Ashen Requiem-Chapter 69: Night Owls 03

The heavy metal door creaked open with a muffled groan.

A wave of oil, hot metal, and stale electricity hit their noses the second they stepped inside.

Shigeo went in first, followed by Scott, Saya, and Giana, who carefully closed the door behind them — making sure not to trigger the auto-lock.

The room was narrow but complex : wires snaking through the walls, breaker boxes lined up like soldiers, and in the back — the generators themselves, massive and humming with restrained power.

Shigeo surveyed the setup quickly.

— "We must cut here, here... and here," he said, pointing to three separate panels. "We’ll force a localized overload through the secondary circuits. Then interrupt the solar relay."

He opened his bag and pulled out a set of precision tools —miniature screwdrivers, clippers, pliers —everything meticulously organized.

It was hard to believe this quiet, reserved guy had such skill — and gear. His medal was not stolen.

Everyone was at their post and everything seemed to be going according to plan...

Until a soft click sounds through the dark.

A magnetic lock had just engaged.

— "...That wasn’t me." Saya said, freezing in place.

The overhead light flickered violently, and a bluish beam swept across the room from one corner.

— "Shit," Shigeo cursed. "An automated scan! We must’ve tripped an alert mode... That wasn’t in the plans."

— "Of course that wasn’t in the plan." Saya replied sarcastically, giggling nervously.

Mina’s voice came through the earpiece, breathless :

— "I... I’m detecting an unknown signal from your location. Something — or someone —just tapped into the network. It doesn’t match any regular surveillance system..."

Suddenly, a screen in the back of the room flickered to life.

A distorted image appeared — then a face.

Glitchy and holographic.

An electronic voice followed — low, unsettling :

— "You shouldn’t have come here."

Scott stiffened.

— "Is that... a security AI?"

Shigeo shook his head slowly. He’d never seen anything like it of his whole life.

— "Of course. It was too easy... A basic lock, generators just lying in reach? In a school like this? We were meant to lower our guard. This was a trap way too stupid but we fell for it. But a trap coming from whom ?"

A cold sweat rolled down his temple, his heart racing, but he tried to stay calm.

The face kept speaking :

— "This network is protected by Riverland Security Protocol — Level 7. Unauthorized access will activate dormant units."

— "Dormant... what?" Saya asked, her voice faint.

— "Riverland Security ? We are in deep shit." He thought to himself.

— "We have to move. Now!" Shigeo barked. "I’m initiating the overload — no matter what!"

He stabbed a tool into the first panel — sparks flew. The generators groaned in protest.

— "Giana, handle the solar relay!"

But already, beyond the door, they could hear it — metallic footsteps, heavy and military.

An automated patrol was closing in.

— "Are they sending killer drones... or iron golems?!" Scott muttered.

— "Worse," said Shigeo under his breath. "They’re probably Trackers. Hunter class bots."

— "Thirty seconds until contact!" Mina shouted in their ears.

00:29

They had to finish the job. Trigger the blackout. And get out alive.

The countdown was already nearing zero.

The metallic clatter in the hall grew louder — blue light began seeping in under the door.

00:12

Shigeo was sweating bullets now.

His fingers danced at inhuman speed over the last panel.

Scott held a flashlight in one hand, a smoke bomb in the other.

Saya stood guard at the door, eyes locked on the growing glow.

Giana, off to the side, tried casting a light barrier — but her focus was shot, and her footing shaky.

— "I can’t hold this for more than thirty seconds if that door opens!" She shouted.

00:07

— "Shigeo!" Scott yelled. "We’re screwed! Those things will—"

Suddenly, the door blew off its hinges, the explosion deafening.

But it wasn’t the trackers that appeared first.

It was her.

A shadowy figure stood in the doorway — tall, genderless, misshapen.

Its golden eyes glowed in the dark.

Bat-like wings, torn and twisted, trembled on its back.

And its feet didn’t touch the ground.

The creature raised a clawed hand —

And everything in the hallway... stopped.

The Trackers — relentless machines designed not to hesitate — froze in their tracks.

Their optical sensors flickered — then blinked out one by one.

Even the blue lights dimmed, as if the creature had drained the energy from the entire hall.

Then it slowly turned to face the group — those golden pupils gleaming in the dark.

Shigeo stood frozen, his screwdriver clattering to the ground.

Scott took a step back.

Saya instinctively pressed a hand to her chest.

— "Is... is it a five stars mutant?" She whispered.

But the voice that followed —low, raspy, and painfully familiar — stole the air from the room :

— "Do it. Now."

Shigeo’s eyes went wide.

— "...Ginny?!"

But the creature had already turned away, its misty body dissolving into the darkness like a dying flame.

— "The things froze them... but not for long!" Shigeo shouted.

Without hesitation, he slammed the final tool into the panel.

A deafening surge. Sparks flew everywhere.

The generators wailed like wounded beasts—

Then... darkness.

Total blackout.

Heavy silence. Only their ragged breathing filled the void.

Mina confirmed through their earpieces :

— "Visuals are gone! Total blackout in sectors B, E, F, H — and the dorms! You did it guys!"

They stood motionless for a second, the fear still clinging to their skin.

When they finally stepped out of the generator room—

There was no trace of the creature.

Ginny had vanished like a dream.

Shigeo murmured to himself:

— "She’s... not normal."

Giana glanced at him, then looked away — troubled.

Who was that unexpected savior ?

And more importantly... for what — or who —had she just risked everything ?

Inside the academy, the floodlights were down. The cameras were silent.

Only confused voices sounds faintly from distant hallways.

---

— "What the hell?! The Wi-Fi’s down?!" Youpi exclaimed nervously, dropped his controller to the floor.

— "Huh?!" Eldridge was surprised on his bed.

— "Did we just lose power for the first time after fifty years?!"

Norah wondered, lying on the bed with the duvet lifted, book in one hand, the other hand stroking her pet wolf lying cutely on top of her.

---

[ POV: Kairo Nox ]

— "Damn it. Blackout. Kairo here. Surge detected. B, E, F, and H sectors hit."

— "You think it’s an attack?"

— "Feels like a diversion. Send reinforcements."

---

— "We move. Now." Giana’s voice was sharp, low.

They had only a narrow window before backup generators — or worse, alert patrols— regained control.

Scott moved first. He pulled two metal tubes from his belt.

— "It’s showtime, baby."

He pulled the pins — smoke bombs exploded on the ground, releasing a thick, icy mist that devoured the hallway.

— "Always wanted to do that." He muttered with a grin.

Visibility dropped to zero.

Alarms started blinking all over the zone, drawing several supervisor in a panic.

— "They’re coming!" Giana shouted. "Five behind us, three from the east!"

Saya raised her hand, fingers glowing blue.

— "Just like training... Make Giana proud of you!" She told herself with a fait smile.

Energy ropes shot from her wrists like lightning-fast serpents.

One wrapped around a guard’s legs, yanking him to the floor — taking two others down with him in a tangle of limbs and curses.

— "One, two, three." Saya counted under her breath.

— "Perfect." Giana called, flipping the last relay.

— "Over there!" a voice shouted from the darkness.

A motion sensor reactivated on the wall nearby — But Giana lifted her palm, focused.

— "Obscuratio Lux!" Her voice wavered, but the magic flowed.

A golden flash burst from her hand, launching a thin arc at the device.

The alarm fizzled — then died, like it had been erased from existence.

— "Nice." Scott whispered from the mist.

— "I didn’t think it would work on anything other than a living being." Giana replied.

They were sprinting through the smoke-filled corridors now. Footsteps pounding, hearts racing.

Every noise, every cough, could give them away.

But they moved in sync.

Mina guided them via earpiece :

— "Right turn. Then down the back stairs of Block F. No patrols."

— "Got it." Shigeo replied.

— "Didn’t know you were this athletic." Saya huffed beside him.

— "Sports club’s finally paying off. And less talking, more breathing!"

They barreled down the stairs two steps at a time, stifling gasps.

Sweat poured down their faces. Adrenaline kept them moving faster than they thought possible.

But danger was still right behind them.

Metallic footsteps. Then more.

The trackers was chasing them.

— "We’ve got Trackers on us." Scott growled.

Giana spun, throwing up another light barrier to block the path.

The shape chasing them halted — crashing against the barrier with a sizzling hiss.

— "Go!" She screamed.

Saya turned back, grabbed Giana’s wrist.

— "We’re leaving together — or not at all!"

They ran. Footsteps sounds, breath ragged.

Moments later, they burst through the last set of stairs—

And out of the building.

The night air hit them like a wave — cool and quiet. The courtyard was cloaked in shadows.

The blackout had worked.

They were out. And now, they had to vanish...fast.

Shigeo, panting, gave the order :

— "Split up. Regroup at the west garden. No straight lines."

Everyone nodded.

And one by one — they disappeared into the night.

Like thieves who had just stolen the light itself.

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