ã€ŠMaster of Mementos [PERSONA-ESQUE SYSTEM URBAN FANTASY] [VOLUME 1 COMPLETE]ã€‹


 [FOR PEACE] Chapter 1 - Alexander Shen, Your Average Corpo

    Confetti poppers made me go deaf. A shower of brightly-colored streamers fell on my shoulders and one landed inside my store-brand punch. This was our corporate-sponsored alc, and in case we decided to get a little more wild, we had cream soda and root beer getting stale in the fridge.

    Everyone was clapping and cheering while I stood silently against the counter, taking a fake-sip of my plastic-soiled drink.

    ¡°Glory to Glory!¡± exclaimed Manager Husk. He waved around a pendent of Glory Guild¡¯s, its logo ironed onto the fabric: three broadswords crossed together with the rising sun in the background.

    ¡°Glory to Glory!¡± my colleagues shouted too out-of-tempo, but they had the enthusiasm, I¡¯ll give them that.

    Husk paced around the office and waved the flag around like the leader of a parade, and others got the memo. A dozen colleagues joined and marched in lockstep, goofily repeating those three words¡ª¡±Glory to Glory!¡± ¡°Glory to Glory!¡±¡ªlike we were in a cult. No, we were jokingly in a cult, but if Guild Master Archknell told us to lick his shoes, most of us would do it.

    I whistled, blowing air on the plastic streamer still inside my cup. Yeah, time to get rid of that. I flicked it onto the counter and took another sip.

    ¡°Not joining the fun, Alex?¡± someone asked on my left. Martin¡ª? No, Henry? No, not that¡ªJack! It was Jack. Late-twenties, acted my age.

    I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve never been much of a fratboy¡ªwell, I¡¯ve never been a fratboy in OU, period. All the parties I went to were either holidays or birthdays, and I only got plastered once.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d say if you didn¡¯t loosen up in college, then you won¡¯t loosen up at all. But c¡¯mon!¡± Jack took one of the smaller Glory pennants and waved it around. ¡°There¡¯s gotta be something in your cold heart that¡¯s excited about this! It¡¯s Glory Guild! We¡¯re trading items for Glory Guild!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re trading biomerch. Not exactly the most high-brow catalog.¡±

    Jack¡¯s pennant drooped like a frown. ¡°I¡¯m willing to trade literal feces if it means partnering with one of the Big Four.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure we¡¯re trading actual shit.¡±

    ¡°Exactly! It doesn¡¯t matter what we¡¯re peddlin¡¯! We¡¯re gonna be filthy fucking rich by the end of next quarter!¡± Jack playfully punched my shoulder several times while saying so. ¡°This year, we¡¯re trading biomerch. Next? Alchems. And the year after that¡ªwith you on the team?¡ªexpeds. By the time we¡¯re done, I¡¯ll have a big fucking mansion outside the city with three mistresses in the sheets.¡±

    I scratched the bottom of my lip. ¡°I think you had one too many drinks.¡±

    Jack soured, pissed that I killed his vibe. ¡°I think you oughta drink more. It¡¯ll get your head outta your ass.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d need a crowbar for that, not shots.¡±

    ¡°God.¡± He threw the pennant onto the counter. It clattered against the paper plates and bowls. ¡°Take your bonus and shove it up your ass. Maybe gettin¡¯ your prostate pushed in will get you to crack a smile.¡± Jack used his middle finger to vividly paint that image.

    The crudeness actually made me smile and laugh. I raised my punch. ¡°Your three mistresses got that covered, but thanks.¡±

    ¡°Asshole.¡± Jack stormed off.

    I toasted to myself and drank.

    Eavesdroppers shuffled away from me, and their festive attitude quieted down to slanderous gossip. I could hear them now. ¡°Alexander Shen, when will he learn to stop being a hardass?¡± ¡°I wonder what happened to him? He used to be so nice.¡± ¡°I just wanna crack his jaw open every time he flaps his lips.¡±

    Ugh, I should¡¯ve just stolen some snacks and left.

    ¡°Shen!¡± someone else called me. I looked around. ¡°Shen!¡± There he was. Manager Husk, and he didn¡¯t look too happy. He made the plastic streamers on his shoulders wilt. ¡°Can you come with me for a sec?¡±

    I sighed and put my punch down. This was the last time I¡¯d be seeing it. ¡°Yessir.¡±

    Husk led me away from the party¡ªwasn¡¯t much of a happy party anymore¡ªand we went straight into his office. Such a small and cramped space for our department head. ¡°Disorganized¡± wasn¡¯t strong enough to describe it.

    I shuffled through the mess and sat in the guest¡¯s chair, the door slamming shut behind me. He wiggled around his desk, wiping off streamers while doing so, and dropped into his worn office chair. It sank a good three inches.

    He gestured at me.

    I shrugged.

    He scoffed. ¡°Every time, Shen! Every time! Every time something nice happens¡ªsomething good for the company¡ªyou always have to be a contrarian. A pessimist. A¡­ A¡­!¡±

    ¡°An asshole?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t use that language.¡± He wasn¡¯t denying it. ¡°But others think so. Yet none of us can deny your effectiveness. You¡¯re one of the reasons why System Articles is partnered with Glory. Since January, you consistently produced the best numbers.¡±

    This flattery was raising red flags. I leaned forward in my seat. ¡°Your point is?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m trying to understand you.¡± Husk rested his arms on his desk, crumpling papers and a folder. ¡°You graduated a semester early, magna cum laude. We brought you from items to expeds. You know why? C¡¯mon, ask me why.¡± (¡°Why?¡±) ¡°Because you¡¯re too good for items. So good that I thought I¡¯d be packing my things in a few years. You seemed unstoppable.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing I didn¡¯t quite meet your expectations.¡±

    The look on his face told me I hit the mark. ¡°You¡¯ve changed. You were happy working as an intern here, happier when we officially hired you. Then, after that little incident in March, you completely flipped on us. Once the hour hand hits five, you¡¯re out of here. Any office events or after-hours, you¡¯re a ghost. Talking with your colleagues, it¡¯s all work. And most of all, there¡¯s no passion for System Articles. We talked about the last part a lot, Fujimura and me. You lack dedication, drive, loyalty.¡±

    I sat back and crossed my arms. ¡°We see things differently. Everything I do within these walls is for a paycheck every two weeks, plus any bonuses and commissions that come my way. That¡¯s it. Nothing more. Other than signing a birthday card every now and then.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not how it works, Shen.¡± Husk stood from his chair and papers fell to the cluttered floor. ¡°You¡¯re not a team player. Not anymore. Where¡¯s your passion? Your gratitude? We brought you to expeds! Us! We! Do you know how many times I fought for you when complaint after complaint were thrown onto my desk? Huh? Because I believed in you?

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand how good you have it. Kids like you, they¡¯d kill for this kind of set-up. Kill! Play your cards right, and you¡¯ll be an exec for a castle or Taeyang (??) even. But you aren¡¯t playing at all, you aren¡¯t even at the table! Start thinking about your future, Shen! You¡¯re twenty-three! You¡¯re not in Ordo University anymore, you¡¯re not a child! If you wanna work in this business, act like it. This is the real world with adults, and adults work and adults certainly don¡¯t act like entitled brats. If you don¡¯t fix your behavior soon¡ªwhat are you doing, where are you going¡ª?!¡±

    ¡°Home,¡± I said after standing, doing my best to not step on any of the stuff on the ground.

    He thrusted a finger at me. ¡°We¡¯re not done talking, Shen¡ª¡°

    ¡°I need to cook dinner. I wasn¡¯t planning on staying long for the party anyway.¡± I started for the door.

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    Husk stomped around his desk, damned the mess in his way. ¡°I said we¡¯re not done talking¡ª!¡°

    I left his office before he could reach me. I¡¯d already packed my things, so all I had to do was gather my shit at my cubicle.

    From the corner of my eyes, Husk stood at the doorway to his office, glaring hell into me. Everyone watched like we were good TV. ¡°If you leave, you¡¯ll regret it, Shen! I¡¯ll¡ª¡°

    I threw my bag over my shoulders. ¡°You won¡¯t do anything to me. Said it yourself, Husk, I produce the best numbers. And¡­¡± I picked up a small pendent of Glory Guild and waved it around. ¡°I¡¯m the only one here who knows how swords actually think.¡±

    Glory Guild went straight into my trashbin. ¡°Glory to Glory.¡±

    I walked out, but not before stealing a few cookies for the road.

    ***

    ¡°Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey¡ª¡°

    ¡°What, what, what, and what?¡± I put my chopsticks down for a second.

    Althea stared across from me, amused and curious like a juvenile cat. I could see the cat-ears wiggling on her head. ¡°Bad day at work again? That why you came home late?¡±

    I grabbed my chopsticks and shoved a piece of beef in my mouth. ¡°Something like that. My bosses surprised us with good news: we¡¯re officially partnered with Glory. So naturally, they brought out confetti poppers and dollar-store punch to celebrate. Couldn¡¯t ditch.¡±

    Thea squinted deeply with her silver eyes. ¡°That¡¯s, like, the opposite of a bad day. That¡¯s fuckin¡¯ Christmas, but like always, you gotta be the Grinch. ¡®Boohoo, nobody understands my pain.¡¯¡± (¡°Mhm.¡±) ¡°¡®I¡¯m not happy until I¡¯m unhappy.¡¯¡±

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t blame me for doing my job: trading exped rights and apparently my colleagues¡¯ happiness too.¡±

    She went back to eating like a savage, but I wasn¡¯t in a mood to scold her. Not tonight. ¡°Whatcha trading anyways? With Glory, I mean? How does that work out?¡±

    I popped a clump of broccoli in. ¡°Biomerch. Glory gives us the goods, we find buyers, and we get rich off the fees. We haven¡¯t officially spoken with the agents yet, but we know it¡¯s biomerch because that¡¯s what trading partners start with.¡±

    ¡°I thought you¡¯re doing expeditions,¡± she said, mouth half-stuffed with rice and beef and veggies. At least she was cleaning her plate.

    ¡°I am.¡± I split a mound of rice in half. ¡°We still have our other departments. Functionally, Glory is no different than our other friends, but the partnered sticker says they trust us. There¡¯s more nuance, but the fact that we have it opens a lot of doors that¡¯d normally be locked.¡±

    ¡°Lucky you. Sounds like you¡¯re gonna enjoy some extra cash in your wallet, and do you know what we do with cash?¡±

    I mumbled vaguely.

    ¡°You¡¯ll kindly give your little sister the best graduation gift in her life.¡± (¡°You can only graduate high-school once¡ª¡±) ¡°Shaddup, I¡¯m talking.¡± Chopsticks, as their name implied, chopped a few inches away from my nose.

    Despite her intimidation tactics, I kept eating.

    She showed mercy and put down her weapon. ¡°After you spoil your little sister rotten, you¡¯re gonna take her to Korea for a month-long summer vacation. Or three weeks, she¡¯s willing to compromise.¡±

    If I had to pay a dollar for every time she asked something ridiculous of me, I¡¯d be bankrupt. I aggressively started stabbing my dinner, wood smacking against ceramic. ¡°We promised Uncle¡ª¡±

    "¡ªthat we¡¯d visit him in Maryland or wherever he¡¯s hunkered down. Yeah, I know. But let¡¯s be honest to ourselves, Uncle is perfectly fine going anywhere as long as we¡¯re there. If we ask him to visit us in Ordo, he¡¯s booking the next flight. Cirropolis? Hell yeah, we¡¯re taking a first-class airship to the clouds. So why not Korea?¡±

    I chewed long and hard about that question. I swallowed. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of work. And it¡¯s dangerous.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not going to the Jianghu (½­ºþ), dipshit.¡±

    ¡°Unless we¡¯re traveling to North Korea.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not gonna visit the Demonic Cult either, but that¡¯s besides the point. I¡¯ll literally do everything: book us a few beds, create an itinerary, even translate!¡±

    I sighed and rubbed my eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you actually learned Korean just to watch K-dramas and read webtoons. That has to be the worst excuse I heard.¡±

    ¡°Languages are languages.¡± She held up three fingers. ¡°And I got three under my belt. That¡¯s one more than you.¡±

    ¡°Your Mandarin¡¯s pretty terrible, so I wouldn¡¯t count that as one¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, who here was born in China? Yeah, not me. I communicate just fine in Mandarin.¡±

    ¡°But your accent¡¯s horrible. Anyone can tell you¡¯re American.¡±

    Althea sat up from her chair, livid. ¡°We¡¯re both fuckin¡¯ American, you moron! You¡¯re more American than me, and I was born there!¡±

    ¡°Uh huh.¡± I motioned her to sit down and she did. Begrudgingly, but she did. ¡°I¡¯ll think about Korea.¡±

    ¡°You better think fast. It¡¯s the beginning of May, and we don¡¯t wanna get stuck with a crappy place.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know. First of all, I¡¯ll ask Uncle and see what he thinks. Remember, he was against the idea of Ordo at the beginning.¡±

    ¡°Until you convinced him, yeah.¡± Thea stopped eating for a second and looked out the window.

    Just beyond the glass was a gentle sunset drooping below the cityscape, bringing a curtain to yet another ordinary day in the Slayer Capital, Ordo. It was the largest city in the world, the proud home of the Big Four, and was founded by Primordial himself during the Emergence, on a quaint artificial landmass in the South China Sea. All fun facts and trivia that made you feel like you were living in history, and I was pretty tired of living through history.

    ¡°Why here?¡± Thea asked out of the blue. ¡°You coulda gone anywhere else: London, Germany, China even¡ªactually, not China¡ªbut y¡¯get what I mean. You got really good scholarships everywhere. Why Slayer paradise?¡±

    I smacked my lips together, tasting honey and spice on the roof of my mouth. ¡°Honestly? I was thinking about you more than anything. Me and uncle were. We wanted you out of the States, and shit, I wanted out. Ordo was the best choice for us. It¡¯s a complete reset. We could start over in a familiar environment, and hopefully, we don¡¯t fuck it up this time.¡±

    She laughed, but her eyes told me she didn¡¯t find this funny. ¡°Even with the risks?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯ll always be risks, Thea. Zenith Jin Junjie (½ð¾ý½Ý) is as dangerous as the Encampment and the Union and every big name who filters through the city. But like I said, Ordo¡¯s a clean slate and we¡¯d have zero trouble readjusting. You¡¯ll have zero trouble. That¡¯s worth its weight in gold.¡±

    ¡°Heh. Sure.¡± That was all she said in response.

    Dinner ended not long after that, and we shuffled to our rooms, ready to let the next day kick in.

    Before I secluded myself in my room, Thea saluted me. ¡°Night, jackass.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Before she shut the door, there was a certain look in her eyes. The conversation was still lingering inside her head. Call me a telepath, because I knew what she was thinking.

    I know I made the right decision, Thea¡ªwe did, me and Uncle. I¡¯d kept a close eye on you since we moved here four years ago. Watched you spread your wings and fall and fly and fall again. And at the end of the day, you collapsed on the couch, tangled with a dozen blankets and pillows, sleeping soundly as horns blared from the street below. Look at you now, about to graduate high-school and ready to take some time to figure things out.

    The world¡¯s your oyster.

    You can be disappointed in me all you want. Tell me I should be doing ¡°more¡± with my life, tell me that going corpo was the wrong move; we had this conversation a thousand times before. I¡¯ve tasted an unhealthy dose of ¡°more.¡± You can jump off cliffs and rescue orphaned puppies, I don¡¯t care, but when you come back home, I¡¯ll be doing the same thing I¡¯m doing tonight: putting your favorite meals on the table.

    Funny thing, though¡­ As much as I insisted on keeping our heads out of trouble, trouble kept finding us. Kept finding me. Your big brother was not only an asshole but also a massive hypocrite¡ªthose two things go together, anyway¡ªso do as I say, not as I do.

    In my room, I opened my closet. In front of my shoe rack were stacks and stacks of binders, folders, clipped and stapled packets. Receipts, records, transcripts, anything I could get my hands on without arousing suspicion. More than I already had, though my superiors think I was depressed or something.

    They weren¡¯t wrong. Looking at all this evidence of fraud could make a man depressed. It took many late-nights to compile this bullshit (and many more laying in bed thinking I was crazy). In this world, evidence was security. Reassurance. System Articles was a mid-sized corp. They didn¡¯t have the biggest skyscraper in town, but they had connections especially in government and agencies.

    So if you want to blow the whistle, you¡¯d better blow until your lungs shrivel into raisins. More importantly, you¡¯d better know who you were whistling to and whose wandering ears might catch the tune. Trouble traveled fast, justice traveled slow, but something good happened today. System Articles, thanks to their honorable reputation, was now partnered with Glory Guild. Castles were several things, but most of all, they hated getting fucked with¡ªand the government had to listen.

    This, though, was a one way ticket. I was going to be out of a job very soon, and word got around quick. Once my name passed through enough channels, I¡¯d be marked. Employers would think I had too much baggage, might threaten the company, or afraid that I might dig up their dirt too. The reason didn¡¯t matter. Simply put, nobody wanted to deal with a problematic employee with a history of drama. Only a saint or someone stupid would hire me.

    Fine by me. This little consequence was just that: little.

    I checked my texts, seeing a message that I¡¯d been anxious to read all day.

    <blockquote>

    Unknown Number

    Hello, Alexander Shen. This is an automated message from the Partnership Center of Glory Guild. Thank you for reporting potential fraudulent activities regarding SYSTEM ARTICLES INC. Please respond to this message whenever possible so you can discuss further details with an agent.

    </blockquote>

    [Start: Part 1 - For Peace]

 [FOR PEACE] Chapter 2 - Glory to Glory

    <blockquote>

    Reason for Termination

    These are the directions for the meeting. Please read them!!!

    </blockquote>

    You¡¯d think a nice and long conversation about fraud would take place in a cold conference room with a team of investigators questioning me for hours on end. Nope. It was instead a nightclub at a crisp eleven o¡¯clock at night. Gorgon¡¯s, which was popular in this part of town because of the specific clientele it attracted: Slayers. This club was operated by and for Slayers.

    Why here of all places? Not a Glory off-site but a public place? Maybe I should¡¯ve just gone directly to the Camps.

    Well, I couldn¡¯t chicken out now.

    I approached the bouncer, a massive dark-skinned man with a sleeve tattoo down his right arm. He was clearly a Slayer given the cig snug between his lips, mana-infused like most of the products inside. The whole place stunk with this distinct acid smell, and already, my stomach was pretty unhappy.

    That got me thinking. Unlike Slayers, normal humans couldn¡¯t process mana. A concentrated drop was enough to kill an adult man. Being around smoke was fine for a few hours¡ªI had used [Temporary Registration] before¡ªbut why were we meeting in a Slayer bar? Me, a human?

    Questions for my contact; better act like I belong.

    ¡°...Who the hell are you?¡± the bouncer croaked, eyeing me down like a fresh cut of beef. ¡°Never seen you before. Rifle?¡±

    ¡°Something along those lines, yeah¡ª¡± (¡°A contract.¡±) ¡°¡ªI¡¯m here to meet a friend. Gave me a magic word and everything: Aegis Green.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± he moaned. He flicked his cigarette into a nearby trashcan and pulled a bright blue marker from his pocket. ¡°Your hand.¡± He wrote a big fat ¡°C¡± on the back of my hand.

    I cracked, ¡°C for ¡®contract¡¯?¡±

    He smacked my hand away. ¡°C for ¡®clear,¡¯ merc, so you don¡¯t accidentally drink something you¡¯re not supposed to. But if you vomit blood on the floor, we¡¯re not at fault. I¡¯d watch your glass, though.¡±

    I rubbed the ink, feeling it smear on my opposite thumb. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡± The bouncer stepped inside the bar and called out ¡°Jess! Jess!¡± a few times before a slender chick popped out. She wore a loose tank-top, showing off the couple dozen scars on her arms. The bouncer pointed my way. ¡°This connie is our AG. He¡¯s a ren.¡±

    ¡°Rog¡¯. Follow me.¡± Jess led me inside Gorgon, and I entered a brand new world of bright lights and dancing and clubbing and smells of intense acid and vomit. On stage, a man with a coarse, raspy voice was blasting his vocal cords with chaotic instrumentals behind him. Around me were swords, swords, and more swords. Taking shots of neon-blue drinks, blowing blinding pink smoke from their noses and lips, and judging how some of these guys had glowing veins¡­ They were using stims. That was definitely illegal.

    After the surprise wore off, this wasn¡¯t so different from your normal nightclub. It was a party with a shade of superpowers. Everyone here had [Skills]: access to superhuman feats and magic beyond my imagination. Lots of power concentrated inside a single building. Literal drunk power, and I was a ren.

    My guide grabbed my wrist so I wouldn¡¯t get swept away in the crowd and eaten alive. She took me into the back which was surprisingly chill¡ªmy eardrums didn¡¯t feel like bursting and my nostrils didn¡¯t cry anymore¡ªand we entered a hall of doors. There was silence beyond the walls. Uncharacteristic, eerie silence.

    Jess let go of my hand and noticed me staring at the doors. ¡°Each lounge is equipped with isolation bubbles, so don¡¯t worry about eavesdroppers. What goes on here is no one¡¯s business but yours.¡±

    She knocked on the furthest door on the right three times in rhythm. The door clicked, and she saluted. ¡°Find your way out on your own. Good luck, connie.¡± And she left me there.

    Awesome. Here I go.

    I braved inside. The bubble briefly popped and soft classical music poured through the open door. You couldn¡¯t get a more drastic switch-up from drug-filled rock to serene strings and winds. In fact, the lounge looked completely out-of-place from the rest of Gorgon. It was near spotless, smelled nice, and didn¡¯t have a lick of mana in the air. Refreshing, professional even. This place could fit six comfortably. Tonight, though, it was a date for two, where we would dine on carbonated drinks and finger-foods.

    I glanced right and saw a mounted TV, then glanced left¡ª

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Holy shit, I didn¡¯t expect that.

    My contact from Glory Guild was Ordo¡¯s sweetheart. If Japan had the Nine Foxmaidens, we had her. You could write a thousand sonnets to describe her beauty and you¡¯d need a thousand more to start scratching the surface. They say seeing her in-person for just a second could change the way you think about beauty and aesthetics. It wasn¡¯t a result of mind magic but natural charm. This sort of attention¡ªfetishization¡ªwas inevitable. After all, she was the ideal outworlder that TV shows and movies peddled: an ethereal elf, tall and had pointy ears and ivory skin and mesmerizing viridescent eyes¡ªthe whole package. Plus, amnesia and an unknown history? The story wrote itself.

    Meet Head Officer Silverhonor, Lyressa fey Suntear, the last person I imagine I¡¯d meet. Hell, I half-thought I entered the wrong room¡ª

    The door automatically shut and scared the shit out of me. I startled, Silverhonor yelped.

    We looked at each other. I had a very good reason to be surprised, but why the hell was she surprised to see me? Her mouth was hanging there and her ears were pointed to the ceiling in alarm.

    ¡°Please tell me I¡¯m in the right room,¡± I said, hands raised. ¡°I¡¯m Alexander Shen, and I prefer if you don¡¯t prick me with arrows.¡±

    Silverhonor continued to sit there like a statue. I would think she was a doll if her ears weren¡¯t twitching. I had my terrible experiences with women, but this already topped the chart.

    ¡°Alright!¡± I reached around for the door, clawing for the handle several times, before thankfully taking it. ¡°I got the memo, have a good night¡ª¡±

    ¡°Wait, wait, wait!¡± Silverhonor snapped out of her trance and sat up. ¡°Alexander Shen, correct? System Articles?¡±

    Fuck me, she was actually my contact. I let go of the handle. ¡°You¡¯re my correspondence? You¡ª? I¡¯m sorry if that sounds insulting, but I wasn¡¯t expecting a sword.¡±

    ¡°I was expecting¡ª¡± Silverhonor stopped herself and inhaled. ¡°Nevermind. Let¡¯s, erm, let¡¯s restart. Let¡¯s forget the last sixty seconds. Please settle down and we can finally begin our discussion.¡±

    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am¡­¡± I sat across from her, setting my bag next to me.

    Silverhonor cleared her throat and laid a hand across her chest. Her ears were still stiff as arrows¡ªwas she still alarmed by my presence? ¡°My name is Silverhonor, Head Officer of Glory Guild. While this isn¡¯t public knowledge, I¡¯m receiving training in corporate roles, which is why you¡¯re meeting with me instead. Archknell believed this would provide valuable experience.¡±

    Okay, that made more sense. Actually, it was a good move. It wasn¡¯t everyday you saw a corpo-sword. For someone like Silverhonor¡­ People would open their ears more to a pretty girl than a sleazeball, and so, Archknell could theoretically hold greater control of his corpo-suite.

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°Right¡­¡± Let¡¯s hope, though, that the amnesiac was capable. ¡°Why here? Why Gorgon?¡±

    A couple pointy ears perked upward. ¡°Why not? My report says you¡¯re a Slayer.¡±

    Instead of ears, my eyebrows perked. ¡°What.¡±

    ¡°It says you¡¯re often in-charge of communicating with Slayers due to ¡®personal experience,¡¯ so¡ª¡±

    ¡°No, there¡¯s been a miscommunication. While we do employ a couple crunchers, I¡¯m a ren.¡± (¡°Pardon?¡±) ¡°I have experience because I hang around swords, not that I¡¯m one myself.¡±

    Silverhonor blinked at me a few times. ¡°You are not a corpo-sword?¡±

    I shook my head and showed the ¡°C¡± on my arm. ¡°Regular human.¡±

    Her wide eyes drifted around me. ¡°But you look¡ª¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s snip that conversation in the bud, SH.¡± I adjusted my collar. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in rehashing the same dozen questions everyone gives me.¡±

    Silverhonor cleared her throat and shifted in her seat. ¡°We can change the venue right away¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll survive Gorgon.¡± If it had been anyone else, they would be chased away from the atmosphere alone.

    Silverhonor¡¯s ears slanted perpendicular to her head. I couldn¡¯t read her expression. What was that? Concern? Frustration? Confusion? All three? Most of all, I think, she was cautious, reading me like I was reading her. There was a reason why the bouncer thought I was a mil. If she had the ideal image of an outworlder, then I was on the front cover of Slayer¡¯s Digest.

    ¡°You¡­¡± she said so quietly that I thought it belonged to the music, ¡°¡­you¡¯re different than most people.¡±

    ¡°And we¡¯ll do things differently. Save the interview for later and get started on what¡¯s important.¡± I dug through my bag and got my personal laptop and a flashdrive. The latter was flicked across the table. ¡°This drive contains my findings. Take that to your team and have them comb through it.¡±

    She held the small drive between her thin fingers; I had backups, of course. ¡°Thank you. I know only the basic details as stated in your report. May we begin with that? The background?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± I already had a summary pulled up on my laptop for reference, and she had a notebook ready.

    We talked. The awe of meeting the Silverhonor waned as my mind switched gears to business, and it was like I was almost speaking with a normal person. We discussed basic background info and context around System Articles. What we do, the office environment, the who¡¯s who, my job as an exped broker, our day-to-day affairs, the boring stuff. Constantly, I had to remind myself that this was one of Archknell¡¯s closest confidants. Sharing too much about me was asking for trouble; you had to practice basic precautions against influential figures like her.

    Soon, the conversation shifted toward the meat of the meeting.

    I crunched an empty chip bag in my hands. ¡°¡­They¡¯re double-dipping: harvesting junk expeds then pushing them off on buyers. You¡¯ll find more details in the flash-drive, but Fujimura Kieta¡¯s partner-in-crime is Yoshita Guild. Coincidentally, his cousin is the GM. So Yoshita purchases these junk expeds and exped rights from netters; then, they scrape it clean and pocket the merch to sell later.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s standard practice,¡± said Silverhonor. ¡°However?¡±

    I pressed my finger down onto the table. ¡°However, Yoshita sells the expeds to System Articles for pennies, without updating the conditions on the market. That part is illegal, and what my bosses do next is even more illegal.¡±

    ¡°System Articles sell functionally worthless expeds onto desperate buyers, then?¡±

    I snapped my fingers. ¡°And they recoup costs and make a hefty profit.¡±

    Double-dipping came in various forms; all the fraudsters had their own artistic take on this genre. Fujimura was one of the most tortured artists I¡¯d ever seen. He targeted immigrants and foreigners, relying on his victims¡¯ obliviousness and the apathy of the system. Oftentimes, these people only had the clothes on their back and dust in their wallets, but they had high dreams of stardom in the Slayer Capital like everyone else.

    Instead, they got chewed up and spat out onto the cold streets. No support. No comfort. No justice. In a game of superpowers, superhumans, and superstars, there was absolute power, subhumans, and fallen stars. The System was a gift that we kept snatching.

    ¡°Shen, are you okay?¡± a sweet voice asked.

    I had a hand on my head. Yeah, that was the natural reaction. A normal, human reaction to something completely vile. ¡°¡­No.¡±

    Silverhonor sighed in mild concern, like a disapproving aunt, though I could tell it was somewhat forced. ¡°I understand. Going against your employers is stressful¡ª¡°

    ¡°Fuck them.¡±

    ¡°Pardon?¡±

    ¡°Fuck. Them.¡± I stood and started pacing around. ¡°You know why I¡¯ve had the cold shoulder since March? One of their victims¡ªhis details are in the files¡ªshowed up to our doorstep bright and early in the morning. He begged for answers and soaked our doormat with tears. Badges came in and dragged his ass out. I asked questions and got told to shut up and forget about ¡®that damned bum.¡¯ That¡¯s when I knew my time there was coming to an end.

    ¡°During my investigation, I located his apartment. His former apartment, because I found the landlord instead. The landlord said four men had broken in, shattered his legs, then burned everything he owned. Clothes, trinkets, worship, gone. Reduced to cinders. So he left town, and frankly, I hope he never comes back.¡±

    Silverhonor listened, her expression stoic but it didn¡¯t suit her. She pretended to hold a distant and professional exterior, but like a dog¡¯s tail, an elf¡¯s ears never lied. They were sharply inclined like daggers ready to strike. She looked at the flashdrive sitting on the table. ¡°¡­Are there more anecdotes like this?¡±

    ¡°A few more. I cataloged them all. Recorded interviews, transcribed them, everything.¡±

    ¡°You weren¡¯t caught during your investigations?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t been fired or confronted.¡± She frowned. I sighed and leaned against the nearest wall. ¡°Yoshita hasn¡¯t tailed me. According to the Ordoian Open Profile Database, none of them are trackers. Plus, I could spot them from a crowd. I memorized their names and faces.¡±

    ¡°You¡­memorized them?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fighting against swords here, SH. A man¡¯s best friend is intel, and a corpo¡¯s best friend is profit¡ªand I¡¯m squeezing as much value out of every detail I can get my filthy hands on.¡±Silverhonor visibly gulped and hid her apprehension by hiding her mouth. ¡°You¡¯re talking less like a corpo and more like a secret agent. You single-handedly gathered this much evidence while avoiding suspicion from your superiors. You waited until System Articles became an official partner of Glory Guild to pawn this case onto us, knowing the law would listen. Most of all, you¡¯ve been glaring at me since this meeting began.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Only because you¡¯d been giving me mixed signals, but I¡¯d be cautious if I was in your shoes too. No, actually, you were completely right to stay on-guard. ¡°Sorry for being so on-and-off, but I¡¯m dead serious about this case. For your sake, I hope your execs take this seriously too.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Silverhonor stood, her ears once again raised in alarm. Her height startled me; she was an inch or two shorter. ¡°Are you¡­ Are you threatening me, Shen?¡±

    ¡°Not you, specifically, but your adoptive guardian.¡± I marched to the table and picked up the flashdrive, then wagged it in her face. ¡°What do castles hate the most? It depends on the horoscope. Some days, it¡¯s the Union. Others, it¡¯s Essies or competition. But when it storms? Scandals. They hate scandals. The media, though? They love it. If they hear that Glory knew about a certain trading partner¡¯s crimes but did nothing? Headlines for weeks, calls for regulation, and terrible statements from your crisis team. A GM¡¯s worst nightmare.¡±

    Her ears, which had been standing, went north to south. In her beautiful eyes, I saw anguish, but that didn¡¯t stay for long. Adrenaline washed away her shock and fear, turning the engine to fuel a new emotion: anger. I was witness to the rarest sight in Ordo, the Silverhonor glaring at me and waiting for an excuse to kill.

    I slowly exhaled, letting my own anxiety leave through my breath. ¡°This is where I say a cliche: it¡¯s nothing personal, it¡¯s business. To me, at least. This is how I enforce your side of the bargain, because I¡¯m a powerless, weak corpo shaking hands with the Big Four. Now.¡± I shook the flashdrive. ¡°Take it, and don¡¯t lose it. There won¡¯t be any back-ups.¡±

    Silverhonor snatched the drive from me, gripping it so tightly that I was afraid she might break it. ¡°You are a horribly ruthless man.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± I shoved my belongings into my bag. ¡°I¡¯m ending the meeting early. Next time you contact me, it should be about the investigation. Otherwise, don¡¯t bother.¡±

    I was about to leave, but I parked at the door. Holes were burned into my back, and there was a little bird called ¡°guilt¡± pecking at my heart. Coincidences were a blessing and a curse. All SH wanted was hands-on experience, but she met me instead. With this stunt, I most likely earned Archknell¡¯s ire¡ªthe second-worst GM I could anger¡ªbut I couldn¡¯t take any chances. Better to make a big splash and have him second-think about steamrolling me.

    Hopefully, he wouldn¡¯t personally come to my house and kill me.

    But Silverhonor? The fish out of water?

    ¡°...I mean it, though. I have no beef with you or Archknell personally.¡± Unless they gave me a reason. ¡°Any other time, I¡¯ll act my place.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t apologize, not now,¡± she spat. ¡°Leave, corpo, and don¡¯t look back. If all goes well, we¡¯ll never have to see each other again. I hope I¡¯ll never meet you again, Alexander Shen.¡±

    Yeah, my worst interaction with a woman by far.

    I said nothing and left the room. New problem: where the hell is the exit?

 [FOR PEACE] Chapter 3 - Best Friends

    Lyressa couldn¡¯t sleep. It was impossible to, more impossible as of late. This was supposed to be a simple investigation. In two hours, less than that even, she¡¯d experienced a litany of absurdities and they all belonged to Alexander Shen. The human man, not a corpo-sword as incorrectly assumed. He was¡­ He was enigmatic. A mystery from head-to-toe.

    Most of all, he was a rogue. What kind of whistleblower would scowl and threaten her and the entirety of Glory Guild? His pursuit of justice was admirable, respectable even, but how could you call a man like him ¡°powerless¡± even if using the loosest definition of the word? No, this went beyond System Articles; he was dangerous.

    Shen expected a corpo when he walked into the room, and likewise, Lyressa expected the same: a sleazy, perhaps cowardly bespectacled man shrinking into his shoulders. Instead, he stunned her. She found a handsome man who looked not at all out-of-place with the other clubbers. Unlike them, whose blood ran blue from infused alcohol and stimulants, he was a healthy man in his prime: around one-eighty-five centimeters tall and possessed the confidence and physique of a high-ranker. He naturally commanded such a large presence that even experienced swords would think twice about challenging him, but that wasn¡¯t the main reason for her apprehension. It was his biting eyes, two gems of mesmerizing silver. It was his neutral, yet frowning countenance. It was his decorated, scarred hands. Shen was a hardened wolf, from his tamed inked hair to his calculating yet predatory gaze¡ªa gaze that was perpetually in search of threats and opportunities. A terrifying combination of taut muscle, small scars, and intelligence.

    Amounted to a junior position as an expedition broker at a mid-level corporation.

    It doesn¡¯t make sense.

    How could a man like him go under the radar for so long?

    Lyressa blinked; she was standing in front of a conference room, which had been assigned for her investigation. Her team was reviewing Shen¡¯s intel as soon as she returned. They were saints, working through midnight and early in the morning. They had to, as she had informed them¡ªand Louis¡ªabout Shen¡¯s threat.

    She yawned and entered. Everyone inside jumped to their feet at attention, respectful of her rank. She gestured for them to relax. ¡°I apologize for barging in. I couldn¡¯t sleep, so I thought to entertain myself with your progress. Can you¡ª¡±

    On the projector screen, there was a picture of a small class of college students. Wayfarers of Ordo University, more specifically¡­ They seemed to be a club or team of business majors. The mouse cursor hovered over a man.

    A man with silver eyes and a rare, genuine smile. He looked almost innocent in that picture.

    ¡°Why is Shen on the screen?¡± she asked.

    Zhou, who was attending to the laptop, raised his hand. ¡°Silverhonor, ma¡¯am, we¡¯ve been going through his intel for the past five hours. It¡¯s meticulous; as in, eight-fourteens would be impressed. As it stands, the System Articles case? We don¡¯t have to do much. All that¡¯s left is formalities and double-checking everything.¡±

    ¡°What¡­?¡± Lyressa rubbed her dry and flaky eyes. ¡°Excuse me, the lack of sleep is getting to me, but you¡¯re saying the case is mostly solved?¡±

    Zhou nodded, gulping. ¡°Shen gave us everything. Receipts, numbers, names, interviews even¡ªI¡¯ve never seen anything like it. It almost makes us forget that he threatened Glory Guild, so forgive us, but we shifted the topic of our investigation.¡±

    He patted the projector screen. ¡°We wanted to investigate him. At first, he looks like an exceptional college grad: full-ride scholarship, majoring in business, internship at System Articles, graduated a semester early¡ª¡±

    Lyressa interrupted, ¡°He ¡®looks exceptional¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Well, he is, but there¡¯s more to the story.¡± Zhou raced to his laptop and flipped through more pictures. ¡°Apparently, Shen is really close with OU¡¯s Systemic Works. On social media, he¡¯s often seen in group pictures with students in the program. Not on his accounts, he rarely posts anything there. Still, it¡¯s more surprising that nobody tagged him earlier.¡±

    ¡°I see, but what makes him so fascinating?¡± More fascinating than he already is.

    Zhou looked to the rest of his team, and they gave each other uncertain, almost pitying looks. ¡°You¡¯d want to sit down for this, ma¡¯am.¡±

    ***

    ¡°God, I needed this. I really needed this¡ª¡±

    ¡°Vic, stop moaning or I¡¯m kicking you out.¡± I was half-ready to snatch his wings and feed them to the birds outside, but I wasn¡¯t that much of an asshole.

    I¡¯d fried a shitton of chicken wings, all so my best friends could take advantage of my kindness in exchange for not feeling alone for a few hours. Plus, they brought beer and liquor to feed my chronic alcoholism. Tonight was a good night to indulge. Althea was studying at a friend¡¯s house for finals.

    Victor Taslim, the dumbass with the muted blue hair, was chowing down and he was one mistake from staining my couch cushions. ¡°Dude, can you blame me? It¡¯s fuckin¡¯ delicious¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it doesn¡¯t mean you should make-out with a half-eaten drumstick. Actually, it¡¯s the only kiss you¡¯ll ever have, so please, go nuts¡ª¡±

    ¡°Fuck off.¡± Vic was about to push me away before I lurched backwards.

    He was not touching me with those fingers.

    ¡°In his defense, Alex, he¡¯s correct. They are amazing,¡± said a cool, mature voice from the hallway. There she was: the forest-haired cultivator of the hour, Miss Li Chunhua (Àî´º»ª), as beautiful as the day when she first threatened me.

    I said, ¡°Uh huh, what took you so long in the bathroom? You fell in the toilet?¡±

    Chunhua cracked a hollow chuckle, the kind that communicated a severe threat. ¡°No, I was wrestling with your new bottle of hand-soap. I couldn¡¯t open it.¡±

    ¡°You were¡ª? What? All you have to do is spin the thing.¡± I made the gesture to demonstrate. ¡°It¡¯s a bottle-pump. You¡¯ve never opened a bottle-pump before¡ª?¡±

    Chunhua flashed her palm to get me to stop yapping. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve learned much tonight. In the end, I conceded victory and twisted the cap off to pour soap over my hands.¡± She paused for a moment. ¡°And over your bathroom mats.¡±

    My paycheck was getting wasted on taxes and dumbasses. I wanted to scream but kept my boiling frustration in. Air hissed through my nostrils, though. ¡°Christ, xia (ÏÀ), you¡¯re¡ª¡±

    A fast hand smacked my forehead. My neck snapped back and I groaned. Any harder, she would¡¯ve taken my head off.

    <Foolish man,> Chunhua muttered in Mandarin before sitting across from Vic. ¡°Know that I can end your life any time I want, Alex. Though, a fitting punishment for you is cutting off that tongue of yours.¡±

    ¡°Join the line.¡± I rubbed where she¡¯d struck me. ¡°Now, finish your damn food.¡±

    She pouted but listened. Not because I asked, though. Chunhua might be a native from the Jianghu¡ªa real martial beauty like in the magazines and movies¡ªbut people of all cultures shared one thing in common: they loved delicious food.

    ¡°Mmf¡ªmnn¡ªmhrg?¡± Same thing with that creature. The incoherent mumbling belonged to the third and last guest: Okano Kotone (ŒùÒ°ÇÙÒô). If Victor was incurably stupid and Chunhua was a sadistic cultivator, then Kotone was a walking disaster. Her messy, raven hair was completely indicative of her life. She waltzed into the living room with a plate full of protein and had a wing stuffed inside her mouth.

    Chunhua sighed and grabbed a nearby napkin. ¡°Kotone, dear, stop talking with your mouth full.¡±

    Kotone popped it out. ¡°Who¡¯s ending whose life?¡±

    ¡°Yours,¡± I said. I took the throne in my personal lounge-chair, having my own little table with my dinner and a cold beer¡ªGod, I sound like I¡¯m thirty-seven with three separate fantasy football leagues.

    ¡°Cool.¡± Kotone plopped next to Chunhua and took the napkin, patting her lips dry of sauce. On second thought, maybe I shouldn¡¯t have cooked such a messy dinner. Two of my three guests weren¡¯t known to be sanitary.

    Victor cleaned off a bone. ¡°Okay! Who¡¯s gonna ask him?¡±

    Everyone fought a battle of eyes; unfortunately, the girls teamed together and overpowered Victor¡¯s weak staring.

    Vic shook his head and broke the silence, ¡°I¡¯m not gonna ask him! I was thinkin¡¯ you do it, Kotone.¡±

    Kotone retorted, ¡°Can¡¯t speak Cantonese, sorry.¡± (¡°I can¡¯t either,¡± I commented.)

    ¡°That¡¯s not even the right dialect¡ª! Never mind. Chunhua¡ª?¡± Chunhua was aggressively eating her wings. ¡°¡ªyou frickin¡ª!¡±

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    I cleared my throat. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for the question, Vic. Just to remind you: I spent time and money to cook tonight, allowed you into my own home, and you¡¯re about to wipe your dirty fingers on my couch.¡±

    Vic showed his grubby hands. ¡°Okay. Alex, we¡¯re friends, right?¡± (¡°I¡¯m not giving you money.¡±) ¡°It¡¯s not that! No, man, it¡¯s not money. It is kinda a big ask, from Professor Jeon.¡±

    Professor Jeon¡­ She was the main instructor of Systemic Work¡¯s Class A3; in other words, Class A of the third-years. Their class. Most Systemic Works programs lasted for three-years and OU was no exception. I had already graduated, and these dorks were weeks away from theirs. Same with Althea.

    I sipped my beer. ¡°She wants me to help with instruction?¡±

    Vic ripped a napkin and nodded, making sure his hands were perfectly clean. ¡°Yup. Finals are next week, man, but that¡¯s not the big issue¡ª¡±

    ¡°Guilds,¡± I finished his thought. Finals weren¡¯t their main concern. In fact, third-year finals were light on purpose knowing the bigger challenge ahead: at the beginning of June, First Wave was starting.

    First Wave was a five-day variety examination event hosted by major castles. This shindig was purposefully created for young, starry-eyed swords, like three certain idiots in the room. Without First Wave, they would compete against veterans (who¡¯d be later tested in Second Wave), which wouldn¡¯t be a fair fight nor a fair assessment. Recruiters were looking for a good return on investment, after all. Your potential was just as valuable as your current ability.

    I¡¯d say the event was fairly popular. Every year, thousands flew in from all corners of the world for a shot at stardom. Applicants had a grocery list of exams to choose from, and each was sponsored by a guild(s), like the Wisdom [Skill] Exhibition Showcase or the General Aptitude Examination. It was up to the individual to pick which exams they wanted, how many exams, and what guild(s) interested them.

    Once the five days were over, the castles submitted their judgment. For the passing few, they would find a special email in their inbox: ¡°Congratulations, you¡¯ve passed First Wave and you are now eligible to try-out!¡±

    Yup, First Wave was only the first-half of the process, where you earn the right to try-out. All the lucky guys and girls, then, take the real test at the guild(s) itself.

    Needless to say, it was going to be a brutal time for everyone. Even for these three. Vic and Chunhua were B-Ranks in their early-twenties. You rarely saw that unless they were cradles¡ªmeaning, they [Registered] at fourteen¡ªand wouldn¡¯t you know, they were. Kotone was special: C-Rank, [Registered] at eighteen, but had an SS-Rank [Skill]. Lucky her, she was one-in-billions.

    Graduating OU gave them a huge advantage, but advantages couldn¡¯t take you over the finish line.

    ¡°...Alex?¡± Vic¡¯s voice woke me up. ¡°You¡¯ve been thinkin¡¯ for a while, man.¡±

    ¡°Trying to remind myself about the details.¡± I tapped my forehead, the same spot Chunhua had struck, to try and preserve my dwindling brain-cells. ¡°So what does Jeon want help with? General combat instruction?¡±

    ¡°Something like that, yeah, she didn¡¯t tell us the deets. She¡¯s gonna pay you ¡®pretty good,¡¯ though. Or the college will¡ªagain, talk to her ¡®bout it. She¡¯s not expecting charity.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, if I¡¯m going to be interacting with swords, I¡¯d better be paid for it.¡± I sighed, raising my bottle to my eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it. That¡¯s my answer.¡±

    ¡°Not like I didn¡¯t expect this¡ªwait, huh?¡±

    Surprise rocked through my friends, looking at me as if I was a stranger.

    Kotone exclaimed, ¡°We totally thought you¡¯d shoot us down! Like, we told Professor Jeon that you aren¡¯t gonna budge.¡±

    Chunhua added, ¡°We even joked about what reasons you¡¯d give. Work, Althea¡¯s graduation¡ª¡± (¡°His imaginary girlfriend,¡± Vic muttered.) ¡°¡ªthat too.¡±

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°First of all, fuck you guys. Second of all, you¡¯re not wrong, but uhm¡­ A problem popped up in your list, Chunhua.¡±

    ¡°Oh jeez¡­¡± Kotone said, ¡°...Althea got expelled? Did she get into a fight again?¡±

    ¡°Not this time. I¡¯m quitting my job soon.¡±

    That got a bigger reaction out of them. They dropped their chicken, their plates and drinks, and their jaws.

    Chunhua stated, ¡°You looked unhappy working there as of late, but I thought you¡¯d make a decision later.¡±

    ¡°Well, things happened and I¡¯m trying to figure out when to port. That means I¡¯m losing my income really soon, and before you ask, the family doesn¡¯t know yet. Right now, I¡¯m still in the planning process.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why you didn¡¯t turn us down right away,¡± Vic stated the obvious. ¡°Shit, man, I¡¯m sorry. Is it bad? System Articles? Things going south?¡±

    I morbidly chuckled. That alone gave them their answer, but I elaborated, ¡°To say the least, yeah. Or more accurately, things will go south.¡±

    Chunhua narrowed her eyes. ¡°Is it life-threatening?¡±

    I pursed my lips. ¡°Probably.¡±

    ¡°Alex?!¡±

    ¡°God, dude.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s always you¡­¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay, hold on.¡± I stood, taking the stage so nobody could scold me. ¡°The situation itself is handled. What isn¡¯t handled is the reaction. There¡¯s a possibility that nothing happens¡ª¡±

    ¡°Or you get iced,¡± Vic finished.

    I opened my mouth like I was going to argue, but he was right. ¡°Yeah, basically.¡±

    Kotone raised, ¡°What about Thea?¡±

    My throat got really dry. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m worried about the most. You know how execs work. Corps. Nothing is sacred. If you really get on their bad side, well, the lines in the sand are suggestions.¡±

    ¡°Well.¡± Chunhua sat back and crossed her legs. ¡°I suppose that leaves us with one option: become acquainted with your dilemma and plan for the worst. And Alexander, before you whip that tongue at us, you have no say in the matter. You might be an exceptional fighter, but you¡¯re still human.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t fight you on this.¡± When it came to Thea¡¯s safety, fuck pride. ¡°But that¡¯s enough serious talk for now. I¡¯ll go over everything later, after we finish our food.¡±

    After I motioned at our half-eaten plates, everyone was reminded of their primary needs. We settled down and returned to normal conversations: recent gossip, current events, our plans for the summer, and more about the instructional job if I was going to take it¡ªwhich seemed likelier as I considered my options. It was a cushion.

    We finished our meals and got to cleaning. The girls were handling the dishes, and I was prepping the living room for a long discussion about the next couple days. I thought about the job. Honestly, I should take it. These idiots were going out of their way to help me, spending time that could¡¯ve been used for training.

    I¡¯d rather not leave any good deed unpaid.

    ¡°Alright¡­¡± Living room was done. The girls were still in the kitchen. Got some time to kill.

    Having nothing better to do, I grabbed my beer and walked onto the balcony. It was cool out, the perfect weather for a jog. The night sky was blank aside a few dots like dead pixels on a screen. Cars whirred below me. Windows glowed in golden light with silhouettes dancing within. Among the vistas, there was me: a loser drinking a beer.

    Cheers, Ordo. To me.

    I drank.

    Someone joined me on the balcony: a blue-haired dumbass. ¡°Yo, how ya feeling?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°Tired.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d bet.¡± He rested his forearms on the railing, beer snug between his fingers. ¡°It¡¯s fucked up. It¡¯s really fucked up.¡±

    ¡°After everything I¡¯ve been through and seen, you¡¯d think I grew a stomach for this shit.¡± I hissed and shook my head. ¡°It hits hard every time. Guess that¡¯s a good thing. I¡¯m not growing numb.¡±

    Vic faced me; for once, he didn¡¯t look cocky or perverse. Just sympathetic, and maybe a little bit pitying. ¡°What¡¯s after this?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about it. What are you gonna do? I mean, you go against a corp, you¡¯re gonna get blacklisted from all of ¡®em. It¡¯ll be real fuckin¡¯ tough to find a job after this, you know that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll find something. It means taking a few menial jobs between here and then, but there¡¯s a fish for every hook.¡± Until I fuck that up too. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, Vic. I got it.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t blame a dude for asking.¡± Vic tapped his beer-bottle against the railing. ¡°Hypothetically-speaking, what job d¡¯you want? Gonna be a broker again?¡±

    I blew raspberries. ¡°Fuck that. It¡¯s not something I can see myself doing, but I¡¯m not picky. If it¡¯s good, stable, preferably moral, and pays well, that¡¯s all I need. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I have preferences, but I compromise.¡±

    ¡°Y¡¯know, I still don¡¯t get it.¡± Vic turned, leaning his back against the railing. ¡°Why you¡¯re corpo. All that muscle¡¯s going towards typing really fast on a keyboard, and yet, you still get your ass in trouble. Look, I know. You never do this unless you have a good reason, but you see a pattern forming, right? What d¡¯ya want, man?¡±

    Time and time again, I was asked these questions. It was why I went along with that bouncer¡¯s assumptions at Gorgon. It saved me the trouble of explaining, saved me that stink eye they¡¯d always give me. I never cared what other people think, but after going through the same conversation a thousand times, it wore on you.

    Vic wasn¡¯t wrong, though. At any sign of injustice or criminality, my hero complex returned like a roaring addiction, enticing me into relapse. But this was something I couldn¡¯t ignore. The moment you put your sights on the innocent, you stopped being human. You become a monster.

    Evil, and evil must be executed.

    This set of ideals naturally gave me grief, but¡­

    ¡°Look, Vic, I¡¯m not interested in that life. Being a mil, a badge, a sword¡ªI want none of their baggage. Corps are a decent balance between action and peace, and clearly, it didn¡¯t work out that way. Hell, I don¡¯t give a shit about the corporate ladder in the first place. What I want for myself¡­ God, what I want is¡­¡±

    I pointed at the sight we had. The city. Ordo. ¡°A night like this, where me and Thea can sleep soundly without worrying about getting snuffed, where she can do whatever the hell she wants without the shadowman stalking behind every corner. Give me something predictable, a schedule, so I know tomorrow won¡¯t press a gun against my skull. I meant it, Vic. I¡¯m tired, but as my uncle says, peace has a price and it¡¯s never, ever cheap.¡±

    Without saying a word, Victor put a hand on my shoulder.

    I groaned and leaned my forehead on the railing. After banging the metal once, I got off. ¡°Sorry for going off on you. I think I drank one too many beers.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, man. You needed to get it off your chest somehow. Prefer this than, I dunno, jumping off the roof.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tempt me.¡± I stood straighter. ¡°But yeah, thanks. For hearing me out, I mean, and helping. I¡¯d be a sitting duck without you guys.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re friends with your miserable ass.¡± Vic laughed and playfully pushed me. ¡°Got three of the best Slayers in OU. We¡¯re an unstoppable team. Hell, if you do decide to [Register], we could make a damn good ST.¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°You¡¯ll really abandon your dream of being an Angel?¡±

    Vic didn¡¯t immediately answer and glanced inside the living room. The girls were finally finished cleaning. ¡°Chunhua and Kotone might give up on Martials.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a spineless idiot.¡±

    ¡°Get a new insult, man.¡± He cocked his head toward the screen-door. ¡°Let¡¯s start talking ¡®bout System Articles, ¡®kay?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. I¡¯ll text Thea to hurry her ass over.¡± I finished the rest of my beer and went back inside.

    I¡¯d never admit this, but spending a few hours with them wasn¡¯t the worst thing. There wouldn¡¯t be many opportunities like this in the future; once they settle into their new careers, a friend like me would fade into the background of their exciting lives and I would only see them on billboards and TVs.

 [FOR PEACE] Chapter 4 - Meet the Princess

    After Althea came home, I explained the situation. Needless to say, she wasn¡¯t the happiest, but at this part of our lives, living in constant danger was depressingly routine.

    We created an action plan for System Articles in case they turned their ire onto us, which was likely considering their previous targets. Most of the discussion revolved around Thea, because she still had her obligations at school and couldn¡¯t skip her last few weeks¡ªunlike me, who¡¯d been skipping work for obvious reasons. Plus, I was more concerned about her safety than mine.

    The plan was simple. We weren¡¯t trying to destroy System Articles. My investigation had that covered. Instead, we were defending ourselves from any ambushes. Mainly, defending Thea. I could take care of myself although everyone else disagreed. Didn¡¯t matter, because at this very second, my sister had some of the worst bodyguards this city had to offer.

    ¡°...That should be everything,¡± I said, phone pressed against my ear.

    ¡°Alex¡­¡± Uncle Ali sighed and sounded like he was rubbing his eyes. ¡°I would¡¯ve appreciated this information a few days earlier. I don¡¯t take threats on your life or your sister¡¯s lightly.¡±

    ¡°I know, it¡¯s my fault, but I was half-afraid that you¡¯d¡­¡± I glanced around at my fellow pedestrians minding their own business. I whispered, ¡°That you¡¯d book the nearest flight and by the evening, reporters will have a segment on the Yoshita Massacre.¡±

    Uncle didn¡¯t refute and instead said, ¡°...You have a point.¡±

    ¡°At least try lying to me.¡±

    ¡°Regardless, your plan seems sound. I would¡¯ve considered appealing to the badges or Glory for protection, but you can¡¯t fully trust them unlike your friends. Even then, I have my reservations.¡±

    I turned right at the corner, almost crashing into someone. ¡°You have reservations about everything.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t blame your uncle for being overprotective.¡± He flipped through what sounded like paper. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ An exiled cultivator from the Maolin (Ã¬ÁÖ) Sect, whose master committed the Taboo of Treason. A healing guardian, coming from an exceptional family of mils and healers. And lastly, an esper with an SS-Rank [Skill].¡±

    I whistled, impressed. ¡°I never told you about Kotone¡¯s rank.¡±

    Uncle dropped his notes on a hard surface. ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m overprotective. I keep more tabs on you than you think, Alex, including your inner circle. You¡¯ve made some impressive friends. I¡¯m glad you made friends in the first place.¡±

    ¡°Ha-ha.¡± I turned right at the corner again. ¡°I like to think I¡¯m not socially-inept. That¡¯s besides the point. Are you actually booking a flight?¡±

    Uncle answered in a vague mumble, which didn¡¯t inspire much confidence. ¡°There¡¯s no point, I think. By the time I land at the airport, the case will most likely be resolved. As much as I¡¯d like to stay a few days, I can¡¯t. I still have a few things to take care of.¡±

    Trying to hide the dagger of disappointment in my chest, I said, ¡°Guessing you can¡¯t attend Thea¡¯s graduation, right?¡±

    While I tried hiding my disappointment, Uncle didn¡¯t: ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s in the cards, Alex, which means you¡¯d better take a lot of pictures and videos for me. By June¡ªmid-June at the latest¡ªI¡¯ll settle my affairs and we can enjoy a much-welcome vacation. Korea, right? Thea texted me the other day.¡±

    Of course she did, sneaky bastard. I sighed and turned right. ¡°Thea¡¯s persistent, I¡¯ll give her that. She wants to meet all her favorite K-pop idols like Jun-hyeok¡ª¡± (¡°I thought she doesn¡¯t care about him.¡±) ¡°¡ªlook, they all sound the same to me. I¡¯m not exactly thrilled to spend a few weeks in Korea.¡±

    Uncle assured, ¡°As long as we stay in South Korea and steer clear from the Demonic Cult, we¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯m not completely on-board with the suggestion either, but you know me. I love spoiling my niece.¡±

    ¡°Sometimes, you spoil her way too much.¡± I glanced at the closest traffic-mirror. There was a tiny bud of hope inside my chest¡ªhad been a tiny bud of hope¡ªpraying that today was going to be a calm and uneventful day. Of course, I was stupid because with System Articles going on, I wouldn¡¯t know peace until next week.

    However, whoever the fuck was following me wasn¡¯t involved with System Articles or Yoshita. They trailed a good distance behind me, wearing a light hoodie and a black face-mask. Judging from their figure, they were female, about five-eight. Problem was, there were only two female members in Yoshita and neither of them were that tall. The tallest scratched five-three.

    I didn¡¯t know who my tail belonged to.

    ¡°Alex?¡± Uncle¡¯s voice rang inside my head. ¡°Is something wrong¡ª?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m being followed. I¡¯ll call you after I take care of it.¡± I hung up and pocketed my phone, trying to act natural. Conveying that I got spooked might cause the kind lady to break engagement and flee. In most cases, I¡¯d want that; however, I would love to know her intentions.

    Which meant we had a date, destination the Slayer Capital. We were both anxious, fearful, loveless losers. Instead of playing twenty questions, we played twenty paces. Each step either encouraged us to push forward or pull back. Each move determined the amount of risk we were willing to wager. We were afraid of each other, terrified of what the other was thinking. If the stakes were too high or the vibes were off, the game was over and we¡¯d leave the table.

    Our goals? I wanted a conversation, she wanted observation. Conflicting goals, and that was the juicy drama.

    I stopped at the crosswalk, waiting for the pedestrian light to flicker grayish-white. Miss Tail hovered behind a streetlamp and pretended to be interested in the pebbles racing across the pavement. I got a better look at her clothes. Leggings, sneakers, no obvious weapons so far.

    Pedestrian light was on. I raced to the other side, ignoring the impatient drivers.

    Miss Tail chased. You could tell a lot about a person by how they walked. For this chick? Her gait was pristine. It was practiced, disciplined, always putting her in a position to engage in advanced movements. She had experience in close combat, so that likely meant she often worked in the field. What other talents did she have? Tracking, espionage? I had to consider [Skills] in the picture.

    My next move, then, should be to test those [Skills]. Fortunately, I knew the area like the back of my hand.

    I maneuvered through pedestrian traffic, always keeping an eye on Miss Tail as she flowed through the crowd like a slippery eel. There was a decent gap between us. Good.

    As soon as I turned the next corner, I ducked into the first building I saw: a clothing store. I¡¯d shopped here a few times before. They sold decent work clothes without setting my bank account on fire.

    I browsed the polos, looking through the colors I liked and feeling the fabric. Pretty good, but I¡¯d wait for a sale.

    From my peripheral, I spotted Miss Tail through the storefront windows. Looking a little panicked there, ma¡¯am. Her head swiveled left, swiveled right, ahead, right again¡ªand her shoulders relaxed and she seemed to sigh in relief. I made sure to stand where she could see me, after all.

    Guess my hunch was right: she wasn¡¯t a tracker at all. Didn¡¯t even have tracking [Skills]. How did I know? Trackers don¡¯t tail their marks on foot to begin with. Any decent tracker had tech or [Skills] to monitor your location from anywhere in the city. If they had boots on the ground, then they weren¡¯t trying to follow you¡ªthey were trying to find you.

    Fortunately for this game, Miss Tail was an amateur (not like I wasn¡¯t one myself) who made the fatal mistake of underestimating me. Now, let¡¯s test something else. I picked this store for a good reason. If Miss Tail looked beyond the window and walked her eyes down the main floor, she¡¯d see something on the other side of the store.

    Another set of doors leading to the opposite side of the block.

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Time to flex my acting skills. I pulled my phone out and made an exaggerated, annoyed expression. My ear was smashed against the screen protector, and I walked toward the far-doors acting like a busy exec.

    Miss Tail was on the move, one foot away from stepping inside the store. Then, she stopped and caught herself from making a ¡°catastrophic mistake.¡± The store was sparsely-populated, which meant a lack of concealment. She risked detection by entering, either by me or the employees. For a wise stalker, that was too much risk to take. That left only one choice: going around the block.

    By the time she accepted this answer, I was a few steps away from the door. When I tasted stale city air again, Miss Tail was nowhere to be seen. Good, but I didn¡¯t have much time.

    I put my phone away and trekked further down the block. A few seconds later, my next and final play of the game presented itself: a nice and narrow alleyway for me to hide in. I squeezed inside.

    Now, we wait. A nearby traffic-mirror gave me visibility over the sidewalk. Wasn¡¯t perfect due to the angle, but it was decent enough. My eyes flicked through pedestrian after pedestrian, searching for a familiar woman in a hoodie¡ª

    There she was. She rounded the corner and rushed past the store. Her head made full revolutions several times. ¡°How did that asshole disappear?¡± she probably thought. She looked frustrated. I¡¯d be frustrated too. My friends said I had a ¡°distinct figure,¡± no different than wearing a clown costume in public. It meant people naturally noticed me in a crowd. I wonder why. Was it my muscles or the small scars on my arms?

    Didn¡¯t matter.

    Miss Tail zoomed down the sidewalk. Along the way, her eyes wandered to a tight alleyway where a creep was loitering in. Those saucers widened¡ª

    And I snatched Miss Tail by the wrist, pulled her into the alleyway and pinned her arm against the bricks. Our faces were inches apart, and a smart sword like her would¡¯ve broken free already. However, there were a few fingers pressed against the middle of her chest, right where her central phenomena conduit was¡ªor what they¡¯d call it in the Jianghu, her middle dantian. For a Slayer, this was the equivalent of holding a hammer against their kneecaps.

    I pressed my fingers against her chest just so we were on the same page. ¡°I know a pressure-point technique that¡¯ll send you sniveling to your knees, ma¡¯am. For your sake, I recommend working your tongue, not your [Skills].¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright!¡± Miss Tail revealed her free hand. She had callouses. ¡°Easy, easy, you caught me¡­ I¡¯m going to pull down my hood and mask, okay?¡±

    ¡°Slowly.¡±

    ¡°Slowly, you got it.¡± As promised, her hood fell. A golden brown ponytail flopped onto her shoulder; it was the same color as maple syrup with sunlight shining through. Next was her face-mask, and I got a better look at her eyes: little caramel treats.

    She was¡ª

    What the fuck?

    I pressed myself closer to her.

    ¡°Woah, hey!¡± She turned her head away from me as I got unbearably close. ¡°What are you doing¡ª?!¡±

    ¡°Why are you chasing after me, Celestial Empress?¡±

    In Ordo, we loved our powerful women. Silverhonor was one shining example, as her charm was fantastical and mesmerizing, yet distant. Sort of like a glittering diamond behind glass. For that reason, she appeared out-of-reach, which was why her fans bordered on worship rather than infatuation.

    The latter, though? The perfect example of infatuation was Miss Tail. She was gorgeous in a way that was realistic and close to earth. Even now, when I had her unflatteringly against a wall. Her fans, however, weren''t only attracted to that pretty face. They were attracted to the muscles that were actively pushing against me. Attracted to the callouses, proof of her training and discipline in swordsmanship. Attracted to her scowl, that ¡°I can kill you with one finger¡± look which brought people to their knees (one way or another).

    They were attracted to her status. She was a murim-in, an urban princess, a high-ranker, a martial beauty, a second-generation Angel, and the second-in-line heir of the Ryu Family of the Demonic Cult. Meet Celestial Empress of Angels Guild; or Leona Ryu, Cheonma¡¯s niece.

    So much for steering clear from the Cult.

    She had a wild backstory, but it was quite simple. Her parents, Divine Blade Mistress and Heavenly Azure Swordsman (the younger brother of Cheonma), had left Korea to join Angels during its first years. One thing led to another, and Empress preferred the urban life rather than devote her murim-in blood to sect politics. That made two of us.

    My fingers pushed deeper into her middle dantian, causing her to sharply gasp. ¡°Answer me, princess. Are you here as an Angel or a demonic agent?¡±

    Empress forcibly blinked, tears welling in her eyes. ¡°Wha¡ª? Why would I be here as the Cult¡ª?¡±

    ¡°You tell me, since you¡¯re the one sniffing my ass¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Get your head on straight, asshole!¡± Empress continued to pull her face away from me. ¡°I¡¯m here on the behalf of Angels, not my aunt. I have zero ill intentions, I promise. If you let me go, I¡¯ll explain everything.¡±

    I continued to hold her there, being a little more than skeptical.

    The princess was funny enough to crack a cute smile. ¡°Please?¡±

    ¡°Ugh.¡± I backed off. I was punching above my weight class, plus pinning a woman while civil society was a skip away was how you¡¯d end up in prison.

    Empress let out the loudest sigh of relief and shook the jitters out. ¡°Last time I checked, you had nothing to do with the Jianghu.¡±

    ¡°Last time I checked, Angels didn¡¯t know I existed.¡± I crossed my arms. ¡°So what changed? What put me on your radar, huh?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business,¡± she said, which was weird. The obvious answer was the System Articles crisis, with Glory Guild spreading word about a problematic corpo. All Empress had to do was say two words and I¡¯d understand, but avoiding the question altogether¡­ Ugh.

    I pressed, ¡°Really? I made a big enough splash to warrant a tail.¡±

    Empress adjusted her hoodie, making sure no one outside the alleyway would notice a celebrity. ¡°I was tasked with observing you. What you eat for lunch, what stores you frequent, where you work, that¡¯s it. We didn¡¯t want to approach you until later. If necessary.¡±

    ¡°Until you fucked up.¡±

    A vein popped out of her forehead. ¡°Do you like irritating swords who could kill you with a single poke?¡±

    ¡°I irritate everybody, princess. I don¡¯t discriminate.¡±

    ¡°Great, you¡¯re a pathological dickhead. That makes my job so much easier¡­¡± Empress threw her arms up and started pacing around. She ran a hand through her ponytail, looked at the clouds as though God had an answer, and generally had a fun time thinking about her predicament.

    Let¡¯s think about this. Angels Guild had perfectly capable trackers in their ranks, so why Empress? Answer: this wasn¡¯t an ordinary observation mission. Something else was going on behind the scenes, something probably top secret. After all, Empress worked directly for Seraph and Rector (and Kosmos by extension). She was one of their personal agents, handling the most sensitive affairs for Angels.

    They didn¡¯t assign trackers because they wanted to limit the number of people in the know. Hence, Empress. It begged the question of their competence in choosing talent, but that''s another story. All signs indicated that they had little-to-no knowledge about System Articles, so Empress was here for a completely unrelated reason.

    ¡°So¡­¡± I spoke up, ¡°...is this the elevator pitch? ¡®Join Angels Guild now, and we¡¯ll stop stalking you!¡¯¡±

    ¡°Hold on.¡± Empress raised her hand. ¡°No one said anything about recruiting you. Like I said, my mission is observation. Intel-gathering.¡±

    ¡°So your endgame isn¡¯t recruiting me.¡±

    Empress nodded. ¡°For what little I can tell you, yes. Don¡¯t worry, you can continue to play broker at your job¡ªor wait, I forgot you¡¯re skipping work.¡±

    I was tempted to pin her against the wall again. ¡°Shame. Just so you know, I¡¯ve been skipping work because I¡¯m about to give my two weeks.¡±

    ¡°A tragedy. One less corpo in the field.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so hasty.¡± I produced a business card from my wallet. ¡°If you¡¯re that interested in me, here¡¯s my number and email.¡±

    Empress stared at my card like it carried the plague. Hell, she looked offended. ¡°You¡¯re quite brave to beg for a job after insulting me.¡±

    I forced her to take my contact info. ¡°Alternatively, this is me telling you to fuck off with this game-of-spies shit. If you have any questions, ask me. You know, like a normal person? I have no time nor patience to wrestle with swords.¡±

    She smacked her lips together, reading through the info. In resignation, she tucked the card away. ¡°Fine, I will. Thank you so much for your understanding, Alexander Shen. I imagine you give your number to women after you kick them to the ground and threaten their lives?¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯re just that special.¡±

    ¡°You flatter me.¡± Empress stood at the edge of the alleyway, pulling her hood and face-mask up. ¡°Anyway, I think that settles our business. I have to report my failure. Fortunately for you, we¡¯ll most likely back off and leave you be.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°Fantastic. I¡¯m assuming we¡¯ll never meet again?¡±

    ¡°Genuinely? For your sake?¡± Empress flashed the same saccharine smile. ¡°I hope so. See you never, Shen.¡±

    She left and merged into the crowd.

    In the last few days, I angered two of the most famous women in Ordo and both of them now hated my guts.

    I¡¯m the most charismatic man I know.

    ***

    Later that day, midnight actually, my phone buzzed.

    <blockquote>

    Pointy Ears

    You won, Shen. An investigation is underway.

    </blockquote>

 [FOR PEACE] Chapter 5 - System Articles

    <blockquote>

    Cultivator

    This is a terrible idea, Alex. Do I need to remind you that you¡¯re a ren?

    Alexander

    Take care of Althea

    Cultivator

    Don¡¯t reply like you¡¯re going to die!

    Answer my messages!

    </blockquote>

    Chunhua was right. This really was a stupid decision on my part, but I had made stupider decisions before. My choice wasn¡¯t made using my head but with my heart. Not for any particularly good motive, mind you. Pretty much the opposite.

    After everything I¡¯d researched, after hearing many stories about fraud and abuse and assault, I wanted to see it for myself: the fire I started and the desperate firefighters trying to put it out. Whether here or at home or anywhere else, blood would be drawn. Might as well get it done and get it out of the way.

    The elevator doors opened.

    I walked onto my floor; right away, I became the celebrity of the room. Eyes, looks, all gawking. I¡¯d been missing for days, yet out of the blue, there I was like nothing ever happened. It was a packed house this morning. I figured so. Fujimura and his other execs didn¡¯t want a mass panic and kept the investigation under wraps for now. For most of the employees, today was a normal day.

    That was what I thought initially, but I was evidently wrong. Everyone was loitering around the cubicles in small groups; they had been whispering to each other until I showed up. The TVs were off. No sales going on. Quiet as a ghost town, populated like a cemetery. Despite being colleagues for a little over a year at this point, they stared at me like a stranger. An outsider. Most were confused, definitely, but a select few directed their anger at me.

    Looking at all these people sobered me a little. It was likely that System Articles would get shut down after this. Just like me, everyone would be out of a job. It wasn¡¯t their fault that Fujimura was an immoral bastard, but crime was crime. System Articles had built its wealth and reputation by using the desperate and poor as a stepping stool. It couldn¡¯t exist, but I shouldn¡¯t let myself get caught up in the guilt.

    Without talking or looking at anyone, I approached my cubicle. It hadn¡¯t been cleaned yet. Surprising. As if to mock the situation, though, there was a small Glory Guild pennant resting on my keyboard. Hilarious. Well, guess I should clean my shit for them.

    Starting with the heaviest items first, they were stuffed inside my sling bag.

    ¡°SHEN!¡± someone fucking shouted from across the floor and scared the shit out of me. That didn¡¯t take long at all. ¡°SHEN!¡± said the same maniac, shaking the whole damned floor with his stomping.

    Guess who it was? My old boss, Manager Husk, with new friends. He had bodyguards on each shoulder. They wore inconspicuous clothes, but anyone who spent at least a year in Ordo knew they were swords. Specifically, these asshats were Yoshita¡¯s. I recognized their faces and knew their names (Sugihara and Takano), their specialties, and their [Slayer Rank]. Both were C¡¯s. Middle-rankers.

    No wonder everyone was on edge. Swords like these meant trouble.

    I snatched a couple metal pens from my desk and slid them into my pockets. ¡°What is it¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Where the hell have you been?!¡± Husk roared.

    ¡°None of your business.¡± I patted my chair. ¡°Not anymore. I¡¯ll be out of your hair shortly, just let me pack my things and¡ª¡±

    Sugihara and Takano blocked my cubicle off, and through the gap, Husk stood a few feet away. ¡°You¡¯re coming with us, Shen.¡±

    Takano lifted his shirt and bragged about an energy pistol tucked inside his waistband. It looked a little worse-for-wear, but like normal ballistics, a gun was a gun. If it worked, it hurt. Question was: were they bold enough to start a shootout in a public office? Honestly, the possibility wasn¡¯t zero.

    I wasn¡¯t going to call their bluff either way.

    ¡°Alright, fine.¡± I hoisted my bag over my shoulder. ¡°Lead the way.¡±

    Sugihara reached out¡ª

    I batted his hand away. ¡°Don¡¯t fucking touch me. I said I¡¯ll go.¡±

    The Yoshitas looked toward Husk for orders. He snarled but nodded. ¡°C¡¯mon.¡±

    Now it was my turn to have bodyguards. I was escorted between Dumb and Dumber with Dumbest leading the group. Dumber had a few fingers tickling his waist, eager to play with his toy. All the while, my former colleagues watched as we disappeared down the hall. They must¡¯ve thought this was a funeral procession. They were right, just wrong about whose.

    We arrived at Fujimura Kieta¡¯s office. Blinds down, windows covered, door locked. Husk knocked a couple times and I had the red carpet rolled out for me. This was an office fitting for a CEO of an immoral corp. Way too big, had meaningless decoration and awards and books, and not enough furniture to fill the space.

    ¡°Go!¡± Sugihara hissed and pushed me inside. Someone within grabbed me by the neck and arm, dragged me to a red couch, and forced my ass down. They took my sling-bag and tossed it on the ground like it was garbage¡ªto be fair, most of the shit inside was random junk.

    As soon as I picked my head up, something metal was pressed against the back of my head. That must be the energy pistol. Something else clicked behind me. That must be the door. Something above my head breathed like a fridge. That must be an isolation bubble. Good, we had everything covered.

    A blue screen opened in front of my eyes, visible for the whole room to see.

    [Threat to life detected]

    [Temporary Registration available]

    ¡°[Register] and we¡¯ll kill you,¡± Husk said.

    I nodded. Wasn¡¯t planning on [Registering] anyway. It¡¯d take too much time.

    In total, I had six on my ass: Takano and Sugihara were behind the couch; Husk and two Yoshitas (Kawakami and Aoki) were at the front. The swords were measly C-Ranks and had unremarkable specialties, focusing on physical combat rather than anything magical.

    Last but not least, I couldn¡¯t forget about the bastard himself sitting behind his artisan-crafted desk: Fujimura Kieta. The pictures on our website had to be photoshopped because he was one ugly motherfucker. Crime took a toll on your body, it seemed. He was in his mid-forties but looked sixty; he was balding but refused to accept the fact; and he had wrinkles as deep as a trench in World War One.

    Fujimura gnashed his yellowish-green teeth together, his pink tongue slipping through and licking at the dull edges. Every muscle in his face rubbed together like rusted gears. Then, he exploded in a tongue-lashing of angry Japanese. He shouted at the top of his lungs, slamming his hands on the table, throwing things without aiming¡ªjust a greed-fueled rant of a criminal about to be busted.

    Eventually, he seemingly understood that I had zero clue what he was saying. He pointed at me and glared and glared, with all the rage of a king seeing his castle walls fall down.

    ¡°Traitor,¡± Husk summarized, though his hushed but seething tone was completely his own. ¡°You¡¯re a traitor, Shen. We¡¯ve given you everything¡ª¡±

    ¡°Oh, fuck off, don¡¯t start on that cosmo bullshit¡ª¡± A subtle push to the back of my skull suggested that I should shut up. I didn¡¯t. ¡°Save your speeches. I was never a member of your little club.¡±

    Husk bit his lips, taking my defiance worse than my ¡°betrayal.¡±

    Fujimura shouted again in Japanese and Husk replied in the same tongue. They had a short conversation, presumably about what they were going to do with a little shit like me. When they finished, Husk curtly nodded.

    ¡°You!¡± Fujimura pointed at me again. So he did speak English. Had a thick accent, though. ¡°You made a mistake coming here, boy! Aoki, Husk!¡±

    Aoki and Husk sandwiched me on the couch. With them and the iron scratching my scalp, ¡°discomfort¡± was the weakest word I could use. The former produced a communicator, turned a few dials, and Japanese leaked through the tiny speakers. Multiple voices.

    Aoki spoke into the comms, couldn¡¯t translate.

    Husk explained, ¡°You have a sister, Althea. You talked about her all the time before that man got to your head.¡±

    And there it was. I knew this was going to happen¡ªfucking predicted it¡ªyet, as soon as her name left his thin lips¡­ A switch in my head clicked and my stomach transformed into a furnace.

    I hissed, ¡°Say her name one more time, I dare you, you won¡¯t be saying anything else afterwards.¡±

    Husk hesitated to speak, seeing something in my eyes that I couldn¡¯t, but I knew what it was. That was brotherly love and he was on the wrong end of it. He cracked a broken laugh. ¡°W-We have a gun pressed against your skull¡ª!¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m sitting next to you.¡± I stared at him without blinking, and the piece against the back of my head could be a backscratcher for all I care.

    Color drained from the dipshit¡¯s face, and his lips trembled¡ª

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Takano was smart, pushing the pistol so hard that I was forced to bend my neck. Couldn¡¯t let his buddy suddenly get cold feet and ruin the vibe, right?

    Husk grabbed the back of my collar and kept my head down, deliberately avoiding my eyes. ¡°Y-You shouldn¡¯t have fucked with us, Shen! You screw us over, we¡¯ll end you. First, we¡¯ll start with your cute little sister. It was easy tracking her down. She goes to Julius High School, and as we speak, she¡¯s taking a nice walk there.¡±

    Aoki spoke into the comms again. He nodded at Husk, and Husk nodded back.

    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Husk shook my head. ¡°Before we dump your body in the South China Sea, you¡¯ll die hearing your sister¡¯s screams. Imagine that, Shen. You lost your parents, now you¡¯re losing the last family you have left all because you couldn¡¯t keep your fucking eyes to yourself!¡±

    A twisted, almost psychotic laugh left me.

    Husk said to Aoki, ¡°Do it.¡±

    Aoki relayed the order and turned a few dials. The volume was at max, now, and he placed the communicator on the table in front of us. It was a radio show, except for prank phone calls, we had live audio of a snuff film.

    Car doors slammed shut, Yoshitas started yelling, and footsteps filled the ambiance. I heard broken English and Japanese mixed together into incoherent sentences. Lasted all about three seconds before another sound added to the scene: rushing, smooth wind, and whistling leaves.

    Then, screams overwhelmed the speakers.

    A blue screen appeared in every sword in the room. Then a second screen, then a third, a fourth¡ªyou get the idea. They were status updates, punctually informing them that their friends were incapped.

    Aoki snatched the communicator off the table and yelled into it. ¡°What the fuck was going on?!¡± he probably was asking. He shouted codenames, real names, begging anyone to pick up. Meanwhile, everyone in the room was listening with their jaws stupidly hanging and their eyes bigger than marbles.

    Husk shook my collar. ¡°What the hell did you do, Shen?!¡±

    I grinned.

    ¡°What the fuck did you do¡ª?!¡±

    ¡°Hello?¡± a voice came from the comms. ¡°Is this on?¡±

    The room went silent.

    Chunhua cleared her throat. ¡°These disgusting men earned themselves a trip to the hospital; though if it was up to me, I¡¯d display their heads on your front-door, System Articles.¡±

    Another voice came on: ¡°Now, can you please stop fucking around and wrap things up already, Alex? You know Uncle¡¯s gonna kill you for being a dumbass.¡±

    ¡°Heh¡­¡± Hearing Althea¡¯s voice almost tempered the heat inside my chest. Almost. Nothing could extinguish the fire except for, hypothetically, feeling their bones crunch underneath my feet. Statistically-speaking, however, the odds were against me. Four C-Rank Slayers against a ren who didn¡¯t have time nor room to [Temporary Register].

    Most people call that a suicide mission, but to me, this isn¡¯t anything special.

    Husk had let go of my collar, his tiny brain trying to make heads and tails of what¡¯d happened. Everyone was. Confusion, such a useful emotion. When no one knew what was going on, it meant they dedicated brainpower to untangle the mess¡ªbrainpower that they diverted from their original tasks. That meant a little slower reaction time.

    Takano wasn¡¯t poking my scalp anymore with that iron.

    Husk glared at me. ¡°Shen¡ª!¡±

    Takano¡¯s arm was yanked over my shoulder. His pistol got knocked out of his hand and took a first-class flight onto Fujimura¡¯s desk, and the ugly fuck shrieked like he¡¯d never seen a gun before in his life.

    ¡°Kuso!¡± Aoki grabbed at me, until he found a metal pen jammed in his throat and started choking on it.

    ¡°Oh God¡ª!¡± Husk went from saying God¡¯s name to crying for Him, as I impaled his hand clean through with my last pen¡ª

    An arm snaked around my neck. Takano. Fuck. The choke squeezed tears from my eyes and casted fire through my nerves. I heaved forward and clawed for my fallen sling bag on the ground¡ª

    Someone yelling. Not from pain. From adrenaline and rage. I blinked once and saw a blurry Japanese man charging at me. I kicked the table into his shins, making him fall and eat shit.

    That convenient distraction weakened Takano¡¯s grip just enough. My fingers curled around a strap. In my next choked breath, his forehead got cracked open by what was effectively a sock filled with rocks. His arm loosened, and by the second hit, it slithered away.

    I leapt from the couch¡ª

    An annoying bastard on the ground (Kawakami) grabbed my ankle. He couldn¡¯t hold on when he got whipped in the face. He rolled over, grabbing at his nose.

    This time, I actually escaped the fray and found myself next to Fujimura¡¯s desk. I dropped my bag. The man himself screamed like a little bitch and scampered to the far corner of his office, yet he had the audacity to yell at his swords. Presumably: ¡°Kill that motherfucker! Don¡¯t give him time to [Register]!¡±

    Sugihara yanked the bloody pen from Aoki¡¯s throat and launched it. The pen was like a dart with the velocity of a fastball¡ªhad to be a [Skill]¡ªbut his aim was shit and stuck into the drywall behind me.

    Kawakami climbed to his feet only to find a flying office chair. I didn¡¯t tell if he caught or ate it because Sugihara was already on the move. He pushed his friend aside, leapt over the crooked table, landed in front of Fujimura¡¯s desk¡ªand he faced the wrong end of an energy pistol.

    He gasped.

    I pulled the trigger.

    Sugihara dropped to the ground, wailing, as the stench of burnt flesh overwhelmed the room. He better count his stars. Instead of having his forehead stripped of skin and meat, his scalp had instead. There was a long burning, bleeding streak across his hair like someone had given him a bad waxing. It hurt, yeah, but he was screaming. Screaming meant he was suffering but alive¡ªas it should be.

    The energy pistol was garbage, little better than welded scrap metal and backyard science. The discharge sounded dull when it should be satisfyingly sharp. Plus, there was an annoying delay between the trigger-pull and discharge. Felt like it was on medium-power too, so that meant decreased lethality. It was running out of life, but it¡¯d serve me well.

    Kawakami reached for his waist and got nailed in the shoulder. His sleeve burned and the skin underneath melted into an ugly, charred crimson like an overripe tomato. The pain made him forget about attacking, and he retreated. He climbed over the couch as multiple shots rang throughout the office, burning holes into the pillows and cushions, and he tumbled over the back.

    He yelled Aoki¡¯s and Takano¡¯s names.

    Takano just finished wrapping a piece of fabric around his friend¡¯s bleeding neck. He looked at me, I looked at him, and our eyes met like star-crossed lovers. He cursed and tried pulling Aoki off the couch.

    Getting shot in the hand discouraged him. Takano yelped and took cover, stranding Aoki there.

    Aoki banged a fist against the cushions. He shouted at his cowardly friends, something like, ¡°Get me out of here!¡± or ¡°Kill that fucking bastard!¡±. Probably both.

    I shot him three times in the chest. His shouting rippled into howling, holes burned in his shirt but his flesh burned hotter, and he rolled dumbly off the couch. Festered there, bled there, no fight in him left.

    But someone else had fight left. Someone who¡¯d made a mistake. A weak hand reached from behind the desk and latched onto the sharp edge. Sugihara. His fingers were hammered in by the butt of the pistol, over and over, fingernails breaking open, until he got the message. For extra measure, I flipped the desk over. Everything fell. A monitor, papers and binders and files, office supplies, heavy paperweights, and the desk itself; crushing Sugihara and pinning him to the ground.

    I whipped the pistol around the room. Husk had joined Fujimura in their safe little corner and held onto his bleeding hand. When the barrel aimed in their direction, they cowered and raised their hands. Harmless fucks. No spine in them¡ª

    The couch was flying at me.

    I jumped out of the way. It crashed into the wall, knocking down treasured pictures and diplomas and awards. They joined the trash on the ground in a shower of broken glass and small chips of wood. But trouble was coming in the form of two quick little legs: Kawakami, with something in his hand. An electric baton, seemed magically-imbued by a [Skill].

    He mightily swung, but the pistol acted like a decent parrying dagger. I knocked it away but he came for the backswing, then came from underneath, above, to the side¡ªquick and relentless, all with the energy of a hyperactive child.

    The pistol had done good work, but after one eventual swing, I¡¯m afraid its time was done. Kawakami batted it out of my hands and a satisfied, sadistic glint shone in his eyes; it was matched only by the electricity coursing through his sig.

    He said the one Japanese word I did know: <Die¡ª!>

    Five ugly knuckles smashed into his chin. He was fast, but my fists were faster. Blood leaked through his pink teeth, and before he could raise his baton again, I was on him. I pressed my fingertips against the center of his chest.

    All I needed was a brief window. Sixteen strikes. If executed correctly, all it took was sixteen strikes.

    [Skill Error: Anti-Slayer Technique - Sixteen Point Incapacitation]

    And I had. Like most of his friends, Kawakami kissed the ground screaming but he was the unluckiest one. To everybody, he was getting burned alive with no visible fire. The fire existed inside his body, flaring throughout his Phenomenon Production System from head-to-toe. His internal mana exploded from within, having the same sensation of being boiled alive.

    If I¡¯d used Sixteen Point Obliteration instead, well, the pain would be a lot worse.

    ¡°Kawakami¡ª!¡± Takano exclaimed from the other side of the room, seeing his buddy cry and roll around like a bratty toddler.

    Then, Takano saw me.

    There was a specific fear that only Slayers could feel. In a world of superpowers and magic, there existed freaks unimaginably stronger than you, so strong that you could only kneel and submit and hope for mercy. Overwhelming power beckoned overwhelming emotions, after all.

    And Takano had that fear in his very eyes.

    I slowly walked up to him.

    This was the moment that defined Takano. Would he beg or fight?

    I had my answer when his foot shot out and I caught it. A weak kick, though. I shoved the dumbass against the door.

    In one smooth motion, I showed him what a real kick looked like. It snapped the door¡¯s hinges and popped the isolation bubble. Takano fell as the door did, hard, but he rolled backwards onto soft carpet and got spritely to his feet.

    ¡°Fuck you!¡± he said in a thick accent, but his actions didn¡¯t match his words. Looked angry, talked angry, but he was retreating.

    I calmly approached.

    Takano roared and swung widely with his bad fist.

    I caught his arm and backhanded him. ¡°Stop that.¡±

    He stumbled backwards and spat blood onto the carpet. ¡°Asshole! Chicken fuck!¡±

    ¡°Get better insults.¡± I primed a punch.

    Takano reflectively gasped and put his arms up, shaking. The punch never came, until he lowered his guard and ate a fist to the nose. That time, that time dealt damage. Both to his body and the soul. It seemed whatever courage he had evaporated at that moment.

    He turned tail and scampered away, leaving a thin trail of blood as shameful evidence. Unfortunately for him, Takano was running into the main floor populated by a few dozen eyewitnesses. As soon as he broke into the space, a dozen gasps and exclamations shattered the unnerving silence.

    Takano stopped in front of the cubicles, hand over his nose. He pointed at a random lady. ¡°You! Police! Call the police¡ª!¡±

    The ¡°criminal¡± kicked him into a cubicle wall. Didn¡¯t know who this belonged to¡ªI forgot¡ªbut that didn¡¯t matter now.

    Takano shrieked as I grabbed him by the collar. ¡°H-HELP! This man will kill me¡ª!¡±

    I punched him. I bloodied his face. I shattered bones. The nose, the orbital. Teeth popped from his mouth and rolled on the ground like marbles. His cheeks were puffed up, red and purple. My hands were covered in blood. His blood. Lips bruised and pink¡ª

    ¡°SHEN¡ª!¡± Something bonked against the back of my head. A weak hit, like getting hit by a plastic bat.

    I looked over my shoulder and found Fujimura holding Kawakami¡¯s baton. Whatever he saw in me, it was enough for him to drop the fancy stick and fall on his ass.

    I let go of Takano. He limply fell sideways, mouth barely moving.

    Fujimura crawled away from me. ¡°M-Maniac! He¡¯s a maniac! Someone call the¡ª!¡± I caught up to him. ¡°WAIT¡ª!¡±

    I stomped his head in. He¡¯ll live, with facial reconstruction surgery.

    That was four, technically six if you counted the useless shits.

    I sighed and finally had a chance to catch my breath. Everyone was staring at me again, this time there wasn''t any confusion or anger. Only fear. About half of the people here were hiding behind something or someone.

    ¡°Show¡¯s over,¡± I said. ¡°I¡ª¡°

    The elevator dinged, and a squad of blue uniforms and bronze badges rushed into the office. Ordo Police Department, the city¡¯s finest, with semi-automatic rifles bouncing on their chests and bulky body armor that could stop most forms of ballistics. Looks like someone already called the police.

    They shouted, ¡°Police! Police! Hands up! Hands up!¡±

    I was the first to do so¡ª

    ¡°It¡¯s him, officers!¡± someone said behind me. That was a voice I didn¡¯t want to hear. Husk leaned against a wall, showing everyone his impaled hand. ¡°A-A gun! He has a gun!¡±

    Motherfucker, I should¡¯ve knocked him out.

    For my negligence, I was rewarded with half a dozen rifles pointed at me. Instead of shaking hands with badges, they pushed my head against the carpet and cuffed me.

    They drew blood from my arm. ¡°What the fuck¡­¡± one officer muttered. ¡°He¡¯s clear! Don¡¯t bug him! I repeat, don¡¯t fuckin¡¯ bug him!¡±

    Good, at least they wouldn''t poison me.

    This was going to be a long day.

 [FOR PEACE] Chapter 6 - Lost the Suit and Tie

    A detective opened the door. He looked overworked but flashed a friendly smile. Either this was good news or there was another long interrogation ahead of me. ¡°Alexander Shen?¡± he asked.

    I waved. As best as I could given the cuffs. ¡°Yessir?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re free to go.¡± He took out a key and unlocked them. ¡°Never thought I¡¯d see a ren take down four C-Ranks. It¡¯s true what they say about this city: you never stop meeting freaks. What are you? Counterforce?¡±

    ¡°If I was CF, they''d be dead."

    The cuffs dropped.

    ¡°...Right. You have good friends, boy,¡± the detective said with an odd wink¡ªyeah, I didn¡¯t like that. ¡°C¡¯mon, I¡¯ll escort you out.¡±

    ***

    The outcome was expected, let¡¯s be honest. There was no way in hell that Husk and Fujimura could get away with this shit. If anything, the stunt Husk had pulled added several charges onto his already long rap-sheet. It was mildly annoying because it took hours for everything to be squared away. The badges didn¡¯t believe a random ren took down four swords, which led to endless and repetitive questioning and interrogation. However, once details started coming in and credible statements were taken and Encampment agents got involved, the ball started rolling.

    Though, what really sealed the deal was my ¡°good friends¡± vouching for my innocence¡ªin other words, corruption.

    For once, I left a police station without any bruises.

    By the time I embraced sweet freedom, it was three in the afternoon and my stomach rumbled like nothing else. I adjusted the small dufflebag on my shoulder, containing my belongings and bloody clothes. Thankfully, they had a plain t-shirt and sweats for ruthless criminals like myself.

    On the sidewalk, a familiar woman was waiting for me: the outworlder. As soon as she saw my ugly face, her pointy ears sank toward the Earth¡¯s core. Made it quite clear that she was here for business, not because she cared for my well-being.

    Silverhonor crossed her arms, impatiently tapping her foot. How long had she been waiting for me? ¡°What compelled you to waltz into System Articles knowing it was dangerous? If you had gotten injured or worse¡ª¡°

    ¡°Good afternoon to you too, Slayer.¡± I cracked my knuckles, rubbing a finger over the hardened skin.

    ¡°Shen¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Retribution,¡± I told her as clear as day, for every badge to listen even. ¡°Let¡¯s face it, SH, those fucks wouldn¡¯t learn a thing. They¡¯d claim what they¡¯re doing is the norm and act like victims. ¡®That¡¯s how the world works,¡¯ they say.¡±

    Her viridescent eyes were as narrow as a line. ¡°So you enacted vigilante justice?¡±

    I admired the police station and every one of its chipped bricks. Inside, the gears of the Law clicked and spun; sometimes they were greased to pull in the opposite direction, other times the gears stopped moving altogether. I said, ¡°Preventative. Words can¡¯t reach these people, not even when the judge rattles off their tickets. But pain can. Pain does.¡±

    She scoffed, tugging on her collar. She was nervous; this wasn¡¯t a conversation you had in front of a police station. ¡°You believe justice as it stands isn¡¯t capable of doling out ample punishment?¡±

    Unwanted memories flickered through my vision: countless news articles, online posts, phone calls and text messages in the middle of the night, the steps of a courthouse, and smiling lawyers. Even an ocean away, the beautiful United States was still whispering inside my ear.

    Silverhonor took my silence with a frown. ¡°Shen¡ª?¡±

    ¡°I trust the law as much as you trust the malies,¡± I said, staring eye-for-eye.

    Mentioning that single word turned her pale skin gray. She clenched her fists, her eyes staring beyond me like how I had moments earlier. ¡°Had High Home made you this cynical?¡±

    I laughed, and the memories persisted. ¡°You did your research on me. I mean, watching Oasisgate unfold the way it did¡­¡± I whistled to release some bad energy. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s a genie you can¡¯t shove back in the lamp.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why you threatened Glory. You must despise castles and everything they stand for.¡±

    ¡°You make me sound like a punk.¡± I cleared my throat a couple times, counting the number of skyscrapers and monuments scratching the clouds. ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. I am standing in the Slayer Capital and talking to one of the most well-known outworlders in the city.¡±

    Silverhonor huffed and marched to the curb, watching the busy streets. A few distant pedestrians were looking in our direction but she didn¡¯t seem to care. She was contemplative, either thinking about my words or trying to unravel the mystery of Alexander Shen. Both, most likely.

    Sorry to disappoint, but I¡¯m far less interesting than everyone hypes me up as. I¡¯m just a miserable jackass trying to carve a little peace and quiet for himself.

    I sighed and sat down on a nearby bench. ¡°Look, SH, let¡¯s just¡ª¡°

    ¡°I pity you, Shen,¡± Silverhonor said, back turned.

    ¡°Pardon?¡±

    She faced and leered down at me. ¡°I cannot imagine living my life like how you do: perpetually miserable and cynical of nigh-everything. For such a gifted man, you¡¯re hopelessly confused, trapped between two worlds. Whatever you¡¯re seeking, you''ll likely never get it¡ªmuch like how I may never recover my memories.¡±

    ¡°...I guess that makes two of us.¡±

    ¡°I suppose so.¡±

    An annoyingly luxurious silver car rolled into the parking lot. At a certain point of the day, the light bounced off the paint in a certain way that blinded everyone in a one-mile radius. It was outfitted with all the cool features that I never bothered learning, but damn, if that wasn¡¯t the most beautiful (and shittiest) car I had ever seen. Too bad the driver was circus-freak ugly.

    ¡°Alex, sorry I¡¯m late!¡± Vic hopped out and leaned against the door. ¡°We¡¯re¡ªoh shit, hi?¡±

    Silverhonor stood off to the side, arms crossed. ¡°A friend of yours?¡±

    ¡°My chauffeur.¡± I got up and threw the duffle-bag around my shoulder. ¡°This is my cue to leave. See you tomorrow, SH, at the Encampment. I¡¯ll be there on time.¡±

    ¡°For your sake, you will,¡± she shortly replied as I got walking.

    Vic awkwardly smiled. Even an oblivious idiot like him could sense the bad blood between us. ¡°It¡¯s, uh, it¡¯s good meeting you for the first time, Silverhonor! I¡¯m a big fan.¡±

    Never mind, this dumbass was already infatuated.

    I said, ¡°You might see him and my friends soon. They¡¯re signed up for the First Wave; in fact, Victor here is shooting for Glory.¡±

    ¡°I am¡ª? Oh yeah, I totally am! Yeah, I¡¯m uh¡ªyeah, mhm.¡± Vic was physically incapable of playing things cool. He was scratching his arm way too much, painting himself as a restless drug addict and not an anxious, upstart sword.

    Silverhonor gave a friendly, hospitable smile like a hotel receptionist. ¡°How wonderful. I wish you the best of luck. You as well, Shen. I hope you remember my words.¡±

    ¡°I might.¡± I settled into the passenger seat as Vic flopped behind the wheel.

    I recognize that look on his face. That, right there, was the look of a man who had his whole world rocked. For a lonely, hopeless guy like him? Getting blessed by Silverhonor herself? He was sleeping great for the next month.

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    If we survive the drive, because he was driving like a robot. Not a super-intelligent bot you¡¯d find in chess, but a shitty, dollar-store AI that had the memory of a goldfish. He nearly rear-ended the first car we saw, spent a whole second at the green-light and got the entire cavalcade honking at him, and missed a turn and didn¡¯t realize it until I told him.

    I punched his shoulder. ¡°God, you¡¯re such a loser. You folded immediately. You¡¯re doomed whenever a pretty girl smiles at you¡ª¡±

    Vic clung onto the steering wheel. ¡°I¡¯m gonna drive us off a cliff.¡±

    ¡°If you can find any¡­¡± I murmured. ¡°Anyway, thanks for doing this. For picking me up and holding down the fort. I owe you several.¡±

    In our plan against System Articles, we created a schedule where the Three Musketeers took turns shadowing Althea and watching my apartment in case Yoshita attacked. And hey, they did. This morning, Chunhua had tasted action while the other two unfortunately had to house-sit. Then, all three of them babysat Althea as her big brother got himself detained for hours.

    It was a simple idea, but coordinating three busy swords was harder than I thought.

    Victor, though, didn¡¯t seem to mind the lack of action. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, man. Whatcha talk ¡®bout with Silverhonor anyway? She, uh, she doesn¡¯t seem to like you.¡±

    How she felt about me didn¡¯t matter. We were going to be strangers after the investigation anyway, no use trying to get on her good side. Still, her words rang in my head. Cynical, two worlds¡ªas if I didn¡¯t already know that. She might¡¯ve done her research on me, but my lifestory was more than two defining tragedies. At least, that¡¯s what I told myself. After living through Hangzhou and Oasisgate, what other options did I have? What lifepath was waiting for me, one that wouldn¡¯t turn my heart black?

    I couldn¡¯t simply pick a world and stay in it.

    ¡°Alex?¡± Vic called me. ¡°You good? Not gonna die, right?¡±

    I realized I was leaning my head against the window. I kept it there. ¡°Let¡¯s stop by, ugh¡­ Some drive-thru or something¡­ I¡¯m starving.¡±

    ¡°I gotcha.¡±

    ***

    I lost my suit and tie, becoming an unemployed bum who depended on his uncle. Sporadically throughout the rest of May, I attended meetings regarding System Articles with Silverhonor. They were formalities, nothing important. It was almost guaranteed that Fujimura and his lackeys were going to prison for a long time, if not for the evidence I¡¯d gathered but the fact they tried to off me and Thea.

    Other than the meetings, I had never met with Silverhonor. There was too much distance to establish a genuine rapport, not that I was looking for one. Same for Celestial Empress after that fateful day. I never bothered Angels, and they never bothered me even after I gave them my number. I¡¯d told Thea and Uncle Ali about what happened on the day of¡ªjust another thing to keep at the back of our heads as usual.

    So what did I do with my newfound freetime? First of all, graduation. Althea passed her finals and walked the stage. As promised, I recorded every second for Uncle. I¡¯m proud of her; she graduated high-school with minimal incidents. Really, I thought they¡¯d expel her after she fractured a guy¡¯s skull, but this city was full of surprises.

    I had another graduation party, this time for the swords. Vic, Chunhua, and Kotone celebrated their finals with drinks, cake, and tears. Their college life, like mine, was officially over. Now it was time for the big leagues, but on that night, they could forget about the future and spend time laughing and singing along to whatever bad music was on the speakers.

    On the very next day, they went to work despite their hangovers. So did I. I had no reason to not take up Professor Jeon¡¯s offer. Class A3 needed extra hands to prepare them for First Wave where they¡¯d compete against freaks and prodigies from Antarctica to Switzerland.

    It was a way to keep myself busy and get some money in my pocket. It didn¡¯t pay as much as System Articles, but income was income. It meant, however, being surrounded by Slayers day-in and day-out: watching them train, analyzing their performances, picking out holes and pointing out shortcomings, helping proctor exercises, even teaching a thing or two about the artform of combat¡ªbasically, whatever Professor Jeon wanted me to do.

    But Ordo University didn¡¯t only have Class A3. There were other third- and lower-years too; hell, Systemic Works was its own little world on-campus. Everyone knew everyone, and everyone wanted to be included.

    Which meant I suddenly had to consider other students in other classes other than A3. It was one thing lending my middling expertise to third-years¡ªthey were heading to First Wave too¡ªbut for the juniors? Who had at least a year until then?

    Not fun, let me tell you.

    ¡°¡ªyeah, who are you to tell me to leave?¡± spat a first-year. He came with his little entourage wanting to check out what their seniors were doing. Spoiled little bastard, the definition of daddy¡¯s money.

    I focused on writing notes down on my clipboard. ¡°I am. Your seniors need to focus¡ª¡±

    ¡°I mean, look at this.¡± The first-year grabbed my shirt and threw the fabric back. ¡°Looks like the ren went thrifting recently, eh?¡±

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Leave, or¡ª¡±

    The little shit slapped my clipboard but I managed to hang onto it. ¡°Or what? You don¡¯t know who you¡¯re talking to. I can kill you with a single flick¡ª¡±

    He shut up. Forcibly. Slayer or not, getting a clipboard jammed into your throat was painful. He dropped to his knees and started gasping for air. Before his friends tried anything funny, I waved the deadly weapon at them.

    With the clipboard, I pointed at the open door. ¡°Walk, or you¡¯ll crawl there.¡±

    They got the message. Unfortunately, later that day, I was chewed out by administration for ¡°assaulting a highly-valued student.¡± By that, he complained and his father complained. No punishment, though. OU didn¡¯t want to scorn one of their most popular alumni.

    This wasn¡¯t the first time someone wanted to bully the ren, and despite my efforts, no one seemed to catch the hint. At least this wasn¡¯t Baekyong (??) Academy, because that place? Shit, it resembled an unethical psychology experiment more than an actual campus. Regardless, helping Class A3 wasn¡¯t terrible. I had free lunch, spent more time with my friends, all while getting paid doing so.

    The days went by.

    System Articles felt like it happened yesterday, but when I opened my eyes¡­ It was already the end of May.

    First Wave was starting in a few days.

    ¡°Thank you for your help, Alex,¡± Professor Jeon said while we were in her office. The blue-haired sword was in her late-thirties but looked a decade younger; the power of good genetics. ¡°I think my kids will do just fine in First Wave.¡±

    ¡°Either way, I earned my check. Unless I¡¯m getting a commission for every student who gets an offer.¡±

    Professor Jeon laughed. It was a fake laugh. ¡°No can do. The department is running low on funds.¡± (¡°That¡¯s bullcrap.¡±) ¡°But I have something better than commissions: good news. Next academic year, we have new positions in Systemic Works if you¡¯re interested. I know you prefer several degrees of separation from systemics, but it pays well.¡±

    I had a feeling she was going to offer a more permanent position. She was right; OU was a little too intimate, but I wasn¡¯t exactly in an optimal place in terms of employment. ¡°Send me the details,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll give it a serious thought.¡±

    She smiled. A real smile, this time. ¡°Great! And one more thing.¡±

    From a drawer, she produced a lanyard with a laminated card attached. It had my name and face on it with the word ¡°VISITOR¡± written at the top.

    ¡°This.¡± She tapped the card. ¡°Is a visitor¡¯s pass for First Wave. In other words, it¡¯s a golden opportunity to network with the Big Four and other major guilds. And you¡¯ll get to cheer your friends on too!¡±

    For most people, this was basically like having the winning lottery ticket. Some would pay thousands to have an opportunity to deliver their elevator pitch to the Big Four, but I wasn¡¯t most people. Don¡¯t misunderstand, it was a great opportunity to network and job-hunt, but¡­

    ¡°Why don¡¯tcha do it?¡± Thea asked when I got home that evening. ¡°Look, Alex, you¡¯re not exactly in an optimal spot in terms of a job.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s literally what I thought.¡± I slapped her leg, making Thea move her lazy ass so I could sit on the couch. ¡°But there¡¯s a problem¡ª¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re terrible with women?¡± (¡°Yeah¡ª¡±) ¡°You¡¯re basically an eunuch?¡± (¡°Yes¡ª¡±) ¡°You can¡¯t talk yourself out of a mugging to save your life¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Shut up.¡± I whacked the lanyard against her thigh.

    She scowled and slapped me away. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault that you pissed off Glory and Angels! Like, seriously, that¡¯s on you. But hey, they¡¯re both castles. You prolly won¡¯t meet Silverhonor or Empress while working there.¡±

    I squinted at her. ¡°Thea.¡±

    She was focused on watching her anime. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Knowing our luck, you think that¡¯ll happen?¡±

    Thea sighed and rubbed her eyes. ¡°Right, our track record doesn¡¯t exactly, y¡¯know, track. Either way, you got a free invitation to First Wave. Opportunity¡¯s an opportunity. You never know what¡¯ll happen. Just gotta avoid Martials Guild and you¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I held the lanyard in my hands, rubbing a thumb on my unflattering picture. ¡°Plus, everyone will appreciate me being there.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like you talked yourself into it.¡±

    I pressed the card against my forehead. ¡°Guess I have¡­ Shit, this will either be the best decision I¡¯ll ever make or the worst.¡±

 [FOR PEACE] Chapter 7 - First Wave

    Welcome to First Wave here at Primordial Plaza, famous for hosting concerts, outdoor conferences, carnivals, and so on. The last example was most similar. Instead of shoddily-installed amusement rides and scammy games, every square inch was filled with exams of varying lethality. You couldn¡¯t walk more than a few meters before finding an information booth or a provisions tent, making sure everyone knew where they were going and had water in their system.

    Off in the center was the reason why it was named ¡°Primordial Plaza¡±: there was a monument to the most historically significant Slayer. They¡¯d immortalized his signature spear, [Leventis], in thick stone, capturing every detail from the ribbon-like tassels to the intricate engravings of a battle along the shaft. At the very top was the shiny spearhead.

    (For First Wave, [Leventis] was actually the location of a classic exam: the Leventis Climb. Slayers had to climb to the top of [Leventis] and descend as quickly and efficiently as possible.)

    Although exams hadn¡¯t begun yet, the Plaza was already populated and most of the applicants hadn¡¯t gotten past the gates yet. It took an army to keep First Wave operational and on-track to finish in five days.

    Let¡¯s hope they can handle the traffic. According to the news, there were a little over six thousand accepted applicants. However, since I was in the middle of the pack, it felt like ten thousand. We had swords of all nationalities and specialities here, dressed in their [Loadouts] with their gawky armor and robes and terrible fashion and outfits one step away from a public indecency charge. They brandished their sigs out in the open. I passed a dude with a massive sword on his back speaking with a girl with two familiars buzzing around her head. Some genius had a massive fucking spear that was twice the height of himself. Others came strapped with iron like this was a gun show.

    They passively listened to employees standing on soapboxes, giving directions through a megaphone. Above them, mounted TVs displayed the same info but in a dozen different languages.

    You had to admire the chaos of First Wave. You were surrounded by swords of various disciplines, personalities, and philosophies¡ªbut they all had the same pearly ambition: a ticket into the Big Four and an opportunity to make it big. Somewhere, my friends were in line as three nameless faces in the crowd.

    Meanwhile, I was at the guest line.

    ¡°Can I see your card, sir?¡± asked the attendant, and I gave my lanyard over. She scanned the barcode and it came back positive. ¡°Good! Here.¡±

    She gave me a small bag containing free merch and informational documents. ¡°You¡¯ll find a packet containing the schedule and locations of all exams over the next five days. If you have any questions, please approach an employee wearing a bright orange vest. You¡¯re free to leave and re-enter First Wave as many times as you want as long as you have your card.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Have a good day!¡±

    I was let inside without any hiccups. First thing I did was to pull my phone out.

    <blockquote>

    Alexander

    Made it inside

    Victor Squared

    let¡¯s goooooooo

    Cultivator

    Wonderful, we¡¯re still in line.

    kansai

    i wanna die

    </blockquote>

    I checked the lines. Yeah, at this angle, they were impossibly long. I¡¯d tell the trio to keep their chin up, but I was feeling demoralized on their behalf.

    Eh, they¡¯ll live.

    According to the schedule, the first exams started in an hour. Tentatively. Given it was the first day, we could expect a delay of at least thirty minutes, probably more. That left me some time to roam around and use my tongue for something productive. Golden opportunity to do so, because all the important people would be waiting just like me.

    For now, let¡¯s just walk.

    I strolled through Primordial Plaza and rudely poked my head into everything. They¡¯d divided the Plaza into different sections to group similar exams. I was currently in the General Section, which tested broad ability and looked at the totality of your character. One example was the General Aptitude Examination, taking the form of an enclosed arena. I saw technicians making last minute adjustments to the barrier projectors.

    Going deeper into the Plaza, I entered other sections¡ªSurvival, Utility, Support¡ªand saw more of the same: workers making adjustments, proctors chatting it up, and me? I was wandering around like a kid who had lost his mom. I didn¡¯t know who to talk to; the recruiters didn¡¯t make their allegiance obvious.

    I explored and explored, even getting a light breakfast in.

    I checked my phone. It¡¯d been forty-five minutes and no business cards. Great¡ª

    ¡°Gomen-gomen-gomen-gomen¡ª!¡± From out of left-field, a high-speed chase was taking place. Several swords and security guards ran after an androgynous kid who looked no older than eighteen. From their voice, I think the little trespasser was a boy. He was Japanese, obviously, and was somehow more goofy than Kotone. Tears welled at the corner of his eyes, the wind flapped at his whitish-blue hair, and his cosmic-navy eyes danced all over the Plaza for an escape route.

    It was clear he didn¡¯t belong here. He wasn¡¯t a Slayer, at least I think so. His [Loadout] was a Demonic Cult t-shirt and jeans, not exactly abiding by the dress-code. He probably snuck in to meet his favorite idols.

    He had guts, I¡¯ll give him that¡­

    For a brief moment, by the smallest divisible fraction of a second, our eyes met. Whatever Shinto god or goddess compelled him, he decided to book it straight towards me.

    He immediately ran behind my back. (¡°What the hell¡ª?!¡±) ¡°I apologize, sir, but you seem like a man of righteous character¡ª!¡± (¡°In what way?!¡±) ¡°Please don¡¯t let me get caught¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey!¡± The first Slayer on-scene rolled in, boots skidding across the pavement. ¡°C¡¯mon, kid, you know you can¡¯t be here! Leave the poor guy be!¡±

    The kid hopped to look over my shoulder. ¡°I apologize for the chaos, but I absolutely have to stay! That¡¯s a hill I¡¯m willing to die on!¡±

    More reinforcements arrived. The Slayer resumed negotiations: ¡°Let¡¯s not get too hasty, okay? Look, if you want an autograph from Archknell or Seraph, we can¡ª!¡±

    ¡°No!¡± the kid exclaimed, still hopping over my shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m not here for an autograph! I¡¯m here for a meeting, for something much greater!¡±

    ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡±

    The kid inhaled and puffed his chest out. Stars sparkled inside his eyes like the multiverse itself was reflected. ¡°On my name, Amamizu Rei (ÓêË®ë‘), I have ventured all the way from the treacherous mountains of Japan to rescue Ordo from the throes of catastrophe!¡±

    We stared at him. Everyone here did. Silently. Judging.

    This kid watched too much anime.

    Amamizu Rei cluelessly looked at everyone. ¡°Hmm?¡±

    I picked him up by the collar like a momma cat with her kittens. ¡°Huh?¡±

    The kid got hoisted onto one of the sword¡¯s shoulders like a sack of potatoes. ¡°Ehh?!¡±

    Then, he was carried toward the gate. ¡°NOOOOOO! RESCUE ME, KIND SIR¡ª!¡±

    And he was gone.

    I think I got my unfortunate encounter out of the way. This would be a funny story to tell¡ª

    ¡°My oh my, I was wondering what caused the commotion but it seems I came much too late. How pitiful. I wanted an appetizer before the main course.¡± A five-foot, ashen-haired woman stood next to me with the smuggest smile on her face. ¡°Though, you¡¯ll perform nicely in that boy¡¯s stead, Alexander Shen.¡±

    Should I feel shock or disappointment that the Guild Master of Wisdom Guild knew my name? Meet Sophos, the Genius of Stars, who was the textbook definition of a haughty, full-of-herself mage. She earned that right. She was the mage of Ordo; No.3 in the [Fabel Rankings] in this region, only because Kosmos and Seraph took the next two spots. Otherwise, she¡¯d dominate. Don¡¯t let her youthful looks deceive you, though. She resembled a young woman in her mid-twenties but she was actually in her sixties thanks to some magic mumbo-jumbo.

    Just another achievement for the second-most talented magician to grace the Phenomena Society. From its founder, she learned his SSS-Rank [Skill], [Original Magic].

    To explain how rare an SSS-Rank [Skill] was¡­ You could win the lottery a hundred times in a row and those odds would still be better. Nobody knew the numbers, but estimates said that around a dozen had SSS-Rank [Skills]¡ªand that was out of ten billion in the world and counting.

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    And one of the unlucky dozen was staring right at me. Or up at me considering her height.

    Sophos¡¯s smile lengthened considerably, and she adjusted her round-rimmed glasses. ¡°Why, cat got your tongue? I know I¡¯m quite mesmerizing in-person¡ªmore than that elf certainly¡ªbut don¡¯t stare at a woman for too long. I may be a genius, but even I get self-conscious when I¡¯m the eye-piece of a man.¡± She betrayed a slight blush.

    I cleared my throat and found a random direction to look at. She was old enough to be my mom. Grandmother, even. ¡°You heard about me from Silverhonor?¡±

    ¡°And Empress. Naturally, anyone who manages to irritate Silverhonor has their name passed around like a curse. To irritate her and the murim-in princess?¡± Sophos put a hand over her mouth and snickered at my expense. ¡°I almost can¡¯t believe it! For a man as ridiculously handsome as yourself, you have the conversational skills as an ape! A Neanderthal! A hopeless, scrambling rogue!¡±

    Sophos continued to laugh at me. I was getting bullied by a little girl. Yeah, that shock and disappointment went straight into irritation instead. If I could legally kick this little brat and get away with it, I would. For now, I had to endure it.

    My restraint was tested, though, as she pointed at my eyes. ¡°My, what terrifying eyes. Your silver gaze on mine, it looks like you want to beat me black-and-blue. I¡¯m afraid not, unless you want to be atomically obliterated. I am a True Mythos, after all, but you don¡¯t seem frightened by my presence.¡±

    I took my ¡°silver gaze¡± elsewhere. ¡°You already know who I am, you¡¯re insulting me, so I might as well drop the formalities and talk to you casually.¡±

    ¡°No, that fearlessness is the reason why you moved against Glory so brazenly.¡± Sophos stepped toward me, a mad glint of curiosity in her white eyes. ¡°You had your fair share of exceptional experiences, which is why you¡¯re talking to me as if we¡¯re acquaintances. How fascinating. If I could, I¡¯d bind your wrists and ankles to a table and dissect you personally.¡±

    I shimmied away from her.

    Sophos enjoyed another laugh. ¡°A harmless joke, obviously. I dissect only breachers, not humans. Color me interested nonetheless. You¡¯ve come here to network, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    Earning the attention of Sophos herself was, well, that came with a lot of implications. I gulped. ¡°How could you tell?¡±

    Sophos raised a couple fingers and rubbed the corner of her imaginary mustache. ¡°An easy deduction, Watson. You¡¯re in a precarious situation in terms of financial stability. Currently, you slave away as a part-time instructor at Ordo University. Despite your distaste of castles, you¡¯re here. Why? It¡¯s child¡¯s play.¡±

    She pressed a finger against my chest. ¡°You¡¯re killing your pride for a good salary.¡±

    That was probably the worst way she could have phrased it, but not like I did myself any favors. Silverhonor had spread that rumor around; or, it was as what Sophos said: an easy deduction. Anyone who loved castles wouldn¡¯t threaten Glory Guild. Hell, most sane people wouldn¡¯t do that regardless of opinion. Truth be told, my opinion about castles was more than a blanket hate-love, but this wasn¡¯t the time nor the place for semantics.

    Gently, I brushed her finger aside. ¡°And what does that mean for us¡ª? Eh?¡±

    Something changed after she touched me. All the arrogance inside her eyes were replaced¡ªI didn¡¯t know what or why¡ªand her pupils had been rendered into quivering pinpoints. When she noticed my change of expression, Sophos disengaged and had her back toward me.

    ¡°Sophos?¡± I asked. ¡°What¡¯s going on¡ª?¡±

    ¡°W-Whether or not I am interested, Wisdom will contact you,¡± she said with a slight tremble in her words. ¡°And don¡¯t worry about a business card or anything outdated such as that. I have my methods, mhm!¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all!¡± She waved faster than appropriate. ¡°Toodle-loo!¡±

    And there she went, leaving as fast as she arrived. That was¡­interesting to say the least. I¡¯d never seen Sophos look shaken before. What the hell did she see? Was it me or¡­? Ugh, there was no use thinking about it. Let¡¯s focus on the facts. I had her attention. Yeah, getting the Sophos interested in you was like finding a unicorn in the woods but that wasn¡¯t the point. If she knew about me, then everyone knew¡ªthe higher-circles, I mean. They had my name on a list. Of what? Blacklist, persons of interest, possible superstars? I didn¡¯t know, nor did I want to know.

    But the Big Four knew about me. Angels, Glory, Wisdom, and¡­ Martials.

    Martials Guild most likely knew my name. If Empress had shared the details about getting threatened with a pressure-point technique, then¡­

    Fuck, this wasn¡¯t good.

    Like I said, going to First Wave would either be the best or worst decision in my life. Jokes on me, that decision was made from the moment I met with Silverhonor and Empress. Talk about consequences.

    I got my phone out.

    <blockquote>

    Alexander

    Thea needs me for smth

    I have to bow out

    Victor Squared

    aw man

    you coming back later?

    Alexander

    Depends

    Cultivator

    If you need help, we¡¯re here.

    Alexander

    Nah, I think we¡¯ll be good but thx

    </blockquote>

    Let¡¯s get out of here.

    ***

    This was a mistake. I shouldn¡¯t have made contact¡ªno, what am I thinking? Not even Master could predict a situation like this. It was so profoundly absurd that you¡¯d be laughed out of the room for even considering such a thing! Yet for it to happen¡­!

    ¡°You scared him away.¡±

    ¡°Geh?!¡± Sophos jumped several meters in the air. She landed, cleared her throat, and stood professionally as any good Guild Master would. Speaking of terrifying men, here¡¯s one.

    The creepy man behind the corner remained unfazed by her circus act. These cultivators knew nothing of manners or basic decency, even for an urban prince like him. She would¡¯ve preferred the company of the ironically-honorable Demonic Cult than the ¡°sect¡± belonging to the Coward of Red Tears. Though, the Coward and his son were two very different men. In fact, they seemed related not at all.

    The only thing that proved their relations was their [Ancestral Qi], the famed [Skill] of the Jin Family.

    The cultivator stood face-to-face with her genius self. Yes, he was quite different from his father. If that old man was a decaying relic, then this boy was the crown prince in a historical C-drama. He had the posture, beauty, and dress of one, able to charm any fair maiden with a wink alone. Though, he was far from an ideal partner. While he possessed the required elegance, he had the lethality of a hand caressing the hilt of a sheathed blade. Each time he smiled, his lips would curl so slightly to barely reveal a thin white line of teeth¡ªand yet, his eyes would smile not at all.

    Sophos bit the inside of her cheek. He is the last man I want to have a conversation with. ¡°Vice Guild Master Jin Tianyou (½ðÌìÓÓ)¡ªugh, what a mouthful.¡± I meant to say that last part in my head, dammit!

    Jin Tianyou ignored her offense and continued, ¡°Guild Master Sophos. Forgive me for eavesdropping on your conversation.¡±

    Sophos turned her head and scoffed. ¡°I will not, unless you kowtow and lick the underside of my shoe. You ¡®orthodox¡¯ cultivators of the Heavenly Xia Court are often without tact and sophistication. Like father, like son, I suppose.¡±

    Her insults were pellets deflecting off of hard armor. His father would¡¯ve snapped back, yet all his son did was smile that meaningless smile.

    He held his hands behind his back as though he was addressing a retainer. ¡°I was merely curious about why you approached a ren. The Sophos I¡¯m familiar with, she pays no second thought to any¡­¡± He paused to think. ¡°Unqualified individuals. That man, Alexander Shen, must have something appealing. Other than his notorious wit as I heard.¡±

    Dammit. We brought Shen further troubles than we intended. More importantly, I¡¯m in trouble! Any conversation with Jin Tianyou was toxic. Toxic to her guild, and toxic to her sanity most of all.

    She said, ¡°It¡¯s quite frankly none of your concern, cultivator.¡±

    ¡°Is that so¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Shoo.¡± She motioned. ¡°Shoo, shoo. I¡¯m brushing you away like a stray cat. Come on, leave, little boy. Listen to your jiejie, she has better things to do.¡±

    Jin Tianyou stood next to her, yet he faced the vastness of Primordial Plaza, staring at the spot where the poor corpo had been standing minutes earlier. He maintained his perfect posture and expression like a doll. Yes, that was the best way to describe him. His entire existence, his reason for living, his character; it was just that: a doll.

    ¡°I believe Alexander Shen is my concern,¡± he said like he was talking about the weather. ¡°I¡¯ve watched him for not even five minutes, yet I could tell something festers inside him. A flame burns within his bosom, brighter and hotter than any aspirants outside these very gates. He¡¯s the most abnormal man in the entire Plaza¡ªno, in the entire city.¡±

    That¡­ That very well may be true, which is more of a reason why you should never meet him. Shen left exactly at the right time. I¡¯m not sure if I could pull Jin Tianyou away once his mind is set on something. Sophos clicked her tongue. ¡°Well, that¡¯s quite a high praise from you, but I very well have to be going.¡±

    She started walking and expected a polite farewell from Junjie¡¯s boy. He said nothing. He didn¡¯t move from his place. Jin Tianyou kept staring at where Shen had been as if he would come walking back.

    For a corpo who strayed from castles, Alexander Shen gained the attention of the Big Four in a single month through no fault of his own.

    Sophos fled and found a quiet corner in the Plaza where she wouldn¡¯t be disturbed. She snapped her fingers and formed a small isolation bubble around her. A powerful kind, one that would stop nearly all attempts of penetration from outside actors. Whatever she said here would be secure despite being in public.

    [CALLING: Rector]

    He immediately answered, ¡°Sophos. Have you made contact with Shen?¡±

    ¡°That¡­¡± Sophos gulped, shakily taking off her glasses to clean them using her shirt. She applied enough pressure that they could break.

    Rector moved closer to the call-screen. ¡°Sophos?¡±

    ¡°I-I had to remove myself from the conversation for my own safety,¡± she spat, sounding harsher than she intended. ¡°Thinking about it now, when Empress had been caught by that devil, she was lucky to escape with her life.¡±

    ¡°What¡ª? You¡¯re not making sense. Shen is a ren. What could¡¯ve prompted this reaction¡ª?¡±

    ¡°I used my appraisal [Skill] on him,¡± Sophos answered shortly. ¡°Rector, we have to re-evaluate everything we know. Because that man¡­ That man has an SSS-Rank [Skill] and an undeveloped SS-Rank.¡±

    He was dead silent.

    Sophos continued, ¡°We cannot let this information spread; for now, we¡¯ll keep this intel between us and restart our observations. Expand them, even. Everything and everyone connected to Alexander Shen, not a morsel wasted.¡±

 [FOR PEACE] Chapter 8 - Turning Point

    Thanks to my paranoia and the advice of Thea and Uncle. I decided to abandon First Wave altogether. I literally spent less than three hours there, most of it transit and waiting in line, only to leave right away. Hilarious. Still, it was the correct choice as it was too risky to stay longer. The Big Four knew who I was, and Martials Guild most likely had my name on file.

    I stirred too much trouble in the past month. For the rest of the year, it was best to lay low and let the attention fade before I made any big moves. That meant I shouldn¡¯t take Jeon¡¯s offer, because I¡¯d be in constant contact with influential swords. Nor should I join a corp¡ªas if I could get a job given my status as a whistleblower¡ªbecause my hero complex. Really, I needed a job that was calm, lowkey, and hopefully didn¡¯t pay me pennies.

    Also needed to find a pig with wings while I¡¯m at it.

    Jokes aside, my career was a problem for another time, probably after our vacation to Korea. If worse came to worst¡­ We¡¯d move, but I didn¡¯t want that. I actually liked Ordo despite everything. This crummy city felt like home.

    Plus, I made friends. Damn shame I couldn¡¯t cheer them on during their exams. I¡¯d told them that the ruckus during System Articles had blacklisted me from the industry; it was a half-lie, but they didn¡¯t question things as they had First Wave to focus on.

    They did send me countless videos and photos throughout the event: Chunhua standing on top of [Leventis], Kotone with blood pouring down her nose, Vic laying on the ground pale as a ghost. They¡¯d been enthusiastic in the first couple days, but they soon crashed as the days passed. Just waking up in the morning was an exam in itself. That was the hidden test I reckoned: endurance, seeing how well you performed while under constant strain and pressure to succeed.

    They survived. I knew they would.

    ¡°I¡¯m done! I don¡¯t wanna be a Slayer anymore!¡± Kotone whined, slamming her beer-glass onto the table. Her cheeks were flushed pink; she was tipsy despite how she looked. Trust me, we all knew what Kotone looked like while drunk.

    Beside me, Vic had his head down. Occasionally, he plucked a fry from his plate and popped it in his mouth. ¡°I¡¯m achin¡¯ all over¡­¡±

    Even Chunhua, a cultivator, was slumped. ¡°It¡­ It seems I underestimated the domestics¡­ I haven¡¯t felt this exhausted in years¡­¡±

    Meanwhile, I was casually munching on nachos. ¡°We could¡¯ve gone to my place and crashed there, but no, someone insisted on going out. Look at you idiots. I¡¯m not carrying your asses to the metro.¡±

    Vic tiredly glared at me; what was he going to do? Punch me? He said, ¡°Big words from a guy who didn¡¯t even go to First Wave. I can¡¯t believe the Big Four actually blacklisted you.¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not surprised. I didn¡¯t do myself any favors, so I have no right to complain. Neither do you. You brought this on yourself¡ª¡±

    A fry bounced off my face.

    Kotone laughed at my pain. ¡°You deserve that, jerk!¡±

    Chunhua put a hand on her shoulder. Her grip remained strong judging from how Kotone tensed. ¡°Easy now, let¡¯s not unload on Alex. He didn¡¯t do anything this time.¡± (¡°¡®This time¡¯?¡±) ¡°Since he complained about going out, perhaps he¡¯ll be interested in celebrating our entry into the Big Four at his place?"

    ¡°Don¡¯t get too cocky.¡± I sipped my beer. ¡°Results don¡¯t come out until next week, and you have the actual try-outs. Knowing Martials and Angels? Phew, good luck with that¡ª¡°

    Someone kicked me under the table.

    For the rest of the night, it was like that. Usually, whenever I make fun of them, they¡¯d snap back with their own ¡°witty¡± response and we would argue from there. Tonight? Nah, they were too exhausted to flap their tongue. Instead, they assaulted me like throwing food, kicking me under the table, or flicking my shoulder.

    I was rooting for them, though. They¡¯d get an offer from at least one of the Big Four. After that, who knows?

    We stumbled out of the bar, shoulder-to-shoulder, until we reached the midnight subway. They got off on the first station to Ordo University, leaving me mostly alone in a train-car with a couple other people. We minded our own business.

    I scrolled on my phone.

    <blockquote>

    @slayerVS

    Since the First Wave is going on, I decided to give this week¡¯s matchup an Ordo theme!

    No.13 Slayer of Ordo, Saga, Head Officer of Martials Guild, Blackviper

    VS

    No.12 Slayer of Ordo, Saga, Head Officer of Glory Guild, Silverhonor

    @cassiequeen

    ok they could fight but they could also marry me!!! i have two hands for a reason!

    @phenomena_society

    Attached was a picture of Sephirah Hamidi and her team standing inside a laboratory.

    Sephirah Hamidi and her team are making great progress for humanity¡¯s next venture! We have harnessed the power of safely redirecting portals, soon we will be able to open portals ourselves and travel the multiverse!

    @jianghu_info

    The leader of the Mountain Fist Sect has reportedly been assassinated according to members from within the sect. Many speculate that the Demonic Cult is involved due to the sect¡¯s open hostility and direct action against the Cult¡¯s influence.

    @YolandaN

    After being convicted in his involvement with Sanctuary Traders, Ambush of Oasis Guild has taken to social media to lambaste the decision in a drunken tirade. He comments on the lead prosecutor, referring to her as ¡°an overweight wh*re¡± and other similar remarks during his livestream.

    @javidriver

    nah bro wtf are these ticket prices i just wanna see a robot play the cello. fuck scrapers man imma hunt em down

    @gemmielove

    ngl i really hate lee yoonho like STAY AWAY?!?!! junhyeok DOESN¡¯T LIKE YOU like you¡¯re the reason why we need need *need* to eat the rich. like god i¡¯m sick and tired of this community glamorizing chaebols, yall really need to educate yourselves and be serious abt fighting capitalism

    </blockquote>

    I felt like my brain was rotting for every post I read. What else could I do, though? The ride back home was going to take a while¡ª

    My phone violently buzzed like I was holding onto a bee-hive. Strange, I didn¡¯t recognize the sensation. It wasn¡¯t a text or a phone-call nor an ordinary notification. I checked the screen¡ª

    <blockquote>

    EmergencySOS

    ALTHEA SHEN has activated an SOS.

    </blockquote>

    My phone buzzed again.

    <blockquote>

    EmergencySOS

    ALERT: ALTHEA SHEN¡¯s mobile device has been deactivated.

    </blockquote>

    I was on auto-pilot. Before I knew it, I was staring down her last known location: between Rook and Fielding Street. Rook and Fielding. Where was that? I heard of them before but where¡ª? Right, I remember now. First Wave, or more accurately Primordial Plaza. The corner was along the way, at least where I traveled from.

    Speakers buzzed. The conductor¡¯s words went through one ear and out the other, but within the minute, the train crawled to a screeching halt. We stopped, the doors creaked open like old gears churning, and I faced a sign. Crusader Avenue. It wasn¡¯t the nearest station to Primordial Plaza but close. It was close enough.

    Now I had to find Althea. Find her last location. Figure out what happened. And¡­

    And¡­

    ¡°Oh God.¡±

    I sprinted out of the metro.

    ***

    She wasn¡¯t at Rook and Fielding. All I found was her phone laying underneath a bench, the screen shattered and the internal wiring exposed like bone underneath flesh. The pink case was peeled off, and her various adorned stickers were scratched into whites. It was like I was holding onto her severed finger.

    I didn¡¯t know how long I was holding onto her phone, but suddenly, I was bothering every person on the street. Over and over, I asked about a black-haired girl with silver eyes, about any strange shit, about fucking anything that could lead me somewhere. Anywhere. All I received were non-answers, hollow good-lucks, or apathetic clues.

    Why was she here, anyway¡ª? Right, fuck, she was hanging out with friends. She must¡¯ve been coming back home until¡­

    My heart felt like it was going to give out. I¡¯d ran for so long just to get here¡ªspoke a million words just to get nothing in return¡ªonly to just hold her fucking phone in my hand and all this city could do was honk their fucking horns.

    ¡°Hey!¡± A guy stopped me in the middle of the sidewalk. ¡°You¡¯re lookin¡¯ for someone, right¡ª?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± I gasped, feeling fire running up my esophagus. ¡°What the hell do you know?!¡±

    The man held his hands up. ¡°Easy, chill. We were talking ¡®bout it earlier, but uh, we think we saw Firebrand chasing after something. Toward the Plaza. Y¡¯know, First Wave.¡±

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Firebrand? Why the fuck¡ª?¡± I slapped my forehead. Stupid question, there wasn¡¯t any time for stupid questions. ¡°What was he running after?¡±

    The guy shrugged. ¡°Dunno, don¡¯t ask me. I¡¯d try askin¡¯ security at First Wave if they saw anything.¡±

    A lead. A pretty pisspoor lead, but it was a lead. It was hope. My legs were reinvigorated. Without thanking him, I went for another marathon¡ªthis time, Primordial Plaza. I recognized the route, I saw [Leventis] lit up like a Christmas tree. I¡¯d walked the same path on the first day of First Wave. Tonight, there were a lot less people and virtually no blockades.

    What the fuck was going on? Why was Firebrand in the area? What did he have to do with anything¡ª? No, think, go over the details. Firebrand was another superstar in Angels Guild. He wasn¡¯t the heir of a sect, but he had a flashy skillset, a ¡°rebellious personality,¡± constant PR nightmares, and a flattering face.

    More importantly, Firebrand was personally recruited by Seraph and Rector when he was fourteen.

    Him and Celestial Empress were on the same team.

    Was this about my run-in with Empress? Fuck. Either way, if I found one of them, there was a good chance at finding Thea too. And¡­

    From tonight onward, we¡¯d be entangled with Angels Guild. Of course. It was always us.

    I ran to the front-gates sweaty and burning. All the lights were on. Right, First Wave was over as of this evening, so they should be packing everything up. Yet no one was here. Nobody. I didn¡¯t hear demolition. No power tools, no voices, just the mechanical buzz of generators keeping the lights on. There didn¡¯t seem to be anyone manning the security booths or patrolling the perimeter. It was like a ghost town¡ªno, it was a ghost town¡ªabandoned by the Big Four for no real reason.

    I banged my fist against the iron bars. ¡°HEY!¡± I shouted as loud as I could. ¡°Anyone here?! HEY!¡± Even with making a racket, only dust investigated. Looking through the bars, I saw wilted cameras. They¡¯d been deactivated.

    What the fuck¡­?

    ¡°Dammit, fuck!¡± I punched the gate out of frustration, dull pain ringing through my arms.

    Think! First Wave shouldn¡¯t look like this. There should be an army of workers tearing this place down. Firebrand was seen in the area, Empress was surely involved, my sister was missing, what did this mean?

    Putting the pieces together, it was simple.

    Angels Guild had ordered every worker to evacuate Primordial Plaza; they had the power to do so. Why? I doubt they wanted this place empty just for us, but we were most likely connected to the true cause. As if I give a fuck.

    I wanted nothing to do with it.

    Either way, my answer might be in here.

    I climbed the gate and landed safely on the other side.

    ¡°Anyone alive?!¡± I yelled into the Plaza, looking high and low for any sign of life. For good measure, I found random sheet metal lying around and kicked it, making some noise.

    ¡°Get out of here!¡± a woman¡¯s voice startled me. From a rooftop, she descended about six meters ahead of me. A Slayer, evident by her outfit. It was eye-catching, but something you wouldn¡¯t wear in public. It was inspired by the Jianghu but took some creative liberties, like her leggings and whatever her ¡°cultivator robes¡± were. They¡¯d been bastardized: sleeveless, asymmetrical, only went halfway down her thighs. Ivory and azure and demonic red were fighting for dominance.

    Her [Loadout] was hideous but recognizable.

    Celestial Empress stood before me, and when she finally got a good look at the trespasser, her next words were trapped in her throat. She gasped. ¡°Shen?! How are you¡ªwhy are you here¡ª?!¡±

    ¡°Where the fuck is my sister?¡± I calmly asked, as calmly as I possibly could be. ¡°Why is Firebrand chasing after her?¡±

    ¡°How do you¡ª?!¡± Empress shook her head and braved a few steps toward me. ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter¡ª¡±

    ¡°I think it very well fucking matters,¡± I snarled, stopping her from coming any closer. ¡°You sent all the workers away, you sent Firebrand after Althea for no damn reason¡ª¡± (¡°Shen, listen to me!¡±) ¡°¡ªshut the hell up!¡±

    Empress shrunk as I raised my voice. Her hand instinctively went toward her waist, clenching as though feeling for a hilt. ¡°Dammit, Shen, listen to me! You and your sister are in extreme danger¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Danger from fucking what¡ª?!¡±

    ¡°Let me finish my fucking sentence!¡± Empress roared over my protests. ¡°Get it through your thick fucking skull, you aren¡¯t safe here! Okay?! Your life is in danger, your sister¡¯s life is in danger, that¡¯s why we sent Firebrand to escort her! We want to protect you, not perform whatever conspiracy you cooked up inside your head!¡±

    Shut up, I don¡¯t care what excuses you give. I¡¯ve stopped caring. I had enough. You and I both know that you can¡¯t walk away from an incident like this as though it never happened. Chasing after my sister, saying we were supposedly ¡°in danger,¡± even if that was the case¡­ It meant I was right: you¡¯d involved us into something massive.

    Once again, our lives were taking a detour all because someone reached through the window and turned the wheel themselves. We now carried Angels Guild¡¯s burdens, their skeletons, their politics, their secrets.

    This was a bitter reminder of reality: our lives were never ours to begin with. No matter how much we claw towards our mundane ambitions¡ªhow much I struggled¡ªeverything could easily be taken away by one wrong person at the wrong place and at the wrong time.

    They take and take and take, ripping pieces of our lives like vultures picking at a carcass. By the time the feast was done, we were left to reassemble the scraps and make something new out of ourselves. Then, it happened again, and again, and again. We rebuilt ourselves only to get torn down. More vultures tear at us, and all we could do was hopelessly swat them away before they took our arms. We¡¯d be left as helpless husks with no tongue to speak with, and we could only watch with our wide eyes and turn inside our heads about where it all went wrong.

    The truth was, no matter how much we assign blame or reason, it wasn¡¯t our fault. That¡¯s how the world worked. Things happened: to you, despite you, always you.

    The peace we¡¯d built was gone just like that. All because of Angels. All because of me. And tonight, the cycle started anew.

    I¡¯m sick and tired of it. Of everything.

    All I wanted was¡­ What I want is¡­

    I took out Althea¡¯s phone from my pocket, seeing my black and broken reflection in the shattered screen. I flipped it around and rubbed my thumb over the scratched stickers of animes and webtoons and whatever geeky stuff she liked consuming.

    Empress breathed to recollect herself. ¡°Shen¡ª¡±

    I dropped the phone. It bounced off the side of my shoe and clattered flatly on the ground.

    ¡°Shen¡­¡± A hand was on my shoulder. I was looking at Empress¡¯s shoes. ¡°Please, I¡¯ll call some friends and take you to somewhere secure. All we want is for you and your sister to be safe, okay? C¡¯mon, lift your head up. Tell me that you understand.¡±

    ¡°...Yeah,¡± I said as dead as winter. I moved my lips close to her ear. ¡°I understand everything, Empress.¡±

    Empress was about to speak but then sharply gasped.

    ¡°But I just don¡¯t believe you.¡±

    [Skill Error: Anti-Slayer Technique - Flow Reversal]

    It was just a single impact. From an outside perspective, it looked like a damn good punch but there was more to it. Flow Reversal was a step horizontal to Sixteen-Point, where you instead disrupted your opponent¡¯s internal mana flow and forced it to react against itself. The impact produced a violent reaction akin to an explosion. Afterwards, the mana flow would be obstructed for a while. The technique, though, was most effective when used against powerful swords.

    The heiress of the Ryu Family definitely was one of them.

    Empress was launched off her feet and got sent flying into a steel wall. She crunched into the metal and put a bitch-sized dent in it.

    [Threat to life detected]

    [Threat to loved one detected]

    [Temporary Registration available]

    ¡°Slayer System,¡± I muttered, ¡°activate [Temporary Registration].¡±

    Pain. It felt like someone was shoving heated rods down my veins. I collapsed on all-fours, biting my lip so much that blood poured down my chin. It was the one thing that stopped me from straining my vocal-cords and rendering me mute. The pain centralized into my sternum, focusing there for an eternally long few seconds. Then, it was sent directly into my brain.

    I couldn¡¯t stop myself from screaming that time. I went limp, forehead cracking against the pavement, the hard surface muffling me. It was like someone was pushing against my skull from the inside-out. My eyes wanted to pop free, my teeth grinded together into dust, and my ear-drums begged to claw through my ear-canals to escape.

    I went deaf, and the world went blindingly white.

    And all of the sudden, everything stopped. The pain and pressure were gone, leaving only an intense warmth coursing through my blood. It was like I¡¯d been soaking in a hot-tub.

    In front of me was a familiar blue screen.

    [Welcome back, Alexander Shen. As a Temporary Slayer, you have limited access to the System¡¯s functions but you are able to use Skills like a normal Slayer. You will lose access once the danger is neutralized.]

    [Please check your Slayer Profile before entering combat]

    ***

    [SLAYER SYSTEM PROFILE]

    Name: Alexander Shen

    Slayer Rank: E-Rank Temporary Slayer

    Skills: 4/3

    Memento Recollection

    Rank SSS

    Type: Item Accumulation

    Description: You possess the special power to materialize your interpersonal relationships as physical items. These items are called [Mementos], created when you have established a significant bond with an individual (the holder). Each [Memento] is ranked from F (weakest) to SSS (strongest) depending on the relationship.

    The rank is dynamic. If the holder is deceased, the [Memento] will remain but its rank cannot be changed. There is no limit to how many [Mementos] you are able to acquire. You can receive a personal description of each [Memento] upon selecting it. You cannot use duplicate [Mementos] simultaneously unless explicitly stated.

    This is an [Awakened Skill] and is thus always active without taking up a [Skill Slot].

    Certain Shot

    Rank A

    Type: Concept Application

    Description: Apply the Certainty Principle to any launched projectiles. They will hit their determined target in a theoretical reality, however still obeying natural law and logic in the real world.

    Forged Skin

    Rank A

    Type: Body Enhancement

    Description: Through brutal conditioning conducted by your uncle, your skin has become harder than steel and resist damages of almost every type.

    Mana Impact

    Rank C

    Type: Internal Energy Manipulation

    Description: Condense mana in a determined point inside your body and release it upon impact. You are able to control the quantity of mana condensed. Higher concentration will produce a more powerful result.

    Acquired Skills

    Home Cook

    Rank B

    Type: Cognitive Enhancement

    Description: You are able to remember all recipes you have cooked previously down to the individual ingredients and measurements required.

    Intimidating Presence

    Rank C+

    Type: Presence Enhancement

    Description: Apply mild intimidation to any weak-willed individuals around you. You are able to toggle this [Skill] on and off at will.

    Algebraic Mind

    Rank C

    Type: Cognitive Enhancement

    Description: You can mentally perform difficult algebra without the use of a calculator.

    Note Transfer

    Rank C

    Type: Reality-System

    Description: You are able to transfer all contents from your [Notes] into physical documents or electronic files and vice-versa.

    Undeveloped Skills

    Anti-Slayer Technique

    Rank SS

    Type: Nested, Pressure Point Techniques

    Linked Skills: Sixteen-Point Obliteration [SS], Sixteen-Point Incapacitation [SS] [?], Momentum Kill [S], Flow Reversal [S] [?], Phenomena Negative [S]

    Description: Created by Alistair Romanos, your uncle, these techniques were specifically designed for a single purpose: to eliminate Slayers as a regular, Systemless human. Today, the Anti-Slayer Techniques are said to be the greatest and most coveted countermeasure against Slayers.

    Acquisition Requirement: You must attain adequate mastery over all five linked [Skills]. Current progress: [2/5].

    Mementos

    Chain Gauntlets

    Rank A+

    Holder: Bastien Romanos (deceased)

    Memento Type: Gauntlet

    Description: The [Memento] of your father, taking the form of tightly-wound chains. His wisdom and teachings are crystalized within these hands. Above all, they contain his sins, his regrets, and his responsibility. Much like how your own hands have scars.

    Special Effect: You may unravel the [Gauntlets] into long chain-lengths.

    Yuzhou

    Rank A+

    Holder: Shen Xingyu (deceased)

    Memento Type: Armor

    Description: The [Memento] of your mother, taking the form of full-body armor. This [Armor] is protection. Warmth. Security. It will protect you from the outside world and endure as a constant reminder of her bright spirit. Always look towards the light, she says, and remember who made you smile.

    Special Effect: When paired with [Chain Gauntlets], [Technique Daggers], or [Nightingale Watch], increase the rank of this [Memento] to S.

    Technique Daggers

    Rank A

    Holder: Althea Shen

    Memento Type: Dagger

    Description: The [Memento] of your younger sister, taking the form of silversteel daggers. You¡¯ve been through everything together, from the moment you held her tiny hand to today. Even if the world is falling down, you would crawl through Hell for her.

    Special Effect: When using [Technique Daggers], you may summon additional [Daggers] up to the number of [Techniques] in your sister¡¯s possession. The maximum is currently 4.

    Nightingale Watch

    Rank A

    Holder: Alistair Romanos

    Memento Type: Magick Firearms

    Description: The [Memento] of your uncle, taking the form of matte-black magick firearms modeled after their real-life counterparts. He imparted you with many things: his infamous Anti-Slayer Techniques, his combat experience, and his philosophy. Violence can only be subjugated through extreme violence. That¡¯s the way of the horrible world for people like us.

    Special Effect: This [Memento] takes the form of individual firearms: [Nightingale Pistol], [Nightingale Rifle], and [Nightingale Shotgun].

 [FOR PEACE] Chapter 9 - To Us, Always Us

    ¡°Empress?! Empress, you suddenly went quiet! Did you encounter the Alt already¡ª?!¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± S-Sorry, sweetheart. Leona took a trembling hand to turn off her comms. As much as she adored Chie¡¯s encouragement, she couldn¡¯t afford any distractions. Not now. Not when she was facing a threat just as problematic as the Alternates.

    She peeled off the steel wall, head ringing. Dinner was boiling inside her stomach, threatening to spew all over the pavement and asphalt. Her internal qi was out of whack. It was like ants were swimming up and down her bloodstreams, getting jammed and causing a long line of traffic. Her whole body was numb. She could barely move her arms and legs.

    What¡­? Leo violently coughed, hot spit dripping down her lips. What did he do to me¡­?

    It¡¯d happened so fast. His hand had been pressed against her sternum then¡­ No, that hadn¡¯t been a bluff? Back then, when they¡¯d first met, he had threatened her with a pressure-point technique. That had to be a bluff¡ªbecause pressure-point techniques weren¡¯t as universal as seen in movies or comics¡ªbut to think he actually had a technique up his sleeve¡­

    It was already established that Shen wasn¡¯t a normal person, but to be in possession of a technique like that was absurd.

    ¡°D-Dammit, what the hell is going on¡­?¡± Leo coughed again, crawling to a nearby bench to hoist herself up. Slowly, painfully. Her legs were jelly, and her arms couldn¡¯t lift a feather without shaking.

    In front of her, Shen was standing up¡ªwhen did he collapse?¡ªand immediately, alarms banged inside her head. She sensed something from him. Killing intent, anger; those things were there, obviously, but this was tangible like a familiar flavor on your tongue. Mana. There was a presence of mana inside him.

    He had [Temporary Registered].

    This psycho is actually trying to kill me?! ¡°Shen¡ª!¡±

    Shen turned his shoulder and stared at her cold. His eyes were dim and black.

    [Skill Activation]

    Something unimaginable happened.

    [Memento Recollection - Yuzhou, Chain Gauntlets]

    Armor formed around his body like a second skin. Sleek but thick, covering every single inch and leaving nothing exposed. It was black and silver from head-to-toe, designed for combat performance: smooth surfaces, sharp ridges, fitted and articulate. It resembled a personnel mecha that Tokei (•rÓ‹) would manufacture or the Counterforce¡¯s Degenbrechers, but this was merely a shell. An elegant, fearsome shell that had a roguish and arguably more fearsome pilot. And around his forearms were thick industrial-gray gauntlets resembling tightly wrapped chains.

    Leo looked on, unsure if the feeling in her heart was awe, shock, fear, or simply dread. This couldn¡¯t be his [Loadout]¡ªTemporary Slayers didn¡¯t have access to that feature¡ªso this was¡­ This was a [Skill]? What kind of [Skill] allowed him to¡ª?!

    His [Gauntlets] unfurled, and the tightly-wrapped chains loosened and dropped to the ground in a pile.

    In one mighty heft, the chains came down on Leo.

    The attack was a shot of adrenaline to her blood, bringing meager clarity to her limbs. She rolled away a moment before the chains whalloped, crunched through the bench she¡¯d been leaning on, bent the metal and shattered the wood, and gored the concrete underneath.

    ¡°What the fuck are you doing?!¡± Leo found herself yelling. ¡°We¡¯re on the same side!¡±

    ¡°As fucking if!¡± He whipped again. The chains were blocked by a conveniently-placed streetlamp and got wrapped around the pole. The fucking psycho hissed through the narrow slits of his helmet, and through sheer strength alone, yanked the streetlamp off its base. The bulb crashed and died on impact, bringing a little bit of darkness to this area.

    Dammit, I can¡¯t reason with this psychopath! I have to incap him the hard way! Then, Leo looked down at her wobbling legs and her trembling arms. She wanted to cry. Never mind, I can¡¯t incap him right now!

    Leo scrambled and ran as fast as her crappy legs could take her. Every step was agony as though fleeing with pins-and-needles. [Heavenly Cloud Step], her qinggong, was ineffective because movement-type [Skills] needed legs and she didn¡¯t have any at the moment. Trying to engage in close combat was out of the question, as her arms couldn¡¯t hold [Twin Heavens] properly. She needed to recover but that required time, time that was running scarce¡ª

    [Skill Activation: Mana Impact]

    Something exploded behind her. A black-and-silver blur entered her right peripheral. Shen bounced off a nearby wall, fast and deadly like a leopard, and pounced.

    Leo leapt forward¡ªimpact! Concrete flew and pelted her legs in a spew of pebbles. She climbed to her feet. She¡¯d seen her fair share of terrifying Slayers over her short career, but watching an armored dick yank his arm from a small crater he made, that was a kick to morale¡ª

    She faced five ugly knuckles. By sheer instinct, Leo bent backwards far enough that his arm flew over her. Thank goodness for her flexibility. She stumbled, off-balanced, and a leg smacked her behind the thigh. This time, she was on the ground for real.

    Shen eclipsed her, and without hesitation, drove a fist downward onto her soft skull.

    Leo pulled her head away in time and avoided painting Primordial Plaza pink and red with her brain-matter. Her tiny arms latched onto Shen¡¯s, holding his fist in-place. This would be a good time to wrestle and try to gain the upper-hand, if her legs worked.

    Back-up plan!

    [Skill Activation: First Azure - Swordless Ethercross]

    With a free hand, she swiped across Shen¡¯s hideous helmet to reveal his snarling face underneath. Unfortunately, that didn¡¯t happen. Instead of cracking his helmet open like a walnut, there was only the smallest scratch on the surface.

    He huffed.

    Leo nervously laughed. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m gonna die to this prick.

    A second later, her limp body was kicked into an information booth. She bounced off the metal wall and fell face-first onto the cold floor, groaning, her entire body aching like a long day after Auntie¡¯s training. Her hand reached up and patted for the counter¡ª

    [Memento Arsenal - Nightingale Rifle]

    Until a fucking spell-bullet nearly tore her fingers off. Leo let out an uncharacteristically frightened yelp and pulled back. Spells riddled the booth with foul, acidic-smelling holes. If the builders hadn¡¯t used mana-resistant materials during construction, Leo might actually be dead.

    She sat against the counter as spells whizzed over her head. First, [Armor]; next, [Gauntlets]; now, a [Magick Rifle]?! Where is he pulling these weapons from?!

    Questioning a mystery was a futile effort. She clasped her hands and brought them to her belly. She concentrated, pushing extraneous sensations aside. The gunfire, the smell of acid, the torn air¡ªall removed. The panic blaring inside her head was pacified into a gentle wave. Her mind was taken from the external world and was brought into the internal realm.

    Shen really had done a number on her qi. She¡¯d never seen a pressure-point technique produce these effects before, but they were recoverable. Because the strike had completely shifted her system, it caused partial blockages and uneven flow throughout her body. Temporary problems, yes, but fatal in battle. To begin, she had to solve the issue step-by-step.

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    First, she manually took over her qi flow¡ªa hard impact thumped against her back, ignore it¡ªand mapped her pathways. She rebalanced her body, pushing and pulling qi out as necessary¡ªa spell ricocheted off the counter, don¡¯t worry about it. Her body, although still numb, felt better already. The blockages were next. She undid them, one-by-one, while forcing her qi to flow correctly¡ª

    The gunfire stopped.

    Leo exhaled and released her hands, and she listened for life.

    [Signature Trigger: Twin Heaven - Father]

    Shen reached over the counter. A gorgeous, masterfully-crafted blade fanned free and kissed his helmet in a satisfying clang of metal; if he wasn¡¯t wearing protection, half his face would be hanging off. Instead, he was unharmed. Cursing and backing away, mind you, but unharmed.

    Leo flipped over the counter and powerfully drove a kick into his hard chest, yet he caught her leg and tossed her like a shot-put. She recovered in the air, spinning like a beautiful ballerina, and landed solidly on two balanced feet. Her system wasn¡¯t completely repaired, but hopefully it could figure itself out.

    ¡°Shen, that¡¯s enough playing around! I don¡¯t want to hurt you!¡± she commanded, whipping her signature around. A single sword had to do, for his safety and her own. No doubt he could capitalize on¡ª

    He blasted off his feet.

    Fireworks of steel against steel crackled across the plaza. Shen rabidly wailed onto Leo. There was no sense of rhythm or strategy in his attacks. He fought purely from his angry, miserable heart. It was a far-cry to the man she¡¯d first met: a surprisingly cunning corpo whose confidence was borderline magical. His life was seemingly in order. He knew what he wanted, why he wanted it, and how to get it.

    Now, look at the silver-eyed demon. He was an animal. A monster. Instead of finding his sister, he lashed out at the one person who was trying to help him. Why? What set him off? Was it his endless paranoia? His grudge against castles? No, it couldn¡¯t be right. As much as Leo thought it¡¯d be easier to cross Shen off as yet another psychopathic punk, it didn¡¯t feel right.

    Not with a man like him. There had to be more to the story.

    Leo braced as Shen forced his armored forearm against [Father]; he growled and panted and snarled through gritted teeth. Through the silts of his helmet, his silver eyes seemingly vibrated, wide and desperate.

    ¡°Shen!¡± she yelled. ¡°Let me help you¡ª!¡±

    ¡°¡®Help¡¯?!¡± He pushed and ignored the sharp edge eating into his [Armor]. ¡°Help?! I don¡¯t want your fucking help! What I want¡­! What I want is for you to leave us the fuck alone!¡±

    Shen mightily struck with his other hand and clanged against steel again, forcing Leo a few meters back.

    Dammit, just help me understand¡ª! Leo¡¯s breath hitched.

    He created a new weapon: a [Magick Pistol].

    Spell-bullets flew, but this time she was ready. Effortlessly, they bounced off her blade and cracked against the ground, the walls, and even a few lights.

    Out of frustration, he threw his [Pistol]. She clattered it away¡ª

    Ugly five knuckles were staring at her again. They kissed her blade. The vibrations rattled her sensitive arms, but she kept strong and pushed against the armored asshole. ¡°Shen, listen to me, we want the best for you¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± he roared and pulled away.

    Leo raised her guard, believing another punch was coming, but what flashed across her vision wasn¡¯t knuckles. It was the glimmering edge of a silver [Dagger] that had nearly cut her cheek open. His hands moved fast¡ªtoo fast for an ordinary corpo¡ªand brought Leo on the backfoot, forcing her to block and deflect and parry.

    The [Dagger] peeled down but got caught by [Father¡¯s] edge. Leo reinforced the clinch, and they were locked together once more. Shen slammed his other hand into the back of the dagger, to force the edge down, but the hold refused to break. He did it again, failed, and again, failed, and frustration roared out of his mouth in a steaming breath.

    ¡°We never¡­! We never asked for this! Why us?! Why is it always FUCKING us?! Why do you fucking people keep targeting and dragging us into your endless bullshit¡ª?!¡±

    Momentarily, his strength slacked.

    Leo pushed him off and a deep, azure gash was slapped across his helmet.

    It cracked down the middle, wide enough to reveal a single silver eye.

    Shen gasped and stumbled back. He dropped the [Dagger] and clawed at his helmet as though searching for a wound. ¡°Haha, fuck¡­¡± He found the crack, and after some amount of struggle, ripped his helmet open. The two halves fell to the ground and exposed his ugliness to the open air. ¡°FUCK!¡±

    His armored fingers ran through his sweaty hair, then they rubbed all over his face as if trying to remove a mask.

    Leo lowered [Father] slightly. ¡°Shen¡­?¡±

    ¡°Why¡­?¡± He looked at her, and the anger in his eyes had vanished. ¡°Why won¡¯t you leave us alone? Why does it always have to be us?¡±

    As horrible as this sounds, hearing his despondency was a great feeling. It took one good hit for him to wake up from his trance, but seeing Shen like this was hardly any better. First, there was the confident corpo; next, she met the psychopath who had better weapon skills than most swords; and finally, there was the worn, tired, and scared man.

    Leo wasn¡¯t ignorant about the Shens¡¯ lives before Ordo. Their family history was an open secret amongst the Big Four at this point. Only now, when recalling their past, everything began clicking together. It explained Shen¡¯s cynicism as Lyressa had described, his annoyingly sharp tongue, and most of all, the reason behind his outburst.

    Shen was raging against the world itself.

    To him, the world was the reason why tragedies kept happening to him and his sister.

    It took their parents away from them in Hangzhou.

    It took their faith in humanity during Oasisgate.

    Leo lowered her sword and approached him. ¡°I¡¯ve¡­ I¡¯ve asked myself the same thing a thousand times over, Shen. I¡ª¡°

    ¡°God¡­¡± Shen fell to his knees and covered his face. ¡°I-I didn¡¯t mean to¡­¡±

    ¡°Easy, easy, it¡¯s alright¡­¡± A few years ago, I was just like him. ¡°Look at me, Shen. I promise you, we won¡¯t¡ª¡±

    [Skill Activation]

    Another presence appeared beside her.

    [Technique Sovereign - Memento Echo]

    And Leo had a sword to her neck¡ªno, that was an exact replica of [Father].

    ¡°Get the fuck away from my brother, bitch, or I¡¯ll chop your head off with your own sig,¡± said Althea Shen, drenched in sweat and breathing like a balloon. Despite her state, she had the same cold, ruthless look in her eyes as her brother did moments earlier. She wouldn¡¯t hesitate slitting a throat for her own survival.

    The team had spent so much time and resources on researching Alexander Shen, but they overlooked one major thing: this girl right here. Now it made sense why Firebrand had so much trouble trying to catch her. If Alexander was able to hold his own against Leo, then the same could be said for his little sister given by how she managed to perfectly copy a signature.

    If Leo had fought the Shens at the same time¡­ She wasn¡¯t sure if she could come out unscathed.

    ¡°Thea?¡± Alexander sounded relieved hearing his lost sister, until he saw what she was doing. ¡°Thea, back off¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Dammit, wait, don¡¯t you fuckin¡¯¡ª!¡± another voice came barreling onto the scene: a bumbling, hot-headed doofus. That was Firebrand, who had been in-charge of protecting the girl. Instead, he was covered in dirt, grass, water, and other liquids. ¡°Look, Shen, we don¡¯t wanna¡ª!¡±

    Althea pointed at Firebrand. ¡°Take another step and I¡¯m lobbing her head outta the Plaza.¡± (¡°Listen to your brother¡ª!¡±) ¡°Shut up, Empress! Another word, and I¡¯m gonna do it!¡±

    ¡°Put the sword down!¡± yelled Alexander.

    ¡°Why the hell should I?! You should be on my side!¡± Althea pressed the edge against Leo¡¯s skin, drawing a small cut. ¡°That creep over there¡ª!¡± (Firebrand scowled.) ¡°¡ªchased me across the fuckin¡¯ city, and then, I saw Miss Demonic Cult over here bringing you to your knees!¡±

    ¡°It was a misunderstanding!¡± Alexander said.

    Leo nodded as best as she could. ¡°We don¡¯t want to kidnap you!¡±

    Althea snarled, ¡°Then please tell me, wonderful Angels, about why you¡¯re doing this¡ª?¡±

    Around them¡ªno, across the entire Plaza¡ªevery light began flickering but not in unison. It was as if each light had come alive and acted on its own eccentricities. They slowly yawned and quickly blinked. The flashes ran together and the pauses in-between took seconds. Some spoke in morse code and others spoke a language known to only them.

