Reiden waited in the chamber where Siren was bound, the muffled chaos of battle echoing up from far below. Any ordinary commander would have been barking orders, scrambling defences, retreating before the enemy breached the upper floors.
But Reiden wasn't ordinary. He simply stood in the shadowed corner, arms folded, as though the carnage was nothing more than background noise to him.
The attempt to extract the Nightfract had failed. Not because of his scientists, no, because of her. Siren's resistance had been far greater than anticipated. Even chained, drugged, and mentally assaulted, she clung to the name of the boy rushing toward her.
Kentaro Takamiya.
It was troublesome. But also. It was… Fascinating.
Soldiers kept bursting into the room with updates. Casualties. Advancing enemies. The speed of Halcyon's push through the facility was alarming, but Reiden's expression never shifted from that cold, thin smile.
