31 The Rise of the Pacifist Faction

Newton and Wentilakh was observing the ancient gate's mechanism with apprehension through the real-time connection when a sudden loud noise outside the laboratories were heard. An assistant entered the laboratory in a hurry with a nervous look on his pale face, "Professors, please evacuate! The military faction is storming our institute! They're demanding to hand over Professor Wentilakh and his accompanying attendants! Currently they have breached the H sector!" He wiped the sweat on his brows in worry.

A few months of spending time with Wentilakh had made all of the researchers casting their stigma aside and embraced change for the sake of technology advancement. Currently everyone only had extreme respect and reverence for the Senior Elder Demon. Everyone addressed the Senior Elder Demon with 'Professor', the highest rank one would have once one achieve the pinnacle of research related field.

Newton coolly downloaded all his current research findings for safekeeping before he took a calm step towards an obscure side of the laboratory and gestured Wentilakh to follow him. "I've been prepared for this day to come. Our position had always been quite sensitive; assisting both sides. Some people from both sides were not happy with this development and would like to tip the balance in the end. Follow me, Wentilakh. That is if you trusted me enough." Newton smiled to his colleague without a hint of malice.

Wentilakh took a few seconds to observe his new friend's before releasing a helpless sigh. "I trust you, Newton." He gestured for his three attendants to follow him into the tunnel behind the obscured door opened by Newton. To show his sincerity, Newton lead the way into the depth of the darkness. The secret door was closed and sealed before the obscured laboratory wall returned to normal. Newton's assistants evacuated the room and dispersed in different directions to confuse the incoming intruders.

...

"Have you secured the demons?! We need to make sure all of the information didn't reach their side!" Alethea raised her voice when she saw the ugly look the military official was giving. She had a bad feeling about this. It was supposed to be an easy mission. They have been waiting for the breakthrough of the research before stepping in to apprehend the demons since they won't be of any use after this.

"Madam Alethea, they have escaped. Even Professor Newton has not been found. We suspected they have accomplices who helped them escaped. We have controlled all escape routes from the research institute after rounding up all the researchers in the facility, but nothing was found. They must still be hiding somewhere inside."

"Useless things! No matter! I'll handle it from here. You just let your men stay on the perimeter and don't move around." Alethea terminated the connection of her modified VIRCOFF from the man's Cerebral Connector in disgust. "Call the agents for an assassination mission."

To Alethea, demons will stay as an eternal enemy for her. She had tolerated their presence long enough so that the Ancient Interstellar Gate Artifact research could move forward. It was time to clear off all these potential threats before they could focus on their main enemy from space. She had a premonition that the advanced aliens will be here not too long later.

...

The commotion above was heard by Wentilakh as he took hurried steps inside the dimly lit tunnel. Newton was standing on a two wheeled device as it moved forward silently with the help of an electrical motor. In the beginning, there was two devices, but Wentilakh had decline to use it after he fell for a few times. He was helpless with his inability to adapt to the new device in front of him. It was a first.

The tunnel was very long with sometimes moving downwards and upwards. It was illuminated with a tiny light source which casted a very dim light on the pathway every tens of meters. The light strips along the tunnel helped lead the way tremendously. Wentilakh could feel that they have traveled very far, at least more than thirty kilometers, directly out of the main Neverwinter Royal Capital administration zone. His three attendants were competent warriors who had completed the Rites of Warriors, hence they have no qualms in keeping up with the old human professor. The tunnel was finally connected to an underground shallow waterway.

They had finally saw a light at the end of the underground waterway and sped up. Newton was breathing a little heavily. All the excitement was not good for his weak heart. He placed his right palm tiredly on a squarish stone at the side of the grille door covering the waterway entrance. Once they emerged from the secret escape tunnel, the sky was already dim signaling the approaching dusk. Wentilakh observed his surrounding and noted that they have emerged at drainage system beside an abandoned warehouse in a somewhat inconspicuous rural location. The location was quite well thought out; just outside the busy main capital, but still within the industrial zone. This was because after the industrial zone would be the residential areas with a high density population.

Before Wentilakh could take his third step, Newton noticed something unusual at the corner of his eyes and shouted feebly,"Wentilakh, move out of the way!" He turned back and jumped backwards with an unknown strength he didn't know he had and pushed the senior elder demon to the side. A muffled sound was heard accompanied by a splash of blood from Newton as he shielded Wentilakh from a sudden aerial attack. The old professor fell down and was caught by the stunned Wentilakh before he could hit the ground. Wentilakh quickly examined the wound and was relieved when he found it on the back of his friend's left shoulder and not on an important organ. This meant that he could be saved.

