I was still looking at Mendicore, who seemed relieved and happy after being imprisoned in this hell for an indeterminable amount of time. Hellraider then noticed something to the west and walked toward it. I saw near the wall there was a display with a sphere on top of it.
When Hellraider took it, suddenly the sphere lit up bluish with a triangular mesh-like surface and floated in Hellraider's hand. I was once again shocked to realize what object Hellraider was holding, which once again came from the game The Mayhem.
It was the Bous Ball. A ball capable of performing teleportation anywhere quickly from one point to another within the same dimensional space.
"Ahhh... it seems they left this item as well. This is Bous, a sphere that can pierce between two points in a dimensional space quickly, also created by High Heaven." Said Mendicore while floating closer to Hellraider.
Hellraider then approached me again and suddenly held out the Bous Ball toward me.
"Hold this again..." he said flatly again.
I could no longer say anything. Why did Hellraider keep giving me tools that were extremely helpful for his journeys and battles? Did he actually know that he would encounter tools like these and feel that I was more suitable to use them? This truly felt quite random. Indeed when I played the game I rarely used the Bous Ball. Hellraider also never responded to what Mendicore said and sometimes ignored the recommended instructions it gave.
Suddenly one of the radios owned by one of the soldiers made a sound. After it was picked up it turned out Gruzhnil was asking about the condition of our group. Gruzhnil was also surprised why suddenly several lights and machines had turned on. The soldier informed him that we had reached the main command room and found an important device left behind by High Heaven. Gruzhnil sounded pleased and asked for our coordinates and said his group would follow immediately.
Hellraider then left the command room. I was somewhat confused about what he was going to do. It seemed I would follow him. I asked permission from one of the soldiers communicating with Gruzhnil that I would follow Hellraider. He allowed me and the other soldiers remained there until Commander Gruzhnil arrived.
"Where are you going, Sir Hellraider? Are you going directly to pick up Commander Gruzhnil?" I asked curiously.
"No..." he answered briefly.
"Perhaps he will explore the remaining parts of this building... I believe they may have left several other important things here. Allow me to accompany you." Said Mendicore who suddenly floated beside me.
Hmmm... what Mendicore said seemed reasonable. I felt the monsters inside this building had already been eliminated. It was possible that Gruzhnil's group experienced something similar and could handle it. Even if they encountered a Judgementor, there was Gruzhnil with his famous title "Warhammer of Judgement" ready to defeat that elite monster.
We exited and walked through a similar corridor. Hellraider remained silent and did not respond again. When we reached the large room, Mendicore suddenly fell silent.
"I... didn't expect this place to truly be infested by those demon monsters... most likely the other things here have also been destroyed... am I the only one left here???" Said Mendicore in disbelief at what it had witnessed.
"I think we will know after exploring this entire place. Perhaps soldiers from other groups exploring other directions will discover something you might recognize." I said trying to calm Mendicore.
"You are right, Johann... let's continue our exploration." Said Mendicore.
"As far as I remember this was the room containing quarters for High Heaven soldiers. Perhaps they either fled or some died after monsters infiltrated through the portal. Wait a moment... could it be that you entered this realm through that portal?" Mendicore asked me while we continued walking.
"Yes that is correct. We all entered through a large portal that was created unintentionally in the dimensional world of our origin. Honestly I don't know how that portal could have formed." I said.
"Perhaps I can examine the form of that portal later after we explore all of this." Mendicore replied.
Actually I wanted to ask about the two entrances on the ground floor which according to the other soldiers led to the basement. But perhaps I would ask again after the entire upper part of the building had been explored.
When we arrived at a corridor intersection, suddenly we met Gruzhnil and several soldiers accompanying him. Gruzhnil looked surprised, not because Hellraider and I had left the main command room, but because he saw Mendicore accompanying us.
"I-Is this the important device that was mentioned...???" Said Gruzhnil.
I then explained about the discovery of Mendicore. Gruzhnil continued observing Mendicore with great curiosity.
