The submarine was relatively calmer inside. Kairo and the others came across a number of engineers in blue uniforms on board. Their mission was mainly to ensure the submarine stayed afloat during the operation.
A few minutes later, a very stunning woman came to their encounter. Wearing a light white blouse, she had the air of a genius but with a warm and charming smile, making her quite attractive to look at. Despite her youthful appearance, it was clear she was older than most of them by a good margin.
All card mages look way younger than they should. So cool, Kaior thought. His father too was over forty but always looked like he was in his thirties. Mirelle too looked way younger than her age. Fabian and Danzan were no exception. The woman handed them tablets with new configurations one after the other and said,
"Hello officers, I am happy to see you all on board. I hope you will be safe and sound in this construction. We have put in all our resources to make it as secure as we could," she explained.
"Of course they know. You mushrooms, why aren't you greeting her with the respect she deserves? Let me tell you little guys—this is Camilla Ortega, chief engineer of the Card Mage Police and the reason we can all use our card launchers in battle safely," Donsentos said with a slightly annoyed face, given the lack of reaction from the officers.
Ortega? Wasn't that the name of David Ortega, the captain of the Reapers? The Reapers were the most secretive department he knew about. Until now, he had never met any of their officers, nor their captain David. Now he learned his wife was the engineer behind their card launchers and most of the gadgets of the Card Mage Police. Kaior instinctively glanced at his wrist launcher. I always felt this little jewel must have had a brilliant mind behind it. To think it was her.
"Wow, she is so impressive, Kairo. Her husband is a captain and she is chief engineer—what a golden couple. Both shining so brightly," Nyx said, her eyes also turning into stars.
"This could be us one day," Kairo said in a low voice. It was true that the duo was impeccable in all aspects. Thinking of that, Kaior wondered what had happened to his father. He had never seen him with anyone. He would have shined even brighter if he had someone, he thought.
"I still have a long way to go to reach such heights, but I am ready for the climb," Nyx said seriously.
"You will," Kairo added. Together, they will reach new heights, he thought.
"The submarine is divided into three levels. The first level is where we keep the engineers and the grade two criminals. The cells here are limited to a hundred. The second level of the submarine is where the inquisitors will be staying, guarding the grade three criminals. The final and last level is the third level, where the grade four criminals are kept and the Seruth monster is detained. No one, under any circumstances other than Danzan and Donsentos, is allowed to get near his cell. It's too dangerous," Camilla explained one after the other.
"This will be all for now. On your tablets, you will see your affectations—where you're supposed to guard. In the meantime, you can visit the ship and get used to where the cafeteria and bedrooms are. And before I forget—stay ten feet away from all the cells," Camilla concluded and walked away with the other engineers.
"Let's take a look at the bedrooms first to pick mine," an officer immediately said, taking the lead.
Kaior and Nyx exchanged glances and directed themselves to the second level. With a loud thud, the doors of the submarine closed and a low rumble could be heard. Although there was no shaking, Kairo could see through the hub-lows that they had dove into the water, with bubbles floating on the windows.
"Hey Kairo, aren't you curious about that Seruth monster? I tried making some research on him, but there is little information. All we know is he is very dangerous. That's vague," Nyx said.
"No idea, but we'll find out soon enough. If I get the chance, I'll ask Donsentos—he's talkative, he wouldn't miss the opportunity to call us mushrooms," Kairo said.
The second floor was where the bedrooms were located, and Kairo and Nyx soon found their places, their rooms opposite to each other.
"Well, see you later, Kairo," she waved happily before closing the door.
'She feels even happier than me to be here,' Kaior thought. He wasn't regretting his decision to bring her. The room felt quite tight for Kaior, with all four walls way too close to each other. Used to his huge room and the large library in the headquarters as his bedroom, this thing felt like a cell.
'The only thing in this ship they missed,' Kaior said. Apart from that, the design in all aspects was incredibly well thought-out.
Kairo picked up his tablet, observing live the broadcast of what was going on. The Chancellor was onboard with others. The train had departed at the same time, with helicopters following them.
Kaior remembered Fabian mentioning him being a bridge between them and the public. That was exactly what the Chancellor was doing—entertaining the media and gathering more and more attention and fame for the Card Mage Police. It was thanks to him that, after the incident at the Cathedral, people didn't curse them for too long.
"If the great Magnus Veyne himself is on this train, there is clearly nothing to fear for us, Chancellor. So why all these armed officers? We count about a hundred on the train," a journalist asked.
"Well, Magnus is a pillar of the Card Mage Police, but it would be absurd to think he can be in ninety places at the same time. Every officer, engineer, or inquisitor of the Card Mage Police has a role to play, and it is their coordination that makes us stronger."
"Selis Varinat has been very active these days. Rumors say the incident at the Cathedral was linked to her people. Don't you fear any attack? I even heard this new officer—what is his name… yeah, Kaior—I think he met Selis on this same train a few months ago but couldn't catch her."
"Kaior is a newbie officer. How could he have stopped a grade five criminal? That's the job of captains. Well, this will be all for now. I need to talk with Magnus," the Chancellor said, about to leave the interview.
'He hates me, but he isn't lying. How could I have known it was Selis? Nor could I have ever stopped her at that time,' Kaior had a vivid reminder of how the Void Cannon almost ripped his head off. It was a card no less powerful than the Judgement Sword of Celia—or perhaps even deadlier.
"One last question, Chancellor: Kaior was nicknamed the Sword Diver because of his perceived love for danger and action. I find it strange that he is not onboard with you here. This would have been a great opportunity for this rising star to learn from the best, wouldn't it be? Or perhaps he isn't here because the real danger lies somewhere else…" the journalist kept probing.
"See you in an hour," the Chancellor said.
'I don't like this guy's head. He feels fishy,' Kaior knew it was a little exaggerated to dislike someone just because of their head, but the more he listened, the more he felt that this head didn't foreshadow anything good.
'I hope the media won't backfire on us,' Kairo thought.
Kairo then saw his father briefly through the flashing cameras. His eyes were lost in the distance, as if he were trying to look into the sky, like there was something hiding there that only he could see.
'Father,' Kaior smiled.
This was the last thing he saw before the tablet went still. Fabian was broadcasting all of this via the General Eye card, not through the media—this was to ensure their communication stayed secure. And so, he would stop it after every hour, mainly because of the astronomical amount of energy it required.
Kairo then lay in his bed, trying to close his eyes for a few minutes. He didn't know when he would get another chance to sleep, so he wouldn't shy away.
"Oh, I still need to get my deck ready for the mission," Kaior reminded himself.
This was a crucial step in determining the strength of a Card Mage in combat—the careful selection of his cards based on his best combination.
Too focused on getting Nyx on board, Kairo didn't have time to accomplish such a step. Slapping himself for his negligence, he stood from the bed. This was no time to sleep.