    Althea lowered her mimicry and joined everyone in gawking at the paranormal sight.

    They searched the shadows, the rooftops, until Firebrand gasped and turned pale. He brought a shaky finger to the top of Leventis.

    There was a breacher standing on the very tip of the spearhead, malformed and twisted like a stretched, bastardized image of a human. The legs were too skinny, the torso was too long, the shoulders too wide, the arms were too thin, and the head was too small. Yet, it stood perfectly balanced on the small point. Its hands were¡ªnot held¡ªtwo long curved blades in the shape of the crescent moon. Then, the monster changed. It became fuzzy as if captured in a low-quality image. Color was haphazardly splashed onto its body like someone was mindlessly spinning RGB dials. Sharp red transformed into hideous brown into grotesque lemon¡ªnothing consistent or aesthetically-pleasing to the eyes.

    It was a monster that didn¡¯t belong to reality.

    A bug in real life.

    ¡°What the fuck is that¡­?¡± Alexander asked through the flashing lights.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Leo gulped. ¡°That¡¯s the reason why we were chasing after you. You¡¯re being hunted by that thing, an Alternate.¡±

    The Alternate raised one of its swords, its limbs groaning like an old engine, and swiped across the air.

    The lights went up in puffs of smoke and dust.

    Primordial Plaza was dropped into darkness.

 [FOR PEACE] Chapter 10 - The Alternate

    The Alternate, the breacher supposedly hunting us, leapt high from its perch and ascended to the night. Its silhouette was perfectly framed by the crescent moon and a sprinkling of stars. For a moment, it seemed to hover in the air with surprising elegance.

    Then, the Alt rapidly spun downwards and crashed into the middle of our group. We leapt away in the nick of time. Between us, long, slash-like gouges erupted from the pavement; they ran across the ground and up the walls like fault-lines, accompanied by screaming wind and tremors.

    Despite the ugly destruction, the Alt took a serene stance. It cocked its head towards me, and an invisible dagger of terror punctured my chest. I¡¯d fought breachers before, the kind you¡¯d find in fantasy novels, but this? This was incomprehensible. This wasn¡¯t a monster, this was an alien¡ªsomething that couldn¡¯t be found in any Worldlines.

    ¡°Firebrand!¡± Empress shouted at her comrade, wielding [Twin Heavens] in full. I could barely see her face and we were in whispering range. ¡°Light it up!¡±

    Firebrand held his right arm to the sky, and a sleeve of tiny crimson orbs spawned from his skin.

    [Skill Activation: Firelight Festival]

    The orbs dispersed and spread throughout the Plaza like small drones; they hovered above rooftops and blessed us with reddish-orange light. We saw each other¡¯s faces again, and the word ¡°afraid¡± wasn¡¯t enough to describe them.

    The Alt stared at the floating crimson orbs. It said, ¡°¨x¨{¨}¨† ¨…¨{. ¨€ ?¨„ ¨~¨{?¨{ ¨‰¨† ¨{?¨‰¨{?¨„¨€¨…?¨‰¨{ ¨‰¨~¨{ ?¨~¨{¨…? ¨† ¨…¨ƒ?¡ª¡±

    [Chain Gauntlets]

    Whatever the fuck that was, it received two chains as a response. They whipped around its chest and hugged its arms together. Then, I played tug-of-war, pulling and pulling. ¡°I got it¡ª!¡±

    ¡°¨|¨Š¨‰¨€¨ƒ¨{.¡±

    When I blinked, the world was upside down and I was in the air, chains stripped. I was flying. My destination was a random building. I bounced off the metal roofing and landed on a random walkway. A shrill wind told me my pain hadn¡¯t ended yet. Barely, I jumped out of the way as the Alternate came down where I¡¯d recently landed.

    Yeah, I think I believe Empress now. This bastard was chasing after me!

    [Memento Recollection - Nightingale Shotgun]

    A hot cloud of spells blasted into the Alt¡¯s shoulder, into its chest, its head, but all three slugs might as well be tickling the fucking thing. It was glitching, I didn¡¯t know how to accurately describe it. One sword was above its shoulders one second and at its waist in the next, as though it was operating under high-ping in a video game.

    Just what the hell was I fighting?

    ¡°Look out, corpo!¡± shouted my savior.

    From above, a comet of flames slammed down onto the Alt. What a gorgeous sight. Firebrand, wielding a flaming greatsword as large as him, was locked in a clinch, sword against swords. The heat evaporated the filth staining his ponytail and robes, and he roared.

    [Flame Avatar Shift - Burning Tempest]

    His ponytail came undone and his skin took on this lamplight glow. Power was added to his muscles, enough to break the pavement underneath the breacher.

    And without fucking warning, the Alt teleported two feet eastward, away from me, and stood stiff and stared at a random direction.

    Firebrand gasped and flopped to the ground. Two shadows suddenly landed beside me, and I nearly punched them. Good thing I didn¡¯t. They were the girls who¡¯d surely punch me twice as hard as retaliation.

    As Firebrand regrouped, we watched the Alt carefully. Well, more ¡°gawked¡± than ¡°watched¡± to be precise. It was literally standing there, twitching like a drug addict in an alleyway, seemingly distracted. It wasn¡¯t attacking or doing anything of note.

    I had the [Shotgun] ready just in case. ¡°What the hell is it doing?¡±

    Empress glanced at my toy and swallowed the obvious question. Instead, she said, ¡°Long story short, it¡¯s not meant to exist, period. It¡¯s trying really hard to maintain its existence.¡±

    Thea gripped her [Echo]. ¡°I¡¯m gonna pretend those words mean something to me, so I have something better to say: what¡¯s our plan?¡±

    In response, I switched my gear: turning the [Shotgun] into a [Pistol] and wearing a [Gauntlet] on the other arm. My broken helmet was regenerated. ¡°You said it¡¯s hunting me, so I¡¯ll act as bait. You guys will pick out opportunities to deal some damage.¡±

    Firebrand loudly exhaled, steam bellowing out. ¡°Never thought I¡¯d agree with the corpo.¡±

    Empress raised an eyebrow. ¡°So you¡¯re calling the shots now?¡±

    ¡°You got any better ideas, princess¡ª?¡±

    An arc of wind pressure drew a deep, rough line between us. A few inches in either direction and we¡¯d be in multiple pieces.

    I shouted, ¡°No time to complain, let¡¯s go!¡±

    I made my bravest and most suicidal decision of the night: running straight at the fucking monster. The Alt went to slash at the air again, but at the last possible microsecond, it jerked around as though getting hit by three invisible punches. Looks like I got lucky for once.

    I pushed mana to my legs and let [Mana Impact] take me up and over the Alt. From launch to landing, I lit the bastard up with [Nightingale]. Did nothing, obviously, but I wasn¡¯t the heavy-hitter in the team.

    That would be Firebrand. A molten beam of fire slammed into the Alt like an eighteen-wheeler, forcing the fucker back. It incomprehensibly screamed, its voice horribly distorting like it was put through the shittiest speaker.

    The Alt raised an arm halfway only for some pesky chains to bind it again. I pulled as hard as I could, but even with my muscles, it didn¡¯t budge. However, all we needed was a single second.

    The flames paused.

    [First Azure - Ethercross]

    That¡¯s where Empress intervened. The [Azure Series], her father¡¯s swordsmanship, was a derivative of the [Heavenly Demonic Artes], essentially taking the ¡°demon¡± out of ¡°heavenly.¡± This was the first technique: [Ethercross], concentrating power and finesse into a singular slash; and with her [Father]¡¯s blade, she painted it beautifully onto its immobile arm.

    But she didn¡¯t sever it, and now she was in the frying pan. Firebrand couldn¡¯t attack from afar without hitting her, and I don¡¯t think Thea could do anything either. She fought best against human opponents, which meant she was fundamentally weaker against breachers¡ªwell, in our case, aliens that weren''t supposed to exist.

    My chain went slack. I couldn¡¯t risk making the same mistake again. Let¡¯s see if this thing was dumb enough to prioritize me!

    ¡°Hey, fucker!¡± I shouted and unloaded [Nightingale] into its back.

    The Alt, who was turned away from me, stiffened.

    ¡°I¡¯m over here¡ª!¡±

    It teleported again.

    In front of Althea.

    I¡¯d forgotten something very important: the key detail that would undo our laughable plan. As it turned out, my biological sister who was just as weird as me was also a Shen.

    I really was a self-absorbed asshole, huh?

    [Skill Activation: Blur]

    But if Althea knew how to do one thing, it¡¯d be running away. She transformed into a [Blur] and smartly fled, but I couldn¡¯t sit around and let the Alt finish its hunt.

    ¡°Figure something out!¡± I shouted at Empress, reminding her of the original plan, and gave chase.

    [Skill Activation: Mana Impact]

    Althea¡¯s movement [Skill] was way better than mine¡ªhell, [Mana Impact] wasn¡¯t even a movement [Skill] to begin with¡ªregardless, it allowed her to maintain consistently high speed. As a result, Primordial Plaza was her playground.

    Unfortunately, it was also the Alt¡¯s. As fast as she ran, the monster ran a few steps slower and had those fucking swords. It slashed and cut and swiped and scraped, hitting everything but my sister. It kept jerking around too, arms frequently teleporting and making its attacks completely unpredictable. We were lucky, but you couldn¡¯t say the same for Primordial Plaza. It was unrecognizable now.

    Thea cursed like a sailor, bouncing from street-to-roof and roof-to-street, doing everything she could to prevent catching a blade to the ankles. Fortunately, she knew how to use her speed. That¡¯s better than most speedsters.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    I, comparatively, lacked the discipline. [Mana Impact] was slow. While [Blur] was one continuous activation, [Mana Impact] was a one-time burst of speed. If she ran, I bunny-hopped. I followed the trail of destruction caused by the Alt one jump at a time. Sweat soaked my clothes underneath [Yuzhou]. My temporary PPS thumped and ached, but giving up wasn¡¯t an option.

    At this rate, however, I would burnout within five minutes.

    I could do five minutes.

    I switched [Mementos] and pulled [Nightingale Rifle]. If I couldn¡¯t catch up, then I had to slow the fucker down. Spell-bullets pelted its back again; they were bee-stings, of course, but they contained a message: the Shen you should really come after was over here.

    Eventually, the Alt received the message and turned its head¡ª

    The building I was standing on, the roof had been sheared off. I didn¡¯t even see the sword move. Before the roof fell out, I leapt and covered my arm in [Chains]. They unraveled and shot toward a nearby streetlamp, wrapped around the overhead light, and I swung myself across the road.

    ¡°I¡¯m over here!¡± I said, perching on another rooftop. I laid additional fire. ¡°Come get me¡ª!¡±

    The Alt prepped another arc, but my dumbass sister didn¡¯t take the distraction as a cue to retreat. She had other ideas.

    [Memento Echo - Juroku (Ê®Áù)]

    Like, for example, copying Firebrand¡¯s signature greatsword and charging at the Alt. She hefted the flaming sword and slammed fire onto its back. It screeched something terrible, but she kept the pressure, ruthless and opportunistic like how Uncle had taught us. Thea got low, spinning on her knees and feet, creating a fearsome whirlwind of crimson-orange.

    Every revolution pushed the Alt backwards and the fire prevented a swift counterattack. It was trapped in a red tornado that burned brighter than the lamps Firebrand had conjured. Something like that had to do damage, but the breacher wouldn¡¯t make it easy for either of us.

    Because, without warning, it teleported beside Althea.

    But she predicted that might happen.

    I said earlier that Thea was fundamentally weaker against breachers. It wasn¡¯t completely accurate. As long as she was fighting alongside Slayers, where she could see their [Loadouts] and [Skills] in action (especially mine), then she had the theoretical strength of the entire team. Personally-speaking, as much as Thea denies it¡­

    She has greater potential than me. She inherited Mom¡¯s superpower, after all.

    [Observation Lock - Ethercross]

    Copying, that is.

    In a million years, [Ethercross] would never be used with a flaming greatsword, but Thea loved breaking tradition.

    Her [Ethercross] crunched into the Alternate¡¯s side and launched it away far enough to earn herself a double. The monster crashed through a wall to one of the examination buildings, stuck there for the time being.

    Thea managed to crack a proud smile before falling to one knee. Firebrand¡¯s [Echo] dissipated.

    I jumped down and ran to her side. ¡°Shit, you okay¡ª?¡± I stopped myself. Her arms were burned. Fuck, I didn¡¯t account for that. She could copy signatures and [Skills] but that didn¡¯t mean she had the proper foundation to correctly use them. ¡°Thea¡ª?!¡±

    ¡°T-Think I¡¯m running low,¡± she muttered through clenched teeth. ¡°I can¡¯t go on for much longer. How ¡®bout you?¡±

    [Mana Impact] had used a lot of juice, so consequently, my PPS was acting up. I shook my head. ¡°Haven''t hit the wall yet, but it¡¯s coming.¡±

    ¡°What the hell are the Angels doing¡ª?¡±

    Just as she asked that, a plume of fire rose above the rooftops a fair bit away. Guess that was their signal. I forgot we had no way of communicating with the Angels, but fortunately they knew how to improvise.

    I patted her back. ¡°That¡¯s our cue.¡± The Alternate stepped out of the hole it¡¯d made and thwacked the ground with its swords. ¡°That¡¯s really our cue to leave, let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Ugh, dammit!¡±

    [Blur]

    [Mana Impact]

    Once again, we ran. I pushed myself harder, trying to maintain enough distance as the Alternate tried slashing us from behind. We split up, came together, and split once more. Several times we had close calls. We stumbled, we tripped, we dodged.

    Somehow, through sheer luck and will, we were nearly at the rendezvous point.

    What were they doing¡­? Ah, I know. I remember this area, I¡¯d visited it during the first day of First Wave. We were running toward the Eschaton Simulation Battles. The exam was on the tin: Slayers had to fight against simulated Essies in a massive arena. You naturally needed a lot of space and protection to ensure a safe fight.

    These guys were clever.

    I turned toward Thea, who was panting her lungs out. ¡°Thea, run ahead and regroup with the Angels!¡±

    Thea stared at me wide-eyed.

    ¡°I know what they¡¯re doing! Go to the big-ass arena!¡±

    ¡°Shit, fine!¡± Reluctantly, the little brat took a detour and disappeared out of sight.

    Which left me and the Alt.

    I looked over my shoulder and nearly got my head cut off for doing so.

    ¡°¨z¨† ¨…¨† ¨‰ ¨|¨ƒ¨{¨{, ¨y¨† ¨…?¨Š¨{?¨† ?!¡±

    ¡°What the hell are you even saying?!¡± I shouted out of frustration. My legs were killing me. They were going to fall off at any second, but dammit all¡ªlike hell I was going to die to this fucking thing!

    The arena was coming up. For once, I loved the designers. They¡¯d constructed a glass dome around the arena to allow for natural lightning. Perfect. I charted a path: hopping between roofs, using the streetlamps as monkey-bars, all while avoiding death. Conveniently, a pressurized arc of wind flew past me and shattered the reinforced glass.

    With one last [Impact], I dove through the hole and fell face-first into the middle of the arena.

    There was no time to whine and groan. I saw a flicker of red and brown hair at nine o¡¯clock. I scrambled toward them, resorting to crawling on all-fours. I tripped, banged my knees, and the sound of something landing behind me nearly induced a heart attack.

    Someone grabbed my arm and threw me down a small staircase.

    ¡°Leo!¡± Firebrand yelled.

    She pressed a button on the center console.

    Machines came to life. A magic circle manifested on the arena-floor, spinning, spinning, spinning. The Alt looked down for a brief moment, then the truth dawned. By the time the dumbass realized what was happening, it was too late.

    A barrier formed around the arena¡¯s perimeter. A thick, transparent barrier that could survive almost anything you could throw at it. That¡¯s what the Angels were planning: using First Wave itself to trap the Alt inside.

    Like a pissed gorilla trapped in an enclosure, it rushed toward us. We shrieked like kids as it thankfully rammed against the hard barrier. It slashed, creating large wounds that thankfully regenerated. Despite seeing the regeneration for itself, it kept cutting.

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± Althea gasped, patting her chest. ¡°I think I¡¯m gonna piss myself.¡±

    I climbed to my feet, leaning against a random table for support. I dropped the helmet to see better. The Alt was lashing at us, verbally and literally. Couldn¡¯t understand what it was saying, though.

    ¡°Are we good?¡± I asked desperately.

    Empress shrugged as she backed away from the console. ¡°For a little bit, I think. I don¡¯t know how much mana the barrier has left. We couldn¡¯t find the crystal deposit.¡±

    ¡°What about teleporting?¡± Thea said. ¡°That thing, can it teleport outta there?¡±

    Firebrand wiped away the dirt and saliva on his lips. ¡°I dunno. Something tells me teleporting isn¡¯t one of its original abilities¡­¡±

    As he said that, the Alt stopped attacking. Its arms went limp and it blankly stared¡ªjust like earlier. We released a collective breath as we observed the strange behavior; for a while, the Alternate stayed like that.

    Staring. Quietly.

    Until the Alt teleported a few meters backward. Then teleported to the east, the west, in the air, pressed against the barrier, sideways and upside down and diagonal¡ªit was fucking teleporting a thousand times a second.

    ¡°We need to get the fuck out of here,¡± I said.

    We ported from the arena and found an open space to wait for our inevitable demise, because honestly? Our chances of victory were getting slim. It didn¡¯t seem to feel exhaustion. Any single one of those slashes could kill us, and as much as I hate to admit it, me and Thea were burdens. Empress and Firebrand had to prioritize our safety as well as killing the fucking thing.

    ¡°Empress!¡± I yelled. ¡°Please tell me we have reinforcements!¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re coming, and I don¡¯t fucking know when!¡± she spat back, drawing her blade. ¡°How¡¯re you and your sister holding up?¡±

    ¡°Terrible!¡±

    ¡°Horrible!¡±

    ¡°Join the club!¡±

    Firebrand held his greatsword out. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Rector¡¯s coming! We¡ª!¡±

    The Alt ported a dozen meters in front of us. As it had performed a thousand slashes on the barrier, it did the same here. Its swords were smears as they cut through the air. We were blasted by wind, by tremors, by the sounds of our sinking hearts. We¡¯d seen what those swords could do: effortlessly going through concrete and metal like they were nothing.

    And the swords stopped.

    There weren¡¯t any blade-arcs. No gouges along the ground. No eerie winds foreshadowing. Nothing. It was like the Alt was playing around with its swords like a little boy on Christmas.

    We looked around and at each other to see if we weren¡¯t going crazy. We weren¡¯t. The Alt had abnormal powers. Take its random-ass teleporting from earlier as an example. Hell, a little while ago, it registered my [Shotgun] blasts minutes after I pulled the trigger¡ª

    Oh. Oh fuck.

    ¡°EVERYONE, MOVE!¡±

    I grabbed Althea and ran for the nearest cover. Between the buildings, that¡¯d do. I threw her there¡ª

    My ears deafened. My vision blurred. I couldn¡¯t see or hear what happened, but I knew. The Alt¡¯s wild flurry of attacks hadn¡¯t registered in reality yet, and now it had. We barely had enough time to find somewhere safe¡ªfor my sister to find some cover, hopefully. She seemed unscathed, relatively-speaking, but her eyes went wide.

    [SYSTEM ALERT]

    INCAPACITATED: Alexander Shen

    I fell to the ground.

    Her eyes were still wide, and her mouth was wide open like she was screaming.

    The back of my shirt was wet.

    I blinked.

    I opened my eyes and someone had their arms underneath my armpits, dragging me backwards. A thin trail of blood followed me.

    I heard voices.

    ¡°¡ªbrand, get them outta here!¡±

    ¡°¡ªgonna leave you here¡ª!¡±

    ¡°¡ªlex! C¡¯mon, say¡ª! Alex¡ª!¡±

    I guess¡­ I guess something bad happened to me.

    Just my luck.

    Even through my blurry vision, I could see the Alt encroaching on us. We were probably too slow to run away. Like I said, me and Thea were burdens. If only I kept my emotions in check, huh?

    Looks like you were right, Empress. You guys really were trying to help us all along¡­ This was comeuppance.

    I¡¯ll make sure to apologize, either in Hell or in a hospital bed¡­

    I closed my eyes¡ª

    ¡°Golem!¡±

    A massive rocky fist smashed the Alt, and as soon as the fist withdrew, magic flew over our heads.

    That was the last thing I saw before exhaustion finally claimed me.

    [Commission Error! Commission Error! Commission Error!]

    [Event Commission ¡°The ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ Alternate¡± has been completed]

    [No payment administered due to lack of registration]

    Event Commission: The ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ Alternate

    Pay: N/A

    Description: ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€. ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ Cosmic Disaster. ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ Alexander Shen. ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€. ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€. ¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€, extermination ¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€ necessary.

 [FOR PEACE] Chapter 11 - For the Peace that Never Existed (I)

    ¡°Heya, conqueror, whatcha doing?¡±

    ¡°Just watchin¡¯.¡± I held my water-bottle between my legs as Mom taught my little sister a thing or two about throwing a punch. As well as you could teach an eight-year-old anyway. Mom was half-playing and half-teaching, encouraging Thea to work her tiny arms.

    Dad patted my back and sat down next to me. ¡°You know something? I think your sister¡¯s gonna be as gifted as you are.¡±

    I shook my head, scowling. ¡°I¡¯m not ¡®gifted,¡¯ stop calling me that¡ª¡± (¡°You are¡ª¡±) ¡°No¡ª!¡± (¡°You completely are¡ª!¡±) ¡°I¡¯m not! Seriously, I¡¯m not, so cut it out!¡±

    ¡°Easy, easy, don¡¯t tear my head off!¡± Dad laughed at my expense. ¡°I¡¯m teasing you, s¡¯all.¡¯

    In protest, I turned away and continued to watch Thea. This time, she tried doing a high-kick but toppled over harder than a tower of blocks. Mom attempted to stifle a laugh. However, a snicker leaked through and that made the little brat upset, and as we all knew, you never make Althea Shen upset. In an instant, she delivered a brutal beatdown to the woman who¡¯d brought her into this world. No one could survive that.

    Dad quietly chuckled to himself, scratching his chin. ¡°By the way, I finally got that email from your teachers.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°The System stuff. Y¡¯know, the¡­¡± He vaguely motioned with his hand. ¡°The recruiters, that¡¯s it. You¡¯ll have JSPs across the county coming to your school soon.¡±

    Right, my homeroom teacher mentioned that this morning. She hyped it up, said it was going to be the ¡°biggest opportunity yet¡± for us middle-schoolers. We¡¯d have JSPs giving their sixty-seconds to try and convince a bunch of thirteen-year-olds to [Register] in their academies. Nothing sounded better than a bunch of hormonal teenagers with superpowers studying in a single place.

    Didn¡¯t like the idea now, didn¡¯t like it then.

    I dismissively shrugged. ¡°Thought you and Mom didn¡¯t want me [Registering].¡±

    ¡°I¡ªwell, you¡¯re not wrong. We don¡¯t like the idea of you going somewhere far¡ªtoo many bad influences¡ªbut we aren¡¯t burning that bridge. You¡¯re thirteen, Alex, about to turn fourteen soon. That¡¯s when all these¡­¡± He bit his lip. ¡°All these scum wanna snatch impressionable kids from the cradle. But you¡¯re different. If you wanna [Register], we¡¯ll make it happen. On our own terms.¡±

    Yeah, the culture hadn¡¯t changed much since I was a kid. We slept in Legends Guild pajamas, dressed up as the Sovereigns for Halloween, wrote journals in elementary school about our favorite swords, and dreamed of being the next Kosmos. We watched TV shows, read novels, scrolled through social media, everything. They were our superheroes, and we could be like them by signing away our ¡°freedom¡± to the Slayer System.

    As for our family? We were skeptics. All of us.

    I stared absently at Mom and Althea. ¡°I¡¯m not that into it. I¡¯d rather do something else other than being a sword, y¡¯know?

    Dad¡¯s smile got wider hearing my answer, guess it really made him happy. ¡°Like what?¡±

    I shrugged and gave a dismissive hum. What did Dad expect from a thirteen-year-old? To be fair, the recruiters were much worse. At the time, I wasn¡¯t thinking about my future; all I thought about was dinner and homework. That¡¯s it. Dinner and homework, as someone my age should think about.

    But if I had to imagine myself ten years from today¡­

    ¡°I dunno,¡± I said. ¡°Maybe I could go into the Marines like Uncle, or visit the Jianghu, or travel ¡®round the world like Ordo or Cirropolis. I haven¡¯t really figured it out yet, but I¡¯m sure if I put my mind to it, I can be anything I want.¡±

    Anything I want, huh? Yeah, I could¡¯ve been anything. A mil, a heroic xia traveling the plains, a detective by day and superhero by night, a CEO of a Fortune 500, the next SSS-Rank Slayer¡ªthe possibilities were endless. Had been endless. Ten years from that day, I couldn¡¯t have been more wrong. I was jobless. Aimless. My life, instead of being a series of well-calculated steps, was a chain of accidents and tragedies.

    I could never mind my own business, like System Articles.

    I could never carve my own path, like now.

    For someone like me, the ¡°peace¡± I kept whining about¡­ It never existed in the first place.

    ***

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±

    ¡°Easy, easy.¡±

    ¡°D-Dammit¡­¡±

    ¡°I got you, hang on.¡± Someone was holding onto me: a blurry face that wasn¡¯t my sister¡¯s, but my caretaker was twice as ugly and had a grating voice. ¡°Don¡¯t move too much, and please, don¡¯t yank the IV out of your arm, okay?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not an idiot¡­¡± I muttered out of reflex as she helped me sit against a pillow. When was the last time I felt this terrible? Head was woozy, body was aching, everything had pins-and-needles. If I tried climbing out of bed, I¡¯d earn myself another concussion.

    My undertaker laughed and took a few steps back. ¡°You don¡¯t exactly inspire confidence. Now.¡± She held up three fuzzy fingers. ¡°How many fingers am I holding up?¡±

    I squinted at her. ¡°Empress.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not a number, but alright, looks like you didn¡¯t suffer any brain damage. I¡ªoh.¡± Empress grabbed something from the side-table and handed it to me. My glasses. ¡°I should¡¯ve given you this first. Sorry, I¡¯m new to this nursing thing.¡±

    I put them on and the world got a whole lot clearer. ¡°Yeah, well, you¡¯re better at putting people in the hospital than the other way around. Jokes aside¡­¡±

    Finally, I established my bearings. To no one¡¯s surprise, this was an ordinary hospital room¡ªmost likely Angels Headquarters Hospital. In the opposite corner of the room, a mounted TV had the Ordoian News. The volume was too low to hear anything. Didn¡¯t need to, because they had the headlines in big and bolded letters: ¡°BREAKTHROUGH INCIDENT AT PRIMORDIAL PLAZA!¡±

    It was a little after twelve o¡¯clock¡­ I was out the entire morning.

    Empress turned the TV off. ¡°Officially-speaking, Angels and Wisdom Guild handled the breakthrough with no casualties other than the taxpayers¡¯ wallets. Nobody knew we were there, but besides that, thanks for surviving. The Alt got you, Shen, but thankfully your [Armor] prevented anything serious. Really, your mana burnout was more severe. We had to get you to a healer before your [Registration] ended.¡±

    This was my luckiest hospital visit to date. [Yuzhou] and [Forged Skin] saved my life, and my [Registration] lasted long enough to receive healing. Ordinary humans couldn¡¯t be treated by healers, after all. They¡¯d die, painfully, from the mana intake. In exchange for fast and effective treatment, however, my body would be ridiculously fragile throughout the recovery period. A punch from a five-year-old could break a rib.

    But there was a bigger issue at hand.

    I asked, ¡°Where¡¯s everybody else?¡±

    ¡°I notified them already. They should be coming around at any second.¡± A knock on the door startled me. Made my aching muscles act up, dammit. ¡°They just came around.¡±

    ¡°Not yet, Empress,¡± said the visitor, a nun in white and gold cloth. Judging from the shiny badge clipped to her robes, she was probably a faith healer working for the hospital. As the stereotype went for healers, mine was overworked and took no bullshit. ¡°Thanks for watching my patient while I deal with his family.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome, sweetheart¡ª¡±

    ¡°Please get out.¡±

    ¡°Right, sorry, I¡¯ll just uh...¡± Empress left the room and abandoned me to the healer.

    One check-up later, my post-op appointment concluded. I had my instructions, my prescriptions to help with recovery, and a lengthy explanation of my unique medical status. The healer threatened me to not do anything stupid or else she would ¡°activate [Temporary Registration] on my behalf.¡±

    After her kind words, she fetched my ¡°family and superiors,¡± which meant we could finally discuss what had transpired last night.

    A party bumbled into my room, starting with Celestial Empress who showed a sympathetic smile.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    Following her was Ordoian royalty. Kissing his feet was the bare minimum you could do to show respect. He was an unreasonably pretty dark-skinned man. Had smooth and silky midnight hair, no blemishes on his skin, and a natural charm that could seduce men and women alike. Put him in a beauty pageant and he¡¯d win the whole thing. Today, he sported front-cover fashion: long and flowing red robes adorned with golden jewelry and decadent gems¡ªhis [Great Spirit Parure], the catalyst he needed to summon his [Paracelsian Elements]. Vice Guild Master Rector and the CEO of Angels Guild. In other words, second-in-command of the systemic ladder but top dog of the corpos. One of the most powerful and influential men in the Slayer Capital.

    Sophos trekked behind him, yawning and rubbing her eyes. My little sister hobbled inside next, twice as tired as the Guild Master. She had gauze tightly wrapped around her forearms. Right, she¡¯d sustained burn wounds wielding Firebrand¡¯s sig.

    I had one more guest: a middle-aged man who looked like your local pastor. First thing he did was take in his surroundings. From the room¡¯s dimensions to the number of dust-bunnies sitting in the corner. Every single detail, nothing escaped him. He rubbed his arms, fidgeted with his fingers, picking at the surgical scars on his arm hidden by ink. I was the last thing he set his green eyes on. He swept his faded chestnut hair away from his glasses and smiled warmly. ¡°It looks like I came earlier than planned, Alex.¡±

    That¡¯s my uncle, alright. Politely-speaking, I had forgotten about him but I wasn¡¯t surprised to see him. When Thea had activated the SOS, it was communicated to two people: myself and Uncle Ali. Because he didn¡¯t receive an update from either of us¡ªespecially when Thea¡¯s phone went kaput¡ªhe must¡¯ve taken the first flight here.

    I¡¯m glad he cared enough about his niece and nephew. His presence meant the world.

    I asked, ¡°Guess Thea managed to contact you?¡±

    Uncle Ali glanced at Rector. ¡°Actually, I found Angels first and introduced myself to the Third Pillar.¡±

    Rector cleared his throat and turned away. ¡°That¡¯s one way of putting it, but that¡¯s a story for another time. Now, everyone, find somewhere comfortable to stand or sit because we have a long conversation before us.¡±

    The room was divided between the Shens and the Slayers. Althea and Uncle Ali sat by my side, while Empress, Rector, and Sophos were on the opposite side of the room. Looking at the numbers now, this situation was fucking absurd. Two Guild Masters and the heiress of the Demonic Cult were addressing us, all because a random alien-monster-thing had targeted our asses.

    On our side, we had an eighteen-year-old dork who was pinching herself to stay awake, an United States Marine who had probably smuggled an arsenal through the airport, and a dumbass who got himself hospitalized.

    Talk about a title matchup.

    The Guild Masters whispered and argued about something. I couldn¡¯t hear, but I figured it was about the details. Eventually, Rector rolled his eyes and threw his hands up and stepped forward. ¡°I¡¯ll start the explanation,¡± he said. ¡°I wanted to save this conversation when Shen¡ªexcuse me, Alexander¡ªwakes up. I apologize for bombarding you so after your beauty sleep, but your family¡¯s very curious.¡± (¡°Impatient, more like,¡± muttered Sophos.) ¡°Shut up.¡±

    Uncle Ali chuckled, not offended whatsoever. ¡°Start at the beginning for us, Rector.¡±

    ¡°Yessir. Two months ago, we commissioned Sophos with a special experiment; by ¡®we,¡¯ I mean myself, Seraph, and Kosmos. We wanted to transmit a message across the multiverse, hopefully communicating with other Slayer Worldlines. After all, going off of basic multiversal theory, we aren¡¯t the only Worldlines with the Slayer System. Instead¡ª¡±

    ¡°Instead, it went catastrophically wrong,¡± Sophos dramatically said, hand over head.

    Rector hissed, ¡°You couldn¡¯t last more than one minute without interrupting me¡ª¡± (¡°You were being too slow, Zakaria.¡±) ¡°¡ªmoving on, yes, the experiment went horrifically wrong. Instead of communicating with other Worldlines, we attracted a different kind of attention instead. The attention of this¡­¡±

    He was stuck on his words, visibly trying to figure out how to explain it.

    Sophos finished his thought, ¡°An existentially-dubious entity.¡±

    Althea commented, ¡°The Alternate?¡±

    But the little genius shook her head. ¡°Not exactly. We summoned the Mother of the Alternates, their creator. She greeted us by siccing her child onto my facility. Thank goodness Rector brought his team of orphans, otherwise the First Alternate would¡¯ve done serious damage. Unfortunately, though, Mother escaped and has been on-the-loose since.¡±

    ¡°Question.¡± Uncle Ali raised his hand. ¡°A cosmological experiment like this, I imagine, needs to go through a year¡¯s worth of bureaucracy and procedures. I¡¯m assuming you went through all the necessary hoops?¡±

    All three Slayers uncomfortably shifted around.

    Uncle whistled, and my sister groaned and banged her head against the bed.

    ¡°Motherfucker¡­¡± I facepalmed. ¡°Look, I¡¯m no fan of the Union but this is why we have the Research Security Organization. At this point, I¡¯m not even angry. A castle isn¡¯t a castle if you don¡¯t routinely ignore rules and regulations.¡±

    Uncle Ali put a hand on my shoulder. ¡°Trust me, Alex, this is by far the least unethical experiment I¡¯ve seen.¡± (¡°What sort of experiments have you seen?¡± Empress asked.) ¡°But continue.¡±

    Sophos nudged Rector.

    He sighed. ¡°For the past two months, we¡¯ve been chasing after Mom. We found three additional Alts, but they went poof before we could perform any substantial research. A month ago, Sophos single-handedly located and subjugated the Fifth Alt. Before its ¡®death¡¯ so-to-speak, it mentioned a name. Your name.¡±

    A month ago¡­ That was during the drama with System Articles. The timeline matched. I said, ¡°That¡¯s why you were observing me. To see if I had any connections with the Alts or their Mother.¡±

    Rector hummed in the affirmative. ¡°After you caught Empress, we decided to leave you be. For the record, we didn¡¯t think it was a fluke; however, we lacked necessary intel to develop the lead further. So we continued to observe, and observe, and observe, until May passed without incident. We thought Mother faded away on her own, until last night where she returned with a vengeance.¡±

    Empress stepped in this time: ¡°One of my other team members, Problem, found the Sixth Alt, and guess what it said? ¡®Shens.¡¯ It fled, which led to the whole fiasco, yadda yadda yadda. You know the rest of the story, but this isn¡¯t a fluke anymore. It¡¯s not even a bad coincidence. The Mother has targeted and probably will continue to target you and your family.¡±

    Althea muttered under her breath, ¡°Of course¡­¡±

    Fuck¡­ This was why Angels Guild got involved in my life. A monster they summoned was targeting me for no obvious reason. I should be upset about their mad experiment, but what were the fucking odds? In their perspective, Mommy Alt picked a random civilian and his family who happened to be weirdos! You can¡¯t predict something like that. It was a freak ¡°accident.¡± Knowing ¡°accidents,¡± the Mother had its reasons but last time I checked, the Shens weren¡¯t enemies with the multiverse itself.

    Uncle Ali massaged his chin. ¡°What are they? The Alts?¡±

    It was Sophos¡¯s time to shine. She stood confidently before us and exclaimed, ¡°I have no idea!¡±

    I¡¯m either going to kill myself or this shitty Guild Master.

    Sophos saw the sheer disgust and disappointment in our eyes and immediately folded: ¡°Hey, don¡¯t look at me like that! I mean it. We gathered little data on the Alternates, and they leave no physical trace to analyze. All we have is theory and speculation. What we do know is this: the Alternates and their Mother are cosmic entities. They fundamentally do not obey our natural understanding of the Planet. You saw it for yourself. The Sixth Alt was a living, breathing glitch in this simulation we call ¡®reality.¡¯ Though, I liken it as more of a ¡®bug¡¯ than a ¡®glitch,¡¯ and the Planet is the ¡®administrator¡¯ trying to snuff it. This conflict unfortunately leads to collateral damage and we¡¯re the janitors cleaning up the mess.¡±

    Althea, who looked too tired to have a cosmology lecture, said, ¡°So what was the Sixth Alt? I mean, it clearly was something.¡±

    Sophos answered, ¡°Every Alt thus far is modeled off of something, yes. What that ¡®something¡¯ is, again, we don¡¯t know. Perhaps they¡¯re creatures of darling Mother¡¯s imagination, or they¡¯re manifestations inspired from both the Mother and Ordo itself, or a thousand other possibilities. As I said, we lack the necessary data to confirm or deny anything.¡±

    ¡°But it said my name,¡± I butted in. ¡°That¡¯s proof it¡¯s inspired by something tangible in the real-world. In some shape or form, the Mother is affected by our reality. It has an ego.¡±

    Hearing my comment, she had a slight, impressed smile. ¡°So you are paying attention, good. Yes, you¡¯re correct, which makes this even more baffling and honestly thrilling. A cosmic entity possessing real-world traits. No wonder why it¡¯s struggling to exist. Its very existence is paradoxical, which leads us to the elephant in the room.¡±

    Yeah, the single question that had been on our minds since the shitshow began¡­

    ¡°Why us?¡±

    ¡°Why you?¡±

    Sophos laughed and pushed her glasses up. ¡°Exactly. As much as I hate repeating myself, again I¡¯m¡­¡± She gulped, and the pride in her eyes flickered. ¡°I-I¡¯m not quite sure¡ª¡±

    ¡°What do you know?¡± Uncle Ali pounced hearing the tiniest fracture in her voice. ¡°Do not hide anything from us, Sophos.¡±

    Rector scratched his bottom-lip while Empress looked between the Guild Masters, confusion written across her face. She wasn¡¯t in the know.

    Uncle reiterated, ¡°I won¡¯t repeat myself again. You know why the Alts targeted my kids, or at the least, you developed a theory. Share it.¡±

    The Guild Masters had a conversation through eyes, arguing about who was going to answer the most important question. Sophos lost the battle in the end. Like a child, she stomped to a panel next to the door¡ªoh, I see why. I hadn¡¯t realized until now, but we were speaking inside an isolation bubble.

    That apparently wasn¡¯t enough, as Sophos snapped her fingers and created another bubble, having two layers of defenses.

    She stood at the foot of my bed and said, ¡°I¡¯m aware of your SSS-Rank [Skill], Alexander Shen.¡±

    ¡°You have a what?!¡±

    ¡°How the hell?!¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡±

    Hearing those words¡­ It was like Sophos had paralyzed me. Fear exploded inside my stomach and it turned into horrible, muscle-burning aches. The room spun around and around. My chest tightened, then tightened again. Electricity fired through my nerves. My back was tearing itself open. An invisible hand squeezed my lungs and forced every molecule of oxygen through my burning throat. I couldn¡¯t breathe. Everything hurt.

    When¡­ Where¡­ How¡­

    That was impossible¡­ It should be impossible¡­ You can¡¯t just peek into someone¡¯s [Profile] like that¡­

    My head was splitting open.

    My arms refuse to move. I try breathing, gasping for air, but it¡¯s like I¡¯m swallowing water.

    I can¡¯t¡­

    I¡­

    The last thing I hear is someone screaming my name.

 [FOR PEACE] Chapter 12 - For the Peace that Never Existed (II)

    <blockquote>

    Victor Squared

    are you really okay?

    i mean if you cant say anything abt what happened then its kinda suspect

    kansai

    type ¡°i love kotone¡± if youre being held hostage

    Alexander

    It¡¯s a complicated situation but I¡¯m not in any danger

    Cultivator

    Are you sure? You *are* notorious for attracting needless trouble.

    Alexander

    I¡¯m alright dw

    </blockquote>

    Someone knocked, interrupting my exciting conversation with the worrywarts back home. ¡°Shen, it¡¯s Empress.¡±

    Of all people I¡¯d expect to bug me, she was near the bottom on my list. Either she drew the shortest stick or someone was holding a proverbial gun to her noggin.

    I dropped my phone on my lap. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°I come bearing gifts,¡± she said, then paused for a moment. ¡°And news. Mostly news.¡±

    Heh, she probably said the last part expecting I¡¯d deny her. What was I going to do? Scream and shout at her? Maybe hop out of bed and flop dead on the floor? Fun ideas, but they would stay ideas.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be a stranger,¡± I said.

    Empress let herself inside, bringing in snacks and sugary drinks¡ªthe most dastardly contraband. She smiled briefly before turning on the isolation bubble, making sure our conversation would stay within these walls. She grabbed a chair, sat next to me, and put the basket down in arms reach.

    Our positions couldn¡¯t be more reversed compared to when we first met. I had pinned her against the wall using my wit, now I was pinned to a bed thanks to my emotions. Definition of irony right there.

    ¡°How¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Fantastic,¡± I answered her question before she could spit out another word. ¡°My whole fucking life got turned upside down because of you people, so much that my heart couldn¡¯t take it. Thanks.¡±

    Empress flipped from pity to guilt, and a knife turned inside my stomach.

    I looked at my dead legs and breathed. ¡°I¡¯m, erm, sorry. I¡¯m sorry. Didn¡¯t mean to lash out like that. I think we both know the answer to your question, but I¡¯ll humor a conversation: I feel like shit inside and out.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I figured¡­¡± Empress glanced at the TV which absently played a random sitcom for background noise. She looked outside the window. She was staring at everything besides me. ¡°Your reaction¡¯s completely justified. I mean, extradimensional monster, having your big secret out in the open, that¡¯s a lot for a person. Too much.¡±

    Understatement of the century. Being injured and having anxiety weren¡¯t good for your body. Since I came to, I¡¯d been wracking my head about how Sophos appraised my SSS-Rank [Skill]. I already figured out when and how: First Wave, when she had touched my chest and ended the conversation afterwards.

    Slayer System offered privacy and security that made politicians weep (in fact, multiple governments had tried enforcing a [Skill] registry to no avail). It was impossible to peek into someone¡¯s [Profile]¡ªlet alone an [Unregistered] user like myself¡ªand gain details about their [Skills], their wallet, their [Fabel Ranking] stats, and so on. Appraisal-type [Skills] didn¡¯t have that capability. For Sophos to blatantly bypass the System¡¯s security, she had to bypass the Planet itself¡­

    ¡°How?¡± I asked Empress. ¡°How did Sophos know about my [Skill]?¡±

    Empress tiredly laughed and leaned back in her chair. ¡°It¡¯s cosmo, but from what I understood, her appraisal power is tied to [Original Magic], and that is directly tied to the Planet. That¡¯s how she went around the System.¡±

    God, the odds were so terrible that I had to laugh. Of all people, of all people in the entire world, I encountered the one midget with the exact powerset to expose me.

    There was one consolation to this mess. My dramatics had shifted the attention onto me, which meant the GMs would ignore Thea. However, I hadn¡¯t spoken with her or Uncle since I woke up. For the second time I mean. They were likely arguing with the GMs about our future, so the content of their conversation was lost on me. Also probably why Empress decided to pester me¡ª

    Something brushed the side of my neck. I flinched, and the sudden movement made everything ache again and I groaned.

    Empress pulled her arm back, retracting a bag of mini-cookies. ¡°Sorry. I thought cookies would cheer you up. Plus, it¡¯d be a waste to leave free snacks unopened.¡±

    It took guts to guilt-trip a mental patient, but alright. I¡¯d be a dick to turn her down. ¡°Fine,¡± I said.

    She opened and handed the cookies to me, how kind. ¡°Now, truth be told, I lied a little about the news.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± I blubbered, mouth full of sugar and chocolate.

    She plucked sour cream and vinegar for herself. Disgusting. ¡°There¡¯s none! Discussions stalled completely, but everyone¡¯s stuck in the same room until they come to a compromise. That includes your sister, who asked me to visit you.¡±

    I brushed crumbs off my gown. ¡°I¡¯m guessing my uncle¡¯s playing hardball.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Empress laughed, and that was a laugh of insanity. ¡°He¡¯s raising hell for you. I¡¯d never seen a mil fight two Guild Masters. Normally, all the mils I meet are either pushovers or assholes. Your uncle, though? He¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°Different? Freakish? Terrifying?¡±

    ¡°And more. He made Sophos shrink into her shoulders. Sophos! I¡­ Gosh, now I understand how you threatened Glory without batting an eye.¡±

    I chomped down on a cookie. ¡°Fighting above our weight class runs in our family.¡±

    One of her hands drifted to her stomach. She didn¡¯t immediately respond. Surely, she was thinking about Flow Reversal but kept the obvious question locked tight. Even if it was out of harmless curiosity. That, however, was a stark reminder of my crimes. I¡¯d used an Anti-Slayer Technique on her, attacked her, tried riddling her with holes and caving her head in. When she first walked through the door, I spat acid in her face. Hell, when I woke up for the first time, an apology was the furthest thing from my mind.

    It took a special idiot to bring a goody basket to the maniac who¡¯d tried killing them.

    It took a bigger and worse idiot to pretend it never happened, all because he was feeling a little sad.

    ¡°Shen¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± the words came out. I wasn¡¯t thinking. Apologies, genuine apologies, had to be thoughtful. Intentional. Already fucked that up, and I was biting down the urge to not slap myself in front of the nice murim-in lady.

    Empress raised an eyebrow, confused.

    I took a deep breath and started again, ¡°I want to apologize, Empress, for what happened last night. It was stupid and psychotic, call it what you want. You have every right to be pissed and screaming at me¡ª¡±

    She put her hands up. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna do that¡ª¡±

    ¡°I tried killing you.¡± (¡°That¡¯s not what happened¡ª¡±) ¡°I wanted to hurt you badly, I don¡¯t care, the facts are right there. My emotions got the better of me and I freaked out; that¡¯s the best way I could¡¯ve phrased it. Fortunately, karma came around, and now, look at me. I¡¯m so pale that I qualify to be a ghost.¡±

    Empress gestured at my sorry state. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call this ¡®karma¡¯¡ª¡± (¡°Consequences.¡±) ¡°¡ªshut up. You got hurt under my watch. I don¡¯t care if you made it difficult; my mission was to protect you.¡±

    I felt plastic crinkling underneath my arm. My cookies. I put them aside. ¡°Doesn¡¯t make up for the fact that I was out-of-line. Go ahead and mock me all you want; hell, punch me while you¡¯re at it. It¡¯s the least I deserve.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Empress threw her chips aside too, looking and sounding a little too eager about my sarcastic offer. ¡°Let¡¯s say I do it. Hard as I want, no holding back. Will this make us even?¡±

    Looks like I dug myself a hole, but I wasn¡¯t in a position to fight Empress. Not this time. I exhaled, the air whistling through my teeth. ¡°You¡¯ll have to explain to the nun, but take your best shot.¡±

    ¡°In that case.¡± She stood and clenched her fist. I expected a quick blow to the skull or to the leg¡ªsomething that would make me cry¡ªbut instead, the punch was like a mom and an airplane. It tapped my shoulder and it was barely a touch. ¡°Now we¡¯re even.¡±

    I looked at her fist, then at her. ¡°Empress¡ª¡±

    She retracted her hand. ¡°We¡¯re even. In fact, we¡¯re more than even. We¡¯re starting from scratch. Hi, my name¡¯s Leona Ryu, or Ryu Gyeong-hui (???), and I enjoy sleeping, long walks in the park, and reading philosophical treatises.¡±

    I kept looking at her.

    Empress cleared her throat and turned away, a little pink staining her cheeks. ¡°At least go along with the joke. Use your big head and pretend I don¡¯t work for Angels. I¡¯m just an acquaintance who¡¯s worried about you. I mean it. You¡¯ve been through a lot, and your next steps aren¡¯t that clear.¡±

    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    A part of me immediately thought she was prying for additional intel, maybe to tip the scales in her bosses¡¯ favor. Angels had protected us but they didn¡¯t have our best interests at heart. Hell, maybe they planted a bug in the room to record every dirty secret. Or Empress, knowing how vulnerable I was, lied about Thea asking her in an attempt to lower my guard.

    These were crazy, paranoid thoughts. I was doubting my sanity more and more as Empress continued to sit quietly in her chair, smiling at me like everything was going to be just fine.

    Empress glanced toward the door. ¡°I won¡¯t force you to say anything. You can kick me out anytime you want.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine, just¡­¡± I shrugged, too hard at that and made my shoulders ache. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s next. Before, as long as we kept to ourselves and avoided some places, we¡¯d be okay. That¡¯s why we moved to Ordo.¡±

    ¡°So you didn¡¯t stay in America?¡± she asked, leaning against the bed¡¯s armrest.

    I laughed; I wanted to sound amused but I think I sounded depressed more than anything. ¡°You did your research on me. You think I want to stay after riding through Oasisgate and the Riots? Plus, we aren¡¯t on friendly terms with the Legends, and¡­ And well, my uncle had unfinished business in the States. I didn¡¯t want to get in the way of that.¡±

    ¡°Guess we have that in common.¡± Empress winked. ¡°Better here than Korea. Too many bad memories, bad people, bad everything. Where, though? If you¡¯re leaving the Capital behind.¡±

    ¡°Fuck if I know. I¡ªGod, even if we find somewhere nice and lowkey, I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll work out. Look, I¡­¡± I groaned and rubbed my eyes. ¡°I realized something, Empress: I¡¯ve been lying to myself. I thought a peaceful life was possible, it¡¯s not. That went out the window when Hangzhou kicked off and I awakened that [Skill]. Trying to chase after it is like catching a shooting star. It doesn¡¯t exist. Not for a guy like me, not for our family of freaks¡ª¡±

    ¡°Then join us,¡± blurted Empress.

    I blinked a couple times, spinning those three words in my head.

    Initially, I wanted to be pissed. I thought, ¡°That¡¯s her game all along! She wanted to recruit me!¡± Until that stupid look on her face proved me wrong. The weight of her words had sunk her caramel eyes to the floor, and her lower jaw hung dumbly. She wasn¡¯t a calculating murim-in, she was a complete dumbass.

    I coughed, fire igniting in my throat, but I ignored the pain. ¡°Repeat that¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Join Angels!¡± she fucking doubled-down and stood like she was going to ¡°punch¡± me again. ¡°If you¡¯re tired of running away, then join us¡ª¡±

    ¡°Hold on!¡± I threw my hand out and immediately regretted it. Pain, aches, the usual. ¡°I¡¯ll ignore how ridiculous your request is and look at the logistics. You need Rector¡¯s permission¡ª¡±

    Empress thrusted a finger at me. ¡°We¡¯re not talking about Rector, we¡¯re talking about you. You¡¯re right about everything, Shen. Everything. Running away won¡¯t give you a quiet life. Your SSS-Rank [Skill] paints a target on your back. You have enemies you don¡¯t even know yet, and you¡¯re too much of a vigilante to let things fly by.

    ¡°And long before today, you already knew that. Isn¡¯t that why you learned how to protect yourself? So I¡¯m offering you the next step: fight. Get stronger so they¡¯ll piss themselves thinking about you! We¡¯ll give you everything you want: money, resources, connections¡ªAngels Guild will protect you and your family¡ª¡±

    ¡°And how the hell do you know that¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Because they¡¯re protecting the heiress of the Demonic Cult.¡± She put a hand over her chest. ¡°And I promise you, they¡¯re great people doing the best they can. They¡¯ll take care of you, and you can make a life for yourself and your little sister. Even if you decide otherwise, please think about it.¡±

    I¡­

    ***

    ¡°I was surprised to hear Empress¡¯s invitation. I¡¯ll admit: I never thought they would extend a contract first,¡± Uncle Ali said, hovering by the window. To keep his eyes busy, he watched pedestrians and traffic, and he fidgeted with a random pen he found. ¡°It¡¯s not a terrible proposition by any means. What Empress is offering¡ªlet me correct myself, what Angels is offering¡ªis protection in exchange for our services. Practically-speaking, it¡¯s a badge of immortality. Most will think twice about targeting us.¡±

    ¡°It means we¡¯re throwin¡¯ our weight behind Angels,¡± said Althea. She sat next to my bed and helped herself to the goody basket Empress had brought in. I wasn¡¯t going to eat and drink that stuff anyway. Too much sugar and sodium.

    I commented, ¡°That¡¯s lot of risk.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s gonna be risk either way. We¡¯re basically picking ¡®tween jumping into a lion¡¯s enclosure or swimming in a pool of piranhas.¡± She rolled a candy wrapper between her palms. ¡°The thing is, if we want their full protection, we gotta give ¡®em our biography. Your SSS-Rank [Skill], my SSS-Rank [Skill], our family history, everything.¡±

    Uncle clicked hard with his pen, the ink-blotched tip shining in the sunlight. ¡°That¡¯s a given if we want to be serious partners with Angels. Or more aptly, employees. Agents, like Firebrand and Empress.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll get caught up in their business.¡± Althea leaned back in her chair and yawned.

    I chuckled. ¡°Thea, look at me, we already are.¡±

    ¡°I mean more caught up, idiot.¡± She playfully kicked my bed. ¡°C¡¯mon, we don¡¯t know what they¡¯re planning or why they decided to conduct a cosmo experiment. It¡¯s all unknowns. I wanna trust Angels, but things are always different on the inside.¡±

    Uncle turned away from the window. ¡°Let¡¯s also see things from their perspective. They¡¯re also taking as much risk as us. From out of nowhere, the Mother Alt targeted a random civilian. This random civilian and his immediate family happen to hold quite dangerous mysteries. How are they related to the Jianghu? What enemies have they made already? These are a few questions they have.¡±

    ¡°They already have Empress on their team, protecting her on Cheonma¡¯s behalf,¡± I mentioned. ¡°That¡¯s all we know so far. The rest of the team are blanks, but¡­¡±

    I looked at both of them. Althea was popping a chocolate caramel bomb into her mouth and Uncle Ali was cleaning his glasses out of habit rather than necessity. They weren¡¯t taking the offer as negatively as I thought; well, this was our future we were talking about. We had to look at the situation as impartial as possible.

    I asked the big question, ¡°What do you guys think?¡±

    Thea gulped, licked the caramel on her lips, and sighed. ¡°I think we oughta take it.¡±

    Uncle Ali barely reacted; he expected this answer. ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±

    She gestured at me. ¡°I think it¡¯ll be great for Alex¡ª¡± (¡°It¡¯s not about me.¡±) ¡°¡ªit is about you, dumbass. This whole fuckin¡¯ thing is about you! Everyday, you keep saying how I¡¯m meant for ¡®great things,¡¯ but I can¡¯t expect the same from you?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°That¡¯s different, Thea¡ª¡±

    ¡°Bullshit, it¡¯s different!¡± She rose higher in her seat. ¡°I never liked you working a corpo job ¡®cause y¡¯know why? It¡¯s not you¡ª¡± (¡°What do you know about me?¡±) ¡°¡ªI¡¯m your freakin¡¯ sister, dipshit. It¡¯s not you and you could be doing a lot better¡ª¡±

    ¡°Like what, chasing after movie deals and royalties¡ª?¡± (¡°That¡¯s not what I mean.¡±) ¡°¡ªI don¡¯t give a shit about stardom or a fat wallet¡ª¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean!¡± Thea yelled over me. I shut up, and she calmed down and stared at me with her big, stupid eyes. ¡°Seeing you like this fuckin¡¯ hurts, you know that? You¡­ You feed me, take care of me¡ªyou do everything, and you want nothing but the best so I can finally live a happy life again. A-And I just want the same for you, because I¡¯ve seen it, Alex. Living how you are right now, it¡¯s not gonna work. Not anymore. Like fuck, this might be a blessing in disguise, hehe¡­¡±

    She wiped her eyes, laughing it off. Guess I really am an asshole, huh? Ignoring my sister¡¯s feelings for so long, but maybe she was right. This was a blessing in disguise.

    Uncle Ali put a comforting hand on her shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡¯

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, stop¡ªI¡¯m fine, really¡­¡± Thea inhaled, sniffling. ¡°I think I made my point, yeah, heh. I think we should do it, and I mean it. We, us, together. I¡¯m not gonna budge on this.¡±

    I¡­ Alright, I don¡¯t have any grounds to argue. Didn¡¯t have the energy anyway. A part of me wished we made this decision under better circumstances, but this was the best we would ever get.

    Yet, what did I think about the offer? With my dwindling brain-cells, I¡¯d been combing through what Empress said, turning my thoughts around and around, playing out contingencies and worst-case scenarios. Since Hangzhou, we have been ¡°protecting ourselves.¡± We were the sleeping bear you didn¡¯t dare poke, but unfortunately, a bunch of hunters wanted our hides.

    Logically, the next step was to ¡°fight back.¡± It made sense on a rational level, but our SSS-Rank [Skills] scratched the surface of the Shens¡¯ family history. ¡°Fighting back¡± wasn¡¯t that simple¡ªimpossible for a family like us¡ªso the most we could do was survive. To do so, we had to change everything about how we lived. How I lived. I was going to be an official, licensed Slayer, finally putting my [Skills] to good use. I might be a celebrity. I might remain unknown. Anything could happen in this business, but one thing was certain: I will fight breachers and people and institutions far greater than me, beginning with the Mother Alternate.

    Joining Angels seemed like the ¡°correct¡± choice¡ªeven though my heart continued to twist and waver¡ªbut it was going to be obscenely difficult. I could always decline and return to the familiar and wait until another extradimensional monster came around. But¡­

    I swallowed and looked at my uncle. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Uncle kept his hand on Thea¡¯s shoulder, looking down at the floor. ¡°I think striking a deal is inevitable, either now or in five years.¡±

    Thea looked up at him. ¡°What d¡¯you mean?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s look at our situation in a broader perspective. If we genuinely want to avoid all confrontations, we¡¯ll have to live like hermits. It¡¯s possible even in our day and age, but¡­¡± Uncle tensely laughed and patted my sister¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It won¡¯t be a satisfying life, nor do I want that life for you.¡±

    I followed his train of thought, ¡°So if we continue living like how we always had¡­¡±

    ¡°Someone will eventually knock on our door, someone who won¡¯t be as friendly as the Angels. We¡¯ll be no match for them, and I can¡¯t protect you forever. I wanted more time to prepare and think through our options since you left for Ordo, but our legacy caught up to us.¡±

    Thea said, ¡°Guessing you made a list?¡±

    Uncle nodded. ¡°A short one, a list of organizations that won¡¯t immediately enslave you. If I had the freedom to choose, it would be Angels Guild. They have a great track record and their resources are unparalleled. They¡¯re intelligent, honest, and share many of our adversaries.¡±

    I never thought it that way. Uncle was right, our current way of living wouldn¡¯t be enough to survive. Even if we move again, someone else would come along and they wouldn¡¯t be as nice as the Angels. We had a choice; with anyone else, there would be a gun pressed against our heads.

    ¡°So¡­¡± I started, not really thinking about my next words, ¡°...either way, we¡¯re signing a contract.¡±

    ¡°Guess that makes the decision a little easier,¡± Thea said, smiling sweetly at me. One of the few rare smiles she¡¯d give me.

    And she was right. This was our uncle talking. If he vouched for Angels Guild, then that was just as valuable as Kosmos personally recruiting us¡ªand that was no hyperbole. Everything pointed toward Angels. The logic, our characters, the world, everything said to [Register] under Angels.

    No more working as a corpo. No more hiding. Everything in our life thus far had led up to this. Mom and Dad, the Hangzhou Disaster, Oasisgate; it was all for this single monumental decision.

    Uncle brought us into a close hug; it was awkward for me, as I was still chained to the bed, but it didn¡¯t matter. ¡°I think we made our decision. Whatever happens next, I¡¯m proud of you. I¡¯ll give my life to protect you kids, and I¡¯ll do anything I want to make this transition as easy as possible. Hopefully, we¡¯ll find out why the Alt targeted Alex.¡±

    We quietly laughed together.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready as I¡¯ll ever be,¡± Thea said. ¡°I¡¯m kinda excited.¡±

    Meanwhile, I felt¡­ Honestly, I didn¡¯t know what I was feeling. ¡°I¡¯m tired, that¡¯s how I feel. But I¡¯m barely ready.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Uncle patted our backs. ¡°I¡¯ll tell Rector.¡±

    ***

    ¡°Shens,¡± was the first thing Rector said when he reentered my prison cell. ¡°I apologize for everything. Genuinely. From Sophos being a little gnome to Empress giving you a heart attack, Alexander. She doesn¡¯t have the authority to offer you a place in Angels, don¡¯t worry¡ª¡±

    ¡°We accept it,¡± my uncle said, speaking for us. ¡°We accept Empress¡¯s offer.¡±

    ¡°I know you¡¯re going to deny her. The last thing we want is more stress on¡ª¡± Rector stopped in the middle of his sentence and stared straight at him. ¡°What.¡±

    ¡°We discussed it, and we¡¯re accepting her offer.¡±

    ¡°I¡ªhold on, are you out of your damned minds¡ª?!¡±

 [FOR PEACE] Interlude - Registration

    Slayer System: Initiation

    Welcome, Alexander Shen, and thank you for [Registering]. You are now an official Slayer, acting in full capacity to protect your Worldline from threats in the greater universe. This page will serve as a brief summary of your new occupation as a Slayer. If you want further information, please read the individual pages.

    AS A SLAYER, you are expected to fight for the betterment of your Worldline.

    AS A SLAYER, you swear to deal no harm to your Worldline¡¯s stability.

    AS A SLAYER, you cannot turn away from your duties.

    AS A SLAYER, you are aware this status is for life.

    What is the Slayer System?

    The Slayer System is a permanent defensive protocol initiated by the Planet, first enacted when a Hole in the Fabric is detected.

    This ¡°Hole¡± is an emergency spatial breach that introduces otherworldly aliens. These aliens originate from Worldlines that are hopeless and destroyed; as a result, they are almost always hostile and pose an active threat to your world. If left unchecked, civilization will be destroyed and your Worldline will face Dissolution much like the invading Worldlines.

    To combat this fate, the System gives power to humanity by [Registering] them as Slayers. The System supports their survival effort against these hostile breaches. Today, thanks to your resilience, your civilization has experienced unimaginable growth and prosperity, developing a brighter world from the ash of old.

    What are Slayers?

    Slayers are [Registered] users of the System. During [Registration], you were implanted with a permanent Phenomenon Production System (PPS) inside your body, allowing you to perform phenomena that would normally be impossible. This phenomena is known as [Skills].

    Slayers are forever bound by the System to protect humanity from spatial breaches. To enforce your compliance, you will be given a [Weekly Commission] that will contribute to humanity¡¯s survival in some capacity and interpretation.

    All Slayers possess a [Slayer Rank] from F to EX, which is a determination of your experience and competence. Increasing your [Rank] will also increase the number of [Skill Slots] from 2 (F-Rank) through 11 (EX-Rank).

    All mechanics and functions of the System will be available to Slayers (unless you are a Junior Slayer) such as: the [Channel] messaging system, access to System Monetary Points (SMP) as a universal currency, and a competitive ranking system of [Fabel Rankings]. To find out more about the individual functions, please visit their respective pages.

    What are [Skills]?

    [Skills] are abilities that produce a certain phenomenal effect, such as discharging [Flames] or having a natural [Fire Resistance]. They can range from being active-use [Skills] or passive [Skills], but they are not limited to this spectrum. It can be said that [Skills] are a reflection of your identity and progress as a Slayer.

    Studying, practicing, training, and so on; they are your acquisition methods for new [Skills]. It is your prerogative to research acquisition methods that will best fit with your [Profile]. By adequately developing new abilities and furthering your existing talents, your Phenomenon Production System will crystalize your efforts as a [Skill].

    Some [Skills] do not take up a [Skill Slot]. These are [Awakened Skills]: [Skills] that cannot be separated from your [Profile]. Most Slayers will never see an [Awakened Skills], as they can only be gained through special circumstances. You, Alexander Shen, are among the special few. Congratulations!

    What are [Commissions]?

    [Commissions] are designated missions given by the System to complete, where you will be awarded SMP upon completion. There are multiple types of [Commissions]:

    [Weekly Commissions]: Weekly tasks to fulfill your obligation to humanity. Failure to complete your [Weekly Commission] will result in: fines, corporal punishment, demotion of [Slayer Rank], death, and other consequences.

    [Commissions]: Operational missions, such as resolving an expedition or completing a major project.

    [Subcomissions]: Smaller tasks that will eventually result in the completion of their respective [Commission].

    [Event Commissions]: Emergency tasks that require immediate completion.

    [Slayer Commission]: Tasks created by your fellow Slayers.

    [Rank Ascension Commission]: A required, tailor-made task that will increase your [Slayer Rank] upon completion.

    Conclusion

    This is the surface of what the System offers. We recommend you to read through the various informational pages and interact with your local community to better understand your new responsibilities. In your time, we also advise joining a guild or an organization, so you can become a productive warrior of humanity.

    All Slayers can choose a codename for themselves. The regulations are:

    1) No obscene language

    2) Identical codenames will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis

    3) No special characters

    4) Max limit of 30 characters

    [Please enter your codename here]

    ________________

    [You have entered ¡°Conqueror¡±]

    [Codename granted]

    [Welcome to the Slayer System, Conqueror]

    ***

    [Congratulations, Conqueror! Due to your past actions, you are now registered in the Fabel Rankings!]

    [Fabel Ranking]

    The [Fabel Rankings] is a System-sponsored ranking system based on multiple metrics including but not limited to: combat ability, accomplishments, humanitarian work, popularity, and so on. The [Rankings] consist of multiple categories based on occupation, geographical area, and more. There are two main [Rankings]: Slayers and guilds.

    Slayers:

    The most comprehensive [Ranking] is [General Ranking], which takes the entire population of Slayers. Every Slayer is organized into six distinct brackets:

    <ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Tale: 100% of Slayers</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Chronicle: Top 75% of Slayers</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Saga: Top 50% of Slayers</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Epic: Top 25% of Slayers</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Legend: Top 10% of Slayers</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Mythos: Top 1% of Slayers</li>

    </ol>

    Only Mythos Slayers are ranked numerically. All Legend Slayers onwards are eligible for a [Fabel Title] such as ¡°Shooting Star Miracle¡± for Mythos 1 Kosmos.

    Another significant [Ranking] is the [Geographical Rankings]. For you, Conqueror, your current residence is the Slayer Capital, Ordo. This means you will be ranked against fellow Slayers within the city-state. [Guild Rankings] are similar in this regard, where you will be ranked against your fellow colleagues in Angels Guild.

    There are additional [Geographical Rankings] beyond city-level, and other categories that are not solely based on geography! Please explore during your own time!

    Guilds:

    Guilds are separated into their own category. Like [General Rankings], guilds have the [General Guild Rankings]. Every existing guild is organized into six distinct brackets:

    <ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Manor: 100% of guilds</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Castle: Top 75% of guilds</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Citadel: Top 50% of guilds</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Palace: Top 25% of guilds</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Kingdom: Top 10% of guilds</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Dominion: Top 1% of guilds</li>

    </ol>

    Only Dominion Guilds are ranked numerically. Otherwise, the same [Ranking] categories exist for guilds as they do for Slayers! Please explore during your own time!

    [Your Rankings¡­]

    General Ranking: Chronicle (Deep Arcana)

    Geographical Ranking - Ordo: N/A

    Geographical Ranking - Asia: N/A

    Specialty Ranking - Weaponmaster: N/A

    Guild Ranking - Angels Guild: N/A

    If no data-value appears, then you: 1) are registered as a Deep Arcana which will affect your ranking; 2) haven¡¯t performed significantly enough to be ranked; or 3) your actual numerical rank is too high to be meaningful.

    Being marked as Deep Arcana indicates that your true capability is not yet measured/revealed; thus, any calculations will be inaccurate.

    You may go into your [Privacy Settings] if you wish to reveal or conceal your [Rankings] to other Slayers.

    ***

    General Guild Rankings: Top 10

    1st: Otherguard Security Forces

    2nd: The Vatican

    3rd: Phenomena Society

    4rd: Seven Seas Division

    5th: Martial Zenith Sect

    6th: Taeyang Guild Systems

    7th: Fushimi Clan

    8th: Cloud & Sky Division

    9th: Legends Guild

    10th: Angels Guild

    General Rankings: Top 15

    1st: Shooting Star Miracle, Kosmos

    2nd: First Magician, Phenomena

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    3rd: He Who Had Reached Heaven, Longwang (ÁúÍõ)

    4th: God Smiles, Testament

    5th: Once and Future King, Monarch

    6th: Zheng Da Guang Ming (Õý´ó¹âÃ÷), Elder Judge Shui Yuan (Ë®Ô´)

    7th: Reflection in Blades, Yomiya Yasuyuki (ÓàŒmÒ¹Ñ©)

    8th: Charity, Flowers, and Justice; Hwarang (??)

    9th: Old Listener of the Bellowing Sea, Nautica

    10th: Wolkenk?nig, Grand Architect Johann

    11th: Night Parade Maiden, Fushimi Kuzuha (·üÒŠ¸ðÈ~)

    12th: Immortal Armor, Apocrypha

    13th: Crimson Moon Serpent, Cheonma (??)

    14th: Warlock of the End, Geburah Sephirah

    15th: System Breaker, Cross (V)

    What does ¡°V¡± stand for?

    ¡°V¡± represents a ¡°Valiant¡± candidate. Valiants are [Unregistered] individuals¡ªin other words, a regular human without the Slayer System¡ªwho have performed tremendous feats that deserve recognition.

    ***

    [SLAYER SYSTEM PROFILE]

    Name: Alexander Shen

    Codename: Conqueror

    Slayer Rank: E-Rank Slayer

    Fabel Ranking: Chronicle (Deep Arcana)

    Skills: 4/3

    Memento Recollection

    Rank SSS

    Type: Item Accumulation

    Description: You possess the special power to materialize your interpersonal relationships as physical items. These items are called [Mementos], created when you have established a significant bond with an individual (the holder). Each [Memento] is ranked from F (weakest) to SSS (strongest) depending on the relationship.

    The rank is dynamic. If the holder is deceased, the [Memento] will remain but its rank cannot be changed. There is no limit to how many [Mementos] you are able to acquire. You can receive a personal description of each [Memento] upon selecting it. You cannot use duplicate [Mementos] simultaneously unless explicitly stated.

    This is an [Awakened Skill] and is thus always active without taking up a [Skill Slot].

    Certain Shot

    Rank A

    Type: Concept Application

    Description: Apply the Certainty Principle to any launched projectiles. They will hit their determined target in a theoretical reality, however still obeying natural law and logic in the real world.

    Forged Skin

    Rank A

    Type: Body Enhancement

    Description: Through brutal conditioning conducted by your uncle, your skin has become harder than steel and resist damages of almost every type.

    Mana Impact

    Rank C

    Type: Internal Energy Manipulation

    Description: Condense mana in a determined point inside your body and release it upon impact. You are able to control the quantity of mana condensed. Higher concentration will produce a more powerful result.

    Acquired Skills

    Home Cook

    Rank B

    Type: Cognitive Enhancement

    Description: You are able to remember all recipes you have cooked previously down to the individual ingredients and measurements required.

    Intimidating Presence

    Rank C+

    Type: Presence Enhancement

    Description: Apply mild intimidation to any weak-willed individuals around you. You are able to toggle this [Skill] on and off at will.

    Algebraic Mind

    Rank C

    Type: Cognitive Enhancement

    Description: You can mentally perform difficult algebra without the use of a calculator.

    Note Transfer

    Rank C

    Type: Reality-System

    Description: You are able to transfer all contents from your [Notes] into physical documents or electronic files and vice-versa.

    Undeveloped Skills

    Anti-Slayer Technique

    Rank SS

    Type: Nested, Pressure Point Techniques

    Linked Skills: Sixteen-Point Obliteration [SS], Sixteen-Point Incapacitation [SS] [?], Momentum Kill [S], Flow Reversal [S] [?], Phenomena Negative [S]

    Description: Created by Alistair Romanos, your uncle, these techniques were specifically designed for a single purpose: to eliminate Slayers as a regular, Systemless human. Today, the Anti-Slayer Techniques are said to be the greatest and most coveted countermeasure against Slayers.

    Acquisition Requirement: You must attain adequate mastery over all five linked [Skills]. Current progress: [2/5].

    Mementos

    Chain Gauntlets

    Rank A+

    Holder: Bastien Romanos (deceased)

    Memento Type: Gauntlet

    Description: The [Memento] of your father, taking the form of tightly-wound chains. His wisdom and teachings are crystalized within these hands. Above all, they contain his sins, his regrets, and his responsibility. Much like how your own hands have scars.

    Special Effect: You may unravel the [Gauntlets] into long chain-lengths.

    Yuzhou

    Rank A+

    Holder: Shen Xingyu (deceased)

    Memento Type: Armor

    Description: The [Memento] of your mother, taking the form of full-body armor. This [Armor] is protection. Warmth. Security. It will protect you from the outside world and endure as a constant reminder of her bright spirit. Always look towards the light, she says, and remember who made you smile.

    Special Effect: When paired with [Chain Gauntlets], [Technique Daggers], or [Nightingale Watch], increase the rank of this [Memento] to S.

    Technique Daggers

    Rank A

    Holder: Althea Shen

    Memento Type: Dagger

    Description: The [Memento] of your younger sister, taking the form of silversteel daggers. You¡¯ve been through everything together, from the moment you held her tiny hand to today. Even if the world is falling down, you would crawl through Hell for her.

    Special Effect: When using [Technique Daggers], you may summon additional [Daggers] up to the number of [Techniques] in your sister¡¯s possession. The maximum is currently 4.

    Nightingale Watch

    Rank A

    Holder: Alistair Romanos

    Memento Type: Magick Firearms

    Description: The [Memento] of your uncle, taking the form of matte-black magick firearms modeled after their real-life counterparts. He imparted you with many things: his infamous Anti-Slayer Techniques, his combat experience, and his philosophy. Violence can only be subjugated through extreme violence. That¡¯s the way of the horrible world for people like us.

    Special Effect: This [Memento] takes the form of individual firearms: [Nightingale Pistol], [Nightingale Rifle], and [Nightingale Shotgun].

    *

    Name: Althea Shen

    Codename: N/A

    Slayer Rank: E-Rank Slayer

    Fabel Rank: Chronicle (Deep Arcana)

    Skills: 4/3

    Technique Sovereign

    Rank SSS

    Type: Skill Accumulation

    Description: By thoroughly understanding an individual, you can create an inspired ability: these are called [Techniques]. There is no limit to how many [Techniques] you are able to create and store. [Techniques] are ranked according to your understanding of an individual (the holder), from F (weak understanding) to SSS (very strong understanding).

    [Techniques] have fluid growth, changing according to sudden events and your own perspective. If the comprehended individual is deceased, their respective [Technique] can still undergo development. It is possible to lose [Techniques] through dramatic events. Only one [Technique] is allowed for each individual. You can receive a personal description of each [Technique] upon selecting it.

    This is an [Awakened Skill] and is thus always active without taking up a [Skill Slot].

    Blur

    Rank A

    Type: Mobility

    Description: Upon activation, you are able to move so fast that your body becomes a blur to the naked eye.

    Always Sharp

    Rank B

    Type: Concept Application

    Description: Whenever you hold an edged object, it will always be razor sharp regardless of its condition. This has no effect on the object¡¯s durability, however.

    Thick Skin

    Rank D

    Type: Body Enhancement

    Description: Through brutal conditioning conducted by your uncle, your skin is tougher than the average person and can withstand light damage.

    Acquired Skills

    Fast Reader

    Rank C

    Type: Cognitive Enhancement

    Description: You can zoom through text at an incredible speed!

    Holographic Mirror

    Rank D

    Type: Holographic Projection

    Description: Whenever you¡¯re looking at a piece of clothing or accessory, you can summon a holographic projection of yourself wearing your chosen article.

    Undeveloped Skills

    Anti-Slayer Technique

    Rank SS

    Type: Nested, Pressure Point Techniques

    Linked Skills: Sixteen-Point Obliteration [SS], Sixteen-Point Incapacitation [SS] [?], Momentum Kill [S], Flow Reversal [S], Phenomena Negative [S]

    Description: Created by Alistair Romanos, your uncle, these techniques were specifically designed for a single purpose: to eliminate Slayers as a regular, [Unregistered] human. Today, the Anti-Slayer Techniques are said to be the greatest and most coveted countermeasure against Slayers.

    Acquisition Requirement: You must attain adequate mastery over all five linked [Skills]. Current progress: [1/5].

    Techniques

    Memento Echo

    Rank S

    Holder: Alexander Shen

    Technique Type: Item Replication

    Description: The [Technique] of your older brother, who¡¯s too stupid for his own good. Through observation, you can perfectly replicate the signatures of others and retain any special effects (if available). This extends to any [Memento] from [Memento Recollection]. [Echoes] have a maximum duration of ten minutes, and you can retain only one [Echo] at a given time. Some [Echoes] cannot be replicated.

    Observation Lock

    Rank S

    Holder: Shen Xingyu

    Technique Type: Skill Replication

    Description: The [Technique] of the best mother in the whole world. When observing a [Skill Activation], you can [Lock] the [Skill] and use it as your own. The [Locked Skill] lasts for five minutes or is replaced by another. You are able to refresh the duration with additional observation. You can possess only one [Locked Skill] at a time. Some [Skills] cannot be [Locked].

    Stalwart Bastion

    Rank S

    Holder: Bastien Romanos

    Technique Type: Body Enhancement

    Description: The [Technique] of your father, and you can never forget the warmth of his arms. Thicken your muscles, your tendons and ligaments¡ªevery part of your body can exert tenfold the strength, resilience, and durability than before. The maximum duration is five minutes.

    Execute

    Rank A

    Holder: Alistair Romanos

    Technique Type: Concept Application

    Description: The [Technique] of your uncle, who did everything to raise you and your brother. Mark any living target with [Execute]. The [Execute Mark] will take the physical shape of the target¡¯s lifeforce. Destroying the [Mark], then, will conceptually kill the target; however, the shape and difficulty will depend on the target themselves. You may only have one [Execute Mark] active at a given time, and the [Mark] will last for thirty minutes before expiring.

    *

    Weekly Commission: Alternate Investigation Team

    Weekly Pay: 48,000smp

    Description: You have been assigned to investigate the mysterious Alternates that have invaded Ordo. Gather information and compile your findings with your other team members to solve the case.

 [FOR PEACE] Chapter 13 - Alexander Shen, Your Average Slayer

    <blockquote>

    @Jumjumjum

    Is it me, or is it really strange that we don¡¯t have any more details about the breakthrough @ First Wave? It¡¯s been four days. I think they¡¯re hiding something. Breakthroughs don¡¯t happen like this.

    @spearhead_official

    Hey, Slayer here. Breakthroughs happen more often than you think, but they rarely cause any damage. They¡¯re mostly stray animals walking through the breach. You¡¯re right, though. The breakthrough at First Wave is incredibly odd *especially* seeing pictures of the damage. None of the Big Four or the Encampment have described what the breacher was.

    @ordoianupdates

    After the unexpected breakthrough at Primordial Plaza, the First Wave is proceeding without delay for the Big Four. Reports say that applicants are already receiving their invitations. Between now and Friday, we should see the Big Four dropping an official schedule of their individual guild exams.

    @fredpods

    BREAKING: CEO of System Articles, Kieta Fujimura, has reportedly attempted suicide in custody. His condition is currently unknown

    @victorsss

    I GOT INNNNNNNNNNN

    </blockquote>

    [Group Chat - knights of kotone]

    [Members: Uprise (creator), Victor, Forest Master, Conqueror]

    [Victor]

    [image attached]

    I GOT IN BOYS

    [Conqueror]

    congrats maybe you can get your wings like me

    [Victor]

    fuck you

    how the hell are you even an angel again?

    [Conqueror]

    Circumstances

    [Forest Master]

    Circumstances aside, congratulations on your good news

    [Victor]

    thanks we¡¯re all getting a stroke of good luck

    [Conqueror]

    Not me

    [Victor]

    stfu

    how¡¯s kotone doing?

    [Forest Master]

    She¡¯s hopping on her bed like a puppy. Our work is far from over, though. Pundits said the competition this year is ¡°noticeably fierce,¡± and yet the number of spots remain the same. Martials Guild will be yet another challenge for us.

    [Victor]

    yup

    you think a spot will open if alex dies?

    [Conqueror]

    Try me

    [Victor]

    in fact since you¡¯re an angel now what do you know about the upcoming exams?

    [Conqueror]

    You do realize that¡¯s breaking company policy + I¡¯m not involved with the tryouts in any capacity

    [Victor]

    damn guess i gotta figure out another way to cheat

    [Conqueror]

    Officially we don¡¯t know each other

    [Forest Master]

    I¡¯m also assuming you can¡¯t help us prepare for exams?

    [Conqueror]

    That¡¯s also against policy yeah but I don¡¯t have the time anyway

    Yknow when I registered I thought I¡¯d be jumping straight into work but no, of course not

    For the past few days it¡¯s all fucking admin and bureaucracy bullshit, and that¡¯s *with* Angels expediting everything

    They said it¡¯d normally ¡°take weeks¡± without Angels

    [Victor]

    rip my dad takes care of that stuff for me

    [Forest Master]

    Imagine how painful it was for me, a disgraced xia fleeing from her homeland. I had to sit through hours upon hours of ¡°interviews¡± to ensure I wasn¡¯t a spy sent by the Court and among other things. Not to mention the blatant sexual harassment

    I¡¯m surprised I left the Encampment without drawing blood

    [Conqueror]

    frfr

    [Victor]

    whatcha doing rn tho?

    getting along with your new team? bombing the camps?

    [Conqueror]

    Finishing up licensing, then I¡¯m done. Just gotta wait for the pencil pushers to process their shit

    Thea¡¯s coming later

    [Forest Master]

    Why¡¯s that?

    [Conqueror]

    My bosses don¡¯t know what to do with her just yet but they want me working right away

    [Victor]

    damn was gonna ask if you wanted drinks tn

    after everythings done ig

    [Conqueror]

    We¡¯ll celebrate one way or another

    Or mourn

    [Victor]

    @Uprise kick him

    ¡°...Talking to your friends?¡± asked my new Team Leader, Celestial Empress. Outside of work, she was Leo. She peeked between me and the road, curiosity getting the better of her. She was the driver as decreed by rock-paper-scissors.

    I brushed the System screen away. ¡°One of my friends just got an invite to earn his wings.¡±

    ¡°How exciting,¡± she said, tapping her finger on the wheel. ¡°What is he like?¡±

    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s the typical cradle. He¡¯s rich, chronically stupid, a sexual deviant, probably will get arrested for tax fraud in ten years¡ª¡± (¡°Alex.¡±) ¡°¡ªbut he¡¯s a decent guy. Better than most cradles I¡¯ve met. They¡¯re almost always spoiled and entitled like a few people I know.¡±

    I looked at her for the last part.

    Leo had a dangerously sweet smile on her face. ¡°You do realize I¡¯m driving, right? And oh, would you look at that? I think I see a telephone pole with our names on it.¡±

    I rolled my eyes and propped my elbow on the passenger door. ¡°I¡¯m the one with [Armor], princess.¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t save you from an explosion.¡± She playfully nudged me. ¡°You haven¡¯t told your friends about what happened, right? Lips sealed?¡±

    I nodded, watching cars and people fly by. ¡°I was honest: something big happened and I can¡¯t disclose anything. They probably suspect that we were involved with the breakthrough, but they know better than to ask questions. Asking questions is an easy way to admire the pearly gates.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not gonna kill them¡ª!¡±

    ¡°I almost died.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because the Alt nearly did you in,¡± whined Leo, braking harder than necessary at the stoplight.

    I winced, the seatbelt squeezing my chest as we got moving again. ¡°So you tried indirectly killing me.¡±

    ¡°Shut up. I really will crash us into a telephone pole and leave you in the wreck.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s another threat, princess¡ª¡±

    Leo stomped on the brakes and nearly forced my heart through my throat. For the rest of the car-ride, we remained in silence while a podcast played on the radio. Something about a K-pop idol; Thea¡¯s recommendation I think. They were both into the same things, I didn¡¯t care for it.

    Thank God, though, no more long car-rides with this maniac. Angels Guild had expedited the process and pushed me through the system. We (them) spent obscene money on fees and taxes, went through a dozen pens, but we were in the final stages now. "We," as in myself and Althea, despite my little sister being benched for the Alternate investigation.

    Not even a week ago, I was combing through job listings; now, wings fell on my lap. I was in Primes, working directly for Seraph and Rector, and had a salary and benefits that¡¯d make most weep in envy. Sounded good on the outside¡ªfucking, it sounded euphoric. However, once you knew about the circumstances around my contract¡­

    Well, you¡¯d have a heart attack.

    ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± Leo said as we rolled through the gates. The protective barrier allowed us through without a hitch.

    Here we were, one of Ordo¡¯s most renowned tourist destinations: Angels Guild Headquarters. In the beginning, Seraph and Rector and Kosmos were a single Slayer Team living in a small apartment. Look at them now. In less than two decades, their HQ rivaled college campuses. Except for students running to and from class, you had corpos and swords walking together and tour groups making way. This place had everything you needed for a guild: admin and corporate facilities concentrated together, workshops and labs and blacksmiths dispersed all over, a giant courtyard that was more court than yard, a hospital (which I¡¯d stayed in), and that was scratching the surface.

    One of the busiest places on Earth, where you could brush shoulders against high-rankers and a little kid with fake wings on his back.

    We parked and made our way toward the Wings¡ªthe heart of Angels HQ. It wasn¡¯t anything special, honestly. It looked like your average skyscraper, but most skyscrapers didn¡¯t have large wings stuck to its face. That was the logo of Angels Guild: two flawless white wings, outstretched to embrace the world.

    I¡¯d never toured any of the Big Four for obvious reasons, so this? This was overwhelming. It¡¯d take me months to get used to this sight. It¡¯d take even longer for me to get used to the attention. Eyes, more eyes, whispers and gossip; all directed toward us. At Leo, mostly. Angels Guild had an army of celebrities in its ranks, but Celestial Empress was in a league of her own. She was a princess in the Demonic Cult and in Angels; to the swords and corpos observing us, someone like her shouldn¡¯t be escorting a random asshole like me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t lose your head, Conq,¡± Leo teased as we entered the Wings. ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go.¡±

    One elevator ride later, we were at the top floor. It was the opposite of the ground floor: pristine, orderly, quiet. Silent, even, but not to provide an ideal working environment. It was the silence of respect, dignity. Great things happened here, greater people worked here. As soon as you stepped out of the elevator, you couldn¡¯t help but exhale in awe and simultaneously realize your tiny, tiny place in the world.

    And I felt tiny and tinier with every step I took down these sacred halls and toward the simple yet deceiving double-doors at the end.

    This would be the first of many times where I visit the Office of the Guild Masters.

    Leo knocked. ¡°It¡¯s us.¡±

    The doors automatically opened.

    The Office of the Guild Masters was cozier and warmer than I expected, like a personal study inside a grand mansion. It was packed with decoration, but not crowded. My eyes were yanked in a million different directions, hopping from one curio to the next. ¡°What was this?¡± ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°Am I allowed to touch it?¡± These questions rattled my head. There were trophies and trinkets and books, liquor and tea locked behind glass, and incense was in the air. I didn¡¯t know what most of this stuff was, but they all contributed to a single word: legacy. Give it a century and museums would have recreations of this office in exhibits.

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    My eyes followed the dark beige carpet, over the large Arabian rug and a seating area for guests, and ended at two massive desks facing each other. They divided the room in half. The left was organized, professional you could say, yet hadn¡¯t seen much use. At least, compared to its counterpart. That desk was what I imagined from a Guild Master: a complete and total tornado of papers and files. They stacked so high that they blocked out the back of a monitor.

    ¡°Ignore the mess,¡± a dark-skinned man greeted us, standing from the very same desk. ¡°I promise myself that I¡¯ll take care of it, but let¡¯s be honest, that¡¯s a pipe dream.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re way too busy¡­¡± a short Japanese girl said above a murmur. Compared to the Vice Guild Master, her presence was like an ant''s. She sank into her shoulders and enjoyed counting the dust molecules on the floor. Monochrome hair framed her round cheeks and tired eyes. Had to be eighteen at least, twenty at the oldest.

    I¡¯d rather not judge based on appearances, but she didn¡¯t look much of a fighter. Not like me and the princess over here.

    Rector physically brushed her comment aside with a hand. ¡°I can handle my schedule just fine enough, Chie. And¡­¡± He looked down at her wardrobe and sighed in disappointment. ¡°You could¡¯ve worn something nicer¡­¡±

    ¡°This is all I had.¡± She pulled down her baggy t-shirt, which had a full cast of characters from an anime. ¡°I don¡¯t go out of my workshop anyway."

    Leo snorted and patted my shoulder; she took a seat on one of the couches and made herself at home.

    ¡°Chie, an investment in something nice wouldn¡¯t hurt¡ªyou know what, never mind.¡± Rector walked around and clapped the small girl by the shoulders. ¡°Conqueror, this munchkin is Fukumoto Chie (¸£±¾Ç§{); otherwise known as your team engineer, Sage.¡±

    There wasn¡¯t any information online about Sage, so I was coming in blind. She looked innocent enough, at least. Small, introverted, but nothing malicious. Though, with a name like ¡°Sage,¡± I thought she¡¯d be eccentric. Artisans were usually wackjobs.

    Sage weakly waved.

    I waved back. ¡°Hi.¡±

    Leo rolled her eyes. ¡°You had a million things to say during the car-ride, but only a ¡®hi¡¯ here? Really?¡±

    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t act normally with that thing¡ª¡± I pointed at the skull of a four-horned breacher mounted on the wall, ¡°¡ªstaring at me, princess, but alright. I apologize, Sage. Alexander Shen, Conqueror, call me whatever.¡±

    Sage nodded and attempted to maintain eye-contact; she failed a second into the challenge and turned to the floor again, rubbing her arm. ¡°C-Chie works just fine. It¡¯s, erm, it¡¯s very good to meet you, Alex. Mhm. Now that I¡¯ve introduced myself¡ª¡±

    Chie took a single step, and Rector pushed her toward Leo. (¡°Wah?!¡±) ¡°You¡¯re not escaping that easily¡ª¡± (¡°But I have a million projects to finish¡ª! My [Yokais]!¡±) ¡°¡ªuh huh, sit down.¡±

    I stifled a laugh from coming on as Chie was forced to sit next to Leo.

    I found Rector sighing again. I asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Guild Master Seraph? I thought I¡¯d be meeting her too.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s working on the try-outs, but she promised that she¡¯ll meet you personally. Wherever and whenever that will be,¡± Rector said, gesturing toward the seating. ¡°Now, it¡¯s your turn to sit. I know you¡¯d rather be at home than talking with me.¡±

    I didn¡¯t protest, and we gathered around a table in the middle. Somehow, I missed the big fucking crate sitting on top. You could squeeze a grown man inside if you bent his arms and legs into the fetal position.

    Rector took a comfortable lounge-chair as the king of the court. As one of his retainers, he saw me eyeing the crate and smiled. ¡°Do you remember the signature request form you filled out? Here it is.¡±

    ¡°I hope you like it!¡± Chie exclaimed, mustering a small but proud smile. Never thought I¡¯d receive a Christmas present this early, but the great Sage was a little miracle worker. Leo did say she was ¡°yet another prodigy on the team,¡± and that seemed to be true.

    Every Slayer needed equipment specifically designed for them. These were signatures. For the public, they were cultural icons. Take Seraph as an example. She wielded [Ascalon Creed]; you¡¯d find thousands of foam replicas in the gift shop. Sigs weren¡¯t limited to only weapons, though, but the most well-known sigs were almost always weapons.

    Speaking of weapons, that put me in an awkward spot with deciding my first sig. I didn¡¯t need them when [Memento Recollection] was a thing. I¡¯d have plenty of weapons on hand and more in the future. Instead, with the advice of Uncle Ali and Leo, we shifted focus: what would be most beneficial regardless if [Memento Recollection] was active? We decided it¡¯d be universal protection, so I gave my measurements.

    Chie had interpreted my wish and stuffed it inside that crate. ¡°Open it,¡± she said. "You can have the honors.¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± I stood. My fingers found the latch, and the heavy lid was thrown open.

    Inside was a beautifully-crafted black-and-silver bodysuit, seemingly inspired by military designs or even adapted from an existing one. Across almost every inch, armor plating was woven into the fabric, in a geometric pattern, to the point where this thing was more plates than suit. Despite that, the armor was surprisingly light. It¡¯d give me adequate protection while sacrificing little maneuverability in the process.

    After taking the bodysuit out of the crate, I found more clothes packed inside. Pants, combat boots, and a pair of gloves. All black. There was also a fancy-looking earpiece too for comms. Guess they were saving me the pain of looking like a bad comic book superhero, having to stroll around the city in a skintight bodysuit.

    Chie joined me from a safe and comfortable distance. She admired her own craftsmanship, and some of the anxiety melted in her emerald eyes. ¡°I had to make some compromises with your armor. Like prioritizing slash and stab protection over ballistics and spells. This is only the first iteration, though, so erm, don¡¯t expect perfection right away. It should perform adequately enough. For that reason, I¡¯d like you to collect valuable data while you¡¯re in the field.¡±

    I smiled and nodded, trying to paint gratitude plain on my face. ¡°I¡¯ll be thorough with my report when everything¡¯s said and done.¡±

    But Chie wasn¡¯t looking at me. She only nodded in response. ¡°Thank you, and I apologize if you encounter any issues. Now, uhm, can you put it on?¡±

    I looked around the room. ¡°Where?¡±

    Rector pointed at the doors. ¡°There¡¯s a bathroom down the hall. Take the first right, and you should see a sign.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Then, I looked at all the junk on the table. ¡°How am I going to carry this to the bathroom?¡±

    ***

    High Intensity Combat Suit

    Rank A

    Type: Armor

    Description: Manufactured by team engineer Sage (that¡¯s me!), your [High Intensity Combat Suit] is a lightweight combat bodysuit that¡¯ll serve you well in the field! On Celestial Empress¡¯s recommendation, your [Combat Suit] is paired with additional clothes so you don¡¯t have to fight wearing only a skintight bodysuit. For additional information, please tap on this link.

    [Loadout Registering¡­Saved!]

    Current Loadout

    Weapon(s): N/A

    Armor: [High Intensity Combat Suit]

    Accessories: N/A

    There we go. Of all the mechanics the Slayer System offered, the [Loadout] function was arguably the most convenient. It acted as an instant wardrobe, replacing your civilian clothes with your saved [Loadout]. Outside of combat, it meant everything saved in your [Loadout] would be stored by the System in a hidden dimensional pocket. You could pull items out at any time, yeah, but that was the extent. It wasn¡¯t an inventory like what you¡¯d see in video games.

    Putting everything on was a lot more time-consuming than I thought, which was why the [Loadout] function existed, probably. To save minutes when seconds mattered.

    I entered the Office of the Guild Masters for the second time; for a moment, I expected Leo and Chie to blind me with camera flashes, taking an obscene number of photos to celebrate the occasion. But they weren¡¯t in the room. Neither them or the massive hulking crate. Just Rector, sitting in the same chair. Something was on the table: a packet.

    Rector waved and pointed at my new get-up. ¡°Looks great, Conqueror. I¡¯m glad all the money I¡¯m spending on you isn¡¯t wasted. Anyhow, the girls are bringing the crate back to Chie¡¯s workshop.¡±

    ¡°Right, thanks.¡± I sat down in the same spot. ¡°In other words, you wanted a private discussion. I doubt you wanted to complain about the licensing process with me.¡±

    Hearing my straightforwardness made him stiffly smile. ¡°Trust me, Conqueror, my rants about Ordo¡¯s current systemic policies are enough to fill books. That¡¯s besides the point. Here.¡±

    He pushed the packet toward me, and I picked it up. It was a contract. Flipping through the pages, nothing seemed off. All standard practice you¡¯d find in guilds.

    Rector explained, ¡°Normally, we would do this in reverse, but this is extraordinary circumstances. I wouldn¡¯t take the contract seriously; this is a formality. A¡ªwhat¡¯s the word?¡ªa paper trail in case we need it. Otherwise, our agreement is completely off-the-books. Other than [Private Messages], nothing will be written in ink. Nobody will know about your SSS-Rank [Skill] or¡­¡±

    He gulped. ¡°Your sister¡¯s SSS-Rank [Skill] either. I¡¯ve spoken with Sophos and she swore to secrecy. Despite my strong opinions about her professionality, she can be trusted on this.¡±

    ¡°And our previous clause still stands?¡± I asked, mindlessly reading the contract. ¡°No one else knows unless they need to?¡±

    ¡°Correct, Chie doesn¡¯t know. For her and everyone else, [Memento Recollection] and [Technique Sovereign] are S-Ranks. It cuts both ways too, Conqueror.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Pardon?¡±

    Rector glanced at the door like someone was about to walk in at any second. ¡°If you haven¡¯t noticed already, this team is¡­ Well, it¡¯s not a team of highly-trained operatives. Far from it. They¡¯re bumbling idiots half the time, but they have secrets just like you. Some even as consequential. They won¡¯t know yours, and you won¡¯t know theirs unless they share first. Out of respect for your new teammates, don¡¯t pry.

    ¡°Especially Chie and Aiden. We didn¡¯t consult with them when we made the decision to recruit you. Chie¡ªLord bless her¡ªwas welcoming. She''s shy now, but once she warms up to you, she''s wonderful. Aiden...? Not so much. I¡¯m telling you this ahead of time so you can anticipate some conflict.¡±

    Sage and Firebrand¡­ I remember reading something about the latter. He reportedly joined Angels Guild at fourteen; since then, he had a fiery reputation amongst his colleagues. Makes sense, I guess. Couldn¡¯t expect everyone to hold hands and sing happy songs.

    I nodded. ¡°Yessir.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll share the same message to your family. We¡ªobviously, me, Seraph, and Kosmos¡ªare trying to figure out what to do with them. As we said before, we aren¡¯t comfortable with Althea joining the Alternate investigation, and your uncle is¡­¡± Rector paused. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know.¡±

    I laughed, putting the contract on the table. ¡°Yeah, I asked him about what his preferences but all he did was shrug his shoulders.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll figure something out, hopefully. But erm¡­¡± Rector vaguely gestured at his head. ¡°Does your family enjoy introducing themselves via threats? As I recall, you pinned Leo against the wall¡ª¡± (¡°I did.¡±) ¡°¡ªand your uncle, he¡­¡± Rector paused again, sounding a mix between shock and exhaustion. ¡°Broke into this office and pressed a gun against my temple."

    You know, I never found out how my uncle introduced himself to Rector, but that sounded like him. I said, ¡°I think that¡¯s a family secret, sir.¡±

    Rector laughed and scratched his head¡ªmaybe the same spot where iron had kissed him. ¡°Using my own words against me, I like you already. Let¡¯s talk about our next steps, though. About the Alternate investigation.¡±

    I sat closer, attentive.

    He began, ¡°You¡¯ll investigate potential formation points with your team as they pop up. Sophos and Problem made this tracker¡ªit¡¯s ¡®garbage¡¯ as they said¡ªbut they¡¯ll inform you of any occurrences. If you confirm an Alt, well, we¡¯ll figure it out from there.¡±

    ¡°Problem¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°He¡¯s one of my teammates, right? I¡¯ve seen him in our [Group Chat], but he only said ¡®hi¡¯ and that¡¯s it.¡±

    Rector nodded. ¡°He¡¯s the resident intellectual of the team, a ritualist and cosmologist. His teacher had been a former Keter of the Phenomena Society, so he and Sophos have that connection. I can¡¯t imagine how insufferable that room is, but thankfully, I¡¯m growing gray-hairs in my own house.¡±

    So my teammates were: Leona Ryu, Celestial Empress; Fukumoto Chie, Sage; Aiden Brand, Firebrand; and Morgan Weyer, Problem. Plus, Thea and Uncle Ali, but they were benched. Only five of us, six including Rector.

    ¡°Not a big team, especially when we aren¡¯t cut out for investigating breachers like this,¡± I stated.

    ¡°What did I say earlier? This team isn¡¯t orthodox and far from ideal, but it¡¯s the only team we can trust. Because, well¡­¡± Rector chuckled to himself and looked down at the fine carpet. ¡°As cheesy as this sounds, we¡¯re family. I won¡¯t force you to attend birthday parties, but that¡¯s how it is. Though, knowing the nature of your [Skill], it wouldn¡¯t hurt to throw a compliment here and there. Or you can continue to annoy Leo at your peril.¡±

    A family, huh¡­?

    Rector thought of this team as a family? Him, Seraph, and Kosmos?

    I cracked the smallest smile. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it, sir. I¡¯ll try to not regret this decision.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all I¡¯m asking, and Conqueror?¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Thank you for being gentle with Chie. She¡¯ll warm up to you, don¡¯t worry. Just don¡¯t intimidate her too much.¡±

    ¡°As long as Leo doesn¡¯t slander me, I think we¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ***

    [CALLING: Sophos]

    ¡°Ah, isn¡¯t it the wonderful Idris Zakaria? To what do I owe this pleasure¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Shut it, Sophos.¡± Rector eyed the door. Alexander had left to rejoin the girls, taking the contract with him. ¡°I¡¯m checking in on the earlier lead.¡±

    ¡°That¡­¡± Sophos sighed as voices rang in the background. ¡°What do you expect? I barely have time to research while juggling the responsibilities of a guild, you know. Mystic is one bad day away from launching a coup, that poor boy.¡±

    ¡°We need something.¡± Rector approached his desk, combing through a few files until he found the one he was looking for: a thick fellow with Alexander¡¯s name and picture on it. ¡°I can¡¯t figure it out myself. You didn¡¯t mishear anything, right? When you encountered the Fifth Alternate?¡±

    She hummed in the negative. ¡°Don¡¯t doubt my beautiful ears, of course I didn¡¯t mishear. It explicitly said: ¡®Alexander Shen, Conqueror.¡¯¡±

    Rector bit his lip. That was the crux of the issue. ¡°So how did the Alt predict his codename?¡±

    [Complete: Part 1 - For Peace]

    [Next: Part 2 - For Humanity]

 [FOR HUMANITY] Chapter 1 - Agents and Anomalies

    For the next week, we chased after Alts. Their phantoms, really. Every time Sophos and Problem alerted us to a possible ping, we¡¯d head there and find jack squat. So we wrote our empty reports and came home with our tail between our legs. The whole song and dance started again a few hours later. Sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon, even in the middle of the night.

    Nothing, each and every time. Since the attack at Primordial Plaza, the most action I¡¯d gotten was nearly getting into an accident after some asshole turned without using his blinker. With the lack of Alternate encounters, our understanding of them hadn¡¯t changed. Sophos was throwing theory after theory, but they were effectively useless without evidence. Hell, a part of me thought this was a mass delusion event; we were all going crazy and seeing the same thing and swearing their existence. I¡¯d believe it, if my memories of Primordial Plaza didn¡¯t slap me in the face everyday.

    At this point, we had to hope the Mother Alternate died on its own. It¡¯d be the easiest and most painless method, which meant it would stay as a hope.

    Rector had ordered the team to rest in anticipation for the next stage of First Wave. The Big Four were hosting tryouts for all the lucky bastards who¡¯d passed, and Angels Guild was first in the schedule this year. If an Alt did show up, it¡¯d be then and we had to be ready. On that note, Vic had been screaming in my [PMs] about how his nerves; not even his mother¡¯s praying could calm him down. He¡¯d be fine. Probably.

    The System dinged inside my head, and a notification appeared: A new message in [Group Chat].

    [Group Chat - Angels Family]

    [Members: Rector (creator), Seraph (moderator), Kosmos (moderator), Celestial Empress (moderator), Sage, Firebrand, Problem, Conqueror, Althea Shen]

    [Sage]

    [image attached]

    It was¡­ It was a screenshot of some anime game. A very voluptuous girl in a bikini was posing for the camera with a happy smile and an empty head.

    [Sage]

    I DID IT!!! EARLY PITY!!!

    ¨t(¨‰?¨‰)¨s

    [Rector]

    Chie¡­

    [Firebrand]

    Congrats

    [Problem]

    I wasn¡¯t quite sure what I was expecting when I received the notification, but it wasn¡¯t that

    Congratulations if ¡°early pity¡± is a good thing, my condolences if it¡¯s horrible

    [Sage]

    IT¡¯S GREAT

    [Problem]

    Congratulations, then

    [Rector]

    Let¡¯s not clutter this chat. Please keep the conversations entered around the Alternates

    [Sage]

    Oh, this is her summer alter

    [Rector]

    I don¡¯t know what that is, but it doesn¡¯t count.

    [Sage]

    Sorry¡­

    ¡°...Work?¡± Uncle Ali asked, twirling his fork in the spaghetti I¡¯d cooked for tonight.

    I muted the [Group Chat] for the next sixty minutes and dispelled the screen. ¡°I¡¯m starting to have second thoughts about this team.¡±

    ¡°Hey, you signed the contract.¡± Thea dispelled her [Group Chat] too, having a cute little smile on her face that I wanted to rip off. ¡°You¡¯re stuck with ¡®em. Anyway, aren¡¯t you gonna eat?¡±

    I was about to protest until she pointed at my plate with a dirty fork. My fairly full plate that I¡¯d barely touched since I sat down. Meanwhile, Thea demolished her dinner and looked like she wanted seconds.

    Out of spite, I stuffed spaghetti down my throat. It wasn¡¯t the brightest idea, but I chewed my food and swallowed. ¡°I¡¯m eating,¡± I said.

    She rolled her eyes and got up from the table. ¡°Barely. I¡¯m gonna help myself to plate number two since you hate your own cooking tonight.¡±

    Uncle Ali lifted his empty cup. ¡°Can you refill my water while you¡¯re at it?¡±

    ¡°Roger, roger.¡± And off she went.

    Uncle watched her leave until she disappeared into the kitchen, then I became the subject of his observation. His eyes motioned downward toward my dinner. ¡°Restless?¡± he ripped the band-aid off.

    I sighed and stabbed at the pasta with my fork. ¡°More like trauma. I¡¯m expecting Leo or Rector to dial me at three-in-the-morning again. That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t sleep last night, and I know I¡¯m not getting any sleep tonight either. I might stay up or something.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d get as much sleep as possible,¡± he advised. ¡°Trust me, when the investigation starts up again, your body will start begging for it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll overdose on melatonin,¡± I said, taking a big gulp of water.

    Thea finally joined the table again. Uncle had his water, and she had a mountain of spaghetti topped off with the last garlic bread I¡¯d put in the air-fryer. She definitely worked up an appetite, but she needed the calories.

    While I¡¯d been chasing false-positives throughout the city, Thea was getting put through the wringer by our uncle. She had to acclimate to her new physique as a Slayer and be comfortable with using [Skills]. The last part was important. With [Technique Sovereign], she needed to intuitively understand the ins-and-out because that was going to be the foundation of, well, everything.

    There was a long road ahead of her. For both of us.

    On that note, I really should eat; otherwise, I was going to raid the fridge at midnight.

    I swirled a tornado of spaghetti¡ª

    A knock on the door. Who was bothering us this late?

    My fork fell, the spine hitting the edge of the plate with an annoying clang. I stood and the chair painfully rubbed against the floor. ¡°I got it.¡±

    At the door, I squinted through the peephole¡ªthe hell? There were two men in suits standing outside my door. The taller of the two had his hands comfortably folded on his lap and wore the smallest smile on his thin lips. He looked completely unbothered, confident like an aged ship captain during a storm. He had scars in the form of wrinkles, each one counting a year he¡¯d been in the business¡ªwhatever that may be. There was a certain kind of arrogance in him though. An enlightened arrogance, no different than a college hippie thinking he got the world figured out.

    The man glanced at his watch and brushed a hand through his freshly-dyed black hair. His dark-haired partner shrugged. That guy had half the years and half the authority, but he made up for the difference with enthusiasm. He was boldly smiling, one step away from outright grinning; a guy like him could steal the room with ease. Stars were in his eyes, and he swayed where he stood, unable to fully keep his excitement in.

    Thea called from the table, ¡°Alex¡ª?¡±

    I raised a hand and slowly clenched it into a fist. Through the door, I said, ¡°We¡¯re not interested in a conversation, agents. Go home.¡±

    The senior reached into his jacket and flashed his badge: First Class Agent Cathal Dwyer of the Anomalous Entities Bureau. ¡°It¡¯s in your best interest to open the door, Conqueror,¡± he said with a slight Irish accent.

    His buddy did the same: Special Agent Vincent Dietrich of the International Agency of Homeworld Investigations. ¡°Please?¡± he said, sounded American.

    A malie and an eight-fourteen working together, you don¡¯t see that everyday. Not just any malie too, he was a fucking First Class Agent. The Malie Bureau didn¡¯t throw these hounds around the world like candy, and for some reason, they thought interrupting our family dinner was the play.

    Naturally, my reaction was: ¡°With all due respect, Agent Dwyer, fuck off.¡±

    Dietrich snorted while Dwyer was unfazed. He tucked his badge away and said, ¡°Open the door, son. I¡¯m not asking.¡±

    Before I could tell them to fuck off again, someone gently brushed me aside and took my place. Uncle. He opened the door and revealed two slimy-looking goons from the Global Union, standing together like trolls under a bridge. ¡°What do you want?¡± Uncle asked, sharp and cold like a sword¡¯s edge.

    Dwyer gestured toward himself. ¡°First Class Agent Dwyer of Anomaly.¡± Then at his partner. ¡°Special Agent Dietrich of IA.¡± (¡°How do you do?¡±) ¡°A discussion¡¯s needed, Mister Romanos. Let¡¯s talk inside¡ª¡±

    ¡°Inside?¡± Uncle burned holes into Dwyer¡¯s wrinkles but he wasn¡¯t cowed. ¡°You¡¯re not stepping a foot inside¡ª¡±

    ¡°One conversation, Romanos,¡± Dietrich said before looking through the doorway. ¡°Then, we¡¯ll be out of your hair and you can enjoy your spaghetti. Or you can make it harder on yourself.¡±

    Uncle pressed his lips together. We both knew it was a terrible idea to let them inside, but it¡¯d be easier to hear what they had to say then kick them out. Otherwise, they would send the message in another way.

    I deferred the decision to him, and albeit reluctantly (an understatement), he retreated a few steps. ¡°You¡¯ll stand and you¡¯ll touch nothing, not even a ball of dust on the ground.¡±

    The agents nodded and allowed themselves in. Dietrich shut the door, and now they were locked in the same room as us. Weren¡¯t afraid, though, not one bit. This wasn¡¯t their first rodeo with swords, nor were we the scariest they¡¯d met. In their eyes, we were a peculiar and tragic family of three, finding themselves in a world way bigger than we imagined.

    Dietrich stuffed his hands in his pockets and dressed down our apartment, while Dwyer took careful measure of his opposition: my uncle who was glaring at him, me who was glaring at him, and Thea who was¡ªyou guessed it¡ªglaring at him.

    Dwyer calmly adjusted his watch and smacked his lips together like a pistol before a race. ¡°Normally, I would give my congratulations to new Angels, but all I have for you is my sympathy and pity. You know why we¡¯re here.¡±

    ¡°To threaten us?¡± Thea asked with a hand on her hip.

    ¡°No, I think you should be educated about your new superiors.¡± He was staring directly at me when he said that. ¡°Seraph, Rector, and Kosmos; wonderful, aren¡¯t they? They¡¯re heroes and philanthropists, having ended the Terrors themselves. Because of their performances, they deluded themselves as more righteous, mightier than Lady Justice and the common law that protects us. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s right.¡±

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°That¡¯s funny,¡± I said, taking my attention to Dietrich. ¡°Did Lady Justice take off her blindfold when Oasis walked into court?¡±

    Dietrich responded quickly as a snake, ¡°You¡¯re proving his point, Conqueror. These castles are out of control. Same in America, same in Ordo. Worse, even.¡±

    ¡°Angels Guild is the most egregious,¡± claimed Dwyer, moving his hands like a politician. ¡°We know they¡¯re involved with the breakthrough in some capacity. Same with Wisdom. They deliberately endangered the city, and to an extent the whole world, out of fatal arrogance. And this is what we¡¯re aware of. You¡¯ve experienced this for yourself. How many times have they thrown caution to the wind, hm? Endanger us all for their games?¡±

    Dietrich stepped forward fearlessly. ¡°And who¡¯s gonna tell them otherwise? You three lived in High Home, you know how immortal Oasis Guild was. Here? Kosmos is a god. The only SSS-Rank Slayer in history and nobody comes close to putting him in a grave, ¡®cept for Cross maybe. A single word from him makes waves. You¡¯ve seen it. Each time the Union puts out legislation he doesn¡¯t like, he dissents and the bill goes into the gutter. Does that sound like an ideal world to you?¡±

    I didn¡¯t give their argument¡ªor attempt of one¡ªany thought. They were full of shit, delusional or otherwise. Maybe they made some good points, but the words came from a snake¡¯s mouth. No matter how sweet the bullshit sounded, a snake was still a snake and you should never listen to its hissing.

    Something in my face must¡¯ve given away my feelings, because Dwyer¡¯s stoicism had fallen into subtle yet seething disappointment.

    Uncle Ali took off his glasses and cleaned the lenses with his shirt. ¡°So what do you want us to do, exactly?¡±

    Dwyer stared at him stern and grave. ¡°I¡¯m giving you a lifeline: abandon them and join us. We¡¯ll offer you greater benefits and protections. Anything you want, really, as long as you correct your path.¡±

    Thea clicked her tongue. ¡°Or else?¡±

    The malie paused, blinking at my sister. I could see the gears turn inside his head. ¡°You¡¯re a smart girl, Miss Shen, you know¡ª¡°

    ¡°I wanna hear you say it,¡± she dared.

    Dwyer chuckled, his tone taking on mild aggression. ¡°Darling, Angels Guild won¡¯t last. The Global Union, as it had since the Emergence, will. Everything and everyone related will go down, one way or another. Throwing your weight behind these criminals will cut your freedom very, very short. It¡¯s dangerous, ignorant¡ªit¡¯s shortsighted. I personally hate seeing innocents be punished.¡±

    As if you thought of us as innocent to begin with; if you did, you wouldn¡¯t be threatening us. By aligning ourselves directly with the founders, we made enemies out of the Global Union¡ªthe world government¡ªand they¡¯d stop at nothing to put us into the dirt. Funny thing though, we were already enemies with the Union. They hadn¡¯t realized it yet.

    Just thinking about allying with the Union sent pangs of disgust running through my stomach. It was clear by our faces that we weren¡¯t buying their game.

    Dwyer shifted, putting his weight entirely on his left leg. Through the slight opening of his lips, his teeth were locked together.

    Uncle Ali put his glasses back on and called it, ¡°I think you should leave¡ª¡°

    ¡°It¡¯s our responsibility to restore order,¡± Dwyer interrupted, speaking more fiercely. ¡°To maintain this fragile security that everyone takes for granted. You know that better than anyone. You survived the Hangzhou Disaster¡ª¡° (I locked my jaw.) ¡°¡ªand the chaos during the Riots. The Union is security. It¡¯s peace. Protection. It doesn¡¯t come from a single man or a guild. Call it for what it is. It¡¯s despotism, tyranny. We don¡¯t believe in that. We stand for democracy and decency, not this bastardization.¡±

    How many times did he practice that speech in the mirror? Sounded more like a politician than an agent, but at his age? He probably was gunning for an admin role as director or something of the sort. I couldn¡¯t hate this prick more.

    I cleared my throat. ¡°My uncle made his point. The door¡¯s right behind you¡ª¡°

    Dietrich stepped in the ring, facing our uncle. ¡°We¡¯re disappointed in you, Romanos. As a mil, you swore an oath to protect our world¡ª¡°

    ¡°I swore to protect my kids,¡± Uncle growled.

    ¡°You¡¯re letting your biases cloud your judgment. You and I both know that Angels will only put your kids in harm¡¯s way¡ª¡°

    ¡°You need to leave, now.¡±

    Uncle reached out but Dwyer slapped his hand away. A crack in his composure, a sneer. ¡°You¡¯re willing to let your kids die too? After losing your wife¡ª?¡±

    Next thing I knew, I was restraining my uncle from murdering Agent Dwyer. I pushed against him, used all of my strength, and even then, I barely kept him at bay. It took Thea for him to snap out of his trance. He backed off, fire in his eyes, and he had the better sense to walk away without another word.

    Dwyer looked satisfied with himself, betraying a small smirk. ¡°Conqueror¡ª¡°

    ¡°Get the fuck out.¡±

    ¡°Conq¡ª¡°

    Someone doused the fucker in water. Thea was holding onto an empty cup, and Dwyer was standing in a puddle and had his nice suit-and-tie soaked. Dietrich cursed and stepped away, and he looked at us like we were fucking maniacs. He muttered something I couldn¡¯t tell, and turned to his superior.

    Dwyer surprisingly didn¡¯t get angrier; instead, the water seemed to have sobered him. From his jacket, he produced a small handkerchief and causally patted his face down. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Dietrich,¡± was all he said.

    ¡°Right.¡± Dietrich opened the door. ¡°Enjoy your spaghetti.¡±

    Dwyer exhaled and stared me down. ¡°Consequences, Conqueror. Understand that.¡±

    I glanced at Uncle Ali down the hall, who was pacing to keep his emotions in check. ¡°I can say the same to you.¡±

    He huffed and left a pound heavier than when he first came in. Dietrich crawled behind and slammed the door as retribution. Their footsteps faded.

    Now all that was left was, well, a ruined dinner and another sleepless night.

    ¡°Alex,¡± Uncle came back to the living room. ¡°Call Rector. Thea, start packing your things¡ª¡°

    Thea was taken aback. ¡°Can¡¯t we improve our security?¡±

    ¡°Not with the tools they have. They might¡¯ve planted a bug already,¡± Uncle said before finding the puddle on the ground. ¡°We need Rector to find temporary housing for us. It¡¯s not safe here anymore.¡±

    One thing after another, huh?

    Using the System, I dialed Rector.

    [CALLING: Rector]

    He picked up immediately. ¡°Conqueror, I was just about to warn you. We¡¯ve gotten word that a couple Union dogs are¡ª¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we already met them.¡±

    Rector paused, then said, ¡°...I guess that makes my warning a little pointless.¡±

    ***

    ¡°Come in, come in, make yourself at home,¡± said the kind samaritan. She allowed us into her surprisingly mundane apartment.

    It was as large as I expected, but there were hardly any decorations other than family pictures. Nothing that screamed ¡°Leona Ryu, Celestial Empress.¡± If you took a photo of her place, it¡¯d show up on the listing. Plain, gray colors, and ordinary. Even with our place, I wasn¡¯t big on interior design but me and Thea gradually inserted our personal touches. At some point in the past four-five years, it felt like home.

    This didn''t strike me as home despite what Leo said.

    Leo helped us carry our bags and plopped them in the living room. ¡°I¡¯ve prepared the guest bedrooms, but someone has to sleep on the couch¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take it,¡± Uncle Ali said, putting a large and suspicious crate next to the couch. A part of me wanted to protest, but I knew better; this wasn¡¯t a winnable argument.

    ¡°Alright, and uh¡­¡± Leo gestured toward his package. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Toys,¡± he replied out of reflex. He caught himself after the fact and sighed. ¡°Sorry, sometimes my sense of humor can¡¯t help itself. It¡¯s equipment I¡¯d smuggled from the States. I obviously can¡¯t leave them at my kids¡¯ apartment, but don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll hide them.¡±

    Hearing his very matter-of-fact answer, Leo vacantly nodded and turned to me with an expression that said ¡°What the fuck.¡± Fortunately, she cleared her throat and dropped the conversation.

    Instead, we focused on settling in. After informing Rector about the visit, we needed a new roof over our heads. The Union would¡ªor already had¡ªbugged our apartment. That was where Leo came in. She personally offered because her place was in a swords-village. A majority of the residents were Slayers, so security here was top-notch. Plus, everyone knew everybody, and everyone hated the Global Union. It made sneaking in that much more difficult, and as the princess of the Demonic Cult, her place understandably had extra security on top.

    For now, this would be our new home.

    We were planning on moving anyway after we signed a deal with Angels. This sped up our plans.

    After an hour or so, we finally had some time to relax and wind down. It was late, but none of us understandably couldn¡¯t sleep. Especially me. Especially Uncle. Very few things could set him off, and the assholes ticked the biggest one.

    ¡°Alex? What¡ª? Why are you going through my cupboards?¡± Leo blubbered as she marched into the kitchen. Her kitchen.

    ¡°I¡¯m checking your hammers and nails, and¡­¡± I shut one of the cupboards softly. ¡°You have nothing. You¡¯re one of the biggest stars in the city, yet you can¡¯t afford a half-decent cutting board?¡±

    She put a hand on her chest, offended. ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    I opened her fridge and showed the pathetic contents inside. ¡°What the hell is this?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my fridge, sir¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a fridge, it¡¯s a fucking¡­¡± I pulled out one of the many beers inside. ¡°It¡¯s a fucking cold box of broken dreams.¡± I threw the beer back with its friends. ¡°There¡¯s what? Leftover takeout, moldy processed cheese, jars of kimchi, it¡¯s like someone died in here.¡±

    Leo scoffed, her face twitching. ¡°I let you inside my home and the first thing you do is insult my fridge?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not insulting you yet.¡± I yanked her freezer open, and a box of microwave-dinner and a bag of frozen chicken nuggets crashed by my feet. ¡°Now I¡¯m insulting you. What the fuck. You eat like this? I¡¯ve seen your trash¡ª¡± (¡°You¡¯ve seen my trash.¡±) ¡°¡ªit¡¯s all cardboard boxes of this garbage!¡±

    I kicked her microwave-dinner and chicken nuggets.

    Leo screamed in outrage and threw her darling children onto the counter. ¡°Don¡¯t kick ¡®em, you asshole! I paid a pretty penny for them¡ª!¡± (¡°You¡¯re a millionaire!¡±) ¡°¡ªwhy are you raiding my kitchen, anyway?!¡±

    I clicked my tongue and put the fallen ¡°food¡± back into the freezer. Or stuffed them in, more accurately. ¡°I¡¯m starving,¡± I told her. ¡°And I didn¡¯t get a chance to finish dinner, so I thought I¡¯d fix a second dinner for us.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll order something,¡± she said, pulling her phone out. ¡°Lemme check what places are open at this hour¡ª¡±

    ¡°I need to work my hands, princess.¡± I pressed my finger against her phone-screen, not letting her browse. ¡°Plus, when was the last time you had a freshly-cooked meal? That wasn¡¯t from a restaurant or the cancer-in-a-box hogging up your freezer?¡±

    She scowled and yanked her phone away from me. ¡°Another word from you, and I¡¯m handing you to the Union.¡±

    Didn¡¯t answer my question. I smacked my lips together and leaned back against a counter, watching the doorway. I exhaled, heat escaping through my breath. ¡°My uncle¡¯s pretty pissed, alright? The assholes got to his head. I thought I¡¯d fix one of his favorites, something simple and easy.¡±

    The anger in her eyes subsided, and she lowered her phone. ¡°Your uncle? Really? To me, he seems like the kind of man who doesn¡¯t let anything bother him.¡±

    ¡°Not tonight, no. I¡­¡± I rubbed my mouth, trying to figure out what to say. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s nothing¡ªwell, it¡¯s not nothing, but you know what I mean.¡±

    Leo held the edge of her phone-case close to her lips. ¡°Right¡­¡±

    ¡°I also thought you¡¯d enjoy a home-cooked meal; it¡¯s my way of saying thank-you. You¡¯ve done a lot for us, and I don¡¯t want my gratitude to be left unsaid. If that¡¯s fine by you. You¡¯re the boss here, in more ways than one.¡±

    All that frustration and annoyance that I shouldn¡¯t have riled were gone, it looked like. Leo dropped her arms and shook her head like I was the most obnoxious man on Earth. It wasn¡¯t wrong. ¡°Where are you getting the ingredients? I¡¯m pretty sure every store is closed.¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°I know a few places. C¡¯mon, let¡¯s head out.¡±

    ¡°Wait.¡± She raised her hand to stop me. ¡°I¡¯m coming with you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I need a warrior-princess to scare away the assassins, and to educate her on real food.¡±

    ¡°Okay, asshole, you¡¯re lucky that I¡¯m trying to be a nice person.¡±

    ¡°Mhm, sure. Go fetch your keys.¡±

 [FOR HUMANITY] Chapter 2 - Wings Over Humanity

    ¡°I say this every year, but it really does astound me how much has changed over the past two decades¡­¡± said the gorgeous woman standing in front of the Wings. She rose over her audience on a tall platform, eclipsed them with the shadows of her six crimson and beautiful [Wings]. Sunlight reflected off her pearl-white skin and dazzled her golden eyes and white-blonde hair; and the wind breezed around her long navy gown which tightly clung onto her contours. A literal angel was standing before them, someone so beautifully human that she seemed sculpted by God.

    In her golden eyes was an endless well of compassion and benevolence; it pierced so deeply into everyone, into me, that we were simultaneously breathtaken and humbled. Yet despite her divine aura, her regard fell intimately on each and every dreamer standing before her. Her voice was soft, smooth, personable. She might be on a platform due to occasion, but she seemed to prefer a table. To meet a Guild Master like that, someone who exemplified grandness and humility in a single breath, was one-in-a-million.

    There wasn¡¯t a more deserving owner than the No.2 Slayer of Ordo, the Angel of Humanity, Seraph.

    Seraph softly exhaled and watched over the calm sea of applicants standing at her beck and call. ¡°It has been eighteen years since we first created the Alm Angels, then a few years later, Angels Guild followed. By all definitions, we are a child amongst adults. We don¡¯t have the long history of Legends nor the mysticisms of the Fushimi Clan, so what exactly do we have?

    ¡°Many would say tribulations. After all, in the textbooks, Angels Guild rose to prominence due to the Terrors. They aren¡¯t incorrect. Without the Terrors, I cannot say we¡¯d have this prosperity. However, allow me to contest that viewpoint. I see Angels not by our obstacles but by the period in-between. The days where we laugh and we cry and we rebuild. It¡¯s what we take away from our struggles, and how we act despite and for them.

    ¡°That is the core of our three golden words: ¡®Wings Over Humanity.¡¯ After a storm, plants bloom. After a fire, ash revitalizes soil. That¡¯s why we founded Angels Guild. Fame and wealth are byproducts of our actions, but they are not the focus. We do not stack skulls of fallen monsters, but to contribute¡ªmeaningfully contribute¡ªto our wonderful world that has blessed us with life. Sorrow and tragedy will always exist, but we are here so they will never persist. Everything you do for this guild is for your family, for your loved ones and friends, for the strangers standing beside you¡ªfor humanity.

    ¡°I thank all of you for standing here today, wanting to be a part of our efforts. I cannot show my gratitude enough, because without you or this wonderful city, Angels Guild as you know wouldn¡¯t exist. Kosmos wouldn¡¯t exist. So let me return to the question I¡¯d posed earlier: what do we have? It¡¯s simple: we have the world.¡±

    Applause exploded from the audience and with a few cheers too. Seraph laughed and waved toward them and the cameras.

    Once the cheers died down, she approached the microphone again. ¡°Now, I won¡¯t bore you any longer. However, my Vice Guild Master may disagree.¡±

    ¡°Haha, very funny.¡± Rector shooed her off the podium and took her place. ¡°I don¡¯t have a sentimental speech like hers, nor will I try to motivate you. I think you have enough motivation already, but I digress. I¡¯ll explain the minutiae of the long-awaited tryouts, so have your coffees ready because this will take some time¡­¡±

    Someone patted my shoulder. My new best friend, Celestial Empress. Time to head inside. Neither of us were interested in listening to Rector¡ªno offense to him¡ªexplain the rules and exams. We ducked into the Wings after occupying a balcony. As it turned out, you¡¯d usually get some privacy if you had a murim-in princess in your company.

    Same with inside. We took an empty table. People glanced our way once or twice and moved on, not wanting to be entangled in our overwhelming and oppressive reputation. Though, I could tell they were wondering who the hell I was.

    Leo sipped her coffee and sighed in satisfaction. ¡°You think we¡¯ll encounter an Alt during exams?¡±

    I plopped my elbows onto the cold surface. ¡°One popped up during Primordial Plaza. If I were the Mother Alternate¡ª¡± (¡°You¡¯d make a fantastic mom.¡±) ¡°¡ªshut up, I¡¯d cause some trouble by summoning one right now.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s assuming the Mother is operating on our rules,¡± she said.

    ¡°Which makes it several times scarier¡­¡± I replied before letting out a deep yawn.

    Something was going on below us; a hubbub formed near the entrance. I heard a collage of voices and saw a sea of bodies making way. For something? Someone? We quickly had an answer, and that answer came in the form of a beautiful six-winged Angel flying onto the mezzanine which we were at.

    In a heartbeat, I straightened my posture as Seraph spotted our table immediately.

    Leo snickered, hiding her smirk behind her coffee. I kicked her foot under the table.

    ¡°Conqueror,¡± Seraph said, her tone relaxed and lowkey compared to her speech earlier, ¡°it¡¯s good to finally meet you. I apologize for the delayed introduction, for yourself and on behalf of your family.¡±

    We shook hands, and I hoped I didn¡¯t look too much of an asshole. ¡°It¡¯s no problem at all, ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡°I pray you have as little problems as possible, but¡­¡± Seraph glanced at Leo and sighed. ¡°Well, I¡¯m afraid more troublesome days are ahead of us. It¡¯s my regret that you were recruited under these circumstances, but I hope we can both make the most out of this opportunity.¡±

    Normally, I¡¯d be skeptical about a Guild Master saying those words to me, but Seraph was different. Everybody loved singing her praise. I could tell why. She was undeniably charismatic and kind-hearted. What she said during her speech, those weren¡¯t hollow words. Yet that wasn¡¯t the full picture, I knew that. A few speeches couldn¡¯t define her character. In the end, my knowledge of Seraph wasn¡¯t better than most people¡ªbut she was my superior nonetheless.

    I cleared my throat and looked off to Leo. I said, ¡°She¡¯s definitely making the most out of it. Since I moved in, Leo has been hooked on my cooking.¡±

    Seraph chuckled and Leo became the center of our attraction. ¡°So I heard. I thought we¡¯d encounter the Global Union eventually, but we underestimated them this time. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll help you find a new place to stay.¡±

    Leo put her coffee down. ¡°I¡¯ve been telling Alex about an open apartment a few floors below mine, so that¡¯s an option.¡±

    ¡°In other words, she wants a second home where she has free access to good cooking.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s an entirely new sentence that I didn¡¯t say,¡± Leo said.

    I was thinking about that option; if Leo arranged extra security for her place, we could do the same. That would come later, preferably after the investigation was done with.

    ¡°Regardless, is your family doing alright?¡± Seraph asked, genuine concern in her golden eyes. ¡°I know Idris already spoke with you, but interacting with the Union is unpleasant at best.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s nothing we can¡¯t handle.¡± I tried to give a reassuring smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we don¡¯t believe the bullshit¡ªerm, bullcrap¡ªthey¡¯d spouted.¡±

    Seraph turned pensive. ¡°I¡¯m not asking what you think about us.¡±

    And my smile dropped. ¡°Pardon?¡±

    ¡°You''re free to believe whatever you want. Angels Guild isn¡¯t a paragon of ethics, and we won¡¯t pretend that we are. You¡¯ve experienced our¡­dealings for yourself. In a way, the Union is correct, but not necessarily because we think we¡¯re better¡ªwe simply want to be better. But¡­¡± Seraph softly inhaled and crossed her arms underneath her breasts. ¡°That¡¯s enough sophistry from me. As long as you¡¯re kind to your colleagues, we¡¯ll honor our arrangement as best as we can. I¡ª¡±

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    A System notification appeared before her. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s my cue to leave. Please give my prayers to your family, alright? And to your friend. Mansyur Taslim, correct?¡±

    I stammered, ¡°V-Vic. Victor, I mean. That¡¯s his western name.¡±

    ¡°To Victor, then. Make sure you keep an ear on your comms.¡± Seraph bowed her head and hurried, flying downstairs and heading toward the back.

    As fast as she amazed me, as fast as she astounded me. I¡­ I wasn¡¯t expecting that response at all.

    I looked at Leo, and all she was doing was running her finger along the rim of her coffee-cup. ¡°In her defense, you aren¡¯t exactly the biggest fan of castles.¡±

    Right, I forgot that I¡¯d created something of a reputation for myself thanks to System Articles and my background in High Home. I was a punk, anti-castle vigilante who couldn¡¯t stand the sight of injustice. Sounded a lot cooler than what I actually was. ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± I said, pausing, ¡°...I won¡¯t say you¡¯re wrong, but it¡¯s not completely true either. Just that, I don¡¯t know¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to trust like that?¡± she finished my thought.

    I shrugged. ¡°Something along those lines, yeah. I don¡¯t mean to offend Seraph. From what I¡¯ve seen, she seems like a decent person. A great person. Since Oasis, though, I can¡¯t help but look between the lines and think.¡±

    ¡°Give it time,¡± Leo said. ¡°But do you remember what I said? They¡¯re good people. Seraph, Rector, Kosmos; the world is lucky to have them.¡±

    I chuckled, thinking back to textbooks and documentaries about the Terrors. ¡°That¡¯s an objective fact.¡±

    The knot in my stomach wasn¡¯t completely unraveled, however. Thinking back to our unfortunate encounter with Dwyer and Dietrich, choosing between them and Angels wasn¡¯t a choice at all. Any option was automatically better than that shitshow that we call a ¡°government.¡± But if I was going to wear wings, I¡¯d rather have faith in them rather than think the other side was much worse.

    Right now, Leo was right. It was too early to tell. For both sides, actually; if we should trust Angels, and they should trust us. Thus far, they went above and beyond¡ªlike a certain murim-in hosting a family of three inside her apartment.

    ***

    The next couple days went by without a hitch. Tryouts went as planned. Tons of potential Angels had their wings clipped, and tomorrow would be the last day. Victor, to everyone¡¯s surprise, was still in the game. Well, I figured he¡¯d make it far if not the end. He had a rare specialty and wasn¡¯t completely an idiot despite my insistence.

    For us, the investigators, we sat on our asses and waited and watched and observed. A few alerts panged, but nothing came of them. With the lack of leads in the investigation, we instead entertained ourselves with good action. Sometimes, we shared popcorn; other times, we placed bets. We had fun.

    Well, most of us had fun.

    I¡¯d gotten to know the great Fukumoto Chie a bit better. She enlightened me about the ¡°fantastic¡± genre of gacha games while I preached financial responsibility. I made fun of some of the contestants while she clicked her tongue and scolded me for being a jerk. Team-building conversations, and her crimson-haired friend scowled through every second of it.

    As Rector said, Aiden wasn¡¯t fond of me. He preferred to stay in the background, listening to every word we say. Leo, the most extroverted of the group, urged him to throw a few jokes here and there, but he refused probably because of me. However, because Leo was there, she likely dissuaded Aiden from trying anything.

    Because, well, today, Leo was sent to Morgan and Sophos to help investigate something¡ªthey didn¡¯t say what¡ªso that stranded me with Chie and Aiden. Didn¡¯t know what Chie was doing, but Aiden was another story.

    [You received a new notification]

    [Firebrand]

    Meet me in the renovated training ground

    According to the map, all the training grounds were tucked in the northeast corner. Many of them had been used, were being used, or would be used for the tryouts¡ªall except for the one being renovated. Despite being directionally-challenged, it was pretty easy to pick out the sole building under construction from the rest.

    Meeting Aiden in an isolated environment wasn¡¯t the brightest idea I had, but not like I should ignore or tattle on him. That would only build further resentment.

    If we were going to be teammates, I should at least figure out his problem.

    That¡¯s why I trespassed, walking through tarps and stepping over wires, following dead hallways until I reached one of the main rooms. It looked to be a gymnasium of sorts, with strange white panels layered over every surface. Simulation tiles? I couldn¡¯t tell. There was no training equipment here, only tools, materials, and wires all pushed against the walls.

    I wasn¡¯t focused on the room¡¯s aesthetics anyway, because a certain someone was standing in the center: Aiden Brand. He wore his [Loadout] to our meeting: a fancy swordman¡¯s robes taking some inspiration from the East, crimson just like his hair and fiery gold like his flames, with no undershirt. It allowed a window to his chiseled chest, and more importantly, a strange molten scab running between his pecs. It was as if someone had glued a thin, lava-like crystal down his sternum.

    I didn¡¯t know the story behind his scar; to the public, it was something that existed, no different than Silverhonor¡¯s pointy ears and Blackviper¡¯s cybernetic limbs.

    Seeing me, Aiden sneered and cocked his head back, letting his long ponytail sway like the tail of a venomous snake. ¡°You actually came, Conq.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well, you clearly have something important to tell me.¡± I eyed the panels, clean ones and dirty ones and ones that hadn¡¯t been wired up yet. ¡°In here, of all places.¡±

    Aiden puffed an almost-invisible cloud of steam. He took a single step forward, his heavy foot rattling the panel underneath. ¡°Why did you join Angels? You and your family?¡±

    So that¡¯s why. Just plain suspicion and skepticism.

    ¡°What kind of answer do you want?¡± I stepped sideways, making sure the distance between us was constant. ¡°A different life-path was in order for us, but that¡¯s all I can tell you.¡±

    In response, Aiden unsatisfyingly hummed and matched my movement. Whenever he dared to inch closer, I retreated the same distance. Once, he suddenly lurched forward and I reacted, but he never pounced. Throughout our game, his burning eyes were completely trained on me. Never once did they break eye contact; something told me that if I lost the staring contest, the punishment was hellfire.

    Social media painted Firebrand as a reckless Slayer who was a little too loosey-goosey with his [Skills]. In the six years he¡¯d been at Angels, he accidentally caused a few fires, said the wrong things to the wrong people numerous times, and was basically the majority of the guild¡¯s PR disasters. For that reason, his ¡°adoring fans¡± thought he was an idiot destined for a cell¡ªor worse.

    But the guy who¡¯d brought me here?

    Aiden was far, far more calculating than the internet gave him credit for. The look he was giving me? He knew exactly what he was capable of and knew exactly what he was doing.

    I was being tested.

    ¡°...What did Rector tell you?¡± Aiden finally said after he got enough data.

    I fought, ¡°Why did you wait until Leo was gone to confront me? If you wanted to appease your suspicions, all it¡¯d take is a single, honest conversation with Rector.¡±

    He stood still, but that didn¡¯t pacify me, because his expression was stone. Then, without reason, he relaxed. ¡°Y¡¯think Rector will listen to me? Him, Seraph, Kosmos, they¡¯ll help anyone no matter the risk. That¡¯s why they took in Leo ¡®spite her relation to the Demonic Cult, and Morgan too, whatever he did to the Society. Our GMs collect danger like it¡¯s candy.¡±

    My eyes briefly lowered to his scar before meeting his eyes again. ¡°They¡¯re good people. All of them. They helped me after the run-in with the internationals.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said plainly.

    ¡°They helped you and Chie.¡±

    Aiden cracked a smile. ¡°Mhm. They¡¯re keeping us safe. They¡¯re keeping Chie safe. But there are some things you gotta worry about.¡±

    His predatory eyes returned, and I once again gained his full hostility.

    ¡°We know the trouble Leo and Morgan might bring, but you?¡± Aiden gritted his teeth. ¡°Your sister got one over me. Your uncle pressed a gun to Rector¡¯s skull. And there¡¯s you, a former corpo who took down four C-Ranks. We¡¯re supposed to¡ªI¡¯m supposed to roll-over and accept everything without asking a single question? As fuckin¡¯ if.¡±

    Either my senses were deceiving me, or the room was getting hotter. I started to sweat.

    ¡°Whatever you are¡ªCounterforce, xia, I don¡¯t care¡ªI¡¯m not gonna let your baggage hurt my girl.¡±

    [Flame Avatar Shift - Burning Tempest]

    Exactly like Primordial Plaza, a new surge of energy changed Aiden. His ponytail loosened, his skin glowed, and most of all, the scar grew a few centimeters larger in every direction. Looks like he wanted a fight from the beginning. Amazing.

    What did I expect? This is how Slayers often talked: through [Skills] rather than words. Of course, I¡¯d rather resolve things diplomatically, but sometimes, you needed to save your breaths.

    [Memento Recollection - Yuzhou]

    Through my helmet, I asked, ¡°You won¡¯t cool down until someone bleeds?¡±

    [Jiroku] appeared in his dominant hand in a great plume of fire. He flipped it around and rested the edge on his shoulder. ¡°I need to see what kind of a bastard you are, Conq. Don¡¯t hold back on my behalf, ¡®cause I won¡¯t.¡±

    Next thing I saw was his greatsword.

 [FOR HUMANITY] Chapter 3 - Family of Freaks

    [Skill Activation: I-Fire]

    I found myself in a pretty tight spot: back against the wall and sweating like hell underneath [Yuzhou]. What¡¯s worse was the tornado of twisting red flames coming at me, having been spawned from Aiden¡¯s left palm. It crashed into the wall a few meters to my right, giving the white panels a fresh coat of gray ash and black soot. With a heavy motion of his arm, Aiden mightily swung the [Fire] toward me.

    While it looked terrifying¡ªfelt more terrifying up this close¡ªthe tornado was relatively slow.

    I slid through the gap between flames and floor, feeling the heat scorch my helmet. On the other side, I spotted Aiden standing there like a super-villain, glowering, his lava-orange eyes tracing me.

    The [Fire] whipped in the other direction without losing its momentum, bringing me right into its crosshairs again.

    Tch, asshole.

    The game went on.

    We hadn¡¯t been fighting for more than a few minutes, but I¡¯d gotten familiar with his style. Aiden was a versatile fighter, able to confidently switch between close and ranged combat thanks to his rather unoriginal gimmick. Most reputable Slayers had their trademark [Skills]¡ªjust like signatures¡ªsuch as [Crimson Moon] for Cheonma or [Senbonzakura (Ç§±¾—@)] for the Nine Foxmaidens.

    For Aiden, according to the internet, it was [Flame Avatar Shift]. The [Skill] allowed him to increase all attributes in five distinct stages, each one more powerful than the last. I didn¡¯t know if there were any drawbacks. I hope so, because the first, [Burning Tempest], was already kicking my ass.

    [Skill Activation: P-Fire]

    I also noticed something else.

    He had golden flames wrapped around him in a protective, fiery cloak. It blocked most of the shots I took with [Nightingale], seemingly possessing different properties than the tornado he¡¯d nearly killed me with earlier.

    Two distinct fire-related [Skills]? One red and the other gold? I never heard or saw that before, but not like I was expecting anyone normal in this team.

    I dispelled my [Pistol] and sucked in a heat-filled breath. If my helmet was down, he¡¯d see one scared sword who wasn¡¯t in the mood to get roasted alive today. ¡°You satisfied yet, FB? I¡¯m not much of a top-tier fighter compared to you and the princess.¡±

    Despite stating the obvious fact, Aiden got even grumpier. The golden [Fire] extended down and dragged across the floor, leaving light scorch marks in its wake. He had [Jiroku] low at his waist, and he marched. This couldn¡¯t be the same delinquent who had constantly made headlines. He looked like a king.

    ¡°You disabled Leo with a pressure-point technique,¡± Aiden said. ¡°Where¡¯s that [Skill] now? What else are you hidin¡¯ from us, Conq?¡±

    The reason I couldn¡¯t use the [Anti-Slayer Techniques] was because someone was literally the walking embodiment of fire, but sure, alright.

    I spat, ¡°Nothing that warrants dragging this out.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be the judge of that¡ª!¡± Aiden stomped forward and quickly spun; initially, I expected a hefty but reckless flaming greatsword, but even with [Jiroku]¡¯s length, he was out-of-range. He wouldn¡¯t hit me, and that was the point.

    Aiden wasn¡¯t attacking with his sig; he was attacking with the golden flames. His cape dramatically unfurled like a fishing net, catching me off-guard and making me do a terrible dance to avoid getting burned. I failed to retreat far enough, and so on the second spin, I was perfectly in-range for [Jiroku].

    Clever bastard.

    [Memento Recollection - Chain Gauntlets]

    He wanted to chop my head off, but I gave him my arm instead. [Jiroku] chomped through my left [Gauntlet] and stopped at [Yuzhou]¡ªdon¡¯t let me imagine what¡¯d happen if I hadn¡¯t summoned more protection. Even now, letting myself spend ten seconds this close might kill me.

    But there was a silver lining: [Jiroku] was lodged in the [Memento].

    For a moment, we were stuck together. That¡¯s all I needed.

    [Mana Impact]

    I clocked the shit out of him using my better hand. Briefly, his eyes rolled into whites but rage brought him back to life. Veins popped in his strong hands and I felt [Jiroku] burning into [Yuzhou]¡ªthis crazy dickhead was planning to push through my arm, now?

    It¡¯d be for naught, because a foot [Impacted] his stomach and forced a guttural groan from his hot mouth. The golden flames around him dissipated. My kick was powerful enough to break the clinch, his fingers slipping free from the hot handle, and allowed me to toss his toy aside for the time being.

    When [Jiroku] hit the ground, a shadow on the white floor flared. If a flaming greatsword wouldn¡¯t do the trick, Aiden thought, then a fiery fist would. An unforced error. If Aiden¡¯s expertise lied in his ability to manipulate the element fire, then he was stepping into mine: hand-to-hand combat.

    This was the one thing I¡¯d trained in.

    Aiden¡¯s burning knuckles couldn¡¯t reach me.

    Instead, mine were driven into his side and again to the cheek. Angered, his elbow cracked against my helmet but bounced off, ineffective. I kneed his stomach, assaulted him with swift jabs, and pushed him back. I stomped forward and his leg shot out, missing me by a mile, and a simple kick down below brought him crashing onto his back.

    Cursing, he flashed his palm and an ominous red light swirled there. Next thing I know, a concussive blast pounded my chest, but it wasn¡¯t as hot or powerful as I thought, luckily. The little distraction brought the asshole a precious second.

    And he used it to punch me square in the head. My helmet absorbed the impact and half of it shattered, revealing my sweaty-ass face underneath. I leered down at him, and despite my state, Aiden paused.

    I slammed my remaining helmet into his forehead, causing a sharp crack to echo throughout the training gym.

    Aiden wobbled backwards, his bell rung, and found my arms snug around his neck: a rear naked choke. He gasped, and as the choke tightened, that gasp sharply rose into a pained gurgle. Strange sounds garbled through his throat, words probably, that he couldn¡¯t articulate nor do I want them to be articulated.

    ¡°Tap!¡± I cried while he fruitlessly clawed at my [Gauntlets]. ¡°Tap, don¡¯t make me incap you!¡±

    I kicked the back of his leg and made him stand on one knee.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stubborn, FB! Tap!¡± I kept the pressure as it stood, ensuring he heard the message without taking him out of the picture altogether. ¡°Tap¡ª!¡±

    From the corner of my eye, [Jiroku] twitched.

    As if controlled by strings, the fucking thing plowed into me with the force of a speeding scooter, knocking me off Aiden but I stayed on my feet.

    The man himself was keeled over, hands on his neck, coughing out thick clouds of steam. Despite having a close call with defeat, the experience seemingly made him angrier rather than satisfied or timid. Just what the hell could I do to extinguish that fire in his eyes?

    ¡°You damned¡­¡± Aiden plucked his signature off the charred ground and used it to pick himself up. ¡°Ugh¡­¡±

    He groped at his neck, wincing.

    ¡°We done?¡± I asked.

    ¡°As if!¡± The stubborn bastard raised [Jiroku]. ¡°We¡¯re not done ¡®til one of us is incapped!¡±

    Familiar red flames swirled around his shoulders, but they didn¡¯t form armor this time¡ªit was the opposite. Dark maroon and crimson flushed his arms and enveloped his signature, twisting and morphing it, until [Jiroku] was unrecognizable from its original form. It looked demonic, having taken on the [Fire]¡¯s rich yet dark color and grew a few inches longer.

    Christ, he was taking this too far.

    That thing could chop down a fucking tree in a single swing.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if I was sweating more from my stuttering heart or the heat he was emitting. ¡°FB, that¡¯s enough! I think we both made our points very fucking clear¡ª!¡±

    ¡°I told you, Conq!¡± [Jiroku] further burst into flames, resembling a lance more than a greatsword. ¡°We¡¯re not leaving ¡®til one of us is on the ground¡ª!¡±

    [Yokai No.0 - Temari (ÊÖšÂ)]

    Well, Aiden got his wish.

    A strange, colorful soccer-ball flew from out of nowhere and unceremoniously knocked him to the ground. Just like that, all the tension vanished. I dispelled my [Mementos]. [Jiroku] returned to normal, the fires were extinguished, and Aiden looked incredibly confused¡ªno, there was a different emotion on his face.

    That of sheer dread.

    ¡°AIDEN BRAND!¡± cried the smaller, furious girl. ¡°I leave you alone for one hour, you¡ª!¡±

    Chie kicked Aiden while he was down; no doubt her tiny legs hurt worse than mine. He tried defending himself but her kicks got through regardless. Damn, I could learn a thing or two from her. Aiden pleaded and cried for mercy, trying to excuse himself, but Chie didn¡¯t know the word. She kept kicking and kicking.

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    After exhausting enough of her fury, Chie clamped a hand on Aiden¡¯s shoulder as he kneeled, his eyes downturned to the blackened and surprisingly intact floor. She said to me, ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry you had to see that, Alex. I repeatedly told Aiden to not do anything mean, but this¡­! This idiot¡ª! Hey!¡±

    Chie pinched his ear, causing him to wince. ¡°At least look at Alex while I¡¯m apologizing!¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright! Let go of my ear¡ª!¡± Chie twisted. ¡°¡ªow, okay! I got it! I got it!¡±

    She let go with an indignant huff. Aiden reluctantly faced me, staring at my collarbone rather than my two pits of silver.

    Chie clapped her hands together and bowed her head slightly. ¡°I¡¯m so, so, so, so sorry this happened! I knew Aiden might try something. I should¡¯ve been more suspicious when he asked me to check out one of the tryouts, so this is completely on me. But please, don¡¯t assume the worst! Everyone¡¯s excited to have you and your family, but¡ª!¡±

    ¡°I get the message!¡± I exclaimed loud enough to prevent Chie from rambling. ¡°I¡¯m willing to let bygones be bygones if Aiden says the same words.¡±

    ¡°Hmph.¡± Chie looked down at the offender in question, pouting. ¡°Alex is letting you off easy, y¡¯know.¡±

    Aiden puffed steam and burned holes through my collarbone. ¡°Sorry,¡± he said as quietly and insincerely as humanly possible¡ª

    ¡°Is that all you got?!¡± Chie twisted his ear again, her hold so strong that she lifted Aiden back onto his feet. ¡°You have to apologize!¡± (¡°I know¡ª!¡±) ¡°No, you don¡¯t! An apology is an apology. Explain what you did wrong, say you¡¯re sorry, and shake hands!¡±

    Aiden managed to slip free from Chie¡¯s grasp. Despite everything I¡¯d given him during our spat, his right ear was the worst of his injuries: it glowed a humiliating, painful red. He clenched his fists, stared at the ground for a couple seconds, and finally found the words and humility to meet the eyes of the man he¡¯d tried incapping.

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± (¡°Good start!¡±) ¡°I¡­ I thought your family was too suspicious to ignore and also thought our GMs were taking this too lightly. So I wanted to find out for myself.¡± (¡°Against everyone¡¯s advice.¡±) ¡°Yeah, that, uh¡­ I thought¡ªI assumed you were dangerous to the team.¡±

    Chie coughed. ¡°And you got your butt kicked by his sister.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to mention that¡ª!¡± (¡°But it¡¯s true!¡±) ¡°¡ªugh. But yeah, that¡¯s why I brought you here. If you did pose a threat¡­¡± Aiden shook his head, not wanting to finish that thought. ¡°Never mind. I probably went too far this time. Sorry. My emotions got the better of me and that¡¯s totally on me, mhm. There¡¯s one thing I won¡¯t apologize for, though.¡±

    Aiden firmly stood, his determined gaze against mine. ¡°I still think the Shens are suspicious¡ª¡± (¡°Aiden!¡±) ¡°¡ªbut, let me finish, you¡¯re more well-meaning than you look. During our fight, you held back, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    I was suddenly cognizant of the sweat sticking to my [Loadout]. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to fight you in the first place, FB.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± His calloused hand rubbed the spot where I¡¯d choked him. ¡°I¡¯ll admit: I underestimated you, Alex. You¡¯re tough for a fresh Slayer, but it doesn¡¯t mean the next time we fight will be easier.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°¡®Next time¡¯?¡±

    ¡°What? I said it earlier: you guys are too suspect. Somebody has to remind you of your place¡ª¡± Chie slapped his shoulder. ¡°¡ªthis is how I¡¯m apologizing! Are you gonna tell me I¡¯m wrong?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡ª!¡± Chie frowned and rubbed her head. ¡°How are you gonna stand there and threaten him again¡ª?!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Chie,¡± I said, raising a hand. ¡°The last week has understandably been hectic for everybody, so I¡¯ll accept the challenge¡ªif it means FB here might eventually get a peace-of-mind.¡±

    Aiden rolled his eyes at my condescending. ¡°Don¡¯t get too cocky. I¡¯m one of the strongest swords in the guild.¡±

    Haven¡¯t I heard that once or twice before? I nodded. ¡°Right.¡±

    Chie sighed. ¡°I guess that resolves things, but both of you are forgetting one last important step!¡±

    Me and Aiden exchanged a mildly confused look, then we mutually looked back at Chie.

    She scoffed and crossed her arms. ¡°The handshake! Both of you, shake hands and we¡¯ll call it there!¡±

    If the boss says so.

    We sealed our promise with a firm, sweaty, and calloused handshake.

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s done.¡± Aiden wiped the sweat off his robes. ¡°I should, uh¡­¡± He glanced around at the partly-damaged training gym. ¡°I should take pictures and catalog the damages¡­¡±

    After finishing his last sentence, vitality was sucked from his skin and he shambled to his handiwork. With his phone, he snapped pictures of every smudge, crack, and mark, wincing each time he hit the button as if making an expensive bank transaction. This definitely wasn¡¯t the first time his emotions ¡°got the better¡± of him.

    Chie watched him with me, and just now, I noticed the flying soccer-ball from earlier floating above her shoulder.

    I pointed at it. ¡°Never seen that before.¡±

    ¡°Huh¡ª? Oh! I haven¡¯t told you about my [Yokais] yet!¡± Chie held onto the so-called [Yokai] and presented it to me. ¡°This is [Yokai No. 0: Temari], the first one I¡¯ve created in the series. Each [Yokai] is based on, y¡¯know, yokais and serves a different purpose. I want ¡®em to help you guys in the field, sorta like mini-helpers if you get what I mean.¡±

    ¡°I think I do, yeah.¡± So these [Yokais] were supportive drones. Interesting. ¡°How many [Yokais] are under your belt?¡±

    ¡°Uh.¡± Chie let go of [Temari] and began counting with her fingers, whispering names instead of numbers. After a few names, she stopped. ¡°It¡¯s complicated, but trust me when I say it¡¯s a lot! For most of my [Yokais], Sophos has to vet and approve them before they can be added to my arsenal.¡±

    ¡°Sophos?¡± I squinted at [Temari]. ¡°You¡¯re the team engineer; shouldn¡¯t you make the last call instead of Sophos? Hell, Rector and Seraph too.¡±

    ¡°I¡ªoh, I haven¡¯t told you that either, hehe¡­¡± Chie awkwardly scratched the back of her head. ¡°I¡¯ve been her apprentice for almost four years.¡±

    That was the most surprising piece of information I heard today. I¡¯d say at least half of the swords at Wisdom Guild were actively fighting for some form of tutelage under Sophos; publicly, she hadn¡¯t taken on an apprentice in the last seven years! How the fuck did everyone manage to cover this up for the last four?

    Wait, Chie was twenty. That meant she had impressed Sophos at sixteen.

    Now I started to feel insecure.

    Chie recognized the many questions on my face and laughed out of embarrassment. ¡°I-I know, it¡¯s not as serious as you think.¡±

    ¡°I mean, studying under Sophos is on the bucket list for every magic- or magitech-oriented sword. What about Rector? I haven¡¯t known him for long, but wasn¡¯t he opposed to the decision at the beginning?¡±

    ¡°He was more than ¡®opposed,¡¯ hehe.¡± Chie folded her arms at her midsection. ¡°Sophos had to beg for days before he finally relented. Even then, he¡¯d placed, like, a dozen restrictions.¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°You were, what, sixteen? Hell, I¡¯d be concerned about Sophos stealing one of my junior swords from me.¡±

    ¡°Actually, that¡¯s not why he was so¡ªand still is¡ªoverprotective of me.¡± Chie focused on Aiden, who was snapping more incriminating pictures at the far-walls. ¡°Rector is our adoptive guardian.¡±

    I did my best to not turn my head toward her.

    ¡°I know Rector told you to not pry into our history, but I figured I oughta tell you because, well¡­!¡± Chie did a big, exaggerated shrug. ¡°You should know something like that! We might be a Slayer Team on paper, but we¡¯re actually a family of freaks who love each other more than anything. Me and Aiden especially...¡±

    How should I react to that information? For a start: empathy. I didn¡¯t know what life Chie and Aiden had before meeting Angels¡ªand despite what the former said, I wouldn¡¯t ask¡ªbut they clearly were living better. There was this mesmerizing light in Chie¡¯s eyes. You could only get that light when the stars were out, the birds were singing your favorite song, and every little thing brought smiles to your face. Everything was right in her world: her place, her future, her family.

    Although she and Aiden were Rector¡¯s adoptive kids, an unmistakable shade of pink was clearly smitten on her cheeks as she watched the doofus walk around. That wasn¡¯t the face of sibling love.

    Now I understand.

    What Rector said, he meant it literally.

    This team was a family.

    That¡¯s why Aiden felt threatened by us, the Shens. We had suddenly intruded into his safe-space and brought in all sorts of uncertainty: who were we? What skeletons were we bringing? Could we really be trusted?

    Would we hurt Chie? Would we bring an end to Angels Guild? Would we destroy his family?

    If the roles were reversed¡­ If I had to pick a strange family or mine, then that wasn¡¯t a choice at all.

    I¡¯d probably do the same thing he did but without a fight. More like obsessive stalking.

    I wonder, though...

    Would I ever be accepted?

    ***

    [Rector]

    My troublesome children, there¡¯s a strange incident in World Falling Gabriel. Meet me there.

    [You have entered World Falling Gabriel]

    [Status: Stable]

    [Expedition Rank: E]

    [Management: Angels Guild]

    The job calls. Aiden couldn¡¯t finish taking photos of the training gym before we were whisked away to an exped.

    This wasn¡¯t my first time entering another world; my first was a supervised field trip during elementary school, courtesy of a local guild in the county. Since then, my experience with expeds amounted to videos, photos, and TV. When System Articles came into the picture, they became numbers and graphs.

    Standing in an actual exped was different from selling one through a screen. I¡¯d never gotten a chance to sell a stable; for one, System Articles legally couldn¡¯t because we didn¡¯t have the proper licensing. For a good reason. Stables were a class of its own due to their rarity and intensely high demand. You had all the time in the literal world to do whatever you want. Harvest resources, perform dangerous experiments, hunt faunus, or all of the above. In our case, hosting training programs, simulations, or tests, such as the Feather Hunt.

    Examinees were randomly organized into teams; together, they were tasked to locate and nab fast-moving feathers in order to move onto the final stage. And of course, there were so many groups yet so few feathers.

    Falling Gabriel facilitated the best environment to test their skills. Basecamp was luckily situated in the middle of the wilderness. It had green forests, wide pastures, and dense hilltops; everything you needed to watch twenty-somethings tear each other¡¯s teeth out. In fact, this world was near-identical to ours. I wasn¡¯t quite sure if the mana in the air was natural or a consequence of magic machinery. Otherwise, that was the only evident difference. If you took a picture of the landscape and showed it to a random person on the street, they¡¯d think it was a picture of Earth. Our Earth. Blue sky, a single sun and moon, birds sounded like birds and not mansnatchers. I¡¯d be fooled too.

    But this Worldline was dead. Civilization had gone extinct a long time ago, and we were the advanced scavengers picking at the carcass.

    Basecamp looked and operated like a military camp. Everybody had their own missions. You had breakers, swords and mils, logistics¡ªpersonnel dedicated to the Feather Hunt was a comically low fraction¡ªthe operation dedicated to keep Falling Gabriel functional was so complex that my brain couldn¡¯t handle the information.

    ¡°Over here,¡± Aiden beckoned me, making sure I wouldn¡¯t get lost in the crowd.

    As we strode deeper into camp, more and more people recognized the three of us¡ªor rather, recognized Aiden and Chie¡ªand made way.

    Outside basecamp, we stood before a fairly large teleportation installment: a teleport hub, in simpler words. A house-sized mana crystal was the hub¡¯s centerpiece, suspended high by cables and wires and levitation magic. Each cable and wire were connected to a circular platform of differing sizes. Some were small, capable of holding a squad of mils, and others were large enough to comfortably occupy a truck. You needed the variety.

    Only in stable Worldlines could you see something like this. In dissolving Worldlines, teleporting would get increasingly more dangerous as they got closer to their demise.

    Knowing that, I bet this thing was the most popular attraction in the entire base.

    Except for right now, because Rector was present. If he was here, one of two things happened: he was checking in, or something had gone terribly wrong. Hopefully, it was the former.

    Rector waited near one of the platforms; he saw us and smiled, and because he saw us, he stopped smiling.

    Because we were called on such short notice, Aiden and I didn¡¯t have time to look presentable; as a result, he saw our fresh battle-wounds.

    Rector pointed a furious finger at us, he opened his mouth, but no words came out. Instead, he pointed to the platform. ¡°Get your asses on the platform. We have a ¡®highly-irregular breacher¡¯ in Area G16, and I pray to the good Lord that you didn¡¯t just come out of a ¡®spar.¡¯¡±

 [FOR HUMANITY] Chapter 4 - Why Does My Heart Hurt?

    We ported into a forest. Didn¡¯t look any different from the ones back in our world. A botanist could tell you which species were foreign, but to my eyes, everything was the same five species of plants.

