[south of Leighburne]

The sound of flesh being consumed rang faintly in the ears of each Investigator. Most were naturally disturbed by the sound, but even still, they followed the lead of those who were much stronger than them. The deeper they went into the broken city, the worse it began to smell. No longer did it smell like rotten produce, instead being closer to the scent of rotting carcasses.

"This is disgusting... How can you guys handle this?" A male investigator said, pinching his nose tightly.

The Investigator behind him agreed, complaining that she didn't even want to attend. One complaint turned to many, as everyone began whining about every little detail that bothered them. Even Olivia who'd grown accustomed to such sights and smells, started to complain about the sticky floors.

The only man who didn't even utter a single word, was Ren. Perhaps it was because his mind was too tunnel visioned to realise all the inconveniences tossed at him, but nevertheless, it was like watching a machine tread through unsavoury terrain.

Following Ren from behind, Olivia felt a little bad for him. She didn't understand exactly why he was being more focused than usual, but she had a feeling it had to do with something extremely traumatic.

"Yo captain! How's it going?" Olivia called out as she began walking beside him.

Ren snapped out of his trance temporarily to greet Olivia with a grunt. Her eyes twitched a bit, but she held her annoyance in for his sake.

"Things are going to be hard huh? I overheard General Kiddo saying this was a red level outbreak... Scary~" Olivia said, trying to cheer him up.

Ren grunted again, making her even more annoyed. Eventually she just stopped talking to him; looking at the ground in defeat.

"I really wanna cheer him up... It's only fair after what he did for me... But he's so stubborn!" Olivia grimaced.

Looking up at him with a pout, Olivia's face slowly turned into a somber expression. Seeing the pain in his eyes, she regretted being so arrogant. How could she, a random girl who appeared in Ren's life, just take away all the pain he's been through just like that? Well... There was one way.

In the corner of her eye, she spotted various large plantlike creatures hiding in the shadows. Gripping her attachment unit tightly, Olivia rushed forward into the city by herself to lure out the Festers. This brash action caused Ren to snap out of his trance completely, reaching his hand out to stop her.

"Investigator! What do you think you're doing?" Ren shouted.

Just as she planned, the hidden Festers came out of the shadows, attempting to swarm her. Flicking her attachment unit open, she cut the ones closest to her in half with a single slice. The investigators watched in awe, as Olivia single handedly taking out the swarm of Advanced level Festers with ease.

After the last one breathed it's last breath, Olivia took a moment to recover. After she was, mostly, relaxed; Olivia turned to Ren with a determined look in her eyes.

"I'm going to stop this outbreak as fast as possible, so you can stop looking like a bum!" Olivia shouted, pointing the blade at him.

Ren was surprised by her words, but found them quite flattering. He chuckled before looking at his palm.

"So that's why? I'm sorry for making you worry about me then.... As your squad captain I shouldn't make you feel inclined to cheer me up..." Ren said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

Olivia rolled her eyes before crossing her arms.

"Well I wanna so shut up..." she pouted.

Ren chuckled before his gaze sharpened. He grabbed Olivia's attachment unit, hesitating for a moment after grabbing it. He quickly shook it off before throwing the katana at an ambushing Fester.

"Always make sure you leave all stones unturned... Otherwise you might end up being crushed by a boulder" Ren commented, adjusting his cuffs.

Looking down at Olivia, she noticed a rather happy expression on her face. Her face radiated with "you're so cool!!!", to the point that he felt like she would blind him if he stared too long.

Turning back to the rest of the investigators, they all looked at him with a familiar looking smirk. A look he received from a certain café owner.

"... Please get a life all of you" Ren said, uncomfortable by their implications.

They all nodded knowingly, which made Ren even more embarrassed. He rubbed the back of his head before quickly scurrying deeper into the city.

When he was finally alone, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Why does everyone think that way? I'm not a creep!" Ren thought to himself.