A group of witches in black bodysuits and masks showed themselves from within the darkness. The leader scrunched her brows once she saw the one on the ground was not the one they intended to kill. It was even the most important human asset of Graycastle. Underneath her mask was an extremely ugly expression as she knew what awaited her after such a blunder.

Without saying a word, they attacked the demons together with high frequency blades and guns equipped with silencers and special bullets.

...

The three demon warriors engaged with the witch assassins while Wentilakh helped applying first aid on the grievously injured Newton. The old man's face was pale white, and his pupils were dilating, indicating he was entering shock from loss of blood. Wentilakh knew that Newton won't be able to make it if he didn't take extreme measures to help his new friend right here, and right now. His friend was too old and weak as he was just a normal human passing his prime a long time ago.

Wentilakh carried the old professor to a safe corner where he drawn a circle in the form of profound writings he made on the dirt floor. He then placed him in the middle of the circle. He inspected the wound entry and tried to find the exit wound but to no avail. The bullet must've lodged on Newton's shoulder bone. However, from the looks of it, Newton's shoulder bone must've been shattered to pieces. He knew the bullet was aiming at him, precisely at his forehead. He bitterly shook his head. As an intelligent person, he knew his position well in Neverwinter. However, he persisted and stayed, largely due to the advent of breakthrough in the modified Antimatter study as the second energy source for the Gate Artifact. Newton was merely collateral damage, albeit a pricey one.

He took out several tiny small sized Eppendorf-like tubes which contained one milliliter of potion each from within his large gray robe and haphazardly tossed the contents in the air before he made a flurry of hand seals. The mixture of solutions suspended in midair and agglutinated with each other forming a pale silver-like liquid. Wentilakh cut a small incision on his index finger and let a drop of blood fall on the writings.

As the writings lit up with a bright red color, the pale silver liquid slowly descended and seeped slowly into Newton's wound. The painful expression lessened as Newton's breathing slowly became more regulated. Wentilakh carried the frail professor and waited for his attendants. If no one helped them, it would be better if he took Newton away to the Demonic Settlement. He was extremely disappointed with the opposition from the witches' side after all that he had contributed.

...

A group of witches from Sanctuary 3 suddenly joined the fray and turned the situation around when two of Wentilakh's attendants perished, leaving the last one faithfully defending his Senior Elder bravely. As it turned out, by using the emergency tunnel inside the laboratory, the agents at Sanctuary 3 would automatically be notified. Due to the high number of opponents and reluctance to injure their sisters from Sanctuary 3, the assassin witches from the military faction decisively retreated swiftly.

Seeing the Senior Elder Demon was unharmed and the condition of Professor Newton, they immediately escorted him to Sanctuary 3 while providing him with protection. Observing the progression of the event, Wentilakh only clicked his tongue unwillingly and followed the witches. He was still unsure whether he was a prisoner or a guest. What he knew right now, his friend was in dire need of medical treatment. Depending on the situation, he would escape after making sure Newton was in good hands.

...

Roland extended his right hand in an apologetic expression, "My deepest apologies for what has transpired, Senior Elder Wentilakh. From this moment onwards, I will make sure your grievances will be properly addressed, and a compensation is due, naturally."

Observing the Immortal King's extended hand with a mixed feeling, Wentilakh finally clasped it with his own right hand and gave it a firm shake. "I'm not so sure, Your Highness. Although our cooperation stemmed from the mutual need to investigate the Antimatter Core research, I feel like my usefulness has expired in your behalf's eyes. We just need for you to fulfill your end of the promise so that we could power up our own Salvation Lake." He answered skeptically. Will this illustrious figure fulfill his promise? Or will he exterminate him to vanquish the hopes of his people?

"Are you sure you want to proceed before waiting for Linneia's field investigation report? What if something went wrong on your side?" Roland asked calmly.

Wentilakh was silent for a moment before he answered back with determination, "It is a risk we are willing to take."

Roland sighed regretfully.

He knew the thin ice they were carefully treading in this fragile cooperation was finally broken with the assassination attempt. He understood Wentilakh's cautiousness due to how important this research was to both parties. He contacted a helper through his personal VIRCOFF and discussed with her in a lengthy manner. Listening in on the Immortal King's requests, Wentilakh's eyes were getting wider and wider in disbelief. After an hour's wait, a silver box was presented to him.

