39 Chapter 87 - Breakthrough (1/2)

When Micheal saw this, his eyes flashed darkly.

A Tower.

Towers were unusual skyscrapers that were far larger than normal ones. They only appeared in the Main Cluster and were very rare to see. Each Tower was typically occupied by a major power or group of some sort.

Towers had several advantages over regular skyscrapers. Each Tower was huge, boasting a large number of rooms. The insides of Towers were unique. Some had internal parks with actual trees and grass, an extraordinarily rare sight to see naturally here in the First Layer. Still others had large pools and slides, recreational areas, while others had wide, empty stages or theaters.

Apart from their unique large rooms, and plethora of unique smaller rooms, Towers also had one other unique point.

There were only 8 entrances to the entire, massive building.

Four on the top and four on the bottom.

Unlike regular skyscrapers, there were no side entrances or things of that nature. Instead, the walls were made of the same seemingly invincible glass and steel, creating a massive, heavily fortified fortress.

Of course, while Towers were extremely rare in the Main Cluster, there was one place where they were extremely common.

The center of the Main Cluster, where a huge collection of Towers existed, nestled together and controlled by no one. The place known simply as 'The Towers' by most.

The place where one could leave the First Layer and move onward to the Second Layer.

'Focus.' He tossed the irrelevant thoughts from his mind, scanning the Tower as he and the rest of Ayer's team approached.

A long, metal bridge connected upward, towards the roof of the large Tower. This bridge had inlined sets of stairs, making it possible to scale all the way to the advanced height of the large building.

”Enforcer Team, Ayer's Squad, reporting in!” Ayer's voice boomed as he stepped onto the bridge. His words warbled oddly off the metal edifice, echoing. As he spoke, he held up his Arcadia Emblem, waiting patiently.

”Acknowledged. Come on up.” After a few seconds, a figure appeared standing at the end of the bridge path. The speaker was a woman wearing a set of white leather armor, with a pair of maces strapped to her waist. Her short brown hair was tied up in a tight ponytail, keeping it out of her pale blue eyes. She cut an athletic, if meaty figure, like a weightlifter.

Micheal narrowed his eyes slightly as he saw her, assessing her strength. She seemed like one of the B Rankers among the guards, one of the stronger ones.

Micheal and Ayer's team quickly made their way up the metal steps. Sunlight beat down on their necks, the noon light overhead shining mercilessly, not a cloud in sight.

In just a few short moments, they arrived on the rooftop. Micheal got a good look around, taking it all in.

Micheal could see groups of guards looking bored as they stood at each of the four bridges. They were all talking in a relaxed manner to each other, with guns and weapons slung over their backs. A rather lax defensive force, but it wasn't really surprising. Very few people would openly attack a fortress like this.

Standing right in front of them was the woman that had called them up. A few other guards stood near her, men and women that glanced over their party.

”Kathleen.” Ayer spoke first, nodding at the apparent leader of this bridge's guard. Ayer continued,

”We're bringing in a criminal. Case number 8220.” He cut right to the chase, not mincing words.

”Oh, it's her?” When Kathleen saw the prisoner Ayer had brought along with them, her eyes narrowed. The woman's hands had been locked together and restraints were placed on her arms and legs, preventing her from being a threat.

Their journey through the Main Cluster had only been marginally slowed by traveling with the prisoner. She didn't cause any trouble throughout the trip, even when the Abnormal struck.

”Tayron! Aijo!” The woman turned around, yelling to some of the other guards. Two of them stepped forward attentively, a rather tall asian man and a caucasian with a huge machete on his back.

”Take her down to the Waiting Cell. Tell the Warden she's a captured target, with a danger rating of B.” The woman's voice was authoritative as she barked out orders, her entire personality very domineering.

”Yes, madam!”

”Yes, ma'am!”

The two guards immediately stepped forward and took the captured prisoner. The chained woman didn't even bother to struggle, simply following the guards as she was led mutely away.

”You must be Emissary Heron. We received word that you would be arriving today.” After handling that, Kathleen's face became all smiles as she turned to look at Micheal. Her body language shifted, conveying polite disinterest, her domineering nature barely restrained.

Micheal stared back, the mask on his face giving him a rather impassive appearance.

”That is me.” He nodded his head cooly.

”The Iron Eye Branch welcomes you, but I'm not sure if we have anything here that would interest you.” The woman stared at Micheal, her eyes boring into him.

He stared back in mild amusement. She appeared to be dismissing him, of all things.

”Uh, ah- that is to say. Emissary Heron, I failed to properly inform them of your arrival.” Before the situation could go any further, Enforcer Ayer stepped forward and broke into the conversation, giving Micheal a nervous smile.

Kathleen frowned as she saw this, staring at him askance. She let him continue, however, instead of rudely interrupting, her caution winning through.

”Cough- Meeting a powerful A Ranked Emissary like yourself is a rare occurrence for us.” Ayer seemed to writhe slightly under Kathleen's gaze. It appeared the woman held quite some influence, more so than just being the guard in charge of this bridge like Micheal had initially thought.

Kathleen's eyes widened for a fraction of a second as she looked from Micheal over to Ayer, and then back to Micheal. She recovered quickly, coughing lightly as she spoke up,

”Oh? A powerful A Ranked Emissary? Well, my apologies, Emissary Heron. Commander Hunter is out, but will return tomorrow morning, if you wish to speak with him.” Her body language changed to one of respect and attention, a rather jarring jump.

”The information we had was incomplete.” Her words contained the slightest hint of venom as she glanced aside at Ayer, a tone that vanished completely right after.

”I am Sub-Commander Kathleen, one of the 2 Sub-Commanders in the Iron Eye Branch.” She gave him a slow nod, her voice apologetic as she introduced herself.

Micheal couldn't blame her. Emissaries wore masks for a good reason. They were the hitmen of the Angels Arcadia, the killers that take out targets that need to be taken out. No one would want to be around them if possible, most were rather dangerous people that were no strangers to murder.

All that changed, of course, when faced with raw power. No matter how much she disliked being around an Emissary… no one would dare to disrespect someone that was an A Ranker, even a Sub-Commander of a Tower stronghold. Ayer wouldn't joke around over something like that, and thus she had no choice but to change her stance.