Asashi scrolled through his thin, translucent phone. Videos of AI cats dancing made him chuckle, but after a while, it became boring. Scrolling further, a clip of an old man falling on his back appeared, making Asashi laugh more than he should have. What was he even doing? Wasn’t there anything better he had to attend to? He threw his phone on his desk and leaned back in his chair with a sigh.
His temporary room at the base of Mount Fuji was more lackluster and claustrophobic than he expected. It was barely a quarter of the size of his office at AOK headquarters and lacked any natural light. The walls were made of soulless steel, making the room feel as if he were in a prison—perhaps the absence of decor also contributed to it. The only furniture in the room was a low coffee table and another chair facing him, as if he were supposed to have meetings with people, which he didn’t foresee happening anytime soon.
“Maybe I should go check on what Kaiyo is doing,” Asashi murmured to himself. He had seen security footage of them building their campsite, and he knew their exact location thanks to the Techno watch. Of course, that went for everyone throughout the challenge. The academy was very adamant about knowing precisely what was occurring in case of emergencies or casualties. The best way to do so was by releasing hundreds of self-automating robot insects to survey the area.
When notable updates occurred, the AI sent the data to AOK servers, and another line of AI software sifted through it—quicker than any human could—to ensure everyone was safe and following protocol. In this case, Asashi had asked for any footage from Sen’s team to be broadcast to him. For no particular reason at all, of course. In truth, he just couldn’t help but feel anxious about his daughter.
This method was commonly used in cities to alert people, while also classifying danger levels via their phones. The AI devices also surveyed the general area and alerted Knights of Monsters that needed to be slain. However, it wasn’t infallible. If it were, there wouldn’t be any monster attacks.
“I’m bored…” he groaned. But I guess that was a good thing in this case. It meant nothing terrible was happening.
“Mr. Asashi?” a voice abruptly said after the door opened.
He spoke too soon, perhaps. Surprisingly, it wasn’t Zizu this time, which slightly disappointed him for some reason. Instead, it was a stocky, tall young man. His brown hair was short, and his thin beard well-kept, showing that he was a rather fine gentleman.
“Kira, what can I help you with?” Asashi asked. This wasn’t their first time meeting—in fact, it had been quite often as of late. Kira was his personal courier, updating him on certain things that occurred during the challenge. And by the look on his face, it wasn’t positive.
“Well, sir,” Kira breathed in with hesitation, “I just got notice that there have been some casualties.”
“Casualties?” Asashi stood up urgently. There was a stray thought kindling in the back of his mind, but he quickly shook it off. He was getting too ahead of himself. This was inevitable. Some casualties were bound to occur in such an extreme challenge. Still, a line of regret made him doubt whether he should have allowed his daughter to participate in the first place. The more the challenge went on, the more anxious he became. It’s okay. Her team has a lot of capable people, so she’ll be alright. The monsters aren’t that strong—mainly bronze rank and, in some cases, silver rank. With all the tools they have, I’m sure they’ll manage. But the fact there were casualties meant there was still more risk than he’d like to admit.
“Alright…” Asashi sat back down, sighing briefly with his elbows on the desk and fingers crossed. “Show me the footage.”
Kira nodded reluctantly and ambled his way to Asashi’s desk. Pulling a zip drive from his pocket, he inserted it into a hand-sized cylindrical device on the desk. A screen projected out of the tube, and the young man navigated to the zip drive’s content. Eventually, after finding it, Kira opened the file to reveal video footage from one of the insect’s cameras. Asashi watched with patience… then that patience soon turned into confusion… and finally disgust.
Two monsters that seemed to be Brailings–a goat-like monster, ironically—stood beside three mangled bodies, covered in blood. Oddly enough, the monsters almost looked confused and lost. However, to Asashi’s surprise, that was not where the clip ended.
Almost inhumanly, the monsters were cut into pieces faster than he could even fathom—a stream of scarlet gushed, forming a small river of blood. A red-haired figure stood in the center of all the death. Seemingly too calm and collected, Asashi doubted whether that was even a human. Perhaps it was a shapeshifting monster… but when reality sank in, he reminded himself that those didn’t exist.
“Team Nova?” Asashi breathed, recognizing the person.
“I think it’s almost a stretch to even mention a team,” Kira said frankly. “Nova is entirely by himself. The rest of the members didn’t even try to participate after registering as part of his team.”
“Not a single one?”
“Yes,” Kira confirmed. “It’s very abnormal if you ask me. You’d think at least one would try, but no, they all lounged in the room of doors, even after Nova had found the exit.”
Asashi found that highly suspicious. “Is there any evidence to suggest Nova knew these people before the first challenge started?”
“No, unfortunately. They met up randomly like most of the people in the challenge.”
“That sounds even more absurd then,” Asashi grumbled as Kira nodded in agreement. Who was this person? More or less, a child. “He passed the first challenge in three minutes, correct?” Asashi asked.
