Machina Arcanis: Two Worlds Collided
Chapter 182. Operation Shadow Sweep

Jovian and his team crouched on the flat concrete slope of a rooftop. Almost thirty Shadowbringers were present, each wearing the same cloak and proudly displaying their sigil of the eyeless sun. Close by, the deep, reverberating whirr of the battlecruiser echoed from the dock.

“I want you all to only engage from the dark, never confront them head-on,” Jovian spoke up. He rested with an assassin’s poise, one leg tucked beneath him while the other knee rose like a sharp peak, his forearm resting casually upon it.

“We’ll employ the shadow sweep. Is everyone assigned to their position?” Jovian asked, turning to a female shadowbringer with a ponytail. Her skin was grey like ash.

“Yes, my lord. All are strategically placed.” She knelt.

“Good,” Jovian clipped, his expression at ease.

Beside him, Ziyue added, “That’s why I handpicked all of you for this ‘shadow sweep’ mission.” She eyed her uncle, resisting the urge to offer a snide comment on his generic naming sense. Instead, she cleared her throat and continued, “We must destroy the Umbral before they can gain even more power.”

"My lord," the pony-tailed assassin asked, confusion in her eyes. "Regarding the order to avoid direct confrontation… does that mean we are only to strike when our own safety is guaranteed?"

“Affirmative. I’m a Celestius for a reason, let me be the centre of their attention. Lupus here,” Jovian gestured to her, and she nodded slowly, “is a highly skilled combatant. With the three of us leading the direct assault, we can press our advantage,” he explained firmly.

Jovian’s eyes grew resolute. “Find their masters’ location and ping me immediately,” he commanded.

The Shadowbringers bowed in reverence. They were warriors of Russha, ready to offer their lives for the cause. Jovian’s command to prioritise their own safety was a strange, almost unwelcome mercy that went against the very grain of their sacrificial ideals.

“But, Sir Jovian, I’m willing to—” A male Shadowbringer was interrupted by the rise of Jovian’s hand.

“No. Stay safe. And if you manage to locate Ignius,” Jovian instructed, a smirk painting his lips, “I’m on speed dial.”

Jovian rose swiftly to his feet and walked to the edge of the roof. Below, a few guards patrolled the dock. The area was eerily quiet, with no sign of deployed Armatus suits.

“Any further questions?” Jovian turned toward his people. Without delay, they all shook their heads.

"Then, without further ado. Let’s move out," he ordered, the command a sharp whisper on the wind. There was no sound, only a fluid dispersal as their hazy, dark forms vanished. Employing the shadow sweep, they bled into the darkness, fanning out to form a perfect, lethal perimeter. Within moments, every angle was covered, ensuring that when the strike came, it would be from all directions at once.

***

Jovian drifted methodically from cover to cover, shielding himself from the two guard towers that flanked the gate. He stayed in the shade of the winter sun, his arc boots muffling his steps entirely. His heartbeat slowed, causing his body temperature to drop; thermal sensors would not be able to detect his presence or that of any of his Shadowbringers.

As they arrived at the perimeter, he placed his back against the cold concrete wall. Lupus and Ziyue followed his actions without fail.

Jovian closed his eyes, sharpening his sense of hearing. He surmised there was only a handful of guards on duty, judging by their breathing and footsteps.

“Uncle, something doesn’t feel right. The security is too light for such an event,” Ziyue whispered, she had doubt all over her face.

“It could be a trick, but this is the only lead we have,” Jovian agreed. He then turned to Lupus, who was crouching nearby. “Lupus, we’ll take them all in one swoop. There are three guards in that tower. On my command.”

“Understood,” Lupus replied firmly.

Keeping his eyes peeled on the opposite tower, Jovian spotted the drifting, black masses of his team. The ring on his finger vibrated, signalling they were in position.

“Now,” Jovian commanded.

The trio scaled the walls as though they were horizontal planes. Within moments, they were at the base of the guard tower.

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Inside the square room, two guards were talking about a superstar who had taken the world by storm; many of her fans believed she was the reincarnation of Aphrodite herself.

“Can’t believe it! Did you see this, pal!?” a Bronze Knight said excitedly, his eyes glued to the hologram of a female singer.

“Ugh. What’s so interesting about a singer?” his comrade retorted. At the same time, the third knight double-checked a monitor, switching the screen between a thermal scan and a normal visual feed. Just like business as usual, nothing was out of the ordinary.

The excited knight puckered his lips. “You know nothing of art! Look at her, she’s cute, sweet, elegant, beautiful, gorg—”

His comrade grabbed his mouth, completely stopping his babbling. After a few struggles, the knight broke free. “Her name is Céleste Polaris!”

