by L. M. Kerr
Head Cameron's return from essentially death was a solid example, one that led Micheal to believe Shin. In history, Admiral Cardell was a powerful S Ranker that rose to power through his own skill.
Becoming an S Ranker was nearly impossible. In the current Main Cluster, there were only 6, after all, and each one held incredible power.
The leaders of the Big 3 were the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ranked S Rankers. Prime, Cameron, and Sylvester. The remaining 3 kept out of any major political issues, pursuing their own goals.
Tandrum the Explorer, a man obsessed with discovering the secrets of the First Layer, worked alone.
Anastasia Myu, a woman that had formed her own private kingdom in a side Cluster, but had a neighboring small chip of territory she claimed control of in the Main Cluster. She never really did anything in the Main Cluster.
And finally, Hou Shenyeng, the Enlightened Monk. A wandering monk that focused on 'enlightenment' and his own understanding of his Abilities, ignoring outsiders unless they interfered with his actions. He was typically found wandering in side Clusters.
These 6 were the only S Rankers that had formed of the tens of millions of human beings that lived in the Main Cluster. While it was true that millions more had moved on to the next Layer, the number of S Ranker-equivalent humans was still an incredibly diminutive number.
The chances of Admiral Cardell developing into an S Ranker right after Head Cameron died, even if he was as powerful as he currently was, were still pretty slim. If the Admiral was constantly being boosted by the Vile King over time, however…
'In fact, didn't Number 1 also become an S Ranker in the near future as well? His rise to power was through raw talent too.' Micheal frowned as the thought passed through him.
All of a sudden, he felt as if the number of people he could trust or be certain of had drastically fallen. Even with his foreknowledge of the future, there was so much he didn't know.
"Hello? Who is it?" Sophia's voice broke into Micheal's thoughts, echoing out from beyond the closed door.
Micheal took a deep breath, steeling himself as he prepared to reply. His eyes flashed with grim promise as he gathered his will.
The chance was slim… but it was possible Sophia had been infected by the Vile King.
And if that was the case…
He might have to kill her.
.
Chapter 52
"Hey, Sophia. It's Micheal!" Micheal's voice was warm and friendly as he forced his worries down for now, resting his hand on the door handle. He shifted it slightly, finding that it was unlocked.
"Micheal? Huh?" Sophia's voice was full of cool surprise, sounding slightly muffled behind the door.
"Yep, it's me. Mind if I come in?" Micheal continued.
"W-wha, yes, of course! Quickly!" Her tone lost some of its coolness as she quickly ushered him in.
He turned the door handle and opened it up, revealing a room that made him doubletake. It was decorated with cute paintings and had an overtly pink bed that, altogether, screamed 'a woman lives here.'
Most of the rooms in the Main Cluster were starkly decorated unless humans otherwise changed them. The Godfather Organization had truly held back nothing in their efforts to make the VIP section of Medical Bay fabulous.
Lying on that bed was the bedraggled, tired looking figure of Sophia, wearing a set of patient scrubs.
When Micheal saw her figure, noting the many cuts and bruises, especially the ones around her throat, he winced slightly. She, unlike him, didn't have the ability to regenerate at will.
"Wow. How did you get here so fast?" Sophia stared at Micheal with eyes that glistened slightly.
"Welllll, it's a long story but I-" Just as he was about to tell her everything, she interrupted him.
"Wait. How do I know this is really you?" She stared at him suspiciously. To her, it felt far too coincidental for him to be here so quickly after she was injured, before she had even heard anything from him.
"Could a fake do this?" Micheal waved his right hand.
Immediately, two Life Orbs shot out and floated around him, glowing a dim blue. They pulsed in rhythm around him as they circled, twirling about till they landed in his outstretched hand.
"Maybe." Sophia's eyes narrowed,
"I just read the new Main Cluster Ranking. My friend's Life Orb power has been leaked." Sophia held up a packet of paper that was stapled together.
"It has?!" Micheal started when he heard that, his eyes widening.
Sophia threw the packet to Micheal who swiftly caught it. He rapidly browsed through it until he found his name. Or, rather, his 'name.'
'Emissary Heron, Rank 79, Known Abilities: Life Orb Master…' He glared at the paper in annoyance,
'That damned Seer. I knew I should've visited her.' He had been prioritizing his time so tightly he hadn't been able to squeeze a visit to her in. If he had, he might've been able to prevent himself from showing up on the list.
He always knew his Abilities would get leaked, to some degree. If not by the Seer, then by Number 13 of the Nightrunners, or some of the various Ability users that could see beyond just the normal world. It was only a matter of time, there was no real way to stop the information from getting out, not even with his Aura Nullification Necklace.
"This only says Heron, eh? Not Micheal." Micheal looked up from the ranking, nodding at Sophia with a cheerful smile.
