Reborn: Apocalypse - Volume 2

Some amount of time later…

Garen Olsteis folded his hands together slowly as he looked out the window in front of him . The morning light gleamed as dawn crossed the horizon, visible even behind thousands of obstructing buildings . The building Garen was in was a Tower, giving him a powerful vantage point .

Garen was a handsome man . He had a chiseled face and body, muscular and toned from long practice . He wore a simple white s.h.i.+rt and a pair of black slacks, with a claymore strapped to his waist . The air around him seemed to glow slightly, giving him an incredibly heroic and powerful appearance .

Unlike the rest of the Numbers, he did not wear a mask .

"Prime refused to enact the Nest Feeding plan expansion . " A voice cut softly into the air, coming from behind Garen"s back .

Garen sighed .

"Prime"s stances seldom change . For all the benefits he brings us, for all his overwhelming strength and genius, his unwillingness to do what must be done is his weakness . " As he finished speaking, he shook his head and turned around .

The room he was standing in was a stark, mostly empty boardroom that had been renovated with a single desk and two chairs on either side . Garen stood on the side next to the window, while a masked figure with the number 6 carved into their mask stood on the other side .

"You aren"t wrong, Mr 1 . " The Spear Tiger"s voice was placid as he replied, as if he didn"t care how Garen would respond either way . He used Garen"s second most common nickname, Mr 1 .

Garen noted that without showing a hint of emotion on his face . Number 6 was a battle addict that cared only to increase his level of Spear Mastery, an odd Ability he"d picked up that boosted his combat prowess . He"d even gone as far as to spare enemies in order to give them a chance to grow stronger .

A thought process like that was utterly foolish . Garen would immediately obliterate any opponent he faced, using the full totality of his power without holding back . He never took risks unless he was certain they would pay off .

Still, the man"s thought process made him an extremely trustworthy ally, one that was easily controlled and befriended . Even Garen needed someone to talk to, to help him think things through .

"I know I"m not . " Garen shrugged,

"It"s just how he is . " He respected Director Prime immensely, but the man simply didn"t have the heart for the job they needed to do .

"Only when one group holds absolute strength can peace truly be found . " Garen"s words were full of pa.s.sion as he spoke, conveying his message as if he was practicing a speech he was planning on giving,

"We cannot allow things to spiral further out of control . We have already missed our first best opportunity to increase our overall power . Our relative newness in the Main Cl.u.s.ter holds us back, especially with this so-called "Great Arrival" causing so much chaos . We must act now . " As he finished speaking, he held up a clenched fist and then slowly let it drop .

He turned his focus back to Number 6 .

"Well? Think he"ll buy it?" Garen smiled slightly .

Number 6 looked at Garen for a moment before shrugging .

"If I was the type to care about such things, I might be convinced . " The Spear Tiger"s response was decidedly unhelpful .

Garen sighed again, this one sounding long-suffering,

"In the end, it doesn"t matter . Prime"s got his Four Corners and half of the Cell Captains slaving away for him . Even without our help, he"ll be fine . "

Numbers 2 down to Numbers 5 were called the "Four Corners" due to their strong teamwork and powerful Abilities that held certain similarities . All four were Supreme A Rankers and formed a group that held devastating potential, unwaveringly loyal to Director Prime .

The Nightrunners were split up in a similar manner to the G.o.dfather Organization . They had Cell Captains that controlled large areas and patrolled them, keeping the peace . They didn"t have an exterior force like the Angels Arcadia Emissaries, but instead had a direct up-and-down power sorting .
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Thus far, only a single Cell Captain had ever risen naturally to become a Numbers member . All the others were specially recruited by Director Prime .

That particular Cell Captain was none other than Garen, a man that rose to the rank of Number 1 purely through his own determination . His ident.i.ty was already publicly known, and hence, he didn"t wear a mask .

There was silence in the room as neither Garen nor Number 6 spoke . Daylight sparkled outside, belying the gloomy atmosphere inside the room .

"Number 9 may have fallen, but his death was not in vain . " Garen broke the silence as he tapped on his Spatial Ring, bringing something out .

He raised the object up, holding it near the window and letting light fall upon it .

It was a small, cracked black orb . One that Micheal would"ve found very familiar .

A cracked and broken Nest Core . The same one Micheal had given Sophia .

