Inside, Ethan's system pulsed again, new text flickering across the blue interface in front of him.
[Mission Update]
Stage 1: Engage and Distract the Pastor
Stage 2: Coonie must find the Inner Sanctum
Stage 3: Uncover the Cult's Core Truth
Ethan's gaze locked with Pastor Delrio's.
For a heartbeat, the rest of the chamber faded away. It was like two captains meeting at center court, neither blinking, neither stepping back. Both fully aware the real game had just begun.
Fine. Let's see what your "game" is, Pastor.
….
The final notes of the hymn faded into the labyrinthine corridors as Coonie quietly broke away from the main chamber. He moved like a shadow melting into darkness, his figure blending seamlessly with the robed followers streaming down the aisles.
He pressed two fingers to the side of his earpiece and whispered, "I'm in. Moving to the inner corridors."
His sneakers barely made a sound against the cold marble floor. Ahead, two robed guards stood like statues, blocking a hallway marked by a gold-etched sigil — a circle intersected by three spears. He ducked behind a tall stone pillar, pressing his back against it as his heart pounded in his chest.
(Alright, Coonie… time to prove you're not just the comic relief anymore.)
He shut his eyes briefly, steadying his breath. The memory of Ethan's voice from the night before echoed in his mind, quiet but firm, the way a captain talks before a high-stakes game.
"When I run the distraction, you move. No hesitation. You're the only one who can pull this off. Trust yourself."
He exhaled slowly.
(Yeah… no pressure.)
One of the guards shifted his stance, turning his head toward the main chamber as the sound of Pastor Delrio's sermon grew louder. That was the window he needed.
Coonie pushed off the pillar, gliding along the wall like a practiced thief. He reached a narrow maintenance door left slightly ajar. Without hesitation, he slipped through and found himself in a service corridor cramped, dark, and lined with rusting pipes. A single light bulb flickered overhead, buzzing like a faulty scoreboard light. The air was thick with the scent of chemicals and damp stone.
His earpiece crackled softly. Evan's voice came through, calm but focused. "Coonie, we've got your signal. You're heading toward Sublevel B. Ayumi found the blueprints. There's a hidden chamber two halls down."
Coonie whispered back, his voice low but steady, "Copy that. Keep my back covered."
He crept forward, every muscle in his body tense. His hands trembled slightly not from cold, but from the weight of what he was about to do. He wasn't Ethan. He wasn't the hero. But tonight, that didn't matter. (Tonight… I'm not sitting on the bench.)
Back in the main hall, tension filled the air like the final seconds of a close game. Ethan stood at the center of the underground chamber, his posture relaxed but his eyes sharp, reading every movement like a point guard scanning a defense. Pastor Delrio paced slowly in front of him, his white-and-gold robe swaying as if carried by an invisible breeze. His voice rose, smooth and venomous.
"Tell me, Ethan Albarado… what drives you? Is it glory? Recognition? Or perhaps… rewriting a fate that isn't yours?"
Ethan didn't flinch. He locked eyes with the man and said firmly, "I don't play your kind of game."
Delrio's smile widened, thin and deliberate.
"Oh, but you already are."
Around them, the cult members began to hum a low, rhythmic sound that reverberated through the hall like a heartbeat. The lights dimmed further, shadows crawling along the walls. Beside Ethan, Lucas straightened, his yellow eyes narrowing as if ready for a fight.
In the corner of Ethan's vision, his system interface pulsed:
[Coonie has entered Sublevel B — Progress: 37%]
Ethan's heartbeat steadied.
(Alright, Delrio… let's dance.)
Meanwhile, Coonie had reached a reinforced steel door, its frame engraved with the same spear-and-circle sigil. A biometric scanner blinked to life as he approached.
(Of course. These psychos are organized.)
He dropped to one knee, pulling out a small bypass device that Ethan had helped him modify two nights ago. He attached it to the scanner. The screen flickered and began cycling through encrypted IDs.
