Warfare Augmented Intelligent Frame Unit

Chapter 114 - Rift Generator

Chapter 114 - Rift Generator

"Nooo! My million dollars!" I shouted, reaching out with exaggerated desperation toward the sky, where Myrrh was already ascending like a comet. She didn't even glance back. Her Frame Unit whipped in the wind as she rocketed upward, propelled by the roar of her omni-directional thrusters, leaving behind only a fading shimmer and the scent of scorched ozone.

Behind me, Ismail let out a guttural laugh, completely unfazed despite being sandwiched between two KAWAII Agents. Metal handcuffs clicked around his wrists, but he wore them like accessories to his smug grin.

"What's so funny, you terrorist scum?" I snapped, throwing him a glare that could have melted steel.

Ismail shook his head, tossing his long, wavy black hair out of his eyes with an arrogant flick of his neck. "Did you really think I'd hand over a million dollars like it was candy?" he said, voice dripping with mockery. "You? An investment? Please. That briefcase you clung to so dearly? It was never meant to enrich you. It was a leash. An antimatter bomb disguised with a cash-hologram illusion—insurance, in case you ever got cute."

"You filthy scammer!" I yelled, my voice cracking with betrayal. "I trusted you!"

"Uh... not to take his side or anything," Neil chimed in awkwardly from the sidelines, scratching the back of his neck, "but technically, weren't you the one trying to scam him first? I mean, it was kind of weird that he offered you that much money without blinking, and you ran away with it when bullets started flying."

Fei crossed her arms and gave me a slow, knowing nod. And just like that, I felt the narrative shift—I was starting to look like the villain instead of the guy who tried to stop one.

"You did what?" Agent Feena's voice sliced through the moment like a blade of judgment. Her emerald eyes locked onto me with a stare that felt like it could dissect my soul. She planted her hands firmly on her hips, radiating the kind of authority that made me want to shrink into my socks.

"U-uh, nothing," I stammered, flashing the most awkward, plastic grin I could muster. "I just thought, y'know, maybe I could make a little extra cash swindling the Nazi bastards..."

Agent Feena let out a groan so deep it could've cracked granite. She pinched the bridge of her nose, her brows knitting together as if the very idea had given her a hangover from hell. "You shouldn't be taking dirty money—especially from terrorists. That kind of stupidity gets you arrested too, genius."

"Y-yeah..." I sniffled, eyes cast downward as guilt gnawed at my insides. "I just learned my lesson today, Miss Feena. I'm really sorry."

Feena let out a long sigh, the kind that felt like it came from the very depths of her soul. "You're still an intern, and you're already as corrupt as a washed-up senator. You've got a long way to go, kid." She gave me a tired, almost affectionate smile—like a teacher who still hadn't given up hope on her dumbest student.

"A-anyway!" I blurted, desperate to change the topic before I got grounded or sent to bureaucratic hell. My gaze shot to the sky, where Myrrh was now a bright, blazing point—like a sapphire flare slicing through the stratosphere. "What is Myrrh trying to do!?"

Agent Feena tapped her morpher, and a crisp hologram flickered to life in midair, displaying a live feed. Myrrh's face appeared, wind whipping her hair back as the high-altitude distortion shimmered around her.

"I'm trying to get this thing out of the metropolis!" Myrrh shouted through the feed. "I'll detonate the bomb in space!"

Agent Feena's expression twisted with alarm, and she slapped her forehead so hard it echoed. "That was reckless, Myrrh!" she yelled. "First it was Zaft throwing himself into the lion's den, and now it's you shouldering an antimatter bomb like it's some romantic gesture?! My word—you lovebirds are dangerously impetuous!"