General Luena was more agile than her military challenger. As soon as the first explosions occurred, she sensed that the attacks would not be restricted to public buildings. The target was Ilu Nla's underground facilities. She mobilized her Phalangites to the laboratories and monitored the situation from there.

  He ordered the troops to reinforce the buildings where the access to the underground laboratories was located. He waited until he detected an invasion by Akachi's group.

  Nebulas 1, 2 and 3 offered to repel the invaders at the entrance. But Luena rejected the proposal.

  Nebula No. 1, the most combative of them all, clenched her fist and said:

  “We can crush them before they penetrate the lower floors, ma'am.”

  “It won't be necessary for them to engage in direct combat. My Ghost Troop is not a bunch of pawns to be sacrificed.”

  Nebula No. 2, the most sensible of the group, put a hand under her chin and analyzed the situation:

  “General Luena is right. We don't need to fight with the attackers.”

  “Don't play the coward now, Nebula No. 2.”

  “It's not cowardice, it's common sense. It was rashness that killed Nebula No. 4, we have the advantage in numbers and terrain. The installations have very advanced defense systems.”

  Nebula No. 1 didn't seem satisfied with her military companion. She declared her concern about the reports of failure in the Axé-Core of Ilu Nla's Cyber Troops. The Ghost Troop and Generals Jitujeusi and Luena would be prevented from using Ofó.

  Nebula No. 3 had remained silent until then and decided to clarify this point:

  “The Cyber Troops will be prevented from using Ofó. The monitoring system's firewall was shared between all the militaries in order to carry out purchased statistics in real time. However, the Falangettes' and generals' Axé-Cores are not shared and were not affected by the virus.”

  General Luena was pleased to have such admirable subordinates. She ordered them to follow the course of the invasion and wait for the right moment to steal the Spiritual Keys of the Sages.

  ?

  Ojwang hurried through the corridors. The sirens and emergency lights, added to the men and women running back and forth, were a symphonic chaos.

  He reached the laboratories where Axé-Core's test subjects were stored. He wasn't surprised to realize that Jitujeusi was there. The giant cyborg was facing life support chambers.

  In the chamber, floating in a green-fluorescent liquid, was a young cyborg. His face was covered by a mask with a visor. His left eye was a monocle with a telescopic, microscopic and thermovision sighting system. Wires connected his robotic parts, and peripheral catheters poured drugs and amino acids into the intravenous network.

  Its veins inflated like balloons, and its muscles twitched under its skin. The guinea pig wasn't ready, but it would be activated to carry out a single mission.

  “So you intend to use your last resources?”

  Jituejeusi was too amazed by his work to notice the presence of the newcomer.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “President Ojwang... yes, but don't worry, we'll crush those insects before they give us any trouble.”

  “You're very confident.”

  “I deserve to be. I've prepared a lot for this, hohoho.”

  Jitujeusi's smile made Ojwang uncomfortable. The general had summoned the hand-picked officers of the Phalanx to lead the Revolutionary Republican Army, but Jitujeusi always seemed to be ahead of his plans. He felt that the two thought alike, and that was the danger. In the future, the military officer could turn against him.

  But as long as he was an efficient tool in carrying out his plans, he would have him as an ally.

  Jitujeusi maintained his devilish smile. Not even Ojwang knew the extent of his research and results. The soldier pressed a button and the water drained. The body fell to the floor of the chamber in a fetal position, the wires and catheters were pulled out. With a tablet, Jitujeusi activated the cyborg by remote control.

  The young cyborg stood up with robotic movements. He left the chamber, taking a few steps towards Jitujeusi. As the liquid dripped from his body, he saluted.

  “Behold, President Ojwang, the last member of the Death Squad, the Banga Experiment.”

  The last member, how many are there altogether?

  Three shadows loomed in the room. Ojwang took two steps back, the three Phalangites lined up with Banga.

  Jitujeusi, proud of his creation, gave a single order to the Death Squad:

  “Kill the invaders and bring their spiritual keys to me.”

  Banga went to join the other three, but the general ordered him to stay.

  “No, I have other plans for you...”

  ?

  Akachi and the others managed to advance into the facility. The casualties were concentrated among the non-mediums. Many decided to stay behind and hold off the Cyber Troops.

  Adisa's son was determined to get to the heart of the underground laboratories. He wanted to confront Ojwang and put an end to his plans. His Ori Guardian felt the medium's eyes burning, not with the eyes of vengeance, but with those of justice.

  Hakim took the spearhead of the group. It was like a battle tank blowing everything up. Spin Bomb used his smoke bombs and, one by one, the enemies were taken down. They had made great progress until they reached a large antechamber that led to three different exits.

  Spin Bomb was confused about which way to go. She considered that from then on they should split up.

  “We'll have to split up now. Maybe it'll improve our chances.”

  “Don't crow about victory too soon, my apprentice. In fact, we're facing a trap.”

  The previously open doors slammed shut, and a layer of armor sealed the entrances. Armed drones descended from entrances in the ceiling, and on the walls, machine-gun turrets were fired.

  Spin Bomb drew his firework swords, gritted his teeth and exclaimed indignantly:

  “Shit!”

  “Mediums, triple barrier.”

  Ekundayo, Hakim and Akachi quickly took up three equidistant points around the group. They attracted the ambient Axé and spread it around. They shaped this aura until it took on the consistency of a dense, dome-shaped barrier. The projectiles hit the barrier with a huge bang. The heat from the explosions surpassed the barrier.

  “Hurry up, Mr. Feruzi! The barrier won't last forever.”

  “The trinity is one and perfect, complementary in its vastness. I serve three infant sages, who fill my days with knowledge and fortune. Ekon, Iregi and Suluhu, who investigate everything with their curiosity, give me your knowledge. Firm the spirits.”

  The triple incorporation of the three youthful spirits took place. Feruzi turned with open hands and arms and declared his Ofó:

  “House of Mirrors.”

  A square-shaped barrier of mirrors appeared around Feruzi and his companions. The outer shaped barrier shattered. All the projectiles that hit the House of Mirrors were absorbed by the walls and ceiling. Seconds later, the mirror barrier threw all the projects back at the opponents. The antechamber went up in flames. And the doors opened. Everyone congratulated Feruzi.

  Feruzi dissolved the barrier. Drops of sweat trickled down his temples. With an APRC Mediumistic Profile, the attraction of Axé and propagation for modeling Axé. At his age, it required a Herculean effort.

  Akon, dressed as a youthful spirit on the right, assessed his medium's situation:

  You should get some rest, you're trying too hard and you have a lot of strong opponents ahead of you.

  I'm still in the running, Akon.

  Iregi gave one of his cynical laughs, he was worried about Feruzi in the same way as Akon. But he had great difficulty expressing his emotions. Everything for him was visceral. He said everything ironically:

  Old man, don't fall apart. You won't retire that way. I have to agree with the coward next door.

  Selassié's third spirit hit both brothers on the head and said:

  Stop torturing our medium. Feruzi has enough experience to decide his own steps.

  “Paralyzing Arrow!”

  A spark of light flew from one of the entrances and hit Hakim in the heart. The Throne of Force emitted a circular glow at the spot hit. At the same moment, his body stiffened like a stone statue.

  “The most dangerous threat has already been contained.”

  Under the effect of the confusion, everyone turned in the opposite direction. And there she was, a great challenge that had the capacity to ruin everything.

  See you all next week.