“I see you, subject in the shadows,” James Camitar called out to Athena.
Stepping into the light from behind the throne, Athena stood in front of the throne. “What do you wish for? It’s quite likely I can help.”
“A secret organization? What’s your name?”
“I work for Hope Eternal. You can refer to us as HE.”
“Then, can you find and stop an assassin?”
“Quite possible,” Athena pulled out a notepad and pen and recorded the request.
∅∅∅
After Athena got the IDs and request, another Athena took the request and delivered it to Mathew, informing him both of the request and the plan of how to deal with it. In the meantime, Athena prepared a carriage. With the situation prepared, a third Athena contacted Angela to collect and launder the money. Heading out, Athena made another identity, Minerva, and signed up as an adventurer. Athena threw the money into requests and used Minerva to pick up and complete the requests. Athena slowly gathered the money on the ride to the school.
∅∅∅
Athena looked around the classroom, disguising the action as a lazy eye and head roll. The Princess looked at Athena, a small smile accompanying her gaze. When the class dismissed, Athena left separately from the rest, were the princess appeared and introduced herself. Athena befriended her on the walk to the assembly. With the assembly over, Athena said goodbye and went back to her room. Finding an item and note on her desk, Athena reads over the note. Broadly, it talked about how to use the phone, where to keep the money, and a meeting plan. Checking the time on her watch, Athena went out to town and prepared notebooks, writing implements, a small storage bag, and weapons. A knife, a spear, and a bow were all hidden in the storage bag, along with a quiver full of arrows. Having waited long enough to sneak out, Athena noted down the locations of the guards while walking past invisible. Out of the dormitory, Athena swapped out her invisibility for speed and ran through the dark courtyard, lit only by the triple moons.
Ending up in Nulla’s classroom, the meeting began. Nulla concluded the meeting by throwing over a token that was filled with Null Energy, designed to become mana and then a strengthening spell upon breaking. Fitting for the Null God. Heading back to bed, Athena prepared a schedule of training during off days. The on days were either meetings or investigating the students.
∅∅∅
During classes, Athena noted general ideas from the lessons, such as mana regeneration is absorbing it from the environment, except for some very rare exceptions, those exceptions being Gods and Null beings. During lunch, Athena built a relationship with the princess to make sure she was safe, and to figure out who the assassin was more likely to be. After school, the connection building was still active until curfew, were Athena swapped to training. She was very weak, with only two personal strengths, duplication and Null mana regeneration. She started practising with the spear but began to work with a mana blade more and more. She kept up the practice of the spear, knife, and bow, but not as much. She decided that physical weapons are more a back up than an actual weapon. Athena's duplicates didn’t stagnate either. While the student version trained, they were out gathering requests and intelligence, weaving themselves into society, and forming HE branches. With the occasional meeting, everything was going stably.
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∅∅∅
Athena noticed something that day in the classroom. Michael and Richard snuck out together during lunch, leading to Athena leaving a duplicate and listening to them talk.
“Have you checked for others?” Michael asked.
“Yes. No presence detected. I even used a Sealed Beast to boost my strength.”
“Alright. When are you going to act?”
“Hard to say. There is a counter assassin active, my poison in the princess's drink was dealt with. When I figure out who they are, I’ll kill them alongside the princess.”
“Got it. Now let's head back. You go back later, need to reduce suspicion of our connection.”
Athena jumped at the opportunity. With the meeting scheduled for today at 9, she’d call them out at 10 and deal with them. Taking her duplicate and slipping them a letter from the spying one, she laid in wait. When Michael turned the corner, she stumbled out.
“Michael! I- I have a letter for you!” she thrust the letter into his hands and ran away, doing her best act as an embarrassed girl. Using the other her, she slipped past Michael invisible, set up a illusory barrier, and repeated the act for Richard.
The stage set, Athena head to class and acted as though something embarrassing happened, keeping the act going all the way until curfew.
∅∅∅
With the meeting finished Athena waited on the roof for her prey. Taking advantage of the downtime, she drew a Null Powered silencing barrier behind the stairwell. Her hands shook in anticipation, watching off the roof for them to come.
∅∅∅
“Ah, fair Athena, what have you called my fair self for?” Michael called out, Richard close behind. His face twisted upon realizing both of them got letters, leading him to secretly prepare a shielding spell in case of a sneak attack.
“What a beautiful night it is. The three moons shining down at us it quite nice. The pleasing cool wind, and the huntable targets willing walking to me. What a wonderful night it is,” snapping her fingers, the door closed and the protection enchantment locked it tight. Athena continued her monologue, proudly announcing their plan.
Michael and Richard both drew their weapons, with Michael asking who she worked for.
“HE,” Athena responded while dashing forward, striking at Michael. A smile tinged her lips as Richard counter slightly cut her cheek.
With Michaels's angry yell, Athena's bloodthirsty and war-hungry smile grew. But when Nulla appeared, she was scared and embarrassed. Turning her blushing face at her boss, he responded with a small head tilt.
“You… you commoner filth acting as a teacher. So you’re a disgusting spy. Hehehe. You’re both fools. Athena, had you taken by generous offer I gave you earlier, you wouldn’t die here tonight.”
Athena thought back and wondered what he was referring to. Shrugging it off as it wasn’t important, she readied herself for more violence. But the token Michael pulled out scared her. It was powerful. Whatever it was, Athena was scared. Athena began a spell to tear off Michael's arm, to prevent that beast from invading, but Nulla stopped her. She remembered the power her boss had. He was the Null god, the primordial One, the Incarnation of Chaos. His powers, and thus the signs such as reality distortion or his halo were gone.
As the beast was released, and Athena collapsed due to its magical pressure, she slept comfortably, confident in the power of her boss.
∅∅∅
When Athena awoke, she was in bed. She read Nulla's note on what happened, how he had tamed the beast, named it Fenrir, and sent it off to EH as a guard. Resolving herself to be stronger, she got up and went to class. When night fell again, she trained. And trained. And trained. And trained.