Michael was running low on Magick Ions. He was grateful for the opportunity to use Symbiosis ON in battle, but it was crucial not just to defeat the Corrupt Being but to do so swiftly.
Finished with the fight, Michael hurried out of room 2.4. He noticed the lack of rancid Magick from rooms 1.1 and 1.2, indicating that Team C had completed their tasks and were now focusing on the remaining rooms, 1.3 and 1.4.
'Team D…' He took note of their situation as well. The Magick in room 2.2 had been dealt with, but there seemed to be a commotion in room 2.3.
Michael hesitated, unsure whether to assist the two teams or enter the ninth room, when a figure flew out of room 2.3. Realizing it wasn't a Cult member, he moved quickly to catch the Agent. "Let me help you!"
He tried to support the Agent, who had a long, diagonal gash, three centimeters deep, on his upper body. Fortunately, the wound wasn't bleeding as it had been cauterized. Seeing this, Michael understood that the summoning in room 2.3 had also been successful for the Cult.
"Rest here!" Michael released the Agent, feeling the man could stand on his own, and turned towards room 2.3.
The Agent grabbed Michael's arm. Despite his disorientation, he recognized him. "No. I can keep going. Do your job! The Cult's Magick should have disappeared already. Something's wrong with Agent Jones!" He let go of Michael and pushed him towards the ninth room.
Michael hesitated for a moment, then turned towards the ninth room as the Agent jumped back into the fray, unleashing a burst of Magick. The display didn't inspire much hope, but Michael had to trust Team D to handle their mission so he could focus on his own with a calm mind.
'They are five versus one, led by Agent Jones, who is stronger than these Corrupt Beings!' he reassured himself, kicking open the door to the ninth room and leaping inside.
The familiar scene of a dark space filled with clashing stars overwhelmed Michael's vision. The door behind him vanished. It took him a moment to grasp what he was seeing. Suddenly, remnants from his initial encounter with It erupted within him, attempting to corrupt and take over.
"Agent Jones!" he shouted.
She was fifty or so meters from him in the dark space, visible for seconds at a time by the bright hue of clashing stars. She looked as though she was floating, her body limp, held aloft by purple gas. Beneath her shone a bright Magickal Circle, the largest Michael had ever seen.
'It's wider than the entire estate!' he marveled.
At the center of the Magickal Circle, red and purple gas and fire contended for sovereignty. Michael forced his body forward against the crushing heaviness. His eyes widened as he spotted Agent Jones's red baton embedded halfway into the core of the Magickal Circle. More than half of it had turned purple, and as the purple gas suppressed the red flames, the baton was becoming increasingly purple.
"Fuck!" Michael cursed. 'I'm too slow, dammit! Why isn't the Grace Period doing anything?!'
'One more time, buddy. I need your help, even a little,' Michael silently requested of String.
String was stationary in his chest. The Magick of It avoided String, but it also didn't leave much room to maneuver. String tilted both ends irately, responding to Michael with a mix of hatefulness and defiance that lasted for a few seconds before reluctantly complying.
'Symbiosis ON!'
Michael felt a surge of power. It wasn't as intense as it had been against the Corrupt Being, but it was enough to move faster than a turtle.
"Agent Jones!" he shouted, hoping to break her free from the state induced by the purple gas. His cries failed to reach her. The only solution left was the baton. 'I need to push it all the way in!' he wagered and crossed the boundary of the Magickal Circle.
Instantly, the purple gas surged toward him like a tidal wave. Michael raised his arms in defense and lowered his head, walking nonstop, bracing for contact and hoping it wouldn't push him back like the Corrupt Being had.
Just as he was about to be swallowed by the purple gas, a golden beam penetrated the dark space from above, incinerating the clashing stars in its wake. The dark space trembled, and from the core of the Magickal Circle, a pillar of purple gas emerged to parry the golden beam.
The two forces collided with a power that not even all the stars of the dark space combined could match. They were evenly matched, with a slight advantage to the golden beam, but the purple gaseous pillar refused to surrender.
The dark space, now awash in golden and purple hues, shook violently. Suddenly, a third force arrived!
This new force manifested at the center of the space, right at the collision point. It was a fiery hand, massive enough to cover the sky. It bore down on the purple pillar, aiding the golden beam, though it didn't mix well with it.
