Reborn- Apocalypse 2

by L. M. Kerr

  "More than 80 million people have entered our territory alone. The Main Cluster is full of mostly free skyscrapers and massive, so it's not like there isn't enough room. However, half of these newcomers refuse to stay put and have headed towards The Towers to move on to the Second Layer." He shook his head again,

  "If I had an army of a few thousand Supreme A Rankers, perhaps stopping this chaos and providing a perfectly secure territory, free of rapists and murderers, would be easy. As it stands now…" He sighed yet again,

  "We have to make do with what we have." He was working on fixing that problem.

  The results from their Garen's Criminal Nest Feeding program so far had been positive but, with the way things were going right now, also too slow. Garen had come to him with suggestions he had initially been against, but if the state of the Main Cluster continued to devolve... well, Prime was starting to see Number 1's plans as the lesser of two evils.

  If there was anything he had learned from the tens of thousands of books on strategy and logistics he had studied, it was that emotion must never cloud one's logical judgement.

  Kaber simply bowed his head, apologizing and declaring that he wasn't doubting the S Ranked Director. Prime waved all of the man's objections off. He valued the man's opinion on things and, as a matter of personal conviction, would not punish someone for being honest with him.

  The Chief Secretary left shortly after, leaving Director Prime alone in a room stuffed with thousands and thousands of pages of reports and information.

  The leader of the Nightrunners took a deep breath as he looked around at all the stacked boxes.

  He then closed his eyes. Green light began to flutter from out under his eyes, sparkling mysteriously.

  Roughly 2 seconds passed.

  Prime slowly opened his eyes, exhaling deeply. He wore a tired, exhausted look, as if he had just done something extremely strenuous. He stood up from his desk, however, his body tense as he walked over towards one of the lower boxes.

  He moved aside a box that was on top of it and opened up the lower box. He then sifted through the box until he found one particular incident report. This report was shorter than many of the others, only a couple of pages long.

  "Notable Incident - Territory of the Angel's Arcadia North Ocean Branch." He spoke the words aloud with familiarity, as if he had just read them a short while ago.

  "A masked man was found attacking two groups of newly arrived Chosen. He used explosives to ambush them." Being masked, in itself, wasn't anything unusual. Almost every major power had a force of masked warriors or men and women that wanted their real identities hidden. Wearing a mask offered a huge amount of freedom for most.

  "The man wore the regalia of the Purgatory Church. He attacked using a pair of Obsidian Axes, one of which was recovered at the scene." So far, apart from the mask, nothing about the incident seemed obviously related to the Emissary Heron incidents.

  "Per witness statements, the man had the ability to release an extremely strong impact with a light elbow tap. He possesses powerful combat skill and extraordinary awareness." These points sounded a bit more like the mysterious Emissary Heron.

  Number 11 had reported on his encounter in excruciating detail after the Director demanded it. In particular, at one point, Emissary Heron had thrown a shield at Number 11 with extraordinary force yet no obvious indicators of such.

  It was a minor detail on the report and here, yet it struck Prime's intuition.

  The Director continued to speak the report aloud, saying the words slowly, as if analyzing them,

  "Glowing red energy appeared on his axes at times when he attacked."

  The same exact thing had appeared on Emissary Heron's weapons when the man attacked. While Heron hadn't used an axe in combat, it wasn't impossible for him to use other weapons to hide his identity.

  "The attacker was badly injured at the end of the incident. His right arm was severed and one of his legs badly burned. However, the severed arm appears to have vanished after the incident ended. The man successfully fled towards the territory of the Godfather Organization, evading chase through a flying technique that allowed him to maneuver through the Main Cluster with ease."

  A mask and a possible fake identity. An ability or strength that allowed him to release powerful blows with a light touch. Top combat skill. Ignoring fatal or dangerous injuries. Red energy coating his weapons.

  This incident was just one among several thousand that happened every day. It was impossible for any normal person to glean over even half of these reports in detail in a day, let alone every single one, looking for information relating to a specific case.

  Yet that was exactly what the Director did.

  And had been doing, every single day for the past several days.

  He'd read every single incident report, going over each and every one in fine detail. It was mind-numbing work that would drive a normal man insane. It should've been impossible, and in fact, was for almost anyone that wasn't him.

  But he managed it regardless.

  And, finally, after days of countless work, he had found what he wanted.

  A clue.

  This was a relatively minor incident when compared to others, hardly worth a report since no one died. In fact, the thing that stood out the most and required the report was the usage of explosives.

  Yet, it was the minor details that struck a chord in the Director.

  "Hmm… But why? Why attack them, Heron? What are you doing? Why are you heading towards the territory of the Godfather Organization? A distraction? A fake trail?" He looked over the report twice more. He then walked over to his desk and sat down in his chair.

  Green light flashed around his eyes as he shut them.

  2 seconds passed.

  He blinked as he came to, his face cold.

  Prime then reached down and tapped on a sleek, grey bracelet he wore on his wrist. It beeped for a moment.

  "Yes, Director?" A voice echoed out from the bracelet, patiently awaiting orders.

