Kairo hardened his resolve and followed after the Sand Paladin. 'If I am right, based on his sense of justice, he would be able to find the culprit just like I can see death with my eyes,' Kairo thought.
The only problem was his face kept contorting whenever the Sand Paladin tore through the cuirass of the submarine. There were doors, after all, but the Sand Paladin was like an automaton, neither listening to Kairo nor to the screams of the worried officers.
"Leave it to me, and please don't panic. We are looking for the traitor," Kairo explained apologetically, going through the room of an officer who was sleeping.
"Then get the hell out of here. Can't get some intimacy?" he cursed.
"Sorry," Kairo kept running forward. The Sand Paladin was increasing its pace like he had locked onto something. Jumping toward it, he slid to the side, skimming through the corridors before shooting towards the gym.
At such a speed, Kairo had to slow down before catching up but wasn't far behind. Armored with tactical brilliance, he followed closely behind his summon. The gym had a few officers trying to free their minds from all the pressure that was mounting. The moment the Sand Paladin arrived, he scanned them with a decisive gaze.
'He is among them,' he thought.
"What is the meaning of all this, Officer Kairo? We are just trying to chill in here," an officer said.
"Yeah, we are getting tired of you not being able to find a simple culprit. He is in this submarine for sure—how come you haven't found him yet?" another complained.
"This is not as simple as you all think. I would like to ask you all one question. Depending on the answer, we will leave immediately," Kairo said.
Although the Sand Paladin could follow on instinct, he could not, at a hundred percent, pinpoint the culprit, and they could not make a mistake and harm an innocent.
"How was the evening meal?" he asked.
"Ah, you kidding me? Kairo, we are in such a situation with a murderer running free and all you can think of is food?" an officer slammed his fist on the machines.
"Wait, maybe he has a good reason. All I know is the five of us have been in here since the patrol stopped. We haven't eaten."
"There was no meal after the murder was announced at the cafeteria. No one on the submarine was in the mood to eat," another officer replied, this one with his back to the group while lifting weights in his left hand, appearing very concentrated.
"Does that mean you went to the kitchen to grab something?" Kairo asked with a smirk on his face. No one other than the culprit could know there was still food in the kitchen.
"Damn," the figure cursed.
The officers wore clueless expressions, about to ask something when Kairo pinpointed someone. 'Her,' he pointed out.
The Sand Paladin's lance was already spinning in his hands as if he could read Kairo's mind. He acted out, with a swift strike brandished in a wide arc.
"You're so annoying, Kairo!" the figure jumped out, rolling to evade the blow. The lance threw a clean arc on the walls of the gym, digging deep into its hard cuirass.
The figure turned into smoke and vanished into nothingness, while another officer was running away in the other direction.
"A Mirage Card. This person is a real maniac of deception. Damn. This way, Sand Paladin!" Kairo took chase first this time.
"We don't have time to play this stupid game. We need to stop her before things get out of control on board," Kairo said.
The woman was running just ahead of them, a tad faster than both him and the Sand Paladin. It was like she was floating on something, exponentially increasing her movement.
"Love my favorite card, Wind Diver? You will never catch up with me, Kairo, and all your friends will be killed by the Inquisitor. The faster you are, the faster I become. Hihihi... The other fool with justice shall be served. Why haven't I felt your justice yet?"
A sarcastic laugh echoed at the front.
Following after him, the Sand Paladin's expression flickered. Although it was made of nothing more than sand, Kairo could see a tinge of anger rise in his eyes. Slowing down, he pulled his lance and handed it to Kairo.
"Throw with all your strength," it said.
Kairo's eyes flickered with surprise — this was the first time he had said anything other than "Justice shall be served." Still, Kairo was getting really on edge thanks to that witch. Thus, he picked up the lance and condensed all his strength into his fingers, making them crack slightly.
Leaning backward slightly, he threw it, the lance like a javelin. There was an explosive burst of wind as the lance began whistling forward. It moved so fast that it traversed the corridor and caught up with the lady.
Mocking them, she maneuvered through the space like she was skateboarding and evaded the lance, which missed her widely.
"Learn how to throw," she said.
"I did learn," Kairo smirked when his figure popped ahead of her, covered in sand. He caught the Sand Paladin's lance, flipping it in his hand. With a classy swing, he sent her biting the ground. Then Kairo landed on his two feet while the Sand Paladin reformed to its original body, particles of sand detaching from Kairo to reattach themselves to its form.
With his lance in hand, the Sand Paladin stepped forward.
"Justice shall be served," he said, lifting it above her head — but Kairo stopped him midway. He still needed her to understand what was going on here.
"Aie, you bastard, that was painful. My body hurts everywhere," she said, forcing her way back to her feet.
"I don't care. Now remove what you did to the Inquisitor. And what did you mean by 'they are coming'?" Kairo asked. He was very satisfied with the abilities of the Sand Paladin. I never knew he could do something like that, Kairo thought.
"As if I would answer your question like this. I would rather die than say anything. I still have a last trick," she said, taking a step back.
But Kairo was no fool and waved at the Sand Paladin, who simply stepped forward with his lance.
"You have already shown all your three cards. There is nothing you can do now. I doubt someone like you will have any auxiliary card; otherwise, we wouldn't be chatting. Now surrender or face the wrath of the Sand Paladin."
"Okay, okay, I will... I—" Picking up a little gadget from her pocket, she threw it within the cell next to her.
Startled, Kairo moved out, his fist landing squarely on her stomach. With a painful cry, she crumbled to her feet with teary eyes.
"You…"
"What have you done?" Kairo asked with a furious expression. No matter what she had thrown in that cell, Kairo feared he had made a huge mistake not taking her down immediately. He had been too arrogant.
A very disturbing sound echoed.
Click…
"Karma exists, Kairo. That's what you get for hitting a girl," she spat out, mouth full of blood.
Worried, Kairo retreated with his captive and the Sand Paladin.
"This was supposed to be used to free the Seruth Monster, but I didn't have access to the third level. Who would have thought these old fools would restrict it to only two people. Still, I don't care — the plan is almost complete now," she said, grimacing in pain, holding her stomach.
"What do you mean? Are there others like you on board? Are you all here for the Seruth Monster?"
Kairo's mind was spinning. They were in a submarine — how could others join them? That was impossible. And if their objective had always been to free the Seruth Monster, then that meant those murders had a specific objective — but what?
From within the dark cell, a figure rose to its feet, moving toward them one step after the other. Barefooted, he appeared quite muscular, almost like his arms were bigger than his body. His stomach was slightly bulging forward, while his forearms were covered in vulgar tattoos.
Corry smiled as his powerful arms crushed the bars of the cell, tearing them to the side like he was tearing paper. His necklace was nowhere to be found.
"Time for dinner."