    Rector produced a tablet from his robes. I peeked over his shoulder and saw a detailed map of Falling Gabriel. To be specific, Feather Hunt. The map was partitioned into grids, and an overwhelming number of moving dots were scattered everywhere like someone had blown glitter across the screen. Teams, individual examinees, could be both. We were on the inside edge of a sector shaded in red. Had to be G16.

    Then, he opened a blue-screen. I assumed it was a [Private Channel] or a [Group Chat] with the proctors. We couldn¡¯t see the contents of another Slayer¡¯s screen unless explicit permission was given; it was one of the privacy measures the System had. Whatever the contents were, it made Rector¡¯s lavender eyes dance.

    I asked first, ¡°What¡¯s the sitch¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Several trackers just went offline.¡± Rector focused on his tablet and flicked through several menus, his expression growing graver by the second. ¡°Pendulum, Exam Team 21, Trajectory¡ªtheir last signals were snuffed less than a minute ago, seconds apart.¡±

    The forest got a little quieter after he said that.

    Aiden stepped in front of Chie, actively looking around the foliage for anything of note. ¡°Did we cordon G16 after reporting the breacher?¡±

    Rector morbidly chuckled. ¡°They did, mhm. I don¡¯t know the exact circumstances, but I think Team 21 found the breacher and notified Pendulum and Trajectory. Like good little kids, they waited for us.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t reassuring news. This was blatant confirmation of a breacher¡ªif not the Alt itself¡ªbut for, what? Five, six swords to go offline just like that? Either the breacher was so powerful that they incapped an entire team in less than ten seconds, or they disrupted the electronics. Could be a combination of both. Probably was a combo of both.

    ¡°Sage.¡± Rector tucked his tablet away. ¡°Contact the others and tell them we have a likely Alt sighting.¡±

    Sage nodded and pulled up the [Chat]¡ª

    A piercing scream, and birds fled treetops. Toward our two o¡¯clock.

    ¡°GO!¡± Rector barked, but we were all one step ahead of him.

    [Skill Activation: Mana Impact]

    I was third in the stack, rushing through the forest and around thick trees, barely keeping sight of the obscured path ahead. Couldn¡¯t see movement yet. Rector and Firebrand maneuvered effortlessly compared to my stumbling and hobbling. I wasn¡¯t used to navigating with [Mana Impact], especially in a rough environment like this. Because it was a single-instance burst of speed, I had little control over my finer movements. If I positioned myself an inch in the wrong direction or use too much juice, I¡¯d trip on a root or crash into a tree¡ª

    Just as I thought that, my boot caught a root. Sounds about right. Panic impaled my heart and I crashed hard onto my shoulder. Somehow, I rolled onto my feet and kept moving. Someone appeared on my flank: Sage, checking on me. I nodded, she nodded. She held onto a small, winged drone that acted like a miniature helicopter¡ªone of her [Yokais]. It was a little humiliating that an engineer had a better method of traversal than me. Then again, she was Sophos¡¯s apprentice.

    Rector and Firebrand slowed down to match our pace, and we kept a straight formation as best as we could.

    ¡°Slayer System, message for Angels Tryouts [Private Channel]!¡± Rector shouted during his sprint, a strange pale-green aura hissing off his robes. ¡°Relay: ¡®Halt all operations effective immediately!¡¯¡± A blue-screen briefly popped up before he whisked it away¡ª

    Someone was up ahead, incapped, lying face-up toward the crowded branches and treetops: a young woman wearing a stereotypical mage outfit and a big hat too. Well, her hat was a few feet away, torn, laying next to her shattered crystal wand. Blood soaked the left side of her face. She looked concussed, drifting in and out of consciousness.

    Then, about five meters northeast, an armored man was arched over a fallen log. Had been an armored man. Most of his armor was in pieces, decorating the ground like a plane crash. Several things had rendered him a pincushion, at the shoulders and back and thighs. I couldn¡¯t tell what the projectiles were. Arrows? Daggers? They were long, abnormally featureless, and the colors were unrealistically dull like they¡¯d been put through an image software.

    The four of us grimaced.

    An Alternate. Healers couldn¡¯t be called until we secured the area. Considering the injuries¡¯ severity, we didn¡¯t have much time until our casualties¡¯ conditions turned worse. This was a tall task even for our S-Rank Vice Guild Master.

    Sounds of combat stole our attention next, down a trail of crunched branches and leaves. Another armored sword got launched back, his shield taking most of the blow, but his feet skidded uncontrollably over the uneven terrain. Like me earlier, a root got him and his footing was fucked.

    A discolored person stood before him¡ª

    ¡°Sylph!¡±

    Rector. His [Parure] glowed, and from a single word, he commanded one of the four [Paracelsian Elementals]: [Sylph, the Air Elemental]. I heard stories about his famous summoning-type [Skill]. For any summoner, commanding one of these [Elementals] was an achievement in itself. To command all of them? You¡¯d be hailed as a genius, and that Rector was.

    With a single motion of his arm, a pillar of air screamed toward the Alternate, tearing and ripping trees from the earth. Chunks of crust, rocks, and roots were funneled into what was effectively a horizontal tornado. I couldn¡¯t see or hear anything after the first second, but I saw the aftermath: a massive and disgusting scar tarnishing the forest, running toward the horizon. You could see this new landmark from space, I bet.

    The rest of us rushed the fallen sword. Because he was caught on the outside edge of [Sylph], the poor bastard was covered in dirt and leaves. Being discombobulated out of his mind, he took several tries to stand up, gasping for air.

    ¡°Holy shit¡­¡± he muttered, leaning against a lucky tree that managed to survive. ¡°That¡­ That thing took out everybody, man. My team, the proctors, I never saw anything like it.¡±

    ¡°As long as you¡¯re alright¡ª¡± My next few words were stuck in my throat. I recognized this guy¡¯s shield, and his flail and his armor underneath the gray and brown muck. They were unmistakable. [Hope] was the silver shield he carried for others, and [Order] was for those who wanted to take that away. ¡°Vic?¡±

    Victor blinked several times to get the dirt out of his eyes. Even though I was standing right in front of him, he didn¡¯t seem to believe it. Neither could I. This was a cruel twist of fate; of course, of all teams the Alternate had to encounter, it was Vic¡¯s. It had to be him.

    ¡°Alex?¡± he said. ¡°Wha¡ª? How the hell are you even here¡ªwhy are you here¡ª?!¡±

    He had his answer when Rector caught up with us. Seeing his face alone caused Vic to freeze in place.

    Rector said, forceful and direct, ¡°Conqueror¡¯s with me, Victor. He told me you¡¯re a healing guardian. Can you still carry your shield?¡±

    Vic glanced at me before admiring the very man who could give him wings. Those three sentences slapped him back to reality. He swallowed his questions and his fear, and he firmly nodded. A familiar fire was ignited in his eyes; that was the face of one determined idiot. Last time he was this motivated, he was chasing after a cute exchange student¡¯s number. Today, however, he had another target to chase.

    ¡°Yessir,¡± he replied with all the confidence in the world.

    ¡°Good, you¡¯re with me¡ª¡±

    Sage shouted, ¡°It¡¯s coming!¡±

    ¡°Golem!¡±

    Rector seized the vanguard. Thick bronze rock encased his arms, tripling their size and growing his wing-span so much that his ¡°fingertips¡± grazed the flattened earth.

    There was a crunch and bang, then wind blew loose leaves and branches back.

    When the wind subsided, his rocky hands held the Alternate back, which had returned with the power of a fighter jet. Rector rooted himself in place and refused to let our breacher go.

    We finally got a better look at the motherfucker. The Alternate was different than the one we''d encountered in Primordial Plaza. It appeared more ¡°stable¡± (whatever the hell that meant with these things). Like the dull objects from earlier, the same filter was washed over the Alt. It lacked curves and edges, details and features, like a low-polygon model from an unfinished video game. Despite that, we could still make out distinctive characteristics. Its frame was feminine, it was wearing a flowing gown that was freakishly frozen despite physics¡ªsame with ¡°her¡± long hair. It pushed an equally low-polygon sword against [Golem]¡¯s arms.

    And¡­

    And there were two flat, wing-shaped objects attached to its back. Wings. They were wings. And that gown was¡­ And her hair¡­

    The Alternate wasn¡¯t her. It shouldn¡¯t be her, but¡­

    Rector came to the same conclusion; or rather, his mind immediately recognized the similarities. The tension and grit he had was gone. He stopped clenching his teeth, and slowly his jaw fell like a gavel. ¡°Sera¡­?¡±

    If it was anyone else, anything else, then he wouldn¡¯t be shaken. Because this Alternate looked like ¡°Seraph,¡± his arms relaxed through no fault of his own. It was a moment of genuine shock, something you simply couldn¡¯t prepare for unless you were a machine.

    And it happened at the worst time.

    ¡°Seraph¡± pulled away and spit Rector through the stomach with [¡°Ascalon Creed¡±].

    [GUILD STATUS]

    INCAPACITATED: Rector

    ¡°IDRIS!¡± Sage¡¯s scream was a distant thing in my ears.

    ¡°Seraph¡± yanked her blade free, an arc of her best friend¡¯s blood canvasing the dirt. Rock fell from Rector¡¯s arms and decayed into meaningless ash, and he wobbled backwards. [¡°Ascalon Creed¡±] shadowed his glazed and horrified expression.

    [Flame Avatar Shift - Burning Tempest]

    Until her sword clanged hard against [Jiroku]. Aiden knocked her sword-arm aside and swung his greatsword, again, like a baseball bat. Steel clanged. ¡°Seraph¡± took it but she couldn¡¯t mitigate the force and got carried off the ground. She was the original ¡°Angel¡± for a reason, however. Her wings opened and carried the force elegantly onto two feet, standing a handful of meters away.

    Firebrand, sweaty and panting from adrenaline, turned his shoulder. ¡°Vic, stabilize Rector; and Conq, you¡¯re with me! And Sage¡ª?!¡±

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Sage wasn¡¯t listening; she was watching Rector writhe underneath Vic¡¯s touch.

    ¡°CHIE!¡± Firebrand shouted, and finally she looked up. ¡°Order a perimeter around G16 and tell Seraph to fuckin¡¯ run!¡±

    ¡°O-Okay! Okay!¡±

    ¡°Sage, hold him down for me!¡± Vic told her.

    I tore myself away from the sight.

    I couldn¡¯t think about what happened. Had no time to. I banished those thoughts out of necessity. We had to fight. We had to survive. Make no mistake, fighting ¡°Seraph¡±¡ªor whoever this Alt plagiarized¡ªwas a fight we could not win. Our best chance was lasting long enough for Seraph to arrive.

    ¡°Alex!¡± Vic called from behind. ¡°Here!¡±

    [Skill Activation: Taslim Conceptual Defense]

    Four smaller, transparent duplicates of [Hope] revolved around me and Firebrand¡ª[Conceptual Defense]. The function was on the tin. We each had four instances of absolute conceptual protection and mitigation. Whenever ¡°Seraph¡± landed a good hit, it would absorb the damage and any resulting effects like momentum or wind.

    We needed every little advantage.

    I donned my [Armor] and [Gauntlets].

    ¡°Seraph¡± stood motionless, blood still dripping from her sig. ¡°Na¡­than¡­¡± she said, barely loud enough for us to hear.

    Firebrand lowered [Jiroku] slightly. ¡°What¡ª? Nathan? What¡¯s wrong with Nathan¡ª?!¡±

    ¡°Nathan¡­¡± ¡°Seraph¡± covered her face, hunched over like a grieving widow. ¡°Ah¡ª! Nathan¡ªNathan¡ªNathan¡ªNATHAAAAN!¡±

    She despairingly screamed toward the broken and dust-laden sky. I couldn¡¯t begin to understand the context, but there was no reason to. Despite how ¡°human¡± her emotions were, she wasn¡¯t one. She was an Alternate, a breacher, a monster. Everything she felt had never belonged to ¡°her¡± in the first place.

    Without any choice, me and Firebrand charged.

    He was the first to close the distance, swinging [Jiroku] downward onto the mourner. In a flash, steel echoed throughout the ruined forest and a flaming greatsword without its owner buzzed past my head.

    [Mana Impact]

    I drove my fist into ¡°Seraph¡¯s¡± unprotected flank. She howled and [¡°Ascalon Creed¡±] flashed again, until a fiery kick pushed her back. Then another [Impact] to the jaw, a flaming fist below the ribs, a boot, and a hot hook to the chin. Firebrand and I juggled blows, hitting ¡°Seraph¡± toward the other relentlessly, as long as our stamina and wits could last.

    Wasn¡¯t for very long. Just like [Jiroku], Firebrand got sent flying into the trees and I didn¡¯t catch the initial strike. Just a single blow packed that much force. I hadn¡¯t realized until now, too, that [Conceptual Defense] had run its course for both of us. No more damage immunity. No more protection.

    And ¡°Seraph¡± was standing in front of me.

    ¡°Dammit!¡± Recklessly with no real options, I threw a punch only for ¡°Seraph¡± to catch my [Gauntlet]. Her hand squeezed around my knuckles and crunched the [Memento]. I dispelled it before she could do any more damage.

    My other fist came around¡ª

    Something hit the underside of my chin. My helmet shattered, and cold wind lashed at my exposed face. Clouds, earth, clouds, earth again. I was in the air, way above the trees, high enough that the drop would hurt and hurt bad.

    If ¡°Seraph¡± didn¡¯t kill me first, that was. Somehow, moving faster than my ascent to heaven, she was hovering above me with her wings outstretched. Feathers broke off and marked me as their next target. At least a dozen of them: sharp, low-poly things that would shred my [Armor] like it was paper¡ªand I wasn¡¯t in the best position to defend. How the hell would I?

    [Skill Activation: Yokai No.7 - Yamabiko (É½Ñå)]

    A spherical drone appeared in front of me, painted like a dying bird, and had these strange cones embedded into every hexagonal plate. They were speakers. A horrible, high-pitch sound exploded, enough that I could physically see the sound waves. They functioned as a repulsive barrier and the feathers dumbly collided into it. The feathers slowed as if moving through sand then stopped altogether and finally blown away.

    And that was all I could see before gravity wanted me back down.

    I was screaming, I was cursing, I was probably pissing my pants, but fortunately a hero caught me.

    Firebrand. ¡°Stop screaming, dumbass!¡±

    Would you look at that? Just earlier he tried killing me.

    I felt the pleasure of both feet on the ground, and sweet relief temporarily won over adrenaline. Then, the [Yokai] dropped like a brick in water and landed a couple feet away, sparking and broken.

    What little morale I had was quickly erased seeing that.

    FB and I looked up.

    There she was, like a killer angel ready to smite us.

    ¡°NATHAN¡ª!¡± She summoned feathers again; this time, a lot more than a dozen. Multiple dozens, and counting them all would drive me insane.

    I shouted, ¡°Move, move, move¡ª!¡±

    Feathers rained, whistling and zipping and whining. The sounds were mortifying like they were whispering directly into my ears. I flinched, yelped, fumbled my way throughout the gash Rector had carved into the forest. I was barely one step ahead. Going on like this, I¡¯d be running into a grave.

    Had to do something.

    [Memento Recollection - Nightingale Shotgun]

    [Certain Shot]

    [Certain Shot], that¡¯d do. It was a conceptual-type [Skill]. The next projectile I launched, it would always hit its target in a ¡°theoretical world.¡± By that, if nothing got in the way, then it¡¯d be bullseye every time.

    A single spell was enough to blast a feather out of the air. I kept pulling the trigger, playing skeet shooting with these glorified pigeons.

    ¡°Sera!¡± Firebrand yelled through the chaos, swinging [Jiroku]¡ªmust¡¯ve fetched it¡ªand whipping around a ribbon of fire, burning away feathers. ¡°Sera, listen to me! Nathan¡¯s fine! Nathan, he¡¯s¡ª!¡±

    He shouldn¡¯t have said that name. It was like a curse.

    All the feathers stopped and turned toward him.

    ¡°Oh shit.¡±

    A moment before they converged, I saw a small flying ball rushing in front of him.

    [Yokai No.8 - Koma-inu ( þÈ®)]

    The [Yokai] formed an onmyodo-like barrier¡ªthe kind that the Fushimi Clan would employ¡ªand protected against the first volley of feathers. The barrier cracked after the second. The third finished the job and annihilated everything on the other side, even felling a tree as collateral damage. When the smoke cleared, the only thing that remained was broken electronics. No blood or guts.

    Firebrand was right underneath ¡°Seraph¡± with [Jiroku] over his head.

    [Flame Avatar Shift - Ardent Passion]

    His veins furiously glowed throughout his body in a crimson-orange light. They bled through his robes, turning him into a human torch. Steam hissed as his muscles creaked like a steampunk engine. Something changed in his eyes. Before, they were determined and composed¡ªnow, they had a hint of insanity.

    This had to be the second stage of [Flame Avatar Shift].

    Smoke puffed between his teeth. ¡°BURN!¡±

    ¡°Seraph¡± was engulfed in a pillar of flames, and it burned so brightly that I shielded my eyes. I couldn¡¯t tell what was louder: her screams or the screams of the fire.

    Firebrand refused to ease off the gas. He kept burning her and panting and smiling and the flames only got brighter and hotter.

    ¡°FB¡­¡± I muttered too quietly for him to hear. At some point, the screaming stopped. ¡°Firebrand!¡±

    He didn¡¯t let up.

    ¡°AIDEN!¡± I threw a rock, smacking him against the chest.

    It was like throwing a bucket of cold water on him. He came to his senses and the pillar was snuffed just like that. [Jiroku] fell to his side and his arms spasmed from the exertion. All I could hear was his exhausted breathing. That¡¯s it. Only his breathing. ¡°Seraph¡± wasn¡¯t talking anymore, her wings weren¡¯t flapping, and her feathers weren¡¯t singing. What a welcomed sound.

    The forest was, for the first time in eternity, quiet again.

    FB looked around at the fallen trees, burnt leaves, and the blue sky with ash in the air. ¡°Hey¡­ We killed it, right? We killed ¡®Sera¡¯?¡±

    I was going to nod and clap him on the back, but someone beat me to the chase.

    She wasn''t dead.

    I raised my [Shotgun]. ¡°DUCK¡ª!¡±

    [Skill Activation: Got Your Back]

    [¡°Ascalon Creed¡±] met [Hope]. Vic. I¡¯d never been happier to see him, because I completely forgot about that [Skill]. [Got Your Back] was something simple: whenever an ¡°ally¡± had their back turned, he could instantly teleport behind them. It was more than useful; it was gold precisely because of moments like this.

    Firebrand cursed, Vic cursed, we all were swearing like a bunch of sailors and ¡°Seraph¡± was incoherently yelling too. She pressed [¡°Ascalon¡±] against [Hope], the edge biting into the face and making Vic bend the knee.

    A shotgun blast knocked her off. Another pushed her back, and again. These slugs wouldn¡¯t do shit, but they weren¡¯t useless. I looked at our MVP while ¡°Seraph¡± was staggered. ¡°FB, cook her!¡±

    ¡°Comin¡¯ up!¡± He rushed forward and stabbed [Jiroku] in the earth. Fire broke through the soft soil and created a beautiful geyser, turning our "Guild Master" into the Burning Man.

    She wouldn¡¯t let herself get beat by the same trick twice, which meant I didn¡¯t have much time. I darted around, dispelled [Nightingale] and clapped. [Gauntlets] formed around my arms. As the fire raged, two chains arced outward and wrapped around her sword-arm. I grounded myself and pulled like I wanted to tear her fucking arm off. ¡°VIC!¡±

    ¡°On it!¡± Vic understood the assignment. He dropped [Hope] and spun [Order], his flail, around like it was a toy.

    [Lashing Flail]

    The chain on his flail extended to pretty much the same length as mine. Vic snagged her other arm and started pulling too, both hands on the handle. We played the worst game of tug-of-war. Neither of us wanted to let go. If we did, that was an easy way of recording our names in the history-books: the two dumbasses who got murked before their careers started.

    I looked at the last piece of the puzzle. ¡°FB, you¡¯re up!¡±

    He grunted and shut the oven off¡ª

    ¡°Shit!¡± ¡°Fuck!¡± Vic and I both shouted.

    ¡°Seraph¡± went buck-wild. She thrashed and yanked on our chains; for a moment, my footing slipped and I nearly fell. Neither me or Vic had the strength to keep her restrained. Not for more than a few seconds¡ª

    [Yokai No.15 - Raiju (À×ª•)]

    Lightning struck ¡°Seraph,¡± but it wasn¡¯t storm-clouds that did the deed. Our savior was a small drone that had electricity sparking around its shell. The lightning bolt wasn¡¯t as devastating as the real thing, but it brought a couple seconds.

    That was enough for Firebrand.

    He stepped inside and shoved [Jiroku] through ¡°Seraph¡¯s¡± chest, deep, just like how she¡¯d skewered our Vice Guild Master.

    She screamed static.

    Firebrand was unfazed. He pushed [Jiroku] deeper and deeper until only a few inches remained between "flesh" and crossguard. ¡°You¡¯re not gonna hurt anyone else, Sera¡ª!¡±

    Her wings flapped, then wind flattened my face. My whole body was yanked downwards like God had a finger on me. Air was in my ears. Couldn¡¯t tell what happened. All I knew was¡­ All I knew was my feet weren¡¯t touching the ground anymore, and I saw the beautiful horizon in the distance and a few mountains were waving at me.

    We were in the air. We all were. Me and Vic, still holding onto our chains; and Firebrand, whose sword was stuck inside ¡°Seraph.¡±

    Together, we had a single second of mutual realization and subsequently horror.

    ¡°No¡ªno¡ªno¡ªno¡ªno¡ª!¡±

    Then, ¡°Seraph¡± plummeted back to the earth with us as passengers.

    [SYSTEM ALERT]

    INCAPACITATED: Conqueror

    Black. Darkness. Muted sounds, iron in my mouth. Pain and aches all over. Wind knocked out of me. I blinked. Blinked again, and a small picture-frame in my vision was my only window. Something was happening in front of me. Blurry figures. Fighting. Someone was yelling. Something flew across the air.

    Firebrand¡­? The Alt¡­? I¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­

    Branches scratched my face. I bit down on a bunch of leaves and spat them out.

    Vic was standing somehow. He tried running at ¡°Seraph¡± and was smacked away, flying straight into a tree.

    Dammit¡­

    [Memento Recollection - Nightingale Pistol]

    Somehow, I had the better mind to call for iron. With what strength I had left, I aimed straight ahead and fired. Didn¡¯t know where, didn¡¯t know what, but hopefully¡­ Hopefully it was ¡°Seraph¡±¡ª

    A feather ripped [Nightingale] out of my hand and cut my palm open. I gasped, but surprisingly, no pain. Just the warm sensation of blood and the not-so-warm sight of a bloody hand.

    I blinked.

    Firebrand was on his knees, using [Jiroku] to hold himself up.

    ¡°Seraph¡± was standing before him.

    A groan cracked through my dry throat. ¡°FB¡ª!¡±

    [Skill Activation]

    There was a bell-like sound, ringing as if a good deed was done.

    [Wings of Seraphim]

    A white blur rammed into ¡°Seraph,¡± a woman who wore the same gown and had the same hair¡ªhowever, she had six wings unlike her two. From the imposter¡¯s back, an ivory blade poked through, spotless.

    ¡°Begone, imposter,¡± said Guild Master Seraph.

    [Ascalon Creed] glowed, and a holy light burst from the white-steel. It leaked through the Alternate¡¯s wounds, through her eyes and open mouth, and her skin cracked and flaked off.

    ¡°Seraph¡± was consumed by the light until all that was left was a lonely Angel.

    [Event Commission ¡°The Seraph Alternate¡± has been completed]

    [You have been paid 250,000ssp]

    Event Commission: The Seraph Alternate

    Pay: 250,000ssp

    Description: If God truly does exist, then why did He give me this life? Only you know the answer, Nathan. So please, answer me for the last time¡ªlet me hear your voice again!¡ªwhy does my heart hurt? Why do good people die and why do the worst reign? If this is ¡°humanity,¡± then I reject it. I reject this awful world that took you. You... You had been everything to me. Where you rest, haunt me until this "body" withers. Possess me, so then I can finally be "human."

 [FOR HUMANITY] Chapter 5 - Boy, Angel, Miracle

    <blockquote>

    @LiamJAN

    Angels Guild has put out an official statement regarding the breakthrough earlier today. Here is a brief summary:

    - All tryouts will be postponed until further notice

    - Everyone injured during the breakthrough will make a ¡°full recovery.¡± This includes Vice Guild Master Rector

    - Angels will work with those affected regarding compensation

    - They will conduct an ¡°parallel internal investigation¡± regarding the breakthrough in conjunction with the Encampment

    @bethsickle

    FUCK, if god was good and actually exists then he should¡¯ve killed rector. don¡¯t @ me if you¡¯re a angel bootlicker

    @roacyber

    At this point, the Union needs to label the Big Four as apocalyptics already. If they¡¯re not intentionally causing the next Terrors, then they¡¯re dangerously incompetent. It¡¯s long been time to round up all these high-rankers

    @smrt105

    look at all the grifters and conspiracy theorists showing up today

    @Timothyjin

    Remember the names of these ¡°pundits¡± who immediately call for Angels Guild¡¯s dissolvement. They¡¯re almost always on the payroll of the Union, because to them, Kosmos is everything they¡¯re not. It¡¯s envy, greed, and arrogance all wrapped into one. They¡¯re despicable, soulless husks.

    </blockquote>

    [New message from Victor]

    [Victor]

    just got back home, docs finally dismissed me

    how abt you?

    [Conqueror]

    Same, all healed up

    Waiting on the GMs

    [Victor]

    rip

    idk what i¡¯m gonna tell the girls

    [Conqueror]

    Didn¡¯t Seraph personally go over everything with you?

    [Victor]

    yea i mean they¡¯re smart

    at least chunhua is

    they¡¯ll figure out that you were involved in primordial plaza

    [Conqueror]

    They know better than to ask directly

    [Victor]

    yeah well i¡¯m gonna need the practice

    seraph linked me with her attorneys when camps start asking questions

    probably gonna talk with my family¡¯s too

    [Conqueror]

    I¡¯d do it right away

    Camps won¡¯t ask questions, the union will

    [Victor]

    srsly?

    [Conqueror]

    You know how i said my apartment was suddenly flooded so we moved?

    [Victor]

    yeah

    [Conqueror]

    I lied

    Internationals came to my apartment the other day and threatened us

    [Victor]

    fuck dude¡­

    you okay?

    [Conqueror]

    Not the worst thing I¡¯ve experienced

    [Victor]

    i mean about everything

    me and the girls were talking abt it

    your whole life fucking changed man, just a few weeks ago you were complaining about the big four and look at you now

    you sure you okay? angels aren¡¯t blackmailing you or anything like that? cause i¡¯ll pull you out, my dad¡¯s no joke he has the clout

    [Conqueror]

    It was our choice

    My choice

    [Victor]

    thought you wanted a quiet life

    [Conqueror]

    Yeah well remember what I said?

    Peace has a price

    Apparently it''s singing with the angels

    [Victor]

    alright

    no matter what happens we got your back

    after today? my lips are sealed

    shame tho that tryouts got delayed

    :pensive:

    [Conqueror]

    Bright side you pretty much guaranteed yourself a spot in angels

    Saving Rector¡¯s and Firebrand¡¯s lives are pretty good achievements on your resume

    [Victor]

    heh well because i suddenly got implicated in an international investigation angels ain¡¯t looking so hot anymore

    idk i really need to talk with my fam abt it

    they¡¯re letting me rest b4 the big conversation starts

    [Conqueror]

    gl

    [Victor]

    thx

    one more question: wtf is your skill

    [Conqueror]

    Long story short, it¡¯s an s-rank creation skill

    [Victor]

    obviously yeah why wouldn''t it be anything else

    anyway imma try to organize my thoughts and leave ya be

    gn

    [Conqueror]

    Gn, and thanks for looking out for me

    [Victor]

    yea a dumbass like you needs friends

    I dispelled the [PMs].

    ¡°Was that Vic?¡± Aiden asked across the lounge, flipping his phone around his hand. In fact, he¡¯d been playing with his phone for the past thirty minutes. The half-hour before that, he was practically eating a pencil. Waiting in the Office of the GMs for the past few hours would do that to you.

    I nodded and said, ¡°He¡¯s back home. What happens after is, well, it¡¯s up to him.¡±

    Chie, like the rest of us, couldn¡¯t relax. She was sitting on a pillow, using the main coffee-table as a miniature workshop area. Her patient was one of the [Yokais] that had been busted during the fight. One of the [Yokais] that could be repaired, anyway. ¡°Erm, I know Seraph spoke to him about the Alternate, but do you think he¡¯ll tell the Union anything?¡±

    I shrugged, rubbing my mouth. ¡°Victor? He won¡¯t say a thing; however, his family and their attorneys might say otherwise. If you look at the whole picture, he¡¯s suddenly implicated because his friend happens to be an agent for a couple problematic GMs. His parents like me, but they might pressure Vic to throw Angels under the bus to protect themselves. Can¡¯t say I blame them. It¡¯s a natural reaction.¡±

    ¡°Damn.¡± Aiden began tapping the back of his phone. ¡°What kind of family does he belong to?¡±

    ¡°Just the special kind,¡± I said. ¡°His mom and younger sister are Traveling Healers; on the other side of the family, his father¡¯s an O-6 in the Ordo Aerial Command and his older brother is an Expeditioner."

    Listing the Taslim family history got their attention.

    Aiden whistled. ¡°Must be a lot of pressure to live up to.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, no kidding. Accomplished mils on one side and healers on the other; and he¡¯s the middle-child stuck in-between.¡± Normally, I would agree that the Taslims were a crazy family; however, I was the last one who should be saying that.

    Chie put a hand on her chest. ¡°Then¡­ Then do you think your friend can hold his ground?¡±

    I didn¡¯t immediately answer, and that didn¡¯t give much hope to either of them. I ended up saying, ¡°It¡¯s not guaranteed, no. Pressure from the Union, that¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s something neither of us know much about. It¡¯ll be completely new to him."

    ¡°Considerin¡¯ he fought an Alt, I think he¡¯ll be fine,¡± Aiden said, having a small smile.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I replied, because why should I bring down the mood?

    Someone knocked on the door. We stood immediately.

    The doors opened and revealed the rest of the team: Seraph, leading the pack; Rector, who was up and walking like he didn¡¯t just get a sword to the stomach; Leo, as tired as ever; and¡­ And at the caboose was a little boy, no older than ten, wearing an oversized cloak that seemed to be purchased at a costume store. He had curly purple hair and dimmer purple eyes, but despite his age, he had a resting intellectual face¡ªthe kind that said, ¡°I¡¯m smarter than everyone in this room and I¡¯m not afraid to remind you.¡± Clearly he wasn¡¯t a normal child, because the average kid didn¡¯t know how to levitate off the ground.

    ¡°Good morning, everybody,¡± Rector said as soon as he entered the room. ¡°I apologize for the wait¡ªAlexander, why¡¯s your jaw on the floor¡ª?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because he¡¯s looking at me,¡± the kid answered, scowling. ¡°Did any of you tell him?¡±

    Everyone was silent or mumbling.

    Aiden took the bullet: ¡°We thought you should explain.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your consideration, Firebrand, but damn you.¡± The kid sighed and stared at me. His gaze didn¡¯t belong to his age bracket. ¡°Yes yes, get your reactions out so we quickly brush this topic aside. Morgan Weyer, Problem, I¡¯m the cosmologist. Did I graduate with a PhD at the age of seven? Yes. Did Master Alzahrani recognize my talents at eight? Correct. If you haven¡¯t noticed already, I¡¯m being sarcastic. I was a twenty-five-year-old man before I was cursed with this juvenile body. No, I won¡¯t tell you how, and no, I won¡¯t answer any further questions. Pleasure to meet you, Alexander Shen. I¡¯d shake your hand, but my arms are too short to reach yours.¡±

    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Today was full of surprises, wasn¡¯t it? I smiled and nodded, because that was the only thing I could do. ¡°Right, good to finally put an unexpected face to the name.¡±

    ¡°Mhm, sure.¡± Morgan floated to the wall and stayed there like a taxidermied deer-head; I guess that was his way of sitting.

    Everybody settled in, sitting on or around the lounge, and the Guild Masters stood in front of their desks. It was a long day for all of us. Seraph and Rector had to take care of public and internal matters first. Shutting down the exams, talking to the right people, and they still weren¡¯t done I imagine. After we leave, they¡¯d go back to work.

    Seraph and Rector looked at each other, exhausted, dreading this conversation and more.

    Seraph spoke first: ¡°If you¡¯re concerned about the aftermath, don¡¯t be. Rector and I will take care of everything; however, this means our priorities have changed. We discussed this with Leo and Morgan, and we decided that Morgan should take the lead given his knowledge and experience.¡±

    Rector hummed in agreement. ¡°The internationals are showing their hand, so we¡¯re officially on defense. We handled them before, and you know the protocols in case they do interfere. That goes for Chie, Aiden, and Alexander especially. When they hear about your involvement, they might chase after you. We¡¯ll do our best to keep them off your tail.¡±

    Morgan spoke up, ¡°Onto our matters, Sophos has initiated a new project regarding the Alternates. Don¡¯t ask me what, because she hasn¡¯t told me anything at the moment. In the meantime, your mission remains the same: investigate any occurrences and handle them accordingly. A different mouth is giving the same orders, essentially, because the real mouth is full of¡ªexcuse my language¡ªmanure.¡± (¡°I¡¯d rather you swear, Morgan,¡± Rector said.)

    I raised my hand. ¡°Speaking of, did Sophos say anything or is she busy at work?¡±

    ¡°Curious about her opinions, hmm? We¡¯ve already given her your statements regarding the Alt. She¡¯ll¡­¡± Morgan paused. ¡°Do something.¡±

    That didn¡¯t give me much hope.

    ¡°On that subject. Alexander,¡± Seraph spoke to me directly. ¡°Your friend, Victor, assured me he¡¯ll stay quiet about what happened, but how much do you believe him?¡±

    I glanced at Chie and Aiden before addressing her: ¡°Fully, just not his family. I told the same thing to these guys here, but his feet will be taken to the fire. If he does give up info, it won¡¯t be consensual.¡±

    Leo nodded and faced the GMs. ¡°I did a little digging on the Taslims; his father¡¯s a high-ranking airship officer. That¡¯s a pressure-point to the Union. We can¡¯t expect him to give up his family for us.¡±

    Rector groaned, ¡°Right. At least we¡¯ll be prepared, and at least he doesn¡¯t know much anyway¡ª¡±

    Metal clanged against the table. The conversation stopped. Chie scrambled to pick up her screwdriver. I never noticed, but she had been tinkering with her [Yokai] since the debriefing began.

    Looking at her expression just once, Rector¡¯s shoulders dropped and he pressed his lips thinly together. ¡°Chie¡­¡±

    ¡°Chie, sweetheart¡­¡± Seraph muttered.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m fine,¡± she said, cradling her broken [Yokai]. ¡°I¡¯m just¡­ I¡¯m just wondering why. Why did the Alt look like you, Sera? Of all people, out of everyone! Why was it you? I¡¯ve been looking up cosmo theories online and trying to wrap my head around it, but I can¡¯t figure it out.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Morgan started, then banged the back of his head against the wall. ¡°I¡¯m not sure either. I read your statements, yes, but I want to hear it from the survivors.¡±

    That meant the four of us.

    I looked at Aiden. Really, it was us two. We saw ¡°Seraph¡± and caught every detail of her.

    He nodded.

    I took the stand, ¡°It was ¡®Seraph,¡¯ I think. A different ¡®Seraph,¡¯ one with two [Wings] instead of six.¡±

    Seraph amended, ¡°[Wings of Seraphim] began as two wings and grew as I developed. Really, I had two wings throughout my late teens and early twenties, I believe? Idris?¡±

    Rector¡¯s lips moved around, unconvinced. ¡°I think so, I can¡¯t do the math right now.¡±

    ¡°Well, whatever the case, ¡®she¡¯ kept saying this one name over and over.¡± I rubbed my ears, her screams still ringing in my head. ¡°¡®Nathan.¡¯ You guys know who he is¡ª?¡±

    As soon as I said that name, the room turned into a freezer.

    I think I stepped on a landmine. ¡°I¡¯m¡ª¡±

    ¡°It was Sera,¡± Rector muttered so quietly that it scared me. ¡°That Alternate was Sera.¡±

    Seraph clamped a hand over her mouth and hugged herself with her other arm. ¡°Nathan¡­ Nathan is Kosmos¡¯s real name.¡± She gulped and lowered her hand. ¡°No, to be more accurate: you know him as the strongest Slayer in the world and the only SSS-Rank in history, Kosmos. To me, he was and always will be Nathan Hyun, my husband and the father of our child.¡±

    That¡­ If that was the case, then¡­

    ¡°Then why?¡± I asked her. ¡°Then why was ¡®Seraph¡¯ screaming his name like he died?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. There were several times when he scared me¡ªscared all of us¡ªbut I don¡¯t know. I¡­¡± Seraph paused and began to connect the dots on her own. ¡°You said this ¡®Seraph¡¯ had two wings, correct?¡±

    I nodded.

    She looked toward her VGM. ¡°Idris, are you thinking the same thing?¡±

    He was admiring his shoes. ¡°Of course I am. If ¡®Seraph¡¯ had two wings, then she was most likely younger than all of us. The only timeframe that makes sense is¡­¡±

    Seraph finished his thought, ¡°Was before ¡®Kosmos.¡¯ And before Kosmos, there was only Nathan. Alexander, do you know what [Total Body Rejection] is?¡±

    I affirmed, ¡°Yeah. My uncle has [Registration Rejection]¡ªwait, are you implying¡­?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am.¡±

    Shit. They were both autoimmune diseases of a similar nature. With the Slayer System, everyone was born with a ¡°conceptual seed¡± that allowed the PPS to ¡°grow¡± once [Registered]. Uncle Ali wasn¡¯t born with this ¡°seed,¡± so if he [Registered], [Rejection] would kick in and he could lose his life. However, he was perfectly healthy otherwise. For Nathan? God¡­ He had the ¡°conceptual seed¡± but his body rejected it, producing the same effects as [Registration Rejection] but it was constant, lasting for every waking second of his life. Anyone who had [TBR] was, well, they lived a miserable existence with a shortened lifespan on top. Nobody in recorded history lived beyond thirty, and living to that point might be considered torture in itself.

    So this¡­ This was new information¡ªgroundbreaking information. Nobody knew much about Kosmos¡¯s personal life, only rumors. Every appearance he made, he wore a full suit of armor equipped with anti-perception features. The man underneath the helmet was a ghost. What information we did have, it came from Seraph and Rector by association. I... I¡¯m starting to see the reason behind the secrecy.

    You don¡¯t simply cure [TBR].

    You don¡¯t simply cure [TBR] and become the world¡¯s only SSS-Rank Slayer.

    Seraph recognized the conclusion I¡¯d drawn, and she confirmed it again, ¡°Nathan wasn¡¯t given a long and comfortable life. His parents abandoned and left him in an orphanage. Every morning, breakfast was accompanied by a cup of pills. To him, the outside world was a TV, a bookshelf, and his bedside window¡ªand his only friend was another boy who had to take care of him.¡±

    Rector put a hand to his eyes and morbidly chuckled.

    Seraph inhaled, trying to keep herself from falling apart. ¡°D-Despite that¡­ Despite everything, he was happy. I still remember those days. His endless optimism, how he laughed at himself, the beautiful hope in his eyes, his smile¡ªoh, the conversations we¡¯d have. We would talk all night about his favorite Slayers and guilds. He loved to fantasize himself as a high-ranker, slaying breachers and helping others like him. But¡­ But we both knew that they¡¯d likely remain as fantasies. So I promised myself that I would make them a reality: to create a guild dedicated to the world, to humanity. Because Nathan represented the best of us: an angel, someone whose soul was pure and beautiful. I¡­¡±

    Seraph stared at the ceiling. ¡°I was always afraid that on one unsuspecting morning, he would never wake up. That day never came, but our future had. It¡¯s everything I prayed for. Everything. Twenty years later, my Nathan hasn¡¯t changed at all. He may be taller and wrinkles are starting to show¡ªbut he¡¯s still the same boy who taught me what ¡®love¡¯ means. It¡¯s¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I¡­¡±

    She deeply exhaled and laughed at her own ramblings. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to talk for this long. I haven¡¯t given you a clear answer, but¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, ma¡¯am,¡± I said, looking toward the others. ¡°We understand plenty.¡±

    No one disagreed, everyone nodded.

    Morgan spoke up, ¡°It¡¯s valuable information, yes, thank you. To reiterate¡­ Our current theory is: the Alternate impersonated Seraph not as she is today, but as she was about two decades ago. And for some reason, she mourned a death that never came to be.¡±

    Seraph rested a hand on her chest and nodded profusely. ¡°I-I think so, yes. Idris¡ª?¡± (¡°I¡¯m running with whatever he says.¡±) ¡°Then yes. Yes.¡±

    Morgan floated off the wall. ¡°So be it. If it wasn¡¯t obvious already, Rector isn¡¯t in the right state of mind and I don¡¯t think any of us are. We should call it a night and regather ourselves tomorrow. I¡¯ll share this info with Sophos and get her thoughts on the matter. The rest of you? Sleep. God knows you¡¯ll need it.¡±

    Rector clapped. ¡°You heard him. First thing tomorrow morning, we¡¯ll update you.¡±

    We all slowly stood¡ªexcept for Chie, who was cleaning her mess. I faced Seraph, and through the bodies, she found me.

    I opened my mouth. She shook her head.

    ¡°You ready to head back?¡± Leo asked, patting my shoulder.

    ¡°Take care of yourself, you two,¡± Seraph told us. ¡°Make sure you eat.¡±

    If she commands. ¡°Alright,¡± I said. ¡°Alright.¡±

    ***

    Gradually, half the team left, leaving only Chie and Aiden in the room.

    Aiden worriedly said, ¡°Idris¡ª¡°

    ¡°No no, don¡¯t start this now.¡± Idris held the kids by the shoulders, rubbing them, but his hands were slow and his eyes were slower. ¡°Go home and rest, okay?¡±

    Chie was holding her broken [Yokai] in her hands. ¡°B-But¡ª¡°

    Idris patted her head, caressing her dirty hair. ¡°It¡¯s an order.¡±

    She was still reluctant to leave¡ªno one could blame her after what had transpired¡ªbut ultimately, Aiden convinced Chie, by simply holding her hand.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, babe,¡± he said. ¡°We have a lot of work tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Chie replied so quietly that it was borderline silent. ¡°Please take care of yourself.¡±

    ¡°We will. Now get out of here.¡±

    They left, and the Office was quieter than ever before. Today had finally ended, but tomorrow was going to be longer. Because, well, although Sera preferred to be rational and have empirical evidence for her theories, something told her this was the beginning of the Mother Alternate¡¯s rampage. To create an Alt based on her was¡­

    ¡°Sera,¡± Idris reached out to her.

    She was looking out the window¡ªlike how Nathan would, when he had been an Angel¡ªand said, ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell our whole story. It would¡¯ve been too long and much too confusing. I still remember what I said, hehe. ¡®Pathetic little man, teach me the ways of humanity.¡¯ Can you believe how ridiculous I was?¡±

    ¡°You weren¡¯t exactly an ordinary teenage girl,¡± said Idris, standing beside her. ¡°Quite the opposite.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true, I wasn¡¯t. I¡­¡± Sera sighed and rested her forehead against the glass. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Idris. I can¡¯t imagine my life without him. I can¡¯t imagine this world without him. If Nathan had passed back then¡­ I think I would¡¯ve gone insane like how my Alternate had. But why¡­? Why did she live in a future that never happened?¡±

 [FOR HUMANITY] Epilogue - Sweet Dreams, Sweet Angel

    ¡°We have confirmation: the Board of Operations has unanimously chosen the next Guild Master of Legends Guild. Arlo has won the vote. I repeat, Arlo will be the new Guild Master. I can¡¯t say this is the most expected outcome, but the Board has chosen. He will formally take his new position later this week. We should hear about his pick for Vice Guild Master¡ªwhich, based on previous precedence¡ªwill most likely be one of his former opponents during the succession crisis.¡±

    ¡°...You¡¯ve been hooked on the whole drama,¡± I told Dad.

    It was a little bit after midnight, and everyone was asleep. I''d been studying for high-school exams¡ªwhat was it again? chem?¡ªand decided to grab a snack. There Dad was, though, sitting on the couch, glued to the TV screen. In fact, he¡¯d been following the succession crisis at Legends Guild since the old GM passed. Liberator, that was his name.

    I figured it had to do with his childhood. Dad and Uncle Ali were born and raised in Chicago, home of the Legends. They rarely spoke about their childhood. Whenever Legends came up in conversation, they always switched topics.

    It was a sore spot, a taboo, but I was used to it. We had a lot of taboo subjects in our family.

    Dad continued to stare at the screen as it flashed Arlo¡¯s headshots.

    ¡°Dad?¡± I asked again. ¡°You okay? Dad¡ª!¡±

    Dad startled and jumped five feet in the air. Startled me too. When was the last time he¡¯d been shaken like this? His eyes were dark, distant, like the TV was a window down memory lane. ¡°What¡¯re you doing here, conq?¡±

    I gestured toward the news. ¡°I thought Mom got you off the couch by now. I¡­ I dunno. What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± Dad bit his lip. He wanted to tell me it was nothing, but both of us knew that was a lie. Instead, he put a hand over his mouth like that would be a better answer. This wasn¡¯t the first time he had acted strange, but those moments were few and far in-between. Usually, this was a conversation better left ignored and forgotten.

    But I was here. We were alone. I was worried.

    Something on my face had cracked his armor, and his hand fell to his lap. ¡°I¡¯m¡­happy that Arlo won the nomination. He¡¯s a good man.¡±

    Instead of hovering like a stranger, I sat next to him on the couch. ¡°Then why d¡¯you look so tense?¡±

    He inhaled, the present-day coming back to his eyes. ¡°...It¡¯s a long story, Alex. It has something to do with my past.¡±

    That right there told me to stop pushing. Dad¡­ My father had been a felon and was locked away for seven years. At the time, I didn¡¯t know the entire story. He wasn¡¯t one of those motivational speakers, broadcasting his past sins over a microphone. Quite the opposite. He kept his repentance to himself.

    Even I¡ªa sixteen-year-old dumbass¡ªknew a part of him had never moved on from that time. He was still locked behind bars, eternally a criminal.

    I cleared my throat. ¡°We oughta head to bed¡ª¡±

    ¡°D¡¯you think I¡¯m a good man, Alex?¡±

    What a question to ask your son, huh? I wasn¡¯t ready for it. It stunned me. I blubbered, unable to sift through my shock to find the right words.

    Dad realized his mistake and laughed at himself. His voice was lighter, now. ¡°Right, my bad, that¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s too big of a question to ask, I¡¯m sorry. Just, well, seeing Arlo all over the news, it reminded me of that period in my life. It was a dark time for me, Alex. For years, I thought a second chance was out of my hands. Now that I¡¯m here, with a gorgeous wife and two wonderful children¡­¡±

    He stopped and rubbed his lips, then fell backwards against the couch. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±

    Like I said, we both knew that was a lie. Looking back on our conversation, I knew what he was going to say: ¡°I don¡¯t know if I deserve this life at all.¡± But he didn¡¯t voice those intrusive words, because there were some things you shouldn¡¯t say to your kids.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound like nothing,¡± I said against my better judgment.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not.¡± He solemnly nodded. ¡°It¡¯s not.¡± Dad stared straight at me with his piercing green eyes. It turned my blood cold. This was my father: a man standing at six-eight but his heart stood taller. For my entire life, I knew him by his laughter and muscles. Picking me up whenever I fell, patting my shoulder whenever I cried¡ªand tonight when all the doors were shut, he¡¯d laid bare his scars and his ugliness toward the young man that happened to be his son.

    ¡°I¡­¡± Dad gulped, his throat sounding dry. ¡°I want you to be a better man than your father. I want you to give something to this world.¡±

    My throat was impossibly dry too. I swallowed a glob of saliva, my head racing. ¡°Dad¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saying this because your father has made terrible mistakes growing up, because your grandparents weren¡¯t good people. Me and your mother, we¡¯re doing everything to give you a childhood we never had. This is a big ask, I know, but I have faith in you. You will be a greater man, and hopefully, a husband and a father too. As long as you¡¯re a better man than you were yesterday, you can do it.¡±

    You can¡¯t say something like that and get my hopes up, you know. Being a husband and father are out of the question. I can never be as good of a man as you. It¡¯s impossible. Too many things have happened since that night, Dad. Hangzhou killed that dream, you and Mom with it.

    ***

    ¡°...Alex.¡± Someone pushed against my shoulder. Ache, ache, ache. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±

    I blinked and rubbed my eyes. We were ¡°home.¡± Guess I daydreamed too much. ¡°Right, sorry.¡±

    Leo sighed and tapped me again. ¡°Can you walk?¡±

    Since I left Angels HQ, my injuries and exhaustion dropped on me like an anvil. My entire body was sore as hell. That''s the price for top-quality healing. If it weren¡¯t for the healers and doctors, I¡¯d be staying the night in a hospital and wrapped up tighter than a mummy.

    I shrugged to answer her question. ¡°Don¡¯t know, but I¡¯m not at one-hundred.¡±

    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Alright, c¡¯mon. I¡¯ll help you out.¡±

    Leo became my personal caretaker. She kindly opened the door and yanked me from the car. As I expected, my legs became jelly almost instantly. Nearly plummeted onto the pavement, but my useless limbs got shocked back to life. Barely.

    I hooked an arm around Leo¡¯s shoulder, and we were off.

    ***

    ¡°Easy, don¡¯t let him fall like a sack of potatoes¡­¡±

    Leo and Uncle Ali eased me onto the couch for some much-needed rest.

    As far as I could tell, extreme soreness was the extent of my post-healing trauma. It should fade into something manageable by tomorrow morning. If not, well, that meant another trip to the doctor¡¯s office. Or overdosing on painkillers.

    ¡°And here¡¯s some water.¡± Thea plunked a glass of cold water onto the coffee-table, then dragged the table closer so I wouldn''t have to reach far. ¡°That everything, your highness?¡±

    I glanced at the brat. ¡°A letter of resignation, probably.¡±

    ¡°Already? Lazy-ass.¡± She playfully flicked my foot. ¡°One little fight and you''re already throwing in the towel."

    Thea took the adjacent couch, legs crossed, and watched TV. She and Uncle Ali had been glued to the silver-screen since the breakthrough was first reported. Currently, the excitement had died down as investigations were beginning to kick off. As Seraph and Rector said, they were going to ¡°cooperate¡± with the camps and internationals. By that, they were going to be a real pain in the ass and rightfully so.

    Uncle listened to the annoying and pretentious news-anchors. ¡°Dwyer will probably take over the investigation. The Encampment will fight, but they¡¯ll fold by tomorrow.¡±

    Thea commented, ¡°I¡¯m confused why the Union sent a malie in the first place. Breakthroughs aren¡¯t handled by the Malie Bureau. That¡¯s for Distortions and Breaches.¡±

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°The Union knows more than we thought,¡± I said, rolling onto my side. ¡°They know the breakthroughs aren''t the issue. The Alternates are, and they''re aware of their existence. That¡¯s malie territory. Since the Big Four are connected, you need an eight-fourteen.¡±

    Leo leaned against the back of the couch I was laying on. "Regardless, the internationals have a lot of work ahead of them. According to our insider sources, they''re trying to prove the unthinkable: that we''re geddons while staying within legal boundaries. Good luck with that. You know what they say: ¡®Swing at the king, you¡¯d better not miss.¡¯"

    She was right. This was a battle of legality and of public opinion. Any little mistake, any little misconduct, it¡¯d be seen as the Global Union once again targeting Angels Guild through unlawful methods. Currently, the public conversation revolved around the Big Four¡¯s competence, giving the internationals momentum. Being dangerously incompetent and willfully malicious were two very different things however, so if Dwyer started pointing fingers too soon¡­ It''d be a blunder that may be impossible to recover from.

    It was an important battle. For them, the stakes were high. They could bring down their biggest enemy or further earn the scorn of castles and high-rankers across the world.

    So what will Seraph and Rector do¡­? They can either play aggressively and control the conversation, or play safely and wait for an inevitable opportunity.

    As much as I¡¯d like to theorize, I did enough thinking today.

    I rolled onto my back and stared at the barren ceiling and also at a nosy princess looking down at me.

    ¡°What¡¯re you thinking about, Alex?¡± she asked.

    I shrugged and shifted around. ¡°Everything. My brain¡¯s simultaneously fried and in overdrive.¡±

    Leo patted the springy backrest. ¡°Sounds like you need calories in your system. Should I heat up some microwavable garbage? We¡¯ll have a family dinner over piping hot trash and spoiled milk.¡±

    Attacking me with my own words. This was the second-most humiliating defeat I had today. I mumbled vaguely and turned away from her. ¡°I¡¯d rather eat actual garbage.¡±

    ¡°Yes or no?¡±

    ¡°Fine, whatever, do what you want.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll taste the best pre-made cooking in your life.¡± Leo skipped to the kitchen.

    Thea followed and said, ¡°I¡¯m comin¡¯ with. I¡¯m hungry again.¡±

    Within seconds of invading the kitchen, the girls were arguing about something. Probably about what pasta I preferred or they were bad-mouthing me. Either or, I wasn''t devoting brainpower to listen to their gossip.

    Uncle Ali threw on a random sitcom and turned up the volume. A cleanse from real-life drama. I never thought I¡¯d be glad to hear canned laughter and horrible jokes.

    I said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s worse: the fact that I¡¯m enjoying this awful sitcom or the unholy concoction being brewed behind me.¡±

    Uncle took Thea¡¯s spot. ¡°Rock bottom is different for everybody. How''re you feeling, though? Exhausted? Overwhelmed?¡±

    ¡°Drained,¡± I answered. ¡°We¡¯re left with more questions than answers, more problems than solutions. That¡¯s how it goes, I guess. All we can do is tackle the next big thing.¡±

    ¡°All in due time, Alex. At least you¡¯re supported by a team.¡± He glanced toward the kitchen. My number one supporter was in that room, chatting it up with my little sister who was my number one hater.

    When he mentioned that, though, something popped in my head and I found myself asking: ¡°Speaking of, before we earned our wings, you said you had a small list of candidates? To, you know, ally with?¡±

    Uncle firmly nodded. ¡°I did. Why do you ask?¡±

    ¡°Angels was your first pick. What¡¯s your rationale?¡±

    He chuckled and gestured at the luxurious apartment we get to stay in for free. ¡°Jokes aside, I told you my reasons back then. I¡¯ve committed an ungodly amount of time into studying Kosmos. The more I researched, the more I respected him.¡±

    ¡°Massive words coming from you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m serious. Kosmos is more myth than man. Can you count the number of times he took a firm stance on a political matter?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not often, I know that. I think, what, once or twice a year? He doesn¡¯t like throwing his weight around.¡±

    Uncle raised a finger at me like it was a ruler-stick. ¡°That¡¯s right. You can disagree with his positions, but he rarely uses his influence. In fact, he doesn¡¯t want to and prefers to remain neutral. Why?¡±

    ¡°Because he¡¯s afraid?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s incredibly cautious and rightfully so. Kosmos commands the international community of Slayers. Whenever he says ¡®jump,¡¯ they¡¯ll jump. Despite wielding this amazing yet unimaginably dangerous power, he chooses to do nothing. It takes a special man to look at our world and choose to not put his weight on the scale unless strictly necessary. In his case, a special man surrounded by decent people.¡±

    I said, ¡°Seraph and Rector.¡±

    ¡°Mhm. They¡¯re another reason why I¡¯d ally with Angels Guild. They understand power far better than most in their echelon and wield it appropriately. Not perfectly¡ªno one is perfect¡ªbut good enough.¡±

    ¡°And¡­¡± I hesitated, but I spat the words out: ¡°And you¡¯re okay with our arrangement? Once word starts to spread and the wrong people find out you¡¯re an Angel, they¡¯ll raise Hell.¡±

    Uncle confidently nodded; there wasn¡¯t a single hint of hesitation in his eyes. ¡°They can try.¡±

    Again, these were massive words coming from my uncle. He wasn¡¯t one to make definitive statements; if anything, he was more cynical and paranoid than I was. For him to sing Kosmos¡¯s praises¡ªespecially given his career in the military¡ªit was the highest form of praise a man could give to another.

    I couldn¡¯t help but smile, until a memory crept into my head. That conversation with Dad, on the night Arlo was selected to be the new Guild Master of Legends Guild.

    Uncle Ali saw my smile drop and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡­ Just remembering something.¡±

    He saw through my bullshit. ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± My throat felt scratchy. Carefully, I reached for my water, gulped half of it down, and set it back. ¡°I was, erm, I was thinking about Dad again.¡±

    Hearing his name brought a tinge of lasting grief to my uncle, extending subtly from his lips and to his eyes. ¡°What about your father?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, just¡­¡± I rested the back of my hand over my forehead. ¡°Do you remember what he wanted most from me?¡±

    ¡°For you to be a better man than him, of course I remember. Alex¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about me this time.¡± Memories flashed, and I could faintly hear flapping wings. ¡°Dad always tried to be a better man than he was yesterday, but guess what? Seraph said the same thing just the other day. Angels Guild does all these things, philanthropy and illegal experiments and what-have-you, not because they¡¯re better than the Union. It¡¯s because they want to be. That¡¯s¡­ I can¡¯t exactly hate that.¡±

    We all had our reasons to believe in Angels Guild. Just maybe¡­

    Before my uncle could say anything, the microwave erupted in alarm. We heard a ¡°Food¡¯s ready!¡± from Althea. In a couple minutes, we had two imposter chefs march from the kitchen with four microwavable pastas in their hands. Smelled good at least. Too bad my stomach was going to be pumped full of microplastics, but I''d be fed.

    I groaned and sat up.

    Thea put my ¡°dinner¡± down. ¡°Fresh cheese, sir.¡± She sprinkled shredded cheese from a store-brand bag.

    ¡°Where¡¯s it sourced from?¡±

    ¡°Milk.¡± Then, Thea delicately placed a fork on my plate. ¡°And silver.¡±

    ¡°Fantastic. Zero stars.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t appreciate real gastronomy¡ª¡± (¡°Don¡¯t use big words.¡±) ¡°¡ªshut up, asshat.¡± Thea sat next to me, hot pasta on her lap.

    I wasn¡¯t going to dig in right away; looked way too hot. Last thing I wanted was a burnt tongue alongside a sore body.

    Leo preferred sitting on the ground, using the table for its intended purpose. ¡°What were you guys talking about while we were cooking¡ª?¡± (¡°You weren¡¯t cooking.¡±) ¡°¡ªshut up, asshat.¡±

    Thea swirled her pasta around with a fork. ¡°I was interrogating her ¡®bout the Alternate.¡±

    Uncle Ali answered for us, ¡°Kosmos. Speaking of, you know the man behind the helmet, right?¡±

    ¡°Heh.¡± Leo put an elbow on the table. ¡°Of course. I don¡¯t wanna say too much, but Kosmos and Nathan are¡­ How do I put this? They¡¯re a character and its actor. Two completely different people. Kosmos is a god amongst warriors, while Nathan is a goofy man trying to find time for his family. One day, you¡¯ll meet him.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it,¡± my uncle said. ¡°It¡¯ll be interesting to finally speak with him without filters.¡±

    ***

    Someone was gently knocking on the door. Phone read four in the morning, what the fuck¡­ I barely had time to sleep, dammit¡­

    With aching muscles still plaguing me, I slowly climbed out of bed and walked toward the blurry door.

    On the other side was Leo. ¡°There¡¯s been a new development,¡± she whispered.

    ¡°Motherf¡ªalright, come in.¡± I let her inside and quietly closed the door. ¡°Is it the internationals?¡±

    Leo scratched her eyes while shaking her head. ¡°No. Rector didn¡¯t tell you, but he asked Glory and Martials to keep a heads up for anything suspicious, saying a breakthrough may happen on their territory. VGM Jin Tianyou alerted him of a ¡®very strange occurrence¡¯ in the Jin Family Manor.¡±

    My heart was thumping. I did my best to contain my nerves. ¡°What does that mean? We should know it¡¯s an Alternate, right? We have the technology to track them.¡±

    I recall a short lecture: Sophos and Morgan had repurposed spatial tracking technology¡ªin simpler words, trackers that caught teleportation signals¡ªto detect breach-like signals instead. It mostly caught false-positives due to the constraints.

    Leo told me, ¡°Morgan said it¡¯s far from perfect, especially when it comes to a highly-protected manor outside the city walls.¡±

    I cursed under my breath. ¡°Fuck, okay. How are we handling this? Who¡¯s going to the VGM?¡±

    ¡°He asked for you,¡± Leo said, pale in the skin. ¡°He specifically asked for you and only you to investigate this. Otherwise, he¡¯s going to Agent Dwyer with all the information he has.¡±

    [Complete: Part 2 - For Humanity]

    [Next: Part 3 - For Mother]

 [FOR MOTHER] Chapter 1 - Son of the Zenith General

    ¡°You¡¯re going alone, Alex. Keep us updated, and take notes on everything. If this really is a potential Alternate encounter, don¡¯t take any chances and call in the cavalry. If not, leave and don¡¯t look back. Understand?¡±

    In terms of worst-case scenarios, I compiled a short mental list: going outside and forgetting to wear pants, getting my bank account hacked and losing all my savings, and having to meet the son of a former Zenith General. Alone. No back-up due to blackmail. It was a common strategy in the Jianghu; probably was one of the better shitty things you could do.

    If Jin Tianyou was anything like his father, Jin Junjie, then he¡¯d gladly start yapping. We couldn¡¯t call his bluff, then, so that meant a lovely morning drive outside city walls, with no one but the radio keeping me company.

    Normally, someone like Jin Tianyou would live in Starry Heights¡ªthe Beverly Hills of Ordo, so-to-speak. Almost every elite sword and their families lived there, including Seraph and Rector. However, the Jins thought otherwise. Of course they did, because they saw themselves as superior to the urban filth wasting away inside the city.

    The Jin Family Manor was its own special place. It was a quaint, court-styled complex built on top of a hill, bringing traditional sect architecture to the Sovereign Peninsula. Resembled a TV set from a historical C-drama, if I hadn¡¯t noticed high-tech cameras and an iron gate surrounding the high-walls. You¡¯d see that a lot in the Jianghu''s older structures: their architecture was a strange mesh of history and modern technology. These days, newer sects¡ªnewer buildings in general¡ªleaned toward function more than aesthetic. Much to the dismay of the Court¡¯s Standards of Architecture, of course.

    It didn¡¯t matter here. The Manor was isolated, out-of-place, constructed for exclusion and exclusion only. You could admire the Manor, but not up close or else you¡¯d be chased away. The proper place was down below, where you had to crane your head upwards and see the magnificent walls and a little sliver of the slanted roof-tiling.

    The Manor was a testament to Jin Junjie¡¯s hypocritical arrogance. He abhorred urbanites, yet founded Martials Guild within the urban and westernized heart of the Slayer Capital. He was among the elites, yet lived far away in his own special hut. The most successful and pathetic cultivator in Ordoian history, I think.

    But this man had been a Zenith General once upon a time. No matter my opinions, this was still one of the most dangerous places in Ordo.

    ¡°Identify yourself,¡± said the robotic voice at the front gates.

    ¡°Conqueror,¡± I answered. ¡°Vice Guild Master Jin Tianyou is expecting me.¡±

    ¡°Please wait.¡± Cue annoying music. It lasted for a few seconds before the voice cut back on. ¡°Welcome, Conqueror. Follow the road and park your vehicle in any of the available spaces. Afterwards, walk down the eastern path and through the main gate. As you enter the grand courtyard, you will find Master Jin. Thank you.¡±

    The gates automatically opened. Here we go. Yet another once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in my hands.

    I drove for a slow twenty seconds, taking my time to observe the surroundings. I thought I¡¯d find curious maids and servants poking their heads through doorways and windows, but there was no one. Heard nothing but singing birds and whistling wind. The parking lot was empty. I parked and slammed the door loudly, and all I did was startle nearby squirrels. The morning was dead and lifeless here, feeling straight out of a horror movie.

    The Manor was exclusive, yeah, but you needed a sizable staff to maintain the property¡ªso where the hell was everyone?

    I don¡¯t like this.

    Dammit, not like I could turn back now.

    I found the ¡°eastern path¡± as mentioned; a few lonely steps later, I was facing two massive red doors about twice my height. Dragons danced through the wood, their scales glittering with gold leaves, daring me to enter. I didn¡¯t want to. Just about every muscle in my body told me to fold. Give up. Nothing good will happen if you walk through these gaudy doors.

    Unfortunately, the Manor itself made the choice for me.

    The doors opened on their own.

    ¡°Motherfucker¡­¡± I muttered, cracking a morbid smile.

    Before me was the masterpiece of the Jin Family Manor: the grand courtyard, which was exactly how I imagined. Large, fantastical, dream-like¡ªas though stepping inside a different world. Despite the lack of visible caretakers, the courtyard was undeniably breathtaking. Patted stones led to displays of colorful nature: a crimson tree giving shade to violets, a running spring cutting diagonally through the courtyard, and glowing flowers stealing lumens from the sunrise. Gravel satisfyingly crunched underneath my feet, the color somehow perfectly uniform. Walls surrounded me, with more of those red gates preventing access to other sections of the Manor. In front of me, rising above everything, was a lodging fit for a prideful emperor. Four stories tall, built more as a throne room than a house.

    I couldn¡¯t gawk for long, because something else had immediately grabbed my attention: a cultivator kneeling parallel to the spring, using a flat rock to hold his tea brewing equipment. I¡¯d seen so many pictures of him online, watched so many videos. The urban prince of Martials Guild, wielder of [Ancestral Qi]¡ªVice Guild Master Jin Tianyou.

    He was dressed in a fine cultivator robe, the colors and quality so pristine that you couldn¡¯t mistake his status. Blue and white, seemingly a pure and innocent combination, yeah? I¡¯d agree if it was anyone but him wearing them. In a city filled with high-rankers and prodigies, Jin Tianyou was a step above the rest. He was a monster. I had no rational reason to claim this¡ªit sounded insane¡ªbut my gut was firing on all cylinders: ¡°This man is dangerous. This man is dangerous. This man is dangerous.¡±

    Give him five years, give or take a few, and he¡¯d be in the top one-hundred. Another five years, he might even rival Shui Yuan (Ë®Ô´).

    <Hmm¡­> Jin Tianyou was staring down two flaking tea-cakes. He asked in Mandarin, <What do you prefer, Conqueror? Raw or ripe pu¡¯er?>

    I dry-swallowed and carefully made my approach, so careful that it probably looked like I was walking in a minefield. <I-I don¡¯t drink tea. I¡¯m more of a coffee-person.>

    <You¡¯ll try ripe this morning, then.> He wrapped what I assumed to be the raw pu¡¯er and set it aside. <Come, sit.>

    It wasn¡¯t an offer. Either I indulge in his hospitality or he¡¯ll have morning tea with Agent Dwyer and Dietrich instead. Dammit all.

    My legs buckled as I lowered myself onto the ground. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from impolitely groaning in front of him. This was the consequence of barely having any sleep to recover, all because of the living nightmare in front of me.

    Jin Tianyou had the slightest yet amused smile, an eyebrow half-raised, from watching a geriatric man in his early twenties. Most women would swoon from the attention he was giving me, but he was pretty like how a handcrafted doll was: porcelain and enigmatic. What was he thinking? What was he planning?

    He parted his smooth lips, head slightly turned. <I heard you were injured during yesterday¡¯s breakthrough.>

    I nodded, and as though he cursed me, my muscles flared in aches. My poker-face kept the pain from bleeding through. <I haven¡¯t fully recovered.>

    <I should¡¯ve brought out a tea that¡¯ll encourage healing. My apologies.> Jin Tianyou broke off a chunk of ripe pu¡¯er and dropped it into a lidded cup. <Have you tried Chinese tea before?>

    I watched as the leaves were drenched in already-boiling water. <A few times. I went to a teahouse for one of my friend¡¯s birthdays, but that¡¯s the extent of it.>

    <I see.> Jin Tianyou let the leaves steep for a handful of seconds, then the infusion was filtered into a transparent pitcher. The color was wonderfully dark like light chocolate. Clear too, not a hint of debris. He poured the tea into his small cup first, then mine. He asked, <I suppose you know what to do with the first wash?>

    Chunhua lectured me once about it. I said, gingerly holding the warm cup, <I do, Guild Master Jin.>

    He did the same. <To new relations.> Then, he poured the tea into the spring.

    <To¡­new relations.> I did the same. My fingers gripped the ceramic hard so that my sweat wouldn¡¯t cause a diplomatic disaster. Longest few seconds of my life. Once it was over, I mentally sighed in relief.

    The second steep was on its way, the water splattering and drowning the opened pu¡¯er. <You have your questions. They¡¯ll be answered in a matter of logic. The first on your mind must be: ¡®Why me?¡¯>

    I couldn¡¯t refute his claim. All I could do was sit there like a girder, watching as he refilled my teacup. This steep was darker than the first round, and faintly, I spotted my wavering reflection.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Jin Tianyou took my silence as affirmation, holding his cup in-line with his upper-lip. <Do you recall Primordial Plaza, Conqueror? When you first spoke with Sophos?>

    Speaking with Sophos was several times less nerve-wracking than our conversation, but yeah, I did. I said, <Does this mean you were eavesdropping on our conversation, Guild Master Jin?>

    He hummed in the affirmative and sipped his tea.

    I took this time to taste the pu¡¯er for myself. Earthy, smooth, it wasn¡¯t bad. It partly washed down the bitterness in my mouth but it couldn¡¯t untangle the knot in my stomach.

    <It was surprising,> he told me. <Sophos operates on her own¡­rationality for the lack of a better word. To approach a civilian went beyond unordinary, until that civilian was the same man who made small waves amongst the Big Four.>

    Was that why he wanted me? To check out the random asshole of the week? I hid my grimace using the cup. <I didn¡¯t make the best impression on certain people.>

    <On the contrary, you certainly impressed me.> Jin Tianyou drank the rest of his tea, then rubbed his fingers against the smooth surface of the cup. His fingernails were one micrometer away from scratching it. His lips smacked together, loudly, like a clap of the cymbals.

    The sound echoed inside my head. My throat was suddenly dry, and downing the rest of my tea wasn¡¯t enough to quench it. <What¡­ What do you want with me, Guild Master Jin? Why did you pick me of all swords?>

    <It¡¯s obvious. I want to know more about you, the enigmatic Conqueror. You, who so easily integrated into the high-rankers of Ordo. That¡¯s why I threatened Rector: to ensure this private meeting.>

    I put my cup down, and it clanked against the wet rock. <Threats aside, you know I can¡¯t tell you how that came to be.>

    <No, there¡¯s no need. I already know.> Jin Tianyou, against his stoicism, betrayed a slight smirk. One that revealed a dagger-thin strip of his white teeth. He set his cup down without so much of a sound. <It¡¯s because you¡¯re different from the rest.>

    My mouth opened to automatically refute, but it was left hanging there. <I¡­ I don¡¯t think I follow.>

    Jin Tianyou gracefully rose to his feet and held his hands behind his back. He embraced the early sunrise with pride. <This is the Slayer Capital, home to the highest caliber of warriors. Prodigies study in Ordo University¡ªsomething you¡¯re familiar with¡ªveterans flock to the Big Four in droves. This is the birthplace of the greatest hero, Kosmos. We live in a cesspool of talent, discipline, and labor. Geniuses clash with fellow geniuses, ambition sparking against ambition. At a certain point, it becomes¡­predictable. Overabundant. As I realize these words¡ªgenius, prodigy, savant¡ªare uninteresting rhymes, I find myself growing less and less enthused.> Jin Tianyou faced me, now. <Until I encountered you at Primordial Plaza.>

    My heart thumped.

    <You had been a civilian then, but I saw it clearly: your promise. You inhabit an entirely different realm and you¡¯re aware of this. Within ten years, you¡¯ll reach the same critical acclaim as your Guild Masters. Rival them, perhaps. Triumph over them. Do you understand the reason behind your visit now, Conqueror?>

    The cultivator loomed over, the weight of his pale-blue gaze oppressing me to the core of the earth. While he maintained an unnaturally stoic expression, his eyes were wide and unmoving, completely fixated on mine. <You, like myself, will rise above the heavens, for that is our purpose in this world.>

    Like how Sophos could appraise my [Skills], Jin Tianyou had a sixth sense and saw right through me. He saw my potential, a fire ignited by the mysterious [Memento Recollection] and my uncle¡¯s [Anti-Slayer Techniques]. Unlike him, I had no desire to ¡°rise above the heavens.¡± The cultivators¡¯ way of living was antithetical to mine, and this psychopath was the perfect representation of it.

    That wasn¡¯t a human being looking down at me. It was a demon, a monster.

    In his eyes, my image was reflected in them.

    <Ha¡­> Jin Tianyou cracked a small, subdued laugh and stepped away. <I look forward to our continued meetings, and most of all, your progress. Here.>

    From his robes, he handed me a small folder.

    I reluctantly took it, my body feeling much lighter now that he backed off. <What¡¯s this?> I asked, my voice coming out in a low hiss. I didn''t know how to take his words, so I pushed them aside in favor of the mission.

    <The file regarding the incident. As I told Rector, there has been a strange occurrence in the past couple nights. It¡¯s why the Manor is lifeless, as I ordered the staff home.>

    Finally, we were talking about the job. I opened the file and¡ª ¡°Jesus Christ!¡±

    I nearly dropped the file in the spring. A crime scene photo flashbanged me: a close-up of a middle-aged woman, her left cheek clawed off to the point where her crooked and pink teeth were exposed.

    I sputtered, <What the hell is this?! You said this is a ¡®strange occurrence!¡¯>

    He replied flatly, <It¡¯s strange to see a woman¡¯s teeth through her cheek.>

    Jesus.

    I ignored his comment and flipped to the next page¡ªand there was another photo. This time, the victim was an older male. His left forearm was ripped to shreds, and a part of his scalp was nothing more than a hairy meat-flap. Looked like his torso also sustained some wounds.

    Jin Tianyou noticed my disgust and explained, <The victims are recovering from their injuries, don¡¯t worry. The first attack occurred the night before, then the second last night. Hours ago, actually. These incidents approximately occurred around the new day; however, there are no witnesses. Everyone who discovered the victims only saw their wounded colleagues, never the culprit. Initially, I had brushed the matter aside to prioritize my other responsibilities, but the second attack forced my hand. With the breakthrough at Angels, I suspected it may be connected to your going-ons. Thus, I¡¯m handing this case to you.>

    <Right¡­> I stood, skimming through the photos and other notes he¡¯d personally handwritten. <Where¡¯s your father in all of this?>

    Jin Tianyou briefly paused. <In the Jianghu. He won¡¯t be available for quite some time.>

    It wasn¡¯t atypical of Jin Junjie considering his position; frankly, better his son than the General himself. I asked, <You haven¡¯t checked the camera footage?>

    <I didn¡¯t have the time. They¡¯re yours.>

    <What about the crime scenes? I don¡¯t know the layout of your Manor.>

    Jin Tianyou pointed behind him, toward one of the red gates. <I provided a map, but the first attack occurred in the western wing outside the Bathhouse. The second¡­> Then, he pointed in the completely opposite direction. <In the eastern wing, behind the Hall of Public Knowledge. You¡¯ll spot and smell the blood before you¡¯ll see it.>

    I didn¡¯t know how to react to that last sentence, but alright. Reading his notes closely, he knew only the bare circumstances. Wasn¡¯t helpful, plus I had no evidence that these attacks were committed by an Alternate. Needed to investigate further to confirm the possibility. What was more likely though? An animal or a sadist, or an Alternate? Admittedly, it was a coin-flip.

    I looked at the thick walls surrounding the Manor, then turned to the hazy clouds drifting above us.

    Jin Tianyou tilted his head slightly. <Conqueror?>

    <...I want a full detailed list of your security measures, Guild Master Jin, and files on every employee you have. That includes their contact info.>

    He let out a soft hum. <Very well. I¡¯ll have them arranged later. As you most likely guessed, I cannot shadow you during your investigations.>

    Wasn¡¯t surprising. With his father gone, he was technically the Acting Guild Master; and with the internationals poking around and tryouts being delayed, the logistics became fucked to put it lightly. Yet something was bugging me.

    I asked, <Are you letting me have free reign of your Manor?>

    Jin Tianyou looked toward the main gate. <No, but how coincidental. I was about to mention your companions, because they¡¯ve just arrived.>

    As the main gate automatically opened, I expected an eager junior who¡¯d lick Jin Tianyou¡¯s shoes for a crumb of his attention. Instead, the woman behind the gate was the exact opposite. His attention? Praise? Didn¡¯t need that, didn¡¯t want that. Hell, she didn¡¯t care enough. Because, very few people were insane enough to stroll through the front-door with a cigarette in their mouth.

    Blackviper was notorious for that: her lackadaisical attitude. She was a Head Officer but more known as Jin Tianyou¡¯s second. Easy to see why. Past her good looks and skintight black bodysuit, those lazy electronic eyes could kill. Every part of her body could. Cybernetic arms, hidden weapons, the rifle strapped to her shoulder. Similarly to the Manor, she should only be admired from a safe distance.

    In her original Worldline, she had been an assassin after all. Now in our world, she was hunting monsters, not humans. At least, to my knowledge.

    ¡°Boss.¡± Blackviper took her cig out and brushed aside her midnight hair, her ponytail swaying side-to-side. ¡°I brought ¡®em.¡±

    Filtering behind her were two more women.

    A forest-haired cultivator and a stupid-looking esper in streetwear.

    I nearly dropped my file again.

    Me and Chunhua locked eyes first, and her shock quickly morphed into silent, seething rage.

    <They will be your companions,> Jin Tianyou said to me. <Blackviper, Forest Master, and Uprise. As tryouts have been delayed for all guilds, I decided to administer a special test instead¡ª>

    I whipped my head toward him. <You brought them here¡ª?!>

    <To support and encourage you, because I expect the issue to be swiftly resolved. After all, the premise of your being here is the ignorance of our pesky internationals.> A threat. We were all in danger of being reported to Dwyer. <At midnight, then, I¡¯ll visit my Manor again in hopes of a positive development. Do your best.>

    Event Commission: Attack on the Manor

    Pay: TBD

    Description: For the next sixteen-ish hours, I have to investigate two savage attacks at the Jin Family Manor. I¡¯m torn between two orders: determining if the culprit was in fact an Alternate, as per Rector and Morgan; and providing a satisfying conclusion, as Jin Tianyou expects. You don¡¯t blow off a cultivator like him, even if his father¡¯s a disgraced Zenith General. Scorning the Marital Zenith Sect was an easy way to earn an Extermination Edict. I¡¯m catastrophizing, obviously, but not a good idea. Sixteen hours. I need to make them count. Hopefully, the girls will cooperate.

 [FOR MOTHER] Chapter 2 - Two Crime Scenes, Two Victims, and a Lonely Manor

    angels breakthrough

    primordial plaza breakthrough

    anomaly bureau

    distortion and breach institute

    first wave

    ordo

    Oiwjhadowya8dyhowand wajdi

    Chunhua held the backspace key until the entire query was deleted. How long have they been at it¡ª? Ah, hours, because it was three-thirty in the morning. Wonderful, how genuinely wonderful. All that effort and neither of them could gather a hint of useful information. This must be the reason why Chunhua preferred the front-lines; it was quite simple to wave your spear around and stick the nearest foe.

    The men were uncharacteristically quiet since the breakthrough at Angels Guild. They¡¯d responded in the group-chat, a meager ¡°Everything¡¯s alright!¡± which was not only false but also concerningly deceptive. They were involved with the incident in some capacity, Alexander especially, and now internationals were investigating Angels.

    As Chunhua scrolled through endless articles and websites, an unsettling conclusion revealed itself: Alexander did play a part in Primordial Plaza, these ¡°breakthroughs¡± were unnatural, and he was now deeply involved in the conspiracies of the Big Four. Victor, due to his relationship with that idiot, was now implicated and he had to be radio-silent.

    ¡°Chunhua!¡± an adorable voice squeaked behind her. Kotone swiveled around the couch and stood in front of the TV, looking and sounding like she''d directly injected caffeine into her veins. "I have an idea!"

    Chunhua set her laptop aside, letting the hot battery burn a hole into the couch instead of her lap. ¡°I¡¯ll hear you out.¡±

    Kotone pointed out the window. ¡°We¡¯re infiltrating the Wings and demanding answers from Seraph.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not. I value my life.¡±

    ¡°Okay, no more ideas.¡± Kotone slouched and flopped on the opposite end of the couch. She let out a long, annoyed sigh. ¡°I don''t know else to do. We¡¯re not gonna get any answers from Vic or Alex, or from Thea and Uncle Shen¡ª¡± (¡°Uncle Romanos.¡±) ¡°¡ªUncle Romanos. We don''t know where they''re even staying at!"

    Because Alexander never disclosed the hotel he was staying in, and the Taslim household was most likely in lockdown. What a messy, dramatic situation. Yet, knowing its depth¡­

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s for the best that we stay out of this¡ª¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Kotone shot straight up.

    Chunhua elaborated, ¡°I¡¯m saying that it might be for our benefit¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking ¡®bout our benefit, what about theirs? Breakthroughs are popping up around us, internationals are investigating¡ª!¡± (¡°Kotone¡ª¡±) ¡°¡ªand we¡¯re supposed to sit back¡ª?!¡±

    ¡°Kotone!¡± Chunhua raised her voice enough that her dear friend was subdued. She sighed, letting her tone drop back down to a whisper. ¡°If we intervene, we¡¯ll make an already-sensitive situation worse.¡±

    ¡°But¡ª!

    ¡°No arguments. Situations like these occurred fairly often in my sect. For your own sake and your friends, the best choice was to remain on the fringes. Observing, yet never stepping in unless absolutely necessary.¡± Of course, politics in the Jianghu had considerable differences from politics in the urban world: laws, regulations, and so on. However, the two worlds were estranged siblings more than acquaintances.

    Despite her rationality, it fell on the deaf ears of sentimentalism. Kotone bit her pink lip. "I bet your friends would''ve wanted help."

    I know they did, because when it was my turn, I wished for the same thing. No one lent their hand. They looked away, and I was resigned to my fate. ¡°For now, let¡¯s¡ª¡±

    [New message from Blackviper]

    What¡­?

    Kotone stared at the blue-screen, but due to the Slayer System''s privacy measures, she couldn''t read its contents. ¡°What¡¯s the notification for?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± Chunhua stood from the couch. ¡°Give me a moment.¡±

    She walked into the kitchen and opened the [PM].

    [Blackviper]

    good early morning

    forest master right?

    maolin, exiled, all that cosmo?

    [Forest Master]

    What do you want, assassin? I¡¯m in no mood for petty insults at this hour.

    [Blackviper]

    not gonna be in the mood for this message then

    jin tianyou wants you and the esper

    Chunhua gasped, hovering a hand over her mouth. Jin Tianyou? Her? Could it be about Maolin¡ª? No, why would a man like him be concerned with a comparatively minor sect? Plus, if it really had been about her, why Kotone? Logically, then, it couldn¡¯t be about Kotone either.

    If it wasn¡¯t either of them, then¡­

    Then Chunhua didn¡¯t know why he was calling a meeting, and that was the most terrifying answer.

    [Forest Master]

    Why? Why myself? Why Kotone?

    [Blackviper]

    does it look like i ask questions

    no that¡¯s a rhetorical question i don¡¯t

    you¡¯ll have to find out the hard way

    [Forest Master]

    That¡¯s assuming I answer his call.

    [Blackviper]

    you¡¯re a smart pretty lady fm

    you know this isn¡¯t a request

    i¡¯m picking you up at seven

    we¡¯re going to his family manor

    be on your best behavior, tell that to your gf too

    ***

    <Alexander, I haven¡¯t seen you in days and this is how we see you again?!> Chunhua was a few inches away from grabbing my collar and shaking me. After Jin Tianyou had abandoned us in the main courtyard, this was how she greeted me after I went radio-silent. Deserved, honestly.

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey!¡± Kotone stepped between us. ¡°Let¡¯s not break into a fight, okay? And please, can you guys argue in English? I''m a different Asian than you guys!¡±

    Chunhua angrily scoffed and turned around, looking at everything but me. ¡°Kotone, we finally met Alex only to be used as pawns by Guild Master Jin! He brought us here as leverage!¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Kotone blinked a few times, then gulped. ¡°Is that what really happened? I-I kinda thought we¡¯d be helping Alex with cleaning the Manor or something¡ª¡±

    ¡°Christ, Kotone.¡±

    ¡°Kotone!¡±

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m trying to crack a joke, I¡¯m sorry!¡± Kotone nervously laughed, saw that neither of us were in a mood for stand-up comedy, then laughed quieter. ¡°Is it that bad? I¡¯m genuinely asking.¡±

    I clicked my tongue. ¡°I mean, you guys are now implicated in you-know-what. Worst case scenario, we¡¯re facing international charges.¡±

    Chunhua bit down hard on her lip, an ugly expression taking over her usually elegant face. ¡°It¡¯s not¡ª! I¡ª! Ugh, dammit! <Fuck!>¡±

    She smacked her own head out of frustration.

    Kotone and I froze.

    Chunhua glared at me as if I had caused her crusade myself, "Damn you, Alex. Damn you, damn Jin Tianyou, and damn his cowardly father too¡ª!¡±

    A tar-filled, disgusting cough interrupted her tirade, and our nostrils flared at the scent of cheap cigarettes. Behind us, Blackviper was punching her chest a few times to get the bad chemicals out of her system. ¡°S-Sorry, I swallowed my cig. Ahem, yeah, sorry."

    "What is it, assassin?" said Chunhua, hotly rolling her eyes and showing disrespect. "Are you offended I spoke the truth about your superior?"

    ¡°Oh, I agree. Just don¡¯t say that to Father Jin, pretty cultivator¡ª¡± (¡°Li Chunhua.¡±) ¡°¡ªSelene Blake.¡± Blackviper flashed a toothy grin, which did nothing to cool the tension.

    Kotone gulped and hovered around said "pretty cultivator" like a puppy trying to cheer up its owner. Usually, it''d work like a charm. Not this morning. The ugly-faced cultivator refused to look at me or any of us. I didn''t know what her true problem was. On normal days, we''d have a long and heartfelt conversation over coffee or tea, but clearly, normalcy became a luxury. Monitoring her behavior would add yet another block on my wobbling tower; I had to trust that her mood would improve naturally. If not... Well, let''s hope for the best.

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    Kotone uneasily looked around at her new family for the rest of the day. "So erm, what now?"

    Blackviper crushed her cig into the size of a penny then flicked it aside. ¡°Guild Master Jin''s orders are pretty clear: investigate the attacks and see if you can suss out a culprit ¡®fore he returns around midnight. Conqueror¡¯s takin¡¯ lead. I¡¯m here to fulfill requests and keep you away from certain areas.¡±

    ¡°Guess that¡¯s the job¡­¡±

    ¡°Fine, so be it.¡±

    Amazing. Yesterday, my own Guild Master dropped me from a height of hundred meters, and today, I had to wear a detective cap. With the brain damage I¡¯d accumulated thus far, call me the world¡¯s shittiest detective with a team of crazy women: a pissed cultivator, an airheaded esper, and a snarky assassin. Sounded like a premise to a comedy movie or a bad anime. No, this was a psycho¡¯s very twisted idea of a test. Either we find the culprit, or we¡¯d be bugged and interrogated (tortured).

    My new team was staring at me¡ªfor one of them, glowering¡ªexpectedly. Let¡¯s get started, then. Two crime scenes, two victims, and a lonely manor outside the city. What we need to do first is¡­

    ¡°Know a place where we can establish a base of operations?¡± I asked Blackviper.

    ¡°Yup. Follow me.¡±

    We followed Blackviper through one of the northern gates and entered a hall. Don¡¯t ask me which one, I hadn''t memorized the manor''s layout yet. The interior was decorated to impress: statues of historical and mythological figures, various traditional art-pieces from the Jianghu, and there was a giant tower of compressed tea-balls. This wasn''t where we set up shop, though¡ªand thank God, because I didn''t trust my friends around this much expensive decor¡ªBlackviper offered a large conference room instead. We had whiteboards on either side of the room and an embedded projector-screen at the far wall.

    ¡°Yeah, this will work.¡± I plucked a few markers and tested them. Good as new. ¡°We¡¯ll reconvene here whenever necessary¡ªwhat the hell are you guys doing?¡±

    Kotone stared at the tea-tower. ¡°Why do the Jins need this much tea¡­?¡±

    Blackviper went back and tapped her shoulder. ¡°Put your fingers¡ª¡±

    A loud smack echoed throughout the hall. That was the sound of my hopes and dreams crashing, or more accurately, the sound of Chunhua slapping Blackviper''s hand away. ¡°Don¡¯t touch her, assassin.¡±

    Blackviper took the provocation as kindly as getting spat on. She sharply snorted, and lightning cracked between the two women. While they fought a battle of eyes, the bystander tried to mediate but she was invisible to them.

    ¡°Tell the little miss to keep her hands to herself, then listen to your own advice,¡± BV said.

    Chunhua tilted her head slightly like a lion sizing up a gazelle. ¡°Stay that bloody hand, then. I don¡¯t want that filthy thing touching my Kotone.¡±

    Blackviper leaned her head inward. ¡°Don¡¯t bark when you know you can¡¯t bite, Maolin.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll¡ª¡±

    Making the most dangerous decision of the morning, I physically stepped between them. This might result in my death, but I was (somehow) their commander and thus was obligated to keep order. ¡°That''s enough, ladies. Don¡¯t make today any longer than it has to be. We¡¯ll fulfill Jin Tianyou¡¯s request, ideally early, so¡­¡± I looked at my two idiot-friends. ¡°You can go home.¡± Then Blackviper. ¡°And you can take the rest of the day off.¡±

    Blackviper smirked and strolled into the conference room with a wink. ¡°Take some diplomacy lessons from the playboy. He knows what I want.¡±

    Chunhua bit her lip and muttered, <Bitch.>

    BV threw up the bird. ¡°I have enhanced hearing and an auto-translator.¡±

    ¡°Bitch!¡± Chunhua said loud enough that the whole city could hear.

    Me and Kotone shared the same pained and exhausted expression. This was going to be a nightmare.

    ***

    ¡°Let me understand this correctly: Jin Tianyou hired you as an amateur detective through the most roundabout method; and worse yet, more of your college friends and an outworlder-assassin are involved. And if the case isn¡¯t resolved by midnight tonight, we¡¯re doomed.¡±

    I nodded, but Morgan couldn¡¯t see that. It wasn''t a video-call. ¡°Yeah, that about sums it up.¡±

    ¡°Well, that sounds exciting. It¡¯s certainly better than listening to Sophos prattle on about her intelligence.¡± Morgan chuckled to himself. It sounded arrogant, but at the same time, it was from the voice of a preteen. Imagine a kindergartener laughing like an academic.

    ¡°Whatever, what should be my next step? Everyone knows this investigation is connected to the recent breakthroughs, and Blackviper¡¯s keeping a close eye on me.¡±

    Morgan cleared his throat and said, ¡°The mission remains the same, Conqueror. Keep quiet and confirm if the culprit of these barbaric murders¡ª¡± (¡°Attempted murders.¡±) ¡°¡ªis an Alternate. We can¡¯t intervene, otherwise we¡¯d force Jin Tianyou¡¯s hand, and we can¡¯t remotely babysit you either. Not with our recent development.¡±

    ¡°Recent development?¡± I asked. ¡°Something else happened?¡±

    ¡°Potentially,¡± he said, ¡°Archknell left a very ominous message to Rector about fifteen minutes ago, so we¡¯re unraveling that thread. That means we¡¯re spread thin: Martials, Glory, Angels. If you include Sophos, that¡¯s Wisdom too.¡±

    ¡°Shit¡­¡± That meant outside help was unlikely. My situation, although perilous, was stable. What was going on at Glory, though?

    Despite my concern, Morgan laughed his strange laugh. "If anything, it¡¯s fortunate that Jin Tianyou brought your friends along. You have help.¡±

    My teeth grinded together. Outside the conference room were the rest of my ¡°team.¡± More pessimistically, my two stupid friends shared the same space as the right hand woman of the very maniac who orchestrated this.

    ¡°My friends are in danger, Morgan. Jin Tianyou dragged them into our mess. It¡¯s bad enough that Vic¡¯s involved, but with that fucker pressing a gun against our heads, I can¡¯t tell what¡¯ll happen next.¡±

    Morgan paused for a couple breaths. ¡°We¡¯ll protect them. Rector will, I mean. You can¡¯t undo an explosion, after all. Right now, the priority is the investigation while maintaining silence about the Alternates. Blackviper¡¯s more reasonable than her reputation paints her to be. Think of the assassin as dependable, but not trustworthy.¡±

    Fuck, part of me hoped I could find an out. I didn¡¯t want to do this. Not for Jin Tianyou, not with my friends, not in this state. I was getting headaches from thinking about the details, plus my body wasn¡¯t cooperating either. The soreness was still present. Coupled with the looming threat of international agents¡ªand the fear of the Heavenly Xia Court glancing in my direction¡ªthe mild stress was more of a poison than motivation.

    I didn¡¯t know if my body could hold for the next fifteen or sixteen hours under these conditions, but it had to be me. Jin Tianyou would accept no one else. He had to know what I was capable of.

    ¡°¡­Alexander?¡± Morgan¡¯s voice broke my mind out of a fog. ¡°I¡¯m sure this is feasible. You handled System Articles before, so this is well within your wheelhouse.¡±

    My head suddenly pounded. ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Morgan paused again. ¡°I¡¯m not good at rousing speeches. That¡¯s a job for our Guild Masters, but despite our short relationship¡ªif you can call it that¡ªyou¡¯re here for a reason. You survived this far. You¡¯ve been through worse and in worse health. You¡¯re fully capable and so far competent, which is a compliment I don¡¯t give out freely.¡±

    If only he knew about the real reason why I stayed clear of Martials Guild, then he would be singing a different tune. He was right, though. This was far from the worst experience I had. One day. Just tough it out for one day¡­

    I cleared my throat, ignoring the pains. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best, Morgan. All I can say.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try to keep you updated with Glory, but focus on the mission and your friends. We¡¯ll speak again soon.¡± Morgan ended the call.

    Okay, no more wasting time. I had to get the ball rolling. Let¡¯s hope the girls got along while I was out.

    I turned off the isolation bubble and opened the door¡ª ¡°Oh, motherfucker.¡±

    What should be three girls waiting for me was replaced by a curled and crumpled rug, a fallen tea-ball, and a small trail of tea-leaves leading toward the open entrance. That entrance happened to be broken, as one door was hanging off its broken hinges.

    Someone was shouting outside and sounded like a fight was going on.

    Fuck me. Could mean one of two things.

    [Memento Recollection - Nightingale Rifle]

    Within moments, I was out the door. To my relief, the culprit wasn''t attacking. To my dismay, then, Chunhua had. She¡¯d just been pushed back by Blackviper, dragging her thorny spear across the gravel and dirt. Kotone was behind her, sweating a storm and no matter her pleas, our dumbass battle-addict wouldn¡¯t listen. She was seeing red.

    Meanwhile, BV maintained a cool stance, lazily swinging a sleek, single-edged black blade around. She glanced in my direction and smirked. ¡°There you are, Conq¡ª¡°

    Chunhua charged ahead.

    But she couldn¡¯t take one step before gravel spewed in her face. I¡¯d shot there, sending a spell and hopefully a message too. ¡°Stand the fuck down, Chunhua.¡±

    Chunhua gnashed her teeth and whacked her spear on the ground. <How dare you tell me to calm down, Alex?! This vermin insulted my master!>

    <I didn¡¯t tell you to talk¡ª>

    She marched toward me, now, and waved her spear with the full intent of using it. <Say that again, cockhead¡ª!>

    I batted the spear away, and before she could react, five fingers were curled into her collar. Her steam blew in my face, and mine was blowing in hers.

    I said, growling, <I don¡¯t give a shit who said what¡ª>

    <She¡ª!>

    I violently shook her, enough that her head bobbled. <Be angry with me all you want, fine! Sure! But you¡¯re crossing the fucking line and you¡¯re better than that. So if you don¡¯t cool down and unfuck your head from your ass, I¡¯ll do it for you. Now, I want you to nod your head without saying a word, got it? You understand?>

    My threat shoved a cork in the bottle. Her lips were sealed one way or another, however she felt. I didn¡¯t want to say or do this, but kind words were ineffective against cultivators. You had to put your foot down and be willing to bloody your knuckles; fortunately, Chunhua and me already went through this song and dance multiple times before.

    She knew the outcome if she tested me.

    She nodded, rage still smoldering in her gaze, but it wasn''t my problem anymore.

    I let her go. ¡°Wander around the main courtyard. I¡¯ll get you when we¡¯re ready. Go.¡±

    On the last word, Chunhua dispelled her spear, glared at Blackviper for one last time, and walked.

    ¡°I¡­¡± Kotone was obviously very frazzled. ¡°I¡¯ll just uhm¡­¡±

    Without finishing her sentence, Kotone chased after her best friend. Good. I couldn''t be the kind voice today. Not when I was worked up, not in my position. Later, though, later.

    ¡°Fuck me¡­¡± I dispelled [Nightingale] and faced the assassin who still had her sword drawn. God, how did Chunhua let herself get worked up? Anyone could see the provocation coming. Blackviper was notorious for not giving a shit about what other people thought, including her own GMs. Plus, she might¡¯ve purposefully instigated a fight to gauge my reaction.

    I could expect her saying, ¡°Didn¡¯t know you had that in you, Conq!¡± but hollow praise didn¡¯t reach my ears. In fact, she didn¡¯t say anything. Blackviper was strangely staring at me, her eyes somewhat wide. Not the look I was expecting. Satisfaction, relief, awe maybe, those things. Not¡­whatever she was thinking.

    I investigated myself. Didn''t look weirder than normal. ¡°What¡¯s going on, BV? I know I made interesting friends¡ª¡°

    She gripped her sword tighter. ¡°System Articles.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°...What about it?¡±

    Blackviper narrowed her cybernetic eyes. ¡°Incapping four C-Rankers was impressive, but they were bottom-of-the-barrel thugs. An STM squad can murk a warehouse of C-Rankers by themselves. Your average mil can mow down an S-Ranker with enough bullets¡ªassuming a lot of things, obviously¡ªhell, at the right time and place, a kid can blow a sword¡¯s brains out. That¡¯s the great equalizer: technology. Just like that Godkiller you were holding earlier.¡±

    Motherfucker, out of one frying pan and into another. As calm as I could, I said, ¡°Your point is?¡±

    Blackviper lowered her head, and inside her long gaze was the cold and unforgiving Grim Reaper. Death was written across her pupils, toward me, and it chilled my pain and fear replaced it. ¡°At the start, I thought Jin Tianyou was being dramatic like a schoolgirl discovering love for the first time. I¡¯ll admit, I was wrong.¡±

    I pressed my lips together. ¡°You were wrong?¡±

    ¡°Mhm,¡± she hollowly hummed. ¡°You can off everyone here without breaking a sweat. Dunno how you got your hands on Counterforce weapon systems, but I won¡¯t ask. Heh, sounds oxymoronic: Chinese, Counterforce. Almost makes me laugh if I didn¡¯t wanna piss myself.¡±

    Shit, now Jin Tianyou was going to be aware of this information. I slowly asked, ¡°You telling your boss?¡±

    ¡°Dunno, gonna shut me up like what you did with your friend? Maybe worse?¡± BV managed a small, cheeky smile. There was tension in her face. I think she was as wary of me as I was wary of her. Never thought I could get that reaction from a hardened assassin.

    I shrugged and turned toward the main courtyard. ¡°I thought about letting you take a closer look, but that might be off the table.¡±

    Blackviper laughed and some of that tension relaxed. ¡°A man after my own heart. Fine, Conq, I¡¯ll back off. For now, at least. Go and figure out what we¡¯re doing next. You¡¯re the boss, I¡¯m just the helper.¡±

 [FOR MOTHER] Chapter 3 - Corpo, Slayer, Detective

    I¡¯d given Blackviper my questions. Like what Morgan said, she was dependable. Gathering everything I needed¡ªcamera footage, employee information, the security, whatever else¡ªwould take time, as she didn¡¯t have access. What she did accomplish was finding some medicine so I could last the whole day without falling over myself. Found some ¡°magic pills¡± and I popped them dry. They were actually magic. The soreness whittled down to a one on the pain scale. She said the effectiveness should last the whole day, but considering I was going to be ¡°active like a nympho on stims,¡± I shouldn¡¯t count on it. Whatever gets me through the day¡­

    With all this said, there was realistically only one (technically two) things to do.

    ¡°Here it is, the Hall of Public Knowledge. Despite the corny-ass name, it¡¯s just a public library for the visitors,¡± Blackviper said, imitating a tired tour guide. ¡°But if you look straight ahead, you can find bloody murder. It¡¯s one of our newest attractions. That¡¯s why everyone left.¡±

    Bloody attempted murder, to be exact. He Zhilan had been attacked here last night¡ªaround eight hours ago¡ªbut ¡°mauled¡± was the better word to describe it. Even after drying throughout the night, the blood had painted gravel, pavement, and grass a light crimson. Sparkling too, from dew and other particulates. Some spots in the gravel were deformed. Small craters, trenches, but they weren¡¯t footprints in the sand. Couldn¡¯t be relied on, I mean. While Jin Tianyou had immediately ordered everyone home¡ªthus, giving no time for the staff to clean¡ªthey did discover the poor bastard in the first place. Their feet had stomped and pushed the gravel around.

    Hopefully, there should be enough evidence to paint a better picture of what happened.

    Kotone was holding her nose; the smell wasn¡¯t that bad, but then again, I¡¯d gotten used to the scent. Pretty much everyone but her had that in common. She asked, ¡°That¡¯s a lot of blood¡­ How did he survive?¡±

    Blackviper lazily commented, ¡°Eh. You¡¯d be surprised how resilient the human body is. One time, I¡ª¡±

    ¡°Please do not talk about your previous life, assassin,¡± Chunhua spat. Still pissed at everyone and everything, but this was an improvement. She didn¡¯t want to disembowel me or our helpful guide; only in her thoughts. She said, ¡°Let¡¯s not waste any time here, Alex. Tell us what we need to do.¡±

    ¡°Alright, give me a second¡­¡± My eyes scanned the bloody mess then nearby structures. ¡°Kotone, Chunhua, comb the rooftops and walls for any evidence. Take pictures, write notes, whatever¡ªjust try not to disturb them. We already have to pay for one door thanks to a certain someone.¡± (Chunhua pouted.)

    ¡°Can¡¯t believe all that training is paying off to this instead¡­¡± Kotone quietly complained to herself. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take, uh¡­ East? Right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take the other side, then.¡± Chunhua performed the most famous technique of the Maolin Sect: [Thousand Leaf Transformation]. As the name implied, her entire body morphed into a blossom of vibrant green leaves. Without much ceremony, the whole damned thing got whisked upward.

    Kotone¡¯s turn. She summoned six out of her twelve skinny, metallic [Psionic Pylons]¡ªher signature, which I couldn''t explain today¡ªand created a hexagon shape. Within the area, electricity bounced between the [Pylons] and generated a psionic field. Fearlessly, Kotone stepped on, her feet depressing the field like an insect walking on the surface tension of water, then her magic carpet took her away.

    BV whistled, watching the girls work.

    Last but not least was her: ¡°BV, can I trust your eyes? They¡¯re ¡®netics, so you¡¯ll see things I can¡¯t.¡±

    Blackviper nodded. ¡°Roger, but mine aren¡¯t the best forensics.¡±

    ¡°Better than mine. I wear glasses.¡±

    We entered the crime scene. According to Jin Tianyou¡¯s original report, He Zhilan was found a few feet away from the pavement, laying on a bed of bloody gravel. Judging from a fairly large and dried pool of blood surrounded by wide stripes and dotting, I think we found the exact location. Using the blood splatter in the gravel and grass as reference, then, we could trace his last steps by working backwards.

    Went something like this: the wounded man, with his arm mauled and part of his scalp flapping, spontaneously hopped to his feet and danced frantically with an unknown partner. Grass to gravel then gravel to grass. Blood shot back into his body, stitched his veins and blood vessels back together and did the same for his head. Skin was reattached to skin. Soon, his mad feet clacked against solid pavement, and his feet slowed down into a steady walk. Nothing seemed to disturb him anymore, as all he wanted to do was get to his destination beyond the Hall of Public Knowledge.

    It wasn¡¯t accurate, but from the general vibe¡­ He was attacked on the pavement then got pushed away from the hall, which meant the culprit likely ambushed him from¡­

    ¡°Alex, I think I got something!¡± Kotone dropped down in front of me and BV, stumbling, but managed to catch herself. She showed a picture on her phone: the Hall of Public Knowledge''s roof, the section that was facing the scene. Sandwiching one of the spines was broken ceramic tiling. If the picture wasn¡¯t deceptive, each of the damaged areas wasn''t any larger than two feet put together.

    Hurray, our first piece of useful evidence.

    I told her, ¡°Text me the photo and keep searching.¡±

    ¡°Yessir!¡± Kotone was off again.

    Blackviper scanned the scene with her cybernetics. ¡°On that note, nothing screams killer. No hair, no teeth, only blood and a few bits here and there. Nothing belonging to the culprit, I oughta say.¡±

    I recalled the photo of He Zhilan and Huang Chunxi, remembering how they ended up. ¡°They clawed your people apart.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my point exactly, Conq. Our guy is a fuckin¡¯ psycho. Something or someone like that doesn¡¯t care ¡®bout wiping their trace. Your best bet is DNA, but you don¡¯t have that luxury. Just gotta hope that the cameras caught something.¡±

    I glanced at one of the cameras. ¡°Let¡¯s walk around at least, see if our feet accidentally kick something.¡±

    Blackviper¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t lying; she really didn¡¯t see anything. Nothing was hiding underneath the gravel, or in the grass, or even in the trees¡ªI checked, she made fun of me. One time, I thought I struck gold but much to the detriment of my sanity, it was a small nugget of flesh. Human flesh. That wasn¡¯t evidence, that was a biohazard. My ¡°partner¡± found jack squat too, enough that she gave up on searching a couple minutes in and sat down on the pavement.

    Dammit all¡­ I would¡¯ve thought a sadist like our culprit left something but no.

    How the hell can I figure this shit out within¡ªwhat?¡ªfifteen or sixteen hours?

    ¡°Alex, I couldn¡¯t find anything odd in the vicinity,¡± Chunhua came back negative after some time.

    ¡°Other than the thing on the roof, same here,¡± and so did Kotone.

    I¡¯d suspected as much. Would Huang Chunxi have anything?

    ***

    Mostly, no. Her scene, which was outside the Bathhouse, was the opposite of her friend¡¯s. The cleaning crew had washed away the blood (they seemed suspiciously good at it). Aside from a few scratches on the pavement, there wasn''t anything else on the ground¡ªand that¡¯s assuming the scratches were caused by our guy. Much like the Hall of Public Knowledge, though, we found some broken roof-tiling overlooking the scene.

    While there didn¡¯t seem to be anything else, I ordered the girls to roam around and see if they stumbled into a million dollars.

    They didn¡¯t, but I did. After some mindless searching, something bright and vibrant caught my eye: a royalty-red object hiding underneath a bush, tangled in some branches.

    ¡°BV!¡± I called out to her. ¡°Found something over here.¡±

    In a flash, she met up. She crouched beside me and flicked her cybernetics on. ¡°Looks like someone¡¯s pretty red dress got caught up in some branches. Don¡¯t ask me whose. None of the uniforms sport this color.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine our psycho-killer is wearing a cocktail dress while ripping a man''s scalp off¡­¡± I reached over and snatched the fabric. Immediately, something was off because this didn¡¯t feel like silk. How do I describe it¡­? It was like the sensation after eating a pineapple but all over my palm instead of my tongue. ¡°BV, hold this for a sec¡ª¡°

    As soon as I flashed the fabric, I was holding air instead. The strange sensation faded. Just to make sure I wasn¡¯t going crazy, I tapped my fingers together a few times. Yeah, my hand was fucking empty.

    Blackviper was staring at my empty hand too, a bit wide-eyed. That was the most confusion I¡¯d seen from her today.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? You guys find something?¡± Kotone, with Chunhua a few steps behind, peered around the corner and found two confused idiots kneeling in the grass.

    I truthfully answered, ¡°Either we found something, or we¡¯re both suffering from psychosis.¡±

    BV shook her head. ¡°Don¡¯t count your stars just yet, Conq. This sounds like bullshit, but we found a torn piece of red fabric. As soon as he picked it up, it disappeared.¡±

    Good, I wasn¡¯t going crazy. I really did see and touch that thing.

    Chunhua crossed her arms, skeptical and probably suspicious too. ¡°¡®Disappeared¡¯? Evidence doesn''t simply ¡®disappear¡¯ without warning.¡±

    ¡°Things disappear all the time. People, things, you name it. Sporting sensitive equipment you don¡¯t want gettin¡¯ out? Install a conceptual deletion timer. Everyone does it¡ª¡±

    ¡°How is this relevant, assassin?¡±

    BV rolled her eyes and stood, causing Kotone to back off and hide behind her best friend. ¡°They almost always leave a mark, like ashes after a fire. Here? As you can see, there¡¯s nothing. The fabric went poof! It was completely deleted out of existence.¡±

    Kotone, peeking over Chunhua¡¯s shoulder, led, ¡°You said something like this ¡®almost always¡¯ leave a mark¡­?¡±

    Blackviper said, ¡°You can¡¯t make generalizations in this economy, but lemme tell you: you need top-level skills to completely erase something without so much of a speck of dust.¡±

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°So¡­¡± I dusted myself off and stood. ¡°If our culprit has those kinds of skills, then why use them here? Why target two random rens and call it a day?¡±

    Chunhua bit her lip and looked toward the Bathhouse, spotting faint splotches of blood that survived the water and chemicals. ¡°I¡¯ve been struggling to answer that question myself. This¡­sadist infiltrated one of the most secure homes outside of Ordo, twice, just to hospitalize two servants? Are we sure we¡¯re not missing anything?¡±

    I muttered dismissively, ¡°If the culprit had hit anywhere else, we would know about it already.¡±

    Wait, that brings up an interesting thought¡­

    Jin Tianyou had said he didn¡¯t investigate the attacks due to present obligations, but think about it. His home, which surely had cutting edge security, was broken into. Two of his employees were mauled. If I was him, I¡¯d check my office to see if my secrets were safe. Considering nothing was (evidently) hit, I would still be concerned. As a familial member of the Martial Zenith Sect, any security breach would be catastrophic and potentially life-ending. For him to shrug it off so casually¡­ Either he was incompetent or he knew something we didn¡¯t. Knowing him, it was the latter.

    So what did he know? Could I confront him? Would I even get answers in the first place¡ª? No, think about it. I had let the recent drama frame my perception of the case; in other words, I was so fixated on Alternates that I completely neglected the next likely possibility.

    Blackviper nudged my shoulder. ¡°What¡¯re you thinking about, Conq?¡±

    I exhaled to calm my heart. ¡°Can you ask your boss something for me? Ask if this has anything to do with Jianghu politics. If it does, we¡¯re leaving.¡±

    BV raised an eyebrow, gears turning inside her head, and eventually arrived at the same conclusion. Guess she was largely in the dark as well, because I doubt she would willingly involve herself in high-stakes politics. After a curt nod, she marched behind the Bathhouse and left me with the girls.

    While being glued to Chunhua''s arm, Kotone watched the assassin leave. ¡°I thought we were here ¡®cause of the breakthroughs.¡±

    I spotted Blackviper''s arm poking around the corner. ¡°Me too, but there are actually two pretty good explanations for what we¡¯ve seen. Something with the breakthroughs, as you mentioned, or we found ourselves in the middle of Jin Tianyou¡¯s chessboard.¡±

    Chunhua¡¯s skin turned several shades paler. ¡°If the Marital Zenith¡¯s enemies are involved and Jin Tianyou knows about it¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, ¡°we need to run far away.¡±

    Kotone gingerly asked, ¡°Is it that serious?¡±

    Chunhua calmed her nerves enough to explain, ¡°The Martial Zenith Sect is the ruling sect of the Jianghu.¡± (¡°Led by Shui Yuan?¡±) ¡°That¡¯s right. The Jins are but one branch family. While Jin Junjie has forever ruined their reputation, they are still an honored family. To be entangled in their affairs is, to put it lightly, a death sentence.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± was all Kotone said. You know, I couldn¡¯t believe she was applying to Martials Guild. Of all guilds in the city¡ªhell, in the entire world¡ªshe picked one of the more volatile ones. Being associated with the Jianghu was no different than being associated with chaos, even if you were a middling grunt.

    I don¡¯t mean to disrespect her, but I wasn¡¯t sure if she could handle the culture there. Chunhua wouldn¡¯t be around forever, after all.

    ¡°Conqueror!¡± BV shouted as she regrouped with us. ¡°Jin Tianyou confirmed: this does not have to do anything with ¡®current conflicts.¡¯ He didn¡¯t elaborate, so do what you will with that information.¡±

    While Chunhua sighed in relief, I didn¡¯t feel much better about our current situation. This fucker was holding vital information from us, but fine. I wasn¡¯t in a position to dictate the terms. If he was to be trusted¡ªa big ask¡ªthen all the evidence was pointing toward the supernatural. It honestly wasn¡¯t much better than the alternative. With the Jianghu, we could somewhat predict trouble. With Alts? Shit, they could be anything.

    I said, grumbling, ¡°Alright, but my position still stands. If I think this investigation is involved with his politicking, we¡¯re done.¡±

    ¡°He said he¡¯ll honor your decision in that case, which sounds like complete bullshit but I¡¯m just the messenger. As your messenger, I also have something else to report: camera footage and security logs.¡±

    ***

    It was a little after ten o¡¯clock, fourteen hours until reckoning. We huddled inside the conference room as the sorriest detectives you¡¯d ever see. Our agenda was written on the whiteboard thanks to yours truly, and the projector was set up. Our job for today? Seeing what truly happened during those two nights.

    Blackviper had hooked up a laptop to the projector, in-charge of the technology. ¡°I¡¯m pulling up Huang Chunxi¡¯s first.¡±

    After fiddling with the program, we were bombarded with eighteen different cameras. Most of them were actively tracking moving objects, framing them inside a red or green box. It took a hot minute for me to parse through the visual information, but from what I gathered, most were stationed on the Manor¡¯s perimeter. The rest focused on the interior, specifically observing the area around the Bathhouse itself.

    The footage was absolute chaos, though. The cameras were picking up everything: workers slaving through the night, animals scurrying across the courtyard, and a bunch of false-positives popping in and out. BV worked her magic, and only one green box shone from the rest. It surrounded a middle-aged woman wearing a plain and muted uniform¡ªnothing like the red fabric we¡¯d found earlier. Huang Chunxi.

    ¡°This is around fifteen minutes before the attack,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll speed up the video a little bit.¡±

    That she did, and we watched, tracking her progress.

    Huang Chunxi entertained a conversation with a colleague, then she took a relaxing walk around the Manor. For minutes, nothing happened. No one was doing anything particularly of note. The perimeter was calm. None of the squirrels were planning anything nefarious. Literally, we were all engrossed in complete silence, trying to catch any small details. Anything.

    As the timestamp ticked onward toward the fateful moment, my heart started thumping. I was anticipating it, like a jumpscare in a movie. The culprit had to show themselves somehow. Huang Chunxi was at the Bathhouse at this point in time but there weren''t any signs of life from our psycho-killer. Any moment, though, we¡¯d see something.

    Then, our victim stopped and looked around. Her eyes briefly made contact with the camera, and¡ª!

    ¡°Jesus!¡± I shouted, jumping back in my chair.

    We were all startled.

    Every single camera flashbanged us with seizing pixels, red and blue and green, flashing so violently that I was afraid of getting a seizure despite not having epilepsy. The speakers blared with painful static, and BV slammed the mute button then turned down the brightness. Single-handedly saved our hearing and vision.

    We stared at each other, with much of the same confusion me and Blackviper had with the disappearing fabric. Pretty fucking lucky that the cameras went out just as the attack happened. Well, that wasn¡¯t accurate. The cameras were still running, but the live feed was corrupted. I imagine if the cameras got knocked out, it would set off an immediate alarm.

    Kotone had a hand over her beating heart. ¡°That scared me¡­¡±

    Chunhua pointed at the screen. ¡°Can we fix the footage? Maybe make the sound clearer?¡±

    BV shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s plausible, but you¡¯d need experts to de-fuck it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s gonna take more than a day,¡± said Kotone. ¡°I mean, even if we find someone on short notice, they¡¯ll prolly be done around midnight.¡±

    If it was possible in the first place. If the culprit was an Alternate, then this wasn¡¯t a problem that you could easily patch up. Like what Kotone implied, we¡¯d only waste time trying to look for an expert. Fucking Jin Tianyou, imposing a time limit on us. If we had more than a day¡­

    I sighed and tapped the table impatiently. ¡°Fast-forward to the end.¡±

    ¡°On it,¡± said BV.

    When the footage was cleared, Huang Chunxi was lying face-down covered in her own blood. Within a couple minutes, her colleagues and friends rushed to her side. We didn¡¯t spot anyone else, the cameras didn¡¯t spot anything either. The perimeter seemed stable, there wasn¡¯t any obvious disturbances or damage. Only the scene of the crime and the faint screaming rattling the night.

    He Zhilan was exactly the same. No activity leading up to the attempted murder, complete fucking static and pixels during the act, then chaos afterwards. Once again, the culprit left a near-perfect crime scene.

    Trying to explain this rationally was going to drive me insane.

    Kotone was rubbing her face, looking away from the gore. ¡°What the heck are we dealing with? Did you check the security logs? Because, like, someone who tears apart innocent people prolly doesn''t care ¡®bout cleaning after themselves.¡±

    BV nodded toward me. ¡°I made the same point to Conq earlier. I checked our logs and guess what? Besides from the manual alarms Jin Tianyou had triggered, they¡¯re all green. Our security detected jack-shit. The tech-guy even confirmed that the logs themselves weren¡¯t tampered, so as far as we know, they¡¯re genuine.¡±

    ¡°That makes no sense!¡± Kotone threw her hands in the air. ¡°You guys got a top-notch security barrier, right? What about their readings?¡±

    ¡°Internal, external, everything¡¯s clean,¡± said BV.

    Seriously? These security barriers were top-of-the-line when it came to, well, security. You''d find the same tech in places like government buildings and critical infrastructure. They had the technology to monitor all traffic inside the protected area. Any anomalies would easily be exposed. In today¡¯s day and age, these checks occur multiple times per second, twenty-four-seven, without fail. To bypass this, you need: intimate knowledge of the security barrier and its exploits, and a presence concealment [Skill] or really good tech. Usually both. Or if you were Kotone, just blow everything up and walk in through the front-door.

    For the Jins, they had the funds to purchase a cutting-edge security barrier. Most likely, the tech also originated from the Jianghu. Not a lot of people could flawlessly sneak through.

    I let out a loud breath, breaking between a crude laugh and a sigh. ¡°To summarize, the culprit managed to infiltrate the Manor without setting off the alarms. Once inside, they perfectly concealed their presence, obscured the cameras¡¯ feeds, attacked Huang Chunxi and He Zhilan, then left without leaving a trace.¡± (¡°Twice,¡± reminded BV.) ¡°Yeah, twice. They did this twice.¡±

    BV put her elbows on the table. ¡°Speaking as an assassin¡ª¡± (eyeing Chunhua) ¡°¡ªit¡¯s possible to have this perfect of an infiltration.¡±

    I commented, "Only you and Kotone can infiltrate the Manor."

    "Yeah¡ªthis chick?" ("Psionics.") "Right, of course. Espers are weird."

    Chunhua smacked her lips together. ¡°But we¡¯re rounding back to the conversation we had earlier. Someone with intimate knowledge of your security systems and high-level [Skills] wouldn¡¯t waste their talents on two random servants. Not when there¡¯s a bigger prize.¡±

    I spoke up, ¡°Let¡¯s also cross another possibility off the list: that the culprit is one of the servants. You think it¡¯s possible?¡±

    Blackviper hummed in the negative, ¡°Don¡¯t think so. I don¡¯t have the full roster yet, but your average maid and butler can¡¯t pull this off. Too many constraints and variables. Could they be accomplices? Again, we¡¯re circlin¡¯ back to the same question.¡±

    ¡°So it can¡¯t be done by a person, right?¡± Kotone asked the table. ¡°Logic and actions don¡¯t match. If it¡¯s like that, then I have my own theory. It¡¯s, uh, it¡¯s kinda crazy though.¡±

    ¡°Say it, esper,¡± Blackviper told her. ¡°We¡¯re not working with a lot.¡±

    ¡°Hear me out, it¡¯s ghosts but wait!¡± Kotone raised her hand, preventing anyone from speaking over her. ¡°I know it¡¯s crazy, but everything lines up. A ghost doesn¡¯t need to infiltrate the manor or maintain concealment, because it doesn¡¯t operate by our rules to begin with! I mean, look! The culprit appeared at midnight, attacked innocent people for no real reason, then vanished without a trace. That has ¡®paranormal¡¯ written all over it.¡±

    I looked at the other girls first. They weren¡¯t immediately brushing her theory aside. Neither was I, because I came into the investigation with a similar perception.

    Blackviper could only chuckle and lean back in her chair. ¡°A ghost¡­ Somehow, that makes the most sense.¡±

    Chunhua nodded, and even she cracked a smile. ¡°I honestly concur. Using her logic, we can handwave most of our questions with the paranormal, which leads us to the core of the issue.¡±

    At that moment, all three girls were looking at me.

    Yeah.

    If this was a ¡°ghost,¡± then our haunted spirit was most certainly an Alternate. That meant our investigation was the third publically-known breakthrough, having two casualties already.

    Well, shit.

 [FOR MOTHER] Chapter 4 - Ghost of the Past

    ¡°...Are you certain about this?¡± Morgan asked as I once again took over the conference room for myself. ¡°The culprit is an Alternate?¡±

    ¡°Ninety-eight percent certain,¡± I said. ¡°It can¡¯t be an animal or a human. Animals leave tracks, and with the sophistication required to pull off this stunt, it¡¯s not realistically your average joe let alone Slayer. That leaves the only possible option: an Alternate.¡±

    Morgan sighed on his end of the call, taking a few seconds to digest this information. ¡°...If the pattern holds true, I don¡¯t know if we can give you the manpower when midnight strikes. The situation at Glory has escalated, and it¡¯s requiring all of our attention.¡±

    I gulped. ¡°How bad is it?¡±

    ¡°Silverhonor¡¯s gone missing, and Archknell is hysterical. With Agent Dwyer scurrying around the city, he thinks the malies kidnapped her. We¡ªmore specifically, Empress and Firebrand¡ªhad to hold him back from marching out the front-doors and committing global terrorism. We think an Alternate is involved in her disappearance, but we¡¯re still gathering details. Nothing¡¯s confirmed for now.¡±

    Shit¡­ Of all people in Glory, why her? We hadn¡¯t spoken since we wrapped up System Articles and we sure as hell weren¡¯t on friendly terms, but fuck¡­ Both possibilities were terrible. Being kidnapped by the malies was a fate worse than death, and facing an Alternate was a complete unknown.

    I asked, trying not to think about Silverhonor right now, ¡°What¡¯s Sophos doing throughout this?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s still working on a ¡®project that should end this charade once and for all,¡¯ her words. Our GMs have their hands tied as well, so we¡¯re the only ones preventing a city-wide catastrophe. Wonderful.¡± Morgan groaned and something banged. Sounded like a head against table. ¡°If that wasn¡¯t clear enough, I¡¯m being sarcastic. It¡¯s very likely that you have to rely on the talent you have, which from what Rector says, they¡¯re quite strong.¡±

    I glanced toward the door. ¡°A cultivator, an esper, and an assassin definitely are a fighting force, but you know these Alts. The last one was fucking Seraph. If this Alt turns out to be Jin Junjie, we¡¯re fucked. That¡¯s a fight we can¡¯t win.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m taking that into consideration. There¡¯s only one real way to move forward¡­¡± Morgan inhaled. ¡°You have to identify the Alternate. I can¡¯t tell you what you should look for, as our information is still scarce. Think back to our conversation with Seraph, though. Her Alternate, as we theorized, is a version of Sera Creed grieving the death of Nathan Hyun¡ªa future that did not come to pass. In fact, assume your Kotone friend is correct: this is a ghost. The Jin Family Manor is haunted by someone linked to this god-forsaken family¡¯s wrongdoings. It could be Jin Junjie himself, perhaps a version where he grew a spine. It could be any one of his many enemies, big and small. It¡¯s not an easy task, I know, but as soon as you identify the threat, we can move forward with an action plan.¡±

    He was right: this wouldn¡¯t be fucking easy. Jin Junjie made a lot of enemies, and everyone wanted their pound of flesh. Worse, I had to consider both dead and currently living candidates since Seraph was still alive when her Alt appeared.

    Dammit¡­ I could practically see the whiteboards filled with names.

    But this helped. I had an objective.

    I nodded, dreading the coming hours. ¡°Got it. Hopefully, I can dig something up. Thanks, Morgan.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m simply doing my job. I understand why Rector loathes his position.¡± Morgan sighed again. ¡°It¡¯s constant chaos. A boy like me shouldn¡¯t be subjected to inhumane labor.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re mentally twenty-five.¡±

    ¡°What would I give to have the same mental age as my physical body¡­¡±

    ***

    ¡°So.¡± Blackviper had her arms crossed. ¡°You confirmed with your superiors that the culprit is actually a ghost, and they¡¯re most likely an old enemy of the Jins.¡±

    Kotone added, ¡°Who¡¯s coming back to haunt them midnight tonight.¡±

    Then Chunhua, ¡°But it could also be the Jins themselves.¡±

    I nodded a few times, hearing how ridiculous that all sounded. ¡°Yeah, pretty much.¡±

    BV exhaled and her shoulders sagged. ¡°It¡¯s gonna be a long-ass day.¡±

    ***

    Needless to say, trying to identify every enemy that the Jins made was the equivalent of individually listing the entire population of a small country. We had even informed Jin Tianyou that the culprit was connected to his past or even potentially himself; according to Blackviper, he laughed it off and praised our ¡°diligent work.¡± So he was going to be unhelpful and the current terms of the ¡°agreement¡± were still valid. Asshole.

    The suspect pool was too fucking large. It could be virtually anyone with a grudge against Jin Junjie or his son. It could be them, but my hunch said an enemy or an associate was likelier. Personally, the Alternate was connected to the father due to his past antics, but we couldn¡¯t discount anything at this point of the investigation. The timeframe was extensive too. Seraph, according to the internet, was thirty-six (pretty damn young considering her accomplishments). Her Alternate was at least eighteen, so roughly twenty years ago.

    That was the baseline we were working with: anyone who hated the Jins enough, dead or alive, going back twenty years if not further.

    Spelling out our task was demoralizing, for both myself and my team. We had to press on anyway.

    ¡°Here.¡± Blackviper slammed down a giant stack of paper onto the conference table. It toppled over and scattered across the surface. ¡°This is every employee who has worked here since the Manor¡¯s construction. Plus, I sent you the contact info for all the current employees.¡±

    ¡°Thanks¡­¡± I sipped warm tea that Chunhua was kind enough to brew for me. I would need it, because for the next few hours, I was going to be an annoying telemarketer.

    While everyone was combing through the files, I was sitting at the end of the table with my phone plugged to the wall. I called the victims first; well, more precisely, their families. My opening was: <Good day, I¡¯m Shen Yuhang (ÉòÓîº½), an investigator Guild Master Jin employed regarding the incident. I received your number to discuss details about what happened that night.>

    They didn¡¯t ask questions¡ªthey were taught not to¡ªand relayed what the victims had said. Huang Chunxi was working the night shift; everything was normal until she heard a strange sound in the wind.

    <Singing,> said Huang Chunxi¡¯s daughter. <M-My mother said she heard a woman singing a lullaby. When she turned to look, that¡¯s when something jumped on her¡­ She can¡¯t remember what happened but all she saw was ¡®red¡¯...>

    After the first attack, He Zhilan was understandably freaked out; however, as Jin Tianyou hadn¡¯t taken aggressive action, the Manor¡¯s operations proceeded as normal. For him, the circumstances were the same: night shift, performing his duties, until he too heard something.

    <My husband heard someone crying,> his wife told me. <That¡¯s all he said: ¡®Someone was crying¡­ Someone was crying¡­ Someone was crying.¡¯ Are you happy now, Investigator Shen? My husband has been brutalized because of that horrible man. We know better than to approach the police, but we will not be civil with our compliance. Go to hell, you and Guild Master Jin.>

    A woman singing the a lullaby¡­ Wearing red¡­ Crying¡­ That halved our suspect pool statistically-speaking, but as you expected from an immoral cultivator, Jin Junjie didn¡¯t have the best track record with the opposite gender.

    After getting what information I could from the victims¡¯ families¡ªfor now, at least¡ªI turned toward the employees who¡¯d been working night shifts during those days. Same opening, same questions.

    <I-I didn¡¯t hear any singing or crying, or maybe I did, I don¡¯t know!> said one of the employees.

    <Singing? Crying? Who cares about any of that? What¡¯s Guild Master Jin going to do? How is he going to compensate us, huh?> said another.

    <Wearing red? Our uniforms don¡¯t have any bright red.>

    <It¡¯s Angels Guild, I swear. They¡¯re letting all these monsters loose.>

    <I didn¡¯t see anything on the roof¡ªwhat? You found torn red fabric? Wasn¡¯t any of ours.>

    Thanks to Blackviper, I also gained access to the employees¡¯ group-chat. Might contain information that they didn¡¯t dare disclose to the scary investigator. Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t the case. Scrolling through the backlog of the past two days, most of the exchange was people asking questions and thinly-veiled insults toward their employers. I sympathize, but none of the messages here were useful¡ª

    ¡°I think I got something!¡± Kotone suddenly hopped from her seat, holding her phone with two shaky hands.

    She showed us the screen: a pretty antiquated website about Chinese spirits and ghosts. The article she was on described something called a ¡°nu gui.¡± I wasn¡¯t big on the paranormal, so despite my Chinese heritage, I was basically flying blind. Why was she researching literal ghosts, though? I used the word ¡°ghost¡± because that was the best way to describe the Alternates, but to take it literally¡­

    I spoke up, ¡°Kotone, I think¡ª¡±

    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t dismiss it just yet!¡± Kotone turned the phone back to herself. ¡°We know our paranormal friend is a woman wearing red, right? As it turns out, the nu gui perfectly describes her. It¡¯s a female vengeful spirit, created when a woman commits suicide after being wronged. That¡¯s not everything. During the, y¡¯know, she wears a red dress to increase the odds of returning as a grudge¡ªwhy are you guys staring at me like that?¡±

    Wait, I heard this before. A woman who¡¯d been wronged by Jin Junjie, consequently taking her own life while wearing a red dress. I know this story. I know her name. It was¡­

    ¡°Zhu Xinyue (ÖìöÎÔÂ),¡± the three of us said. Me, Chunhua, and Blackviper.

    Kotone looked around the table. ¡°Who?¡±

    BV immediately started rummaging through the older employee files. ¡°She¡¯s¡ªshe was¡ªJin Tianyou¡¯s mother and the dead wife of Jin Junjie. Around two decades ago, she lived here before ¡®an incident¡¯ happened. Must¡¯ve been bad, ¡®cause she got shipped off to her family¡¯s manor in the Jianghu. That¡¯s when she picked out a pretty red dress, did her make-up and said her farewells, and took a nose-dive off her balcony.¡±

    Chunhua added, ¡°I know of her family. After that ¡®incident,¡¯ the Zhu House was forced to pay ¡®reparations¡¯ to Jin Junjie which had effectively destroyed them¡ª¡±

    I started waving my hands. ¡°Wait wait wait, are we absolutely certain that our suspect is Zhu Xinyue?¡±

    ¡°It is!¡± Chunhua raised her voice. ¡°The details match. Zhu Xinyue is a woman, possesses a grudge against the Jins, and is most known for wearing red.¡±

    The other two girls weren¡¯t verbally disagreeing with her. Well, Kotone perpetually didn¡¯t know what was going on. If Blackviper wasn¡¯t speaking out, then she had to agree with the speculation somewhat.

    Then, it was my job to show some skepticism: ¡°I¡¯m not saying it¡¯s wrong, but we need to be confident about this. If we¡¯re wrong, if our ghost isn¡¯t Zhu Xinyue, then we¡¯re fucked at midnight. Going against a cultivator is, according to personal experience¡ª¡± (glancing at Chunhua) ¡°¡ªunpleasant at best.¡±

    Blackviper slid over a small stack of files to me: old employees when Zhu Xinyue had still lived here. ¡°For once, I¡¯m agreeing with the cultivator. She¡¯s our mark.¡±

    Chunhua and Kotone nodded.

    I took the files, then. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s pick apart her life. Don¡¯t leave any details out.¡±

    We went to work, concentrating our efforts on Zhu Xinyue. First thing we did was notify Jin Tianyou. For most people, hearing that their deceased mother was roaming around and clawing random people, they would understandably freak out. Jin Tianyou was different, because he once again laughed it off and praised us for our good work. Wasn¡¯t sure how to take that, but we moved on.

    I also notified Morgan that we identified the Alternate; the specs we were gathering about Zhu Xinyue indicated she wasn¡¯t a particularly strong cultivator. For now, I said that additional firepower wasn¡¯t needed but we left the door open for any unexpected surprises.

    As we gathered more information, though, I was beginning to believe it.

    ¡°Transcendental Beauty Zhu Xinyue¡­¡± I muttered to myself. ¡°The Zhu House knows how to glamorize their heirs.¡±

    Chunhua bit her lip, combing through a few articles online. The Jianghu wasn¡¯t known to post information to the internet; everything was mostly physical records. ¡°You¡¯re wrong. It¡¯s not to glamorize, it¡¯s to advertise.¡±

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    Blackviper snorted, stirring her instant ramen¡ªour lunch¡ªwith a pair of chopsticks too good for it. ¡°Some things don¡¯t change no matter what world you live in.¡±

    Chunhua ignored her comment and explained, ¡°It¡¯s¡­not uncommon for smaller houses and sects to treat their daughters as merchandise, regarding their wombs as treasures. Their purpose is to birth the next great heir of a major sect, being useful for only nine months out of their entire lives. These women try to be ideal wives, because otherwise, they would most likely be discarded.¡±

    ¡°And Zhu Xinyue was one of them?¡± Kotone somberly asked, and Chunhua nodded. ¡°S-So the Zhu House basically sold their daughter to Jin Junjie?¡±

    ¡°To give birth to Jin Tianyou, yes. Fortunately, she wasn¡¯t immediately discarded. According to what little information there is online, Zhu Xinyue was notably a ¡®once-in-a-generation musician with a voice of smooth cider.¡¯¡±

    I finished the story, ¡°Until the incident happened, and she was sent home.¡±

    We were all thinking the same thing, but my thoughts ran a layer deeper. Remember what Morgan had said about the Seraph Alternate? If she was born from an unrealized future where Nathan had passed, then Zhu Xinyue had to operate on the same logic. In that case, the ¡°incident¡± had to be the divergent point like Nathan''s fate.

    So what happened twenty years ago, just before she committed suicide?

    We turned our attention to the former employees during the time. We gathered their contact info and made phone-calls. Many didn¡¯t answer, but those that did brought mixed results. They weren¡¯t pleased that their old employment was bothering them, but after picking the right words, they shed light on Zhu Xinyue¡¯s departure.

    What little light.

    As expected, Jin Junjie had covered up nearly everything. Nobody, not even the most trusted and senior staff at the time, knew. What was told was this: Zhu Xinyue had a mental break and ¡°endangered the life of her four-year-old son,¡± and for that reason, she was sent home to ¡°rest.¡± Most of the employees said that this outcome was depressingly expected. Jin Junjie had forbade her from traveling beyond the walls without his company. This ¡°Manor¡± was her own prison, where she could only observe the outside world from her isolated balcony. All she could do was watch her own son and ¡°sadly sing from her perch at midnight.¡±

    We pressed for details, but that was all they knew.

    Zhu Xinyue simply couldn¡¯t take the isolation anymore and snapped. In what way, we didn¡¯t know.

    We spoke with employees for hours and hours, and before I knew it, the hour-hand passed four.

    Four in the afternoon, eight hours until midnight.

    Kotone was resting her head against the table, BV had gone to the records room to investigate by herself (as we weren¡¯t allowed in the building), and Chunhua was busily researching on a laptop. She¡¯d been working the hardest out of us, more out of discipline rather than enthusiasm.

    Chunhua looked up from the screen. ¡°Are you alright, Alex?¡±

    I shook my head and glanced at the whiteboards; they had fallen victim to my mad scratching. Nothing but facts about Zhu Xinyue. Useless trivia like her birthday to a bulleted chronology of her life. ¡°I wish our ghost was another cultivator like Jin Junjie. At least we¡¯ll be smiling about it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid there are rarely happy stories in the Jianghu.¡± You included. ¡°Except yours, I suppose.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Kotone lifted her cheek off the table. ¡°I thought you were American.¡±

    I answered, ¡°My mom was born in the Jianghu but was adopted into a Mainland family. It¡¯s a long story, I don¡¯t want to get into it, but yeah. By technicality, I¡¯m half-xia. Who knows, me and Chunhua could be cousins.¡±

    Chunhua had an expression that could only be described as ¡°Yikes!¡±. ¡°I hope not. It would make our three-and-a-half dates incredibly awkward in retrospect.¡±

    Kotone cleared her throat. ¡°So what I¡¯m hearing is: you¡¯re half-xia and you never tried to figure out what sect you belong to?¡±

    Believe me, we would love to know that information. I didn''t let her question visibly rattle me, and I said, ¡°We did, but eventually we gave up. I¡¯d rather not know anyway. It might bring more drama into my life.¡±

    Out of the corner of my eye, a frown developed on Chunhua''s chapped lips. My attention was stolen by Kotone leaning back as far as she could in her chair. ¡°Speaking of drama, we¡¯re doomed, aren¡¯t we? What does Jin Tianyou want from us? Dispatch his own mom? We already solved most of the mysteries! What is he gonna do? Expose us to the internationals, and we get locked up¡ª¡± (¡°Kotone.¡±) ¡°¡ªand interrogated and enslaved by the malies¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Kotone! You¡¯re being silly again,¡± Chunhua said, clicking her tongue like an unamused aunt. ¡°We did enough. Even if Jin Tianyou is unsatisfied, our work explains itself. At most, it means we won¡¯t be accepted into Martials Guild¡ªa blessing, I¡¯d say. Even if we succeed, I refuse to sign a contract with him.¡±

    I popped, ¡°What changed your tune? You were determined to cozy up to the Coward of Red Tears.¡±

    She didn¡¯t appreciate that snide comment and showed a deadly smile. ¡°Jin Tianyou brought us here as leverage. Who¡¯s to say he won¡¯t pull further stunts like this in the future? And besides¡­¡± She gulped, her expression briefly falling dark. ¡°I refuse to be used like this again.¡±

    Was that why she was so pissed earlier? Being used like a pawn or realizing a future with Martials Guild wasn¡¯t in the books¡ª? No, her anger ran much, much deeper than that.

    ¡°...What¡¯s your plan now?¡± I carefully asked.

    Chunhua dramatically sighed to release the bad demons from her lungs. ¡°I¡¯m more interested in what our sweet esper is planning.¡± (¡°Huh?¡±) ¡°Obviously, I won¡¯t let you sign into Martials now this has happened.¡±

    Kotone nervously laughed; I bet she hadn''t thought about the future until now. ¡°Does it look like I have my future planned out? I mean, I picked Martials on a whim¡ª¡±

    ¡°You picked Martials because of me,¡± Chunhua said sweetly, but her kind tone wasn¡¯t replicated in her eyes. ¡°I couldn¡¯t voice my thoughts back then, but I had always objected to your decision. Martials Guild isn''t right for you¡ª"

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Kotone retorted, quick and sharp.

    Just like that, the room got a little quieter. Chunhua did not immediately respond, but her true thoughts were written plain across her face. Martials Guild was different from the rest of the Big Four; it partially resembled a sect and brought all the wrong politics from it. The culture was said to be ruthless, intensely competitive, downright an active hostile environment at times. Theoretically, it would take a sweet girl like Kotone, chew her up then spit her out.

    ¡°You¡¯re too weak and vulnerable for Martials,¡± that was Chunhua''s message. It hung thickly in the air without a single verbalized word.

    Kotone started playing with her fingers, restless. She cracked a few of her joints, rubbed her callouses, anything to shake off the jitters inside her heart. She said, ¡°Alex¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering that too,¡± I confessed, not letting her ask the obvious question. ¡°You have [All-Machine Resonance], a damn good psionic [Skill], so why here? I was thinking Wisdom for their resources, or Angels like me and Vic. Not Martials. Hell, you could go back to Japan¡ª¡±

    ¡°I enrolled in OU because I don¡¯t wanna go back home.¡± Kotone stared cold at her best friend. ¡°I love Kyoto, but not that much. So what I chose Martials? Why does that bother you? Do you not want me to join, huh?¡±

    No answer.

    Chunhua, who¡¯d been a wildfire throughout the whole day, could only stare at the scratched surface of the conference table. I didn¡¯t know what to say either. It wasn¡¯t my place, first of all, but not even a silver tongue could talk your way out of this corner.

    "Okay." Kotone stood, all her usual goofiness sapped from her posture. ¡°I¡¯m gonna take a walk.¡±

    She left the room quietly, not even slamming the door. And now there were two. I think we officially hit rock-bottom in terms of morale. Last thing I wanted¡ªlast thing I imagined today¡ªwas to have their friendship strained. Seeing Chunhua like this, blankly staring at her laptop and rubbing her drained eyes, was miserable.

    I whistled to diffuse the bad energy in the air. <Chunhua¡ª>

    <I really am something,> she said quietly. <I don¡¯t deserve a friend as sweet as Kotone. She¡¯s too good for me. But you understand, don¡¯t you, Alexander?>

    <About what?>

    A flame was reignited in her gaze, existing alongside her deep sorrow. <About why I¡¯m on this path. I may live in Ordo, but at the end of the day, I am still a cultivator of the Jianghu. I¡¯m the exiled protege of Spear Patron Li Ying. Nothing has changed. Nothing¡­>

    That¡¯s right, I remember now. Everything was starting to click together again. Chunhua had wasted thousands of hours training for Martials Guild due to a certain asshole. She could no longer use the Jins and their connections as a stepping stone back home. After three years, she hadn¡¯t inched closer to her true objective¡ªthe reason why she moved to Ordo at all. Otherwise, why would she? A cultivator like her wouldn¡¯t be allured by the gorgeous vistas or promises of fame and fortune; no, she was raised to hate the urban, westernized world.

    Yet she needed to bite the bullet in order to accomplish her life¡¯s mission. A year ago, she had entrusted me with this secret.

    <No matter what¡­> Chunhua swallowed, giving the opposite wall a mile-long stare. Her pupils were pinpoints, shaking, as if she had been transported back to her former sect. <I¡­ I must return to the Jianghu and kill that fucking bastard with my own hands! Nothing¡­! Nothing else matters.>

    ***

    BV returned with nothing to show for it, and Kotone came back a little after too. All we could do was get back to work and try to figure out the final mystery.

    I kept track of the current drama at Glory Guild. Silverhonor was still missing but it was kept hush-hush by everybody. They had been retracing her last steps, but so far, no luck. Trying to reach out to SH through [PMs] proved fruitless as well, so they were experimenting with a whole bunch of methods. Worst case, they¡¯d need to call in outside help which would jeopardize the secrecy. To top it off, they still weren¡¯t sure if her disappearance was linked to the Alts.

    Rector and Seraph fared no better on their end either. Due to the breakthrough and the indefinite delay of guild try-outs, they were getting nailed inside and out. The internationals and media were demanding answers. The Board of Operations were asking too many questions. In the middle of the interrogations, they had to figure out their next moves guild-wise while ensuring our conspiracy wouldn''t torpedo them.

    To top it off, Uncle Ali and Thea had been bugging me about the investigation.

    And I still hadn''t solved the mystery.

    I blinked, it was eight at night. The sun had fallen, and lights flickered alive across the desolate and barren Manor. Insects chirped. Gravel crunched underneath my boots. The wind whispered like a thousand ghosts and brought chills down my spine. I wasn¡¯t superstitious¡ªI was emotional and irrational, yeah¡ªbut the eerie sight of the Jin Family Manor made me a believer in the supernatural. A tortured soul lurked in the shadows somewhere.

    Four hours before our deadline, and Morgan had an additional deadline as well: I should make the last judgment call at ten. If I was confident this team could take down Zhu Xinyue, then we should. If not, pull out. I couldn¡¯t directly mention Morgan''s deadline to the girls due to Blackviper¡¯s presence, but I had my ways to gauge public opinion.

    To get out of that stuffy conference room, we loitered in the main courtyard where I first met Jin Tianyou this morning. Over twelve hours ago, I was nearly pissing myself while speaking with him; now, my fear was replaced with homicidal tendencies.

    I devoured a rice-cake from the kitchen, which might as well be my dinner for tonight. ¡°You guys think we can handle Zhu Xinyue?¡±

    BV raised an eyebrow, munching on a granola bar. ¡°You think she¡¯ll pose a challenge?¡±

    I finished my snack and wiped my hands. ¡°It¡¯s a good habit to prepare for the worst.¡±

    Kotone''s dinner was a large cookie. ¡°What makes you say that? We have a lot of firepower right now, don¡¯t we?¡±

    My head nodded side-to-side. ¡°You know how Rector was incapped yesterday, and how I¡¯m sore as hell?¡± (Everyone nodded.) ¡°That was because of the breakthrough. We nearly got wiped because of the breacher.¡±

    Sharing this small revelation brought a mixture of reactions from the girls. Dread, annoyance, more annoyance. Really, only Kotone was demoralized. My bad.

    Blackviper ate the last of her granola bar, crushed the wrapper into a tight ball, and threw it aside. ¡°I should¡¯ve used my sick days, dammit. Guess that settles it: we should wrap up our detective work soon and start making preparations. Maybe if we¡¯re lucky, Jin Tianyou can visit early.¡±

    Chunhua mustered a quiet scoff. ¡°Do you really believe he¡¯ll come? He''ll most likely abandon us to his mother so he can test Alexander¡¯s skills. You might be ordered to do the same.¡±

    She didn¡¯t try to argue.

    ¡°At least say something, assassin! Make your scheming less obvious¡ª! (¡°Hold on.¡±) ¡°¡ªdon¡¯t tell me to¡ª!¡±

    Blackviper exclaimed in a loud whisper, ¡°Shut the fuck up!¡±

    Chunhua kept going, ¡°The audacity¡ª¡°

    ¡°I told you to shut the fuck up!¡± BV whispered with more ferocity.

    After all the conversations we had together, why would a woman like her suddenly drop her voice?

    Realizing that, we stopped talking and listened. The Manor had fallen into complete silence, and something changed in the air.

    BV¡¯s cybernetic eyes glowed with information. ¡°A silent alarm has just been triggered. The security barrier caught an unknown about fifty meters north from our position.¡±

    Kotone stiffened like a log. ¡°I-I thought the ghost came at midnight. It¡¯s not even nine yet¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Shut it.¡± Blackviper faced northward toward our bogey. We didn¡¯t hear them. Not a single thing. No singing, no crying, just our breaths and my heartbeat inside my stomach. ¡°It¡¯s moving.¡±

    Chunhua whipped her arm out. Leaves peeled from her robes to form a shape: a long and thorny spear, which had vines coiling around the shaft like taut rope, finishing off with a marble-white spearhead. This was the prized spear-creation technique taught to her by Li Ying: [Spear Blossom].

    Blackviper pressed something on her right thigh, and she produced the same sleek black sword I¡¯d seen earlier in the day. ¡°It¡¯s approaching the northern gates.¡±

    ¡°Dammit,¡± I hissed and clapped my hands together.

    [Memento Recollection - Nightingale Rifle]

    ¡°I¡¯m notifying Jin Tianyou right now,¡± BV said, cool and collected. ¡°When the intruder walks through the gate, murk it. Don¡¯t take any chances, but try not to destroy more property. Right, esper?¡±

    Kotone was flabbergasted. ¡°Why are you pointing me out¡ª?!¡± (¡°You espers cause the most collateral damage.¡±) ¡°¡ªI don''t!¡±

    ¡°Focus!¡± I reminded everyone, my barrel aimed toward the northern red gates.

    ¡°Whatever, twenty meters!¡± Blackviper told us, eyes locked on the same target.

    We maintained our positions. ¡°It¡¯s comin¡¯ fast.¡±

    We steeled ourselves. ¡°Fifteen.¡±

    Adrenaline poured into my bloodstream. ¡°Ten.¡±

    A familiar soreness creeped into my muscles. ¡°It¡¯s here¡ª¡°

    We finally heard a noise: the sound of life that didn¡¯t belong to us, the animals, or the insects. I couldn¡¯t tell what it was, what our intruder was saying or what they were doing, because the gates rumbled louder. The thick wood awfully creaked and made this horrible screaming noise like a rabbit being slaughtered.

    The gates opened.

    ¡°Moshi-moshi¡ª? AHHH!¡±

    Chunhua had already pounced. She crossed the distance in less than an eyeblink and we heard the deadly sound of a spear sinking into something soft. Flesh? No, couldn¡¯t be. It was¡­

    It was sand and gravel.

    ¡°What the¡ª?! Tell me your name or I¡¯ll paint this manor with your entrails¡ª!¡±

    ¡°NOOO! I¡¯M SORRY! DON¡¯T KILL ME!¡± screamed the intruder. That¡­ That did not sound like a ghost. It sounded like a kid.

    Blackviper put her sword down. ¡°The fuck?¡± She started running over.

    Me and Kotone glanced at each other just as confused, and chased after her.

    When we regrouped with Chunhua, she was blankly staring at our intruder¡ªour fucking ¡°ghost¡±¡ªwho was hysterically sobbing. The spear lodged next to his head had completely paralyzed him, so all he could do was lay there and cry his little heart out.

    This¡­ This kid didn¡¯t look older than eighteen. Had whitish-blue hair and¡ªwait.

    I looked him over.

    I knew this kid.

    I saw him before.

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­¡± The Japanese boy opened his cosmic-blue eyes and stared up at me. ¡°You¡¯re that kid from Primordial Plaza. Amamizu Rei, right?¡±

 [FOR MOTHER] Chapter 5 - Your Tears Falling on my Cheeks

    Rei sniffled, holding onto a lukewarm water-bottle like it was a teddy-bear. Kotone had taken on a therapist role tonight, sitting next to him as they quietly chatted in Japanese. I couldn¡¯t hear their entire conversation, only bits and pieces. Not like I could understand Japanese anyway.

    All the scary people were huddled in a tight circle. Blackviper, who couldn¡¯t stop glancing at the poor kid; Chunhua, who was having a horrible day after threatening to disembowel said poor kid; and myself, the only person who could vouch for him.

    BV rubbed her eyes. ¡°Okay, run the story again, Conq.¡±

    I sighed and impatiently tapped my foot. ¡°As I told you, I hardly know him. We ran into each other on the first day at Primordial Plaza.¡± (¡°Right.¡±) ¡°He snuck in, got caught, and was taken away. That¡¯s it. I thought he had an inflated sense of justice from watching too many animes, but a psychopath who mauled two rens? Look at him.¡±

    We looked at Rei again, who decided to chug the rest of his water. Halfway through, he choked and violently spewed water all over the sand and gravel.

    ¡°He made my point.¡±

    Blackviper rubbed her face, as even she was perplexed by the situation. ¡°He is a Slayer, I can tell you that much. He¡¯s smart enough to block [Basic Information], so y''know what, I¡¯m gonna hand the questioning to you, Conq. You¡¯re best friends with the kid.¡±

    As if she needed a reason to pawn off her work to someone else. ¡°Alright, and Chunhua?¡±

    ¡°Huh? What?¡± Chunhua, frazzled as hell from the emotional whiplash, blinked several times.

    ¡°Stay here.¡± (¡°Alex¡ª¡±) ¡°You¡¯re a mess right now.¡±

    She didn''t argue further and watched from afar.

    With Blackviper tagging along, I introduced myself into the conversation. Rei shakily climbed to his feet, his eyes red from all the crying he did. Kotone stayed sitting, and I couldn''t decipher her expression.

    ¡°Conqueror, I uhm¡­¡± Rei restlessly pressed his hands together. ¡°I apologize for the sudden intrusion. And erm¡­¡±

    I raised my hand to stop him. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Do you have any emergency contacts? Any family, friends?¡±

    He shook his head.

    ¡°I¡ª¡± I stopped myself because it took a whole second for me to process his answer. ¡°Wait, you don¡¯t have anyone to contact? Where¡¯s your phone, surely you have someone¡ª¡± (¡°I lost it.¡±) ¡°¡ªwhat?¡±

    Rei shamefully stared at the ground. ¡°I, uh, I traveled to Ordo by boat. I wanted to take a video of an airship flying overhead, but then waves struck and my phone sort of, erm¡­¡± He made a tumbling gesture with his hands.

    Okay, let¡¯s move onto the next question because I didn¡¯t know how to respond: ¡°What about your wallet? Where¡¯s your ID¡ª?¡± (¡°I lost that too.¡±) ¡°¡ªwhat.¡±

    ¡°When I snuck into Primordial Plaza, my wallet must¡¯ve slipped out at some point¡­ It had all my money¡­¡± On that note, this kid had been wearing a Demonic Cult t-shirt. He was wearing the same clothes since I last saw him.

    I was rubbing a temple, because holy shit, what was I supposed to do with this information? I summarized, ¡°Rei, let me understand this correctly: you have no contacts and no ID for the majority of your stay in Ordo. How did you even survive?¡±

    ¡°...I¡¯ve been by myself for my entire life,¡± he quietly said, still staring at the ground. ¡°The city isn¡¯t as scary as the mountains.¡±

    Kotone spoke up, ¡°He¡¯s from Tsugaru. He grew up in the mountain-range there, but¡­¡± She shrugged, being just as clueless as the rest of us.

    Blackviper patted my shoulder and stepped forward, taking the metaphorical microphone from me. ¡°I have a question for you, Tsugaru. How the hell did you get past the barrier? You should¡¯ve been electrocuted¡ª¡± (¡°Huh?¡±) ¡°¡ªroasted to a crisp¡ª¡± (¡°Eek!¡±) ¡°¡ªand¡ª!¡±

    ¡°How did you get through?¡± I reiterated the question while glaring at the not-so-kind assassin. She cackled under her face-mask.

    Rei gulped and showed us his shaking palms. ¡°I-I didn¡¯t know there was a barrier. I just hopped over the walls¡ª!¡±

    ¡°You hopped over the fucking¡ª? Ah, fuck this, I¡¯m takin¡¯ a smoke. He¡¯s all yours.¡± Blackviper slapped my back, joined Chunhua, and took her smoke break.

    ¡°Is¡­ Is she okay?¡± Rei asked, completely oblivious.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I lied. ¡°You¡¯re a Slayer, right? What¡¯s your [Rank]? Do you have any, uh, equipment on you?¡±

    ¡°Oh, right! I¡¯m just a D-Rank Slayer. And uhm¡­¡± Rei held out his hand and summoned his [Loadout]. It was a single measly item: a worn, beaten katana. A sorry excuse for one. The sheath was chipped and peeling off in thin strands, abused like it¡¯d been whacked against a tree, and scratched up. The hilt''s wrapping was coming undone. I did not want to know what the actual sword looked like.

    I wasn¡¯t Japanese, but even I was hurt looking at this. ¡°Rei¡­¡±

    Rei quickly stashed his ¡°katana." ¡°This is the only sword I have left, but even with this sword, I have to accomplish my mission here. Surely, you know what I¡¯m talking about, Conqueror! Something is here, had been here, I don¡¯t know, but it shouldn¡¯t belong in this world! It was the same in Primordial Plaza!¡±

    What? How did he¡­? Who is he? He shouldn¡¯t know about the Alternates. Was there a leak¡ª? No, impossible. Remember what Leo said: Morgan and Sophos couldn¡¯t confirm an Alternate sighting using their tracker. It was because the Manor was outside the city, plus the security barrier likely played a part in blocking the tracking signals.

    How did Rei know an Alternate had visited the Manor when our current technology didn¡¯t?

    This was too intentional to be considered a coincidence. I needed to know more.

    ¡°Rei,¡± I began, thinking through every word, ¡°did you get a weird feeling around a few months ago?¡±

    His eyes lit up. ¡°Yes! You do know what I¡¯m talking about! It began two months prior. I had this strange, otherworldly sensation and it happened repeatedly before suddenly disappearing a month ago. I thought that was the end, until when I was overwhelmed by a sense of dread over a week ago. It was horrifying, Conqueror-san! Somehow, I knew it originated from Ordo, so I ventured here as soon as possible but..." Until he lost his phone and wallet and got kicked out of First Wave.

    The details matched. I gulped. ¡°Another question: did you have multiple of these¡­feelings at once?¡±

    Rei tilted his head slightly. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know, I¡¯m sorry. I only snuck into the Manor because the ¡®feeling¡¯ here was overwhelmingly strong.¡±

    ¡°What about yesterday? Anywhere else?¡±

    ¡°Only here, Conqueror-san. I-I think. I''m not sure."

    ¡°And Primordial Plaza? Why did you visit First Wave when the breakthrough happened days after you showed up?¡±

    Rei nervously laughed and said, ¡°Please don¡¯t look down on me, but I-I thought to plead my case to the Guild Masters. On the night of, I didn¡¯t expect to wake up with pins and needles, but when I arrived to the Plaza, the breakthrough was already taken care of."

    "What about our breakthrough at tryouts?"

    "I-I don''t know, Conqueror-san. It came to a surprise to me!"

    Christ, okay, let¡¯s think about this. The timeline matched up perfectly: he described the experiment''s failure and the sudden drop of appearances. That meant Rei was telling the truth much to his ignorance. Somehow, he could sense the Alternates. It was flawed, imperfect, and seemingly random: he couldn¡¯t determine the location of the disturbance (Ordo) right away; in fact, it was only when he anticipated the Mother''s dramatic return; and he didn''t predict the Seraph Alternate (because she¡¯d appeared in an expedition).

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    It didn¡¯t mean Silverhonor wasn¡¯t snatched by an Alt. The Alternate''s presence could be strong enough to mask other signals.

    Strong enough to...

    The Alternate should appear at midnight, but if Rei was here because he felt something...

    ¡°Conqueror!¡± I heard Blackviper¡¯s distant voice behind me. ¡°It sounds like this kid is yours¡ª¡±

    ¡°Rei.¡± I ignored her. My throat dried up. Panic pummeled my stomach and brought aches across my muscles whining about yesterday''s trauma. I asked, ¡°Is it here? Do you have that ¡®feeling¡¯ right now?¡±

    The kid gasped and hung his mouth. He nodded, nodded again, and gulped. ¡°Y-Yes. I don¡¯t know how to describe it. It¡¯s like¡­ It¡¯s like something is stirring inside my chest and pulling me apart, but not by my arms and legs. It goes deeper than that. Conqueror-san, I think¡ª¡±

    <? The moon is bright, the wind is quiet. ?>

    I had never heard such a beautiful and soothing voice in my life. I blinked. All my hurt and worry vanished and a warm blanket was curled over my shoulders. It was my armor from the scary outside world. A rough, calloused hand held my own, yet her nourishing touch was the softest thing I had ever felt. I laid my head on her lap and watched her cracked lips subdue my restlessness with a lullaby. I never felt more safe.

    What wouldn¡¯t I give to hear my mother sing to me one last time.

    <? The tree-leaves hang over the window. ?>

    ¡°It¡¯s coming from¡­¡± someone else spoke, Kotone, pointing toward the west, ¡°¡­over there.¡±

    Mom disappeared, the warmth was gone, and all that was left was my cold and aching body.

    Our alertness, the battle-born instincts we¡¯d cultivated throughout our lives, were pacified at the tenderness of her song. Her voice was simply too sweet for us to ignore, and we were too tired. Like thralls, we shambled toward the source. All we wanted to do was listen.

    <? My little baby, go to sleep quickly. ?>

    We passed through gates, between the many halls, as her voice grew louder. Lights around us flickered, brightened and dimmed, like it had during Primordial Plaza. Then, without warning, all went dark.

    <? Sleep, dreaming sweet dreams. ?>

    There, dancing on one of the dark roofs, was a breathtaking, dark-haired beauty frozen in time. Her bare, corpse-pale feet bounced across the dusty ridge. She twirled and spun, letting her red dress entrancingly spin like a wide net casted over water. Her arms were outstretched, covered in blood down to her elbows, concealing the hauntingly white skin underneath.

    Then, the blood was gone.

    That¡¯s right. No matter her allure, she was fundamentally broken. Broken and twisted, like the other Alternates. During her dance, there were a few moments that betrayed her true nature. No, they were more like mirages¡ªlike they never happened. She reached toward the clouds, yet her fingers bent and twisted and her arms snapped in multiple places. Her lithe legs hopped forward. As soon as she landed, her legs twisted sideways and bone shot through the skin.

    She smiled. Then, her neck folded backwards and blood filled her mouth and turned her teeth a dark crimson.

    Yet she continued singing, uninterrupted, as if the omens never existed.

    <? The moon is bright, the wind is quiet. ?>

    ¡°It¡¯s her¡­¡± Rei muttered, eyes wide with fear.

    ¡°Zhu Xinyue, we were right.¡± Chunhua, with what strength she could gather, stepped toward the singing mistress. ¡°We¡­ We have to do something.¡±

    Blackviper could barely move her arms. ¡°I-I¡¯m locked up. The bitch¡¯s singing is doing something to us.¡±

    No wonder we walked here without a hint of aggression. It had to be a [Skill]. So much for fighting a weak cultivator. If she could tear the scalp of the average man, then she could do the same to us.

    <? The cradle moves softly. ?>

    Before she noticed our presence, I¡­ What could we do? Like Blackviper, my muscles weren¡¯t cooperating. More so than usual, I should add. I could barely twitch my fingers in the right direction. Maybe the paralysis would be broken once she made the first move, but¡­

    Knowing how Huang Chunxi and He Zhilan ended up, one of us might get incapped.

    <? Little one, close your eyes. ?>

    Think. Think about the research we had done. Zhu Xinyue was yet another tragic woman born in the wrong place. Her life was, as Chunhua said, amounted to nine months and nothing more.

    She hated Jin Junjie, her husband, and most likely hated her family too. But her son, Jin Tianyou¡­ What about him? That ¡°incident,¡± just what did she do? How did she endanger him, if that was even true?