Ayumi's voice came through the earpiece, precise and controlled. "Good. You've got thirty seconds before it locks you out."
Coonie muttered, his fingers flying across the keypad, "That's more than enough… hopefully."
Sweat gathered at his brow. He remembered laughing with Ethan in the empty gym while learning to use the device, joking about being a "spy."
(Yeah… not so funny now.)
The scanner beeped. The words ACCESS GRANTED flashed in green. The door hissed open with a low metallic groan.
Coonie slipped inside and froze.
The chamber beyond was massive, blending ancient stone architecture with modern machinery. Rows of metal cabinets lined the walls, filled with files, strange vials, and ceremonial objects. At the far end, a mural depicted a giant serpent coiled around a basketball hoop, fangs sinking into the rim, a grotesque fusion of sport and worship.
In the center of the room stood a podium with a glass display case. Inside was a black leather-bound ledger, its cover embossed with the cult's sigil.
Coonie's breath caught. He whispered urgently, "Ethan… I think I found their playbook."
Ethan's system interface lit up like a scoreboard at a clutch moment:
[Stage 2 Progress: 78%]
[Critical Discovery Detected]
In the main chamber, Pastor Delrio suddenly stopped pacing. His eyes narrowed, sharp as knives.
"…Someone's in places they shouldn't be."
Ethan's pulse spiked. Delrio turned his head toward the side corridors, but Ethan immediately stepped forward, intercepting his gaze like a defender cutting off a passing lane.
He said loudly, "What's wrong, Pastor? Losing focus?"
Lucas moved beside him, shoulders squared, his voice firm and bright. "Your tricks won't work. Not anymore."
For the first time, Delrio's calm expression cracked. A flicker of irritation passed through his face like a shadow over water.
Far below, in the hidden chamber, Coonie shoved the ledger into his backpack. The moment he zipped it, the lights in the room shifted to a deep, pulsing crimson. Alarms shrieked through the corridors like a buzzer at the end of a quarter.
Evan's voice burst through the earpiece, urgent and sharp. "Coonie! You've been tripped! Get out NOW!"
Coonie cursed under his breath and broke into a sprint. "Yeah, no kidding!!"
Metal gates began slamming down behind him one after another, sealing off escape routes. He dived under the last one just as it came crashing down, the impact echoing through the tunnels like a gunshot.
Ethan's system flashed in front of his eyes, the familiar blue glow cutting through the chaos.
[Stage 2 Complete ✅]
[Mission Updated: The Truth Lies Within the Ledger]
A razor-thin smile curved Ethan's lips.
(Good work, Coonie… Now it's my turn.)
The alarm still howled through the underground halls, a screaming reminder that time was not on their side. Coonie's legs burned as he sprinted toward the rendezvous point, the heavy leather ledger thudding against his back. Every step echoed like a drumbeat of fate.
(I can't screw this up. Ethan said this is just the start… just the start.)
Through his earpiece, Evan's calm but urgent voice guided him.
"Right turn at the next hall. Louie and Kai are covering rear. Don't stop, just move."
The corridor twisted, metal pipes overhead hissing steam like serpents ready to strike. Shadows danced across the walls, and robed figures emerged from alcoves, eyes glinting with fanatic intensity.
"I see them… and they see me." Coonie muttered under his breath.
Back in the main chamber, the tension had crystallized into an almost physical force. Ethan's eyes narrowed. Pastor Delrio had already realized the diversion—his piercing gaze sweeping the corridors, reading every movement like a grandmaster on a chessboard.
"You think your friends can outrun me, Ethan?" Delrio's voice was smooth, cold, and venomous.
Ethan's jaw tightened, his voice unwavering. "They're not outrunning you. They're exposing you."
Delrio's lips curled into a thin, cruel smile. He raised a hand, and from the shadows, three elite cult enforcers stepped forward, muscles coiled, eyes burning like embers.
Ethan's system interface blinked, but he ignored it, this was instinct now, raw calculation.
