“I refuse to let you take him!” Silverhonor declared standing at the front gates of Glory Guild Headquarters, arms out as if she was attempting to stop an eighteen-wheeler from crossing the road. In place of a massive hunk of metal and gas was the engine of the Global Guards: a horde of International Agents who’d caught wind of Problem hiding within the walls.
And Silverhonor was one taking a stand against them—for him. “Under my watchful eye, you will not capture a member of my guild and take him for your shameless political attack against this world’s greatest heroes! If you wish to have him, then do your worst and consider me as another opponent to your atrocious ploys!”
“Don’t make this difficult for yourself, girl.” From the crowd of agents came a well-dressed nobleman from the European era, but that was just the traitor of the guild: Mystic. From inside the Headquarters, hateful gazes laid upon him like swords stuck through a barrel. He tensed, fists clenching together.
Silverhonor darkened seeing him and slowly lowered her hands. “I didn’t want to believe you had betrayed us, Mystic, but I cannot refuse the evidence of my eyes.”
“Oh, would you stop with that nonsense? My tolerance for compassionate do-gooders is at an all-time low and my patience is even lower. I am here for one thing only and that is Morgan Hoshino. Where is the boy?”
“I’ve told your new guild and I will repeat myself as many times as it shall take: you will not have him.”
“Hah, since when did you grow a spine, Silver? Don’t be silly. You’re treading on a playground meant for adults in the real world. This is not some drama on TV; you have no understanding of the—”
“No, it’s time for you to bite down on your tongue, you horrible man. You are correct. Perhaps I am this ‘compassionate do-gooder’ but for the first time in my life, you taught me the joys of sadistic pleasure when I expelled you and your gang from this guild. And when you return to your superiors defeated, I'll show no restraint for my smile.”
Mystic visibly jerked himself back at the uncharacteristic harsh words from the oh-so-gentle elf. He looked around the audience on both teams before smirking. “Where did you learn those words? Ah, it doesn’t matter. Do we need to barge into Headquarters to pull him from his swing set?”
“If you believe that’s the correct choice, then yes.” Silverhonor straightened herself, preparing for the worst. “Destroy our former Guild Master’s home more than the Comets had and march me away from its smoldering ruins. I dare you, Mystic, as you’ve already made your position clear. And this is mine: I will stand with Kosmos and Angels Guild, and I will stand against you and the Global Guards. What is your choice, sir?”
Mystic gritted his teeth, troubled.
The video ended right there.
Within the hour of its publishing across various platforms, it’d garnered millions of views worldwide. Everyone in the comments was commenting on her bravery and fearlessness in standing against the Guards—some were, uncomfortably enough, admiring her in certain lewd ways. Regardless of that last point, the reception was positive. No doubt she knew this now.
But in the end…
“Problem gave himself up willingly…” Nathan muttered to himself before sighing. “Just to check, Sephirah Hamidi has the goods?”
Kashan, who showed him the video and the comments in the first place, nodded. “Yup, we have confirmation that she has everything including the universe splitter. She’ll hold onto the diamond until things calm down for us.”
“Good. But there’s one thing I’m worried about: the leaker who revealed Problem’s location to the eight-fourteens. Has Silverhonor identified them?”
“Heh.”
“...I don’t think that’s a name.” Nathan narrowed his eyes seeing his friend getting all too smug for no apparent reason.
“Who do you think did it then, genius?” Kashan scrolled down on his phone to highlight the comments again. “It’s Problem. He orchestrated this. If I had to surmise how, then he must’ve used an anonymous account to send a message to the eight-fourteens after your livestream ended. Once he finalized the deal with Hamidi, it was about the same time they had gotten ready and began knocking on the front door.”
“And since Silverhonor was present, he forced her to act.”
Kashan chuckled, impressed. “Our Problem has a bigger heart than he lets on but just as clever as I thought. He turned his enemy into an opportunity for Silverhonor to rise and gave her the best circumstances to do so.”
“He was betting on her.”
“And you, Kosmos, for saying the right thing at the right moment. You’ve given her the confidence to walk on stage to begin with.”
But now, it makes her choice harder. Will she step down from Glory Guild or will she continue? A single impassioned speech won’t solve everything. And because of this fact, he wasn’t completely happy. The hardest part had yet to come for her, but it was her responsibility to resolve it.
His shoulders felt lighter. Multiple objectives were accomplished. “Let’s consider this act completed. But I would’ve liked it if you had told me about the location change.”
“It completely flew past my head,” Kashan joked.
In other words, you thought informing me was too much of a risk. “Fine, let move on. Update me on the Hospital.”