Resting his back on a wall, he crossed his arms and began to think about his experience just now.

"That attachment unit. It felt horrible to hold. It was like looking at a cursed doll... Or a graveyard. How does investigator Rand even manage to hold that thing...." He grimaced.

Taking a moment to think about it, he felt horrible for how he acted towards Olivia. She was trying to cheer him up, but he ignored her. All because he was too focused on sulking.

"I even made her worry... What about the others? Are they worried too? I'm a terrible captain..." he thought to himself, holding his forehead.

He breathed a sigh before slapping himself back to reality.

"Enough sulking, that's what got you into this situation in the first place.... But I really can't believe I just left my team alone cause I was embarrassed.... I really am his son" Ren thought about Sieg.

Regaining his composure, he walked back to where he left his team, finding the area barren. He frantically searched the surrounding area, finding no trace of them. He clenched his fist before taking out his communication device.

"Come on come on... Please pick up" he said to himself, pacing back and forth.

Unfortunately for him, all he heard back was "no signal" from the device's automated voice. He looked up at the sky, feeling something extremely off about the situation he was in.

"No leads... An eerie feeling... And I can't call anyone for help... What's going on?"

He began thinking for a moment, before pulling out a small black device out of his pocket. He turned the dial on the side of the device, causing a hologram to scan the nearby area. After a few seconds, the hologram turned off, and in its place was information about the area's status. Ren scrolled through the useless information, focusing on the amount of descent energy in the area.

"80%... Factoring in the descent energy emission from Fester decay... And the background descent energy in the area... 47% worth of descent energy came from a foreign source. That's way too much for a fester's technique... This was the work of an artifact..."

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Ren had learned and heard about artifacts as a by-product of his work on the field, but he had never seen or experienced one first hand before before. An artifact was basically the predecessor to attachment units, as far as Ren knew. Though instead of using Ulteirs, they applied a contract onto an object to imbue certain attributes.

He suspected a teleportation artifact was used, though he didn't have any proof for his claims. What he did know for sure, was that the artifact had limited range, as he clearly wasn't affected.

"An artifact that could teleport multiple people at once and can block communication signals... But has a limited range... I have to say, whoever caused this outbreak planned it thoroughly..." Ren grimaced.

Clenching his attachment unit tightly, he began questioning his credibility as a captain. His teammates weren't anywhere to be seen, all because he ran away after being embarrassed.

"Maybe this is why Katherine-" but before he could finish his thought, he heard an explosion.

Rushing over to the scene, Ren was met with an unsavoury sight. A very familiar looking individual stood in front of him, surrounded by corpses. Seeing such a sigh, Ren immediately went on guard, ready to activate his attachment unit in a heartbeat. Ren began observing the crow with all his attention, not letting even a single detail go on unnoticed. Scanning his body, he noticed a dagger in the crow's hand. The new weapon he obtained disturbed Ren, but it also helped him notice his other new changes. Unlike before; the crow wasn't a pitch black entity with minor splotches of turquoise and white. This time the turquoise became a more prominent colour, with silvery grey accenting it. Even his scarf which was pure white before, has a vine like design in the colour turquoise.

"Is his favourite colour turquoise or something...?" Ren thought to himself grimacing.

It had only been a few months since he last encountered "the crow", however he could tell how much stronger he had gotten. What's more, was that Ren couldn't shake off the overwhelming suspicion plaguing him.

"Identification: The Crow, Age: unknown, Gender: male. A suspected contract holder with the ability to transform and use abilities similar to a fester. He's an individual who's been rated on the same level as hyper class Festers by the higher ups, and any cases related to him have been covered up or ignored.... I don't wanna suspect the worst... But he might be someone inside the organisation..." Ren gripped the handle of his weapon tightly.

If that was the case, Ren would have to kill him. As much as he hated the thought of killing another human being, it was the only choice.

