Several soldiers there also observed the dreadstones with great curiosity. I remembered Gruzhnil had once spoken about it being stored very secretly in the central energy facility. I wondered what Gruzhnil would do with such a large deposit of dreadstones.
"During the expeditions that The Graendall has carried out, we have never found those stones in such large quantities. Indeed the energy of dreadstones is slightly greater than starstones. If we can take all of this deposit, Grivendal could once again create a new energy source that is vast and lasting forever..." said Gruzhnil in an awed tone.
"Uummm... commander, what does it mean that a vast and eternal energy source has been created?" I triggered by Gruzhnil's final statement.
"Ehhh... Uhhh... Ah... no-no... forgive me Johann! I should not have said that! This is the greatest secret of the empire. I'm sorry that I cannot tell you right now." said Gruzhnil rather nervously.
Instantly I felt there was another major matter that Grivendal was hiding from me. I also could not force Gruzhnil to explain it because after all he was responsible to guard the important secret assets of the empire.
Could I ask this about Mendicore? It had already sided with me. Perhaps it would explain if I asked slowly. Mendicore certainly possessed important data regarding the relationship between High Heaven and Grivendal.
"Will the commander take all the dreadstones here and bring them back to our planet?" I asked again.
"Of course! Maybe High Heaven has truly abandoned this fortress long ago and we are the ones who discovered it. That means what is here has become ours!" said Gruzhnil confidently.
"But what if High Heaven suddenly comes to demand that property which they still claim as theirs? The Grivendal Empire is still closely connected with High Heaven, isn't it?" I doubted his statement.
"Hmmm... it seems unlikely Johann. But once again I must say that the detailed explanation is closely related to that great secret of Grivendal."
I did not ask further. It seemed that these Dreadstones possessed extremely important strategic value for both sides. I must not harbor bad suspicions toward Gruzhnil.
He then instructed several soldiers to guard this room and warned them not to touch the containers or observe them too long because it would produce immediate negative effects.
Gruzhnil said that dreadstone remained a cursed object and must be handled very carefully. He would prepare the special storage that had indeed been brought from Grivendal beforehand whenever an expedition was conducted.
Gruzhnil and I walked out of the building and toward the emergency tents that had been set up. I asked permission from him to go to the medical tent where Sherubiel was being treated. Inside the tent I saw Sherubiel lying down while several medical personnel recorded her condition. Sherubiel appeared to be improving. Mendicore was also there but Hellraider was not. I thought perhaps he was simply bored now that there was nothing left to explore or monsters to defeat.
"Ooohhh... Johann, I thank you again for saving me! I cannot imagine if I had to remain there forever..." Sherubiel expressed her gratitude again to me.
"Just rest first, Sherubiel. We will leave this place soon."
"Sherubiel is of the angel race. She can regenerate her own body and while lying in that chamber she was actually in a state of deep sleep. Therefore she does not require much medical treatment to recover." said Mendicore.
Gruzhnil then entered and apparently wanted to see the prisoner himself. Sherubiel also saw him and then sat at the edge of the bed while looking toward us.
"May I come with you? I have no one else here." said Sherubiel in a somewhat pitiful tone.
"Yes, but before that I will ask several questions to you and Mendicore before allowing you to follow us back to our home planet." said Gruzhnil. He then asked for a moment alone from me and the other medical personnel.
Outside the tent, I saw Hellraider once again standing facing the abandoned fortress. I walked toward him and stood just slightly behind him.
"Sir Hellraider entrusted me with Mendicore and the Bous Ball. I remember that in the game you always carried both of those items." I said.
"Do whatever you want with them!" said Hellraider firmly while glanced again to me.
I remained silent again while we both stared at the abandoned building. Soon afterward I saw soldiers from the logistics unit transporting all the dreadstones that had been transferred into the special containers. I still wondered what major secret project the Grivendal authority was carrying out with those stones. Perhaps I would obtain the explanation from Mendicore secretly. The collection of dreadstones was loaded into the aircraft, accompanied by Gruzhnil who had just come out of the tent. I immediately approached him.
"How is it, commander? Will Mendicore and Sherubiel be able to return with us?" I asked enthusiastically.
"They appear cooperative and I believe they don't have any intention that will threaten the security in Grivendal later. However I request your assistance to continue observing them and report to me or Grelmure if they show suspicious behavior or activities." said Gruzhnil.
"Understood, commander. I will observe them while in Grivendal later." I smiled. I felt it was reasonable that Gruzhnil did not fully trust them yet because whatever happened later he would be responsible.
I believed Mendicore could be relied upon because of its original role in the game assisting Hellraider. As for Sherubiel, I indeed had never known her directly from the game before. But from what Mendicore had said earlier about her, I concluded she was merely an entity abandoned by her own race.
Suddenly one of the soldiers ran toward Gruzhnil. He informed him that the giant portal they had entered earlier was showing abnormal activity. At the edge of the portal red electrical flashes had appeared. Hearing that I suddenly remembered the condition of the portal at the Lazar nuclear power plant where similar effect appeared when I approached it. Could it be that the giant portal would...
