Chapter 28: Oriflamme

"In fact, it came straight for me."

Inside the speeding vehicle, S had already applied a simple bandage to Jin. Jin managed to stem the bleeding, but his pale complexion revealed just how poor his current condition was.

The man in the suit sat in the front passenger seat, watching K drive, and spoke in a slow, unhurried manner:

"They are invaders. In our galaxy, there were two planets with different civilizations, and it was they who initiated the aggression against our world. Although we put up a desperate resistance, our strength and physical endurance were simply no match for them. They possess an extraordinarily formidable, undying constitution."

S felt as though her mind were a tangled mess; how could she possibly listen to this fellow recount the history of planetary invasions? Unable to help herself, she arched a brow and snapped, "Cut to the chase! How do we save Jin!?"

The man cast an ungracious glance at S. He was now in an advantageous position, with the two humans depending on him, yet they still lacked even the most basic courtesy.

On his home planet, he held the status of a prince, at the very least; how could he endure such rude language?

Still, frowning slightly at the thought that he would need the help of these two humans to acquire that object shortly, he swallowed his dissatisfaction and continued:

"They are called the Bodans. The only way to defeat them is for us, the Kamdans, to rely on the Oriflamme. And the only way to save this man is through the energy of the Oriflamme."

He drew a smooth, rounded artifact from his pocket and placed it in the palm of his hand. Like a holographic projection, accompanied by a faint cyan glow, the image of a prismatic, crystal-like object materialized within it.

"The Oriflamme is our guardian deity..."

"No... one might say it is everything..."

"And it was precisely to search for the Oriflamme that we came to Earth!"

K was momentarily stunned and asked, "You mean... this thing is on Earth?"

The Kamdan nodded. "They attacked our planet, seized the Oriflamme, and brought it away to this distant Earth to hide it."

"That's why the compatriots who came before us have all been working jobs near this thing..."

S seemed to recall something. Gesturing with her hands, she asked, "Is it a small object?"

"In terms of size... it's about this big," the Kamdan gestured.

S said excitedly, "Then... I may have seen it!"

With that, she activated her portable smart computer and pulled up specific image data:

"Is this it?"

It was an irregular meteorite, its mottled exterior revealing a crystal-like cyan interior. The Kamdan leaned in for a closer look, then confirmed with excited certainty, "That's it!"

"That thing is at the Crustal Movement Scientific Survey Institute. We must head there immediately!"

***

Inside the brightly lit corridor of the institute, a researcher explained as he led the group toward the laboratory.

"I received contact from headquarters. That thing was discovered about two months ago in the Lada region. It was formed by an extraterrestrial object."

The researcher gestured with his hand. "Please, this way..."

However, just as they turned the corner of the corridor, a sound resembling a beast's low growl echoed out. Everyone was startled—it was none other than the Bodan that had injured Jin.

"Bastard!" There was always a sense of intense hatred when enemies met, and S felt it more than anyone. She took the lead, stepping forward alongside K to draw their laser guns and fire at the creature.

Yet the Bodan seemed to have no desire to fight them. With a fierce stomp of its foot, its figure dissolved into a blurred streak of light and darted down a corridor.

The Kamdan reacted instantly, shouting in a rush, "It wants to get to the Oriflamme before us! Hurry up and stop it!"

S's expression changed, and she rushed forward without hesitation, followed closely by K. The Kamdan and the researcher also helped Jin along and hurried after them.

When S and K arrived, the Bodan was in the midst of "forced entry." To it, even an all-metal laboratory offered no barrier against its formidable strength.

Laser beams struck its body without even penetrating its tough skin. Evidently, it had no interest in S and K and didn't even spare them a second glance.

The wall had already been pierced through, leaving a half-human-sized hole.

Although Jin was injured and looked quite grave, he was actually in no real danger. His gaze shifted to the Kamdan. Compared to the Bodan, which only knew mindless destruction, the alien before them deserved far greater vigilance.

According to what he had said, the people of his planet had come to Earth to search for the Oriflamme. If so, how could they possibly have lost contact with one another? In other words, these fellows had been lying to them all along.

Furthermore, after Sato's death, they had rushed over in a hurry, only for him to make a leisurely, "coincidental" appearance after the Bodan had taught them a harsh lesson. That was far too difficult to swallow as a mere coincidence.

There was only one conclusion: he had been present there all along. Yet he had chosen not to rescue his own planetary compatriots, leaving them to be slaughtered, simply so he could seamlessly link up with Jin and the other two.

If Jin and his companions had driven the Bodan away uninjured, he would have played the pity card to acquire the Oriflamme from human hands. After all, humans had no idea how to utilize the object; the best outcome would be for them to hand it over to him, allowing him to deal with the Bodan and ultimately leave Earth.

However, circumstances had changed. The Bodan had severely injured Jin, leaving S and K dependent on him. He now had an even stronger justification to demand the Oriflamme, as only he understood how to wield it.

Such a schemer—how could he not have a backup plan?

Jin even began to wonder if they might have been deceived right from the start, when they went to look for the first Kamdan, Suzuki.

Were these fellows truly as fragile as they claimed in their own words?

The Kamdan was burning with anxiety. The Oriflamme was the very purpose of their journey; for the sake of their planet's counterattack, he absolutely could not let it fall into the hands of the Bodan.

Seeing that the wall was about to be breached, he finally pulled the rounded communicator from his pocket and frantically barked in the language of the Alpha Centauri system: "Advance team, move in immediately and lure the Bodan away!"

With that, he dropped straight to the ground.

Jin had been keeping a close eye on the fellow all along. Seeing him make this motion, his heart skipped a beat, and he shouted urgently, "Get down, everyone get down!"

S and K froze for a second, but catching sight of Jin's posture, they immediately dropped to the floor.

Right behind them, at the far end of the corridor, amidst a shimmering distortion of light, seven or eight frail-looking figures abruptly materialized. They looked identical to the Kamdan, but they wore uniform combat attire. Their deep blue skin made them stand out starkly, and the third eye on each of their foreheads added a gloomy aura.

They carried specially crafted laser firearms, which could be locked together to form heavy, shoulder-mounted laser cannons that several of them braced against each other to hold.

Immediately afterward, a scalp-tingling energy fluctuation rippled outward.

Accompanied by a dull roar, a laser beam as thick as a human arm blasted forth, slamming squarely into the Bodan and sending its entire body flying, crashing backward through a wall.

Uttering a strange alien tongue, the Kamdan shouted:

"Hold it down!"

Taking advantage of this opening, he grabbed the researcher and rushed to the door.

As the researcher unlocked the laboratory door, he burst right inside.