Cracks began to form on the purple pillar. In a fraction of a second, it collapsed into a pile of purple gas that lingered briefly before dissipating into nothingness.
The dark space and its stars faded, revealing the real ninth room, a rather large warehouse. The golden beam and fiery hand vanished before Michael could fully register them, along with the stiffness in his limbs as the leftover Magick of It dissipated.
The purple gas controlling Agent Jones dissipated, causing her to plummet to the floor from two meters high. Michael, still weakened, couldn't catch her in time.
"Agent... Jones!" Michael scrambled to her side. Checking for her pulse and breathing, he sighed in relief; both were okay, though mentally he wasn't sure. 'What's the situation outside?' he wondered, listening and watching.
The Cult's rancid Magick was gone, and the sounds of Team C and D fighting the Cult members and Corrupt Being had ceased.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Michael carefully lifted Agent Jones in his arms. As he left the ninth room, he met with the two weary teams. Of the ten agents split between them, each team had suffered one loss, with the remaining agents bearing injuries ranging from light to severe.
"Agent Mir," Team C's leader approached Michael. His right arm was missing, but he otherwise seemed fine, or at least he was acting so. "How is Agent Jones?"
"She's breathing," Michael replied. "However, she was engulfed by the source of the purple Magick. I can't sense it in her now, but she needs to be examined for lingering side effects."
"I see," Team C's leader mused. "And the red baton she should've been handling?"
"It was used up and vanished," Michael replied. In truth, it had been destroyed by the purple pillar, but he didn't plan on sharing that story, which was tied to his Grace Period – the golden beam and fiery hand, he believed.
"Destroyed?!" Team C's leader was briefly shocked. He calmed down, accepting the reply, and then looked straight into Michael's eyes. "We saw room 2.4. You defeated a Corrupt Being on your own..."
"Well, yeah..." Michael admitted, not averting his gaze.
"Do you have some strength left?" Team C's leader inquired after a small pause. "For the guards and common Cult members?"
Michael closed his eyes, assessing his condition. His pool of Magick Ions was nearly spent, but his base Physique was still strong, and his injuries were mostly superficial, especially after the Magick of It had left his body.
"Who can carry Agent Jones?" He asked the members of the two teams.
"I can," a short, muscular woman volunteered.
Michael gently passed Agent Jones to her and walked to the stairway leading to the ground floor.
"Follow me."
…
23.10.2023
12:00
Day of the Kinta-Lath-Macbur Cult's canceled welcoming party.
Michael and Grace sat in a coffee shop by Brighton-Le-Sands Beach, sipping iced coffees with a light brunch.
"Are you ready?" Grace asked, unlocking her phone and opening a message from HQ.
"Just say it," Michael replied, putting down the tall, cold glass. The anticipation was palpable, but he kept his expression neutral.
After the night's mission, the four team leaders had immediately sent their mission reports to the Australian Branch. A couple of hours later, around 08:00, Agent Jones regained consciousness. After reading the team leaders' reports, giving them a late approval, and talking with Michael and Grace to complete the picture, she sent her own report to the Australian Branch an hour later.
Grace had also written a report to HQ after speaking with Agent Jones and having a more private discussion with Michael. Surprisingly, it took HQ only two and a half hours to decide on a preliminary response. Because Grace was busy compiling her review of Michael's performance, she hadn't read HQ's response immediately. Once she was done, she suggested going over the messages in a nicer setting than their rental place.
"Alright," Grace began, scanning the message. "HQ is impressed with the overall success of the mission, despite the losses. They commend the quick thinking and bravery displayed by all Agents involved, particularly noting your handling of the Corrupt Being in room 2.4."
Michael allowed himself a small smile. "That's good to hear. What else?"
"They're recommending Agent Jones for a commendation for her leadership and quick recovery, and..." Grace paused, her eyes widening slightly. "They want to discuss a potential promotion for you, Michael. Given your performance, they believe you're ready for more responsibility."
Michael exhaled, the tension in his shoulders easing. "A promotion, huh? Didn't see that coming so soon."
"You've earned it," Grace said, raising her glass. "To a job well done."