    It was bad enough that the Zhu House had to pay reparations to Jin Junjie, so what?

    I¡­

    I don¡¯t know.

    <? Sleep, sleep, dreaming sweet dreams. ?>

    Zhu Xinyue finished her performance. She stood coffin-like on the roof¡ªan image flashed: covered in blood, shattered bones, and a screaming red mouth¡ªand she returned to normal.

    <My boy¡­> she muttered loud enough for us to hear. <What did I do to my boy?>

    Did she actually do something to him?

    Her head craned in our direction. Blood poured down her cheeks, scratches tore her cheeks open, and the wounds disappeared. <Ah, tell me. What did I do to my son? What did I do to my boy? Tell me¡­>

    BV snarled, ¡°Hey¡ª!¡±

    <Tell me, tell me, tell me, TELL ME¡ª!>

    <I can tell you,> said a calm man, whose serene voice matched Zhu Xinyue¡¯s singing. Light footsteps glided over the pavement, and a flicker of familiar robes swooped by us.

    Jin Tianyou.

    Rei hid behind me as the prince of Martials Guild approached his late mother without so much of a change in his usual demeanor. He was looking at his own flesh-and-blood¡ªthe woman who¡¯d brought him into this world¡ªlike she was a neighbor.

    <Who¡ª?! Wait.> Zhu Xinyue peered down. She¡¯d passed when he was five or six, so she shouldn¡¯t recognize the man before her. Yet there was a twinkle of recognition in her eyes. She vanished from the roof and reappeared before her boy. <You¡­ You can¡¯t be¡ª!>

    Jin Tianyou smiled like he had with me. <Fine night, isn¡¯t it, Mother?>

    <Tianyou? Is it¡­?> She carefully met her son and laid a hand over his cheek. Every muscle in her face twitched from grief, and this moment of lucidity had brought her form stability. <It is really you. My boy. My son. How? Why are you greeting your mother with a smile?>

    <What kind of son doesn¡¯t?> he retorted.

    <No, no! This isn¡¯t right. It isn¡¯t right!> Zhu Xinyue stepped back and combed her hands through her hair. <Why do you not feel hatred for your mother?! Why don¡¯t you seethe with rage upon seeing me, who¡­! Who¡­!>

    Her hands clenched his neck, and she squeezed. <Who had snuffed your life like this, my son? Why do you greet me with a smile? Why¡ªah.>

    Jin Tianyou wasn¡¯t bothered by the touch. His smile narrowed.

    He wasn¡¯t smiling as his mother''s son.

    Zhu Xinyue¡¯s pupils shrunk to pinpoints. <Have you shed tears once for your mother? For anything at all?>

    <Tears aren¡¯t needed for you.>

    A twisted smile came upon Zhu Xinyue and the grip on her son¡¯s neck tightened. Nails dug into his flesh. Her eyes shone wet with tears. <You are a calamity on this earth, Jin Tianyou, but as my child, you are my responsibility. I must do this. I must protect our home.>

    <Oh, Mother,> Jin Tianyou calmly replied¡ªhis mother wasn¡¯t doing a thing to him, <if that was your wish, then you should¡¯ve followed through.>

    A coarse scream ripped throughout the courtyard.

    Jin Tianyou was on top of his mother, his cold hands wrapped around her neck. Zhu Xinyue clawed hopelessly at his arms, at his face, but he did not react. His expression didn¡¯t change at all¡ªno, he looked disappointed.

    <Hah¡ªstop!> sobbed his mother. <Stop, Tianyou¡ªstop! You¡¯re hurting me¡ª! Please¡ª! Stop, please¡ª!>

    <I remember when I was pinned against your weight. Those manic eyes of yours, their crazed gaze had engraved a place in my memories forever.> His grip tightened and Zhu Xinyue wailed. <You squeezed my life through your fingers like this. Slow, enough for me to see death grinning inside your pupils, Mother.>

    <I¡¯m sorry¡ª! I shouldn¡¯t have¡ª! I shouldn¡¯t have¡ª! Forgive me, please! I beg you¡ª!>

    <You were seconds away, Mother, from taking revenge against your husband who regarded you as just a womb, from committing a heinous crime for the sake of the world. Yet, you let go. Your child was a demon, but that boy was nourished by your own breasts. How could you murder your own child?>

    Jin Tianyou slammed her head against the pavement.

    She gasped, and her eyes began to roll backwards as tears ran down.

    <All the pain you experienced was for naught. Those unfulfilled, disregarded seconds separating you from reclaiming your strength were created out of your weakness. And you returned to oblivion.>

    Her arms sank and went limp.

    <Because you were powerless and refused to seize your ambitions, you accomplished nothing. Nothing but taking your own life. You are pathetic, that is simply the truth.>

    Zhu Xinyue wasn¡¯t struggling anymore.

    <I will not make the same mistake. I will not die like you. I will not be weak.>

    His conviction was granted, and his mother withered away into dust.

    Jin Tianyou stood, dusted his robes off and flattened the wrinkles to appear presentable. He peered down where his mother had been for a second, but no emotions stirred inside him.

    He turned to the five of us and innocently smiled. ¡°Thank you for allowing me to see my mother again. I believe that¡¯s everything¡ªah, who¡¯s that boy over there? We haven¡¯t met, have we?¡±

    Christ, help us.

    [Event Commission ¡°Attack on the Manor¡± has been completed]

    [You have been paid 250,000ssp]

    Event Commission: Attack on the Manor

    Pay: 250,000ssp

    Description: All the skills I had learned, all the techniques I had accumulated, all the wisdom I had grasped, they were worthless compared to my womb. Yet, as I once hoped, I¡¯d smile seeing your chubby face and innocent eyes. How wrong I was¡­ There is nothing in your eyes, my son. There is only a gluttonous demon waiting to be fed. For the sake of our world, our Jianghu, I pray for your painful death so the land can remain virtuous and free.

 [FOR MOTHER] Epilogue - Your Calloused Hands

    ¡°Mom? Mom¡ª?¡± I looked through the screen-door and saw my mother in our backyard, working on our (her) garden. Like any mom on social media, she''d acquired a new obsession after watching a few videos online. Unlike most moms, she had the competency to actually make a decent one from scratch.

    I''d forgotten how strong Mom was. She wore a sleeveless top, speckled with dirt and fertilizer, and exposed her sweaty arms to the hot summer. Every time she swung her shovel into the soft soil, defined muscles bulged through her forearms and exposed a quilt of scars, stitched together by a sadistic hand. On the underside of her right wrist, I noticed a faded magic tattoo depicting a trio of interlocked dragon scales.

    ¡°Alex?¡± her voice broke me from my staring. I didn¡¯t know how long I was stupidly gawking at her scars. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is something the matter?¡±

    ¡°Oh, erm¡­¡± Because of my awkwardness, I forgot why I came here. Thankfully, my memory luckily jogged itself back to life. ¡°My history teacher wants me to do something for my big essay coming up.¡±

    ¡°Has he?¡± Mom buried her shovel in the dirt. She grabbed a nearby towel and dried herself off.

    I gulped, knowing the topic ahead wasn¡¯t an easy one to break. ¡°It¡¯s about the Jianghu. I think I off-handedly mentioned that you, uhm, that you were born there¡ª¡°

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you anything about the Jianghu. I wasn¡¯t raised there,¡± Mom said, sitting down on the edge of one of the planters. ¡°What¡¯s your essay about?¡±

    I figured that would be my answer, but I indulged her, ¡°It¡¯s about differences ¡®tween Mainland China and the Jianghu, and we have to argue our case about which is ¡®better.¡¯¡±

    Mom wrapped the towel around her hands to busy herself. ¡°¡®Better¡¯? Pah, ¡®better¡¯ my ass. I think I remember your history teacher this year. He¡¯s from the Mainland, right? What does he believe?¡±

    ¡°I mean, we spent several classes talking about the Jianghu, like Wei Wudong¡¯s (ÎéÎÀ¶«) Rebellion. He also went on a lot of rants about culture, technology, tradition¡­¡± I shrugged my shoulders to imply the rest.

    Mom snorted and tugged the towel tautly. ¡°So he¡¯s like most ¡®scholars,¡¯ seeing the Jianghu as antiquated and barbaric. He¡¯s not completely incorrect, but he falls for the greatest trap: failing to see that his own history books are written in the blood of their adversaries.¡±

    Much like Dad, I didn¡¯t know much about Mom¡¯s childhood. All I could do was guess where her cynicism and opinions came from. I said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure ¡®bout anything I read, honestly.¡±

    ¡°Good, you shouldn¡¯t trust everything so easily, Alex. Just as the Mainland spit on their brothers and sisters and call them ¡®savages,¡¯ the savages do the very same thing to them. Neither are better. They¡¯re both terrible, different only by borders. If I had to choose, I¡¯d rather whack the man who forced me to pick.¡±

    Her opinion wasn¡¯t common amongst the ¡°civilized¡± West. Most we knew of the Jianghu were through news articles, movies, and social media. If you interviewed people on the street, half would fondly spin a fantasy about nature, martial arts, and honor. The other half? They¡¯d spout stereotypes and declare all of them geddons, wishing the Union and the Mainland would come together and remove them from the map.

    Rarely would anyone look at the Mainland, because why would they? The Jianghu was a complete outsider in today¡¯s world. Every inch was ruled by government or military, yet there was a huge swath of land dominated by rivaling factions, bounded by the law of fists and power. Yet, cutting through the weeds¡­

    ¡°They¡¯re both power-hungry fools,¡± Mom said after listening to my silence. She dropped her towel and stood. ¡°In the Jianghu, you¡¯re dominated by endless schemes and plots. And in the city? Ha, same thing! Yet they hide themselves behind laws and civility. Pathetic. Those who pen the laws are often the worst criminals, and those who tout decency can be the most degenerate.¡±

    Her evidence was written by her scars, that much I knew. But like my conversation with Dad, I wasn¡¯t quite sure what to say or do. Back then, I was young and relatively innocent. A sweet kid, having no clue about the dark secrets our world had.

    Mom saw that in me, my ignorance, and remorse washed away her past grievances. She walked up and brushed my messy hair and smiled sweetly, then rested her calloused and dirty hand on my cheek. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to rant, but I want you to remember my words. The world isn¡¯t as bright as you think. There are horrible people living amongst us no matter where you go.¡± (I glanced at her scars.) ¡°You can be the most moral man in the world, and that makes you more of a target.¡±

    ¡°I get it¡­¡± I lied.

    She knew I was lying, and her smile grew more somber. ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re going through the effort of honing your talents. In a few years, the world has to be ready for you, my beautiful boy. You¡¯ll be so strong and kind just like your father.¡±

    My cheeks went pink. ¡°Alright, alright¡ª¡±

    ¡°No, no, let me finish.¡± She patted my cheek and smeared more dirt to make fun of me. ¡°You have to be both, okay? Strong and kind. Power without heart is a tyrant, and heart without power is a lamb. You¡¯ll have both. That¡¯s why your father calls you ¡®conqueror¡¯ all the time, because you¡¯ll conquer land and yourself. It¡¯ll protect you, like armor, from whatever the world has.¡±

    After all these years, I finally understood what she was saying. The Hangzhou Disaster happened because a few lazy bureaucrats fucked everything up, and Oasis Guild ended up being a cesspool of deviants of all dimensions. But not even you, Mom, could understand just how deep of a mess we were in. It wasn¡¯t your fault. You couldn¡¯t have known.

    I can¡¯t be a good man like Dad, and I can¡¯t be as strong as you. As strong as you want me to be. Leo was right. We have enemies that I don¡¯t even know yet, far more powerful than our small brains can fathom.

    But¡­

    But at least I wasn¡¯t Jin Tianyou.

    ***

    ¡°...I¡¯m home.¡±

    Waiting in the living room for me was, as expected, my family plus a certain brunette who I didn¡¯t expect to be here. They dropped everything and crowded me like a bunch of paparazzi. It was good to see their faces again, even Leo¡¯s.

    Uncle Ali started the conversation, ¡°We heard what happened from Rector. Even I find it hard to believe, but¡­?¡±

    I whistled, the memories still fresh inside my head. Every last second. ¡°Yeah. Yeah¡­ The Alternate was Zhu Xinyue. In her case, she lived a future where she did kill her son. Then, in twisted irony, Jin Tianyou choked his own mother to death.¡±

    ¡°Holy shit¡­¡± Thea had a hand over her mouth. ¡°Holy shit¡­¡±

    Something patted my arm and I flinched, batting Leo¡¯s hand away without meaning to. Despite my nerves getting the better of me, she smiled reassuringly. ¡°Let¡¯s sit down and catch up, okay? The doorway is a bad place to have a conversation.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, definitely, yeah¡­¡±

    We crowded the living room just like last night but without the microwave dinners and smiles and fun stories. Not even I could crack a joke, but hey, veterans in the industry did say you would see new things everyday as a Slayer. Matricide was apparently included. Only in the Jianghu would you see something like that.

    As I pulled my shoes off and got myself comfortable¡ªnot relaxed¡ªI turned to Leo who made the poor decision to sit beside me. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be searching for Silverhonor.¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°I got back a couple hours ago at Archknell¡¯s insistence. We¡¯re still searching for her, but he needs time to think about, well¡­¡±

    Thea finished her sentence, ¡°About making it public?¡±

    ¡°His next moves,¡± Leo corrected. ¡°We haven¡¯t confirmed the culprit yet, but we¡¯re slowly believing it¡¯s an Alt. That¡¯s all I¡¯ll say because everything else is theory and speculation. Your turn, Alex. Update us about your end.¡±

    ¡°Right, God¡­¡± I rubbed my eyes and let my back sink into the couch. ¡°I mean, Jin Tianyou isn¡¯t tattling to the internationals but that¡¯s the least of our worries now. I took my team to Rector and Morgan. They talked with Chunhua and Kotone, told them to staple their lips, keep in contact, the whole spiel. The girls will do fine, it¡¯s just¡­¡±

    Leo said for the group, ¡°Amamizu Rei.¡±

    ¡°Amamizu fucking Rei.¡± I had to kidnap the kid to the Wings, because what else could we do with him? We couldn¡¯t let him go due to his ability to sense Alternates and his abnormal background.

    Uncle Ali butted in, ¡°From what little I heard about this Rei character, do you think there¡¯s anything suspicious about him?¡±

    I laughed out loud, only for my laughter to spread mild soreness throughout my chest. ¡°Suspicious in what way? No, he¡¯s too¡­sincere, but he raises a dozen questions. Someone like him shouldn¡¯t exist, period. No identification, no family or friends, has a special ability.¡± (¡°At least we have ID,¡± Thea commented.) ¡°Exactly! That¡¯s why I left him with Rector and Morgan, where they¡¯ll hopefully figure him out.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like Rector might have to contact the Fushimis¡­¡± Leo muttered. ¡°They¡¯re our go-to in Japan.¡±

    ¡°If the Foxmaidens have anything on Rei, I¡¯ll be glad to hear.¡± I chuckled and lowered my head, staring at my lap and the rug.

    God, I hope Rei does alright. It was a big change coming from the mountains in Japan and finding yourself in the Office of the Guild Masters. He was only eighteen, Althea¡¯s age (she wasn¡¯t a good metric for comparison). Compared to the larger world, the kid unknowingly stepped in a pile of shit. Fortunately, it was our pile of shit. We would take care of him¡ªAngels Guild would take care of him, like they had with me.

    Thea cleared her throat several times, bringing me back to reality. ¡°So. Can we finally talk about the elephant in the room? It¡¯s been sorta botherin¡¯ us for the whole day.¡±

    Uncle brought a hand to his collar and rubbed the lining to soothe himself. ¡°Jin Tianyou sought your company because he was inexplicably attracted to you.¡±

    I choked on air. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t phrase it like that, but yeah. He has a sixth sense for powerful people, and upon seeing me, it was like¡­ Okay, don¡¯t misunderstand but it was like love at first sight. Except for ¡®love,¡¯ it¡¯s unexplainable power.¡±

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Except your power¡¯s pretty explainable,¡± Leo commented off to the side.

    ¡°To get a definite answer from you,¡± Uncle began, ¡°Jin Tianyou did not isolate you for any political reasons? Just out of his own morbid curiosity?¡±

    So there were no misunderstandings, I nodded several times and said it outright, ¡°He did not. I confirmed it myself. It was completely and only him. His father wasn¡¯t involved to my knowledge, but Jin Junjie will most likely know our names once he returns from the Jianghu.¡±

    Uncle licked his lips, then pressed them together into a thin line. ¡°He¡¯ll most likely see us as pesky foot-soldiers for Angels Guild, but I can¡¯t predict his behavior nowadays. It¡¯s best to remain cautious and limit our confrontations with him and his son.¡±

    ¡°Not plannin¡¯ to ever meet him,¡± Thea said.

    ¡°Obviously, I¡¯m not going near that mother-killer,¡± then me.

    Throughout our exchange, Leo was sitting there mildly confused. She was looking between the whole family like we were a bunch of freaks, which we were, but gears spun inside her peanut-sized brain. Of all the urban princes and princesses in the world, there was no one more consequential than the heiress of the Demonic Cult''s Ryu Family.

    I remember what Althea had said before we had officially joined Angels: if we wanted their full protection, we had to share our secrets. This was our biggest and most precarious one, the reason behind all of our strange actions. Thus, we wanted Leo in the discussion; if our words weren¡¯t meant for her sensitive ears, we would¡¯ve kicked her out of the room already.

    After spending some time thinking, Leo finally asked the big question, ¡°Are¡­ Are you guys actually related to the Jianghu?¡±

    Uncle Ali, who¡¯d been ready for it, said without missing a beat, ¡°Their mother, Xingyu, was born there.¡±

    ¡°Oh."

    Leo blinked.

    "Oh my fucking God!" Leo sprung to her feet and began madly ranting in Korean. Her living room transformed into a glorified track field; within a few seconds, she''d completed enough laps to qualify for the Olympics. Despite not understanding a lick of Korean and watching her burn holes into her floor, this was a pretty tame reaction. Least it wasn''t a heart attack. I know one person who would genuinely have a heart attack hearing this news. Well, make that two with Rector.

    Anyway, I should calm the princess down.

    When Leo was in-range, I grabbed her wrist and tugged. "Leo."

    My calm yet tired silver eyes grounded her back to reality.

    ¡°Right.¡± She sniffled and wiggled her hand free. ¡°Right, we have to treat this conversation as seriously and calmly as possible, right¡­ Just¡­¡± She sat down next to me again. ¡°This is bad.¡±

    ¡°Tell me about it.¡±

    ¡°Tell me about it.¡±

    Me and Thea said exactly the same thing. Siblings.

    Uncle Ali folded his hands together and sat on the edge of his seat. His foot repeatedly thumped on the rug. ¡°Now you know. To say we''re in a dangerous position is putting things lightly. My kids both have SSS-Rank [Skills] and have blood relations to the Jianghu. The only other xias that have SSS-Ranks are¡ª¡±

    ¡°Shui Yuan and Longwang. For [Crimson Moon], that¡¯s only an SS-Rank.¡± Leo grabbed a nearby pillow and hugged it for comfort. ¡°I¡ªokay, lemme think for a second. I¡­ Have you traced down their mother¡¯s sect?¡±

    Uncle grimly shook his head. ¡°I tried, believe me. I used every connection I had, but I found nothing. I traced their mother¡¯s footsteps, combed through every piece of record I could find, but there was nothing. Nothing, however, might prove something else. An Eradication Edict.¡±

    Hearing those two words brought goosebumps all over my arms. Even Althea, who¡¯d been collected throughout the discussion, was biting her lip.

    Leo squeezed the pillow hard enough that the stuffing might pop from the seams. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s not out of the realm of possibility, but¡­ Shit, I don¡¯t know how to process this! If you can¡¯t confirm your own origins¡ªhell, even if you had¡ªyour existence can cause a literal war in the Jianghu if not globally.¡±

    Uncle said, ¡°That¡¯s why I stopped searching as soon as I realized the consequences. If anyone is tipped off, then it¡¯ll lead to armageddon.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s why we¡¯re a pretty paranoid family,¡± I commented, trying to lighten the mood. ¡°How does it feel to know our secrets, princess?¡±

    ¡°It feels pretty damn terrible, you dick!¡± Good answer. ¡°You call me a ¡®princess,¡¯ but you and your sister probably belong to a secret sect¡ª!¡±

    Uncle raised his voice, ¡°Let¡¯s refocus on the conversation. Leo, we told you this first because¡ªwell, the situation with the Alternates is more pressing¡ªbut mainly because of your aunt. She has resources that I don¡¯t. She can potentially find answers that we desperately need. That we all need.¡±

    Leo laid the pillow flat across her lap and rested her arms on top. ¡°She could. She definitely could, but are you sure about this? It means you¡¯re allying with the Demonic Cult and the Ryu Family after this. There¡¯s no going back, but if you accept, I¡¯ll ring her up tonight and you can have a long conversation with her. You¡¯ll have to explain everything from their mom¡¯s background to their SSS-Rank [Skills], though."

    The three of us did what we do best: look at each other and share funny faces. We¡¯d already discussed this, and we were okay with it. We had to be. Angels Guild needed to know, and carrying the logic forward, it meant the Demonic Cult and Cheonma had to know too. In exchange, we had promise. We had peace of mind: for our own safety and for the world''s.

    As always, Thea and I let our uncle have the final word: ¡°Do it, Leo. I¡¯ll talk to her myself and let the kids rest.¡±

    Leo exhaled like she could finally breathe again. ¡°Alright, just¡­ Let¡¯s get the facts figured out first before we jump in.¡±

    Thea raised a hand, her left leg hopping out of nervousness. ¡°S-So uhm, what about Rector and Seraph?¡±

    Leo said, ¡°We are not telling them until after the investigation¡¯s over. They don¡¯t need another heart attack. And before you ask, this revelation won¡¯t change anything. Trust me, I think we¡¯re all carrying world-destroying secrets, so what¡¯s one more to the pile?¡±

    I smiled and laughed; for some reason, I didn¡¯t feel nervous. Maybe it was delirium, maybe I suffered enough chaos that even death seemed funny to me. But I liked the feeling inside my chest. I needed more of that. ¡°Just what fucking guild did you rope us into?¡±

    ¡°One filled with freaks, sir.¡±

    ***

    The apartment was cold and silent when they walked inside. The cool air striking Chunhua¡¯s skin couldn¡¯t sober her mind from tonight''s events. Her foot hit a fallen jacket, Kotone¡¯s, and she gently brushed it aside. Their home was how they left it: messy and confused. They didn¡¯t have time to clean before Blackviper picked them up, and hindsight said it would¡¯ve been better if they had ignored her altogether.

    ¡°...We¡¯re home,¡± Kotone was the first to break the silence. She leaned against a wall and took off her shoes, struggling as her fingers failed to find a grip, but managed to pop her feet free. ¡°So uh¡­ What do we do now?¡±

    What a wonderful question. What could they do? What could she do? Martials Guild was a failure. Even if Chunhua was stalwart in her desire to join that forsaken guild, Jin Tianyou would get her killed. Slaughtering your own kin, your own mother, was a line that ninety-nine-percent of cultivators wouldn¡¯t cross. So yes, what could she do now? Her best hope at returning to the Jianghu was, unfortunately, the Jins. They were apart of the orthodoxy unlike Empress and the Demonic Cult, though you could hardly call this ¡°orthodox¡±¡ª

    Something poked her and she jumped.

    ¡°Woah!¡± Kotone hopped back, defensive. ¡°Sorry, I-I didn¡¯t mean to. What, uh, what were you thinking?¡±

    Chunhua swallowed as her throat was dry, but saliva couldn¡¯t quench the thirst she had. ¡°Nothing. I wasn¡¯t thinking about anything.¡±

    ¡°I mean, you can tell me¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Kotone. Leave it be.¡± You would be disgusted if I shared my real thoughts. You would see me in the same light as Jin Tianyou.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, it¡¯s alright¡ª¡±

    ¡°Kotone,¡± Chunhua said again. ¡°I¡¯d¡­ I¡¯d rather not have this conversation right now.¡±

    They were harsh words, yes, but necessary. It was necessary, even if it meant seeing how crestfallen her best friend looked and how the hurt swelled inside her tired, dim eyes.

    ¡°I¡­¡± Kotone audibly gulped. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for what I said earlier. I was super stressed, and yeah, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to apologize. I¡¯m¡­¡± I¡¯m hardly any better than that man, aren¡¯t I? ¡°It wasn¡¯t my greatest day.¡± I can never escape the Jianghu. ¡°But we can talk later. Let¡¯s sleep, okay?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I need twelve hours, hehe.¡± Kotone¡¯s laugh was hollow, but she tried. She always tried to be the light of the group despite herself. She patted Chunhua''s shoulder and began shambling toward the hallway, already dreaming about her soft bed. ¡°G¡¯night.¡±

    ¡°Good night,¡± and Chunhua¡¯s voice was barely above a whisper. She held the spot where Kotone had touched her, like it was a rash, and shuddered. I don¡¯t deserve your touch, not today. I¡¯m much too filthy.

    ***

    ¡°I suppose that ends a good day.¡± Jin Tianyou sipped fine tea from his favorite tea-set, whole leaves imported from bum-fucked who-knows-where in backwoods China. ¡°This was Mother¡¯s favorite tea too. Very sweet.¡±

    It takes a special kind of wacko to drink his mom¡¯s favorite tea after choking her to death, but this was a cultivator. Blackviper thought she saw it all but no, you saw new things everyday as a sword. Apparently, matricide was included.

    All she could do was hum and nod along.

    Jin Tianyou looked out the window and admired the vast complex of his quaint little manor. ¡°What do you think about him? Conqueror?¡±

    Blackviper shrugged. I feel bad for the guy. ¡°I can see why you¡¯re attracted to him. He¡¯s more dangerous than he looks, which is already sayin¡¯ a lot. Also pretty thorough too.¡±

    ¡°Is that it?¡± Jin Tianyou flashed a glance in her direction before taking another sip of tea.

    He walks around with Counterforce weapon systems, so he''s trained in countersystemic action. Precedence says he''s our worst nightmare. ¡°What else can I say ¡®bout him? He has potential, he¡¯s not a fuckin¡¯ retard¡ª¡±

    ¡°Do you think he can rival Mythos-level Slayers in the near future?¡± Jin Tianyou asked like that was a normal thing to say. ¡°And I mean near. Ten years at most.¡±

    What the hell was she supposed to say to that? Again, she shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m an assassin, not a scouter. My job¡¯s breaking down my marks as they are, not what they will be.¡±

    Jin Tianyou held a small smile and set his tea down. ¡°Then amuse me. If you were to fight Conqueror as he is today, what would be the odds?¡±

    More questions¡­ When would he learn that she was a mindless grunt and not some genius tactician? Blackviper sighed and scratched her cheek, working through the information she¡¯d gathered in the past day. ¡°Seventy-thirty, me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s high praise.¡±

    ¡°Like you said, Conqueror¡¯s not normal. There¡¯s something going on inside his eyes, but I don¡¯t care enough to find out. What about you? You happy? You¡¯re done with all the questions?¡±

    Jin Tianyou shook his head and reached into his robes. He pulled out a thin slip of paper and put it on the table. ¡°I have a request this time. This is a list of names within the guild. Tell them that a breakthrough occurred in my manor, so I¡¯ll be occupied with ¡®business¡¯ here.¡±

    Blackviper raised a curious eyebrow as she took the slip. The names were all rather influential swords within the guild. Was he going behind Rector¡¯s back¡ª? No, Jin Tianyou wasn¡¯t that dumb or petty. He was turning a crisis into yet another opportunity: to see which of the names here would leak the information.

    ¡°Alright.¡± She pulled up her [PMs]. ¡°After this, I¡¯m off-the-clock and taking a sick day tomorrow.¡±

    In other words, she didn¡¯t want to be around the office when his plan inevitably brought chaos.

    [Complete: Part 3 - For Mother]

    [Next: Part 4 - For Remembrance]

 [FOR REMEMBRANCE] Chapter 1 - Case of the Missing Elf

    ¡°We have confirmation that a third breakthrough had reportedly occurred at the Jin Family Manor. Jin Tianyou, who is the Acting Guild Master, hasn¡¯t made any public statements regarding the breakthrough. While there are no reported injuries so far, skepticism regarding spatial security in Ordo is continuing to grow. Over the past twenty-hour hours, we¡¯re seeing the conversation shift from the Big Four to redirection facilities and their protocols. There has been immense external and internal pressure for the Encampment to answer growing questions¡ª¡±

    I turned off the TV.

    ¡°What the fuck¡ª!¡±

    ***

    ¡°Believe it or not, Jin Tianyou did us a favor.¡± Rector held his steaming cup of coffee he¡¯d gotten from the cafeteria, tapping his fingers on the cardboard sleeve. ¡°He completely shifted the conversation off of Angels, and the internationals have to rethink their entire premise going forward. They¡¯ll be doing that a lot in the next forty-eight hours, I think.¡±

    We, the entire team, nodded and hummed and muttered a few words of relief and encouragement.

    I said, ¡°Until the internationals go through the traffic cams and see me driving to the estate.¡±

    Rector flattened his lips and sipped his coffee to bite down the surely scathing remark he had, but the coffee scalded his tongue instead and he winced. ¡°Small victories, Alex. Small victories, but we have something else to settle. Right, Morgan?¡±

    Morgan, who was levitating between Leo and Aiden, tilted his head and let his nappy purple hair dangle. ¡°Which something? Is it that haughty mage, the haughty Deathweaver, or is it perhaps the newcomer who''s been sitting there since we came into the room?¡±

    We all turned toward the stranger sitting at the lounge. He had a plate of Chinese-style breakfast crepes, and he¡¯d been wolfing them down during our nice conversation. Looks like he¡¯d been shopping because he was sporting new clothes. Instead of a Demonic Cult t-shirt, it was some anime.

    Rei looked up, gulped his last bite, and waved. ¡°Hi.¡±

    Morgan flatly replied, "Hello there."

    Rector cleared his throat. ¡°This is, uh, the newest and certainly temporary member of your team.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Wow.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Hold on.¡± Morgan floated forward and stared Rector down. ¡°I thought we agreed to send Rei to Sophos for further investigation. Who changed their mind? You? Her?¡±

    ¡°Her. Sophos suddenly had cold-feet and said we should ¡®keep him for now.¡¯ So in the meantime, I¡¯m adopting yet another Japanese child¡ª¡± (Chie awkwardly smiled.) ¡°¡ªwhich is¡­ Which is not how I imagined my life would turn out.¡±

    Morgan looked pensive. ¡°We¡¯re devoting our full attention into the Glory situation. I don¡¯t have much faith in his abilities¡ª¡±

    ¡°You can trust me!¡± Rei shot from his seat and stood proudly in front of us, hand over heart, completely oblivious to the dash of hot sauce splattered across his bottom-lip. ¡°I may be a D-Rank Slayer but I swear to be a wonderful and long-lasting¡ª¡± (¡°Temporary,¡± reminded Rector.) ¡°¡ªaddition to the team! As an honorable and righteous kensei!¡±

    Leo chuckled and crossed her arms. ¡°Guess I¡¯m not the only swordsman anymore.¡±

    Morgan pressed, ¡°Yes, every Japanese child dreams of defeating Yomiya Yasuyuki in a duel, but I¡¯ve seen your poor excuse of a katana. That can¡¯t cut through grass let alone flesh.¡±

    ¡°I¡ª!¡± Rei stopped himself and frowned. ¡°...I¡¯m certain it can cut through grass!¡±

    ¡°Rector,¡± Morgan appealed to our boss directly. ¡°Again, I haven¡¯t seen nor heard solid evidence that he can positively contribute to a battle.¡±

    Rector sipped his coffee. His tongue wasn¡¯t burnt this time around. ¡°Which is why he¡¯ll have a support position with Sage. He has a sixth sense for Alternates. Unrefined and imprecise, but unprecedented.¡±

    Despite his ¡°demotion,¡± the promise of contribution gave way to stars inside the kid¡¯s eyes. A bright glow surrounded his head, and he couldn¡¯t stop himself from smiling due to excitement. ¡°As I said, I swear to be a valuable¡ª¡± (¡°And temporary,¡± Rector reminded again.) ¡°¡ªmember of the team!¡±

    Even Chie, a sweet and inoffensive girl, didn¡¯t look particularly thrilled about her new partner. ¡°It¡¯s, uh, it¡¯s good to be working with you, Rei.¡±

    Rei bowed like a little puppy. ¡°I¡¯ll be in your care, Chie-senpai!¡± (¡°Just Chie.¡±) ¡°Whatever you want, I¡¯ll fulfill my duties to the best of my abilities as your diligent¡ª¡± (¡°And temporary,¡± Rector.) ¡±¡ªkouhai!¡±

    I playfully nudged Leo. ¡°Looks like I¡¯m not the youngest member of the team anymore.¡±

    ¡°Aw, shut up.¡± She nudged me back.

    ¡°Now, uhm¡­¡± Rei looked around at everyone, tense all of the sudden. ¡°Where might the bathroom be?¡±

    Rector pointed at the door. ¡°Down the hall, first right, you should see a sign.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Rector-sama!¡± (¡°Just Rector.¡±) ¡°I¡¯ll be right back!¡±

    And he zoomed out the room.

    When the door was shut, the isolation bubble whirred back to life and enveloped us. We all took a breather from that little bundle of energy.

    ¡°Rector¡­¡± Aiden began, staring at Rei¡¯s empty plate on the table, ¡°...what¡¯s the deal with him? I thought you and Morgan checked him out?¡±

    Rector leaned against his messy desk, sighed, and carefully placed his coffee down amongst the clutter. ¡°Truthfully, I want you to monitor him. As you saw, he¡¯s more honest and genuine than your average pastor.¡±

    ¡°What about your, uh¡ªthere¡¯s no good way to say it¡ªthe interrogation,¡± Leo asked. ¡°Did any inconsistencies show up?¡±

    Morgan shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s a negative in the loosest sense. Rei gave vague answers at most, such as describing his childhood or how he managed to evade the Manor¡¯s security barrier. He doesn¡¯t lie, but he does hide. Not out of malice mind you, but take my word with a grain of salt. My specialty is reading books, not people.¡±

    ¡°I agree with Morgan,¡± said Rector, ¡°which is more reason why we should keep a close eye on him. It¡¯s a miracle that Rei wasn¡¯t discovered sooner. A boy with powers like that is, well¡­ Regardless, we¡¯ll keep custody of him until that damned vixen finally frees up her schedule.¡±

    Least I wasn¡¯t the only enigma in the team. I hadn¡¯t worked this job for a full month but I was already out-weirded by a partly-delusional eighteen-year-old kensei.

    Morgan, having received our new revised orders, nodded. ¡°We have to resolve the kidnapping of the angelic elf and monitor the least strangest Japanese boy. Very well. Is that everything, or should we nag Sophos during our operations?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my job, but yes. Those are your orders. As soon as you¡¯re ready, you know where to go. And Conqueror?¡±

    I knew this was coming from the moment I walked into the office. ¡°Yessir?¡±

    Rector had a kind yet threatening smile. ¡°Be on your best behavior. He¡¯ll be here shortly.¡±

    ***

    When I imagined a highly-professional and efficient base of operations for the Silverhonor case, it wasn¡¯t a cluttered workshop. It was filled with a dozen different magitech constructs, a dozen more unfinished and gutted projects that I couldn¡¯t divine, and a single corner infested with wires and other gadgets. That corner was, as I quickly discovered, where Morgan had set up the Alternate tracker.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the mess!¡± Chie began moving some of her tools off of the main island in the middle. ¡°I was working all night rebuilding my [Yokais].¡±

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Leo discreetly elbowed my side as she helped Chie. Right, that comment was aimed at me and my judging eyes. Chie did sacrifice several [Yokais] during our fight with Seraph. I should tone down my bitterness before the man of the hour arrived.

    Morgan and Rei filtered to the corner while Aiden checked out some of the WIPs. I imagine our newest recruit didn¡¯t have anything in the works yet, which made his position in the backline more necessary. Hell, if he had anything in the pipeline, he probably wouldn¡¯t get his sigs until a month from now given everything here.

    Just what sort of inventions was Chie throwing herself into?

    Chie grabbed a heavy-looking box and struggled to lift it off the table, but I came along and took the weight off her hands.

    ¡°Th-Thank you,¡± she said as she went for a lighter box.

    We moved the boxes. ¡°I¡¯ve seen way messier, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Chie had a small smile. ¡°You don¡¯t have to act nice all the time. I know my workshop¡¯s a mess, but with all the work that piled up, it¡¯s erm¡­ It¡¯s gotten hectic.¡±

    ¡°Regardless of how hectic it is¡­¡± Leo plopped down junk beside us and leaned an elbow on the only clear spot of the table. ¡°We don¡¯t want you to overwork yourself, sweetheart.¡±

    ¡°Hmph.¡± Chie¡¯s cheeks inflated, and she turned away from her kind unnie. ¡°I can rest later. I have to do my part so no one else gets hurt.¡±

    Leo bit her lip, then suddenly yelped as an elbow was jabbed into her side. My elbow. She should¡¯ve remembered that Chie was there when Rector got incapped. No wonder she felt obligated to work herself to the bone.

    To avoid retribution, I quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t have to pull all-nighters for long. Unless¡­¡± I spotted various posters and bits of merchandise from video-games and animes. ¡°You go back to playing JRPGs and reading manga until the crack of dawn.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t do that anymore!¡± Chie exclaimed while hugging one of her half-finished [Yokais]. ¡°Who told you that? Aiden?¡± (¡°What? What did I do?¡±) ¡°Last time I stayed up was¡­¡± She stopped herself, and her eyes fell to the floor. ¡°...Erm, never mind, but I promised Rector that I¡¯ll have a proper sleep schedule.¡±

    ¡°Your lips to God¡¯s ears,¡± Morgan said in the back. (¡°What does that mean?¡± Rei asked.) ¡°If all goes well, there¡¯ll be no more casualties and we can bring the elven princess back home, and today hopefully won¡¯t be so miserable.¡±

    ¡°I doubt it; the forecast¡¯s calling for a downpour,¡± said a new, powerful voice that chilled my blood to a frost.

    Standing at the door was a tall man in his thirties, dressed like royalty in a battlefield. Half of his outfit was built for warfare, and the other half was designed for a gala. A fine-looking suit strapped together by rough leather and dark plates, belts snuggly fitted around his waist and thighs, pouches over buttons. Around his right shoulder, a furred crimson cape swayed at the knee and he held it, making sure it wouldn¡¯t be caught by Chie¡¯s contraptions.

    I noticed his ¡°gloves,¡± which looked like someone had wound reddish-black yarn around his hands. Simple in appearance but far from it. They weren¡¯t gloves, but rather an SS-Rank weapon crafted by the Phenomena Society: [Netherstring Gauntlets].

    Guild Master Archknell surveyed the workshop with his cherry-black eyes, first noting Rei who was a new face. Then, his attention snapped onto the whistleblower of System Articles.

    He stepped toward the main table with his heavy boots, every step sounding like the crack of a whip. He let go of his cape and tilted his head slightly, allowing his black-fading-red hair to dangle like a sword.

    Calmly, his tone low and dense with implications, he said, ¡°It¡¯s finally good to meet the ¡®incomprehensible black wolf¡¯ in-person. It doesn¡¯t look like you¡¯re a powerless corpo anymore.¡±

    I cracked a small yet terribly anxious smile. ¡°Right¡­ I never thought I¡¯d meet you under these circumstances.¡±

    Archknell licked his lips and looked at the two kids in the corner. ¡°These circumstances would¡¯ve never been arranged if Angels and Wisdom hadn¡¯t shit the bed.¡±

    Morgan floated toward the group with Rei skittering behind him. ¡°I¡¯m assuming the elf¡ª¡° (¡°Lyressa.¡±) ¡°¡ªhasn¡¯t established contact yet?¡±

    He snarled, ¡°What do you think? And who¡¯s the boy behind you?¡±

    Rei yelped and turned rigid. ¡°Amamizu Rei, Archknell-sama! I am their newest recruit and a proud swordmaster!"

    Archknell¡¯s bitterness visibly transformed into confusion, then disgust, then more confusion.

    Morgan clarified, ¡°He can sense our pesky breachers. He won¡¯t have a role in direct action.¡± (¡°Whatever it takes to rescue Silverhonor-san!¡±)

    Archknell rubbed his eyes, clearly too stressed to begin thinking about our new arrangement. ¡°What kind of team¡ª? Never mind. Let¡¯s stop the pleasantries and finally discuss our next actions. Is everyone on the same page?¡±

    We nodded. Rei and I had been caught up while we were waiting for Archknell. Yesterday morning, Silverhonor skipped work without leaving a message, which was uncharacteristic especially when Glory Guild try-outs had been postponed. With Silverhonor possessing a dual-role in the corpo and systemic ladder, her presence was extremely necessary and she was too responsible to leave her colleagues hanging. Archknell had [PM]ed her but no response, which was even more uncharacteristic. Having been notified by Rector about the ongoing crisis, he investigated and visited her last-known location via a GPS-tracker on her phone: her apartment.

    He only found her phone.

    Fast-forward to the present. Archknell was keeping her disappearance a secret¡ªnot because of us obviously, he wasn¡¯t a fan of Angels¡ªbut because the news would bring so much trouble to everyone. Currently, the excuse was a sudden illness but it wouldn¡¯t last long in this news cycle let alone within the guild.

    So who kidnapped the elf? Everyone had considered the Malie Bureau were the culprits considering their history, but the theory was likely false. Archknell didn¡¯t find evidence of a struggle in her apartment, and these assholes would have contacted us already. That led to the likeliest conclusion: an Alternate. However, both the tracker and Rei didn¡¯t sense anything funny but that was our best lead.

    Archknell knew the bare minimum: that the breakthroughs were connected, and the breachers were¡­

    ¡°...doppelgangers believing in a false history,¡± Morgan said. ¡°That¡¯s speculation, but the previous two breachers support the hypothesis.¡±

    ¡°Two.¡± Archknell glanced at Chie and Aiden standing together. ¡°During your try-outs.¡± Then at me. ¡°And at the Jins.¡±

    Morgan nodded. ¡°Correct. At Angels, we encountered a doppelganger resembling Seraph. For the Jins, the deceased mother of Jin Tianyou and wife of the other one. In both cases, they believed ¡®someone important to them had died.¡¯ This is the false history, because in our Worldline, they¡ªtheir loved ones¡ªare still alive. I¡¯m not suggesting Silverhonor¡¯s doppelganger will be the same, because¡­¡±

    ¡°Her amnesia,¡± Archknell said for the class.

    ¡°Yes, so what I¡¯m saying is: while we have precedence, Silverhonor throws all our theories out the proverbial window.¡± Rei whispered something into Morgan¡¯s ear, causing him to sigh. ¡°Right, I forgot that not everyone here is aware of her backstory. Archknell, would you summarize for us? Just so everyone is aware of the relevant details?"

    Archknell¡¯s heavy eyes flickered onto Rei and made him jump, but that was as far as he went for admonishment. He leaned against one of the side-tables, pulling his shoulder-cape in front of him. ¡°Two years ago, I led an expedition team into the Infinity Dungeon, aiming to penetrate Level 76 and hopefully go deeper. On Level 53, though, we encountered a never-before-seen Crystal Forest. A Stage like that isn¡¯t in the known rotations for 53. It¡¯s not unheard of to discover a new Stage in a rotation, but it¡¯s exceedingly rare. So I reported the Stage to the Dungeoneers and they advised me to focus on exploration. I did. After about thirty hours of navigation, we came across a massive hollow husk of a tree. Inside was a single crystal embedded in the pale wood: a cocoon housing a sleeping elf."

    ¡°That was Silverhonor-san?¡± Rei asked, hiding behind (the smaller) Morgan.

    Archknell managed to hold a small, nostalgic smile. ¡°That¡¯s right. We freed and stabilized her condition as best as we could. In her haze, she started asking questions in English. ¡®Where am I?¡¯ ¡®Who are you?¡¯ ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± Chie butted in, ¡°she was asking questions in English?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mishear. None of my subordinates did. Silverhonor knows English upon waking up. Outworlders like her, whose Worldline shouldn¡¯t resemble ours, logically don¡¯t have English as their native language. Because she does know English, that leaves a lot of troubling explanations.¡±

    ¡°Explanations that she can¡¯t answer,¡± I said.

    ¡°Explanations that the malies want.¡± Archknell gripped the table hard, and I feared he¡¯d snap a chunk off. ¡°I knew they¡¯d be waiting to snatch her as soon as we broke topside. I¡¯m not na?ve. If I allow them to a single quarter, they¡¯ll do unspeakable things to Lyressa. Thus, I called in favors and used my authority to protect her.¡±

    Chie''s lips trembled. Discreetly, Aiden took her hand and squeezed it tightly. I decided to look elsewhere.

    Despite the dark implications, Morgan spoke casually, ¡°But they still questioned her, correct?¡±

    ¡°Under my supervision. Everything was: the interrogations, meetings, medical, and so on. Lyressa was officially diagnosed with amnesia, being completely unable to remember her past, and I became her legal caretaker.¡± (His eyes swept toward Chie and Aiden.) ¡°That¡¯s how she became Ordo¡¯s favorite elf. For the past two years, Lyressa has been an honored member of Glory Guild and she¡¯ll stay that way.¡±

    Leo politely raised a hand. ¡°Has Lyressa regained some of her memories? Maybe a faint vision or a dream?¡±

    Archknell crossed his arms and stayed silent for a few moments, thinking. Although we just received an answer, he was keeping his cards close to his chest. He said, ¡°Nothing substantial. Her dreams consist of blurry colors and distant voices, that¡¯s all.¡±

    I thought out loud, ¡°So if a breacher had attached itself to her, we have no idea what we¡¯re getting.¡±

    Morgan chirped, ¡°That¡¯s what I said earlier, yes¡ª¡±

    Rei, who¡¯d been flicking his eyes between the dirt on the floor and our special guest, turned his head upward. His stare widened as if he was looking through the ceiling and into the dark clouds. ¡°Does¡­ Does anyone hear that?¡±

    We didn''t. We only heard ourselves and the whine of electricity coursing through the room. None of us were on the same frequency as him.

    Wordlessly, Morgan tugged Rei¡¯s sleeve as if telling him to keep talking.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± Rei looked around the room to try and pinpoint its direction, I think. ¡°She¡¯s crying.¡±

    Archknell stepped forward. ¡°Whose voice is it, boy? Is it Lyressa¡¯s¡ª?!¡± A blue screen interrupted him mid-way through his excitement. He almost brushed it aside before he caught its contents.

    He tapped it.

    ¡°It¡¯s Mongrel. A demesne appeared in one of our training fields.¡±

 [FOR REMEMBRANCE] Chapter 2 - Forest Outskirts

    ¡°Of course this happened while I was on the job... I wonder if contract enslavement is on the menu when I return.¡±

    ¡°For Sophos? You should¡¯ve expected bullshit from her¡ª¡±

    ¡°You think this is ''bullshit,'' you uneducated brute? This is is an international crime wrapped in armageddon wrapped in¡ª¡±

    ¡°Shut up and look alive, they¡¯re here.¡±

    The idle banter was performed by an unsuspecting comedy duo. They¡¯d cordoned the training field from all prying eyes, and thanks to the small man with a comically large witch hat, a large isolation barrier hummed around the perimeter. The barrier was different from the mechanically-generated ones I¡¯d experienced: this was meticulously refined and personally crafted with care and precision.

    It was the type of skill you¡¯d expect from the Vice Guild Master of Wisdom Guild, Wonder. Wonder dressed like a young student from a fictional wizard academy: had the long and dark robes, the hat as mentioned earlier, round-rimmed glasses, messy and stringy peach hair, stressed golden eyes with rotating magic circles around the pupils. He was always seen with his tome either under his armpit, hugging it, or attached to the hip. Young, yeah, but older than me; young, though, definitely for his position. The old VGM and his master, Sibyl, had nominated (forced) him into the role so Sibyl could transition into the CEO position.

    Onto the next celebrity, he couldn¡¯t be any more different from Wonder. This man¡ªthis beast¡ªhad the crudeness that the mage despised, the experience he wanted, and the muscles he gawked at. If the men had eye-candy like Silverhonor and Empress, then the women had him: Mongrel, VGM of Glory Guild.

    He was about Dad¡¯s height, six-eight, and definitely had the same muscle mass. His arms and legs had the output power of ten-thousand men, and that was barely an exaggeration. Mongrel resembled a wild hound, exotic and dangerous. He preferred strolling around shirtless with baggy and torn trousers, wanting everybody to trace his numerous scars with their eyes and gulp in fear of his warrior-body. Unrestrained gray hair fell all the way to his waist, possessing enough volume to act like a pseudo-cape. As much as I¡¯d like to ignore him, his burning amber eyes were locked onto me.

    Mongrel rolled his tongue over his sharp canines, and I thought I heard Rei yelp at the back of the group. My attention was split between his hulking figure and the ominous white-walled dome about twenty meters east.

    They¡¯d caught the demesne first during discussions about guild try-outs, and now they had this on their plate.

    Archknell joined the VGMs, acknowledging his Glory-hound first then the genius. ¡°Any new developments?¡±

    Mongrel let his smoldering gaze linger on me for another second, then he faced the demesne. ¡°Not when I first reported, no. It appeared without warning, and luckily we had the mage here who isolated the field from the public. Nothing came out so far. Sense trouble inside, though.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s less of a demesne and more of a battlefield,¡± Wonder quietly corrected, rolling his eyes like how Problem would. ¡°A demesne usually alters existing laws and principles while battlefield creation¡ª¡± (¡°The difference matters shit.¡±) ¡°¡ªI¡¯m trying to provide valuable intel here. Problem, what do you say?"

    Problem huffed. He wore his hood which casted an impervious darkness so nobody could see his youthful face; on top of that, he spoke with a modulator to hide his underdeveloped voice. ¡°If we¡¯re to break inside, we need accurate information. If what Wonder says is true, then this resembles a battlefield rather than a demesne. But¡­¡±

    But since this was surely an Alternate¡¯s doing, then this space most likely defied our current understanding of artificial environments anyway.

    I spoke up, ¡°What should we expect from this enviro then? If it¡¯s a battlefield, then it should act like a simple demesne, right?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a far more nuanced subject than that, but for the sake of conversation, let¡¯s assume none of our theories are concrete¡ª¡±

    Mongrel growled, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what the hell that thing is, Angel. Is Lyressa trapped inside or not?¡±

    Problem hesitated, craning his head toward the hound, cautious. ¡°Most likely. It appeared in Glory territory, and our tracker¡ª¡± (Rei fidgeted.) ¡°¡ªconfirmed a strange presence.¡±

    Archknell braved closer to the dome, startling Wonder and he threw his arm to stop the Guild Master from advancing further. (¡°Wait¡ª!¡±) ¡°Out of my way, genius. Mongrel¡¯s right: your useless theories will only waste time. Lyressa¡¯s inside and we have no idea how long this enviro will last. I¡¯m breaking through¡ª¡±

    Panicked, Sage exclaimed, "You don''t know what''s inside! It''s dangerous¡ª"

    The ground rumbled as Mongrel stomped toward her, causing Firebrand to jump between them and drawing [Twin Heavens] from Empress. ¡°¡®Dangerous¡¯? The fuck d¡¯you think we are¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Get the fuck out of her face, Mongrel!¡± FB roared over him, fire pulsing in his eyes.

    ¡°Bark again and I¡¯ll crush your fuckin¡¯ bones¡ª¡±

    ¡°ENOUGH!¡± Archknell shouted over everyone, his cheeks burning with frustration. He faced Problem. ¡°I¡¯m going inside whether you like it or not, Problem. Either you can accompany me or you can patiently wait. You have thirty seconds¡ª¡±

    ¡°Empress, Firebrand,¡± immediately answered Problem, neutral and impassioned. ¡°You¡¯re joining Archknell. Sage, prepare one of your [Yokais] for surveying.¡±

    Empress bit her lip and lowered her twin-blades. ¡°Alright.¡±

    Firebrand, who was still facing Mongrel, coldly replied, ¡°Regi.¡±

    Sage, hiding behind him, could only nod and squeak, ¡°Okay!¡±

    (Rei sighed, disappointed. ¡°Dang it!¡±)

    I would¡¯ve picked them too. Logically, I wasn¡¯t a consideration. I¡¯d been through the wringer for the past couple days, so my combat strength was reduced plus I had existing tension with Glory Guild. Asking either VGM to join wasn¡¯t smart either. We needed Wonder to keep watch of the dome and the isolation bubble, and if Mongrel joined¡­ Well, that¡¯d be two Angels and two Glory. Two of the strongest Glories. If anything were to happen, such as an internal conflict, they¡¯d overpower us easily. Too much risk.

    The numbers were on our side. With this division, we¡¯d maintain footing on both fronts. Theoretically. Practically, despite having our whole team here, we were powerless.

    Archknell huffed. ¡°So be it. Come on.¡±

    The infiltration team was assembled and we faced the dome. One of Sage¡¯s [Yokais], a freaky-looking drone with mechanical eyes covering almost every surface inch, was joining them. [Hyakume], she told me. A magical visor covered her eyes, allowing her to see whatever [Hyakume] was observing.

    Wonder hovered the closest to the shimmering dome, reluctant to touch it. ¡°I¡¯ll create a small opening for you. It¡¯s best that I do it to prevent any unexpected consequences.¡±

    Problem tapped his right ear. ¡°Make sure you keep us updated."

    Annoyed, Archknell huffed and looked on, seemingly ignoring Problem and by extension his advice. Of course, he was the great Deathweaver, No.7 in Ordo, and one of his own was trapped inside an unknown environment. Being ordered around by a haughty kid was beneath him. I¡¯m being sarcastic, but laying it all out¡­ Well, he had reasons to follow his own heart. Let¡¯s hope he makes good decisions for all of us, but you know what they say: hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

    He gave a wordless signal to Wonder, and in response, the genius pressed his bare hand against the dome¡¯s hard, glimmering surface. The area around his hand brightened. With nary a sound, a hair-thin crack about my height opened. A tiny opening revealed what was on the other side¡ªI couldn¡¯t see through the bodies¡ªbut the breach expanded enough to comfortably side-step through.

    Archknell entered first, then [Hyakume], and finally our Angels. I caught pale white soil and tall finger-like grass, everything pallid, and a pastel-colored something nestled beside ivory trees.

    It closed, and the snapshot of the enviro ended just like that.

    Sage gasped, her eyes frighteningly darting left and right behind her visor. ¡°The mana density is on par with an S-Rank expedition. It¡¯s¡ª!¡±

    ¡°A replica of Crystal Forest,¡± we heard Archknell through Sage, his voice static. ¡°No, this is a perfect recreation. It¡¯s exactly how I remember it down to the most minute detail.¡±

    ¡°Does that mean you remember how to navigate it?¡± Problem asked loud enough to be caught by [Hyakume].

    Archknell hummed in affirmation, and I thought I caught Empress¡¯s voice in the background. ¡°I should. What does your tracker think?¡±

    Rei looked all over the dome, pensive and uncertain. ¡°I uhm¡­ I can hear a voice but I can¡¯t tell where or what she¡¯s saying. It¡¯s all over the place, like an echo.¡±

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Problem repeated, ¡°Did you catch that, Deathweaver? It¡¯s present but the location¡¯s unknown.¡±

    ¡°Regi. In that case, we¡¯ll do this the old-fashioned way. Let¡¯s go, Angels.¡±

    The expeditionary team ventured onward into the Crystal Forest. I wasn''t sure which team was better: fighting side-by-side with the same Guild Master I''d blackmailed not too long ago, or waiting with a loose cannon itching for an excuse to pop my head off. Either way, I was stuck outside, waiting. Minutes passed, time slipped by as my thoughts were occupied with theories and concern. Then, without warning, our comms blared something loud and shrill and shrieking. The harshness subsided after a few seconds, but static followed and stubbornly stayed. I rubbed my ears. Wonder and Rei did the same, yet Mongrel stood stoically as if it didn''t bother him.

    Problem tapped his earpiece. His head canted downwards as if scowling. ¡°How¡¯s your visuals, Sage?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s rough. I¡¯m getting major interference from the enviro. I¡¯m losing functionality. I can¡¯t detect anything around us.¡± There was a voice on the other side, but I couldn¡¯t tell whose it was or what they were saying. ¡°Sorry, can you repeat that? You¡¯re breaking up! Please repeat¡ª! Ack?!¡±

    Her visor darkened, and she blinked a few times. ¡°Hello? Anyone? I¡ªoh man, I think [Hyakume] is offline.¡± The visor was dispelled, face tensely wrenched with disappointment.

    Great. Couldn¡¯t last more than ten minutes before it went kaput. It wasn''t her fault, anyway.

    However, not everyone shared the same opinion. Mongrel saw an opportunity and thus spat saliva a few inches away from Wonder''s fine wizard shoes. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have accomplished anything with your toy anyway.¡± The rumors were true: as handsome and surprisingly articulate as Mongrel was, it was wasted on a sour personality. Reminded me of someone.

    Unwilling to indulge in petty arguments, Sage turned away from the Vice Guild Masters and hovered closer to her teammates. I moved to block her and Rei from Mongrel''s line-of-sight.

    Problem repeatedly pressed his earpiece to no success; he couldn''t get through to the rest of the team. He let his small fingers drop. ¡°Splendid. They¡¯re trapped inside with no forms of communication to the outside world. I suppose fidgeting with the enviro is out of the question?¡±

    Wonder, the fellow intellectual, shrugged like he didn''t give a crap about the swords inside. ¡°I''d rather not irritate this thing further."

    ¡°Prepare anyway. If Rei has a sudden feeling of doom, we need to intervene as soon as possible¡ª¡±

    ¡°Barking orders, are we? Walking into my house and making yourself the lord, yeah?¡± Mongrel stomped around our little group, apparently deciding that this would be a good time for a confrontation. ¡°Doing whatever the hell you want, you and Sophos. When things blow up, we¡¯re pulled in and one of our own gets hurt and yet you expect us to lend a hand? And Glory keeps getting raked over pride.¡±

    A chilly wind fluttered Problem''s hood but it remained nailed to his head; in the concealing darkness, dim purple eyes fluttered open. ¡°This is not the time nor the place to air your grievances¡ª¡±

    ¡°Shut the fuck up.¡± Mongrel aimed a nasty glare at Problem, but the small guy didn''t flinch. ¡°You¡¯re all repulsive. Disgusting. Flaunt the rules all you want and let us watch the wax drip from your wings¡ª¡± (¡°How did I get involved...?¡± Wonder muttered.) ¡°¡ªif it was my way, I¡¯d tear your feathers myself. Beginning with that bitch Seraph¡ª¡±

    ¡°Take her name out of your mouth!¡± raged a small voice, having the same fury as when she''d found her boyfriend moments away from turning himself into a bonfire. ¡°You know nothing about what we''re doing, about her!"

    Pity and disdain curled the Apex Predator''s lips, but not sympathy. He wouldn''t feel sympathy for anything, not even for a dying puppy. "I feel sorry for you and Firebrand most of all. Another one of their little experiments¡ª¡± (Sage tensed, her hard cheekbones showing as she sucked her cheeks in.) ¡°¡ªdancing on the palm of their hands. It makes me sick what they¡¯re doing to you.¡±

    Neither Problem and Rei seemingly knew the context behind his words¡ªI doubt Mongrel had the entire story anyway, just drawing sweeping conclusions from small details¡ªand Wonder remained silent despite possessing the same status. Was he too intimidated to speak or too morbidly curious to see where this conversation would lead?

    Out of everyone, only Sage had the courage to stand against the Vice Guild Master of Glory Guild: ¡°Sera always said you were the worst possible choice for VGM. You¡¯re just a ¡®mutt who doesn¡¯t belong¡ª¡¯¡±

    Mongrel''s burly, calloused, and muscled hand launched toward her.

    I caught his wrist; rather, he allowed me to catch his wrist. You¡¯d think this little attempt at physicality was done out of deserved provocation, but his eyes were cunningly narrow. My ugly mug was reflected in his bulging pupils, and he let himself enjoy a slight measure of satisfaction by revealing a thin line of sharp teeth. He wasn¡¯t angry at all, or well, his anger was second to curiosity. Mongrel really was the Apex Predator, because I was his target all along. This whole confrontation was to provoke me into acting. Tests, tests, tests, games, games, and fucking games. All these high-rankers trying to suss out the new kid on the block, fucking ridiculous.

    Mongrel tore his wrist away from my comparatively weak hold. ¡°It looks like Seraph''s new dog decided to finally bite¡ª¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit what comes out of your mouth.¡± I held the hand that¡¯d grabbed him to hide my trembling. ¡°I¡¯m here to fix our own mess, not to entertain another high-ranker with his arm shoved elbow-deep in his own ass. And if you ever touch Sage or the kid, we¡¯ll fix you.¡±

    ¡°Hah¡ª?¡± Mongrel and his thick neck wrenched forward¡ªI could hear the muscles stretching like steel wires¡ªand stared me down. ¡°Corpo or sword, your words are too big for your teeth¡ª¡±

    ¡°Rei.¡± I turned around and patted his shoulder. ¡°You feel anything yet? Are the voices getting clearer or are they still jumbles?¡±

    ¡°Ah¡ªuhm¡­¡± Rei glanced behind me and stiffened, but I don¡¯t give a shit anymore. Let the mutt stew by himself. ¡°I-I still don¡¯t know what she¡¯s saying¡ª¡±

    A shadow fell over my shoulders.

    Then, two thin shadows followed: dual magical staffs. One was ebony, carved from a darkwood tree. At the head was a purple arcanic crystal surrounded by a cage of twisted roots. Its partner had the opposite aesthetic: pearl and ivory wood not unlike the trees I¡¯d seen in the Crystal Forest. There was a sword-like guard below the crown, framing the arrowhead-shaped red crystal. [Arcane & Crystal].

    ¡°A very poor decision,¡± Problem said, having summoned his signature to block Mongrel¡¯s path. ¡°Though Conqueror didn¡¯t include himself in his threat, I am. Either you can make yourself helpful and see your pretty elf home, or you can leave. It¡¯s your choice to jeopardize this operation further.¡±

    ¡°Heh.¡± Mongrel put his hand on his face, then smoothed over his greasy hair. ¡°One of these days, Conqueror, I''ll uncover why our ''heroes'' are so fascinated with you."

    Mongrel fucked off to the side and kept to himself, checking his [PMs] from the looks of it.

    Everybody could finally breathe again.

    Sage quietly laughed. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that from you, Alex.¡±

    ¡°Hey.¡± I lightly patted her back. ¡°We¡¯re a team, remember? It¡¯s my job to look out for my colleagues.¡±

    Sage returned the gesture, but she smacked my back harder. Yup, definitely a force to be reckoned with. Remind me to never challenge her to a spar. ¡°You¡¯re fitting in already! I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m happy for you.¡±

    ¡°Mhm, and uh, did Seraph really say that? About Mongrel?¡±

    ¡°This wasn¡¯t the first time Mongrel targeted me and Aiden.¡±

    That¡¯s all I needed to know.

    Onto the other Japanese kid in the group, Rei had a¡­very interesting look on his face. I think he was about to cry. ¡°Y-You think I¡¯m apart of the team, Conqueror?¡±

    Well, I thought you¡¯d instantly get annihilated if Mongrel decided to slap you silly. ¡°You¡¯re here, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    A single tear rolled down his face. ¡°Conqueror¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough.¡± [Arcane] smushed the kid¡¯s face. ¡°Let¡¯s refocus our attention onto the elephant in the room. Wonder¡ª? Wonder, what the hell are you doing?¡±

    Wonder was laying face-down on the ground. ¡°Trying to sleep."

    ***

    Thirty minutes passed since the team infiltrated Crystal Forest. We tried several times to establish a connection through any means: comms, [PMs], and so on, but nothing worked. Rei¡¯s sixth sense was ineffective, as he was tormented by directionless voices and no other information. Eventually, Mongrel rejoined the group and started to act like a VGM for once, all business and no jokes, but his ideas bore no fruit. Wonder and Problem shared theories but they lacked the confidence to test them. We were flying in the dark, basically, (im)patiently waiting for a development.

    ¡°Under what circumstances should we break in?¡± I asked Problem when my watch told me thirty-two minutes had passed.

    Problem rubbed his eyes, his fingers disappearing into the darkness which was freaky to look at. ¡°If they transmit an SOS through the System or the System tells us directly. They have Archknell¡¯s power.¡± (¡°Not his trust.¡±) ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m afraid of.¡±

    Great. I checked on the other Angels. Sage and Rei were chatting about¡ªwell, I didn¡¯t know. They were speaking in Japanese, and with my limited knowledge of the language, I could only make out a few words here and there¡ª

    A deep bass reverberated throughout the area, flattening grass-patches and blowing our clothes back. It came from the dome, and the walls were shaking, shaking, shaking. Rei was the first to start running in our direction.

    ¡°¡ªher!¡± he said but I couldn¡¯t completely hear him. Another bass sounded and the world began trembling. I held a hand over my stomach, trying to not blow my breakfast on enemy territory. ¡°¡ªscreaming!¡±

    Shit, we might get our wish granted.

    We regrouped, finally able to hear each other. The reverberations and shaking stopped shortly after. Mongrel tried speaking but Problem told him to shut up; Wonder tried speaking but Problem also told him to shut it. We had to maintain visuals, seeing or hearing if anything would change on the outside.

    Rei held onto my sleeve, and he whispered, ¡°S-She¡¯s getting louder. She¡¯s sobbing. Something¡¯s happening inside.¡±

    Problem tightly nodded. ¡°I gathered that. I think they found the breacher¡ª¡±

    "Guh¡ª?!" Rei clasped his ears like a dog hearing a dog-whistle, dropping to one knee.

    "Rei¡ª?!"

    "Kid¡ª?!"

    [TEAM STATUS]

    INCAPACITATED: Celestial Empress

    INCAPACITATED: FIrebrand

    My head went blank.

    ¡°WONDER!¡± Problem screamed, his modulator distorting and a hint of his youth powering through, ¡°OPEN A HOLE!¡±

    Wonder flew toward the enviro faster than an eagle.

    ¡°Conqueror, with me! Rest of you, stay here!¡±

    Without waiting for Mongrel to inevitably protest, Problem and I caught up with Wonder who¡¯d opened a similar hole like earlier. We couldn¡¯t give our thanks as Problem barreled through first, then I hopped in. Something caught my foot. I tripped, slamming my shoulder hard onto soft white grass.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± I swallowed foreign dirt and grass. Immediately, I spewed them out and had a heavy, bitter taste on my tongue. Someone took my arm and pulled me up. ¡°Thanks, Problem¡ª¡±

    ¡°I have your back, senpai!¡± That was not fucking Problem.

    Rei was standing with us. The hole was closed. He was with us.

    Problem threw his hood off so Rei could see his angry, child face. ¡°What did I just say, Amamizu Rei¡ª?!¡±

 [FOR REMEMBRANCE] Chapter 3 - Heart of the Forest

    ¡°It¡¯s this way!¡± Rei broke through a thick shrub of bushes, ignoring how the sharp sticks and branches cut into his new clothes and skin. Despite his age and experience, the kid was ridiculously fast.

    ¡°Dammit, shit!¡± Unlike me, over six feet tall and understood elegance like how a redneck understood the city. I barreled through the bushes and felt feeble scratches on my skin. [Forged Skin] was doing work.

    ¡°Wait, wait, wait¡ª!¡± Problem roared and flew right over me as if someone had thrown him like a football. He swooped in front of Rei like an eagle, stopping him from pushing further.

    I caught up, trying to ignore the aching inside my muscles and joints, and finally had a moment to take in our new surroundings. The Crystal Forest. It was a handsketched scene from a children¡¯s fantasy book, and we were the unflattering mistakes on canvas. Every note was pastel. We stood on white and lips-pink grass. The bushes we¡¯d bumbled through were bleached blue, and around us were haunting trees. Long and thick pale limbs reached toward the cloudless and blank sky, sprouting paler leaves as pencil-colors sprinkled throughout the setting like soft violets and oranges. No animals here, and no shadows. Not even our bodies casted them but light came from somewhere.

    Growing on tree-roots were bushels of multicolored pastel crystals. Looking closer at some of the trees, the bark was peppered with shiny, reflective motes. A few had chipped off and seeded the dirt. Interesting. Could these crystals be harvested¡ª? No, that was the corpo talking, forget about that¡ª

    ¡°Conqueror, focus,¡± Problem reminded me, pulling my eyes away from the strange environment. We faced Rei again, whose head was pulled like a needle in a compass. ¡°Rei¡ª¡±

    ¡°She appeared!¡± Rei said, nodding toward the direction. ¡°I-I had to come! I¡­ I¡­¡±

    Something was caught in his throat, and he couldn''t squeeze out the rest of his sentence. Another mystery, then? Dammit, this was problematic. Sage was alone with Mongrel and Mystic, and we had to watch Rei given his current behavior¡­ Rei knew something was going on, but was it relevant to the operation or personal to him?

    Problem¡¯s narrow eyes went narrower. ¡°Dammit. It¡¯s too late to ask Mystic to open a hole. Conqueror, try contacting Rector.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow, opening my [PMs] as ordered. ¡°Okay¡ª?¡±

    [SLAYER SYSTEMS ENTANGLEMENT DETECTED! MULTIPLE FUNCTIONS ARE OFFLINE]

    I blinked at the error message. ¡°What the hell.¡±

    Problem rubbed his eyes. ¡°No, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. The System doesn¡¯t get errors on their side, only on ours like making an unpermitted codename. Whatever this enviro is, it¡¯s somehow able to directly touch the System itself which isn¡¯t the most reassuring thought.¡±

    [Memento Recollection - Technique Dagger]

    I waved my [Dagger] around then banished it. ¡°[Skills] are still active. Guess that¡¯s all we need.¡± As characteristic as it was for me to freak out and bitch about the never-before-seen error, we had to focus on the mission.

    ¡°In that case, we¡¯ll be running straight into the fray.¡± Problem hovered closer to the kid. ¡°You will hang back, do you understand? I recommend against disobeying another one of my orders.¡±

    Rei gulped and nodded. ¡°Y-Yessir!¡±

    ¡°Good. No more time spent dilly-dallying, come on!¡±

    Problem let Rei take off again, and just like the Seraph Alternate, I was last in the stack. Damn my legs. Damn my [Skills]. Give me a [Memento] that could increase my speed or something, or let me traverse through forests better. My comrades glided through the various obstacles of foliage while I laid a slow path of destruction. I had traumatic flashbacks of falling, hearing "Seraph" scream.

    Please don¡¯t let this fight end like last time.

    At some point, after I was breathing fire into my lungs and the soreness was roaring like a bad addiction, the earth began trembling under our feet. Groaning. Something distant crashed, and a light shockwave passed through and pounded wind against the grass and leaves. We didn¡¯t need Rei to guide us anymore. We followed the sounds and the far sights: smoke, glitter in the air, and ash. Silhouettes in the smoke, and shouting.

    Rei and Problem arrived at the edge first, and I nearly barreled into them a couple seconds after. I tried asking what was going on but instead I coughed¡ªgood going. An ear-shattering impact deafened the world. A wall of air slammed into me, powerful enough to send my feet skidding five yards back. Dirt and gravel sand-blasted my face, then smoke swallowed our vision. Went blind, someone shrieked beside me, yet somehow, we stumbled into clean air with not-so-clean lungs.

    We were on the edge of a massive clearing¡ªgradually growing depressed at the center, so it was more like a crater¡ªoverlooking a crystal ore jackpot, a ruined jackpot. Most of the million-dollar deposits were rendered worthless from the ensuing battle. The white grass was now gray and brown and black, shining with dirty sparkles, and the air tasted like acid and bitter medicine.

    ¡°Dammit!¡± swore the culprit: Archknell, with immature crystal-buds growing from his thighs and shoulders like warts. He swung his arms forward, black strings unraveling from his [Netherstring Gauntlets] like long carpets of hair. They coiled into a couple dozen ropes as thick as telephone poles. They blocked and deflected a slew of arrow-like projectiles crashing down onto him, explosions rocking the area and creating fireworks.

    Despite my better judgment, I traced the trajectories.

    There she was: the Silverhonor Alternate, casually just levitating in the air. She was more ¡°decayed¡± than Seraph was. Bright colors peeled off her skin like wet wallpaper. The colors flashed every second, incomprehensible and difficult to stare at for long. The abnormality encompassed her whole body, making her appear like a texture error in a game. Most notably, tears poured down her cheeks in paradoxically bright and dim colors, yet her eyes were solid whites like pearls.

    We had no idea where the original one was. Same with our teammates.

    The Alternate pulled her arms as if nocking an imaginary bow, and right as I thought that, she created a magical bow more pixels than mana. Distorted, unstable. An arrow glitched into life between the frame and hands, first charged with white mana, then purple, and green, and blue, and finally gold. She released, and Archknell cursed.

    [Netherstrings] wove a thick wall, deflected the arrow, and it bounced off and ripped through a quarter-mile of forest a few meters to his left. Everything in its path was destroyed, alongside our eardrums.

    ¡°¡ªare they?!¡± Problem shouted next to me, and as you could tell, I only caught the last two words.

    Rei tapped our shoulders and pointed ahead. The other side of the battlefield, about a football field away from our position. There was a mangrove tree¡ªor a similar species¡ªwith its roots spread low and wide across the broken soil. Halfway up the tree was an ugly bulge like food caught in your throat. The tree was stripped bare of branches, being just a thick leg of wood. Sickly pink and green splotches ran up and down the trunk. In the little cove it''d created for itself was another array of bright crystals, and among them just barely, I saw a small twitching hand poking from the hard rock.

    Archknell had said he''d found Lyressa trapped in a crystal, and that was stuck inside a hollow tree.

    Holy shit¡ª

    Wind swept my legs. Crashed onto my back, fragmented crystal shards poking through my [Suit] like broken glass. Couldn¡¯t tell what happened but Archknell was suddenly in the air, and with him, Silverhonor had ten magical bows summoned behind her.

    The bows let loose.

    [Signature Trigger: Arcane & Crystal]

    Just in time, Problem¡¯s [Arcane & Crystal] jointly-formed a defensive barrier of purple and red, a complex-looking magic circle swirling within.

    The high-rankers struck before I could see what was happening up there. Felt it, though. We all did. The wind was harsher than the last bout, spewing around the barrier¡¯s edges with the force of a waterfall. I dropped my weight and held Rei close so he wouldn''t get blasted back to Japan. Problem audibly groaned and forced his dual-staffs forward, then dirt and sparkles rained from above. We bathed in the stuff. Drowned in it. Our clothes grew twice as heavier, our lungs inhaling more of the toxic shit. I kept our heads down as best as I could.

    It felt like an eternity, but eventually the aftershocks subsided.

    This is what a fight between high-rankers looks like. Silverhonor, our SH, was an A-Rank. The Alternate? She was going toe-to-toe with an SS-Rank Slayer, which meant she was in his weight class.

    Not good. We were caught on the fringes, and the collateral damage from their attacks were enough to kill us ten times over.

    Blinking the dirt out of my stinging eyes, I found Problem and Rei looking back at me. We all knew: we should not involve ourselves.

    Problem looked back toward the strange tree. ¡°It¡¯s now or never, Conqueror! Rei, find a safe spot and stay put!¡±

    Rei coughed, wiping his eyes. ¡°O-Okay! I-I understand!¡±

    Problem patted my back with one of his staffs. ¡°On you!¡±

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    I gritted my teeth, chomping through hard gravel and crystal. Mana swelled inside my core, and I sent it straight at my feet.

    [Skill Activation: Mana Impact]

    My body didn¡¯t agree with my decision. It ached, and as soon as I landed my first bunny-hop, the bones in my legs teased a break¡ªdon''t you give up on me yet. I had room to spare. The pain simply told me how many miles I had left in the tank. I launched myself forward, leaving behind a thick trail of dirt. My boots cracked and crunched the crystal-seeded soil, and death whispered in my left ear. Explosions, impacts, yelling and cursing, trees ripped from their roots and tremors banging the earth.

    The big-ass tree wasn¡¯t so far when I was standing on the outskirts, but now when I was making the journey, the distance was the length of China.

    I caught something on the corner of my eyes: an eighteen-wheeler in the form of a pinkish-green crystal flying toward me. I gasped, tried stepping away but a tremor fucked my balance. My feet scraped on the ground and barely I regained my footing before hopping away. The crystal landed with a monstrous thud, and once again, I was on the ground. A moment sooner and one of my legs would¡¯ve been crushed.

    ¡°Take cover!¡± Problem shouted above me.

    I rolled until my elbow painfully smashed against the same crystal. The bad thing about this enviro was the lack of shadows, so imagine my surprise when the whole world began falling around me. Crystal splinters showered my position, many of them cracking against my new home and making piano-sounds. The earth shook some more, and half a tree-trunk dramatically landed a few feet away from me, sticking out from the soft ground like bone from skin.

    [Arcane & Crystal] fired off magic blasts, hit multiple somethings, and more debris rained.

    I coughed, punched my chest to expel detritus.

    ¡°Go!¡± Problem exclaimed.

    My feet were already moving before my head did.

    My curiosity got the better of me. Archknell was completely enveloped by [Netherstrings], no different than armor like my [Yuzhou], but he resembled a twisted dark knight with elongated limbs and claws instead of fingers. [Strings] flapped from his shoulders like tassels. Silverhonor had surrounded herself in a shimmering barrier, and raised a hand toward the ¡°sky.¡±

    An arrow soared and bloomed into golden rain.

    It encompassed a wide area.

    ¡°Motherfucker¡ª!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but scream as I went faster than a sprint.

    The first droplet landed a few meters ahead of me, kicked up a pillar of dirt as if a mortar had hit. The next blew up the remains of a fallen crystal and covered me in a disgusting amount of glitter. I leapt over a destroyed deposit just as Silverhonor blessed me by hitting that exact spot a few breaths afterwards. The explosion threw me off my feet, I did a couple gymnastic flips and completely fucked the landing and banged up my side. Nothing felt broken, just my morale¡ª

    A light shimmered in front of me.

    An [Arcane] barrier deflected a droplet, and it ricocheted toward the tree-line and casually chopped down a couple trees.

    I clawed to my feet, crawling then breaking into a run again¡ª

    A young child cried. An explosion hitting the top of a lucky (now not-so-lucky) tower of green crystal. Across the top of my vision, a smoking black tarp was gliding toward the ground like an airplane without a pilot.

    [Mana Impact]

    My brain had already calculated it. The distance, the lead, the amount of power needed, and I joined Problem in the air. My math wasn¡¯t perfect. I was a little too powerful and I underestimated the speed of his descent, but it was close enough.

    I nabbed him by the arm and pulled him into my chest, and let my back face the ground.

    That was a mistake.

    Ended up landing not on soft dirt but cracking my spine against a hard bed of stone. I howled, feeling spikes stab throughout my back, and we bounced off and landed unflatteringly on solid turf. My legs went jelly for a second, and a foot away, Problem didn¡¯t fare any better either. He tried standing but collapsed into a crumpled, dirty blanket, groaning.

    For someone like him, his body couldn¡¯t take much punishment.

    ¡°I got you¡ªfuck¡ªcome on, Problem.¡± Somehow, either through sheer spite or suicidal ideation, I stood and helped my savior up. I carried him with one arm, dragging both of our beaten bodies toward the sacred tree.

    We made it.

    I walked as fast as my shitty legs let me, then I threw Problem inside the cove first. Stumbling with him, I prized a thick bunch of roots and caught my breath. Battle raged outside, but Archknell knew to divert Silverhonor away from the tree. We¡¯d be safe here; that was the hope.

    ¡°C-Conqueror¡­¡± Problem grabbed some of the roots too, looking around at the crystals tucked underneath. ¡°There¡­ Right there¡­¡±

    He pointed at two human-sized crystals laying on the ground, unsupported. Freakily, they had living, breathing people inside like a prehistoric mosquito trapped in amber. Empress''s and Firebrand''s last expressions were immortalized, that of understandable terror, but they were too slow to avoid what was coming. What a way to get incapped.

    Time to get them out.

    I limped over and rested against Empress¡¯s prison first. ¡°Wake up.¡± I clenched my fist, channeling it with mana. ¡°Dumbass.¡±

    My five bruised and battered knuckles cracked it open. As soon as her skin was exposed to the warm air, she started violently choking. No oxygen. Another punch freed her head, and I physically ripped the rest with my two shaking hands. When enough of her body was exposed, I pulled and laid her on the ground where she could recover.

    Sharp thwacking got my attention. Problem was using [Arcane] like a hammer, laying spiderweb fractures over FB¡¯s prison, trying to avoid his hand that was sticking out. I hobbled over and did the same thing: break it open and rescue our firestarter.

    Our Angels were back to the realm of the living, having experienced what SH had when she was first rescued by Archknell, and they didn¡¯t enjoy it.

    ¡°God¡ª!¡± Empress punched her chest several times, barely having the strength to sit up. ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s, ugh¡­¡± Firebrand tried to stand but fell back down onto the crystal he¡¯d been trapped in. ¡°Fuck¡­ What happened¡­? Can we port?¡±

    After he said that, a silver laser cut about ten feet from our hidey-hole and pounded the ground into oblivion.

    "No," I told everyone.

    ¡°A-Alex¡­¡± Empress painfully moaned, one hand on the ground. ¡°Lyressa¡­ She¡¯s trapped too.¡±

    ¡°Where?¡±

    She pointed at the roof of our cove, which was just wood as far as I could tell. ¡°I-Inside the tree.¡±

    Yeah, expected as much. The bulge we''d seen earlier housed Silverhonor''s crystal. Christ. The Mother had a twisted sense of humor. First, Seraph believed her husband was dead; next, Zhu Xinyue actually murdered her son; now, we were reenacting Archknell''s voyage into the Crystal Forest. Bigger problems: how was I going to break through the wood? Should I chop a hole underneath¡ª? No, I didn¡¯t know SH¡¯s state. Any wrong move and she¡¯d be in pieces, me with her.

    ¡°There¡¯s¡ª¡± Firebrand hacked his guts out, ¡°¡ªt-there¡¯s a hole up at the top of the tree. I don¡¯t think I can climb it¡­¡±

    A distant explosion was an unnecessary reminder of what laid outside.

    Problem shook his head. ¡°Conqueror¡ª¡±

    I sighed and put a hand on my hip. ¡°Alright. Wait here for me.¡±

    Pushing through the multiple sclerosis I''d just developed, I ventured outside and got a better look at the tree. Looks a lot bigger down here, probably the height of a five-story building. I''d have to scale that distance with no harness. Shit.

    Regardless of my feelings, the job needs doing.

    [Technique Dagger, Chain Gauntlets]

    [Daggers] were attached to [Chains].

    I bounced off the tree-roots, using them as stools to reach the main trunk. My [Daggers] surprisingly sunk into the wood without much force, which gave me slightly more confidence that I could pull this off. In my short yet "thrilling" life, I had many experiences but rock-climbing (or tree-climbing in this face) was not one of them. This was as new to me as the Slayer thing.

    As I hung there contemplating my next move, my position offered a perfect vista of the ongoing fight. They''d moved away from the clearing and into a nearby section of forest. Our fighters were on the ground surrounded by smoking, flattened ruins. Neither side had caved in yet, but one of them was human and the other was a breacher. Humans, despite their dramatics, were limited by pesky things like stamina, energy, and blood. Archknell was running low on all of them.

    He still donned his mummy-wraps, but blood poured through the individual strands and soaked the [Strings]. Being hunched over like that? Damn, he looked like a mad berserker who''d somehow gone more insane. Silverhonor, meanwhile, had her pearl eyes discolored red and black. Visible holes and gashes adorned her figure. She didn¡¯t bleed blood but bled something else, I couldn¡¯t tell what it was exactly. A blackish-blue glitter of sorts.

    Archknell unraveled more [Strings], and they wove a rough, bloody warhammer and shield. The hammer came down and strongly clanged against an invisible barrier, shimmering from the impact, and that¡¯s all I was willing to see.

    Had to keep moving. One meter at a time. One foot at a time. One centimeter.

    I climbed over the bulge that likely housed SH. Despite the soft wood, it was getting difficult to penetrate the [Daggers] deep enough. My forearms were burning; how long could I keep this up? A part of me thought to speed things up and start jumping between holds, but with my strength and experience, I couldn¡¯t.

    I couldn¡¯t risk it¡ª

    Another explosion and gust of wind.

    My legs were immediately snatched from the tree, forcing me perfectly parallel to the ground. I embarrassingly shrieked as my grip on my [Daggers] began slipping¡ªthen it happened. Good thing I thought ahead. Because I¡¯d attached them to [Chain Gauntlets], I was still hanging onto the tree only because I had driven the [Daggers] deep in the wood.

    At least, that¡¯s what I thought until one of the [Daggers] slid free and threw my left arm back.

    That time, I almost pissed myself.

    After a few seconds, the wind showed me mercy and I slammed into the tree. Yeah, that hurt. My right arm was hanging there, and a single [Dagger] was holding my weight.

    Not wanting to test my luck further, I got back to climbing, using the pain as motivation to end this rescue mission as soon as possible. My morbid curiosity wanted to see what had caused the wind, but my sanity wouldn¡¯t handle the knowledge.

    Just focus. All I had to do was keep climbing to the top. Closer and closer, ignore what your arms were telling you. They might fall off, but we could always reattach them later. Your heart was beating from fear and exhaustion, but this was far from the worst you¡¯d seen and felt.

    A gust stung my open wounds. My hands were clammy and grainy and numb, but I saw the most handsome sight: the top of this damned tree. A second wind rejuvenated me, and when my hands gripped the ledge, I was manically laughing.

    I pulled myself up and nearly took a twenty-ish foot drop. Catching myself at the edge, I looked down. A crooked hole led straight to the bulge, and inside was a pastel-pink crystal in the shape of a bumpy, irregular egg. Barely, through the clouded rock, an elven woman was nestled in the fetal position but her expression wasn¡¯t at peace. It was tortured.

    Losing your memories would do that to you. Waking up in a foreign world, a stranger to its inhabitants and worse, to yourself. You only knew your own name, forced to trust your own dulled wits. It was a good thing that you found Archknell, someone who gave a shit about morals and basic decency. He gave you a home, a place to belong, and foundation so you may finally uncover your own secrets.

    I was just one bystander watching you sift through the sand. Wish we didn¡¯t have to meet again like this, but¡­

    ¡°Time to wake up, Silverhonor.¡± I hopped down, dragging my [Daggers] down the inner-walls to slow my descent.

    Then, after I was close enough, I let myself fall the rest of the way.

    At the bottom of the long drop, I clenched my fist and threw it forward.

 [FOR REMEMBRANCE] Chapter 4 - Weep No More

    ¡°Where are you¡­?¡± muttered the elf so quietly that I almost didn¡¯t catch it above the ruckus outside.

    ¡°Right here.¡± I lent my filthy hand toward our elven beauty, though she didn¡¯t look too great either. We were both dirty and miserable people; at least one of us couldn''t remember our tragic past.

    Silverhonor heaved, lying in her crystal-bed; her eyes and lips fluttered unconsciously. Slowly, I could hear it, the gears inside that big head started moving and sense was gradually restored in her distant gaze. She gulped, and a troubled breath popped out instead of words. A dry throat heaved, having gone without water for so long. She gulped again.

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­¡± she started, pressing her cracked lips together, ¡°...Why are you here, Shen?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I ask myself that everyday. Come on, it¡¯s not safe here¡ª¡±

    ¡°Where is she?¡± Silverhonor tried sitting up but her arms disagreed, and she fell back into the crystal. Before I could help her, her hand and her stupid pride pushed me away. ¡°Where is she, Shen¡ª?!¡±

    I reached again but she stubbornly refused my help. ¡°She¡¯s outside fighting Archknell; well, you¡¯re fighting Archknell¡ª!¡±

    ¡°What in the world are you talking about?! I¡¯m referring to the woman with half her face pixelated!¡± exclaimed SH, and that gave me pause.

    There was another Alternate? We didn''t see a second one around. Rei would¡¯ve theoretically sensed ¡°her¡± already. Plus, logically-speaking, ¡°she¡± would¡¯ve shown herself given the intensity of the fight outside. Was SH hallucinating, did the second Alt already leave, or¡­?

    I bit the inside of my cheek¡ªthere wasn''t any time to ask questions¡ªso I firmly grabbed her wrist and wrestled her from the crystal. She resisted at first, but her limbs were jelly and I still had enough strength to win the contest. ¡°That¡¯s a conversation for another day; we really need to port."

    Silverhonor begrudgingly leaned against me for support. The gravity of the situation was beginning to dawn on her, it seemed, and remorse replaced the frustration in her jewel-like eyes. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry for dragging you into this. Sincerely, I-I¡­¡±

    ¡°Save your apologies, let¡¯s¡­¡± I traced our climb back up, and I let out a very unconfident sigh. ¡°I didn¡¯t think about how we¡¯re climbing out of here. Can you handle yourself¡ª?¡± (She glowered.) ¡°¡ªalright, okay, that¡¯s a no. What about blowing the floor beneath us¡ª?¡± (Glower.) ¡°¡ªcool, I can¡¯t do that either.¡±

    ¡°Are you practicing your stand-up routine while we¡¯re in the midst of a life-threatening battle?!¡± she said, yet she was the one holding onto me for dear life.

    ¡°You¡¯re the A-Rank here; I¡¯ve been a Slayer for not even three weeks¡ª!¡±

    A deep, almost indescribable sound splintered the air. What did it sound like¡ª? A thick cable, that was it. It sounded like a thick cable, the one you''d find in heavy machinery and construction, being whipped around by a giant at neck-breaking speeds. Around us, the walls of the great yet hollow tree vibrated and spread the love to our fractured bones and sore muscles, rattling us like tambourines in an orchestra¡ª

    Crunch.

    Something lobbed off most of the tree above our heads. Gone, ripped off, just like that. Splinters rained on our shoulders and I instinctively shielded Silverhonor using my own body. The visceral sensation of wood tearing from wood reverberated into my flesh, carved a place in my ears, and would''ve paralyzed me if my fear of death wasn''t kicking my ass into gear. The only consolation was the fact that we were alive, because as it turned out, a tightly-wound and gargantuan [Netherstring] cable had nearly taken our lives. At first, I thought to scream all sorts of things at Archknell, but the [String] was slack, folded in on itself. The Deathweaver wasn''t in control; it''d been severed.

    One distant crash later, we escaped death for the tenth time today. Fortunately, our climb was reduced from twenty-ish feet to around six. That was doable.

    ¡°You¡¯re going up first!¡± I grabbed Silverhonor''s thin waist and lifted her up¡ªunder any other circumstances, this would be a city-wide scandal.

    Her hands slapped the splintered ledge and she yelped, feeling at least a hundred different wooden daggers long and small stab into her palms; annoyingly, she took several long moments of patting around until she was brave enough to climb. From thigh to knee to ankle, I pushed her upwards to safety.

    I joined her, [Forged Skin] flattening the splinters, and shakily stood on a single knee. Didn''t want to think about how high we were even after our lucky accident; I was about to hop off and improvise the landing, but a clump of silver-hair was thrown against my arm by the wind. ¡°SH, get the hell down¡ª!¡±

    ¡°That¡­ That really is me.¡± Silverhonor stood tall, grinding her feet on the frayed wood, as the Crystal Forest was razed into dust, smoke, and broken trees. Destruction had waved away large and uneven swaths, stripped everything barren and leaving only craters and ripples in the pale dirt. The harbingers were high-rankers floating in the air and hunched over as though controlled by a lazy puppeteer.

    One way or another, human or Alternate, they were bleeding and sweating and panting, but neither were close to the brink. They, however, had wordlessly yet mutually agreed on a timeout as they both admired and gawked at the elf standing beside me.

    The original finding her doppelganger. The guardian finding his heart.

    Silverhonor¡¯s lips trembled and she inched forward treacherously, feet halfway off the edge. I grabbed her just in time, yet she ignored me and continued to fixate on her Alternate. On "herself." Tears welled in her exhausted eyes, and in my grasp, she trembled. I couldn''t tell if anger or sorrow was showing more. ¡°Why¡­?¡±

    I tugged on her arm¡ª

    ¡°WHY?!¡± she screamed so the whole world could hear, yet her words seemed to fall on the deaf ears of her Alternate. ¡°Why must you torment me with what I¡¯ve lost?! My dreams are tainted by your fragmented memories, and I wake nearly every night grieving the hole in my heart that you placed there! I cannot put a time to my own tears, only a name for my grief: the Lyressa fey Suntear before the Crystal Forest! Can you recall what she had experienced?! Tell me the name of her first love, her greatest achievement¡ªanything! What can you tell me, you damned bitch who wears my face?!¡±

    ¡°Lyressa!¡± Archknell screamed. ¡°Stay back! Don¡¯t¡ª!¡±

    ¡°I am as hollow as the tree I emerge from! Tell me, what am I? What purpose do I serve here?! Am I as grotesque as you, what meaning can we possibly create¡ª?!¡±

    Silverhonor¡ªthe Alternate¡ªwaved her hand in our direction.

    I tackled the real one off the tree, and an arc-shaped energy wave crashed into the damaged trunk. That would¡¯ve been us.

    This was the part where I had to improvise a landing. As good as I was at improv, I couldn¡¯t think of one that didn¡¯t include shattering a dozen bones from the fall. My bones. Fortunately, I had friends  waiting for me and the elven princess. A strange sensation overtook my skin, overwhelming the itchiness from the sweat and dirt and splinters; it felt like I¡¯d been dropped into a vat of slime or got put into a chrono-chamber. Everything moved slower, even my breathing. Around our bodies, a peculiar purple aura enveloped us. I couldn¡¯t see the caster before we were gently dropped onto the ground. Only Problem had the tools to pull that kind of trick.

    Silverhonor hopped off me and raced to find her Alternate, but someone grabbed her wrist. ¡°Lyressa, you can¡¯t go out there¡ª!¡±

    She pulled away. ¡°Unhand me, Leo! I can finally have my answers! Two years, I¡¯ve been waiting for two years¡ª!¡±

    ¡°And they¡¯ll be cut short if you think about exposing yourself again!¡± Problem intervened, floating toward her with a beaten and bruised face¡ªit wasn¡¯t a good sight to see a kid like that, whether or not there was a grown man¡¯s brain inside there.

    As Firebrand kindly helped me up, Empress physically blocked SH. ¡°Please, you can¡¯t do this¡ª!¡±

    An impact landed ten meters behind Empress, dirt spewing everywhere again. Like rats, we scurried to the safety of the great tree¡¯s surfaced roots. The Alternate had proven Empress''s point in the scariest way possible: we were all fucking ants compared to the Mythos-level Alternate that was giving Archknell a run for his money. And speaking of, [Netherstrings] covered the sky and converged somewhere that none of us could see.

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    Archknell was pushing the Alt away. I hope.

    Firebrand pulled on the roots, pissed at everything and especially at himself, and snapped a few weak twigs off. ¡°This can''t be a simple enviro. There''s gotta be something else we''re missing."

    Empress hovered near the elf, making sure she wouldn''t run off to her death. ¡°You think it could be an Inner World¡ª?¡±

    ¡°No, impossible, no. I¡­¡± Problem hissed from pain and frustration, scratching at one of his cuts and flaking hard dirt off. ¡°Inner Worlds are a different beast than enviros, but then again, it could explain why the Alt can stand a chance against a Mythos-level Slayer.¡±

    Because she could be a True Mythos, was what everyone was thinking. I also had another thought: if the Alternate resembled Silverhonor in any capacity, then did she possess the same power? Asking questions was useless in our position; we wouldn''t get worthwhile answers to either of our theories, but we eyed the elf anyway.

    She shuddered, hugging herself, and shot disdainful scowls at each of us. ¡°I-I¡¯m a blundering fool like the rest of you!¡± Despite her harsh language, her voice was breaking. ¡°I don¡¯t have the answers you want; all I bring is this! Chaos, confusion, and destruction¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t say that, Silverhonor-san,¡± said a boy. He appeared outside our little huddle, his skin brown and gray from smog, and a few sticks stuck to his clothes and in his hair. Although he had the brightest eyes out of everyone, they were smaller here, dimmer, as he admired the pocked ground. "You aren''t hollow."

    ¡°Rei?¡± Problem tore crusts around his eyelids. ¡°I¡¯d told you¡ª¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡± asked SH, fists clenched.

    Rei shook his head as though telling her that he didn¡¯t pose a threat. ¡°I¡¯m only a young kensei working for Angels. I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m also searching for my own answers. While this is the first time we¡¯re meeting, you¡¯re nothing like what you¡¯ve claimed. Even without your memories, you¡¯re still¡ª¡±

    Another tremor, but it felt different this time. Existential, that was the best way I could describe it. The show was coming to an end, like a stage pulling up the curtains and revealing the actors behind the characters.

    On the far ¡°horizons¡± of the enviro, it cracked. These cracks ran from one end of the world to the other, splitting the ¡°sky¡± in half, and the true world leaked through. It brought rain and dim lights. Yawning fractures spawned from the cracks and gradually began to consume bright pastels of the Crystal Forest. Beneath our feet, the ground shifted like sand.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Firebrand asked, looking around. ¡°Did Archknell break the enviro¡ª?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll take too much energy¡ª¡± Problem paused, ¡°¡ªWonder. It seems he made a good judgment call.¡±

    Silverhonor flinched as another close impact rang. ¡°What about my doppelganger?!¡±

    Empress flexed her hands, making sure her fingers worked. ¡°We¡¯ll have to beat her outside the enviro.¡±

    Another tremor rumbled throughout the Crystal Forest. The cracks and fractures sprouted smaller branches, connecting together, and infected the ground. We scattered, instinctively keeping our feet away from the scary-looking breakages like we''d fall through. Everyone did, except Rei.

    It wasn¡¯t because he was unafraid, but his mind was too preoccupied with the sight above him: the ¡°sky¡± was transformed into an abstract artwork you¡¯d find on pottery. Strangely, small droplets of water fell on his cheeks and left clean streaks.

    I inched toward him. ¡°Rei?¡±

    Curtains fell over his cosmic-blue eyes. ¡°It¡¯s raining, senpai.¡±

    Glass shattered, and a bright light overwhelmed my vision.

    ***

    The first thing I felt was a heavy downpour washing away the grime I¡¯d accumulated. Mud poured down my [Combat Suit], and my eyes stung from the sludge rolling down from my nappy hair. I tasted dirt in my mouth, crunched gravel between my molars, and spat everything onto the wet ground. My hands wiped my head, my face, my vision multiple times, enough so I could barely see through the rain.

    The enviro, the Crystal Forest, was destroyed.

    The isolation barrier was gone too.

    Through the heavy screens of rain, I barely saw my team. Empress and Firebrand were together, shivering from the cold rain. Problem quickly whipped his hood back on. Behind us, Sage and Mongrel and Wonder were standing there, flabbergasted at our state; and behind them, a line of Slayers¡ªGlories¡ªformed as our curious audience. Luckily, they acted as a barrier to prevent additional onlookers from further exposing our exploits.

    In front of me was Silverhonor standing next to Rei, and they faced our two defiant fighters.

    Half of Archknell¡¯s armor and his [Loadout] were ripped off. Wet crimson masked most of his face, dripping onto his shoulders and bare sculpted chest and watering the grass and weeds. The skin around his [Netherstring Gauntlets] had long been peeled, raw and bleeding flesh underneath, which must feel absolutely terrible with the constant rain.

    Lastly, our most troublesome Alternate to date was shrouded by the rain. I didn¡¯t know if she was bleeding or showed further signs of hurt, but she was still standing and freakish tears continued to stream down from her solid eyes. She could still fight, and in a public space like this, collateral damage didn¡¯t mean a destroyed enviro. It meant millions in property damage and millions more in wrongful death lawsuits.

    How could we beat something like that even in its damaged state¡ª?

    Rei stepped forward.

    ¡°Little kensei?¡± Silverhonor asked. ¡°What are you¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Rei!¡± I shouted. ¡°Don¡¯t think about it¡ª!¡±

    ¡°...I must act,¡± he said, soft-spoken, barely audible over the storm. Where was his enthusiasm? What happened to the little ball of energy who¡¯d been so eager to be a part of the team? ¡°I have to act.¡±

    Archknell saw his approach and threw an arm out to stop him. ¡°Stop right there, Angel! Don¡¯t come any closer! It¡¯s too dangerous¡ª!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard your tears for so long. I¡¯ve felt your grief.¡± Rei produced his worn and battered katana that I¡¯d seen back at the Jin Family Manor. He slipped off the peeling sheath and tossed it aside, revealing a blade that was in an even worse state. The edge was chipped, the whole thing slightly bent, and the tip was flattened; it was far too dull to cut anything. That wasn¡¯t a sword. It was scrap metal. ¡°Yet no matter how much you wail and beat at the ground, everything will be washed away in the rain.¡±

    Archknell continued to hold his arm there, yet the boy continued to walk. ¡°I¡¯ll incap you, Angel! Do not¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Please, Archknell-sama. Allow me to conduct her last farewells, so that she may weep no more.¡± Rei stared ahead at the Alternate without hate or pity in his gaze nor with sympathy or kindness. His emotions were, as he said, washed away in the rain; the Alternate stared back, as no such emotions existed within her. ¡°I cannot say we are the same. We live separate lives, because I¡­ I am¡­¡±

    He exhaled.

    ¡°My existence is [Broken Swords].¡±

    An image flashed before my eyes: a drowned plain, more water than earth, covered in high stalks and cut-down reeds. Rei was surrounded by them as rain continued to fall¡ªno, wait, those things weren¡¯t reeds.

    They were swords, buried into the wet ground or laid in pieces. I saw swords of all kinds: single-edged, dual, long and short, all finding themselves in this waterlogged graveyard of blades.

    The image left my eyes.

    Archknell nearly fell backwards, his bulging eyes visible through the rain.

    ¡°That¡­!¡± Problem gasped. ¡°That was an Inner Mirage! How¡ª? What are you, Amamizu Rei?!¡±

    Rei shut his eyes.

    He could never answer Problem¡¯s question, as the Alternate had shot a golden arrow toward him. He didn¡¯t move. He didn¡¯t bother to react. And so, the arrow blew a hole in the center of his chest.

    The rest of his body dissipated in the droplets.

    Rei reformed behind the Alt. ¡°No matter how many swords I hold¡­¡±

    She whipped around and blindly lashed with a magical bow, yet he vanished. ¡°Not a single one remains¡­¡±

    He reappeared a few meters away, staring at the ground. ¡°Will I be able to fulfill my promise¡­?¡±

    Silverhonor flexed her hands¡ª

    Rei teleported in front of her as if the rain had whisked him there. ¡°Will I ever become just like ¡®you¡¯¡­?¡±

    He tightened his lips and clamped both hands onto the wet hilt, and his cosmic-blue eyes were the sole shining light amidst the rain.

    [Skill Activation]

    ¡°Sayonara, Silverhonor-san.¡±

    ¡°Kowareta Ken (‰²¤ì¤¿„‡).¡±

    [Broken Sword]

    A single, smooth cut rang throughout the training field. That¡¯s all it was. One cut.

    ¡°Urashiki (ÐÄÊ½).¡±

    [Type Heart]

    There was no obvious injury on the Alternate, yet she stumbled forward. Her magical bow withered into small motes of light; she raised her arms and found them decaying into dust. As she turned back to look at the small boy, all she could see was his downturned head looking down at the broken pieces of his katana, gathered together in a small puddle of shattered steel and mud.

    He let go of the hilt.

    Then, she too returned to mud.

    [Event Commission ¡°Disappearance of SIlverhonor¡± has been completed]

    [You have been paid 250,000ssp]

    Event Commission: Disappearance of Silverhonor

    Pay: 250,000ssp

    Description: Don¡¯t look back. There''s nothing for you anymore. Curb your curiosity and never fantasize what you left behind. Erase those years from your long life. Live on blissfully, and let your scars fade away and love once more. This is for your own good, Lyressa.

 [FOR REMEMBRANCE] Chapter 5 - Vacant Memories

    ¡°Your idea of a safehouse is to teleport into my apartment soaking wet and casting dirt everywhere?!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll cause less of a mess than you had,¡± Morgan threw down his hood and found a roll of paper-towels in the kitchen. After some levitation magic, we were patting ourselves down while standing on actual towels she''d fetched from her closet.

    I snatched a handful. The coarse white towels turned into a damp brown and I hadn''t wiped more than a quarter of my body. Wet clumps of dirt, mud, and other nonsense flaked off. Despite the towels, we created a thin layer of filth over her nice floor.

    Leo wiped down her neck and collarbone, sighing and wincing. ¡°Ignore Problem. The malies were coming at any second, so we had to take an emergency teleport.¡± Thank Wonder for that. ¡°Last thing we want is to get handcuffed out of Glory Guild, and¡­¡±

    Although she didn¡¯t finish her sentence, we mentally finished it for her and looked across Silverhonor''s luxurious living room. By the fogged screen-doors leading to the balcony, a soaked young boy stared out into the gray city as small clusters of red and blue fluttered across the narrow roads. He leaned his head against the cool glass and stayed there, unmoving, listening and watching the rain pitter-patter.

    If we¡¯d stayed there and gotten caught by the malies, they would¡¯ve taken Rei.

    ¡°Rei,¡± Morgan was the first to call out to him, ¡°what did you do back there? How were you able to form an Inner Mirage?¡±

    His shadowed blues drifted in our direction. ¡°I sensed her existence in our world was unstable, so I severed the connection and freed her. I slew the imposter.¡±

    Morgan dropped the moist towels he was holding and they plummeted to the floor like a rock. ¡°You conceptually severed her existence?¡±

    A brief gloss of confusion overtook the kid. ¡°...Yes?¡±

    ¡°I need to¡ª¡± Morgan looked at me, waved a finger, and said nothing. Realizing whatever mistake he made, he waved his finger at the other Angels instead, ¡°¡ªput this boy on the already long docket.¡±

    Rei didn¡¯t ask what he meant or ask anything really. To us, the next steps were obvious. He was an Anomaly¡ªan irregular entity existing in our world just like Silverhonor by technical definition¡ªand thus, he was the Anomaly Bureau¡¯s jurisdiction. Seraph and Rector couldn¡¯t let him go after what happened earlier. They, through both curiosity and the kindness of their hearts, had to take him in.

    That was for a later date. The kid didn¡¯t look like a flight risk, so for now, I think we could leave him be and not worry about anything.

    I clapped my hands and moved to block Rei from their sight, hoping to stir the conversation onto more immediate issues. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the elephant in the room, yeah?¡±

    Silverhonor bit her lip and hid in the doorway of her kitchen, holding another fresh roll of paper-towels. ¡°What about Archknell and Mongrel¡ª?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll take care of the malies, our GMs too. Cleaning up is their job.¡± I narrowed my eyes. ¡°Getting down to the truth is ours. Why did you leave?¡±

    Her defensiveness switched to anger pretty quickly, she shoved the roll into Leo¡¯s arms. ¡°Why are you assuming I left¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Your phone.¡± I looked around her living room like I¡¯d find it here; it would be in her bedroom or in Archknell''s possession. ¡°It has a tracker that Archknell uses, and it led him here. He confirmed it the morning you went missing, so you left your apartment the night before. You mentioned earlier that you had dreams of your vacant memories, so you know what I think? Something happened that night, and in a desperate bid to regain your past, you dropped everything and left without telling or letting anyone know. That¡¯s how you ended up in Crystal Forest again.¡±

    Somehow, her pale skin became even paler and her ears drooped toward the floor.

    Chie protested, ¡°Alex, she just went missing¡ª¡±

    ¡°She ran away and left everyone scrambling. I can overlook the first thing but not the second, but Archknell will handle her punishment.¡± I crossed my arms, imprisoning her with my gaze. ¡°Who did you meet? The woman you mentioned.¡±

    The elf held a hand close to her lips. She glanced sideways to Leo, the closest friend she had in this group, but while there was sympathy, there wasn¡¯t support. Normally, I wouldn¡¯t pry but she had information that we needed.

    SH swallowed the shame and put on her brave face. ¡°I¡­ I had forgotten that you¡¯re far smarter than you look, Shen¡ª¡± (¡°Conqueror.¡±) ¡°¡ªConqueror, yes. I¡¯ll tell you what happened. From the beginning, I mean.¡±

    ***

    Silverhonor had suffered from unwanted dreams¡ªrather, nightmares¡ªsince she became a citizen of our world. Images. Sounds. Blurs. The images were never clear or made logical sense, like ten terrible movies edited into one. The sounds were wild, chaotic, too confusing to make heads or tails of. And the blur stayed as a bad filter that she couldn¡¯t tear off.

    For the past two years, she searched for a remedy to her amnesia¡ªto her dreams. Not even the best mentalist could restore her memories, and while they could block these dreams, she refused. They were the last artifacts of the previous Lyressa fey Suntear; without them, you could say that woman was effectively dead.

    The night before last was another one of those nights for Silverhonor, except she heard a voice piercing through the fog.

    ¡°¡®Lyressa, Lyressa, Lyressa, your fortune has come true once again,¡¯¡± Silverhonor said, trying to mimic the mysterious voice. I wasn¡¯t quite sure what she was trying to get at, but I nodded along and listened. ¡°She insistently called my name, and the images¡­ How do I say this? They achieved a certain clarity. They flashed before my eyes but I recognized them: whoever had reached out to me, they awaited my company inside the Infinity Dungeon.¡±

    Morgan, who¡¯d taken a seat on one of her couches, said, ¡°That¡¯s where you ran off to?¡±

    His accusatory tone did the opposite of helping her mood, evident by how her ears were straight like daggers. ¡°Two years, Problem. I¡¯ve¡­ I¡¯ve been tormented by my missing memories for two long years. Have you ever had the feeling that you¡¯re forgetting something important?¡± (Most of us nodded.) ¡°Imagine that feeling but intensified a hundredfold and it lasts for every waking second of your life. Knowing my answers may lie within the Dungeon... I had to take it.¡±

    ¡°So you went into the Dungeon?¡± Leo asked, sitting next to the elf. She¡¯d taken the ¡°good cop¡± role, because God knows none of us could fill those shoes. "The city closed the entrance due to the breakthroughs."

    "It''d explain how we didn''t detect the mysterious woman," Problem commented.

    SH nibbled on her thumbnail. ¡°I snuck inside and entered the Hub. That''s where I found her."

    The original four members of the team took sneaky glances at each other.

    Morgan scooted forward. ¡°Describe her as best as you can.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± SIlverhonor pressed a hand against her forehead, the act of remembering a challenge for her cruelly enough. ¡°Half of her face was shrouded with a veil of depthless pixels, and she wore this strange yet alluring gown. Her hair was¡ªI don¡¯t know¡ªit was blue or black, I believe. It¡¯s the color of a starry night. That¡¯s all I can readily remember, because¡­¡±

    She clasped her hands together and squeezed them tightly. We understood the message: she couldn¡¯t remember everything about their meeting.

    ¡°What do you remember in that case?¡± Morgan asked next.

    ¡°I can¡¯t fully recall¡­ I remember interrogating her but our conversation is lost on me. Really, only a single word stands out to me: ¡®Astraria.¡¯¡±

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    We quizzed each other through eyes, seeing if that word held any significance to anyone. No one knew what that meant.

    Seeing our lack of answers, Silverhonor continued, ¡°Yet another unanswerable question¡­ That¡¯s the limit of my knowledge, because the next thing I knew, I woke up inside a crystal with Conqueror hovering above me.¡±

    "It¡¯s her,¡± Chie said, restlessly tapping her thigh. ¡°I-I think Lyressa met with the Mother.¡± (¡°Pardon?¡±)

    Morgan picked at the band-aid on his face. ¡°That¡¯s what I think as well. Let¡¯s brush aside this ¡®Astraria¡¯ for a later date. Silverhonor, you attracted the creator of the recent breachers. I''m assuming the timeline of events went like this: you had your dream, you infiltrated the Infinity Dungeon and encountered the creator, then you were incapacitated. A day passed with no activity for some reason, then on the very next day, the Crystal Forest was recreated in Glory Guild HQ. Surprisingly, neither us or the Dungeoneers registered anything on our systems."

    ¡°Okay, but¡­¡± Silverhonor rose in her seat, hand over her heart. ¡°Why me? Why did this ¡®Mother¡¯ target me specifically?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°Why did the Mother target Seraph, Jin Tianyou, and myself?¡±

    Aiden butted in, ¡°The Mother reached out to Silverhonor specifically. It didn¡¯t do that for the others. I think, anyway.¡±

    ¡°Is it possible that she may be related to my past, then?¡± SH popped the question for the whole group.

    Well, I was about to add that specific addendum to my sarcasm; while yes, the Mother had explicitly approached Silverhonor, it didn¡¯t make her motives any clearer. In fact, it probably obfuscated them more. If you ask me¡­

    I whistled, glancing at the downpour still battering the windows outside. ¡°Personally, from what we¡¯ve seen so far, the Mother likes to dine on her targets¡¯ pasts like Seraph and Jin Tianyou. There¡¯s nothing more intriguing and delicious than an amnesiac whose history is effectively non-existent.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the likelier theory,¡± Morgan admitted after giving it a good think. ¡°Evidence shows that the Mother has the power to peer into our histories; it¡¯s the foundation for the breachers¡¯ existences, after all. She must¡¯ve peaked into yours, which led to this whole catastrophe.¡±

    ¡°...I see.¡± During our conversation, there had been a glimmer of hope in the elf¡¯s capturing eyes. Despite this mess, a part of her must¡¯ve believed that the Mother was connected to her past. We extinguished that hope, and thus her pointy-ears fell. The Mother and her Alternates were, in a nutshell, cruel voyeurs. No different than a monster that, let¡¯s say, took the form of your worst trauma.

    Silverhonor stood and uncomfortably scratched at her shoulder, gloom wearing her down more than the rain, dirt, and exhaustion. ¡°Thank you for everything. Truly. I know we have our disagreements¡­¡± (Glancing at me.) ¡°...but I offer you my sincerest apologies. Feel free to freshen yourselves until you¡¯re needed back at HQ. I need to take time to myself.¡±

    Leo reached out but SH was faster; she took Rei¡¯s spot from earlier, standing at the screen-doors leading to her balcony and silently watching the rain.

    ***

    As expected, the malies showed up at Glory Guild to investigate the incident. Shame, though, that they were turned away at the gates. Archknell himself, bleeding and bruised, had told them to, and I quote, ¡°Fuck off and crawl back into your mother¡¯s asshole.¡± He had many, many disagreements with Angels Guild¡ªhim and Mongrel¡ªbut we were commonly united against the bigger enemy: the Global Union. I suspect Archknell hated them more than he did us, but an ally was an ally.

    I don¡¯t doubt the malies could force their way into Glory Guild HQ, either through the strong-arm of the government or their own underhanded ways, but not before the mess was cleaned up.

    The news was already running wild with stories and speculation. They knew something happened at one of the training fields. Out came an injured Archknell and a whole team of Angels, a breacher was killed, and the Angels fled. It didn¡¯t help our case, but a larger conversation was dominating the news cycle: was this the end of the world? Was Ordo ground-zero for yet another massive outbreak? Should the Global Union and the Encampment call an international emergency?

    Due to the excitement, we were ordered to stay at Silverhonor¡¯s place for a little while longer. At least until the rain stopped.

    All we could do was watch TV and talk amongst ourselves; mainly, we threw theories around and discussed our next moves. And of course, we spoke about Rei and our next steps for him. Silverhonor didn¡¯t involve herself in the fun talks and preferred to be alone, a stranger in her own apartment.

    I could tell Leo wanted to get up and strike a heart-to-heart, but something was stopping her. She kept checking on SH, frowning every time she saw the solemn elf stare wistfully at the rain or at the floor.

    Like I said, don¡¯t ask me why Leo didn¡¯t pull the trigger, and especially don¡¯t ask me why I pulled the trigger myself.

    Before I knew it, I joined Silverhonor at the screen-doors, standing across from her, as the cold glass kissed the side of my head and raindrops tickled my ears. I received a sign of life from her: a fast flicker of her eyes, lips pressed together, and her ears slightly raised and alert. In this angle, in this lighting, she could be a painting but there was nothing romantic or beautiful about the scene.

    ¡°...Leave me,¡± she muttered, her voice as soft and dour as the rain. ¡°Or have you come for another apology?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not that petty.¡± I crossed my arms, my breath creating condensation on the glass. ¡°You remember what you said after I got out of the station?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re asking an amnesiac to remember, Shen.¡± She broke a slight and twisted smile. ¡°I do. I suppose you proved me wrong. You picked a world, and you may just find what you¡¯re searching for. Unlike me, who¡¯ll go forever without knowing about her past self.¡±

    I sucked in my cheeks. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that. You never know what¡¯ll happen. It¡¯s why I¡¯m here. I made a choice because I might not be able to choose again in the future.¡±

    My vagueness earned a quick side-eye before it returned to the rain. ¡°I had to choose because another miracle may never appear again. Even with my recklessness, I earned nothing. I really am sorry, Shen, that I made such a mess. I deserve your scorn and admonishment.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t spit acid in your face. Won¡¯t praise you either.¡± I sighed, white puffing over the windows. ¡°I¡¯ll just stand here, if that¡¯s alright with you.¡±

    She didn¡¯t answer, but she didn¡¯t tell me off again. Good. That¡¯s good. Maybe we could have a decent relationship after all. We stood there, not exactly content with ourselves or with the way things were going, but it was peaceful and the world wasn¡¯t going to fall apart further in the next few minutes. A little moment of respite between the chaos of life.

    Silverhonor exhaled, parting her lips, and it took a second for her to say something: ¡°...Shen, have you ever wondered what your otherselves were like?¡±

    I chuckled and wiped my bottom-lip. ¡°Not often. I imagine they¡¯re as tortured as I am.¡±

    ¡°Well, I consider my past life as an otherself so-to-speak,¡± she said, leaning fully against the glass. ¡°The life she¡¯d lived, the tribulations she¡¯d faced, they were hers¡ªa complete and separate existence to mine. Yet we are the same person. I lack everything she has, all the defining moments to make her ¡®her¡¯ are missing, but we¡¯re still the same. If¡­ If those painful memories didn¡¯t exist for you, Shen, would you still be ¡®yourself¡¯?¡±

    I could hear the rain mocking me, now. ¡°That¡¯s too big of a question to ask me, SH. Those memories exist, it doesn¡¯t matter what I think. We¡¯re the people we are. All we can do is live with them and try to move forward.¡±

    ¡°Right, yes¡­¡± Silverhonor inhaled and shut her eyes. I could tell she wasn¡¯t satisfied with my response.

    I took a chance: ¡°I hope you find your memories, SH, but I hope you¡¯ll be happy with yourself more. Even if you might never regain your previous life, we¡¯ll help you create a better one.¡±

    She opened her eyes, shock rolling through them, but they beautifully softened and the pink glow of her cheeks were illuminated in the rain. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to worry you, but thank you for your kind words. I want to extend the same wish to you. You survived your own troubles, much more than I have¡ª¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that. Too many people said the same thing to me.¡± I relaxed a little bit, putting my hands in my pockets. ¡°I thought about that, you know. Erasing those memories. Removing every trace of the Hangzhou Disaster from my head, but the imprints it left could never be stomped out. It wouldn¡¯t be a solution, just a quick fix.¡±

    ¡°You simply have to live with them?¡±

    I chuckled loudly. ¡°Exactly, yeah, your memory¡¯s working pretty well.¡± She pouted. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll stop teasing. But yeah, yeah. For the longest time, I¡¯ve been hanging on to what my parents had taught me. For my own sake but especially for my sister''s. Even then, life always seems to have other ideas and fuck us over.¡±

    ¡°You''ll find your peace.¡± I detected both genuine admiration and snark from the elf. ¡°You still perplex me, Shen. It¡¯s hard to match the two images I have of you: the strangely gentle and handsome man I¡¯m speaking with, and the rogue who¡¯d fought several Slayers and threatened me and Glory Guild.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m too complex for my own good,¡± I joked. ¡°I¡¯m working on that. Trying to be more simple.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m beginning to understand you. Slowly. You are¡­¡± Silverhonor offered a smile, like she was waving away our very first meeting and starting anew. ¡°You¡¯re a hapless fool who enjoys confusing maidens, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s definitely a way to describe me. Not sure if I agree, but it sounds like you see me in a better light.¡±

    ¡°Oh, make no mistake, I still loathe you.¡± Her words didn¡¯t meet her twinkling eyes. ¡°As an Angel, you¡¯re officially my rival. We have unfinished business to settle as they say. I¡¯ll start praying for you, as one of these days you¡¯ll face my unbridled wrath.¡±

    I tried to hide my shudders, remembering how I had nearly died from her Alternate. ¡°Fantastic, I look forward to it, SH.¡±

    ¡°Mhm, and it¡¯s ¡®Lyressa.¡¯ Though, I¡¯ll have you calling me ¡®Madam Suntear¡¯ very shortly.¡±

    Maybe we should¡¯ve stayed as enemies, but I showed a smile anyhow. ¡°Don''t threaten me with a good time, Lyressa. Call me ''Alex'' or whatever funny nicknames you can think of."

 [FOR REMEMBRANCE] Epilogue - Rest, then Sleep

    ¡°We¡¯re going to Hangzhou!¡± Mom declared to the family a couple weeks before my birthday. Dad clapped, but the rest of us kids weren''t exactly excited. Intrigued, pleasantly surprised, but not jumping up and down with joy.

    ¡°Why?¡± And my stupid little sister couldn¡¯t get the hint and at least act like she was thrilled.

    Mom clicked her tongue and I knew she internally wanted to whack her daughter over the head. Instead, she pushed a finger against Thea''s forehead. ¡°Because I said so. This is a good opportunity to celebrate your brother¡¯s birthday and revisit old memories.¡±

    Althea whined and moved away from the hostile finger. ¡°You just want an excuse to come back home¡ª¡±

    For her preteen rudeness, she deservedly got flicked in the head. ¡°And is there anything wrong with that? It saves me the trouble of trying to convince you kids with big words. I rehearsed it with your father and everything, oh well.¡±

    Dad hummed and checked something on his phone. ¡°Well, Hangzhou is... It''s ¡®the place where we first met and fell in love under the... Under the stars.¡¯ I think I''m reading that right.¡±

    ¡°And I don¡¯t trust your father with reading from a script naturally.¡± Mom tipped his phone down and sweetly smiled. ¡°It¡¯s already settled. We brought the plane tickets, and we¡¯ll enjoy a few days in China.¡±

    I smiled and relaxed; I didn¡¯t have any plans for my big seventeen otherwise. Maybe a small party, have a cake, but a vacation? I wasn¡¯t going to turn down a vacation, especially if it meant skipping school. ¡°I hope my Mandarin¡¯s up to par, then,¡± I said.

    ¡°They¡¯ll understand you just fine.¡± Mom sat on the armrest of one of the lounges, arms and legs crossed. ¡°I¡¯m worried about Althea more than you, though.¡± (¡°Hey!¡±) ¡°You need to take your lessons more seriously, sweetheart.¡±

    Dad motioned with his hand, telling us to calm down before another argument broke out. ¡°Let¡¯s not get too rambunctious, okay? Really, we wanted to take you two on a vacation while we still have the chance. We¡¯re running out of time before Alex becomes a real adult.¡±

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna be eighteen for a while. I still have college applications and final exams and all that.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be a grown man before you know it,¡± Mom said. ¡°Which is more reason why we should do more fun things as a family. Soon, your schedule will be too busy for these silly things. Going out with your friends, studying at Yale or Harvard or Princeton¡ª¡± (¡°I don¡¯t wanna go to an Ivy.¡±) ¡°¡ªmaking a wonderful life for yourself.¡±

    My eyes wandered again, to the scars on my mother¡¯s arms and the gentle expression on my father¡¯s face. ¡°It¡¯s¡­not that big of a deal. I¡¯m just gonna be at college. Just another thing.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a ¡®thing¡¯ to us,¡± Dad told me. ¡°You don¡¯t know how happy we are, you two. While we get annoyed¡ªbelieve me, your mother talks¡ªyour worst problems are crappy teachers and school gossip. When we were your age, we never would¡¯ve believed that a college degree was in the cards let alone a vacation across the world. To give you these things, it means we did alright as parents.¡±

    ...Yeah.

    You did everything for us.

    Mom walked over and patted her husband¡¯s shoulder. ¡°All we ask is that you refrain from embarrassing us. I want to brag about my children, not be ashamed of their antics.¡±

    I always wanted to make you proud, to be the best man I could be.

    ¡°We¡¯ll cheer you on from the sidelines.¡±

    ¡°Just make sure you call whenever you have your own company.¡±

    You were always like that. You looked at your own lives and combed through every waking memory, no matter how heart-breaking or aggravating, and derived lessons from them. You didn¡¯t want to impart the same pain onto your kids; more than that, you wanted them to smile and have stupid problems and never know mortality. They should experience a childhood you never had and look toward a bright future when yours had been so dim.

    A part of me wished I never understood what you went through, but here we are.

    Even after six or seven years, I¡¯m not sure I can earn a happy ending like you guys had.

    I blinked and found myself standing in my new and most certainly temporary ¡°home,¡± an apartment too fancy for my blood. It hadn¡¯t been that long since I received my wings from Rector, an employment most would envy, but I wouldn¡¯t call this the desired result after ¡°pulling myself up by the bootstraps.¡±

    This was only the start of a long, long marathon.

    Primordial Plaza, Seraph, Jin Tianyou and Zhu Xinyue, Silverhonor, and whoever was coming next.

    Will the next doppelganger tomorrow kill me? Hell, which identity will they take this time?

    ¡°...Hey, you awake? We¡¯ve been talking at you this entire time.¡± Thea snapped her fingers in front of my face. I barely registered them. ¡°Did Silverhonor take that much outta you?¡±

    ¡°Actually, they reconciled,¡± Leo cheekily said on the other end of the couch we were sitting on. ¡°He really played up his charms, which I didn¡¯t think he could do.¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡± I rubbed my eyes.

    Uncle Ali, who¡¯d helped himself to a little late-night beer, was the first to notice my not-so-spectacular mood. Well, the first willing to point it out: ¡°How¡¯re you feeling? You don¡¯t seem to be all here.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, just¡­¡± I stopped rubbing my eyes and started rubbing my head instead, but it couldn¡¯t get rid of the fog clogging up my headspace. ¡°Everything¡¯s hitting. Running around, watching the fight between Archknell and the Alt, that was¡­ That wasn¡¯t the best workout for my body.¡±

    Leo scooted closer to me with searching eyes, undressing me from my socks to my imaginary hat. ¡°I think you should hang back tomorrow¡ª¡± (¡°Leo.¡±) ¡° ¡ªno, this is an order. You should¡¯ve been resting today regardless, but we¡¯re putting you on the bench now. You need proper rest.¡±

    My two halves were fighting each other. One was screaming in my ear about responsibility and duty, but the other was more rational. As much as my diligence begged me to keep working, I knew better than to die an early death. In my state? I couldn¡¯t physically argue. All the excitement piled on and hit me like a freight train. Everything felt sluggish and sore, my mind was working several seconds behind everyone else¡¯s, and all I could think about was a warm bed. Hell, my back was hurting and I was just laying against the couch.

    ¡°...Alright,¡± I waved the white flag. ¡°If things really go south, you know where I am.¡±

    ¡°We won¡¯t. If tomorrow has another Alt, we¡¯ll handle it ourselves.¡±

    ¡°And.¡± Althea did jazz-hands. ¡°We can always come off the bench and take your spot. I¡¯ve been itching to fight the Ghost of Christmas Past.¡±

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°My sister will get everyone killed before the Alt does.¡±

    ¡°Eat a dick, asshole.¡±

    Idiot. Some things won¡¯t change, at least. Slowly, day-by-day, we could push forward.

    Until, inevitably, life decides to push back and send us into a different direction.

    ***

    ¡°Alright, until further notice, this is your new home.¡± Aiden opened the door to their apartment. It wasn¡¯t anything special, but it was close to HQ and had top-of-the-line security. Though as of late, he and Chie had been spending their nights at the workshop or with Ariella.

    Rei dragged his feet inside, his shoulders sagging both the weight of his fatigue and the water soaking his new clothes. It hurt seeing him track an uneven trail of mud onto the floor, but a dirty apartment felt kinda low on the priority list at the moment. The first on the list was food, then sleep, and more sleep.

    ¡°Wait a sec, hold on!¡± Chie ran in after Rei, stopping him before he reached the rug. They had a jumbled conversation but from what Aiden understood, Rei was convinced to pop his shoes off and awkwardly stand there as Chie ducked into their bedroom.

    Aiden carefully slipped his own shoes off, trying to make as little of a mess as possible, and set them on the shoe-rack. Cleaning them was a tomorrow-problem.

    Rei continued to stand there silently. While nobody really knew him, the change in personality was too drastic to ignore. Beforehand, he was your average fanatic about swords and swordmasters to a concerning degree, but as soon as the dark clouds decided to shed a few tears, boom. He was dark and gloomy. It was suspicious. Then again, everything about him was suspicious. You couldn''t simply dispatch an Alternate with a single move: a high-level concept-destroying kenjutsu that you couldn¡¯t find in a D-Rank Slayer.

    That wasn¡¯t normal, but the entire team wasn¡¯t normal.

    Do I need to keep an eye on Rei too? Aiden narrowed his eyes¡ª

    ¡°Got it!¡± Chie came into the living room waving a clean towel. ¡°Go clean yourself off in our bathroom, okay? And take a shower!¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Rei took the towel then looked at the mess on the floor. ¡°Uhm, I apologize for my rudeness¡­¡±

    ¡°Apologize by cleaning up! Now go! C¡¯mon!¡± Chie shoved him into the bathroom and shut the door before he could protest. Hopefully, Rei knew how to work the shower.

    Aiden shuffled, his feet pointing in different directions: to the kitchen, where the mop was; and to the bathroom, where the shower cut on after a few moments. ¡°I¡­ I guess we oughta start cleaning, huh? Lemme fetch the stuff.¡±

    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    He turned toward the kitchen¡ª

    Something rammed his back with the might of a plushie. Small fingers latched onto his shirt, tightly twisting knots in the fabric. A forehead was uncomfortably pressed against his spine. As her hold became harsher, more desperate, it turned a vice in his heart.

    ¡°Not yet¡­¡± Chie muttered, her heavy breaths bristling through his shirt and hitting his skin.

    Aiden clenched his weakened hands. Through some wizardry, whatever exhaustion Chie had was transferred to him via touch.

    ¡°...You okay, babe?¡± he asked, barely louder than the running shower.

    Chie rubbed her head up-and-down. ¡°Let¡¯s stay like this for a little bit. It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s your punishment.¡± She stopped gripping his shirt and hugged him instead, her arms squeezing his belly. ¡°For scaring me so much. All of you.¡±

    Yeah¡­ Aiden smiled. That¡¯s my punishment, alright.

    ***

    The droll of a ticking clock. The piano of fading rain. Distant murmurs of sky and city. The howling sirens. The ambiance was her only company in this grand office. Normally, this space would be alive and warm with conversation¡ªwhether or not those were pleasant conversations oft depended on the day¡ªbut for this special occasion, it was cold, isolating, and deserving.

    Lyressa sat, hands folded on her lap, and waited.

    Her phone, as good of a distraction as it was, couldn¡¯t pull her mind away from the events of the last two days. What few events she could remember, anyhow. Most were fragments, little glimpses of her confrontation with the so-called Mother, but the pieces were too few and too scattered to weave a coherent narrative.

    What else did she expect? After suffering through so much disappointment from ¡°therapy¡± and ¡°experts,¡± why did she think this would be any different? The Mother was simply a disgusting voyeur, preying and perverting her already troubled memories.

    Ha, if a twisted breacher refused to deliver solace, then what would?

    Her past may be unrecoverable, forever abandoned to the infinity of the multiverse. Yet the recent words of a troublesome man lingered within her mind, refusing to leave her be with her self-loathing. It was strange to hear such¡­compassion from a ¡°weak man¡± like him. Messages of hope, promise, and compassion. Perhaps he pitied her, perhaps he sympathized, perhaps he was fond of her, but regardless¡­

    They belonged to the same cynical man who¡¯d indulged in vigilantism, who had stood against a castle without fear. He was a brute who had pummeled a criminal¡¯s face until it was purple-and-black¡ªand somehow, he couldn¡¯t have feigned those delicate silver eyes. His words had touched her more deeply than any hollow gesture by ¡°specialists¡± and embraced her sorrow with his own.

    One day, maybe, she would remember. No doubt Alexander would be there; although she didn¡¯t know him well, she instinctively knew he would gloat and have his chuckle and precious smile.

    The door opened, startling her.

    Two idiotic men waltzed inside. One was wearing casual clothes, but they were terrible at hiding the mummy-wraps underneath. The other refused to wear normal clothing and insisted on striding around with his bare chest like an exhibitionist. Louis and Cyrus respectively, and they were here to deliver their sentence.

    Lyressa sat taller as Cyrus stood on the opposite side of the room, facing her with his arms crossed and his characteristically dour countenance. On the other hand, Louis approached his desk to charge his phone, muttering something to himself. Even after a prolonged battle, his fingers were deft and he logged onto his computer, presumably checking his emails.

    This was rather uncomfortable. And irritating. She cleared her throat. ¡°Please bring down the gavel and I¡¯ll carry on with my night.¡±

    Cyrus sneered, darkening his animalistic eyes.

    Louis continued to check emails.

    A vein popped in Lyressa¡¯s forehead, and she could feel her ears twitching. ¡°If this is your idea of a punishment, then I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s a terrible joke.¡±

    The men continued to say nothing to her.

    ¡°¡®Ah, yes, Cyrus, I know exactly how to drive that poor elf insane! Just walk into our office and say absolutely nothing while she squirms there like a convict watching her executioner enjoy a bagel!¡¯¡±

    ¡°I hadn¡¯t come up with a punishment yet,¡± Louis commented from behind his desk, which made Lyressa feel somewhat (very) silly. ¡°I don¡¯t know what that lughead is doing¡ª¡±

    ¡°I have an idea,¡± Cyrus finally spoke, letting his arms loose but his expression still taut. ¡°Paperwork. That¡­breaks people.¡±

    His comment made Louis stop typing and squint from his desk. ¡°I don¡¯t disagree, but don¡¯t say it like that.¡±

    Cyrus huffed. ¡°It¡¯s an idea.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll put it in the idea box, then.¡± Louis walked around his desk and gestured widely at his overfilled trash-can. Then, he joined his Vice Guild Master, putting his whole attention on Lyressa. His gaze was hard, sturdy, the kind he¡¯d have around his subordinates¡ªbut most of all, anyone who had made a grievous mistake.

    He inhaled.

    Lyressa held her breath.

    He exhaled. ¡°Rector shared your statements with me. You couldn¡¯t remember anything? Anything at all?¡±

    Slowly, she shook her head and diverted her gaze toward the floor.

    Louis smacked her lips. ¡°Alright,¡± he said quietly, disappointment laced in the single word. ¡°Alright. We¡¯ll talk about the consequences later. How were the Angels? And that boy, Rei?¡±

    Even in the midst of a city-wide crisis, he has always pinned a target on Angels Guild. Lyressa fidgeted with her fingers. ¡°They were as you expect: tired, relieved, and so on. As for the little kensei, they were perplexed about his abilities too.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit,¡± Cyrus spouted. ¡°They probably have another deal with the Foxmaidens. You can¡¯t pluck a random kid like that. It¡¯s the same with Conqueror. They know something about him that we don¡¯t.¡±

    Louis locked his jaw. He wasn¡¯t immediately disagreeing with whichever point his second had made.

    Cyrus continued his tirade, ¡°This is their mess, Wisdom¡¯s too. We should sweep our garbage to their side of the aisle and let them handle it. If the Union cans them, so be it. It¡¯s what they deserve after all the stunts they¡¯ve been pulling. They recruited that damned corpo and attracted the fuckin¡¯ thing that took Lyressa¡ª¡±

    ¡°It perhaps didn¡¯t help that you tried to assault them,¡± Lyressa murmured¡ª

    ¡°What was that?¡± Cyrus stepped forward. ¡°Speak up, girl. What did you say¡ª?¡±

    ¡°You threatened and tried to assaulted the Angels,¡± she did as he said. ¡°Inciting a fight with Alexander wasn¡¯t productive¡ª¡±

    ¡°Alexander?¡±

    ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    Lyressa never wished that her tongue was cut off more. She cleared her throat multiple times and continued her train of thought, ¡°Trying to test Conqueror was the last thing you should¡¯ve done¡ª¡±

    Louis asked, his hard gaze forming once more, "You¡¯re on a first-name basis with him? The same man who¡¯d threatened my guild?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve¡­!¡± She paused, her words frozen from the men¡¯s iron eyes. ¡°We¡¯ve reconciled. We¡¯re tucking that incident away¡ª¡±

    ¡°Unbelievable!¡± Cyrus growled, and of all things, a tentative friendship with an Angel made him pace agitatedly.

    Louis looked just as unamused as well. ¡°Befriending the Demonic Cult girl is a risky decision in itself.¡± I disagree, she¡¯s been nothing but sweet. ¡°But Conqueror? He¡¯s another story.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s suspicious,¡± Cyrus mentioned off to the side. ¡°He¡¯s sending mixed signals. Conqueror acts weak but he walks around with too much confidence for his own good. But there¡¯s something about that bastard that bothers me. I don¡¯t like it.¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t give a damn about Glory; probably, he doesn¡¯t give a damn about anyone or anything but himself,¡± Louis followed after. ¡°You saw it for yourself: he¡¯s intelligent. You don¡¯t know what he¡¯s thinking or planning. Whatever he¡¯s offering to the Angels, it¡¯s nothing we want to involve ourselves in. Nothing you want to involve yourself in.¡±

    They had the same speech when they first found out that she''d gone on a coffee-date with Leo. Only this time, instead of implying that befriending the Demonic Cult¡¯s heiress would get her killed, they accused Alexander of being a cunning schemer. A mastermind with plans upon plans. How silly. They didn¡¯t believe that, much like how they didn¡¯t believe their own claims about Leo. In their long careers as Slayers, Louis and Cyrus had encountered a variety of warriors across the globe. They fought, they bled, they stalked, they adapted.

    For high-rankers, you must know your allies and enemies. For them, Leona Ryu represented a threat far beyond the influence of Glory Guild; and for Alexander Shen, he was an incomprehensible threat surrounded by questions.

    But they had never spoken to them like she had.

    ¡°...I think you¡¯re wrong,¡± Lyressa told the men so there would be no misunderstanding. ¡°While I cannot say we¡¯re more than acquaintances at the moment, he¡¯s surprisingly a pleasant man despite everything.¡±

    Yes¡­ Alexander was vindictive, cynical, compassionate, self-deprecating, kind and honest, violent, hopeful. He was confusing and confused. And yet, he wasn¡¯t terrible company. Quite the opposite.

    The men¡¯s eyes drifted down from her own. How come¡ª? Ah, there was a helpless smile forming on her lips and quickly, she replaced it with a masculine, powerful scowl as the two dolts in front of her often wore.

    Cyrus appeared as though he had a thousand words to say, yet in the end, all he mustered was a tired pat on Louis¡¯s back. ¡°A single conversation made her fall for the corpo.¡±

    Louis had his lips locked together, refusing to respond to that¡ªfor the sake of his own sanity, it seemed.

    Lyressa felt her ears shoot straight toward the floor and heat jumped to her cheeks. Of all things these imbeciles could mention, the audacity! ¡°Don¡¯t suggest something like that, you fools! Gossiping about my preferences is the worst punishment you¡¯ve concocted so far!¡±

    Yet¡­ She tenderly pressed her fingers together to try and hide the scarlet overwhelming her pale skin. There should be no reason for these palpitations.

    ***

    "Sophos¡ª!"

    ¡°Don¡¯t scream into the call!¡± Sophos yelled back enough that Wonder physically recoiled. ¡°Why did you feel the need to call me, hmm? I¡¯m in the middle of a wonderful inventive mood, so you¡¯d better not ruin it with your immaturity.¡±

    Wonder bit his lip, restraining the urge to reach through the screen and throttle his Guild Master. ¡°It¡¯s chaos without you here. Master Sibyl is attempting to maintain order, but with our Guild Master''s absence, things are escalating. The internationals and the Encampment are asking too many questions¡ª"

    ¡°Pah!¡± Something metallic dropped in the background. ¡°Oops, I¡¯ll get that later, but the chaos will die down soon enough! And besides, I''m not absent. I¡¯m taking a pleasant work-trip to resolve our little doppelganger problem.¡±

    ¡°How long will that take?¡±

    Sophos clicked her teeth. ¡°What¡¯s the correct answer?¡±

    Wonder wanted to scream.

    ¡°Somehow, your silence is louder than your screaming.¡± Sophos chuckled and moved around somewhere. ¡°I can¡¯t predict these things, you know that. I already have enough grief from Zakaria¡ªthat impatient elementalist¡ªand while our tracker hasn¡¯t been our greatest work, this has to be! It¡­¡± She paused. ¡°It must.¡±

    ¡°Are¡­ Are you certain this will work?"

    Sophos chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s created by the most beautiful genius in the world. No one¡¯s hands but mine will open the door to the cosmos, and this is merely the first step. Be patient, Wonder. Tomorrow will surely bring fruitful gifts.¡±

    [Complete: Part 4 - For Remembrance]

    [Next: Part 5 - For Tomorrow]

 [FOR TOMORROW] Chapter 1 - On the Bench, Off the Bench

    [Even if you¡¯ve lost everything, you still want to keep going.]

    [For your mother and father. For your sister. For your uncle.]

    [Take another step just for them.]

    [Keep holding onto those you consider precious.]

    [Because¡­]

    [They are your treasures.]

    [Your Mementos.]

    [So please, Alexander Shen, survive.]

    ***

    ¡°Alex.¡±

    I ignored her.

    ¡°Alexander.¡±

    I ignored him.

    ¡°Yo!¡± Until my sister yanked the pen out of my hands, and before I could say or do anything, she took the rest of my writing utensils too. ¡°Didn¡¯t we tell you to stop scribbling and actually take a break for once?¡±

    I clicked my tongue, eyeing the thick roll of multi-colored pens and pencils in her hand. ¡°I was getting my last thoughts down¡ª¡±

    ¡°¡®Last thoughts,¡¯ my ass.¡± Rudely, she tossed everything onto another table. A few pens rolled off and flatly bounced on the floor. ¡°When Leo kicked you to the curb, was that a signal to work from home? Hell no! She wanted you to rest! R-E-S-T, rest! Not whatever you¡¯re doing¡ªwhat the heck are you doing anyway?¡±

    Uncle Ali helped himself to my journal without asking. He squinted at my mad scribbling and tilted his head to the side like that would decipher the message. ¡°I don¡¯t want to offend you, but your job isn¡¯t to unravel the mystery. It¡¯s fieldwork.¡±

    He put my journal down and I snatched it back up, looking over my disturbed thoughts. ¡°What else am I supposed to do? I finally have downtime. I have time to think about the past few days and organize what I''ve learned."

    Uncle fidgeted with his fingers out of habit. ¡°While I don¡¯t disagree, just because you overworked your body, it doesn¡¯t mean your mind¡¯s raring to go. Believe me, we¡¯re all eager for answers since after the first attack¡ª¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡± I slapped my hand against the pages. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to answer that since I woke up. The Mother can¡¯t be randomly targeting her victims; we¡¯ve all been weirdos one way or another. What do we all have in common? Fuck if I know!¡±

    Thea threw her arms up. ¡°You got him started¡ª¡±

    ¡°Someone has to wrap their head around this.¡± I flipped through the past few pages, filled with theories and anecdotes. ¡°Our Alts, they¡¯re reflections of an unrealized history if you want to sound fancy. Seraph? Nathan passed before he could become Kosmos. Jin Tianyou? He would¡¯ve died if his mother had finished strangling him. SH? I¡­ I don¡¯t know, but it has to do with her lost memories¡ª¡±

    ¡°What about Primordial Plaza?¡± Uncle asked. ¡°From what I''ve been told, its description didn¡¯t match anything in the local bestiary.¡±

    ¡°It didn¡¯t, and that¡¯s why it¡¯s so weird. Why can we figure out the Alternates¡¯ origin now? What changed? I¡­¡± I pressed my teeth together then rubbed my eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t have all the pieces yet. It¡¯s¡­ This ¡®Mother¡¯ has a really cruel sense of humor, I guess.¡±

    Althea shrugged her head side-to-side. ¡°I mean, yeah. Who wants to think ''bout a future where everything went wrong?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well¡­¡± My journal returned to the coffee-table and I sat on the edge of Leo''s couch, trying to unravel the knots in my head. ¡°It¡¯s more like a mirror: you see all of you, the good and the bad. It makes you think. Seraph, Jin Tianyou, Silverhonor, they were served fresh reminders of why they¡¯re in the business. Charity, strength, memories. Then you come to us, and I¡¯m wondering, ¡®Exactly what the fuck is the Mother trying to show me? What does she want from me?¡¯¡±

    ¡°You know why we¡¯re doing this,¡± Uncle Ali said. ¡°You don¡¯t need an Alternate to convince yourself of that.¡±

    ¡°I know, but I can¡¯t stop thinking about it.¡± My voice trailed off, and I briefly shut my eyes.

    We were Angels for a reason: to become stronger in anticipation of our enemies, to be protected, to be as good as we could be¡ªto one day achieve the elusive peace from the whirlwind called ¡°life.¡± But after spending hours thinking about this, something felt wrong. I wasn''t at ease, but then again, when was the last time I was comfortable with myself?

    Maybe deep down in my twisted self, these words were a lie. I didn¡¯t believe in them as much as I should. There was a chance that I¡¯m a worse man than I realize, simply waiting for the next hammer to crack the shell and reveal a demon inside. A monster, like what Jin Tianyou had foreseen. And everyone else would scream in terror realizing I was a fake, that my motives were an imitation compared to theirs and far more corrupt and degenerate than any of us had imagined.

    Even after all the drama and gray-hairs, I still couldn¡¯t be honest with myself, huh?

    ¡°You know what would really help with thinking?¡± Thea said and suddenly patted my back. ¡°Pizza. That¡¯s why we annoyed you: we got pizza getting cold in the kitchen. C¡¯mon.¡±

    Food would cheer me up a little bit. I groaned and got to my feet. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll take a small break before going back to the grind.¡±

    ¡°Food always works,¡± she chimed and went into the kitchen first.

    Uncle pulled his phone out and frowned. ¡°I need to answer this. Go on ahead."

    We didn¡¯t pry¡ªleast, I didn¡¯t pry because Thea already helping herself to lunch. On the counter, we had a selection of three steaming boxes from a local place Leo had mentioned the other day: knowing our habits, it was one meat, one supreme, and a mystery box. However, I noticed a small container on the table. Wings? Maybe a dessert or something?

    "Needed something sweet?" I asked and picked up the box¡ª "Holy shit, this is heavy. What the hell did you order?"

    "No idea. The receipt didn''t say anything about dessert; who knows, maybe the pizza-guy has a crush on Leo and gave her a loaded pastry with cream."

    "That''s one of the most disgusting things you said¡ªsheesh, have you tried opening it?" Even with my strong fingers, the lid refused to reveal the treasures inside. Whoever had a crush on Leo, they fucking glued the thing shut. It shouldn''t be this hard to open a damned box.

    "Stop being dramatic." Thea took the dessert from me. "It''s just a box¡ªwhat the hell, did they glue this thing?"

    "That''s what I thought."

    "Alright, I''m breaking this shit open. Watch." Thea placed the box on the counter and dug her fingernails between the lid and bottom. After finding a good grip, she flexed the muscles in her forearms, then pulled, pulled, and pulled.

    Fortunately, today was not the day the Shens would be defeated by a fucking box.

    It snapped open, violently. Much to our disappointment, the mysterious dessert wasn''t worth the labor. It was...

    It was some sort of device.

    Said device was glowing purple.

    ¡°THEA¡ª!¡±

    The light burned into my retinas, and the ground fell out underneath my feet.

    ***

    After being suspended in oblivion for less than a second, my feet found solid ground and my sister''s stupid slippers joined me. Everything was backwards. Stomach flipped upside-down, lungs turned inside-out, all my organs just finished a game of Twister and gave me bad nausea. The sensation wasn''t new to me. The same went for its sidee-effects.

    Teleportation sickness.

    A box teleported us. Not the strangest sentence I uttered.

    Regardless, fuck my life. I had today off and this happened.

    ¡°Shit, we nabbed Conqueror too?!¡± a voice cried from behind.

    Through my dizziness, I discovered a couple startling facts: we''d been teleported into an abandoned warehouse likely in an isolated part of the city, and our kidnappers had been authorized through a warrant. We, the criminals, stood on a wired-up black mat over grimy concrete¡ªlikely a teleportation tool to prevent any fuck-ups¡ªas floodlights beamed down on top of us. A makeshift perimeter boxed in us: crates, deployable cover, and other junk they''d brought from outside. It provided a shitty firing-line where we were the convicts about to be executed.

    We had fourteen-ish hunters: uniformed agents sporting ballistic vests. Some were strapped with standard-issue rifles while others had only their service pistol. Orders flew over their heads by a restrained yet panicked voice. Move, cover this, cover that, stay calm, stay fucking calm. They spread throughout the perimeter, acquiring a wider range of angles to prevent a painless escape. At least fourteen barrels pointing at us with fourteen sets of eyes waiting for an excuse to pull their triggers.

    It depended on the eight-fourteen sweating bullets. From the last time I saw him back at our old apartment, he had an unkillable smile. He wasn¡¯t smiling anymore.

    Agent Dietrich raised a hand and looked toward his tense subordinates. ¡°Stay cool! Stay fucking cool! This is within our parameters. In fact, it''s even better.¡±

    The temperature cooled a little bit. Nobody was itching to start a firefight, but nobody wanted to holster their irons either. We were dealing with international agents, likely officers from the Anomaly Bureau. Due to the loose definition of anything anomalous, they encountered a wider range of threats than the eight-fourteens even; thus, they had the training to apprehend Slayers. Whether or not they practiced to specifically capture Conqueror and Little Brat remained to be seen.

    Either way, I didn''t like the position we were in. Little dangerous.

    ¡°Hey, Alex,¡± my sister hissed, tugging on my sleeve. ¡°I count fifteen malies. Dunno what their rules of engagement are, but this is a shitshow."

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    Obviously, this was a bold fucking move even for internationals. Did they prepare anything else? Barriers, turrets, bugs? Or was this an impulsive decision from Agent Dwyer? Too many questions in my head, too little time.

    "Let me do the talking," I whispered to Althea.

    Slowly, like the filthy criminal I was, my empty hands were on display.

    Agent Dietrich eyed his subordinates¡ªan eight-fourteen leading malies, could we do anything with that?¡ªand approached the perimeter. Unlike his good men and women, he was kind enough to not produce iron. Instead, he tucked his hands underneath his vest. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be with the others, Conq.¡±

    ¡°I wanted to spend time with my family,¡± I said and lowered my hands slightly so my arms wouldn''t get tired. ¡°Never thought we¡¯d be victims of an arrest-port, though. You must¡¯ve found a friendly judge to sign off on it, or are you taking inspiration from the States?¡±

    Dietrich cracked a small yet strained smile, then flicked toward my sister. ¡°We caught you entering the Jins¡¯ place.¡±

    Althea was gathering information on our surroundings while trying to act natural.

    I rose my voice, "Maybe I did, but my sister doesn¡¯t know the color of their front-door. What warrants porting her with a fucking pizza-box?¡±

    ¡°Does that matter at this point?¡± Dietrich pulled a hand from his vest and rested it on his hip, a few inches away from his sidearm. ¡°We never thought we¡¯d snatch you, so call it a lucky break. Now, let¡¯s not make this difficult¡ª¡±

    ¡°What if I decided to be an asshole about it?¡± I snapped and observed the agents¡¯ reactions. They tensed, their expressions permanently frozen in a stiff sneer, and their trigger-fingers wandered closer to execution.

    Dietrich laughed and shook his head at me. ¡°Fine by me, it¡¯s your rap-sheet we¡¯re talking about. I just wouldn¡¯t advise it. We¡¯re not people you fuck with, Conq, so stop playing ¡®round and¡ª¡±

    I shared his same shitty laugh. ¡°What if I think you fuckers are crossing the line like how you always do? We break the law, you break the law, what¡¯s one more to the count¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Stop FUCKING with me!¡± He furiously thrusted a finger at my head and kept it there like a laser-pointer. ¡°You know what the hell is going on, you dogshit fuck. Are you demented or plain stupid?! These breakthroughs might spawn a real outbreak! A real one! Was Hangzhou not enough for you? You wanna go through another outbreak and see thousands dead like Mommy and Daddy?!¡±

    I bit the inside of my cheek. These guys were good at shit-stirring, I¡¯ll give them that. Way better than me. Should¡¯ve known they would pull the Hangzhou card sooner or later. Just rubbing salt on the wound, huh?

    ¡°All it took was a few stupid people to nearly end the world, Conq. Just a few. I don¡¯t know what the Angels told you, but it¡¯s all horseshit. Think about it! Think about what your parents would¡¯ve wanted¡ª¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know a single fucking thing about them,¡± and I let myself slip, but the genie was already out of the bottle.

    Thea tapped my foot using hers. I know. I know I should have a clearer head when talking to this motherfucker, but mentioning Mom and Dad again forced me beyond irritation. To have their names even be mentioned by an eight-fourteen was unacceptable.

    ¡°We know a lot of things about Bastien and Xingyu, Conqueror! Their whole life-story!¡± Dietrich exclaimed with a punch-begging smile. ¡°They lived pretty rough lives, so to think their kids are wasting ¡®em like this? I¡¯d be disappointed¡ª¡±

    A scream.

    Sharp, terrified.

    A human scream rattling through the warehouse''s thin walls.

    It almost didn¡¯t sound real. It sobered me, sobered all of us, as we dumbly searched for the source.

    ¡°What the hell was that?¡± one of the agents said¡ª

    A second scream louder than the first¡ªa different person¡ªthe coarse voice scratching at our ears.

    Fourteen barrels searched, and we were no longer their biggest concern.

    I pressed my back against Thea.

    Dietrich grabbed his radio and a circus of voices spilled from the speakers, blending together into a mortifying squall. He winced, forced his face back a few inches, then came back in. ¡°Can anyone report¡ª?!¡±

    Banging metal, like someone brought a sledgehammer onto sheet metal but intensified tenfold. Vibrations ran up our soft, brittle bones. The whole fucking warehouse shook, rust and dirt and whatever-else falling onto our shoulders. Behind Dietrich, a protruding bulge formed on one of the walls. That wasn¡¯t there before.

    Near the bulge was an open doorway, the metal doors having been propped open by cinderblocks, bringing in fresh sunlight.

    We stared at the white light.

    Dietrich let go of his radio. ¡°What¡­ What the fuck...?¡±

    Something walked in.

    It was a giant of muscle and meat¡ªa physique similar to Mongrel¡ªbut unlike the Apex Predator, our new guest was in grayscale and his face was blurred, unidentifiable. His name was a mystery just like his missing colors. Everything was literally gray: skin, muscles, clothes. Hell, it looked like a knife had gone through his wardrobe for today and rendered them into grayed-out ribbons. As though envious of the prismatic world, he created his own colors: bright crimson blood and sparkling soot painted over his hard, stone-like knuckles.

    He turned toward the group, and while we couldn¡¯t see his true face¡­

    He was staring at me and Althea.

    An Alternate.

    Dietrich pulled his sidearm and aimed it at him. ¡°Identify yourself, fucker, or we will open fire!¡±

    The man stomped forward, shoulders down, and huffed.

    ¡°I won¡¯t ask again! Identify yourself and stand down! Stand the fuck down, or we¡¯ll shoot!¡±

    He lumbered forward like a giant.

    ¡°Light him up!¡± Dietrich fired the first shot.

    Our arrest turned into a range-day. It was impossible to hear anything over the echoing gunfire including Althea standing right next to me. My ears pulsed, a painful rod stabbed into my skull. Gunsmoke and dust filled the air and concealed the breacher. I think I heard voices, maybe Dietrich screaming or Thea saying we should port, but the gun-show didn¡¯t last long.

    As soon as the first mags clicked empty, the agents stopped firing. Click, click, click, and thin wisps of smoke left the barrels like dying cigarettes.

    At least half-a-thousand rounds, but the giant was still standing after the dust settled. He was slightly hunched over, gray blood trickling from minor scratches and cuts. He wasn¡¯t impervious to ballistics, but they were bee-stings. Alone, nothing much, but as I mentioned, half-a-thousand stings were nothing to sneeze at.

    The Alternate rolled his shoulders. Compressed brass showered the ground like pennies. He dragged a thick finger along his cuts, collecting his gray blood and rubbing the substance between his fingers and admiring the sight. While his expression was unreadable, he must''ve been grinning. "?¨† ¨Š ¨‰¨~¨€¨…¨‚ ¨‰¨~?¨‰''? ¨{¨…¨† ¨Š¨}¨~ ¨‰¨† ¨‚¨€¨ƒ¨ƒ ¨„¨{?" He threw his head back, laughing distortedly. "¨„¨{?!"

    Dietrich was shaking his head, mouth parted as if he saw the Lord in-person. ¡°Wha¡­ What the fuck was that¡ª?!¡±

    The Alt broke into a mad, barbaric sprint. Every step rumbled the earth and cracked the already crumbling concrete floor. The agents roared in panic, fumbling with their empty magazines and groping their vest for a second.

    Too slow, and the Alt was too fast.

    He was looking down on a puny international, the leader of the operation.

    Dietrich stared up at Death, and he had muscles larger than his legs. He was paralyzed, unable to raise his small, small pistol. ¡°Oh Christ.¡±

    [Skill Activation: Mana Impact]

    A heavy fist lumbered downward like an axe on firewood, but the only thing that had split open was concrete. I¡¯d barely managed to reach Dietrich in time, grabbing him by the back of his vest and pulling him back. He shrieked, the pistol bouncing out of his hands.

    ¡°Get the fuck out of here!¡± I shouted. ¡°Grab your incaps and port¡ª!¡±

    A shadow dwarfed me.

    [Observation Lock - Mana Impact]

    Then a flying squirrel threw a knee into the Alternate¡¯s skull, the [Impact] explosive. Enough that the big bastard took a step back from the force. A few more [Impacts] followed just as explosive as the first, all aimed at the torso, topped off with a desperate kick sending the fucker back a couple feet.

    The agents continued to stand there like useless mannequins, and Dietrich was practically dead on the ground.

    I pointed at him. ¡°FUCKING RUN!¡±

    Dietrich gasped and looked around at his men. He shakily nodded, probably out of survival instinct rather than choice. That was all it took for them to turn tail.

    I turned around and inhaled, summoning the System.

    [Loadout Equipped]

    A familiar [Combat Suit] covered me from head-to-toe, replacing my clothes. As I settled in, another distorted, harrowing laugh brought me back to reality.

    An Alternate. We were facing a second Alt together. This time with no help, reinforcements unknown, and with zero preparations.

    Me and Althea found each other. Her slippers fell off at some point and she didn¡¯t have the luxury of a [Loadout]. Clearly, she¡¯d rather be somewhere else but here¡ªme too¡ªbut she clenched her fists and locked her jaw. We weren''t here by choice, but we were going to finish it.

    I announced to the air, "Slayer System, [PM] Celestial Empress: ''Alternate. Uncle has our coordinates.''"

    [Message sent.]

    The Alt belly-laughed, and through the distortions, something about that laugh clicked in me. It was familiar. The cadence, the way he moved, it was so stupid and I hated it.

    "¨‰?¨† ¨‚¨€¨z? ¨‡¨ƒ??¨€¨…¨} ¨~¨{?¨†,¡± said the Alt, looking between us. "¨}¨Š¨{?? ¨€¨‰''? ¨Š¨‡ ¨‰¨† ¨„¨{ ¨‰¨† ¨‚¨€¨ƒ¨ƒ ?¨† ¨Š? ¨z??¨ƒ¨€¨…¨}?¡ª!¡±

    [?¨‚¨€¨ƒ¨ƒ ?¨y¨‰¨€??¨‰¨€¨† ¨…: ¨„?¨…? ¨z¨{?¨‰?¨Š¨y¨‰¨€¨† ¨…]

    The Alternate¡¯s knuckles swelled with an unknown energy, rendering his gray skin translucent and revealing his blacked-out bones and veins underneath. He stomped forward and swung at the ground between us. The impact was like a grenade going off. Everything in front of me exploded into a thick cloud, concrete shrapnel flying everywhere and scratching my arms and cheeks. Instinctively I jumped back¡ª

    A fist pierced through the cloud. I saw his fingers closer, now. They were scarred, and nostalgia hit me in the worst possible time. It was like staring into an old childhood drawing. "?¨† ¨Š ¨|¨€??¨‰, ¨x¨€¨} ¨x?¨† ¨‰¨~¨{?!"

    It was that brief moment of cognition that nearly killed me.

    Barely, my head turned away as the sharp knuckles ripped a nasty gash across my right cheek. Blood gushed down.

    Even now, the familiarity grew stronger. The way the Alt moves, the way he punches, I¡¯d felt this before.

    Where¡­ Where have I felt it?

    Another punch came my way, fast and quick. I know those movements. "?¨~¨{?¨{ ¨€? ¨€¨‰?!"

    I can never mistake them for anyone else''s. "¨‰¨~?¨‰ ¨~¨{?¨† ¨€?¨„?!"

    They¡¯re ingrained in my memory forever. "?¨~¨† ? ¨„¨{, ¨x¨† ?!"

    The last punch¡ªsomehow, I¡¯d been avoiding them¡ªcame faster than the rest. It would¡¯ve hit me square in the chest and probably broke all my ribs, but two arms hooked around the Alternate''s own. Barely enough to hold the punch back and allowed me to avoid death.

    Althea gritted her teeth, pain and tears in her silver eyes. She was covered in bloody cuts. Her face, her arms, through her clothes. It was enough that, normally, I¡¯d panic and start screaming and punching in a blind rage.

    But I didn¡¯t.

    My sister said something but I couldn¡¯t hear it. She was yelling at me, but the words were an indiscernible noise.

    I kept staring at the Alternate, seeing my ghastly reflection in the crimson blood streaked across his obscured face.

    He roared and hurled Althea in my direction. Acting automatically, I caught her. My arms and hands were wet. Impossibly wet. It was a sensation that could never be cleaned off no matter how many times you scrubbed yourself. Peel off your hideous skin, scar them into artwork, but you would stay dirty forever.

    I smelled smoke in the air, bodies and burned down cars, the excrements of monsters, and my own filth among them. The scent could never leave me.

    What¡¯s buried will eventually resurface, no matter how much you cried or begged.