“Three minutes and thirty-two seconds, to be exact.”
Asashi snorted. “Like that makes it any more believable.” He needed to go back and watch the security footage of Nova passing the first challenge to get a better scope of his abilities, but right now, the video in front of him was more important. “So, is that all from the footage?”
Kira frowned, as if debating whether they should continue watching or not. “Well, that’s the most important part. Unfortunately, our AI insects did not capture the moment the contestants were killed, which I’m half glad about, but regarding the incident, that’s all.”
“I can tell there’s something else, isn’t there?” Asashi noticed Kira’s narrow face frown in thought.
“Yes. I thought I’d fast forward a bit and show you what else I found rather odd about this incident. Two people appeared after Nova had killed the monsters, and the interaction was, well… I’ll just show you.”
With a quick swipe of his finger across the projected screen, the footage fast-forwarded until two white-haired contestants stepped in front of the gruesome scene.
Asashi froze. “You have to be fucking kidding me.”
Out of all the people who could appear in the incident, it was Sen and his sister…
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
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Asashi’s phone buzzed as he tried calling someone. No one was present in his soulless office, and Kira had withdrawn to sleep a few hours ago after showing him more footage upon his request. Although late night was approaching, he was still wired up, his dress shoes tapping the steel floor impatiently while sitting, his teeth gritting crossly. His phone responded with a robotic voice. “Sorry, the person you’re trying to dial is unavailable. Please try again later—”
Asashi angrily threw his phone on the desk and scrambled his short black hair with his hands, groaning in frustration. “Pick up the goddamn phone, you bastard…” he muttered. What good was a phone if no one picked it up? But this was Mr. Storm he was talking about; he expected nothing less from that lazy excuse of a man. I need to calm down. Maybe I’m overreacting. Still, in the back of his mind, something was urging him, like a ticking clock slowly counting down until something terrible occurred. He felt it. And he knew Sen was going to be in the center of it. He just knew.
Just then, his phone started vibrating on his desk. It was Storm. Leaping off his chair, he quickly grasped his phone and answered.
“Yello!” a cheerful voice said. “What can I not help you with today?”
“Cut the bullshit, Storm,” Asashi demanded. “This is a serious matter.”
“You say that all the time. Listen, if it’s another one of your requests to throw out Sen, consider it denied already. I’m too busy to listen to your yapping!” Storm snapped. In the background, Asashi could have sworn he heard the growl of monsters and people screaming. “Oh shit… This little bastard tried to kill me! Bad boy, down! Down!”
Asashi blinked. “Are you seriously fighting monsters while talking to me?”
“Aw man, this monster is kinda cute. Could I keep him?”
“What? Of course not, no. Why are you fighting monsters while talking to me?”
He heard Storm yelp from the other end of the phone. “Well, you forget that I’m a Knight, too. I have responsibilities! Plus, I’m the strongest there is, and I can multi-task— Holy fuck, that was close!”
Asashi couldn’t believe he even tried calling him. He pressed his eyes with a sigh. “Listen, if you're not available yet, I'll talk to you later.”
“Nah, I’m only available at this exact moment. Everything after that, I'm going to be busy doing… things.”
“Like?”
There was a moment of silence. “There’s a new game releasing, so I’m gonna pull an all-nighter and play it after I’m done cleaning the streets of these pesky little cute vermin.” The sound of bullets rang, and the metal clink of swords connecting with the ground was heard. “Come here, kitty kitty—oh wait, wrong one. Come here, doggy doggy!”
Asashi was going to lose it. But at this point, his anger just turned into acceptance. This was just how Storm was and always would be. He just needed to live with it.
“Listen, Storm…” Asashi began. “Nova is one of the failed vessels, correct?”
After some more extensive research into Nova’s background, Asashi found that many things simply didn’t add up. He never went to school—there were no records of his parents or even records of himself—they were all lost or deleted. Judging by Storm's silence, Asashi knew he was on the right track. Nova’s participation in the first challenge and record in the first challenge alone raised a lot of suspicion. This was the only possible conclusion—
“Yep,” Storm said indifferently. Asashi stood dumbfounded with his phone raised to his ear.
“What?” He blurted out. “That’s it? Really? You’re not even going to try to deny it?”
“Why should I care to keep it a secret? I already told you that I don’t permit the removal of any contestants just because they were previously failed vessels. Anyway, so why do you ask? I can sense you called me for more than just to confirm the identity of one of the vessels.”
He gritted his teeth. “You’re quite keen. Yes, I’d like permission to remove Sen from the challenge again.”
He heard Storm sigh from the other end. “For the last time, I told you already, I’m allowing that boy to continue. You say this as if he poses a threat to the academy. He is a senseless boy, Asashi. Show some pity. Hold that thought—a monster is attacking. Ughh!” Asashi waited in silence until he finished. “Alright. Anyway, as I was saying. This is the last time I’m going to humor you. You’re only interested in the vessels because Yami was involved in it. It’s like you and Yami were some closeted lovers with how much you obsess over him, Jesus. Leave the poor failed vessels alone—”
“Sen is not a failed vessel.”