So far, the way she was acting might be a bit unreasonable but it didn't make him think the Vile King had planted a Seed in her. Then again, it might still be too soon to tell. No one really knew how long it took for the Vile King to affect someone's thought process. His suggestions were insidious and near impossible to resist if you were infected, suggestions that became internalized and transformed into your own thoughts.
From what Micheal knew, his Seeds could not replicate or multiply. Therefore, if the Vile King wanted to infect Sophia, he would have to remove the Seed from Head Cameron, if it was indeed there.
Would he be willing to sacrifice the ability to manipulate Cameron to take on Sophia?
If nothing else, the Vile King was pragmatic. Micheal didn't think he would make such a choice. He would only really lose out in such a situation.
"Hmm… it's possible you figured out his name using magic or something." Sophia was relentless, acting almost as if she refused to believe he was here.
Micheal rubbed his forehead and sighed. Why were all of his allies such eccentric characters? He conveniently chose to ignore the fact that he was rather eccentric himself.
"We are here to look for your little sister. Her name is Anna Morgan." He brought up the reason they were here.
"Anyone who looked into what the Godfather Organization search teams know about me would know that." Sophia replied begrudgingly, a certain stubborn tone entering her voice.
"Sofa." Micheal gave her a look.
"…I guess it really is you." Sophia sighed.
Micheal then went on to explain how exactly he got here, though he continued to keep up his disguise of future sight. Sophia was a good listener and didn't interrupt, instead watching Micheal closely as he spoke.
After he finished, he went on and asked her about what happened.
"I talked to Shin and he said things got a bit sketchy over there. Do you have any deta-" Just as he was diving in to the subject, Sophia shot up in her bed and glared at him. Pink light fluttered around her eyes as the temperature in the room dropped.
"Where WERE you, Micheal?!" Her voice was scathing as she glared at him, her body trembling.
Micheal secretly resheathed his Ashari Blade as he realized she wasn't about to attack, turning his focus to her words.
"Where… was I?" He repeated her question slowly.
"Where WERE you when I needed you? Micheal, I almost DIED there! You said that I should be fine, that we were safe! That if we were careful, everything would go perfectly! How did they find us?! How did they know we were there?!" Sophia continued to shake as
she looked at Micheal, tears streaming down her face.
Micheal looked back and stood silently, emotions wracking his heart.
It was almost a certain fact that he was the reason the members of the Nightrunners found Shin and Sophia. His actions had put them in this danger, both by antagonizing the Nightrunners and by leaving some type of opening.
And, even worse… He had treated both of them as the experts they became in the future, not as the beginners they both truly were right now.
He hadn't had much choice in the matter, not if he wanted to save countless millions of lives. But he might have gone too far in pushing them. They weren't him, a battle-hardened veteran that regularly pushed himself beyond his own mental limits.
He bit his lip as he realized this, unable to come up with a response.
"No, no. Hold on." Sophia took a deep breath, wiping away her tears as she regained control of her emotions,
"I'm not being rational. Of course you couldn't have been there. Even if you can see some of the future, you can't see everything, right?"
"I can only see certain things." Micheal replied slowly. He held his right hand behind his back, clenched so tightly the knuckles had turned white.
Sophia sniffled to herself quietly, covering her face. After a quick moment, she put her hands down, near fully recovered. She didn't let the pain and horror of her first true, near-death experience scar her.
However, as Micheal looked on, he could see a change in her. Her eyes had become fiercer, a determined and cold light gleaming in them. She was still the same her, but, after all she'd been through, also quite a bit tougher.
"I'm sorry, Soph." Micheal rubbed his eyes and took a few steps forward. Off to his right, a wooden chair had been set up next to her bed. He grabbed it and turned it around, straddling it and leaning forward on its back as he looked at her.
Micheal went on to explain a bit about why the Nightrunners had attacked them, going over the actions he had taken against them in more detail. Sophia had already learned that the Black Witch had been killed, through Shin's ability as a Sub-Executive to gather information, but she hadn't know he had killed Number 14.
"My disguise wasn't perfect, and I'm pretty certain it's because of me that they found you." Director Prime was well and truly an intuitive freak. Micheal would've never gone up against him if he didn't have to.
Sophia looked at Micheal silently.
"I promise I'll do my best to avoid a mistake like this again. I'm so sorry you had to go through all of this." Micheal's heart twisted.
Somehow, without him consciously noticing, he had grown attached to the newest member of his team, treating her like a full-fledged ally and friend in his heart.
'I can't keep messing up, my actions need to be perfect. Mistakes like this could get them killed.' He internally berated himself. There was too much riding on him, a single mistake could end up causing millions to die in the future.
He took a deep breath, after a moment, trying to calm down. He couldn't afford to let himself get caught up in emotion either. He didn't have time for that luxury.
Sophia nodded back stiffly after a moment, the look in her eyes softening,
"We're all in this together, tall guy." She leaned forward and punched him lightly on the shoulder,
"We gotta save the world, right?"