    Everything¡­

    ¡°Why¡­¡±

    [Skill Activation: Mana Impact]

    I felt my knuckles cracking into something hard. ¡°Why?!¡±

    [Mana Impact]

    ¡°WHY?!¡±

    [Mana Impact]

    ¡°Why does it have to be YOU?!¡±

    [Mana Impact]

    ¡°Of all people¡ª! Of all fucking people, why did she pick you?!¡±

    [Mana Impact]

    My fist was caught by his large hand, something he¡¯d done so many times before. I squeaked. ¡°What happened to you, Dad?¡±

 [FOR TOMORROW] Chapter 2 - The Criminal

    The Hangzhou Disaster, the Hangzhou Outbreak¡ªit was the closest humanity had gotten to extinction in recent years. Over six-hundred-thousand people dead, and millions more traumatized, crippled, abandoned, and lost. Even after six or seven years, the whole world was still feeling its aftershocks. The current breakthroughs spawned similar fears of apocalypse.

    And there I was in the center, facing down the eye of catastrophe once again.

    I could never forget the day when the afternoon sky was red and fractured like stained glass of a faithless church. We looked toward the mesmerizing vista in awe and wonder, believing this had to be a stunt concocted by an ambitious movie studio, but our fascination fell into screams instead. Breaches formed. Tears in the multiversal fabric. They scattered across the rooftops and formed in the middle of intersections and parks, within the walls of buildings, high in the air and floated there, intermingling with crowds. Breachers¡ªmonsters¡ªstumbled through. They came in ragtag hordes, malformed creatures and predators, from the lowest intelligence to middling, flesh monstrosities and metal freaks, everything. They immediately fought each other, ran through innocent people and crushed them into paste, chanted and sang¡ªmurder a celebration¡ªand all hell broke loose. Blood, screams, sirens, death. Blood and death, real people with their lives taken.

    These images were burned into my eyes. My first taste of the real world.

    In a random store, I found myself in the private bathroom. The sink was running. If I had to survive Hangzhou all over again, I¡¯d grab as many containers as possible and fill them with water.

    Instead, I ran my arms through the warm water. Blood, not mine, rolled down my skin. In the mirror, someone else¡¯s blood was splattered over my cheek. With my wet hand, I wiped it off as many times as it took, but I swore I could still see that awful red on my skin. No matter how much soap and water I splashed on myself, I could never feel clean.

    Someone knocked on the door and screamed at me to get out. I left to let the next blood-soaked person in, and out of all the frazzled survivors, I first found my sister sitting against the wall. She had a jacket draped around her shoulders, head down, staring at her bloody sneakers. Mom and Dad were with the other adults, everyone screaming their heads off about what¡¯s next.

    I looked out the windows and saw the distant red sky, and further beyond was a transparent gray dome. The Outbreak Barrier. Within six hours of the first outbreak incident, the military and government had erected the Barrier. Nobody could get in, nobody could get out. We were all trapped inside, human and monster.

    <We have to leave¡ª!> <You dumbass, what if the breachers are already there¡ª?!> <¡ªwe have to wait for the military¡ª!> <They¡¯ll give us somewhere to go, just wait¡ª!>

    I sat next to my sister, pushing the voices out. While she leaned against my shoulder, I checked my phone. There was a permanent national alert screaming in my notifications, leading to a government website. I didn¡¯t know what was on it; it¡¯d crashed and stayed like that since the alert came out.

    I didn¡¯t know how long the adults argued, but soon, I saw familiar legs stand over us.

    Dad helped the two of us stand while Mom seemed disgusted at the crowd.

    ¡°We¡¯re leaving,¡± Mom said.

    Althea¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Wh-What? Isn¡¯t it safer here? We gotta wait for the police or the military¡ª!¡±

    ¡°We aren¡¯t their priority right now,¡± Mom told her. ¡°We¡¯ve already contacted your uncle to put us on the VIP list, but it¡¯ll take days before the military conducts rescue operations. We need to find shelter until then, and this is one of the worst places we could be.¡±

    I glanced at Dad, who was looking off at the rest of the innocent people here. ¡°Dad¡­?¡±

    Dad was pained. ¡°We¡­ We shouldn¡¯t leave these people here. What if the breachers find them¡ª?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not our problem anymore¡ª¡± (¡°Xingyu¡ª!¡±) ¡°¡ªBastien, my love, I will not jeopardize our family! Our children¡¯s lives matter first¡ª!¡±

    Dad shook his head, gesturing to the other shell-shocked kids like us sitting against the wall. ¡°What about them, these kids¡ª?!¡±

    ¡°Do you suggest we take all of them? Rip them from their family¡ªif they¡¯re still alive¡ªrescue them, put them on the list too? No, that¡¯s absurd!¡± My mother, who had to look straight up to meet her husband¡¯s eyes, faced him with the fearlessness she was known for. ¡°We have to protect our kids first, everything else be damned. I won¡¯t accept any other answer from you, Bastien.¡±

    Our father, on the other hand, was known for his gentleness. To me, there was no better, kinder man than him. It worried me, back then, seeing that expression on his face. I didn¡¯t know how to completely describe it. At the ruthless face of survival, he reflected despair in return. That cold, matter-of-factness could be seen as cruelty¡ªa cruelty that he¡¯d seen and turned back from. Yet he couldn¡¯t refute Mom, but he wasn¡¯t willing to say the words¡ªthe words that could potentially doom innocents to the whims of the world.

    To him, it would be bringing down the ax himself.

    ***

    Somehow, after safely navigating through a previously-rampaged area, we found ourselves in a small abandoned apartment above a store. We only knew it was ¡°abandoned¡± because Mom had found the keys from the owners¡ªshe didn¡¯t say anything beyond that, as me and Thea didn¡¯t walk into the store itself.

    We settled in, and although it felt wrong to steal from the dead, we helped ourselves to their cabinets. We ate despite our appetites refusing the food; for future ventures, the calories were necessary to keep going. Fluids too. I¡¯d never thought about consumption like that, where my first thought was survival and not enjoyment.

    Dad turned on the TV and every channel was featuring the emergency broadcasts. The volume was set at one, basically leaving us with only the translated English closed captioning. Right now, we were told to wait for further information: the status of Hangzhou and the outbreak, the locations of military camps, the timeline of our rescue.

    Silently, we sat in someone else''s chairs and ate someone else¡¯s food in someone else¡¯s apartment, trying to ignore the distant sounds of gunfire and tremors and the occasional screaming. At some point, Mom had stopped eating and simply looked out the window through the crack between the blinds.

    ¡°...Have the System offered you to [Temporary Register] yet?¡± Mom suddenly asked us kids.

    We looked at each other, and I shrugged. ¡°I-I haven¡¯t checked.¡±

    Mom nodded. ¡°The conditions should be fulfilled. We should all [Register]¡ª¡± (¡°Xingyu¡­¡±) ¡°¡ªwe can¡¯t take half-measures for our safety. The first few days will likely be the worst, so we must be prepared to defend our lives.¡±

    Dad grimaced, looking down at his messy plate. ¡°It means slaying monsters. D¡¯you think the kids are ready for that?¡±

    My hands uncontrollably trembled; I couldn¡¯t keep my chopsticks steady, and they clattered messily onto my plate. The thought of killing¡ªeven if they were breachers¡ªturned my stomach in a way no other feeling of disgust could match. Hearing those words, ¡°kill¡± and ¡°slay,¡± crawled over my fingers and the horrible feeling of blood returned to me.

    Even after seeing her kids¡¯ reactions, Mom refused to relent: ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. We¡¯ve trained them for this moment: to fight for themselves¡ª¡±

    ¡°They weren¡¯t taught to kill,¡± Dad fought, his large palms slapping the table. ¡°You can¡¯t put all of this on their shoulders! We¡¯ve just barely escaped from a bloodbath¡ª!¡±

    ¡°When is the right time, then? We haven¡¯t seen an outbreak like this ever! Everything has to be anticipated. Everything! That includes cutting down any monsters standing in our way, and especially anyone willing to harm us¡ª!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re telling them to kill people?!¡± Dad stood from his seat, startling his shrunken kids at the table. His roar rumbled the ceiling above our heads; he¡¯d never raised his voice like that. Not in front of us, not in front of Mom. ¡°They¡¯re kids¡ª!¡±

    Mom spat, ¡°Do you think a goblin will care if they¡¯re kids? Or a bandit or a psychopath, or worse¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Wha¡ª?! Christ, listen to yourself! You¡¯re telling your own children to murder, to kill¡ª!¡± (¡°For their own survival¡ª!¡±) ¡°¡ªthis isn¡¯t a movie, this is someone¡¯s life we¡¯re talking about! A real human being, a person, and you¡¯re begging them to snuff it out¡ª!¡±

    ¡°If it means theirs can continue for another day, I¡¯ll gladly make that exchange¡ª¡±

    ¡°Even if it means our kids¡¯ innocence¡ª?¡± (¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous¡ª!¡±) ¡°¡ªsurviving isn¡¯t worth that cost. It isn¡¯t worth the pain, the guilt, the remorse, the years of hurt¡ª!¡±

    Mom took one of the chopsticks and waved it around like a knife. ¡°Picking between my babies and a rapist on the street, that¡¯s no choice at all! I¡¯ll sleep happily knowing I¡¯d gotten rid of scum¡ª!¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t say that, you don¡¯t even know what you¡¯re talking about¡ª!¡± (¡°I know plenty, Bastien¡ª!¡±) ¡°You don¡¯t understand what it means to take a life¡ª¡±

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°We¡¯re talking about inhumans, not that boy you killed¡ª!¡± Mom choked on her own words and dropped the chopstick.

    Dad¡¯s drained and harrowing eyes went wide, and his thin and cracked lips quivered. His large fists were shaking. His shoulders were too. Anger and frustration, the volatile emotions that¡¯d dominated the table, melted from his skin and turned it pale¡ªand he looked defeated, as if he¡¯d gone through a decade in a few seconds.

    ¡°What¡­¡± And my sister probably said the worst thing she could¡¯ve said: ¡°What is Mom talking about?¡±

    Mom clamped a hand over her mouth, tears already beginning to fall from her eyes. ¡°B-Bastien¡­¡± She reached over but her husband pulled away.

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­¡± Dad looked down at the worn floor. ¡°I¡¯m going into the other room.¡±

    He left us there; Mom slumped back into a chair. Alongside the distant warfare, it was joined by her quiet sobs and mutterings. <Even after all these years, I¡¯m still not free,> she¡¯d say, and she apologized over and over.

    We never knew the story behind our father¡¯s sin; it was a family taboo you never asked or brought up in conversation. Only now, in an environment sure to bring out the worst in us and in our fragile society, did we finally find out why he wore chains.

    He¡¯d taken the life of an innocent boy over one-hundred-twenty-one dollars.

    ***

    Is that where you split off, Dad? Am I fighting the version of ¡°you¡± who¡¯d never found redemption from your older brother, who never found love in a woman named Shen Xingyu?

    Am I fighting a man whose crimes turned his heart irreparably black?

    [?¨‚¨€¨ƒ¨ƒ ?¨y¨‰¨€??¨‰¨€¨† ¨…: ¨„?¨…? ¨z¨{?¨‰?¨Š¨y¨‰¨€¨† ¨…]

    ¡°ALEX!¡±

    My spine cried before I did. Then my body burst into small explosions of pain and aches from my thighs to my shoulders. Little reminders that my injuries were stacking up. No matter how great the healing was, the risk of re-injury was greater now than ever. Who knows, maybe my body will spontaneously fall apart like my heart had several times over.

    I peeled off the wall, fell on all-fours, staring face-down at the cold concrete flooring. Quick steps raced to my side, and a curtain of familiar black hair draped down next to me and a stupid, bloody face covered in awful cuts. ¡°Alex, hey, Alex¡ª!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Dad¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°That bitch is using Dad against us.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter! He¡¯s a breacher¡ªshit!¡± Althea pushed me over and I rolled, barely able to see a gray blur zip by my vision.

    The Alternate, our father, crashed down where we were just at, concrete smacking at my shoulders. He clicked his tongue, fucking disappointed he didn¡¯t turn his own kids into vague red mash, and lazily lifted his right leg from the broken flooring.

    ¡°Leave us alone!¡± Thea slid over, slamming her shin onto the back of Dad¡¯s standing leg. Twelve or eighteen, it didn¡¯t matter; she was tiny compared to him. Her kicks, as powerful as they were, didn¡¯t do anything to what was effectively a thick tree.

    He seemingly scowled and as he turned¡ª

    [Skill Activation: Mana Impact]

    My fist rocketed into his cheek. The [Impact] shot his head sideways enough that it¡¯d paralyze any normal man, but Dad had ¡°too thick of a neck¡± as Mom used to say. He took it like a bee-sting.

    "¨‰¨~?¨‰''? ¨…¨† ¨‰ ¨~¨† ? ?¨† ¨Š ¨‡¨Š¨…¨y¨~!" And he pivoted, whole body wenching around where I heard muscles straining, to punch my stomach and carry on through.

    [Chain Gauntlets] formed, and barely my hands caught it. His hardened knuckles stripped chain-links from my palms, absorbing the force in the best-and-worst way possible. It painfully vibrated up my arms like someone had whacked the bones themselves with a metal rod. I cried, losing feeling instantly, and saw the promise of a follow-up strike.

    [Memento Echo - Chain Gauntlets]

    Pesky chains wrapped themselves around Dad¡¯s arm, and on the other end, Thea was pulling like she was playing tug-of-war. A [Dagger] popped into my hand. While my arms were pins-and-needles, I gathered enough strength and sensation to drive the sharp blade into the Alternate¡¯s neck.

    My dad¡¯s neck.

    I wasn¡¯t thinking about it. I just did it, and the blade bounced off his thick-as-fuck skin and my weak fingers couldn¡¯t handle the blowback and the little butter-knife slipped away. A part of me was glad that the [Dagger] didn¡¯t sink into his neck. Years ago, I¡¯d vomit even thinking about doing this; now, my primal instinct told me to go for it¡ªto kill my ¡°father.¡± Guess me and Jin Tianyou have something in common.

    Our hands were dirty.

    I couldn¡¯t hear what my father said, but I couldn¡¯t stop what was coming next. He grabbed me by the throat, his fingers nearly crushing my windpipe, and hurled me. The warehouse revolved around for a good second before I landed chest-first into a plastic barrier, crunched it in the middle, and I flopped off heaving.

    Terribly, I hacked my lungs out, this horrible noise squeezing through my throat. Then a shriek went through my ears like electricity. I looked up and saw [Chains] whip above my head and a girl attached to them. Mid-swing, Althea dispelled the [Echo] and let momentum decide her fate. She ended up flying straight through one of the spotlights, snapped and killed the light, and landed in a pile of crumpled, dirty wires and other trash. She stayed there, barely moving.

    ¡°T-Thea¡ª!¡± I shouted before my chest flared in pain, and I coughed and doubled the pain. Foolishly, I stumbled toward her but she was miles away from me. ¡°Thea¡ª!¡±

    A big hand snatched me off my feet, and the back of my head smacked against something hard. A pillar. I gasped, light blazing through my pupils, and gray tar stared back into me. An obscured discolored mask that had my father¡¯s face underneath. I clawed his arm holding me up, my nails feebly scratching his iron-like skin, groaning and gritting through my teeth.

    ¡°D-Dad¡­!¡± I said, somehow.

    He slammed me against the pillar again and raised me higher. His hand was crushing my throat into fine dust. Breathing was agony. Everything was agony at this point, no use in counting my wounds anymore.

    And Dad didn¡¯t care. He slowly clenched, and I wheezed, my voice rattling.

    Dying by my own father¡¯s hands¡­ What should I call this? Karma, consequences, comeuppance? It had to be ¡°punishment.¡± What else do you call a father disciplining his son? ¡°Be a better man than he was.¡± ¡°Always do right by others.¡± ¡°Be better than you were yesterday.¡± All these promises were wasted on me. Just¡­lofty dreams too sweet for my palate.

    Because Mom was right. She was right. In anarchy like Hangzhou, desperate people did desperate things. Yet you knew the cost of a life, Dad. It went beyond a flat-line in a monitor. It was the cruel, perverted act of destroying ¡°future¡± itself. Of¡­ Of stilling one heart and breaking a dozen more. It¡¯s the ultimate production of evil concentrated into a single moment, outweighing the good produced in a generation. And everything would hang heavily on your soul.

    Your kids shouldn¡¯t suffer like you had; they should never live through what you have experienced. Even if their own lives come into question, what¡¯s worth the price of a tainted heart?

    But our opinions didn¡¯t matter. They never mattered.

    The price was paid and my soul was taxed, at multiple¡ªand like those lives, the future of your son shining brighter than you was destroyed. After everything I had done, said, and accomplished¡ªdespite the regrets (or lack thereof) and the justifications¡ªI could never make good on the one thing you wanted from me.

    I¡­ I can¡¯t be better than you. I can¡¯t give anything to this shithole world, because I was worse.

    So surely, this is the Mother delivering my overdue punishment for my sins.

    "?¨~¨{?¨{''? ?¨† ¨Š? ¨}¨Š?¨‰¨† ¨…¨† ?, ¨~¨{?¨† ?!" Again, my head met the pillar and shocked my vision. A dark frame closed in like an end-roll, and all I could really see was the faceless yet seething expression of my father holding me there, determined to take my life by squeezing it from my lungs.

    For some reason, I think I laughed. I couldn¡¯t hear myself, but something bubbled in my throat and it might¡¯ve been that. A pathetic, useless laugh from a freak worse than that.

    "¨z?¨€¨…¨} ?¨ƒ?¨{?¨z?¡ª?!¡±

    Something loud popped, echoed throughout the warehouse, and I collapsed to the ground. I slumped against the pillar as more pops rang and hurt my ears. I groaned and ended up laying on my side, trying to catch my breath. Everything was happening around me. Pops, crashes, wind, voices.

    And someone grabbed my shoulder, and I was too weak and unmotivated to fight against them. Through my dim vision, I saw the glint of a sharp needle in their hands. They stabbed my arm and injected a cold substance into my bloodstream; I wailed and instinctively tried to kick away, but they forced me there.

    [Accelerator administered]

    The entire world opened around me like a book. My vision instantly cleared, and new colors bloomed within the warehouse. It was all various shades of shitty gray, but I could feel my eyes widen from the new stimuli. I heard my own blood coursing through my veins, ants scratching underneath the concrete foundation, and a distinct, metallic clicking from afar. Every breath felt easier to take, until the pain was gone and my lungs were no longer trapped in a vice.

    My heart raced but in a good way, like I could fight a hundred swords and still wouldn¡¯t be tired afterwards.

    ¡°Are you done laying around now?!¡± my sister screamed in my ear, and she had half the number of cuts on her face than before. ¡°C¡¯mon, asshole, get up! Get the fuck up!¡±

    She dragged me onto my feet before my legs could fully wake up. There, on the other side of the warehouse, was a teal stasis bubble. Anything caught within was almost frozen¡ªninety-nine percent frozen¡ªmoving in ultra slow motion. It included falling pebbles, trash, and the angry Alternate reaching toward the man standing outside the bubble.

    He donned a full combat exoskeleton, the same you¡¯d find in higher-end military units. Special operation units to be specific. It was a powerful, terrifying yet admittedly breathtaking piece of tech to behold. It allowed any regular person to adopt the strength and maneuverability of a body-enhanced Slayer without the need of [Skills]. The exoskeleton wasn¡¯t the only gift he brought; he had presents dangling from his rig that I couldn¡¯t divine. Lastly, in his comfortable hands was a military-grade energy rifle.

    ¡°Uncle Ali!¡± I yelled as we caught up with him. ¡°Hey¡ª!¡±

    ¡°I expected many, many other people knowing our family history,¡± he said, grimacing. ¡°But not him.¡±

    Althea wiped her bloody lips and gulped. ¡°I-It¡¯s Dad. It¡¯s¡ª¡±

    ¡°That thing isn¡¯t your father, and it¡¯s not my brother.¡± Uncle raised his rifle and unloaded into the stasis bubble. Every bolt clawed to a near-halt as soon as they passed the barrier, and soon you couldn¡¯t see Dad¡¯s upper-half anymore. ¡°It¡¯s a breacher; its very existence is a paradox that has to be corrected.¡±

    Uncle Ali glanced at me, keeping one eye on the bubble. ¡°Don¡¯t let yourself be shaken anymore than you need to be. This is just another chore to take care of, so remember everything I¡¯ve taught you. This will take the three of us to clean.¡±

    The bubble wavered, and ugly ridges formed along the surface. Soon, a groaning and retching sound bellowed out, and waves rippled throughout the bubble. Some of the smaller caught objects began speeding up.

    Then, the stasis bubble collapsed.

 [FOR TOMORROW] Chapter 3 - The Weapon

    [?¨‚¨€¨ƒ¨ƒ ?¨y¨‰¨€??¨‰¨€¨† ¨…: ¨„?¨…? ¨z¨{?¨‰?¨Š¨y¨‰¨€¨† ¨…]

    An explosion vibrated throughout the warehouse, then several more in quick succession. Boom, boom, boom, boom! The entire city could probably hear us at this point. Whether we liked it or not, we were on a timer. Dietrich was likely returning with reinforcements, and we didn¡¯t know what Seraph and Rector were going to do. Whoever came, we had to survive to see it.

    ¡°Create more distance! Avoid stepping into his range!¡± Uncle Ali barked as a metal panel fell a few feet to his right.

    It hadn¡¯t been more than a couple minutes and we had survived a lifetime¡¯s worth of near-death experiences, but I call them lessons. Uncle Ali was right. Even if that was Dad, he was still a breacher. He was the enemy, and he should be treated as such. We had to strategize, communicate, and find a way out of this shithole together.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Althea ducked as a generator flew over her head and banged against the far wall, sparking and leaking and dead. ¡°Dad''s pissed!¡±

    The Alternate didn¡¯t obey natural laws and concepts (we¡¯d tried [Execute] first thing but it failed to apply), and for that reason, we couldn¡¯t depend on depleting his stamina and mana. We had to dispatch him the hard way. However, he was the epitome of a wild fighter: all brute force and no finesse and real strategy. Those things could be exploited as long as we played things smart, but our family suffered from chronically low IQ.

    ¡°I¡¯m going in!¡± I told the others.

    [Memento Recollection - Nightingale Shotgun]

    Dad saw me coming, seemingly scowled underneath his grayed face, and tried to clothesline me. I slid under his arm, spun onto one knee, and shoved the barrel against the back of his right calf. Bang. No damage, but the concussive blast kicked his leg up¡ªwe had deduced he possessed a similar [Skill] like my [Forged Skin]¡ªand he leaned back like a half-chopped tree threatening to fall. I pulled him the rest of the way down. That¡¯s timber.

    Alternates might be exempt from human concepts but not from human physiology.

    ¡°Back!¡± Uncle Ali tapped a few times on his left exo-forearm and a small barrel popped out from underneath. It shot a needle-like projectile into Dad¡¯s chest. Everything he did slowed down like with the stasis bubble. It was taking eons for him to curl his fingers and bend his legs, but this didn¡¯t look like stasis. What was it¡ª? A temporal restraint, that¡¯s it. Dad was physically experiencing time at a fraction as we were.

    Did America start prototyping this tech? Well, no time for questions.

    [Memento Echo - Nightingale Shotgun]

    Dad saw his kids and brother surround him with iron.

    We fired. Bright flashes illuminated our strained faces, sweat dripping down our chins, but we kept our fingers latched on the triggers. We couldn¡¯t hesitate or let up, not even for a second. This was our strategy. Immobilize him, and during the small window of time, inflict as much damage as possible.

    ¡°It¡¯s fading!¡± Uncle Ali screamed above the gunfire and stopped firing first. Thea was next¡ª

    "?¨† ¨Š ¨|¨Š¨y¨‚¨{??!" We underestimated Dad¡¯s strength. From the ground, him and his big arm swung around like a mighty scythe. Barely, me and Thea pulled back, but that left our uncle stranded with his back almost against a wall.

    And unfortunately, that was exactly where Dad was looking at. "¨~¨† ? ¨z??¨{ ?¨† ¨Š ?¨~¨† ? ?¨† ¨Š? ¨|?¨y¨{ ¨…¨† ?, ?¨ƒ¨€?!" If this version of Dad had turned his heart black, then of course his kids would¡¯ve never existed. The only person here who had any real ties to ¡°Dad¡± would be his older brother.

    Uncle Ali looked down at Dad, his expression unmoving. ¡°Come get me, then, Bastien.¡±

    The exoskeleton extensions on his boots began glowing, and he leapt onto the walls and started running, being low enough that Dad could reach. He was perfectly perpendicular to the ground, surely fighting against gravity, yet he ran like it was a fucking suggestion.

    [?¨‚¨€¨ƒ¨ƒ ?¨y¨‰¨€??¨‰¨€¨† ¨…: ¨€¨}¨…¨€¨‰¨{¨z ¨x¨† ¨z?]

    Grayscale embers flaked off Dad¡¯s skin like piping steel from a forge. Couldn¡¯t tell if it was painful to experience, but his knuckles glowed with the intensity of flames. He roared, shaking the warehouse, and chased after his brother like a feral beast. Wildly his fists swung, clipping everything in his way except for Uncle¡ªhe was too high, too slippery, and too stubborn to fall.

    Me and Althea desperately chased behind, our hearts thumping at the damage. Dad left larger impacts than before, accompanied flickering embers and burn-marks. That [Skill] had empowered his body with fire, probably improved his durability too, which really meant we had to watch ourselves, especially Uncle.

    He was caught in the shittiest position out of the three of us, but with the look on his face, you¡¯d think this was a minor inconvenience to him. Dad roared louder, sounding more like a destroyed speaker than a person, and jumped high and wanted to slap Uncle down like a damned fly. Fortunately, our uncle was just as annoying as one.

    His exoskeleton took him off the wall and across a wide gap¡ªwider than any human could jump¡ªand his boots landed firmly on a pillar. At the same time, metal whined and a burning claw-print was imprinted onto the wall. Dad distortedly snarled and craned his neck upwards, finding his prey scurrying up the pillar.

    "¨}¨{¨‰ ¨z¨† ?¨… ¨~¨{?¨{!" Dad grabbed a rotting pallet off the ground, his fingers burning into the green wood, and hurled it upward.

    Uncle ported and wood shattered against steel and concrete; it wasn¡¯t the prettiest or the most perfect form, but he landed feet-first. The exoskeleton absorbed the shock that would normally render someone wheelchair-bound. However, he was on the ground and there was a rampaging bull stomping after him.

    ¡°Now, Thea!¡± But we were here.

    [Memento Recollection]

    [Memento Echo]

    [Chain Gauntlets]

    As I said, Dad might be an Alternate but he wasn¡¯t above human physiology. [Chains] wrapped around his scurrying legs, two each, and they caught. He crashed face-first, the momentum pulling us forward and nearly taking us off our own feet.

    We looked up and saw our uncle press a closed fist against the center of Dad¡¯s back.

    [Skill Error: Anti-Slayer Technique - Flow Reversal]

    What would happen if you had fire boiling through your veins and someone came along and fucked up your internals? It¡¯d be some of the worst pain in human existence, Alternate or not. A high-pitched screech tore through the air and I had to clamp my ears; through the inhuman screams, I heard audible popping like firecrackers.

    Dad was convulsing on the ground, his arms and legs spastic, as glowing baseball-sized cysts grew across his body. They burst. Glittery gray blood splattered around him in thick puddles and poured through the open wounds; and the blood on the ground¡ªplus any other biological matter¡ªevaporated within seconds.

    The screeching died down into regular fucked-up screaming, and our ears no longer wanted to bleed.

    ¡°Think he¡¯s done? You fucked up his PPS,¡± asked Thea as Uncle regrouped with us.

    He trained a barrel on the convulsing Alt. ¡°I don¡¯t know. You¡¯ve fought one of these things before; what¡¯s their biology?¡±

    I summoned a [Rifle] and did the same thing. ¡°Stubbornly resilient. We needed overwhelming firepower to kill them. Rector, Seraph, Archknell, Rei.¡± Or in Zhu Xinyue¡¯s case, her own son.

    Uncle smacked his lips together. ¡°Nothing changed. You have me.¡±

    I chuckled despite the shitty odds. ¡°Yeah, guess we can say this is our most one-sided encounter yet.¡±

    The screaming stopped. Dad was on all fours. Steam hissed from his pocked back, looking like someone had taken an ice-cream scoop there. He slammed a fist against the ground, then again, and shouted to Hell like he was making a promise to the devil. We didn¡¯t know what he said or if it was a primal growl from his corrupted soul, but he stood.

    Dad stood, unable to be taken down no matter what was thrown at him. Bleeding, wounded beyond any sort of medical care, but he could go for another twelve rounds.

    That¡¯s so annoyingly accurate.

    Uncle ordered, ¡°Split up!¡±

    We broke into the same formation we¡¯d taken throughout the whole fight: a little triangle of death, trapping Dad in the center. We circled him and kept our feet moving. On all corners, he took fire. Magick, energy, our shots struck or grazed his gaping wounds. Finally, we had a chink in the armor that we could blow right open. He shielded himself using his arms, grunting at every sting, but Dad was stronger than the pain no matter the version.

    "¨{¨…¨† ¨Š¨}¨~!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, and the first person he saw was his daughter.

    [?¨‚¨€¨ƒ¨ƒ ?¨y¨‰¨€??¨‰¨€¨† ¨…: ¨„?¨…? ¨z¨{?¨‰?¨Š¨y¨‰¨€¨† ¨…]

    He could still use [Skills]. Didn¡¯t matter, I expected that.

    In a single bound, he collapsed Thea¡¯s corner, but the pesky brat was faster. Her arms regrew [Chains], and they flew and found the joists above, hugging them. Thea pulled herself upwards like a damned superhero, soaring far above Dad who was chasing after a ghost at this point.

    Magick seared into his back, nailing several craters where his skin and flesh should be. He grunted and stumbled forward, turned his head and saw his son running at him with a deathwish.

    He smacked downwards, narrowly missing my head, and crushed some bug on the ground instead. On the back of his hand was an oozing, disgusting hole. I snapped my [Rifle] in half and the scrap transformed into [Daggers]. Not enough time. His hands came at me. They swiped and jabbed, missed, and he slapped the ground again.

    I drove the [Daggers] into the wound, feeling the tips sink into his unnatural flesh and even scratch against the concrete.

    Dad yanked his hand away and howled, ripping the [Daggers] out. Two more chomped into his calves, the sound of squelching ¡°flesh¡± too vivid in my mind. He yelped again, limping now, and swung his arms like he was fighting bees, but he couldn¡¯t hit me or Althea.

    Right, because Althea rejoined us by nearly crashing into me with [Blur]. ¡°Uncle!¡±

    ¡°Back!¡± he shouted again appearing from out of nowhere, and he pulled another toy from his rig. I recognized this one: another stasis bubble grenade.

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    Dad was too slow.

    Just like when Uncle had first saved our asses, Dad was trapped inside the bubble but he wasn¡¯t nearly as healthy as before. His bleeding was nearly frozen; it might be life-saving in the right situation, but not this one. Quite the opposite.

    As we rehearsed, we produced our irons and stormed, letting a hailstorm of bullets cloud the awful sight of Dad away from our eyes¡ª

    A new shadow appeared high in my peripheral, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood and a familiar sinking feeling clawed into my stomach. Guess not even the stimulant was strong enough to stave off the returning feeling of despair, huh?

    I looked at my uncle, and he looked at me.

    Chains were lashed around his neck.

    They snatched him off his feet and dragged him over the ground, his rifle clattering from his fingers. I screamed and chased after him. He let out this wrenching, choked cry as he helplessly clawed at the chains. He kicked his legs, groping now at anything on his rig for a way out. Until he was lifted bodily in the air and hung from the joists.

    His body jerked and his arms momentarily went limp.

    Something was on the fucking rafters. I saw them.

    [Skill Activation: Certain Shot]

    My first shot hit right on, nailing the fucker in the shoulder. They staggered and a volley came their way.

    The chains unraveled from Uncle¡¯s neck and he dropped like a brick. A [Blur] whizzed past me and caught him just before he hit the ground hard. They rolled together, and I heard the blessed sounds of my uncle coughing his life back together.

    ¡°ALEX!¡± Thea screamed for me.

    ¡°I know!¡± I searched the warehouse with my barrel for our second attacker. Dad was still trapped inside the stasis bubble, but the surface was already starting to shimmer. No good. This wasn¡¯t any fucking good!

    I¡­ My stomach was getting eaten from the inside out. My arms were shaking again. Everything screamed at me to run away, to not suffer another tragedy. I knew who attacked us. There could only be one explanation, and no matter how much I instinctively knew, I couldn¡¯t get the words to form in my head. I tried to whisper it under my breath, but all that came out was chokes not unlike Uncle¡¯s.

    I let out an incoherent mess of sounds to release the tension in my throat.

    <Where are you?!> I finally yelled for her in Mandarin. <I know you¡¯re here, show yourself already¡ª!>

    The stasis bubble collapsed finally, startling me with its racket and sparks. I ignored them, thinking Dad would stay down for a few seconds, but among the circus there was an out-of-place sound: the slinking of chains.

    From where the bubble had collapsed, a woman strolled into the open. Accompanying her was a long chain-whip, dragging a pointed metal-weight that scratched the concrete. If Dad resembled Mongrel, then she resembled Blackviper but with twice the professionalism and stoicism. She wore a specialized combat bodysuit, a cross between tactical and xia, and stood no different than a hurricane. She was a disaster that you pray you never come across, because her presence meant one thing: death. Much like Dad, she was put in grayscale and you couldn¡¯t see her face, but I didn¡¯t want to. Neither of their faces.

    I didn¡¯t want to create new memories with them, where their hateful, cold, and murderous eyes were burned into mine.

    My heart wouldn¡¯t be able to take it.

    My finger eased on the trigger, and I sputtered and shook my head. ¡°Guess¡­ Guess you never escaped, Mom.¡±

    ***

    The next two days blurred together in Hangzhou. We kneeled before TVs and scoured our dying phones for any crumb of information; we rested in abandoned homes and storefronts and scavenged them; we joined fellow survivors and parted ways peacefully or otherwise; we hid from hordes, ran from them, and rarely we fought; but most of all, we walked. The odd thing about the apocalypse was how empty it felt. We strolled through streets that should¡¯ve been brimming with people, entered markets where we were the only customers, listened to the lonely wind reeding through broken doors and glass¡ªfor long stretches of time and space, we were the only souls.

    I remember the fourth day pretty well. After much grief¡ªthat¡¯d be later criticized¡ªthe military was finally establishing secure camps for survivors. They¡¯d used drones to dump fliers across the city that had detailed maps of the locations. We picked a couple up, found the nearest camp, and that¡¯s how we joined forty other people with the same idea.

    We marched together as a bloody, dirty, tired mass like parishioners to an impoverished church. You couldn¡¯t go five seconds without someone coughing or sniffling, sometimes groaning. At the time, I didn¡¯t like it. We were too bunched together; in the event of an attack, getting stomped to death and getting a crossbow bolt to the head were both pretty likely¡ªit was the first time that I thought like that: pragmatically about my survival.

    Fortunately, my fears never came to fruition. About a few kilometers from the camp, we found large yellow arrows pointing us where to go. A few minutes later, a patrol spotted us and we had a personal escort. A troop of equally-worn rifles took up security, too wired out of their minds to enjoy a friendly word let alone a conversation. Closer and closer, though, we approached our new home.

    It was at a high-school that had been fortified like a castle. I spotted multiple barrier generators, a convoy¡¯s worth of tactical and combat vehicles, and manpower to match. Tents were erected in the parking lot: medical, supplies, information, what-have-you; and they each had miserably long lines. Some survivors lingered at the gates; once they spotted us, almost all of them stood up and their eyes were bright with despairing hope.

    I didn¡¯t know so many people with bloody clothes and bloodier injuries could look like that.

    Unfortunately, we were diverted into nearby tents and split into two lines: single individuals and groups. An official began explaining that we had to undergo a ¡°quick checkup¡± to ensure we weren¡¯t bringing ¡°anything" into the camp. It made sense, and no one in our family fought against the procedure.

    Someone among our group did: a belligerent middle-aged man who earned a rifle-butt to the stomach for his protests.

    ¡°Just follow their orders,¡± Mom said as we moved up in line, ignoring as the man was getting cuffed and dragged away. ¡°They¡¯ll ask questions, so answer truthfully.¡±

    I rubbed my shoulder. ¡°What if they find out we¡¯re Temps?¡±

    ¡°Temps are the last thing on their mind,¡± Dad followed.

    ¡°Will we really be safe here?¡± asked Thea meekly.

    ¡°We will be,¡± Mom assured her¡ªassured us. She scratched her wrists, picking at some of the scars there. ¡°Your father and I will make sure of it.¡±

    From the looks of things, the school seemed safe. Miserable, but safe. Members of our group filtered from the tents and entered school-grounds, collecting goodie-bags of supplies and extra clothes before being led into the building. Sometimes, we heard shouting from nearby officers and mils but nothing that scared the shit out of us. More so than usual, I ought to add.

    After almost a week of surviving in the city, we finally found ¡°paradise.¡± It might be surrounded by more guns and bullets than the average American town, but we¡¯d be safe. Soon, when VIPs were going to be extracted first, we would be on the first truck out of here.

    That¡¯s what I foolishly thought.

    It was our turn. Inside the tent were a few medical workers, a couple rifles and their officer pulling security. One of the rifles barked in Mandarin, and his CO translated in a thick accent, ¡°Take off your bags and set them in the trays!¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon,¡± Dad ushered us and shed his bag first.

    After we removed our bags, the officer turned our bags inside out and spilled everything on a dirty plastic table. He began sifting through presumably for ¡°contraband¡±¡ªwhatever that might imply in this scenario.

    At the same time, one of the medical workers latched onto Mom and brought her arms out. She, the worker, scanned the interwoven layers of scar-tissue, grimacing behind her glasses and face-mask. <...Where did you get these scars from?>

    Mom uncomfortably pulled away but the worker held onto her wrists. <It¡¯s none of your business.>

    <Hmm.> The worker lowered Mom¡¯s arms. <Did you meet a healer or take any fast-acting restoratives¡ª?>

    <Wait.> Suddenly, another worker stepped in and gently pushed his colleague aside. No, not his colleague, his subordinate. The man was much older and had wrinkles and peppered hair to prove his experience; even so, his eyes were bulging from their sockets. I innocently thought the stress of the outbreak was getting to him.

    <Show me your arms again,> he asked Mom, his tone icier than winter.

    Mom raised an eyebrow, holding her arms close. <Why?>

    <Your arms.>

    <Your colleague already evaluated my arms, there¡¯s no need¡ª>

    <Show the doctor your arms or leave!> the officer roared over the conversation.

    Mom inched closer to us, wrapping a hand around her right wrist. <Explain why you need to see my arms again¡ª!>

    The doctor forcibly grabbed her wrist and tried pulling her close. That was a mistake. As soon as he touched my mother, all hell broke loose. She fought back and started screaming, Dad barged in and the rifles physically held him back but they were obviously losing to a man twice their size. The noise attracted guards from outside, and soon, everyone was screaming and everyone was fighting and I was caught in the middle.

    Thea cried, hanging onto my arm for dear life as we were getting shoved around. I yelled for our parents, begging them to stop and come back. I barely saw them among the moving sea of heads and bodies, but then the waves split for a brief moment.

    I saw the doctor glued onto Mom¡¯s arm, his white eyes wide and terrified and manic.

    He was looking down at Mom¡¯s faded magic tattoo.

    Through his face-mask, he said something. I couldn¡¯t tell what he said; not even the perfect lip-reader could read him. Whatever it was, he gave his terrified stare to Mom. I had never, never seen her so scared before in my entire life. She was the kind of person who would laugh at the goriest horror movies, be completely unfazed at the thought of violence, and had performed violence herself to breachers and people.

    But this man had reminded her what mortal fear was.

    The bodies began converging together again, but just before I lost sight of Mom, I saw her other hand reach into her pocket.

    There was a cry and a great spray of crimson blood, spewing all over the floor, the dirty white canvas walls, and the ceiling. And people. A small line was slapped on my cheek. Something thunked. A woman screamed, then a man, then everyone; among them, someone shouted, <He¡¯s dead! She killed him! She killed him!>

    A great force shoved through the crowd and almost tackled me and Althea to the ground. My head steamed with adrenaline. Questions sped through my mind and paralyzed my hands: What¡¯s happening? Who killed who? Am I going to die? Am I going to die¡ª?

    ¡°ALEX!¡± my mother¡¯s voice stole me from my panic; she held onto our arms, her fingers burrowing into our skin. A dark crimson streak was thickly brushed across her cheek, over her nose, and into her stringy black hair.

    There was a different woman in those eyes.

    ¡°RUN!¡±

    Before I could ask why there was blood on her, she shoved us ahead and returned for Dad.

    I was running before my brain realized my legs were moving.

    ***

    I didn¡¯t know how we escaped the school without getting caught or shot dead. All of us, Mom and Dad included. We were lucky. Genuinely, actually lucky. This is the first time I was willing to say that without sarcasm or snark.

    We found ourselves God-who-knows-where in Hangzhou. We just ran as far as our tired legs could bring us, and the soldiers weren¡¯t willing to chase a family of murderers into dangerous territory. Again, we were lucky that we didn¡¯t encounter any outside patrols or Slayers, or God forbid, breachers.

    Inside the dark corner of a corporate lobby, away from the windows and light, were us: a defeated family. I thought this was rock-bottom. We had nothing because we couldn¡¯t collect our shit. No bags, no food or water, no tools and weapons¡ªwe didn¡¯t restart, we regressed to literal zero. We were wanted criminals. Our faces would be plastered on every street corner. Nowhere was safe for us now. I thought the world was genuinely going to end, now, and the apocalypse would start with our family first.

    We were tearing at the seams.

    Mom sat against the wall, burying her hands in her face, while Dad sat a few feet away. The shadows casted darkly over his face, burying the light in his eyes and joy in his expression. He held emotions that I never knew he had. Contempt, resentment, disgust. He said not a single word but treated her like a pariah.

    They left their two kids questioning everything.

    They left Althea scratching at her arms and head, uncontrollably shivering with fright. I couldn¡¯t stop them.

    I don¡¯t know when or why I decided to finally speak up, but I had: ¡°Why¡­?¡±

    My voice, quiet as it was, picked everyone¡¯s heads up.

    ¡°Why did you kill him?¡± I asked Mom. ¡°Why did you do it?¡±

    Mom lowered her hands and stared down at her magic tattoo. I¡¯d never asked about it like how I never asked about her scars. Briefly she glanced over to her glowering husband; wordlessly, he abandoned this topic to her. It was her turn to lay bare her trauma, and her lips quivered as a result.

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­¡± Mom squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them a sliver. ¡°I had to. He was from your mother¡¯s old orphanage. We weren¡¯t raised as innocent kids¡ªno, we were raised to be terrible. As¡­ As living weapons.¡±

 [FOR TOMORROW] Chapter 4 - Helpless

    Our family was¡­ Our family was all sorts of fucked-up.

    You have sects in the Jianghu using every method under the sun to breed the perfect heir, then you have the Shens. There¡¯s no family with a greater set of doomed circumstances. We were a time-bomb waiting to pop, and the Disaster lit the fuse earlier than any of us had anticipated. Without the Disaster, without High Home, I probably would¡¯ve found myself in the same spot I was in today, just with a different outlook. Heh, I¡¯d be happier, maybe even find a girl I like, but I would still be sinking into an inescapable sandpit.

    Look at us.

    My father was convicted of manslaughter, and we could never look a Legend in the eyes.

    My mother was raised to be an assassin, and her xia-blood unwittingly carried an SSS-Rank [Skill].

    My uncle was one of the greatest soldiers on the planet, and it was a matter of time before governments around the world caught wind of his new allegiance.

    Althea and I were a product of their twisted stories. They merged together, crafting a destiny so bleak that even the most staunch, bright-eyed optimist would throw in the towel. I realized that now, but who would¡¯ve guessed the journey would be worse than the destination?

    Who would crawl through Hell just to enter Hell?

    Getting beaten, thrown around by my dead and corrupted parents¡ªbeing punished for how I turned out¡ªthere was nothing more humiliating and pathetic.

    What could I do to stop this? Can I even do anything?

    [?¨‚¨€¨ƒ¨ƒ ?¨y¨‰¨€??¨‰¨€¨† ¨…: ?¨~¨{¨…¨ƒ¨† ¨…¨} ?¨y¨~¨† ¨† ¨ƒ - ¨}???¨{???¨z ¨† ¨| ¨~¨{?¨† ¨{? ?¨…¨z ¨{??¨‰¨~]

    I was helpless, like how I always was, when Mom swung her whip. It grew triple the length and danced around me faster than my eyes could process. There was a fancy technique behind the swinging, but to my imperfect perception, it was random and chaotic and destructive¡ªunreadable. The [Graveyard of Heroes and Earth], destroying any possibility of mobility. Around me, the ground was pummeled and gored, and every obstacle in her way was whacked aside or got smashed to bits.

    In the nick of time, I threw on [Armor] before a heavy weight crashed down onto my shoulder, crumpling the protection there. My [Rifle] fell. Raising my arms did nothing as a chain ripped them back down. Mom didn¡¯t allow me to blink or breathe. Within a second, it felt like she¡¯d struck me a dozen times and my body was no longer under my control.

    I was airborne, that¡¯s why. The world spun a hundred times before I crashed onto my stomach. Where did the pain start and end¡­? Breathing was getting hard too. The stimulant was wearing off. How much time did I have left before my body completely gave up? God knows my heart was closer.

    While lying dumbly on the floor, I saw Althea lift Uncle to his feet, both of them desperate seeing the position I was in. It would only get worse. A tremor rocked through the floor, painfully rattling my ribs, and from the corner of my eyes, a limping giant reappeared. He straightened his back and cracked his stony knuckles, staring ahead at what remained of our family. He paid no mind to Mom¡ªhis wife in the correct universe¡ªand his son.

    Two Alternates against the three of us¡­ A murderer and an assassin, who both had a theoretical lifetime to hone their gift at bloodsports. Even with Uncle fighting alongside us, our chances at victory were slim¡ªno, delusional.

    We couldn¡¯t win.

    No matter what we did or could do, winning was impossible.

    All we can do is¡­is what we¡¯ve been doing for the last seven years.

    ¡°R-Run¡­¡± I muttered before breaking out into a rough cough. I lifted myself higher. ¡°RUN¡ª!¡±

    Something rammed my stomach hard enough that my organs threatened to burn out of my throat. I rolled and skidded, stopping only when friction told me to. My vision darkened, pixelated even, and left me in the prison of my hearing. I heard my sister yelling something. My name? Her voice was drowned by a familiar distorted snarl, then quick and thunderous stomping. It was loud and gradually faded away as a distant thing.

    My eyes finally opened and caught a gleaming open door, enamoring me with white glaring sunlight and a promise of freedom. Althea and Uncle were nowhere to be seen, and the same was said for our father.

    Which left me and Mom.

    She was standing in front of me, looking down at her son with a subtle yet predatory tilt of her head. The gray of her face concealed what faux-emotions she had, but why should that matter at this point? Her chain-whip was gone at least; couldn¡¯t see if she had any weapons other than her two hands and feet.

    "?¨† ¨Š ??¨{ ¨‡?¨‰¨~¨{¨‰¨€¨y,¡± she said to me, sounding vaguely like Mandarin but Alternate-talk was more alien than any foreign language.

    For some reason, like she said a joke, I laughed. Using my trembling arms, I sat myself up, hunched over because straightening my spine hurt. ¡°I¡­¡± Whatever funny, witty response I had dissolved when I saw thicker, more numerous scars on Mom¡¯s arms. ¡°...I don¡¯t know anymore.¡±

    "? ?¨{?¨‚ ?¨…??¨{? ¨|?¨† ¨„ ? ?¨{?¨‚ ¨„?¨…." She produced a strange gray pistol from somewhere, probably custom-made from Zhenlong (ÕæÁú). The unnatural barrel was almost tickling my armored forehead, and her slender finger caressed the trigger. "¨‰¨† ¨‰¨~¨{ ¨ƒ?¨„¨x, ¨‰¨† ¨‰¨~¨{ ?¨ƒ?¨Š¨}¡ª¡±

    I tilted my head to the side, blatantly looking behind Mom.

    Mom briefly checked behind her¡ª

    [Memento Recollection - Technique Daggers]

    I slashed the iron from her hand. Suddenly leaping up did terrible things to my body, shocking my muscles and every inch of my back with torment. I pushed through. I had to. Mom breathed a garbled gasp as the blade narrowly missed her cheek, then seemingly locked her jaw when a second cut her arm.

    I regenerated the damage [Yuzhou] sustained.

    My [Daggers] against her hands.

    [?¨~¨{¨…¨ƒ¨† ¨…¨} ?¨y¨~¨† ¨† ¨ƒ - ?¨ƒ¨ƒ ¨x¨ƒ?¨z¨{? ¨Š¨…¨z¨{? ¨~¨{??¨{¨…]

    [All Blades Under Heaven], a technique designed to defeat¡ªyou guessed it¡ªall bladed weapons. Her palms flew, targeting my [Daggers]. Our arms messily crossed, entangling and unraveling and entangling again. But this wasn¡¯t a fight; this was an one-sided ass-whooping. I simply couldn¡¯t beat Mom, whether she was my mother or an assassin.

    Repeatedly, my [Daggers] were knocked from my hands. I regenerated them only to get disarmed again. They littered the ground, evaporated, only for more steel to drop. Mom saw through my farce and clicked her tongue, disappointed with my exhibition, and drove a palm to the center of my chest.

    I spat blood through my helmet¡¯s slits. She chopped the side of my neck, and my legs nearly went jelly. An elbow to my stomach, a flurry of quick strikes all over my torso, and a final punch to seal the deal.

    Once again, I flew. This time, I hit a wall reminiscent of when Dad first struck me, and I bounced off and fell onto my knees. Somehow, I was still conscious and nothing felt paralyzed; plus, it was my lucky day, because Mom had brought me close to a glowing exit. Yeah, that was definitely my masterplan: suffer more debilitating injuries for a chance to escape.

    The amount of hurt was clouding my head; everything wanted to drag my body back down to the underworld. A dark part of me thought a rest was finally in order, but not now. I can¡¯t. Through the rising pain, I used what little rush remained of the stim and ran for freedom. Turning my back to an assassin was asking to get killed, but I gambled.

    Gunshots rang, teasing my legs a few inches away. One zipped by my shoulder and ricocheted off sheet metal; then something cracked against my left shoulderblade. I fell forward, my hands scraping concrete, but I stayed on my feet. Without [Yuzhou], I¡¯d have a useless log of flesh and bone. That little bit of relief turned into glee when I felt sunlight leaking through the cracks in my [Armor].

    I was outside.

    But Mom ruined my one second of euphoria with brass. As I followed the outside-wall to find the others, bullets pierced through like a glorified hole-puncher, always an inch away from my vitals. When the gunshots stopped torturing my psyche, I turned the corner and came onto an abandoned and overgrown concrete lot¡ª

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    A tire curved and banged against the warehouse a few feet above my head, bounced off and began a long journey away from this fucking place. This was the main staging area where internationals had rolled through the broken gates. Fresh blood was gathered in small pools and stripes, glittering in the sun and tarmac. Near them were thick, frantic tire-marks for the lucky cars that had escaped; for an unfortunate few, they were either flipped on their side or flipped over completely.

    For one, it was missing a couple wheels.

    Dad, with his back facing me, hurled a tire like a frisbee, but with his wounded arms, his throw went wide-right from his actual targets. Beyond him and closer to the gates, they stood together out of necessity rather than of choice. Uncle was bleeding badly from his right arm, and that part of his exoskeleton was laying on the ground surrounded by a few broken yet important-looking pieces. Thea looked worse, from the numerous cuts she¡¯d sustained at the beginning and how she stood with a limp. The skin on her palms were raw like sandpaper had gone through them.

    As strong and smart as my sister was, as much of a warrior as my uncle was, we met our match. Would it even be possible to run away in this state?

    Even if survival was becoming less of a promise¡­

    [Skill Activation: Mana Impact, Technique Daggers]

    I had to try.

    I launched myself toward Dad, dragging my [Daggers] over the back of his legs. His thighs, calves, behind the knee¡ªtargeting specifically the still-steaming holes popped by Flow Reversal. Gray blood colored the asphalt and vanished, and a pained grunt from my father told me this was at least doing something.

    His heavy arms flailed and away I went. Identical [Daggers] whistled through the air in a relentless, angry swarm. Some bounced off, others sunk deeply into his wounds and encouraged the bloody faucet to keep pouring.

    It brought me enough time to run like hell back to Thea and Uncle. ¡°Port! I¡¯ll cover you¡ª!¡±

    My head.

    Something hit my head, like someone had struck the back of my skull with a bat.

    My helmet shattered.

    A warm liquid streamed down the side of my face, and bitter iron stained my tongue.

    I blinked and I was on the ground.

    I blinked again and I was sitting behind a car with Uncle, who was using his good arm to check on my head. ¡°¡ªlex! Dammit¡ª!¡± He tore something off his rig and tossed it over the car. Something exploded. ¡°How many fingers am I holding up?¡±

    There were three blurry and bright fingers.

    ¡°Three¡­¡± I muttered.

    ¡°Good. You look more rattled than hurt.¡± He patted the side of my neck, the clean side. ¡°[Yuzhou] took the bullet. C¡¯mon, get up!¡±

    Whether I wanted to or not, Uncle pulled me into a shaky stand as I restored [Yuzhou]. I should be the one supporting him; his right arm was more blood than clothes and skin, but why was I bitching? As soon as he let go, I fell forward and leaned against the car¡¯s chassis, peering over the hood.

    Althea had copied [Yuzhou] in theory, but most of the vanishing pieces joined the cracked concrete, the sheared metal from Uncle¡¯s exoskeleton, and other detritus. Yet she managed to fend against two Alternates by herself. Didn''t know how long, but enough for Uncle to recover my burden of a body. The Alts were frozen together, married in a stasis bubble. Dad was caught mid-charge while Mom flourished a thin, military-style blade. Behind them, I spotted another bubble closer to the warehouse, too far for Thea to have thrown¡ª

    She was bleeding from the eyes and mouth, and visible steam hissed from her shoulders.

    Althea fell to a single knee.

    [Stalwart Bastion], that¡¯s how she fought Mom and Dad while her big brother was being useless. It ¡°enhanced¡± her physical prowess, rendering her stronger than most men¡ªDad even, probably¡ªbut the [Skill] came with an unwritten drawback: her body couldn¡¯t sustain the power boost without ripping itself apart.

    It must¡¯ve been her trump card, but as time went on and as the injuries started to pile, using [Stalwart Bastion] would kill her faster than our parents did. And she had to use it here and now. Couldn¡¯t be longer than thirty seconds, if that, and look at her.

    Seeing her brought proper feeling back to my legs, and the stupid men in her family took her away.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m fine¡­¡± she insisted despite evident weakness in her voice. ¡°I¡¯m just really tired¡­¡±

    Thea forced herself to stand unsupported, then scared us half to death by nearly tipping over. Her sense of balance kicked in and she nodded reassuringly, wiping the blood off her face. The steam was getting lighter, but her breathing was heavier. Slower.

    She¡¯d pushed herself this far and all I could do was stand there bloody and weak. Stronger willpower than me, though, but she couldn¡¯t go on for much longer. She barely had the strength to stand properly.

    Uncle quickly cocked his head away from the Alts. ¡°Let¡¯s go! That was my last stasis grenade!¡±

    We fled from the Alternates, making sure we steered clear of the rolled-over car, with our failing legs. Althea was stumbling more than running. Uncle Ali was cursing his exoskeleton, which was becoming more of a hindrance than a boon. And there was me, counting the seconds until my muscles would seize up and my mind would go blank and my failing eyes would the reaper on the other side.

    I¡¯d been¡­ I¡¯d been close to death a few times, but this was different than most of them. It wasn¡¯t like that night in High Home, when I closed my eyes and accepted what came next; nor was it a blazing fury, raging at the thought of dying. Today was both, nullified. There was no resignation, but there was no urge.

    There was only the numbing present, the totality of everything I was and the natural ebb and flow of the world.

    I only had the people running beside me, their faces contorted but their eyes were desperately awake with greater desire than I couldn¡¯t know myself. What were they thinking? What was waiting for them tomorrow?

    I couldn¡¯t answer that question myself. Well, I couldn¡¯t give a satisfactory answer. Tomorrow was the next day, simple as that. Whatever tomorrow brought, I¡¯d have to deal with it, then deal with the next thing, and the next, trying to squeeze out ¡°meaning¡± and ¡°purpose¡± between the beats only to lose it all again.

    All I wanted was to give Althea options¡ª

    The stasis bubbles popped without the bullets and other projectiles this time. Dad, whose momentum had been trapped like lightning in the bottle, was uncorked. Despite being nowhere near him, Dad continued on, rammed into the car we had been hiding behind, and sent it flying ahead.

    That was why we were out of the car¡¯s direct path, and luckily it missed us.

    [Memento Recollection - Nightingale Rifle]

    I blindly fired behind me knowing Mom was next. Her shortsword flickered and her hand blurred, effortlessly deflecting the magick-bullets like she was hitting fouls. Every deflection encouraged her to snake forward, encroach on our position faster than our three sets of legs, with a cold, clinical bloodlust of a killer without pleasure.

    One of the deflected bullets snapped a foot behind me, kicking up asphalt-dust. A shadow was growing larger. Two of them.

    ¡°Split!¡± Uncle cried.

    We jumped in different directions, anywhere in a foolish attempt to keep our lives a few seconds longer. Mom had nearly driven her blade through [Yuzhou], and Dad almost turned the others into paste.

    What happened next was an all-out brawl, just like a family feud over political disagreements at Thanksgiving dinner. It was a tragedy of guns, swords, fists, and monsters. Of pain. We fought and relied on our distressed instincts as our hearts and minds were nudged closer to oblivion, with every breath taken, with every move we took, with every attempt on our lives.

    The little mistakes stacked up like dominos, and all it took was one small nudge to knock them down.

    [TEAM STATUS]

    INCAPACITATED: Althea Shen

    I opened my eyes, free from my trance, to take in the unfolding reality.

    My sister laid almost motionless on the ground the furthest away from us, having been kicked there. It wasn¡¯t a hard kick, she''d taken much worse, but her body simply gave out. She was done. The same couldn¡¯t be said for our uncle, where most of his exoskeleton had been forcibly ripped off his body. He kneeled behind me, trying his best to keep his old muscles moving. He survived worse situations, he internalized this through gritted teeth, but his legs couldn¡¯t bring themselves to stand.

    There was me, mostly stripped of [Yuzhou], somehow the remaining fighter despite being perpetually a step away from being incapped.

    Half my vision was colored red and pink, looking between Mom and Dad. Dad was hanging on through willpower like us¡ªhe was better at that¡ªand there was Mom, the cleaner of the two. She suffered a few good cuts, a half-successful Sixteen-Point, but basically fighting at one-hundred percent.

    Fuck.

    Guess the agents were leaving us to die¡­ Guess I could say the same thing for Angels.

    I wasn¡¯t angry; I spent too much energy to feel angry anymore.

    I told you: the future of the Shens was bleak. Like what Leo said, we had powerful enemies that didn¡¯t know we existed or weren¡¯t given a reason to act yet. Against the full weight of the world, we were a powerless, helpless family unable to obtain the simplest want: a tomorrow that wouldn¡¯t kill us.

    A happy future.

    The world thought we deserved otherwise. Life itself refused to hand us that treasure, repeatedly, throughout generations.

    Dad was raised impoverished with his older brother, surrounded by crime and ugliness from the outside streets to the peeling walls of their home.

    Mom was molded to fit one purpose: to kill cultivators, and witnessed abject horrors executed by the ¡°civilized¡± society.

    Uncle held the body of his pregnant wife¡ªmy aunt and unborn cousin¡ªand promised retribution to this day.

    Just¡­ I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d bite the dust like this.

    So much for a long and successful career at Angels Guild. All I¡¯d been doing was running around the city, complaining about every little thing, and getting my ass kicked. Primordial Plaza, Seraph, Silverhonor, now here. I lived and I would die being the man opposite of what Mom and Dad wanted: terrible and weak, unable to break the cycle.

    Not for himself, not for his sister. Not for anybody.

    [TEAM STATUS]

    INCAPACITATED: Conqueror

 [FOR TOMORROW] Chapter 5 - A Tomorrow Where Happiness Lives

    When Mom killed the doctor from Zhenlong, we no longer had a safe haven. The entire city was hostile. We couldn¡¯t enter any refugee camps in fear that we¡¯d be recognized and imprisoned. We had ostracized ourselves, forced to rough it out in monster-infested streets and with other survivors also unable to pierce the iron-fences.

    Guilt wracked Mom, not because she¡¯d taken a man¡¯s life, but because her mistakes might take her children¡¯s. I couldn¡¯t sugar-coat it: because of what she did, we perpetually lived in danger. The stress was eating at her, eating at Dad, and constantly any semblance of conversation devolved into biting arguments. Though, once, Mom suggested that she should turn herself in so we could be safe¡ªDad shouted her down.

    Despite the blood on their hands, they still loved and cared for each other, mistakes and everything in-between.

    Together, we held onto our shaky faith and repeated to ourselves a single wish: ¡°This outbreak will come to an end soon. It has to.¡± The world didn¡¯t fuck around with potentially apocalyptic events. They¡¯d send an overwhelming force to thin the breachers, and when the foreign troops came, that was when we could port.

    How wrong we were.

    At the time, we only knew Hangzhou as the ¡°Outbreak,¡± but soon it would become known as the ¡°Disaster.¡±

    It earned the moniker through a combination of reasons. Two big ones, really. First was the Chinese government who had a pesky little thing called ¡°pride,¡± stonewalling international aid and stubbornly insisting on their own competence. Although this was an unprecedented outbreak, China thought they could handle it by themselves. Simply put: no.

    The second occurred on day six of the Disaster¡ªtwo days after the incident at the camp¡ªwhich went by a special name in textbooks: Red Thursday. On that day, Hangzhou experienced the greatest number of breaches in its history, filling the city with enough breachers to populate a small town.

    Of the six-hundred-thousand deaths, one-fifth happened on Red Thursday.

    We survived through wit, strength, and dumb luck¡ªall at the cost of Dad losing two fingers, us having to climb over a street of corpses, and sleeping with half-a-dozen bodies in the dark.

    After Red Thursday, the Chinese government said that the outbreak was contained and stood its ground. Meanwhile, because of their decisions, the situation inside had gotten much worse. Camps were overrun, supply routes broken, civilians displaced, entire swaths of swords and rifles combat inoperable.

    Even if we turned Mom in, where? Would they care anymore? Would we still be safe?

    No, that was the answer to those questions.

    We had only ourselves to rely on after Red Thursday. The military and Slayers couldn¡¯t save us, the government would rather let a million more of its own citizens die than to willingly admit fault, and the outside world played with bureaucracy like how they did with lives. No one cared about us.

    No one will care about us.

    If¡­ If I could point to any one event that created the disillusioned, cynical asshole everybody knew and hated, it¡¯d be that.

    After Red Thursday, I became a different man. I was quieter. I was angry. Before, in the few fights I had participated in, my stomach twisted when spilling blood; now, I threw myself into the carnage. Breachers fell by my hands because I needed something to rip into¡ªto see their pain reflected in mine.

    ¡°Alex¡­¡± Dad called me after I finished beating the skull of some monster with a bat.

    I gave it one more whack. I wasn¡¯t being thorough. ¡°What.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s dead.¡±

    ¡°Y¡¯think I don¡¯t know that? I¡¯ve seen enough open chest cavities to be a freakin¡¯ heart surgeon¡ª!¡± I smashed the bat into the breacher¡¯s chest to prove my point.

    Dad said nothing, only looking toward Mom and Althea. Their expressions were lost on me, but at the time, I couldn¡¯t give a single shit what they thought.

    After that small ¡°conversation,¡± Mom and Dad stopped arguing. Didn¡¯t make things better, though. Hangzhou was still an active apocalyptic zone, death and risk of death everywhere. My mind, which had been occupied by silly thoughts like homework and high-school gossip, was wired to think in terms of risks, resources, and survival. This rationalization was forced onto me, and the bright world as I formerly knew it was coded under these metrics.

    I wasn¡¯t living, I was operating.

    We all were, in our own ways.

    Days passed. We never knew true peace for an hour. Hell, not even for a minute. Whenever we could, we ate and drank and rested, then we continued onward. We hid from mils and breachers, avoided survivors if we had to and stayed alone, and fought if there was no other choice. A few times, I recall, we fought people over supplies. It wasn¡¯t often, but it happened. After we drew the first cut, they saw the penchant of combat in our eyes and turned tail¡ªit was later in the Disaster that people got more desperate.

    I started to count the number of wounds I had collected; they were a doomsday clock ticking down to the mortal zero. Then, I noticed the timer on the rest of us. Mom and Dad were sprinting toward the end. Day-after-day, they¡¯d pushed themselves, surviving on meager sleep and rations in favor of saving their kids the pain. Seeing them like that, I never felt more ashamed to be their useless son.

    Helplessly, I watched as foreign blades drew more tallies on their skins. Every few hours, I noticed something new: a cut or a scratch I hadn¡¯t noticed before. Their shoulders slouched, they walked with a limp, their breaths open and loud. Resting became a fight in itself for them, as they tried to ignore their shackling debilitations.

    I was never a religious person, but I started to pray.

    Anyone who was watching us, God or the greater forces in the multiverse, take us out of this hellhole. Save Mom and Dad, transfer their pain onto me, and let them see the tomorrow they¡¯d crawled through their entire lives to have.

    Nobody answered.

    [TEAM STATUS]

    INCAPACITATED: Shen Xingyu

    When the last of the breachers were killed, we found Mom leaning against the broken stump of a streetlamp. A crossbow bolt was lodged deeply into the left side of her stomach. She grabbed the shaft protruding out, snapped it off, and tried walking only to stumble.

    ¡°Xingyu!¡± Dad exclaimed and stopped her from falling completely, smearing monster-blood over her arms and clothes. ¡°Careful, don¡¯t move¡ª¡±

    Mom coughed, biting the inside of her cheek to stop herself from voicing her pain. ¡°Enough¡­¡± She pushed Dad aside and stubbornly insisted on walking unassisted. That fell through after a couple steps, and she collapsed.

    We spent the rest of the day making a home out of a rummaged clinic. Dad decided to visit a nearby refugee camp that got overrun during Red Thursday; it was beyond risky, but he had to. For Mom. That left me and Althea to keep Mom company as she laid in the best bed we found, and she was forced to endure the constant and gnawing pain eating at her.

    She gasped, grinding her teeth, probably counting the seconds until the painkillers kicked in¡ªif they would even work. ¡°Kids¡­¡± she muttered weakly. ¡°This is¡­miserable.¡±

    ¡°Easy, don¡¯t move,¡± I said, scooting closer with a rolling-stool. ¡°You gotta save your strength when Dad comes back.¡±

    Thea nodded as she watched the window. ¡°D¡¯you want some water or¡ª?¡±

    Mom shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve¡­said and done horrible things. Unforgivable things. I¡­ I brought you into this damned city¡ª¡±

    ¡°Stop talking.¡± I¡¯d never order my mother around like that, but I hated how her words sounded. ¡°You promised we¡¯ll get through this together, alive.¡±

    The ¡°gentle¡± reminder brought a hollow smile to Mom¡¯s cracked and bleeding lips. ¡°...We will, but let your mother apologize for everything she¡¯s done. I¡¯ve let¡­my past demons take control of me¡­¡±

    Thea argued, ¡°Hey, that guy from Zhenlong or whatever¡ª¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I shouldn¡¯t have¡­¡± Mom laughed at herself and stared at the broken overhead light above. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have let you see how awful of a person I am¡ª¡±

    ¡°What the hell are you saying¡ª?!¡± (¡°Alex, quiet¡­¡±) ¡°¡ªI don¡¯t wanna hear this from you¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Alex¡ª!¡± Mom raised her voice by a little bit, and that slight change in decibel induced a coughing fit. Me and Thea stood from our seats, worried, but gradually the coughing died down. ¡°E-Even then¡­ I may be a terrible person, but I can still be a good mother. I can still¡­ I can still keep you kids from becoming like me.¡±

    We didn¡¯t know what to do with ourselves as Mom spoke, other than stand there silently.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let your heart turn black like mine¡­ Be more like your father, good and sensible. Normal. Please, this outbreak shouldn¡¯t take your smiles too¡­¡±

    The Disaster hadn¡¯t stolen them, but they never fully returned either.

    After the conversation, Dad returned with much-needed medical supplies¡ªa miracle¡ªand we patched Mom up as best as we could. It wasn¡¯t perfect. She needed proper medical care, else her condition might worsen from infection and other complications, but we had a few more days before another emergency sprang.

    We were on the move. Slower, this time, as more and more of the city fell to the outbreak. Things were getting worse; normally, I¡¯d add ¡°before they would get better¡± but when would that be? It seemed the days were becoming darker and the nights longer; a part of me didn¡¯t want to assume the worst, that this was the end of the world as we knew it.

    The night after Mom was injured, I couldn¡¯t sleep. Usually, the exhaustion would knock me right out but not tonight. No matter how much I twisted and turned, a trip to dreamland wasn¡¯t in the books. Instead, trying not to disturb the others, I walked into the other room¡ªwe¡¯d hid in another apartment¡ªand as it turned out, I wasn¡¯t the only insomniac.

    Well, I wouldn¡¯t say that. Dad had volunteered to stay up as the watchman. He sat next to the window, vacantly staring out into the smoky and bloody streets. His left hand was tightly bandaged, having two meaty stubs for fingers¡ªevery time I looked, nausea was injected into my belly.

    His clouded eyes drifted toward me, and he nodded as if understanding why I was up.

    I sat across from him.

    We enjoyed silence in each other¡¯s company, as much as we could ¡°enjoy¡± anything in this environment. Eventually, though, Dad had something to say: ¡°Your mother was right. From the beginning, I should¡¯ve taken it seriously. The outbreak is worse than any of us had imagined.¡±

    The flame-crusted buildings, corpses on the roads, our rumbling stomachs and parched throats¡ªyeah, it was bad, but¡­ ¡°It¡¯s the government¡¯s fault, I dunno. They aren¡¯t doing squat¡ª¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about. It¡¯s¡­¡± Dad looked down at his left hand, peering through the gap between his fingers. ¡°Your mother¡¯s in a bad shape. Look at you and Thea. I¡¯m hardly a man, let alone your father.¡±

    ¡°...We¡¯re surviving.¡±

    ¡°We are, but¡­¡± Dad sighed and rubbed his eyes, knowing his next words shouldn¡¯t be said. ¡°Never mind. But you know something? Your mother¡¯s the strongest person I know, and that includes your uncle. She¡¯s¡­ She¡¯s everything you should be.¡±

    I fiddled with my fingers. ¡°Strong?¡±

    ¡°Decisive. Strong. Everything. It¡¯s why I fell in love with her. If she can help it, we would leave the city without a single scratch on us. Hell, I want that too if I had the means, heh. That¡¯s why we got you on the mat early. You gotta be strong, Alex, so nobody can touch the people you love.¡±

    Only if the world itself stopped beating us down, then maybe I could do it.

    Yet for the rest of the night, I believed I could. I¡¯d get so strong that we would live blissfully in a hilltop mansion and want for nothing.

    Until the next day rolled over the crimson sky and erased everything I believed in and trusted.

    ***

    We were surrounded by flames. Wherever the roving, mad horde marched, they brought with them fire to raze the city and celebrate their arrival with destruction. Their cackling joined the popping embers, their silhouettes distorted in the firelight, and they arrived in Hangzhou in hundreds. Armored, organized, armed, with a menacing red glow enveloping their eyes. The unnatural energy trailed back to a cloaked figure, ragged and skinny, wielding a crooked staff that was no better than a thin branch on a tree.

    It was far, far more powerful than we were. Than most Slayers.

    There was a whisper in our ears, telling us to kneel before the strong and accept our fate as weaklings. If humans were good for one thing, it¡¯d be our stubbornness. We remained on our feet, but we were frozen at the raw sight of the force before us.

    Of all places in the city, it had to be here. We were the first witnesses, there when the portal first appeared and when the fires spontaneously combusted.

    ¡°An Eschaton,¡± Mom said, covering her mouth to protect from the smoke and ash. ¡°God help us¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Thea was clutching onto my sleeve, her entire body shaking. ¡°That¡¯s an Essie?!¡±

    Mom rapidly shook her head as she held her side. ¡°Bastien¡­ BASTIEN!¡±

    Dad stared ahead at the slow-marching horde, his despairing eyes counting the number of swords and clubs and dark, murderous eyes. ¡°Dear Lord¡­ We¡­ Run¡­ RUN!¡±

    I was running before I realized my legs were moving. Around us, the fires blazed and deadly laughter echoed throughout the whole block. ¡°Run!¡± they must¡¯ve said, ¡°Run like the vermin you are! Run to the ends of the world, it doesn¡¯t matter! Your end is here!¡± We were going to die. Simple as that. We were dead people walking. As soon as the Essie entered our world, it was game over.

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Dad screamed.

    He¡¯d fallen to the ground with an arrow sticking out from his calf.

    Mom yelled his name but her voice was drowned by the cheers and flames. Fearlessly, she ran back for him¡ªno, I knew Mom. She was afraid. Out of all of us, she felt the most fear, but the thought of losing her husband scared her more than losing her life.

    Dad struggled to crawl let alone stand, and he tried waving her off. ¡°TAKE THE KIDS!¡± he pleaded. ¡°THE KIDS, PLEASE¡ª!¡±

    She kept running.

    Althea and I were a few steps behind, but the distance between us and our parents was a difference of a canyon. Behind them were the horde, marching hardly in sync and their figures steadily growing with every stomp of their metalclad boots. We watched Mom lift Dad to his feet despite his protests.

    Together, agonizingly slow, they walked toward us.

    We weren¡¯t that far from them, and the same could be said for the breachers. The breachers didn¡¯t need to be close; all they had to do was rain down arrows or whatever else they had.

    As we ran, breathing in ash and letting our tears burn away in the heat, our parents looked behind them to see the tidal wave of hunters beginning to rise like a great tide. Something changed in Mom and Dad. The mortal fear in their eyes was gone, and their strained expressions finally relaxed after more than a week in the Disaster. They were not at peace, but they came to an answer.

    I knew what they were thinking, but a part of me pushed down the answer as far as I could bury it.

    Mom and Dad stood still.

    We caught up to them.

    ¡°What are you guys doing?!¡± Thea screamed at them. ¡°We gotta go now!¡± (No one said anything.) ¡°The Essie¡¯s gonna catch up with us, c¡¯mon! I¡ª!¡± Thea started to pull my arm. ¡°Say something, Alex¡ª! Alex?¡±

    Selfishly, you thought this was the best thing you could do.

    ¡°...We¡¯re not coming with you,¡± Dad told us first. His voice was soft and gentle like how I always remembered it. ¡°This is where the road ends for us.¡±

    You betrayed us. You said we would come back home together.

    Thea choked, ¡°What¡­?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll distract them long enough for you to escape,¡± Mom said, confident and with a pink smile too. ¡°Tell your uncle that we¡¯ll miss him. He¡¯ll raise you better than we could.¡±

    You knew you¡¯d hurt us in a way that could never be healed.

    An arrow smacked against the asphalt nearby.

    Dad refused to give the arrow any attention, and instead he directed it all on us. ¡°We¡¯re sorry we couldn¡¯t be better parents, but¡ª¡± Another arrow landed close. ¡°¡ªtake care of each other. You¡¯ll get through this.¡±

    You left us with a dark world.

    ¡°We will always be with you,¡± Mom swore. ¡°Before you know it, you¡¯ll be back home. So please, no matter what, survive. Do you understand, Alex?¡±

    You told us to survive, but¡­

    ¡°Take your sister and go.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t hear the fires anymore. I couldn¡¯t hear the breachers or the Essie, or my sister¡¯s sobbing voice. The world had shrunk down to the space that Mom and Dad occupied. They were bloodied but smiling. I blinked, and we were at home. They were waiting for me after a long day at school, smiling just like that, and we would have a long conversation about the most boring and mundane things as warm stew bubbled on the stovetop and scented pine candles burned on the table.

    The image corroded away.

    I grabbed Althea and left seventeen years of my life behind.

    You whispered to me one last time.

    ¡°We will always love you.¡±

    I ran as far as I could with my sister¡¯s fists beating into my back.

    I was screaming.

    Mom and Dad were gone.

    We lost everything.

    [Even if you¡¯ve lost everything, you still want to keep going.]

    Do you think my legs can take us any further?

    [For your mother and father. For your sister. For your uncle.]

    My family''s the only reason I wake up every morning. I''d be dead in the ground without them.

    [Take another step just for them.]

    But yet, why? We''re all heading down the path to misery.

    [Keep holding onto those you consider precious.]

    [Because¡­]

    [They are your treasures.]

    [Your Mementos.]

    That¡¯s when it happened. We [Awakened] to [Memento Recollection] and [Technique Sovereign] on the day our parents died.

    [So please, Alexander Shen, survive.]

    You appeared, Slayer System. You saw the tragedy play out for yourself, and you had to intervene.

    You wanted us to survive.

    ¡°Survive,¡± what a fucking word that was. What does it mean to survive? To run away at the smallest sign of danger? Be afraid of what lurked in the shadows or scared to wake up with a knife to your throat? To be kidnapped, be used as a pawn, as a labrat, to be executed first thing and painfully.

    We¡­ We had never stopped surviving since the Hangzhou Disaster.

    Why tell us to survive if our lives would end up like this?

    What¡¯s the point?

    Why should we even¡­?

    ¡°¡ªAlex!¡± someone called me. ¡°C¡¯mon, Alex!¡±

    I opened my eyes, feeling dirt crunch underneath my broken body. Uncle was reaching out to me. Behind him were soldiers emptying their magazines at some unknown enemy, and Lynn cradled Althea in her bloodied arms. Yup. You got so impatient that you had to rescue us yourself, Uncle Ali. You and a whole team of the finest operators.

    I was glad.

    You finally came to save us from this hell, but we hopped into a new one¡ª

    ¡°Open your eyes, Alex! Don¡¯t give up on me now! ALEX!¡±

    You¡­ That voice¡­ You aren¡¯t my uncle.

    You¡¯re¡­

    ***

    ¡°Leo¡­?¡± Hovering over me was¡­ It was an annoying-looking princess. She blocked out the sweltering sun, letting her bright amber eyes become the only light between us. What was with that look on her face? Was my handsome mug disfigured that much? She was ready to shed tears on my behalf.

    Imagine that. You arrived late to the party and started to cry about it, but despite everything, you still showed to help clean up the mess.

    ¡°Why¡­. Why are you here?¡±

    I never had a chance to stop and think, but that was a good question, wasn''t it? Why go this far for a family like us? For me? I had shoved you against a wall and spat acid in your face. You were the target of my misguided anger. We placed an immense burden on your shoulders and your aunt¡¯s. And yet, you thought we¡ªyou thought I should wear wings. What did you see in me that was so deserving of your trust? Your faith? What about Seraph? Rector? What about the rest of your team¡ª?

    ¡°Dumbass.¡±

    I know, princess.

    There was a war crying around us, with its tremors and endless devastation, yet Leo found a smile to give. It was the silliest, most unserious smile I¡¯d ever seen, but for an instant, her smile froze the awful world and rendered me the eternal subject of its fascination. It reflected a version of me that didn¡¯t exist, the sort of ¡°me¡± that lived only in dreams and fantasies¡ªit possessed the qualities I wished I had, the strength I never held, the futures I could never touch.

    That ¡°Alexander Shen¡± didn¡¯t exist, but Leo believed he did.

    She believed in the asshole laying on the ground.

    ¡°You think we¡¯ll leave you here, Conqueror?¡± Leo said. ¡°You¡¯re an Angel. You¡¯re stuck with us forever.¡±

    An Angel, huh¡­?

    You really believe a future like that exists for us, princess.

    I heard voices. Using what little strength I had, I pushed off my elbows and got myself sitting. (¡°Hey, don¡¯t push yourself¡ªah, dammit.¡±) In front of me was the strangest sight to wake up to: three icons of stupidity¡ªan orthodox cultivator, a confused shield-bearer, and an esper with a dozen [Pylons]¡ªfighting my mother and father. Chaos filled the empty space as [Skills] of all kinds were thrown around, and I couldn¡¯t tell which side was winning.

    Of course I¡¯d see them now.

    They could never leave me alone, even when I was at my worst.

    Those idiots.

    Leo laid a hand on my leg. ¡°They refused to leave you alone. Don¡¯t worry, I got Thea and your uncle out of here¡ª¡±

    [?¨‚¨€¨ƒ¨ƒ ?¨y¨‰¨€??¨‰¨€¨† ¨…]

    Something changed in Mom and Dad.

    [¨„?¨…? ¨† ¨x¨ƒ¨€¨‰¨{??¨‰¨€¨† ¨…]

    [¨‚¨€¨ƒ¨ƒ ¨y¨Š¨ƒ¨‰¨€??¨‰¨† ??]

    Before I saw what happened, Leo tackled me back to the ground, using her body to shield me from the blowback. Wind lashed at my hurting body, and a blanket of pebbles and gravel were thrown over our clothes. Through the smoke, I spotted three scattered swords hugging the asphalt, and their betters stood together at the center of the battlefield.

    The Alternates sported more bleeding wounds last time I saw them¡ªDad even more so¡ªbut they were stubbornly relentless just like the rest of their kind.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Leo shot to her feet and drew [Twin Heavens]. ¡°Stay back, Alex¡ª! Alex?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t let this farce go on for any longer.

    I couldn''t stay on the ground anymore.

    I... I can''t turn my back to everyone.

    I had to grow up.

    So I stood, all of me, bleeding inside and out.

    ¡°Stay the hell down, idiot!¡± Victor yelled at me where he laid, weighed down by his armor.

    Leo looked pissed, but she was letting her fear show through. ¡°Now you decided to get up?! Alex¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Thank you for everything, Leo.¡± I shambled forward, limping so badly that crawling would be faster, and passed the princess. ¡°You¡¯ve brought our crazy family this far and gave us something we desperately needed all this time."

    Her jaw tightened. "Alex¡ª"

    "Leave nothing unsaid or undone." I muttered. "I try to live by that, so I''m doing what I should''ve done a long time ago."

    Leo lowered her swords and let me pass.

    In spite of four fresh Slayers, I was the only one Mom and Dad saw.

    For the last time, they waited for their little boy, and he walked.

    "...I hate this," I said, my voice cracking through each and every word. "Tragic endings run in our family. Doesn''t matter what we do. We aren¡¯t given fortunes by working hard. We aren''t promised good things if our souls remain pure. No matter how much we sacrifice for our futures, life will take everything away in a heartbeat. So why do anything? Why... Why should we try? If life itself is against us, then why bother living?"

    I glanced at my stupid-ass friends on the ground, looking at me as I was suffering a mental break. Victor, Chunhua, Kotone, the idiots who¡¯d been bugging the strange corpo since the day they enrolled in Ordo University.

    "I... I wasn''t living. I wasn''t alive. What did I do back then? Keep my head low, run if things get tough, avoid the shadows, find some inoffensive job¡ªlive out the rest of my days believing I acquired ''peace.'' No, I couldn''t even do that right. Do you think I was ever at peace? No, I was... I''m terrified. I am terrified. Of everything. Life won''t give me that peace, I won''t give myself that peace, but what the hell do I want then? The world doesn''t want me to find happiness, and I''m fucking punished for trying."

    I inhaled and tried my best to not fall apart.

    I remembered.

    "The world took Lyressa''s memories from her, yet she''s still chasing after her past self. The world showed Jin Tianyou weakness, and he''ll rise above his family''s ruined reputation. The world wanted Nathan Hyun to die, but Angels Guild continues on for humanity. The world stole my life from me..."

    I...

    I am not a good man. I don''t have the means to protect everyone I love. I can''t see a future that doesn''t end bleakly. All roads for Alexander Shen will lead to tragedy.

    But¡­

    How many fictions have I told to myself and everyone I love?

    How many bad endings have I envisioned?

    How many times have I punished myself?

    How many fantasies have I imagined of a better life?

    How many people love me and want the best for me and say all these things about me¡ªdespite how much you beg them and tell them to stop and argue that they''re wrong¡ªwhat else can you do with yourself?

    What else can you do other than believing in them? Just a little bit?

    So I... I want to believe.

    In everything.

    From the beginning, Leo was right. She had always been right, and I never listened.

    I rose my head and met the shadows of Bastien Romanos and Shen Xingyu. "So I''ll take it. I''m taking my life back! I''ll be the man you always wanted me to become! I''ll be strong enough so nobody can steal from us! A life like that isn''t impossible! A good ending is out there, somewhere! If it''s us¡ªif it''s us!¡ªwe''ll create a tomorrow where happiness lives!"

    This is our story of happiness.

    [Open your heart, Alexander.]

    A bell rings, and an Angel receives his [Wings].

    They bloomed from my spine, bold and glorious and in ivory, extending the length of my shadow. My body was lighter, and my feet were tickling the asphalt. I extended my right arm and felt the comfortable wrapping of the hilt of an elementless [Sword], ornate and carried the markings of the Demonic Cult, whispering to me possibilities of [Azure] and [Divine].

    I flew, my blade pulled.

    Mom and Dad remained where they were.

    They had time to react.

    They had time to move.

    I reached them.

    ¡°To think¡­¡± Dad said, ¡°...we would have a son like you.¡±

    They allowed the [Sword] to slash through their bodies, spewing forth a fountain of gray blood that disappeared as soon as they touched the ground. I landed on the other side.

    Their faces, which had been shrouded in gray, were completely visible. My mother and father.

    Despite the different lives they¡¯d lived, they were still the greatest parents in the world.

    <Don¡¯t let us stop you, you pathetic boy,> Mom told me in Mandarin. <Go and conquer the world.>

    Those were their last words before, like the rest of the Alternates, their bodies turned to ash and left not a single trace.

    I dispelled [Conviction] and [Demonblade] and faced everyone: my friends, Leo, and Althea and Uncle who were climbing out of the woodworks. As much as I wanted to laugh and say a quippy joke, it seemed we didn¡¯t have the time.

    A voyeur hated my sense of comedy. Black cars, SUVs, and vans burned rubber down the street. Agents. That¡¯s why we hadn¡¯t seen the eight-fourteens yet. Dwyer had been holding everyone back until the Alternates were killed, even if that probably meant our lives.

    As international agents burst from their vehicles with drawn rifles and body armor, I still managed to muster a smile toward Thea and Uncle¡ªall the way until my face was shoved onto the asphalt.

    *

    [Event Commission ¡°Kidnapping at the Warehouse¡± has been completed]

    [You have been paid 250,000ssp]

    Event Commission: Kidnapping at the Warehouse

    Pay: 250,000ssp

    Description: No matter what Worldline you live in, Alexander, you always knew grief. So cry if you need to. Let it all out. Rage against the world and destroy everything that falls before your hands. You always had, so your heart wouldn''t grow numb to the pain. And so, in many of those Worldlines, you became greater than your tears. In many of those Worldlines, you fought for a better life. Push on, then, and be happy.

    [Two new Mementos have been created]

    Conviction

    Rank E

    Holder: Angels Guild

    Memento Type: Wings

    Description: The [Memento] of Angels Guild, taking the form of angel wings. Everyone in your team has their own reason for joining: protection, the truth, a home. For you, it¡¯s not so different: you¡¯re fighting against the idea of a tragic ending¡ªmore than that, you¡¯re fighting for a future brighter than the sun itself.

    Special Effect: You are capable of flight.

    Solitary Demonblade

    Rank E

    Holder: Leona Ryu

    Memento Type: Sword

    Description: The [Memento] of your Team Leader, taking the form of a demonic blade. She brought you into Angels Guild and helped your family that¡¯s almost impossible to repay. Most of all, she sees something in you that you can¡¯t necessarily see yourself. She might be crazy, but who knows? She could be scratching at gold. You¡¯re willing to take that gamble.

    Special Effect: N/A

 [FOR TOMORROW] Chapter 6 - Custody

    ¡°We have you in possession of illegal military-grade equipment and stimulants, which we presume you¡¯ve smuggled through customs; somehow, that¡¯s the best of it. You¡¯re associated with anti-world actors. Geddons, Mister Romanos. It doesn¡¯t take much prejudice to pass the title onto you and your children.¡±

    ¡°¡®Geddon¡¯...¡± Alistair whipped his head up, the thick muscles in his neck grinding together, doing his best to move his blood-crusted brown locks from his eyes. His broken glasses slid down on the bridge of his nose, yet he could see Agent Dwyer plain as day across the interrogation table. ¡°This is the first time someone has called me that.¡±

    ¡°Do they call you a ¡®hero¡¯?¡± Dwyer, with his stack of files, sat down and folded his arms on the cold metal surface.

    ¡°They called me worse.¡±

    Ali scooted forward in his chair, but the magical chains around his wrists and ankles restricted his mobility. Multiple locks rooted him to the concrete floor, making escape virtually impossible and adjusting annoyingly painful. These were for Slayers, not for a ren. Though, most humans wouldn¡¯t fearlessly battle a breacher.

    Dwyer chuckled, then his brief amusement dropped bitterly into resentment. ¡°From the garbage you brought into the Capital, you certainly are a grand joy.¡± He rapped his knuckles against the table. ¡°Look, Romanos¡ª¡±

    ¡°DId you give my kids any medical attention?¡± Ali asked, keeping his gaze still like a statue in a cathedral.

    ¡°It¡¯s coming,¡± replied Dwyer coldly. It wasn¡¯t. He was delaying aid to exploit their weak constitutions. A common tactic, but highly unethical and illegal in the most circumstances. Scum.

    Dwyer slid one of his files forward. ¡°I fully digested your biography since we last met.¡± Then he opened it, refamiliarizing himself with the material. ¡°Alistair Romanos, a decorated rifle. You went down the pipeline of Marine to MARSOC, then Otherguards Special Operations picked you up.¡±

    Ali pleaded the Fifth.

    Dwyer threw his file aside as though it was scrap paper. ¡°Let¡¯s not play this game, Master Sergeant. Sitting there and mean-mugging me will only tighten your manacles. As I see it, your freedom¡ªI know you Americans appreciate that bastardized concept¡ªit¡¯s quickly coming to a close. Smuggling weapons of incredible violence across international borders is, well, you know the prison sentence.¡±

    He tapped the table rhythmically like a ticking clock. Tap, tap, tap, tap.

    Ali didn¡¯t speak. He couldn¡¯t hear his own breathing or heartbeat. He might as well be a corpse.

    Dwyer licked his lips and adjusted his seat, taking a more authoritative posture. ¡°We have enough to arrest you and your children. They''ll be looking to spend more years behind bars than the civil world.¡±

    ¡°...It was six years ago,¡± muttered Ali, intentionally quiet.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You obtained your First Class designation six years ago. Since then, you¡¯ve handled numerous Black Orders. It¡¯s a privilege to meet just one, but you¡¯re ambitious.¡± (¡°What¡¯s your point¡ª?¡±) ¡°You believe your current station is inadequate.¡±

    His deduction was met with a genuine sarcastic laugh. Dwyer made a small gesture with his hand and looked to the walls as if gauging a similar reaction from a ghost. ¡°You¡¯re talking nonsense¡ª¡±

    ¡°Why would a malie spearhead an investigation against Angels Guild?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s our jurisdiction. Those¡­¡± Dwyer struggled for words and subsequently gave up. ¡°...Things aren¡¯t regular breachers.¡±

    ¡°Yet you¡¯re personally interrogating suspected geddons, not international criminals. You¡¯re overstepping your boundaries far beyond your scope of work¡ª¡±

    ¡°Quiet.¡± A powerful finger was thrusted over the table like a pistol. ¡°You should be more concerned with your own situation¡ª¡±

    ¡°I would go insane if I had yours,¡± Ali said, simply, and with those few words he¡¯d forced the agent into silence. ¡°You¡¯re trekking into new territory, beyond Angels. Right now, you have a washed-up rifle and his kids, the second-in-line of the Ryu Family, the son of an airship captain, an exiled cultivator from the Maolin Sect, and an esper who might rival Hunter.¡±

    Dwyer smirked and glanced at his files, already familiar with his list of prisoners. ¡°And¡ª?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so focused on your enemies that you forgot how you¡¯re sitting in that chair.¡± Ali lifted his arms as best as possible to push his glasses up. ¡°Your friends.¡±

    The bastard¡¯s pupils were whittled into shivering dots, and underneath the table, his pristine dress shoes shifted and accidentally bumped into Ali¡¯s boots. In a moment of panic, Dwyer retracted his feet but maintained his well-practiced facade, letting his eyes return to normal and responding only by moving a confident hand to his lips.

    He responded, ¡°Yes, I¡ª¡±

    ¡°You''re not the only one aiming for a promotion, but you¡¯re the only one willing to take this challenge. Everybody¡¯s watching as they pray for Angels Guild¡¯s downfall, but more than that, they¡¯re praying for yours first. They don¡¯t want you to succeed¡ª¡±

    ¡°So what?!¡± Dwyer coughed after raising his voice, and he tugged at his collar, cursing himself for his outburst. ¡°So what? Are you suggesting they¡¯ll sabotage me?¡±

    Ali looked down at the assorted files of everyone arrested: himself, Alexander¡¯s friends, Leo. ¡°No. With this large of an investigation, all they have to do is wait for you to make a mistake. I think this as bad as a mistake as any, enough to compromise your entire team and have them feed intel to your ¡®friends.¡±

    "They''re loyal¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Do you really believe that when you crossed so many powerful people? Believe me, Agent Dwyer, there are very few real friends you can make in this career. As we speak?¡± Ali addressed the metal door sealing him from the outside world. ¡°Because you haven¡¯t given my kids any medical attention yet, your ¡®agents¡¯ might already be reporting this violation. That alone will shut down your investigation in its tracks. As it stands?¡±

    Alistair widened his bloody lips and showed his pink, ravenous teeth. "You angered everyone in the city. You''re fucking done. Your friends are writing your resignation letter on your behalf."

    On the table, Dwyer had his hands rested against the surface. They were clenched, knuckles white, before suddenly returning to his lap. His right hand seemingly patted at his pocket, his phone perhaps, and his gaze was directed toward the floor. Failure visibly occupied his headspace, straining the muscles and wrinkles on his cheeks. It wasn¡¯t the mere thought of failure; it was absolute failure. The thought of decades of work and survival gone just like that.

    His life would be ruined.

    His life was ruined.

    ¡°...Dammit.¡± Dwyer quickly rose to his feet and snatched his files underneath his armpit.

    He left the room.

    ***

    When I opened my eyes, I half-expected to wake up in Hell. Instead, I woke up in a steel box with my arms and legs chained to the floor, trapping me to the most uncomfortable chair in the world. Alright, I''ll take it back. This really might be Hell.

    I couldn¡¯t observe my surroundings much. My vision was so damned blurry, and it hurt to lift my neck more than a couple inches. The pain was getting to my head. My consciousness faded in and out, yet the scene remained the same: an empty steel chamber with me, a bare table, and an unoccupied chair.

    Until someone¡¯s hands fell on my shoulders.

    ¡°Hold still,¡± the mysterious stranger said next to me. ¡°I¡¯m mending your wounds with mana.¡±

    The healer¡ªdid they really give me a healer?¡ªwas a good one. I physically felt the mana dragging the pieces of my body back together and sealing the cracks: cuts on my skin, fractures in my bones, and whatever else was wrong with me. Normally, that would cause an immense amount of pain but the healing must¡¯ve nullified that too. By the time she was done, she was audibly panting and her skin was paler than before.

    Personally, I still felt like shit, but I wasn¡¯t dying. It wasn¡¯t too different compared to when I first got injured after fighting Alternate Seraph.

    ¡°Alright¡­¡± The healer walked to the side of the table, hunched over and letting her sweaty hair fall over her small eyes. ¡°Standard mana healing rules apply. Let your body absorb the healing and avoid physical activity, unless you want to hurt yourself all over again.¡±

    She wiped her lips using a sleeve then approached the door. Before she left me to rot in this cell, she had one last thing to say: ¡°Good luck.¡±

    The door swung open and she jumped a few feet in the air. Standing on the other side was a tired, bruised eight-fourteen who¡¯d been waiting for an autograph: Dietrich. He whispered something and the healer nodded, kept her head low, and sped away.

    Dietrich rolled his eyes and took her spot in the room, except he wasn¡¯t going to heal me. Probably the opposite. He thought about sitting down but instead, he grabbed the back of the chair and let his head drop against the metal. He groaned.

    I sat there. ¡°Long day?¡±

    ¡°Shut up,¡± he exhaustedly fought and picked himself up. ¡°Dwyer doesn¡¯t know I¡¯m here, but he has bigger things to worry about. Like your friend, Victor. His daddy¡¯s bringing a storm.¡±

    Looks like they couldn¡¯t leverage Father Taslim¡¯s position in the military. I said, ¡°You brought that onto yourself. What government would allow a blatant political attack on their military?¡±

    Dietrich gave me jazz-hands. ¡°It¡¯s Dwyer¡¯s problem now. One conversation with your uncle and he completely fell apart. About fifteen minutes ago, he chewed my head out for¡ªah, nevermind. I¡¯m gossiping like a schoolgirl.¡±

    I see. Guess Dwyer had spoken with Uncle first, which was his first and fatal mistake. Whenever you sat at a table with my uncle, there were realistically only two outcomes: he¡¯d either grab a pistol and shoot you, or he¡¯d hand you the iron so you could do it yourself. Dwyer had chosen the latter, whether he realized it or not.

    His dream, capturing half-a-dozen Angels, became his worst nightmare.

    Made sense. With our collection of weirdos, he basically armed a political nuke and strapped it to himself.

    Now there was Dietrich.

    ¡°...Okay.¡± I shook my chains to make a point. ¡°If gossiping is your idea of torture, it¡¯s working.¡±

    He sensed the invisible question: ¡°Why the hell are you even here?¡± Dietrich sighed and rolled an invisible gumball inside his mouth. ¡°Back there, when the first breacher attacked, why did you save me? Did you want good credit or¡­?¡±

    ¡­Right, I did do that. I¡¯d pulled Dietrich from harm¡¯s way before Dad would¡¯ve killed him.

    ¡°I¡¯m not that clever,¡± I told the questioning eight-fourteen. ¡°I don¡¯t have a reason either. Maybe, to soothe both our consciences, I¡¯d rather keep our body count as low as possible. On that note, how¡¯s everybody else? Any¡­ Any fatalities?¡±

    Dietrich paused for a second, and my heart dropped to my waist. ¡°...Fortunately, no one was killed. We¡¯re blessed for that.¡±

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    I sighed in relief¡ªmy life had sunk so low lately, huh? Being relieved that no internationals were killed. Most anti-government punks would burn me at the stake for doing that. ¡°I wish nobody had to get hurt, but here we are. That begs the question, though: what now?¡±

    Dietrich said nothing.

    ¡°I¡¯m not expecting you to return the favor; hell, give me a reason to regret my decision, I don¡¯t care. You do you. My uncle already did his part.¡± In other words, if Dwyer was self-destructing, it was a matter of time before we would be released.

    I think Dietrich reached the same conclusion too. He should¡¯ve. He witnessed his ¡°superior¡± breaking down in real-time due to being overambitious, which meant all the outside pressure would collapse inward. Ordo, the military, Angels Guild, even the International Agency and Anomaly Bureau.

    If he was smart, he¡¯d start cutting ties and shifting blame.

    After some time, Dietrich said, ¡°Whatever happens, happens. If you fuck up further, we¡¯ll know and we¡¯ll can you, properly this time.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t have to wait long in that case.¡±

    ***

    It was generally difficult to imprison Slayers, for both their ability to use [Skills] and their unrestricted access to the System. For the former, they had anti-magic equipment; for the latter, you needed twenty-four-seven monitoring to ensure your swords wouldn¡¯t contact anyone unscrupulous.

    Too bad my captors were too busy with office drama.

    I wasn¡¯t the one who thought about opening the System, though.

    [Private Message - Celestial Empress]

    [Celestial Empress]

    Conqueror, report in.

    Seeing the message first, I was more confused than surprised. Leo should be in the same position as me: chained to the chair, floor, table, everything. She couldn¡¯t type, but I remembered you could dictate your texts in the System. Yeah, my brain wasn''t exactly operating at peak efficiency right now. But with this feature, the System functioned better than your phone. Could just whisper and it¡¯d understand.

    I eyed the walls like the agents could see right through, but I risked it anyway.

    [Conqueror]

    I¡¯m alive.

    [Celestial Empress]

    Thank goodness. Did you get healed?

    [Conqueror]

    Mostly.

    [Celestial Empress]

    I guess my suspicions are true. Dwyer¡¯s melting down from the pressure. I heard some shouting when one of the agents checked up on me.

    [Conqueror]

    Thank my uncle for that. He squirmed his way in Dwyer¡¯s head. Dietrich told me himself.

    [Celestial Empress]

    Dietrich told you? What did he want?

    [Conqueror]

    Nothing. He¡¯s seeing how disastrous this stunt is turning out and probably prepping a rough exit to save his skin.

    [Celestial Empress]

    That¡¯s what happens when you attack not only Angels Guild but also the military and the Demonic Cult. Even by my standards, this was ballsy.

    [Conqueror]

    Ha, speaking of¡­ Mind if I ask something?

    [Celestial Empress]

    Confessing already? I know your new sword is my memento.

    She was too smart for me. Too smart and too full of herself.

    [Conqueror]

    Mhm, I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯re drugged or delusional, but I wanted to ask about the three musketeers. Why did you bring them?

    [Celestial Empress]

    That¡­

    After your uncle decided to go in alone, we were stuck in a hard place. We knew whoever we sent as reinforcements, they¡¯d get picked up by the internationals. For that reason, we couldn¡¯t bring Sage, Firebrand, or Rei. Problem was with Sophos. That left me, and I can¡¯t fight an Alternate alone let alone two. Until my inbox was bombarded by a hundred messages.

    [Conqueror]

    Vic?

    [Celestial Empress]

    Correct!

    I figured it was him. Chunhua wouldn¡¯t dare reach out to a demonic cultivator, and Kotone was too timid for that.

    [Celestial Empress]

    Victor told me what was going on in his family, and despite the drama, he wanted to help.

    [Conqueror]

    That led to you contacting Chunhua and Kotone, yeah?

    [Celestial Empress]

    Mhm. We laid our cards out, and they didn¡¯t hesitate to help. You have good friends, Alex. I wish I had friends from college, but some things don¡¯t work out.

    Yeah, only they would be stupid enough to put themselves in the Global Union¡¯s crosshairs; not only that, in the crosshairs of many organizations across the world. They were the second-biggest idiots in the world, just inches behind the idiot they saved.

    Without them, without Leo, I wouldn¡¯t have the will to stand again. I¡­

    [Conqueror]

    ¡­I wasn¡¯t at my best back there.

    [Celestial Empress]

    Name someone who¡¯d be peachy with fighting a monster version of their parents.

    [Conqueror]

    Jin Tianyou.

    [Celestial Empress]

    Okay, I should¡¯ve set the bar higher.

    That doesn¡¯t matter. Just tell me something, Alex. Do you really mean what you said?

    I didn¡¯t hesitate.

    [Conqueror]

    I want to. I want to figure it out.

    [Celestial Empress]

    Haha.

    Guess that makes both of us.

    Leo went dark after that.

    I waited in that cell for a couple more hours, having no one to talk to other than my own boring thoughts. During that time, I didn¡¯t receive any [PMs] or any further guests. Only at the end of the two hours that the door finally creaked open and natural light flickered through the crack.

    Dietrich again, accompanied by two other agents. He nodded in my direction. The agents walked in and undid my restraints lock-by-lock. Each satisfying click lightened a pressure I didn¡¯t know was applied, and as the chains thumped onto the floor, an euphoric sense of freedom rushed through my head.

    Once everything was all find and dandy, I carefully stood, being assisted by the agents so I wouldn¡¯t topple over the table. My legs¡­ They weren¡¯t buckling under my weight. That¡¯s a good sign.

    ¡°Time to head home,¡± said Dietrich, and he guided me to the light.

    As I stepped out the heavy and thick door, I saw that we were in a warehouse not dissimilar to the one we had fought in¡ªexcept it was ten times cleaner and organized. The command center. Where we were at, they¡¯d set up a host of temporary interrogation chambers in the back corner. High-tech for what it was, as I couldn''t hear anything beyond the walls.

    My cell was one of seemingly ten, maybe more, and I didn¡¯t know if anyone else was still inside. Then, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I was being watched. More specifically, watched by an army of agents, Ordoian and international.

    The rest of the warehouse was dedicated to the investigation. Agents stood behind, in front of, and around islands of messy plastic tables, their roughened dress shoes kicking against snaking wires and fallen pens and pencils. They stared at me with questioning looks and pushed-up glasses and pursed lips. Some had more: anger and frustration, resignation, defeat, and I swore one of them was smiling.

    Dietrich didn¡¯t allow me to stay and gawk, as him and his friends corralled me toward the nearest exit. Not through their cobbled-together office floor¡ªno perp walk, unfortunately¡ªbut out the back.

    I was the last to join the party. Figures. Leo and Althea had been talking¡ªI see the agents had given Thea treatment too¡ªwhile Uncle was interrogating my friends. As he was the only human here, his injuries were patched the old-fashioned way. Chunhua, meanwhile, was noticeably trying to avoid the gaze of a certain princess.

    When I came along to interrupt their fun, they all turned toward the big damn doofus. I joined them, saying nothing because no words came to mind, and it was the most awkward second of my life.

    Before we could break the silence, Dietrich loudly smacked his lips like he was tapping an imaginary microphone. ¡°You got lucky this time. All of you.¡±

    ¡°Does Dwyer not know?¡± Thea asked.

    He shrugged. ¡°I have my orders, and he has his.¡± The International Agency must¡¯ve told him to release us underneath Dwyer¡¯s nose. Guess they were going to shove this pile of shit to the Anomaly Bureau. Try to, anyway. Wonder how that will work out.

    Victor spoke up, ¡°What happens now?¡±

    ¡°Ask your daddy that.¡± Dietrich then eyed us, the full-time Angels. ¡°Or your new employers. You kids made your beds, so from here on out, lay in them¡ª¡°

    Suddenly between our two factions, a purple magic circle was being etched onto the asphalt by an invisible pen. We backed off and observed. Within three seconds, the entire formation was impeccably drawn. It glowed brightly, blinding my still-sensitive eyes, and a low hum vibrated my fragile bones.

    Once the light faded, Morgan stood at the center, hood shrouding his youthful face. The circle remained, his creation. I¡¯d never seen a teleportation circle before but it was the right choice. Scrolls, like what Uncle had likely used, were one-use and couldn¡¯t teleport a large group.

    Morgan looked between the internationals and his Angels, and through a small nod, he seemed happy that we were alive. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to make a dramatic entrance, but I¡¯m not against these theatrics.¡±

    Dietrich sarcastically bowed his head. ¡°I thought I would meet Ordoian royalty.¡±

    ¡°Agent Dietrich, aren¡¯t you?¡± Morgan visibly resisted the urge to spit in his face. ¡°Unfortunately, you¡¯re meeting me and I despise the thought of diplomacy. With that said: you should lose your career, your mother¡¯s a whore, and not even a monkey in a dress would fuck you. Anyway, come on, Angels. I don¡¯t want to spend a second longer in this damned place.¡±

    ¡­Didn¡¯t know he had that in him, but alright, we squeezed together inside the magic circle.

    But Dietrich had one final thing to say, ¡°Hold on a sec¡ª!

    The teleportation circle had the last word.

    ***

    To nobody¡¯s surprise, we found ourselves in Angels Headquarters Hospital. It¡¯d been quite some time since I last found myself here. By that, a few days ago when Seraph punched my ticket. We didn¡¯t get a chance to unwind from the incident, because our teleportation was anticipated by a crew of medical personnel.

    The next hour was a blur of procedures and questions as doctors and healers assessed our conditions. For us Slayers, the healers finished the internationals¡¯ patchwork; Uncle Ali had to move to another room for his treatment. The check-up also included a thorough inspection to ensure the internationals didn¡¯t leave any ¡°traces.¡± The thought hadn¡¯t crossed my mind, but fortunately they didn''t place any trackers on us.

    Once we were given an all-clear, we reconvened in one of the larger patient rooms. The room was filled with chatty people, but nobody was talking. It was almost completely silent. We coughed and scratched at our gauze and bandages. We understood the conversation didn''t start until Rector or Morgan arrived; thus, in place of dialogue, I scrolled through my phone.

    Every social media platform was blowing up about the recent news but not because of the recent breakthrough. The focus was on the internationals. Word spread that they¡¯d ¡°unjustly arrested¡± a team of Angels¡ªone of which being Empress¡ªand the son of an airship captain under the suspicion of apocalyptic activities. To many pundits, this was the ¡°grossest act of persecution they¡¯d seen¡± which was definitely a fucking lie, but dramatics got clicks.

    Yeah, it took a real genius to piss off a top ten castle, an entire country, and one of the continental superpowers in Asia. Like I said, political nuke.

    However the news was leaked, Rector and Seraph definitely had a part to play. They¡¯d got ahead of the story and established the narrative before the Union could. Even if Uncle Ali hadn¡¯t got into Dwyer¡¯s head, the public attention would¡¯ve nailed his coffin anyway.

    After scrolling for far too long, the door opened and in came the youngest Slayer in history: Morgan. We stood at attention. He levitated to the front of the room, and through his hood, he took attendance with his eyes. ¡°Good afternoon, everyone, we¡¯re alive. Some of us have more scars than others, but I count that as a victory.¡±

    Morgan looked at the weirdest family in the room. ¡°I, erm, Sophos and I never anticipated that the Mother would base her chimeras off of your family, Shens.¡±

    Victor put a hand close to his mouth. ¡°Shit, those breachers were actually your parents? It¡¯s like Seraph then?¡±

    Chunhua followed, ¡°And Zhu Xinyue?¡± (Kotone gave us an awkward but encouraging thumbs-up.)

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± I started, the memories lodging my throat, ¡°...it¡¯s alright. I can¡¯t say I completely made my peace¡ªthat¡¯s not something you can achieve in a single day¡ªbut I¡¯ll work for it. You have my arms, as banged-up they are, but send my good wishes to Rector and Seraph for me.¡±

    Morgan hummed, then he looked at Thea and Uncle. They nodded. One of these days, I was going to have their mental strength. Maybe then, I¡¯d stop bitching so much¡ªnah, I think complaining was going to be a lifelong trait of mine.

    ¡°Excellent,¡± said Morgan, and I sensed a sympathetic smile underneath his hood. ¡°We might need your arms again.¡±

    Leo¡¯s expression flashed with alarm and she stepped forward. ¡°Hold on, Problem, Alex barely got through this incident¡ª!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not my choice,¡± he stopped her. ¡°Sophos is nearly finished with her machinations and explicitly ordered for Conqueror. I don¡¯t know why, but if she requests his presence, then who are we to deny her?¡±

    Leo quietly cursed to herself in Korean and crossed her arms. Of all people to defend me, I thought Uncle or Althea would get the first word in.

    Althea got the second, ¡°Can you take a guess?¡±

    Morgan sighed. ¡°I can only assume it¡¯s precisely because of your brother¡¯s work. Out of everyone, only he witnessed every Alternate since Primordial Plaza.¡± (¡°So we were correct¡­¡± Chunhua muttered.) ¡°Angels, Martials, Glory, and then your family.¡±

    Wait, Morgan was right. I was present for all Alternate encounters since I joined Angels. Then¡­ Then, couldn¡¯t I put the pieces together myself?

    Before I went down the rabbit hole, Morgan had something else to mention: ¡°And¡­ Sophos did say one thing, and it doesn¡¯t seem to be a joke.¡±

    He paused, seemingly debating if he should even reveal it. When he came to a decision, he looked at me through the darkness of his hood.

    ¡°She said you¡¯re the ¡®real mastermind behind the crisis.¡¯¡±

    [Complete: Part 5 - For Tomorrow]

    [Next: Final Part - For Stars]

 [FOR STARS] Chapter 1 - The Mastermind?

    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to walk with us, Alexander,¡± Chunhua jokingly chastised me, but her words came far too late.

    Right now, I should be making my last preparations for the last stage of the crisis. However, I had loose ends to wrap up. That¡¯s why I tagged along with Morgan to escort these idiots to the Wings, where they would have a fateful meeting with the Vice Guild Master, our boss. We were on the top floor, a handful feet away from the heavy doors.

    My presence calmed their nerves I think; otherwise, I imagine they¡¯d be shaking in their boots.

    ¡°It¡¯s technically my fault that you¡¯re here,¡± I said, gesturing toward their new and probable employment. ¡°It¡¯s your decision to thank or scorn me, but I didn''t want to disappear without saying thank you first. In-person.¡±

    Victor chuckled and patted my back; I did my best to hold in a sore hiss from leaving my lips. ¡°Hey man, no thanks necessary. You''d do the same thing for us.¡±

    ¡°Begrudgingly, but yeah.¡± My not-so-subtle eyes drifted toward the cultivator before coming back to Vic. ¡°You also know me better than that. I¡¯m not leaving anything unsaid, so again, thanks for saving our asses.¡±

    Kotone innocently held her hands behind her back. ¡°Does this mean you¡¯re willing to treat us to a home-cooked dinner?¡±

    I rolled my eyes, already regretting my decision. ¡°First of all, I don¡¯t have an apartment anymore; and second, I thought getting you an interview with Rector was enough, but fine, you greedy glutton.¡± (¡°Hehe.¡±)

    Chunhua looked slightly annoyed with Kotone¡¯s asking but smiled it off. ¡°Regardless¡­ I¡¯m glad you finally found a place for yourself. Your skin never glowed this brightly before.¡±

    Morgan chimed, ¡°That might be the intense healing magic he endured.¡±

    I gestured at the kid. ¡°What he said: magic radiation, but let''s pretend it''s good vibes. For once, I think I¡¯m finally going down the right path in my life. One step at a time, though. One step at a time. We still have to unravel the mystery and figure out exactly what the hell Sophos meant.¡±

    ¡°Tell us how that turns out, because uh¡­¡± Victor made a tense expression. ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡±

    Yeah, hearing that I was the ¡°real mastermind¡± was¡­ Well, we all assumed it was a hyperbole but it was Sophos¡ªthere had to be some element of truth.

    I said, ¡°We¡¯ll figure it out.¡±

    Kotone brought up, ¡°Are we allowed to know in the first place?¡±

    ¡°That depends entirely on your meeting,¡± said Morgan. ¡°If Primordial Plaza acted as a crossroads for Conqueror, then tonight is yours. Whatever choice you seize in the end, make peace with any regrets. Make no mistake, you came through for your friend. You¡¯ll be rewarded for that alone.¡±

    Victor, Chunhua, and Kotone shared excited yet nervous looks. Morgan was right. Personally, I hope Seraph and Rector would offer them a spot on the team. All of them. They deserved it, and I wouldn¡¯t mind fighting side-by-side with these dorks for the next few years. Vic always had aspirations for Angels, and for the girls, it''d be a better alternative than Martials Guild.

    This would work out for everyone¡¯s benefit, but my perspective was narrow-minded compared to my bosses¡¯.

    We could only hope and dream.

    Morgan spoke up, ¡°We¡¯ll leave you with that. It¡¯s time for us to entertain that damned genius.¡±

    ¡°Alright, well, we¡¯ll see you soon, man.¡± Victor gave me a quick hug and patted my shoulder a couple times.

    ¡°Get an autograph for me.¡± Kotone was next.

    ¡°Take care of yourself.¡± Then finally Chunhua.

    ¡°Don¡¯t embarrass yourself too much,¡± I told them, and we parted ways.

    As we entered the elevator, they approached the door to the Office of the Guild Masters. Just as the elevator doors closed, theirs opened.

    ¡°Finally.¡± Morgan finally let his hood down. He shook his moppy purple hair and ran a hand through the knots. ¡°You¡¯ve made interesting friends, Alex.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s one way to describe them.¡± I put my hands in my pockets, watching the number on the display tick down. ¡°What about you? I imagine studying under Master Alzahrani was more of a hostile environment than a warzone.¡±

    Morgan watched the display with me. ¡°Quite the opposite, actually. Intense, but not hostile. During my time, Master Alzahrani had one other student: Elaine Sung. I¡¯m ashamed to admit it, but she¡¯s far stronger than I am and I''m plenty powerful already. Addressing your original question though, our relationship is too combative to be ¡®friends.¡¯¡±

    ¡°What is she doing now?¡±

    ¡°Living a life you used to have, actually.¡± Morgan laughed, scratching the corner of his lips. ¡°After everything, she resigned herself to a small desk in Korea, writing novels of fantasies and fictions. Who knows, perhaps she¡¯ll reawaken to her former ambitions just like you. God helps us all if she does.¡±

    ***

    The current team was this: myself, Empress, Problem, Firebrand, Sage, and the indomitable Rei. Althea and Uncle Ali returned back ¡°home¡± (Leo¡¯s apartment) to rest, and the other three obviously had business with the GMs.

    Sophos wasn¡¯t currently in the city but outside the walls, working in a secret off-site facility that was hidden to the world via magical means. We couldn¡¯t simply drive a car or fly a helicopter inside. Instead, we had to enter via porting.

    Chie and Morgan had established a chain-teleport system that would get us there. We could actually perform a single teleport as we had both the permissions and the coordinates, but that was easily trackable. By performing multiple teleports in the span of a second or two, it should theoretically scramble our footsteps and make it nearly impossible for anyone to pinpoint our destination. There were more nuance and anti-tracking measures to that, but this was the general gist I¡¯d obtained.

    The chain-teleport system took a lot of energy and put pressure on the body. I was most at risk given my injuries and high mana concentration in my blood, but given the urgency, we couldn¡¯t afford to wait. Morgan made me swallow some pills that should hopefully prevent my body from ¡°getting pulled apart.¡±

    For safety reasons, we teleported in pairs. First up was me and Leo¡ªat this point, she was less of a TL and more of a nanny, though she¡¯d argue the roles were the same. The chain-teleport was like experiencing a rave and a rollercoaster at the same time. My vision was bombarded by flashing, colorful lights and my innards were turned inside out. It was an intense and eternal second but soon my feet touched hard ground.

    We were at the facility¡¯s ¡°lobby¡± so-to-speak, but instead for a large grand door, it was a teleportation stage. The decorations were replaced by large and snaking wires creating a quilt across the floors and walls, and the lights cold and clinical. Geniuses stood behind machines and monitors, paying no special mind to the arriving Angels.

    I hunched over, nausea filling my stomach but that was the extent of it. Leo brought me off the teleportation stage. As I slowly recovered, the rest of the team ported in: Rei and Aiden, then Chie and Morgan. Once we were all accounted for, one of the geniuses acted as our dutiful guide to lead us to the queen of the castle.

    The facility was alive by electricity only, not necessarily life. All the doors were shut and I couldn¡¯t hear any movement inside; probably a feature. A few windows revealed where we were: in the middle of a forest which might be an illusion in itself. Despite the facility being run by an eccentric genius, it was dressed like an asylum where the boring aesthetic was the point.

    ¡°This is where we first conducted the experiment,¡± Morgan told me and Rei. ¡°To end up back here is annoyingly poetic.¡±

    ¡°Hopefully, we won¡¯t encounter a second Mother,¡± I said. ¡°Rei can take care of her anyway.¡±

    A question mark formed above Rei¡¯s head. ¡°Uhm, is that why I feel something here?¡±

    ¡°Is it the same vibe you get with the breachers?¡± Aiden asked, careful with his language around the guide.

    Rei awkwardly shifted. ¡°Yes and no¡ªit¡¯s hard to explain.¡±

    ¡°Strange,¡± pondered Morgan, ¡°the experiment was months ago, but they¡¯re starting something new. Keep monitoring yourself, Rei, and tell us if anything changes.¡±

    ¡°I will, senpai!¡±

    Eventually, the guide led us to visibly the only used room in the entire facility, inhabited by three voices and one of them was the grandma who''d gave the order. We walked inside, saw mechanical parts and scribbled scrolls and candy wrappers on the tables and counters. The walls had laminated scientific and magical informational posters with some having annotations. Every cabinet had peeling labels, every stool and cushioned chair sported cracks, and every genius inside stopped speaking to look at us instead.

    There she was, Sophos, sitting there like royalty. A royally hot mess. Her labcoat was lazily slipping off her shoulder, and her messy gray hair was sloppily tied. Despite the clear exhaustion weighing her eyes down, the excitement within was clearer than a white pond. Assuming she had solved the mystery of the Alternates, the satisfaction and promise fueled her tiny body better than caffeine could.

    ¡°Told you!¡± she exclaimed sing-songy and waved her two subordinates off. ¡°Go and take care of your parts. I need to host these Angels.¡±

    The two geniuses grumbled and left the room, making sure to shut the door on the way out.

    Rei stiffened. ¡°This¡­ This is Guild Master Sophos?¡±

    Sophos hopped off her chair and proudly stood. ¡°That¡¯s correct, Amamizu Rei! I am the beautiful Sophos¡ª¡± (¡°She¡¯s short¡­¡±) ¡°¡ªpardon?¡±

    Half of us nearly burst out laughing but we managed to rein ourselves in.

    ¡°Hmph.¡± The genius flipped her gray hair, then put a hand on her hip. ¡°I see you¡¯re already spreading your indecent work culture onto your newest recruit. Whatever. I¡¯ll torture the boy later regardless.¡± (¡°Eh?!¡±) ¡°I¡¯m sure you all have questions for me.¡±

    Morgan and I exchanged an amused look. We had multiple questions. The two biggest questions were: what was Sophos planning to end the crisis? And why did she say I was the ¡°real mastermind¡±?

    ¡°¡®Why, oh, why, did this crazy woman accuse Conqueror of being a geddon? Is she as bad as this Agent Dwight?¡¯¡± Looks like Sophos read our minds, and I wasn''t going to correct her mistake. ¡°It¡¯s actually quite reasonable once you think about what transpired in the past week.¡±

    ¡°¡®Reasonable¡¯? That¡¯s not¡ªwhat?¡± Chie fought, shaking her head. ¡°Sophos, you can¡¯t just accuse one of us of¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Shh, don¡¯t get so worked up.¡± Sophos patted her head a couple times. ¡°Trust your teacher. She knows what she¡¯s talking about.¡± (¡°Most of the time,¡± Morgan grumbled.) ¡°Oh quiet, you¡¯re more of a child than my Chie is.¡±

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    Leo started tapping her foot. ¡°Can you stop dancing around the subject and explain?¡±

    ¡°I could explain, mhm, however¡ª!¡± Sophos spun around on her feet like a drunk skater. She stumbled, fell back on a counter, but recovered into a fancy pose and winked. ¡°I think Conqueror should explain.¡±

    I pointed at myself. ¡°You want me to defend myself from an accusation you made¡ª?¡±

    ¡°No no no, you misunderstand. I want you to explain why you¡¯re involved in the crisis to begin with.¡± Sophos pushed her glasses up. ¡°In other words, solve the mystery. What are the Alternates? Who is the Mother? Why is the previously unknown Alexander Shen involved? With the information you¡¯ve gathered, you can answer these questions.¡±

    I¡­ I can?

    How can I¡ª?

    No, wait.

    She was right. Let¡¯s rewind the clock.

    Two months ago, Angels Guild¡ªmore specifically, Seraph, Rector, and Kosmos¡ªcommissioned Sophos to perform an experiment: transmit a message to other Slayer Worldlines. Instead, they had attracted the Mother of the Alternates, a multidimensional entity that was capable of creating these ¡°Alternates.¡± (Here, Rei sensed the disturbance and became suspicious, but he wouldn¡¯t act until later.)

    On the day of the experiment, the team fought the Mother and the First Alternate. They defeated the First Alt, but the Mother escaped. For two months, they chased down subsequent Alternates: Second, Third, and Fourth; however, they weren¡¯t able to obtain any worthwhile information from the encounters.

    Then, a month ago (May), Sophos located the Fifth Alternate. The Alt, before its death, mentioned a name: Alexander Shen. My name. Angels Guild began investigating me, seeing if I had any connections to their current issue. That¡¯s how I met Leo for the first time while I was dealing with System Articles.

    After catching Leo, Angels Guild laid off seeing as no new leads appeared.

    May passed, and June came around.

    I was helping Victor, Chunhua, and Kotone with First Wave before being invited myself. Within a few minutes, Rei literally crashed into me. Everyone thought he was a fanboy eager to meet his favorite Slayers; in actuality, he¡¯d pinpointed the Mother¡¯s location and came to plead his case to the Big Four. He failed on that front and got kicked out. Afterwards, Sophos contacted me on her own volition. That¡¯s when she discovered a startling secret: I had an SSS-Rank [Skill].

    There¡¯s no doubt about it: I must be involved somehow. Little did anyone know, we would have the biggest breakthrough yet.

    On the last night of First Wave, the Sixth Alternate crashed into Primordial Plaza. It took the form of an eldritch-like breacher that had a nasty grudge against the Shens. I wasn¡¯t a walking bestiary; hell, even experts wouldn''t know what it was supposed to resemble. Regardless, this fucker changed everything: the disaster was now publicly-known, it led to my recruitment, and most importantly, the Mother had a change in methodology.

    A week went by.

    Seraph and Rector maintained normalcy despite the growing fire underneath their feet, so they went ahead with guild try-outs.

    On the second night of try-outs, in the Jin Family Manor, a woman wearing a red dress attacked a worker, Huang Chunxi, around midnight. Meet the Seventh Alternate, the mother of Jin Tianyou and wife of Jin Junjie, Zhu Xinyue. Almost two decades ago, she had committed an unspeakable crime: the attempted murder of her own son. It led to her banishment, eventual suicide, and the dissolvement of her family. But! The Alternate believed she had successfully performed the deed.

    A day after¡ªthe third day of Angels try-outs¡ªwe met the Eighth Alternate: Sera Creed. We knew her as the Guild Master of Angels Guild, Seraph. With Idris Zakariya (Rector) and Nathan Hyun (Kosmos), they had resolved the Terrors and founded a new dynasty. In her personal life, she married Nathan and soon gave birth to a daughter. But! The Alternate was a younger version of Sera, grieving her would-be husband''s death after he succumbed to [Total Body Rejection].

    Later that night, Zhu Xinyue assaulted He Zhilan.

    At the same time, Lyressa received an ominous dream from the Mother. Desperate for answers, she foolishly snuck inside the Infinity Dungeon without telling anybody and got herself kidnapped.

    The following day, I played Sherlock with Chunhua, Kotone, Blackviper, and eventually Rei. Everybody else was busy with locating Lyressa and preventing Archknell from murdering the internationals. While they failed to solve their case, I solved mine.

    Another day passed, and the Mother decided to ruin our morning. An artificial environment unnaturally formed in Glory Guild HQ: a perfect replica of the Crystal Forest where Lyressa was first rescued from.

    Inside, we found the Ninth Alternate: Lyressa fey Suntear. Two years ago, Archknell dove into the Infinity Dungeon and stumbled upon an elf encased in crystal. Upon awakening, she knew only her name, the English language, and the bow. Since then, she was Ordo¡¯s treasured beauty and the gem of Glory Guild. But! The Alternate was, in some shape or form, the ¡°Lyressa¡± before she came to our Worldline.

    Finally, we arrive at the present: today. Our long day began with a pizza and a dream, then ended in a nightmare.

    We reunited with the Tenth and Eleventh Alternates, Bastien Romanos and Shen Xingyu. They suffered. They faced poverty, death, and sins. Despite everything, they came together and loved and created a new life. Kindness, strength, honesty; they raised their children with these tenets and inspired them to live better than they had. That¡¯s the hope, right? But! The Alternates never met, because they had never escaped their horrid upbringings.

    With this, we established the timeline.

    We¡­ We can answer many of our important questions with this.

    ¡°...It seems I was correct,¡± Sophos¡¯s voice tore me from my contemplations. ¡°You are capable of solving this mystery. Then, I shall act as your proctor. The first question! What are the Alternates?¡±

    To answer, I need to think back to my cosmology classes and common theories. After thinking for a couple seconds, I answered, ¡°The Alternates are artificial otherselves of simulated but removed futures. From the First through Sixth Alternate, the otherselves stemmed from a different Worldline; from Seventh to Eleventh, they originated from ours.¡±

    Yeah, that¡¯s why we couldn¡¯t gather any information from the first six, due to their unstable forms and their true origins. They were from a different history altogether. Meanwhile, the latter five were easily recognizable and deduced. Plus, our Alternates had to be from our Worldline. Without Longwang, there would be no Zhenlong Tactical School, to name an example.

    Sophos showed a big, genuine smile. ¡°The Line Exploration Protocol, excellent! Yes, you¡¯re correct. For those who don¡¯t understand, the basic explanation is this: the Planet simulates alternate futures of its own Worldline, gathering important data that would assist in creating new Worldlines. Most simulations are taken out of the race because they''re useless, or ¡®removed¡¯ as Conqueror said.¡±

    Aiden raised a hand. ¡°If they¡¯re ¡®removed,¡¯ how can the Mother base the Alts off ¡®em?¡±

    Morgan answered for the GM, ¡°Because¡ªand this isn¡¯t proven¡ªthe Planet stores the data of disqualified futures in an imaginary space. For safe-keeping, I imagine.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Which means the Mother has access to that imaginary space. That sounds pretty on-par from what little we do know about her.¡±

    ¡°But why?¡± Sophos continued the questions. ¡°Why did the Mother switch from one Worldline to ours?¡±

    Why¡­? It had to be¡­

    ¡°Because the Mother''s falling apart. Every Alternate looked, well, crazy to put it lightly, but there was a clear difference between Primordial Plaza and Zhu Xinyue. I heard her speak coherently, a far-cry from what we faced in the Plaza. It obviously didn¡¯t work out since the Eighth, Seraph, already showed signs of deterioration.¡±

    ¡°So the Mother switched Worldlines in order to prevent her own destruction.¡± Sophos put a dramatic finger on her chin, thought about it for a second, then nodded. ¡°I¡¯m inclined to agree with your answer. Think about it. If the Alternates looked like that, then imagine the Mother herself. She must be breaking apart by the seams. Clearly, as she¡¯s born from that ¡®imaginary space,¡¯ her existence was naturally flawed.¡±

    Born from that space¡ª? No, that wasn¡¯t right. She was obviously egging me on.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t make that assumption,¡± I told her.

    Sophos gestured for me to continue.

    ¡°Assuming she was born in that imaginary space, why would she take the form of a woman? Wouldn¡¯t her Alternates originate from many Worldlines instead of just two? Why borrow from Slayer Worldlines if we''re also making that assumption? Why would she need to ground her existence better? If she¡¯s a native, that implies her existence should be more stable even when removed from her natural habitat. All this to say, it¡¯s not impossible but I feel like there''s a better explanation.¡±

    ¡°And that is?¡±

    I had already established this as fact, so¡­

    ¡°The Mother took the form of a woman, and judging from both your accounts and Lyressa''s, her appearance didn''t change much between then,¡± I mumbled to myself before speaking more confidently: ¡°The Mother had been human once, but somehow she ended up in the wrong place.¡±

    Sophos grew solemn. ¡°A human from the Previous Worldline, where she had based her first Alternates on. The pieces are fitting together now, aren''t they? Do you remember the Fifth Alternate, the one that first alerted us to you?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°What about it? The Alt said my name.¡±

    ¡°It said, ¡®Alexander Shen, Conqueror.¡¯¡±

    ¡°What? It said my codename¡ª? That was way fucking before I joined Angels let alone [Registered].¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re correct,¡± Sophos said quietly, indirectly telling me to lower my volume. ¡°Tell me, Conqueror, how did the Mother find herself there? Why?¡±

    How? Why? How should I know? God, think about this. The Fifth Alternate was the reason why Angels Guild knew my name in the first place. How did it know my codename before¡ª?

    Wait.

    That¡¯s¡­

    That can¡¯t be the answer.

    Sophos nodded, confirming my answer. ¡°Your suspicions are correct, Conqueror. It¡¯s true.¡±

    Rei looked around the group; everyone came to the same conclusion except for him. ¡°I-I don¡¯t understand. Sophos-sama, what are you talking about¡ª?¡±

    ¡°As soon as you notice the patterns, the truth behind Alexander Shen¡¯s involvement becomes quite obvious.¡± Sophos morbidly chuckled. ¡°From the beginning, it was the case of mistaken identity. The man before us happens to share the same name and face as the presumed culprit.¡±

    My throat was deathly dry, but I finished the final deductions, ¡°That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s why you said I was the real mastermind. It¡¯s not the ¡®me¡¯ standing before you. It¡¯s the other ¡®me.¡¯ My otherself: Alexander Shen of the Previous Worldline.¡±

    As soon as I said those words, the room fell into a dramatic silence save for the running vents and equipment. Everyone had the same reaction: shock and confusion. How? Why? What did Alexander Shen do? The answer was simple. He had the power of [Memento Recollection]. In that Worldline, he must¡¯ve become someone important. Someone powerful, strong, just like Kosmos.

    Then, something happened which led to the current disaster.

    ¡°...I¡¯m not accusing your otherself of putting the Mother there,¡± Sophos assured me, ¡°but he was certainly involved.¡±

    ¡°Shit¡­¡± I clamped a hand over my mouth. ¡°Jesus fucking Christ.¡±

    My arms were shaking.

    My eyes shut by themselves.

    Someone put their hand on my shoulder. Somehow, I already knew who it was. My heart, which had gone through way too much today, was sedated by her touch. It wasn¡¯t soft¡ªthe opposite¡ªbut it was hers. That was enough. My arms stopped shaking, and I regained the confidence to open my eyes again.

    ¡°You alright?¡± Leo whispered to me, keeping her hand there.

    ¡°...Not really.¡± I sniffled and stared ahead at the concerned genius. ¡°But I¡¯ll live. I¡­ I don¡¯t know what my otherself was doing. Knowing myself, he must be a real asshole. He dragged us into this mess¡ªhe dragged me¡ªbut I¡¯ll finish it.¡±

    Sophos held a half-smile, seemingly impressed. ¡°The energy of youth is something to behold, mhm.¡±

    Rei cocked an eyebrow. He whispered to Morgan, ¡°...How old is Sophos-sama?¡±

    Morgan ignored the kid and asked, ¡°Is this everything, Sophos? Will we get to your ingenious plan to resolve the crisis?¡±

    Sophos looked toward the far wall and whatever was on the other side. One of her hands tightly clutched her labcoat. Something was on her mind. I¡­ I didn¡¯t think the smartest woman in Ordo could look so pensive.

    Morgan raised his voice, ¡°Sophos! Please tell me we didn¡¯t come here all the way for nothing¡ª!¡±

    ¡°No, the plan will work. Just¡­¡± She paused. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect tonight would be her last night.¡±

    ¡°Whose?¡± asked Leo.

    ¡°Conqueror, your theory was wrong about one part,¡± Sophos said, still staring at the wall. ¡°When the Mother switched Worldlines, Zhu Xinyue wasn¡¯t her first masterpiece. Instead, she had created a poor, hopeless girl by the name of Sophia Sagan, who never came under the tutelage of Phenomena. The true Seventh Alternate: myself."

 [FOR STARS] Chapter 2 - Pale Blue Dot

    ¡°¡®Humanity is the antithesis of knowledge. Humans are self-destructive creatures at heart. A single individual may work toward glory and advancement, yet the masses prance regression and ignorance as virtues. Institutions are the merchants of progress, not arbiters. Profit! Ideology! The entire global hegemon is run by these superficialities, stomping on the hands and skulls of those who shed blood and tears for the next stage of civilization. In this current world, there is no hope for scientific breakthroughs¡ªas today, I finally realized, wisdom is a farce.¡¯¡±

    ¡°I think I remember that passage,¡± Morgan said as Sophos led us deeper into the facility. ¡°It was your manifesto, wasn¡¯t it?¡±

    Sophos slowed down and tried to flick Morgan¡¯s forehead, but he deftly avoided her fingers. She pouted. ¡°I¡¯d rather not have you sully my reputation further in front of my student.¡± (Chie blushed.) ¡°But yes, I wrote that drivel while working as an Ain in Binah. I¡¯d been disillusioned by the world and the Society for quite some time, yet do you know what really pushed me off the edge?¡±

    I knew the answer: ¡°When your team leader stole your research and framed you for plagiarism and other crimes.¡±

    Sophos snapped her fingers. ¡°Someone has read my biography! Yes, after having my position revoked, I wrote a scathing essay about the diseases plaguing society at the time. It was so heated, so controversial, that even Master Alzahrani would be impressed. Ha, as if. My essay reached the ears of no one except the sorrow in my heart. I was an abandoned prodigy much like the others. Used then thrown away.¡±

    She stopped the group in front of a blank, lifeless door. There wasn¡¯t a sign enlightening us to the room¡¯s purpose, nor could we hear anything through the walls. In fact, the door had no visible doorknob or keypad. It was little better than a straight sheet of metal.

    ¡°Yet a foolish magician had reclaimed the lost prodigy. That¡¯s where Sophia diverges. She never clasped Phenomena¡¯s hand, and so her destiny would be a tragic one.¡±

    ¡°This must be the strange presence I¡¯ve felt¡­¡± Rei laid a hand on the door. ¡°Why would you keep her here?¡±

    Morgan nodded, glaring through the darkness of his hood. ¡°Let me say this politely, Sophos: this is beyond stupid even by your metrics. Regardless if ¡®Sophia¡¯ hasn¡¯t blown the door wide open, you¡¯re potentially inviting the Mother¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Firstly, she''s not in the facility. Secondly, she¡¯s our solution,¡± Sophos firmly stated. ¡°Yesterday, we invented a device that will capture her ¡®essence¡¯ to put things plainly. Using her essence, then, we¡¯ll attract the Mother like ants to pheromones.¡±

    ¡°Then why haven¡¯t you used it yet?¡± Aiden asked the obvious.

    Sophos didn¡¯t immediately answer.

    Rei quietly said, ¡°You want Sophia to live as long as possible.¡±

    ¡°Heh.¡± The genius took her glasses off and cleaned the lenses. ¡°Q-Quite astute, young man. I suppose my heart has once again gotten in the way of what¡¯s necessary.¡±

    I felt a mixture of reactions go through the team, mainly frustration and sympathy. Any rational person¡ªhell, anyone with common sense¡ªknew to dispatch breachers as soon as possible. Sophia was ¡°alive¡± for four days at this point. Anything could¡¯ve happened! To prolong her inevitable demise was cruel to ¡°herself¡± and the city. Some of us, though, didn¡¯t let cold logic dictate their thinking. Seeing your past self put your entire life into perspective: your mistakes, your emotions, your obstacles, and everything you did in response.

    Once you framed your life as a chain of cause and effect, you could pick out a single, defining event that changed everything.

    Sophos popped her glasses back on, her fingers trembling. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t prolong her ¡®life¡¯ any longer. Though, I won¡¯t let everyone rush inside; that¡¯ll be a party. Instead¡­¡± She surveyed the team. ¡°Conqueror, Chie, would you please accompany me?¡±

    Me and Chie? I get Chie, but why me? I¡ªactually, I shouldn¡¯t ask that question anymore. Sophos probably had a good reason to invite me, and while an Alternate was on the other side of the door, she knew Sophia wouldn¡¯t hurt either of us. I hoped, anyway.

    Morgan, Leo, and Aiden made their disagreement obvious by either grumbling or glowering. However, they weren¡¯t in a position to disagree with a Guild Master. This was her house, her Alternate, her plan. We simply had to trust her.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad we all agree,¡± Sophos said sarcastically but without her usual tone. ¡°It won¡¯t take long. You can either wait here or return to your quarters. Ask any of my subordinates, they¡¯ll lead you.¡±

    Nobody moved.

    ¡°Wait it is, then. Come on, children, let¡¯s not dilly-dally any further.¡±

    Chie and I broke off from the group and joined Sophos at the door. Sophos waved her hand and revealed a hidden locking mechanism of sorts: a small, multi-layered magical formation. She spun some circles and tapped a few symbols, and everything ¡°clicked¡± into place. The formation glowed, and Sophos was forcibly teleported inside the room.

    Another teleport, huh?

    I let Chie take the lead on this one. She laid a hand on the formation and was stolen from the hallway. After that was my turn. The teleport was painless, far less taxing on my body than the chain-teleport I¡¯d taken to get here.

    When my shoes scratched against a worn carpet, I smelled lavender candles, ink, and old books. A gentle warmth hugged my shoulders like a bright fireplace in the middle of an Arctic winter. My body naturally relaxed, and despite my better judgment, I let tension and stress melt from my overworked muscles.

    I stood in a sectioned-off area of the mysterious room. Blank doors, like the one we¡¯d just entered, surrounded me. Over each door was a sign: ¡°Wisdom Guild HQ,¡± ¡°Phenomena,¡± ¡°Facility Galilei,¡± and so on. I entered from ¡°Facility Hubble.¡± Looks like she was right. This room didn¡¯t exist in the facility; rather, the facility had a ¡°portal¡± that led to Sophos¡¯s sacred space.

    Her personal library and study.

    I explored.

    From floor to ceiling, wall to wall, were massive darkwood bookshelves tightly packed with weathered books, tomes, and even ancient scrolls. I didn¡¯t spot any ladders, but with magic, you didn¡¯t need any. At least a hundred books levitated outside their homes, likely acting as Sophos¡¯s reading list (which only grew exponentially larger). Even with the absurd storage space, she felt the need to stuff books at every corner in messy piles and towers.

    I dragged a finger over one of the covers, reading a long and verbose title. Underneath was a book in French, and beside it was another book but in Spanish. A testament to her endless curiosity and ambition, I guess.

    I rounded the partition that divided the portal room from the main study. Turns out, the warmth I¡¯d felt earlier did come from a fireplace and a pretty one at that. A couple large lounge-chairs, antique and luxurious, flanked the fire which burned a crisp red-and-orange behind clear glass. Books cozied underneath the chairs¡¯ arms.

    At the far end of the study, Sophos somehow brought in a grand table that was a little shorter than the width of the room. I¡¯d comment about the fine wood and the worn condition if every surface area wasn¡¯t covered by additional books, papers, and other instruments. A few chairs were tucked underneath, and several were off on the sides acting as ¡°temporary¡± storage for more junk. That had to be her personal ¡°desk.¡±

    Well, it wasn¡¯t ¡°hers¡± anymore.

    For the past few days, Sophos¡¯s study belonged to the bashful girl who had a thick ¡°collar¡± of pixels around her neck. Actually, her whole body was pixelated except for her head. The pixelation varied in intensity. Her extremities, for example, you could count the pixels; for her torso, you had to squint to see them. Despite that, she seemingly walked around and behaved like any normal human. Any normal, shy human.

    Sophia was the opposite of the Genius of Stars. Sophos was arrogant, full-of-herself, frustrating, but Sophia was just a girl. She¡¯s just a girl, who hasn¡¯t been taking care of herself. When was the last time she¡¯d eaten something nutritious? Or slept on a proper bed? Her hair was so thin, her body was a stick, and her skin was paler than white. Did the Phenomena Society drive her to this point? For what?

    Even in her state, she spoke calmly with Chie and Sophos. Her head sometimes tilted low, she had trouble with making eye contact, but she was talking. Speaking of improper eye contact, she spotted me and I heard her breath hitch from where I stood.

    Sophos softly clapped. ¡°There you are. I¡¯m glad you figured out the mechanism.¡±

    Sophia visibly gulped. ¡°Erm¡­ I-I¡ª¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That brute might look intimidating¡ªwell, he is intimidating¡ªhe¡¯s harmless, I assure you,¡± Sophos said as I joined them. ¡°Why don¡¯t you introduce yourself?¡±

    Sophos and Sophia were the same person, yet the latter seemed so small up close. She was almost like a child, weaker than one probably. I could easily dispatch her even in my current state, but¡­ ¡°Alex,¡± I found myself saying. ¡°Conqueror, that¡¯s my codename.¡±

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°S-Sophia, but you already knew that, uhm¡­¡± Sophia shakily extended a hand, staring at the pixels rather than me.

    I reached out, hesitated as the pixels on her hand moved, but I took it. Her hand didn¡¯t feel normal for the wrong reasons. It wasn¡¯t the pixels; it was how small and fragile her hand was. She couldn¡¯t hold a thick textbook for more than a few minutes.

    Sophia quickly retracted her hand and held it close to her chest. She nodded hard. ¡°It¡¯s good to meet you, mhm. I, uh, Sophos has told me a lot about you, Conqueror. About, well, everything. It¡¯s¡­ I-I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°No need. To me and the rest of the team, it¡¯s just another job that needs doing.¡±

    ¡°R-Right, yes, of course¡­¡± Sophia looked at her true self. ¡°Uhm, I don¡¯t want to be a bother, but Morgan Weyer didn¡¯t come?¡±

    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t take kindly to your being here,¡± answered Sophos. ¡°I apologize. I knew you wanted to pick the brain of Master Alzahrani¡¯s most foolish student.¡±

    Sophia¡¯s drained eyes sunk to the floor. ¡°It¡¯s alright¡ªI shouldn¡¯t have asked¡ªI¡¯m sorry, really. It¡¯s even more silly of me to ask.¡±

    Yeah, if the facts weren¡¯t literally staring at me in the face, I wouldn¡¯t believe it if you said Sophos and Sophia were the same person. At the same time, would I really be surprised? I heard the Society broke down their Ains like this: destroy their self-esteem and remold them into obedient researchers.

    ¡°So¡­¡± but I wanted to cheer her up a little, ¡°Is Master Alzahrani all that cracked up to be? I¡¯m not that knowledgeable when it comes to the Society.¡±

    ¡°Of course he is!¡± Sophia raised her voice, a dash of familiar fire in her eyes. ¡°Master Alzahrani is one of the greatest cosmologists of my time, even yours! He is¡ªuhm, was¡ªPhenomena¡¯s most trusted Keter. He was working on a way to travel between Worldlines! I¡ª¡± She stopped, and the small fire was extinguished quick. ¡°I guess he wasn¡¯t successful, seeing as he completely disappeared in your present day.¡±

    Maybe I wasn''t as good at conversations as I thought.

    ¡°Morgan¡¯s looking for him,¡± Chie suddenly spoke up. ¡°Elaine too. They¡¯re doing everything to find Master Alzahrani.¡±

    Elaine, must be Morgan''s friend who was off in Korea to pursue novel-writing and not paper-writing.

    The reassurance, and the little white lie, didn''t reach Sophia. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. This¡­¡± Sophia motioned to the entire study. ¡°This is more than enough.¡±

    ¡°I would hope so.¡± Sophos plucked a book off the grand table and flipped through the pages. She smiled at the small annotations then set the book back. ¡°Over the course of decades, I collected everything. It has the wisdom of old and knowledge of today from the stratosphere to Antarctica. This is one of my proudest achievements. Another is standing right there.¡±

    Chie blushed, shifting her feet out of embarrassment.

    Sophia quietly laughed; it sounded nothing like her real self.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you show Sophia some of your [Yokais]?¡± asked Sophos, but she wasn¡¯t asking.

    ¡°O-Okay¡­¡± Above Chie¡¯s shoulder, she summoned one of her [Yokai] drones. I wasn¡¯t an expert in Japanese mythology, so don¡¯t ask me what it did. Sophia wasn¡¯t an expert either, so the girls had lots to talk about.

    They seemed excited, albeit nervous, to engage in their mutual passion together.

    ¡°So¡­¡± I said as Sophos filtered to my side, ¡°...are you going to explain why you brought me here?¡±

    Sophos wagged her finger at me like a disapproving grandma. ¡°Don¡¯t assume I have a complex reason for everything. I wanted you to meet her, that¡¯s all. You¡¯re more¡­receptive than some of your teammates.¡±

    I asked, ¡°That¡¯s why you brought Chie too?¡±

    ¡°Obviously. I don¡¯t know what I was thinking: letting my student meet my younger self. It¡¯s embarrassing, but¡­¡± We watched as the conversation grew louder in excitement. ¡°A teacher has to indulge herself once in a while.¡±

    Sophos hugged herself, and despite her words, the look on her face wasn¡¯t one of happiness.

    ¡°Seeing Sophia doesn¡¯t bring up the happiest memories, right?¡± I said, the euphemism in my question obvious.

    ¡°Do you know why I took Chie as my most recent student? It¡¯s been three, almost four years since she came under my wing¡ªpun completely intended.¡± Sophos forced a chuckle. ¡°It¡¯s because I found her crying over her failed drone and the first of her would-be [Yokais], [Temari], in an attempt to convince Rector that she can work for Angels.¡±

    I said nothing.

    ¡°The poor girl was a clueless recluse. Our first conversation wasn¡¯t much of one; she couldn¡¯t complete a single sentence without stuttering, and she thought my eyes were on her scandals. She bookended everything with ¡®I¡¯m sorry, Sophos!¡¯ and ¡®I apologize, ma¡¯am!¡¯. Despite her dramatics, Chie had ambition and a will.¡±

    So that¡¯s why. It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s not because Chie had impressed her. All this time, I thought Chie was an engineering prodigy who invented something so wild that Sophos had to take her in. But...

    ¡°Why, what are you thinking about again, Conqueror?¡± she asked tensely, noticing my staring.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± I told her, pulling my muscles together to smile. ¡°You both came a long way since then.¡±

    ¡°Oh, stop. You shouldn¡¯t flatter your elders like that.¡± This time, Sophos¡¯s chuckle was genuine. ¡°I¡¯m proud of Chie. I really, truly am¡­¡±

    My small praise quickly ran out of gas, and gloom stole the joy in her eyes, reminding her of what had to be done. For the Genius of Stars, her expression was uncharacteristic, as though she had shed that [Title] and allowed her vulnerable heart to shine through. I saw the resemblance, now, between her and the Alternate.

    The vulnerable girl was one and the same.

    Chie did her best to prolong the conversation by using another [Yokai], but Sophia was clocked out.

    She had noticed her better self.

    Sophos turned away and tried to hide her face, but the shoe was now on the other foot.

    Sophia approached us and met her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s time for me to die, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°No¡ª! I¡­¡± Sophos was at a loss for words, shamefully looking at the carpet like there were eyes within the threads. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I thought you would have more time, but¡ª¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no reason to apologize." Sophia looked down at her pixelated hands then clenched them. "I¡¯m not meant to exist. You¡¯re just¡­correcting a mistake that should¡¯ve never been made.¡±

    Sophos found enough courage to look at the small girl in her distorted, pixelated eyes. ¡°Calling yourself a ¡®mistake,¡¯ that¡¯s¡­annoyingly like you. I hate it.¡±

    The girl unflinchingly looked back. ¡°Do you remember our dream, Sophos?¡±

    She didn¡¯t respond.

    ¡°¡®The stars have been there before us and they will last far beyond us. We may never reach them, and our dreamless eyes will only catch the sight of our own destruction before the greatest cosmic glory. We are to live in darkness for most of our little lives, praying for the next sunrise until the inevitable sundeath.¡¯ That¡¯s what we wrote in our final letter to the world.¡±

    Sophia gazed at the ceiling.

    I¡­ I never noticed until now, but the ceiling was a perfect replica of the night sky. It appeared seemingly boundless, stretching into the far infinities of the cosmos. Within the blanket of darkness were scattered constellations, colorful nebulas, and diamond-like stars.

    Sophia reached up and grabbed at the impossibly distant artifacts, framing them between the gaps of her fingers. ¡°We believed we were destined to pierce the veil and break into the stars, but this awful world killed our fantasies. Yet you thought otherwise, Sophos! You created this for us.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Sophos briefly shut her eyes. ¡°I wanted you to see the stars one last time.¡±

    ¡°And I remembered why I fell in love with the cosmos.¡±

    ¡°I wanted to fatten your brilliant brain with ideas of today.¡±

    ¡°I spent all my waking hours here, seeing how much you¡¯ve accomplished.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want you to leave this world as disheartened as you arrived.¡±

    ¡°How can I, when you rebuilt our dream and so much more?¡±

    Sophos struggled to speak; she had a thousand words lodged inside her throat, but she couldn¡¯t say a single one.

    Instead, Sophia spoke in her place, ¡°My true self shouldn''t frown so much. She¡¯s the one who will uncover the universe¡¯s secrets after all. Any more frowns and she¡¯ll actually look her age.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Sophos conceded her defeat with a small, pained laugh. ¡°Yes, I suppose you¡¯re right. A beautiful genius shouldn¡¯t concern herself over her past¡ªno matter how pathetic her younger self was. There is only the bright future, hiding the answers for all of our questions. What else is there to do but unearth them?¡±

    ¡°Then do it.¡± Sophia pressed a hand against the center of her chest. ¡°Destroy me to reach the truth.¡±

    To reach the truth of the Alternates and the Mother, what else could Sophos do but fulfill her promise? In her palm, a strange mechanical device appeared. It was a peculiar crossover between a dagger and a syringe. The ¡°needle¡± was more like a blade, and the ¡°barrel¡± was more like a steel tube. Through a small window on the barrel, I saw magical glyphs etched within the inner-walls. The solution to our problem, invented by Sophos herself, looked slapped-together and unpolished, but it seemed functional. It''s all we could ask for.

    Sophos tightly gripped the handle with two hands. ¡°...When I met Phenomena that night, he told me to sob. He said that I must sing my sorrow toward the ignorant and hateful world. ¡®You must expel contempt from your heart to embrace love again. Love is what separates geniuses and madmen.¡¯¡±

    ¡°He must¡¯ve been a wise teacher.¡± Sophia dropped her hand and laid herself bare; there wasn¡¯t a hint of regret in her unnatural, yet pure eyes.

    ¡°Yes.¡± With shaking hands, Sophos pressed the device¡¯s tip against the girl''s heart. ¡°He¡¯s the wisest of us all.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Sophia held the genius¡¯s hands. ¡°It has always been you.¡±

    The needle plunged deeply.

    Unlike the other Alternates, who had withered into the air and left no trace behind, Sophia was funneled into the barrel. Through the window, the chamber was immediately filled by a dense, pixelated gas of sorts. Could the device handle cargo like that? Would ¡°Sophia¡± last long enough that we could use her? Would this idea even work? Admittedly, I wasn¡¯t asking those questions right away.

    Chie and I were more worried about the woman trying not to cry in front of two of her juniors.

    Without a word, Chie embraced her teacher.

    I decided to head back to Facility Hubble by myself, giving them the time they need.

    [Event Commission ¡°To the Stars¡± has been completed]

    [You have been paid 25,000ssp]

    Event Commission: To the Stars

    Pay: 25,000ssp

    Description: ¡°The reason why stars are so bright is because our world is so dark,¡± as I often told myself. Ignorance is a plague on humanity. Many are hellbent on refusing science and logic, and many more are selfish demons who are willing to crush others for their own gain. Yet, this sounds ridiculous coming from a failed Phenom. That¡¯s why you¡¯re here, Sophos. You¡¯re different from that hopeless girl, because you will explore and create and thrive¡ªall from the heart and mind of a genius with love.

 [FOR STARS] Chapter 3 - The Last Talks (I)

    I¡¯m still stuck on the damned bench¡­ Althea fumed, sitting on the couch with her knees almost pressing against her mouth. Bandages and band-aids covered half of her, and they made it a real bitch to move around in. Despite that, she wasn¡¯t focused on her discomfort or the general pain she was in¡ªbesides, that was ninety-percent of her existence. Her eyes were instead glued to the TV which played the nightly news of the latest drama in the Slayer Capital. The headline tonight? Fucking, the internationals making a royal mess of the investigation.

    Crazy. The news used to be about the breachers and the flaws in spatial regulations; then, everyone switched to bashing the internationals. Well, not like anyone needs much of a reason to do the last part. Thea never needed an excuse.

    As much as she wanted to throw tomatoes at the screen, there was a bigger fight ahead of them. The Mother.

    Alex and the others were at Sophos¡¯s facility doing God-knows-what, trying to put an end to this fucking thing once and for all. This would be, what, the third historical event that the Shens lived through? Cue Alex lamenting their bad luck.

    But¡­

    Recent memories of their desperate brawl resurfaced. Alex¡¯s head was in a different place for nearly the entire fight and understandably so. Of the siblings, he was the ¡°sensitive¡± one like Dad. Funny, wasn¡¯t it? With his handsome face and big muscles, he often got caught up in his own feelings. Still¡­

    You changed. Althea let her forehead tap against her knees. Your [Wings] sparkled, and you had light in your eyes. Guess even my miserable, dipshit of a brother can make that kind of face. Good. ¡®Bout time you decided to do something for yourself. All it took was nearly getting killed by Mom and Dad.

    Meanwhile, Thea didn¡¯t exactly have a big emotional breakthrough. Really, what she felt was¡­

    She grinded her teeth and clenched her fists.

    You¡¯re right, though, Alex. The world doesn¡¯t want us to be happy, but it has nothing to do with ¡®fate.¡¯ It¡¯s the people. It¡¯s the institutions. Because one lazy asshole decided to shirk his duty, an outbreak happened. Because some fucking bureaucrats and corpos shook hands, regulations became a suggestion. Hell, after seeing Oasis Guild and their baggage¡­ Don¡¯t you have some part of yourself that just, I dunno, want to break absolutely fucking everything? It¡¯s their fault, y¡¯know. They have names and faces, so why not use our hands for something productive for once?

    ¡°Thea.¡± Uncle Ali patted the back of the couch, getting her attention. He looked way worse than she did, but all the gauze and medication didn¡¯t seem to faze him. ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    Thea extended her legs, letting her knees pop. She shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m alive.¡±

    Uncle sat on the opposite end of her. ¡°Bad question, I know. Cheonma finally released me from our impromptu meeting.¡±

    ¡°Heh.¡± In the short span of a month, the Shens went from fearing her name to being her best friend. Thea said, ¡°Everything¡¯s cool with her?¡±

    ¡°Along those lines.¡± Uncle pushed his spare glasses up, idly watching a news panel give their opinions on the internationals¡¯ actions. ¡°Cheonma wanted to know the team¡¯s status; well, her niece¡¯s more specifically. She¡¯d already gotten the sitrep from Seraph, but¡ª¡±

    ¡°She wanted a second opinion from a washed-up rifle? Like he¡¯s just as important as the queen of Ordo?¡± Thea smirked.

    Uncle uncharacteristically reflected a half-smile. ¡°She¡¯s the head of the Demonic Cult for a reason. Speaking of rifles, though, I¡¯m a little annoyed that my equipment is in the internationals¡¯ hands.¡± (¡°What¡¯s left of ¡®em¡­¡±) ¡°Still.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re an Angel now. You got new connections.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see. I only have¡­¡± Uncle began counting with his fingers and whispering items off. He needed two hands to count the rest of his arsenal. Yeah, he¡¯ll be fine. He was the kind of guy who practiced over-preparation to a concerning, probably mentally deranged degree.

    Thea sighed and tried to pay attention to the news, but did she give a single shit about the panel? No. They were all middle-aged and college-educated ¡°experts¡± who got their jobs thanks to nepotism. Media had been dead for a long time, but they provided a decent window into the public''s and the elites'' opinions.

    ¡°Althea,¡± Uncle called her again, his usual concern written over his eyes. ¡°Are you actually okay?¡±

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡± Aside from my new scars. ¡°We fought breachers¡ª¡±

    ¡°They were your parents.¡±

    ¡°Mom and Dad are dead.¡± They¡¯d been dead for a long time. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna let myself get hung up over ghosts.¡±

    And like the bitch she was, the conversation stopped.

    Uncle knew he lacked an avenue to her fucked-up psyche, so he gave up. Neither of them had the energy for a deep conversation. Instead, he slowly nodded and said, ¡°If you say so.¡±

    Thea nodded back. ¡°Yeah, heh, I¡¯m more worried about Alex. We couldn¡¯t talk to him before Problem whisked him away to Sophos. I wanted to ask him ¡®bout his new [Mementos].¡± About Mom and Dad. ¡°And, y¡¯know, what the fuck Sophos meant by the mastermind-thing.¡±

    ¡°Be patient. Right now¡­¡± Uncle checked his watch. ¡°They¡¯re likely preparing the last few steps¡ª¡±

    A blue screen opened before Althea.

    [CALLER: Conqueror]

    ***

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to accept my invitation for tea¡­¡± Jin Tianyou rolled a Chinese cookie between his fingers. ¡°Silverhonor.¡±

    Lyressa preferred to limit her contact with Jin Tianyou as much as humanly possible, but these were special times. With the fracturing internationals, the current landscape of Ordo was¡ªhow should she put it?¡ªvolatile, and it was best to know the players still on the board. While Glory planned to sit on their hands, a few opponents might force them to act.

    Such as this man, the frightening and unpredictable Jin Tianyou. He¡¯d yearned for Glory Guild¡¯s company which was how Lyressa found herself on a private balcony in Martials Guild HQ. From their lofty seats, the city had gifted them a stunning view of its urban vistas. The golden and white lights were stars beneath their feet, dazzling, glittering¡ªbut the wind was cold and the prince¡¯s gaze was colder.

    Lyressa gulped, the taste of earthy tea on her tongue. ¡°I¡¯m assuming we won¡¯t discuss the schedule for our respective try-outs? I do find it odd that your father¡¯s mysteriously absent during such an important event.¡±

    ¡°His obligations in our sect are much more important.¡± Jin Tianyou bit half his cookie, the snap crisp like a broken bone. ¡°You¡¯re correct, though. With the recent activity across the city, I wanted to gauge your thoughts in particular.¡±

    ¡°My thoughts?¡± Why not Louis¡¯s? Or anyone else for that matter? ¡°If you¡¯re mining for answers regarding the¡ª¡±

    Jin Tianyou loudly ate the rest of his cookie, the crunch grating to her ears. He quickly finished chewing, politely swallowed, and sipped his tea. ¡°Your thoughts, Silverhonor. After all, you were missing for the past two days¡ª¡±

    ¡°I had suddenly fallen ill,¡± Lyressa lied. That was the cover story.

    Yet the cultivator had an empty smile. ¡°Will you stay at Glory Guild?¡±

    ¡°Pardon?¡±

    His smile widened enough to reveal his sharp white teeth. ¡°You were close to recovering your memories.¡±

    What¡ª? Impossible, he couldn¡¯t have known anything about my disappearance. Blackviper is on vacation; he couldn¡¯t have used her. Lyressa remained silent, gripping her pants. Must she always feel like prey whenever she sat down at a table?