"Allow me to introduce myself, sir, my name is Mendicore. It seems you are the leader of the forces who discovered me. If you permit it, allow me to accompany you when we leave this place later." Said Mendicore to Gruzhnil.
"V-Very well... But beforehand, Miss Mendicore must undergo several examinations before you can return with us to our world." Said Gruzhnil.
"It's not a problem if I must be interrogated first. I have no ill intentions toward any of you." Said Mendicore.
"The eastern part of the building has collapsed as if split into two. My group had difficulty exploring the separated building. From outside it looked like rooms arranged on each floor from end to end." Said Gruzhnil.
"Ahhh... I just remembered. That was the isolation chamber where High Heaven soldiers suspected of being contaminated by demonic aura were confined. Perhaps I can take a closer look there." Said Mendicore enthusiastically.
We left Gruzhnil and walked toward the place he mentioned. Along the way we also found many corpses of those monsters and it seemed they had not faced elite monsters like our group. After climbing several floors we met other soldiers still guarding the place and indeed the eastern section of the building had collapsed as if split apart.
"I will cross first and scan the entire separated structure." Said Mendicore who immediately floated there.
Mendicore emitted a bright yellow vertical beam covering the entire floor and began scanning left and right. Suddenly at one point along the line Mendicore stopped, approached one of the chambers, and turned toward us.
"It seems there is something silent behind this chamber. I will attempt to open it." Said Mendicore.
I knew Mendicore's beam functioned like its arms. But my curiosity suddenly arose to approach that chamber immediately. I was still holding the Bous Ball. I would try crossing the separated structure with that ball.
I walked to the edge of the broken floor. A soldier asked what I intended to do. I showed the active Bous Ball and said I would try crossing quickly with it. The soldier stared in disbelief. I saw Hellraider watching me with a glaring gaze while crossing his arms.
I took a stance preparing to throw the ball. I focused my throwing point on the floor in front of the chamber. Mendicore was still trying to open the chamber door. Once I felt ready, I threw the Bous Ball toward the opposite floor.
The moment the ball reached the point I aimed for, my entire body suddenly felt pulled, my vision scattered by the dazzling blue light. In a fraction of a second my body lost balance, my vision spun, and I fell sitting down. After my vision stabilized, the Bous Ball was still floating before me. Mendicore then approached me.
"You used that ball immediately, Johann? You should have waited until I saw what was inside and asked how to use it. But I see you managed to use it in one attempt. Those side effects can be minimized with further practice." Said Mendicore with rather scolding tone.
"Sorry, I was just very curious about what was inside..." I said shyly while scratching my head.
"It is alright Johann. I have already finished unlocking that chamber. Let us see together." Said Mendicore.
I immediately slid open the chamber door. What Mendicore said was correct that someone was inside.
I saw an angel lying against the back wall. Her body was small, probably shorter than me. Her wings were white but looked very dull. Her face resembled a young teenage girl with bright yellow blunt bob hair and full bangs. She wore a long white dress with typical High Heaven patterns.
Wait... why did I feel like I had seen a character like this before in my world? This was also a character from The Mayhem but I had never seen her in the game. Where had I seen her???
Ohhh... yes, I suddenly remembered something! I had seen her in the Artbook of The Mayhem magazine I bought when the game was at its peak. The angel I saw was illustrated in one of the High Heaven character designs but never appeared in the game sequels.
In an interview video I watched, one developer said the reason the angel girl was not included in the game was because her design did not match the atmosphere of the game.
I thought that was understandable because a small angel with a cute girl's face did not match the dark and brutal tone of The Mayhem. The angel characters in the game had designs mixing alien and human features with wings.
But... why did a character from The Mayhem that I had never expected suddenly appear before me??? What did all this mean? Once again I truly could not understand it and hoped I could discover the answer someday.
I immediately checked her pulse at her neck and her breathing from her slightly flat nose. I thought her pulse was faint and her breathing weak and infrequent. She was still alive! I gently patted her cheeks and shook both her shoulders.
"Heeey... wake up... can you hear me...???" I said.