“Shinzo and anyone else detained were freed. Thanks to the Alumnus reinforcing the position, the Anomalies were not able to take our superstars. After your livestream, they reportedly received orders to return back to base and our doctors were able to work again. Shinzo herself wanted to pass along her thanks; if she’d been locked up for longer, then only God knows what would happen to Chie.”
Nathan uneasily shifted in his chair, hating the possibility. “So it’s a success?”
“It’s a massive failure—no, why do you think I’m smiling?” Kashan pointed to his clearly upturn lips. “We managed to get the Society on our side and protected our people! Angels is finally calming down after the eight-fourteens had their leashes tugged on! The last thing on our list is waiting out the Guards! But to guarantee our victory, we need to keep applying the pressure while the momentum is high! Silverhonor is one small pebble in the rockslide we could cause!”
During his little talk, Kashan had progressively moved closer and closer to Nathan in an enthusiastic fit of energy. Whenever they had schemes like these, he was the most hyper of the three. Last time he was this jumpy, it was during the nomination of the next Chief Otherguard with Gabriel.
Realizing his forwardness now, Kashan cleared his throat and stepped back. “I’ll draft up some ideas before moving forward, check in with Hamidi, and make sure the rug doesn’t get pulled out from under us.”
“Alright, thank you. I’ll be here lazing about.”
“I wish that was me.”
Kashan headed out the office.
God, Nathan needed a break. After everything that happened, the chaos of the arrest and the livestream, he was utterly exhausted. Yet oddly, he was happy despite having his wife imprisoned still. Finally speaking his mind as Kosmos had given him the catharsis he never knew he needed—and so much future anxiety ad a result.
He scrolled through social media, seeing what the addicted users had to say about the news.
Lots of opinions but many were in avid support of him and his cause; others were intensely interested in Alexander and were digging up every fact about his life. Best of all he found some ’reputable’ political commentators: some insiders near the heated discussions at the Global Guards Headquarters were saying the world leaders were now hesitant.
While he wasn’t sure these anecdotes were true, he had connections inside. They had corroborated these claims and were saying the same thing.
The dissidents had been given the golden ticket to push.
These were the crowd Nathan was appealing to. By putting forth the narrative that as long as the Guards had Sera and the others arrested, it was harming worldly security as a result and so more and more people would stand in opposition.
It was a problem that got worse through time like a disease. Today, the Society and Silverhonor and Jin Tiehan. Tomorrow, who was next?
So what now while they wait for the inevitable to happen?
Nathan already knew and began dialing. Within seconds, she picked up.
“Daddy?” his daughter’s voice was heard, and she sounded like she had been crying.
“Hey,” he replied, doing his best to sound strong but the pain in his chest said otherwise. “How’re you doing, sweetpea?”
~~
The Baptists—those currently not in detention—were sent home to rest. It’d been a long day but they could see a light at the end of the tunnel.
“Huh, the [Sovereign Spirit Beast Physique]. We haven’t recognized a positive condition like that in decades, but then again considering its Chinese origins, most affairs in the Jianghu are mysterious in nature.” Alistair fearlessly rubbed his hand against Shandian’s core and the Lightning Spirit buzzed warmly, taking a great liking to him.
His natural sparks were harmless but waving your hand close was like bathing in heatless fire. Safe but very concerning for a normal person.
A normal person, but ‘normal’ wasn’t exactly a trait shared by the Shens.
“You think it’s from the Jianghu?” Althea asked as she enjoyed a cold can of soda while they watched TV. A random movie was on—the three of them had mutually decided against watching the news. They needed to relax.
Alistair hummed, continuing to play with Shandian. “The [Physique] is from your mother’s side. Obviously, because as I said, it’s only been found in individuals with Chinese heritage. Myself and your father obviously have little-to-none genetic ties in anything Asian.”
“Huh.” Unlike Althea, Leona had a bottle of beer. “I hadn’t thought about that since now. How much do you know about your mother’s side of the family, lovely?”
Althea shrugged. “Dunno, Mom was adopted. Her parents—our biological grandparents—gave her up when she was a toddler. She didn’t know a thing ‘bout them and neither did her adoptive parents. But wait, does this mean…?”
“I think so,” Alistair confirmed. “Ever since I took you and Alex in after Hangzhou, I spent hundreds of hours combing through resources and contacts to see if I could find family to inform them of what’d happened. Your mother’s biological family. Nothing. I’m almost certain you’re related to some great power in the Jianghu, but the greatest summoner or beast tamer sect I’m aware of is the Qiangshou Faction (强兽派) and they do not have any records of any positive conditions related to the [Spirit Beast].”
