Reborn: Apocalypse - Volume 2

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The next day…

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Director Prime sat in a large, mostly empty lounge . The room had been cleared of almost all furniture, save for a large wooden desk, and a plush, comfortable chair . A closed door was set opposite of him, the only entrance to the room . Light gleamed in from the windows off to the side, giving the room a warm, well-lit appearance .

Currently, he was resting in meditation, his body relaxing into the back of the chair . A certain air of stillness surrounded him, as if nothing could shake his focus .

20 minutes pa.s.sed as he sat like this . Gradually, faint white energy flashed around him, energy the color of soaring clouds . This energy seemed to ebb and flow off of his body, pulsing .

If Micheal had been present, he would"ve recognized it instantly .

It was a manifestation of one"s Ki, something that required at least Sky Tier Ki Cultivation or higher .

Purchasing Sky Tier Ki Cultivation cost 606,500 Points in the Shop . On the First Layer, it was thus impossible to achieve this through Points .

The only way to reach Sky Tier Ki Cultivation was through skill and talent .

Even then… achieving the Sky Tier was excessively difficult on the First Layer .

Each Layer was structured in a rather unique way, a way that resulted in the creation of the "Points Wall . "

The higher up the Layers one went, the stronger and more restrictive reality became . If a regular person entered the Seventh Layer, their body would directly collapse and they would die near instantly, due to the raw pressure and powerful restrictions placed on reality .

The Layers were collectively seen as a sort of training ground, to bring all species up to par, for whatever sick reason they had all been called to the mystical reality of the 7 Layers .

However, as a result of those restrictions… it became far easier to train one"s body the higher up one went . Ki Energy was easier to condense and grow, muscle and bone density was easier to increase, the power of one"s Soul… well, that was always hard to increase, but it did become marginally easier in later Layers .

On the First Layer, it was essentially impossible for the vast, vast majority of all humans to reach the Sky Tier of Ki Cultivation . It was simply too difficult to achieve .

Despite that… Director Prime had managed to reach it anyway, ignoring logic .

10 more minutes pa.s.sed as the man continued to sit in meditation, a peaceful, relaxing one meant to help him calm his mind and soul .

Finally, the man opened his eyes .

All of the fluttering white energy vanished around him, the room returning to a perfectly normal state as he glanced over at the doorway .

"Come in . " His voice echoed out softly .

Advertis.e.m.e.ntA moment later, the door opened up .

"Director! Everything is prepared, as commanded . " The speaker that walked into the room was a short, dark-skinned man with silver hair . He wore a set of grey robes and didn"t have any weapons on his person .

"Kaber . " Prime nodded at his Chief Secretary, waving for him to continue . The man"s words were worth their weight in gold when it came to anything regarding minute detailing or minor, but important tasks .

Kaber turned around and clapped his hands together .

Instantly, a half dozen figures poured into the large lounge, all bearing brown boxes that were packed full of doc.u.ments . The workers quickly transferred a solid six dozen boxes into the room, setting them down in a large circle . Some of them were so full they were almost overflowing . The sheer number of boxes alone turned the room into a crowded mess .

Prime smiled slightly when he saw this .

"What do they contain?" He asked a question that he had asked again and again the past few days .

"Per our agreement we made with the Angels Arcadia, this is a listing of all notable incidents that happened within the past 24 hours in reference to any of their Main Branches Enforcement Teams or Emissaries . " Kaber waved at the a.s.sorted doc.u.ments as the various workers filed out of the room . He then continued,

"As of this morning, there were a total of 8,872 notable incidents, an increase from yesterday"s 6,592 . The huge influx of refugees and new Chosen has begun to have a serious impact on security and safety, within all territories . " When he finished his last sentence, Kaber looked at the Director as if he wanted to say something else .

Prime"s smile turned sad and he shook his head, guessing what the man was thinking .

"Kaber, we"re doing everything we can to provide for the welfare and peace of our territory . I"ve heard of the terrible violence, violation of human rights, and more that"s been going on . The numbers are simply starting to become overwhelming, despite our best efforts . " Prime sighed, rubbing his forehead .

His Chief Secretary was a man he trusted and was someone he could not do without . The man"s heart was in the right place too . However… when it came to people or the logistics of controlling so many men, the man didn"t have the head for it .

"Going by the numbers we"ve drawn up…" Prime closed his eyes for a moment,

"More than 80 million people have entered our territory alone . The Main Cl.u.s.ter is full of mostly free skysc.r.a.pers and ma.s.sive, so it"s not like there isn"t enough room . However, half of these newcomers refuse to stay put and have headed towards The Towers to move on to the Second Layer . " He shook his head again,

"If I had an army of a few thousand Supreme A Rankers, perhaps stopping this chaos and providing a perfectly secure territory, free of rapists and murderers, would be easy . As it stands now…" He sighed yet again,

"We have to make do with what we have . " He was working on fixing that problem .

The results from their Garen"s Criminal Nest Feeding program so far had been positive but, with the way things were going right now, also too slow . Garen had come to him with suggestions he had initially been against, but if the state of the Main Cl.u.s.ter continued to devolve . . . well, Prime was starting to see Number 1"s plans as the lesser of two evils .

