Chapter 15
More questions
location: GSTF director office world capital
Day: 25th of Jan 5027
the GSTF director William sits at the head of a large conference table.
holograms of the chiefs of police of all the states in the United World fill the remaining seats at the table.
the hologram of Italia’s chief of police, a blue haired Therian from the bear tribe, stands up and begins his report.
- attacks on our living weapon facility have increased. relocation didn't decrease the frequency of attacks. we suspect the followers of nature can detect the location of the living weapons we request backup -
the director nods after hearing the report and responds.
- I will assign strike teams 20 and 31 to your state -
the hologram of Britannia's chief of police, a bald dark skinned human, adjusts his tie and begins his report next.
- the protests against the Therian wage gap are growing in both size and frequency as construction companies refuse to raise their wages and are now requesting police intervention to suppress the protests -
the GSTF director sighs and rubs his brows looking very tired
- let me guess and the Britannia representative wants you to suppress those protests -
-that is correct sir -
- these idiots ...... all right you have your permission to suppress the protests however coordinate with the media to avoid covering it. Harmony must not be disturbed -
- but sir –
Britannia's chief of police is about to voice his disagreement but is cut off by the director
- I know but what do you want me to do? our job isn't to enact or change policy. we only have one job do you remember what it is? -
Britannia's chief of police bites his tongue and answers.
- to protect and maintain harmony sir -
the director observes the faces of the chiefs of police
' most of them seem to disapprove '
-haaaaaa-
he sighs and leans back in his chair
' Can I blame them when I don't like it either mister President, I really hope you are correct. this job will age me very quickly '
the director looks at the chiefs of police.
- I am aware that many of you may disagree with the current policies, and some of you may see this as us serving oligarchs -
the director leans in resting his elbows on the table then continues.
-However, you must remember that we only serve harmony, and maintaining harmony is our only job. it's just that their desires and harmony happened to align this time, but make no mistake about it they-
the director's trail of thoughts is interrupted as he notices a portal opening at the end of the room.
- all right gentlemen we will have a quick break and will resume our meeting in 10 minutes -
he presses a button on the table and the holograms disappear he then faces the portal
- why do you never use doors, Claus?-
Claus walks out of the portal.
- would you meet me now if I did? or would you tell me to wait till the meeting is over
- fair enough. tell me what brought you here then? -
- you know exactly why I came here Director William and if you want me to continue this mission you better give me some answers -
Director William taps his index finger on the table a few times debating what he should tell Claus and how much he would be allowed to reveal but he suddenly gets surprised by a familiar yet alien voice speaking in his head.
Claus watches as the face of the director runs through a variety of emotions starting with his usual tired look then contemplation, shock, fear, and finally resignation.
'What the hell is going on? did he lose his mind or something '
the director sighs and rests his chin on his hands then looks at Claus with a serious expression
- let me tell you a little story that's hidden from the public and that you must also keep hidden from the public.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
long long ago more than 6000 years ago acutely. at the time the kingdom of Egit was ruled by King Rameses the Second.
King Ramses had a son named Setna.
Setna was a very powerful mage in his own right but he wanted even more power and even more knowledge.
that's when he hears about the Book of Knowledge; a book supposedly written by the god of knowledge Thoth himself.
according to the legend reading only 2 pages is enough to let you enchant the Heaven and the Earth, you will enchant the abyss, the mountains, and the sea; you will know the language of the birds and all things that crawl on the earth; you will be able to see and summon all that lurks at the depth of the sea.
if you read another page if you were in the world of the ghosts you can return to the world of the living -
Claus claps his hands applauding the director sarcastically.
- good story 7 out of 10 not enough dragons now tell me what did they really steal? -
the director chuckles and then shakes his head
- this may be the only time in which a legend doesn't exaggerate but rather undersells its subject matter not only is the book real and that is indeed what they obtained but the book can do so much more -
the director's expression returns back to being serious as he looks at Claus.
- this book is very dangerous but also very important to us. we are lucky they don't comprehend what they have yet. even though I am sure it was explained to them what the book is and what it can do, I don't think they figured out what questions to ask it yet-
Director William gets up, then walks toward the window of his office and continues.
-but the key word here is yet. it's only a matter of time. they will eventually find out and when they do, they will be the greatest threat to harmony -
the director turns around and faces Claus.
-you must find the book before they ask it too many questions. the longer it remains with them the more dangerous they will become. -
Claus pauses for a moment wondering if the director is being serious right now.
talk to animals, and come back to life after death these can't possibly be real but then again, he would have never believed there was such a thing as living water just a few days ago but he saw it.