“Bloody hell, you two, stop mucking around! I’m working here!” the knight on the monitor scolded sharply, causing the two to stop goofing around and raise their fingers to their lips.

“Surely, I’ll save up enough money to see her concert in Chizhi!” the excited knight said, cupping his cheeks, clearly hyped up.

“Chizhi?! That place is in Longyuan!” the comrade snorted.

Scratching his head, the first knight asked, “Eh, what do you mean?”

“It’s under the Osten Empire’s reign, you fool! Do you legit forget that you are from Dunkelheit!” the comrade explained, “Let me be clear. You can’t go there!” He stressed.

“Oh… man…” The excited knight slumped, his enthusiasm completely vanishing.

Suddenly, the metal door was severed from its frame and slammed onto the checker plate floor with a loud clang. The knights’ eyes widened in complete shock.

“Ene—!!!” a knight tried to shout, however, nothing but a gurgling sound came as his throat flooded with blood. Jovian pulled back his arc dagger, and the blood evaporated from its purple flames. Shortly afterwards, he heard two bodies thud against the metal platform. Lupus and Ziyue had struck down their enemies, their harmonic takeout was flawless. Jovian immediately moved to the controls and disabled the alarm system.

Silence crept into the room as Jovian received confirmation that the opposite tower had also been cleared.

Ziyue stared at her blade as the blood dripped off and vaporised, revealing her reflection. A palpable terror filled her eyes. “This feels off… Have I gone soft? How? Why?” Questions whirled within her.

She squeezed her eyes shut, and his image instantly flooded her mind — the one person who had single-handedly altered her world. She saw the angelic face, the sharp line of his jaw, and the elegant silver hair. But it was his eyes she remembered most; a striking red that held her captive. That memory brought his voice back, the gentle but firm words echoing in her thoughts and reminding her of the different way he had taught her: “We make time. Unless absolutely necessary, we knock them out.”

Since then, I no longer enjoy this. But how could I say that to Uncle? She contemplated hard, unknowingly biting her lips.

“Ziyue! Eyes up!” Jovian called, placing a hand on her shoulder. Immediately, she snapped back to reality.

“Yes, Uncle,” she clipped, sheathing her dagger.

Lupus studied her, her golden eyes glinting in the shade of her hood. They made brief eye contact before averting their faces as though nothing had happened.

The league of Shadowbringers crept closer towards the Battlecruiser, sweeping the battlefield. Blood and silent death followed. Next, one of the Shadowbringers reached the door first. He placed his ear against the wall before fidgeting with the control panel. This was one of those service doors for special access repairs, not used by normal personnel.

Jovian, Ziyue, and Lupus reached him and crouched behind as the door chimed, “Access Granted!”

The door slid upwards. With caution, Jovian poked his head inside. The hallway was empty. “Clear,” he reported, pointing with two fingers towards the hallway to the left. The Shadowbringers nodded and simultaneously spiralled the wall, moving across the ceiling like spiders.

“Lupus and Ziyue,” he flicked his head to the side, and they went in the opposite direction.

After fifteen minutes, they had scanned each room to no avail, avoiding the security cameras with their arc boots. They carefully made their way towards the second floor, none of them muttering a word, hiding in the shadows.

As Jovian drifted through the hallway with his back tracing the wall, his eyes narrowed as he heard faint footsteps. Abruptly, he raised his palm, signalling for Lupus and Ziyue to stop. A service maid in a jumpsuit wheeled a cart through the hallway, humming an old melody. Jovian shadow-stepped behind her, his fingers muffling her scream. No sound escaped.

The maid’s body trembled with shock and terror, fear welling in her eyes.

“Where is The grand Abbot Picco?” Jovian whispered, his voice as cold as ice.

The girl attempted to speak but couldn’t through his cupped hand.

“Don’t answer. Point.” He commanded.

Lupus stepped forward, presenting the sigil of the Shadowbringers. The immediate, fearful dilation of the maid’s pupils was all the confirmation she needed.

“It seems you know of us. If you want to live, do not lie,” Lupus threatened, staring into her eyes with a murderous gaze.

The maid nodded frantically and began to sob.

Jovian’s fingers squeezed at the spot on her throat, the pulsing groove just beneath the ear: the carotid sinus. It sent her limp in a second. Slowly, he carried her body and hid her in a nearby restroom.

“Control room cleared, no sign of Ignius.” The report vibrated in rhythmic code on Jovian’s ring.

“Great work.” He replied.

As he stepped out to rejoin the group. “Let’s go,” Lupus whispered coldly, waving at him.

The trio turned, their focus narrowing to a single direction at the end of the hallway. For Jovian, it was the final piece of a puzzle. For Ziyue, a test of her morality. But for Lupus, every steadying beat of her heart was a drumbeat counting down to her revenge.