Wentilakh opened the box to see two white bracelets beside each other. He took one, pressed a small inconspicuous button on it before a digital inventory popped up. Inside was a list of items he never imagined he would obtain just like that;

Inventory List

Constructing an Antimatter Core for FTL-engine Usage - Belial Newton et al.

Operating Systems of Ancient Kohiten's Language for Powering the Interstellar Gate Artifact- Linneia Wimbledon and Alan Rogers

Investigative Review of Ancient Interstellar Gate Artifact - Loralyne Painee et al.

Modification Methods of Antimatter Core as the Secondary Power Source of Ancient Interstellar Gate Artifact - Wentilakh et al.

20 modified Antimatter Core

5 FTL-engine Spacecraft with various manuals

7 100 cubic meters empty independent storage space bracelets

3 100 cubic meters grain filled independent storage space bracelets

The list was extremely generous until it made the Senior Elder Demon with his last accompanying attendant speechless for a long time. Trailing his sight on the detailed research paper bearing his name, he was deeply touched with Newton's gesture for placing his name first as the lead for the research they worked together. He didn't know it was documented this way. Wentilakh took out the thick research paper and skimmed through the electronic document. He realized Newton had done an extremely detail report. The meticulous explanation with the supporting data would help them greatly to repeat the same experiment with precision. Once they obtain all the necessary ingredients, they too could produce their own Antimatter and further modify them accordingly to power up their own Salvation Lake if the twenty modified Antimatter Core were fully expended.

Wentilakh took the second bracelet and checked the inventory list;

10 Life Support Quarters

His eyes widened again. These compensations truly touched the old Senior Elder's heart. He watched the Immortal King's warm smile and spoke emotionally, "The Demon Race owed Your Highness the highest life debt, for the second time. This old one is truly grateful from the bottom of his heart. We will forever remember your generosity and hopefully can one day return the favor." Both of them bowed deeply at the visage of the charismatic Immortal King. They understood the previous attack was not the will of the Empire and the leader had tried his best to show his sincerity not with words, but with action.

Roland took out a pen-sized black rectangular stick and gave his final parting gift to Wentilakh. "This is a modified version of VIRCOFF. No matter where you are, once you can receive a signal, you can contact us. We will come and help you in your time of need. I can vouch for that." He grabbed both of Wentilakh's wrinkly hands warmly. "Good luck." He patted Wentilakh's attendant's shoulder twice and took his leave.

Wentilakh stood still for a few moments and spoke, "Good luck to you too, Your Highness. Let's meet again someday somewhere in the universe."

Roland paused his steps and nodded with a gratifying smile.

...

On the day that the Senior Elder Demon and his last attendant were escorted safely to the Demonic Settlement by a group of armed Combat Witches, the headquarters of the leaders of the Military Faction was stormed by a professional team of witches form the Witch Union. It turned out the Witch Union had finally allied itself with the Pacifist Faction representing Sanctuary 3. Alethea and her core members were apprehended and confined indefinitely before the Immortal King himself broadcasted a major announcement to the whole nation as well as other affiliated empires worldwide with the help of the Witch Agents stationed on various regions of the planet.

The Immortal King had relayed a number of shocking information by the distribution of VIRCOFFs worldwide and urged nation leaders to work together to implement the worldwide bunker project which will be stationed at important points from Neverwinter to the specified location in the Extreme North. The recording of the alien attacks on Neverwinter airspace greatly shook the hearts of the leaders as they realized an incoming attack of a larger scale could happen anytime in the future. Heroic generals of different races were dispatched to Neverwinter to bolster the military prowess of Graycastle Empire while obtaining further information and new technologies. As the bunker project started, droves of people initiated a large migration towards the four points containing the life support Quarters currently being constructed by i-Space Corporation.

As a large number of stable Quarters developed by i-Space Corporation were completed, the citizens of Graycastle started to enter the Bunker to lead their life inside while performing the required tasks responsibly. As days turned to months, and months turned to years, the inhabitants of the planet were getting sparser, while the planet was getting hotter. At the end of the day, only the military could be seen roaming the outer surface of the planet.

Everyone was desperately waiting for news on the return of one person.

Crown Princess Linneia Wimbledon.

...