    Jin Tianyou tapped a single finger against the edge of the table, watching his own reflection in his teacup. The tapping was rhythmic to a song only he knew. ¡°This was an opportunity afforded to you by Angels and Wisdom Guild. If another comes in the near future, would you seize the moment?¡±

    That¡­ She hadn¡¯t thought about that before. Yes, Seraph and Sophos had inadverntly given her a chance¡ªalbeit a foolish one¡ªto uncover the past Lyressa. To join them, though? And leave Louis behind after everything he¡¯d done for her? Yet if she was to ever regain her memories, then¡­

    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    Jin Tianyou really is a demon. Lyressa sat straighter, scowling. ¡°What are you trying to suggest, Vice Guild Master?¡±

    ¡°It would be in your best interest.¡± Jin Tianyou lifted his cup and sipped, humming at the delightful taste. ¡°Especially if you join that team. Seraph and Rector are no strangers at providing a home for fascinating individuals.¡±

    That was well-obvious. Louis and Cyrus had always been skeptical about Sage and Firebrand¡¯s employment. For Leona, Angels provided protection against the dangers of the Jianghu. Problem? It likely involved his missing mentor, Master Alzahrani. There was Rei as well, another mystery. Then, last but not least were the Shens: Alexander, Althea, and their uncle Alistair.

    Angels offered them all something in exchange for their labor other than a paycheck or followers on social media.

    If Lyressa did join, she wouldn¡¯t be out-of-place. If anyone else had brought up this idea, she¡¯d have good faith in their judgment.

    But it was this damned cultivator.

    Lyressa bit her lip, feeling her ears wiggle. ¡°Is this where you suggest I join you instead¡ª?¡±

    ¡°No, Martials don¡¯t have the resources nor connections to help you,¡± he shortly admitted.

    ¡°Then why? Why make such an outlandish suggestion?¡±

    ¡°It should be obvious.¡± Jin Tianyou held his cup toward the crescent moon, and his smile seemed more human. ¡°The city will undergo a dramatic change. Sometimes, instead of resisting the rushing waters, it¡¯s best to ¡®go with the flow¡¯ as they say.¡±

    A change¡ª? ¡°What do you mean? The political ramifications of the crisis aren¡¯t that devastating¡ª¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t mentioned the internationals nor politics.¡±

    ¡°Then, what¡ª?¡± Lyressa stopped, and she felt her ears dropping. ¡°The Shens. You''re speaking about the Shens.¡±

    He set his cup down. ¡°I am. Within a few years, the entire world will know their names. Perhaps Alexander¡ªand his sister as well¡ªwill reach the level of Kosmos, Phenomena, and Longwang. As for this city? Well, they''ll become yet another mythology among mythos.¡±

    To receive such high praise from Jin Tianyou would be amazing, yet it was more ominous than flattering. On the Shens'' behalf, then, Lyressa felt frightened. ¡°Is that it? You¡¯re suggesting me to¡­to join Angels because of their predicted trajectory? That I¡¯ll recover my memories as an unintended consequence?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s possible, but admittedly¡­¡± Strangely, Jin Tianyou paused to think about his next words. ¡°I sense a similar yet absent flame in you, a power key to your strength. Perhaps you felt it yourself?¡±

    ¡­Why would she, when her ¡°Alternate¡± had fought Louis, an SS-Rank Slayer, to a standstill?

    Jin Tianyou continued, ¡°To see the true Lyressa fey Suntear, I think, would be a fascinating sight. Do you not think so?¡±

    Lyressa couldn¡¯t bring herself to answer.

    ***

    ¡°Idris.¡± Someone nudged him from his pleasant sleep. It was the best ten minutes of sleep in his life, and he felt not a single bit rested. Looking up from his stupor, he found Sera there, stupidly concerned about her overworked partner.

    No thanks to her, he had to entertain three college-aged kids and their questions by himself. While Alexander had made quality friends, their families and backgrounds proved troublesome, but everyone went home happy. They were safe from the internationals (hopefully); right now, they must be enjoying a good sleep.

    Couldn¡¯t be him thanks to this glorified bird.

    He brushed Sera aside and sat up. ¡°Before you ask, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m alive. I¡¯m not going clinically insane. And I¡¯m¡ªI should stop talking because you¡¯re staring at me strangely.¡±

    Sera was looking at him like an alcoholic insisting on his sobriety, but she sighed and seemingly excused his theatrics as exhaustion. She sat down at her desk, turning her chair toward him. ¡°Have you spoken with the team yet?¡±

    ¡°Only Problem and Aiden. Not the Shens¡ª¡± (¡°Why haven¡¯t you¡ª?¡±) ¡°¡ªoh, what am I supposed to say? ¡®I¡¯m sorry your dead parents came back to kill you!¡¯¡±

    ¡°You could apologize with a little more tact.¡±

    ¡°You need another lesson in communication, Angel.¡± Truthfully, Idris had been meaning to extend his sympathies in private¡ªeither through the [Group Chat] or phone¡ªbut he struggled with saying the first word. He wrote three scripts, all of which had been scrapped by the second sentence.

    Sera clicked her tongue. ¡°You need to rest¡ª¡± (¡°No.¡±) ¡°¡ªyou were stabbed a few days ago¡ª¡± (¡°No¡ªwell, yes, but still no¡ª!¡±) ¡°¡ªthe internationals are ruined, extend your thanks to Romanos. All we have is Sophos¡¯s part. I can take care of operations¡ª¡±

    ¡°There are so many things that have to be done.¡± Idris started to sift through his papers.

    ¡°Can you list five right now?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡ª¡± Idris didn¡¯t remember printing this report out, nor did he remember asking for these files. He frowned. ¡°I can list two.¡±

    ¡°Your memory¡¯s shot.¡±

    ¡°Stabbed.¡± He put everything down. ¡°What about you, Sera? You¡¯ve been working yourself to the bone. When was the last time you¡¯ve seen or spoken to Ari?¡±

    At the mention of her name, Sera¡¯s eyes drifted to a photo on her desk: of herself and her two favorite people in the world. ¡°Soon. And thanks to you, I remembered why I woke you up in the first place.¡±

    Idris rolled his eyes. ¡°And you insult my memory.¡±

    ¡°Nathan is coming,¡± Sera said, putting an end to Idris¡¯s complaints.

    Idris tried gulping, but his throat was too dry to allow it. ¡°What about Korea? He knows he can¡¯t jeopardize the operation there¡ª¡±

    ¡°You know him. He can¡¯t idly stand by while we¡¯re suffering. So tomorrow, he¡¯ll personally lend a hand to Sophos and the rest of the team.¡±

    ***

    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened.¡±

    I¡¯d explained to Thea and Uncle Ali about what happened in the past couple hours: the truth of the incident and Sophia. When they heard that my otherself was the true ¡°mastermind,¡± they were equally surprised and unsurprised. I figured our emotional capacity for shock had long since been worn out. As for Sophia, I didn¡¯t disclose every intimate detail for obvious reasons, but enough that they got the gist. As for right now¡­

    Morgan had designated me to the sleeping quarters. I gladly stole a bed and stretched my sore legs over the mattress. Most of the team were assisting Sophos with finalizing the ¡°mad experiment¡± that would ¡°hopefully attract the Mother.¡± Really, it was everyone but me. They had important roles to play: Chie was the student and assistant, Rei was supposed to be with Sophos from the beginning, Morgan was the cosmologist, Aiden was the cheerleader¡ªand last and certainly least, Leo presumably stood there and looked pretty.

    ¡°So you¡¯re on the bench too?¡± Althea asked, a hint of mockery in her question.

    ¡°What else am I supposed to do?¡± I patted my thighs for emphasis and it hurt more than it should. ¡°If I lift a single box, I¡¯m falling apart like glass.¡±

    ¡°Just take care of yourself. Get as much rest as possible,¡± Uncle told me. ¡°Tomorrow will be the biggest day yet, I think. You¡¯ve been hurt too much already.¡±

    I muttered, ¡°We all have.¡±

    We went quiet, remembering the same things, feeling the same hurt. The pain was fresh. That¡¯s all I could think about while alone with my thoughts, but at the same time, I was thinking about tomorrow. Not about the experiment, after it. What was I going to do first? Move into our new apartment? Celebrate with Vic and the other idiots? Maybe fly with my new [Wings] or ask Leo for sword-lessons.

    The future was¡­ It was uncertain but kind of exciting at the same time. Assuming the experiment wouldn¡¯t kill us all.

    Uncle softly said, ¡°Alex¡ª¡±

    ¡°I want to make this thing work. Angels,¡± I told them. ¡°Look, I know it sounds crazy, but we have something good going on here. Even if our contract falls through, we should at least try and make the most of it.¡±

    My words brought again silence, but it was different this time. The opposite, actually. I heard whispering on the other end, quiet laughter, and other nonsense. Family, right? They never stop making fun of you, even after you survived a near-death experience together.

    After they had their fun, Althea got back on the call, ¡°I guess we should be on our best behavior. Plus, we can¡¯t unring the Demonic Cult bell.¡±

    Right, I forgot about that.

    Uncle assured, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t try anything.¡± (¡°Maybe.¡±) ¡°Unless they give me a valid reason to.¡±

    These guys can never give me certainties, huh?

    I quietly chuckled, ignoring the small ripples of pain from every breath. ¡°As long as we try, alright? As long as we don¡¯t fuck up, we can carve something good for ourselves. That¡¯s all I¡¯m asking. I mean, we¡¯re Angels. Why not use our wings as much as we can?¡±

    Again, my family laughed at me. Yeah yeah, I was being pushy and probably corny too, but I was serious about this. They knew I was serious. For four years, I¡¯d been going through the motions of life. Go to college, find an internship, get a degree, land a job, and count your remaining years with paychecks. That¡¯s what ¡°normal people¡± do, but this isn¡¯t a normal world and we aren''t normal people.

    If going through the rollercoaster of life is inevitable, with all its highs and lows, then why not embrace the chaos a little and create some sense of it all?

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Alright, you can stop making fun of me. I know I¡¯m being silly¡ª¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not silly,¡± Uncle said with a little laugh in his voice. ¡°It¡¯s¡­good to hear that from you.¡±

    ¡°Right, yeah, but we gotta address the elephant in the room,¡± Althea butted in and paused for dramatic effect. ¡°Your [Mementos]. The [Wings] and [Sword] are new, right? What happened? What did ya feel?¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡­¡± I actually hadn¡¯t checked the System since acquiring my new [Mementos]. Sounds like this was a good time as any to do some theory-crafting.

    So that¡¯s what we did. I¡¯d like to say we stayed on topic¡ªyou know, discussing the intricacies of [Memento Recollection]¡ªbut the conversation went off-track and we started talking about random, pointless things.

    Despite getting my ass kicked for the hundredth time, I never felt better.

    I needed that morale booster for tomorrow.

 [FOR STARS] Chapter 4 - The Last Talks (II)

    The morning sunlight hit my cheeks.

    After a healthy breakfast of bacon and eggs, Morgan brought me to the rear of the facility: the outside testing grounds. They¡¯d cleared about a track field¡¯s worth of space for their more...volatile experiments. Very, very volatile. If you had a bird¡¯s eye view and took a picture of the running cracks in the asphalt, you could sell it as art. Personally, I had a hard time walking over the protrusions and bumps; I couldn¡¯t imagine pushing a cart or driving on this.

    In the event of a fight, the terrain might fuck us over.

    The geniuses didn¡¯t seem to care, however, and practically skated across ice. Diligently, they hustled and carried with them equipment, information, or both. Having their eyes to the ground, they traveled between thick magical and electrical wires, using them as pseudo-lanes, toward the center. That¡¯s where the experiment¡ªthe solution¡ªwas hooked up.

    Familiar heads talked amongst themselves, watching as small teams of engineers and scientists build our dream together.

    Just a couple months ago, Sophos had created a device that could send a message across the multiverse. Now, she designed the equivalent of a mousetrap. On a raised circular platform, six magisteel arms curved inward like ribs. Each one had strange, dim and embedded ¡°vents." In the middle of the platform was a pedestal holding a thick metal cube with a built-in window as thick as a car door. Pixelated gas bubbled inside. Sophia.

    Approaching the platform, I saw it was apparently constructed on a tarp-parchment-thing. A magic circle or sigil was drawn from corner-to-corner, the ink and material unharmed despite the surrounding action and the glorified paperweight on top.

    There were likely more intricacies and nuances that my uneducated eyes were missing.

    ¡°So what¡¯s the idea?¡± I asked the team when I made my timely entrance, with Morgan hovering behind me.

    I¡¯d snuck up beside Leo but she wasn¡¯t startled¡ªfucking murim-in and her honed senses. Complaints aside, beside her were Chie and Sophos.

    The latter smiled, holding a coffee cup with ¡°GORGEOUS BEAUTIFUL GENIUS!¡± in big red letters. ¡°Good morning to you, Conqueror, and you as well, Problem.¡± (¡°Mhm.¡±) ¡°This, right here, is the greatest invention in human history.¡±

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Printing press, indoor plumbing, water filtration systems¡ª¡±

    ¡°Alright, there¡¯s no need to damage my ego any further.¡± Sophos shook her head dismissively and sipped her coffee. ¡°What you see here is our half-baked answer: the Starcatcher. As I said, we¡¯re using Sophia¡¯s¡­essence as bait to bring the Mother here.¡±

    I gestured to the magic circle and the platform. ¡°That¡¯s the how?¡±

    ¡°Correct. Here¡¯s a simple explanation for your muscled brain¡­¡±

    As it turns out, Sophos locking Sophia in her study wasn¡¯t completely done out of sentimentalism. Her study existed ¡°somewhere else other than Earth,¡± which (theoretically) hid Sophia¡¯s presence from the Mother. It brought Sophos enough time to plan and build our ticket to peace. That led to capturing and preserving Sophia¡¯s essence.

    Normally, releasing her as is¡­ Well, she¡¯d degrade before any noticeable effect could be produced. But, given a ¡°proper environment¡± and a ¡°reckless reactant,¡± then she could make a big enough splash that the Mother had to check it out.

    To do that, the magic circle provided the first ingredient: it created a demesne that¡¯d suspend ¡°an absurd amount of natural laws¡± while ensuring none of those alterations would affect the Starcatcher''s performance. Then, Sophia would be released from her container, and the machine would blast her with ¡°phenomenal energy¡± to cause a violent reaction. Sophos didn¡¯t completely explain what this ¡°energy¡± or ¡°reaction¡± exactly were, but the Mother should notice regardless.

    However, we couldn¡¯t predict the collateral damage. Attracting the Mother took priority, and once she showed herself¡­

    We had to take her down the old fashioned way.

    This operation assumed a lot of things: the Mother¡¯s behavior, Sophia¡¯s stability, standard magitech issues, and plenty more.

    But hey, you need to have faith in these kinds of situations.

    ¡°What about Rei?¡± I asked. ¡°Surely, you looked into his knack for detecting Alts.¡±

    Sophos hummed in the affirmative. ¡°Of course, but given the constraints¡­ I wasn¡¯t able to come to a definitive conclusion without jeopardizing my newest masterpiece.¡±

    Morgan continued, ¡°As a result, he¡¯s on reserves like you, Conqueror. We found a spare sword for him to use in case it, err¡­¡± We all looked at the clear clouds. ¡°In case it rains again.¡±

    ¡°So everyone has said.¡± Sophos chuckled amusedly to herself. ¡°After everything¡¯s properly taken care of, I am more than happy to pick him apart on your behalf.¡±

    ¡°...Maybe,¡± Chie said, counting the cracks in the asphalt.

    Her master read the lines between the words and replied, ¡°If those vainglorious kitsunes can¡¯t do it, then you know where I live.¡±

    Chie didn¡¯t respond, and none of the other Angels did either. It seems like I encountered another secret of sorts; I guess they were referring to the Nine Foxmaidens of the Fushimi Clan. Wouldn¡¯t be surprised if Angels had a significant connection with them, but under what circumstances¡­?

    Sophos cleared her throat and switched to a new topic: ¡°Regardless, the operation begins when Kosmos arrives.¡±

    I picked my head up. ¡°Kosmos? He¡¯s coming here?¡±

    Leo nodded. ¡°Yup. Given the severity of things, he decided to come back from Korea.¡±

    I glanced at Morgan and Chie. ¡°...Why is he in Korea?¡±

    Leo smacked her lips together, probably realizing that she shouldn¡¯t have disclosed that information. ¡°That¡¯s a conversation for another day, but Kosmos will act as insurance in case¡ªwell, when things go south.¡±

    Sophos scoffed and angrily sipped the rest of her coffee (ignoring the fact that she¡¯d completely drank herself dry during the explanations). ¡°I am insulted that you assume the Genius of Stars, Mythos-level Slayer, isn¡¯t capable of handling things herself! But of course, you pigeons love your so-called ¡®Shooting Star Miracle,¡¯ even ripping him from his vacation in Korea.¡±

    Chie had a look of pity for her mentor. ¡°...Do you wanna use [Original Magic]?¡±

    Sophos sputtered. ¡°A-As much as my own SSS-Rank [Skill] can resolve this hiccup¡­¡± (I glared at her.) ¡°...I¡¯d rather use Phenomena¡¯s gift in times of absolute necessity.¡±

    Morgan tiredly commented, ¡°Ah, so the most annoying witch in the city is only useful for her hare-brained contraptions¡ª¡±

    Sophos grabbed him by the hood.

    ¡°...Please let go of my hood¡ª¡± (¡°No.¡±) ¡°¡ªwell, this isn¡¯t ideal.¡±

    ***

    The morning passed as the geniuses inched closer to completion, and we entered well into the afternoon. Kosmos hadn¡¯t arrived yet because he had to finish ¡°emergency business¡± in Korea first as per Leo. For us Angels¡ªbarring Morgan and Chie¡ªall we could do was stand around and occasionally help.

    We were the muscle, but given our previous track record with the Alts, we weren¡¯t the most reliable.

    We really needed Kosmos.

    I¡¯d only seen him once in-person and that was two years ago while I was in Ordo University. Systemic Works had its spring commencement ceremony, and Kosmos appeared as a surprise guest. Asshole stole the show from the new generation, heh, but it made headlines and got the new graduates all excited.

    Otherwise, that¡¯s it. Like everyone else, we only knew him through clips, social media, TV, and unsubstantiated claims.

    Now, we were allies. He knew my name and I knew his.

    I was comrades with the strongest Slayer in the world. Pretty crazy to think about, right?

    I wasn¡¯t the only one thinking about this.

    ¡°Yes, Kosmos-sama will have this handled¡­¡± Rei muttered, pacing back and forth. He had two scabbards attached to the hip, both western-style swords, but he assured the team that he knew how to use them. ¡°Certainly, he will¡­¡±

    I tapped Rei¡¯s shoulder and he jumped like a startled cat. ¡°Easy, Rei. You alright? Is it the, uh, senses?¡±

    Rei rapidly nodded and his fingers instinctively curled around a hilt. ¡°I cannot get rid of this sinking feeling of dread, senpai. I¡¯m not sure if my anxiety is caused by ¡®Sophia¡¯ or the general atmosphere¡­¡±

    You had to feel bad for the kid. To feel the Mother¡¯s constant¡ªand surely tragic¡ªpresence was¡­ That¡¯d be a lot of emotional weight on a boy his age.

    I offered, ¡°Talking about it might help. You have a good track record with the Alts, like with Lyressa.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Lyressa¡ªerm, Silverhonor-san.¡± Rei glanced at the sky before quickly returning to me. I wasn¡¯t going to ask about his relationship with rain. Not yet. ¡°The Alternates really are strange breachers. I¡­ Alexander-senpai, I have a strange question.¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I won¡¯t give a strange answer.¡± (¡°Eh?¡±) ¡°I mean, I¡¯ll give you a straightforward answer.¡±

    ¡°Right, thank you. Uhm, the Alternates, are they deserving of our pity? They shouldn¡¯t be here. They¡¯re unnatural. They¡¯re monsters! They¡¯ve¡­ They¡¯ve stolen the bodies of our loved ones and tarnished their memories, living a lie that only they know¡ªimposters, all of them! It¡¯s unforgivable! They ought to be¡ª!¡± Rei stopped himself, death-gripping the sword and biting hard on his own lip. After a couple seconds, he relaxed, though his hand remained on the hilt.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry for raising my voice, senpai. After seeing Zhu Xinyue and Silverhonor, I could feel their sorrow. They both lost something incredibly dear to them, but they¡¯re breachers. Shouldn¡¯t we be disgusted with their existence?¡±

    I¡­ I wasn¡¯t expecting this amount of conviction from the kid. Look at me, I keep underestimating the fearsome Amamizu Rei. If he was already thinking about these things, then it was on me to guide him on the proper path.

    With my heart then, I engaged him, ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±

    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    ¡°Huh¡ª? Because they¡¯re breachers. Slaying them is our duty. Don¡¯t you believe the Alternates, as disgusting as they are, should be slaughtered, senpai?¡±

    Again, his conviction startled me. For someone as hopelessly naive as him, where was he getting this darkness?

    I gave him a one-shoulder shrug. ¡°The Alternates didn¡¯t ask to be created. To me, they¡¯re less than a monster and more a¡ªwhat is it?¡ªthey¡¯re an ugly reflection of what-could¡¯ve-been. You said they¡¯re living a lie. You¡¯re right. They lived a lie so we can live ever more thankfully for the truth.¡±

    Rei twisted from discomfort. ¡°What if¡­ What if that ¡®truth¡¯ is a greater lie?¡±

    ¡°Then make it the truth.¡± Mom and Dad flashed through my eyes. ¡°That¡¯s your duty to uphold more than a Slayer or a kensei; it¡¯s yours, as Amamizu Rei.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Rei pressed his lips together, and they trembled. He stared at the cracked asphalt for a heartbeat or two, then loudly exhaled, purging everything from his lungs. ¡°Thank you for answering, senpai. I¡¯ll remember your words.¡±

    He didn¡¯t look resolved.

    I asked, ¡°You good, though?¡±

    Rei shortly nodded. ¡°Mhm. Whatever happens, we¡¯ll slay the Mother.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll give her peace.¡±

    His eyes briefly widened, then they softened. ¡°Yes¡­ We¡¯ll give her peace.¡±

    That¡¯s right. Although Zhu Xinyue had committed an undeniably awful act, although we still didn¡¯t know a thing about Lyressa¡¯s past life¡ªalthough Sophia Sagan had given up on her pursuit of knowledge¡ªshedding a tear for them wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing.

    *

    ¡°You know¡­¡± Aiden sat down on a crate, eating a cookie and watching the geniuses work. ¡°I noticed something off ¡®bout the Alts: the ones we encountered were all female.¡±

    ¡°Except for my dad,¡± I corrected.

    Aiden tilted his head toward me. ¡°An ugly-as-donkey-balls woman, pardon me." ("Fuck you.") "From Lyressa¡¯s description of the Mother, maybe she¡¯s¡ªI dunno¡ªfond of those stories. Tragic ones.¡±

    I was reminded about Nathan and Sophia. I said, ¡°It¡¯s a decent theory, but trying to pin down the Mother¡¯s logic is a losing battle.¡±

    Aiden scoffed and took a chunk off the cookie. Rudely while eating, he talked, ¡°Who says I¡¯m playing detective like you, huh? I was just thinking.¡±

    To show no harm, I put my hands up. ¡°Sorry for engaging in a conversation with you, FB. Next time, I¡¯ll ignore your thoughts.¡±

    ¡°Tch, you¡¯re askin¡¯ for another asswhooping.¡± Aiden finished the rest of his cookie and wiped the crumbs off his palms. ¡°More than you already took, I mean. You sure you wanna stay here?¡±

    ¡°You sound actually concerned for my well-being.¡±

    Aiden snorted and shook his head. ¡°The bare minimum. The way I see it? You¡¯re mostly dead weight besides from your brain, but you¡¯re not using it now, right?¡±

    ¡°Only for snarky comments and entertaining dull conversations, but yeah.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. If it was my choice, you''d be shipped back home to your cute family. We can¡¯t afford to worry ¡®bout you any more than we already had.¡± Aiden crossed his legs, thinking. ¡°...How are you takin¡¯ it, though?¡±

    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Being called ¡®dead weight¡¯ or¡­?¡±

    ¡°No, the mastermind-thing. You¡¯re surprisingly chill ¡®spite knowing your otherself started this mess. Aren¡¯t you the least bit curious about what sorta life he led?¡±

    I had to admit: I¡¯d be lying if I wasn¡¯t the tiniest bit curious, but it was exactly that. A tiny bit of curiosity. Everything else took precedence. That¡¯s what I told Aiden: ¡°I have things to do. An existential crisis isn¡¯t on the list unfortunately.¡±

    Aiden chuckled like that was funny. He muttered, ¡°You¡¯re gonna be so fuckin¡¯ annoying¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not spending mental energy worrying about a life that¡¯s literally not in this Worldline.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s still you.¡± Aiden wagged his finger up-and-down. ¡°Remember the Similitude Theory? Worldlines rhyme more times than they don¡¯t, and that goes the same for our otherselves. In the next Line over, Alexander Shen might be signing up for a castle as we speak.¡±

    I crossed my arms. ¡°And in the Worldline after, he¡¯s speaking to the Aiden Brand who calls himself ¡®Frostbite.¡¯ Even if our otherselves live similar lives, what¡¯s the point in acknowledging them?¡±

    Aiden held a long pause. ¡°Because they might be living better. They prolly aren¡¯t shackled with what we have.¡±

    I glanced at the scar showing through his shirt. ¡°Or maybe, we¡¯re all punished by the same bullshit no matter where we go.¡±

    ¡°Maybe, yeah, makes me glad the Mother didn¡¯t target me. Let¡¯s say, though, you found an otherself like that. Would you trade your life for his?¡±

    I refused to answer his question.

    "I''d make the trade, hundred times outta hundred."

    I didn¡¯t peg Aiden as an existentialist. On the internet, you could find entire forums dedicated to this topic: you and your otherselves. There were the narcissists, believing their otherselves were just as great as them; on the other end were the downtrodden, wishing they could replace their lives for another.

    As I said, I didn¡¯t want to think about that stuff.

    It was a rabbit-hole I wouldn¡¯t be able to escape from.

    *

    ¡°Really? Aiden was thinking about that?¡±

    ¡°How silly.¡±

    I found Chie and Morgan taking a break together, having speaking about the Starcatcher before my rude interruption. I sat down with them. ¡°I don¡¯t blame him for being preoccupied with that stuff.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps.¡± Morgan was levitating a ham sandwich; it disappeared into his hood, then popped out with a chunk missing. ¡°I¡¯d rather focus on the future. Whatever the conclusion we arrive at, we¡¯re breaking uncharted territory here. Admittedly, I¡¯m sort of excited.¡±

    Chie rested her chin on the table. ¡°I¡¯m excited about going back home and finally sleeping for eight hours.¡± She then whispered to herself, ¡°And catch up on my games.¡±

    While I couldn¡¯t see Morgan¡¯s face, I sensed he rolled his eyes. ¡°Ignoring the obvious irony of what I¡¯m about to say, a young girl like yourself shouldn¡¯t waste her time on those¡­banal things.¡±

    Chie puffed her cheeks like a porcupine and its spines. ¡°And do what? Read dense scientific journals and esoteric tomes from who-knows-where?¡±

    ¡°You just described an ideal evening.¡± The sandwich went in, and it came out smaller. ¡°Honing your craft is always time well spent. I can¡¯t say the same for low-brow entertainment like your games.¡±

    ¡°What are you calling ¡®low-brow¡¯?!¡± Chie sat up from her seat, the demon in her awakening. ¡°Alex¡ª!¡± (¡°Huh?¡±) ¡°¡ªyou disagree with him, right?!¡±

    They were both looking toward me for an answer. Somehow, I found myself in the possibly most dangerous position in the world. I nervously laughed. ¡°My sister¡¯s obsessed with webtoons, so there¡¯s that.¡±

    Chie pointed at Morgan. ¡°See!¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t answer your question, but alright.¡± Morgan finished the rest of his sandwich and wiped his mouth with a napkin. ¡°I¡¯m just giving you some advice, Chie. It¡¯s a privilege to waste your limited years on unfulfilling video-games and animes.¡±

    Something changed in Chie. The offense she held shifted, silently, into animosity. She sat down, crossed her arms, and looked anywhere other than her two colleagues at the table. It was like we had upset our teenage cousin.

    ¡°I''m not wasting anything, not like you,¡± she muttered to herself and said nothing more.

    Morgan smacked his lips together. I shook my head, signaling to cut the conversation there, but he stupidly blabbered, ¡°I''m more than guilty of the crime. I paid my sentence. I became wiser. Every second is a choice, so when the hand strikes midnight, I hope to present God or whoever¡¯s out there with my magnum opus.¡±

    Chie didn¡¯t reply.

    ¡°You think every waking moment should be devoted to research?¡± I replied instead.

    ¡°Ideally. We¡¯re on the precipice of something greater than ourselves, Alexander. We cannot afford any half-measures. Every sacrifice we make, we should spill our blood as gloriously as possible. After all¡­¡± Morgan tapped his own head. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m like this.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve given up your body? I thought you were forcibly cursed.¡±

    ¡°I was, but it opened several doors that would otherwise be closed. Due to my physical impediments, I had to rely on my magic to make up the difference. As a result, I became more proficient. I like to think the same logic applies to other processes: for the price of human advancement¡ªto step into the greater cosmos and the space beyond¡ªwhat would you pay for such a thing?¡±

    I spotted Sophos nearby, speaking with a few of her engineers.

    Morgan saw her too and chuckled. ¡°For Sophos? She¡¯ll foolishly refuse to pay.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t a pioneer, not like Morgan and Sophos. They could argue over the philosophy of their work; it had nothing to do with me. My feelings probably aligned similarly to Chie¡¯s; we would rather focus on ourselves and figure out how to best use the time we got.

    *

    ¡°Hey there, pretty boy.¡± You know, I was so excited to talk with Leo but now I wanted to file a sexual harassment complaint. A part of me actually was tempted to walk away; however, a pesky thing called ¡°camaraderie¡± kept me here.

    As Leo polished [Twin Heavens] on a bench, I said, ¡°I think you¡¯re talking about a different man. I didn¡¯t have time to put on my makeup this morning.¡±

    Leo giggled and held [Mother] to the afternoon sun, checking the gloss on the flat. ¡°What brings you here? Are you trying to, dare I say, improve the [Memento] between us?¡±

    ¡°If you flirt with me one more time, I¡¯ll bump it back down to an F.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll stop teasing.¡± She placed [Mother] to the side and brought [Father] onto her lap. ¡°I¡¯m just happy for you, y¡¯know? How does it feel having added two new [Mementos] to your arsenal?¡±

    I stared at my hands and arms like I¡¯d find the answer written between my scars. ¡°Overall? I¡¯m exhausted but also excited. I have a few different theories I want to test out. Another time, another place, though.¡±

    ¡°I imagine. You have a different look in your eyes, you know that? Before, you were hopelessly gloomy and pitiful¡ª¡± (¡°Uh huh.¡±) ¡°¡ªnow? There¡¯s a spark. I like it. It¡¯s a good look on you.¡±

    There she goes again. She must¡¯ve kept a closer eye on me than I thought.

    I said, ¡°I look like I actually want to be here?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t phrase it like that, but yeah.¡±

    It was all thanks to her. Leo had taken a chance and brought the most catastrophic family to Angels Guild. On that note¡­ ¡°Let me ask you something, princess. When you offered us wings, why make a gamble in the first place? You hardly knew us. We were trouble¡ªthat¡¯s why Aiden¡¯s giving me the side-eye¡ªso why risk it?¡±

    ¡°Why? That¡¯s¡­¡± The dopey look on her face was wiped off because of my question, and she stopped polishing [Father] to contemplate. ¡°That¡¯s definitely a question to ask, mhm¡­ I guess it¡¯s because of our conversation back at the hospital.¡±

    I recalled some of the stuff I¡¯d shared. ¡°When I threw everything out there? Was I that ¡®gloomy and pitiful¡¯ that you had to recruit me on the spot?¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I mean, jackass. It¡¯s¡­¡± Leo inhaled, a reflective gloss coming over her eyes. ¡°I saw a little bit of myself in you: the ugly, the bruised, the scaredy-cat. In fact, I was in your exact spot."

    Without thinking, I was suddenly sitting next to her on the bench. ¡°That right?¡±

    Leo laughed and nodded like those memories were hilarious. ¡°Yeah. When I dropped out of Baekyong three years ago, I had no fucking clue what I wanted to do. Should I go back to the Demonic Cult? Should I stow away on Hwarang¡¯s airship? Should I go solo? However, someone had other plans for me. Guess who.¡±

    ¡°Is it¡­ Is it Kosmos?¡±

    ¡°Yup. He convinced me to spend a few years in Ordo as a way to ¡®pick myself up.¡¯ I¡¯ll admit, I¡¯m still not fully there. Hell, I haven''t moved a single step since then.¡± Leo rested her chin on her hand, giving me her full regard. ¡°Guess we have that in common, don¡¯t we? We¡¯re both absolute disasters, but we¡¯re alive. Maybe that¡¯s why I offered you wings: so I can feel better about myself.¡±

    Feeling the gentle intensity of her caramel eyes was¡­ They dried my throat. I wasn¡¯t sure if I wanted to cry, laugh, or all of the above. I said, ¡°Leo¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m joking. I wanted to help you, Alex, like how Kosmos helped me.¡± Leo looked off at the rest of the experiment-grounds, staring at nothing in particular. A pressure I didn¡¯t realize was lifted from my chest. ¡°Isn¡¯t that all we want? For someone to believe in us while we kick and scream that they¡¯re wrong?¡±

    ¡­She was purposefully trying to develop our [Memento], wasn¡¯t she?

    I looked at what caught her eye: nothing. ¡°I guess so, princess.¡±

    Leo snickered and dispelled her twin-blades, all so she could playfully bump her shoulder into mine. ¡°You should try opening up more. I bet there''s a lovely person inside."

    ¡°¡®Lovely¡¯? That¡¯s probably the worst word you could use, and I heard it all.¡±

    ¡°Proving my point exactly, lovely¡ª¡± (¡°Stop calling me that.¡±) ¡°Then stop calling me ¡®princess¡¯ and we have a deal.¡±

    I bit my tongue.

    ¡°There you have it. I guess I¡¯ll be calling you that from now on, lovely.¡±

    I really do hate my life.

 [FOR STARS] Chapter 5 - Astraria

    ¡°To nobody¡¯s surprise, there¡¯s been a catastrophic development,¡± Sophos prefaced the emergency meeting in front of Starcatcher. That single sentence would''ve plummeted our morale if we didn''t think it was so damned hilarious. ¡°My geniuses have been monitoring Sophia¡¯s essence within the containment device. She¡¯s decaying at a concerning pace.¡±

    And that''s the punchline.

    Morgan turned his head toward the sky, surely gritting his teeth underneath his hood. ¡°Dammit, okay, what¡¯s the ETA?¡±

    Sophos glanced at her unfinished masterpiece; well, I shouldn¡¯t say ¡°unfinished¡± anymore. It looked almost ready. ¡°We have approximately less than ninety minutes before Sophia completely vanishes. I believe we can have Starcatcher operational in forty, but these are our best estimates.¡±

    Aiden was gnawing on the inside of his cheek. ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is, as soon as Starcatcher¡¯s online, we¡¯re doin¡¯ it?¡±

    Sophos tensed up. ¡°...There¡¯s no other choice, I¡¯m afraid. I know we¡¯re waiting on Kosmos, but we cannot afford an extra minute. Little Problem, I¡¯ve already told your superiors this and they shared the message to Kosmos. He¡¯s doing the best he can to tidy his affairs in Korea.¡±

    Morgan hissed a curse through his teeth. ¡°Alright, it can¡¯t be helped. Empress, go over the combat procedures with the team while I double-check the magic circle.¡± (¡°Roger.¡±) ¡°And Conqueror?¡±

    I picked my eyes off the ground.

    ¡°I believe you should return to Ordo. You¡¯re in no state to fight¡ª¡±

    ¡°He should stay,¡± Sophos interrupted. ¡°We already established this. The Mother knows his otherself¡ª¡±

    ¡°Are you suggesting we should use him as bait?!¡± Chie exclaimed, aghast. (¡°Not the worst idea,¡± Aiden muttered before Chie slapped him on the shoulder.)

    Morgan raised his hand to stop more interjections (Leo). ¡°Do you understand what you¡¯re trying to suggest? We have no idea what her relationship is with his otherself¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m quite aware. Any under circumstances, I would send him home too, but we know for a fact that he¡¯s connected to the Mother. His presence might work to our benefit¡ª¡±

    ¡°What about me?!¡± Rei suddenly spoke up. ¡°Perhaps we can do, uhm, something with my sixth sense?¡±

    Morgan strongly shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re in a slightly less dire position than he is!¡±

    ¡°And we don¡¯t know how to manipulate your superpower, let alone having the time to figure it out,¡± Sophos curtly stated. ¡°It¡¯s not a feasible option.¡± (¡°But¡ª!¡±) ¡°I know you want to help your senpai, but we must be realistic. As much as I despise myself for saying this, Conqueror can¡ªif ever so slightly¡ªtip the scales toward our side.¡±

    Rei tightened his lips and shamefully looked down.

    ¡°This is fucking ridiculous,¡± Leo snarled before shoving my shoulder. ¡°Say something, Alex!¡±

    I¡¯d been thinking about this, dammit. Everyone¡¯s concerns were valid. We were in a time crunch. Sophia was not going to last ninety minutes despite our estimates. Knowing how quickly the Starcatcher was put together, the execution would be imperfect. Worst case scenario, we¡¯d have an out-of-control Mother ready to kill all of us.

    To give us the best chances to succeed¡­

    ¡°...I have to agree with Sophos.¡± (¡°Alex!¡±) ¡°Once the Mother appears, all hell will break loose, but if there¡¯s the slightest chance that we can control her behavior, then we should take it. That happens to be me.¡±

    Morgan tilted his head lower in resignation. ¡°I suppose that settles it.¡±

    ¡°That¡­¡± Leo muttered something in Korean, probably a curse. Despite her thoughts, she knew she was outnumbered. ¡°Alright, fine. Sophos¡ª¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do whatever I can to ensure his health. Now, are there any other concerns?¡± Sophos asked the rest of the team.

    Nobody had any.

    ¡°Good. Let¡¯s work until our bones fall off.¡±

    ***

    As reminded by Morgan and the others, my role was purely support. They wanted me off the front-lines for a good reason¡ªI genuinely couldn¡¯t fight at my best¡ªso Sophos personally assured my safety: protection magic. She''d given me an S-Rank ward.

    Sophos Protection & Anti-Cosmic Ward

    Rank S

    Type: Ward

    Description: Drawn by Sophos, this is a physical ward that has been etched with a high-level magic circle of absolute protection. There are additional high-level protections against cosmic effects.

    When I tucked the [Ward] into my pants, my body was outlined by a golden sheen as if I was an important NPC in a video-game. Other than a subtle warmth, I didn¡¯t feel any different. Besides from me, everyone participating in the Mother¡¯s capture and subjugation also possessed the same [Ward]. The total rounded to around two dozen, and that included us Angels.

    The geniuses converted the testing grounds into an active warzone. They carved glowing glyphs of different designs and colors through the asphalt and into the soft dirt below. According to Morgan, the layout was ripped straight from the Society¡¯s Department of War. Only the creator(s) could activate them, and a forced trigger would be ¡°reasonably difficult.¡±

    Glyphs weren¡¯t the only countermeasure. They¡¯d set up combat turrets and similar constructs, covering everywhere and letting not a single centimeter go uncovered. Not every construct went pew-pew, however, as Chie had enlightened me. To name an example, the corners had constructs that would erect a barrier if someone entered the vicinity.

    You had to admit: to set this up within half-an-hour was impressive.

    Ironically, the safest place was around Starcatcher. No glyphs, no turrets, just a questionably-built machine.

    With the battlefield made, all that remained was our flawless, risk-free strategy: throw Sophos into harm¡¯s way while I distract the Mother with my handsome face. Sophos, as an SS-Rank Slayer, could likely do the subjugation by herself, but doing things overkill was standard business practice.

    I had to admit: I was fucking nervous. The wait was killing me. It was killing all of us. This wasn¡¯t any normal breacher¡ªincluding Essies even. The Mother would be unlike anything we had fought before, from someone as inexperienced as me to a seasoned mage like Sophos.

    Anything could happen.

    What else is there to do, but trust that we did our job and continue to do them?

    ¡°It¡¯s complete!¡± Sophos exclaimed so everyone could hear. ¡°All non-essential personnel, evacuate!¡±

    The non-essential personnel¡ªthe ones who weren¡¯t outlined in gold¡ªrushed to pack their belongings. A small team of geniuses stood near teleportation circles, making sure the non-combatants were ported out of the facility. Within a couple minutes, only we remained: the poor saps in charge of seeing this thing through.

    We stood around Starcatcher as Sophos manned the console. A few geniuses, who had been conducting one final check, gave a thumbs-up. Problem gave a clear nod from his station, the Alternate tracker. Sophos reciprocated with a nod herself.

    We all collectively gulped. Leo discreetly put her arm out in front of me as though saying, ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid, lovely.¡±

    ¡°A-Activating the replica of [Thousands, Thousands Worlds] in three, two, one¡ª!¡± Sophos pressed a button.

    There was no ceremony. No light, no sound, nothing that could indicate success. However, I blinked and the Starcatcher was concealed inside a black box about the size of the magic parchment''s area¡ªno, this was far more complex structure. It wasn¡¯t that the magic circle had produced a black box, but rather, it had deleted an entire space and thus rendered it nothing.

    The box had no sense of depth or scale; to our imperfect eyes, it was simultaneously two- and three-dimensional. It had shape but it was shapeless. It had tangibility but it was intangible. It was nothing, but it was something. After stripping down the natural laws of the World, this was what came of it: space, the cosmos, and multiverse.

    An environment that Sophia could exist in.

    Although the replica produced no sound¡ªit wasn¡¯t producing anything sensory¡ªwe were all understandably freaking out. Internally, at least.

    ¡°It¡¯s holding!¡± Problem said, his voice trembling. ¡°Ha, that old hag has finally proven herself useful!¡±

    Sophos gritted her teeth. ¡°Releasing phenomenal energy! Emitter one and two, release!¡± She flipped two levers, and above, an LED light turned green. ¡°Emitter three and four, release!¡± Another flip. ¡°Five and six!¡± All green.

    She saw the green lights and laughed at the wondrous sight. ¡°My goodness, it¡¯s working! It¡¯s actually working! I really am a genius, haha! Now¡­¡± On the center of the console was a larger lever, and she firmly grasped it. ¡°I¡¯ll make you proud, Sophia!¡±

    She slammed the lever down¡ª

    Pixels flushed throughout the ¡°box,¡± discoloring the ¡°surface¡± into a million shades of gray. It was like staring into a wall of static but without the sound. The brightness burned my retinas, and my brain was firing blanks. It so desperately wanted to register something: a sound, a sensation, even smell¡ªbut the only thing we had was the pixelated void, flashing white and gray and black until we would go blind.

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    The ¡°box¡± seemingly grew larger, rising over us like a looming giant. Was it swelling?

    It was fucking swelling, holy shit.

    Sophos exclaimed, ¡°BARRIERS¡ª!¡±

    Below our feet, light rose from the asphalt.

    Then boom.

    I shielded my face, expecting debris and wind but nothing dragged across my skin. I heard the latter, however, coursing around me similarly to the collateral damage during Archknell''s fight against "Silverhonor." A transparent blue barrier thankfully protected us. Thank you, glyphs. Looking up, I saw¡­

    Starcatcher, destroyed. It didn¡¯t look destroyed¡ªno stray scrap metal or nuts and bolts¡ªbut rather, it leaned toward looking unfinished, like someone had deleted random areas without rhyme or logic. Underneath, though, the parchment for the magic circle was paper shreds. I couldn¡¯t see the container that¡¯d stored Sophia anywhere. What remained, though, were the six "arms" faintly glowing with a nonsensical, eldritch light.

    I think Sophia''s gone.

    I¡­ I don¡¯t know what happened.

    One genius broke the silence, ¡°Our constructs'' sensors are on the fritz.¡±

    Another genius replied, ¡°Reboot them. All of them.¡±

    ¡°DId it work?¡± Firebrand asked everyone, but he couldn¡¯t see a conclusive answer on our faces. ¡°C¡¯mon, it had to work, right? Problem, Sophos? What does the tracker say?¡±

    Problem was shaking his head, his small fingers flying over the tracker. ¡°It¡¯s useless! It was knocked down with the rest of the constructs!¡±

    Shit. None of us felt anything different with the air. Today was, on the surface, an ordinary summer day.

    Sophos stared down her busted console, teeth and fists clenched. ¡°All the moving parts worked. They worked, I¡¯m sure of it!¡±

    ¡°Then, we should¡¯ve attracted the Mother!¡± Firebrand exclaimed¡ª

    ¡°Perhaps our theory was wrong! We might¡¯ve approached this from the wrong angle!¡± Sophos sputtered, her words racing together. ¡°If this didn¡¯t work, then¡­¡±

    I couldn¡¯t listen to the conversation anymore. I didn¡¯t know if I was relieved or disappointed that Starcatcher failed. Or¡­ Maybe it was too soon to call the race. The tracker may be down, but didn¡¯t we have our secret weapon?

    ¡°Rei¡ª?¡±

    Rei had his head down.

    He clamped a hand over his mouth, and he was pale, sweating, and shaking.

    ¡°She¡¯s here,¡± I muttered.

    Empress perked her head up, then she saw Rei too. I could see color draining from her face, matching his shade. ¡°SOPHOS¡ª!¡±

    A woman stood on Starcatcher¡¯s half-deleted platform¡ªcorrection, she was levitating a couple inches above it. She silenced the world. Our voices were stolen, the wind was still, and birds were songless. As the strange demesne from earlier, her existence was irregular. Freakish. By the very nature of her presence, the logic of our souls was tested and our sanity with it.

    The Mother of the Alternates.

    She was undoubtedly a woman. Had been a woman. Her whole face¡ªnot half like what Lyressa had said¡ªwas ¡°shrouded with a veil of depthless pixels.¡± Here, it was more like a tunnel that led infinitely deep into nothingness. Lyressa was correct about one thing, though: her hair was the color of a starry night. A gorgeous combination of nightly blue and midnight black, with pixels scattered across her locks like sparkling accessories.

    She wore a dark gown that defied physics: eternally flowing as though suspended in water. The bottom-edges phased through the platform. Her skin was much like Sophia¡¯s: pixelated; however, it was blindingly white and much worse than a corpse. She was ¡°alive¡± in the loosest sense.

    The Mother didn¡¯t seem to acknowledge us. Instead, she turned toward the emitters, reached out, and touched one.

    She siphoned an inky blue, gaseous substance; it poured onto her right hand, washing away the pixels and leaving behind smooth flesh. A real, human hand. The Mother looked at it in disbelief.

    Sophos gasped. ¡°She¡¯s after the remaining phenomenal energy! Don¡¯t let her¡ª!¡±

    A deafening scream rang, louder than a hurricane siren and more distorted than a broken speaker. Yet through the distortion, I heard a woman¡¯s lasting pain. She¡¯d been screaming for a long, long time, and we were the first ones to finally hear her.

    The Mother held her human hand toward the sky, clutching it, like it was engulfed in an invisible fire. She continued to scream, and while my ears wanted to bleed, so badly I swore¡ªI swore it¡ªI heard words.

    Then, floating above her palm, something appeared: a strange card. It rotated, showing a double-sided depiction of a winged man playing the trumpet, captivating an audience of men, women, and children.

    She crushed it.

    [J¨Šd¨}me¨…t]

    We became her audience, and she played a trumpet of death.

    Knees drummed the asphalt in response. A single knee, nothing more. Our heads were tucked low and toward the cracked gray and black surface, darkened by our own shadows. Our hands flanked the peripherals of our vision, arms shaking, but regardless of their fright¡ªthey were not ours. We could not move them, as with the rest of our bodies.

    We could only control our own breaths and our heartbeats.

    ¡°I-I can¡¯t move!¡± someone shouted. ¡°I can¡¯t move!¡±

    ¡°Sophos!¡± someone else cried. ¡°SOPHOS!¡±

    She did not respond.

    We knew that even she, a True Mythos Slayer, was affected by the [Skill].

    If anyone could break free, it¡¯d be her.

    But we didn¡¯t hear or see anything from Sophos.

    We kneeled, ignorant to the world. During our paralysis, we couldn¡¯t stop the Mother from siphoning the rest of the emitters and absorbing whatever this ¡°phenomenal energy¡± was. We only knew this fact because of small hints of light appearing at the top of our vision, a gentle humming, and finally, a long, much-deserved breath like a corpse brought back to life.

    ¡°...alive,¡± softly said the voice. It was gentle, vulnerable, and sweet. ¡°Not¡­enough. No¡ªno¡ªno¡ªno¡ªnot enough¡ªnot enough!¡±

    But she was still ruined. Her voice sounded human for just a few syllables before regressing into the distorted static that marked most of her Alternates.

    ¡°I must¡ªthe world, sacrifice!¡ªI¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry! Your fortune¡ª! Live, Faelight, live! Don¡¯t cry! Where are you?! Save¡ªme¡ª! Why¡ª?! I don¡¯t¡­ Forgive you, Caelum¡ª! You¡ªaren¡¯t¡ªa¡ªmistake¡ª!"

    I¡­

    I don¡¯t know what she was saying, but my heart twisted on her behalf.

    How long have you been this way?

    ¡°Promise! Have¡­hope! Sacrifice¡ªI will!¡ªsave you, rescue you¡ªyou promised! Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye! Forget¡ªeverything! I¡ªbelieve¡ªin¡ªyou. I¡¯m¡ªscared.¡±

    All I needed to do was say my name and she would recognize ¡°me,¡± but what would happen? Could I kneel here and wait for her episode to end? Would saying ¡°Conqueror¡± or ¡°Alexander Shen¡± be enough to bring her to lucidity?

    If¡­ If I could approach her some other way¡­

    Something popped into my memory. A single word, one that we all ignored and brushed aside in favor of greater questions.

    ¡°Astraria,¡± I said loud enough for her to hear.

    She stopped speaking, and the weight of her gaze fell upon me.

    Somehow, I could move my head. My neck stiffly wrenched upward. I found everyone kneeling, including the silent and tearful Sophos. Astraria firmly stood on Starcatcher''s platform with her two human legs and had two human arms at her sides. Her skin, though, was pale and thin and malnourished. Pixels still covered her face, but the phenomenal energy had revealed one thing: her narrow and blue lips.

    I couldn¡¯t see her eyes, but I felt them. Something inside her brain¡ªwhatever remained of it¡ªstirred.

    ¡°Astraria!¡± I shouted louder. ¡°We¡­ We finally found you, Astraria.¡±

    ¡°¡ªAlex...ander?¡± Astraria¡¯s mouth was wide, and she sounded clearer. ¡°You¡­are¡­here. Conqueror¡­ Alexander¡­ It¡¯s been so¡­long¡­¡±

    ¡°I know, but we found you. You¡­¡± I gulped. ¡°You can be with us again.¡±

    Astraria exhaled and pressed her lips together. ¡°I¡­can¡¯t¡­ I told you¡­ Do not¡­look for me¡­ I¡¯m¡­long gone¡­¡±

    ¡°But you were out there, somewhere. You¡¯re one of us. We¡­ We had to look for you and bring you back home.¡±

    ¡°You...dolt...¡± Her mouth twisted into a knot. ¡°Our home¡­no longer¡­exists¡­ We can never¡­return to the way¡­things once were¡­¡±

    Slowly, her [Skill] was weakening its hold on me. I could move my shoulders. ¡°We can try, Astraria. We can always try¡ª¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve tried¡­for hundreds of years¡­ Everything ends in¡­despair¡­ Over and over¡­ Our greatest hope¡­is gone¡­¡±

    So many questions were running through my head¡ªabout what any of this meant¡ªbut I pushed them aside.

    ¡°Astraria,¡± I said, ¡°we can still rebuild everything together. We can still¡­ We can still find whatever we¡¯re searching for.¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± Astraria¡¯s voice was getting weaker. ¡°Not¡­me¡­ I¡¯ve done¡­my duty¡­ Forget¡­about me¡­ I beg you¡­ Alexander¡­ My foolish... Ah¡­¡±

    Her head suddenly twitched to the side. The lucidity was wearing off, and pixels began spreading across her skin like the plague.

    I did everything I could.

    ¡°Conqueror¡­ Conqueror¡ªAlexander¡ªConqueror¡ªI¡¯m sorry! Leave me, forget me, abandon me¡ªgo, run, flee!¡±

    ¡°Astraria!¡± I broke free from her [Skill], rising to my feet. ¡°Wait¡ª!¡±

    ¡°I¡ªdon¡¯t¡ªwant¡ªto¡ªhurt¡ªanyone.¡±

    She sluggishly raised her right hand. It was reverting back to pixels, yet it retained enough humanity for Astraria to summon another strange card. Not like the first one. There weren''t any depictions on either side: just a bunch of pixelated textures, but it represented something.

    Astraria showed what it was.

    She threw the card behind her, and it expanded into the size of a door. The card collapsed inward and disintegrated, taking reality with it. What remained was a portal leading to somewhere that wasn¡¯t on Earth nor any alternate Worldlines. The space on the other side was mind-bendingly contorted, showing our human eyes colors and shapes we were never meant to see. It was a realm that existed between Worldlines¡ªthe crack in the multiverse¡ªand most of all, it was her home.

    The imaginary space in which disqualified, simulated futures were stored.

    ¡°Good¡ªbye.¡±

    The Mother of the Alternates, the one who¡¯d brought violent doppelgangers belonging to our broken and tragic pasts, walked through the doorway without so much of a fight. Everyone else remained kneeling, still affected by her [Skill] but it would wear off soon.

    All our preparations were useless.

    She¡­ She never had hostile intentions if she could help it.

    Everything she did was an accident.

    She only wanted to escape, and we unintentionally gave her one.

    Is this¡­ Is this how everything will end?

    The truth of the Previous Worldline, about her, about me¡ªwould these questions go unanswered forever?

    Would Astraria stay in that space for eternity? Watching over the failed simulations, observing the same tragedies and heartbreaks as her body remained forever fractured? That''s worse than death.

    Can we really let her walk away and leave her alone to this terrible, terrible fate?

    Can I let that happen? For a woman I didn¡¯t know?

    I¡­

    I stepped toward the doorway.

    ¡°Alex¡­?¡± Leo muttered where she kneeled. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    I took another step.

    ¡°Senpai¡­?¡± Rei was struggling to look at me. ¡°She¡¯s gone¡­¡±

    Another step.

    ¡°I-It¡¯s over, Conqueror¡­¡± Morgan grunted through clenched teeth.

    I couldn¡¯t let Astraria suffer anymore.

    ¡°Conqueror?¡± Sophos was the first to stretch her neck. ¡°What are you thinking¡ª?¡±

    I began running for the doorway.

    ¡°CONQUEROR¡ª!¡±

    I chased after her.

 [FOR STARS] Chapter 6 - Otherselves

    ¡°He¡¯s here! We have contact¡ª! Dammit, fire¡ª! Fire, goddammit¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Team 1, what¡¯s your status?! What¡¯s his condition?!¡±

    ¡°Shit, we have eyes on¡ª¡±

    ¡°Hobbs?! Hobbs¡ª?!¡±

    I shot the radio before the incapacitated Lynx could snatch it. Sparks flew from his comms. His arm hopelessly fell flat against the floor. Fatigues soaked in blood belonging to multiple men including his own. Through his shattered goggles, bloodshot eyes and pinpoint pupils glared at me. ¡°You¡­ You won¡¯t fucking win, Conqueror! We¡¯ll find you, we¡¯ll fucking find you¡ª!¡±

    His helmet was blown off his head, bouncing across polished hardwood alongside pieces of his skull and brain-matter.

    I entered her courtyard. The lamps were deactivated after I had cut the power, allowing the winter night to infect every barren branch and dead grass with darkness. Out here, it was quiet. Still. My visors picked up no heat signatures nor any abnormalities in the environment. Very well. After stowing away my Godkiller, I walked down the marked path, leaving behind thick and bloody footprints on the white and gray stones.

    I listened to the wind. I listened to chirping insects, and distantly, the desperate whine of electricity. Amongst the sounds, there was the subtle note of fallen concealment and a forced breath¡ªto my three o¡¯clock, behind the forwardmost tree.

    A condensed bar of strange energy flushed over my chest.

    Stasis inflicted, said my HUD. My body slowed down to a near-halt as Lynxes popped from the bushes.

    Spell-bullets shattered the night and thumped uselessly against BASTION. Hundreds of spells spent, the impacts completely absorbed, resulting in only minor scratches. I¡¯d anticipated an ambush. I could¡¯ve gone through the effort to break their concealment, but I had technological superiority with my cybernetics and BASTION. It¡¯d be easier to bait them into the open like this.

    Stasis purified, BASTION informed, taking approximately two seconds to purge the effect. Too slow this time around, but alright.

    The nearest Lynx hid behind the closest tree at three o¡¯clock.

    I leapt toward him.

    ¡°Shit!¡± he cursed, and the servos of his exoskeleton spurred. Too late, I¡¯m afraid.

    Before he could retreat, my fingers latched onto the steel powering his arm. A mana-knife zipped across my eyes, banged against my metal cheek, and bounced off. The knife rebounded to sink between the plates but it was swatted aside. I grabbed the back of his neck and drilled his face into the tree.

    It was flattened, skull crushed, blood smeared against the bark and teeth flying free, and limply he fell¡ª

    Behind me, another Lynx charged at me with a similar mana-machete. He held the blade high and screamed like a maniac. Simply, I drove my fist into an exposed part of his stomach. It broke skin and muscles, burying itself in his intestines and other viscera.

    Something caught my attention: his pained chuckle and a strange hissing coming from his vest.

    I see.

    I threw him toward the rest of the squad on the other side of the courtyard.

    In mid-air, above the pavement, he exploded in a confusing effect of fragmentation, combustion, and mana. I didn¡¯t anticipate that level of desperation from the Lynxes. You only found manic tactics like that in lesser-developed nations, not with Western-trained mercenaries. I suppose such tactics were called for in hopeless situations.

    The final members saw the futility and made for the exit. Two left. They hopped onto the pavement, their panicked feet clacking against the stone, as they alarmed the others through comms.

    In their next condensed breath, I grabbed the metal spine of the Lynx last in the stack. He gasped. ¡°He got me¡ª!¡±

    He was lifted in the air and was brought back down to the earth. Ribs shattered. His exoskeleton was bent inwards and cut into his body, but he was alive. Groaning, bleeding more internally than out.

    I stepped on his back, causing his groan to rise in pitch and volume, and crushed the remaining life out of him.

    The last Lynx looked back for a moment, and although only his eyes were visible, they told the whole story. He threw his comms aside and drew his mana-knife. He failed to make even a full slash before I had his arm and snapped it at the elbow. He screamed, but not for long. I backhanded him, the power enough to twist and snap his neck beyond ninety-degrees.

    I continued, clearing room after room, fighting Lynx after Lynx. One-by-one, they all died.

    None of them were noteworthy enough to comment on.

    After shedding enough blood for several operations, I faced the final double-door. Her study. On the other side, there was a single heartbeat. Hers. I could recognize her heart-beats out of a crowd of a thousand. After tonight, everything will be over.

    Finally.

    I entered, holding a short-iron at my side.

    Dr. Nightingale sat behind her desk, sipping on a glass of her favorite whiskey while staring at a portrait of her younger self. Both women lacked light in their eyes. You could hardly call them ¡°human¡±¡ªno, they were husks. Demons. Things like them were better off eradicated and erased from public consciousness.

    ¡°...Alexander, you¡¯ve taken longer than I thought.¡± Dr. Nightingale drank the rest of her whiskey and gulped. She set the glass aside and addressed me, seeing the man underneath the helmet.

    I aimed center on her forehead.

    Nightingale was undeterred. ¡°Where¡¯s my daughter? I thought she would want to see her mother for the last time.¡±

    ¡°Calling yourself a ¡®mother¡¯ is a fucking disgrace,¡± I growled. ¡°You took her husband¡¯s life, my uncle! For all these years, you lied to us. You lied to me¡ª¡±

    ¡°And look what happened.¡± Despite facing death, she grinned. ¡°I molded you into the greatest weapon against Slayers, better than Alistair! Yet you¡¯re just as ungrateful as him. I gave him Melissa, and look at what he did. But you, Alexander? I¡¯d given you so much more, allowed you to rise to your fullest potential, and this is how you¡¯re willing to end things.¡±

    Underneath my helmet, I clenched my teeth so hard that they may fall out. ¡°From the beginning, you should¡¯ve known this would happen.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but not by your hands.¡± Nightingale chuckled. ¡°I had such high hopes for you, Alexander.¡±

    ¡°And I believed in you. We were both wrong.¡±

    I pulled the trigger.

    She¡¯s dead. Evelyn Nightingale is dead. I¡­ I avenged my uncle.

    I killed and destroyed everything.

    What¡¯s left after this?

    I have no home to go to. I couldn¡¯t risk putting Althea and her family in danger, more than I already had. Aunt Melissa said she would protect me; we¡¯d need to spend the rest of our lives in hiding, but if it¡¯s her¡­

    She may have a chance for a normal life again.

    Not me.

    I¡¯m far too gone.

    Heh, what a bitch, right? I could¡¯ve done fucking anything else, yet I ended up as a stooge for Dr. Nightingale. She ruined my life and made this world uninhabitable for ¡°weapons¡± like me. I couldn¡¯t go back home to Ordo¡ª

    Ordo?

    I don¡¯t live there.

    Why did I think Ordo was my home? Am I going insane¡ª?

    A splitting headache tore my head in half.

    [SIMULATION INVALID]

    The wind created the perfect music amongst the field of reeds. I reached out to the azure heavens and pretended that this hand could touch that celestial throne. Soon, though, it will be done. For now, gently, I lowered my arrogance and allowed the reeds to graze my palm like a father caressing his son¡¯s hair.

    <Why did you call me here?> I asked my sworn brother behind me, my back turned and admiring the far horizons of this transient firmament.

    Jin Tianyou hesitated before speaking; I could hear him swallow a dry gulp. His heart was a trembling, weak thing. <Was the price you paid worth it, Yuhang?>

    My fingers gingerly curled around the stem of a bunch of reeds. <That¡¯s an unnecessary question. I¡¯ll hand you a better one: how long have you doubted me? I¡¯ve told you since the beginning, underneath the broken moon: the price is paid, always.>

    I tore the reeds out and faced my most cherished friend. He was in a terrible state. His midnight-blue hair was rough and frayed and his skin was sickly to the eyes; it was as though I was looking upon an ill beauty who had mustered the strength for a rare day of freedom. His eyes were the most pitiful I had seen yet; somewhere inside those galaxies of his were deep, deep sorrow.

    He couldn¡¯t respond to me. He no longer had the strength to. He lost that a long time ago. Pathetic.

    I let go of the torn reeds and allowed them to drift amongst the wind. Then, like an omen, the direction abruptly changed.

    I blinked once and saw a small woman standing beside Jin Tianyou, a young beauty often proclaimed to be the fairest in the entirety of the Jianghu. Her hair was the darkest ink and her fierce eyes were striking silver like the most extravagant jewelry, and there was no love left in her heart.

    <Yuhang, brother,> Elder Shang Xingli said with a vicious glare.

    So even my dearest friend betrayed me. This was an inevitability. He would need to perish at some point anyhow.

    <Sister,> I replied shortly, <I suppose you aren¡¯t here on friendly terms.>

    Elder Shang bit down on her lip as a failing way to hold her wrath. <You¡­ I¡¯ve always known you had forsaken morals, yet¡­>

    <On the behalf of the Alliance, that is. I¡¯ve committed countless sins.> I revealed my palm and counted each of my fingers. <I shared forbidden information with the International Security, leading to deaths and dissolutions. I destroyed countless sects, orthodox or otherwise. I beheaded Cheonma and murdered her son and niece soon after; on orders, I even took the life of Li Chunhua, my wife. Yet you come here speaking morals.>

    The Elder remained wrathful despite my listing of crimes¡ªwell, accomplishments. <Yet what you have done goes beyond the Alliance. You¡¯ve broken the greatest taboo of Xian (ÏÉ). You know the consequences.>

    All xia knew, of course. Jin Tianyou couldn¡¯t bear to look at his brother whom he betrayed; perhaps it was out of shame, or perhaps knowing what would happen next. Death was the only answer for this taboo.

    The reeds were going to be my resting place. Or so they assumed.

    <I won¡¯t deny it,> I declared. <The politics of the Alliance, of the world really, is tiresome. Everything is so¡­so tiresome. What else is there to do other than ponder about who will backstab me next?>

    <Is that why you chased after immortality?>

    <To ascend this flesh.>

    Elder Shang¡¯s teeth rattled, yet her tone was so quiet: <You disgust me, brother. You absolutely sicken me to the core. I¡­ I had hoped you would deny it. I hoped the brother I once loved was still inside the demon I¡¯m witnessing.>

    I smiled. <He died when Mother and Father did, Xingli. I am no longer the ¡®Silver Demon¡¯ but a transgressor of the Jianghu; however, I walk a different path than the previous sinners.> My smile grew to a grin. <After all, were they in the possession of an SSS-Rank [Skill]? There is no one better at warfare than I, and you know that better than anyone.>

    <Hah¡­> Xingli was torn between anger and despair; even for the overwhelming hate she had for me, there was a small part of her that wished I was her dumb older brother again. The brother who had cooked for her, and bantered, and taught her martial ways and the way of the Jianghu.

    If, though, there was one thing I could smile about, truly, then it¡¯d be her. She became the youngest Elder in the oblivious hope to change the land. In the end, she had to be the first one to raise a hand against her brother.

    Xingli snapped her fingers.

    Instantly, I was surrounded by a thousand cultivators and xias; I could feel formations in the air, ready to activate. The conversations were over. A shame. I would¡¯ve liked to speak with my sister for a few moments longer.

    I relaxed, however. This was the way of the world. Farewells were a gift.

    If I were to die today, then maybe Xingli would actually pave a way to the new world.

    I wonder, Althea, what would you do¡ª?

    What?

    Why did that name pop into my head? She didn¡¯t have a western name; we were raised in the Jianghu. She was Shang Xingli, and I was Shang Yuhang¡ª

    No, that wasn¡¯t correct.

    That wasn¡¯t my name.

    I wasn¡¯t Shang Yuhang. Not entirely. Something was wrong with this information. Something dearly wrong.

    I¡¯m not Shang Yuhang.

    Who the fuck am I?

    Why is Althea looking at me with so much hate in her eyes? What the hell did I do to her?

    I¡¯m not a cultivator, I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m¡­!

    [SIMULATION INVALID]

    ¡°Shen, don¡¯t¡ª!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fucking bullshit and you know it!¡± I pushed against Hernandez, and despite being half a foot shorter than me, he managed to hold me from breaking through the door. ¡°We have his DNA in the scene; we have eye-fucking-witnesses that match his description perfectly¡ª!¡± (¡°Shen!¡±) ¡°¡ªhe lied about his alibi¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Shen!¡± Hernandez shoved me hard enough that I fell back against my desk.

    I gritted my teeth, my fingers instinctively reaching for my tie and straightening it out.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    ¡°This¡­ This is why the Chief didn¡¯t tell you,¡± he said, whispering while half of the precinct was staring through the window. ¡°Councilman Scott¡¯s going home. There¡¯s nothing we can do¡ª¡±

    ¡°Who told him to drop the case?¡± I ran through names in my head. ¡°The mayor, Guild Master Mirage¡ª?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡ª¡± (¡°You have to know¡ª¡±) ¡°¡ªI said I don¡¯t fuckin¡¯ know, and Chief¡¯s not gonna tell you! Not now!¡±

    ¡°I¡ªfuck!¡± I wanted to do many things to my office: kick my desk, throw everything off the surface, break the window, but all I did was stand there, helplessly, with my fists and teeth locked together.

    Hernandez gulped and looked everywhere other than me. ¡°Shen, look, I know. It¡¯s a shitty situation¡ª¡±

    I raised my finger at him, but the words didn¡¯t come out at first. Then, I found them, ¡°Scott¡­ He raped and choked that girl. We found her dead with her own bra wrapped around her fucking neck, and we¡¯re supposed to leave him be?¡±

    He didn¡¯t give me an answer. No one here would give me an answer. Times like these, I thought back to those TV shows and movies where they dramatize the life of an honorable detective. ¡°Actual detective work wasn¡¯t like that,¡± I¡¯d say to myself, but clearly, the show-writers were onto something. I wonder, though¡­ Before the System, was my job any different back then? Because today, we have superhumans and super-problems yet we can¡¯t figure out any super-solutions to the diseases plaguing society.

    Whatever the answer was, I knew mine. That¡¯s all that matters.

    After cooling down enough, I convinced Hernandez to let me leave my office. He had me basically cornered against my door, making it clear that if I act out, he¡¯d kick me inside. I ignored my watching colleagues¡ªall of whom were waiting to see another outburst¡ªand focused on Chief¡¯s office.

    The blinds were shut and the isolation bubble was active, making it impossible to see the conversation inside. It didn''t last long, however, and the door opened after a few minutes.

    Chief exited first, the talk having taken years off his face. Everyone in the precinct was familiar with that ashamed, defeated countenance. It was a look that made you question why he was still working as a badge. He stepped aside for the immune king, the round and ugly fucker, Councilman Scott.

    Scott walked out like a theater star seeing his adoring audience. He smiled, licked his lips, and barely had the self-restraint to not laugh. He¡¯d won. The people pulling his strings were protecting him, and by the letters of the so-called ¡°law,¡± us badges were powerless. If we dared to act out, it¡¯d not only mean our lives but the lives of our families.

    Disgusting, wasn¡¯t it? I was staring at the icon of corruption: a thing so heinous yet impulsive, whose recklessness forced his superiors¡¯ hands. He was the typical scum we¡¯d catch, but the true demons knew better than to expose themselves like this.

    ¡°I¡¯ll see you folks later, hehe,¡± said Scott, his belly bouncing, and he turned toward the exit.

    As he left, his tiny, proud eyes flickered toward me. No matter how frumious my glaring was, he was unshaken during his departure. More exactly, my wrath gave him pleasure. Satisfaction, just like when he¡¯d bloodied that girl.

    He betrayed the smallest smirk, as if confessing his criminality.

    ***

    A few nights had passed since then. Nights like these were common in the city. Assaulters, rapists, burglars¡ªcriminals of all kinds¡ªroaming the darkened sidewalks in wait for their next mark. Yet what about the criminals with iron gates and armed guards? With money? For them, nights were a sanctuary from the action-packed day. Nights were paradise, to indulge in their fetishes and let loose their welled-up emotions built up by their professional lives.

    That¡¯s what Councilman Scott did. His case was swept under the rush of more exciting news: the mayor¡¯s new and hollow promises, scandals from across the country, the latest polls for the upcoming presidential election, and whatever else the media deemed as important.

    By tomorrow morning, they would hear about their next headline.

    Scott, despite being ordered to lay low, decided to join the streets.

    ¡°Guh¡ª?!¡± Councilman Scott spewed blood over his white button-up which had already been soiled from vomit. He heaved, his fat hands pulling himself to the cold brick wall. ¡°W-Wait wait wait, don¡¯t do this! Y-You don¡¯t know who you¡¯re messing with, you¡ª!¡±

    From the shadows, I emerged. Slowly, I freed my magisteel blade and listened to the steel sing in the cold, cold night.

    Scott found his reflection in the clean metal, and his once-lustful gaze sunk deeply into despair and panic. The whale madly blubbered, shaking his thick neck, as he fully pressed his back against the bricks. ¡°HELP¡ª!¡±

    Magisteel tickled his jugular.

    He swallowed his screams. The confidence he had shown at the station was returned and so much more. ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re Silvereyes.¡±

    I said nothing.

    ¡°Y-You¡¯re real, but¡ªbut what did I do?! I didn¡¯t do anything¡ª!¡±

    Swiftly, I dragged the edge across his neck. Scott tried screaming but choked on his own blood instead. Everything he did afterwards was a dead man¡¯s dance, and soon enough, he collapsed. The only ¡°life¡± left in him were his twitching limbs and the depleting warmth of his body.

    I cleaned the rather small amount of blood on my blade, then tapped my earpiece. ¡°Journalist, it¡¯s done. I¡¯m coming back¡ª¡±

    ¡°...Silvereyes.¡±

    I sighed. ¡°Negative, actually.¡±

    Of all nights, of course I would encounter him. As soon as he confirmed my existence, we couldn¡¯t stop running into each other. What a pain in the ass.

    With Scott dead behind me, I faced the only witness to my crime: the most popular Slayer in the city, Superhero. He levitated a few inches off the ground, his gaudy cape swaying in a constant motion. He looked almost disappointed to see me tonight.

    ¡°You dropped another one,¡± Hero said, woefully gesturing at the corpse.

    ¡°You dropping me next?¡± I primed my exoskeleton; however the conversation would end, I¡¯d need to scale the buildings immediately.

    Hero shook his head. ¡°Capes don¡¯t kill people¡ª¡±

    ¡°And this isn¡¯t your homeworld.¡± I pointed my sword at the airships stationed above the city. ¡°Capes don¡¯t exist here.¡±

    ¡°But villains and vigilantes do. To me, you¡¯re no different than Councilman Scott¡ª¡±

    ¡°Really? That¡¯s how everything squares up in your eyes? He can violate as many women as he wants, but if I drag a blade across his neck, I¡¯m no better than him¡ª?¡± (¡°That¡¯s right.¡±) ¡°¡ªyou¡¯re unbelievable, Hero.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m right. The way I see you, Silvereyes¡­¡± Hero drifted closer, enough to make me nervous. ¡°You¡¯re a psychopath who somehow got his hands on military-grade technology¡ªa wannabe cape.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s rich. Hero, you¡¯re¡­¡±

    A headache came over me. I was seeing two Heroes now, but it wasn¡¯t double-vision. It was two different Heroes in two different settings. On my left, we spoke in the middle of the day in plain-clothes; and on my right, was right now, fighting as our alter-egos in the dead of night. Simultaneously, the scenes played and the conversations merged together.

    What¡­

    What was this¡ª?!

    [SIMULATION INVALID]

    After the photography and handshaking, I took my rightful place before the podium. In front of me was an audience of the world¡¯s most influential figures: presidents and prime ministers, generals and captains, bureaucrats and agency heads. I¡¯d personally met with at least half of them. From every angle, there was at least a single camera capturing this pivotal moment in history.

    The medal around my neck was heavy, but the weight on my conscience had never been lighter.

    My hands spread across the solid wood, fingers picking at the small imperfections, as I leaned toward the small microphone. I was cognizant of the projector-screen behind me. ¡°This¡­ Heh, this has been a long time coming. Decades ago, I never would¡¯ve imagined myself in this position: receiving the International Medal of Peace and discussing policy with world leaders. Then again, I didn¡¯t imagine that I¡¯d get married.¡±

    I let my audience laugh, seeing their guards gradually lower. When the laughter died down, I continued, ¡°It seems many of you know what I¡¯m talking about.¡± Another round of laughter, and this time I joined them. ¡°Alright alright, I need to return to my script because otherwise I¡¯ll turn this into a stand-up routine, heh¡­¡±

    I cleared my throat and pointed at the projector-screen. An image flashed: my logo. ¡°Forgive me for advertising my start-up¡ª¡± (More laughter.) ¡°¡ªbut indulge me for a moment. When I founded Bastion Industries, I pursued one goal: to prevent tragedies¡ªoutbreaks¡ªlike the one that had taken my parents and many, many others. This medal is firm proof of that.¡±

    For the cameras, I held the medal closer to my face. After letting go, I faced the screen as the slideshow featured pictures of the very event that had earned me this honor. ¡°As we speak, some of my best people are rebuilding Abuja, giving them the infrastructure that these unfortunate souls deserve. My people were the heroes who contained the breakthroughs, who led expeditions to liberate monster-run districts, who manned turrets and mechas, who wielded swords and magic¡ªwhile you thank me for being the face of Bastion, I thank them for their service to this world.

    ¡°This medal¡ª!¡± I raised it high again, ¡°¡ªis for all of us!¡±

    My praise earned applause from the audience; it was easy to get them to laugh, to clap, to get their approval¡ªbut I¡¯ve seen what makes them jeer.

    The clapping retired, but I wasn¡¯t done. ¡°Now, I must apologize because this is the part where things will get uncomfortable. Next time another mistake occurs, like in Abuja, human history may end there.¡±

    Now, the leaders were glancing at one another, murmuring.

    ¡°After communicating with the Nigerian government, they¡­enlightened me to the problems ailing not only their spatial redirection systems but their entire domestic security. You may point to the issues from within, but I will take us outside its borders. Why? Because many, many, many other ¡®lesser-developed nations¡¯ suffer from the same unmistakable disease¡ªthe same one that had regarded me as an international criminal just a year ago. The same one who had killed my mother and father.¡±

    The murmurs grew louder, enough that they may be caught on my microphone.

    I still had the stage. I found the centermost camera and stared directly into the lens. ¡°You, the ¡®good¡¯ people of the Order of Nations. Beijing, Abuja, Phnom Penh, Caracas¡ªover and over, we see the same pattern but can¡¯t name the parasite out of fear. I will, because I¡¯m not afraid. Your ¡®governance¡¯ is not just inadequate, it¡¯s intentional. Your policies are not hypocrisy, it¡¯s hierarchy¡ª!¡±

    Several in the audience stood from their seats and began shouting. I couldn¡¯t hear what they were saying; I didn¡¯t speak the language of snakes.

    Louder, my voice grew, ¡°When the first portals opened, we believed our greatest threat were direwolves and goblins; today, the true threat are the ones screaming in this very room¡ª!¡±

    Just about everyone was yelling now. Well, I did say this part would make them uncomfortable, but that wasn¡¯t all. I ripped off the medal from my neck and slammed it against the pedestal several times.

    Bang, bang, bang¡ªand with that small gesture, I regained control.

    Gripping the medal¡¯s ribbons, I thrusted my finger at the screen, now flipped to a dozen pictures of documents, maps, and designs. ¡°Project Decorah! An internationally-funded project to manipulate the weather¡ªan explicitly forbidden area of research¡ªyet the Order went ahead. You¡¯ll think this is merely plans, right? No, Decorah has been successful. They caused the Great Hokkaido Earthquake¡ª¡±

    ¡°Liar!¡± screamed someone in the back¡ª

    I cracked the medal against the pedestal again, then snapped my fingers. New images showed. ¡°Project Oleander! In top-secret labs across the world, they declared themselves god in the microscopic world. They¡¯re creating viruses that will wipe out swaths of the population, and most of all¡ª!¡± The screen showed photos of the most concerning one. ¡°¡ªa virus that only targets Slayers.¡±

    I, once again, silenced the audience. As quickly as indignation puppeted their bodies, quickly as dread and confusion entered. Many were likely ignorant to these plans, but many weren¡¯t. This¡­ This was the truth about the world we lived in.

    ¡°We have already sent our findings to news outlets and presses around the world,¡± I declared, breathing more heavily now. ¡°This scratches the surface, but it¡¯s no longer my job to explain your crimes against humanity. No, I will make you answer them. I will be your judge, jury, and executioner. I will destroy you."

    I may die tomorrow, I may die several years from now, but the truth is now revealed. This might end the world, but if I don¡¯t do anything, they will cause the end themselves. All I can do is pray for a hopeful outcome.

    The Global Union will¡ª

    Pardon? Global Union¡­? That¡¯s¡­

    That¡¯s the name of the international government in my Worldline. How many otherselves did I go through¡­? I can feel my memories mixing into theirs. Which ones belong to me? Which ones belong to the other Alexander Shen?

    Where¡­

    Where can I get off this shitty train-ride¡ª?

    [SIMULATION INVALID]

    Wind bristled through the holes in the once-sturdy walls. Trophies laid around me, fallen in a carpet of broken plaster and glass. The lights flickered inconsistently, the brief bursts of illumination revealing the cruel reality in little, medicinal amounts. I smelled blood in the air, tears, and ash.

    I looked up and saw the proud banner of Bastion Guild, now torn and ruined. The wind, growing stronger now, snatched my legacy off its last legs. Slowly, ungraciously, it crumpled against the far wall and drifted to the tarnished floor.

    I inhaled and looked down at my dirty, peeling hands.

    ¡°What¡­ What exactly do you want me to see, Astraria?¡± I asked the Worldline itself, or rather, its simulation. ¡°I¡¯ve gone through so many otherselves that I forgot where my life starts and their lives end.¡±

    With nothing else to do, I began walking through the halls of Bastion Guild¡ªmy guild¡ªand seeing the solemn destruction as me, Conqueror of Angels Guild. ¡°Funnily enough, this Worldline is the calmest one I¡¯d experienced yet, despite¡­¡±

    Just¡­vaguely gesturing to everything around me. I laughed and kept going. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Guess this confirms what I always expected: every Alexander Shen is destined to suffer. Trying to find a Worldline where nothing goes wrong was like¡­ Shit, I can¡¯t even compute the odds.¡±

    I found a stairwell. This was a bad idea, but I began to climb until I found an excuse to get off. ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say: a life like that is a longshot. Tragedies seem to be a common denominator in our lives. Despite everything, we kept pushing in our own ways. We fought and we killed and we schemed. We turned our backs on morality; we embraced the devil inside us. Yet there¡¯s naive assholes like me, doing my best to stay on this path even if a happy ending isn¡¯t guaranteed.¡±

    Underneath my foot, a step cracked and crumbled slightly, sending concrete dust down the stairwell.

    I kept climbing.

    ¡°What do you think about that, Astraria? You¡¯ve seen my otherselves. You¡¯ve met ¡®me¡¯ before. Thousands upon thousands of times. What kind of future can you divine?¡± I gulped and saw the remaining flights to the roof. Guess I was going up there. ¡°What kind of future can I give you¡ª?¡±

    As if in response, a flying card flickered by¡ªlike the cards Astraria had summoned before. It had a double-sided depiction of a jester-like man with a sack over his shoulders. I couldn¡¯t determine anything else before it flew upstairs.

    I chased after the card.

    I¡¯d never climbed stairs faster in my ¡°life.¡± Because I was technically a ghost possessing my otherself¡¯s body, my previous injuries didn¡¯t shackle me. In fact, my otherself had a better body than I did. I learned that the hard way. My quick feet caught the stairs too early or stomped a little too hard on a sketchy spot, but I pushed through the mistakes. Had to. Needed to.

    I ascended Bastion Guild, catching teasing glimpses of Astraria¡¯s card.

    In no time at all, I reached the top. No more stairs, only a door leading to the roof.

    The card slipped through a crack in the door, and I rammed my shoulder into the hard steel. The obstruction was knocked out of the way, and once again I underestimated myself. I stumbled and embraced the open air and soon the grimey ground. Up here, the wind was fierce. Standing was a chore in itself because an inconvenient gust always seemed to hit me at the right moment. Slowly, though, I got on two feet and searched.

    In the foreground of a destroyed and smoking city¡ªlooking no different to Ordo¡ªwas a levitating, rotating card like a collectible in a game, positioned on the ledge.

    Of course I had to grab it there. No use complaining now, though.

    I sighed and dusted my legs off. ¡°Alright, not making it easy for me, huh?¡±

    Minding the wind, I shuffled closer and took the long journey one step at a time. Just one step. At some point, a strange sensation rose within ¡°my¡± stomach. Trying to describe it was like trying to describe everything else I¡¯d seen: the Alternates, the strange cosmic sights, and Astraria. It was not a sensation we, humans, were meant to feel¡ªbut to give a close example, I guess¡­ I guess it felt like my soul was getting pulled out.

    Rather, more accurately, my existence itself.

    It was getting dragged toward the card.

    It couldn¡¯t be anything good, I know, but this might be my only chance out of here.

    Closer and closer, the feeling intensified. My existence was getting stretched from all ends like taffy on hooks. Reaching out, my fingers became fuzzy and blurry to the eyes. I breathed twice, one for myself and one for the other ¡°me.¡± Everything told me to stop. The sensations grew. The thought of turning into an Alternate¡ªturning into her¡ªwas at the forefront of my head.

    But I kept pushing.

    The card was so close.

    Just¡ª!

    The card flew away again, this time behind me, and stopped halfway to the broken door.

    Like when Astraria had opened a portal to the imaginary space of simulated possibilities, this card did the same. It was different this time, however. As soon as the portal opened, a massive shockwave pushed me backwards, causing the back of my legs to hit the ledge. I nearly tipped over.

    I screamed and cursed, my head turning to see the pants-pissing drop. Somehow, by luck or instinct, I stayed on the roof.

    ¡°ALEX!¡± a man called out to me. I looked and saw an ironclad hand poking through the portal. ¡°TAKE MY HAND! ALEX!¡±

    I¡­ I know who that is.

    A new wind was strongly pushing against me. Not from being this high, but it came from the portal¡ªit was an unnatural wind, nothing like the one you¡¯d find on Earth. This wind was¡­ This wind was exposing.

    Every gust was stripping away and eroding my existence little-by-little.

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡± I forced myself into the galeforce.

    It was hard walking.

    I couldn¡¯t think.

    Soon, I could barely see anything.

    My memories¡ªwere¡ªgetting overwritten¡ª

    New¡ªlives¡ªentered¡ª

    I¡ªblinked.

    His hand was¡ªso close¡ª

    In the distance¡ªbetween our¡ªfingertips¡ª

    I¡ªbreathed a¡ªmillion times.

    I walked¡ªa million¡ªmore.

    I sobbed¡ªkilled¡ªbled¡ª

    I smiled¡ªhugged¡ªloved¡ª

    I saw¡ªtragedies.

    I¡ªsaw¡ªhappiness.

    Waiting¡ªwaiting¡ªfor me.

    So¡ª

    I took your hand and didn¡¯t let go.

    ¡°I got you!¡± Kosmos said, ¡°I got you, Alex!¡±

 [FOR STARS] Final Chapter - Sacrificed Star

    ¡°Don¡¯t let go of my hand. I¡¯m the only thing that¡¯s keeping your existence stable, and I don¡¯t know if I can rescue you again.¡±

    Those words were said by my savior. The world¡¯s savior. He was the hero who arose during the Terrors, the Shooting Star that children would wish upon at night, the envy of Slayers and the bane of governments¡ªhe was the strongest Slayer on the planet, Kosmos. He looked exactly how TV showed him.

    He sported his iconic silver-and-black [Compound Myth Armor], appearing as a warrior with his feet in two different eras: the fantastical age of myth and legends like Achilles, and the futuristic era of advanced, almost magical technology. And through absurd circumstances, I was holding his cold, metallic hand, feeling the individual panels and strange textures.

    Kosmos, through the dark cowl of his helmet, gave me his regard and tilted his head lower. ¡°Are you still whole?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I think so.¡± A lot of emotions and sensations were going through me, but emptiness and dysphoria weren¡¯t a part of the list.

    I didn¡¯t want to, but I had to look around.

    We were¡­ We were in that space: where disqualified futures were stored¡ªthe ¡°data center¡± of our Worldline and maybe every Slayer World too. I didn¡¯t know how our human brains could handle the sight before us, but maybe the architect provided accommodations for our inadequate perception.

    Above us was a beautiful ¡°sea¡± of celestial colors and bodies. Everything was suspended¡ªor seeming as if they were suspended¡ªin sparkling, twinkling ¡°water.¡± Nebulas were stretched across unfathomable distances like great whales, stars swam together in schools, clouds lazily drifted along the currents. They were¡­ They were coming from a single direction.

    At the ¡°center¡± of the imaginary space was a condensed pillar of golden light composed of trillions of motes. It seemed so far yet so large at the same time. It reached toward the ¡°sea¡± and entered the medium with long, ¡°branch¡±-like arms, spawning stars and gas and cosmos. Below, ¡°roots¡± dug through the surface¡ªa sheet resembling black ice that we stood on¡ªand continued to travel downward seemingly into infinity. Those were the only things existing underneath our feet.

    I didn¡¯t know where the simulations were stored, nor did I really want to know. I was fine with the vistas I had.

    Despite the horrors I¡¯d faced, this space was peaceful. It was breathtaking.

    ¡°Take everything in,¡± Kosmos told me, making sure I wouldn¡¯t let go of his hand. ¡°Sophos and Problem will interrogate us for everything we know.¡±

    For once, I was envious of someone else¡¯s sense of humor. I tried laughing my nervousness off, but no such luck. ¡°Did they stabilize your existence? Pretty sure my [Ward] broke.¡± I didn¡¯t bother checking; I knew it did.

    Kosmos paused, staring at the pillar. ¡°No. When they told me you had gone inside, I went after you without thinking. As it turned out, my [Skills] protect me against this sort of thing.¡±

    ¡°...You did the same thing I did.¡±

    ¡°Evidently.¡± I could feel Kosmos smile from behind his helmet. ¡°It looks like we¡¯ll both be scolded after we escape.¡±

    Ignoring how we shared the same single digit of IQ, I searched for Astraria in this vast, confusing landscape. Shadowy shapes formed in the distance, but in this place, my eyes or head could be playing tricks on me. ¡°Where¡¯s Astraria? She¡¯s the reason why we¡¯re here.¡±

    Kosmos looked around and whistled, just as clueless as me. ¡°One of her cards led me to you, but otherwise, I haven¡¯t seen her. Maybe this is her way of telling us to leave.¡±

    I gripped his hand harder. ¡°But are we satisfied with that answer?¡±

    He seemingly raised an eyebrow underneath his helmet.

    ¡°Astraria has been suffering for God-knows-how-long. This is our only chance to put her to rest, and¡­¡± Although the memories of my otherselves were fuzzy, I still remembered the significance of the Previous Worldline. ¡°Who knows, we might get some answers. Isn¡¯t that what you wanted when you first popped the experiment?¡±

    Chuckling, Kosmos said, ¡°This isn¡¯t what I imagined, but you¡¯re right. On all fronts. I¡¯m glad to see I¡¯m not the only lunatic on the team.¡±

    ¡°That a good thing or a bad thing?¡±

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s catastrophic. Sera and Idris can barely handle one Nathan. Two? A funeral will be hosted by the end of the day¡ªhold on, twelve o¡¯clock.¡±

    Peering ahead at the pillar of light, something appeared amongst the shadowy figures which weren¡¯t figments of my imagination. It was the distant figure of the woman we''d been searching for. Her back was turned, and mindlessly, she limped toward the pillar like a drunken moth to light.

    ¡°That¡¯s her,¡± I alerted and stepped forward¡ª

    One of the golden motes drifted away from the pillar like a leaf on a tree. Gently falling, it landed in Astraria¡¯s cupped hands. She closed them and embraced the light.

    The floor beneath us was turned on.

    A kaleidoscope of images and scenes replaced the abyss. It was a chaotic movie with no discernible chronology or logic¡ªa movie about me. Me, me, me, all me. Living different lives, walking down different paths, becoming different people, experiencing different futures. Living and dying.

    As the movie played, Astraria held her hands close to her chest¡ªthen she looked over her shoulder and seemingly stared right at us.

    I heard Kosmos gulp. ¡°We¡¯ve been had. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Without waiting for my response, he threw me over his shoulder and took to the sky. In a single jump, we were at least a dozen feet off the ground, and unlike my previous airborne stints, it felt more thrilling than dangerous. With his other hand, he called his signature [Etherlance]: a flawless silversteel spear with stardust twinkling from shaft to head.

    ¡°Hup!¡± At the apex of his jump, he hurled [Etherlance], traveling the absurd distance from here to Astraria.

    Underneath her pixelated face, she seemed to sigh. With a simple snap of her fingers, she formed a seven-layer shield made of blank cards. The first four shattered immediately, unable to handle the full brunt. The fifth and sixth held on for a moment longer, but it came down to the seventh.

    Astraria refused to be idle and pressed her palm against the back of the card. A shockwave rang throughout the imaginary space and [Etherlance] tumbled away.

    ¡°Dammit!¡± Kosmos said as we landed, recalling [Etherlance] back to his hand. He spun it around but not out of showmanship. Some sort of energy¡ªan imbuement¡ªformed around the spearhead. ¡°Let¡¯s try this again!¡±

    [Skill Activation: Aetherpure]

    His [Lance] flew. The sound was exactly what you¡¯d imagine a shooting star would make. It soared perfectly straight and parallel to the ground. I couldn¡¯t see the [Lance] itself but rather the energy-trail it left in its wake: white and pearly. This attack would easily pierce through Astraria¡¯s seven-layer defense, and despite her state, she knew that.

    But she didn¡¯t have to defend herself.

    The shadowy figures from before coalesced together, rapidly, becoming a solid mass of silhouettes. Dark hands and bodies put themselves before [Etherlance], and I thought they¡¯d dissipate from the energy alone. When the [Lance] arrived, however, I was proven wrong. They survived and bunched inwards, absorbing the momentum and creating a gargantuan dent in the blob. The [Lance] refused to surrender and pushed on, growing the dent larger and wider and deeper.

    Someone had to budge first.

    It was them, but in a way we didn¡¯t expect. Color washed over the individual silhouettes. Skin grew on their bodies and nails formed on each finger. Hair sprouted on their heads, then all the little details came together. The silhouettes wore casual clothes and uniforms and the rest of their cosmic wardrobe. They had a flawless complexion and so many scars that even Mongrel would get jealous. They were old and young and everything in-between¡ªan uncountable number of variations.

    But they all shared two key characteristics: their eyes were pure orbs of white, and they had the same face as me.

    Together, as a hive, they sacrificed themselves to stop [Etherlance].

    Light emerged between their bodies, and an explosion rang.

    High in the air, [Etherlance] sparkled like a star¡ªa falling, failed star. Around us, body parts began dropping. Arms, legs, parts of a torso, and heads. There wasn¡¯t any blood or guts; rather, the ¡°inside¡± of my ¡°otherselves¡± were pure white like stuffing in a teddy bear. They were puppets. Terrifying, uncanny puppets that looked like me.

    Once again, Kosmos recalled [Etherlance] his hand, cursing under his breath. I¡¯d been put on the ground a while ago, but this wasn¡¯t looking good. ¡°This will be harder than I thought. Alexander¡ª!¡±

    He couldn¡¯t finish his thought.

    More otherselves¡ªno, puppets¡ªrose from the ground like skeletons in a graveyard and surrounded us. Again, they had the diversity of infinity. Every possibility of me, old and young, successful and broken, was visualized. There had to be thousands, perhaps more, ordered to perform a single mission: to corrupt us just like how this space had corrupted Astraria. Right now, they stood motionlessly like mannequins at a mall, yet their white eyes would dominate my nightmares for years to come.

    This was a shitshow.

    Kosmos had to keep physical contact with me so I wouldn¡¯t fall into corruption, but I couldn¡¯t perform at my best due to my injuries. I was a burden¡ª

    He thrusted [Etherlance] at me. ¡°Take this and catch Astraria.¡±

    Before I could ask why, he forced me to take his signature. He let go, and I didn¡¯t feel any different. ¡°Kosmos¡ª¡±

    ¡°My spear is a part of me; it¡¯ll ground your existence like I had. I¡¯ll take care of your otherselves, so that means you have to dispatch Astraria yourself. Can you manage that?¡±

    Looks like he made my choice for me. No use trying to argue against him, right?

    I nodded. ¡°Yeah.¡±

    [Memento Recollection - Chain Gauntlets]

    I wrapped [Chains] around [Etherlance] so I would never let go of it. ¡°Good hunting, Kosmos.¡±

    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    ¡°You too, Conqueror. Go and get ''em,¡± Kosmos said as the puppets awakened behind him. A dozen jumped at the same time, hands reaching out to take him¡ªbut in a split second, without him seemingly moving, they were all destroyed.

    I wasn¡¯t as strong as him. I wasn¡¯t as healthy as him, but I had one thing he didn¡¯t: my [Mementos].

    [Conviction]

    Let my [Wings] give me strength and carry us home.

    I didn¡¯t know how to fly, but this was the best time to practice.

    I ran toward my side of the puppets, toward the golden pillar, where Astraria stood and waited. Hundreds of me¡¯s came alive and matched my pace; although their expressions were wooden, their bodies moved like hungry maniacs. My [Wings] flapped once, and I was lighter on my feet. Flapped twice and I had flight for a split-second¡ªah, not enough time or room.

    As my legs buckled and the bones within whined wanting to break, I jumped as hard as I could.

    [Conviction] carried me barely above the puppets¡¯ heads, a few of their hands scratching my boots. I flew higher, then lower, higher again and back down, dangerously low, before I maintained a steady height. The puppets couldn¡¯t reach me, and from the looks of it, there was a straight shot between me and Astraria.

    She was on the other side of the large mob, watching everything transpire.

    ¡°ASTRARIA!¡± I yelled at the top of my lungs.

    She didn¡¯t respond.

    Within moments, the puppets climbed on each other, forming a wall of themselves, and blocked her from view. Given the time and room, I wasn¡¯t proficient enough with [Conviction] to swoop around, so that meant I could only do one thing: go straight ahead.

    I held [Etherlance] outward, my body an arrow, and soared.

    I pierced through. Puppets crumpled from the wall in pieces, but due to the obstruction and my lack of experience, I didn¡¯t carry enough speed to freely pop out on the other side. They slowed me down just enough to grab onto my [Suit] and [Wings], and that¡¯s how they chose my next destination: back to the earth.

    If I couldn¡¯t fly around a wall, then I sure as hell couldn¡¯t recover from a downward trajectory.

    Using it to my advantage, then, I let go [Etherlance]¡ªthankful that having it wrapped in [Chains] still counted as ¡°contact¡±¡ªand laid it slack over my head. Right before I hit the ground, I swung the [Lance] down like a sledgehammer.

    As expected, it was going to do all the work for me.

    When the steel smacked against the floor, it generated a shockwave and blew the fuckers back¡ªthe closest ones having their legs snapped and broken. Everyone uselessly fell down. I joined them and crashed onto my shoulder. Familiar pain radiated throughout my nerves, but this pain was nothing to what I¡¯d felt before¡ªto what Astraria had felt.

    Even when my legs were weak, I stood on them. I ran on them, fearlessly into the mob of Alexander Shens.

    Fallen puppets grabbed at my ankles but I kicked them away. I tried flying once more, but these damned things were too persistent. My [Wings] were a climbing wall to them. I didn¡¯t have the space for another take-off, so I made the executive division: I dispelled them, determined to make the rest of the trip on foot.

    To you, Astraria.

    Kosmos¡¯s [Lance] cleaved through my possibilities.

    I dashed over their corpses.

    Through the standing puppets, I could barely see her. There was an impossible distance between us¡ªno, it wasn¡¯t impossible. No matter how long it takes, I¡¯ll be there.

    The muscles in my body ached, reminding me of the many times I¡¯d pushed myself too far.

    Just a little further, and the job will be done.

    Alexander Shens, from young to old, laid dead around me. I didn¡¯t give them a second glance. None of them were me. None of them lived my life.

    No matter how many otherselves Astraria will show, there¡¯s only me.

    [Etherlance] went through several puppets in a single swing.

    A single thrust skewered four at once.

    I screamed.

    They lunged.

    We fought.

    After cleaning away a swath of them, an opening appeared in the mob.

    On the other side was the sacrificed star, finally, after what felt like a lifetime of fighting.

    ¡°Astraria!¡± I shouted after her, bumbling through the gap as fast as I could. The puppets closed in faster than I estimated, wasting no time to restrain me from touching their master. [Etherlance] swung around like a club, whacking away the puppets shackling me. Little-by-little, their holds loosened.

    Soon, I broke free.

    There was only empty space between me and her.

    Astraria seemingly gasped and stepped backwards out of panic, but she was too slow and didn¡¯t move far enough.

    Incoherently yelling, I drove [Etherlance] toward her heart¡ª

    And at the last moment, a card appeared in front of the spearhead.

    It shattered like glass, then soon the imaginary space did the same. Our environment was changing. The cosmic ocean above us was replaced by a clear blue sky, and the kaleidoscope below transformed into a brown earth. We stood in the middle of an ordinary forest, feeling the heat of a singular sun on the back of our necks.

    New sleeves rolled over my arms, and a different heart was thumping inside my chest. I didn¡¯t feel so exhausted and sore anymore. Out of everything, only my [Mementos] and [Etherlance] remained the same. At the back of my head, someone was knocking at the door of my memories: my otherself of this Worldline.

    I didn¡¯t care.

    Astraria, seeing the Angel inside the otherself, turned tail and fled. Like a rebellious princess, she sprinted through the trees and bushes, trying to evade her captor: me.

    With my temporary body, I kicked off the ground, feeling twigs and branches snap against my legs. In seconds, I caught up to her.

    Leaping off a fallen log, Astraria elegantly turned around and whisked a card at me.

    [Etherlance] destroyed it, and glass shattered.

    The forest was replaced by a bustling city just like Ordo. Unfortunately, she decided to drop us in the worst part of urban living: rush-hour. The trees transformed into angry cars with angrier drivers inside, honking their horns and swearing as two maniacs played tag in the middle of fucking oncoming traffic.

    Astraria effortlessly hopped on top of a truck, leapt onto a traffic-light then a poor taxi. I decided to take the low-road, weaving between vehicles and making them stop on my behalf. At the intersection, several cars had to swerve to avoid me and ended up crashing into each other. Astraria watched the destruction from her perch, and as an SUV entered the fray, she snapped her fingers.

    A card appeared underneath the exhaust.

    The SUV got launched in the air, hit the road, and started bouncing toward me¡ªmetal flying everywhere.

    Cursing, I slid underneath at the perfect moment, allowing the damned thing to bounce over my head. At the same time, I¡¯d primed my arm.

    [Etherlance] was thrown, the [Chain] unraveling. I was no Kosmos, but I¡¯d calculated the distance. I was barely in-range, and my aim was true.

    Glass shattered.

    An explosion burned my back and nearly knocked me over. Dirt showered my head and shoulders, and through my blurred vision, we were placed in Hell. Soldiers huddled together and behind the wheels of their transport, rifle-barrels burning amber and casings seeding the dirt, and explosions rang, rang, ringing. On the other side was the enemy, both participants separated by a long, clear, and most importantly, empty field home to only buried brass and craters.

    Astraria entered No Man¡¯s Land, and I chased after.

    She braved a snowy blizzard marked by a whited-out sun, and I trekked through the cold.

    I reached out as we were submerged in the unfathomably deep ocean where only mysteries and horrors lived.

    Continuously, she escaped me, hiding amongst a crowd celebrating the recent presidential election.

    I found her inside a church, escaping through a crowd of devouts.

    I readied the [Lance], a few feet separating us, while fires and breachers devastated the city, and distantly, two children cried for their mother and father.

    For the last time, the [Etherlance] came.

    It shattered thousands of Worldlines and finally touched her heart. The silversteel sunk into her flesh, and the simulations came to an end. Reality itself became fragmented into glass shards, breaking and fracturing into millions of imperceptibly small pieces, before the imaginary space returned.

    We stood before the golden pillar of light, and I could individually count the trillions of lights making up the cosmic structure.

    But despite its splendor, a stunning beauty was standing before me.

    Astraria¡¯s face was no longer hidden by pixels. Although this was the first time ¡°we¡± had truly met, I could tell she was something of a diva. She prided herself on being mystical and intriguing, less like a snake and more like a diamond, but now¡­ She laid everything bare, peering into me with her enchanting cosmic-blue eyes.

    Despite the steel buried in her chest, she smiled brightly. ¡°Your fortune has come true once again, Alexander Shen!¡±

    I held onto [Etherlance], trying my best to smile back. ¡°Astraria... This isn¡¯t the first time ¡®we¡¯ve¡¯ met."

    Astraria shook her head. ¡°No, but only a dunce would chase a damsel into a treacherous place like this! That¡­¡± Intimately, she took hold of the [Lance] and made sure it stayed inside her. ¡°That is what I admire most about you¡ªthe best versions of you, Alexander.¡±

    I gritted my teeth. So many questions ran through my head, but I couldn¡¯t verbalize them. ¡°Astraria¡ª¡±

    Cracks formed on her arms, soon reaching up her neck and infecting her cheeks. Her skin was already flaking off. There was only white underneath. Yet Astraria didn¡¯t look perturbed at all. She looked at peace. ¡°Don¡¯t cry, now. You¡¯re just beginning on your journey, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    More of her skin peeled off.

    ¡°If this is the version I see, then surely, you will become the first SSS-Rank Slayer in your Worldline once more¡ª¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± I started shaking my head. ¡°What do you mean? Kosmos is the first one.¡±

    ¡°What¡ª?¡± Astraria¡¯s eyes widened and her hold on the [Lance] tightened. ¡°Who¡­ Who is Kosmos?¡±

    I¡­ I didn¡¯t understand. Of all the Worldlines she¡¯d seen, she never saw Kosmos?

    I told her, ¡°Nathan Hyun.¡±

    ¡°Nathan Hyun, someone as insignificant as him...?" As soon as she said his name, the gears clicked inside her head as more of her body crumbled. ¡°I see¡­ Miracles truly do beget miracles.¡±

    She let go of the [Lance] and cupped my cheeks. ¡°Take your miracle and soar farther than we have. Stand with your friends and become the master of [Mementos]. Alexander, our hope for a perfect world hasn¡¯t died yet. If it¡¯s you¡ªif it¡¯s Nathan¡ªthen you both can accomplish what we, the Almagest, have been dreaming for many years.¡±

    I lowered my forehead and she placed her lips there.

    ¡°This is my gift to you, o¡¯ newly birthed Conqueror. Go and return home, and¡­¡± She couldn¡¯t finish her last words.

    She was nearly spent, now.

    The last to disappear was her proud, hopeful smile.

    As the white light from her body overwhelmed me, I managed to squeak out one last sentence¡­

    ¡°Goodbye, Astraria.¡±

    *

    [Commission ¡°The Alternate Investigation¡± has been completed]

    [You have been paid 1,250,000ssp]

    [Metrics satisfied]

    [Achievement recognized]

    [Qualifications met]

    [Rank Ascension Commission ¡°D-Rank Slayer¡± has been issued]

    [Due to the results of ¡°The Alternate Investigation,¡± ¡°D-Rank Slayer¡± has automatically been completed]

    [Congratulations, Conqueror! You are now a D-Rank Slayer!]

    [Available Skill Slots: 3 ¡ú 4]

    Commission: The Alternate Investigation

    Pay: 1,250,000ssp

    Description: I know this message won¡¯t reach you, Alexander, because not everything from the Slayer System can be perceived by your eyes. But this is proof I existed, that someone is reading this. ¡°Astraria¡± is merely a beautiful codename I¡¯d picked out for myself. My real name is Seren Faye. For most of my life, I¡¯ve foresaw countless fortunes. Of beauty, of destruction, of love, of terror. For you, Alexander of Angels Guild? I see a beautiful, long life as long as you protect it. Once you look around and see the wonders you have, only then you¡¯re allowed to say, ¡°You¡¯ve been right all along, Astraria! My fortune has come true!¡±

    *

    [The sacrificed star imparted her gift unto you]

    The Fool¡¯s Many Faces

    Rank ???

    Type: ???

    Description: Its effects have not yet been revealed¡­

    Acquisition Requirement: Unknown, though as you continue on your journey, the [Skill] may open itself to you.

 [FOR STARS] Epilogue - For Home

    ¡°Today marks the seventh day since the Summer Scare. While authorities are monitoring spatial fluctuations, they remain hopeful that no additional breakthroughs will spawn. Although the Big Four had resumed guild try-outs against their advice, there have not been any incidents since the breakthrough at Angels Guild. As we speak, the remaining exams are concluding and within the coming days, young men and women will be eagerly awaiting an email in their inbox."

    ¡°...The ¡®Summer Scare,¡¯ that has a nice ring to it. Everyone will forget about this within a year.¡± Rector turned off the TV and swiveled in his chair, facing his three most troublesome subordinates, but his eyes were on someone else. ¡°What do you think about this?¡±

    Leo, Morgan, and I stood at attention in respect for the Guild Master and Vice Guild Master of Angels Guild; and most importantly, the No.1 of the [Fabel Rankings] and the only SSS-Rank Slayer in the world, Kosmos.

    We¡¯d first met back during the final operation before he had to return to Korea; he only found time to show up today, and not for long considering his schedule. Like always, he wore his famous [Myth Compound Armor], standing powerfully by simply holding his hands together. It reminded me of Uncle: they both used the smallest gestures to command the utmost respect, letting even the blindest and most arrogant know of this fact. They were both legends in their own right.

    Despite having used his signature, it was still nerve-wracking to stand in the same room as him.

    Kosmos tilted his head toward Rector. ¡°Considering Angels Guild has less calls for dissolution as of late, I think we can consider the ¡®Summer Scare¡¯ a success.¡± (¡°They¡¯re still higher than previous months. I did the math.¡±) ¡°Thank you, Rector. How¡¯s the front with the internationals?¡±

    Rector rolled his eyes. ¡°I sent you the memo. Did you read it?¡±

    Kosmos said nothing.

    ¡°You¡¯re very fortunate that a fountain pen can¡¯t pierce your [Armor].¡±

    ¡°Gentlemen¡­¡± Seraph sighed and impatiently tapped her finger against her desk. ¡°Let¡¯s not break into another argument in front of our team. They¡¯ve been disillusioned enough as it is. But to answer your question, Nathan¡­¡±

    She stood from her chair and presumably held a copy of said memo in her hands. She walked around and placed it firmly in her husband¡¯s metal fingers in a way that felt PG-13. ¡°They¡¯re conceding this as a loss. First Class Agent Dwyer is expectedly in hot water while the eight-fourteens are wiping their hands clean.¡±

    I raised my hand before speaking, ¡°Did they¡ªwhoever it is¡ªpurposefully set up Dwyer to fail?¡±

    ¡°I see it more as a test than a trap,¡± Rector commented. ¡°A test he failed, both operationally and professionally. Snakes like him, they¡¯re good at shifting blame; today, he lost to a bigger snake.¡±

    Right. I guess Angels Guild had been fighting a long war against the Global Union since basically its inception. The Summer Scare was one of many battles between them. Knowing our government overlords, they had other levers to pull. I guess they wanted to see if Dwyer was competent enough to take down the king, and they received their answer. From the beginning, I think, trying to frame us as geddons or apocs was his first and fatal mistake¡ªassuming if Dietrich hadn¡¯t given him the idea.

    Whatever the case, we likely wouldn¡¯t see Dwyer again.

    While publicly, Angels Guild was in the clear, it was a different matter internally. Our Board of Operations might harbor additional doubts regarding the current direction of the guild, especially knowing the reason why I was called here in the first place. Worrying about guild politics wasn¡¯t in my job description, but better to acknowledge the threat than walk around obliviously.

    As Kosmos read over the memo, he nodded, his expression seemingly positive. ¡°Good, speaking of memos, I did read Sophos¡¯s report¡ª (¡°Oh, you read hers but not mine?¡±) ¡°¡ªConqueror, you¡¯re tougher than you look and that¡¯s saying something. Other than [The Fool¡¯s Many Faces], you¡¯re experiencing zero symptoms?¡±

    I glanced at Morgan. ¡°Other than having my ear talked off, mhm. Sophos couldn¡¯t determine what [Skill] Astraria had given me, but from the looks of things, I¡¯m healthy.¡±

    Morgan huffed from my staring and nodded. ¡°Alexander¡¯s vacation in the Alternate Space didn¡¯t seem to negatively affect him¡ªaside from memory loss of the event, obviously. The same can be said for yourself, Kosmos.¡±

    Yeah, I couldn¡¯t remember much after entering the Alternate Space (the name invented by Sophos). Really, the most I recall was my conversation with Astraria. Everything else was a blur, which might be a good thing considering I¡¯d experienced my otherselves¡¯ memories. The most annoying part was having to attend daily check-ups for the past seven days.

    Rector butted in, ¡°I already said my piece regarding your recklessness¡ªboth of you¡ªbut for the love of all that is good and holy, think before you commit to something like this.¡±

    Seraph chimed, ¡°It¡¯s Nathan. He doesn¡¯t have a brain when it comes to saving a poor soul.¡±

    Then Leo, ¡°It¡¯s Alex. From our short time, he feels the need to do rescue every damsel he finds."

    ¡°I¡¯m not that thoughtless.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a skirt-chaser.¡±

    Morgan sighed and started shaking his head while Rector looked for a gun to put inside his mouth.

    Leo shrugged her shoulders without a care in the world. ¡°Let¡¯s discuss why you called this meeting today. Is it because we may or may not have new members in our team?¡±

    Despite the exciting news, Rector looked the opposite of excited. ¡°Yes, unfortunately, our little family is growing much to my dismay. Let¡¯s talk about the strangest one first: Amamizu Rei. We¡¯ve discussed the situation and came to an agreement. As long as we help him fulfill his ¡®mission,¡¯ he¡¯ll lend his blade. Currently, he¡¯s living with Chie and Aiden; hopefully, they don¡¯t mind a roommate. As for his, err, strange characteristics, our expert in all-things-Japanese is away for most of the summer. In the meantime, we''ll have Sophos attempt to uncover some of his mysteries.¡±

    I assumed we wouldn¡¯t know his ¡°mission¡± unless he shared first, which was the same for all of us. I mean, didn''t he want to defeat Yomiya Yasuyuki or...?

    Rector moved on from the kid: ¡°Victor Taslim and Okano Kotone, the ¡®normal¡¯ ones in the team. There¡¯s nothing special I can say about them; we revealed the nature of our team and they accepted the offer without hesitation. Good, they can balance out you freaks¡ªno offense intended. But your friend, Li Chunhua, was more straightforward with her expectations. Considering we have more than one individual with Jianghu connections, we didn¡¯t find a reason to deny her. Unless she decides to assassinate a member of the demonic faction.¡±

    Leo scoffed and proudly crossed her arms.

    Unlike Rei, I knew what Chunhua wanted: the head of the man who¡¯d framed her master. She likely outright told Seraph and Rector that she was using Angels Guild to build her strength and enter the Jianghu. With the Demonic Cult as an unlikely ally, her mission might actually be possible. It''d mean being on the same team as a demonic princess, though. I don''t want to imagine how their "relationship" might turn out.

    I raised my hand again. ¡°What about Uncle Ali and Thea?¡±

    ¡°We have¡­¡± Rector shiftily glanced at Kosmos and Seraph, ¡°...something different planned for your sister. We¡¯re working out the details right now. As for your uncle, he will take my position: the commander.¡±

    Morgan and Leo were taken aback by this news. While my uncle¡ªan ordinary human¡ªhad fought two Alternates, it was still incredibly unorthodox to have him lead a team filled with freaks and prodigies.

    Morgan floated forward in protest. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to insult Romanos, but is he capable of¡ª?¡±

    Seraph cut him off, ¡°There is no one better. He¡¯ll handle your daily affairs, and seeing the suggestions he has already made, prepare for a long few months.¡±

    I whistled. I could already feel the pain coming onto me. Putting him in-charge was the best choice. The best yet most sadistic choice.

    Leo nudged me. ¡°What is she talking about? What¡¯s your uncle planning?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon, princess.¡±

    That did nothing to appease her worries.

    Rector said, ¡°We¡¯ll formalize these changes with a fancy document and everything. By then, we¡¯ll be an official team, no longer an off-the-books thing. Prepare for it. You¡¯ll surely face harassment from your peers and other challenges. Until then, rest. Take as much time as you need to recover from last week¡¯s excitement because things will only escalate from here. And Alexander?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Yessir?¡±

    ¡°We already sent a housewarming gift courtesy of Seraph. It should be arriving soon.¡±

    More gifts, hurray. ¡°I¡¯ll find a place for it,¡± I promised.

    ¡°With the thousands of other gifts he has,¡± Leo joked¡ªactually no, she wasn¡¯t joking. ¡°I¡¯ll help him organize like the good neighbor I am.¡±

    Yeah, can¡¯t believe I was living in the same apartment building as this dumbass, but you had to make use of connections. There was an unoccupied apartment and she was on friendly terms with the owner.

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    ¡°We¡¯ll let you go in that case,¡± Seraph said. ¡°We don¡¯t have anything else to share. Unless¡­?¡±

    Both Kosmos and Rector came up empty.

    ¡°I¡¯ll stay for a few words,¡± Morgan told us. ¡°You run along and settle into your new apartment. This time, you shouldn¡¯t be interrupted by internationals.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the dream.¡± Leo patted my arm. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Alex.¡±

    After a little bow, we made for the doors, and all I could think about was where the fuck everything was going to go.

    ***

    After the departure of Leona and Alexander, Morgan Weyer stood before the Angels. He¡¯d saved this conversation when Kosmos bothered to appear. It took seven days of impatience, and finally, he could utter the words he¡¯d been meaning to say.

    ¡°...You have information on the Almagest,¡± Morgan accused; rather, it wasn¡¯t an accusation. It was a confirmation of fact. ¡°When you promised to aid in the search for Master Alzahrani, you all knew about the Almagest. It cannot be a coincidence that Astraria, a member, appears now. In fact, it must be why you attempted to contact other Slayer Worldlines. Are my deductions correct?¡±

    Although Seraph and Rector exchanged uneasy looks, Kosmos was stalwart. He confirmed, ¡°You¡¯re correct, Morgan, but even after all these years, we hardly know anything about them. We¡¯re in the dark as much as you are, which is why we abstained from drawing any hasty conclusions.¡±

    ¡°And now?¡±

    ¡°Now? We¡¯re even more confused.¡± Kosmos sighed and put a hand on his hip, looking at the many trophies on the walls and in displays. ¡°The Almagest had nearly destroyed our Worldline during the Terrors. Multiple times. But Astraria? She threw a wrench into everything we''d previously theorized. But our leads haven¡¯t completely run dry¡­¡±

    He stared at a decorated, stylized map of the world. Specifically, his object of focus was Korea. ¡°The Taeyang Group likely has a connection to the Almagest, and we know they¡¯re planning something big. That¡¯s why we¡¯re prepping Althea to infiltrate Baekyong Academy during the fall semester.¡±

    Morgan, underneath his hood, bit his lips. ¡°So our next battlefield is Korea? Will we get our answers then?¡±

    Kosmos put a finger on the Korean Peninsula, seemingly grimacing. ¡°Your lips to God''s ears, Morgan.¡±

    ***

    ¡°Alright, what did they get me¡­?¡± I tossed the box-cutter aside, ripped the tape and packaging open, and pulled out a bronze statue depicting wings glorious. It didn¡¯t seem cheap. You could count every individual feather, and on each feather, you could count every ridge and bump. Not bad for my signing bonus, but I preferred money, not conversation pieces.

    ¡°Ooo, fancy.¡± Without asking, my sister snatched my gift and felt its weight in her hands. ¡°How much you think this will go online? Thousand bucks? A million won?¡±

    ¡°A million won is around seven-hundred dollars, US.¡± Leo came around and filched the thing. ¡°And don¡¯t talk about selling your brother¡¯s trophies. Maybe he wants to put it inside his room.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t really decorate my room.¡±

    ¡°He can¡¯t decorate for shit.¡±

    Leo clicked her tongue and shook her head side-to-side thinking. ¡°We¡¯ll put it in the living room.¡±

    ¡°With what shelf?¡±

    ¡°He gotta make the shelf first.¡±

    ¡°Okay, how about I throw it out the balcony?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll fly.¡±

    ¡°It got wings.¡±

    ¡°I so look forward to working with you guys.¡± Leo placed the trophy on a random surface before grabbing a box and moving to the kitchen¡ªwait, that¡¯s my shit, isn¡¯t it?

    ¡°Hold on, princess¡ªand she¡¯s gone. Well, guess we need to add a few things to the shopping list and pray I don''t go broke.¡± Knowing her, she was going to drop that box and everything I¡¯d paid top-dollar for would end up in pieces.

    ¡°Well, our funds are more or less infinite at this point.¡± Uncle Ali came into the living room with a couple suspicious-looking cases.

    Althea snapped her fingers and pointed at them. ¡°How many guns are you smuggling into our apartment?¡±

    Uncle held his new toys up. ¡°These are clean.¡± We squinted our eyes. ¡°Most of them are clean.¡± Narrower, until our eyes were straight lines. ¡°They have papers.¡±

    I asked, ¡°Are those papers forged?¡±

    ¡°They exist. Now, if you excuse me, I¡¯m going to bury them in my room.¡± Our uncle, as wonderfully prepared and paranoid as he was, briskly walked down the hall as if his new toys weighed nothing.

    At the same time, Leo came out of the kitchen and just caught the cases in his hands. ¡°How many damned guns is he smuggling into your apartment?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re clean,¡± Thea said. (¡°Most of them,¡± I corrected.) ¡°They have papers.¡±

    ¡°...Who, exactly, is your uncle?¡± Leo asked, flabbergasted. ¡°From what Auntie told me, he¡¯s ¡®a surprisingly charismatic man.¡¯ She doesn¡¯t say that about anyone, and no one talks with the Cheonma that casually.¡±

    ¡°Who indeed.¡± My foot kicked against a bag that hadn¡¯t been unpacked. I started working on it, setting a few things against the wall to organize later. These were decorations meant for the living room.

    Althea whipped her phone out and began checking her messages. ¡°¡®Tis the question, ain¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Here I thought I knew almost everything about your family.¡± Leo kindly kneeled to my level and helped me. ¡°Give me some hints, though. I¡¯m interested.¡±

    Ha, she would have a heart attack if she knew the truth, but I indulged her: ¡°It¡¯s nothing special. Our parents taught us how to defend ourselves; Uncle taught us how to fight. We learned how to work with anything that falls into our grubby hands. Iron, blades, blunt instruments¡ª¡± (¡°Pencils.¡±) ¡°¡ªtoo Hollywood, but alright.¡±

    Althea put her phone down. ¡°Jackass, you stabbed two guys with pens. What¡¯s the difference¡ª?¡±

    I stopped sorting through the decorations. ¡°Pencils are way too brittle. You¡¯d need to stick it into some really soft tissue or their orifices, like their ear canals or up their nostrils or eyes. Besides.¡± I went back to sorting. ¡°Didn¡¯t you stab that guy in your sophomore year?¡±

    Leo stared at her. ¡°You did what?¡±

    ¡°Okay, look, I didn¡¯t stab him. He pulled my hair, so I turned around and drew on his neck with a sharp-ass pencil.¡±

    ¡°See?¡± I laughed, shaking my head. ¡°It¡¯s a miracle she graduated, princess.¡±

    ¡°What ''bout you?¡± Finally, Thea got off her ass and began putting the decorations away to their tentative spots. ¡°You have a hundred stories about beating up some junior in OU. What about Chunhua? You guys had a big rivalry.¡±

    Leo showed interest. ¡°Really? You and the orthodox girl had a rivalry?¡±

    ¡°Something like that. We met, I mouthed off, we fought, I unexpectedly humbled her.¡± I pulled out a few trinkets, smiled, and gently set them down. ¡°Rinse and repeat until we decided to be mature. Look at us now. Good friends!¡±

    Thea snorted, patting my shoulder which really made me suspicious. ¡°They fucked.¡±

    I nearly dropped a picture-frame.

    ¡°We did not fuck¡ª¡± Leo stared at me wide-eyed as if she thought I was a virgin. ¡°¡ªChrist, stop staring at me like that. We went out for three dates¡ªthree-in-a-half dates. Alright? Three-in-a-half dates. It didn¡¯t work out, so we stayed as friends.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t fuck her? She¡¯s gorgeous!¡± Leo asked, disappointed¡ªwait, what?

    ¡°Why do you sound disappointed¡ª? No, I didn¡¯t, and you know what? I think that¡¯s the last thing I¡¯m saying about my lovelife.¡± (¡°Sexlife,¡± chimed Thea.) ¡°Shut the hell up, you goddamn imp.¡±

    Leo raised her hands. ¡°Alright, then how about this: what¡¯s for dinner? We could order something. I know a few places, and this time, we won¡¯t get pizza.¡±

    ¡°Or Alex can cook something up. Y¡¯know, it¡¯s been a while since we had something home-cooked,¡± Thea nudged.

    Ugh, figured she¡¯d ask that. I was more frustrated that I favored her suggestion; it¡¯d felt like a long time since I spent time in the kitchen. Putting it off any longer, I might forget how to use a knife¡ªplus, with our hefty paycheck, we could really splurge on our first real dinner at our new apartment¡­

    The girls were waiting for my answer.

    I sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll see what¡¯s at the grocery store, but we¡¯d better go now. Unless you guys want to stay here and unpack boxes by yourself.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like an excuse to me!¡± Althea rushed to the door to put her comfortable shoes on.

    ¡°It¡¯s a date, lovely.¡± Leo brushed her hands and stopped at the hallway. ¡°Ali, we¡¯re heading to the grocery store! Text us if you need anything!¡±

    ¡°Received!¡± Uncle replied in his room.

    As the girls filtered into the hallway to discuss recipes, I pulled out one last item from the bag: an old family photo. Mom and Dad had taken us to Niagara Falls when we were kids, so like any ordinary family, we had the perfect scenery for a picture. Look at us. Look at me and Thea. We were two stupid, smiling kids with our parents who¡¯d given us everything and so much more.

    I stood up, wiping dust off the picture-frame, and I set it on the table underneath our mounted TV. ¡°It¡¯ll be a long night, but we¡¯ll make it work. Already¡­¡±

    I looked around at our new apartment, seeing empty boxes and bags stacked on each other, random shit thrown about, mail that had been piling up¡ªthere was a disaster at every corner of the house. Despite that¡­

    ¡°This is starting to feel like home.¡±

    ¡°Alex!¡± Althea poked her head through the open door. ¡°You comin¡¯ or what?¡±

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll be there. You guys decided on what you want?¡±

    I left the apartment with the girls in tow, thinking about tonight¡¯s dinner.

    [Complete: Volume 1 - Sacrificed Star]

    [Next: Volume 1.5 - Welcome to Your New Life, Episode 1 - Farewell, Althea]

    ***

    ¡°Kosmos.¡±

    ¡°Mister Romanos.¡±

    The soldier sat down with the No.1 Slayer in the world, alone in his office, with nothing but the ticking clock as ambiance.

    Kosmos looked at his helmet on the table.

    For this long-awaited conversation, he would shed the name of ¡°Kosmos¡± and speak as Nathan Hyun; likewise, the other man would be known as Alistair Romanos. They, against everything, were two men speaking honestly.

    Thus, Nathan offered, ¡°Coffee?¡±

    ***

    ¡°¡ªwe¡¯re still investigating the Alternate Space, but as far as we can tell, my rather stupid knight-in-shining-armor has largely been unaffected during his stay. Is there anything else you wish to know?¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be off. Whenever we speak again, I hope there¡¯s tea involved.¡±

    Sophia ended the call.

    ¡°Ha¡­¡± And the Magician combed a hand through his ivory white hair. ¡°How unexpected. To think they accessed the ¡®Alternate Space¡¯ so easily, and yet, we toiled for centuries to even view a single image.¡±

    The Magician opened his journal and flipped to a fresh page. With a pen in hand, he wrote. ¡°Let¡¯s begin anew, then.¡±

 [FAREWELL, ALTHEA] Prologue - Good Morning, Ordo

    ¡°Welcome back, Ordo, to the Ordoian Sunlight Show in the fresh new month of July! I hope you enjoyed our interview with Lily Seo featuring her latest album¡ªI freaking love her work, you don¡¯t even know¡ªbut we have bigger, badder things on our plate for this morning! Normally this isn¡¯t a political radio show¡ªI mean what do you take us for? America? Sheesh! Where was I again? Oh right, normally we don¡¯t talk politics but only if politics is juicy enough to talk about, yeah? Yeah, c¡¯mon, I can¡¯t be the only one.

    ¡°You guys know about the Summer Scare? Of course you know, it¡¯s been in the news cycle for the last week, but the real scoop is this: apparently, and don¡¯t sue me for this, Angels and Wisdom Guild actually caused it. Or they¡¯re more involved than we think! Who knows, who knows, but we want your thoughts on this!

    ¡°Which is why we already have a caller on the line. What¡¯s up Georgie, baby, how you holding up?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m holding up just fine, Travis, because I got some choice words for this so-called conspiracy. It¡¯s not even a conspiracy in the first place! Everybody knows they did it! Everybody! They staged the Summer Scare because they¡¯re a buncha money-grubbing, Satanic, power-hungry despots spawning from the same sinful hole they crawled out of! They sacrificed children to their altar stored at the depths of their damned headquarters and it was all perpetrated by that false ruler, Kosmos, leading everyone around like cows to the slaughter¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Ohoho, uh, I gotta stop you right there, George! You are really passionate about this subject but we should leave room for the next caller, haha. Uhm¡­¡±

    *

    Trending

    Foxmaiden

    Phenomena Society

    Shields

    Jun-hyeok

    Angels

    @yukafanclub

    WHERE IS MY QUEEN WHERE IS SHE

    @kyokadaily

    gone lmao after she saw how disgusting her fans are she ran away

    @yukafanclub

    92.28.211.234

    @kyokadaily

    i know where i live bitch goddamn

    @OrdoGuildWatch

    According to an official report by Angels Guild, they accepted 150 new members with a majority fulfilling a supportive/backline capacity. However, they also mysteriously created ¡°Special Task Force¡± whose members are unknown

    @keterman

    Look, all my followers know that I¡¯ve never been a fan of Phenomena. I personally believe his decisions are based on his whims rather than rational thought, but what¡¯s happening today is yet another whinefest from the lower Phenoms, lazily quoting Alzahrani like he¡¯s gospel. We see this behavior repeated each time there is a new policy change or someone makes a big enough ruckus, believing the outcry is enough to attract his attention.

    Believe me, *it will not*. He doesn¡¯t care about anything other than his own research and if you want him to care, you¡¯d better be Sophos herself.

    @sophosthegenius

    Another PS controversy? How boring. Wake me up if the old man dies

    @phenomjustice

    Hey @sophosthegenius you¡¯re an insufferable bitch I hope you fucking kill yourself piece of shit

    @sophosthegenius

    Oh my~ Blocked~

    @jakethebaker

    god i love sophos so much i want her to glare down at me like i¡¯m rotten trash and tell me i¡¯m a stupid idiot who can¡¯t amount to anything in life pls god plssssss

    @sophosthegenius

    oh.

    @JohnsonASN

    The shocking footage of a Chicago Shield has been circulating around the internet, brutally assaulting a homeless man well after he¡¯d surrendered himself to law enforcement. Please be warned, the footage is quite graphic and necessary censoring was made.

    @exitainment

    Jun-hyeok has continuously been spotted with the youngest heir of Taeyang, Lee Yoon-ho, despite public backlash. Sources close to the two say they have a close friendship, but fans of the idol encourage him to cut ties due to Taeyang¡¯s unsavory history.

    @celest_empress

    There was a photo of Celestial Empress mid-training session, wielding her signature [Twin Heavens].

    This is my summer vacation!!!

    @yingxihao

    Die demonic bitch

    @li01935

    I will murder you and your entire cult

    @alexshen

    Your time will come.

    @victor_sss

    dude wtf

    @uprisingyourmom

    Working on a new song ???guess the title~

    @victor_sss

    ¡°i drank 100 beers and now i¡¯m in jail¡±

    @alexshen

    ¡°i¡¯m braindead and can only communicate through song¡±

    @forestmaster

    ¡°i love my 10-meter tall dinosaur plushie that her roommate constantly trips over¡±

    @uprisingyourmom

    Don¡¯t let the haters get to you ??

    ***

    Looking Back on the Summer Scare

    by Isabella Alvillar

    Hey everyone, I apologize for my recent absence as of late. I suddenly came down with a bad cold, and admittedly, I¡¯m still getting over it. Against the advice of my team, I¡¯m determined to sit at my laptop and ramble about my thoughts regarding the Summer Scare. That¡¯s the excuse I¡¯m going with if this article gets criticized for the lack of polish.

    Obviously, the Summer Scare was a terrifying week for Ordo. Terrifying for me, as I have close friends living in the city. It brought back fears of the Terrors or the Hangzhou Disaster, but fortunately, the storm has seemingly passed. Arguably, though, the breakthroughs took a backseat to the real conflict: the Ordoian Big Four against the Global Union.

    The internationals immediately fixated on Angels and Wisdom Guild, believing they played a larger part in the catastrophe. Whether or not these claims are true is another conversation, but this was the foundation of their attack. If Seraph and Sophos truly did cause the Scare, either directly or indirectly, then the action would theoretically qualify as apocalyptic. There was a genuine possibility to remove the Union¡¯s greatest thorns in one fell swoop.

    But they put the cart before the horse. They brazenly chased after apocalyptic charges while ignoring everything else. As a result, they unlawfully arrested very influential Slayers like Celestial Empress, the niece of Cheonma. Rightfully, First Class Agent Cathal Dwyer and the judge who¡¯d signed the forced teleportation warrant (his name escapes me) both stepped down from their position.

    What does this mean for the long-run? Really, nothing. The internationals and Angels Guild will still hate each other, and the sword community will remain skeptical¡ªor downright hostile¡ªof the Union¡¯s intentions.

    As I reiterated a thousand times before, the Global Union has only one purpose: to shift the world from a collection of sovereignties to a one-state union. The biggest obstacle isn¡¯t the democratic process; in other words, the people don¡¯t matter. Rather, it¡¯s the Slayers. If the Union does not have majority support of the Slayers, then they largely cannot implement their utopia without facing a literal world-ending war.

    Personally, I would pay close attention to Angels Guild. According to insider sources, Seraph and Kosmos executively approved the creation of a ¡°Special Task Force¡± whose roster is still unknown, though that may change in the coming days. This is another major action without the involvement of their Board of Operations. At this point, a major internal battle will eventually ignite within the guild, yet I expect nothing but a total victory for the Guild Masters.

    Keep a close eye on Ordo, everyone. I think we¡¯ll be seeing major developments soon. Call it a hunch.

    ***

    TOP SECRET - TOP SECRET - TOP SECRET

    Department of Homeworld Security

    International Agency of Homeworld Investigations

    Agent Gregor Dietrich - Criminal Systemic Division

    WORK IN PROGRESS - WORK IN PROGRESS - WORK IN PROGRESS

    Alexander Shen, Conqueror

    Basic Information

    Birth Name: Alexander Shen

    Codename: Conqueror

    Age and Sex: 23, M

    Slayer Rank: D

    Fabel Rank: Chronicle (Deep Arcana)

    Employment: Prime Wing - Special Task Force, Angels Guild

    Background

    Alexander Shen was born to Bastien Romanos and Xingyu Shen in Hangzhou, China, where they would live for a couple years before moving to Massachusetts, USA. There, he would have a little sister by the name of Althea Shen. For most of his childhood and teenage years, he had a surprisingly normal life.

    At seventeen, he and his family returned to Hangzhou for a family vacation. There, as everybody and their grandmothers know, the Hangzhou Disaster occurred. The tragedy rendered him and his sister orphans. They survived on their own for an extended period of time before being rescued by a Delta Force team accompanied by a MARSOC and OGSO operator.

    After their rescue, their uncle, Alistair Romanos, took custody of them. Together, they moved to High Home, Maryland. Alexander attended Brightwater High School. What happened during his time in High Home literally changed the public¡¯s outlook on guilds today: Oasisgate. I¡¯ve already asked Murke if the kid was involved in the controversy or the Riots in any way, but other than being a victim of Reynold Serrano and ex-boyfriend of Juna Solace, there¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m convinced he played a larger role than we expect.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    Following Oasisgate, he applied to various colleges before receiving a full scholarship for Ordo University, enrolling as a business major. There, he quickly befriended students of its Systemic Programs (most notable: Li Chunhua, Mansyur ¡°Victor¡± Taslim, and Okano Kotone) and became something of a local celebrity.

    He graduated a semester early and worked in System Articles, before he reportedly brutalized four C-Ranks of Yoshita Guild and fractured Fujimura Kieta¡¯s skull. After the scandal, he worked in OU as a part-time combat instructor on the weeks leading to 2XXX First Wave.

    For what occurred during the Summer Scare, click on the damned link.

    Today, he is a member of Angels Guild underneath the Special Task Force.

    Character

    Conqueror is a roguish man. He has a high distrust of anyone related to the Global Union (likely because of the fallout after Oasisgate), so I was assaulted with blanket threats and profanities. His aggressiveness isn¡¯t unique to us. According to his peers, he constantly uses his tongue to get under people¡¯s skins; however, this seems to be a shield for the true man underneath: a poor, traumatized bastard using his ¡°sense of humor¡± as a coping mechanism.

    Despite this, do not underestimate him. Conqueror is much smarter than he looks, if his degree isn¡¯t an indicator already.

    Intelligence isn¡¯t his only card. He is a martial arts prodigy mentored by his parents and uncle. He possesses martial prowess far beyond most Slayers his bracket¡ªbeyond most Slayers period¡ªmaking him a nightmare to confront in a one-v-one scenario.

    We suspect he¡¯s hiding a high-ranked [Skill]; to be specific, his weapon-creation [Skill] he used at the Warehouse. What [Rank] it is, we don¡¯t know. We also believe he has deeper ties to the Jianghu due to his Chinese heritage.

    Final Notes

    I normally don¡¯t make these big statements but Conqueror is potentially a bad problem. He may be starting out now, but he has the talent and discipline to grow at an alarming rate. What happens when he hits his prime? Only God knows.

    ***

    [You have entered Angels Guild Public Channel #25]

    [Volume]

    Everyone is talking about the Special Task Force these days

    Anyone know what¡¯s up?

    [Patchwork]

    I think the board is trying to stir up drama

    [Volume]

    Obviously, but what about the Primes?

    [Towerpierce]

    idk i guess after the scare they wanted to create a special team

    yall know anyone in it?

    [Meadowstrider]

    I think our GMs favorite people are in it

    Firebrand, Empress, Sage

    [Volume]

    3 people isn¡¯t a team

    Who¡¯s the rest?

    [Towerpierce]

    idk but i have something important to announce

    can i have your attention yall

    [Volume]

    ?

    [Meadowstrider]

    Sure

    [Patchwork]

    Oh no

    [Towerpierce]

    i saw a really hot cultivator and no it¡¯s not empress

    look!

    [image attached]

    [Meadowstrider]

    You took a picture???

    [Towerpierce]

    bro i need people to appreciate her with me

    green hair, curvy body, she has everything¡­

    martial beauty¡­

    i wanna be the leader of her sect

    [Volume]

    Would you say that if she¡¯s right in front of you?

    [Towerpierce]

    yes

    [Patchwork]

    ignore towerpierce he¡¯s always checking out the women

    Idk why he doesn¡¯t keep it to DMs. Everyone can read his messages

    [Towerpierce]

    i haven¡¯t been fired yet

    oh i also spotted a cute girl too

    [image attached]

    [Meadowstrider]

    Who¡¯s that?

    [Towerpierce]

    idk but she¡¯s hella cute

    white hair, really pretty blue eyes

    i think she¡¯s japanese

    [Volume]

    I think that¡¯s a boy

    [Meadowstrider]

    Yeah, looks male to me

    [Patchwork]

    Definitely a dude

    [Towerpierce]

    shit

    [Problem]

    I wonder why you¡¯re openly ogling your female colleagues.

    [Towerpierce]

    who is you

    [Problem]

    A lurker, but don¡¯t worry, I already alerted your superiors about your comments.

    [Towerpierce]

    BRO WTF

    [Patchwork]

    What else did you expect lmao

    [Towerpierce]

    can¡¯t have shit in ordo

    ***

    [Angels Guild Private Channel - Special Task Force]

    [Members: Rector (creator), Seraph (moderator), Kosmos (moderator), Celestial Empress (moderator), Sage, Firebrand, Problem, Victor, Amamizu Rei, Forest Master, Uprise, Conqueror, Shen]

    [Conqueror]

    Ever have this weird feeling that people are talking about us?

    [Celestial Empress]

    That¡¯s because people are

    [Problem]

    Mhm

    One of our colleagues decided to voice his interest in Chunhua and Rei.

    [Uprise]

    gasp

    [Problem]

    Did you just gasp in text?

    [Uprise]

    how dare that jerk creep on my chunhua

    she¡¯s mine and my 10-meter dinosaur plushie too!

    only i can appreciate her beauty

    [Amamizu Rei]

    ¤Ê¤ó¤Ç¤¹¤Ã¤Æ£¿

    £¿£¿£¿

    Öú¤±¤Æ¤¯¤À¤µ¤¤£¡

    ??? (>©n<) ??

    [Uprise]

    check your language settings

    you might be on auto-japanese

    [Amamizu Rei]

    Test

    !!!

    \(£Þ¨Œ£Þ)/

    If our colleague is interested in my kenjutsu, then I¡¯ll be happy to show him!

    [Problem]

    Erm.

    [Uprise]

    oh

    [Celestial Empress]

    You¡¯re explaining it to him Alex

    [Conqueror]

    Bitch

    [Amamizu Rei]

    ???

    [Conqueror]

    Forget about it, he¡¯s not interested in your kenjutsu

    [Amamizu Rei]

    But senpai said he was interested in me!

    [Problem]

    He thought you were a girl.

    [Amamizu Rei]

    Eh?

    [Problem]

    A female.

    [Amamizu Rei]

    EHHHHHHH

    [Forest Master]

    I just saw his messages. It seems I¡¯m already gathering fans and I haven¡¯t officially worked a single day. It¡¯s only a matter of time before my popularity overtakes a certain murim-in.

    [Celestial Empress]

    Pardon?

    [Forest Master]

    It¡¯s only natural that an orthodox cultivator is more popular than a demonic dog.

    [Celestial Empress]

    Those are fighting words ma¡¯am

    Have you forgotten my lineage?

    [Forest Master]

    Yes, a lineage of scum and filth proud that they live in the gutter. Proud of their wasteful, so-called ¡°righteous¡± techniques of the strong. As for myself? I was taught the finest spear techniques by one of the greatest xias to walk the earth.

    [Celestial Empress]

    Orthodox bitches are often full of themselves

    Until I put a blade against their throat and make them beg for their lives

    [Forest Master]

    On the contrary, you¡¯ll be the one begging, cultist.

    [Uprise]

    ??

    [Conqueror]

    Girls¡­

    Stop fighting in the chat

    [Firebrand]

    hang on i wanna see this

    [Sage]

    Don¡¯t encourage them Aiden!

    We have to be responsible!

    Kind!

    Disciplined!

    [Problem]

    Says the girl who spends her paycheck on phone games.

    [Sage]

    I will eat you alive.

    [Firebrand]

    i wanna see that more

    [Victor]

    bruh wtf did i walk into

    [Conqueror]

    The cultivators are fighting, Chie wants to kill a child, and Rei is now a girl

    [Amamizu Rei]

    I AM NOT!!!!!

    ((¨p¨Ž©n¨))

    [Celestial Empress]

    Fine, I guess Alex is reasonable for once

    [Conqueror]

    Thanks princess

    [Celestial Empress]

    ??

    I¡¯ll just kill Chunhua later

    [Conqueror]

    motherfucker

    [Forest Master]

    Try me~

    [Victor]

    dude i¡¯m trying to plan my angels acceptance party and my team is already fighting each other

    i¡¯m so fucked

    [Conqueror]

    Oh yeah definitely

    [Victor]

    at least try lying to me dude!

    [Sage]

    He started it!

    [Forest Master]

    Our clash was inevitable.

    [Victor]

    idk if you guys will meet my family but act normal

    please

    [Conqueror]

    A weirdo begging other weirdos

    In other news, I love my life

    [Celestial Empress]

    You think everyone is a weirdo regardless of what happens

    [Conqueror]

    You¡¯re right

    [Firebrand]

    that¡¯s rich coming from you

    you¡¯re the strangest one here

    [Shen]

    he¡¯s even stranger

    everyday i hear horrible chopping from the kitchen

    i think he¡¯s cutting up bodies

    [Conqueror]

    It¡¯s called cooking you absolute dumbass

    [Shen]

    idk what that means

    [Conqueror]

    Because I¡¯ve been cooking all your meals

    [Celestial Empress]

    Thanks for the good food Alex

    [Conqueror]

    And that one keeps crashing into our apartment to eat our food and sleep on the couch

    [Shen]

    whats wrong with that?

    [Conqueror]

    She has her own place

    [Rector]

    I saw a concerning amount of notifications only to find tomfoolery.

    [Conqueror]

    In our defense, the oldest member of the team is 25 and that¡¯s only mentally

    [Problem]

    Hello.

    [Rector]

    How did this even happen?

    Regardless, do *not* kill each other. You know who I¡¯m talking about.

    [Forest Master]

    Is that right, Alex?

    [Celestial Empress]

    Keep your mementos to yourself, Alex

    [Conqueror]

    Fuck you both

    [Start: Episode 1 - Farewell, Althea]

 [FAREWELL, ALTHEA] Interlude: Special Task Force

    Angels Guild

    First Order Special Task Force (FOSTF, STF)

    Author: Vice Guild Master Rector

    Objective

    The First Order Special Task Force consists of special operators tasked with highly sensitive and secretive operations internal and external of Angels Guild. They personally work with the Guild Masters and owners of Angels: Seraph, Rector, and Kosmos. In other words, we adopted these rugrats against our will. God help us all.

    Members

    The following is a complete roster of the Special Task Force.

    Chain of Command

    Kosmos

    Birth Name: Nathan Hyun

    Ethnicity: Ordoian

    Age and Sex: 36, M

    Slayer Rank: SSS

    Fabel Rank: Mythos 1

    Fabel Title: The Lone Star

    Specialty: N/A

    Brief Summary: As much as I want to rag on our resident goofball, I can¡¯t. Nathan was given a miracle when we were kids. Since then, he has repaid that kindness to the whole world tenfold and lives a great life. He¡¯s married, he has a beautiful daughter that I¡¯m glad to call my niece; however, as we soon discovered, miracles come with a price of their own. I want the best for him. I pray for a good outcome at the end of this.

    Angel¡¯s Wish: Almagest and the Terrors.

    Guild Master Seraph

    Birth Name: Sera Creed

    Ethnicity: Ordoian

    Age and Sex: 36, F

    Slayer Rank: SS

    Fabel Rank: Mythos 73

    Fabel Title: Saint of Humanity

    Specialty: Saint

    Brief Summary: Yes, we all know who she is: the Guild Master and the wife of Kosmos. She¡¯s one of the most famous women in the world, yadda yadda yadda. Compared to her husband and Vice Guild Master, she¡¯s the enforcer of the trio and her patience is dwindling by the day. I don¡¯t blame her. She has the massive responsibility of leading one of the largest guilds in the world, but someone is actually doing all the heavy-lifting. (Personally, she resembles her ¡°father¡± too much.)

    Angel¡¯s Wish: Almagest and the Terrors.

    Vice Guild Master Rector

    Birth Name: Kashan Zakariya

    Ethnicity: Ordoian

    Age and Sex: 36, M

    Slayer Rank: S

    Fabel Rank: Legend

    Fabel Title: The Third Pillar

    Specialty: Summoner, Faith & Contractual

    Brief Summary: Rector is the third wheel to his more famous friends but he¡¯s stronger, smarter, and better in almost every capacity. He has two master¡¯s degrees in Guild Administration and Economics and is probably the only person keeping Angels Guild from totally collapsing. With that said, Seraph ought to treat him with more respect and no, he will NOT revise this ¡°unprofessional¡± blurb.

    Angel¡¯s Wish: Almagest and the Terrors.

    Overseer

    Birth Name: Alistair Romanos

    Ethnicity: American

    Age and Sex: 56, M

    Occupation: Commander

    Brief Summary: Romanos has taken on the role to guide the STF in day-to-day operations. Initially, I thought he preferred a more relaxed role in the team, but I should¡¯ve known better. His assignment was a part of the agreement we¡¯d settled, and I trust he¡¯ll bring the team to a higher level.

    Angel¡¯s Wish: To take care of his niece and nephew.

    Artisan Officer

    Sage

    Birth Name: Fukumoto Chie

    Ethnicity: Japanese-Ordoian

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Age and Sex: 20, F

    Slayer Rank: B

    Fabel Rank: Saga (DA)

    Specialty: Team Systemic Engineer

    Brief Summary: Chie has grown into a worthy engineer fitting for an Artisan Officer. Thanks to that annoying little genius, she broke through her shell and became the loveable young woman that we know her as. I can¡¯t wish for anything more. She¡¯s living the life we always wanted her to have.

    Angel¡¯s Wish: [REDACTED]

    Regulars

    Celestial Empress

    Birth Name: Leona Ryu

    Ethnicity: Korean (Murim-in)

    Age and Sex: 23, F

    Slayer Rank: A

    Fabel Rank: Saga

    Speciality: Murim-in

    Brief Summary: Her parents, Divine Blade Mistress and Heavenly Azure Swordsman, joined Angels Guild thirteen years ago after Korea''s turn in the Terrors. Since Empress is born to the Demonic Cult lineage, she has many martial blessings that I¡¯m jealous of. Regardless, we love her and appreciate her contributions as one of the first second-generation Angels. I¡¯ll be keeping a close eye on her and a certain someone given their new living arrangements.

    Angel¡¯s Wish: To find her footing in the world and gain the confidence to live her own life¡ªand to solve her parents¡¯ murder.

    Firebrand

    Birth Name: Aiden Brand

    Ethnicity: Ordoian

    Age and Sex: 20, M

    Slayer Rank: B

    Fabel Rank: Saga (DA)

    Speciality: Firemancer, Spellsword

    Brief Summary: Aiden, Aiden, Aiden¡­ I wish he gave up the troublemaker shtick, but he¡¯s fully involved in the role. He has always been closed off, but with the formation of the STF, I hope that changes. Preferably, without him challenging his peers to a bloody spar (cough cough Conqueror cough cough).

    Angel¡¯s Wish: [REDACTED]

    Problem

    Birth Name: Morgan Weyer

    Ethnicity: Ordoian

    Age and Sex: 25, M

    Slayer Rank: A

    Fabel Rank: Saga

    Specialty: Ritualist, Cosmologist

    Brief Summary: The student of Master Alzahrani and a child in body. We promised we would help him find his master and the secrets behind the ¡°Almagest.¡± Though, he didn¡¯t say anything about his curse. From what little we do know, that might be a good thing.

    Angel¡¯s Wish: To locate his teacher, Master Alzahrani, and solve the mystery of the Almagest.

    Conqueror

    Birth Name: Alexander Shen

    Ethnicity: Chinese-American

    Age and Sex: 23, M

    Slayer Rank: D

    Fabel Rank: Chronicle (DA)

    Specialty: Weaponmaster, CQC Specialist

    Brief Summary: Alexander¡­ God help us all. I am simultaneously excited and dreadful of his future growth. Most of all, I¡¯m sympathetic. Surviving Hangzhou and Oasisgate will scar your soul in ways we cannot imagine. Despite everything, Alex is as well-adjusted as you can get. He will mouth off, he will irritate you sometimes, but he¡¯s cooperative and far kinder than he looks.

    Angel¡¯s Wish: To obtain a brighter, happier tomorrow.

    Forest Master Li Chunhua

    Birth Name: Li Chunhua

    Ethnicity: Chinese (Xia)

    Age and Sex: 22, F

    Slayer Rank: B

    Fabel Rank: Saga

    Specialty: Cultivator, Spearwoman

    Brief Summary: A xia who had been a member of the Maolin Sect and former student of Spear Patron Li Ying. After her master had committed the Taboo of Treason, she consequently fled and left to study in Ordo University. Originally she intended on joining Martials Guild but after its Vice Guild Master strangled his own mother to death, she had second thoughts as any normal person would. For a cultivator, I mean.

    Angel¡¯s Wish: To return to the Jianghu and kill the man who had framed her master, Sect Leader Du Zhi.

    Uprise

    Birth Name: Okano Kotone

    Ethnicity: Japanese

    Age and Sex: 22, F

    Slayer Rank: C

    Fabel Rank: Saga

    Specialty: Esper

    Brief Summary: Okano Kotone is in possession of an SS-Rank psionic-type [Skill]: [All-Machine Resonance], where she learned to control her psionic powers in Ordo University. Otherwise, she¡¯s normal¡ªquestion mark? She¡¯s as strange as any young woman in today¡¯s day and age, but we need people like her to balance out our weirder members.

    Angel¡¯s Wish: [REDACTED]

    Victor

    Birth Name: Mansyur ¡°Victor¡± Taslim

    Ethnicity: Indonesian-Ordoian

    Age and Sex: 22, M

    Slayer Rank: B

    Fabel Rank: Saga

    Specialty: Healing Guardian

    Brief Summary: Speaking of normal people, Victor is by far the most ¡°normal¡± in the team. He comes from an exceptional upbringing, though. Let¡¯s see: Father Taslim is an airship captain in the Ordo Aerial Command, his elder brother is in Otherguards Special Operations, and his mother and younger sister both work as Traveling Healers. Fantastic! Despite his immaturity, it¡¯s rare to find a defensive Slayer of his caliber.

    Angel¡¯s Wish: To support his friends and work toward the greater good.

    Amamizu Rei

    Birth Name: Amamizu Rei

    Ethnicity: Japanese

    Age and Sex: 18, M

    Slayer Rank: D

    Fabel Rank: Unknown

    Specialty: Kensei

    Brief Summary: Rei is an anomaly. He has zero official documentation proving his identity and is in possession of techniques that he shouldn¡¯t have. We¡¯re currently researching his background but I doubt we¡¯ll find any worthwhile information. If he wasn¡¯t so genuinely innocent, I¡¯d be more suspicious.

    Angel¡¯s Wish: [REDACTED]

    Shen

    Birth Name: Althea Shen

    Ethnicity: Chinese-American

    Age and Sex: 18, F

    Slayer Rank: E

    Fabel Rank: Unranked

    Specialty: Undetermined

    Brief Summary: Alexander¡¯s sister, who also has an SSS-Rank [Skill]. If you want to know her history, read her brother¡¯s. Otherwise, I pray she can handle the operation ahead.

    Angel¡¯s Wish: [REDACTED]

 [FAREWELL, ALTHEA] Chapter 1 - Next Steps

    Since the conclusion of the Summer Scare, I began seeing Ordo in a different light. A better one, I mean. Instead of searching for cracks in the shell, I searched for opportunities: new places, fun events, things like that. I¡¯d been in this dopey mood throughout my well-earned (and short) break, but now it was time to return to work.

    Thus, the asshole returns.

    Seraph, Rector, and Kosmos had finally made their decision regarding Althea¡¯s status in the team, and we would find out later today. Before that, we had our first official meeting as the Special Task Force. All of us together.

    We hosted the meeting in one of the training gyms, specifically a sparring chamber. Their office or a conference room would have sufficed, but this? Were they expecting a meeting between fist and cheek or something?

    I wasn¡¯t in the position to ask any questions. I was yet another face within the team, blending in with the rest of the freaks.

    Aiden Kang, Firebrand.

    Amamizu Rei, himself.

    Victor Taslim, also himself.

    Okano Kotone, Uprise.

    Li Chunhua, Forest Master.

    Leona Ryu, Celestial Empress.

    Althea Shen, herself.

    Fukumoto Chie, Sage.

    Morgan Weyer, Problem.

    And me, Alexander Shen, Conqueror.

    In front of us were three of our commanding officers: Vice Guild Master Rector, Idris Zakaria; Guild Master Seraph, Sera Creed; and last but especially not least, Overseer, Alistair Romanos.

    Seeing my uncle stand with two of the most powerful figures in Ordo was something else. For the longest time, he¡¯d been our uncle and mentor. From now on, he was our commander. He had different expectations for his kids, and so we must meet them and go beyond that.

    Awkwardly, we stood, our legs shifting weights, as our leaders whispered amongst each other. Ultimately, Rector stepped forward to take the stage as he always did.

    ¡°I apologize for dragging you here, but don¡¯t worry, we hopefully shouldn¡¯t use the sparring ring. That little tidbit aside, welcome to Angels Guild! You had one interesting orientation, but we¡¯re glad you¡¯re with us. As you already know, you are the Special Task Force, a team underneath the three founders: myself, Seraph, and Kosmos. The STF¡¯s main purpose is to conduct sensitive operations on the behalf of the guild¡ªand by extension, humanity¡ªso these operations aren¡¯t always above-board.

    ¡°Officially, you¡¯re a part of the Prime Wing: an independent branch separate from the Five Wings. We won¡¯t advertise the STF, but knowing our roster and your tendencies, you¡¯ll be popular in the guild if you aren¡¯t catching eyes already.

    ¡°Currently, we have one active operation in Korea; however, it¡¯ll play in the background for most of you. Instead, well.¡± Rector motioned to Overseer. ¡°I guess this is a good segue to introduce your commander. You know him as Alistair Romanos, the uncle of two problemsome members, but today, you will refer to him as ¡®Overseer.¡¯¡±

    ¡°A ren,¡± Firebrand commented. ¡°You¡¯re placing a regular human in-charge of us?¡±

    Seraph said, ¡°There¡¯s no one better than him, Firebrand.¡±

    Forest Master let out a predatory chuckle. ¡°We have high-rankers amongst us. I mean no offense to you, Mister Romanos, but your career in the military doesn¡¯t translate to this field. Even if¡­¡± Her eyes glanced toward me and Althea. ¡°...You¡¯ve taught your niece and nephew.¡±

    Overseer had his hands patiently folded at his back, carefully observing the two dissenters. Everybody else wanted nothing to do with this, especially the kids who knew better. ¡°Forest Master Li Chunhua.¡±

    She crossed her arms. ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°I held the meeting here for a reason.¡± He stepped forward, his dress shoes clacking sharply against the ceramic floor. ¡°I know your culture, your traditions. Respect is not asked but earned through strength.¡±

    Overseer smiled as if knowing the future. ¡°So go ahead, cultivator. Can you lay a finger on this old westerner?¡±

    His gaze was still and unmoving, like an ancient boulder weathering the four seasons. We felt a subdued pressure on par with Mythos- and Legend-level Slayers. Swords of that caliber rarely needed a full exertion of power; just a subtle taste was enough to send a message.

    For a human to send that kind of pressure was absurd.

    However, tons of absurd shit happened to us and taught us some valuable lessons. Like this one: trust what your senses were telling you.

    Forest Master gulped and broke eye contact within a few seconds, looking at the ground instead. ¡°Th-That won¡¯t be necessary¡­¡±

    Overseer nodded and turned toward Firebrand. ¡°What about you?¡±

    The flaming asshole was looking at the ground too. ¡°...Not in the mood anymore.¡±

    ¡°Good. Anyone else?¡± No one stepped up or said anything. ¡°We can move forward then. I¡¯m in charge of daily operations, ensuring you¡¯re fully combat operational as individuals and as a team. Here.¡±

    From Seraph, he passed out a stapled packet to each of us. It was a personalized schedule.

    ¡°This is the schedule for this week. We¡¯re focusing on evaluations, seeing where you lie in terms of competencies. In the coming weeks, expect your personal schedule will change according to your training. Take Victor for example.¡±

    Victor picked his head up. ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re currently classified as a dual-role combat medic and healer, but I¡¯d like you to gain experience in the civilian world.¡± (¡°Huh?¡±) ¡°For that reason, you¡¯re going to work for the Medical & Hospital Force as a healer technician.¡±

    ¡°What¡ª? I¡­¡± Depression claimed the poor bastard, knowing it was futile to argue against his fate. ¡°Yessir.¡±

    Althea nudged my shoulder. ¡°Look at my schedule. It¡¯s all ¡®specialized training.¡¯¡±

    Mine was different. I had more variety than hers.

    Overseer continued, ¡°Currently, I¡¯m conversing with your Guild Masters to label the STF as an expeditionary team for additional experience. Expect expedition assignments in the near future. Any questions before we dive further?¡±

    We played a game of twenty questions after that, with everyone having their own concerns and worries. This was going to be the most painful period of my life, but I was ready for it. By then, we would all come out stronger¡ªif Overseer didn¡¯t kill us first.

    ***

    This time, we were in a proper conference room. The lights were dimmed for the projector, but Rector hadn¡¯t put the operation details on the screen just yet. Instead, we admired his cute wallpaper of a park. There, we had Aiden, Chie, Seraph, a brown-haired man whose back was turned to us, and a small girl who had her father¡¯s brown hair and bright green eyes. Kosmos and Ariella, right?

    Me, Thea, Leo, and Uncle Ali patiently waited on the other side of the table as Seraph and Rector were whispering a conversation.

    We anticipated the arrival of our last member.

    The GMs didn¡¯t say who they were, but their identity wasn''t a mystery. In this situation, knowing was worse than being kept in the dark.

    I couldn¡¯t slow my heart.

    Leo nudged me with an elbow, seemingly noticing my anxiety. She kindly smiled as if saying, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous.¡±

    Hard not to be, princess.

    I impatiently stewed for minutes which felt like hours, but finally, the guillotine came down: someone knocked on the door. Uncle Ali, Leo, and I stood at attention¡ªwith Althea, the slow one, scrambling to her feet last.

    Uncle opened the door and bowed his head in respect.

    The light from the hallway illuminated her figure as though welcoming a deity. For many, she was a god. Her reputation and lineage preceded her. You heard of her. You spoke of her. You feared her. Rarely, though, would you ever see her in-person¡ªin the event that you do, it was either a great pleasure or your worst nightmare.

    She was one of two individuals who ruled the Korean Peninsula. She was the Moon of North Korea, the Leader of the Demonic Cult, the Crimson Moon Serpent, the thirteenth strongest Slayer in the world¡ªRyu So-yi (???), Cheonma.

    Cheonma was shorter than I anticipated¡ªor maybe I was just that tall¡ªbut she was nonetheless breathtaking and immensely terrifying to see face-to-face. She wore simple black-and-crimson cultivator robes with gold embroidery depicting a long, all-devouring serpent. Her night-black hair was bunched into a messy bun, skewered through by a sharp, golden needle. Bangs fell to cover her left eye. The right observed the world intimately, its crimson gaze seeing through everything as if staring into the source of creation itself.

    She was undeniably beautiful for a woman her age, but her beauty was much like Seraph¡¯s: authoritative. You can keep your eyes on them because they allow it, and you will look to the ground once they demand it.

    For Cheonma, that statement couldn¡¯t be more true. She¡¯d killed hundreds, ordered the deaths of hundreds more. Her mere presence would cause a court of cultivators and murim-ins to fall to their knees.

    And she was here, in Ordo, for this important meeting.

    The door closed, and we were locked in.

    Cheonma surveyed the room, acknowledging my uncle first before addressing his two kids. She smiled, and I¡¯m sure she meant no ill will, but her smile was chilling. ¡°You must be promised siblings. You have my thanks for looking after my troublesome niece.¡±

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    We wordlessly nodded.

    ¡°Romanos¡ªah, I suppose I shall call you ¡®Overseer,¡¯ now.¡± Cheonma chuckled to herself before restarting. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to finally meet you like this, Overseer.¡±

    ¡°You as well, Cheonma. Let¡¯s not dilly-dally any further. Come on, let¡¯s sit.¡± Uncle decided to be a gentleman today and pulled a chair out for our guest of honor.

    We sat and our seats felt twice as uncomfortable as before. Well, not "our seats," just mine.

    Across the table, Seraph and Rector bowed their heads.