Suddenly the angel girl moved her head and slowly opened her eyes. She looked at me and Mendicore. Her face immediately showed fear.
"AAAAHHHH... pleaseeee...!!! Do not punish me agaiiin...!!! I promise I won't repeat it agaiiiin...!!!!!" Said the angel girl while raising both her palms toward me and turning her face away.
"Heey... hey... calm down... we only found you here... we have no intention of hurting you..." I said trying to calm her.
"Ehh... you are human... where did the others go??? Am I the only one here...???" Said the angel.
"You... are you Miss Sherubiel...??? So they imprisoned you here as well...???" Said Mendicore in shock.
"M-Mendicore...??? Lady Mendicore was abandoned by Lord Geriel as well...??? How could that happen, my Lady???" Said the angel girl whose name was apparently Sherubiel.
I could hardly believe this. Sherubiel who looked innocent had been imprisoned and abandoned in this ruined building. What mistake had she made to deserve such punishment? Was it related to Mendicore? Was all of this directly connected to Geriel?
I then remembered who Geriel was. He was the final boss Hellraider had to fight in the fifth series of the second trilogy. He was the archangel leader of High Heaven. I realized the developers had portrayed High Heaven as having a corrupt system, exploiting The Graendall to search for new energy sources in hell with promises of The Paradise after death in battle. But I did not expect the corruption to already appear now.
"It is better we leave this place first, Sherubiel. Once we are outside and safe, we will discuss everything." Said Mendicore.
Sherubiel nodded weakly. But her body was so weak she could not stand. I then offered to carry her out.
"Oooohhh... thank you... I will not forget your kindness... what is your name, kind human?" Said Sherubiel weakly.
"My name is Johann. Nice to meet you Miss Sherubiel..." I said smiling while lifting her.
"I will always remember that name, Johann. Just call me by my name." Said Sherubiel with a faint smile while I carried her.
"I will create a crossing portal to the other side. The Bous Ball cannot move two or more people simultaneously even if they hold hands." Said Mendicore warning me.
We exited the chamber toward the portal Mendicore created. After exiting on the other side, the soldiers waiting looked shocked and confused seeing me carrying Sherubiel.
"Who are you carrying, Johann? Is it alright to bring her here?" Asked one soldier.
Mendicore then explained Sherubiel was a war prisoner who required further treatment. It also asked whether they had a medical team. The shocked soldier answered yes awkwardly. Initially I planned to carry Sherubiel to the medical tent but the soldier offered to carry her. After thinking briefly, I allowed him. Sherubiel was carried in his arms. Fortunately her body was small so she was not heavy.
Mendicore accompanied him along with Hellraider who followed the soldier. I was quite surprised by Hellraider's unpredictable behavior. Was he also curious about Sherubiel? Or was he already bored exploring the fortress?
Another soldier approached me with news.
"We were just contacted by Commander Gruzhnil who has explored the lower part of this building with the other troops and they discovered something unexpected as well. We also informed him that you found someone imprisoned in a room. The commander sounded surprised and ordered the person to be evacuated to the tent. He also asked you to come to the lower chamber immediately." Said the soldier.
I invited them to go to the chamber because there was nothing left to explore here. The basement could be accessed through the two corridors previously explored by my group. When we arrived I saw Gruzhnil standing with several soldiers.
"Ah, finally you arrived, Johann. Don't worry, that soldier will bring her to a safe place. I was also somewhat surprised when Sir Hellraider followed him instead of coming here with you. But I have found something that makes me unable to understand what High Heaven was actually doing. Look at this." Said Gruzhnil.
I looked around the room which was a storage area. Cabinets filled the room. But what prevented me from looking away was the contents of those cabinets.
There were stones colored deep black, resembling obsidian, with glowing blood-red light inside them.
"They are Dreadstones. Stones only found in the Realm of Terror. I... I am very confused why High Heaven collected these stones. For what purpose???" Said Gruzhnil with great curiosity.
I also did not understand all the strange things I had encountered so far. Was this an indirect sign given by something that might influence the end of my journey later?