Chapter 124 Perpetrator

"U..ghh"

Crackle-

-Thud!

Leon activated his stigma for a few seconds and pushed the rubble, on top of him, away.

"Cough..cough"

His body screamed in pain but without minding his condition he checked Isabell.

"Cough…are you..cough..okay?"

"Yes"

Isabell looked at Leon through her night vision goggles.

He was shaking when doing even the smallest movement from pain. Blood covered his head and he was coughing with every breath.

Compared to his battered figure Isabell was almost unharmed.

Leon had covered her at the last second and took the brunt of the damage from the falling debris.

"How did you know about the explosions?"

"I was..cough..able to sense the spike of mana earlier."

Leon covered his mouth, only to notice that he was coughing blood.

Silence and chaos existed all around them.

The explosion occurred at 4 places at the stadium, one of which was the top-16 seating area.

Without the energy supply, the Underworld had been plunged into darkness. The stadium was no different.

The explosions scared the spectators, and they started running, even in the darkness.

Leon clenched his fists as he thought of the people who had died from the explosions and will die from the ensuing chaos.

He was about to ask Isabell when their intercom rang.

-Phzzt…Yato, Isabell, are you two okay?

"Yes"

Isabell answered after pressing the button on her earpiece. Leon's condition was already rough. She didn't want him to burden himself by talking too much.

-Good..Phzzt…because we can't stop the mission.

"Do you know anything about the explosions?"

There was a short silence on the other side before the answer came.

-No, but the explosions happened in areas near the stadium.

Both of their eyes widened, and they looked at each other.

"Someone is crazy enough to bomb Underworld? ....But did no one detect the bombs earlier?" Leon muttered to himself.

-Because of Sword Maiden.

-The explosives used were probably the..Phzzt..new kinds that are being used in gangs' wars. These explosives cause only a little mana spike until they are about to explode.

Although the gang wars were mostly contained within Downtown, these new bombs were still an emerging threat.

These bombs were the reason why Aegis had been issuing bounties to clear gangs.

"How is Sword Maiden responsible for this?"

-The little mana spike..Phzzt..caused by these bombs can be masked by the energy fluctuations of a large number of people, making them perfect for places where large masses gather.

The tournament caused many people to gather and the presence of Sword Maiden only increased the crowd.

-I doubt this was intentional on Iris' part but her presence..Phzzt..only helped the perpetrators to use more bombs.

"Perpetrators?"

Huntress continued briefing them.

-The explosives weren't planted by us and Umbra wouldn't be behind this.

"Cough…can it be Illis? Maybe the information was leaked?"

-No, it isn't Illis.

Huntress answered back with absolute certainty.

-It's probably a fourth party. One who knew about the 'item' and intervened.

"Then what about our mission?"

Slightly nervous, Isabell asked.

If there was another party infiltrating beside them, then things might get messy, unlike how it was originally supposed to be.

-No, this is the perfect time. Because of the bombs, whatever security was going to be inside, after I start attacking, will definitely leave and come out. The infiltration just became easier.

-With the Phasing suits, you will reach the destination earlier than predicted. Take the 'item' and escape before the other party reaches there.

"Okay"

"Cough..cough..okay"

Both of them were nervous, but it was true that sentries will leave their post to investigate the matter.

They looked at each other and nodded.

-Isabell, you will continue infiltration as originally planned. Leon, you will..Phzzt..go to the escape portal and secure our escape route.

"But..cough..that wasn't the original..cough..plan."

-There..Phzzt..are chances that the other party knows about our plan. Currently, you are the only member who is available to secure the escape route.

"Bu-"

-And given how you are coughing each time, you are no longer in the condition to complete the mission.

"Leon, you should listen to Sis. You are hurt and even if you don't have a problem now, it might become detrimental to our escape.

Leon wanted to disagree, but he knew they were right.

"Will..cough cough..you be okay?"

"Don't worry, before you were recruited, I was supposed to do the infiltration alone."

Isabell flashed a smile before standing up.

She removed her robe and activated the suit she was wearing beneath.

Whizzzz-

The suit whizzed to life before going silent again.

The Phasing Suit was a piece of technology developed by one of the Goliath Unit members. It allowed the wearer to pass through objects.

Its only limitation was that it can't pass through objects' continuing energy(Aura, mana, prana, etc). But with the direct energy supply of Underworld down, it wasn't a problem.

-Hurry

"Bye"

Isabell waved and ran into the wall.

She didn't collide with the wall but rather phased through it.

Leon also stood up to leave. However, his feet came to stop quickly.

"An unknown perpetrator."

His eyes scanned the area for someone in particular.

To plant the bombs in the top-16 seating area, the perpetrator has to be among the top-16 themselves.

"Is it him?"

Leon scoured the area.

A few minutes passed, but he didn't find the one he was searching for.

"He was here a few minutes before the explosion. Did he leave just before the blast?"

All the other participants in the seating area had died from the explosion. Leon and Isabell were lucky enough to be able to walk without any potion.

Leon's doubt increased.

His search didn't produce any results, and he was about to leave when he heard a groan.

He walked closer and noticed a hand peeking out from under the rubble.

From how the hand was hardly moving, it seemed the victim was barely conscious.

Deciding to help the person, Leon activated his stigma.

Crackle-

"URghh!!"

He moved the piece of rubble and threw it away.

"It's him!"

His eyes widened when he found the person he was searching for.

"Hey, Mr. Pepe, are you, alright?"

Mr. Pepe's robe was in tatter, and he was bleeding all over. Fortunately, it didn't seem he had broken any bones or had any fatal injury.

Leon pulled him up and placed him against the wall.

While checking him, Leon realized that he couldn't see Mr. Pepe's face.

Mr. Pepe's mask was broken, but Leon wasn't able to recognize how he looked.

"If he can use his skill, or whatever it is, in this state, I don't think he needs help."

Leon stood up and left the area.

Usually, Leon would have been the first to save people, but he left Mr. Pepe unattended.

A small part of him didn't want to rescue Mr. Pepe.

Ignoring his guilty conscience, Leon left with heavy steps.