"You got the results back already?" Number 6 perked up, his eyes starting to gleam with interest .

After the battle with Sophia and s.h.i.+n, Number 6 and Number 10 had fled . However, Number 10 insisted on gathering as much intel as possible on who their enemies were . As a result of that, a Spatial Ring had turned up, something Crane had left with the Old Airwing Military Alliance . That ring was promptly stolen, and this Nest Core had been located inside it .

"Yes . Number 13 managed to commune with the Seer early on . The results were even more positive than I expected . " Garen smiled a small smile, one that failed to reach his eyes .

"The Nest Feeding program for the Nightrunners is dead in the water . Prime won"t work with us, but that doesn"t mean others won"t . " Garen continued,

"Number 10 will make contact with the Purgatory Church . Their influence has rapidly begun to expand as their numbers of converts exploded because of the Great Arrival . We will use them to expand the program, their leaders.h.i.+p seems amenable to the general idea . " He nodded,

"Despite his objections, I think Director Prime will stand by us in the end . Even if the entire Cl.u.s.ter turned against us, I can"t see him stepping away . " Garen"s voice carried in the air as he went on,

"As for this here…" The leader of the Numbers tapped on it slowly, green Earth Tier Ki energy crackling around his fingers as he held it up .

"It has to do with a mission I have for you, Number 6, and that "Spear Mastery" Ability you control…"

. . . . . . . . . . . .

The morning of the next day…

Micheal woke up as usual . He felt excited to greet the day, his rest perfectly cozy and warm .

He did his regular routine as he got ready . He worked out hard, putting his body to the test as he trained until he couldn"t train anymore . He relied purely on physical power, not drawing upon his Ki .

He used to have to crush a Life Orb due to the strenuous training, but his body had finally reached a level where working that hard gave almost no positive benefits over simply working out at a moderately extreme, but safe, level .

He then spent a half hour in meditation as he focused on his Ki .

The Earth Tier energy in his body was purer than the Mortal Tier by an entire level . It was because of this that his strength could continue to expand . At this stage, the energy was still toughening up the various veins that ran throughout his body .

Once he reached the Middle Stage of the Earth Tier, his veins would have grown fully able to handle the energy, allowing him to use it more efficiently, faster, and to more effect .

One thing led to another, and he showered, ate breakfast, got dressed in a sharp looking suit, though not necessarily in that order, and quickly left his room, traveling back on his way .

The morning was in full stride as he travelled through the territory of the G.o.dfather Organization . As he moved, he saw, somewhat to his surprise, hundreds of differently sized groups of people moving about .

Some moved in small groups of two or three, while others moved in large groups of 10 or 12 . Each group contained a mix of men and women, armed with swords, guns, and a variety of other weapons . Some members gave off strange auras or energy, but most seemed pretty standard .

"Oh wow . The Great Arrival has already reached this far, huh?" The huge ma.s.s of people seemed to have sprung up overnight . The G.o.dfather Organization had likely been vetting groups as they moved deeper into their territory, allowing only a limited number this far in .

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Alongside these thronging groups were hundreds of Morenkai .

The black skinned creatures were extremely active due to the sheer volume of new people in the Main Cl.u.s.ter .

Micheal pa.s.sed by more than a dozen separate battle sights as humans took out the dangerous creatures, hunting down Points . In the same time, he also saw several patrols of the G.o.dfather Organization guards, recognizable due to their customary suit outfit .

Each patrol was accompanied by a large number of young recruits, adolescents and teenagers alike . The young were not spared the fury of the 7 Layers, all beings could die equally, regardless of age . Thus, high-level training was a necessity, including live-fire exercises like these .

The other members of the Big 3 accepted youths and children if necessary, but not in nearly the numbers the G.o.dfather Organization did . Per the records Micheal had read, the G.o.dfather Organization took care of more than 85% of humans that were under the age of 16 .

The warriors of the G.o.dfather Organization were out in force today . The Great Arrival had stirred up a huge amount of trouble, much of which was only beginning to develop .

"If even this inner layer is so crowded with Chosen, the outer areas of their territory must be in utter chaos . " Micheal shook his head silently . There was nothing he could do about it now .

After making his way through the Main Cl.u.s.ter, Micheal finally found a spot he was forced to stop .

He had managed to avoid communicating with all of the roaming patrols thus far . However, beyond his current skysc.r.a.per and the next one, every single skysc.r.a.per had several units on them . This was the entrance to the true interior of the G.o.dfather Organization .

