Chapter 10: Pressure
The faintly familiar sights of central Paradis unfolded before Arbus as he stepped off the Vanguard ship.
Beside the vessel were countless other ships on each side of it—stretching endlessly into the distance.
This was the enormous docking area located right beside the Hold.
He looked up slightly, feeling the heat of the suns on his skin again as it illuminated the large moon possessing the properties of a planet.
His gaze shifted as he glanced beyond the transparent walls of the hanger—at the bustling settlement composed of various species from this star system and beyond.
Arbus could see the tightly crowded pathways between the high-rise buildings and market stalls that lined the city. Countless vendors moved about, frantically advertising their various wares and services to the fast-walking pedestrians.
Tourists gawked upward in awe at the slightly terrifying yet oddly soothing dark structure of the Hold, taking pictures with their devices.
Hotels and restaurants openly competed against each other for business, their advertisements promising the most exhilarating experience in all of Paradis.
Most of these people walked through the streets of the small city with cheerful expressions etched on their faces and their laughter filling the air.
The city was called Hold City. Named after the fortress it was built around.
Naturally, its existence had been permitted by the Sentinel, who had no problem with cities being formed around the Hold.
Unlike most Sentinels, he preferred to be closer to the people living on his moon.
The sight of Hold City once again brought back a flood of memories for Arbus.
Memories of when he'd been taken here under far worse circumstances, and in a far worse state.
He blinked slowly as he remembered the moment he had woken up in a holding cell on his own grandfather's ship, along with the panic, fear and confusion he had felt.
He let out a shaky breath.
That terrible day was still quite fresh in his mind. It was the day he'd finally understood the tragic truth of Reincarnators. The day he had acquired his immortality.
And the day that he had lost his best and only friend.
He pulled himself from his self-loathing thoughts as he turned to his two escorts, who were staring toward the settlement.
Bridge had a gleam in his eyes that reflected the shine of the city.
"Can't believe we're actually here." He mumbled excitedly as he turned toward the Hold, enamored.
"So... this is the Hold. It's... astonishing!"
"Control yourself, Bridge. This isn't a vacation," came the voice of the Vanguard.
Despite her cold words and tone, Arbus noticed a hint of amazement in her eyes, as well.
"Y-yeah you are right. There'll definitely be time for that later," Bridge said, scratching the top of his nose.
"Let's go." Time said as she moved forward, expecting them to follow along.
Moments later they strode away from the docking space, walking along the pathway leading directly to the Hold.
It took them several minutes to reach the imposing doors of the fortress, further demonstrating the sheer size of the large docking area.
In front of the doors were two imposing guards who radiated Commander-level power—their expressions as hard as stone.
They were both blue Mornans, with towering statures uncommon for a blue mornan.
Arbus paused for a bit as Yome came to a halt in front of him.
She was as expressionless as ever, but he could tell she was slightly nervous at the very least. Although he couldn't possibly guess why.
He watched Yome take several audible breaths before moving towards the doors of the Hold with a determined expression.
"Name, rank, and purpose for your visit," came one of the two towering Blue Mornan guards as they finally reached the entrance.
"Vanguard Yome Kyun. And this is my Knight, Bridge," she Yome said with a gesture.
"We're here on an escort mission for a sentry known as Arbus."
The guard glanced at Arbus for a long moment, then nodded as he began running the information through the device attached to his wrist.
The second guard's brows furrowed as he studied the trio more carefully.
"A Vanguard? I thought you were at least a Captain since you felt too weak to be a Commander."
"Why in the world is a mere Vanguard escorting a half-human prisoner?" he asked suspiciously as he eyed Arbus disdain before turning to Yome.
Yome met his stare directly, not willing to be intimidated by the essence slowly leaking out of the guard. "That is because he is not a prisoner. He is a Renegade Sentry."
The eyes of both guards widened in recognition. "Oh, that guy!?" the first one bellowed in slight astonishment.
Almost every Commander in the Star System had heard of the half-human Renegade that had caused a commotion among the Council members for years now.
The Sentinel had even nearly lost his position at one point, due to a vote of no confidence in his decisions.
Their gazes returned to Arbus's blank expression as they reassessed him wearily. "Why did you bring him here?" the second guard asked as he turned to Yome.
Yome considered her words for several moments."To meet the Sentinel."
The guard's brows furrowed. "What for?"
Yome hesitated for a few seconds, then said evenly. "I'm afraid we're not allowed to discuss that with anyone besides the Sentinel, Commander."
Arbus understood that Yome was most likely saying that because she wasn't sure how sensitive the information about Terytl-B was at the moment.