'But more importantly his reaction '
Claus recalls the rapid change in the director's facial expressions before telling him the story and his hesitation to tell him.
it seemed like he didn't want to tell him but then received orders to tell him.
' That means that someone is constantly monitoring the director of all people'
the GSTF is an independent agency that has only one mission to protect harmony.
the only person the director should answer to is the president.
Claus then recalls how Saiko's file was removed from the archives and her words to him the last time they met.
' Please leave I don't want to hurt you '
'If I tell you, you might end up getting silenced '
the secrecy around the mission also bothers Claus.
as the team leader of Strike Team 1, he should have the highest clearance level or so he thought.
this mission showed him that there are things hidden from even him and there are even higher clearance levels.
' Does this mean the president himself is implicated in this? ‘
Claus decides to leave it at that for now until he gets more information.
‘Hasty conclusions with a lack of information will only lead to wrong conclusions.
Claus looks at the director.
- if such a thing is real and you knew about it how come you didn't keep it safe and didn't hide it -
the director's expression changes to one of discomfort with a slight hint of fear that Claus didn't miss.
- it's complicated we had it but we lost it. I can't tell you about that you don't have high enough clearance -
Claus squints his eyes at the director
- interesting what about Saiko she is one of the thieves why doesn't she have a file be it physical or digital-
- I can't tell you that either please understand -
' Looks like I ended up with more questions than answers today, I will have to investigate this on my own '
- I have another job for you -
the director interrupts Claus' thought process
- I know you are busy with your current mission but this will be a quick one -
-what is it - inquires Claus
- some of the upper echelons are getting slightly ahead of themselves they will be setting a party soon and they wanted someone from the strike force to attend as sort of representative -
- let me guess you want me to put them in their place -
-I just want you to remind them what our role is and what their role is -
-all right you can consider it done -
Claus turns around and opens another portal then walks through it
*******************
location: a cave in a forest in Koya
Day: 25th of Jan 5027
Ken and Daxia sit on rocks around a ball of lightning that Daxia had created for illumination.
Ken had planned to hide in this cave to have a couple of days of rest before going to Kim Sangtae as having multiple feet of solid rock around them is one of the few ways to hide from satellites and drones.
Daxia checks the aether net and sees that her name has been added to the wanted list as an accomplice to Ken and Saiko
- well, I guess there goes your plan to sell water spells through me -
~ well we still have Rin or the black market ~
the duo hears a dragging noise they follow the noise with their eyes to the entrance of the cave and are met with a rather fascinating sight that makes Ken whistle in surprise.
~ how did you catch that ~
a fully covered in blood Saiko enters the cave dragging behind her a massive multi ton gyeryong.
Gyeryong is a massive reptile covered in feathers that possess a powerful peak and claws and a head similar to that of a chicken it's believed to be a subspecies of the cockatrice that evolved to live in the forests of Koya and its name means hen dragon.
the massive creature was impaled in multiple places throughout its body with ice spikes and had multiple large open wounds across its body that seemed to be caused by claws.
Saiko ignores Ken's question and brings the gyeryong to the middle of the cave.
_ I will leave the cooking to the two of you, I will go deeper into the cave to wash my clothes and take a shower _
Saiko then walks deeper inside the cave away from the duo's eyes using the curtain of darkness to cover her as she begins to strip
Ken chuckles feeling envious
~ Man, water magic sure is convenient ~
he glances at the curtain of darkness covering Saiko and wonders if he should sneak a beak
' Nah I prefer to have my head remain attached to my neck I don't want to end up like this dude -
Ken turns his attention to the gyeryong and wonders aloud
~ I wonder if it will taste like a chicken, it does have chicken in the name ~
Daxia takes out a dagger from a belt wrapped around her thighs and begins to clean the gyeryong
- only one way to find out help me prepare it -
~ yeah ~
Ken joins Daxia in preparing the gyeryong.
they pluck the feathers then Daxia uses her dagger to peel off the skin and remove the organs.
Ken pulls out the demon sword and uses it to cut the body into smaller more manageable segments
Daxia looks at Ken and asks.
- well since you have a super brain, how much time do you think we have before the world government finds us-
Ken chuckles slightly then smiles.
~ I don't have a super brain and I would say we have about 37 hours~
-and you say you don't have a super brain -
~I simply did my research beforehand and I can do simple math. the drone scan and satellite scan would take roughly 3 hours, then when theses find nothing they will switch to using specialized machinery for exploring underground called iron moles. those will take roughly 8 hours to tel-
Daxia begins to tune out Ken's rambling and focuses on preparing dinner as he continues to detail the government's next 30 or so moves