The crowds of new Chosen had all but vanished, leaving this place deserted . They must"ve been warned to stay away, creating a small no-mans-land in the final approach to the true interior part of the G.o.dfather Organization"s territory .

Micheal examined the guards for a few moments, staring at them in the distance .

He could see a good dozen suited soldiers holding long guns and various weapons . None of them looked extremely threatening, but the moment he broke past them, an alarm would be sounded that would draw every warrior within earshot in seconds . This deep into their territory, such an occurrence would mean thousands of opponents .

"I could walk up directly and give up my ident.i.ty . " It wasn"t as if he was an enemy of the G.o.dfather Organization, not in his "Micheal" ident.i.ty .

However… things felt rather fishy as of right now . Until he could confirm that everything was safe, Micheal had no intentions of putting himself at any serious risk .

With that thought in mind, Micheal walked over to the side of his current skysc.r.a.per and dived off it .

His body hurtled towards the ground, the abrupt jump sending him tumbling . He could just barely make out several clumps of Morenkai shambling down below, ignoring his great leap entirely .

In mid-fall, two small, blue Life Orbs appeared and soared around, landing precisely beneath his feet . His drastic dive transformed into a smooth, rolling turn, one that carried his momentum forward as he stabilized at about a dozen floors up from the ground .

Below him, the Morenkai didn"t take notice of his presence . The black skinned creatures continued to move about in their ominous and seemingly random shambling .

The wind whipped at his face as he flew across several skysc.r.a.pers, leaning in and hiding as much as possible . He made as little noticeable movement as possible, keeping his body relatively still as he flew .

And, as he had found before, he encountered no troubles in his flight .

Lacking an immediate, imminent threat, or a reason to constantly be patrolling the ground below, the guards of the G.o.dfather Organization would only look down over the side on occasion .

The only way he would be spotted was by luck .

In no time at all, Micheal flew past 18 different skysc.r.a.pers . He followed a mental map he had formed, crossing through several areas .

Finally, he arrived at his destination .

It wasn"t the main Headquarters of the G.o.dfather Organization, nor was it the location where any of the Executives lived .

Instead, it was a nondescript and rather normal looking skysc.r.a.per that housed the G.o.dfather Organization"s Intelligence Operations Sector . This particular building was home to a lot of their outgoing agents and informants that kept an eye on the entire Cl.u.s.ter .

Micheal had found this location through the information stores of the Angels Arcadia that he had raided, able to call it to mind with ease thanks to his Ceaseless Mind Ability .

His flight came to an abrupt end as he landed on the side of this skysc.r.a.per, sneaking around till he found a room that looked empty from the outside . His heart pounded in his chest as he focused, calming himself down .

If so much as a single person yelled that an intruder was here, he would have multiple powerful A Rankers bearing down on him in just seconds . He needed to be extremely careful .

With absolute precision, Micheal pulled out his Ashari Blade and placed it up against the window in front of him . Inside, he could see a typical bedroom, nothing out of the ordinary .

A stream of red energy washed over his blade as he called upon the Advanced Tier Sword Energy . The volatile power vibrated as he set the sword up against the window .

Then, in one smooth motion, Micheal performed a near perfect, circular cut, slicing a 1-meter wide hole in the window .

His hand shot out and snagged the gla.s.s as he stored his sword, preventing it from falling and smas.h.i.+ng into the ground . He then clambered through the window and slid it back into place behind him . He didn"t glue it shut, leaving it as it was for now in case he needed to make a quick escape .

He quickly scanned the bedroom, finding it empty . He snuck through it and put his ear to the door, listening carefully . After hearing nothing, he smiled and waltzed out, practically oozing confidence .

A well-lit hallway spread out around him, empty of anyone . This must be one of the unoccupied floors, likely why he had found an empty room on it . Not every single room in a skysc.r.a.per would be used, especially lower floors . This particular floor was the 10th .

He tugged slightly on his suit, making sure everything was in place as he began to stroll down the hallway . Sometimes the best disguises merely required a bit of confidence .

He didn"t encounter anyone as he moved through the hall . However, when he got to the stairwell and opened the door to it, he overheard a few women talking as they moved up a couple of floors above him .

