Three Spheres

Chapter 86 - Dagger

To the scream in the darkness, lost voices, collision, and falling objects sounds associate. Moments after the blackout, the lights return to the North Sea fort.

Yomi runs from her room in the direction of the cry. It isn't hard to find the right spot: The corridor with a deformed wall and blood splattering the floor. Sayuri is huddled, pressing her small paws against the throbbing wound. In the next room, Weimin; on the first steps of the stairs ahead, Marjolin. The rest arrive soon after.

Yomi quickly assess the Kawauso's wounds and orders:

_ Meeting in 5 minutes!!

Nobody has the courage to disobey. Sayuri says:

_ I-I didn't see who was it... I was distracted and... _ She emits small painful moans.

The lesion is shallow, composed of three parallel, oblique cuts, whose most distal ends are superficial and with a long excoriation tail. Amadeo's voice resonates:

_ Claw marks...

Yomi gets up, with Sayuri in her arms. She heads to the upper floor meeting room. Her blood boils. Emília awaits her in the corridor; axe in hand. The redhead parted her lips to say something, but...

The lights go out again.

And soon they return.

There are no screams this time, but the aggressive howl of the wind invading the metal walls is absolutely frightening. The three depart like arrows to the source of the sound: Yoon's hangar. A huge hole, almost inexplicable, allows the violent blizzard to enter. The extreme cold threatens the flames of the Bulgae that...

_ He's wet!! _ Yomi hands Sayuri over to Emília and goes to the rescue of the dog, absorbing all the water that soaks him _ He is... fine...

In parallel, the Paladin seals the hole with her own ice magic, but she knows that it won't last long. Yoon whines, and, soon, Johan and Amadeo appear at the door, both stunned. The silence is suffocating. Yomi's hands are shaking. The feeling of being watched as a guinea pig is terrible. She hates this helplessness.

_ Meeting. _ She growls _ Now.

In the meeting room, the twins, Marjolin, and Weimin are waiting. Emília says:

_ Where's the Yeti?

_ She's in the city. _ Marjolin answers _ She left this morning and hasn't arrived yet.

The information conflicts. Johan doesn't look away from Amadeo, as if expecting him to say something.

Yomi starts a brutal interrogation: "Where were you when the attack happened? And in the 2nd blackout? What do you know about Yoon? Show your hands and paws! What were you doing before the 1st blackout?"... Each of those present give their justifications:

_ I was going to take a shower. _ Marjolin replies _ I left some folders in the file room and went to the upper floor. The power went down when I was just going up the stairs, you saw, didn't you?

_ I... was extremely busy. _ Weimin replies _ The bookcase in the hall is very dusty. I have been there all day to restore it to its former glory.

_ Hey, Wei-wei! Don't lie! _ Chun-Ho interrupts.

_ Yeah, we saw you were napping! _ Dae-Ho says _ We were playing cards in the kitchen and we saw you there.

_ Well! Is a short rest period by any chance a sin?! As a legendary being, I have the luxury of enjoying my worldly needs when it suits me...

_ Your alibi isn't very good; let alone that of the Centaur. _ Emília interrupts _ But the claw marks on the wall and on Sayuri points to the Xiezhi.