  "Number 9 and Number 10 are pursuing the trail Number 10 found still, yes?" His voice was calm and collected, the excitement he'd shown earlier nowhere to be seen.

  "Yes, sir. After learning that Heron had a female companion, they've begun pursuing all leads. They have reason to believe she is within the territory of the Godfather Organization and have put in a request to continue to pursue this trail." The speaker finished.

  Prime smiled slightly when he heard this, his eyes flashing with light, as if things were starting to make more sense.

  "Tell them they have full permission to continue their hunt, but only with the two of them. They need to be wary of Cameron now that he's back to fighting form, and to not antagonize the higher-ups of the Godfather Organization. They are to remain below radar as much as possible." He replied. After a moment, he glanced back at the report in his hand.

  "Also, inform Number 6 to accompany them and tell him to be prepared for combat."

  "Sir?" The voice had a hint of a question in it, as if unsure exactly what to say.

  Prime's smile grew slightly wider,

  "There's a chance we may see Heron sooner than expected."

  .. .. .. .. .. ..

  "What?" Micheal spoke aloud to himself in confusion as he walked away from a large Open Market. He was crossing over a long, rope bridge by himself. He was wearing a loose white shirt and a pair of black slacks, with his Ashari Blade perched at his waist. He didn't wear a mask or anything, instead moving as if he was a regular, low-level fighter.

  "That makes no sense." He reached up and scratched his head, his brows furrowed. A stiff breeze brushed past him, the morning air clear and fresh.

  He was well-within the territory of the Godfather Organization. It had been pretty easy to escape from his pursuers after forcing the two future S Rankers to team up. None of the men and women that gave chase had proven powerful, and his Aura Nullification Necklace handed most of the rest.

  As for the two
future S Rankers, the duo hadn't even tried to chase him. Micheal had come away from their battle rather impressed. He had been holding back, especially by not using a real sword, but it was still a sizable accomplishment for them to stall him so effectively.

  They had only been here for a month and a few weeks, after all. Their rate of improvement was scary.

  It was the same for all S Rankers. From the individual leaders of the Big 3, to the Enlightened Monk that wandered the First Layer in search of enlightenment, to the lone Explorer Tandrum that was obsessed with the secrets of the First Layer, to the Fierce Queen Anastasia that ruled her own private kingdom in a side Cluster.

  One and all, they were frightening geniuses that did the impossible.

  Micheal blinked as he took a deep breath, regathering his focus.

  He had arrived early in the morning at the Gold Mine Open Market, intent on gathering intel.

  He had already looked online through the Godfather Organizations closed network, searching hundreds of threads for even the mention of a certain topic, and found nothing at all.

  And, after he checked out this nearby Open Market, he found his newly formed suspicions confirmed.

  No information had been released about the Golden Morenkai hunting method or the Dragon Building Liquid creation method. There was not even a hint of it on the web or from anyone in person. Nothing at all.

  "Is something still wrong with Head Cameron?" The words sounded off quietly as he finished crossing the bridge. He was deep within the Main Cluster, yet he could see hundreds of people moving around him.

  Dozens of them were crossing bridges, but several of them were milling about on rooftops talking. Some were dressed in old military fatigues, others in jeans and t-shirts, while others wore bathing short and relaxed, open button shirts. He even saw a few girls in summer dresses.

  The sounds of combat echoed out as a Morenkai climbed up onto the roof of a neighboring skyscraper and was immediately cut down by a team of 10+ people.

  The Great Arrival had come into full force. Sights like this were not just found near Open Markets, but almost everywhere in the outer areas of the Main Cluster, and somewhat commonly in the inner areas too.

  The Main Cluster had become far more crowded and, as a result, felt a lot less dangerous to many people. After all, with so many warriors and fighters standing about, regular Morenkai became far less of a threat.

  Many of the new arrivals treated this world like an almost fairy-tale like existence. After all, having the power to pick and choose what mystical powers you would purchase… it was like a story from legend, a video game, a really magical occurrence.

  This had the side effect of leading to a lot of internal and external conflicts as some morally vile groups attacked others, hunting for Points. Clashes became far more common and the real danger of the Main Cluster had only increased, even with the harshly increased security enacted by the Big 3.

  Micheal ignored all of that, however, focusing on what he needed to do now. He couldn't make the Main Cluster a safe haven on his own and he needed to look towards the bigger picture.

  He'd finished up his major goals and targets earlier than expected, thanks to a bit of luck when it came to the Black Witch's somewhat close location.

  As a result, he had some free time between when he was expected to meet up with Shin and Sophia. However, what he had learned about the present state of things in the Godfather Organization had left him worried.

  "I could travel to the Godfather HQ to check on the Head and to reiterate the importance of the Golden Morenkai hunting method and Dragon Building Liquid. I have the free time." He frowned as he continued,

  "Or I could travel to and try to find Shin and Sophia. They should be working to win over the Brigadier General of the Old Airwing Military Alliance around now."

  He pondered these two issues for a few moments as he walked out on the skyscraper he'd crossed onto, moving past a few other men that were walking the other way. He walked over to the edge of the skyscraper, looking down at the ground level.