"How is the new Sub-executive?! He"s too cute to die!" One female voice echoed softly as the speaker moved up a flight of stairs .

"I know! He waved at me just the other day, he is such a dream!" Another equally feminine voice replied, answering her question .

Micheal"s interest faded as he heard the subject matter .

The Sub-Executives were ranked similarly to Branch Leaders in the G.o.dfather Organization"s power structure . A new one being injured was very unlikely to be the reason Head Cameron had refused to release the Golden Morenkai hunting method, or the Dragon Building Liquid data .

He waited for a few seconds as the two women moved out of earshot, waiting for the coast to be clear . When he couldn"t hear anyone else, he moved into it .

Like the hallways, the stairwell was well lit . Micheal swiftly began to ascend it, rising up several flights before he felt comfortable .

There were bound to be hundreds and hundreds of members of the G.o.dfather Organization moving through here, especially in the higher parts . His disguise was near perfect and as long as he avoided drawing any attention, he highly doubted anyone would call him out .

As he pa.s.sed by several levels, he could see various groups of people moving in a few hallways, while others appeared empty . He didn"t focus on that, however, his goal centered upward .

"There should be some general information storage section in the upper part of the building . I"ll look there first . " If he wanted to understand what was going on, he"d need a full picture of the status of the G.o.dfather Organization as of the current moment .

He might be aware of some of their future big movements, but when it came to the day-to-day status or handling of their affairs, his knowledge was sorely lacking .

As he climbed the stairs, he pa.s.sed by a few men and women that were going down . None of them took notice of Micheal, one and all continuing on their way . He kept his ears opened as they walked past, snooping in for any interesting intel .

"I think it was skysc.r.a.per AW88 that got hit the worst by the Pack of Abnormals that raided us there . Tylmen thinks they might be controlled by a Monster Cla.s.s behind the scenes and-" One man had been in a deep discussion with another, pa.s.sing by Micheal swiftly .

"Oh? I think it"s possible to create a tornado, we just need a mix of the right Ability users, it"s not an easy task-" Another duo had the same habit, ignoring his presence completely . The information he gained from both wasn"t anything super relevant, but still interesting .

"I heard that Sub-Executive s.h.i.+n is still recovering in the Medical Bay! If we want a chance to meet him, we have to go soon!" Two girls in dresses were exclaiming to each other as they jogged past Micheal, talking quickly .

"What?! Let"s go right away!" The girl shot past him, headed for the roof .

Upon hearing that third conversation, Micheal froze, his eyes widening .

"Why is everyone talking about this new, injured Sub-Executive…" A foreboding feeling appeared in Micheal"s heart as he continued his thought,

"And why is his name s.h.i.+n…"

Micheal stepped into a random hallway, one that had no one visibly moving through it . He could hear a few people talking, but no one came out to greet him or ask what he was doing .

He quickly pulled out a smartphone, a fierce frown appearing on his face as he pulled open the app to connect to the G.o.dfather Organization"s closed-network forums .

"There"s no way it"s going to be s.h.i.+n, right? He specifically told me he was going to agree to lie low and be low profile, right?" Micheal"s frown widened further as he tapped onto the forum flicking through several threads .

Finally, he found one thread in particular that caught his attention .

"The newest Sub-Executive, s.h.i.+n the Gun Wizard, has finally become known to the public!" When he heard the name of the new member, his heart settled down slightly .

s.h.i.+n wasn"t a super uncommon name, after all . s.h.i.+n had always been a physical warrior, using huge swords to get up close and personal when it came to taking down enemies . Someone called the "Gun Wizard" couldn"t be farther from this .

"Hmm… just to be safe, let"s see where he"s listed from . I can see this is an intro piece . As long as it isn"t the Alexan-" Micheal"s thought cut off as he looked at something .

"Originated from: The Alexandrite Cl.u.s.ter . " He gazed at this line, stupefied .

His eyes then slowly traced down to a message right below this .

"Special message from s.h.i.+n:

"Greetings everyone! I am the legendary s.h.i.+n, Gunslinger of the Ages . My father was an AK 47 and my mother a Gauss Cannon . I shall support the G.o.dfather Organization with all of my heart, as a born and true warrior that will conquer all our enemies! Thank you for having my humble self join you .

"Sincerely,

"The Almighty Gun Warrior,

"s.h.i.+n . "

Micheal covered his face with his hands .

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