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“Are you an Evil Spirit?”
“You’re an Evil Spirit.”
“Why are you an Evil Spirit?”
Julian sat in a cold, dimly lit prison cell. His arms were bound by heavy chains, he was drenched in a strange viscous substance that he truly hoped was just oil, and in front of him were people threatening to light him on fire.
They have been asking him the same questions over and over again for more than an hour now ever since he woke up in the world of Artemia, their voices sharp and as threatening as the torch they were holding.
Even with this, however, Julian remained still. His face extremely calm and almost stoic—and even with all the questions being rained down upon him, he hasn’t offered a single word, not once.
“You are truly not going to answer any of our questions?” One soldier stepped closer to him, the flames of the torch he was holding causing the shadows inside the cell to dance.
“We’ve been trying to wake you for three days now.” The soldier asked, “Why have you only just woken up?”
Julian could very well answer the question, but he just looked up at the soldier and sighed—because several moments from now… something was about to happen.
***
Three days ago, Julian had told everything to Ellie.
He sat her down, telling her about how he had inherited the strength and abilities of his clone on Artemia, and he even told her about the visions and the creation of Artemia.
He’d never really heard her so still and quiet, and the only sound that was whispering from her was her hands that were, at the very moment, just subconsciously drying her still-damp hair from having showered just moments ago.
She truly never expected to be presented with… whatever Julian told her.
“That… is crazy,” Ellie muttered after a long silence. Her voice seemed filled with disbelief, but from how she held Julian’s hand, she believed him instantly.
“...Thank you for telling me, Julian.” Her voice trembled. She was right, everything Julian told him was crazy, insane… and yet she believed all the same.
How could she not, when she had seen Julian pull out a transparent sword just a few seconds ago from thin air, and then return the said sword into nothingness?
“So… you’re like a superhero now, huh? That’s… a little terrifying.” She chuckled softly.
“No. I just have… abilities.”
“So, MEGAN knew about this too?”
“Yes.”
“Is that why she’s hiding right now and not showing herself? Does she think I’m going to get angry?”
“Yes.”
“No…” Ellie breathed out, adjusting her bath robes as she softly chuckled, “...It was for the best that no one else knows about this. One time, I read this documentary about the mutants who were born after World War 4, and they were experimented and hunted by-wait.”
“Hm?”
Out of nowhere, Ellie’s lips pressed into a thin line; her eyes narrowing as she stared at Julian.
“Julian, remember when you were interrogated by the police? And you told me it was because you talked to two of the loan sharks?”
“...Yes.”
“Did… you hurt them?”
Julian stiffened but didn’t really answer. Fortunately for him, fate was on his side this time—as he was about to open his mouth to speak, the sudden chime of the doorbell interrupted their talk.
Ellie did not immediately get up, her eyes still narrowing at Julian as he waited for him to answer. And Julian did the same, just sitting still without doing anything at all. But after a few moments, a small sigh escaped his lips and he said,
“...I would be lying to you if I said no.”
Ellie closed her eyes as she heard that, but with a short sniffle, she embraced Julian and whispered,
“Thank you… and I’m sorry you had to do that for me.”
“No. I would do it again if I need to.” Julian brushed his fingers along Ellie’s damp hair, “You do not know how much I care for you, Ellie.”
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“And you don’t know how much I love you, Julian.” Ellie smiled and gasped. There were more words wanting to escape her lips, but the doorbell rang again and she just rushed away from Julian, adjusting her bath robes again as she made her way to the door.
As for Julian, he tilted his head to the side as he heard the familiar voices seeping in from the door.
“It’s…” She looked through the peephole, “...Talia and the others? Were you expecting them?”
Ellie opened the door, and Cyrus strode in immediately.
“Ellie.” Cyrus just greeted her with a nod, his expression somewhat grim. And it wasn’t only him, Talia, and even the incredibly chill Dyrroth were equally serious.
“Julian!” Cyrus raised his voice, “You need to go back to Artemia. Now!”
“This… seems urgent.” Ellie clutched her bathrobe before getting clothes to wear and rushing to the bathroom, leaving Julian with his friends.
“You need to go back to Artemia,” Cyrus repeated, his tone even more serious.
“What’s… going on?” Julian asked, but he was already reaching for his LinkGear that was resting on the side of the bed.
“We tried to stop it, my dudes…” Dyrroth nervously chuckled.
“But you were taken by the Order of Artemia.” And Talia continued his words, “We really did try to stop it, but we’d be making a ruckus if we insisted any further. But right now, the Order’s keeping you—well, your clone inside one of their prisons. Titus is keeping watch on you with that muscular girl, but he couldn’t get inside.”
“Okay.” Julian didn’t hesitate at all. He put the LinkGear back on his head… but nothing happened. He even pressed the button to transfer his consciousness to Artemia manually. Still, nothing.
“What’s… going on?” Cyrus started biting his nails.
“I’m… still here.” Julian muttered, “Is my clone… dead?”
“That—”
And before anyone could answer, MEGAN’s avatar popped out from the holographic display of the room.
[No. It’s not.] MEGAN crossed her arms, [I have actually been talking to Humanity Engineering since I also watched your clone be dragged away by those goons, Julian—and they have confirmed that your clone is alive and fully operational. They are currently investigating why you can’t transfer, but the vital signs are perfectly stable.]
“Oh, good…” Cyrus, Talia, and Dyrroth all instantly fell to the floor. Their breaths almost escaped from their lips on their own. Even Ellie, who just got out of the bathroom now fully dressed, let out a sigh of relief despite not knowing what was happening.
But while everyone began to relax, MEGAN raised her hand to get everyone’s attention.
[That’s not all, Julian. I am still talking with them now—and they have sent you an invitation to visit their main office.]
“Visit?” Julian repeated, pulling the LinkGear from his head. “Why?”
[They didn’t specify,] MEGAN replied. [But they’re requesting your presence at their headquarters on Ceres-9.]
“No way… You actually got an invitation to their main office?” Cyrus’s eyes lit up as he looked at Julian, “You should go, Sword Junkie! It’s only in the next galaxy!”
“Wait, next galaxy…?” Ellie crossed her arms, “He’s never been that far from Earth before—when did they say this is again?”
[They’ve offered to send an escort to pick him up immediately,] MEGAN said. [They seem very eager to meet him.]
“Huh…” Julian hummed. He was about to refuse—after all, he would essentially be surrounded by the universe’s most intelligent people—there was a chance that someone there would notice that something was wrong with him.
[I know what you’re thinking, Julian.] MEGAN whispered in his mind before he could decide, [But it will be more suspicious to decline. Everyone, and I mean everyone would jump at the chance to visit Humanity Engineering’s main headquarters. If we refuse… it’ll only raise questions.]
“...Very well,” Julian trusted MEGAN’s words almost immediately as he grabbed his cane and stood up from the bed, “Let’s hear what they want.”
And half an hour later, someone was already ringing the doorbell. Cyrus rushed to open it, and there, a tall and extremely professional-looking woman stood. Cyrus felt himself shrinking as he met eyes with the woman, but she did not seem to care at all as her gaze quickly fell onto Julian.
“Good evening, Mr. Winters.” The woman bowed her head despite knowing that Julian was blind, “My name is Victoria, and I will be your escort today. I’ve been dispatched to take you to Humanity Engineering’s main office on Ceres-9.”
[Julian… she’s not human.] MEGAN whispered.
“Hm. I know.” Julian’s nose slightly twitched. Victoria did not smell human at all, and even though she looked incredibly human to the others, the scent and humming of the metal inside her was clear to Julian—he doesn’t know when it happened, but his senses have continued to improve to the point that he could actually hear someone’s heartbeat even from meters away now.
Victoria was an android.
“I assume that Mrs. Winters will be coming with us?” Victoria’s eyes turned toward Ellie.
“Mrs…?” Cyrus, Talia, and Dyrroth all turned their attention to Ellie, “When did the two of you get married?”
“We… we haven’t.” Ellie’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Victoria. In truth, she had actually been searching the internet about marriage and all that stuff—was… Humanity Engineering buying their data?
“I apologize.” Victoria bowed her head, “Based on the profile they have given me, I assumed the two of you were married—but will you be the one coming with Mr. Winters, correct? Since he is a GNVI, he would need a guardian to leave the Sol System.”
“Uhm…” Ellie narrowed her eyes before nodding, “...Yes. I’ll be the one coming with him.”
“Good.” Victoria once again bowed her head, “Please, if you follow me…
…I will take you to your vehicle.”
***
In another part of Earth, the Daemon Control Center still buzzed with activity, perhaps even worse now. The room was bathed in red warning lights, but the voices of the people running around dominated the entire hall that was filled with images of daemons.
There were hundreds of drones now hovering above the Portal that opened somewhere in a vast deserted area located in the Sahara, raining fire upon all the daemons that emerged from it.
“Have we gotten a response from the Exterminator Guild yet!?”
“I’m picking up activity on the western perimeter!”
“It’s a mass of flying daemons! Our drones are sitting ducks out there!”
And while the chaos continued, the two heads of the DCC, Dr. Heinz and Dr. Ling, continued to watch what was happening. They exchanged grim looks as they monitored the battle from their elevated station.
“This is a waste of resources,” Dr. Ling muttered, her tone sharp. “We should send in strike drones, no one lives there.”
“No. Let’s just go with your earlier suggestion.” Dr. Heinz shook his head.
“Are… you sure?” Dr. Ling's face immediately lit up in excitement.
“Yes. It’s time we see what’s on the inside. Send a wired drone inside the portal…
…It’s time we see what’s on the inside.”
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