Chapter 147

R-a Chapter 147 (In editing -v1)

Shin had no plans on disagreeing with the powerful Executive, and so instantly turned his attention back over to Sophia, Asim, and Vladimir. The trio were currently in the middle of turning around, heading back towards the stairwell to descend to the floors below.

Shin teleported through the air, warping till he was right next to them. Behind him, two other teams split off and rushed alongside them as they, as one, began to pound down the stairs.

In the background, Shin heard the sounds of screeching metal and a few explosions as a battle broke out between the other teams and the Numbers. Those sounds faded as Shin moved into the stairwell, heading downward.

None of them spoke as they jogged down the stairs. Everyone was tensed up, however, unsure what they would find in the two floors below.

Like the aquarium up above, the second and third floor of this skyscraper were combined together to form a large gymnasium. The Permanent Nest Core was judged as likely to be on this floor by the Godfather Organization’s intel, though there was a chance it was on the lowest possible floor like most Nests.

Shin, ever the adventurer, decided to teleport in ahead of everyone else, warping to a point high up in the rafters of the large room. His body shimmered and vanished from the stairwell as he teleported, his Soul Pistol appearing in hand as he prepared for anything.

Adrenaline was pumping in his veins as he abruptly appeared up near the roof of the combined floors. Once he arrived, he immediately looked down and assessed the situation.

However... the very first thing he saw made his heart drop.

Standing at the center of the room was a familiar, masked figure holding up a long, thin spear.

At the end of that spear was a blood-soaked body, pierced through the heart. The corpse was covered in a thin layer of black armor and had a shattered mask on its face.

A mask that had the remnants of the number ‘2’ carved into it.

.. .. .. .. .. ..

“You… are from the future?” Prime blinked as he looked at Micheal. For the first time, his face showed emotion as he stared at Micheal in disbelief.

“Yes. I am from the future.” Micheal replied with a shrug and a rather deadbeat tone.

Prime stared at Micheal.

Micheal stared back.

The soft hum of air condition, and the faint sizzling of Morenkai blood, were the only sounds present in the room as the two warriors gazed at each other without speaking for several seconds.

Prime finally broke the impasse, saying,

“Explain.” His words were commanding, brooking no room for refusal. His body language gave away nothing, but…

When Micheal heard his words, he smiled internally. He forced himself to keep down his heartbeat and his nervousness, maintaining a cool and calm facade.

When Micheal was straining his mind to go over the worst ways his plans could go wrong, some of those plans contained an encounter with Director Prime.

After experiencing Prime’s ridiculous intelligence and planning personally, Micheal’s way of looking at things had changed. Previously, he’d planned on using General Pedro to help him take down Prime. The General’s Ability allowed him to call on powerful, invisible attacks that even Prime wouldn’t be able to see coming if he wasn’t prepared.

However, given that Prime knew about Pedro, Micheal was forced to scrap that plan. He had found some other ways to use General Pedro, but using him to take out Prime was no longer feasible.

Indeed, even if Prime hadn’t been aware of his powers, it was still possible using Pedro to attack would fail. The historical records stated Pedro killed Prime after the man was fiercely tired from multiple battles, and that it had involved a great deal of luck. It might have been impossible to recreate such a perfect scenario twice.

With this, his thought process shifted.

If he couldn’t kill Director Prime, he would have to figure out an indirect way to deal with him.

“You know of the Seer, yes, and her vision powers? Well, I have something that worked kind of like that. And because of that, I was able to live through a small part of the future, like an in-depth vision.” Micheal took a few steps to his left till he was leaning on one of the theater chairs as he spoke, looking Prime directly in the eye.

Prime silently listened, not interrupting as Micheal continued,

“And in that vision that I lived through… I discovered an enemy that was poisoning and corrupting the minds of certain heroes here on the First Layer. A vile manipulator that sought to create a grand war, to weed out those he sees as ‘the weak’ and to raise up those he sees as ‘the strong.’” Micheal took a breath as he finished part of his explanation, still gazing at Prime.

The man remained silent.

“And that is what led me here, to the Main Cluster, and what led me to do everything I’ve done. I know that, because of me, some of your Numbers members have died.” Micheal began the riskiest part of his explanation. He couldn’t help but feel a bit of nervousness sweep over him as he studied Prime, feeling extremely on edge.

“But I never wished for any of that. Indeed, if that man had not infected your men, I would not have had to fight them at all. That was never my wish.” Micheal shamelessly blamed everything on the Vile King.

Finally, Prime broke in, his voice tinged with irritation.

“You claim you were forced to murder my brothers because of some unseen, evildoer that was manipulating them from behind the scenes, one you just so happened to see in a vision of the future you magically lived through?” His voice was filled with incredulity, though whether that emotion was real or feign, Micheal couldn’t guess.

Micheal simply nodded.

“Yes, that is accurate.”

Prime simply stared at him, his eyes flashing multiple times.

Michael took that as a cue to continue, knowing he needed to say his piece as quickly as possible,

“The man is a vile murderer and a shrewd genius. I don’t know who he is, but I know that his plans are incredibly intrepid, and that he must have plans not only here, but on the other Layers.” Micheal mixed his words with half-truths, weaving a tale of epic proportions. The most convincing stories were ones that were based in truth, a lesson he’d learned long ago.

