by L. M. Kerr
"Acceptable." Micheal turned and gave a slight nod,
"Let's move out."
Just like that, they set off traveling across the Main Cluster.
Ayer and his men were very familiar with this area. They took a direct route, jogging through dozens of skyscrapers with impunity.
In that time, Micheal got to see a little slice of the life of the Main Cluster.
He saw at least 8 distinct teams of people purposefully drawing Morenkai towards them on various skyscraper roofs. They would usually try to limit the number of Morenkai they would draw to not get overwhelmed, each team working carefully. The unsettling sight of Morenkai swarming up a skyscraper wasn't a rare sight here at all.
'It's just like I remembered.' He thought, ruminating.
The people in the Main Cluster typically were all more prepared, determined, and stronger than those in the side Clusters. It took a certain level of commitment to cross the Great Bridge, not just everyone could bring themselves to do it.
Of those 8 teams, at least 3 of them functioned with unique powers. One was a team of Lesser Vampire Types humans, using some type of red colored Artifact claws to tear the Morenkai to pieces. One was a team of humans dressed in sets of grey, plate armor acting like knights out of a story, slaying Morenkai left and right with greatswords. The last team was a group of women dressed in tight leather outfits, sending out small blobs of darkness that wrapped around the Morenkai, restricting their movement while they came up behind and stabbed them.
'Tens of thousands of small teams exist, apart from the Big 3. Even the small teams can rarely have A Rankers and uncommonly have B Rankers among them. The Main Cluster is home to a decent number of experts.' He felt his heart lift slightly. Seeing how strong humanity was and knowing how much stronger he could help make them was a good feeling.
'But these are only the teams on the surface.' He nodded.
While he might've seen 8 distinct, powerful teams duking it out with Morenkai so far, there were still many more people that hid in the refuge of the skyscrapers, hunting only when they had to.
When an Abnormal appeared, it would take a huge amount of effort from a small team to safely take down. Stronger Abnormals were bound to appear here in the Main Cluster, meaning the overt hunting methods used by those 8 teams could only work for teams that were very confident in their strength.
'And if a Monster Class Morenkai appears…' He shook his head.
Humanity was both strong and weak. It was a conundrum, but he would fix that, one step at a time.
Ayer's men handled any stray Morenkai that attacked them. After crossing several dozen skyscrapers, they were attacked 11 times by shambling Morenkai. Such a number of attacks would've been extreme in the side Clusters, but was considered normal in the Main Cluster, where Morenkai thronged.
At one point, they were also attacked by an Abnormal.
They were crossing over a rickety rope bridge when it happened.
A blue-skinned Morenkai shambled into view, coming out of an entry-shed atop the skyscraper they were moving towards. The moment it appeared, it instantly turned and zeroed in on Ayer and his team. The freakish creature broke out into a sprint, its feet smashing down hard as it thundered toward them.
The moment Micheal saw it, he instantly made a snap judgement.
'This is a perfect opportunity.'
"Woah! We've got an Abnormal!" One of the men called out, his voice echoing.
"Maintain your balance, Kyle get to the front! Deploy the Tank Shield! Don't let it knock you off!" Ayer immediately took command as he saw it, issuing orders.
"We will focus fire on it and slowly retreat off the bridge! Do not put yourself at risk!" Ayer's men immediately reacted, bringing weapons and shields to bear as they prepared for combat. The momentum of the group stalled as they stopped moving forward, and began to fall back.
They were forced to move single file along the bridge due to its shaky and small nature. As a result, the Enforcer Team was spread out loosely and unable to create any sort of solid formation. They had found themselves in a rather precarious position as a result.
"I'll handle it." Micheal's words cut through the chaos like a knife, his cool voice full of dark authority. He was standing near the rear of the group, behind most of the others.
When he spoke aloud, half the members turned to look at him in confusion. It wasn't exactly easy to maneuver on the bridge and he would have to move past all of them, by which point the Abnormal would've already arrived.
In a single motion, Micheal bent his knees slightly and jumped up into the air.
