—

Cedric was discharged from the hospital two weeks later. He wasn’t surprised, given that Lady Crestwood had already informed him that this was as long as she could extend his ‘vacation.’.

During the two weeks he spent there, he learned that, aside from the commanders and above, the rest didn’t know about the events that transpired around him.

The looks he was getting as he walked outside were coming from those who attended the event themselves; none came from his fellow officers or cadets.

It wouldn’t be surprising if they’re keeping this matter a kept secret. It’s a valid move, considering that it’s widely known that Void Creatures aren’t intelligent and are slaves to their instincts. If everybody were to know that these creatures turned out to have some level of sentience, it would cause mass panic or hysteria, and that would be bad for the already low population of the Border Patrol Guardians. Moreover, this news might also leak outside, which would become even more problematic.

That’s why Cedric thought that keeping this a strictly kept secret for now was better. At least until something can be done to remedy the aftermath.

On the topic of expected outcomes, Cedric was also not surprised to receive several e-mails coming from the ‘Occult Decoding Team.’. Lady Crestwood already warned him that they had him in their sights and would most likely invite him to their fold, so really, this wasn’t surprising at all.

In fact, that’s where he’s heading right now.

The sector where the ‘Occult Decoding Team’ operates was located deeper into the camp, which means closer to the Scarlet Division Wall and the gates leading to the void.

But of course, the place was secured. It didn’t look any different from other buildings he had seen on the way. It’s as normal as it could go…from the outside, at least.

One has to have an invitation or be summoned to be granted entry to this place, though. It is expected, given that everybody who worked here was keeping it a secret.

There’s nobody guarding the entrance, but there was a security mechanism placed on it. And again, only those who are invited or summoned to this place will be granted entry.

Cedric was obviously invited so he had no problems with it. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that this place was quite literally waiting for his visit.

“Ah! You’re finally here! Great!”

He blinked and looked at the person who greeted him as soon as he passed by the door.

This person had a large head in the shape of a light bulb with a dull silver color. Their eyes were like those of a fish, bright and clear. They had a thin and almost flimsy body hidden behind their military uniform.

“Hi, um, sorry for staring. My name is Dawnbringer. I’m here because I was invited by the lead researcher.”

“My, a polite one too. People with an attitude like yours are rare nowadays.” The bulb-headed figure chuckled. “Don’t worry, I don’t mind it at all. I’m, or rather we as a race, are used to being stared at.”

“And yes, I know why you’re here. It’s my master who tasked me to welcome you here. My name is Willow; nice to meet you, Dawnbringer.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Cedric greeted politely in return.

“Follow me; I’ll take you to meet my master, who’s also the head researcher of this sector.”

Willow then turned around and started floating away, something that Cedric didn’t miss. He thinks that must be a racial quirk or something similar, so he didn’t put too much thought into it.

As they moved through the rooms and hallways, Willow dutifully introduced him to whatever they came across.

Truly, Lady Crestwood made the ‘Occult Decoding Team’ sound like some kind of a demon cult with her descriptions, when in truth, they’re far more civilized and methodical than that.

Well, madness is a common trait amongst scientists and researchers, so there are no surprises there. But here, it’s not to the point where someone was blowing up something all the damn time or doing any forbidden scientific rituals that could potentially doom the entirety of the camp itself.

Cedric saw a lot of research materials on their way to the office: tablets, monoliths, altars, carvings, and others that looked more questionable to his liking. Each one was accompanied with stacks of books, illustrations, graphs, and researchers muttering something under their breaths.

So, yes, this place can be considered a cult, but not the scary kind. It’s more like a modern kind of cult.

Willow then led Cedric to the elevator, and they rode it to the very peak of this building. When the doors parted, Cedric was greeted by a large and ominous-looking gate.

It was locked with a formation, supposedly to prevent something from escaping these gates. It glowed with so much power that it caused Cedric to feel dazed after inspecting it with his eyes.

On the leftmost corner of the gates were smaller doors, one that was more suited for them to use, and this is where Willow took Cedric.

Obviously, there are people guarding the entrance. And even with Willow leading the way and with the invitation and all, Cedric was still thoroughly searched from head to toe.

It didn’t end here because after he passed by the doors, he arrived at a cylindrical hall that purged him with all manner of cleansing rituals. It’s as if he was being sterilized from the inside out.

Then, once he’s out of there, they arrived at the lockers. Willow then asked him to put on his Void Suit and a lab coat on top of it. He told him that in under no circumstances was he allowed to remove any part of his void suit as he stayed inside the room next to this.

It wasn’t until they moved on to the next room that Cedric finally understood the reason behind all these precautionary procedures.

There, he saw a gigantic research field. Rows of machines were lined up, each one cracking lines of numbers that could easily overwhelm anybody. He saw all manner of apparatuses with unique functions working inside this room.

But what truly got his attention was the gigantic sphere of water attached to the top and bottom, located at the center of the room. This sphere was connected to several wide tubes running all over the room. Inside was filled with a dark-stained water that behaved rather strangely.

And as Cedric inspected it with his eyes, he damn near gasped out loud.

“I assume you’ve seen it, then?” Willow’s voice echoed through the comms in his visor.

Cedric nodded solemnly. Out of all things, he would’ve never expected to see a living and breathing Void Creature inside this room.

The Void Creature closely resembled a bipedal lizard with a long cylindrical head. Its body was covered with sharp and nasty-looking scales. Its claws were sharp and deadly, it had a long and razor-sharp tail, and it swam listlessly in the dark and murky waters.

“I know that this is shocking. Illegal, even. We are, after all, Border Patrol Guardians. It’s our duty to kill these things on sight, not bring them inside this place.”

“But I assure you, everything we do here was cleared and permitted by the big shots running this place. This exception was made due to the nature of our work as Occult Decoders,” Willow explained. “So don’t think that we’re dragging you into some shady business. Though, you must still keep whatever you see here a secret to prevent mass hysteria.”

Cedric didn’t speak, but he inwardly agreed to this request. This was a big deal after all, and it’s better for him to keep his mouth shut.

“Come, Master is over there.” Willow resumed walking, and Cedric followed him behind.

They approached a person who’s standing on a podium, looking as if they’re overseeing everything inside this room at once. They had a commanding presence even as they merely stood there. Cedric could feel pressure emanating from the figure even from a distance, and it only got stronger as they approached closer.

“Master, Dawnbringer is here.”

The lead researcher then turned around, and even though their face is hidden behind the visor of the void suit, Cedric still feels their gaze piercing through his suit and examining him from head to toe.

“Thank you for coming. I thought you would’ve stayed away from this place after hearing Crestwood’s slander towards our team.”

The leader researcher’s voice sounded deep and authoritative; all clues led Cedric to guess that he’s talking to a male species.

“My name is Blackwood. You can call me Chief or Sir Blackwood. Welcome to the Occult Decoding Sector. I hope that you would seriously consider joining our team because your innate talent is highly valuable to us, and we would make great strides in our research with you working with us.”

“But before that, though, I hope you can do something for me. Don’t worry; whether you decide to join us or not after this, you’d still receive a generous compensation for your efforts. How about it? Interested?” Continue your journey with empire

Cedric didn’t think too much about it and asked, “What should I do, Chief?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep