Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System-Chapter 529: Heavenly Bliss. (Part Six)

"Quick!" Courtney shouted, leaping off the stage. "We need to finish this before he wakes up!"

Even without her giving the command, the others were already moving into place. The three Sorcerers who stood guard in the back rushed toward the ice pillar at the center of the devastated theater, each standing at an equal distance from the others. The hostess joined them a second later, and the four of them formed a square with the ice pillar at the center.

Each of them took out an amulet adorned with a large yellow gem. The Sorcerers dropped down to the floor in unified movements, channeling their mana into the items before slamming them into the floor.

The gems shattered at the same time, releasing the light sealed within them. Instead of scattering in every direction, the light shot out in thin, uniform beams, twisting and bending as they drew arrays of shapes and symbols in the air, gathering them in several rings that rose in the air.

As they reached the figure encased in ice, they began to spin in different directions. Courtney gritted her teeth, sweat beading her forehead. She noticed a faint tremor spread through the arrays and opened her mouth to shout, but her voice was drowned by one powerful word.

"SEAL"

The word was spoken in a language unlike anything uttered by a human tongue, yet its meaning reached their minds nonetheless. The arrays of light responded to it, expanding once before suddenly contracting. The shapes and symbols pierced the ice, their light spreading through its surface.

The ice pillar shone with a golden brilliance. Seconds passed, and the theater returned to normal. The ice pillar at its center took on a yellow tint, and though she was standing mere centimeters from it, Courtney no longer felt the cold radiating from it.

James appeared by her side just then. He looked at the pillar with visible awe. He caught himself a second later and turned to the hostess.

"Is it done?"

As if responding to his question, faint snaps resounded from all over the theater, then the walls shattered. More accurately, the barrier that had coated the interior of the theater shattered, falling like broken glass before vanishing into thin air.

"It's done," the hostess heaved a long sigh, collapsing in her spot.

Three minutes. That's how long the battle had lasted. For those who had been in the underground theater, those were the most stressful three minutes they had ever lived through.

"Maaan…" Collapsing to the floor, James stretched on his back, exhaustion warping his face. He seemed just fine a moment before, but as soon as he relaxed, sweat poured out from every seam in his body, and he began to pant as if he was just done running a marathon. "I thought I was going to die."

Everyone cast their gaze down in silent agreement. A faint thud drew their attention to the back of the theater, and there they saw the tall man down on one knee, blood spilling from his mouth. The three sorcerers who had been guarding him quickly rushed to his side.

"So that's him," James pushed himself up into a sitting position. "The Warden."

"Yeah…" The hostess replied, her eyes narrowing.

"What's up with him?"

A man dragging an ice-covered sword walked up to them. Both of his arms were covered in sharp icicles, and his breath came out as clouds of white mist.

"Yo, Frotbite," James said with a smile. "You don't look too good."

"Names," ice man frowned.

"Ah, sorry,"

Sighing, Frostbite turned to the hostess, his eyes requesting an answer to his earlier question.

"It's the backlash," she said, turning to the man they call the Warden. "He spoke words humans shouldn't be able to speak. Each one allows him to force his will on the world, but it comes at a great risk."

"Man, Sorcerers are scary," James pretended to shiver. His eyes then shifted up, landing on the figure trapped inside the ice pillar. "Are you sure this will hold?"

"We hope so," the hostess replied. "Well, it should last long enough."

"Can't believe we actually did it," James said.

"It was a reckless plan," Frostbite said. "If he had the chance to swap armors, we would have been done by now."

As if remembering something, James turned around and waved his hand.

"Hey, Scream! Good job back there!"

"Names!" Frostbite hissed.

"Who cares! It's not like they haven't figured out who we are already."

Watching their bickering for a few seconds, Courtney turned her sigh back to the figure trapped in ice. They had done it. They had captured the Ghost. Their opponent was a hero killer, one who not only clashed with the world's strongest and lived to tell the tale, but also had a stellar record of slaying multiple Level 4 Genomes.

Even with the info they had and the plan they came up with, they still believed that this mission might be their end. They somehow succeeded without losing a single member, and the more she thought about it, the more unbelievable it sounded.

Hearing a faint snap, Courtney turned around to find a short, bearded man walking over to them, carrying a large disc on his back.

"How are you doing, Jasper?"

"I will live," He said, turning his gaze to the ice pillar. "Is it over.

"Yeah…" No matter how many times she said it, Courtney felt that she would never get tired of answering that question. "It's

"NO…" a hoarse cry echoed, drawing everyone's eyes to the back of the theater. The Warden was glaring in their direction, his face a mangled mess of bulging veins, cracked skin, and bloodied teeth. He looked as if he was holding back immense pressure, as if he might explode at any moment.

"It's..." he forced between gritted teeth. "It's not... over..."

Courtney's eyes widened, and her head snapped back to the ice pillar. The arrays engraved into its surface began to emit a faint glow, and just as the implications filled her with unspeakable horror, something moved at the edge of her vision.

On the stage, in the corner near the reg curtains, a blonde woman stood with both of her arms held out. She was aiming a pistol, but her target wasn't any of those panicking at the sight of the glowing pillar. Before anyone could spare her the thought, she pulled the trigger, and a bullet took off. That bullet pierced the ice an instant later, and from the hole it carved, a web of cracks spread out.