It would be bad if she accidentally gave away information she wasn't supposed to and caused problems for the Sentinel.
The guard's demeanor changed as he frowned, studying Yome intently for a few moments.
Then, without warning, an overwhelming pressure crashed into Yome like a tidal wave, causing her eyes to go wide in shock.
The invisible weight pressed down on her from all directions – crushing, suffocating, and making her feel as though she were drowning.
Her knees buckled as she staggered backward, her jaw clenching tightly.
Bridge turned to face her, confusion etched across his features as he noticed Yome's tense movements.
He turned to face the guards with a wary expression.
Arbus's face remained mostly impassive as he watched the spectacle. But, he could feel a pang of emotion he couldn't quite understand rising up in his heart at the sight.
'maybe it's because of their resemblance?' he thought.
"I asked you a question, Vanguard!" The second guard shouted. "You would do well to answer me now,"
The first guard turned to his colleague with an exasperated look as he felt his killing intent slam into the young Vanguard.
"That's too much, Urn! I confirmed it already! She really did receive that order!"
"She's probably just not allowed to tell us why" he argued as he grabbed Urn by the shoulder.
"Shut up, Ace!" Urn shouted back as he pushed Ace's hand away.
"You can never rely on common sense alone when it comes to humans." He said, glancing at Arbus again. "Low level Renegades like these handling one only means bad news."
Bridge's brows creased together as his hand flew to his side, reaching for his portable gun. The second guard glanced at him momentarily with a sneer, as if taunting him to try something pointless.
"Do..n't, Bridge!" Yome said through bated breaths as her body shook visibly under the relentless assault. Her legs had already begun threatening to give out completely.
The killing intent washing over her was beyond anything she'd ever experienced before.
"Do you want to die, Vanguard? Tell me, now!" Urn demanded again, his killing intent surging to even greater heights.
Bridge clenched his teeth as he listened to Yome, his hand slowly moving away from his weapon. "Stop it, please! We didn't do anything wrong! We're Renegades like you!"
Urn didn't even spare him another glance as he stared down at Yome with a stern expression.
Yome suddenly stopped trembling visibly as her gaze met his.
Urn looked taken aback for a moment before noticing that her tongue was currently in between her teeth as she bit down hard on it to push away the fear his essence was causing in her.
"…Like I said before. We are not allowed to discuss that with anyone besides the Sentinel." she repeated defiantly.
Urn's eyes narrowed considerably for several moments.
Then, he smiled widely.
Yome gasped audibly as she felt the intense pressure she'd been under disappear as suddenly as it had appeared.
Commander Urn laughed loudly as his hand held onto his stomach.
"Hahaha!"
He slowly calmed down as Commander Ace watched him with an annoyed expression.
"Sorry, sorry. I might have gone a bit overboard."
"Tsk. You think?" Ace said with a click of his tongue.
"What?" Bridge muttered in confusion as he glanced between the two guards.
Commander Ace sighed heavily as he moved to explain. "We already know who you are. We were naturally briefed beforehand that you would be coming."
"Yeah. And we also know exactly why you are here," Urn added in a softer tone.
He turned to Bridge. "My performance just now was a test for your Vanguard, you see. There was nothing to worry about."
He placed a hand on his chin as he smiled. "But... You are not so bad yourself."
Yome took several moments to catch her breath as she glared at Commander Urn. "…A test? A test for what?"
Urn shrugged. "To see if you'd break under pressure, naturally. We sometimes do this for some interesting individuals when they are summoned to the Hold. Don't take it to Heart. I'm actually pretty impressed by how much you could endure, considering you're just stage a 1." He paused for a moment, then added. "Especially since you're just a Red Mornan,"
Yome's expression seemed to darken slightly at the 'just'. Bridge's eyes narrowed at it too.
Ace let out a faint breath at his colleague's bluntness."Anyway, you can head in now. The Sentinel is waiting for you."
He moved to push open the massive doors of the Hold open—doors only a Commander or above possessed the strength to move more than an inch.
Yome finally straightened, glancing between the two guards wordlessly.
Then, her fists clenched by her sides as she walked past them and into the Hold.
Bridge followed closely behind as he ushered Arbus to come along.
Arbus moved forward, intending to head in after him, but suddenly found himself held in place as he felt two intense killing intent slam into him for a brief moment.
He glanced at the two guards, his eyes narrowing.
Both of them glanced at him as well with cold expressions.
The smiles they'd shown after Yome's test seemed to have vanished completely.
"Get out of our sights already, half-breed." Urn grumbled with a snort.
Arbus simply moved forward again, not saying anything at all.