Chapter 11: The Hold
The large doors of the Hold closed behind Arbus with a resonant thud as he walked forward to meet Yome and Bridge.
They hadn't gotten that far yet—standing only a few feet away from the door as they waited for him to catch up. Arbus noticed Yome giving him an intense stare before she turned away.
Bridge's attention had been completely consumed by bewilderment as he looked around.
"Wow..." He muttered slowly as his eyes glanced around the room excitedly.
The ground floor of the Hold was a large room with glistening ceiling soaring hundreds of meters above them—vast enough for even a normal Gold Mornan to move freely without constraint. This was merely the first among the hundreds that comprised the colossal structure.
The room's walls were breathtaking, the lights in the space reflecting off their pristine dark surface making them appear otherworldly. Arbus's eyes narrowed as he slightly sensed the heart essence emanating from them in a steady rhythm.
He didn't have a Heart Shard and didn't have soul essence in the conventional sense like his father—so it was hard for him to pick up on more than a glimpse of the invisible energy.
He was sure Yome and the Heart-shard users in the hall could see it far better than him.
He glanced around as well, taking in the sights and smells around him. His eyes swept over the Administrative Renegades moving past him and heading up and down the transparent shafts that lined the walls. They were a large category in the Renegade organisation that encompassed various jobs and positions, usually unrelated to combat.
As a half-Tarokian, his senses were far more powerful than those of most species. He could see further than a monarch bird, smell better than a Howler, and hear better than Tabbits.
Which was why it was easy for him to notice the agitated states and expressions of the Administrative Renegades as they moved with hurried steps.
'It seems everyone here already knows what happened.' Arbus thought.
His eyelids drooped slightly as he followed Yome, who began moving again. Bridge followed along slowly as he openly gawked at the large reception counters filling the room. They were all crowded around by Renegades hailing from different species.
From the look of things, they were arguing over missions as they appeared on the digital quest board behind the attendants.
Just like the last time he'd been here, the scene reminded Arbus of the adventurer guilds in the novel stories his dad used to tell him.
There was even a section of the large room designed like a brightly lit bar and diner where the Renegades could lounge around while they waited.
According to his master Trip, the first floor of the Hold served as a Quest station, where Renegades could freely take on various missions around the star system, and sometimes beyond, as they came. This line of work was filled with mostly new stage 3 Renegades trying to earn enough merit to rank up from captain to Commander.
It doubled as a way for them to train and master their newfound strength while also earning rewards based on the missions assigned.
Arbus's ears perked up as he began overhearing whispered conversations from a group of stage 3 Renegades eating boisterously in a booth as they discussed among themselves.
Usually, it would be impossible to listen in on a conversation between two Heart Shard users at stage 2 or above. They were all capable of isolating sound around them with their powerful essence.
But while they were in the Hold, it was useless to attempt it, since their essence usage would almost immediately be negated by the Artificial Intelligence of the tower.
Going against the laws of the Hold for something like that was pointless, so most people simply resorted to whispering.
"It still feels unreal," the blue Mornan stage three muttered with a grim expression. "An entire planet... Wiped out just like that."
The only Remarta among them snarled as she took another large bite of the Taaer thigh on her plate, her tail swinging side to side above her. "Those humans, they're truly the definition of scum! Trash like them shouldn't have been allowed to exist in the first place."
The other blue Mornan's expression contorted slightly as he hurriedly chided his friend. "Hey, be careful will ya? Do you want to get cursed by that guy again? You're lucky it wasn't a serious reaction last time."
The Remarta's snarl deepened as she grimaced. "I don't even care anymore! I'm so tired of tiptoeing around these monsters. Look at what they did to such a beautiful planet."
Her lips quivered slightly. "I had a friend who traveled there to become a merchant years ago. Now he's most likely dead. And we won't even be able to find out until all the bodies are properly identified months from now!" She snapped as she slammed down on her table.
The first blue Mornan sighed as he leaned back. "It's already happened, so there's nothing we can do besides mourn the dead, recover, and grow stronger." He shook his head somberly. "I'm just thankful that the head commanders were able to stop him before he went on another rampage. My family is on the Green moon, so I'm happy he never got the chance to reach it."
Arbus's expression didn't change when he heard that the council took credit for killing Ronin. It wasn't the first time they had done something like this in order to hide the truth. They had done the same when his father had saved a Tarokian village from another human at the cost of revealing his identity.
He didn't care if he got credited for the act or not. After all, he would never be praised for it.
Listening to the stories of people that lost loved ones on that planet made his heart ache even more.
Yome eventually led Arbus and Bridge toward a adjustable booth in the diner section of the hall as she took a seat.
"Someone will be here to receive us soon." she said as she rested her arm on the table and leaned against it. "We have to wait until she comes,"
Bridge quickly sat in the seat across from her while Arbus filled in next to him.
"Can we order something!?" Bridge asked in an excited tone as he moved to pick up the menu.
"No." She said, not even sparing him a glance.
"Right... We're still on a mission," he said with a deflated expression at Yome's blatant refusal.
Suddenly, all three of them tensed up as they felt the eyes of multiple Renegades turn in their direction.
"Do you think that's a human or half-human?" came one of the voices of the Renegades at the lounge.
"The people escorting him don't seem that strong, so probably half-human."
"We can't know for sure until we confirm it."
"If it's a human, then I want to be the one to beat him up first.Even if it's a half-human, it doesn't change anything!"
"Stop dreaming and get in line."
"Why isn't he in chains??"
"Who cares, he'll die if he tries anything."
The voices of the stage three Renegades around them kept rising steadily as they stood up, arguing amongst themselves on who would get to deal with Arbus. It was clear that all of them were looking for someone to relieve their anger on after the Terytl-B incident.
"Oi, Vanguard." The aTer in the booth left of theirs called over as he stood up. "Why don't you and your knight move along for a bit while we have a chat with your prisoner," he said with a darkened expression on his left face.
Yome's eyes widened as she shot to her feet in alarm. "Stop right there! This isn't a prisoner! This is a person being escorted here on the direct orders of the Sentinel."
"The Sentinel!?" shouted one of the veteran stage three warriors. A large white mornan with shoulder length hair. "And what exactly would he want from a person like this!?" he asked skeptically.
Arbus and Yome's brows inclined downward as they watched the Renegades around them slowly move closer. The receptionist and guards in the hall didn't seem to care about the commotion either.
Just then, a female Remarta with glistening sapphire skin, honey-colored eyes, and flawless raven-dark hair stepped out of a lift as the entire room turned to face her. Her spade-tipped tail swayed hypnotically behind her as she glanced around for a bit, noticed the trio of Arbus and his escorts and then walked toward the lounge area with a frown forming on her beautiful face.
"What's going on here?"