“Seriously? Don’t you have contacts there?”
“Not the best ones, but I’ve asked enough where word should’ve gone around most circles. Either your biological relatives didn’t hear or they did hear but refused to respond. Thank you for telling me this anyway, Althea. What have you been advised?”
“Keep it a secret,” she said. “About everyone in the Baptists know about it plus Alma, who discovered it in the first place.”
“Good, that’s the right decision but it’s on you for keeping it.” Alistair stood up as Shandian hovered with him, matching elevation. “I’ve visited the Jianghu a handful of times and it’s a beautiful place but also very dangerous. The Chinese government and the Otherguards have mostly surrendered all attempts at bringing order; thus, morality and ethics are relative to the heroes who preside over their territory and the people within. Like to give a close example, the Lei House (雷家莊) sold their daughter, the Transcendental Onyx Beauty, to Master Jin Junjie so she could be the mother to Jin Tiehan—and we know what happened to her.
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“Once your [Physique] is common knowledge, you’ll earn the attention of the Jianghu if Alex wasn’t enough of a siren. Some, even, may attempt to kidnap you.”
Althea was halfway with drinking her soda before stopping. She awkwardly put it down. “O-kay. Does this mean you’ll protect me?”
Alistair heartily chuckled, then took his seat on a comfortable throne with Shandian buzzing at his feet. “Of course. Nobody will lay a finger on you.”
I have a feeling he means it genuinely. Leona shuddered after remembering how Levin was instantly domesticated from a single touch. She wanted to ask about it but something told her she either wasn’t going to get an answer or the answer she would get was better left unknown.
“Does this mean you’re joining us, Ali?” she asked. “The Baptists?”
“I have to. At first, I was planning on staying as long as I needed, but after hearing what Kosmos said…” Alistair exhaled uneasily. “I can’t leave you all alone. It does mean I have to shut down my business in High Home but it’s a sacrifice for a better future. Far from the worst sacrifice I’ve committed at least, haha.”
He was going to be a strong player on the team at least, plus his experience in systemic therapy would help lots with morale. With her morale. If he hadn’t showed up at the right time then she would still be crying and stuffed in the corner in the fetal position. But by her days this was far from what she imagined Alistair would be. She thought he would he a smaller, reserved man who looked almost harmless.
But just like his nephew and brother, Alistair was gentle and dangerous.
“Leo,” his voice called to her, “is this a good time to start the conversation?”
“The conversation?” she raised, confused as she glanced at Althea who didn’t have a clue either. Honestly she never did, Leona kept referencing her for some reason. “There’s a lot of conversations we could be having right now, so which one is it?”
“You. Let’s talk about you. I understand what happened today caused unimaginable stress but I’ll be rational for a moment: you survived the Disaster through much worse circumstances. And I think Althea can attest to my theory… The arrest was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Leona gulped and tasted beer on her tongue, then the iron flavor of blood. Memories of the past week replayed in fast-forward. The pain, the anguish, the darkness, the hell. She bit her lip feeling the room grow heavier, not by her own trauma but from guilt and shame forming at her core.
“Right, yeah, you’re right. You’re right… I almost forgot I did that. I guess I should start off by apologizing, so: I want to apologize. For how I acted. It’s, uh, it’s a lot to unpack for me. Lots of emotions and feelings I’m not quite sure what they are or where they come from. I know I barked at Thea a bunch of times, fought with her; I neglected my own health and put myself at constant risk… I’ve been a selfish mess.”
“Pain is inherently selfish,” said Alistair. “Don’t blame yourself for feeling it.”
“Thank you but there’s correct ways of handling pain and I picked none of them.”
“Hey, I’m not completely innocent either. I shouldn’t have been so bitchy back,” Althea said as she clenched her soda, the condensation dripping onto her fingers. “But all this bullshit made me so pissed all the time, it’s unreal. And uh, I’m not saying that as an excuse but y’get what I mean.”
“Don’t I know it.” Leona scooted closer and put a comforting hand on her leg. “It’s like I turned back into my teenage self but with more responsibility than I can handle.”
“Teenage self?” questioned Alistair.
“Mhm. I moved to Seoul to live with my aunt after my parents died. You can imagine how hard it was for me to fit in, to grieve, to survive high school—ugh. Nobody really accepted me, I had no one to associate with, so I didn’t take care of myself then.”
“I bet you wish you were in high school now.”