His body flew up several meters, far higher than looked natural. Beneath his feet, a set of dimly glowing Life Orbs floated and then vanished before anyone saw them. He used them to propel himself upward, absorbing them back in as soon as he gained enough momentum while using his Cloud Stepping Shoes to make a few minor adjustments.
It took him only a split second to rush past overhead, landing on the rickety rope bridge in one large pounce, his right hand resting on his Spatial Ring.
"What?!"
"Huh?!"
"How-?!"
The unnatural looking jump took everyone by surprise, all of them looking at 'Emissary Heron' in shock. Such movements looked physically impossible, yet he made them almost too casually.
By this point, the sprinting blue-skinned Abnormal had almost reached them. The creature held nothing back as it threw itself forward, its body shivering. It was easily a meter taller than Micheal, with lanky, sinewy arms that blurred as they lashed at his head.
"Careful!"
"Shoot it righ-"
"Wait! Don't shoot the Emissary!"
Confusion swarmed across the Enforcer Team as Micheal's actions threw them into disarray. They all watched helplessly as the Abnormal Morenkai's attack was unleashed, unable to take any action in time.
Instead of advancing forward or trying to dodge, Micheal did something completely unexpected.
He fell backwards, as if he had tripped.
The movement looked incredibly casual and was so smooth, most of the onlookers blinked, not believing their eyes.
The abrupt fall apparently even took the Abnormal Morenkai by surprise, causing both of its sinewy arms to miss, lashing through the air where Micheal's chest had been just a scant moment ago.
The momentum of the Abnormal was not lessened as it continued to barrel forward, even if its main attack missed.
As it charged at Micheal, Micheal's abrupt fall came to an even more abrupt end.
From the perspective of Ayer's Enforcer Team and the Morenkai, it was as if Micheal had forcibly stopped falling in mid-air, his entire body freezing up impossibly.
Hidden beneath the suit he was wearing, 3 Life Orbs were currently supporting his back and frame. He had the Ability to emit his Life Orbs past his clothes, but he could also cause them to form under them.
Those three Life Orbs abruptly shot upward.
Micheal's body flew upward with them, bouncing back from falling in mid-air in an instant. Once again, the unnatural reversal looked inhuman to the onlookers behind him.
At the same time, two Kouki Daggers appeared, one in either hand as he let go of his Spatial Ring. He held the daggers in a secretive manner, hiding them in his palms.
Both of his arms blurred as he slammed the two daggers forward, coating them in a layer of Sword Energy and taking the Abnormal Morenkai by complete surprise. By the time it realized that Micheal had bounced back upwards, it was already too late.
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—- Points Obtained —-
Points: 156
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Micheal turned his body to the side as the Abnormal's body knocked into him. He shifted most of the impact away from him, causing it to fly forward and crash into one of the Enforcer Team members, a bulky man that was wielding a large, steel shield.
"Watch o…" A hurried shout trailed off as everyone stared at the Abnormal that had slammed into the leading man.
&nbs
p; It wasn't moving. In fact, after it collided with the first team member, its body tumbled down and collapsed, lying still.
A dead silence took over the Enforcer Team as they all got a good look at the blue-skinned Abnormal.
Its head was no longer attached to its body.
Slowly, they all stared and looked back at Micheal in complete shock and awe.
Lying on the ground near him was a blue-skinned Abnormal head, black blood pooling out of it and dripping off the edge of the rope bridge. Micheal stood cooly over it, his hands empty as he nonchalantly wiped a drop of Morenkai blood from his shoulder.
"My God…"
"He ripped its head off with his bare hands…"
"What the hell…"
The entire Enforcer Team was stupefied. Even Enforcer Ayer, a strong B Ranker that could face off against an Abnormal one on one and win, was amazed.
'What the hell... He's got to at least be an A Ranker, and a strong one on the Main Cluster Ranking List. Thank God we didn't offend him…' Ayer's face paled as he looked at Micheal, making the decision then and there to show the Emissary the maximum amount of respect.