Prime remained silent for only a split second before he stood up. He then leaned on the guardrail in front of him, still between the two dead Monster Class Morenkai.

“This tale you weave is one that seems too fantastic to be true.” Prime began as he rubbed his chin, his eyes looking at Micheal lazily,

“But what proof do you have?” Micheal could’ve backflipped when he heard that. Despite himself, his heart had begun to pound ever so slightly above average speed due to his nervousness. It was incredibly stressful to control his every expression, every physical reaction, every word.

“What proof do I have?” Micheal shook his head sadly,

“Open your eyes, Director. Think back to the last time you spoke with your subordinates, like Number 1. Tell me, was his behavior… odd? Did it strike you as something jarringly out of place? Were his aspirations somewhat… changed?”

With everything Micheal knew about Prime from history, and all the information he had about what was going on, there was only really one likely reason why Prime would be here.

The man had encountered a problem he could not solve, and was thus doing what he could to find a solution. And that problem almost certainly had to do with this whole mess.

Prime froze as he heard Micheal’s final reply, his eyes flashing with light as a memory of the recent past swept over him…

.. .. .. .. .. ..

Previously…

.. .. .. .. .. ..

“Garen… What have you done?”

Prime had just walked in on the other members of the Number Organization in the midst of their jubilation, as they sat or stood around a table and talked of the success of their missions. He had frozen time to check on everyone there, noting that most of theNumbers, apart from his Four Corners, were present.

His being here was not by chance. Recently, he’d begun to notice a series of oddities occurring. Not only were his plans running into unexpected mishaps, he’d even discovered that Number 1, one of his most closely trusted allies, seemed to be doing things behind his back. It was even starting to feel like the man's personality was changing, in subtle ways that were hard for even Prime to identify.

And beyond that, the loyalty of the lower Numbers seemed to be shifting. They still treated him with near adoration levels of respect, but their eyes alighted on Number 1. The observations he made were subtle, but he was certain of his hunch. He had examined things a dozen times over already, thinking on the issue for days.

And thus, one thing led to another, and he eventually found himself here. To end things directly, he opted to directly confront Number 1 and the lower Numbers, the allies and comrades he had recruited to join him on their lifelong quest.

And it was a simple quest.

To create an organization that was so powerful, all of humanity would have to listen to its whims. And by doing so, restore order to this chaos-strewn reality.

He had no tragic past to regale others with, no epic mission to stake everything against. He was simply determined to change this world for the better, and knew that there was no one better for the job than himself. He would give up everything, even his original name, to do what he believed in, as if he had been reborn for this very purpose.

His determination was like a mountain, immovable in the face of anything and everything. He had climbed his way from the bottom all the way to where he was now, through his sheer, mindless dedication to his simple cause.

His arrival had frozen the atmosphere over as everyone in the room stared at him, their fear and guilt palpable. Prime noted down and memorized each and every reaction, a sinking feeling filling his chest. They were brothers in arms, were they not? One and all, trying to make this reality a better place? When did he become an object of fear to them?

“What have I done, Director?” Number 1 stood at the head of the table, a powerful, golden Aura bursting free from him as he took a step forward.

“I have done what needed to be done. To save the Nightrunners, to save our very race! I have done everything that I must do! And I will stand here, unashamed for my actions!” This Aura grew in intensity, to such a degree that everyone in the room took a step back.

Everyone but the bored-looking Number 6. When Prime’s eyes flicked over to look at him, he noted that the Aura Garen was giving off wasn’t affecting Number 6 in the slightest.

As he glanced between both warriors, he realized he could sense something… different. Something about the way they sat or stood, the look in their eyes, the feeling of their Ki…

Number 1 had become stronger, much stronger.

And so had Number 6.

Both of them had, out of nowhere, become incredibly strong. But underneath that increased power, Prime could feel something. Something unerring. The long experience with battle he’d picked up over the years could tell it was the scent of death.

This power they had gained… it had come at a price. A price measured in lives.

“I see.” Prime said slowly, his words measured.

He looked at them. He looked at the others, huddling or frozen in fear at the mere sight of him. He looked around the room, feeling the emotions in the air.

And then he turned around and left.

.. .. .. .. .. ..

“And so here we are now.” Micheal’s words shattered Prime’s thoughts, bringing the man back to the present.

“All of this because you couldn’t bear to do what must be done.”

For the first time, Micheal saw a hint of real, genuine emotion appear on Prime’s face.

A flash of red, unrelenting anger warped onto Prime’s face for a split second, his eyes twitching. That emotion vanished a second later as Prime froze time to gather himself, but not before Micheal picked up on it.

‘That's it. I have him.’ He thought, a seed of excitement buried in his heart. Now all he needed to do was live.

Before he could dwell on that feeling, Prime’s words shattered his own thoughts. This time, when Prime spoke, the air began to take on a heavy feeling. A tangible, white layer of energy began to rise from the Director’s body as his voice echoed in the air,

“If what you say is true, I will find this man, and I will kill him.” He spoke as if pronouncing the inevitable,

“But for what you have done to my comrades, I can never forgive you. For the information you've given me, should it be true, you will have my thanks. However...” Prime bent his knees and reached out his hands to either side.

The two spears he’d set down abruptly flew into his hands, the Monster Class Morenkai corpses on them flinging off to fall to the ground.

“No matter what, this room shall be your grave.”

.