Diamond froze.
Kai was right.
Not once had she actually said that the purple triggers were connected to the explosives.
They had heard her threaten to blow up IPC headquarters, noticed the trigger in her hand, and automatically assumed the two were related.
There was every possibility that the triggers had nothing to do with the bombs.
Perhaps the explosives were already counting down and would detonate automatically once the timer reached zero.
Or perhaps the triggers really did activate them, but pressing one only started the countdown rather than causing an immediate explosion.
In that case, Kai might have pressed every trigger before allowing them to be taken.
That would explain why she had shown no concern when they seized them.
This was bad.
She had been stalling for time.
Kai had been watching Diamond’s expression the entire time.
Once she saw him reach that conclusion, she let out a quiet laugh.
“Kai will give you a little hint.”
“After all, Kai is a very thoughtful person.”
“You have ten minutes before the explosion.”
“I did not place many bombs around the headquarters.”
“If you start searching now, you might still find them in time.”
Silence settled over the rooftop.
Diamond studied Kai carefully.
He did not believe a single word that came out of her mouth.
Emanators of Elation excelled at misleading others, and language was one of their simplest and most effective weapons.
However, there was at least one thing he believed.
The explosives would not detonate immediately.
Elation was different from Destruction.
An Emanator of Elation would enjoy the confusion, fear, and desperate struggle far more than the final destruction itself.
Kai would want to watch them scramble.
That meant she would leave them some time to deal with the alleged bombs.
Their brief confrontation had already made one fact painfully clear.
Diamond was no match for the charming menace standing before him.
Defeating the person who had created the problem was no longer a realistic option.
Their only choice was to search for the explosives.
Even if they could not locate every device, finding a few might reduce the damage.
Diamond knew that obeying Kai’s hint would probably lead him into another trap.
Unfortunately, he was the only Emanator currently stationed at Pier Point, and he could not defeat her.
He had no better option.
As a precaution, Diamond waved one hand and stored every purple trigger inside a secure pocket dimension.
He then turned toward Aventurine and Topaz.
“Keep her here.”
“I will deal with the explosives.”
He hurried through the rooftop door without waiting for a response.
Aventurine and Topaz stared after him.
Keep Kai here.
The two of them.
Director Diamond clearly had far too much confidence in their abilities.
Should the Emanator of Preservation not remain behind to confront Kai while they searched for the bombs?
Instead, he had left them alone with her.
Aventurine’s professional smile became painfully stiff.
Topaz looked as though she had just been assigned the worst mission of her career.
Director Diamond had escaped.
What were they supposed to do now?
A sudden chill ran down their backs.
They slowly turned around.
Kai had somehow appeared directly behind them.
Neither of them had heard her approach.
She watched them with a smile that promised nothing but trouble.
“Aventurine.”
“Topaz.”
“Come and play with Kai.”
“Stay back.”
They retreated together.
After exchanging a glance, both appeared to reach the same conclusion.
If they were going to lose, they would at least put up a fight.
They simultaneously drew their Cornerstones.
“Let me.”
One golden Cornerstone and one green Cornerstone began radiating brilliant light.
The glow lasted less than a second.
Aventurine and Topaz suddenly went rigid.
Their eyes closed, and they collapsed before either could release their power.
Kai leisurely walked over to them, wearing the satisfied smile of someone whose prank had gone exactly as planned.
“Oh, dear.”
“Kai is terribly sorry.”
“Your transformation sequence was a little too long.”
“Hehe.”
Pier Point.
Several districts away from IPC headquarters.
Aventurine and Topaz regained consciousness on the roof of a commercial tower.
Aventurine rubbed his aching head.
“Where are we?”
Topaz slowly pushed herself upright beside him.
The moment they noticed the figure standing near the edge of the roof, both of them tensed.
Kai was leaning against the surrounding wall, casually playing with a glowing red trigger.
She turned toward them with a perfectly innocent smile.
“Aventurine.”
“Topaz.”
“You are finally awake.”
“Kai always keeps her promises.”
“I said I would show you fireworks.”
“How could I possibly go back on my word?” She smiled sweetly at them.
Aventurine felt a chill travel down his spine.
Why did such an innocent smile look so terrifying?
He and Topaz stared at the red light emanating from the trigger.
A dreadful possibility entered their minds.
Was that the real detonator?