"It's handled. Let's keep moving." Micheal's voice spread out as he turned around, moving ahead confidently. His every step gave off the aura of a profound expert, something that wasn't far from the truth given his future experience.
After exchanging awed glances, the Enforcer Team quickly followed, and their journey continued...
.. .. .. .. .. ..
Some amount of time later…
In front of Micheal was an enormous skyscraper, one that took up the space of 4 regular skyscrapers and was at least 20 meters taller than the surrounding skyscrapers. A huge, behemoth of a skyscraper, far larger than normal ones on Earth.
It was a Tower.
Atop the Tower, more than two dozen figures could be seen overlooking the four bridges, armed to the teeth with various weapons, powerful Rankers of considerable strength. This elite guard troop was far stronger than any other guarding force he'd seen before. At the bare minimum, there were multiple B Rankers among the guards, and this was just the outside guarding force alone.
Shigun's Stardust Godfather Organization Branch had used B Rankers as his elite subordinates. Here, B Rankers could be seen operating as mere outside guards. The full power of the Angels Arcadia was on display.
When he saw all of this, he smiled slightly.
He'd arrived at the headquarters of one of the 64 Main Branches of the Angels Arcadia, the Iron Eye Branch.
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Chapter 16
When Micheal saw this, his eyes flashed darkly.
A Tower.
Towers were unusual skyscrapers that were far larger than normal ones. They only appeared in the Main Cluster and were very rare to see. Each Tower was typically occupied by a major power or group of some sort.
Towers had several advantages over regular skyscrapers. Each Tower was huge, boasting a large number of rooms. The insides of Towers were unique. Some had internal parks with actual trees and grass, an extraordinarily rare sight to see naturally here in the First Layer. Still others had large pools and slides, recreational areas, while others had wide, empty stages or theaters.
Apart from their unique large rooms, and plethora of unique smaller rooms, Towers also had one other unique point.
There were only 8 entrances to the entire, massive building.
Four on the top and four on the bottom.
Unlike regular skyscrapers, there were no side entrances or things of that nature. Instead, the walls were made of the same seemingly invincible glass and steel, creating a massive, heavily fortified fortress.
Of course, while Towers were extremely rare in the Main Cluster, there was one place where they were extremely common.
The center of the Main Cluster, where a huge collection of Towers existed, nestled together and controlled by no one. The place known simply as 'The Towers' by most.
The place where one could leave the First Layer and move onward to the Second Layer.
'Focus.' He tossed the irrelevant thoughts from his mind, scanning the Tower as he and the rest of Ayer's team approached.
A long, metal bridge connected upward, towards the roof of the large Tower. This bridge had inlined sets of stairs, making it possible to scale all the way to the advanced height of the large building.
"Enforcer Team, Ayer's Squad, reporting in!" Ayer's voice boomed as he stepped onto the bridge. His words warbled oddly off the metal edifice, echoing. As he spoke, he held up his Arcadia Emblem, waiting patiently.
"Acknowledged. Come on up." After a few seconds, a figure appeared standing at the end of the bridge path. The speaker was a woman wearing a set of white leather armor, with a pair of maces strapped to her waist. Her short brown hair was tied up in a tight ponytail, keeping it out of her pale blue eyes. She cut an athletic, if meaty figure, like a weightlifter.
Micheal narrowed his eyes slightly as he saw her, assessing her strength. She seemed like one of the B Rankers among the guards, one of the stronger ones.
Micheal and Ayer's team quickly made their way up the metal steps. Sunlight beat down on their necks, the noon light overhead shining mercilessly, not a cloud in sight.
In just a few short moments, they arrived on the rooftop. Micheal got a good look around, taking it all in.
It was very large, as expected of a Tower. The solid, flat expanse of the roof was broken up by a few 5-meter-tall, 3-meter-wide pillars that pierced out of the ground, random obstacles that were a natural part of the building.
Micheal could see groups of guards looking bored as they stood at each of the four bridges. They were all talking in a relaxed manner to each other, with guns and weapons slung over their backs. A rather lax defensive force, but it wasn't really surprising. Very few people would openly attack a fortress like this.