"To a job well done," Michael echoed, clinking his glass with hers.
"HQ first," Grace declared and began to read. "Oh, Department Manager Jully got Director Strange to sign off on it even though the Bureau is still investigating the case. Seems she put up quite the fierce fight for us!" She smiled.
"What does it say?" Michael asked, not having received the message since Grace was leading the mission.
"Risk Assessment Level 5, obviously. That's 2.5 Merit Points and 10K. They also awarded Bones pay for the improper classification of the mission, so you get... 3.5 Merit Points and 15K!"
The Corrupt Beings were nearly at the maximum possible strength beneath the First Metamorphosis. The Bureau, HQ, and Branches had miscalculated the potential of the Summoning Magickal Circles and the amount of Magick the Cult had accumulated.
"Lastly, the compensation for each party. Department Manager Jully responded to your demands, and even in her professional response, I can tell she was a little pissy when she wrote it."
"But she didn't deny it, right?"
"No, and neither did Director Strange, considering his signature at the bottom."
Essentially, what Michael had argued when Grace worked on the report was that the Entity the Cult worships had bypassed the protection of his Grace Period. The Bureau had put him at immeasurable risk by underestimating It or overestimating his Grace Period in this mission. If it hadn't been for what he believed was the direct intervention of the Divine and Demonic Dimensions, he likely would have died or become corrupted by Its Magick. Either way, he would have been a goner.
Grace continued, "So, in short, your claims were validated. HQ acknowledged the extraordinary risk you were put under. The compensation reflects that."
Michael nodded, absorbing the information. "Good to know they recognized it."
"Indeed," Grace agreed. "You've earned every bit of it, Michael."
"Thanks, Grace," he replied, raising his glass once more. "To a job well done."
"To a job well done," Grace echoed, clinking her glass with his.
Because the topic of compensation had been discussed extensively among all the Agents who participated in the mission, including Agent Jones and Grace, Michael considered his experience and whether it was something he could let slide. It wasn't.
"Do you want the numbers or the full response?" Grace asked, clearly eager for him to choose the latter.
"Numbers," he said, shattering her expectations.
"Killjoy!" Grace frowned but relented. "Compensation to Agent Michael Mir for Mission Codename: No Believers Left... drumroll please... 10 Merit Points and 50K!"
"10?" Michael finally showed his excitement. He hadn't slept for the past couple of nights, relying on his Physique to keep him going. After he and Grace had parted ways with the Australian Branch's Agents, he had browsed the Exchange Center for things he could purchase with his first haul of Merit Points.
"16 for your second mission, in less than two months as an Agent!" Grace emphasized.
"16?" Michael stared at her. "Try again!"
"Wha- wait! Right! You have increased rates... and so do I! I can't believe I forgot all about it!" Grace nearly flipped the table in her excitement. "1.75, right? Yours... mine is 1.2. My compensation is 5 Merit Points and 25K. Eleven times 1.2 is 13.2... I've earned 13.2 Merit Points in one mission!"
Michael grinned, finally letting his excitement show. "That's amazing, Grace!"
She nodded vigorously. "This is huge for both of us. We're really making our mark."
"To making our mark," Michael said, raising his glass for the third time.
"To making our mark," Grace enthusiastically followed suit.
Emptying her glass, she couldn't contain herself any longer and jumped from her seat, while Michael remained composed.
She grabbed his shoulder and shook him. "Don't you get it?! 13.2 Merit Points! I don't know if First Level Metamorphoses earn this much!"
"I understand. Congratulations. I'm genuinely happy for you. Shall we finish with my performance review?" He gently held her hand to stop the shaking.
"What's the rush? Let's celebrate first!"
"I really want to get it over with."
"Fine... Seriously, I should've celebrated with the Australian Agents. Only us veterans appreciate the value of each additional Merit Point."
"No, no, no! You really deserve it. It's awesome. I just think celebrating would be even more meaningful after we're done with the review!" Michael urged.
Grace sat back down, raising one eyebrow, then the other, her eyes widening like giant saucers. "16... 1.75... 28... Merit Points..." She mumbled, her joyful expression gradually fading, replaced by a piercing gaze that made Michael internally shudder.
Her hand slammed onto the table and she kicked her chair back. "That's unfair!"