"This is bad! That portal will shrink and close if we stay here too long!" suddenly Mendicore approached us together with Sherubiel.
"Order everyone to pack up! I will inform Tiberos immediately!" shouted Gruzhnil.
All the tents were dismantled immediately, equipment and weapons were loaded into logistics trucks and aircraft as well. I boarded one of the aircraft followed by Mendicore and Sherubiel. Gruzhnil and Hellraider were still riding the tactical vehicles. Everything seemed ready to leave this abandoned fortress in hell. Fortunately the journey back to the portal went smoothly without encountering those monsters again. When I saw the giant portal, there were indeed still electrical flashes along its edges.
"Its size has become one quarter smaller than its normal size. Fortunately there were troops observing the condition of this portal from afar. If we had realized too late, all of us would not be able to return and would be trapped forever with me and Sherubiel." said Mendicore.
The pilot and soldiers inside the aircraft laughed upon hearing Mendicore's words. Sherubiel and I only smiled and laughed softly. Finally we returned to Planet Grohn. The sky was already showing evening. I could say this expedition finished smoothly, thanks to Hellraider and Gruzhnil that had participated in this infiltration.
After all the forces exited, suddenly the portal shrank rapidly and disappeared. I could hear everyone in the aircraft and through the radio channels cheering loudly with joy because finally the hell portal on Planet Grohn had vanished completely.
That night a grand celebration was held around the former portal area as a celebration of the great success in destroying the portal without a single casualty and bringing many extremely important resources. Gruzhnil called Hellraider, me, Mendicore and Sherubiel to the stage among the gathered troops. Tiberos was also on the stage. Gruzhnil then delivered a speech regarding today's infiltration mission. He personally expressed his deepest gratitude to Hellraider and then to me. Gruzhnil also introduced Mendicore and Sherubiel as coming from High Heaven and now becoming part of Grivendal. All the soldiers immediately cheered and shouted Hellraider's name.
I smiled happily and glanced at Hellraider standing beside me. He remained silent while observing the entire army chanting his name. I felt that he still could not express his emotions. He was still in a transition from his former life filled with blood and brutality toward becoming part of a normal society.
I walked among the groups of soldiers and most of them simply called and praised me. I did not see Hellraider since leaving the stage. Where had he gone? It seemed he had separated again, yet it was unlikely he had gone to the hill at night like this. Did he follow Gruzhnil? Earlier Gruzhnil seemed to walk with Tiberos. I felt the urge to go to toilet. I went to one of the large buildings temporarily erected for the operation to the toilet area. After finishing, I walked through the corridor to exit again. Suddenly I heard the sound of two people arguing coming from a corridor corner.
Instantly I felt déjà vu of the incident at the Army headquarters where Imelda confronted Simone. Wait a moment... this voice... was that not Gruzhnil and Tiberos??? Why were they suddenly arguing? I then tried to find an opportunity to secretly peek from the corridor corner, and indeed it was them. I briefly saw Gruzhnil looking upset hearing Tiberos's words.
"Gruzhnil, this is our golden opportunity to show that Grivendal no longer depends on the bloodline of Ghremolus and Grhemus! We possess the greatest number of dreadstones ever found in previous expeditions. Those two entities accompanying us show that High Heaven are not as noble as we thought! They could become proof that Grivendal can free itself from the grasp of them after thousands of years. We can rebuild everything from here. I can propose you as the first Emperor of Grivendal who comes from common people..." Tiberos explained.
"Stop that nonsense...!!! How could I betray Emperor Gregustus for your vision...!!! He has elevated the dignity and honor of us and is this how we repay them...?!?!?! I strongly oppose your plan...!!! I know that you want to prevent something terrible from happening again on this planet, do you not...?!?!?!" said Gruzhnil emotionally.
"Yes...!!! I want to protect all the people of Grohn again...!!! Do you not know that they will never forgive Gregustus after he still carried out military operations on my planet, arresting everyone considered traitors, punishing them and torturing them until many died...?!?!?! I have endured all this time... holding back all the resentment and anger of my people toward the man you always idolize...!!!" said Tiberos with rising emotion.
"Because your man killed Her Majesty Glyresa who had absolutely no evil intention toward your people...!!! Do you not remember the words of the late Glyresa where she herself approved the separation of Grohn from Grivendal...?!?!?! None of this would have happened if you truly could have convinced the defecting authority...!!! I have been kind enough to protect you so that you would not be branded part of those traitors...!!!" Gruzhnil replied to Tiberos's accusation.
I stopped eavesdropping on their fierce argument and left the building through another route. I had just obtained another piece of the story that had previously been told by Glynpatra personally to me. It was indeed true that Emperor Gregustus still arrested and punished the opposition authority of Planet Grohn which caused the prolonged resentment of Grohn's people toward their emperor.
I felt myself plunged into a very deep political intrigue within this empire, something that I never truly found in the lore of The Mayhem which mostly revolved around struggles over energy sources.