Had every purple trigger been nothing more than a distraction?
The idea sounded ridiculous.
It also sounded exactly like something an Emanator of Elation would do.
“Are you ready?”
“The show is about to begin.”
Kai placed her thumb over the button.
Topaz’s eyes widened.
“Do not press it.”
Kai pressed the button.
“Pop.”
“Pop, pop.”
The explosion they expected never came.
Instead, several beautiful fireworks rose into the sky above IPC headquarters.
They blossomed into brilliant patterns of light over Pier Point.
Aventurine and Topaz stared.
So the fireworks really were only fireworks.
Both of them released the breaths they had been holding.
For a moment, they had genuinely believed that Kai was going to destroy the IPC headquarters.
While Kai stood with her back to them and watched the display, Topaz quietly attempted to summon Numby.
They needed to inform Diamond about what had happened.
Unfortunately, Numby was still terrified of Kai and refused to emerge.
A series of nervous chirps came through their dimensional connection.
“That woman is terrifying.”
Topaz responded in a whisper.
“You only need to deliver a message to Director Diamond.”
“You will not be in any danger.”
Numby hesitated.
“Are you certain?”
“I promise.”
Another reluctant chirp answered her.
“All right.”
A small dimensional portal opened.
Numby leaped through it and disappeared.
Kai continued watching the fireworks with her hands folded behind her back.
Her eyes curved with amusement, and the corner of her mouth rose into a knowing smile.
They had taken the bait.
Surely they did not believe the performance was already over.
Hehe.
…
A short while later.
Inside IPC headquarters.
Diamond stood in his office within the Strategic Investment Department.
Numby had just finished delivering Topaz’s report.
“You are saying that after I left, Kai produced a red trigger.”
“She pressed it, and the fireworks appeared above the headquarters.”
Numby chirped in confirmation.
Diamond’s expression darkened.
“So the fireworks really were only fireworks.”
“What an infuriating Emanator.”
“She managed to send the entire headquarters into chaos by herself.”
“She wasted our time, redirected our security teams, and made fools of everyone in the building.”
Diamond released a cold breath.
A Kai Doll and a purple trigger rested on his desk.
They were samples he had brought back for examination.
At that moment, merely looking at them was enough to irritate him.
Golden energy gathered around his hand.
The Kai Doll disintegrated instantly, leaving no trace behind.
Nothing else happened.
Diamond became even more confident in his conclusion.
Kai had never planted explosives.
The dolls had only been props designed to create panic.
She had turned a collection of harmless toys into an elaborate bluff.
“She disguised ordinary dolls as bombs and made us do all the work for her.”
Diamond turned his attention toward the purple trigger.
He drove his fist down onto it.
The fragile device shattered into pieces.
“Beep.”
The electronic sound was quiet, but unmistakably clear.
Diamond stopped moving.
His entire body went rigid.
A terrible realization struck him.
That really had been a bomb trigger.
Destroying the dolls had been harmless.
Destroying the triggers was another matter entirely.
It was already too late.
“Boom.”
On the roof of the commercial tower, Kai stood before Aventurine and Topaz with her hands folded behind her back.
“How was it?”
“Did you enjoy the fireworks?”
“Hehe.”
“They were lovely.”
“Very impressive.”
Aventurine and Topaz wore awkward smiles and quietly took a step backward.
Neither of them dared criticize the performance in front of an Emanator of Elation.
They were afraid that Kai might decide to entertain herself with them next.
Their encounter had taught them something important.
The charming young woman standing before them was most certainly not harmless.
Kai tilted her head.
Her smile grew even brighter.
“I am glad you enjoyed them.”
“In that case.”
“Are you ready?”
Aventurine and Topaz exchanged an uneasy glance.
“Ready for what?”
They stared at Kai, unable to determine what new game she had prepared.
Kai’s smile became radiant.
“For the second show.”
“The real fireworks.”
Silence.
There was another display.
Where was it supposed to appear?
“Boom.”
A deafening explosion shook Pier Point.
Aventurine and Topaz spun toward IPC headquarters.
Before their horrified eyes, a brilliant eruption of light burst from the main building.
Golden flames and sparkling energy climbed into the sky, transforming part of the headquarters into an enormous cosmic firework.
Kai admired the sight with a delighted smile.
“Now that is a proper finale.”
◉◉◉◉◉
Save to library!