  The Morenkai seemed to be thronging in even larger numbers down below. Despite the huge presence humans had become in the Main Cluster, none of the teams were willing to stake out the ground level. The risk of getting overwhelmed by Morenkai, including Abnormals and Monster Class Morenkai, was far too great.

  After a moment, he sighed, looking up and examining all the other people around him.

  "Alright." He nodded his head sharply and then closed his eyes, focusing his memory on the mental image of the map of the Main Cluster he had formed.

  He found one specific spot on the map and then nodded again, making a decision.

  He then set off from the skyscraper, headed towards his destination.

  .

  Chapter 40

  "The sword is I… I am the sword…" A soft voice whispered into the still, early morning air. The speaker sat on the balcony of a small lounge, in the middle of a random skyscraper. Faint, invisible gleams of Sword Energy gathered around a short sword the speaker held up in their right hand, wavering slightly in the air.

  Cool silence reigned supreme as several minutes passed in peace.

  "I am the sword… the sword is I… I am the swo-" Abruptly, the speaker paused as their words were cut off.

  "You don't look very much like a sword to me." Shin's words sounded off cheekily as he sauntered out onto the balcony, grinning. He wore a pair of black jeans and a loose, grey shirt, with a handgun on his side.

  Sophia blinked as she looked back up at the blond-haired man with a long-suffering sigh. She tugged slightly at the comfortable, long sleeved white shirt she wore. They sometimes got a bit tucked into her jean shorts when she was sitting.

  "It's called meditation, knucklehead. Micheal taught me a bit on how to use my sword and I'm applying that teaching further." In fact, today had been a bit of a special day for her.

  Right after she spoke, she called her Status up in her head.

  .

  — - Status — -

  Name: Sophia Morgan

  Points: 18,827

  Race: Human

  Physique: 1 Star

  Age: 23

  - Stats -

  Strength - 48

  Endurance - 37

  Recovery - 37

  Soul - 20

  Abilities - (4/7)

  Fairy Eyes

  Ki Cultivator (Mortal Tier - Late)

  Basic Sword Mastery (5/5) -> Intermediate Sword Mastery (1/5)

  Wind Sweeper

  .

  Her Ki Cultivator Ability was in the Late Stage, its effects greatly boosted by her 1 Star Physique. Her Fairy Eyes, in particular, kept boosting her Soul stat as it continued to grow, giving her a powerful edge. The increment in perception of time might appear small, but every bit added up.

  She had also finally broken through and upgraded her Basic Sword Mastery Ability to Intermediate Sword Mastery, something she could officially see in her Status. Her Status was somehow able to quantify her understanding in such a way that it tracked her progress, using numerical stages.

  If Micheal had been there, he would've snorted, half in annoyance but also half in appreciation, at her blazing-fast progress. It had taken him a bit less than a year to advance from Basic Sword Mastery to Intermediate Sword Mastery. While he hadn't been graced with careful instruction from a skilled Grandmaster like Sophia was, it was still an incredible feat for her to move forward so quickly.

  Sophia stood up, sheathing her sword as she glanced at the teleporter.

  Shin stared back, giving her a grin.

  "Ready to go?"

  The past few days had been both exciting and boring.

  After she met up with Shin and found out he was in the middle of a test, she ended up waiting patiently for him to finish his test. She managed to avoid being involved in any of his business, staying out of the spotlight. The members of the Godfather Organization that were assigned to watch over Shin's trial dismissed her
as one of the random challengers that caught word of the challenge to defeat Shin.

  In the end, Shin passed his challenge. His incredibly versatile teleportation power allowed him to easily escape from most types of danger. Throughout the entire challenge, Sophia had yet to see anyone actually manage to make it near him before he teleported away. He would then pepper his enemies with well-aimed shots, tiring them out or injuring them and forcing them to retreat.

  She did manage to reach one conclusion, however.

  'He's a softie at heart.' The man gave off a lackadaisical appearance, as if he cared for nothing, but she noted that even when he was being attacked, he still took care to ensure that the people he shot were only shot in areas where it was impossible for any crippling or serious injury to occur.

  He even went so far as to put himself at more risk to ensure this. While his aim was well above average, and it was apparent that all the training he was undergoing with the Godfather Organization was improving this more, it wasn't as if he could always shoot perfectly. Taking a few extra, unnecessary moments to fire could be a serious risk in some contexts.

  She had shaken her head slightly when she saw this, her eyes hardening. A habit like that could be a fatal weakness in this environment. She well remembered the lesson Micheal had taught her, back when they knocked out a group of random robbers they met atop a skyscraper.

  .. .. ..

  "Sophia… your little sister is still lost. Imagine if we let men like this back into the world, what do you think they would do if they found her?" Micheal's words had gone off like thunder in Sophia's ears as he continued,

  "We aren't on Earth anymore, Sophia. Playing nice with people like that will get innocent people killed."

  .. .. ..

  Technically, the people that had been attacking Shin weren't trying to kill him either, but only trying to take him down. The test he was participating in wasn't necessarily a lethal one.

  Instead, it was designed to measure a person's power and capacity to deal with threats safely. If they couldn't handle being attacked or defending an area for an extended period, they had no right to become a higher ranked member of the Godfather Organization.