A few days had passed since Simon and his squad had escaped the Hollow World. They avoided exposure to anything related to the Hollow World to clean their systems.
However, Simon was the only one who did not properly rest. How could he? Project Icarus had asked him to kill Elliot Grayson, his own squadmate. Simon was not going to follow orders without a reason behind them.
So, he filed to launch a personal investigation against Elliot. It took a while for this request to be accepted, but a senior in France eventually approved it.
He also gave Simon free rein on this investigation. Since he did not have to answer to anyone, he could manipulate the information he provided. This would also be an issue for him.
Since he wanted to withhold as much information as possible, it was important to have someone he trusted help him.
Since Elliot had been arrested for trying to perform a ritual on Heaven, he desperately needed to find what he was attempting. With that information, he could search for motives from there.
(But who knows about rituals?) He sighed.
He was limited to this; the people he knew at the academy did not transfer with him. Silas and Leo were both backbones for investigation groups; they were needed for firepower.
Without people like this helping investigation teams, they would die quickly. Simon rubbed his temples, thinking about where he could possibly go. However, with his limited options, he only had one choice.
This choice would be Alina. What else could he do but turn to her? Sure, she was a Medical Staff member, but the Medical Team was a faction of the Science Team.
It was a requirement for her to learn at least half of the Cognitive Periodic Table. So, he immediately went to her office as soon as he could.
He gently knocked on the door, but no response came through.
(Is she not here?)
A confused look dawned on his face, and he leaned in to knock again. Just as he did so, the door swung open.
Alina stared as eerily as usual, glancing into his eyes for longer than necessary. It was almost as if she was trying to pry something out of him.
Simon was disturbed by this, but he had a task to complete.
"Ms. Korolyova, I launched an investigation against an Officer who was previously a Bedeviled. Do you think you can help me decipher this ritual?"
She didn't respond for a moment before stepping aside to let him in. Simon took that as a yes, allowing himself into her office.
It was oddly neat, with little to no personal belongings. Compared to Evelyn's office, which was filled with clutter and plushies, it was like she had something to hide.
Alina closed the door behind Simon, walking to her desk. She opened a drawer to her right, pulling a box out of it.
As Simon took a seat on the opposite side of her, she slid the box over to him.
"Open it."
Simon raised an eyebrow, but nonetheless began to cooperate. He had no reason to doubt her, so he took the box closer to him and opened it.
What he found inside was another pair of gloves. Simon grabbed them with caution, and confusion etched his face.
(I never told her I needed new gloves?...)
Alina waited for a moment, glaring at Simon's bare hands. Was she waiting for him to put them on?
"Well? They are the same model, yes? I've noticed you haven't bought your gloves in a few days."
The fact that she had even noticed such a small detail put him off. Still, he did not have a reason to reject this gift. In fact, when it came to these gloves, they were better than his last pair.
He had noticed sigils on them, the first one resembling an atom, and the next a drop of blood. In fact, as he slid them onto his fingers, he felt a thick layer of Boron on them.
Boron from the Hollow World was exceptional in maintaining one's form. It made the object more durable and able to restore itself after a while.
This was one of the elements that Simon knew, but he did not know what the sigils were for. Seeing Simon's confusion, Alina spoke up.
"If you offer some of your blood to those gloves, they will create a protective shield over your body. Don't use it more than three times in a row; it would be like getting your blood drawn twice. I repeat: Do. Not. Use. Them. Three. Times."
Simon, of course, listened carefully to her words, nodding his head in agreement. He was glad for this, but he could not forget how off-putting this situation was.
He pushed it aside for now; he had to discover what exactly Elliot was working on.
"This person I'm investigating, his name is Elliot Grayson. He had once tried to perform a ritual over this place, but it failed. If possible, can you help me figure out what he was working towards, and what the side effects of the failure were?"
"...I'd be happy to."
With that, Alina pulled out Elliot's file, reading the formula for the ritual along with Simon. Rituals had conditions. There was the input, elemental vector, geometry, catalyst, timing, and most importantly, a safeguard.
Alina explained a few things to him; his inputs were human subjects and animal eyes.
He had large amounts of chemicals with him, which included Louge[1], Mercury, Carbon, Calcium, Hydrogen, Sulfrix[2], Nitrogen, and Iron. He hid a sigil in the earth beneath the building and poured his own blood on its exterior.
The expected result was to cause everyone in Heaven to have contamination in their blood. This contamination of an animal's blood mixed with a human's would kill them eventually.
However, this greatly backfired as Elliot did not know that you needed to input another's blood instead of his own. This caused him to transform into whatever animal he had used temporarily.
He fortunately had a safeguard, Flerovium, and consumed it to stall the effects until he was treated. Flerovium was dangerous; however, had he taken one drop too many, he would have exploded with the force of a nuke.
This is not what put Simon off; he was a Bedeviled — they, of course, were extreme. What Simon questioned was how Elliot drew the sigil below the earth.
(He clearly had help with this; his Signature does not allow him to carve out the soil beneath. Unless he has a contract with an entity.)
Simon was puzzled. He would now have to figure out his motives and this mysterious helper. He thanked Alina before going on his way.
(Could Project Icarus really attempt something that stupid?)
[1] Chemical Hollow World word for Oxygen.
[2] Chemical Hollow World name for Sulfur.