If there was anything he had learned from the tens of thousands of books on strategy and logistics he had studied, it was that emotion must never cloud one"s logical judgement .

Kaber simply bowed his head, apologizing and declaring that he wasn"t doubting the S Ranked Director . Prime waved all of the man"s objections off . He valued the man"s opinion on things and, as a matter of personal conviction, would not punish someone for being honest with him .

The Chief Secretary left shortly after, leaving Director Prime alone in a room stuffed with thousands and thousands of pages of reports and information .

The leader of the Nightrunners took a deep breath as he looked around at all the stacked boxes .

He then closed his eyes . Green light began to flutter from out under his eyes, sparkling mysteriously .

Roughly 2 seconds pa.s.sed .

Prime slowly opened his eyes, exhaling deeply . He wore a tired, exhausted look, as if he had just done something extremely strenuous . He stood up from his desk, however, his body tense as he walked over towards one of the lower boxes .

He moved aside a box that was on top of it and opened up the lower box . He then sifted through the box until he found one particular incident report . This report was shorter than many of the others, only a couple of pages long .

"Notable Incident - Territory of the Angel"s Arcadia North Ocean Branch . " He spoke the words aloud with familiarity, as if he had just read them a short while ago .

"A masked man was found attacking two groups of newly arrived Chosen . He used explosives to ambush them . " Being masked, in itself, wasn"t anything unusual . Almost every major power had a force of masked warriors or men and women that wanted their real ident.i.ties hidden . Wearing a mask offered a huge amount of freedom for most .

"The man wore the regalia of the Purgatory Church . He attacked using a pair of Obsidian Axes, one of which was recovered at the scene . " So far, apart from the mask, nothing about the incident seemed obviously related to the Emissary Heron incidents .

"Per witness statements, the man had the ability to release an extremely strong impact with a light elbow tap . He possesses powerful combat skill and extraordinary awareness . " These points sounded a bit more like the mysterious Emissary Heron .

Number 11 had reported on his encounter in excruciating detail after the Director demanded it . In particular, at one point, Emissary Heron had thrown a s.h.i.+eld at Number 11 with extraordinary force yet no obvious indicators of such .

It was a minor detail on the report and here, yet it struck Prime"s intuition .

The Director continued to speak the report aloud, saying the words slowly, as if a.n.a.lyzing them,

"Glowing red energy appeared on his axes at times when he attacked . "

The same exact thing had appeared on Emissary Heron"s weapons when the man attacked . While Heron hadn"t used an axe in combat, it wasn"t impossible for him to use other weapons to hide his ident.i.ty .

"The attacker was badly injured at the end of the incident . His right arm was severed and one of his legs badly burned . However, the severed arm appears to have vanished after the incident ended . The man successfully fled towards the territory of the G.o.dfather Organization, evading chase through a flying technique that allowed him to maneuver through the Main Cl.u.s.ter with ease . "

A mask and a possible fake ident.i.ty . An ability or strength that allowed him to release powerful blows with a light touch . Top combat skill . Ignoring fatal or dangerous injuries . Red energy coating his weapons .

This incident was just one among several thousand that happened every day . It was impossible for any normal person to glean over even half of these reports in detail in a day, let alone every single one, looking for information relating to a specific case .

Yet that was exactly what the Director did .

And had been doing, every single day for the past several days .

He"d read every single incident report, going over each and every one in fine detail . It was mind-numbing work that would drive a normal man insane . It should"ve been impossible, and in fact, was for almost anyone that wasn"t him .

But he managed it regardless .

And, finally, after days of countless work, he had found what he wanted .

A clue .

This was a relatively minor incident when compared to others, hardly worth a report since no one died . In fact, the thing that stood out the most and required the report was the usage of explosives .

Yet, it was the minor details that struck a chord in the Director .

"Hmm… But why? Why attack them, Heron? What are you doing? Why are you heading towards the territory of the G.o.dfather Organization? A distraction? A fake trail?" He looked over the report twice more . He then walked over to his desk and sat down in his chair .

Green light flashed around his eyes as he shut them .

2 seconds pa.s.sed .

He blinked as he came to, his face cold .

Prime then reached down and tapped on a sleek, grey bracelet he wore on his wrist . It beeped for a moment .

"Yes, Director?" A voice echoed out from the bracelet, patiently awaiting orders .

"Number 9 and Number 10 are pursuing the trail Number 10 found still, yes?" His voice was calm and collected, the excitement he"d shown earlier nowhere to be seen .

"Yes, sir . After learning that Heron had a female companion, they"ve begun pursuing all leads . They have reason to believe she is within the territory of the G.o.dfather Organization and have put in a request to continue to pursue this trail . " The speaker finished .

Prime smiled slightly when he heard this, his eyes flas.h.i.+ng with light, as if things were starting to make more sense .

"Tell them they have full permission to continue their hunt, but only with the two of them . They need to be wary of Cameron now that he"s back to fighting form, and to not antagonize the higher-ups of the G.o.dfather Organization . They are to remain below radar as much as possible . " He replied . After a moment, he glanced back at the report in his hand .