"Last time I hesitated... But if you're not stopped now, you'll hurt even more people. As an investigator I can't stand for this injustice.... I'll take you down, right here, right now!" Ren shouted at the crow.

Perking up a bit, the crow exclaimed his confusion. In a raspy voice, the crow asked why he would do such a thing. Ren looked at him with a deadpanned expression, before showing the corpses around him. The crow looked around, noticing the corpses and shuddering. He turned back to Ren, swearing that they weren't there when he arrived.

Hearing such an excuse, made Ren laugh. He held his face before looking at the crow with a solemn look in his eyes.

"You dare to make jokes after killing innocent people? You're truly despicable... As an investigator, it's my duty to slay those who do evil. So fight me... With everything!" Ren yelled.

Taking a step back, the crow... Or should I say Oliver, began shaking a bit. This was the second time he had been mistaken for a villain by an A rank investigator, and just like before his opponent intends on killing him.

"I thought clichés only existed in stories...." Oliver laughed to himself, wondering how the hell he got into this situation.

Actually... How did he get into this situation?

[An hour and a half ago, North Leighburne]

Arriving at the entrance to the Fester nesting ground, Oliver grimaced. It was vile to say the least. Half eaten corpses spread around like litter, what seemed to be excrement tucked hidden away yet could still be smelt, and worst of all sleeping Festers who were no weaker than the advanced class.

The captain of the group, Bianca, gestured for everyone to huddled around so she could explain the plan to them.

"Alright everyone, our goal is to destroy the seeding core hidden deep inside the nest. Once we do that, team C2 will deal with the second seeding core and stop the fester reproduction process"

They all nodded, before Oliver raised up his hand to ask a question.

"Wouldn't this be easier with sir 'evermotion river'?"

Bianca nodded before looking away with a bit of an annoyed look on her face.

"It would be... But apparently the 'Titled investigators' believe this is a great way to train us for worse events. So instead of making us rely on them... They want us to fend for ourselves..." Bianca explained shaking her head.

The news disheartened the investigators, however they quickly bounced back and thought about the situation positively.... Everyone except Oliver.

"Ah we're doomed... We've been sent to die" Oliver said, curling up into a ball.

Some investigators huddled around Oliver, trying their best to comfort him.

"They wouldn't just send us on a mission we couldn't complete right? This'll be a piece of cake" an investigator exclaimed.

Oliver looked up at the investigator, holding their shoulders tightly.

"You really think that? You think they wouldn't send us to our deaths? This is war you fool! They'll send anyone if it means they'll win!" Oliver yelled, sounding delusional.

The investigators began to protest Oliver's claims, which he stubbornly began defending himself. Their loud noises began to disturb the sleeping monsters, forcing Bianca to intervene.

"Be quiet all of you, otherwise those bastards over there will wake-" but before she could finish her sentence, she heard growling coming from behind her.

The plant Fester towered over her, its sharp tendrils ready to pierce her. Turning her head to face it, she looked at it with a menacing glare. Releasing her attachment unit, she shot a hole straight into its head, killing it instantaneously. She turned back to the group, crossing her arms.

"Now then, will you guys shut up?!"

The group nodded, before preparing themselves for the wave of monsters that had just woken up. Turning back to the Fester's, Bianca sighed. Pointing her gun at them, she said solemnly.

"I hate work..."

The fight lasted no longer than 10 minutes. Most of the contributions came from Bianca of course, though Oliver and few other investigators. managed to snag a few kills.

Pulling his dagger out of a fester's chest, some mysterious green liquid gushed out of the wound, spraying onto his clothes.

"Damnit I got plant juice on my coat... I just got it!" Oliver whined.

Tabatha, who was near him, suggested he used some baking soda to get rid off it.

"Doesn't that only work on like small stains? I doubt it would work on... This" Oliver said, pointing at the stain.

Tabatha crossed her arms before calling Oliver a grump. Immediately, Oliver became defensive, yelling at her that he wasn't a grump.