“Oh, you’d be surprised how much of a hell high school was. I don’t know if it was High Home hell, but it was an awful, horrible place regardless. And this week! Gosh, there was so much to do this week. It’s a long story, Ali—we’ll tell you later—but Kosmos and Seraph have big expectations for all of us. For me. I needed to fulfill them knowing what’s coming in the future. And at the same time…”
Leona placed a hand on her chest, recalling her nightmares. She’d been abandoned. Left alone. Alexander left her, Althea left her, Mom and Dad and all of her friends. And look at today: the celebrity was not in this room. Instead he was a prisoner of the Hospital, his sentence indeterminate.
Of all the sources of pain she’d drudged up over the past week, then Alexander Shen would compete for the number one spot for breaking his promise.
“I was really hurt and I blame our idiot Alex for causing it. I hated him for almost leaving me, I felt ashamed I couldn’t do more to help him, I felt obligated to be as tough and compassionate as he was…” Leona looked at Althea while saying that, “…and I had to grieve knowing he lost an arm to save this city. Seconds away from losing his life too! He sacrificed so much and what did I get in return? Loneliness and political drama. A sweet deal, isn’t it?
“Jeez, and…!” She choked on her own words, coughing lightly, and rubbed the tears out of her eyes. “I haven't visited him even once since the Barrier fell! Aiden took time everyday for Chie but I couldn’t do the same once because I knew when I saw him tied to the bed with IVs and tubes, I’d break down and never want to leave. I tried my best to handle everything on my plate but you saw what happened. I just couldn’t take it anymore and I broke and I’m sorry for not relying on you guys sooner. It’s my fault, really.”
Alistair sighed and briefly she thought he was disappointed—imagine that, disappointed in a woman you just met today—but his expression ran counter to her assumption. It was the opposite; he knew of her pain and was sympathetic, truly. “Does it look like we would hold any long-standing grudges against you, Leo?”
“What about short-standing ones?”
“Ha. Althea and I won’t hold anything against you. Alexander especially. But do air these feelings out; we’re probably the best people who will listen after our experiences in Hangzhou and High Home. What’s happening today is undoubtedly worse but at the same time, you’ve made allies who you traveled through hell together. They are the people you’ll stick with for the rest of your life. You should start to get used to them now.”
“Heh…” Leona laughed. No longer did her body feel like it was dragging anymore. This too-large apartment had warmth creeping in through the walls. Reassurance came at the time she’d least expected it.
He was correct.
No human could survive alone in this world.
Althea rested her head on her shoulder. “Welcome the club. We can be thoroughly fucked up together.”
Leona smiled then raised her beer. “Sure. Here’s to a new day of work tomorrow.”
Alistair raised his bottle. “Cheers.”
~~~
The day after Kosmos had made his announcement, multiple world leaders publicly denounced the arrest of the Ordoian Slayers and instead heralded them as heroes, stating they would not be considering any future collaboration with the Global Guards until they release them from custody.
Increasingly, the public sentiment was turning. They recognized the sacrifice Seraph and the others had made, where in spite of their definite crime, they had done so for the betterment of the world. Analysts agreed that the Guards were too quick to prosecute them. Critics interpreted this as a blatant attempt to remove opposition, giving credence to their accusations of authoritarianism.
So the talks of establishing an united front against Sirius Aethfell had stalled completely, not from the stubbornness of paranoid leaders but from the actions of the very own institution seeking it.
They could end the controversy by releasing them and making a public statement.
The next day, they had.
“Breaking! The Global Guards solidifies their stance on the Darkspace Investigations!”
“Attorney International doubles down on the arrest of Seraph and Monarch!”
“Public outcry as the Global Guards refuses to release the Ordoians!”
Instead they decided to turn up the heat.
“Did you talk to him?” Nathan asked Gabriel, who was on call.
“Nah, but I know the people who encouraged him to go on stage. Just a few individuals who’re interested in seeing the Attorney International gone. Including President Nkosi himself.”
“They’re making him the scapegoat.”
“Kills lots of birds with one stone. He’s getting old anyway, so a replacement is bound to be in order.”
Conqueror took up equal hours as the now-dubbed Darkspace Investigations. Theories were flung and old acquaintances reappeared, posting their own videos online for their five minutes of fame. False rumors and information spread, neither confirmed or denied as the central figure was still deep in a coma.
Combined with Kosmos’s declaration, they had given their comrades a strange newfound peace in the Slayer Capital. No one wanted to slight the strongest Slayer and the future holder of that title. Isabella Alvillar, for example, reached further acclaim than she had already. But she smartly decided against any interviews or questions on the respect of her own relationship with the boy who she knew as Alexander.