    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you again, So-yi,¡± Seraph said. ¡°We have lots to talk about.¡±

    ¡°Indeed we do.¡± Cheonma turned her chair toward the Shens (plus Leo). ¡°Let¡¯s begin with the most pressing topic. I¡¯m assuming Seraph and Rector were informed regarding your¡­heritage, correct?¡±

    Rector hummed in confirmation. ¡°That their mother was born in the Jianghu then developed a reputation in Zhenlong? Yup, they told us everything after the Summer Scare had concluded. It¡­ Well, I didn¡¯t react as dramatically as you¡¯d think.¡± (He had gone silent for literally ten minutes after we informed him.) ¡°Really, Seraph reacted worse.¡± (Seraph hadn¡¯t been surprised by the news.)

    Reactions aside, this was also one of the causes behind my racing heart. We¡¯d asked Cheonma to investigate [Memento Recollection] and [Technique Sovereign] on our behalf. Having SSS-Rank [Skills] was literally world-changing, and since we had blood-ties to the Jianghu, we could overturn the entire political landscape by our mere existence. For Cheonma, having this knowledge was incredibly advantageous. A lot of words to say: we both benefited from the arrangement.

    Cheonma noticed our tense expressions, and she allowed a small frown as if letting us down easy. ¡°As of my current findings, I couldn¡¯t determine your origins.¡±

    I let out a long, tortured breath. I didn¡¯t know if I was glad or disappointed.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean the truth won¡¯t reveal itself eventually, but I must be incredibly, incredibly cautious with my investigation. A single mistake will alert our enemies, and neither of us would want that outcome. I believe that¡¯s why your uncle immediately ceased his operations.¡±

    Uncle Ali nodded. ¡°The risk was too great.¡±

    ¡°Understandably so, but I have a few theories to offer. As you''re already aware, there are only two known cultivators with SSS-Rank [Skills]: Xia Throne of the Three Martial Heroes, Longwang, and Elder Judge Shui Yuan of the Martial Zenith Sect. From where I stand¡­¡±

    Cheonma briefly closed her eyes and calmly exhaled. ¡°There are one of four possibilities: one, your [Skills] are unrelated to the Jianghu. Unlikely. Two, your sect is associated with Longwang in some capacity. Also unlikely. Three, your family or sect, unrelated to either parties, has been razed and erased from history due to an Extermination Edict or a similar protocol. Plausible. Finally four, your family has unknown relations to the Martial Zenith Sect. This, I believe, is the most likely theory.¡±

    I bit my lip, and before I said anything, Althea raised her hand. ¡°Do you know what Shui Yuan¡¯s [Skill] is?¡±

    Cheonma answered, ¡°Vaguely. It contains an accumulation component, but more importantly, several branch families¡ªsuch as the Jins¡ªpossess weaker derivatives like [Ancestor Qi]. This is seemingly reflected in [Memento Recollection] and [Technique Sovereign], where the former is likely a derivative of the latter. Emotion and rationality respectively."

    I¡­ I had thought about that possibility: that we were associated with the Martial Zenith Sect. It meant we were related to Shui Yuan and Jin Tianyou. Again, this wasn¡¯t confirmed but it¡¯s better to assume we were.

    Leo spoke up finally, ¡°So what does this mean in the long-run, Auntie?¡±

    ¡°It means the Shens should lay low like they always have. As I said, these are theories. I need more time to come to a definitive conclusion. However, I wouldn¡¯t fret about the danger. At most, our enemies either aren''t aware of their existence or cross them off as footsoldiers. Even if word about their SSS-Ranks escapes, many wouldn¡¯t believe it¡ªunless supplied with good reason.¡±

    Uncle Ali said, ¡°Attention is inevitable in our case.¡±

    ¡°Yet they''ll adopt Kosmos''s infamy, not necessarily creating their own reputation.¡±

    ¡°Fair point.¡±

    Seraph asked, ¡°So you advise the Shens to maintain a low profile? Or at the very least, don¡¯t make their connection to the Jianghu obvious?¡±

    Cheonma positively hummed. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll entrust the procedures to you and Overseer, but you have my word that I¡¯ll treat this matter with the utmost caution. I myself am¡­most interested in where this ¡®rabbit hole¡¯ leads to.¡±

    Rector nodded, and he began to shift through files on his laptop. ¡°Is this where we transition into the operation?¡±

    ¡°You may," allowed Cheonma.

    Althea straightened her posture, knowing her time was coming next.

    Multiple documents were slapped on the screen. They were in Hangul, but the common thread between them was the logo of a stylized sun. Everyone and their fucking mothers could recognize that logo from anywhere. It was as commonplace as the literal Sun itself: the Taeyang Group.

    Cheonma and the Demonic Cult were referred to as ¡°the Moon of North Korea¡± by many. Likewise, Lee Seung-chul (???) and the Taeyang Group were ¡°the Sun of South Korea.¡± To nobody¡¯s surprise, they were enemies.

    We were actually targeting one of the most powerful mega-corporations in the world¡ªno, the most powerful mega-corp.

    One last document appeared on the screen. The title page contained two bolded words: ¡°OPERATION SUNDOWN.¡±

    As he scrolled through the document, Rector explained, ¡°Operation Sundown is our highly illegal investigation into the Taeyang Group and Lee Seung-chul, conducted by the Special Task Force with assistance from the Demonic Cult. Officially, it began around seven or eight years ago upon request by Heavenly Azure Swordsman and Divine Blade Mistress.¡±

    Leo uncomfortably shifted in her seat, her hands tightly gripping her pants.

    ¡°They had caught rumors of unethical experimentation in Taeyang, and that led them to discover the existence of one ''Project Sesang (??).'' And..." Rector gulped, unable to get through his next words.

    I understood why. Heavenly Azure Swordsman and Divine Blade Mistress were the first Angels, and more importantly, trusted colleagues and friends. With their daughter in the same room trying to uphold their legacy, speaking about them would be tough for anybody. Officially, their deaths were attributed to mysterious causes but since Taeyang was implied to be their killer¡ª

    "We believe Taeyang is connected to the Ochre Immortal."

    Uncle Ali sat coldly in his chair, grim.

    I covered my mouth to stop myself from sputtering or speaking out of turn. Althea was shaking her head in denial.

    The Ochre Immortal... I''d watched so many documentaries and read chapters and wrote essays on the Terrors while in school. The Ochre Immortal was one of the most famous events: as implied by the fucking name, a murim-in had committed the Taboo of Xian (Immortality) and adopted inexplicable powers that not even the Court or the Demonic Cult knew. One was... It was like a plague. Wherever the Immortal touched, Ochre would spread and once infected, you would be painfully burned from the inside-out¡ªand the Immortal touched North Korea and nearly destroyed the Demonic Cult.

    As Cheonma and Leo were dead silent, Rector repeated so we didn''t mishear, "You all heard it correctly. Taeyang has a plausible connection to the Ochre Immortal, and to an extent, the late Apocalyptics."

    Uncle Ali took off his glasses to clean his lenses, being visibly shaken. "If only we''d known this earlier..."

    Seraph said with a heavy heart, "No one could''ve known. Our murim-ins had always wanted to solve the many mysteries behind the Ochre Immortal¡ªit''s why they''d joined Angels thirteen years ago¡ªand through pure coincidence, it led them to Taeyang."

    "What about Project Sesang?" I asked out-of-the-blue. "What does that have anything to do with this?"

    Rector answered, "It might contain the very proof we need to confirm their involvement."

    Althea asked after me, "But why move now? It''s been thirteen years since the Immortal, and half that since, y''know."

    Her question earned a little glance from Cheonma, causing my sister to freeze in place and regretting her tone; fortunately, Cheonma enlightened her, "Because we''re finally in a position to. The deaths of my brother and sister-in-law devastated us all, but acting against Taeyang requires a calculated response. After building our strength throughout the last decade, we felt confident enough to move ahead with Operation Sundown."

    Uncle took a few breaths and slipped his glasses on. As an active-duty soldier during the Terrors, he had first-hand experience in the many terrorist attacks that brought the world to its knees. The period was a sore subject for him, filled with many regrets and sleepless nights. The same could be said for our princess, whose head was down and I could hear practiced, calm breathing.

    Just...

    Shit.

    Everyone took a second to compose themselves, then Rector clapped his hands to get us back on track. "What Cheonma said is correct: we have more than enough strength and leverage against Taeyang. We have the STF. The operation, then, has a single objective: uncover Project Sesang and get damning evidence of Taeyang''s crimes against humanity. To do this, Kosmos has volunteered to be the main operative. I won¡¯t discuss the details of his mission out of security concerns, but he¡¯s knee-deep. That leads us to you, Althea.¡±

    Althea solemnly nodded. ¡°What do I need to do, boss?¡±

    The screen changed to a picture of Baekyong Academy and a photo of a white-haired kid with golden eyes.

    ¡°You will infiltrate Baekyong Academy in the fall and befriend the youngest heir of Taeyang: Lee Yoon-ho (???), in order to gain insider access."

    I smacked my lips. Well, damn.

    Althea blinked a couple times, having the same reaction as me. ¡°Wow, okay. That¡­ I was not expecting that.¡±

    I said, "Remind me again about Baekyong, please."

    Rector tapped a few keys and brought up more pictures of Baekyong as if they were supposed to mean something. ¡°In Korea, Baekyong Academy is the most prestigious post-secondary school for systemic training. Big words, but they¡¯re reportedly the ¡®best¡¯ at training fresh-out-of-high-school juniors.¡±

    Leo came alive in the meeting, and seeing her old college again, she gained an ugly expression. ¡°Best at collecting heirs and heiresses of powerful families in Korea. I can¡¯t say anything myself. I went there.¡±

    "Unfortunately. Do you want to explain, then?¡±

    Leo sighed. ¡°Alright. Baekyong stands out from other similar schools. It¡¯s the only one that actively ranks its students against each other, encouraging competition where the sole rule is, ¡®Don¡¯t get caught breaking the rules.¡¯ It¡¯s a brutal fucking place. I hated my two years there, and, well¡­ Once you enroll, you¡¯ll hear all about how Lee Na-yoon (???) beat the heiress of the Demonic Cult or some bullshit.¡±

    As much as I wanted to offer comforting words, I knew better than to poke the bear. Having her parents and Baekyong mentioned in the same conversation was doing a number on her patience.

    ¡°Right, so uhm¡­¡± Althea anxiously looked around the room. ¡°How am I infiltrating in the first place? I can¡¯t use my real name, and making an alternate [Profile] in the System is impossible.¡±

    Cheonma shook her head. ¡°Impossible normally, yes, but we have a method: the same one that allowed my niece to remain undetected until her second-year."

    Leo loudly exhaled, breathing out shameful and embarrassing memories. "A [Character], a [Skill] that basically lets you create an alternate account in the System. Under a [Character], you adopt a brand new identity and appearance, but you retain your [Skills] unless you intentionally restrict yourself. We can go over the nuances later, but this will allow you to easily infiltrate Baekyong."

    Cheonma elaborated, "As for your transfer, Hwarang has noticed a surprising prodigy during her excursions. Despite the girl''s low [Slayer Rank], she believes Baekyong will cultivate her talents for the better and thus offers a recommendation. Before you ask, Hwarang can be trusted. She owes a serious debt to the Demonic Cult, and she too has no love for Taeyang.¡±

    That answers most of my questions. I¡¯d heard of [Characters] before, but the most surprising part was Hwarang''s inclusion. This woman was the Murim-in Throne of the Three Martial Heroes, and despite her orthodox origins, she was more closely allied with the Cult than the Court. Her recommendation would open nearly any door, but that meant Thea¡ªor rather, her [Character]¡ªneeded a thorough backstory.

    I figured we¡¯d work out the details later.

    Rector cleared his throat and said, ¡°There¡¯s also another consideration.¡±

    A blurry picture of a fierce young man with charcoal-gray hair and violet eyes came on the screen. Just about everyone in the world knew he was.

    ¡°Three months ago, Ryu Ki-ha (???) went missing and has evaded the Demonic Cult ever since. If you hear anything on the ground or even find him, report to us immediately. I don''t think he''ll go anywhere near Baekyong, but better safe than sorry.¡±

    Cheonma subtly bit her lip seeing her apprentice¡ªthe next Cheonma¡ªthere.

    Leo chuckled and muttered something to herself in Korean.

    Rector continued, ¡°As for the timeline, you will transfer to Baekyong at the end of August¡ªin the middle of the academic year. That gives us around two months to prepare you for the worst.¡±

    ¡°Two months for you to learn everything,¡± Uncle said.

    Althea sat there like a doofus, mouth slightly open, as she tried to process this information. ¡°Okay. So! Taeyang might actually be geddons all along, we gotta find out what Project Sesang is and collect evidence, and while Kosmos does the important work, I''m gonna cozy up with heirs and heiresses in Baekyong and seduce Lee Yoon-ho to get family secrets from him."

    Rector pressed his lips together. "You...don''t have to seduce the boy."

    "...Duly noted."

    Yeah, the operation¡¯s already fucked.

 [FAREWELL, ALTHEA] Chapter 2 - Trying to be Professionals

    <Do you think that Althea girl can handle a mission of this caliber?> Auntie asked, leaving the conference room to the Shens and their superiors. <You¡¯ve experienced how ruthless Baekyong was, Gyeong-hui.>

    <I was also shackled by everything, Auntie.> Leo glanced back at the door, recalling Althea¡¯s expression during the explanations. <Althea¡¯s stronger than I was back then, plus she has our support. She''ll do better than me, that''s certain. If it was her brother? Baekyong wouldn''t last a week.>

    Auntie allowed a hint of a smile. <Yes, Alexander is quite a peculiar one. I¡¯ve heard he did ¡®something unbelievably reckless that only Kosmos can match.¡¯ That¡¯s high praise.>

    That¡¯s because literally Kosmos did the same thing as him. <The Shens are¡­ God, how do I word this? They¡¯re probably one of the most gifted families in the world.>

    <I concur. It¡¯s quite ironic, don¡¯t you think?> Auntie held her hands on her lap as they walked, her eyes elsewhere. <Families have spent endless fortunes and hours cultivating the best heirs, yet many produced disappointments. However, perfection was achieved when an American traveled to Hangzhou.>

    Auntie wasn¡¯t wrong. The stars had magically aligned themselves when Bastion Romanos met Xingyu Shen, but perfection came at a cost.

    Auntie said, <Keep an eye on them. By the end of the decade, their names will be spoken in the same breath as my own.>

    That¡¯s what everyone was hoping for. Leo had tasted Alexander¡¯s and Althea¡¯s combat prowess for herself. Although they were low-rankers, they could easily fight and win against high-rankers given enough brainpower and elbow-grease. With the ability to copy signatures and [Skills], with the ability to manifest an arsenal of weapons, time was their only obstacle¡ª

    Someone gasped before they approached the next corner: a gorgeous, green-haired martial beauty¡ªand an orthodox dog.

    Chunhua was paralyzed where she stood, instantly recognizing Auntie, but through her fear, she managed to bend her neck low enough into a meager head-bow. It was the most any orthodox cultivator would give to the head of the Demonic Cult.

    Auntie marched ahead, her expression and gait remaining the same, as she burdened the orthodox cultivator with her presence. Whatever happens next is out of my hands. ¡°Li Chunhua of the Maolin Sect. You have quite the rivalry with my niece.¡±

    Chunhua kept her head down. ¡°The alternative is feigning niceties. Everything outside the lines of the orthodoxy is where demons and devils play.¡±

    ¡°Yet your patriarchs and leaders often cross the lines as needed. You¡¯ve witnessed it yourself, girl.¡± Auntie encroached on Chunhua, hovering over her like a giant to a child. ¡°Countless violations of your so-called ¡®code,¡¯ the ¡®Precepts¡¯ you all supposedly hold as laws of heaven, all without due punishment. Honor, child, is not how they act, it''s what they use.¡±

    Chunhua turned her head away from Auntie¡¯s crimson gaze. Blood was drawn on her lip through teeth. ¡°N-Nonetheless, our honor is our own. You cast it aside¡ª¡±

    ¡°Your ¡®honor¡¯ has never been ours, but yes, you have your own honor. That honor framed your benevolent master Li Ying, whom you¡¯ve taken her surname from.¡± (Chunhua clenched her fist.) ¡°That honor banished you from the Jianghu, leaving you stranded in the western world.¡± (Blood dripped down her lip.) ¡°That honor murdered your master in front of the callous eyes of the Heavenly Xia Court¡ª!¡±

    ¡°ENOUGH!¡± Chunhua roared, her voice echoing off the empty halls. She¡¯d taken indignant eyes to the matriarch of the Demonic Cult, an act egregious enough to warrant death without recourse. Deeper emotions ran through her countenance than fury, though. There was grief, because she¡¯d shed so many tears over her master; there was despair, knowing she was an ant compared to the greater powers; but there were flames, a promise to rise and destroy everything that¡¯d scarred her heart.

    Chunhua heaved, knowing full-well the consequences of her actions.

    Cheonma smiled. ¡°That expression suits you better, girl. Remember these feelings within your bosom. Never let your rage be extinguished. Those who wronged you must know pain. Those who neglected to kill you must know regret.¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± Chunhua slowly shook her head. ¡°I am nothing like your ilk. I¡­ I will have my vengeance on my own terms¡ª¡±

    ¡°Foolish child, revenge with laws is justice. Do not deal in justice, for revenge is boundless. They have sullied the lines they had drawn for themselves, so let nothing restrict you in turn.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡±

    Auntie placed a hand on her shoulder. ¡°I look forward to your progress, Li Chunhua, and for your eventual return. Do not disappoint me.¡±

    ***

    Chunhua had been acting strange for the past couple days, but I might be going crazy.

    Regardless, training had been progressing for the entire team under the iron hand of Overseer. For me, I was primarily training with my [Mementos], becoming comfortable with switching them out at will and developing my own fighting style. I¡¯d gotten a little better at using [Conviction] too, but it¡¯d be quite some time before I obtained any sort of proficiency.

    Everybody else was doing their evaluations for Overseer, showcasing their strengths and weaknesses.

    Out of the Special Task Force, I was interested in how a certain someone performed during combat.

    [Skill Activation: Zerowalk]

    Rei blinked in and out of existence, appearing at different positions in the sparring arena. He was behind Leo, in front of her, to her three o¡¯clock then at her nine, all in a rapid, confusing succession. I wasn¡¯t sure if he was teleporting or running that fast, but the sight was frightening regardless. None of us had anticipated this level of mobility from the kid.

    Despite the spectacle, Leo remained frosty, keeping track of Rei no matter how many times he vanished. Her [Twin Heavens] shone in the artificial light, [Mother] and [Father] together, comfortably fitted in her rightful hands.

    In contrast, Rei had a standard katana that you could find anywhere. In his hands, though, he seemed confident.

    And when he¡¯d gathered enough courage, he engaged.

    Metal-song echoed, sending strong vibrations that I could physically feel, but the kid didn¡¯t get through the princess¡¯s defenses. So, he escaped into the ether before Leo could counter. Predictably, he targeted her back and she effortlessly fought him off, so he tried again from the side, then above, then coming lower¡ªand soon, I couldn¡¯t see the duelists anymore.

    All I saw was the fireworks their bladeworks made.

    You could determine their movements, however, with their sword-arcs; after all, they were a swordsman¡¯s handwriting.

    Leo, in spite of my constant ragging, was a cool professional. She wielded two distinct colors¡ªazure and ivory¡ªyet neither color dominated the exchange any longer than necessary. They were balanced, joining as a union of sword techniques rather than one-plus-one if that makes sense. That took more practice and mental discipline than most would realize. I was impressed. The Empress really deserved title of a high-ranker.

    Rei, on the other hand, his inexperience showed. His movements were wobbly, uncertain, but if he had one thing, it¡¯d be determination. Despite his flaws, he compensated for quantity and variety of attack, using his movement [Skill] to the fullest. Smart. It showed he was thinking about strategy, assessing his own shortcomings while trying to overcome his opponent. He wasn¡¯t as goofy as I thought¡ª

    Something shattered.

    ¡°MY SWORD¡ª! NOOO¡ª!¡± Rei fell to his hands and knees, mourning the stump of his katana. ¡°[Gin (ãy)], I¡¯m sorry for failing you!¡±

    Never mind, Rei was still a dork.

    That¡¯s the duel, I guess.

    Me and Uncle Ali entered the arena as Leo was stuck between comforting Rei or being confused.

    I broke the silence first, ¡°Who¡¯s [Gin]?¡±

    Rei pointed at the katana. ¡°[Gin] is the two-hundred-seventy-first sword I¡¯ve named! I-I thought it would last longer, but I underestimated Leo-senpai¡¯s strength! This defeat lies in me alone!¡±

    Leo tucked [Twin Heavens] away and asked, ¡°You name your swords?¡± (¡°I think there¡¯s a better question you should ask,¡± I murmured.) ¡°Wait, what¡¯s the name of the sword you broke back during the Scare?¡±

    Rei sniffled. ¡°...[Taikyuu (ÄÍ¾Ã)].¡±

    I tilted my head. ¡°You¡¯re welcome¡ª?¡±

    Leo slapped the back of my head. ¡°Dumbass.¡±

    Uncle Ali crossed his arms, thinking. ¡°Why do you name your swords in the first place?¡±

    ¡°Because every kensei needs to name their sword!¡± Rei stood, regaining a fire in his heart. ¡°A sword without a name is like a bird without wings! Although many were broken by my hands, I¡¯ve named all of them without fail! I can even recite all two-hundred-seventy-one names for you right now! Starting with¡ª!¡±

    Uncle raised his hand and cleared his throat. ¡°That¡¯s, erm, that¡¯s not necessary, Rei. We believe you. I want to know more about your techniques, though. The [Broken Swords]? You didn¡¯t showcase them during the duel."

    ¡°Ah, yes¡­¡± Rei held his hands together and gingerly rubbed his callouses. ¡°Uhm¡­ Whenever I use those techniques, Overseer-sama, the sword I¡¯m wielding will break without fail. Yet to use them during the duel would be¡­¡±

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    He nervously glanced at Leo. ¡°You would call it ¡®overkill.¡¯¡±

    His answer would have brought skepticism if we didn¡¯t see it for ourselves. Rei had killed the Silverhonor Alternate in a single strike by severing its existence. If his other techniques were on a similar level, then I was inclined to believe him.

    I sighed. ¡°Should¡¯ve used it anyway¡ª¡±

    Leo slapped the back of my head. ¡°Asshole.¡±

    ¡°Well, that poses a problem¡­¡± Uncle produced his notebook and began writing something down. ¡°I¡¯ll speak with Sage and see if we can speed up your [Loadout]. It¡¯s not practical for you to carry around a hundred swords, but we¡¯ll figure something out.¡±

    ¡°I shall accept whatever you give me!¡± Rei exclaimed, stars in his eyes.

    ¡°Good. Now, let¡¯s talk about the duel itself. Do you mind explaining your strategy first, Rei?¡±

    The stars in his eyes died. ¡°Oh, erm¡­ I was overpowered.¡±

    I commented, ¡°That¡¯s not a strategy. That¡¯s what happened¡ª¡±

    Leo almost slapped the back of my head if I didn¡¯t catch her hand.

    ***

    ¡°Vic? You good?¡± I caught Vic laying his head down in the HQ library.

    Since Uncle Ali decided that he was part-timing at the hospital, he¡¯d been hitting the books again to prepare. In OU, the program he took, expeditionary medicine and healing, was basically combat medicine, which would be pretty different from a civilian environment. I imagine it was a pretty drastic jump compared to, let¡¯s say, healing the Vice Guild Master after he got stuck through the stomach.

    Vic mumbled incoherently and pushed himself off the table, laying back in his chair like a dead man. ¡°I wanna kill myself.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the worst thing you can hear from the team healer.¡± I sat on the edge of the table and saw some of the textbooks he was reading. All dense material that I couldn¡¯t wrap my head around. ¡°Pretty tough, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, no shit it¡¯s tough. I¡­¡± He stopped himself mid-way through and began rapping his knuckles against his forehead. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be complaining, sorry.¡±

    ¡°Hey, just because Overseer¡¯s my uncle, it doesn¡¯t mean¡ª¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s¡ªokay, how do I word this without sounding like a dick? It¡¯s, uh, everything¡¯s going really fast, you get what I mean? I thought I¡¯d be a team healer for a while, but¡­¡±

    ¡°But¡­? Is that a bad thing?¡±

    ¡°I dunno.¡± Vic shifted his jaw and stared at a random spot on the carpet. ¡°I didn¡¯t think I would have to start, y¡¯know, thinking about the next step this soon.¡±

    Now I understood his anxiety behind his new assignment. Vic inherited aspects both sides of his family: the need for action from his father and brother, and the desire to help from his mother and sister. Angels Guild would provide more of the former through the Special Task Force, but after receiving scrubs, the dial was ticking confidently toward the latter.

    However, that was today: the start of his career. Where would he be a few years from now? Ten years? Twenty? Would he remain as a team healer, branch out and get a medical degree, or do whatever else healers did? The Special Task Force allowed him to prolong that decision, but my uncle inadvertently moved up the timeline and forced him to stare at his own future.

    If he wanted to go further with healing, Angels Guild was where you¡¯d do it. If Wisdom had the best mages and magic, we had the best healers, rivaled only by the Vatican. Angels Headquarters Hospital¡ªaccording to everybody¡ªcontained the best healing-based residency programs. As exciting as that sounded, it meant his decision was that much more stressful.

    One of his futures was standing right before him.

    ¡°...You don¡¯t have to decide now,¡± I told him.

    He rolled his eyes. ¡°Once my mom hears, she¡¯s gonna push me toward med-school.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what she thinks, but here¡¯s my advice.¡± I faced him and made sure he was paying attention. ¡°Treat this as an opportunity. Find out if you like working in a hospital. If not, now you know.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m a combat healer for a reason. You got all these guys who bring back breacher-skulls, but who¡¯s gonna protect ¡®em? That¡¯s where I come in: with a shield and not a sword. At least, that¡¯s what I think I wanna do. I like the sound of ¡®Dr. Taslim¡¯ but being called ¡®Victor¡¯ is a staple.¡±

    I whistled. ¡°I think it¡¯s the worst codename in existence, but that¡¯s personal taste.¡± (¡°Fuck off.¡±) ¡°Look, Vic, I meant it: you don¡¯t have to decide now. You shouldn¡¯t. Treat the next couple years as a learning period, because I don¡¯t know if anyone has told you yet, but you basically have free access to the entire guild and practically the entire city.¡±

    Reason was starting to seep into his annoying eyes. ¡°You¡¯re¡­not wrong.¡±

    ¡°Mhm. While you figure out whether or not you want to be called ¡®doctor,¡¯ you should prepare yourself for combat training.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s gonna be fine, though. I don¡¯t think Overseer can be worse than what we had in OU.¡¯

    I knocked on wood. ¡°Pick up a Bible alongside your medical textbooks.¡±

    ¡°Dude, what does that mean¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Pick up a Bible.¡±

    ***

    [Sage]

    I¡¯m the team engineer, I shouldn¡¯t be training¡­

    [Problem]

    Your uncle is unexpectedly ruthless. Please appeal to him on my behalf.

    [Firebrand]

    he kicked my ass

    how

    explain

    [Uprise]

    This is an automated message from Okano Kotone. She is currently hospitalized from brain-damage and she wishes to share a message with you: go to hell

    [Forest Master]

    Give my thanks to your uncle for reminding me about my childhood training

    I absolutely hate it.

    I ignored their complaints and entered the training room. This place had been my second home as of late. I¡¯d touched the ceiling with [Conviction] and returned to the ground after forgetting how to fly.

    Althea sat on a bench, preparing for yet another day of hard training. She had it the worst. With the tight timetable, she needed to cram all the necessary skills within two months and study the mission materials and mentally steel herself for a long-term mission.

    Her main instructor was our uncle, obviously. Since taking on the role of Overseer, he¡¯d forsaken sleep and instead used his nights to organize our regimens. Not once, though, did he look exhausted. No matter how much labor he put himself through, Uncle always appeared tough as ever. The power of a military background and an addiction to coffee.

    I patted Thea¡¯s back as Uncle searched through his bag. ¡°What¡¯s on the list for today?¡±

    ¡°Something different.¡± He pulled out an old, unlabeled notebook and skimmed through the dusty pages. Glimpses of neat handwriting and annotations stuck out to me, but I couldn¡¯t catch any of the writing itself. ¡°Since I was informed of Operation Sundown, I¡¯d been preparing this for the both of you. Have a look.¡±

    Uncle handed the notebook to me.

    Thea stood and looked over my shoulder as I turned the cover. It read:

    ZHENLONG SCHOOL TECHNIQUES

    Xingyu Shen

    If you¡¯re reading this, Alexander and Althea, then my worst fears have come true: you¡¯re living a life where this knowledge is necessary for your survival, without the security of your parents. I¡¯ve entrusted your uncle with this manual, and he¡¯ll teach you the techniques that were beaten into me.

    The techniques that he used to invent the Anti-Slayer Techniques.

    The techniques created to kill cultivators.

    The crown jewel of the Mainland, housed in the Zhenlong Tactical School.

    Use them well, my children.

    ¡°...This is it,¡± Uncle quietly said, breaking us from our thoughts. ¡°This is the only known manual of the [Zhenlong School] outside its walls. In the Jianghu, cultivators fear these techniques because they were designed to break them. While we won¡¯t fight cultivators, not yet anyhow, they will be immensely useful.¡±

    ¡°A-Are you sure ¡®bout this?¡± Althea asked through a cracked and broken voice, hands shaking as she held the manual. ¡°This¡­ You know the implications. If anyone recognizes the techniques¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s better to have them than not.¡± Uncle took back the manual. ¡°There are two versions of the [Zhenlong School]: systemic and non-systemic, used by their Slayer and human members respectively. I¡¯ll teach you the former. Try to, anyway.

    ¡°According to your mother¡¯s writings, the [Zhenlong School] states that every martial art has its own ¡®energy¡¯ and thus can be considered as its own ¡®person.¡¯ Its founder, Zhenlong, extensively researched this phenomena¡ªby that, he put himself in harm¡¯s way day-in and day-out¡ªand uncovered base patterns across the same forms of martial arts. As a result, he created ten techniques based on these patterns.

    ¡°Each technique operates on the principle of ¡®negation.'' You manipulate your own internal energy to match and negate the martial art in front of you, like forcibly turning an equation into zero. Thus, we get to the thesis: if my Anti-Slayer Techniques destroy the Phenomenon Production System, then the [Zhenlong School] destroys the concept of martial arts itself.

    ¡°[Tears of Crying Blood], the energy-destroying technique.

    ¡°[Ruinous Hands on Coffins], the unarmed-destroying technique.

    ¡°[Dust and Ash Within Soil], the blunt-destroying technique.

    ¡°[All Blades Under Heaven], the sword-destroying technique.

    ¡°[Thousand Casket Nails], the spear- and staff-destroying technique.

    ¡°[Sole Earth Dominion], the formation-destroying technique.

    ¡°[Spirit Consumption Curse], the magic-destroying technique.

    ¡°[Clipped Sparrows Fall], the ballistic-destroying technique.

    ¡°[The Graveyard of Heroes and Earth], the qinggong-destroying technique.

    ¡°And [End Forest and Rivers], the cultivation-destroying technique¡ªthe main influence of my own.¡±

    Ten techniques and two months. I wasn¡¯t so worried about myself, because I had all the time in the world, but Thea needed to learn as much as possible. However, there was one problem that was bugging me.

    ¡°We can¡¯t read qi in the first place,¡± I announced. ¡°We don¡¯t have the capability yet, and given how complex it sounds already, I don¡¯t think any regular sensory-type [Skill] will suffice.¡±

    Uncle nodded and flipped to the beginning of the manual. ¡°That¡¯s true, which is why your mother has also described the foundational [Skill] of the Zhenlong Tactical School: [Dual Dragoneyes].¡±

    ¡°Man, this Zhenlong guy really loves his angsty names¡­¡± Thea muttered before speaking up, ¡°...so how are we gonna learn it?¡±

    ¡°That¡­¡± Uncle turned to the next page, then turned again. ¡°Is a wonderful question. Because your mother wasn¡¯t a Slayer, she wasn¡¯t privy to the acquisition methods. She did create several theories based on hearsay and personal research: alchemy, body mutations, cultivation practices, internal energy developments, and you get the point. It¡¯s our job to experiment and work our way to a custom solution.¡±

    Thea asked, ¡°D¡¯you think we can accomplish this in two months, though?¡±

    ¡°Personally? I¡¯d say it''s almost impossible.¡±

    I snorted at his bluntness. ¡°Not like we can ask Chunhua for help without revealing our family secrets.¡±

    Thea snapped her fingers. "Let''s just ask Cheonma."

    Uncle smacked his lips together. "She''s...not aware that we have the manual, and I prefer if we keep it that way."

    In other words, we didn''t want to further fuck with the balance of power. Likely, if we asked Cheonma for help, she would request the manual in return. That would lead to a very messy road.

    Thea sighed, understanding the political implications. "Alright, I get it. So it''s just us?"

    ¡°Just us. Maybe it¡¯s a terrible idea to work on this project given the timeframe, but we should try anyway. We¡¯ll most likely fail, but Baekyong might lead to a breakthrough. You never know.¡±

    ¡°Well.¡± I nudged my sister. ¡°You up for it? We¡¯ll be his guinea pigs.¡±

    Thea sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m gonna like the next two months.¡±

 [FAREWELL, ALTHEA] Chapter 3 - Meet the Taslims

    The Taslims were throwing a party for their middle-child, celebrating his acceptance into Angels Guild. For them, whose son was implicated as a geddon during the Summer Scare, I imagine the party was a release-valve for the stress and emotions they¡¯d felt.

    Vic had invited the entire team, but Rector said that, although the Ordoian military were friendly to the Big Four, we shouldn¡¯t reveal our roster so soon. Disappointing, but most of them weren¡¯t planning on attending anyway (Morgan said Rector¡¯s orders were a good excuse to stay home). As a result, only three were attending: myself, Chunhua, and Kotone.

    I was coming because of course I was.

    Kotone wanted free food and drinks.

    Chunhua didn¡¯t trust Kotone with free food and drinks.

    We¡¯d been to his place a few times in the past three years, but every time I walked into his family¡¯s penthouse, I¡¯d get hit with the worst whiplash imaginable. This couldn¡¯t possibly be his home, right? It was way too big, way too clean, and way too fancy to belong to the biggest dumbass in Ordo, but the pictures and trophies on the wall reminded me that he was born with a silver spoon.

    That, and the guests.

    The party was well under-way by the time we arrived. Humorously, you could divide the room in half: on the left were military officers who had shed their uniforms in favor of holding whisky glasses and cigars, and on the right were relatives and family friends from Indonesia and were speaking a completely different language.

    Despite the division, the room was booming with laughter and drinks, as friends and family told stories about old times while they snacked at their plates. The Summer Scare was in the past, now, just another footnote in the wild history of the systemic world.

    Looks like the parents had another child to brag about.

    From the living room, a special someone noticed our quiet entrance and raced to greet us. She was a short, Indonesian woman with a sweet smile, but make no mistake, you couldn¡¯t find a more ferocious matriarch. Meet Cahaya Taslim, the mother.

    After we exchanged the usual hugs and hellos, Miss Taslim held Chunhua by the arms (she was her favorite). ¡°Thank you for coming. I don¡¯t know where my son is; he¡¯s somewhere in this¡­¡± She muttered something in Indonesian before clicking her tongue. ¡°Mess, but he¡¯ll appear. Trust.¡±

    She began pointing at various spots in the house. ¡°Food and drinks are in the kitchen. The bathroom is over there¡ªmake sure you knock first¡ªand gifts go there. If you need anything, don¡¯t hesitate to ask, and please, don¡¯t be a stranger. We¡¯re all family under this roof.¡±

    We nodded.

    ¡°Now!¡± Miss Taslim patted Chunhua¡¯s arm. ¡°Let¡¯s catch up. Tell me about Angels Guild! Come, come!¡±

    I held up my gift-bag. ¡°I¡¯ll put my gift away, but I¡¯ll talk to you later, ma¡¯am.¡±

    Miss Taslim waved as she (forcibly) brought the girls to the living room. Don¡¯t misunderstand, Momma Taslim was a lovely woman, but I needed a beer or two before my interrogation. She was incredibly nosy; plus, she kept nudging us to help Victor find a wife. If only she knew how hopeless her son was¡­

    Well, that¡¯s a conversation for another time.

    As I navigated through the crowd, a familiar, boisterous laugh roared from the kitchen. Looks like stopping by the gift table wasn¡¯t necessary. I diverted course and poked my head through the doorway first. The officers had conquered the territory for themselves, gathering around an island with booze in their breaths and chips in their fingers.

    Amongst the seniors, I found the man I was looking for: a weathered but hearty mil with a freshly-trimmed beard, white clouds in his eyes, and a wide, happy and proud smile. Every time I met him, he was either laughing, smiling, or both. Then again, I never saw him at his job. But hey, this was Captain Arthur Farrow of the Ordo Aerial Command.

    I knocked on the doorway, interrupting their loud conversation. ¡°Captain!¡±

    Arthur¡¯s hazel eyes lit up seeing me. ¡°Alexander, there you are! I was wondering when you were going to show up!¡± He pushed through his friends and pulled me in for a quick embrace. ¡°How have you been, Slayer?¡±

    He patted my back as I morbidly chuckled. ¡°Exhausted as hell, but I¡¯m pulling through.¡±

    ¡°Good, good! Oh!¡± He faced his fellow officers. ¡°This is my son¡¯s best friend and teammate, Alexander Shen. Alex, this is¡ªah, never mind, you don¡¯t need to know these old fucks.¡± (¡°Go to hell, Farrow!¡±) ¡°Without Alex, my boy would be dead in a ditch¡ªoh, where¡¯s Chunhua and Kotone?¡±

    I vaguely motioned toward the living-room. ¡°Your wife has them occupied.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll find them later!¡± Arthur looked down and saw the bag I was holding. ¡°What did you bring for Victor?¡±

    ¡°Actually, this is for you.¡± I showed its contents to the room: a bottle of Alto Sphere bourbon, one of the finest you could find in Cirropolis and only in Cirropolis. My knowledge of alcohol was poor, but supposedly, this bourbon tasted better on an airship than down here. Whether or not that¡¯s a marketing statement, don¡¯t ask me.

    When I revealed the bourbon, eyes lit up throughout the kitchen. A couple officers whistled, impressed by ¡°my¡± statement.

    Arthur took the bottle in his hands and chuckled, reading the label. ¡°How did you get your hands on this?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll confess: I¡¯m just the messenger. It¡¯s a gift from my commander to you."

    ¡°Ha, is this the same commander who¡¯s turning my boy into a nurse?¡± Arthur set the bottle on the counter.

    ¡°There¡¯s no one else, and before you ask, the rumors are true. Our commander¡¯s ex-military, Marine Corps.¡±

    Arthur wiped his lips and laughed, reading the label again. ¡°I never thought I¡¯d see an American¡ªlet alone a rifle¡ªlead a team of Angels¡¯ finest, but this city is full of surprises, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Too many, I think.¡±

    ¡°Mmm.¡± A quiet second passed as the Captain thought about things for a moment¡ªwhat things, I didn¡¯t know. Once he was done, he raised his finger and addressed his friends, ¡°Let me speak with Alex for a few minutes. When I come back, the bourbon oughta be untouched.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯d better be a quick talk,¡± an officer said. ¡°It might be a decoration piece in a couple minutes.¡±

    ¡°I know a good spot on my wall for your head, sir, but if you excuse me. C¡¯mon, Alex.¡± Arthur ushered me out of the kitchen and into a quiet hallway, separated from the rest of the guests. Of course, the moment I thought about how I¡¯d never seen him in a serious context, he pulled me aside for a serious conversation.

    Everything was changing in the Slayer Capital as of late, one-by-one, big and small.

    Captain leaned against the wall, and his authority shone through in his experienced eyes. ¡°Talk with me straight, Alexander. Your assignment isn¡¯t ordinary, is it?¡±

    There was no use lying. I was in no position to. ¡°No, sir, and I¡¯m not at liberty to discuss the finer details. Me and Vic both are.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m concerned. The Scare might¡¯ve ended uneventfully, but anyone with an ear to the ground can hear something¡¯s a-rumbling.¡±

    Yeah, and the rumbling was caused by my footsteps.

    ¡°I can¡¯t confirm or deny anything, you know that, but this conversation isn¡¯t meant for a foot-soldier like me. Here.¡± From my wallet, I produced a business card with Rector¡¯s phone-number and email. ¡°I suspected this conversation might happen. This is Rector¡¯s contact info. I can¡¯t guarantee he¡¯ll completely satisfy you, but better his mouth than mine. You''ll also speak with Overseer, but we haven''t set up his phone-line yet.¡±

    Arthur reluctantly took the business card, looking over the information. He was contemplative.

    I continued, ¡°But as the only thing keeping Vic away from a six-foot grave, I have his back. Always. That goes for the entire team. We might be wet around the ears, yeah, but we¡¯re tight.¡±

    Captain licked his lips. ¡°I nearly lost my son a few weeks ago in what should¡¯ve been a routine try-out. The Union arrested him, thinking he was a goddamn geddon. We have all the magic and tech you can dream of, and the world is hardly any safer.¡±

    I gulped. ¡°I know that more than anyone, sir.¡±

    ¡°I know you do.¡± Arthur tucked the business card away and heartily patted my shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re a great kid. This world needs men like you, Alex. I feel better knowing you¡¯re in my son¡¯s corner.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to keep him out of trouble.¡±

    ¡°Keep him out of a coffin. Trouble comes whether we like it or not.¡± Don¡¯t I know it. ¡°Tell your commander that I appreciate the gift, and I¡¯ll have a talk with Rector soon. Now, no more business-talk.¡± Arthur gently pushed me out of the hallway. ¡°Enjoy the party, my boy.¡±

    ***

    I still haven''t found Victor or his sister anywhere, but they¡¯ll show up eventually.

    Instead, I roamed around, speaking with people whom I didn¡¯t know the names of and helping myself to the delicious food and drinks. Chunhua and Kotone were stuck-to-the-hip, using each other as a protective ward against unwanted conversations. Good for them, I guess.

    After enough wandering, the balcony caught my attention. A group of four occupied the space: talking, drinking, doing what regular people do in a party. What struck me in particular was their age. Couldn¡¯t be more than five years older than me. Oh, their tattoos got my eye as well. Although the designs were mostly obscured by their clothes, they had some serious ink.

    Military ink.

    In the group, I spotted a certain idiot¡¯s older brother and favorite of the Taslim children: Ethan Taslim. Like their father, he was a mil. Instead of pursuing nepotism in Ordo, he had a flourishing career as an Expeditioner in Otherguard Special Operation (OGSO), Aviation. Expeditioners were the superheroes among their siblings, unrivaled in recovery operations both in homeworld and in expeds no matter the danger. Archknell was famously rescued by them within forty-eight hours of Dissolution, and the operation led to his popularity which started the chain of events leading to his current position.

    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    To have that level of discipline and work ethic, Ethan was the polar opposite of his younger brother in every way. Similar faces, very different experiences.

    I hadn¡¯t talked with Ethan much; he was always off conducting top-secret operations like rescuing Counterforce operators behind enemy lines or saving Slayers who got themselves stuck in a ravine. I didn¡¯t know what else he did beyond that, then again, not like the information was public.

    Well, that¡¯s the point of a conversation.

    I knocked on the screen-door and barged into the cool nightly breeze. ¡°Hey, strangers.¡±

    ¡°Alex, what¡¯s up?¡± Ethan held his beer high, smiling. ¡°Long time no see.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± spat the dirty blonde at the far-end of the balcony, not taking too kindly to my sudden intrusion. She had pretty menacing eyes, helped by the small scar marking her bottom-lip. She struck me as a no-bullshit tight-ass¡ªa woman who you should watch your words around unless you want a knife to the stomach. Chunhua, basically.

    Ethan discreetly returned a glare as if telling her to back down. ¡°A friend of my brother¡¯s, Taylor.¡±

    ¡°Alexander Shen.¡± I waved at everyone. ¡°We¡¯re wearing our wings together.¡±

    ¡°Congratulations,¡± said one of Ethan¡¯s friends, a dark-skinned man with a thick African accent. We shook hands; his palm was sandpaper and his grip could crush my fingers if he tried hard enough. ¡°Nshole.¡±

    Last but not least was a redhead who had the same eyes as Victor: that of an idiot who didn¡¯t think he was an idiot. A good, firm handshake though. ¡°Orton. Congrats on being an Angel. Heard it¡¯s a pretty good gig.¡±

    I anxiously rubbed my fingers together. Either I was hallucinating, or Nshole and Orton had the same surgery scar on their wrists. ¡°...You don¡¯t know half of it.¡±

    Ethan leaned backwards on the railing far enough that any sane and sober person would get nervous. ¡°How¡¯s working there? I understand the Scare hit the guild pretty hard.¡±

    I glanced at Taylor who was maintaining a piercing gaze hidden by her bottle. ¡°It¡¯s manageable. I¡¯m in the process of training, so that¡¯s been another scare in itself. Really, it¡¯s been one scare after another since May.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Ethan tapped his bottle, smacking his lips together, and an uncomfortable silence whistled through the balcony for a solid second. Finally, he said, ¡°I heard a pretty interesting story from my brother but I couldn¡¯t find sources online. If you don¡¯t mind me asking, but at your old job, did you really take down a couple C-Ranks as a ren?¡±

    That question snatched the interest of his military buddies. Orton choked on his hard seltzer, Nshole became intensely intrigued, and Taylor¡¯s soft contempt roared into quiet hostility. Out of a team of four Expeditioners, I was somehow the most interesting thing on the balcony.

    Well, at least Lyressa and Glory Guild did their job. They kept my name out of papers for my safety.

    I shrugged, eyes wandering but I made sure to keep everybody in my line-of-sight. ¡°Four middle-rankers at the same time.¡±

    ¡°Four?¡± Orton held up four fingers as if I didn¡¯t know how to count. ¡°Politely, you look like a tough guy, but that¡¯s bullshit. Even if they¡¯re the shittiest middle-rankers in the world, four against one will turn you into a vegetable.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d be dead,¡± Taylor snarled from her corner.

    Nshole didn¡¯t add onto the skepticism but his eyes told me he agreed. Not Ethan. Everyone but him thought the story was gobbledygook and for a good reason. It was too fucking absurd, but hey, in this situation¡­ Should I be flattered or scared right now?

    I crossed my arms, fingers twitching. ¡°Didn¡¯t we talk about this before? I thought your brother spun all sorts of tales about our time in OU, Ethan.¡±

    ¡°About how a business major beat up swords in Systemic Works?¡± Ethan confirmed, smiling yet not for a good reason I suspected. ¡°I thought my brother was being dramatic, but clearly, there¡¯s some truth in the pudding. How did it happen? What¡¯s your big secret?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°There¡¯s no secret. You just need to understand how swords operate, do some research on your targets and create action plans, then execute them when the time comes. Easier said than done obviously, but a bunch of nobody middle-rankers weren''t that dangerous.¡±

    My answer, despite the truth in my words, only caused the Expeditioners to deepen their brows and stand taller, and the temperature dropped to ice.

    ¡°Is that how you got those scars?¡± Orton asked, gesturing to my fucked-up hands. ¡°By operating on CF basic doctrine?¡±

    ¡°By thinking you¡¯re CF?¡± Taylor pressed further, eyes sharper than knives.

    I might be hallucinating, but they were closer to me than before.

    I cleared my throat. ¡°I¡­ I think I won¡¯t answer those questions. Knowing the CF, everything''s a secret.¡±

    To ease the mood, I laughed but no one was laughing with me.

    Ethan said, clear and dry as a gunshot, ¡°And what would you know about the Counterforce?¡±

    I became a hare surrounded by wolves. What should¡¯ve been a pleasant talk had turned into a pigpen for God-knows-what. An interrogation? An excuse to throw me off the railing? The signals they were sending, none of them were good. Even Ethan¡ªVic¡¯s own fucking brother¡ªwasn¡¯t giving me respect. Yeah, time to find an exit. While a chance for a graceful exit had expired a few seconds ago, these guys could kiss my ass.

    ¡°...You know,¡± I said while backing away toward the door while maintaining complete line-of-sight on all of them. ¡°I''ll also won''t answer that question, so I think I¡¯ll find Victor¡ª¡±

    Before my hand grabbed the handle, Nshole blocked me. ¡°Easy, brother, stay for a little bit¡ª¡±

    ¡°Something wrong, Nshole?¡±

    Nshole paused, eyes widening, a quiet gasp left his rough lips.

    I¡¯d activated [Intimidating Presence], giving everyone a dose of mental warfare. Normally, activating [Skills] against normal humans was against the law, but no one would find out. Plus, as Expeditioners, these guys had some training in dispatching Slayers. Meaning, they could definitely kill me.

    The mils received my mental attack, but instead of backing down, they did the opposite. Nshole growled and used his large body to completely block the door, becoming a pseudo-boundary to split the balcony. There was my half, and there was theirs. Ethan, Orton, and Taylor were grouped together, their drinks on the railing or on the ground, and they stood against me. Adrenaline sobered their blood.

    Looks like I escalated the situation. At least I tried.

    Seriously, though, what the fuck was their deal?

    I hissed through my teeth: ¡°Don¡¯t I feel like the President? What are you guys on¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Where did you get your training?¡± Ethan demanded with more poise than a Buddhist monk, his friendliness gone with the wind.

    ¡°Pass. We can play twenty questions on a later date¡ª"

    ¡°You don¡¯t dictate the terms, Angel,¡± Taylor sternly said. ¡°Answer the question¡ª¡±

    ¡°This is Victor¡¯s fucking party for God¡¯s sake, that¡¯s the terms right there. Do you know what we do? We eat cake, get plastered, and wish him well¡ªso don¡¯t push your fucking luck, Expeditioners. Angels can fly, but bullets drop.¡±

    Nshole, Orton, and Taylor shuffled their feet, tensing up.

    They were getting ready to fight a Slayer.

    Ethan remained stoic, unfazed by my blatant threat. Who was this fucker? ¡°You don¡¯t know who you¡¯re dealing with, Alex.¡±

    This asshole¡­

    I clicked my tongue. ¡°Throw the first punch, then, and see what happens. I¡¯m done talking.¡±

    Ethan bit his lip. His eyes darted to Nshole, the closest to me. If anyone was going to make a move, it¡¯d either be him or Ethan himself. Whatever happens, they brought this onto themselves.

    The wind kicked up, and the beer bottles sitting around sung a hollow whistle. Overhead, a passenger plane swooped over the building, its jet engines roaring and tearing through the air. On the other side of the wall, guests continued to laugh and share stories, ignorant to the stand-off happening in plain-view. None of these details distracted us¡ªdistracted them. Their focus was uncannily fixated. I could feel them peeling every detail about my stance, calculating the distance between us, estimating how fast I could move, my reaction time, that stuff.

    I was doing the same thing.

    Were these guys actually Expeditioners?

    I¡ª

    The screen-door opened, and Nshole stepped out of the way to see who pulled the handle.

    My savior: a beautiful cultivator. ¡°Alex, there you are, I need you for a second.¡± She had her usual, threatening smile: she¡¯d seen the pickle I was in.

    I laughed; I was lucky to have such observant friends.

    The mils relaxed, knowing a brawl was out-of-the-question.

    ¡°I¡¯ll see you guys later,¡± I said without looking at them, turning off [Intimidating Presence] to avoid spooking the other guests, but at the doorway, I stopped.

    Nshole raised an eyebrow.

    I whispered to him, ¡°Stand in my way again, rifle, and I¡¯ll break your fucking hand. All of you, even if you¡¯re my friend¡¯s brother.¡±

    Chunhua was in earshot but she wasn¡¯t fazed by my threat.

    I entered the penthouse and she shut the door for me.

    <Alex!> Chunhua exclaimed in hushed Mandarin. <What the hell was that? I thought Ethan was Victor¡¯s brother¡ª>

    <I thought so too. I¡¯ll explain later. Just¡­ I need to find Vic.>

    ***

    As it turned out, the motherfucker was upstairs the whole time.

    Inside the family office, Vic was with a smaller woman about two years his junior. Unlike her brothers, she wasn¡¯t an idiot and didn¡¯t like picking fights for no damn reason. Instead, she resembled her mother in face and personality, but despite her gentleness, overestimating her tolerance was a fatal mistake. As a Traveling Healer, you often visited some of the harshest places on Earth to give aid to those in need.

    Miranda Taslim saw me enter the office first. ¡°Alexander, it¡¯s good to see you again!¡± she said with a faint pink rash across her cheeks.

    Vic waved, holding a binder under his armpit. ¡°¡®Sup.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to find you, asshole. I¡ª¡± Let¡¯s not talk about Ethan with Miranda in the room. ¡°What¡¯s with the binder?¡±

    Miranda answered for him, ¡°It¡¯s my old notes from when I was studying. Since your commander¡¯s sending him to a hospital, I thought he might need them. But uhm, h-how have you been, Alex? I hope Victor hasn¡¯t been a pain in your side¡­¡±

    ¡°An average amount,¡± I said. ¡°We can catch up later. I need to bother your brother with something important real quick.¡±

    Disappointed, Miranda nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll be downstairs then. Don¡¯t make too much of a mess.¡±

    She hustled out of the room and shut the door for our sake.

    Vic set the binder down on a nearby table and saw the distress in my eyes. ¡°What happened? Did Mom or Dad say something¡ª?¡±

    ¡°What do you know about Ethan?¡± I asked, figuring it was better to ease him into the incident rather than telling him straight up. ¡°About his time as an Expeditioner, I mean.¡±

    ¡°What¡ª? I don¡¯t know, man, he doesn¡¯t talk about that stuff. It¡¯s, y''know, confidential.¡± Vic walked to the darkwood desk and leaned against the back-edge, crossing his arms and feet. ¡°Why, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    I exhaled. ¡°Well, your brother and his friends nearly threw me off the balcony because¡ªwell, I don¡¯t fucking know. Apparently, incapping swords is way too suspicious.¡±

    Victor blinked. ¡°Huh?¡±

    After giving a quick rundown of what had transpired, Vic started pacing. A part of him didn¡¯t want to believe it, but he knew I wouldn¡¯t lie about these things. However, suddenly shoving the drama into his small hands put him in a tough spot.

    ¡°What if¡­¡± he started, ¡°...what if I talk to him¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a good idea¡ª¡± (¡°Alex.¡±) ¡°¡ªhear me out. Ethan will probably push for more information about me. If he does, don¡¯t say anything. If he apologizes for his behavior, though, I think we¡¯re good. I wouldn¡¯t get my hopes up, though.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s my brother, Alex. I can¡¯t just give him a cold shoulder¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not saying you should. Just that, whenever the topic¡¯s about me, drop it.¡±

    Vic grimaced. ¡°I dunno, man, I think both of you are blowing this out of proportion.¡±

    ¡°I get that. Believe me, I don¡¯t want more drama, but you know I¡¯m carrying skeletons that should never see the light of day. I need to protect myself, and if your brother gets too nosy, I can¡¯t let that slide.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­¡± Victor rubbed his face and stared at the ceiling. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll think about it. Just¡ªfuck¡ªjust chill, okay? Don¡¯t talk to him, don¡¯t talk to his friends, don¡¯t mention this to Dad unless he brings it up first. Play it cool and stick with the girls.¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t planning on doing anything else but that.¡±

    ¡°Good, ¡®cause I don¡¯t wanna ruin tonight for everybody.¡±

    ¡°No one wants that, but¡­¡± I loudly exhaled, trying to release the tension in my chest. ¡°Thanks, Vic. Sorry for bringing a downer on your big day.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Better you tell me than not, but dammit dude, can you have a normal day for once?¡±

    ¡°Impossible.¡±

 [FAREWELL, ALTHEA] Chapter 4 - Doting Older Brother

    [Conqueror]

    Hey princess, mind shopping with me?

    Gonna get Althea some stuff for BY

    Also keep it lowkey

    [Celestial Empress]

    In public? Didn¡¯t know you were that bold lovely

    [Conqueror]

    Stop calling me that

    And wear a face mask or something

    [Celestial Empress]

    Dw I have my own way of concealment

    But yea I¡¯ll come with

    ***

    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± I began crossing items off my list.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to bring an actual list,¡± said my ¡°date¡± sitting on the other side of the table, trying too hard at ¡°cutely¡± sipping her iced coffee. She was kicking her legs, the point of her shoes barely brushing against my shins.

    I spun my pencil around my fingers, half-tempted to flick it into her eyes. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±

    ¡°You know, uh¡­¡± Leo, as wonderfully eloquent as she was, drank too much coffee and it had affected her vocabulary. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be spontaneous if that makes sense.¡± (¡°It doesn¡¯t.¡±) ¡°You come in, see where the smooth-stones will take you, and buy-out a store¡¯s entire catalog on a whim.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve been glued to each other¡¯s asses for a year at this point¡ª¡± (¡°It hasn¡¯t been two months!¡±) ¡°¡ªand you think I¡¯m that pretentious?¡±

    Leo¡¯s sunglasses tipped down her nose slightly as she sipped. ¡°System Articles, our first fight, Astraria¡ªyou like thinking with your gut.¡±

    I clicked my tongue and continued to work on my list. ¡°I investigated corporate fraud, solved the case of the mauled servants and the mystery of the Summer Scare¡ªsometimes, I also like thinking with my head.¡±

    ¡°And.¡± Leo reached over the table and plucked the shopping-list from my fat fingers. ¡°You can¡¯t find a middle-ground. Answer me truthfully, Alex. How much research did you do on Baekyong?¡±

    ¡°A normal amount.¡± I tried taking the list back but this annoying idiot wouldn¡¯t make it easy. ¡°I looked up their school policies. Obviously, we can¡¯t smuggle a rocket launcher onto campus, but apparently K-pop posters are permissible.¡±

    Leo sighed and set her coffee on the list, the perspiration dampening the paper. ¡°Your bedroom is plainer than vanilla, Alex. What makes you an authority on how a girl oughta decorate her dorm?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m her brother.¡± (¡°Sure.¡±) ¡°I know all her favorite bands, shows, comics, you name it.¡± (¡°Uh huh.¡±) ¡°And I¡¯ve seen her room a thousand times because it¡¯s constantly a mess.¡± (¡°Right.¡±) ¡°I know my sister¡¯s ¡®style¡¯ to put it simply.¡±

    Leo glanced at my list again. ¡°You¡¯re also buying her clothes. Only a control-freak would dictate his sister¡¯s wardrobe.¡±

    ¡°Because she¡¯ll need a large closet.¡±

    ¡°For what? Baekyong is filled with heirs and heiresses, but fashion comes second to the Rankings. Not even that.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Knowing the trouble she¡¯ll get herself into, her clothes will constantly be dirty, ripped, or both.¡±

    Leo opened her mouth to protest but she saw the logic in my purchases. Seeing her defeat, she pouted and crossed her arms. ¡°...Can you start thinking with your gut again?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not an idiot. Most of the time.¡± As soon as Leo sipped her coffee again, I snatched my list before she could do anything. Dammit all, my writing had smudged. ¡°What else you think Thea needs?¡±

    Leo held her coffee close to her nose, watching the dewdrops race to the bottom. ¡°Besides her [Loadout], nothing I can think of. Shopping-wise, I mean. I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re taking this well.¡±

    ¡°The operation?¡±

    ¡°Duh. Your sister¡¯s gonna be alone in Baekyong for who-knows-how-long with little-to-no support. Raw firepower isn¡¯t enough to survive. She needs practical intelligence, a dash of cleverness, and endless paranoia¡ªif she dreams of surviving.¡±

    I swallowed her concerns by drinking my own coffee that I¡¯d been neglecting. ¡°I¡ªshit, Leo¡ªyou know I¡¯m scared for her, obviously, but my faith is stronger than my fear. My faith in her, I mean. She¡¯s more capable than she thinks.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m scared too, because we can¡¯t train her for the bullshit that happens there.¡± Leo leaned forward, arms on the table. ¡°Schemes upon schemes, backstabbing, tactics so crude and vile that even us¡ªthe Demonic Cult¡ªwill blink twice at. These kids are fucking heartless, Alex. Nothing¡¯s sacred.¡±

    I stared at my list, not reading anything on there about war crimes. ¡°We had a taste, but Thea can handle herself. She won¡¯t have Lee Na-yoon at least. From the intel docs, supposedly Yoon-ho is the black sheep of the family.¡±

    ¡°The sun burns regardless of what color it is,¡± Leo snarled, her caramel eyes boiling underneath her sunglasses. ¡°Baekyong is a different ballpark than Oasis Guild. I know I sound crazy, but believe me here.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t doubting her. For the heiress of the Demonic Cult, going into Baekyong was like walking into the jaws of a shark and living there.

    ¡°...Why did you attend Baekyong in the first place, princess?¡± I asked.

    Leo exhaled, seemingly predicting that question. She slumped in her seat and stared at the rest of the shopping mall, watching shoppers from families to couples enjoy themselves on this beautiful summer day. In contrast, sitting at a table outside a cafe were two miserable swords.

    ¡°When¡­ When I graduated high-school, I wanted to prove to Auntie that I was capable enough to stand by her side¡ªthis was before I was informed about Sundown by the way. I created a [Character], enrolled in Baekyong, got exposed, and they turned my life into a living hell. Instructors, administration, my classmates, my ¡®friends,¡¯ they stopped at nothing to break my spirit.

    ¡°It worked. They won. They beat me. I still have nightmares to this day. Now?¡± Leo bit hard on her lip. ¡°I¡¯d give anything to see that school burn down and Taeyang with it.¡±

    I recalled seeing headlines of the famous battle between Ryu Gyeong-hui and Lee Na-yoon a few years ago, but I never paid attention to them. However, I knew the rest of the story: shortly after dropping out of Baekyong, Kosmos had offered her a place in Angels Guild, leading us to today. Three years after the fact, however, the scars were still fresh.

    Her legs were jittering underneath the table. She looked half-ready to jump out of her seat at the first loud sound. While her sunglasses concealed her gaze, it was aimed toward the horizon and onward to Korea. To Seoul, the capital and the home of her trauma. Whenever Oasis Guild and High Home were brought up, I must¡¯ve had the same expression.

    It was¡­interesting to be a witness this time around.

    I didn¡¯t like it.

    Leo was so deep inside her head that she didn¡¯t notice that I¡¯d gotten out of my chair and stood beside her.

    With my pencil, I poked her cheek.

    ¡°Geh¡ª?!¡± Instinctively, her murim-in reflexes kicked in and slapped my hand away. ¡°What the hell, Alex¡ª?!"

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    I laughed at her face. ¡°Smile, princess. Today¡¯s too pretty for a long face, and Ordo has too many good memories to be caught up in the bad ones.¡±

    Leo stared at me for a couple seconds, bewildered, and something was going through her head. I wasn¡¯t a mind-reader, so your guess was as good as mine, but in the end, she was laughing. Looks like my tongue did more than just lashing.

    ¡°Alright, lovely.¡± She got up and took her coffee. ¡°Let¡¯s make the most out of today.¡±

    ***

    ¡°I¡¯m home! Uncle¡¯s hanging back at HQ for a little bit¡ªwoah, whose birthday is it?¡± Thea stopped halfway to the living room, seeing an enormous selection of bags and boxes strewn over the floor, chairs, and tables. Luxury brands were slapped onto most of the packaging, names that we couldn¡¯t afford or even pronounce before the Scare.

    The receipts easily totaled someone''s salary. As much as I loathed to admit, but we were living in an ivory tower. While making big purchases like these would not be a common occurrence, splurging for my sister¡¯s success was a pretty good excuse to cosplay as a spoiled rich douchebag.

    Leo sneakily approached Thea from behind and clapped her shoulders, causing my sister to yelp. ¡°It¡¯s for you, sweetheart.¡± (¡°Eh?¡±) ¡°Your brother thought it was a good idea to spend our team¡¯s budget on essentials for Baekyong.¡±

    ¡°Essentials?¡± Thea picked up the nearest box. ¡°Designer sneakers are ¡®essentials¡¯?¡± Then she peeked into another bag. ¡°Designer sweatpants are ¡®essentials¡¯? You gotta be bullshitting me here.¡±

    I revealed myself behind the couch and stood, my knees cracking after crouching for so long. ¡°You know, I had this long spiel about how designer brands will help you blend in better, but uh, we decided to go crazy.¡±

    Leo waved me off. ¡°This was completely his idea.¡±

    ¡°You took me to the ¡®best¡¯ stores which all happened to be for black-card holders.¡± I crossed my arms, watching Thea tiptoe around the labyrinth we¡¯d made. ¡°But this is all for you. Every single thing.¡± ("Actually, I brought a few things for myself.") "Almost everything."

    ¡°Guys, this is¡­¡± Thea rubbed her mouth multiple times, her brain trying to process the extent of our bad decision. ¡°This is excessive. I-I like therapeutic shopping as much as the next gal, but this is fuckin¡¯ crazy! I don¡¯t need all this stuff!¡±

    ¡°We wanted to treat you,¡± said Leo.

    ¡°But what am I gonna do with all this? I¡­ I don¡¯t even know if Baekyong¡¯s gonna let me bring all this crap onto campus!¡±

    I carefully approached her. ¡°Thea¡ª¡±

    Thea, contrary to our expectations, was overwhelmed in the worst way. She clawed at her hair, the sight of our shopping trip bringing anxiety rather than joy. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me you were gonna pull this shit on me?! Huh?! Who did you buy this for? Just ¡®cause we came onto a lot of money doesn¡¯t mean you gotta¡ªugh!¡±

    She craned her head to the ceiling and circled around.

    On the other side, Leo slowly reached out. ¡°Sweetheart¡ª¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± Thea pulled herself away. ¡°You guys are so fuckin¡¯ ridiculous, you know that?¡± (¡°Thea¡ª!¡±) ¡°Shut up, I don¡¯t care anymore. Figure this shit out yourselves. Return ¡®em, sell ¡®em, it¡¯s not my problem.¡±

    I spoke up, ¡°Althea¡ª!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to my room.¡± Without another word, she stormed off and punctuated her exit by slamming the door shut.

    Well, we¡¯re fucking idiots.

    Leo let out a long, long sigh and banged her head on a nearby wall. ¡°We¡¯re fucking idiots.¡±

    ¡°You read my mind.¡± I joined Leo at the wall, leaning my own head there. ¡°I think¡­ I think we went overboard with our grand gesture.¡±

    She nodded, hair scratching on the plaster. ¡°It¡¯s my fault¡ª¡± (¡°No¡ª¡±) ¡°¡ªI was the one who suggested we¡¯d visit those stores¡ª¡±

    ¡°The purchases are under my name. I should¡¯ve known better¡ª¡± (¡°Alex¡ª¡±) ¡°¡ªalright, look, how about we say it¡¯s fifty-fifty and move on? We¡¯ll be arguing all night otherwise.¡±

    Leo pouted. ¡°Seventy-five-twenty-five, me.¡±

    I squinted. ¡°Princess.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m joking, but you¡¯re right.¡± Her head smacked against the wall again. ¡°We got a little too carried away, hehe¡­ It is unfair for us to¡ªfucking¡ªdump a truckload¡¯s worth of clothes and accessories while she¡¯s training twenty-four-seven for Sundown. Instead of cheering her up, we brought her grief. Literally and figuratively.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± I rubbed my nose, sniffling. ¡°Guess we¡¯re no match for an eighteen-year-old girl¡¯s brain.¡±

    ¡°Apparently.¡± Leo quietly chuckled. ¡°What should we do? Start going through receipts and calling numbers, or¡­?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s give Thea some time to cool down, then I¡¯ll talk with her.¡±

    ¡°I can help¡ª¡±

    ¡°No, this has to be between us, but I appreciate it. In the meantime¡­¡± I looked at our shopping spree again and whistled. ¡°Let¡¯s organize a little bit.¡±

    ¡°Yessir.¡± Leo patted my shoulder for good luck and got to work.

    ***

    Holding my breath, my knuckles softly rapped against Thea¡¯s door. ¡°Are you ready for my apology?¡±

    I heard shuffling inside her room. ¡°Are you gonna rent someone to read it for you?¡±

    ¡°Leo volunteered for free but I turned her down, unfortunately.¡± From the corner of my eye, said volunteer flipped me off.

    ¡°Ugh. Your face annoys me right now.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s alright.¡± I turned around and sat with my back against her door. We had several conversations like this. ¡°I¡¯ll entertain your immaturity this time.¡±

    Thea did the same thing. ¡°Asshole, aren¡¯t you gonna apologize?¡±

    I stretched my legs out, smiling. ¡°I am. You¡¯re right for getting pissed. What we did was pretty stupid. We piled more shit onto your workload and expected sunshine and rainbows. But we want the best for you. We want you to succeed. That doesn¡¯t pardon our mistakes, but that¡¯s where we¡¯re coming from.¡±

    She didn¡¯t respond for what felt like hours. While the Shens loved to carry grudges¡ªtake Mom or Uncle for instance¡ªThea was on another level. Last year, she had showed me a ¡°hit-list¡± of our worst enemies that we should ¡°start working on in the near future.¡± However, she wasn¡¯t completely unreasonable. Just a normal, annoying amount.

    ¡°...There¡¯s a lot on my plate, asshole,¡± her voice filtered through the door.

    ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°I have to study the mission materials, memorize all these names and backgrounds, go through boot camp, learn how to use a [Character] and Mom¡¯s techniques maybe¡ªall in two months. Like¡­¡± Thea sounded like she was shaking her head at the absurdity of it. ¡°I thought I¡¯d be, y¡¯know, working side-by-side with the rest of the team. Not this: being a super-spy.¡±

    ¡°You always wanted to go to Korea. This is, twistedly enough, a dream come true.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, no kidding. Infiltrating a school filled with heirs of chaebols? That¡¯s something outta a webtoon, but the prep-work is insane¡­ I mean, I get it, but it¡¯s gonna be really tough. It already is tough.¡±

    I turned toward the door. ¡°Do you actually want to do this¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Of course I do.¡± Thea banged her head, the vibrations hitting my back. ¡°This is our chance¡ªmy chance¡ªto do something about this shitty fuckin¡¯ world. Taeyang, Oasis, they¡¯re different sides of the same coin fucking over everybody in the same way. They hurt us. They hurt Leo. They hurt thousands, millions of innocent people. Taeyang might be geddons. If payback means living the worst year of my life, so be it. I just¡­ I just didn¡¯t think this was how I¡¯d be fighting back. I¡¯m not gonna complain, though. In a way¡­¡± Thea laughed. ¡°It¡¯s sorta exciting.¡±

    See? Thea loved holding grudges. Spite was her caffeine. Lyressa and Leo previously assumed I was an anti-castle punk from how I¡¯d handled System Articles and Glory Guild; on the contrary, the real punk was my sister. She always had an axe to grind against mega-corpos and castles; everyone in the family had an axe, but she was itching to use hers.

    I said, ¡°Yeah, well, you¡¯ve always been weird like that.¡±

    ¡°Asshole.¡±

    ¡°Mhm. I mean it, though. Everyone wants to extinguish the sun, but most of all, everyone wants you to go far. We¡¯ll do anything to mold you into a badass super-spy or whatever you¡¯re calling yourself. And once you leave, you¡¯ll be in our prayers everyday.¡±

    ¡°Sheesh, Alex, don¡¯t get sensitive all of the sudden¡ª¡±

    I lightly banged the side of my fist against her door. ¡°You¡¯re flying free from the nest, Thea. While you¡¯re still here, we''ll do everything we can to make these last two months memorable."

    Thea went quiet again.

    There I go, embarrassing her.

    ¡°...Fine,¡± she said after some time. ¡°Only because you¡¯re cooking our meals. If I piss you off, you might kill me with cyanide.¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t deny it. Now¡­¡± I stood on my legs, groaning like an old man. ¡°Let¡¯s decide what we¡¯re doing with your early Christmas presents.¡±

    Althea opened the door, looking tired as ever¡ªtired from training, tired from studying, tired because of me. ¡°Y¡¯know, isn¡¯t it a bit ironic that you guys brought luxury items while we¡¯re fighting a chaebol?¡±

    ¡°Hypocrisy is probably one of the least bad things about us.¡±

    ¡°Tell that to the judge. But yeah, I¡¯m not gonna throw away your gifts.¡± Thea paused to think for a second. ¡°Unless you got me hideous clothes or plain junk, then they¡¯re absolutely going to the garbage.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry!¡± Leo¡¯s voice rang from deep in the living room. ¡°I prevented any fatal mistakes!¡±

    ¡°Except for that one,¡± I muttered. "Just go through your gifts with the princess. Someone has to cook dinner, and I don¡¯t trust either of you with the stove.¡±

    ¡°Roger. If you hear me bitch and cry, it¡¯s your fault.¡± Thea marched into the living room to see what Leo was doing.

    I chuckled to myself.

    I really hope we can enjoy July and August as much as possible. Lord knows she¡¯ll need the happy memories before she starts tearing Baekyong apart by the bricks.

 [FAREWELL, ALTHEA] Interlude - Living with the Shens

    Wake up, go to work, go back home, sleep.

    Wake up, go to work, go back home, and sleep.

    This had been Leona¡¯s monotony for three years since joining Angels Guild. Despite her royal status and unique position in the guild, all the ¡°excitement¡± was either: training, sitting around in expeditions, or politics. Incidents like the Summer Scare were rare, and operations like Sundown were out of her hands. Really, most of her ¡°missions¡± greased the ever-turning gears of Angels Guild, making sure it wouldn¡¯t collapse in on itself.

    Evenings didn¡¯t fare much better either. While some days she crashed at Chie and Aiden¡¯s apartment or visited little Ariella, afterhours consisted of microwave dinners (that Alexander had constantly told her to throw away), K-dramas, and sleeping on the couch. Sometimes, she would call Auntie and Ki-ha¡ªbefore that jerk decided to run away from home¡ªto catch up. Rarely, Lyressa would stop by and they¡¯d trade guild secrets over drinks.

    But whenever she felt daring, she prowled the illuminated streets at night, watching men and women her age laugh and have fun and enjoy themselves in the presence of good company and a cold glass. They dressed comfortably and outwardly, in short-shorts and tank-tops, sandals clicking against the pavement in unison with flip-flops, bare legs exposed and chiseled abs glistening from sweat, everyone shoulder-to-shoulder and touching, living as if the night would last forever.

    Then, in the middle of the party was a hunched-back woman shrouded by a dark, baggy hoodie and whose expression was hidden behind a face-mask. Whenever a car passed by, its headlights would reflect off nearby puddles and storefront-windows and briefly reveal her haunting, unflattering figure.

    Three years.

    It¡¯s been three years since Kosmos has recruited her.

    In three years, she should have her life in order: find a career, find out if she wanted a relationship to begin with, find her true purpose as a princess torn between urban and xia. Yet since then, she hadn¡¯t taken a single step.

    Why not return to the Demonic Cult and help find Ki-ha?

    Why not see if Hwarang has a spot on her airship?

    Why not leave Ordo and see where the road takes her?

    Why not try anything else?

    Once we figure out what¡¯s going on with the Alternates, I¡¯ll consider my options, Leo had thought to herself.

    However, God wanted her to stay as an Angel for a little while longer.

    ¡°¡ªPrincess. Hey, princess.¡± Alexander snapped his fingers in front of her face. ¡°This isn¡¯t a stop-watch. If you get hypnotized this easily, you might want to invest in a mental blocker.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Leo¡¯s vision focused on the mysterious object dangling inches away from her nose: a steel key.

    Alex rolled his eyes. ¡°The spare key. I¡¯m giving you our spare key.¡±

    As he (forcibly) placed the key in her palm, Leo asked, ¡°Are you that annoyed with me knocking all the time?¡±

    ¡°Yes, actually. Saves me the trouble of running to the door.¡± Alex sighed and was about to open his mouth for yet another insult, but he seemingly noticed something on her face. Dirt, an ugly wrinkle? ¡°You alright, princess?¡±

    Leo rubbed the key¡¯s sharp ridges against her skin. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡±

    ¡°You look out of it, and that¡¯s saying a lot.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s six-in-the-morning, lovely, and I had a resounding five hours of on-and-off sleep.¡±

    ¡°And yet you immediately brought your sorry ass here.¡±

    This man was so damned annoying sometimes. Six-in-the-morning and he was already playing games; in fact, how was he so damned energetic this early? Was it a morning shower? His hair was damp, a few wet locks hung over his eyes, and a faint scent of pine-scented shampoo followed him. He looked messy but not six-A.M.-messy. It was front-page-of-a-magazine messy. Compared to her? Leo actually looked like the hour. She had shuffled into their apartment in embarrassing pajamas while this asshole had plain sweatpants and a shirt¡ªin fact, the shirt was taut enough that if Alex twisted his torso or shoulders, his muscles would show through¡­

    He really was too handsome for his personality.

    Alex cleared his throat, crossing his arms. ¡°I think you need a few more hours on the mattress."

    Leo scowled, slipping the spare key inside a random pocket. ¡°And you need to retire early.¡±

    ¡°Don''t threaten me with a good time.¡± Alex brushed past her and headed toward the kitchen. ¡°Sit tight while I fix breakfast. The others will be up soon.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you gonna ask if I want breakfast?¡± Leo said as the cook retreated into his lair.

    ¡°You come here everyday for free food, princess. That¡¯s also why we had a spare key made.¡± The sounds of fluttering drawers, cabinets, and pans filled the space. ¡°I know you aren¡¯t here for my charming personality. Can¡¯t say I blame you. Better this than the microwave slop infesting your freezer.¡±

    Is that what you think? Leo bit her lip, feeling the key shift around inside her pocket. That I¡¯m just here to mooch off you?

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to cook for me, y¡¯know¡ª¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re here, you¡¯re eating,¡± Alex said authoritatively. ¡°Law of the chef, no buts.¡±

    ¡°Alex¡ª¡±

    ¡°Save the argument for later, princess. Relax a little bit, sleep on the couch, do whatever. You''re the queen here.¡±

    That¡­ Ugh, why do you always have to be a dick all of the time? There¡¯s no use breaking through his thick skull. Not like she had the energy to fight this early in the morning anyway. So, being the parasite she was, she sat on the couch, turned on the morning news, and waited for everybody else to wake up.

    ***

    ¡°Thea, there you are, I¡¯ve been meaning to¡ªwhat¡¯s going on?¡±

    It was a pleasant surprise seeing Althea in Chie''s workshop, but surprise quickly turned to concern as a scary-looking magick pistol sat on a table in front of her. Surrounding the pistol was multiple high-grade attachments that Leo couldn''t readily name, the whole set-up likely worth more than a car. While Leo wasn''t updated on the team''s current [Loadout] needs, this scene had "Overseer" written over it.

    On the couch, Thea had her hands pressed together like a philosopher. ¡°I¡¯m seeing if I can use my telekinetic powers to piece everything together. It¡¯s not working.¡±

    ¡°As if you need more superpowers, sweetheart.¡±

    Thea frowned. "Whatever. This is officially a part of my [Loadout]. According to Overseer, the [Constante MB] is ¡®one of the finest irons manufactured by a leader in magick weapon systems.¡¯ But that¡¯s not all! He brought a shitton of attachments, dumped everything at my feet, and told me to figure it out.¡±

    Leo giggled to herself. ¡°That sounds like him.¡±

    ¡°He hates his niece sometimes, I swear.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that.¡± Looking over the table, Leo somewhat saw the vision: a fully customized magick pistol that would make gun-nuts turn over in envy and anti-gun advocates collapse from cardiac arrest. Leo herself wasn''t involved with the culture or any of the surrounding discourse. Most of her knowledge either came from online forums or action movies, so the intricacies of "magic weapon systems" were lost on her.

    On that subject, though, Leo "fondly" recalled when Alex had effortlessly summoned a [Rifle], a [Pistol], and a [Shotgun] in a single night.

    She asked, ¡°Did Overseer get jealous of your brother¡¯s [Mementos]?¡±

    ¡°Take a wild guess.¡± Thea picked up the base pistol, kept the barrel down-low, and looked down the sights all with impeccable posture despite her age. ¡°He thought I needed ¡®ranged capability¡¯ alongside my ¡®close quarters tools¡¯ which is reportedly coming soon.¡±

    As if she needed more ¡°capability¡± in her arsenal. Despite being newly-[Registered] Slayers, the Shens had combat skills that far exceeded their competitors. Although they had SSS-Rank [Skills], those [Skills] would be half as effective without right training. They had that training. They could handle iron like professional assassins, they could hold swords like master fencers, they could remain poised and rational under extreme conditions. Their capabilities were fucking scary to think about.

    Leo exhaled to get rid of her jitters then sat on the couch''s arm. ¡°You won''t be the only student with expensive toys. During my enrollment, everybody either had a family heirloom or a signature crafted by a master artisan."

    ¡°But no amount of money can teach ¡®em how to really use it.¡± Thea magically produced the owner''s manual to the [Constante MB] and skimmed through the material. ¡°Whatcha need me for, anyways?¡±

    Right, I almost forgot. Wish I could forget. ¡°I wanted your thoughts on something. Do you¡­ Do you think I¡¯m being a bother?¡±

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    Thea stopped reading and looked up. ¡°Like¡­ What d¡¯you mean by that?¡±

    So she hasn¡¯t thought about it. I didn¡¯t think she would considering she had bigger problems. ¡°I¡¯m always at your place. It got to a point that Alex graciously awarded me with the spare key, and you know how he is. Nothing¡¯s quick-and-easy with him. He always has to throw in a subtle jab, and ugh, he can''t fucking turn off his mouth sometimes.¡±

    The sister of that asshole nodded a few times. ¡°Lemme guess, one of his jabs got through?¡±

    Leo sighed. Better to admit defeat to the lovelier Shen than the other one. ¡°Maybe. Am I overthinking things? Your brother¡¯s annoyingly sarcastic. I can¡¯t get a read on his true thoughts.¡±

    ¡°Imagine how it feels living with him,¡± Thea said, laughing, ¡°but it¡¯s not completely hopeless. After a while, you begin to understand his Alex-isms, y¡¯get what I mean?¡±

    ¡°Somewhat.¡±

    ¡°I mean, there¡¯s a reason why Vic, Kotone, and Chunhua are still good friends with him. He has his own way of showing he has a heart.¡±

    ¡°Clearly, but having a defined learning curve just to understand this asshole is a little much.¡±

    ¡°Everybody has a learning curve, Leo. Just ¡®cause some people are initially easier to understand, it doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re better, y¡¯know?¡± Thea emptily chuckled, likely recalling some examples. ¡°Look, I know I shit-talk my brother all the fuckin¡¯ time, but he¡¯s not stupid. If he has a problem, he¡¯ll tell you outright. If he really has a problem, he¡¯ll punch you. As long as you meet him halfway¡ªpreferably without throwing hands¡ªhe¡¯ll do the same.¡±

    Well, he did patch things up with his sister after their shopping spree fiasco. He was...better at conversations than Leo had thought. Compared to the numerous times he''d aggravated Leo or someone else, though, a different man was talking to Althea that day. That was why this damned dick was so confusing. Which Alexander would she talk to today? Which Alexander would greet her tomorrow?

    ***

    ¡°Is this everything?¡± Leo asked, setting the last box down in Alistair¡¯s official office in the Wings. Due to his position as the Commander of the Special Task Force, his office was located on the top floor with the Office of the Guild Masters. Quite the illustrious position. Pretty much every big-name sword and corpo would kill to have his spot.

    Ali nodded, already unpacking. ¡°Thank you, Leo. I appreciate the help.¡±

    ¡°No problem, but just to let you know¡­¡± Around her legs were numerous unmarked boxes, and she was afraid that kicking them in the wrong spot may result in an accidental terrorist attack. ¡°It¡¯s against guild policy to house unregistered firearms. In fact, it¡¯s against the law but that¡¯s less important.¡±

    ¡°I have papers,¡± Ali answered curtly.

    That doesn¡¯t help me at all! ¡°...As long as you know what you¡¯re doing. It¡¯d be a shame if our first controversy comes from Overseer.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll make for a hilarious story.¡± Ali moved boxes without a care in the world.

    This family¡­ His nephew was chronically afflicted with sarcasm, his niece was going to be a spy in a couple months, and he himself was abnormally comfortable with working with some of the strongest Slayers in the world.

    Auntie did say to keep an eye on the entire family. Although the Shens had disclosed the circumstances surrounding their mother¡¯s birth, it wasn¡¯t the only family mystery. What techniques were Alex and Althea learning? Who truly was Alistair Romanos? Not even his history as MARSOC could explain everything. Hell, how were they involved in Oasisgate? These were some of the questions, and while Leo was curious, dangerous questions meant dangerous answers that she didn''t feel prepared for.

    But Auntie was privy to their secrets, alongside the GMs too. If she was fine with them, then Leo was fine. Mostly. For now, anyway. Like everyone else in the team, they would learn each other''s secrets in due time.

    ¡°...Heh.¡± Ali was holding a picture-frame in his hands: a photo of Alexander and Althea when they were kids, taken on the doorsteps of their old home in America.

    Leo focused on the would-be asshole. Judging from his age, about seven or eight years after the photo was first taken, the world would snatch the glowing innocence from his eyes¡ªbut that damned smile captured her. Even a guy like him could smile like that, huh? After all this time, after everything he''d been through, did he still have that smile?

    Ali set the photo down. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen Alex happier.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Are we talking about the same person? I mean, he finally figured out what he wants to do, but¡ª"

    ¡°I¡¯m talking about you, Leo. Whenever you enter the room, he¡¯s often the first one to take notice.¡±

    Well, if that didn¡¯t make her blush a little bit. ¡°I don''t think our ''relationship'' reached that far yet; hell, it won''t reach that far. Our [Memento] is barely developed.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, but Alex ¡®tolerates¡¯ you more than you think. You gave our family a genuine second chance, after all.¡±

    It¡¯s hard to believe that when he''s more on-and-off like a light-switch. ¡°What does that mean for him, though? More insults and petty arguments?¡±

    Ali chuckled and shook his head. ¡°No, my nephew lives by many mottos. One of them is: ¡®Leave nothing unsaid or undone.¡¯ Considering you gave him a future to believe in, you have his eternal gratitude. He¡¯ll make sure you know¡ªin his own unique way, of course.¡±

    And what does that look like? ¡°I-I don¡¯t think I did that much for your family. I¡¯m glad you all feel the same way, but Seraph and Rector deserve the credit.¡±

    ¡°But you got the ball rolling. You offered your home when we needed one the most. You connected us with Cheonma to finally resolve my biggest worry. You came even with the threat of internationals. And I know you¡¯ll continue to be there every step of the way.¡±

    Leo was quiet. What could she say here?

    ¡°Alex isn¡¯t the only one grateful. We all are. As your commander, I hope to live up to your expectations. Though, I suspect I¡¯m breaking them in the worst ways.¡± Despite himself, Ali laughed.

    This family, seriously¡­

    ***

    Before Leo knew it, evening came around the horizon. It was another ordinary day in the Shens household. Althea and Ali were talking about the [Constante MB] in the living room while the man of the hour had, once again, secluded himself in the kitchen. Music played on the speakers, a cooking playlist that Thea had put together so he could "listen to heat while he was cooking with fire," whatever the heck that meant.

    After today¡¯s interesting conversations, the only way to untangle the knot in her stomach was through words. Awkward, embarrassing words. Every opener she''d devised had failed in her mental simulations, with the result leaving someone bleeding out on the floor. After a certain point, she gave up and decided on the alternative: improv.

    So, when her heart was barely ready, she strolled into the kitchen and saw Conqueror himself conquering vegetables (that was a bad joke, God).

    Alex glanced sideways. ¡°Princess, I was just thinking about calling you over.¡±

    Leo raised an eyebrow. ¡°Did I do something?¡±

    ¡°Not this time. Just wanted to talk about Vic and his brother.¡± After chopping some veggies, they took a bath in the pan bubbling on the stove. ¡°I want your thoughts: is the stress from the Special Task Force driving me insane, or is there something seriously off about Ethan?"

    ¡°I¡­¡± Bravo, you continue to astound me. ¡°I haven¡¯t met him, but by how you told the story, I personally think he¡¯s conducting off-the-book ops like smuggling drugs or weapons to underground militia groups.¡±

    ¡°Might be. You never know in this world.¡± Alex laid the knife down and started washing his hands.

    There was a lull in the conversation.

    The bubbling pan was an annoying clock telling her to hurry up.

    Leo gulped and scratched at her arm. Despite her anxiety, this was¡ªfunnily enough¡ªnothing compared to when they''d first fought back at Primordial Plaza. That ironic thought gave her enough courage to lean against the counter, elbow brushing against the cold steel of the sink.

    Alex turned the sink off and dried his hands with a nearby towel, his silver eyes looking up-and-down at his princess. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You¡¯re looking at me like I did something.¡±

    Was it that obvious? ¡°I, uh, I wanted to talk for a little bit. About us.¡±

    Concern marked him, but he kept quiet.

    ¡°Am I¡­ Am I being too intrusive?¡± she asked, the act harder than driving a blade through a man¡¯s stomach. ¡°You¡¯re always doing something for me: cooking, brewing coffee, fixing meals. It feels like I¡¯m taking advantage of your generosity, and I don¡¯t want to be like that. I don¡¯t want you to resent me. So if there¡¯s anything I can do¡ª¡± (¡°Leo.¡±) ¡°¡ªhelp pay for groceries¡ª¡± (¡°Leo.¡±) ¡°¡ªor clean¡ª¡±

    ¡°Leo!¡± Alex raised his voice enough to stop her. ¡°Is it because of this morning?¡±

    She didn¡¯t verbally confirm it, but she didn¡¯t verbally deny it either.

    Alex amusingly huffed and rested his arms on the countertop. ¡°Should¡¯ve figured, heh. It wasn¡¯t my intention to put you down like that. You aren¡¯t a burden. You¡¯re the opposite.¡±

    Leo blew hot air at the thought. ¡°With us arguing at the table every night?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s better than listening to my sister drone about K-pop idols or how much she wants to burn down the White House,¡± he said, and Leo laughed at him. ¡°Hey, I mean it. I cook for you because I want to. I gave you the spare key because I want you to burst in and track mud over the floor. Everyday, there¡¯ll be a fourth chair at the table because I made dinner for four, not three. It¡¯s yours, until you grow sick and tired of us.¡±

    This¡­ Her head was swimming wildly without recourse. This asshole¡­

    ¡°I still feel bad¡ª¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be. I don¡¯t care.¡±

    ¡°But I do, so let me help. I want to help, until you inevitably throw my chair off the balcony-railing out of frustration.¡±

    ¡°That right? You¡¯re¡­¡± Alex smiled. It was a smile that resembled the boy in Alistair¡¯s photo, before the cruelty of the world had stolen so many things from him. Yet even today, his smile was just as precious, and gorgeous, and comforting believe it or not, like a warm fire set between stones, casting away darkness and the cold.

    Alexander finished his thought.

    ¡°You¡¯re such a dork, princess.¡±

    In that moment, the pieces of Alexander Shen began drifting together as though magnets inside her mind. The Alex-isms, the sarcasm, his heart and his tongue, everything.

    You¡¯re... Althea and Ali were right: you''re much, much sweeter than you let on.

    ¡°If you insist on helping,¡± Alex said, thumbing to the pot on the stove. ¡°I need a taste-tester.¡±

    ¡°Heh.¡± I could get used to this. ¡°I thought you¡¯d never ask.¡±

    *

    [Your connection with Leona Ryu has grown deeper.]

    *

    Solitary Demonblade

    Rank D

    Holder: Leona Ryu

    Memento Type: Sword

    Description: The [Memento] of your colleague and unwitting roommate, Leona Ryu. She brought you into Angels Guild and helped your family that¡¯s almost impossible to repay. Perhaps you don¡¯t need to reconcile the debt, however. As long as she¡¯s in your company and you in hers, life in the ivory tower might not be so insufferable.

    Special Effect: N/A

 [FAREWELL, ALTHEA] Chapter 5 - Professor Sophos, 1st Lesson

    [You have received a new notification!]

    [Sophos]

    Hey

    Hey

    Hey

    Answer me

    Hey

    [Conqueror]

    ?

    [Sophos]

    [coordinates]

    Cmere SSS-rank

    I want tests

    [Conqueror]

    No tests

    I¡¯ve done enough

    [Sophos]

    Yes test

    Tests are eternal

    [Conqueror]

    No

    [Sophos]

    Why

    [Conqueror]

    Because you¡¯re weird

    [Sophos]

    I¡¯m crying right now. Sobbing.

    You can¡¯t treat a Guild Master like this! You can¡¯t treat a genius like this!

    Aren¡¯t you a real man?

    [Conqueror]

    Nope

    [Sophos]

    Hmph!

    You hopeless loser

    Stupid Neanderthal

    Weak, puny man

    Heartless bully

    [Conqueror]

    I looked away for one second what the fuck did I come back to

    [Sophos]

    I¡¯m strategically insulting your pride in hopes to entice you to spend the day in my company

    Is it working?

    [Conqueror]

    No

    [Sophos]

    o(¨“©n¨“)o

    Do you know how many people would spend literal billions of points just to spend a single afternoon with me? Who can blame them of course but why are you denying me right out of the gates?

    Wait! Perhaps you¡¯re a man of the homosexual variety?

    [Conqueror]

    Thats the weirdest way someone asked me if I¡¯m gay

    [Sophos]

    Are you?

    [Conqueror]

    no

    [Sophos]

    Damn.

    [Conqueror]

    Wtf does that mean

    What do you *want* with me

    This can¡¯t get any weirder than you having a sign that says ¡®I¡¯M SUSPICIOUS BE SUSPICIOUS OF MY DUBIOUS WAYS¡¯

    [Sophos]

    As I told you, tests! A conversation! I want to speak with the next star of Ordo! And see if he isn¡¯t dead yet from Astraria¡¯s gift!

    [Conqueror]

    This seems too suspicious to be true

    [Sophos]

    That¡¯s because you¡¯re a paranoid cynic

    [Conqueror]

    I don¡¯t trust that either

    [Sophos]

    If you don¡¯t come, I will genuinely cry

    [Conqueror]

    That sounds more like a reward than a threat

    [Sophos]

    You will make Chie cry!

    [Conqueror]

    Now that sounds like a threat

    [Sophos]

    Good, you should feel terrible!

    Now stop fighting me and come already!

    [Conqueror]

    Christ

    *

    [SLAYER SYSTEM PROFILE]

    Name: Alexander Shen

    Codename: Conqueror

    Slayer Rank: D-Rank Slayer

    Fabel Ranking: Chronicle (Deep Arcana)

    Skills: 5/4

    Memento Recollection

    Rank SSS

    Type: Item Accumulation

    Description: You possess the special power to materialize your interpersonal relationships as physical items. These items are called [Mementos], created when you have established a significant bond with an individual (the holder). Each [Memento] is ranked from F (weakest) to SSS (strongest) depending on the relationship.

    The rank is dynamic. If the holder is deceased, the [Memento] will remain but its rank cannot be changed. There is no limit to how many [Mementos] you are able to acquire. You can receive a personal description of each [Memento] upon selecting it. You cannot use duplicate [Mementos] simultaneously unless explicitly stated.

    This is an [Awakened Skill] and is thus always active without taking up a [Skill Slot].

    Certain Shot

    Rank A

    Type: Concept Application

    Description: Apply the Certainty Principle to any launched projectiles. They will hit their determined target in a theoretical reality, however still obeying natural law and logic in the real world.

    Forged Skin

    Rank A

    Type: Body Enhancement

    Description: Through brutal conditioning conducted by your uncle, your skin has become harder than steel and resist damages of almost every type.

    Intimidating Presence

    Rank C+

    Type: Presence Enhancement

    Description: Apply mild intimidation to any weak-willed individuals around you. You are able to toggle this [Skill] on and off at will.

    Mana Impact

    Rank C

    Type: Internal Energy Manipulation

    Description: Condense mana in a determined point inside your body and release it upon impact. You are able to control the quantity of mana condensed. Higher concentration will produce a more powerful result.

    Acquired Skills

    Home Cook

    Rank B

    Type: Cognitive Enhancement

    Description: You are able to remember all recipes you have cooked previously down to the individual ingredients and measurements required.

    Algebraic Mind

    Rank C

    Type: Cognitive Enhancement

    Description: You can mentally perform difficult algebra without the use of a calculator.

    Note Transfer

    Rank C

    Type: Reality-System

    Description: You are able to transfer all contents from your [Notes] into physical documents or electronic files and vice-versa.

    Undeveloped Skills

    Anti-Slayer Techniques

    Rank SS

    Type: Nested, Pressure Point Techniques

    Linked Skills: Sixteen-Point Obliteration [SS], Sixteen-Point Incapacitation [SS] [?], Momentum Kill [S], Flow Reversal [S] [?], Phenomena Negative [S]

    Description: Created by Alistair Romanos, your uncle, these techniques were specifically designed for a single purpose: to eliminate Slayers as a regular, Systemless human. Today, the Anti-Slayer Techniques are said to be the greatest and most coveted countermeasure against Slayers.

    Acquisition Requirement: You must attain adequate mastery over all five linked [Skills]. Current progress: [2/5].

    Dual Dragoneyes

    Rank S

    Type: Martial Art Technique, External & Internal Perception

    Description: The foundational technique of the [Zhenlong School] series. One eye peers inward into the internal world, piercing through bloodstream and qi and entering the schema of the body. The other eye leers outward into the external world, marking the ebb and flow of the natural way.

    Acquisition Requirement: You must discover a method to obtain the [Dragoneyes].

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    Zhenlong School

    Rank SS

    Type: Nested, Martial Arts Techniques

    Linked Skills: [Tears¡­] [S], [Ruinous¡­] [S], [Dust¡­] [S], [Blades¡­] [S], [Casket¡­] [S], [Earth¡­] [S], [Spirit¡­] [S], [Sparrows¡­] [S], [Graveyard¡­] [S], [End¡­] [S]

    Description: The techniques belonging to the Zhenlong Tactical School, created for the sole purpose of killing cultivators of the Jianghu. Assassins from Zhenlong are some of the most feared amongst the land for precisely these techniques.

    Acquisition Requirement: You must attain adequate mastery over all ten linked [Skills]. Current progress: [0/10]

    The Fool¡¯s Many Faces

    Rank ???

    Type: ???

    Description: Its effects have not yet been revealed¡­

    Acquisition Requirement: Unknown, though as you continue on your journey, the [Skill] may open itself to you.

    Mementos

    Chain Gauntlets

    Rank A+

    Holder: Bastien Romanos (deceased)

    Memento Type: Gauntlet

    Description: The [Memento] of your father, taking the form of tightly-wound chains. His wisdom and teachings are crystalized within these hands. Above all, they contain his sins, his regrets, and his responsibility. Much like how your own hands have scars.

    Special Effect: You may unravel the [Gauntlets] into long chain-lengths.

    Yuzhou

    Rank A+

    Holder: Shen Xingyu (deceased)

    Memento Type: Armor

    Description: The [Memento] of your mother, taking the form of full-body armor. This [Armor] is protection. Warmth. Security. It will protect you from the outside world and endure as a constant reminder of her bright spirit. Always look towards the light, she says, and remember who made you smile.

    Special Effect: When paired with [Chain Gauntlets], [Technique Daggers], or [Nightingale Watch], increase the rank of this [Memento] to S.

    Technique Daggers

    Rank A

    Holder: Althea Shen

    Memento Type: Dagger

    Description: The [Memento] of your younger sister, taking the form of silversteel daggers. You¡¯ve been through everything together, from the moment you held her tiny hand to today. Even if the world is falling down, you would crawl through Hell for her.

    Special Effect: When using [Technique Daggers], you may summon additional [Daggers] up to the number of [Techniques] in your sister¡¯s possession. The maximum is currently 4.

    Nightingale Watch

    Rank A

    Holder: Alistair Romanos

    Memento Type: Magick Firearms

    Description: The [Memento] of your uncle, taking the form of matte-black magick firearms modeled after their real-life counterparts. He imparted you with many things: his infamous Anti-Slayer Techniques, his combat experience, and his philosophy. Violence can only be subjugated through extreme violence. That¡¯s the way of the horrible world for people like us.

    Special Effect: This [Memento] takes the form of individual firearms: [Nightingale Pistol], [Nightingale Rifle], and [Nightingale Shotgun].

    Solitary Demonblade

    Rank D

    Holder: Leona Ryu

    Memento Type: Sword

    Description: The [Memento] of your colleague and unwitting roommate, taking the form of a demonic blade. She brought you into Angels Guild and helped your family that¡¯s almost impossible to repay. Perhaps you don¡¯t need to reconcile the debt, however. As long as she¡¯s in your company and you in hers, life in the ivory tower might not be so insufferable.

    Special Effect: N/A

    Conviction

    Rank E

    Holder: Angels Guild

    Memento Type: Wings

    Description: The [Memento] of Angels Guild, taking the form of angel wings. Everyone in your team has their own reason for joining: protection, the truth, a home. For you, it¡¯s not so different: you¡¯re fighting against the idea of a tragic ending¡ªmore than that, you¡¯re fighting for a future brighter than the sun itself.

    Special Effect: You are capable of flight.

    *

    Loadout

    Weapon(s): N/A

    Armor: [High Intensity Combat Suit]

    Accessories: N/A

    High Intensity Combat Suit

    Rank A

    Type: Armor

    Description: Manufactured by team engineer Sage (that¡¯s me!), your [High Intensity Combat Suit] is a lightweight combat bodysuit that¡¯ll serve you well in the field! On Celestial Empress¡¯s recommendation, your [Combat Suit] is paired with additional clothes so you don¡¯t have to fight wearing only a skintight bodysuit. For additional information, please tap on this link.

    *

    Weekly Commission: First Order Special Task Force

    Weekly Pay: 52,100smp

    Description: You are a member of the Special Task Force inside Angels Guild working directly on the behalf of its Guild Masters and Kosmos. Complete your assignments as they are ordered.

    *

    ¡°Still pondering over what Astraria had blessed you with?¡± Sophos asked, sitting in her fancy reading chair with a journal hovering over her shoulder, aptly labeled ¡°ALEXANDER SHEN.¡± Unlike most researchers, she refused to hand-write her own notes and had a self-writing pen to do that instead.

    We were in her personal study, the Starry Repose. The last time I¡¯d been in here was during the Scare. It hadn¡¯t changed at all aside from the absence of a young, hopeless genius, replaced by an older but more hopeless genius.

    ¡°...I have a lot of things on my mind.¡± (¡°Then please share¡ª!¡±) ¡°That¡¯s not an invitation to play therapist.¡±

    Sophos pouted like a child. ¡°Very well. I don¡¯t have a degree in psychology after all. Only in all things magical.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re also educated in getting on people¡¯s nerves.¡± Meanwhile, I¡¯d taken a seat in one of her lounges, positioned a safe distance away from the irresponsible Guild Master. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you poke Rei with needles instead of me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m waiting on Rector to determine a time and date; he¡¯s quite protective of that boy. You, on the other hand, I can freely kidnap and he wouldn¡¯t bat an eye.¡±

    ¡°No, he will throw you into that fireplace if you do kidnap me.¡±

    ¡°He can try!¡± Sophos exclaimed in a sing-songy manner, her haughty voice grating on my ears. ¡°I won¡¯t let that buzzkill interrupt our private heart-to-hearts, in which I slowly grind away your loyalty for Angels Guild and entice you to join mine.¡±

    More like the opposite. I said, ¡°I¡¯d rather join Martials before I¡¯d join Wisdom¡ª¡± (¡°That¡¯s a lie.¡±) ¡°¡ªyou¡¯re right, but don¡¯t tempt me.¡±

    ¡°Hmph.¡± She crossed her legs, rendering me her muse with that curious gaze of hers. ¡°I do want the best for you, Alexander. You and I both know that greater enemies remain. Larger, stronger, more powerful enemies. You aren¡¯t on a strict timetable. You don¡¯t know where the damned table is to begin with. As the prodigal and benevolent Guild Master I am¡ªand sagely mentor to one of your colleagues¡ªyou need my word of advice.¡±

    I narrowed my eyes. ¡°Is that why you dragged me here? To lecture me?¡±

    ¡°Good, you understand. I am the best source of knowledge and wisdom; after all, [Original Magic] is powered by the Planet. You won¡¯t find my lectures in even the most up-to-date textbooks.¡±

    That¡­ She didn¡¯t make a terrible point. To grow stronger, I had to make use of my colorful connections. Sophos, Cheonma, and whoever else was in our inner circle. As for my [Profile], developing [Dual Dragoneyes] and [Memento Recollection] took priority. However, the System functioned in mysterious ways. Acquisition methods differed. Acquiring [Skills] was needlessly fucking complex. Developing them was even more complex.

    Yet if there was anyone to shed light on the System¡¯s deeper mechanics, it¡¯d be the mage whose magic tapped into the Planet.

    I sighed and sat back. ¡°Fine. Teach me your ways, master.¡±

    ¡°Ooo, I like the sound of that¡ª¡± (¡°No.¡±) ¡°¡ªphooey. But alright, my arrogant pupil, I¡¯ll entertain you.¡± She snapped her fingers and closed her research journal about me. ¡°Where should we start¡­? Ah, let¡¯s begin with something simple: magic! What¡¯s your understanding of the Phenomenon Production System?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s how we physically use our [Skills]. It¡¯s a second nervous system but for the Slayer System. Instead of blood or electrical signals running through its veins, it¡¯s mana or qi or chakra¡ªthey all have the same function. It runs on that fuel in order to perform miracles previously considered fantasy.¡±

    ¡°Yes and no. You¡¯re correct in thinking that the PPS has allowed impossible acts, but there¡¯s more nuance to that idea. Let¡¯s refocus on the main subject, though. Consider the way of the world as it currently is: magic and technology are rampant. Airships hover over grand metropolises, corporations spend billions on commercial teleportation, every soldier is equipped with exosuits¡ªover a century ago, these advancements wouldn¡¯t be possible. Do you understand my point?¡±

    The lesson was already starting to be mind-boggling. I rubbed my eyes. ¡°Not at all, no. Our technological developments occurred because of the System¡ª¡±

    ¡°Incorrect, it occurred because a failing Worldline invaded ours. In response, the Planet awakened the System. Due to the infinite variety of Worlds, we experienced phenomena completely foreign to us: mana, qi, chakra, if you will. However, an outworlder like Silverhonor may find our original phenomena just as foreign.¡±

    ¡°So phenomena aren¡¯t magic?¡±

    ¡°Now, that¡¯s correct.¡± Sophos softly smiled.

    She opened a palm to reveal a magical projection of thunder and molecules. ¡°Before the Emergence, our phenomena was electricity, the quantum realm, atoms and quarks.¡±

    The projection changed to bright blue orbs. ¡°In another World, it may be mana and leylines.¡±

    Then it changed again, depicting godly light. ¡°In another, divinity and souls.¡±

    Sophos closed her palm. ¡°And so on, and so forth. The main idea should be obvious, now. What is ¡®phenomena¡¯?¡±

    I inhaled, wracking my mind to hopefully please this woman. ¡°Phenomena is not magic but the base concept of ¡®energy¡¯ itself? The System and the PPS, then, allow us to¡­manifest any and all energies as if they¡¯re natural to our Worldline.¡±

    ¡°Roughly, yes. Phenomena, under our current understanding, are the ¡®blank slate of energy.¡¯ It has no qualities, no values¡ªit is literally nothing until an external force enters with a pencil. An influence. Typically, the external force is the World then its subsequent Worldlines host variations, but that¡¯s a lecture for another day. To put it differently: the Worlds write phenomena for Worldlines, and the Slayer System grants phenomena to Slayers. In our case, breaches bring these phenomena into our external world while the PPS manifests the same phenomena from our internal world.¡±

    I frowned, my brain working overtime. ¡°[Skills]?¡±

    Sophos happily hopped from her seat. ¡°Yes, exactly! [Skills] are impossible abilities drawing from existing phenomenon systems. [Skills] themselves can take up several lectures, but phenomena and [Skills] are linked concepts. You can¡¯t discuss one without discussing the other.¡±

    Right. So these ¡°phenomenon systems¡± she referred to must be ¡°magic systems,¡± the widely-used yet inaccurate term according to her. Summoning, ritualism, faith, cultivation, runecraft, all different systems using different phenomena. In the all-seeing eyes of the Slayer System, however, there was no such thing as ¡°magic¡± but simply a spectrum of energy that could take an infinite variety of forms.

    Thus, looking at things System-side, to acquire a [Skill]...

    I asked, ¡°So the Phenomenon Production System also gathers data on our life, then? Recording our actions, our preferred systems, our specialties and so on. Then, it communicates that information to the Slayer System for [Skill] development and acquisition?¡±

    ¡°Oh, the PPS records everything about you: from DNA to nasty thoughts. After all, the System also uses your personal experiences when [Skill]-making.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that make things a little too subjective?¡±

    ¡°That''s the point. Much like how a life is meaningless without a name and memories, phenomena are meaningless without rules and influences.¡± Sophos levitated back to her throne and snapped her fingers at me. ¡°Explain how you acquired your [Skills].¡±

    ¡°I¡ªokay. Let¡¯s use [Certain Shot], a conceptual application [Skill] that guarantees projectile contact in a theoretical world. The Certainty Principle, basically. I¡¯d acquired it after hours of firearms training with Overseer. As a human, mind you. I was taught to burn everything in my senses: the weather, the environment, the weight of the gun, my beating heart, my target, and whatever else.¡±

    ¡°So you visualized a world with ideal circumstances to hit your target.¡± Sophos held a hand to her lips and giggled. ¡°Let¡¯s put aside how absurd it is to develop a conceptual [Skill] like that, but the methodology tracks. Other conceptual [Skills] are obtained similarly.¡±

    I scooted closer and sat on the edge of my seat. ¡°What about [Mana Impact]? I learned it during the Disaster, manipulating my internal energy to create an explosive burst of power.¡±

    ¡°Again, the methodology tracks.¡±

    ¡°Because of the different phenomenon systems?¡±

    ¡°Mhm. Through a dichotomy of ¡®will hit¡¯ and ¡®will not hit¡¯ and manipulation of your internal energy, you operated under those systems¡¯ rules. As a result, the Slayer System acknowledged your efforts and graciously awarded [Certain Shot] and [Mana Impact] respectively.¡±

    ¡°But where does my life experience come into play?¡±

    ¡°It already has. If someone follows your exact steps, they may develop the same [Skills]¡ªor they don¡¯t and develop an offshoot. For example, let¡¯s say an outrageously lucky man tries to learn [Certain Shot] using you as a recipe. He¡¯ll instead develop a variation that uses luck as a factor. Oftentimes, the more advanced and higher-ranking a [Skill] is, the more unique it becomes. There are exceptions, of course, but that is where the individual comes into play. However, there¡¯s a much better example of this concept.¡±

    ¡°And that is¡­?¡±

    Sophos pointed at me. ¡°You, with [Technique Sovereign]. While this is a theory, it¡¯s likely that your natural disposition caused [Memento Recollection] to manifest.¡±

    That¡­ That made more sense than I thought, but that raised an interesting question: when did the transformation happen? At the time of my birth or during my Awakening? Was I destined to develop [Memento Recollection] from the get-go, or did I grow into it? I couldn¡¯t answer that question, and asking Sophos might lead us to a discussion I wasn¡¯t intellectually prepared for yet.

    ¡°Right, okay, I¡¯ll digest that information.¡± I sat back in my seat, giving myself a couple seconds to relax. ¡°I imagine these theories are unpopular to both sides of the aisle, though. You¡¯re giving people too much credit, but you¡¯re also relinquishing too much control to the System.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll see the truth eventually,¡± snarked Sophos. Not even a genius like her could penetrate the science community. ¡°The truth, like hands in a negotiation, lies somewhere in between. We guide the System in ways we can never imagine, and the System guides us in ways our sanity isn¡¯t prepared for. Yet at the end of the day, despite all the drama and arguing, we own ourselves. Every [Skill] is a chapter in our books. More than that, we own phenomena. We¡¯ve cataloged hundreds of different systems, researched them, experimented and innovated them, for the beautiful idea of humanity. Now, young Slayers fill classrooms to develop their [Skills] faster and stronger than previous generations.¡±

    I think I¡¯m beginning to understand the lecture.

    Phenomena is the base state of energy, yet by itself, it¡¯s useless. You must have a ¡°system¡± in place: rules and conventions basically. By drawing within the lines, you¡¯re also drawing a pretty picture of your ¡°magic.¡± Give it a handsome face, an hourglass body, or four tentacles as arms. It doesn¡¯t matter. If you do it correctly, you¡¯ll transform your phenomena into something else: elements, electricity, psionics, and so on. By going through the process, the Slayer System will recognize and crystalize your efforts as a shiny [Skill].

    Most people do this without thinking about it. To them, these systems can¡¯t be more different, but at their core, they¡¯re identical. Yet despite going through the same systems and the same processes, some [Skills] turn out different. That¡¯s due to the individual. Every Slayer adds their own magical touch, and the Slayer System accounts for that.

    The ultimate question was: ¡°What does this mean for [Memento Recollection]? What system does it use?¡±

    The research journal about me, which had been hovering over Sophos¡¯s reading chair, levitated into her hands. The covers opened to a certain page. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Memories? The soul? Emotions? That¡¯s on you to determine. SSS-Rank [Skills] are wildly unpredictable. Anything could happen, so the more information you can gather the better. Yet that¡¯s not your only dilemma.¡±

    ¡°Because I have a whole [Profile] to worry about.¡±

    The journal closed.

    Sophos said, ¡°Exactly. Think about what we discussed. On a foundational level, every system is the same. The lines can be blurred, the rules can be bent, and there¡¯s no [Skill] that has a single acquisition method. Be creative. Mix and match, throw things in the pot, and other fun things! Acquiring [Skills] is an artform, so be an artist!¡±

    Easier said than done when you had a cultivation-based [Skill] that was currently impossible to develop. Wish I could have her advice, but informing her about [Dual Dragoneyes] without considering the long-term consequences was asking for a disaster. This was a problem for another time.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind. Thanks for the lesson, but I have one more question¡­¡± Hearing the word ¡°phenomena¡± so much reminded me of something, back during the Summer Scare. ¡°With Starcatcher, the machine to capture Astraria, you said you¡¯d used ¡®phenomenal energy.¡¯¡±

    Sophos hummed. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve gathered blank energy itself. Considering it¡¯s the energy of possibilities, I thought it¡¯d attract her. It had.¡±

    ¡°...How did you gather that shit at all?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you nosy?¡± Sophos canted her head to the side and giggled. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you after you develop a [Memento] for me. I imagine mine wouldn¡¯t be so tacky like a sword or a shield, but rather¡­ How about my glasses? You can have my glasses¡ª¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not.¡±

 [FAREWELL, ALTHEA] Chapter 6 - Rain (I)

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Rector fell back in his chair, rolling away from his laptop. ¡°Amamizu Rei is just an ordinary boy?¡±

    Sophos hummed in the affirmative. ¡°That¡¯s what my tests indicated, and yes, I¡¯ve performed retests. I¡¯ve recalibrated my equipment. I¡¯ve double- and triple-checked everything, but you can read the report yourself: there exists no anomalies in Amamizu Rei.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± Rector said, ¡°we¡¯ve seen him perform during the Scare. He has a natural sense for Alternates. He¡¯d detected Astraria before everyone else had, not to mention his [Broken Sword] techniques. A boy his age shouldn¡¯t know how to sever concepts. He shouldn¡¯t have an Inner Mirage. These abilities have to be innate, pointing to something anomalous.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget you have a certain family who has incredible [Skills].¡±

    ¡°That''s different. They have [Awakened Skills]. Rei, he¡¯s closer to Chie and Aiden.¡± Rector bit his lip, his fingers tapping on the armrest from discomfort. ¡°I¡¯ve already run that lead dry.¡±

    Sophos sighed, dismissively waving her hand. ¡°As I said, nothing came up during the tests. We can infer more conclusions than you think with our current information: one, the very absence of anomalies is an anomaly itself; two, he inherited his anomalies from a mysterious source; and three, he magically obtained these inexplicable abilities due to a roll of the dice. More than one thing can be true, obviously, but this is how I see it.¡±

    The case of Amamizu Rei was mind-boggling, much like most members of the Special Task Force. It¡¯d be simpler if he was the heir to a mysterious kensei; however, to be more receptive of cosmic entities such as the Alternates had worrying implications. Then, to have nothing reflected in his biological data?

    He was a puzzle on the same difficulty as Alexander and Althea Shen.

    Rector sighed, rubbing his head as his poor, unintelligent mind wracked through the possibilities. ¡°We¡¯ll have to see if the vixen is any useful.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m offended that you prefer that fox rather than your resident genius; though, I suppose if you want an onmyouji, there¡¯s no one better than the Fushimis.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, we need to rely on you both. It''ll be a nightmare rotation of characters.¡±

    ¡°Oh please, I¡¯m wonderful.¡±

    ***

    ¡°Senpai! There you are! I was looking for you!¡±

    As I was leaving the Wings, I was suddenly accosted by a hyperactive Japanese boy.

    This time, he didn¡¯t use me as a human shield.

    Stars sparkled in his eyes and for a good reason; in fact, he was wearing the reason. Among the new members of the Special Task Force, his [Loadout] was finished first. Unlike the rest of the team, he was starting from zero and had to theorycraft his image from the ground-up. He had his teammates to bounce ideas off of, some better than others (Victor), but in the end, he followed Kotone¡¯s lead.

    Victor looked like a stupid knight from a fantasy medieval kingdom, Chunhua was obviously a cultivator, and Kotone wore streetwear like she was trapped in a dystopian city.

    Rei, then, resembled an urban ronin in dystopia Japan: baggy and breathable clothes mixed with traditional Japanese elements and colors. A rebel but still possessed the soul of the Land of the Rising Sun. Surprisingly, the style suited him pretty well. If he went for a typical haori or kimono like most other kenseis, he''d become yet another face in the crowd. That wouldn''t do for the boy who wanted to take down Yomiya Yasuyuki, right? Plus, traditional Japanese clothing clashed with his signature sword.

    Well, swords.

    ¡°How do I look?¡± Rei moved around, showing off all facets of his [Loadout]. ¡°Aren¡¯t you surprised that I chose something modern?¡±

    Not really. Kotone showed me a sketch of his [Loadout] a while ago, but let¡¯s amuse him: ¡°I thought you¡¯d wear a haori, but hey, looks good. I see Chie and Overseer have your signature figured out."

    Again, I already knew about his signature but let''s pretend I didn''t know. When I mentioned his new sword, he somehow got even more visibly excited.

    ¡°Yes!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°Have a look!¡±

    Rei showed the "sheath" of his signature: a steel box with nine silts organized in rows of three. Inside each silt was a katana-length blade, but unlike normal katanas, the base was shaped into a "hooked key."

    ¡°Because of my, erm, troublesome techniques, Chie-chan designed [Hyakken (°Ù„‡)]! It allows me to repeatedly use my kenjutsu without rendering myself ineffective in battle! Well, uhm, I have a limited number of uses, but nine is an improvement over one! Watch!¡±

    From his belt, he drew an unorthodox sword-hilt that partially resembled the traditional tsuka (handle) of a katana; however, it was without steel. This was the other half of [Hyakken]: the "lock" to the "keys." There was a hole within the handle where the blades could hook in like a coupler. A simple mechanism, and hopefully, the lock was strong enough to handle the stress of high-intensity combat.

    Rei slotted the handle into the top-left blade, and they satisfyingly snapped together like puzzle-pieces. Slowly, to not startle the pedestrians walking around us, he freed [Hyakken] and raised his glorious sword toward the golden sun.

    Despite the fancy set-up, [Hyakken] resembled an ordinary katana.

    ¡°With this, I can finally consider myself as a genuine kensei!¡± exclaimed Rei before smoothly sheathing [Hyakken].

    I said, ¡°Not just yet. According to the System, you haven¡¯t decided on a codename. ¡®Amamizu Rei¡¯ doesn¡¯t have the same authority compared to other plain-name swords.¡±

    A couple notable examples were Shui Yuan and Jin Junjie. They had the privilege of using their full-names as codenames due to how powerful their families were. Sort of like having the honor of being referred to as "doctor" after getting the right degrees. Thus, mimicking the practice was seen as arrogant and courting death unless your family had notable accolades to their name. With that said, unless Rei was secretly the child of a powerful family, he shouldn''t tempt fate. Hell, there should be only one secret heir in the team but we already had two. Three was way too many.

    Jokes aside, Rei was likely told the same thing by the others. He laid a mindful hand on [Hyakken]''s handle, watching small critters roll through the cracks in the pavement. ¡°Rector had tasked me to create my codename, but even now, a fitting name escapes me. If you were to bestow a name, what would you pick?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t answer that,¡± I told him honestly. ¡°The only person who knows you best is, well, you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the problem, senpai. I¡¯m¡­¡± Rei¡¯s nails dug into the handle''s wrappings. ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure what kind of kensei I am. For Leona-senpai, ¡®Celestial Empress¡¯ was inspired by her late parents. Kenseis of great clans proudly brandish their full-names as a term of reverence. The ¡®Cloud Blade¡¯ and ¡®Cutting Tempest¡¯ were named after their famed techniques. Names are important for every Slayer, but names define a kensei¡¯s legacy. What name can define mine¡­?¡±

    I wish I knew. I hadn''t known Rei long enough to make that decision.

    I suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s start off simple: why pick up the blade? Of all things, why kensei?¡±

    Rei pumped his fist, his eyes bright and determined like a child ready to conquer the playground. ¡°My ambitions go further than becoming a regular kensei, senpai. Someday, I shall return to Japan and challenge the current Kensei Throne, Yomiya Yasuyuki of the Yomiya Clan, and take his place in the Three Martial Heroes! My kenjutsu can surely rival his¡ª!¡±

    Someone sneezed really damn loudly close to us.

    Rei said, ¡°Bless you! Now, where was I¡ª? Yes! I¡¯m positive my techniques can overcome his swordsmanship¡ª!¡±

    That same someone coughed loudly too.

    ¡°Bless you again! As I was saying¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Goodness, can you shut up already?!¡± The asshole finally showed himself, entering our conversation without grace or courtesy. He had a noticeable Chinese accent but the language barrier didn¡¯t stop him from flashing his ego. Everything about him screamed loud, rich, and fancy: his shit-eating expression, his finely-woven ¡°cultivator robes¡± doused in pigments too rich for computers to read, and his holier-than-thou posture.

    Call it a hunch, but he was from Martials Guild.

    Rei blinked a couple times at the guy, confused. ¡°Do you need something, sir?¡±

    ¡°Do you genuinely believe that your swordsmanship outclasses Yomiya Yasuyuki? That¡¯s¡ªhehe¡ªthat¡¯s absurd, haha! I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t finish a sentence without wanting to turn over in laughter¡ª¡±

    ¡°Of course! My kenjutsu¡ª¡±

    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    ¡°Your ¡®kenjutsu¡¯ is an infant like yourself, little girl.¡± (¡°I¡¯m not a girl!¡±) ¡°Any whelp with a sword can outclass you¡ª!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, who the fuck are you?¡± I spat, having enough of the bullying already. ¡°Pretty sure you¡¯re not an Angel.¡±

    The man smirked. ¡°How astute, you musclehead brute. Call me Wang Qiu (ÍõÇï) of the Wang Sword Family, now recent recruit of Martials Guild.¡±

    Called it.

    Instead of being intimidated, Rei was excited to meet another ¡°xia¡± from the Jianghu. ¡°Ah, so you¡¯re a cultivator!¡± (¡°Correct!¡±) ¡°Perhaps you know about the Maolin Sect!¡± (¡°Huh?¡±) ¡°One of my good¡ªand very scary friends¡ªhad been a member there!¡± (¡°What are you talking about¡ª?¡±) ¡°She''s a proud practitioner of the spear¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Wait, stop talking for a damned second!¡± Wang Qiu roared. ¡°I don¡¯t know what this ¡®Maolin Sect¡¯ is and probably for a good reason! Don¡¯t associate that low-class name anywhere near me!¡±

    ¡°Ah, gomen¡­¡± Rei¡¯s eyes drifted downward, embarrassed. ¡°I-I thought you knew because you¡¯re a xia. Was I mistaken¡­?¡±

    A visible vein popped in the asshole¡¯s forehead. ¡°You insolent child! Do you seek death that badly?!¡± (¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡±) ¡°Of course I¡¯m a xia¡ªof course I know about this, erm, ¡®Maolin Sect.¡¯ Mhm! Yes, I do! In fact, I think I¡¯m remembering right now! I recall that name very vividly!¡±

    Rei stopped and stared at him. ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t know the name¡ª¡±

    ¡°You were mistaken once again! I¡¯m very familiar with the Maolin Sect and everyone involved¡ª!¡±

    Rei¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°You know Li Chunhua then¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Who the hell is that?!¡±

    ¡°So you don¡¯t know?! She practices spearmanship there¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Shut up! I have no recollection of this ¡®Li Chunhua¡¯ and that¡¯s for a good reason! Don¡¯t associate that low-class name anywhere near me!¡±

    ¡°No way! I assumed you knew because you¡¯re a xia! Was I mistaken again?!¡±

    ¡°You stupid child! You¡¯re seeking death¡ª!¡±

    I¡¯m just¡­going to stop paying attention for the sake of my own sanity.

    They both completely forgot I was there.

    By far, this was the stupidest conversation I had the displeasure of listening to.

    After awkwardly smiling and waving at a few staring pedestrians, the ¡°argument¡± was finally coming to a close despite the intelligence of its participants. Wang Qiu and Rei had exhausted themselves with their impromptu comedy routine, both of them heavily breathing from how much they were yelling.

    Wang Qiu, however, refused to have his pride wounded by the kid. ¡°I¡­ I had enough of your arrogance, little girl!¡± (¡°I¡¯m not a girl!¡±) ¡°We¡¯ll settle this not without words but through blades! Your feeble swordsmanship against the honored art of my family! Tomorrow at noon!¡±

    Somehow, those words went through Rei¡¯s ears and got jumbled up inside his head. Rather than putting on a mean face, he got more excited. ¡°You''ll allow me to see your Wang Sword Family techniques?!¡±

    ¡°Yes! I¡ªerm, you''ll see my techniques in all its splendor!"

    ¡°That¡¯s wonderful! I always wanted to see more sword techniques! Thank you for giving me the opportunity!¡±

    ¡°I, err, you won¡¯t be thanking me after my blade shines true!¡±

    Rei positively hummed. ¡°I expect nothing less from a cultivator of a high status like yourself!¡±

    Wang Qiu gritted his teeth. ¡°Don¡¯t mock me, boy! You¡¯ll take back those words after you show me your techniques!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an exhibition, then!¡± said Rei enthusiastically. ¡°I hope my techniques will live up to your expectations, Wang Qiu!¡±

    ¡°They won¡¯t, but mine will!¡± (¡°I hope they do!¡±) ¡°What?! You stupid¡ªugh! You¡¯re ridiculous! Whoever taught you to use that tongue of yours ought to be executed!¡±

    Wang Qiu turned around and made his leave, his robes flowing beautifully in the wind yet his expression was anything but. ¡°You, Amamizu Rei, will regret your ambitions for the Kensei Throne! I¡¯ll prove it to you. I will send the details later. For now, I must take my leave away from this damned guild!¡±

    Like a stray cat, he scampered away.

    Rei waved although Wang Qiu didn¡¯t see. ¡°I¡¯ll see you tomorrow, fellow swordsman!¡±

    I cleared my throat, and the kid jumped after seeing me there. ¡°You do realize he challenged you to a duel, right?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± He blinked a couple times.

    ¡°You¡¯re fighting him tomorrow. At noon.¡±

    ¡°WHAT?!¡±

    ***

    ¡°So lemme get this straight¡­¡± Aiden said, after we found him and Chie in the workshop, ¡°...you have a duel with some rando from Martials Guild tomorrow at noon?¡±

    Rei sniffled and nodded. ¡°I-I didn¡¯t mean to insult his pride that much!¡±

    I coughed a few times. ¡°You¡­ Never mind.¡±

    The kid insulted Wang Qiu more brutally than I ever could.

    ¡°I see.¡± Chie sat on her royal throne¡ªa worn rolly-chair that¡¯d seen thousands of hours of use¡ªand rubbed her chin like a diabolical villain. ¡°I see. I see¡­¡±

    Rei whispered to Aiden and me, ¡°What does she see?¡±

    Aiden whispered back, ¡°She¡¯s thinking. Whenever she¡¯s like this, what she says next can be pretty terrifying¡ª¡±

    A crisp finger-snap echoed throughout her workshop.

    ¡°I got it!¡± Chie hopped off her chair and dramatically pointed at the kensei. ¡°We¡¯ll frame Wang Qiu and get him kicked out of Martials Guild!¡±

    ¡°I''m down.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want that!¡±

    Chie raised a finger, holding the room¡¯s attention. ¡°It takes guts to come into our house and challenge us to a duel! That¡¯s practically a war declaration. That is a war declaration. In order to avoid giving Seraph and Rector more headaches, we¡¯ll need to get rid of the agitator before he escalates the conflict further! Like, uh, let¡¯s make a fake account posing as him and post really mean comments!¡±

    ¡°Or,¡± I said, ¡°we can mention the fact that he¡¯s a fake cultivator.¡±

    Everyone stared at me like I spoke nonsense. Not this time.

    ¡°Wang Qiu¡¯s cultivator robes seemed legit, but it breaks several regulations established by the Court. It''s like Leo, but at least she knows she''s breaking tradition and carving her own path. Plus, he didn''t know what the Maolin Sect was, which is a major red flag considering their spearmanship is one of the best in the land."

    Rei looked confused again. ¡°Wait, he¡¯s not a cultivator¡­?¡±

    Aiden commented, ¡°Pretendin'' to be a cultivator usually warrants a death sentence, right?¡± (Rei and Chie gasped.)

    I squinted at him. ¡°No¡ªwell, not usually. I say he¡¯s a ¡®fake cultivator¡¯ because he wasn¡¯t born or raised there. However, he probably has Jianghu blood running through him. An urban prince, basically, using his family name for his own misguided benefit. Because really, what self-respecting cultivator would work for the Coward of Red Tears?" (Chunhua was an example, but that''s besides the point.)

    Chie was rubbing her chin again. ¡°Good, good¡­ We¡¯re forming a profile about this guy¡­ Once we know every little secret, that¡¯s when we can really strike¡­¡±

    Aiden rolled his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s just a dick-measuring contest, Chie. It¡¯s nothin¡¯ serious¡ª¡±

    ¡°This is serious!¡± Chie walked over and shook Rei by the shoulders like a ragdoll. He stood there and whined. ¡°This is Rei¡¯s first real duel! It¡¯s a battle between swordmasters! Only one will come out alive!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Rei¡¯s eyes shot open and he jumped away from her. ¡°One of us will die?!¡±

    ¡°No one¡¯s dying, no one¡¯s dying¡­¡± I said, sighing at the end. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m saying this, but Aiden¡¯s right. The duel is small-time. We don¡¯t have to amuse Wang Qiu.¡±

    Chie fought, ¡°But Rei has to prove himself to be a real kensei!¡± (¡°I do?¡±) ¡°What¡¯s a kensei without a sword duel? Imagine this!¡±

    Aiden complained, ¡°Here we go¡­¡±

    ¡°Amamizu Rei versus Wang Qiu at daybreak!¡± (¡°It¡¯s at noon.¡±) ¡°Standing in a field of reeds as the wind sways the long stalks.¡± (¡°It¡¯s at Martials HQ.¡±) ¡°They have their swords drawn, waiting for the other to take the first strike. Then, when the tension is at its highest¡ªshing! Rei stands victorious!¡±

    ¡°Wow¡­¡± Rei muttered to himself, lost in his imagination. ¡°I really won¡­¡±

    ¡°You still gotta kill him for real," Aiden said. "I suggest puttin'' poison on your sword."

    "That''s dishonorable!"

    I rolled my eyes. "Nobody is killing anyone. How about we come out and support Rei like regular teammates?"

    Chie clasped her hands together. ¡°Alex.¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°I appreciate your attitude, but you''re wrong.¡± She held a clenched fist close to her face. ¡°We¡¯ll support Rei by digging up Wang Qiu¡¯s dirty secrets and exposing them to the world.¡±

    Aiden suggested, "How ''bout I politely tell him to fuck off? Like I dunno, breaking his legs or burning his house down."

    ¡°There''s no need,¡± a determined voice broke through the fog. That was the voice of the soon-to-be Kensei Throne of the Three Martial Heroes (maybe). ¡°It¡¯s what Chie-chan said. A kensei cannot be a kensei without partaking in a genuine duel! With Wang Qiu, he¡¯ll be my first stepping stone toward building my legacy! I shall defeat him using my superior techniques and bring honor to the Special Task Force!¡±

    I commented, ¡°The task force that¡¯s supposed to be low-key.¡±

    ¡°I will bring honor to all of Angels Guild! While the public knows us as recruits who¡¯d passed the tryouts, we are truthfully veterans of the Summer Scare! When I reign victorious, my victory will be a victory for all of us!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Chie pumped her fist high then began clapping proudly for the kid. ¡°We''ll root for you, Rei!¡±

    Aiden butted into the conversation, ¡°So we¡¯re just gonna act as cheerleaders? That sucks."

    Chie shook her head. ¡°No, because our work¡¯s just starting.¡± She rolled up her sleeves. ¡°We¡¯ll research everything there is about Wang Qiu so Rei can enter the duel completely prepared.¡±

    Rei confidently nodded. ¡°After my victory, we shall enjoy the dessert of swordmasters: candied apples!¡±

    Pretty sure that wasn¡¯t true, but I had a really bad feeling about this duel¡­

    Mostly because I got roped in and I was in too deep to back out now.

    Welp, let¡¯s hope no one dies.

 [FAREWELL, ALTHEA] Chapter 7 - Rain (II)

    [Rector]

    Can I ask why the four of you are going to Martials Guild?

    [Sage]

    Rei has a fight to the death scheduled!

    [Rector]

    Ok

    Bring an umbrella

    ***

    Martials Guild HQ wasn¡¯t dissimilar to ours. Just replace the logos and everything was basically the same. Except for, however, the work environment. Within the walls, the air was heavier as though everybody was counting the number of breaths they take. Their gazes were fixed ahead or straight at the pavement, knowing better than to look over their shoulders. Bags were held tightly to their chests, and their legs went fast, not eager for the new day but fearful when the wrong person woke up slightly more irritated today.

    Guess the rumors were true. Of the Big Four, Martials had the most oppressive, cutthroat culture. You had to provide results regardless of methodology and pray you were given the opportunity to climb one rung of the ladder. Supposedly, Jin Junjie approved of the brutal philosophy but no one could come to a consensus on why. Did he want Martials Guild to closely resemble a sect, or did he hold that much disdain for the urban world and wish to see its denizens tortured?

    Regardless of the answer you believe, the results speak for themselves. The Martials were in the Big Four for a reason.

    As we marched in tandem to the rendezvous point, we stuck out like sore thumbs. Ninety-percent of the reason was the red-headed bastard sticking out like a sore thumb. Aiden was the most famous of the group; he acted as a ¡°flag¡± so-to-speak, announcing to everybody that we came bearing wings. As for the other ten-percent? That was Rei, the mindless tourist looking up at everything in awe.

    I ignored the attention. I¡¯d been the celebrity numerous times before¡ªfor better or for worse¡ªand I got decently good at brushing hateful and curious eyes off my skin.

    For the next ten or so minutes I reckon, we looped to the rear of Martials Guild and came onto the recreation section. Gyms, simulation rooms, and what we brought tickets for, the sparring arenas. Ours wasn¡¯t high-tech, just a dirt-field with a predefined white boundary drawn in thick chalk.

    We had a small and enthusiastic audience taking up sporadic seats on the sidelines. In the middle was the challenger, the urban prince Wang Qiu of the Wang Sword Family. He admired the sharp straight-edge of his signature, an ornate jian, as if looking into a mirror. Well, the steel was reflective enough to act as one.

    Wang Qiu looked away from his self-admiration and spotted us.

    We breached the white line all four of us, carrying ourselves highly despite standing in our opposition''s territory. The prince had home-field advantage, but that¡¯s all he had.

    That fact, though, seemed to give him another toxic dose of confidence. He half-smiled and whipped his jian downward, tip almost scratching the dirt. ¡°So you actually arrived, so-called ¡®kensei.¡¯ And you¡¯ve brought your friends, I see. I¡¯ve brought my own.¡±

    He gestured toward the audience as mentioned earlier. They seemed to be his colleagues, perhaps his teammates and seniors. Thinking about it, challenging an Angel to a spar was a great risk to your reputation politically-speaking. If he won, it''d be a major boost to his career.

    If he wins.

    Amamizu Rei wouldn¡¯t let that happen. He held an arm over his heart, having the ferocity of a small kitten. ¡°I shall not lose nor admit defeat, Wang Qiu! What will be the rules?¡±

    Wang Qiu chuckled, pleased with the response. ¡°It¡¯s quite simple. If you admit defeat, step out of the white boundary or become too incapacitated to continue fighting. Let¡¯s¡­¡± He pointed at me. ¡°Since we¡¯re dueling in Martials Guild, let¡¯s have you as a third-party. You may step in if the duel becomes too heated or one of us refuses to concede despite injury.¡±

    I crossed my arms. ¡°Fine by me.¡±

    ¡°Good. Are we agreed, little boy?¡±

    ¡°I agree to your terms! Let¡¯s wait not a second longer!¡±

    Aiden huffed. ¡°Let¡¯s go find a seat.¡±

    The three of us decided to sit and stand outside the white boundary, away from the other Martials. Chie was only one sitting, attentively watching both combatants as they walked to their respective corners.

    Rei clicked [Hyakken] onto one of the nine blades, his stance tense. Meanwhile, Wang Qiu held his signature jian down, treating this duel lightly.

    Chie cheered, ¡°You can do this, Rei! Kick his butt!¡±

    I shouted next, ¡°Tear his head off!¡±

    Aiden followed, ¡°Burn him alive!¡±

    Some Martials cheered for Wang Qiu in response. Assholes.

    Rei stepped inwards, trying to block out the noise. ¡°Erm¡­ My name is¡­! My name is, err¡­¡±

    Wang Qiu leaned his head back. ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±

    ¡°My introduction! A kensei must introduce themselves before a duel begins! That''s standard practice in swordsmanship! If your opponent doesn''t know your name or lineage, how can your kenjutsu spread across the land?!¡±

    ¡°I¡ªfine, you juvenile swordsman.¡± Wang Qiu cleared his throat and proudly boasted. ¡°Hear me, Martials Guild! I am the swift blade Wang Qiu of the Wang Sword Family, here to strike down the foolish aspirations of a child ¡®kensei¡¯!¡±

    Rei startled, and for some reason, he turned toward us. ¡°His introduction was really good! What do I say?!¡± (¡°Focus!¡± we all yelled.) ¡°Eek! Okay, okay! Ahem! My name is Amamizu Rei of the Special¡ª! Erm, I mean, of Angels Guild! I am Rei of Angels Guild! Yes! Here I come! Itadakimasu! (¤¤¤¿¤À¤­¤Þ¤¹).¡±

    Aiden¡¯s jaw dropped. ¡°That¡¯s¡­not right.¡±

    I whispered, ¡°We have a big problem.¡±

    Chie still cheered, ¡°That¡¯s right! Eat him alive!¡±

    Despite the rather critical mistake, Rei had the time to look in our direction again and gave us a thumbs-up.

    Then Wang Qiu appeared and nearly chopped his thumb off.

    Rei, thankfully, rolled out of the way and it wasn¡¯t pretty. Dirt stained his brand new [Loadout], but despite the blunder, he deftly hopped to his feet and reset his posture. ¡°We¡¯re starting?!¡±

    Wang Qiu rolled his eyes. ¡°A swordsman never¡ª!¡± Jian and katana clashed, yet the former was dominating. ¡°Never takes his eyes off his foe! For every mistake¡ª!¡± The prince pushed forward, ¡°¡ªI¡¯ll punish you and have you taste despair!¡±

    Wang Qiu knew he had the advantageous position. Despite being far below our skill-level, he did get into Martials Guild. That alone meant he was stronger and likely smarter than most regular Slayers. Thus, seeing the kid was off-balanced, he did the only reasonable thing: give a little tap to Rei¡¯s legs.

    A light kick toppled the tower¡ªthe small tower¡ªand Rei fell on his ass as a shadow darkened his distress. He took another kick, this time harder, to the forearms. The prince had some leg muscle in his skinny calves, dragging Rei across the dirt and pushing him deeper into the arena. His distress was now stained brown.

    ¡°Get up,¡± demanded Wang Qiu. ¡°Surely as an Angel, you¡¯re much stronger than¡ª¡±

    [Skill Activation: Zerowalk]

    There was a katana about to decapitate him from behind.

    Steels bounced off each other.

    <Fuck!> swore the prince in Mandarin, stumbling back, eyes wide and his heart panting out of his mouth. He smiled and chuckled out of relief, a shitty attempt at mending the cracks in his previous arrogance.

    Rei calmly exhaled and stood.

    Just like that, the positions were reversed.

    ¡°So you do know a few tricks. Speed. I should¡¯ve known.¡± Wang Qiu flipped his jian around his hand. ¡°Speed won¡¯t be enough to¡ª!¡±

    Taking after the prince¡ªrather, taking after me since I loved to fight dirty¡ªtheir blades met halfway through his sentence. Despite his assumptions, Rei had more than just speed. He had great delusions, naivete, a love for all things swords, but he also had power. You wouldn''t expect his tiny body to pack such a mighty punch.

    Because his sudden lunge actually took Wang Qiu off his feet.

    The bastard cursed again in Mandarin, but he seemed to be comfortable in the air. Quickly, he recovered and elegantly landed with hardly an imprint in the dirt; however, in the short time underneath Overseer''s instructions, Rei had integrated a few lessons into his tactics. One of them was pretty obvious: never let your opponent rest. Don''t give them even a single second, because they won''t give a second for you.

    Wang Qiu met [Hyakken] again.

    Swords kissed, and feet skidded along the dirt like skates on ice. The prince¡¯s wrists trembled. His hold was hilariously weak. The swords met again and their wielders danced into a new part of the arena. The prince couldn''t properly angle his sword. Again, the swords joined hands and sauntered into new territory. The prince was sweating. It was an unassuming yet tense tango, where neither revealed their sword techniques but tested each other''s fundamentals.

    Even now, the difference of skill was clear.

    Amamizu Rei was leagues above Wang Qiu.

    ¡°We were worried for nothin¡¯.¡± Aiden went into a crouch and picked at the dirt. ¡°Rei¡¯s too good for him.¡±

    I recalled Rei¡¯s previous spar with Leo. ¡°I shouldn''t have underestimated Rei."

    Chie was pumping her fist in the air. ¡°Finish him off, Rei! Put him in the ground¡ª!¡±

    ¡°My, what¡¯s happening here?¡±

    In just a few words, another urban prince turned a cloudy day in July into a blizzard in January. He sounded genuinely curious which was the worst part, because no matter how innocent he acted or whatever pleasant tone he took, I could never¡­ I could never forget the sight of his cold fingers choking his mother¡ªeven if she had been a monster.

    Hello again, Jin Tianyou. We might be cousins.

    He glanced at the spar. ¡°Amamizu Rei, am I correct? And Wang Qiu. It seems my man is outmatched.¡±

    ¡°So what?¡± Aiden bounced up and instinctively stood between the cultivator and his girlfriend. ¡°Don¡¯tcha have another woman to choke?¡±

    Jin Tianyou charmingly smiled. ¡°I see you¡¯re as fearless as always, Firebrand. And¡­¡± His hollow eyes settled on me. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you again, Conqueror. I suppose the three of you are supporting your friend?¡±

    I slowly nodded. ¡°Wang Qiu challenged him to a duel.¡±

    ¡°To his detriment,¡± chuckled Jin Tianyou. ¡°He¡¯s a competent swordsman but his talent is¡­disappointingly average. Not unlike Amamizu Rei. I heard that he ended a ¡®crisis¡¯ at Glory Guild. Is this true?¡±

    Aiden opened his mouth¡ª

    ¡°Like the rest of us,¡± I answered before Aiden could. ¡°Rei¡¯s the most inexperienced of the team, so we thought having real-world duels might fill in the gaps.¡±

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Wang Qiu wouldn¡¯t teach him anything. I¡ªhmm?¡±

    Comically enough, here came the asshole. Wang Qiu rolled toward us like timber. Barely, he stopped himself from crossing the white boundary. Personally? Being disqualified might be a blessing in disguise, because when he blinked the dirt from his eyes, he saw his Vice Guild Master and his slightly crazed stare. There was a new subject of his fascination: the kid-kensei. Whatever Jin Tianyou saw, whatever schemes bubbled inside his psychotic mind, it couldn''t be anything good.

    ¡°Guild Master Jin!¡± Wang Qiu jumped to his feet and bowed his head, then turned toward Rei. ¡°I-I¡¯ll defeat him as soon as possible¡ª!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Jin Tianyou laid a hand on his shoulder. ¡°The kensei has superior skills to you.¡±

    That one sentence brought more despair to Wang Qiu than any of us could. ¡°Wha¡ª? No, I can defeat that boy¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Are you disobeying me?¡± Jin Tianyou simply asked.

    ¡°P-Pardon?¡±

    ¡°Do you doubt my judgment?¡± The cultivator viewed him without hostility or aggression, nor without offense. The question wasn''t rhetorical either. It was a genuine, honest-to-God question, spoken with an unbothered tone of voice. Somehow, that scared me more than an angry young master.

    Wang Qiu couldn''t say another word, capable of only babbling like a toddler. Him and everyone else.

    "So we''re agreed." Disappointed, Jin Tianyou took the prince off the field¡ªforcing him to cross the white boundary¡ªand disregarded him.

    Wang Qiu limped to his friends with tears in his eyes, but that wasn''t his superior''s concern. Wasn''t ours either.

    This was technically Rei''s victory. He won his first duel, hurray.

    Now, we had to deal with the consequences.

    In what I imagine to be the worst possible scenario, Jin Tianyou took Wang Qiu¡¯s place in the arena.

    I spoke up, ¡°Guild Master Jin¡ª?!¡±

    On the other side of the arena, Rei was worriedly looking around. ¡°Wh-What¡¯s going on?! Guild Master Jin, I apologize for challenging your subordinate¡ª!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Jin Tianyou peacefully raised a hand. ¡°You¡¯re here to gain experience, correct? Look no further. I¡¯ll enlighten you to the world of the warriors blessed by the System¡ªof those willing to face tribulations from heaven."

    The rest of the audience were on-edge, now, whispering among each other with mixed reactions. Then there were the Angels, us. We didn¡¯t have mixed reactions. We had one reaction and that was fucking panic.

    ¡°Don¡¯t fuckin¡¯ touch him!¡± Aiden roared.

    ¡°This won¡¯t be a spar,¡± assured Jin Tianyou. Supposedly, of course, like we were supposed to believe him. ¡°Nor will it be a duel. It¡¯ll be an exhibition. Let¡¯s see¡­ How about this? If Amamizu Rei is able to move me a single step after five decisive strikes, he wins. After a failed strike, I can counter. If my counter incapacitates him or I deem him unable to continue, it¡¯s my victory."

    ¡°I have to do what?!¡± Rei was shaking his head.

    The wind picked up, yet Jin Tianyou''s voice melted in the breeze: ¡°With your victory, I will¡­owe you and your team a single favor, and vice versa. Will you accept the challenge?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    Rei couldn¡¯t answer right away.

    It was ¡°his¡± choice to accept or refuse the challenge knowing the risks involved. Again, the challenger was the same guy who¡¯d murdered his own mother¡ªAlternate or not¡ªbut gradually, I was getting a better picture of Jin Tianyou. Despite his¡­previous actions, he was remarkably straightforward with his intentions. Unlike other cultivators, he wasn¡¯t in the practice of constant deception and masking. Should Rei refuse the challenge, he most likely would thank us for giving Wang Qiu some experience and let us go. Yet, there was always this itching dread at the back of our minds, afraid of his unpredictability.

    But if I was in Rei¡¯s shoes¡­

    Rei looked at me beyond Jin Tianyou.

    I shook my head.

    Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t Rei. Our philosophies couldn¡¯t be any more different. I was primarily focused on survival and practicality: don¡¯t take stupid risks unless you have a really good reason. Rei, on the other hand, possessed a singular goal: defeating Yomiya Yasuyuki, one of the strongest Slayers on the planet, in an honorable duel and claiming the Kensei Throne.

    How could he accomplish his life¡¯s mission if he declined Jin Tianyou¡¯s challenge?

    Despite our concerns, Rei lifted [Hyakken] toward the Vice Guild Master of Martials Guild. ¡°To prove my strength, I shall accept your challenge!¡±

    A rare, pleased smile formed on Jin Tianyou¡¯s lips, and he rooted himself to the ground. ¡°Good. The floor is yours, Amamizu Rei. I¡¯ll remind you: you have five strikes and must endure five of my own.¡±

    ¡°Hai!¡± Rei circled Jin Tianyou, his searching eyes taking in every bit of information as possible. Whether or not his observational skills were good enough to find an opening in the armor, that was another question.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we stop this?!¡± Chie exclaimed in a hushed whisper, holding onto Aiden¡¯s arm. ¡°This wasn¡¯t apart of the plan! Rei¡¯s gonna get hurt¡ª!¡±

    ¡°He accepted the challenge,¡± I said, biting my lip.

    Aiden snarled, ¡°And you¡¯re gonna stand there and let your own teammate get fuckin¡¯ annihilated by a matricider?¡±

    ¡°Intervene, then, and explain to Rector how two of his kids got annihilated.¡± I didn¡¯t tear my eyes away from Rei. ¡°We need to trust the kid.¡±

    Aiden quietly cursed, ¡°Shit. I don¡¯t like this¡ª¡±

    [Skill Activation: Zerowalk]

    Rei activated his movement [Skill]. He appeared in front of Jin Tianyou, katana held back, as less than a foot separated them. As [Hyakken] cleaved through the thick air, the kid vanished then reappeared behind the cultivator. The swing was uninterrupted, continuing onward. Then again, he performed the same trick. Was that his strategy? Taking advantage of his speed to confuse Jin Tianyou and make him panic?

    It wasn¡¯t a terrible move, however¡ª

    As soon as the blade was close enough, Jin Tianyou effortlessly caught the sharp steel and the edge didn¡¯t cut into his skin. Rei gasped. ¡°An interesting and novel attempt.¡±

    Jin Tianyou¡¯s reflexes were faster, and his poise was unparalleled.

    Rei may be fast for most people, but not for him.

    He held a finger-flick close to Rei¡¯s forehead. ¡°Stay still.¡±

    It loosened.

    He had more power in those two fingers than a thousand men put together. Rei literally flipped and landed hard on his belly, but that was probably the softest attack Jin Tianyou ever produced. The kid himself wasn¡¯t badly hurt, getting up almost immediately, but what hurt most was the knowledge.

    The next counterattacks would be more brutal from here on out.

    Jin Tianyou looked at the three of us on the sidelines. ¡°I would ask you to stay put¡ª¡± A sword came from his peripheral, and he caught it without looking. ¡°I thought you may strike when my attention was diverted. It¡¯s a shame you fell for an obvious trap.¡±

    ¡°Eh¡ª?!¡±

    A harder finger-flick blasted Rei across the arena, more force than strength, and brought him to the white boundary. It took longer for him to stand, his morale more wounded than his body. In two decisive counters, Jin Tianyou demonstrated the chasm between him and the young kensei. You couldn''t measure the distance without using an absurd number.

    Any tricks Rei had, Jin Tianyou was too experienced and powerful to be affected by them.

    He had three tries left.

    Humorously enough, as if the world was a reflection of Rei''s state, the sky fell darker as a blanket of dense gray clouds began to roll over the city.

    ¡°What can he do to win¡­?¡± Chie asked, hand over mouth. I could tell she wanted to tear her eyes away but she needed to watch. She had to watch.

    ¡°He has to use it,¡± I told her. ¡°The reason why he needs [Hyakken] in the first place: his [Broken Sword] techniques.¡±

    But Rei was afraid. He refused to use [Broken Swords] against Leo in fear of her safety. If [Urashiki], the technique that killed the Silverhonor Alternate, had that much stopping power¡­ What did the others have? What did he know about his techniques that we didn''t?

    Rei¡­ Slowly, he walked. He was battling these questions inside his head. Should he use it? Shouldn¡¯t he? Should he show Jin Tianyou his true abilities? Should he give up and pray the cultivator wouldn¡¯t ask anything unreasonable? But one shining question ruled over them all: could he call himself a ¡°kensei¡± if he refused to show his kenjutsu toward a powerful opponent?

    That¡¯s right.

    Everything he did, was doing, fantasized of doing, was for that one dream.

    Rei held [Hyakken] out, hands shaking.

    Jin Tianyou curiously tilted his head.

    ¡°Ko¡­¡± He breathed. ¡°Kowareta Ken!¡±

    [Hyakken] was raised over his head. All he had to do was swing down. That¡¯s it. Swing down and call the name of his technique.

    But Rei didn¡¯t. His arms and words were stuck. His lips trembled. I didn¡¯t know if Jin Tianyou¡¯s serene countenance paralyzed him or if it was his own insecurities, but the result of his ¡°strike¡± was clear: he couldn¡¯t execute.

    As much as I hated to admit, this counted as his third strike and Jin Tianyou thought so too.

    ¡°A pity,¡± said the man.

    A palm strike to the chest.

    It didn''t have the force found in the previous two counters, but it had the stopping power. Instantly, Rei crumpled to his hands and knees, coarsely shouting in pain.

    Aiden nearly breached the white boundary but I stopped him. Barely. With my body in the way, he furiously clawed at the air toward the cultivator. Profanities and promises of arson left his loud mouth as Rei whined and coughed, dragging his nails through the dirt.

    I was torn. I wanted him to stand and show Jin Tianyou what he was capable of. I wanted him to stay down and make it clear he couldn''t fight anymore. Honestly, I was only amusing his ambition of dethroning Yomiya Yasuyuki. So many other kenseis had the same dream and inevitably failed. Why would he be any different? Someday, Rei would learn there was an even larger gap separating him from his goals.

    But¡­

    Maybe this was me beginning to believe in delusions too.

    If anyone could do it, it would be him.

    A kid that hadn''t cracked twenty yet.

    Aiden continued to push against me while Chie begged Rei to stand. My eyes gravitated toward the darkened sky, and without thinking, I said, ¡°It¡¯s going to rain.¡±

    They stopped and looked at the sky too.

    How could we forget?

    When Rei had defeated the Alternate back then, it was raining.

    The first droplets landed on my cheeks.

    Jin Tianyou held his hand out, frowning, as the rain picked up. ¡°It had been a wonderful day too. What a shame. Amamizu Rei, can you continue¡ªhmm?¡±

    Rei was standing.

    Rain streaked down his cheeks, crying on his behalf. His mouth was parted, lips barely moving as though he was muttering a silent prayer. Those bright, starry eyes that had once pronounced hope were as dim as an overshadowed star. It was exactly the same as before.

    The rain revealed the melancholy underneath his visions of grandeur.

    ¡°I must¡­¡± he spoke with the clouds as his audience, ¡°...I must seize the Throne. This so-called ''life'' has no meaning otherwise.¡±

    Jin Tianyou glanced toward us, his stance several degrees tenser. ¡°Amamizu¡ª?¡±

    ¡°I apologize, Guild Master Jin. This lowly charlatan will end the challenge now.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t see the fourth strike.

    It was like [Hyakken] was invisible amongst the droplets of rain.

    Jin Tianyou moved a few steps to the side, narrowly avoiding the invisible strike as it gouged a few inches into the hard dirt.

    That was it. Rei won. He caused Jin Tianyou to move, but he didn¡¯t seem to recognize his victory.

    Instead, he disappeared into the rain.

    From the droplets, he reformed behind the Vice Guild Master.

    This time, without doubt or hesitation, [Hyakken] was raised above his head. His fifth and final strike.

    ¡°Kowareta Ken.¡±

    [Broken Sword]

    The sword came down.

    ¡°Makishiki (Ð½Ê½).¡±

    [Type Firewood]

    [Makishiki] created a thin line of destruction starting from the broken metal shards of [Hyakken]. The line dug several inches¡ªfive?¡ªbeneath the surface. It stretched across the arena, spawning natural cracks in the dirt, and passed the white boundary. The line came onto grass and continued further, further, and further, until it reached a sturdy oak tree. That had been an oak tree.

    The tree was perfectly bisected in the middle, from crown to root, and both sides swayed outward into a V-shape.

    Powerful martial arts, and powerful [Skills] in general, had a tendency to develop consequential side-effects: intense wind pressure, deafening sonic booms, things that would cause collateral damage like the fight between Archknell and Alternate Lyressa.

    [Makishiki] had none of that.

    Nothing was disturbed. The grass outside the line wasn¡¯t flattened or bothered. [Makishiki] didn¡¯t form a thick cloud of brown dust or spew pebbles and rocks everywhere. Other than the sound of wood splitting apart, the technique sounded no different than a typical swing of the sword.

    It was a sword technique without presence, destroying all that was necessary and nothing else.

    I¡­ I had never seen that before in my life.

    I¡¯d never seen a [Skill] or technique that produced zero second-hand effects.

    Aiden and Chie were shocked silent.

    Jin Tianyou was amazed despite his obvious loss. He proudly chuckled, the rain drowning out his soft voice. ¡°It¡¯s your victory, Amamizu Rei. I¡¯ll honor our side of the agreement!¡±

    Rei said nothing.

    Little did we know, though, that out of everyone in the Special Task Force, he would become the first celebrity. Wang Qiu and his friends in the audience, they spread the story. By the day¡¯s end, a dozen different variations floated around Martials Guild. A young Japanese boy challenged Jin Tianyou. Actually, Jin Tianyou challenged him. And so on, you get the point.

    Rumors quickly escaped your hands, but that wasn¡¯t the most important part.

    In every retelling, one detail remained the same: the rain.

    ¡°He moved like the rain itself.¡±

    ¡°The rain changed his personality.¡±

    ¡°His sword merged into the rain.¡±

    Not everyone knew his codename¡ªbecause he didn¡¯t have one¡ªbut that wasn¡¯t necessary anymore. Someone made an assumption and that assumption caught fire. It was a simple name. A melancholic name. A tearful name.

    Rain.

    ***

    ¡°So.¡±

    We stood in a line of shame against the wall.

    Rector looked ready to strangle someone and that might be himself. ¡°Who wants to explain what happened first?¡±

 [FAREWELL, ALTHEA] Chapter 8 - Expeditions Go! (I)

    [You have entered World Iron Devastation]

    [Status: Dissolution]

    [Expedition Rank: D]

    [Dissolution Timer: 17d 10h 23m]

    By the time of our first expedition, the Special Task Force acquired new additions to their [Loadouts] thanks to our ever-dutiful team engineer. Primarily, she focused on the newest members and made sure their gear was up to snuff.

    Victor received general upgrades to his armor and signatures: his flail, [Order], and his shield, [Hope]. Initially, his [Loadout] was manufactured by Ordo University¡¯s artisans and engineers as a student project. They did good, but Chie ironed out the ¡°rougher details to provide a better performance¡± according to her.

    Chunhua had her cultivator robes restitched, woven with a special material for better resistance against physical attacks. Like me, she had a weapon creation [Skill] so having a physical weapon was unnecessary.

    Kotone decided to completely redesign her urbanwear [Loadout] because of course she did. As for her [Psionic Pylons], Chie had made ¡°minor readjustments¡± but that was all I heard. Our resident esper didn¡¯t like disclosing information about her trusty sig.

    I didn¡¯t need to go over Rei again. (Speaking of which, Rector was understandably less pissed when we said Jin Tianyou owe us a favor, so that was good.)

    Last but not least were the Shens. Well, Althea.

    Leo shamelessly snapped a photo of us standing together. ¡°You guys are so cute.¡±

    I rolled my eyes while Althea playfully nudged my arm. ¡°Lighten up, jackass."

    ¡°Shut up.¡±

    Against all expectations, Althea was wearing the same [High Intensity Combat Suit] as me. We were matching! How adorable! We should be on the front-cover of every magazine as the cute sibling-tag-team we were! (I hate it.)

    While I wore pants over my [Suit], she wore a small black-and-silver jacket that she preferred leaving unzipped. Underneath was a tight chest-rig, fitted with pouches and pockets and Velcro, stuffed with ¡°everything necessary for the combat environment¡±¡ªlike a college would require that level of equipment but alright. The rig carried her signatures: her [Constante MB] and the [Dual Magi Combat Daggers].

    Unlike her annoying older brother, she needed actual weapons. [Memento Echo] was too unreliable. Hence, she¡ªor rather, Overseer¡ªopted for a magick pistol and short-blades. I mean, they fit her style. Thea was an annoying little squirrel who was obscenely difficult to pin down in a fight.

    Leo sat at the end of her cot and crossed her legs. Because the entire team was assigned to the expedition¡ªit was our first one, after all¡ªwe had an entire tent to ourselves. It wasn¡¯t fine-living, but was it comfortable? No, because you had some of the worst people you could bring to an otherworldly hiking trip.

    Thankfully, having the whole Special Task Force assigned to a single exped wouldn¡¯t be a common occurrence. That¡¯s what I think, at least.

    ¡°You both look good, like professional assassins,¡± Leo said but I wasn¡¯t going to take that as a compliment. ¡°Then again, with your skills, you¡¯re indistinguishable from one.¡±

    ¡°If they look like assassins,¡± Victor said, passing through while showing off his armor, ¡°then I¡¯m a shining knight.¡±

    I chirped, ¡°You look like a donkey in aluminum, but appearances are subjective.¡± (¡°Fuck off.¡±)

    ¡°It hasn¡¯t been two seconds and Alex is already picking fights,¡± Kotone commented as she settled into her space.

    Chunhua loudly cracked a chuckle on the other side of the tent. ¡°What¡¯s new? If God was standing here, Alex would remark how the light is too bright for his eyes.¡±

    ¡°He''d flip Him off,¡± then Aiden decided to join. "I would flip Him off, honestly."

    ¡°He would say he¡¯s still an atheist,¡± my sister also punched.

    Leo was about to sling a jab of her own before I kicked her foot. She pouted. As adorable and pathetic her puffed-up cheeks were, her pain was nothing compared to what my pride had experienced within the last thirty seconds.

    ¡°Alright, alright, I get it,¡± I announced to the entire tent. ¡°I can be a little bit of a jerk at times¡ª¡±

    Almost everyone¡ªliterally everyone but Morgan, Rei, and Chie¡ªshouted at the same time, ¡°¡®A little bit¡¯?!¡±

    Before I turned my ¡°a little bit¡± into ¡°a lot of bit,¡± the tent flaps opened to reveal the unfortunate commander of the team. While we stood at attention¡ªsome of us more elegant than others¡ªOverseer couldn¡¯t help but smile and that scared me. ¡°I¡¯m taking your rowdiness as a sign of enthusiasm. Meet me at the command center in five. Your first mission¡¯s already decided.¡±

    He left just like that.