"Also, inform Number 6 to accompany them and tell him to be prepared for combat . "

"Sir?" The voice had a hint of a question in it, as if unsure exactly what to say .

Prime"s smile grew slightly wider,

"There"s a chance we may see Heron sooner than expected . "

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"What?" Micheal spoke aloud to himself in confusion as he walked away from a large Open Market . He was crossing over a long, rope bridge by himself . He was wearing a loose white s.h.i.+rt and a pair of black slacks, with his Ashari Blade perched at his waist . He didn"t wear a mask or anything, instead moving as if he was a regular, low-level fighter .

"That makes no sense . " He reached up and scratched his head, his brows furrowed . A stiff breeze brushed past him, the morning air clear and fresh .

He was well-within the territory of the G.o.dfather Organization . It had been pretty easy to escape from his pursuers after forcing the two future S Rankers to team up . None of the men and women that gave chase had proven powerful, and his Aura Nullification Necklace handed most of the rest .

As for the two future S Rankers, the duo hadn"t even tried to chase him . Micheal had come away from their battle rather impressed . He had been holding back, especially by not using a real sword, but it was still a sizable accomplishment for them to stall him so effectively .

They had only been here for a month and a few weeks, after all . Their rate of improvement was scary .

It was the same for all S Rankers . From the individual leaders of the Big 3, to the Enlightened Monk that wandered the First Layer in search of enlightenment, to the lone Explorer Tandrum that was obsessed with the secrets of the First Layer, to the Fierce Queen Anastasia that ruled her own private kingdom in a side Cl.u.s.ter .

One and all, they were frightening geniuses that did the impossible .

Micheal blinked as he took a deep breath, regathering his focus .

He had arrived early in the morning at the Gold Mine Open Market, intent on gathering intel .

He had already looked online through the G.o.dfather Organizations closed network, searching hundreds of threads for even the mention of a certain topic, and found nothing at all .

And, after he checked out this nearby Open Market, he found his newly formed suspicions confirmed .

No information had been released about the Golden Morenkai hunting method or the Dragon Building Liquid creation method . There was not even a hint of it on the web or from anyone in person . Nothing at all .

"Is something still wrong with Head Cameron?" The words sounded off quietly as he finished crossing the bridge . He was deep within the Main Cl.u.s.ter, yet he could see hundreds of people moving around him .

Dozens of them were crossing bridges, but several of them were milling about on rooftops talking . Some were dressed in old military fatigues, others in jeans and t-s.h.i.+rts, while others wore bathing short and relaxed, open b.u.t.ton s.h.i.+rts . He even saw a few girls in summer dresses .

The sounds of combat echoed out as a Morenkai climbed up onto the roof of a neighboring skysc.r.a.per and was immediately cut down by a team of 10+ people .

The Great Arrival had come into full force . Sights like this were not just found near Open Markets, but almost everywhere in the outer areas of the Main Cl.u.s.ter, and somewhat commonly in the inner areas too .

The Main Cl.u.s.ter had become far more crowded and, as a result, felt a lot less dangerous to many people . After all, with so many warriors and fighters standing about, regular Morenkai became far less of a threat .

Many of the new arrivals treated this world like an almost fairy-tale like existence . After all, having the power to pick and choose what mystical powers you would purchase… it was like a story from legend, a video game, a really magical occurrence .

This had the side effect of leading to a lot of internal and external conflicts as some morally vile groups attacked others, hunting for Points . Clashes became far more common and the real danger of the Main Cl.u.s.ter had only increased, even with the harshly increased security enacted by the Big 3 .

Micheal ignored all of that, however, focusing on what he needed to do now . He couldn"t make the Main Cl.u.s.ter a safe haven on his own and he needed to look towards the bigger picture .

He"d finished up his major goals and targets earlier than expected, thanks to a bit of luck when it came to the Black Witch"s somewhat close location .

As a result, he had some free time between when he was expected to meet up with s.h.i.+n and Sophia . However, what he had learned about the present state of things in the G.o.dfather Organization had left him worried .

"I could travel to the G.o.dfather HQ to check on the Head and to reiterate the importance of the Golden Morenkai hunting method and Dragon Building Liquid . I have the free time . " He frowned as he continued,

"Or I could travel to and try to find s.h.i.+n and Sophia . They should be working to win over the Brigadier General of the Old Airwing Military Alliance around now . "

He pondered these two issues for a few moments as he walked out on the skysc.r.a.per he"d crossed onto, moving past a few other men that were walking the other way . He walked over to the edge of the skysc.r.a.per, looking down at the ground level .

The Morenkai seemed to be thronging in even larger numbers down below . Despite the huge presence humans had become in the Main Cl.u.s.ter, none of the teams were willing to stake out the ground level . The risk of getting overwhelmed by Morenkai, including Abnormals and Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai, was far too great .

After a moment, he sighed, looking up and examining all the other people around him .

"Alright . " He nodded his head sharply and then closed his eyes, focusing his memory on the mental image of the map of the Main Cl.u.s.ter he had formed .

He found one specific spot on the map and then nodded again, making a decision .

He then set off from the skysc.r.a.per, headed towards his destination .

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