(No assists. Just raw plays. Just like the court.)
He darted left, pivoted right, forcing Delrio to react to each feint, each shift in his weight. Delrio was fast, too fast, but Ethan kept him engaged—every second a lifeline for Coonie's escape.
"Ethan! They're hitting the corridors too!" Lucas shouted, his voice echoing with urgency.
In Sublevel B, Coonie ducked behind a support beam as two guards rounded the corner, their hands laced with small ceremonial knives. He drew a compact baton from his waistband simple, non-lethal, but precise and swung with careful timing. One guard dropped, stunned, while the other barely had time to react before Coonie vaulted over a pipe and sprinted deeper into the hall.
(I can't let them corner me. Not now. Not ever.) he thought, adrenaline pumping.
Louie and Kai were in position, eyes scanning every shadow, ready to intercept any threat.
"Move, Coonie! Left! Now!" Kai barked.
"You're not dying on my watch, man!" Louie snapped.
Coonie slid along the floor, rolling past a corner, and came face-to-face with another layer of reinforced doors, glowing faintly red with panels of cryptic sigils.
(Ethan's kidding me… of course there's another lock.)
He pressed the ledger tighter to his chest, recalling the bypass techniques Ethan had drilled into him the night before. Fingers flying across the keypad, a bead of sweat sliding down his temple, he whispered, "Come on, come on…"
A soft beep, then CLICK. The door slid open.
From the shadows, Pastor Delrio appeared, realizing the depth of Coonie's infiltration. His robes swirled around him as he moved, a living specter of authority.
"So, this is the prodigy. Coonie Smith… you think you can expose what I've built?" Delrio's voice was cold, menacing.
Coonie froze for a fraction of a second, then squared his shoulders.
"I'm not just exposing. I'm ending it."
Delrio raised his hand, chanting softly. The air vibrated with raw energy, the followers' hum amplified, resonating like a steel string pulled taut. Coonie's vision blurred.
(This is worse than any court defense… but I've got one play left.)
From the surveillance network, Evan, Louie, and Kai synchronized silently, forming a net across the hallways. Ethan's voice came through the comms, calm but commanding:
"Coonie, center yourself. Let the rhythm of the space guide you. Trust your body. They can't stop you if you move like a wave."
Coonie inhaled, heart hammering. He shifted his weight, timing each step with precision. Like a fastbreak on the court, he moved fluidly sidestep, vault, roll avoiding blades, outpacing shadows, slipping past followers.
(This is it… the final quarter.)
At the end of the corridor, a massive spiral staircase descended into a storage chamber. Followers swarmed behind him, but Louie roared, blocking their path with arms flailing like a tempest. Kai provided cover, striking anyone in the way with careful, non-lethal precision.
"Go! GO! I'll handle these fanatics!" Louie shouted.
Coonie charged down the staircase, each step echoing like a drumroll of destiny. At the bottom, the exit door fortified by Ethan's temporary barrier to slow the cult—opened with a soft hiss.
(Almost there… almost…)
Suddenly, Pastor Delrio appeared at the top of the stairs, cloak billowing like a stormcloud.
"You think you can run from fate?" he bellowed.
Coonie froze for a heartbeat, then let out a primal yell and sprinted, shoulder-charging the reinforced door. It splintered just enough, and he tumbled through into the fresh night air.
Outside, Ethan, Lucas, Louie, Kai, and the rest were waiting, shadows melting into the night.
"Good work, Coonie. You just made your first play of many," Ethan said with a smirk.
Coonie, breathless, clutching the ledger, growled, "This… this ends tonight. We bring everything down."
Lucas grinned, eyes glowing in the darkness.
"Sunshine's just getting started, Coonie. Let's light this place up."
The team huddled quickly, disappearing into the surrounding alleyways. The ledger burned with secrets, Pastor Delrio seethed from the staircase above, and the cult fell into disarray. Tonight, Vorpal had not just won a game—they had shattered a foundation, and a new mission had begun.
To be continue
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