, reaching a completely open area.
Looking at the sentinel, which remained still in the same place, he closely examined its head, seeing it was covered in moss and lichen.
It looks like it's covered…
What he was looking for was a small eye, positioned at the back of the sentinel's head, designed to give it 360-degree vision.
Taking a deep breath, Bernd gripped his sword tightly, before standing and charging into the attack.