…
“And what’s your proof of that claim, good sir? You know you can’t make statements without proof.”
Asashi grew silent before finally blurting out— “Sen tried to kill his mother a few days after his father went missing.”
“Again, where is the evidence?”
“Jen confirmed it with me over the phone. But I had no power to remove Sen, so the only thing I could do was sit back and accept I was completely useless. But after seeing what Sen did, I have undeniable proof that I’m correct.”
“You’re about to do an info dump on me, aren’t you?” Storm sighed. Asashi heard him huff as he ran away from some monsters. “Alright, I’m letting the rest of the Knights handle the fighting for a little while. What exactly did you see?”
“There was a monster incident that occurred during the challenge, taking the lives of three contestants. Right after they were killed, Nova immediately showed up and slayed the monsters.”
“That’s my boy! He’s quite the skilled fighter.”
Asashi sighed. “I want you to take a wild guess of who also showed up…”
“Probably Sen, by the burning rage of your tone. So? Wow, Sen so happened to meet Nova. It’s the end of the world. Call the police!”
Asashi was getting annoyed. “You didn’t see his reaction to meeting him, Storm! It was abnormal! That boy was screaming for help and vomited upon seeing him. I suspect there is some weird connection between the failed vessels.”
“…Connection?” Storm echoed. “That is highly speculative, Asashi, and you must recognize that. For all we know, Sen could have thrown up because he just saw three fucking mutilated bodies and Nova, who was completely drenched with blood. It’s perfectly reasonable to scream and be frightened in that scenario. For all Sen knows, Nova could have been the one who killed the people. Maybe that’s why he was so afraid of him. Think critically, Asashi, instead of trying to manipulate things that occurred to fit your own agenda.”
Asashi clenched his hand into a fist, making it slowly turn pale white. “That’s not all… Storm. I asked one of the agents to give me more footage of Sen’s team. And I mean all of it. I spent the last couple of hours skimming through everything Sen has done so far, and one of the AIs captured something I think you’d love to hear…” Asashi sat back in his chair and threw his feet on the table. “Sen killed a monster. I saw it—and I saw those eyes of his… although the quality wasn’t ideal. They were glowing blue, Storm… Tell me, why would they glow blue?!”
Storm became eerily quiet, although the frantic shouts of civilians in the background could still be heard.
“… There could be a number of reasons why his eyes glowed, Asashi. You act as if it’s normal for Sen to be senseless in the first place. It’s far more unusual that he never had a Sense. For all we know, he could be going through a late activation of his Sense. I’ll consult with him at the end of the challenge if that’s the case. Until then, I forbid you from making any actions to throw them o—”
“How long are you going to ignore the signs?!” Asashi snapped.
“The signs of what? That he may or may not have some lasting effects from Yami’s experiment? Who cares? You’re making a big deal out of nothing, Asashi.”
“You don’t understand!” He slammed his fist on the wooden table with his Sense activated, breaking it in half as shards of wood scattered across the floor. “He tried to kill his very own mother! That’s proof that he’s out of control!”
“What did his mother say, Asashi? Did she actually say her very own son tried to kill her? Or is this one of your moments where you conflate things to fit what you want to think? You don’t understand what it’s like surviving Yami’s experiments. The fact that boy is even alive is a miracle that should be cherished. You have zero clue of how much pain and suffering he went through, not understanding why he was senseless, why his father had died, or why his very own mother had been lying to him his whole life. You don’t have one fucking clue!”
For the first time, Asashi noticed Storm's anger. His comedic façade was slipping.
Taken aback, Asashi stood motionless, wondering why Storm cared so much. Perhaps he knew firsthand how brutal it was being a test subject for Yami and simply wanted to protect a person who went through a similar experience. Asashicould recognize that. He knew it all too well. It wasn’t as if he wanted to hate Sen and be cruel towards him. No, he just wanted to keep everyone safe. And the more he learned… the more his fear grew that Sen was responsible for that day.
“You’re right. I have no substantial proof that Sen tried to kill his mother, and Jen didn’t flat-out say it either, probably out of fear of what the law of administration would do to her son. She told me something that only I would understand. If I say it, you’d call me a lunatic again, so I won’t even bother. But all you need to know is that there is something wrong with Sen. He isn’t the failed vessel you think he is,” Asashi said, forcing himself to calm his tone.
...
“Give me all the evidence and reasoning you have to suggest Sen tried to kill his mother, even if it’s ludicrous like I expect.” Storm finally sighed. “I’ll investigate this matter myself. Until then, my orders stand. Alright then, catch ya later alligator. I got some gaming to do.”
With a beep, the call ended just like that.