“The weirdest thing happened today,” Althea was telling Leona and Alistair as they were eating dinner. “So at OU, right, I had to deliver a trolley of stuff to Aurora Hall. When I stepped inside the commons, everybody there stopped talking and stared at me. I swear, it was like I stepped into a horror movie—ones with creepy cults. And when I rolled the trolley into storage, they made way giving me triple the space I needed. Like if they didn't, I was gonna kill 'em or something."
Alistair chuckled. “You’re the Spirit Beast Queen; lowly subjects need to make way.”
“Mhm. All hail her majesty, Althea Shen," said Leona.
“Haha, really though, that was actually terrifying.”
The third day after Kosmos’s declaration, the Guards remained stalwart in their adamant refusal. More and more figures made their public statements opposing the continuous lapse in judgement.
On the fourth, Sephirah Hamidi messaged Nathan through the System: The Founder has made a decision. He informed the Global Guards that he will collaborate with you instead and greatly appreciated the gifts you’ve sent. Be prepared for future communications.
And on the fifth…
“You’ve won,” said Senior Agent Murke. “We’re letting your people go early tomorrow morning. I’d say ‘Well played!’ but I don’t think you made the right move. You could’ve stayed as this neutral god among men and retire peacefully, but no, you decided to risk it all. Your reputation, your wealth, your family… All for what?”
“This world,” Nathan told him. “Our methods are just different.”
“Ha, that I’ll agree with. Ugh…” Murke lit a cigarette. “There was a snowball’s chance in hell that this would go to trial anyway. Anyone with half-a-braincell would know this plan was never meant to be, but the boys up top ignore reality on a daily basis. So seeing them squirm around, heh, at least I got something good outta this. A few things in fact: like the war we're going to have. That'll be pretty fun."
Nathan scowled behind his mask and Murke detected it.
“Heh, don’t take things too seriously, big guy. I’m in it for the ride. Whatever happens with you and Conqueror, we’ll be watching. Always. Better not slip.”
Murke kept his word. On the sixth day, early morning, the release happened quietly without the public’s knowledge. From the detainment center, out strode the heroes of the Darkspace Investigations and they looked awful.
Well, anything more would've been strange. For almost a week, they'd been kept under twenty-four hour surveillance plus continuously drugged with contra-system.
When Nathan finally saw his wife, she was nearly falling over. Before she collapsed, he caught her—just like he had so many years ago when he awakened to the SLAYER System. “Hey,” he said quietly, “we did it. We made it.”
Sera embraced him warmly. “At the cost of so many…”
“I know…” Nathan looked up and saw the rest of the crew trudging out. Levin was yelling at Monarch, High Dominion was getting helped into a van with Damien bothering both Votary and Problem as though nothing had happened.
They did it. The Society accepted the deal and the rug wasn’t pulled out from under them. They were free.
Nathan wanted to cry but he was appearing as Kosmos this morning, and Kosmos never cried. Instead he allowed himself silence as he took his wife to an SMV nearby. Their next destination wasn’t Angels Guild Headquarters or anything related to work. They went home where their daughter could be greeted by both her parents when she woke up.
The seventh day, after news had spread about the conclusion of the Darkspace Investigations, an afterparty was thrown when the Attorney International resigned and President Nkosi accepted it. A clever move by the Guards as said by Gadabout and Rector, by shifting the blame on a weakness then excising it. Yet you could hardly call this a 'victory'. Severe damage was done to their reputation.
It would take a long time and many concessions and compromises for the Guards to bring the world back to the table.
However successful would they be in their goals, undoubtedly everyone was shifting their attention to the new order. The one soon brought by Kosmos.
And so there was one major thread left unresolved…
“It seems it was a one-time thing…” Shinzo muttered to herself as she read Chie’s recent reports. Her heart failed once during the Darkspace Investigations. Also when Leona had teleported in and vomited all over the floor.
The former Journey sighed in relief. “Everything looks normal…”
“...zo.”
She raised her head at the strange sound. She looked around. There wasn’t a ghost. No one else was in the room. The TV wasn’t on either. As items were crossed off the list, there was another “...zo.” and there she could better pinpoint the source.
Her clipboard dropped to the floor.
Across the room was the patient. His right arm had been amputated during the Disaster, and considering the extent of his injuries his body should’ve been worse off. But strange things happened to strange people, and he was the strangest.
“It’s about time you woke up,” Shinzo told him cheerfully, folding her arms underneath her breasts. “Welcome back, Conqueror.”