"Yuh huh! This whole time you've been complaining and whining! Can't you look on the bright side of things?" Tabatha pouted

Hearing that, Oliver froze. He tried to deny it, but what she said was the truth. He's been acting like he's so much better than everyone, yet he's the one who's been complaining the most. Clenching his fist, he looked at his feet with a sigh.

Noticing the look on Oliver's face in the corner of her eye, Bianca called for a momentary rest as she pulled out a cigarette to smoke. Oliver was elated to hear this, as he had gotten tired of monster slaying. Finding a spot that wasn't covered in blood was hard, but he eventually found a nice bench he could sit on. Laying his back and tilting his head, Oliver sighed.

"Bianca is super strong... No wonder she's an A tier cadet. Huh even Tabatha too. I kinda feel like a fraud when compared to her, even though we're in the same tier..." Oliver thought.

It couldn't be helped though, as Tabatha was given the grade straight out of her entrance exam. A natural talent is bound to be stronger than someone who lucked his way to the top.

After making sure nobody was around, Oliver pulled out his driver, looking at it with a bit of sadness.

"I'm not like everyone here. They all worked hard to become stronger, while here I am relying on a suit to make me strong..." Oliver gripped the driver tightly.

Could he even be considered worthy of calling himself a hero? Everything that happened that day was coincidence. Anyone else could've ended up in his situation, and gotten the driver instead. He wasn't special, he was just at the right place at the right time. So he asked himself again, is he even worthy of calling himself a hero?

Oliver thought for a moment, before determinedly looking forward.

"No... I've been given a special advantage by the world. It doesn't matter if I got it because of dumb luck, or because I deserved it. It's my power now, so it's stupid not to use it.... Besides, with this power I can help others. Cause I'm a good person-" but before he could finish that thought, someone tapped his shoulder.

He jolted up, frantically putting away his driver. He turned around before yelling with a flustered expression.

"Don't sneak up on me kath-" but he stopped himself once he noticed it was Tabatha.

She tilted her head slightly, wondering why he almost called her Katherine. Oliver grimaced, telling her that it was a long story.

"O- okay I guess.... Well, the captain wants us to head deeper into the nest, so she told me to get you. By the way what were you doing here all alone?" She asked, scratching her head.

Oliver sighed before standing up.

"Nothing just thinking about my life." Oliver said, rubbing the back of his head.

Tabatha looked up at him with starry eyes, admiring how cool he sounded and looked. Oliver's face turned from surprise, to smugness as he puffed up his chest and held his face.

"Ah I see you can see just how cool I am right?!" Oliver said proudly.

The light from Tabatha's eyes slowly faded as he began laughing. She took a few steps back before bowing.

"Please never do that again, I beg you"

Disheartened, Oliver followed her back to where the rest of the group was waiting. As they arrived, Bianca turned to Oliver with a disappointed look.

"Investigator Rand... I don't mind that you want to clear your head, but going far away unannounced is seriously dangerous. Don't do it again" she sighed.

Oliver nodded his head, looking a bit embarrassed as well.

Bianca smiled a bit before placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't take it to heart. Just looking out for you. A certain someone really doesn't want to see you get hurt" Bianca said.

Oliver asked if it was General Yue, however Bianca only responded with a chuckle. She walked back to the group, giving Oliver a second to think.

"Of course that woman wouldn't admit to wanting to protect me... But she really does have a soft side doesn't she? Maybe I'll be less of a jerk next time I see her" Oliver stretched.

Tabatha tapped Oliver's shoulder, interrupting his stretch so she could tell him the mission was about to pick back up again.

"Yeah yeah... Gosh I couldn't even finish stretching... Well whatever, I'll just loosen up while fighting..." Oliver said, putting left hand in his pocket, and holding his attachment units case in his right.

The group walked deeper into the nest, prepared for anything.

Little did they know what was waiting for them... Was far worse than they could have possibly imagined.