Odyssey || ArknightsXPunishing: Gray Raven (OLD BOOK)

Chapter 14: Returning home

"Do you not value your life?" Magallan suddenly asks. The question made him stiffened, and the smile on his face disappeared. Feeling void about her question, he averted his eyes.

"...I don't know." Lee replied, frustration present in his tone. "It's been that way ever since."

"But-" Magallan tried to interject, but was cut off when she saw the look on Lee's face. 'Oh no.'

"Lee.. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright. Let's just drop it at that." Lee brushed it off and made his way to the door. "Come, let's head to the airship."

"..." Magallan could only stare at his slowly disappearing figure, before sighing heavily to herself and walking off to follow him.

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The trip back to Rhodes Island was filled with silence. Lee told the rest of the team to give him some space before heading towards the medical department. Blue Poison could only give him a worried look, and Magallan had her head hung low.

"Cut him some slack. Come on, let's go to the HR department. We still have lots to report." Andreanna said to the team and motioned them to follow. After the group left, only two people were left standing in the hangar.

"What about me?" Ifrit asked Silence, who was standing beside her.

"Just go back to your room and rest for the day. I'll be heading to the medical department." Silence stated and kissed her in the forehead.

"M-kay then!" Ifrit said with a smile before heading towards the opposite direction.

Seeing that Ifrit had left, Silence hastily made her way to the medical department, hoping to catch up to Lee.

When Silence arrived at the medical department, she was greeted at the unusual sight of Lee talking with her fellow former Rhine lab colleague, Ptilopsis. She slowly approached them, but Lee immediately noticed her presence.

"I see, thanks for the information Ptilopsis."

"Operator Ptilopsis is happy to help. The data I gave operator Lee may be outdated, but with your faster analysis capabilities, I'm sure you'll overcome emerging obstacles." Ptilopsis replied with her usual unusual tone, before resuming her work.

Lee stood up and made his way out of the medical department. He avoided a vampire lady looking at him from the distance. 'Laterano huh? The data I received said a peculiar incident happened on the border of Laterano and Iberia four months ago... Now that's worth checking out.' Lee sighed inwardly as he viewed the data given by Ptilopsis on his HuD. He tried opening and cracking the other files, but they were already broken. He was about to view the rest of the files regarding Ferdinand's background when he heard sets of footsteps rapidly approaching from behind.

"Lee. We need to talk." A soft voice calls out to him.

He glanced back and saw Silence standing there with a stern expression.

"I'm in a bit of a hurry here, so maybe next time." He replied and continued walking, ignoring the person behind him.

"Wha-, wait a minute. I have something important to say!" Silence raised her voice and latched on to his arm, thinking that she could make him stop. But instead, she was dragged along like a child, her shoes sliding on the floor. Still, she didn't let go despite the difference in terms of strength. Finally, after a grueling minute of walking, Lee stopped and turned to face her.

"*Sigh*, this is a pain." He scratched the back of his head and crossed his arms. "Go on, spill the tea."

Silence fixed her rustled coat and cleared her throat. "Ahem. About what happened back there in Lungmen, I'm sorry. I didn't know what I was getting into and my actions have compromised the entire team, especially you." Silence sighed and stared at his eyes. "I know you'll most likely doubt me for now on, but allow me to at least make it up to you." She added and began rummaging on her bag. After a few seconds, she pulls out a USB and hands it to him.

"This is..." Lee muttered as he downloaded the information from the USB. A megaton of files played on his HuD.

"Classified records and logs of three Lateranian squads affiliated with the 'Apostolic Gun- knights'. All of them went missing in the town named Constantine near the border of Iberia. The Iberians also sent some border guards to aid the investigation, but they also suffered the same fate. I think this matter has something to do with whatever you're planning to report to Dr. Kalt'sit." Silence informs him and fixed her glasses, a glint of bright light appears for a moment.

"I.. don't know what to say." Lee said after a moment of silence. "I don't care about what happened back there at the warehouse, except for the fact that another one of my kind was here." He adds and turned around to leave.

"Thank you Silence. Just don't get involved in trouble again." He says and waved goodbye, disappearing to the nearby elevator. Unbeknownst to him, the female Liberi wore a small smile on her face.

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Lee finally made his way to Kalt'sit's office. He passed many operators along the way, who exchanged greetings with him. He saw Blaze in the distance talking with a group of Ursus students. He rounded a corner and stood in front of Kalt'sit's office.

*knock knock*

After a few seconds, he hears footsteps approaching and the door swiped open. The lynx lady stood there with her usual expression.

"Welcome back. Now, care to explain what you sent to my office? It's my first time seeing something like this." Kalt'sit said while putting a hand on her forehead and led him to the examination room.

When the team arrived back in Rhodes Island, the 'dead' construct was placed in a sealed pod and was immediately sent to Kalt'sit's office.

"This is one of my kind." Lee spoke in a low voice, examining the body of the tank-type construct laid on the medical bed. "*Sigh*, alright, I'll tell you everything I know."  Kalt'sit was eyeing him, listening intently to his monologue.

"The place I originally came from, or planet, is called Earth. Androids and humans co-exist back then. It's technology is far more advanced than Terra, and that superior advancements brought down our demise. A deadly virus escaped one of the facilities, spreading death to humans. The androids affected by the virus however, began killing anything that exhibited human emotions. That's when they're called corrupted, marking the start of the long and grueling war between humanity and punishing virus." Lee sighed, and sat down on a chair.

Kalt'sit on the other hand, was in loss of words. Not only that the man in front of him was from another world, but the fact that the virus from their world is also deadly. If he arrived here via a wormhole, who knows how many followed him here.

"And me? I'm just one of the many constructs designed by Babylonia to reconquer Earth. I spent years with my squad fending off hordes of corrupted just to eradicate the punishing virus. Thinking about it now, being used as tools, we were humans once..." Lee trailed off, staring at the broken construct in the bed.

"Lee..." Kalt'sit muttered. Hearing about his experience made her heart ache. This made other people's past shrink in comparison. But something was nagging her ever so curious mind.

"How..." Lee looked up at her as she spoke. "How are you alive then?"

"... Pardon?" Lee straightened his posture, confused at her question.

"You told me you're a construct, and that you were once human." Kalt'sit put a hand on her chin while pacing slowly around the medical bed. "Did they transfer your brain and heart perhaps?"

"Ah. No, only my consciousness and memories. I bleed, and still feel pain. But the wounds I suffer regenerates given I have enough rest." Lee stands up and walks up to her.

"That's why, if you ever need someone to put their life on the line..." He says and puts a hand on Kalt'sit's shoulder.

"I'm the right man for the job."

To be continued.

Author's notes:

(Just picture the tank-type construct from Cerberus squad to be somewhat like Kamui.)