Standing right in front of them was the woman that had called them up. A few other guards stood near her, men and women that glanced over their party.
"Kathleen." Ayer spoke first, nodding at the apparent leader of this bridge's guard. Ayer continued,
"We're bringing in a criminal. Case number 8220." He cut right to the chase, not mincing words.
"Oh, it's her?" When Kathleen saw the prisoner Ayer had brought along with them, her eyes narrowed. The woman's hands had been locked together and restraints were placed on her arms and legs, preventing her from being a threat.
Their journey through the Main Cluster had only been marginally slowed by traveling with the prisoner. She didn't cause any trouble throughout the trip, even when the Abnormal struck.
"Tayron! Aijo!" The woman turned around, yelling to some of the other guards. Two of them stepped forward attentively, a rather tall asian man and a caucasian with a huge machete on his back.
"Take her down to the Waiting Cell. Tell the Warden she's a captured target, with a danger rating of B." The woman's voice was authoritative as she barked out orders, her entire personality very domineering.
"Yes, madam!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
The two guards immediately stepped forward and took the captured prisoner. The chained woman didn't even bother to struggle, simply following the guards as she was led mutely away.
"You must be Emissary Heron. We received word that you would be arriving today." After handling that, Kathleen's face became all smiles as she turned to look at Micheal. Her body language shifted, conveying polite disinterest, her domineering nature barely restrained.
Micheal stared back, the mask on his face giving him a rather impassive appearance.
"That is me." He nodded his head cooly.
"The Iron Eye Branch welcomes you, but I'm not sure if we have anything here that would interest you." The woman stared at Micheal, her eyes boring into him.
He stared back in mild amusement. She appeared to be dismissing him, of all things.
"Uh, ah- that is to say. Emissary Heron, I failed to properly inform them of your arrival."
Before the situation could go any further, Enforcer Ayer stepped forward and broke into the conversation, giving Micheal a nervous smile.
Kathleen frowned as she saw this, staring at him askance. She let him continue, however, instead of rudely interrupting, her caution winning through.
"Cough- Meeting a powerful A Ranked Emissary like yourself is a rare occurrence for us." Ayer seemed to writhe slightly under Kathleen's gaze. It appeared the woman held quite some influence, more so than just being the guard in charge of this bridge like Micheal had initially thought.
Kathleen's eyes widened for a fraction of a second as she looked from Micheal over to Ayer, and then back to Micheal. She recovered quickly, coughing lightly as she spoke up,
"Oh? A powerful A Ranked Emissary? Well, my apologies, Emissary Heron. Commander Hunter is out, but will return tomorrow morning, if you wish to speak with him." Her body language changed to one of respect and attention, a rather jarring jump.
"The information we had was incomplete." Her words contained the slightest hint of venom as she glanced aside at Ayer, a tone that vanished completely right after.
"I am Sub-Commander Kathleen, one of the 2 Sub-Commanders in the Iron Eye Branch." She gave him a slow nod, her voice apologetic as she introduced herself.
Micheal couldn't blame her. Emissaries wore masks for a good reason. They were the hitmen of the Angels Arcadia, the killers that take out targets that need to be taken out. No one would want to be around them if possible, most were rather dangerous people that were no strangers to murder.
All that changed, of course, when faced with raw power. No matter how much she disliked being around an Emissary… no one would dare to disrespect someone that was an A Ranker, even a Sub-Commander of a Tower stronghold. Ayer wouldn't joke around over something like that, and thus she had no choice but to change her stance.
'The Branch Commander is out?' When Micheal heard this, he didn't react. Outwardly, he looked the same as usual, a cool, calm, and collected Emissary.
Inwardly, he couldn't help but celebrate.
'Not bad timing, not bad timing at all!' He smiled. The Branch Commander was bound to be an A Ranker, and likely a strong one. A Rankers like Boss Shigun or Pirate Lord Brandon were strong when compared to B Rankers, but nowhere near the level of the elites in the Main Cluster.