    Leo shouted to the whole team, ¡°You heard Overseer. C¡¯mon, unpack what you need and hurry up!¡±

    Althea giggled for some reason, like this was the first time hearing Leo sound so authoritative. She asked me, ¡°First real expedition, you ready?¡±

    I vaguely mumbled and shrugged my shoulders. ¡°Ready as I¡¯ll ever be.¡±

    World Iron Devastation was the first of many expeditions for the Special Task Force, with our primary goal being experience. We had to be familiar with working in an unfriendly environment and cooperating with rifles, our guildmates, other guilds, and the President of the United States while we¡¯re at it. Most of all, we had to operate and complete missions like actual professionals. Things like scouting, monster eradication, exploration, and of course, staring at dirt and pulling security.

    This was on top of our existing training by the way.

    You know what they say: there¡¯s no rest for the wicked.

    Let¡¯s do this.

    ***

    [You have entered World Abandoned Oasis]

    ¡°...So this is the rumored Special Task Force,¡± said the soft-spoken nun wearing a white blindfold over her eyes. Don¡¯t ask me how she was able to ¡°see¡± us. ¡°You all seem so¡­young and inexperienced. Surely, this can¡¯t be right?¡±

    Meet Alexandra¡ªhaha, we basically had the same name¡ªthe 4th Wing Commander. To explain what that meant, Angels Guild¡¯s organizational structure went like this from largest to smallest: Wings, Orders, Designations, and Teams.

    Wings were the largest organizational unit. Currently, we had five: 1st through 4th were operational and 5th was training, research, anything and everything miscellaneous. Barring the 5th, Wings were divided into Orders. Orders functioned as general purpose units: Combat Order, Expedition Order, Healing Order, and so on. Designations were specific purpose units (like Mixed and Magick Designation in Combat Order). And finally, we had the building blocks: Slayer Teams.

    To throw out an example, a team could be: Wizard Hats of 1st Wing Magick. (Wizard Hats of Magick Designation, of Combat Order, of 1st Wing.)

    Each Wing (barring the 5th) was represented and led by their strongest Slayers and Slayer Teams, becoming figureheads of their respective divisions. Officially-speaking, they were known as the Wing Commanders and Wing Teams respectively. On the streets, we knew them as the Five Archangels¡ªthe fifth was actually the Commander of the Medical & Hospital Force which was outside the organizational structure.

    1st Wing: Metallic of Ironblood.

    2nd Wing: Cauldron of White Potion.

    3rd Wing: Colossus of Determination.

    4th Wing: Alexandra of Paradise Ascending.

    Medical & Hospital Force: Sundrop of Smiling Faces.

    Then, there was us. The Special Task Force wasn¡¯t privy to this structure, like the M&H, because we were in the Prime Wing: a home for specialized units.

    Standing face-to-face with Alexandra was nerve-wracking. Not because her habit was strangely revealing, but because of the political implications of our meeting. The Five Archangels likely had raised eyebrows at the Special Task Force. It came with questions that wouldn''t get answers, and concerns that had to be investigated.

    After all, the STF was founded without the advice of the Board of Operations¡ªboth corpo- and sword-side.

    If we fuck up our first introductions, it¡¯d make life harder on Seraph and Rector in the long run.

    Alexandra moved her head like a security camera attached to the ceiling, capturing our ugly mugs within her ¡°vision.¡± ¡°Which one of you is this ¡®Rain¡¯ I¡¯ve been hearing of?¡±

    The culprit stiffened beside me. ¡°I¡¯m here!¡±

    ¡°Ah, I see.¡± Can you, really? Joking aside, she turned in our direction but the blindfold obscured who she was really looking at. ¡°Yes, you certainly have the physique and presence to impress Jin Tianyou, yet your voice doesn''t seem to match your intense silver eyes.¡± (¡°Eh?¡±)

    I tilted my head. ¡°I¡¯m Conqueror.¡±

    ¡°Pardon?¡±

    ¡°Rain is standing on my right.¡±

    ¡°I see, thank you.¡± Do you, now? Regardless, Alexandra shifted her head slightly. ¡°Oh, but this is even stranger. Rain, why are you floating? And is that a book levitating over your shoulder?¡±

    Morgan, underneath his hood, seemingly rolled his eyes. ¡°Right. Conqueror meant right. You looked left, nun.¡±

    Alexandra paused. ¡°...I see.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t,¡± Morgan said.

    About everyone winced, but fortunately, the Archangel didn¡¯t seem to register the insult. Thank God it wasn¡¯t me.

    ¡°I¡¯m right here, Alexandra-san!¡± Rei broke the line and waved his arms, making damn sure this blind nun could actually see him. I don¡¯t blame her; he was small and unassuming.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    Alexandra tilted her head down. ¡°Ah, there you are. You¡­ You¡¯re Rain? But you¡¯re so¡­ So¡­¡±

    Chie chimed, ¡°Awesome?¡±

    Kotone followed, ¡°Fashionable?¡±

    Aiden groaned, ¡°Delusional?¡±

    Morgan ended, ¡°Not blind?¡±

    Alexandra finished her thought, ¡°Cute¡­¡±

    Rei¡¯s pupils shrunk. ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a cute young boy. How old are you? When was the last time you had something sweet? Is your team treating you well¡ª? Ah, if not, then¡­¡± A dangerous aura began leaking from the Archangel, and it wasn¡¯t because she was threatening us. She was problematically maternal. ¡°I will treat you much better than them.¡±

    ¡°KOWAIIIII¡ª!¡±

    Rei began running for his life.

    You know, that wasn¡¯t a bad introduction.

    ***

    [You have entered World Hazestricken]

    ¡°Sit down, Morgan, we need to have a conversation.¡±

    Morgan looked up from his reading, his messy purple hair flopping left and right. It was sweaty, dirty, and tangled worse than a bush. A perfect reflection of what kind of a man(child) he was. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°What is it¡ª?¡± Leo, my partner-in-crime, wildly gestured with her arms and I couldn¡¯t understand what she was trying to convey. ¡°Morgan, you have a problem. You have a genuine problem.¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why I chose ¡®Problem.¡¯ I¡¯m a problem child. I¡¯m a problem for many people, and I have twice as many problems. So which one are you referring to?¡±

    I kicked underneath his cot, my toes hitting a thick bag. ¡°That.¡±

    ¡°My books.¡±

    ¡°Books,¡± Leo said. ¡°Plural.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s how the English language works, yes. I have multiple books that I scavenged from the abandoned city we¡¯d visited.¡±

    ¡°Multiple¡ª? Alex, start counting.¡±

    I scoffed. ¡°Why me? You go and count¡ª¡± (¡°Count the fucking books, lovely.¡±) ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±

    I pulled out the biggest, thickest bag underneath. It was already unzipped. Inside was a librarian¡¯s paradise: books, books, more fucking books. Did he bring any from home? No, of course fucking not! Every single damned book was from the expedition! Most of them were withered, falling apart, or the ink was illegible! Plus, everything was written in another language!

    ¡°One!¡± I exclaimed, beginning my count.

    Leo took over the conversation: ¡°That¡¯s too many. You know the regulations! We can bring back a few nick-knacks or mementos¡ª¡± (¡°Ten!¡±) ¡°¡ªfor the road, but not bring a library!"

    Morgan huffed and shut the book he was reading. That was also from the expedition. Could he understand or read the contents? No. ¡°What¡¯s more punishable? Smuggling military-grade weapons and equipment or adding a little written wisdom to the collection?¡±

    I fought, ¡°Overseer has papers! Also, twenty-two!¡±

    ¡°He has papers,¡± Leo reiterated. ¡°You have tens of thousands of pages.¡±

    Morgan pointed at his bag and the stupid man digging through it. ¡°One bag is harmless.¡±

    Leo pointed behind Morgan and toward the rear of his cot. He had constructed a makeshift headrest out of dusty, flaking books. There was at least a hundred of those fucking things turning the tent into an allergy apocalypse.

    ¡°...I did not see that earlier. However, two bags are harmless¡ª¡±

    ¡°Yo!¡± Kotone barged into the tent, happy and ready to share the results of her mission, but instead she found me squatting before fifty-one books and counting. ¡°Yo? What¡¯s going on¡ª?¡±

    I suddenly threw book fifty-two at her. ¡°Catch!¡±

    ¡°What¡ª?¡± Thankfully, she caught the book and flipped open the cover. ¡°What kinda book is this¡ª?¡±

    A thick cloud of dust exploded in her face, and the book plummeted to the ground. ¡°MY EYESSSSS¡ª!¡±

    She ran out of the tent screaming and crying.

    Leo whispered, ¡°They¡¯re not harmless.¡±

    Morgan solemnly nodded. ¡°Evidently.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re carrying biological weapons,¡± I said.

    ¡°Evidently. I suppose I should start making a bonfire.¡±

    I dropped book sixty-four in the bag. ¡°You should burn a few of them¡ª¡± (¡°Burn all of them.¡±) ¡°Burn all of them, absolutely.¡±

    Distantly, Kotone screamed.

    ***

    [You have entered World Ravenous Depths]

    [First Azure - Ethercross]

    [Leaves of Maolin - Torrential Leaf Drop]

    ¡°Ha!¡± Forest Master twirled her spear around, blood spraying over the beastly corpses she¡¯d slain. ¡°What a joke. These whelps couldn¡¯t entertain a child.¡±

    ¡°Heh, too easy.¡± Empress flicked red off her twin blades. ¡°I didn¡¯t break a sweat that time.¡±

    The cultivator gave an odd look to the murim-in. ¡°Remind me, demonic dog. The [Azure Series] were fostered by your father, yes? Aren¡¯t they a derivative of the [Demonic Artes]?¡±

    ¡°In foundation, but they couldn¡¯t be more different.¡± Empress held out [Father], its azure tones shining. ¡°My father sought his own path away from the Demonic Cult and created these sword techniques as a result. The [Divine Series] came from my mother, an orthodox murim-in. I told you before: I¡¯m demonic in blood only.¡±

    ¡°Yet your mind has been implanted with their way of life.¡± There was a scary gaze in FM¡¯s pretty eyes. ¡°Shame. I would love to see the [Heavenly Demonic Artes] in-person. Perhaps even the [Crimson Moon].¡±

    ¡°Ha, unfortunately Auntie refused to teach me the Demonic Cult¡¯s ways, and I¡¯m the last person the [Crimson Moon] would choose. Why so serious, cultivator? Are you planning on stealing our secrets? You won¡¯t be first and you definitely won¡¯t be the last.¡±

    Forest Master cackled. ¡°Oh please, Celestial Empress, I may be interested in your sect¡¯s jewels but not as gaudy jewelry to wear. It¡¯s for the same reason as always: seeing whose philosophy reigns supreme. Your Korean drabble or my sophisticated xia ways, but since you''re demonic in blood only, I¡¯ve lost that spark of curiosity.¡±

    A fire was lit in Empress¡¯s eyes; meanwhile, I was here questioning whether or not I ought to run.

    The second-in-line heir of the Ryu Family faced the exile of the Maolin Sect. ¡°Those are quite brave words, xia. Why does it matter if I know my auntie¡¯s techniques or not? Do you think only the [Demonic Artes] can match your Maolin spear techniques?¡±

    FM stepped forward, gladly embracing the challenge. ¡°There is a reason why the spear triumphs above all other weapons, Empress. My [Leaves of Maolin] has been honed across generations, while your [Azure] and [Divine Series] possess a fraction of the development combined.¡±

    ¡°Yet you learned from a book.¡± Empress glared nastily. ¡°I took my parents¡¯ sword techniques as my own. I innovated them, while you lazily follow through the motions.¡±

    ¡°How arrogant and ignorant. Demonic whores think so highly of themselves. I¡¯d laugh if I didn¡¯t pity them so.¡±

    ¡°Heh.¡± A vein was bulging across Celestial Empress¡¯s ugly forehead.

    ¡°Hmph.¡± Forest Master held the tensest smile in her life.

    ¡°...Ladies,¡± I introduced myself into this scene, raising my hands to show that I mean zero harm. ¡°Let¡¯s calm down here¡ª¡±

    My voice brought the demon out of them. Instantly they flashed their signatures and I nearly shat my pants. After seeing me, they still didn¡¯t bring those fucking things down! In fact, they smiled.

    ¡°He¡¯ll do,¡± muttered the cultivator.

    ¡°More than enough,¡± then the murim-in. ¡°Conqueror, you¡¯ll evaluate our performance for this expedition then pick the winner.¡±

    I kept my hands raised. ¡°Winner of fucking what?¡±

    ¡°Of who kills the most monsters,¡± she answered.

    ¡°And whoever¡¯s in the best condition by the end,¡± added FM.

    ¡°You want me to do that¡ª?!¡±

    The murim-in bolted deeper into the combat zone and the xia chased after, laughing maniacally.

    ¡­Martial beauties. They''re crazy.

    ***

    [You have entered World Terror in Stone]

    ¡°Dude, I¡¯m fucking wiped.¡± Victor banged his head against the crate he was sitting at. ¡°Right after this exped ends, I have a twelve-hour shift at the hospital. I mean, if the exped goes longer, I¡¯m prolly gonna pull out early.¡±

    ¡°Shit, they workin'' you like a dog.¡± Aiden sat on the other side of the crate, cupping his beer.

    Meanwhile I had taken a seat on a smaller crate lying around, doing nothing but watching the traffic filter throughout basecamp. It was a nice night to watch the empty sky and listen to everyone work.

    I said, ¡°Is your training going good, though? Overseer seems happy with the reports.¡±

    Vic chuckled and downed the rest of his beer in a single swig. ¡°My supervisor, man, she has it out for me. I caught a glimpse at my report the other week. You know what I saw? Two, three fucking pages of additional comments.¡±

    Even Aiden had to laugh at that. ¡°Sounds like my complaints. Last year, I had an altercation with a team in 3rd. Their TL wrote, like uh¡­ Fuck, how many pages was it¡ª? Fifteen. A fifteen-page complaint. They fuckin¡¯ hated me and I hated them. If I see their faces ¡®round, I¡¯m gonna burn the shit outta ¡®em.¡±

    ¡°And bring more patients to me, perfect.¡± Victor dramatically exhaled. ¡°So I can give that chick more reasons to pick me apart.¡±

    I cracked, ¡°She¡¯s paying attention to you, at least. What is she like? She pretty at least?¡±

    A faint blush formed across his cheeks, or maybe that was the beer. ¡°Why are you asking? Wait, yeah, when was the last time you talked ¡®bout a girl like that?¡±

    I turned to Aiden. ¡°He¡¯s getting defensive.¡±

    But Aiden didn¡¯t return my amusement. ¡°Victor¡¯s right. For a handsome bastard like you, you don¡¯t talk about girls.¡± He showed a sadistic smirk. ¡°Maybe a few scars will help ya out, huh? I¡¯m offering.¡±

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m just curious. Aiden has Chie¡ª¡±

    ¡°Wait.¡± Vic slammed down his beer. ¡°You guys are actually dating?¡±

    Aiden cracked a confused look, then it turned malicious. ¡°Something wrong with that?¡±

    ¡°N-No, nothing¡¯s wrong, just surprised¡­¡± Victor cleared his throat, pulling on his sleeve a little bit. ¡°You guys never really show it ¡®round work. Sorta figured you guys were close but not that close¡ª¡±

    ¡°Something wrong with that too?¡±

    ¡°Nope, I¡¯m happy for you guys. But uh, on that note¡­¡± Vic leaned over the crate. ¡°You have any advice? In general, I mean.¡±

    Aiden looked half-ready to break his bottle over the doofus¡¯s head. ¡°For you? Stop smiling like an idiot.¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯ll creep out girls?¡±

    ¡°No, you look fuckin¡¯ stupid.¡± (¡°Oh.¡±) ¡°And you, Conq?¡± (¡°I didn¡¯t ask for any¡ª¡±) ¡°Tear out your tongue and people will start liking you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll start liking me then?¡±

    ¡°I gotta tear your face off before I start thinkin¡¯ positively about you.¡± (¡°Right.¡±) ¡°And your arms. Your legs too. And your heart while I¡¯m at it¡ª¡±

    Down the main road, distant figures were shouting and running everywhere. Something bad happened, I think, but nothing catastrophic. We stood from the crate and huddled together, trying to see what was going on. Aiden pulled up the System and searched the [Expedition Channels] for any answers while me and Victor tried looking over a growing swarm of people.

    A bunch were heading toward medical.

    Victor immediately looked more concerned.

    One of the medics¡ªa rifle whose company was tasked to the exped¡ªran by and Vic grabbed his arm. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    The medic nodded toward the tents. ¡°Breachers got through the line and hit the civvie-breakers. Radio¡¯s calling for at least ten casualties, but there¡¯s probably more.¡±

    ¡°Shit, dude. Lead the way!¡±

    Without stopping to think, Vic and the medic disappeared into the crowd as the roar of transport vehicles disturbed what-would¡¯ve-been a wonderful night. Aiden and I were left near the barracks. This wasn¡¯t a job for us. We were fighters, not fixers. All we could do was pray for everybody¡¯s health.

    ¡°Fuck,¡± Aiden said our thoughts out loud. ¡°When d¡¯you think Vic is coming back?¡±

    I shrugged. "I think it''ll be a long night for him."

 [FAREWELL, ALTHEA] Chapter 9 - Expeditions Go! (II)

    [You have entered World Creepy Troves]

    ¡°Here!¡±

    Before I could ask or say anything, Lyressa fey Suntear thrusted a fancy-looking pastry-box into my filthy hands. Wait, I knew the brand. In every article titled ¡°Top 10 Places You Should Visit in Ordo!¡±, this bakery was the first picture you¡¯d see. As a result, it became a pain in the ass for actual locals¡ªnot that I was a local myself¡ªto get a heavy box like this.

    Lyressa sheepishly pressed her fingers together, creating a triangle-gap, and smiled. Hard not to like a smile like that. ¡°It¡¯s been quite some time since we last met, Alexander. I thought I¡¯d mark our reunion with something sweet.¡±

    I peeked through the clear plastic, seeing delicious treats waiting for me (really, waiting for the whole team). ¡°You didn¡¯t have to bother yourself with this, SH. We just talked in [PMs]¡ª¡±

    ¡°But have we met since the Scare? No. Though¡­¡± Her pointy ears pointed downward. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s my fault for not reaching out, but it¡¯s August now. I¡¯m sure you will regale me with countless stories.¡±

    I nervously chuckled, finger tapping against the box. ¡°¡®Will¡¯?¡±

    Lyressa puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms. ¡°Absolutely. When you accepted my gift, you also signed away a few hours of your time to me.¡±

    ¡°I never signed a contract.¡±

    ¡°Foolish corpo, realize you don¡¯t have a say in the matter.¡±

    She was surprisingly forward¡­ I recalled our last physical meeting, which was back in June believe it or not. ¡°Here I thought we were bitter rivals. What happened to that?¡±

    ¡°Heh.¡± A tinge of rekindled flame awakened in her mesmerizing eyes. ¡°You¡¯re asking for constant conflict, aren¡¯t you? Fine, fine. Consider this ¡®invitation¡¯ as a way to gain sensitive intel on you. Such as, for example, your favorite foods, the date of your birthday, any drama and gossip, and so on.¡±

    Got no choice, do I? I said, "It''s a date, then."

    ¡°¡®Date¡¯¡ª?!¡± Scarlet badly burned her ears and those eyes widened into something big. She quickly recomposed herself. ¡°Ahem. Don¡¯t tease like that. I¡¯d rather not have unsavory rumors going around again. This is a¡­long-awaited engagement between friends. That¡¯s it. Thus, if I catch any unsavory whisperings, you¡¯ll have the conflict you seek.¡±

    It was difficult to take her threat seriously with how potent her embarrassment was. This¡­ This was definitely one of the rarest and most envious sights in Ordo: having the blushing, flustered elven queen in my company. Stranger stuff happened to me.

    ¡°Whatever the case, I¡¯ll see you then. Whenever that¡¯ll be. I¡¯m sure our schedules will match up, unless your men fuck with us."

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They know better than to pick with Seraph and Rector¡¯s chosen. I¡ª¡± A blue-screen appeared next to Lyressa. ¡°Never mind, I¡¯m being called for a meeting. We¡¯ll speak again later, either in-person or [PMs].¡±

    ¡°Roger.¡±

    After waving goodbye, I had a box of fresh pastries for myself.

    Until someone slapped my shoulders with both hands. ¡°What the hell was that?!¡± Althea intruded with the subtlety of an internet troll. ¡°I thought you made up with Silverhonor¡ªalso gimme¡ª¡± (She snatched the box from me.) ¡°¡ªbut you¡¯re kissy-kissy with her! When did it start?!¡±

    I rolled my eyes as my sister browsed the delectable selection. ¡°There¡¯s nothing between us. We¡¯re friends¡ª¡±

    ¡°Like how we¡¯re friends?¡± The worst murim-in in the world appeared out of the blue and stood beside Thea. Fuckers were eavesdropping. ¡°We¡¯re pretty close, aren¡¯t we?¡±

    Thea loudly gasped. ¡°My brother¡¯s a two-timing bastard!¡±

    I wanted to slap them both but I held my scandalous hand in. ¡°I¡¯m dating nobody.¡±

    She gasped again. ¡°My brother¡¯s a forever virgin!¡±

    ¡°I hate you so much.¡±

    ¡°I can imagine it now.¡± Leo waved her hand as if highlighting a news headline. ¡°¡®A love affair amongst the Big Four? A martial princess and an otherworldly elf caught in a dramatic love triangle with Ordo¡¯s No.1 asshole! Stay tuned for more!¡¯¡±

    Althea added onto the headline, ¡°¡®Who will be Althea Shen¡¯s sister-in-law? Or will her brother die a miserable and lonely death?! And in other news, these pastries are fucking delicious!¡¯¡±

    I mocked them, ¡°¡®Breaking news: two bodies discovered in the harbor.¡¯¡±

    The girls¡¯ expression darkened.

    Thea hugged the pastry-box while having a half-eaten apple strudel sitting on top. ¡°This is ours now.¡±

    Sarcastically, I said, ¡°Guess I¡¯ll ask my elven girlfriend for more¡ª¡±

    ¡°I KNEW IT, MOTHERFUCKER!¡±

    ***

    [You have entered World Hollow Wasteland]

    ¡°...I refuse.¡±

    ¡°Guild Master Sophos¡ª¡±

    ¡°I refuse! I absolutely refuse! I won¡¯t be bullied out of this expedition! This involves research that¡¯ll affect the world at large! I¡ªConqueror, you understand, don¡¯t you?! Defend me against this rusty rifle!¡±

    I really hate my luck. After hearing Sophos had barged into the exped, I took every action possible to avoid her: purposefully hanging back in the barracks, going on missions, and so on. My antisocial behavior had to eventually bite me in the ass, though. The one time I decided to check up on Overseer, this witch was in the tent, ready to transform this D-Rank exped into an SSS-Rank.

    ¡°That ¡®rusty rifle¡¯ is my commander who also happens to be my uncle,¡± I told her.

    Sophos keeled over the table dramatically. ¡°Nepotism wins again, dammit!¡± She¡¯s not wrong.

    Overseer sighed and pushed his glasses up. ¡°Sophos, I¡¯m not doing this to be rude, but this is an Angels-owned and operated exped. You technically are trespassing, and I¡¯m reluctant to approve your presence because your missions have a habit of ¡®going off-the-rails.¡¯¡±

    ¡°But I have valuable research to conduct!¡± insisted the trespasser. ¡°What happened to our professional relationship? We¡¯re allies! How can you kick out your biggest supporter like she¡¯s a dirty dog?¡±

    I asked out of morbid curiosity, ¡°What¡¯s your research in the first place?¡±

    Sophos proudly explained, ¡°Spoiling my adorable and diligent student, obviously! It¡¯ll take approximately twenty-four hours of intense observation and interaction!¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s why¡­¡± Overseer sounded disappointed, not in Sophos¡ªbecause I doubt he had high expectations in the first place¡ªbut more in himself for not deducing her motives sooner. ¡°If you wanted to see Sage that badly, then why did you burst through the portal and immediately cause structural damage to the roads?¡±

    ¡°Because I walk the pace of giants and your flimsy roads simply couldn¡¯t handle my presence.¡±

    ¡°Why did you ask Uprise to fetch you tea and ¡®the corpse of an owlbear¡¯?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s her name? She¡¯s the first Slayer I found¡ªwait, she¡¯s the esper, right? The one with the SS-Rank [Skill]? Now I have to¡ª!¡±

    Overseer moved on, ¡°More importantly, why did you blow up an entire hill about ten klicks west of basecamp?¡±

    Sophos paused for a second. ¡°I had to impress the younglings.¡±

    This was sounding more and more like a mental break, but who was I to judge the esoteric mind of one of the greatest mages in the world? My uncle did. With three questions, his mood soured to a concerning degree. Although she was our greatest ally, her status meant nothing to him. Really, he didn¡¯t give a shit about anybody¡¯s reputation which made him even more perfect for the position.

    Overseer clicked his tongue and leered down at her. ¡°My team cannot be preoccupied with your proclivities, Sophos. If I have to, I¡¯ll contact Rector or Mystic so they can escort you themselves¡ª¡±

    ¡°Hello?¡± That voice belonged to the worst possible person for our conversation. Of all times to complete her scouting mission, it had to be now. ¡°I heard Sophos was¡ª¡±

    ¡°CHIE!¡±

    Chie was nearly tackled off her feet as Sophos clung on like a liferaft. She yelped, death-gripping the tent-flaps for support; however, her ¡°mentor¡± was trying to drag both of them down to the underworld.

    ¡°They¡¯re trying to kick me out!¡± Sophos moaned, giving my uncle the stink-eye. ¡°There are enemies everywhere, Chie!¡±

    ¡°O-Okay?!¡± The poor girl didn¡¯t know what to do. ¡°Please get off¡ª!¡±

    Sophos climbed to her feet and firmly clapped her student¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Listen, Chie. I think it¡¯s time.¡± (¡°Time for what¡ª?!¡±) ¡°You have to abandon these pigeons and join me in Wisdom! The STF is too much of a hostile environment to work in! You¡¯ll grow wrinkles and gray hair when you¡¯re twenty!¡± (¡°I am twenty!¡±) ¡°Exactly, you don¡¯t have much time left! Please, Chie, please¡ª!¡±

    While she continued to beg, I shuffled to Overseer. ¡°So,¡± I whispered to him, ¡°what¡¯s the game-plan? I can knock her out. Probably. I wouldn¡¯t bet on it.¡±

    Overseer scratched his eyebrows. ¡°I must admit: Sophos is one of the most difficult high-rankers I¡¯ve met. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll find a way to get rid of her.¡±

    ¡°¡ªrelease your [Yokais] and show Ordo true fear!¡±

    I whispered again, ¡°She¡¯s planning on overthrowing the Ordoian government.¡±

    Overseer cracked a chuckle. ¡°Don¡¯t convince me to join Wisdom too.¡±

    ***

    [You have entered World Squirrely Groves]

    ¡°I¡¯m so glad this expedition is over¡­¡± Kotone sighed from the utter bliss of being free from responsibility. Lazy ass. ¡°I get to go home, stuff myself full of rice, and sleep in a warm bed¡­¡±

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    The airhead was about to sleep standing up. I could tap her shoulder and she¡¯d topple over harder than a tower of bricks. Honestly, that was a pretty good idea, but a menacing glare was burning holes in my [Combat Suit]. After being on the receiving end of those eyes for years, I could identify her glare as though footsteps.

    Chunhua politely tapped her roommate¡¯s arm to wake her up. ¡°Don¡¯t fall asleep right in front of us. You¡¯re asking to be violated.¡±

    That got Kotone awake. ¡°I¡¯m going to be violated?!¡±

    ¡°You might. You never know who wields a permanent marker.¡±

    So that¡¯s what she meant. I was second-guessing her intentions myself.

    Kotone sighed from utter bliss knowing she wouldn¡¯t be violated in her sleep. She shut her eyes, tempting fate, then tempted fate again. Trying to act as naturally as possible¡ªmeaning, she didn¡¯t¡ªshe rested her head on the pretty cultivator¡¯s shoulder.

    Her sleep lasted literally two seconds before she got snapped back to reality. By that, Chunhua shoved her off.

    ¡°Wah!¡± a strange, high-pitched sound left the stupid esper. Fortunately, as clumsy as she was, she avoided tripping on the cots and bags inside the tent. ¡°I¡¯ve been violated by a cultivator! Someone call the cops!¡±

    <Drama queen,> Chunhua muttered in Mandarin before reaching underneath Kotone¡¯s cot. ¡°If you want to go home that badly, then stop playing around and get your bags ready¡ªhuh?¡±

    Whatever she grabbed under there, it wasn¡¯t normal.

    Kotone jumped toward her cot, hand extended, and exclaimed, ¡°Wait, don¡¯t pull that bag out¡ª!¡±

    For the first time in forever, Chunhua listened and didn¡¯t pull the bag out.

    Because the bag pulled itself out instead. Kicked itself out to be more specific. It thwacked against Chunhua¡¯s legs, causing her to jump backwards and nearly fall over Rei¡¯s cot. She adorably screamed like a scared little girl. The bag¡ªor whatever the hell was inside the bag¡ªpushed itself into the center walkway by kicking and punching at the thick material.

    Yeah, no, fuck that!

    I leapt away, arms raised. ¡°What the ungodly fuck is that¡ª?!¡±

    Kotone screamed, ¡°Calm down! Calm down! Don¡¯t be angry with me¡ª!¡±

    Chunhua shouted from Rei¡¯s cot, ¡°You¡¯re telling us to ¡®calm down¡¯?! What in heaven¡¯s name is in your bag?!¡±

    Kotone pointed at her bag. ¡°No, I¡¯m telling him to calm down¡ª!¡± An unholy noise came from the bag. ¡°Oh, he¡¯s not calm! He¡¯s not calm!¡±

    The creature was actively clawing from inside the bag, hellbent on breaking free and making pasta out of our innards. That thing wasn¡¯t just angry; it had the literal concept of fury baked into its genetics.

    And speaking of, it lurched toward me and I almost pissed myself.

    Alright then.

    [Memento Recollection - Nightingale Pistol]

    ¡°NO!¡± Kotone used both arms to restrain me from pulling the trigger. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt him! He still has a long and happy life!¡±

    ¡°What are you even smuggling in the first place?!¡± Chunhua demanded as she carefully scooted toward us.

    As the creature let out another unholy noise, Kotone gulped because this piece-of-shit only sounded cute to sadists and someone¡¯s grandma. ¡°It¡¯s, uh, it¡¯s a dog-thing.¡±

    [Leaves of Maolin - Spear Blossom]

    ¡°NO!¡± Kotone grabbed both of our weapon-hands. ¡°Don¡¯t kill him, please! He¡¯s a lot cuter than he sounds!¡±

    ¡°I know cute!¡± Chunhua snarled. ¡°You¡¯re cute at times, puppies are adorable, kittens are even cuter! That devil-spawn does not invoke that same feeling!¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon guys, I found him so frail and pathetic¡ª!¡±

    The dog-rat-hybrid thing screeched like an actual demon.

    ¡°That¡­¡± I began shaking my head. ¡°That can be many things, but a dog is not fucking one of them.¡±

    ¡°Just hear me out¡ª!¡±

    ¡°What the hell is goin¡¯ on here?¡± Aiden entered the tent and immediately froze at the sight: I had a [Pistol] drawn, Chunhua had her spear equipped, and Kotone had a hand holding onto our wrists. Then his eyes trickled downward toward the bag, spasming from within like an angry baby trapped inside its mother¡¯s womb.

    He opened his mouth and wagged his finger at the bag, but no words came out. After deeply inhaling, he said barely above a whisper, ¡°What is that.¡±

    Kotone sniffled, on the verge of tears. ¡°My child.¡±

    Her child roared.

    [Signature Trigger: Jiroku]

    ¡°I¡¯m burnin¡¯ your child.¡±

    ¡°NOOO!¡±

    ***

    [You have entered World Open Farewell]

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long two months¡­¡± Overseer said in front of the grand bonfire, a can of hard seltzer growing wet in his hand, as he faced tables of his favorite Slayers. ¡°We had many challenges, or as my nephew would elegantly say, ¡®Too many fucking problems.¡¯¡±

    Everyone laughed, and at my table, Vic playfully shoved me. Asshole. I would powerbomb him through the table if it was socially-acceptable.

    Once the laughter died down, Overseer took the mic again, ¡°Alex isn¡¯t the only joke tonight. Should we forget about Kotone and her little incident?¡±

    Kotone hid her face with her long inky hair.

    ¡°Or when Rei was almost swallowed by a giant toad after breaking [Hyakken] on its thigh?¡±

    Rei shuddered. ¡°Its tongue was slimy¡­¡±

    ¡°Or the many times Aiden nearly got himself into a fight, and the one time he bloodied his hands?¡±

    ¡°He was asking for it.¡±

    ¡°What about Morgan attempting to smuggle a thousand books across the breach? Twice.¡±

    ¡°I had my reasons.¡±

    ¡°Should I go on? I have every expedition on file, and I can recall¡ªin detail¡ªthe excruciating amount of time spent on dealing with the aftermath.¡± Despite how terrible that sounded, Overseer smiled and tapped his finger against the can. ¡°In this career, you think you¡¯ve seen it all, experienced it all, but the world keeps surprising you. Months ago, I never thought I¡¯d be in charge of a team of kids, some literally.¡±

    Morgan rolled his eyes and sipped his juice¡ªno alcohol for the child.

    Overseer laughed at his own joke and continued, ¡°I know I¡¯ve pushed you hard. Most of you resent me, but from the bottom of my heart, thank you for allowing me to be your commander. All of you should be proud of the work you¡¯ve done in the past two months. You¡¯ll make fine Slayers, and I genuinely mean that.¡±

    Everyone started to clap, but Overseer raised his free-hand. ¡°But this doesn¡¯t mean your training¡¯s done. You have a long way to go.¡±

    Cue the groans.

    Training never stops. Not even for my uncle, who had to learn to be a commander after being a soldier for his whole life.

    Overseer let the groans and jeers roll off him. ¡°I look forward to your progress, but that¡¯s enough from me. The food¡¯s getting cold. Make sure you eat as much as you can; there¡¯s a surprising amount of paperwork required to have catering delivered to a Worldline.¡±

    ¡°Finally!¡± Victor exclaimed and raced to the food-table. Already, he was fighting with Kotone and Aiden for first-dibs.

    Savages, we were a bunch of savages.

    After a normal amount of chaos, we fixed our plates and settled down. We sat at the most luxurious plastic tables, stood around and shared jokes in-between every delicious bite of barbeque, and gathered around the bonfire to have a pretty fire to stare at. We talked and we laughed, going on about how fast two months had passed.

    This expedition marked an end to our intense training. No more leaving an exped only to enter another eight hours later. No more absurd schedules or brutal training sessions. While many of us still had our existing projects¡ªlike [Zhenlong School] or Victor¡¯s time at the hospital¡ªOverseer was easing off the gas and giving us a well-deserved reprieve.

    Until the next time he decides to go crazy, of course.

    We had the future to look forward to.

    I was looking forward to what life had.

    Well, that was a lie.

    Tonight also marked the end of something else.

    Althea had separated herself from the rest of the group, standing there in the grass and admiring the night sky. Although civilization had long since been a footnote in the grand history of existence, the stars and constellations were still alive, adamantly, stubbornly, twinkling. The cosmic plane seemed so wide and vast that in our small vision, the material world shrunk and became fish-eyed, and we saw the horizon, the curve of the planet, and lastly the rolling carpet of everything glitter traveling in all ways eternity.

    I watched with her, I watched her, the sights flashing through her silver eyes that resembled mine.

    ¡°Taking it in before you leave?¡± I asked my sister. ¡°This is your last few days as an Angel, Dorothea Zhang.¡±

    ¡°...It doesn¡¯t feel real,¡± she said toward the sky. ¡°It was July a few days ago. By the end of the week, I¡¯m gonna be rubbing shoulders with rich kids and eating as much kimchi as I want.¡±

    I softly exhaled. ¡°Yeah, it¡­ it doesn¡¯t feel real to me either. It¡¯ll be weird without you in the house.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s gonna be so weird waking up without smelling breakfast.¡±

    ¡°Looks like we both have to adjust.¡± I laughed but nothing about what I said was funny. ¡°What am I going to do without my harshest critic?¡±

    ¡°You got Leo.¡±

    ¡°Leo loves everything I cook. She¡¯s not a critic, she¡¯s a yes-man.¡±

    ¡°Either way, you gotta get used to cooking for three, not four.¡±

    I gulped, my saliva doing nothing to wet my throat. ¡°Yeah. Yeah¡­ Are you, uh, are you nervous? About the operation? I am. I haven¡¯t stopped thinking about it for the past few days.¡±

    ¡°Alex, it¡¯s been on my mind since I started training.¡± Althea began counting the stars with her eyes: the number of tasks she had to perform. ¡°Study names, histories, practice, train, then train some more. But I am happy ¡®bout one thing.¡±

    I smiled to amuse her. ¡°That you¡¯ll be talking to K-pop stars in Baekyong?¡±

    Althea finally looked down from the night sky and smugly pointed at me. ¡°That you couldn¡¯t learn any [Zhenlong School] techniques.¡±

    ¡°Newsflash, idiot, we couldn¡¯t learn [Dual Dragoneyes]. We both lost.¡± Unfortunately, our two months of researching the [Zhenlong School] manual didn¡¯t return a profit, but this was the expected outcome. ¡°Not like you need them.¡±

    Thea shortly laughed. ¡°I mean, it¡¯d be nice. As it stands, I¡¯m not sure if my skills can beat the best of the best at Baekyong, but we¡¯re gonna find out.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t kid yourself¡ª¡± (¡°Have you seen these guys?¡±) ¡°¡ªyou¡¯re stronger than you think. We were raised to be supersoldiers. I doubt those chaebol kids at Baekyong has the same level of training as us.¡±

    Thea dismissively shrugged. ¡°You never know for sure. Freaks exist everywhere, not just in Ordo.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. You got this.¡± I tried to pat her shoulder as a gesture of support, but I wasn¡¯t the best at these things. ¡°You can handle anything Baekyong throws at you; hell, you can get revenge for Leo on her behalf. Tear shit up. Stir some chaos. Burn a few buildings. No one will cry.¡±

    Thea laughed at my absurd suggestions. ¡°Careful what you ask for, dumbass. I might pull an Aiden, but fortunately for Korea, I have to befriend the black sheep of Taeyang. Or who knows? He might just fall in love with me.¡±

    This whole thing sounded like a plot to a bad K-drama, but life was often stranger than fiction. I said, ¡°With our charisma? We¡¯ll have to seek companionship in a dog before we ever find one in a person.¡±

    ¡°No, just you. You''re either gonna fuck or fuck up Silverhonor or Leo.¡± (¡°Don¡¯t joke about that.¡±) ¡°Uh huh, I¡¯m watchin¡¯ you.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know if I wanted to cry or slap her, but moving on: ¡°Whatever. It doesn¡¯t matter. Can I ask one thing, though? No bullshit?¡±

    Thea smirked, already planning a witty, sarcastic answer in her head. ¡°Shoot.¡±

    ¡°Was the last two months memorable at least? I know it was sweat and tears half the time, but¡­?¡±

    My sister looked up at the stars again, the same stars found in many of the other Worldlines we¡¯d traveled through, sort of like mementos of fond memories. Throughout the past two months, we fucked around, got hurt, bitched and slept together, but here we were: at the end of the beginning.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Althea said with a satisfied, yet sad smile. ¡°I had fun.¡±

    I had the same smile. ¡°Yeah, and you know something? You never came up with a proper codename. I know it¡¯s pointless because you¡¯re going undercover, but hypothetically¡­¡±

    Althea¡¯s smile grew wider. ¡°I mean, Dad never gave me a good nickname, but maybe I¡¯ll take a lesson from Rei: make a name for myself. I¡¯m ready for it. I¡¯m gonna do my job. I¡¯m gonna take down the biggest fuckin¡¯ chaebol in Korea, and the whole world¡¯s gonna know who I am.¡±

    She stepped forward and embraced the stars. ¡°You hear that, fuckers?! You guys have no idea who¡¯s coming! I¡¯m a girl on a mission, and no one¡¯s gonna stop me!¡±

    That¡¯s right.

    My sister was unstoppable.

    Despite my brotherly instincts, I had to let her escape the birdcage and fly with her own wings.

    Go and get them, Althea.

 [FAREWELL, ALTHEA] Epilogue -Althea Shen, Your Average Spy

    So¡­

    I guess I¡¯m the hero now.

    Me, Althea Shen.

    Obviously, my stupid-ass brother can¡¯t come along in Baekyong, so it''ll only be me and my infallible sense of humor.

    In preparation for Operation Sundown, I¡¯d spent the past two months getting my ass kicked by my uncle who supposedly loves me¡ªthat¡¯s up for debate¡ªand stuffing as much knowledge into my peanut-sized brain. I mean, there were also the thousand-or-so expeditions but that was less important to my ¡°specialized training.¡±

    Now, after two long months¡­?

    I don¡¯t know. What¡¯s the best word for ¡°crazy fucking anxious¡± and ¡°stupidly confident¡±? I was bouncing off the freaking walls, that¡¯s the point I was trying to convey. This was my final day as Althea Shen; by tonight, I would masquerade as the [Character] Dorothea Zhang. Creative name, I know, but according to Rector and Uncle Ali, the more matching details the better. Made for an easier ¡°immersion¡± and crap like that.

    But who was Dorothea Zhang exactly?

    She was an adorable brown-haired, dark-eyed young woman born in the great (and totally not corrupt) United States. According to her records, Dorothea was your average Chinese-American girl with a typical upbringing. Then she spontaneously [Registered] as a Slayer. Somehow, she had impressed Hwarang enough that the Flower Knight decided to recommend her to Baekyong Academy.

    Any person with a two-digit IQ could figure out that her story was mostly bullshit, but that¡¯s the point. You had to be pretty special to be recognized by Hwarang as a low-ranker, so what was Dorothea¡¯s true story? Simple, she likely had mysterious connections to the Jianghu.

    It was inevitable that I would cause a ruckus in Baekyong, let¡¯s face it. Both the students and the administration would start investigating me if they weren¡¯t doing so already, so we weaponized that fact against them: we planted dummy paper-trails in the Jianghu that led nowhere. When the time came, let ¡®em investigate. Let ¡®em go down rabbit hole after rabbit hole. They could fill in the blanks themselves, but like the many secrets within the Jianghu, they weren¡¯t gonna find an answer.

    Hell, they probably know Dorothea Zhang was a [Character], but this wouldn¡¯t be the first time a pretty girl with cultivator origins had attended Baekyong under disguise. Really, what conclusion would they come to first? That Dorothea was a spy for Angels Guild or the secret heiress of a really important sect?

    I mean¡­

    Both were kinda true, but that wasn''t not the point!

    Even knowing this fact, Baekyong wouldn''t expel me. In actuality, they wanted interesting students like me due to the current headmaster¡¯s ¡°educational philosophy.¡± At least, if I played my cards intelligently. I had no timeframe for my undercover assignment. Seraph and Rector said they would constantly evaluate my mission throughout the semester, seeing what progress both me and Kosmos made on our individual objectives.

    Who knows, maybe we could expose Taeyang by winter? I wouldn¡¯t get my hopes up, though. Anything could happen.

    I just gotta do my best.

    ¡°SUPRISE!¡± the whole team shouted with a buncha confetti flying everywhere. Some of ¡®em weren¡¯t enthusiastic about the party (Aiden, Morgan), but everybody was here. For me. The big damned hero.

    It wasn¡¯t my birthday, but they had gifts stacked against Rector¡¯s desk¡ªlike he needed more junk there.

    ¡°What the heck is this?¡± I asked, looking behind me at the world¡¯s dumbest and sweetest accomplices.

    My brother threw his hands up, thinking I¡¯d yell at him like what had happened at the beginning of July. ¡°Wasn¡¯t my idea. Don¡¯t blame me.¡±

    Leo patted my shoulder and moseyed on over to the rest of the team. ¡°It wasn¡¯t my idea either. It was¡ª¡±

    ¡°Mine!¡± Chie exclaimed, raising her arm high. ¡°I know we had a big barbeque party a few days ago, but that wasn¡¯t a party for you. So we did it again!¡±

    Aiden commented, fiddling with his collar like a weirdo, ¡°Without the barbeque.¡±

    ¡°Without the barbeque because I ate too much meat.¡± (¡°They don¡¯t need to know that¡­¡±) ¡°R-Right¡­¡±

    Everyone from the team was here except for Seraph and Rector; they were outside handling my transportation to Korea, so I could say my goodbyes to them later. This, though, was the last time I''d be seeing the Special Task Force for a long time.

    Uncle Ali stood near the Guild Masters'' desks, arms crossed and showing off a rare smile on his old face. ¡°Chie approached me with the idea. I couldn¡¯t say no, though the barbeque really stretched the budget thin.¡±

    Alex rolled his eyes and stood off the side, being more of a weirdo than Aiden. ¡°You¡¯re acting like a few confetti will put us in the red.¡±

    Kotone firmly stated, ¡°My gift for Althea put me in severe debt.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic, Kotone. Thank you.¡±

    I laughed, eyeing my gifts. ¡°I already have enough shit packed in the trunk.¡±

    Leo said, ¡°We¡¯ll make them fit.¡± (¡°That¡¯s what she said,¡± Victor coughed.) ¡°I need you to shut up.¡±

    Chunhua cleared her throat a few times before taking center-stage. ¡°Before we go at each other¡¯s jugulars again¡­¡± (Eyeing the demonic princess¡­) ¡°¡­we should present our farewell gifts. I¡¯ll start.¡±

    Chunhua fetched her nicely-wrapped present and handed it to me. Damn, this thing had some weight. ¡°This is an all-encompassing Chinese tea set. It has numerous teas for you to taste-test with steeping directions. I wanted your brother to get more in-touch with his heritage, but he refused, so hopefully you can correct his mistakes.¡±

    Alex smacked his lips together. ¡°Jin Tianyou traumatized me with tea.¡±

    ¡°This was way before you met him.¡±

    My brother shrugged. Asshole. I wasn¡¯t much of a tea person myself, but I was open to new experiences. Clearly, since being a super-spy was as new as you could get.

    I set the box aside.

    Kotone took her turn. ¡°Alright! This is a CD-player with a bunch of old J-pop songs. I know, it¡¯s really retro and analog, but I gotta convert you from K-pop. When you meet Jun-hyeok, punch him in the face for me.¡±

    Morgan whispered to Rei, ¡°Who¡¯s Jun-hyeok¡ª? Why am I asking you?¡± He turned to Victor. ¡°Who¡¯s Jun-hyeok?¡±

    Vic had no clue either, but he was up next. ¡°I couldn''t come up with any good ideas, but I brought food and snacks. Once my mom and sister heard you were ¡®studying abroad,¡¯ they insisted on making a care package for you.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go next.¡± Morgan, with his fancy magic, levitated his gift to me.

    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Those books?¡±

    ¡°Guilty. I asked your brother what books I should buy, and he suggested physical prints of your favorite webtoons. They cost too much money and I¡¯m also in severe debt, but here you go. Enjoy them.¡±

    Awesome! Alex did keep track of my hobbies.

    Rei decided to go next. His present was katana-shaped. I think it could be a katana. ¡°Althea-san, I¡¯m presenting to you a full-scale replica of Yomiya Yasuyuki¡¯s signature, [Kanzen-muketsu (ÍêÈ«ŸoÇ·)]!¡±

    ¡­Cool?

    Behind him, Aiden was shaking his head; they definitely tried dissuading him from buying me a whole-ass sword, but kenseis were gonna kensei. After Rei proudly walked away, it was time for the only couple in the Special Task Force to present their masterpiece. They shared a gift; by that, Aiden probably didn¡¯t wanna go through all the effort and mooched off his girlfriend just to be nice.

    Chie handed a pretty light box to me. ¡°I made a few plushies based on my [Yokais]. They¡¯ll make for good decorations, but uh, fair warning: the stitching might fall apart.¡±

    Aiden sighed and scratched the back of his neck. ¡°She spent too long makin¡¯ these silly dolls for you¡ª¡± (¡°Hey!¡±) ¡°¡ªso you better appreciate them. Better you than your brother. He¡¯s not gonna appreciate ¡®em.¡±

    Alex said, ¡°I don¡¯t have plushes in the first place.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be such a dick on your sister¡¯s last day,¡± Leo said, clicking her tongue. ¡°C¡¯mon, we¡¯re the last one.¡±

    Last but not least, my stupid family¡ªplus Leo, but she was basically family at this point¡ªcame together. Their gift was the smallest one, being barely bigger than my calloused palm. Through the thin wrapping-paper, I could feel the tingly material of the box. Already, I knew what they¡¯d gotten me.

    Uncle spoke first, ¡°After buying you so many things, we mutually decided to settle on a single item.¡±

    Leo hummed. ¡°Unfortunately, that meant long and heated arguments¡ªmainly between me and your brother¡ªbut eventually, someone had to win. I hate to admit it, but he won. Whatever happens, it¡¯s not my fault.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t make it sound like it¡¯ll blow up in her face, please¡­¡± Alex groaned but he smiled that stupid smile of his. ¡°But yeah, it''s a gift from all of us. Open it, Thea.¡±

    The wrapping-paper came off. Underneath was a small but fancy jewelry box that felt nice on my fingers. I didn¡¯t recognize the logo on the lid¡ªthen again, I wasn¡¯t that big into jewelry either¡ªso the brand had to be something big and impressively rich. Whatever was inside might be too expensive to wear, but my [Loadout] was probably twice as expensive funnily enough¡­

    Ah, what the heck am I doing? I should stop delaying.

    I popped the lid open.

    Inside was a gorgeous golden necklace with two golden wings as the charm. Yeah, too rich for my blood. This would look good on Seraph, not her scrappy subordinate. Carefully, I looped my fingers through the chain and held it up to the light. It sparkled like the gold was blessed by the Pope himself.

    ¡°We know you probably won¡¯t wear it,¡± Alex said, ¡°but it¡¯s a reminder that we¡¯re in your corner. Remember, it¡¯s not like the Cold War where communications are limited. [PMs] are a thing. Nobody can crack the System, so reach out once in a while, okay?¡±

    ¡°You guys¡­¡± I laughed at them and their grandiose gestures of love. ¡°Thank you, really. I¡­ I can¡¯t say how much I appreciate your stupid gifts. All of your gifts, not just my family¡¯s. I''ll make everyone proud, and before you know it, I''ll be back. I''m not planning on staying in Korea forever.¡±

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Vic pumped his first. ¡°Go get ¡®em.¡±

    Aiden even managed to smile! Just a little bit! ¡°Don¡¯t die.¡±

    Rei cheered, ¡°You got this, Althea-san!¡±

    Everyone had to get a word in after that, and I couldn¡¯t tell what they were saying. All good things, though.

    All good things.

    Chie was violently waving her phone ¡®round like it was a club. ¡°Picture! Picture! We gotta take a picture!¡±

    Leo shouted, ¡°You heard the lady! C¡¯mon, group picture! Morgan¡ª!¡± (¡°I¡¯ll use my magic to take it, yes.¡±) ¡°You¡¯re already on it!¡±

    Trying to position a team of freaks and weirdos for a group picture was a nightmare, but somehow, after some yelling and moving around, we found our groove. With Morgan levitating the phone into the perfect position, we smiled widely, arms around each other¡¯s shoulders, as Morgan began the countdown.

    ¡°Okay, cheese or whatever. Three, two, one¡­!¡±

    Click.

    ***

    ¡°...This is everything, right?¡± Rector asked after fitting the last gifts in the trunk. ¡°We don¡¯t need another car?¡±

    Uncle Ali looked at the small convoy that would escort me to a private airport. ¡°I think so, mhm.¡±

    Rector clapped his hands, his skin glowing. ¡°Finally. This was the hardest part of the operation yet. After this, everything should be smooth-sailing!¡±

    Enthusiasm was a weird look on him.

    He knew that, so his expression went back to normal: chronically exhausted and sick of freakin¡¯ everything. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. I¡¯m trying to be happy while one of my subordinates is going off into the lion¡¯s den.¡±

    ¡°Have faith, Idris,¡± Seraph lightly scolded him. ¡°Althea¡ªor should I say, Dorothea¡ªwill perform magnificently in Baekyong. I apologize that we couldn¡¯t give you a present, but you¡¯ll be in our prayers.¡±

    I bowed my head respectfully. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m not gonna let you down.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t.¡± Seraph checked her watch. ¡°It¡¯s time, I think. As discussed before, the self-driving convoy will transport Althea and her belongings to a private airport. Customs and everything else is already handled. By the time she steps foot in Korea, the conditions of her [Character] will activate and she will be known as Dorothea Zhang. From there, she¡¯ll enter Baekyong Academy and hopefully, her entry will be smooth-sailing as Idris said.¡±

    Rector crossed his fingers.

    ¡°Any questions?¡± Seraph said.

    We didn¡¯t have any.

    This was it.

    ¡°Good luck out there, sweetheart.¡± Leo pulled me into a big hug first, and we stayed like that for a while. ¡°I¡¯m gonna watch your brother for you, okay? Just¡­ Just be smart and don¡¯t take anybody¡¯s shit.¡±

    I hugged my uncle next, the maniac who¡¯d taught me how to kill a man in a hundred different ways. ¡°I¡¯m not a religious man, but I¡¯ll start praying for your safety and your success. Remember your mission, and don¡¯t lose yourself.¡±

    Finally, my brother held me close and I heard his trembling heart. ¡°...Eighteen years of my life are walking away just like that. I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m going to miss you, Thea. A lot. Please don¡¯t do anything stupid, alright?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± I promised him, honestly.

    ¡°Good. Good¡­¡± Alex let go of me. He was doing his best to not break into tears. Seeing him like that, I almost wanted to cry myself¡ªgoddammit, you big stupid asshole. ¡°Now get the hell out of here. Go and be a super-spy.¡±

    I saluted him¡ªsaluted everyone¡ªwhile ignoring my shaking hand. ¡°See you ¡®round, Angels.¡±

    Rector opened the passenger door for me. ¡°Goodbye, Althea. We¡¯ll talk again, don¡¯t worry, but it¡¯s been a pleasure having you in our company.¡±

    Seraph gently smiled and bowed her head in respect for me. ¡°I wish we talked more, but we have time for that later. Thank you for what you¡¯re doing, for not only us and Leona, but for the world.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± that¡¯s all I said. Totally uncool, I know, but I really was trying my best to not break out into tears. I was doing a pretty shitty job at that.

    Hurrying, I hopped into the car.

    For one last time, I saw everyone¡¯s faces and the dozen different ways they were contorted. Smiling, pulled by grief and change, pulled by pride and promise, and pulled by the world itself. I was smiling too, affected by the very same things.

    As Rector shut the door, I could see Alex, having his hand to his eyes.

    You almost held out to the end, huh?

    Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take care of everything.

    I¡¯ll make sure Operation Sundown is a success.

    I¡¯ll tear down the Taeyang Group by myself if I have to.

    Them, and every single fucking person who hurt us.

    [Complete: Episode 1 - Farewell, Althea]

    [Next: PROTOTYPE Volume 3.1 - Hero, Physician, Scion, and the Demon, Part 1 - Orientation]

    ***

    Name: Dorothea Zhang [Althea Shen]

    Codename: N/A

    Slayer Rank: D-Rank Slayer

    Fabel Rank: Chronicle (Deep Arcana)

    Skills: 5/4

    Technique Sovereign

    Rank SSS

    Type: Skill Accumulation

    Description: By thoroughly understanding an individual, you can create an inspired ability: these are called [Techniques]. There is no limit to how many [Techniques] you are able to create and store. [Techniques] are ranked according to your understanding of an individual (the holder), from F (weak understanding) to SSS (very strong understanding).

    [Techniques] have fluid growth, changing according to sudden events and your own perspective. If the comprehended individual is deceased, their respective [Technique] can still undergo development. It is possible to lose [Techniques] through dramatic events. Only one [Technique] is allowed for each individual. You can receive a personal description of each [Technique] upon selecting it.

    This is an [Awakened Skill] and is thus always active without taking up a [Skill Slot].

    Character Formation: Demonic Cult Style

    Rank S

    Type: Character Formation

    Description: Through the Demonic Cult¡¯s style, create a [Character] that will function as a separate identity for yourself. Consequently, this means your [Slayer Profile] will be altered to reflect this change similarly to an alternate account online. According to the specifications of DOROTHEA ZHANG, your [Character] closely reflects your real identity aside from changes in appearance and in other aspects of the System. For more information, tap this link.

    Blur

    Rank A

    Type: Mobility

    Description: Upon activation, you are able to move so fast that your body becomes a blur to the naked eye.

    Always Sharp

    Rank B

    Type: Concept Application

    Description: Whenever you hold an edged object, it will always be razor sharp regardless of its condition. This has no effect on the object¡¯s durability, however.

    Iron Skin

    Rank C

    Type: Body Enhancement

    Description: Through brutal conditioning conducted by your uncle, your skin resembles iron and can withstand more severe damage with little injury.

    Acquired Skills

    Fast Reader

    Rank C

    Type: Cognitive Enhancement

    Description: You can zoom through text at an incredible speed!

    Holographic Mirror

    Rank D

    Type: Holographic Projection

    Description: Whenever you¡¯re looking at a piece of clothing or accessory, you can summon a holographic projection of yourself wearing your chosen article.

    Undeveloped Skills

    Anti-Slayer Techniques

    Rank SS

    Type: Nested, Pressure Point Techniques

    Linked Skills: Sixteen-Point Obliteration [SS], Sixteen-Point Incapacitation [SS] [?], Momentum Kill [S] [?], Flow Reversal [S] [?], Phenomena Negative [S] [?]

    Description: Created by Alistair Romanos, your uncle, these techniques were specifically designed for a single purpose: to eliminate Slayers as a regular, [Unregistered] human. Today, the Anti-Slayer Techniques are said to be the greatest and most coveted countermeasure against Slayers.

    Acquisition Requirement: You must attain adequate mastery over all five linked [Skills]. Current progress: [4/5].

    Dual Dragoneyes

    Rank S

    Type: Martial Art Technique, External & Internal Perception

    Description: The foundational technique of the [Zhenlong School] series. One eye peers inward into the internal world, piercing through bloodstream and qi and entering the schema of the body. The other eye leers outward into the external world, marking the ebb and flow of the natural way.

    Acquisition Requirement: You must discover a method to obtain the [Dragoneyes].

    Zhenlong School

    Rank SS

    Type: Nested, Martial Arts Techniques

    Linked Skills: [Tears¡­] [S], [Ruinous¡­] [S], [Dust¡­] [S], [Blades¡­] [S], [Casket¡­] [S], [Earth¡­] [S], [Spirit¡­] [S], [Sparrows¡­] [S], [Graveyard¡­] [S], [End¡­] [S]

    Description: The techniques belonging to the Zhenlong Tactical School, created for the sole purpose of killing cultivators of the Jianghu. Assassins from Zhenlong are some of the most feared amongst the land for precisely these techniques.

    Acquisition Requirement: You must attain adequate mastery over all ten linked [Skills]. Current progress: [0/10]

    Techniques

    Memento Echo

    Rank S

    Holder: Alexander Shen

    Technique Type: Item Replication

    Description: The [Technique] of your older brother, who¡¯s too stupid for his own good. Through observation, you can perfectly replicate the signatures of others and retain any special effects (if available). This extends to any [Memento] from [Memento Recollection]. [Echoes] have a maximum duration of ten minutes, and you can retain only one [Echo] at a given time. Some [Echoes] cannot be replicated.

    Observation Lock

    Rank S

    Holder: Shen Xingyu

    Technique Type: Skill Replication

    Description: The [Technique] of the best mother in the whole world. When observing a [Skill Activation], you can [Lock] the [Skill] and use it as your own. The [Locked Skill] lasts for five minutes or is replaced by another. You are able to refresh the duration with additional observation. You can possess only one [Locked Skill] at a time. Some [Skills] cannot be [Locked].

    Stalwart Bastion

    Rank S

    Holder: Bastien Romanos

    Technique Type: Body Enhancement

    Description: The [Technique] of your father, and you can never forget the warmth of his arms. Thicken your muscles, your tendons and ligaments¡ªevery part of your body can exert tenfold the strength, resilience, and durability than before. The maximum duration is five minutes.

    Execute

    Rank A

    Holder: Alistair Romanos

    Technique Type: Concept Application

    Description: The [Technique] of your uncle, who did everything to raise you and your brother. Mark any living target with [Execute]. The [Execute Mark] will take the physical shape of the target¡¯s lifeforce. Destroying the [Mark], then, will conceptually kill the target; however, the shape and difficulty will depend on the target themselves. You may only have one [Execute Mark] active at a given time, and the [Mark] will last for thirty minutes before expiring.

    Azure and Divine Arms

    Rank D

    Holder: Leona Ryu

    Technique Type: Body Imbuement

    Description: The [Technique] of your friend, who has taken the role of a big sister to you. Imbue your arms with the power of [Azure] and [Divine], dramatically increasing their strength and resilience. The duration is dependent on your concentration.

    *

    Current Loadout

    Weapon(s): [Dual Magi Combat Daggers], [Constante MB]

    Armor: [High Intensity Combat Suit]

    Accessories: N/A

    *

    Weekly Commission: Alternate Investigation Team - Deep Undercover

    Weekly Pay: 48,000smp

    Description: You have been assigned to infiltrate Baekyong Academy and befriend the youngest heir of Taeyang, Lee Yoon-ho, for the purposes of Operation Sundown. Gather as much intel as possible, and most of all, survive whatever Baekyong has to offer.

 [PROTOTYPE ORIENTATION] Chapter 1 - Welcome to Baekyong Academy

    I remember hiding underneath my bed.

    I remember the screaming.

    I remember the touch of Ochre swelling inside my uncles, my aunts, my friends.

    I remember the smell of burning flesh and the sight of ash.

    I remember standing in what remained of my home, of my village, as the blazing sun charred the bodies of my sister, my brother, and my mother.

    I promised myself on that day¡­

    I would return the destruction. I would return the needless deaths. I would return everything, tenfold, and bring the villains endless despair.

    Today, I finally know your names.

    Lee Seung-chul. Lee Na-yoon. Lee Yoon-jung (???). Lee Yoon-ho. The Taeyang Group.

    You will face death by my hand.

    I swear it.

    [ROUTE: HERO]

    ***

    <...Who¡¯s that?>

    <I didn¡¯t know the transfers were arriving already.>

    <She doesn¡¯t look that strong. You know who she is?>

    <I should contact the others and tell them the transfers arrived.>

    <Is she a foreigner?>

    Good news! I entered Baekyong Academy without any trouble at all! In fact, the employees treated me like royalty. They had volunteered to move my bags into my assigned dorm-room while I could attend a meeting with the Headmaster of the Academy. I¡¯d already informed the bosses that my transfer was smooth and painless.

    That was one problem solved, a hundred more to go.

    Walking around Baekyong Academy was¡­ It was something else alright. I''d watched hundreds of videos and read countless articles and threads about its history, culture, and everything in-between. Baekyong was founded around forty years ago as a glorified college, focused on teaching the next wave of prestigious Slayers through competition¡ªcutting the bullshit aside, it was a private Slayer academy for kids of the rich and famous to beat each other up. It never lost that reputation.

    I gotta admit, though: the place was pretty. The architecture really made you feel like you were a part of the upper-class. Everything was pristine and clean and advanced and nice-looking. Our dorms were amazing; we all had our own room, bathrooms, and warm beds. The dining halls were even more crazy, giving out fuckin'' gourmet dishes like it was fast food. Most of all, we got a million different services to entertain ourselves and fulfill our every need and vice.

    I wouldn¡¯t be fooled, though. This place was as rotten as rotten could be.

    I ventured into the administration district of campus, identifying important halls that I¡¯d studied on the campus-map. Along the way, I passed students. First-years, second-years, and third¡ªeveryone, and I mean absolutely everyone, gave me a lingering glance. It was a small world here, and I had already marked myself as an outsider. Oh well.

    It wasn¡¯t time for my introduction yet.

    After walking for at least a mile, I found the Headmaster Building, the main administrative hall for the academy. The front was populated by annoyed faculty, pouty students, and bitchy parents. Guess they had some problems to resolve from the previous semester. In Korea, the academic year actually started in March¡ªnot August or September like in the States¡ªand ended in February. Because I enrolled in the fall (or second) semester, I was transferring in the middle of the academic year.

    It meant my section¡ªthe Year 1 Combat Section¡ªhad already settled its hierarchy and split themselves into factions.

    Which made my position as a transfer more impactful.

    According to the kind employees who¡¯d brought my bags in, the Headmaster explicitly ordered me to wait at the back entrance. Made sense. They didn¡¯t want me to fight through half-a-dozen different families of Korea¡¯s elites. Going around the building, the traffic was hilariously minimal. Just a few faculty members entering and leaving, someone was smoking off to the side, and a guy my age was standing at the bottom of the stairs.

    He loitered by himself, scrolling through his phone with a steady frown.

    If you looked up the word ¡°emo¡± online, his mugshot was the first thing you¡¯d see. Hair dark as dead ravens, hung like a criminal from the gallows! His left blood-crimson eye was buried in bush-thick bangs! His entire existence was bathed in anguish. There wasn¡¯t any love left in him, just pure contempt for fate itself. The sort of guy who¡¯d say, ¡°You don¡¯t wanna get involved with me,¡± when you first approach him. And how he liked his coffee? With lots of cream, but in public, black as his soul.

    Sheesh, though, he definitely wasn¡¯t your average pretty boy. He was handsome, strong, and probably a ruthless assassin sent to murder spoiled kids. Just like me! If I had to take a guess¡­ He was also in a combat section. Which one, though, your guess was as good as mine. I couldn¡¯t match his face against the section roster (that I''d mostly memorized, but I had it in my [Notes].)

    Well, time to make my first friend!

    I approached him and spoke in perfect Korean: <What¡¯s up?>

    He didn¡¯t respond.

    <What¡¯s your name?>

    No response.

    <¡­I¡¯m a student here, what about you?>

    Nothing.

    <I¡¯m gonna keep bothering you ¡®til you open your mouth.>

    The jerk clicked his tongue and kept his one eye glued on his phone. <Quiet. You don¡¯t want to get involved with me.>

    <I KNEW IT!>

    My sudden shouting startled him¡ªand everyone else in our vicinity¡ªbut that got him to pay attention to me. He said, trying to deflect eyes off us, <Are you mentally deranged?!>

    I dramatically pointed at him. <I knew you¡¯d say that! You got that look written all over your one eye!>

    His head snapped back, confused. <What?>

    I laid a hand over my forehead. <¡¯Oh, pretty girl I just met, you¡¯re so beautiful and sweet, but I can¡¯t! I have a dark and mysterious past, so let me push you away! I beg of you, don¡¯t get involved with me!''>

    My new friend blinked several times. <...I¡¯m going to call the police.>

    <Am I wrong, though?>

    <Very. I have no idea who you are, but given your deranged personality, I hope you do stay out of my way¡ª>

    <¡¯Otherwise you¡¯ll regret it.¡¯>

    <Otherwise, you¡¯ll regret¡ª>

    He glared bloody death at me.

    Man, I¡¯m doing such a good job at making friends!

    <You two are already acquainted, I see,> a voice called out from behind.

    It belonged to a middle-aged man who had the same composure as Uncle. His posture was impeccably rigid as though he was marching to an invisible drum, and his suit was immaculate¡ªlike, picking-every-ball-of-lint-with-tweezers immaculate. Even without my previous knowledge, I could figure out he had experience in the military. With my knowledge, he was a high-ranking naval officer¡ªand, oh, also formerly the No.3 Slayer in Korea. Meet the Headmaster of Baekyong Academy, Baek Min-seok (???) or otherwise known as Chungmu (??).

    Chungmu rubbed his freshly-trimmed salt-and-pepper beard with a gloved hand, the other behind his back, and observed us. <Normally, the transfers will have an orientation ceremony tonight; however, I had to meet with both of you. You¡¯re here through extraordinary circumstances, and you both know that.>

    <Huh?>

    I looked at Mister Emo. <Him?>

    He looked at me. <Her?>

    <Yes. You are the only two transfers in the Year 1 Combat Section.>

    Oh.

    This¡­ This was not in our initial intelligence. No wonder why I didn¡¯t recognize him. He was a surprise transfer just like me. Dammit all, I gotta send a report to Ordo after this and see what we could dig up.

    I mustered the brightest smile possible. <You¡¯re stuck with me!> I reached out for a handshake¡ª

    He slapped my hand away. <Don¡¯t touch me.>

    Chungmu raised his hand and immediately, we settled down. <Allow me to make introductions if you hadn¡¯t done so already. This fine lady is Dorothea Zhang, recommended by Hwarang herself.>

    Mister Emo stiffened like steel, his expression twisted in surprise but in the most insulting way possible. It''s like he was asking, ¡°How the fuck is this girl recommended by the fuckin¡¯ Murim-in Throne?!¡±

    Chungmu followed, <And this young man is Kim Min-jae (???), here on my recommendation.>

    Now it was my turn to look at him with that same surprise. <How did you¡ª?! Actually, why am I surprised? You look like you can send me to the hospital with a flick of your finger.>

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    Kim Min-jae gritted his teeth, looking like a million thoughts were swimming in that emo-head of his. <You¡¯re a foreigner who somehow managed to acquire Hwarang¡¯s recommendation.>

    He was fishing for information. Better play my cards right. I said, <It¡¯s not a big deal. She came into town, I surprised her with a few secret martial arts techniques, and now I¡¯m here. Guessin¡¯ that¡¯s how you got Chungmu¡¯s recommendation?>

    <Student Min-jae did more than impress, but let¡¯s leave it at that,> Chungmu said before gesturing toward his castle. <Let¡¯s continue our conversation inside, shall we?>

    Without waiting for our answer, he scaled the steps.

    Got no other choice, right?

    I looked at Kim Min-jae and smirked, knowing we would have a long relationship in this shitty place. He knew it too; I saw it in his eye(s). Pretty sure I already made him regret his transfer.

    Go me, I was doing good things for the world one joke at a time.

    ***

    Every square inch was decorated to reflect the academy¡¯s prestigious history. Y¡¯know, portraits of previous headmasters and department heads, a mile¡¯s worth of trophies and accolades, and over on one wall, it was dedicated to a memorial for the alumni who¡¯d passed away in the line of duty. Most of the memorial was filled by casualties sustained during Hangzhou.

    Everything smelled like cleaning solution and flowers and copper.

    Chungmu led us into an open lounge: half-lobby, half-museum. It displayed old signatures, weapons and armor and items, stored in thick glass cages while some were mounted on walls like taxidermied kills. Don¡¯t ask me about anything here. I knew Korean pretty well but not so much its systemic history.

    Min-jae on the other hand didn¡¯t give a shit ¡®bout any of this. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

    Chungmu admired the years and sighed in a masturbating way. <This is where I would rehash the introduction speech to the new transfers and pretend I¡¯m a lovely man, but I¡¯ll drop the act for the two of you. You seem much more mature than your future peers.>

    Min-jae eyed me.

    The hell you¡¯re looking at me for?

    Chungmu turned around and faced us with the pressure of a high-ranker, his small smile dropping into a damning chill. We weren¡¯t kids to him anymore. We weren¡¯t adorable or cute; we were warriors. Soldiers. For that, I knew immediately he wasn¡¯t gonna give mercy no matter the circumstance.

    <I consider Baekyong¡¯s curriculum, programs and courses, sponsored internships, and so on¡ªI consider them as garbage. They¡¯re second to the real value of this university: the competition. You¡¯re paying for the experience of the Student Rankings and nothing else, sort of like a military academy in that aspect. Yes?>

    I gulped. Here was his famous educational philosophy. Probably the only headmaster in Baekyong¡¯s history to intensify the Student Ranking system instead of cooling it down. I¡¯d already familiarized myself with its mechanics, but reading a hundred articles online was nothing compared to the real experience.

    And y¡¯know, Min-jae didn¡¯t seem to give a shit or give much of a reaction at all.

    Chungmu continued, taking our silence as affirmation, <Unlike colleges such as Ordo University, in which they divide their students into classes to act as ¡®family¡¯ throughout the program, you¡¯re in one pod holding onto one ladder. Your classmates are your opponents. Your so-called ¡®friends¡¯ will backstab you when the opportunity arises. Not even your professors can be fully trusted either, as they often play favorites and I encourage them to do so. The both of you might even be enemies as soon as you walk out that door.>

    <Ah, well, I sorta already made him my enemy, hehe¡­> I said to disarm the tenseness. Didn¡¯t work. Nobody laughed. I felt stupid.

    <Regardless, this is a better representation of the world we live in. You may prefer we hold hands and act as brothers and sisters like the dribble OU feeds, but there are carnivores hungry for power. The earlier you learn that lesson, the better you¡¯ll survive in this environment.> He glanced at me when he said that. <Do you understand? I am only saying this because you both are transfers from peculiar backgrounds.>

    <I understand completely,> Min-jae answered first, his voice layered with seething contempt.

    Chungmu couldn¡¯t help himself from forming the smallest yet devious grin. <Good. I¡¯ll inform you regarding the circumstances of the Student Rankings. I¡¯ll explain from the beginning, actually, to ensure we¡¯re on the same page. You and your classmates are ranked based on performance through its currency: Ranking Points, awarded in multiple ways such as exams, exercises, extracurriculars, and so on.

    <There are five tiers in descending order: Gold, Jade, Ruby, Gray, and Black. They have a limited number of seats adjusted for total population. For Year 1 Combat, there are two-hundred-forty-two students including you. Currently, I believe they are: five, fifty-five, one-twenty-two, fifty-five, and five. Each tier has unique privileges offered. For example, Golds have access to an exclusive menu in dining halls and convenience stores within the area; when the time comes for internships, they have first pickings.>

    <And drawbacks,> muttered Min-jae.

    <That¡¯s right. Grays perform mandated community service within and outside campus, and they are forced to take remedial classes. As for Blacks, they¡¯re in danger. If you remain in Black for three consecutive weeks or enter Black three times in a given academic year, you will be automatically expelled.>

    Chills. Leo had sat me down and told stories about Baekyong. This was the experience I was in for: a constant war within my section for the top rung of the ladder. Although Chungmu highlighted a few privileges, they were nothing compared to the unspoken consequences. Golds were treated like monarchs while Grays and Blacks were treated like hobos. Everything felt like a fucking psychological experiment performed by sadists and perverts, wanting to see how kids tore each other apart just to move up one place in the Rankings.

    But there was a reason why Baekyong kept getting applicants.

    People were attracted to power and dominance, sort of like politics or corporations. Betrayals, bloodshed, corruption, they were the name of the game¡ªdon¡¯t me and Alex know that?

    I raised my hand. <Where do we fit in?>

    <Where you fit in?> Chungmu had a little laugh to himself. <I suppose this leads into where you¡¯re placed. We accept so few transfers because we¡¯re the only academy¡ªonly successful academy¡ªthat uses this system. It¡¯s too much for most people, so we look for wild cards that will significantly impact their sections. Until you officially receive your first Ranking Points, you are unranked but will be treated as Rubies.>

    Min-jae huffed steam. <Not bad.>

    <It¡¯s the middle-tier, and for that reason, it¡¯s the most tumultuous. I find that more students fight to not fall into Gray and Black rather than clawing up; that philosophy spreads just enough where everyone is perpetually at each other¡¯s throats in order to not be a step-stool for someone else¡¯s schemes. For you, your placement doesn¡¯t matter as you''ll be ranked soon.>

    I nearly asked about details of our first exercise, but realized that was a pretty dumb question. Instead I asked, <Are there any people we need to look out for? If you wanna help us, I dunno.>

    <You can find that out for yourself, but we¡¯re honored to welcome the youngest heir of Taeyang,> answered Chungmu. <As you expect, he¡¯s the No.1 student in the entire section. If either of you can scratch him, that¡¯s an accomplishment in itself.>

    The emo-guy had been biting his thumb as soon as he was mentioned.

    <Any other piece of advice for us?> I popped another question.

    <Value your interests first.>

    <Alright, is that everything?> Min-jae was next.

    Chungmu thought about it then shook his head. <Other than the general informational meetings, no. Oh, use the school app to check on your status; it¡¯ll be your most useful tool here.>

    Thank goodness I got a new phone and phone number. Didn¡¯t want to risk getting my data tracked.

    We had nothing else to say. We knew what we were in for and Chungmu made his expectations clear: we gotta shake up the ladder somehow. At least I was expecting this. It matched Leo¡¯s anecdotes: the Student Rankings always changed shortly after the second semester¡ª

    <Yoohoo!> a cheery voice startled me.

    I turned ¡®round and¡ª

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± I said in English.

    I saw quite possibly one of the most gorgeous guys ever in the history of the world. Look at how sparkly he was in-person! He had better skin than most runway models; his features were so soft and pretty that even Rector would get jealous! This season he¡¯d dyed his hair hot red and tar black to reflect his rebellious phase. Everything about him was perfect. White teeth, pretty eyes, strong body, everything¡ªas though a mathematician had invented the ultimate equation for beauty and applied it to him.

    This was the most talented K-pop idol of today: Tae Jun-hyeok (???), and the star of MS Entertainment, a talent agency owned by the Taeyang Group. In other words, he was Lee Yoon-ho¡¯s best friend.

    I was standing in the same room as the Tae Jun-hyeok. He made the other guy look ugly.

    <Tae Jun-hyeok,> Chungmu began,

    He checked his watch. <An administrative meeting to attend in twenty minutes.>

    In spite of his rebellious phase, he saluted the authority figure in the room. <Yessir! Have fun with your meeting, Chungmu.> Jun-hyeok spun on his feet and led us away.

    Once we were home-free, I half-thought the idol would drop his smile and start acting like a conceited asshole. However, he maintained his carefree attitude as we went downstairs. As though on stage, he smoothly skipped down, deft and agile, gliding over every step. He was the first to reach the ground-floor and ended his small performance with a cute bow towards his new friends.

    Min-jae murmured, <Unnecessary.>

    I quietly applauded the idol while nudging the buzzkill. <This is the part where you clap and ask for his autograph.> I cleared my throat. <Can I have your autograph¡ªhuh?>

    Jun-hyeok pulled out a small note with his autograph. <Yesterday, I¡¯d given out at least a couple dozen autographs so I came prepared.>

    I took it. <I¡¯m gonna cherish this forever. Or maybe sell it.>

    Min-jae, against his will, took an autographed note. He held it by the corner like it was covered in vomit. <Yeah, thanks¡­>

    <No problem!> Jun-hyeok began walking backwards toward the back exit. <Chungmu barely disclosed anything ¡®bout you guys, so we¡¯re pretty excited to meet you.>

    <We?> I asked.

    <Who do you think? The other Golds. You¡¯re staring at No.5, and before you start accusing me of anything, I earned my place fair-and-square like everyone else¡ªor, well, as fair as fair can be.>

    Min-jae scratched at his cheek. <So we¡¯re meeting the other Golds, then?>

    <That¡¯s right. Chungmu has high hopes for you guys, so you can say we have equally high expectations. Not necessarily me or Yoon-ho, but the other Golds. They wanna know who you are, where you came from, what [Skills] you have, and whether or not you¡¯re a threat¡ªspoiler alert: they¡¯ll think you¡¯re a threat regardless. So for that reason, I apologize on our Headmaster¡¯s behalf. You¡¯re getting thrown right into the frying pan.>

    Not as bad as, hypothetically, getting thrown right in the middle of a city-wide crisis and having to fight an Alternate by yourself, but this could get second place. This was to be expected anyway. We possibly had the stopping power of Golds, so naturally the existing superpowers wanted to check us out.

    Min-jae scowled, cynicism bleeding from his teeth. <Why are you telling us this? Are you trying to recruit us into your faction?>

    Jun-hyeok laughed.

    Yup, yet another anecdote proven true. Everyone was involved with a faction one way or another. That meant I had to conduct field research before planning any big moves. Like for example, acting against the Taeyang Faction. Who were their biggest supporters, who were their biggest enemies?

    This operation sounded exhausting already¡­

    When we left the building, Min-jae stopped just outside the doors. <And you¡¯re taking us to those people?>

    Jun-hyeok detected hostility in his voice and flashed a disarming smile. <I won¡¯t force you to meet them, but I kinda suggest you do. You don¡¯t wanna make enemies on your first day on campus.>

    <Hey.> I raised a finger. <Why don¡¯t we start our own faction right here? The Transfer Faction, just the two of us. I can annoy people to death and you can stand there and be intimidating.>

    Min-jae glowered. <I¡¯d rather hold hands with the idol than work with you¡ªput your hand away.>

    <Aw man.> Jun-hyeok¡¯s arms dropped to his side. <But yeah, this is your one and only chance to back out now. Otherwise, you¡¯ll meet the rest of the Golds.>

    I glanced at Min-jae, he glanced at me. Neither of us were running away.

    The silence gave Jun-hyeok his answer. <Let¡¯s go!>

 [PROTOTYPE ORIENTATION] Chapter 2 - Meeting the Golds

    The campus had the Student Recreation Center: the chill hangout and study spot offered to the students. That¡¯s the intention, anyway. Considering Tae Jun-hyeok was taking us there, the Recreation Center prolly doubled as a common meeting location for the hundreds of factions across the grades and sections.

    Meaning, it didn¡¯t feel chill.

    On the way there, we were the center of attention even for students outside our section. They knew we were transfers. Hell, I freakin¡¯ anticipated some random douchebag would shout ¡°Fresh meat on deck!¡± like this was a prison or a military academy. My imagination aside, they stared with intrigue and scorn and complete indifference.

    Creepy¡­

    Min-jae was unbothered. Stoic bastard, he was trying to look cool.

    Not me. Everyone could see my jitters.

    Whatever. Jun-hyeok took us inside the Recreation Center. A surprisingly cozy lobby greeted us. According to the signs, the left half housed the fun stuff: computers, ping-pong tables and billiards, a torture chamber; the right held academic amenities like study rooms and sleeping pods. Normally, I¡¯d be so excited to explore but it was kinda hard when a dozen different people were staring at you as soon as you came through the doors.

    ¡°C¡¯mon.¡± Jun-hyeok took us leftward.

    It was like entering a saloon in an old western and we were the wandering gunslingers intruding into town. Everyone stopped what they were doing. No more playing the piano. No more serving or sipping drinks. They stared, and one gross motherfucker actually spat on the carpet.

    Jun-hyeok adorably chuckled, his presence somewhat cooling the tension, but not even his pretty looks and amazing singing was a cure-all panacea. He continued to guide us, loudly whistling as whispers broke out amongst groups.

    Min-jae continued his stoicism. He looked ahead unflinchingly. Nothing seemed to bother him. Either he had a really good poker face or he had a lot of experience with this sorta thing. Wish I could say the same; this was a new environment to me. I wasn¡¯t sure if these guys would suddenly ambush me and beat me to a pulp or continue staring.

    I focused on good thoughts, though. Mostly. Not really. I was terrified shitless.

    Eyes, eyes, eyes. People staring, people looking, people gossiping, people being people! It was fucking insane!

    <This is freaking me out¡­> I whispered to myself.

    <Like I said, transfers are a big deal,> Jun-hyeok replied with a wink.

    Nobody bothered us, thank God. Thank you, Jun-hyeok, for being a Gold! Anyone on our path immediately hopped outta the way, joining the other curious bystanders.

    Soon enough, Jun-hyeok took us through double-doors and into a deathly empty hallway with a dozen white doors on either side. Everything was immaculately clean down to the atoms. Saw no life here, but I heard something: the hard thwacking of someone striking up a game of billiards. Right there, inside one of the rooms¡ªthese were private playing areas if you didn¡¯t want to be disturbed.

    Here we go.

    My heart pounded in rhythm with Jun-hyeok¡¯s knocking.

    He opened the door and bowed like a butler, letting us transfer students enter first.

    Four people were in the room. The Golds.

    The first one I noticed was a slim, blue-haired guy playing billiards by himself; he had all the hallmarks of a pretentious jerkass who measured a person¡¯s value through net worth. Something he surely inherited from his rich-as-fuck parents. He got the fancy square glasses and held the pool-cue like an affluent supervillain with a Cuban cigar and a glass of aged whiskey. His status wasn¡¯t completely unearned. Magic naturally flowed through him like blood. Eun Chang-min (???), son of Curio of the Otherguards.

    <These are the transfers?> asked a green-haired girl, standing from her seat. Compared to Chang-min, she didn¡¯t give off that I-can-buy-your-entire-family vibes. By far, she seemed like the most ¡°normal¡± person here. Regardless of how she dressed like a commoner or acted like one, she couldn¡¯t hide the crazy in her eyes. Not at all. Her voice had the sweetness of poison and the softness of a blade cutting your jugular. Tak Hwa-yeon (???), the heiress of Unified Korea Pharmaceuticals and Alchemy.

    <Seems to be!> Someone clapped. On the right, we had a wild-looking redhead with jagged teeth. If Chang-min was the rich asshole and Hwa-yeon was the psycho, this guy was the chronically violent bum. Everything about him screamed combat. His eyes were permanently wide as though searching for a fix of adrenaline. His teeth gnashed together at the opportunity of tasting blood. He prolly wouldn¡¯t hesitate to satisfy his addiction with a homeless guy on a street. Ban Won-sik (???), the son of the Guild Master of Shining Sunset¡ªone of the largest guilds beneath Taeyang.

    Last but certainly not least was the prince in the back of the room who had been reading a novel before he was rudely interrupted. He was different from the other Golds. Didn¡¯t have the aristocratic pride of Chang-min, the creepiness of Hwa-yeon, or the violence of Won-sik. He was in his own world unbothered by the heavy, tense atmosphere in the room. His clock ran on a different time, his mind operated with different gears, his eyes saw something different compared to his ¡°friends.¡± Those golden eyes¡­ They were tired and solid and featureless. My target: Lee Yoon-ho. He might be royalty from a chaebol but he was the most gorgeous man I had ever seen. So pretty that I might have a crush already.

    Couldn¡¯t confess, though! He had the blood of Taeyang running through him: an SS-Rank [Awakened Skill], the hereditary power of his family.

    <Dorothea Zhang and Kim Min-jae,> Yoon-ho addressed us, standing, like conversation itself was a chore, <it looks like Jun-hyeok was a good guide to you.>

    <He talked too much,> Min-jae said.

    <Ten out of ten,> I followed right after.

    We looked at each other.

    Hwa-yeon giggled and playfully leaned against Chang-min. <I like ¡®em. Based on vibes alone, I wanna pick the foreigner. She¡¯s cute.>

    <Thanks, you¡¯re pretty cute too,> I said as Jun-hyeok shimmied to Yoon-ho¡¯s side.

    <Not gonna ask ¡®em any questions?> Won-sik approached us and stared down the mysterious emo asshole. <Like for example: get a fuckin¡¯ haircut.>

    Min-jae returned the glare. <That¡¯s not a question.>

    <Yeah, I know. I think it¡¯s retarded to have your bangs cover one eye. Who the hell d¡¯you think you are? If I didn¡¯t know any better, you¡¯re the bad boy of an idol group like Jun-hyeok over here.> (<I¡¯ve been arrested once and that¡¯s when I was sixteen!>)

    <Is that so? If I didn¡¯t know any better¡­> Min-jae leaned his head closer, <...I would think you were a stray dog pissing in the gutter¡ª>

    One blink later, Min-jae was staring down the ugly end of five knuckles. A blunt impact rang. Won-sik slid a few feet backwards with a palm-sized hole in his shirt. A pool-cue popped against a ball. The ball flew as fast as a bullet but was effortlessly caught¡ªreturned back to sender, missed, and put a dent in the floor. Won-sik was already closing the distance, arm reeled back for another punch, and Min-jae stomped forward. They would¡¯ve smashed each other¡¯s faces in. Would¡¯ve, if two long needles weren¡¯t pointed at their throats and the rest of the billiards balls hadn¡¯t been levitating in the air.

    The whole room was in a stand-off.

    What the fuck.

    Kim Min-jae and Ban Won-sik were one second away from breaking each other¡¯s noses. Tak Hwa-yeon decided to do them one better and held long, thick needles at their throats. Then Eun Chang-min did her one better and aimed floating concussions at everyone. The only ones who weren¡¯t involved were me and Taeyang!

    I was literally just standing there! I did nothing wrong!

    Out of desperation, I inched toward the neutral party.

    <Dorothea!> Hwa-yeon exclaimed in a sing-songy manner, and she was still holding two men captive. <Don¡¯t you wanna join us?>

    <No?!> I patted a nearby table just in case I needed to hop on it. Or throw it. Who knows.

    <Seriously¡ª? Enough.> Lee Yoon-ho tiredly yet fearlessly approached the commotion, first looking toward Chang-min and Hwa-yeon like they were disobedient dogs. <Any further property damage will be reported, and the last thing all of us want is point deductions. Correct?> No one answered. <Ban Won-sik, stand down and stand in the opposite corner of the room from Kim Min-jae.>

    Won-sik bared teeth and growled like a snarling, rabid dog.

    <Now.>

    He dropped his arm. <Fine. Put those fuckin¡¯ things away, Hwa-yeon.>

    Hwa-yeon huffed and relaxed, twirling her needles around her fingers before they disappeared like magic. The room eased up. The billiard balls were back on the table, and the offenders were on opposite sides of the room. That was a relief.

    This was a great introduction to my new friends, and they already scared the shit outta me. These fucking silver spoon kids were outta my reach, and I didn¡¯t know what specialties Jun-hyeok and Yoon-ho were! I was fucked two ways to hell if I wanted a war.

    Chang-min put a hand out toward Hwa-yeon. She sighed and slapped a stack of bills on his palm. <This is why I bet against you, Won-sik. All it takes is a little scratch at your pride for you to go completely ballistic¡ª>

    <Go fuck yourself, Eun Chang-min.>

    <Classy.>

    Min-jae wiped his lips with his sleeve. <So I assume this wasn¡¯t a test of my abilities.>

    Chang-min tapped the billiard table¡¯s rubber edge. <No, but this is a good insight. Even so, your status as a transfer student is enough evidence. For one of you, at least.>

    <Save your questions. As soon as Jun-hyeok said he was leading us to this meeting, I¡¯ve taken the time to consider my answer.> Min-jae inhaled and licked his lips, making sure he had everybody¡¯s attention. <All of you should kill yourselves before I get to you first.>

    <Eh?>

    <I see.>

    <Wowie.>

    <What did I do?!>

    Hwa-yeon bit her lips, hungry and hopefully not aroused. Then, the air got thicker. It was hard to breathe. This maniac released enough pressure to cause any normal person to submit. <That¡¯s not a nice thing to say, Kim Min-jae,> she said in an airy, cheerfully hostile tone.

    Chang-min pushed his glasses up and exuded aggression. <You should reconsider your answer.>

    <Not me, I¡¯m not.> Won-sik rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles. <Me and you, we can take this outside and have a good time.>

    I really didn¡¯t want to be in this room.

    <Kim Min-jae,> Yoon-ho spoke up once again, <talking like this won¡¯t get you anywhere¡ª>

    <You especially, Lee Yoon-ho.> Min-jae pointed a finger at him and Jun-hyeok like it was a gun. Of the whole room, his energy was the strongest. <I¡¯m coming after you and the idol in particular. Whatever enjoyment you have in ruling over this small plot of land, I¡¯ll turn it into a living hell for you. For all of you.> His finger began to move. <Eun Chang-min, Tak Hwa-yeon, Ban Won-sik, no matter what you do to me, you won¡¯t escape my retribution. By the end of the semester, you¡¯ll return to your families so broken and bruised that you¡¯ll never want to step out into the sun again.>

    Min-jae spat on the ground and was about to leave the room, until he noticed a stupid bimbo was casually in the corner as the unfortunate and really irrelevant witness. <And you, Zhang, go back home. Clearly, an idiot girl like you can¡¯t handle Baekyong.>

    Now he left, slamming the door so hard that everyone on the peninsula could hear it. His stomps reverberated throughout the hallway. Where would he go next? Nobody knew, but I wouldn¡¯t forgive him¡ªbecause he just left me alone! In the same room with five kids of some of the most influential people in the whole world!

    I slowly looked toward them and gave two very awkward thumbs-up. <For the record, I¡¯m not gonna declare war on you guys. I¡¯m casually gonna, y¡¯know, head out and nap¡ª>

    Chang-min said, <You¡¯re not leaving.>

    <I¡¯m not?!>

    <I¡¯ll rephrase it for him!> Hwa-yeon forcibly bent his head down. <We¡¯ll contact you later personally! Have fun with Baekyong, I hope you enjoy your time!>

    <Maybe!> I ran out the door.

    ***

    When the door was shut once again, Jun-hyeok loudly sighed and clicked disapprovingly at his friends. <You guys really scared her! What if she doesn¡¯t wanna come back?>

    <She¡¯s here for a reason; she can¡¯t possibly be that much of an idiot¡­> Chang-min contemplated for a moment. <Never mind. We have walking case studies in our section.>

    Hwa-yeon frowned. <This is why you never had a girlfriend in your life, Chang-min. I think Zhang is adorable. She¡¯s like this precious little doll; I wonder how she squeals once I find where to stick the needle¡­>

    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    Won-sik muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. <I¡¯m tempted to chase down Min-jae but I¡¯ll wait. He seems like real trouble.>

    <Ah, good. You¡¯re finally thinking,> said Chang-min.

    <Fuck yourself in the ass.>

    <Kindly, no.> Chang-min turned to the princess. <Yoon-ho, your thoughts?>

    Yoon-ho kept staring at the door where the two transfers had just left from. <Do you really think I have anything important to say? Kim Min-jae is another warmonger, and Zhang is seemingly out of her depth. They¡¯re transfers, so a base level of caution is necessary, but that¡¯s all I¡¯ll say on the subject. They¡¯re yours to fight over. I don''t care.>

    Chang-min held a hand over his mouth to laugh. <I won¡¯t fight over an American. Full-blood Chinese? Maybe, but she¡¯s clearly too immature for this place. So why don¡¯t we test it? Both Zhang¡¯s incompetence and Kim Min-jae¡¯s aggression?>

    The room became quiet as the real purpose of the meeting was finally addressed.

    Chang-min continued, <After all, Chungmu decided to break tradition this year. Instead of giving a uniform test for the transfers, we will create a test for our section instead. Seeing as how ours operated, I already have a good idea for one.>

    ***

    [Rector]

    Thank you for the speedy report. I already updated your S.Commission.

    We will get back to you on Kim Min-jae. In the meantime, stay cool-headed.

    You have this under control.

    I really hope you¡¯re right. I¡¯m stuck in this psychotic experiment for at least a semester.

    Let¡¯s¡­ Let¡¯s focus on my objectives. That sounds like a good idea.

    I checked my [Commissions].

    <blockquote>

    Slayer Commission: Operation Sundown - Objectives

    Pay: 1,000ssp

    Commissioner: Rector

    Description: It¡¯s time to get to work, Shen. You have four different objectives to work towards, so please keep your business in order. Report whenever a significant development occurs.

    Objective A: Investigate and befriend Lee Yoon-ho alongside Tae Jun-hyeok without arousing suspicion of your true intentions.

    Objective B: Keep an eye on Kim Min-jae and his crusade against the Golds.

    Objective C: Achieve a high position in the Student Rankings, preferably Gold or Jade.

    Objective D: Observe the population of Baekyong and keep a lookout for any significant developments.

    </blockquote>

    They were all long-term goals¡­ The most straightforward was Objective C, which would come naturally. By achieving a high placement, it¡¯d open doors and make completing the other objectives easier. How, though? According to Leo, all transfers would face a test conducted by the academy to officially place them.

    But I wouldn¡¯t know until maybe tonight at the orientation meeting.

    Let¡¯s think ahead¡­ Most likely, Kim Min-jae would be in the same boat as me¡­

    Alright, I know my next move!

    [Dorothea Zhang]

    hey

    [Kim Min-jae]

    What?

    [Dorothea Zhang]

    oh i forgot to type in hangul

    [Kim Min-jae]

    English is fine.

    [Dorothea Zhang]

    cool

    so! wanna team up?

    [Kim Min-jae]

    You want to help me destroy the Golds?

    [Dorothea Zhang]

    fuck that you can do that by yourself

    i mean our first test

    chungmu has something devious planned and i dont wanna die

    [Kim Min-jae]

    I¡¯m not sure.

    He¡¯s been breaking tradition lately.

    [Dorothea Zhang]

    bruh

    [Kim Min-jae]

    For example, he didn¡¯t tell me that you were also transferring. Well, it¡¯s not ¡°breaking tradition¡± as much as toying with his students. At least you proved incapable of handling the stress Baekyong brings.

    [Dorothea Zhang]

    oi those are fighting words

    [Kim Min-jae]

    You admitted that I would beat you in a fight.

    [Dorothea Zhang]

    yea i didn¡¯t say i was gonna win

    fucking idiot

    [Kim Min-jae]

    Are Americans often this rude? And curse so much?

    [Dorothea Zhang]

    we¡¯re not fucking rude take that back motherfucker

    [Kim Min-jae]

    Whatever, I doubt you can read Chungmu¡¯s mind. If you plan on staying in Baekyong, shore up your defenses and be prepared for anything.

    [Dorothea Zhang]

    that means literally nothing

    [Kim Min-jae]

    That¡¯s your problem.

    [Dorothea Zhang]

    i thought we were working together

    [Kim Min-jae]

    I never said that. We aren¡¯t working together, and frankly, I don¡¯t care whether or not you survive the first test. I¡¯m only telling you this because you were recommended by Hwarang.

    [Dorothea Zhang]

    heh jealous?

    [Kim Min-jae]

    No. Frankly, I think it¡¯s a lie. Hwarang would never recommend a girl like you.

    [Dorothea Zhang]

    hey if chungmu believed it then so can you!!!

    hwarang loves me!

    [Kim Min-jae]

    Right. Are you at least a competent fighter?

    [Dorothea Zhang]

    not really i always get my ass beat by the guys in my family they''re really strong

    [Kim Min-jae]

    I hope you¡¯re stronger than you are smart.

    [Dorothea Zhang]

    can you stop calling me an idiot for five seconds

    [Kim Min-jae]

    Good luck, Zhang.

    When the test starts, don¡¯t count on me for help.

    Shit. Could I make alliances¡ª? No, not before the test. Hell, who would want to be my friend after embarrassing myself? I was alone, friendless, and stuck in a foreign country with no way out!

    I mean¡­ That also described Hangzhou.

    I survived that. Survived High Home. Surely, I could survive an easy test, right?

    Only time will tell.

    I gotta focus on one thing at a time.

    I need to unpack all my shit, get my room in order, and head to orientation.

    ***

    [You have created a new Note ¡°Baekyong Student Factions¡±]

    These are the student factions in Baekyong University. To think I¡¯m playing politics in Korea, but c¡¯est la vie.

    Taeyang Faction

    Leader: Lee Ha-yoon (1)

    Known Members: Tae Jun-hyeok (5)

    Summary: The most powerful faction on campus. Why? Well, look at the freaking name. They¡¯re Taeyang. Nobody wants to fuck with Taeyang, everyone wants to be on their good side. As a result, as Jun-hyeok described, they became a ¡°neutral faction,¡± which probably means they¡¯re a mediator whenever conflict arises or a middleman for communication. This, I think, is mainly Jun-hyeok¡¯s job.

    Curio Faction

    Leader: Eun Chang-min (2)

    Known Members: N/A

    Summary: Chang-min is the child of Slayers; specifically, his father is Curio, a very high-ranking officer in the Otherguards around these parts. He most likely has connections with mils and other connecting institutions, but fortunately I have an uncle who has even better connections than this dipshit.

    Unified Korea Faction

    Leader: Tak Hwa-yeon (3)

    Known Members: N/A

    Summary: On the other aisle, we have the heiress of a pharmaceutical company. I¡¯m not so sure what else to add other than the fact she really creeps me out and I need to be careful around her.

    Shining Sunset Faction

    Leader: Ban Won-sik (4)

    Known Members: N/A

    Summary: Won-sik is the typical hothead whose father is a bigger hothead. Lots of reports of abuse in his guild, Shining Sunset, but Won-sik has a few more digits of IQ at least. He needs the intelligence to maintain his place in the Rankings, but I think he¡¯s barely passing.

    Emo Faction

    Leader: Kim Min-jae (N/A)

    Known Members: Suicide

    Summary: War

    Angel Faction

    Leader: Me

    Known Members: Me

    Summary: Me

    So.

    Chungmu did not announce a test during orientation and that scared me. I¡¯d written this [Note] as therapy, but fuck, gimme a bullet to the head at this point.

    Tonight, I wasn¡¯t gonna do anything other than research. I gotta compile everything I knew thus far and hopefully it¡¯d give me an edge when the test¡ªwhatever it is¡ªofficially started.

    On the official school app, it had a portal listing the Student Rankings for every individual section. After all, you couldn¡¯t fairly rank combat students against supports or engineers. They had very different roles and a competition ¡®tween them wouldn¡¯t make sense. Regardless, in my section (Year 1 Combat), I had access to everybody¡¯s names, ranks, and point-values.

    At the bottom of the Ruby, there we were: Zhang and Min-jae, together.

    I scrolled to the Golds.

    [1] Lee Yoon-ho: 9566pts

    [2] Eun Chang-min: 4441pts

    [3] Tak Hwa-yeon: 4327pts

    [4] Ban Won-sik: 4289pts

    [5] Tae Jun-hyeok: 4100pts

    Shit, that was a lot of points. Sixth place, Jade tier, had 3539 points; meanwhile, the Blacks were scratching one-thousand. If I had to guess, Yoon-ho was acting as a ¡°bank¡± for faction leaders. After all, according to the handbook, point-transfer was possible between students; though, the mechanics differed between the five tiers.

    The administration established ¡°systems¡± to ensure a ¡°competitive yet fair battlefield,¡± so no one or no one faction could bully everyone into expulsion. Well, there shouldn¡¯t be quotations because there were actual systems and safeguards in place. Administration monitored point-transfers like the IRS. If you had to conduct a transfer, they wanted to know who, how much, and how. Any suspicious activity? Get audited. Any activity that went against the competitive nature of Baekyong? Get fucked.

    Point-transfers were meant to be a tool to build loyalty among a faction. Paying dues, paying subordinates, and perhaps a little bribery and betrayal. While points were the main metric, they could also be used as currency in certain cases¡ªlike tests that let you place point-wagers. Seeing a sizable difference between Gold and Jade made sense, but still, having ten-thousand points was insane.

    Dammit¡­ All this research was good and all, but this was bare-basics. None of this would help me during the test. There were too many variables to keep track of, analyze, and integrate into my strategy. Maybe that¡¯s the point, right? This wasn¡¯t a test of preparation but of adaptation. Wasn¡¯t gonna be easy either way.

    I yawned. I checked the clock: a little before ten.

    I might as well go to sleep early and get as many hours tonight before the real show starts.

    ***

    I woke up to constant notifications in my section¡¯s [Public Channel].

    Someone had attached a [Note] and pinned it.

    <hr>

    Gold Rush

    written by Eun Chang-min

    Welcome back to Baekyong University. This semester, we are honored to welcome two new students into our section: Kim Min-jae and Dorothea Zhang. Chungmu has broken tradition with testing transfers. Instead of performing the duty himself, he had given us the pleasure instead! We, the Golds, have decided on our transfers¡¯ first test to determine their place in the Student Rankings: the Gold Rush!

    There are two parties: Transfers and the Golds. Obviously, I shouldn¡¯t explain who is in each party.

    The rules are as follows:

    <ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">The Transfers have five (5) days to obtain a Gold¡¯s ¡°Student ID.¡± </li>

    <ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Note that the evaluation is individual-based, not group-based.</li>

    </ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Transfers must APPEAL to the Golds through 1 of 3 actions:</li>

    <ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">DUEL: The Transfer challenges a Gold to a Duel. </li>

    <ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">CONDITIONS:</li>

    <ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Upon victory, the Transfer will receive the Student ID and complete the Gold Rush.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Upon defeat, the Transfer will not receive the Student ID and cannot appeal the challenged Gold again.</li>

    </ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">GUIDELINES:</li>

    <ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">The Gold can declare a RULE where both parties must abide by. The Rule must be followed. If either party breaks the Rule, it will be considered their defeat.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">The Transfer is offered 1 VETO, forcing the Gold to change the Rule.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">The Duel follows academy guidelines for sparring. In this case, the witnessing party must be another Gold, a qualified member of faculty, or a student chosen by both parties. If either party breaks the Rule, the witness is expected to make a final determination.</li>

    </ol>

    </ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">TASK: The Transfer seeks a Task from a Gold. </li>

    <ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">CONDITIONS:</li>

    <ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Upon completion, the Transfer will receive the Student ID and complete the Gold Rush.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Upon failure, the Transfer will not receive the Student ID and cannot appeal the challenged Gold again.</li>

    </ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">RULES:</li>

    <ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">The Task has to be completed within 24 hours.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">The Task has to be reasonable and fair.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">All components of the Task have to be completed within campus boundaries. </li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">The Transfer is offered 1 VETO, forcing the Gold to change the Task.</li>

    </ol>

    </ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">TRADE: The Transfer seeks to Trade with a Gold. They must come to an agreed Trade with a physical contract.</li>

    <ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">CONDITIONS:</li>

    <ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Both parties agree to a Trade, where the Transfer will receive the Student ID and complete the Gold Rush.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Transfers can use Trade for any Golds EVEN IF they have Appealed them already.</li>

    </ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">RULES:</li>

    <ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">The Trade will only be known to the Transfer and Gold.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">The contract must be approved by the Headmaster Building.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">The contract follows standard academy guidelines. </li>

    </ol>

    </ol>

    </ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Special guidelines:</li>

    <ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">If the Transfer attempts to hand in a forged Student ID, they are automatically disqualified.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">If the Transfer attempts to obtain a Student ID outside these three Appeals, they are automatically disqualified.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">If the Gold refuses to Duel, give a Task, or Trade; they automatically forfeit their Student ID.</li>

    </ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">By the end of the five days:</li>

    <ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">VICTORY: If the Transfer completes the Gold Rush, they will begin the semester with 3000 points.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">DEFEAT: If the Transfer: a) does not have a Student ID when the five days are over; b) can no longer Appeal; or c) forfeit; they will begin the semester with 1500 points.</li>

    </ol>

    </ol>

    ALL STANDARD EXAMINATION GUIDELINES APPLY.

    The Gold Hunt has already begun. I hope to see you soon, Kim Min-jae and Dorothea Zhang.

    <hr>

    Holy shit.

    [Dorothea Zhang]

    helppppp

    [SYSTEM]

    You cannot send messages to Kim Min-jae as this user has blocked you.

    [Dorothea Zhang]

    FUCK YOU

    [SYSTEM]

    You cannot send messages to Kim Min-jae as this user has blocked you.

 [PROTOTYPE ORIENTATION] Chapter 3 - Gold Rush

    <There you are, asshole!>

    At one of our numerous five-star dining halls, Kim Min-jae had been enjoying his first on-campus breakfast before I came along and spoiled it.

    I sat my fat-ass across from him.

    Min-jae gripped his chopsticks like tiny knives. <How did you find me?>

    <...I asked people?> I thumbed behind me. About half the occupied tables pretended they weren¡¯t watching us. <Besides, this isn¡¯t, like, a private place. We''re in public, and we have [Channels].>

    He scoffed and ate faster. Great, not only was he subtly telling me to fuck-off but he was also trying to leave sooner. <You need to stop reaching out¡ª>

    I slammed a hand on the table to make a point. <Why¡¯d ya block me?>

    <Because you were going to beg for an alliance even after I explicitly told you I¡¯m not interested. I need to focus on playing their game and not babysit a mentally-deranged American.>

    <¡¯Mentally-deranged,¡¯ you really wanna go there?> I whispered low. <I might be a bit loopy but you¡¯re the crazy dude who told ¡®em to kill themselves. The entire school knows you¡¯re a psycho.>

    <That makes things easier.> Fantastic. This sick bastard prolly got off on having a psychotic reputation. <As I said, I don¡¯t care whether you live or die. In fact, I prefer the latter since you¡¯re so damned annoying.>

    I weakly clutched a hand over my heart. <Don¡¯t wound a poor girl''s heart like that. Can we just, I dunno, talk? Like normal people? We both wanna succeed, so let¡¯s talk ¡®bout the test. Yeah, let¡¯s talk ¡®bout it.>

    Min-jae opened his mouth to answer, but too bad for him, I wasn¡¯t planning on giving him the floor.

    I traced my finger on the table like we had a physical copy of the document. <From what I understood, we got five chances, one for each Gold. We can either risk going to the hospital or put our ethics on the line; knowing you, you don¡¯t got any. The last Appeal, Trade, seems like a get-outta-jail-free card.>

    <It¡¯s a bold attempt to enslave you to a contract,> Min-jae said. <They think you¡¯re generally incompetent and weak-minded. They¡¯re right.> (<Fuck off.>) <Once you run out of Appeals, you¡¯re either forced to place in Gray or take a contract with one of the Golds.>

    <Why the hell would I do that?>

    <Because you¡¯re an easy mark, Zhang. They might as well attempt a painless capture. It won¡¯t hurt them.> Min-jae finished his last bite of food, but surprisingly, he didn¡¯t immediately leave. That was progress.

    <Whatever.> I sat sideways, arm on the table. <Let¡¯s worry ¡®bout the other two Appeals. Here¡¯s what I¡¯m thinkin¡¯: there¡¯s nothing in the rules ¡®bout working together to complete a Task¡ª>

    <I already said we¡¯re not allies, but your plan is flawed from the get-go. The Golds will account for our hypothetical teamwork when making a Task. If I use that Appeal, it¡¯d be better to work alone.>

    <How ¡®bout we strategize a way to incap these guys¡ª?>

    <I don¡¯t need a strategy.>

    I threw my arm up. <You¡¯re not gonna give me anything here? What ¡®bout my awesome talents, which by the way got me a recommendation from Hwarang¡ª>

    Min-jae wordlessly answered with a chilling stare. His patience had run thin, and he viewed me like I was a kindergartner. As a nuisance. There wasn¡¯t a single part of him that felt amused by my company; to him, Baekyong and his mission for destruction were his only purpose in life. Things like joy and friendship and general happiness¡­ They meant nothing.

    My heart was beating inside my throat, instincts telling me to back off. For now.

    <Let me make myself clear, Zhang. You need me more than I need you¡ªin fact, I don¡¯t need you at all. To me, you¡¯re worse than useless; you¡¯re a burden. So if you continue to irritate me, I¡¯ll use you as a message for the Golds and return you to Hwarang.>

    Min-jae stood and snatched his tray and utensils up. <This is my first and last warning. Remember that.>

    And he left, leaving me scared-to-death.

    Again.

    ***

    <There you are!>

    <I won,> Tae Jun-hyeok said with a beautiful and perfect smile. God, he was a breath of fresh air after talking to fucking Kim Min-jae. <I told you Zhang will seek us out first.>

    <I wasn¡¯t betting anything,> Lee Yoon-ho replied, head buried in his book.

    I¡¯d found the Taeyang boys in the library on the third level, huddled in a secluded corner. Fortunately, the librarian had pointed me in the right direction. Although Eun Chang-min didn¡¯t specify in the document, I was pretty sure Appeals had to be made in-person.

    Jun-hyeok sat on the edge of the library-table, waiting for me to say the right words.

    I inhaled and let him have it: <Can I have your ID?>

    He didn¡¯t expect that. <No?>

    <Lee Yoon-ho, can I have your ID?>

    He didn¡¯t answer.

    Damn, these guys were good at negotiations.

    I pulled out my wallet and took out a crisp, US dollar bill. Mister George Washington himself. <I¡¯ll give you a dollar. You¡¯ll have to split it somehow.>

    Jun-hyeok nodded. <I¡¯ll take it.>

    <Really?!>

    <No!>

    Way to crush my hopes and dreams, you heartless bastard.

    <Dammit, all. Uh, Lee Yoon-ho! This dollar-bill can act as a bookmark!>

    Yoon-ho briefly looked up from the pages. <...Is this a genuine Appeal?>

    Alright, I should stop fucking around now. I returned George to my wallet. <Nah, I¡¯m not makin¡¯ an Appeal yet. I wanted to hang out and talk.>

    Ironically of the four factions, Taeyang was the most approachable. Their position was completely uncontested, so they had no reason to recruit a random transfer. Also helped that Jun-hyeok acted as the main negotiator. With him, I felt like a normal conversation was more plausible compared to Mister Introvert behind him. Plus, building rapport now would greatly benefit my mission.

    Jun-hyeok made a welcoming gesture, genuinely interested in what I had to say. <About what? Kim Min-jae? I¡¯ve been telling Yoon-ho that we should make preparations soon. He¡¯s gonna Duel us for sure.>

    <Definitely, but I don¡¯t wanna talk ¡®bout him. He¡¯s a total douchebag like my brother.> I leaned against a nearby pillar. <I¡¯ve been kinda curious ¡®bout the Academy¡¯s history, actually. Because I¡¯m half-Chinese, researching the Jianghu became something of a hobby for me.>

    Jun-hyeok crossed his legs. <Are you gonna tell us you¡¯re a secret heiress of a sect?>

    <I''m actually Shui Yuan''s cousin, but I heard Celestial Empress gave the school quite a surprise a few years ago.>

    Her name elicited a loud breath from the Taeyang prince. He shut his book. <Why are you curious?>

    I raised my hands. <Hey, I heard the matchup was legendary. I mean, who wouldn¡¯t wanna know more? It¡¯s Taeyang versus the Demonic Cult! The Sun and Moon clashing together! This is almost as good as your father fighting Cheonma herself.>

    My enthusiasm wasn¡¯t effective; actually, I think I achieved the opposite effect. Yoon-ho looked twice as though drained from my energy. <I guess you see it as a game.>

    I tilted my head a little bit sideways. <I¡­? No? Yes? What¡¯s the right answer? I mean, Lee Na-yoon is your sister. What d¡¯you think about it¡ª?>

    <It doesn¡¯t matter what I think.> Yoon-ho was slow to stand. <Whether or not I disapprove of her actions, my opinion doesn¡¯t mean much. Feel free to think what you want.>

    Jun-hyeok got off the table. <Zhang was just curious. Don¡¯t be upset¡ª>

    <I¡¯m not upset. I just don¡¯t want to talk about this.> Yoon-ho tucked his book underneath his armpit. <We¡¯ll reconvene later, Jun-hyeok, or if Kim Min-jae seeks me out. Whichever comes first.>

    Jun-hyeok tried reaching for Yoon-ho but he pulled away, refusing to stay a second longer, and left the scene. The idol lowered his hand and sighed, more disappointed than a mother with her son.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Just like that, I was no different from my brother. Instead of pissing off Silverhonor and Celestial Empress, it was Kim Min-jae and Lee Yoon-ho. Fuck, I might be worse than Alex. He at least had a full conversation. I only said a few sentences to Yoon-ho and he already hated me. Operation Sundown was a total failure from the get-go. Joking aside, I doubt my question soured his opinion of me.

    Yoon-ho was anti-social, and those people usually disliked everybody regardless of who they were.

    Once the heir was out of sight, I released a breath I¡¯d been holding. <...So I guess the rumors are true. He¡¯s the black sheep of the family.>

    <Not really ¡®rumors¡¯ but an open secret. He was born to a different mother than his siblings. You can imagine the family drama,> Jun-hyeok said, which I already knew.

    <Yeah, but why are you guys here? In Baekyong, I mean.>

    <Family tradition, and someone has to watch him. Besides, I¡¯m¡­> Strangely, Jun-hyeok inappropriately smiled for a heavy topic like this. <I¡¯m interested in what Yoon-ho does. He has always been indecisive and boring, so I thought Baekyong could be a blessing in disguise. It¡¯d breathe life into him. Actual breathing life! But our first semester disappointed me¡­ Becoming Golds was hardly a challenge.>

    I asked, <You guys were that good?>

    <Everybody rolled over like dogs, Zhang! We elected him as our banker and cemented his position for the next two-and-a-half years. So he¡¯s gonna do the same thing everyday: read books, ace his tests, and place high on our exams.>

    Initially in our pre-operation intelligence gathering, we didn¡¯t have much information on Lee Yoon-ho¡¯s personality other than: weird, black sheep, and introverted. Jun-hyeok¡¯s description seemed to track. Yoon-ho didn¡¯t really¡­fight me when I brought up Leo. He kinda just rolled with whatever assumptions I had.

    <So what d¡¯you think ¡®bout us?> I asked the pretty idol. <The transfers?>

    Jun-hyeok shrugged. <Chungmu wants transfers to shake up the hierarchy. Kim Min-jae sounds like he¡¯s gonna do that, so maybe he¡¯ll give Yoon-ho the push he needs. You, on the other hand¡­ I dunno. Do you mind if I give you my first impressions?>

    I flashed him with a finger-gun. <Hit me.>

    <You¡¯re quirky, shamelessly American, unserious, and overall a clown.> (<Why thank you.>) <So I think you¡¯re the most dangerous one here.>

    I blinked a few times to get his words through my clown-head. "Funny."

    Jun-hyeok extended his smile, and for some reason, that smile reminded me of someone. I couldn''t figure out whose. "I''m not joking."

    I still laughed like he was the best comedian I''d ever heard, and since we were talking in English now, I bit: "Wanna explain, then?"

    "Sure. Yoon-ho doesn''t have an opinion of you. Eun Chang-min refuses to recruit you because he sees you as a dumb American slut. Ban Won-sik doesn¡¯t think you¡¯re a threat, and Tak Hwa-yeon wants to break you. But I like being different from my friends, so I¡¯m gonna say you¡¯re more of a wild card than Kim Min-jae."

    "I''m not as unpredictable as that suicidal asshole. You''re crazy¡ª"

    "You''re crazier." Jun-hyeok chuckled saying that. "Call it a hunch. That¡¯s what they say in America, right? A hunch?"

    Either he had really good instincts or he knew something about me that he shouldn''t. With my experience, of course I was dangerous and a total maniac, but what was the point of comparison? Was I really that strange compared to these prodigies, lab-babies, scions, and whoever else? Let''s get a few things straight: Min-jae threatened to not just kill but destroy the legacy of five families, Hwa-yeon was a total freak, and I had no idea what Yoon-ho was capable of.

    The same could be said for the idol.

    I patted his shoulder and turned away. "Don''t set yourself for disappointment, Jun-hyeok. You should pay more attention to Kim Min-jae. He''s the guy you wanna keep your eye on, not me. It''s like what you said: I''m a clown."

    <No,> he went back to Korean. <I¡¯ll watch both of you. You might just make this semester interesting.> He licked his lips. <Very, very interesting. Use my autograph for good luck, Zhang, ¡®cause you¡¯re not gonna need it.>

    ***

    After the intriguing conversation with Jun-hyeok, he actually gave me worthwhile intel. Appealing to Chang-min was a crapshoot, but everyone else¡­ Yeah, no idea where to start.

    So I did something smart: I hid in my room for the rest of the day, doing jack-shit other than research and eating snacks. Sure, I could find the other Golds and see where their heads were at, but I had five days. Being impatient was only gonna ruin everything. Plus, Kim Min-jae seemed like a no-bullshit get-things-done type of guy. Heeding his warning, it was better to sit back and let him make the first move.

    By the time I went to bed, day one concluded without any action.

    Naturally, everything fucking happened when I was sleeping.

    When I woke up the next morning, the [Channel] had a thousand freaking messages as backlog ¡®cause Min-jae decided to party all night.

    [Eun Chang-min]

    <UPDATE: Kim Min-jae has lost his DUEL with Lee Yoon-ho due to a RULE violation!>

    <UPDATE: Kim Min-jae has lost his DUEL with Tae Jun-hyeok due to a RULE violation!>

    [Kim Hyun-wook]

    <Get fucked.>

    [Gong Kwang-hoon]

    ?????

    [Hong Seung-ho]

    <its what he deserves for being an arrogant retard lmaoooooo>

    [Jin Mi-ran]

    <He came at the king and missed>

    <What a surprise lol>

    [Kwon Hyuk]

    <Damn kim minjae might fail the test before zhang does>

    I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m agreeing with the comments.

    I almost [DMed] Min-jae but didn¡¯t because: one, he blocked me; two, he probably would kill me for even breathing in the same space as him, digital or otherwise.

    Doubt Jun-hyeok would hand out gossip for free. Dammit all. This meant I gotta go outside and socialize and annoy everyone who wasn¡¯t named ¡°Kim Min-jae¡± for information ¡®bout last night. Woe is me, I actually gotta do my job as a spy.

    After going through my morning routine and picking out the cutest clothes to die in, I opened the door¡ª

    Someone vandalized my door and threw their trash on my front-steps¡ªno, this wasn¡¯t just fucking trash, it was a carefully crafted concoction of filth. They¡¯d created a brownish-black puddle that stank like actual shit. Wrappers, cans, and other things swam around in the biohazard. On my door, they¡¯d splashed it with the same potion, wrote obscenities like ¡°AMERICAN WHORE¡± in bright marker, and made a mess of everything.

    Cool.

    No one else in my section would interfere with the exam¡ªother than rivaling faction leaders¡ªbut normally, anyone interested would try to befriend me. That left the Golds, and four out of the five were automatically eliminated. That¡¯s because those four were guys. Men don¡¯t pull stunts like this. They¡¯d rather settle things in the ring. Really, something like this might cross Chang-min¡¯s radar but he didn¡¯t care about me enough to order this.

    That left Tak Hwa-yeon, the only girl.

    She was the likely culprit. She gave me those kinda vibes.

    ¡°Dammit all¡­¡± I pulled my phone out. ¡°Guess I gotta call cleaning services¡ª¡±

    [You received a new notification]

    Someone [DMed] me. Someone new and unexpected.

    [Ban Won-sik]

    <Zhang let¡¯s meet up>

    <I got a task for you>

    [Dorothea Zhang]

    <i just opened my door how did you know i was awake>

    <you spying on me?>

    [Ban Won-sik]

    <no i just got out of bed fucking idiot>

    <meet me outside cloud hall>

    [Dorothea Zhang]

    <fine>

    ***

    <There you are!>

    Won-sik waited at the bottom of the steps to Cloud Hall (on the school website, the mages owned this one). <What?> he said, short and rude.

    I shrugged ¡®cause I got nothing else to do with my arms. <I started all my important conversations like that yesterday. Might as well continue the chain.>

    <Idiot.> Won-sik huffed, kicked the ground and shoved his hands in his pockets, looking like he didn¡¯t wanna be here or talk to me. Then again, he had a resting ass for a face so I could be wrong. <You heard about Kim Min-jae, right?>

    <Our whole section did. What Rule did he break?>

    <Dunno, not my problem.>

    <Okay, ¡®cause I¡¯m gonna tell you a problem I have: someone trashed my door! Like, they brewed this nasty potion of shit and trashwater! Who the hell does that to a girl like me? Like c¡¯mon, seriously, at least wait until the week is over.>

    Won-sik listened to my complaining like Alex: completely unamused, annoyed, and half-ready to shout at me to shut up. <That¡¯s Baekyong, Zhang. Get used to it.>

    I narrowed my beautiful dark eyes. <So you did it?>

    <Hell no, y¡¯think I would do something like that? I¡¯d incap you instead.> See? What did I tell you? <Whatever, let¡¯s talk ¡®bout business. Normally, you¡¯d use your Appeal first then I explain the Task. We¡¯ll do it backwards.>

    <Are you gonna make me incap the bitch who painted my door?>

    <No, you¡¯re gonna incap another bitch: Kim Min-jae.>

    <I¡¯m gonna incap¡ªhold on, what. You want me to incap Kim Min-jae. Like, the Demon of Baekyong, Kim Min-jae¡ª?> (<Who gave him that title?>) <I did, ¡®cause he¡¯s gonna earn it soon. He¡¯s itching to unleash his full power by revealing his hidden eye or some shit, and I¡¯m supposed to put that guy in a hospital-bed.>

    Won-sik nodded, dead serious about this. <Gimme a picture of him bruised up and I¡¯ll consider it done.>

    I exclaimed, <¡¯Oh, good luck, Zhang! I wish you well!¡¯>

    <What else were you expecting, huh? The ball¡¯s in your court, Zhang. Once you accept, you got twenty-four hours to get it done, and I¡¯ll make it worse if you Veto.>

    <You¡¯re gonna use me as a fuckin¡¯ test-dummy.>

    <Stop acting like a fuckin¡¯ bitch and gimme your answer already.>

    Well, he put me in a tough spot. I had no information on Min-jae¡¯s combat ability, but because Chungmu had given him a recommendation, this guy must be pretty damn strong. Hell, his natural presence was stronger than most Slayers. Specialty-wise, he was certainly a close combat fighter of sorts. Bad news for me, because that was my area of expertise too. If we fight, it¡¯d be a brutal match.

    For me. It¡¯d be brutal for me.

    But hey, this was a clear road.

    Passing the Gold Rush was, honestly, not much of a concern. I could easily rise out of Gray given enough elbow grease. Really, I was looking to develop opportunities for more of that delicious intel. Kim Min-jae was one of my most pressing person-of-interest at the moment, and the Task would break his case open a little.

    It¡¯d mean I would be his enemy, but let¡¯s face it, he wasn¡¯t planning on making friends.

    I¡¯d also develop some rapport with Ban Won-sik and build my reputation a little too¡­

    And hey, who said I had to fight Min-jae? I could accept the Task and sit on my ass, letting time expire.

    I sighed and held my hand out. <Alright. Ban Won-sik, I want the Task.>

    Won-sik huffed from surprise and shook my hand. <Don¡¯t die.>

 [PROTOTYPE ORIENTATION] Chapter 4 - Bad Idea! Bad Idea!

    Mission: find Kim Min-jae and decide whether or not I wanna beat him up.

    One problem with that.

    I got kicked through a window.

    I fell onto the pavement in a shower of sharp, mana-reinforced glass. My chest hurt like a bitch. The shards cut into my clothes and painfully scratched at my skin, but thanks to [Iron Skin], they stayed as scratches and not, y¡¯know, actual cuts.

    My soon-to-be-murderer calmly stepped through the broken window he¡¯d created. Glass crunched underneath his shoes.

    <These were new clothes, you dick!> I cried, sitting on one knee while looking at my ruined clothes. Man, Alex and Leo had a good point when buying a metric fuckton of clothes for me. They were right: I was gonna go through outfits like they were paper-towels.

    Kim Min-jae cracked his neck. Although I was different from the Golds in almost every way imaginable, his distorted, fucked-up perception of justice saw otherwise. I was his enemy no different than those heirs and heiresses, and that came with an inexplicable blood-debt.

    He said, <I told you, Zhang, that I¡¯ll punish you for chasing after me.>

    <For what?!> I shouted, hopefully loud enough that other people would hear and intervene. <Did I kill your family or something¡ª?!>

    <Ban Won-sik,> he stated, <you accepted his Task to go after me. How else am I going to interpret that action? I¡¯d say it¡¯s pretty smart¡ªtrying to remove the number one nuisance to gain the Golds¡¯ favor¡ªbut you overplayed your hand here.>

    My jaw dropped. <You think I¡ªactually never mind, words are useless against you.>

    <We''re agreed.>

    In a single bound, he reached my position and reared his ugly leg back. I raised my arm to block the kick, but it didn¡¯t come. Briefly, just for a moment and nothing longer, I dropped my guard¡ªand that¡¯s when he kicked me.

    Boom, everybody could point and laugh at a flying girl suffering from the consequences of her thoughtless actions. I landed on grass, rolling ¡®til my spine rubbed against an exposed root of a tree. My head was ringing, and my vision was terrible enough to be qualified as legally blind. I lifted my hand, but something warm dripped onto my fingers and grass. Something red.

    Blood.

    My fingers brushed underneath my nostrils and a stream of iron-goodness was pouring out.

    Min-jae hit hard. Really hard.

    That made me pissed, but let him fight me, beat me up, whatever.

    I didn''t care about winning¡ªnow wasn''t a time to show my strength, I think¡ªbut I did care about having two unbroken legs.

    ¡°Dammit¡­¡± I hissed and tried turning around¡ª

    <Not so fast, Zhang.> Min-jae grabbed me by the hair and pulled, being one good yank away from giving me a bald-spot.

    I twisted my hip and drove my fingers deep into his forearm.

    [Skill Unrecognized: Anti-Slayer Technique - Phenomena Zero]

    [Phenomena Zero], it disabled all PPS activity around at the point of impact. Unlike the other [Techniques], it wasn¡¯t immediately painful. You¡¯d feel pins-and-needles, but as soon as you attempt to channel mana in that particular spot¡ªbang! Pain galore.

    Min-jae gasped and let go of me, clutching his affected arm out of shock. I think that was his dominant arm too, awesome!

    With this opening, I ported the fuck outta there.

    As I sped away in a random direction, blood rushed down my chin, then neck, and finally my ruined shirt, making me look like an escaped hospital patient. I ran past buildings I didn¡¯t recognize and fancy architectural pieces that told me nothing. I must¡¯ve passed a couple dozen students¡ªcouldn''t tell their grade-level or section¡ªbut they kept to the sides and refused to come close to me. Yeah, prolly couldn¡¯t rely on them for help. Assholes.

    Think¡­ Where could I go¡ª? The Headmaster Building! Even Min-jae wouldn¡¯t dare to ruin its polished stone steps with my blood.

    I pulled my phone out as my little legs ran. ¡°Hey phone¡ª! Tell me directions to¡ª!¡±

    A long shadow stretched along the sidewalk, the figure swallowing my own like a hungry lion.

    I rolled outta the way not-so-elegantly, landing on my arm and nearly breaking my phone in the process. After stuffing my phone away, I looked up to see the Demon of Baekyong Academy: steaming from all orifices with his right arm dangling uselessly. Look at me, able to execute [Phenomena Zero] in this state. He felt the pain, which was good.

    But he felt pain, deeply, which was very bad.

    <What did you do to my arm, Zhang?> he growled, clenching his left fist. <What pressure point technique was that?!>

    I wiped blood from my nose, staining my hands red. <What the fuck d¡¯you mean?! Get a better arm¡ª!>

    Min-jae came at me again but he was noticeably slower. Yeah, no kidding. With his right arm disabled, he didn¡¯t wanna risk further damage. If his previous attacks were at ninety-percent, give or take, he was used fifty here.

    I actually had enough time and room to avoid another kick, then a few searching punches and elbows and palms; they were all easy to guess and avoid since the strikes came from the one arm.

    Every miss had him grunting more and more like a wild dog being denied his steak. Angrily, he threw a hard straight, missed me, and ended up striking a lamppost. Even when shifted down a couple gears, the post fucking bent and swayed to the side, crooked. Just who the hell was this guy?

    I stumbled away, blood still dripping, and everyone ¡®round us gawked at the scene.

    <C¡¯mon, let¡¯s call it quits!> I pleaded, showing my bloody palms. <There¡¯s no reason to go this far, Min-jae¡ª!>

    [Skill Activation: Dark Cloud Palm]

    I got launched. I landed on my back and slid for a solid three meters before stopping. Kim Min-jae had turned my stomach inside out and twisted my intestines into a physical knot. Being humiliated by an emo piece of shit was one thing, but vomiting blood, saliva, and breakfast was more than just plain humiliation. It was career-ruining, and it was only my third day in Baekyong.

    Eh, not the worst day I had.

    I coughed blood as my guts were stirred by an invisible ladle.

    My vision blurred again, but I could recognize Kim Min-jae¡¯s distinct frame approaching me. Shit¡ª

    Someone stood in front of me. <That¡¯s enough, Kim Min-jae.>

    Min-jae stopped. <This doesn¡¯t concern your section, Chae Yo-han (???).>

    I didn¡¯t know that name. Wasn''t in my section.

    <You were caught breaking academy guidelines,> said my supposed savior, sounding more like a snake oil salesman than a hero. <A physical altercation in a public space, [Skill] usage in an unauthorized location, and a good heaping of property damage. Impressive for your first few days. For first time offenses, they¡¯ll let you off easy. But if you believe you¡¯re also a gambling man, go and press your luck.>

    <Get out of my way¡ª>

    <Harming another section¡¯s student will be your fourth offense. Harming a weak and harmless healer like me, though? My oh my, that¡¯s one of the worst acts you can commit. Unless it¡¯s permissible in your honor code, renegade?>

    Min-jae bit hard on his lip and noticed the growing number of witnesses to his crimes. Even if I had technically kicked the chain of events off, who was everyone gonna blame? The known pariah or the bloody, beaten-up girl on the ground?

    Chae Yo-han lifted his head, his violet ponytail swaying in the gentle wind. <Next time, I hope, you¡¯ll actually consider the consequences of your aggression. People like you don¡¯t last long here, doesn¡¯t matter the strength.>

    <Hmph. Do whatever.> Through Yo-han''s slender legs, I saw Min-jae retreating with his arm still limp.

    Then, I greeted my angel.

    If Tae Jun-hyeok was the mathematically-gorgeous product handcrafted by his agents, then my savior was a sickly beauty. He lacked the physique of the idol and the emo-asshole, and from the bags under his eyes, he lacked sleep too. Funnily enough, sleep deprivation was a good look on him. Made him look more¡­delicate. Yeah, that¡¯s it. Chae Yo-han was a delicate flower, something to admire from a distance like a fragile art-piece behind glass.

    And for your own safety.

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    You know what they say: be wary of a cunning fox more than a deadly wolf.

    <...Dorothea Zhang,> he said, kneeling before me. <You don¡¯t look too terrible. C¡¯mon, I¡¯ll take you to the nurse¡¯s.>

    With hardly any choice, he took me.

    ***

    [Eun Chang-min]

    <UPDATE: Dorothea Zhang has forfeited her TASK with Ban Won-sik!>

    [Skill Activation: ESP Healing]

    By the time Chae Yo-han was finished with my treatment, I was feeling way better. Physically, I mean. Mentally, eh. There was no fixing the mania going on inside my head. No one was gonna live that down: ¡°Adorable transfer from the United States nearly got beaten to death by an emo dipshit then vomited her guts out over the sidewalk!¡±

    Least Yo-han didn¡¯t seem to judge, but maybe he was pretending to be courteous so he could charge me thousands of dollars for healing.

    My ¡°savior¡± sat back in his fancy stool, downing an entire water-bottle in a single go. From what I¡¯d seen with Victor, healing took a lot out of you. Taking care of your health was just as important as taking care of your patients, but that went for all physicians.

    I chomped down on a ¡°nutrient bar¡± that tasted like cardboard, but it was his insistence (order). <So¡­>

    Yo-han rolled to a side-table, plucked a few papers from a folder, and began jotting stuff down. <I¡¯m filling out a few forms, don¡¯t worry. The front office will want these for record-keeping. Chungmu can¡¯t turn a blind-eye to today¡¯s incident especially when it was his recommendation to have Kim Min-jae enrolled, but I doubt anything will happen.>

    I nodded, understanding, but there was a bigger question on my mind: <Thanks, but uh, why did you help me? Kim Min-jae even knew your name, and no offense, but he''s the type of guy who ignores everyone unimportant or weak. You''re a Jade.>

    <Heh, none taken.> He pressed the butt of the pen against his thin lips. <I¡¯m¡­notable in my section. That¡¯s it. Notable enough to be generally recognized, but not so special that I¡¯m a superpower.>

    <Really? What makes you ¡®notable¡¯ then? Being above average pretty?>

    He laughed and shook his head. <Thank you, girlie, but no. I¡¯m just difficult to expel. I began my semester in Black, but as you can see, I¡¯m living comfortably in Jade. It¡¯s not much of a reputation, I know. All I have going for me is stubbornness and grit.>

    That¡¯s pretty impressive. The Year 1 Healer Section was smaller but I heard their curriculum was ¡°tougher than you¡¯d think.¡± Having to climb outta rock-bottom took some skill, some clever wit, and a lot of unconventional thinking. Either Yo-han was being humble or he was purposefully masking his talents; regardless, whether or not he was in my section, he shouldn¡¯t be underestimated.

    Best part? He was a healer.

    If today was any indicator for the rest of the semester, I was gonna really need a healer that I could trust.

    So I put on my best voice: <And being nice. Don¡¯t forget that. I¡¯ve been here for three days and you¡¯re the second friendly person I met. First is Jun-hyeok. Everybody else is: an asshole, annoyingly rich and pretentious, genuinely psychotic, or all of the above. Baekyong is a nightmare for an East Coast gal like me.>

    Yo-han stopped writing for a sec. <...Why did you join Baekyong?>

    <Hwarang recommended me¡ª>

    <You could¡¯ve gone to any other school: Ordo University, an Ivy League, in the Mainland, but why Baekyong? Hwarang knows our reputation; she knows better than to send a D-Rank Slayer into the midst.>

    Here¡¯s the big question. Rector and Uncle Ali said almost everyone would question my motives because they had a damn good reason to. To an outsider, transferring to this shithole of a ¡°school¡± was bizarre at best and suicidal at worst, but luckily, I¡¯d rehearsed a thousand answers. This was the best one: <¡¯Cause I wanna. I always wanted to go to Korea, plus I recently decided to be a Slayer. Why not knock out two birds with one stone?>

    Yo-han looked over his shoulder, his expression unreadable. Didn¡¯t know if that was confusion, pity, dismay, or everything across the spectrum. <...We all have our motivations.>

    <Lemme throw the question right back at ya, then: why Baekyong?>

    Yo-han hastily wrote. <Because I want to.>

    I giggled. <Look at us, we¡¯re twinning already. I think this will be the start of a beautiful relationship between a girl and her doctor.>

    <Heh, aren¡¯t you eager? Most girls would think twice about saying something like that. It can make a boy think,> he said with a teasing smile.

    <I¡¯m serious. With all the drama I¡¯m getting involved in? I¡¯m gonna need a dedicated healer that won¡¯t poison my IV. This won¡¯t be the last time you¡¯ll see me in a hospital bed.>

    <And with that said, I suddenly experienced what job security feels like.> Yo-han finished the proper forms and set them aside. <Look, Zhang¡ª>

    A few knocks rattled the door. <Doctor¡¯s coming in!>

    It opened, and a wine-haired woman stepped inside.

    She was so pretty and naturally charming that you¡¯d think she was the lead actress in a medical drama: the young, gorgeous, and ambitious doctor ready to reform the medical world. That¡¯s the vibe I got. As such, she had to look nice but not uptight: unbuttoning her doctor¡¯s gown, wearing slippers, letting her long and curly hair breathe¡ªshe didn¡¯t just wanna care for her patients, she wanted to be their friends too.

    Here, at Baekyong of all places.

    But I couldn¡¯t ignore the little scars on her hands. Her rough calluses. What memories laid behind the sparkle of her dark red eyes.

    Lynn, that was her name.

    Lynn Asche.

    Yo-han faced her and waved. <I¡¯m sorry for dragging you here, Dr. Asche¡ª>

    <It¡¯s fine, Yo-han! Somebody has to be a friendly face to our new transfers.> She grabbed a pair of disposable gloves and easily slipped them on. <Alright, let me evaluate her¡ªhmm? Are you alright, sweetheart? You look like you¡¯re staring at a ghost.>

    I swallowed nothing and nodded, my neck creaking like an old door hinge. <I-I¡¯m fine. Thank you, Dr¡­.>

    <Asche.> She took a nearby stool and sat down. <Dr. Lynn Asche.>

    ¡°I-I know¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what my name-tag says,¡± she said, switching to English. She had a smooth, comforting British accent. ¡°Yo-han is my only assistant. Without me, he¡¯d be back home.¡±

    Yo-han rolled his eyes. <I don¡¯t know what you said, but I disagree.>

    ¡°Fortunately for us, he doesn¡¯t speak a dash of English so we can gossip about him and he can stay livid. I digress. Let¡¯s see if you¡¯re ready to get back out there."

    Dr. Asche performed a post-healing check-up and made sure everything healed nicely. She was a good doctor¡ªthe best doctor. She walked me through every step and explained why, detailing the intricacies of healing and recovery without making me wanna kill myself from the complexity. And every time she had to touch me, it was gentle. Caring.

    I almost wanted to cry.

    She turned my dominant hand over and was taken aback at the artwork I¡¯d made with my palm. ¡°How did you develop these calluses?¡±

    I told her, ¡°Guitar.¡±

    ¡°Really? You must¡¯ve had a lot of ¡®guitar training.¡¯¡± Dr. Asche looked closer at my calluses then over my hands and arms, noting the little scars. ¡°In fact, years of training. I¡¯ve seen hundreds of combat students and none of them have...features as developed as yours.¡±

    I tried my best to not smile like a dork, but I did anyway. ¡°What can I say? I¡¯m, uh, really good at guitar. My¡­ I had a really good teacher.¡±

    ¡°At guitar.¡±

    ¡°The best guitarist in the world. Taught me everything I know.¡± I glanced at her gloved hands. ¡°You¡­seem pretty good at guitar too. Were you in a British band or¡­?¡±

    ¡°International, if I¡¯m trying to understand your cheekiness right.¡± Dr. Asche adorably laughed and let go of my hand. ¡°This is my second year at Baekyong, yet only Chungmu could tell I''d been a soldier by looking at me. It doesn¡¯t make sense, though.¡±

    ¡°About what?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re eighteen. Eighteen. You¡¯ve been using weapons before you learned how to drive. According to your file, you [Registered] a few months ago. Forgive me for prying, but the math doesn¡¯t add up. Years of combat training, few months of [Registration], yet you were bested by Kim Min-jae who doesn''t have a scratch on him. Why did you let yourself get beat up?"

    Yo-han saw the irregularities in my story, but Dr. Asche could see that it was completely bullshit. She wouldn¡¯t tell anyone, though. I knew she wouldn''t.

    I sighed, looking out the window as the afternoon was slowly ticking over. ¡°Believe me, meeting an ex-Otherguard wasn''t in the plans. I wanted to know how Min-jae fought. What he was capable of. That sort of thing. I could take a few hits now. No use trying to beat him when he''s not even my primary target."

    "That doesn''t mean you should start earning more scars. You''re too young for them."

    I lifted my shirt a little, letting her see what was underneath. After a couple seconds, I let go. "The world didn''t think that."

    Dr. Asche briefly glanced downward at the scar that stretched around my side, then her blood-red eyes shimmered under the fluorescent light. Usually, Slayers had the side effect of glowing eyes whenever they were serious. The good doctor had the same thing, and she grabbed my wrist. Her strength was deceptive. You wouldn''t think her arms carried enough muscle to crush a human bone, but they did. She could turn a skull into dust with her two arms, and I wasn''t joking.

    "Why are you really here, Dorothea?" she whispered so Yo-han wouldn''t hear.

    I smiled. "To make some friends."

    Disappointment washed over her, but it wasn''t directed toward me. It was toward the ones holding my strings. "Why''s a sweet girl like you doing something so bloody dangerous? This isn''t the place to play games."

    "I know, but I have an objective."

    Dr. Asche let go of my wrist. "Brilliant."

    "Think I can get your number, though?" I asked despite knowing it was a bad idea. "I already told Yo-han, but I¡¯m gonna need healers that I can trust.¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°You also shouldn¡¯t trust so easily. You hardly know me.¡±

    No, I knew you pretty well.

    You saved my life before.

    I remember what you said as you held me while a battle flared around us.

    You took us out of Hangzhou.

    You haven¡¯t changed at all since then.

    You don''t know how much I wanna hug you right now.

    ¡°¡ªDorothea.¡±

    ¡°Are you gonna let a cute girl like me bleed to death?¡± I asked, already knowing the answer to my question.

    ***

    When I finally made it back to my room, the door was thankfully not trashed.

    I pulled a box from underneath my bed and found what I was looking for: a weird spherical-thing attached to a stand. An isolation bubble generator. I set it on the ground, turned it on, and let a bubble engulf half of the floor-space. According to Chie, this bubble also neutralized any listening devices caught inside, so hopefully she was telling the truth.

    After making sure the bubble was active, I pulled my phone out and called Uncle Ali.

    He picked up almost immediately. ¡°Thea, is this business or just catching up?¡±

    ¡°...Both, I think.¡± I gulped. ¡°I met Lynn today.¡±

 [PROTOTYPE ORIENTATION] Chapter 5 - Dorothea Zhang, Spy and Master Stalker?

    <...Why are you here?>

    <¡¯Cause I wanna talk to you¡ª>

    <No, I¡¯m asking why you even bothered to speak with me,> said Eun Chang-min on the third day of the Gold Rush. Caught him in one of the big lecture halls, presumably walking his schedule or something. <Shouldn¡¯t you be more concerned about your recent harassment?>

    Right, Tak Hwa-yeon decided to spoil me lately: last night¡¯s dinner and today¡¯s breakfast were spiked with something nasty (my mental health couldn¡¯t handle the actual answer), several of her goons tried cornering me this morning, and my [PMs] were clogged with inappropriate spam. When I come back to my room later today, the door was gonna be trashed again.

    <Yeah, you know what¡¯s up with Hwa-yeon?>

    Chang-min raised an eyebrow as he leaned against the whiteboards. <So you did deduce the culprit.>

    <I mean¡­ Taeyang literally has zero horse in the race, Won-sik told me himself he was innocent, and you don¡¯t look like you employ those kinds of tactics. Unless¡­?>

    <Thank you for reminding me how simple the mystery actually is. Yes, that¡­girl appreciates a social battle more than a physical one. She¡¯s experimenting on what makes you tick. Surprisingly, you seem pretty composed.>

    <Might be the brain damage Kim Min-jae gave me, or maybe I¡¯m so badass that you gotta give me a Task.> Boom, segue.

    Disgust was plain as white bread across his face. <A Task¡ª? Ugh, I guess this is better than having to waste my time with a Duel.>

    I crossed my arms and cocked my head. <Did you seriously not plan on giving me a Task? You literally authored the document.>

    <I did, but I was hoping you wouldn¡¯t approach me¡ª>

    <Yeah, well, Jun-hyeok did say you think I¡¯m a ¡®dumb American slut.¡¯>

    <Mhm.> Motherfucker wasn¡¯t even denying it! <Which makes it more shocking that you aren¡¯t begging for a Duel.>

    I gritted my teeth. <Y¡¯know, I can change that right now¡ª>

    <Save your breath, unless you want to visit¡ªwhat¡¯s his name again?¡ªChae Yo-han, the healer belonging to that obnoxious British doctor.> Okay, I might actually switch my Appeal at this rate. <Oh, you¡¯re glaring at me. I must¡¯ve touched a nerve.>

    <Multiple nerves,> I growled.

    <Whatever, you asked for a Task and I¡¯m contractually obligated to create one. I¡­> Chang-min got off the whiteboard and began pacing around at the lecturer¡¯s podium, his nice shoes making satisfying clacks against the hardwood platform. <Give me a moment, I¡¯m trying to think.>

    I crossed my arms. <You aren¡¯t gonna assign a Task at the last second, are you?>

    <I can. We didn¡¯t resolve that loophole, but it would technically violate the ¡®nature of the examination¡¯ clause. I¡ªah, I got one.>

    <What is it? Gonna ask me to wear a cute maid costume and serve you drinks?>

    <You? I¡¯d hire a rat on the street first.> God, somehow this prick irritates me more than Min-jae. <Do you know who Sung Yeong-ae (???) is?>

    I shook my head. After discovering Lynn was a doctor here, I literally looked up every single faculty member last night. Turns out, there were more people going under the radar. <Doesn¡¯t ring a bell.>

    <Same for me, so we share a problem. According to our other instructors, she will be our new magic theory and fundamental professor alongside teaching an elective in demesnes and formations.>

    <Aren¡¯t those classes supposed to be taught by¡­dammit, what¡¯s his name¡ª?>

    <It doesn¡¯t matter now,> said Chang-min. <He¡¯s been ¡®released¡¯ from his position as of a month ago due to ¡®emergency circumstances.¡¯ From what everyone tells me, Instructor Sung is our last-minute replacement. I want you to gather information about her.>

    Okay, gather information about a last-minute substitute. That actually wasn''t unreasonable. Hopefully, it wouldn¡¯t end up disastrous like yesterday¡¯s Task. A couple problems, though.

    I raised a finger. <First, your condition is way too vague.> Then another. <You should shove your magic wand up your ass. I¡¯m not denying the Task, just wanna say that.>

    Chang-min rolled his eyes. <Your first point is fair. Instructor Sung, according to my sources, almost always carries around a notebook or journal of sorts¡ªa tome, perhaps¡ªso I want you to photograph every page and send them to me.>

    <You want me to¡ª? Nevermind, this sounds more reasonable than Ban Won-sik¡¯s Task. That¡¯s doable. Just gotta¡­somehow figure out the schedule of a woman I never met within twenty-four hours.>

    <Looks like we¡¯re agreed¡ª> (<I didn¡¯t say anything yet¡ª!>) <Have a good time, Zhang. Sincerely, I hope you fail every Appeal.>

    ***

    Sung Yeong-ae was a ghost. Nothing on the school¡¯s website, nothing on social media, it was like she didn¡¯t exist at all. The only proof of her existence was from word-of-mouth; every magic instructor I¡¯d spoken to, they confirmed Chang-min¡¯s claims. All of them. She was gonna be our new instructor and she carried around a notebook everywhere she went.

    I even found her office, which conveniently had her nameplate. Door was locked, of course, but at least she was a real person.

    Question was, how was I gonna get her notebook within twenty-four hours? Trying to conduct thorough surveillance was out-of-the-question given the time limit, so plan B was trying to exploit natural events. By that, lunch. It was eleven right now. All I needed to do was find the right people and ask: ¡°Hey! Where¡¯s Instructor Sung? Where is she eating? When will she come back to her office? I gotta talk with her.¡± Then, I would figure out the rest of the steps from there.

    Alternatively, I could create a crisis on my own. Like, for example, pulling the fire alarm while she was in her office or blowing up the building next door. Something that would force Instructor Sung to leave her office and be tunnel-visioned into dealing with an emergency.

    Problem was, though, how the fuck was I gonna accomplish anything? I didn''t know any personal details about her, not even her favorite color. Everyone I¡¯d spoken to, they knew of her but no one personally knew her.

    Instructor Sung was either a hermit, the most introverted woman alive, or she hated people.

    So Yoon-ho but with boobs.

    ¡°Dammit all¡­¡± I groaned, kicking the rocks outside Ether Hall, the main academic building for the magical arts.

    <Zhang.> And to make my day worse, the guy I least wanted to see found me. This was a nice change-of-pace, however. Instead of me bothering the fuck outta him, it was the other way around. What a tool.

    I scoffed, puffed my chest, and stubbornly turned the other direction. <The Demon of Baekyong Academy is here to torment me again.>

    Kim Min-jae, who¡¯d gotten used to my antics at this point, pressed, <What are you doing? I heard you accepted a Task from Eun Chang-min.>

    Being a little pissed, I snapped, <Why that¡¯s a concern to you? You almost sent me to God. I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t go for a third Duel and fuck that up too.>

    <I couldn¡¯t.> He lifted his right arm. <You disabled my right arm for hours. Even today, it¡¯s not at a hundred-percent. What pressure point technique did you use on me?>

    <Oh!> I threw my arms up. <Now you¡¯re payin¡¯ attention to me after I poked your arm a few times? Fuck off. You¡¯re lucky it¡¯s just your arm and not your cock¡ªnot like you¡¯re using it¡ªwhat the hell y¡¯want with me anyway? Round two?>

    Min-jae grinded his teeth, clearly annoyed and hopefully that was directed at himself. <On the contrary, no. I wondered if a girl like you knows how those techniques function in the first place.>

    I shrugged. <Enlighten me.>

    He eased up and explained, <It¡¯s not like in martial arts movies. The Phenomena Production System¡¯s structure is wildly influenced by genetics. An American would have notable differences from a Korean, for example. A single pressure point technique won¡¯t be equally effective on everyone.>

    I muttered, <Unless you¡¯re Cross.>

    <Unless you¡¯re him, a regular human, who somehow developed the perfect pressure point system to kill Slayers like us.>

    <What¡¯s your point, dickhead?> I asked, my voice low and impatient.

    <Yours affected me. Your technique is fitted for this region, Zhang.>

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    I smirked, head cocked back. <Or I¡¯m actually apart of the Counterforce searching for naughty cultivators to kill.>

    <Uh huh.> Well, using [Phenomena Zero] might¡¯ve backfired on me. Min-jae knew too much about pressure point techniques; now, he was actually seeing me as a credible threat. Perhaps him finally respecting me might pay dividends down the road, or alternatively, I moved up on his list of "people he oughta kill first."

    Seeing that he wasn¡¯t gonna get any answers out of me, Min-jae looked toward the rest of campus like his next kill was out there waiting. <What did Eun Chang-min put you up to?>

    <Wanna help?> I sarcastically said.

    Min-jae was silent.

    <Awesome, ¡®cause I got a task for you: there¡¯s a cliff nearby. I want you to look over the edge, shove your arm up so far up your ass that you can grab your tongue, then drop. At the bottom, I¡¯ll tell you my three sizes and my dirty lil¡¯ secrets.>

    <Do what you want.> He turned around, finally about to leave me alone. <Don¡¯t die so easily next time.>

    ***

    After that terrible conversation with Kim Min-jae, I abandoned my idea to intercept Instructor Sung at lunch. Not because I was upset¡ªthough, it helped¡ªit was because I didn¡¯t eat breakfast this morning thanks to a certain bitch and I needed food in my stomach.

    Genuine food. Not shit on a plate that would leave me woozy for hours.

    Hopefully, Hwa-yeon¡¯s insiders wouldn¡¯t be working today. Otherwise, I was probably gonna live off nearby convenience stores for the rest of the week.

    However, something else happened instead. Knowing I was gonna sound exactly like my brother, I might as well say it: damn, my luck was shitty, had always been shitty, and would be shitty for my entire life.

    <Zhang!> said Gu Sang (??), one of Hwa-yeon¡¯s most loyal muscleheads. I meant it. All muscle and no hair. Oh, an empty wallet too from buying steroids.

    Before I could ignore him and move on, my back hit another dickwad¡¯s chest¡ªDae Myung-jun (???)¡ªand the last douchebag boxed me in. His name was Gong Kwang-hoon (???). Two unremarkable, inconsequential dudes coming from relatively small families. A part of me assumed they only joined Tak Hwa-yeon¡¯s faction because she was the only chick in Gold.

    That¡¯s besides the point. I was trapped in the middle of the perverted trio as onlookers pretended to not notice and carried on with their day. Thanks, guys. Problem with being a girl was the obvious height disadvantage. I had to look up at these fuckers, especially Gu Sang who was somehow taller than Alex.

    I rolled my eyes. <Not in the mood. Just fuck off and lemme eat in peace¡ª>

    Myung-jun shoved me toward Gu Sang, and I caught myself inches away from burying my face in his disgusting shirt. <You¡¯ve been a real bitch lately, Zhang. We wanted to be nice¡ª>

    I spat, <Tell Hwa-yeon to leave me alone and fuck off¡ª>

    As I raised my hand, Kwang-hoon grabbed my wrist. He was trying to squeeze with all his strength, but Lynn was thrice as strong as him. <Stop acting like you¡¯re too good for us. We know American girls like you slut yourself around.>

    My restrained hand flopped around to make a point. <Can you guys go five seconds without calling me a ¡®slut¡¯ or a ¡®whore¡¯? While you¡¯re at it, let go of my hand.>

    <No,> said Gu Sang, breath smelling like cigarettes and dental calculus. <I think we should eat lunch alone, so we can wipe that bitchy look off your face. How does that sound? We¡¯ll give you all the attention you want.>

    I clenched my hands, making sure these perverted fucks see my eyes. <I¡¯m gonna give you a few seconds to walk away.>

    Kwang-hoon laughed and dragged me a step toward him. <What can a weak bitch like you¡ª?>

    [Skill Activat¡ª

    Something struck Gu Sang on the back of his head. He stumbled backwards, dazed, and Myung-jun had to catch his friend before he cracked his skull on the pavement.

    Kwang-hoon released my hand. <Who¡ª?>

    <Me,> said a tall woman, more handsome than most of the boys in my section. She brushed aside her straight black hair and tapped a thick, hardback journal against her square-rimmed glasses. <Leave this girl alone.>

    Myung-jun shouted, <Why should we listen to¡ª?!>

    The woman extended her arm at him. <Dae Myung-jun.> Then at the musclehead trying to put his head back together. <Gu Sang.> And finally at the last one. <Gong Kwang-hoon. I¡¯ll remember your names when classes start.>

    Wait, classes? Don¡¯t tell me that getting sexually harassed actually worked out in my favor.

    <I¡¯m your new magic professor: Instructor Sung Yeong-ae. My students are already disappointing me, but my colleagues say I can ¡®take any measures necessary¡¯ to correct disappointments,> she said, her voice icier than frost. There was a clear, dark contempt in her eyes that ran deeper than the situation called for. It was a contempt for everything¡ªher career, her life, the world itself¡ªand her resentment concentrated into three despicable perverts.

    They¡¯d never felt such nasty intensity before, especially from a complete unknown. So they kicked the ground, swore under their breaths and glared at me for one last time, and hobbled away.

    At least they were smart enough to walk away. Thought they''d be stupid enough to chat up the handsome unnie.

    Instructor Sung sighed and tugged at her turtle-neck. Looking at her now, she really was handsome. Unlike with Lynn''s charm, which was loud and eye-catching, Instructor Sung''s was quiet, subdued. Cool, if that made sense. Despite the different approach, they both had this strange magnetism that made them appear larger than life. Well, Lynn¡¯s wasn¡¯t strange at all¡ªI knew what her deal was¡ªbut that meant I should cozy up to my new instructor.

    <Thank you, Instructor Sung!> I cheered, holding my hands together. <Never woulda thought I¡¯d meet my new instructor like this.>

    Instructor Sung looked at me indifferently. <Mhm, right.>

    <I heard you suddenly had to take an instructor position. Is that right?>

    <Ugh.> She rubbed her forehead. <Initially, I was contracted for a research position. However, my predecessor decided magic wasn¡¯t enough excitement and was caught in certain group-chats.> (<Oh.>) <An Nth room.> (<Oh.>) <So I have to fill his shoes.>

    Well, now I know what happened to the old guy. Good riddance.

    I said, <The change might be sudden, but it sounds exciting¡ª>

    <I¡¯d rather be doing anything but teach undisciplined children.> She then muttered quietly, <It¡¯s bad enough that I¡¯m roommates with a disastrous woman.>

    <Who¡ª?>

    <Forget it, Zhang.>

    I gasped. <My really cool instructor knows my name¡ª?>

    <Are you an idiot?> Instructor Sung snarled. <Everyone is either talking about you or Student Kim. They don¡¯t have high hopes for you.>

    <But at least they know my name.>

    <Through the worst reasons.> Instructor Sung pulled on her turtle-neck again, wincing.

    I asked, <What¡¯s wrong with your turtle-neck? You don¡¯t look half-bad in one.>

    <I hate these damned things¡ªdon¡¯t ask me why.> (<Roger.>) <Regardless, don¡¯t mistake my act of goodwill as favoritism. I¡¯d rather not see something like that and let it transpire.>

    <In other words, you¡¯re doing the bare minimum to be a decent person!> I cheered.

    <Yes, and next time you say that, use a different tone. In fact, next time this occurs, I recommend that you actually use your [Skills]. Your section has no respect for you and presume you¡¯re hopelessly weak, which means they¡¯ll continue to bully you.>

    I winked. <What if I¡¯m actually weak and not just pretending?>

    <Don¡¯t make useless hypotheticals,> growled Instructor Sung. <You have years of combat experience. You''re one of the most dangerous students in your section.>

    In a single sentence, she wiped away my wink and stupid smiling and cheery voice. <...Who told you that?>

    <None of your concern.> Instructor Sung spun on her feet. <Stop playing around, Zhang, and do what you need to do. Whatever it is, I¡¯d rather you keep the collateral damage to a minimum¡ª>

    <Wait!> Ignoring the fact that she somehow knew my calluses, I stopped her from leaving. Thanks to the excitement, I almost forgot the real reason why I needed to meet her. <Before you leave, I gotta ask for a favor! I promise this will be the only favor I¡¯ll ask, so hear me out!>

    Instructor Sung raised an eyebrow.

    ***

    [Dorothea Zhang]

    <hey are you still in the same classroom?>

    [Eun Chang-min]

    <No, but I¡¯ll give you my location. Do you have an update on the Task?>

    [Dorothea Zhang]

    <mhm!>

    <Why did you bring her here?!>

    <I mean, what¡¯s better than taking a hundred pictures? I know, bringing the coolest instructor for an in-person interview!> On the second-floor of the library, I presented the beautiful and heroic Instructor Sung Yeong-ae to the second-worst Gold in my section!

    Instructor Sung had a very flat expression. <What.>

    Meanwhile, Chang-min had his fingers intertwined in his hair and dangerously pulled. <I told you to bring photos of her journal, not bring the instructor herself!>

    <What, d¡¯you think I¡¯m gonna ask if I can snoop ¡®round in her personal belongings?> I confidently shook my head. <So I did you one better: you can ask her yourself! As a Gold, you should be good at that!>

    <Are you an idiot?>

    <Are you an idiot?!>

    <I should¡¯ve known this was related to a Task¡­> Instructor Sung held onto her notebook tighter. <Zhang, of everything you could''ve possibly done, you thought this was the best move?>

    I innocently nodded. <Yeah. I¡¯m way too lazy to learn your schedule, figure out a way to isolate you from your baby, and take a thousand photos within a few minutes. But why go through such a convoluted plan if a simpler one exists?>

    <Because that¡¯s the entire point of the Task!> Chang-min was borderline screaming at me. <I¡ªI don¡¯t understand how incredibly stupid you are, but that doesn¡¯t matter anymore! You fail the Task!>

    I dramatically gasped, putting my hands on my cheeks. <Then who¡¯s gonna ask Instructor Sung for her life-story? You clearly wanna know more ¡®bout her¡ª!>

    <Shut up! You obviously don¡¯t understand a single thing about Baekyong! I¡ªGod, no wonder Kim Min-jae was so compelled to incap you! Get out! Get the hell out! If I see you again, I¡¯ll finish what that brute started, and this time, you won''t be saved by Chae Yo-han and that bitch-doctor¡ª!>

    <Eun Chang-min, correct?> Instructor Sung suddenly broke through his yelling with a scarily neutral tone.

    Chang-min scoffed, wiping saliva off his lips. <What, Instructor?>

    She opened her journal, flipped to a random page, and wrote his name down. <You¡¯re the only student I look forward to teaching.>

    I¡­

    I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good thing.

    I whistled, giving him a thumbs-up. <I¡¯ll see you whenever. Thanks for giving me a chance!>

    Without waiting for a response, I ported.

    ***

    [Eun Chang-min]

    <Update: Dorothea Zhang failed my task.>