"Well, technically Earth doesn't really need saving. It's probably doing just fine without us humans. I think you mean the human ra- ah, right." He cut himself off as he saw her glare at him,
"Saving the world, that's what we're doing." He gave her a cheery thumbs up, faking his smile as he tried to push aside his dour emotions.
Sophia smiled for a split second but then quickly hid it, giving him a second glare as she quipped,
"I can see why you and Shin are friends."
Micheal nodded sagely,
"We both do have excellent taste in hair." He patted his own sharp-looking hair, courtesy of his disguise as a member of the Godfather Organization.
Sophia gave a long-suffering sigh.
"Soo… I like the room." Micheal waved around vaguely at the various decorations.
"It's pink." Sophia remarked grumpily.
"Why don't you tell me how you got here, eh?" Micheal returned, grinning at her grumpy expression. She, apparently, didn't like the color pink.
The next several minutes passed as Sophia gradually relaxed and told Micheal everything that had taken place. From her travels to meet Shin, to preparing to hunt down the Brigadier General Pedro, to their finding him and successfully gaining his favor only to be ambushed at the last minute.
The General was recuperating back with the Old Army Airwing Alliance, something Sophia learned from the Godfather when he dropped by.
"If that's the case…" Micheal rubbed his chin. There was no way Prime could know his intentions for the General, something he'd thought about when he talked to Shin. It was very conceivable that his main plan would still work.
'Well, we will cross that bridge when we get to it.' If it didn't work, he didn't really know what he would do. It wasn't that easy to come up with a backup plan to kill the most powerful man in the entire First Layer. He made a mental note to focus on alternative plans, especially those that didn't involve direct combat.
A couple more minutes passed as Micheal asked about how she was doing and she replied back. By this point, he was pretty certain the Vile King hadn't left a Seed in her, mostly because there was no reason for him to have. A huge wave of relief washed through him when he realized that, one that rustled his already unsettled emotions.
After all, there was no way the Vile King could know he was from the future and that he knew of him, or how important Sophia was in Micheal's plans. Even the Seer, herself, the most famed fortune teller in the First Layer, would have no clue at all as to who the Vile King was, let alone him.
The Vile King was a genius and very, very clever, but Micheal's return from the future gave him knowledge the man couldn't possibly predict. Probably.
'Besides, right now, he should be preparing the Great Disaster for the Second Layer. He should be pretty busy.' He nodded sharply.
Finally, his time with Sophia drew to an end.
"We can meet up when you're recovered. I'll message you through the forum." Micheal remarked as he looked back at her from the entrance of her room.
Considering the medical powers the Godfather Organization had at their disposal, and the injuries Sophia had suffered, it should only take them a couple of days to get her into top shape. She may have injured her soul, but from what she told him, it wasn't anything too major.
"Make sure you read and reply to people when they reply back to you!" He chided her with a grin.
"Yes, I knowwww. Just leave, dammit." Sophia waved him off with a decidedly unladylike grunt as she tucked into her covers, covering her head with a pillow to drown out his reply.
Micheal laughed as he opened the door and then shut it tight, shaking his head. His heart was far lighter now, as if a burden had been raised.
He then left and began walking down the hallway towards the corner that led to the stairs. Unlike last time, he didn't plan on cutting through the window to leave. Now that-
His train of thought was thrown askew as he abruptly stopped at the corner.
For, he heard a rich, deep voice speaking out from beyond that corner, directed right at him.
"You're a hard man to find, Micheal. Or, should I say, Emissary Heron."
Micheal froze for a split second, his pulse fluctuating wildly as his eyes quivered. A split, fraction of a second later, a warm, friendly smile plastered itself onto his face as he turned the corner with absolute confidence.
"Ah, Head Cameron." Micheal gazed upon a robust, but elderly man dressed in a professional looking black suit and emitting a dangerous, authoritative aura. The man was sitting on a plush armchair, of all things, in the middle of the hallway.
"It's so good to finally meet you."
&n
bsp; .
Chapter 53
Micheal's heart pounded in his chest as he looked at the infamous, S Ranked Godfather of the Godfather Organization, a man that was immensely more powerful than he was at the present moment. His mind raced ahead of him as he continued to project his air of confidence, smiling genteelly.
After a moment, he added a hint of rather genuine nervousness, leaking some of his true feelings.
"Bahahaha, lad. I'm glad I finally get to meet you too." Cameron seemed amused at Micheal's antics, his perceptive eyes missing nothing.
"I've heard much about you, from young Shin and a few other sources." Cameron's arms rested on the armrests of his chair as he gazed at Micheal. After he finished talking, he raised his right arm casually.
Immediately, a comfortable looking cushioned chair appeared in front of the Godfather. It wasn't as large as the man's grand resting armchair, but it still looked rather cozy.
"Have a seat." He motioned at Micheal.
Micheal took a step forward and then sat down nervously. He let his very real nervousness show for a reason.
Even if he was a genius, he would still be wary when facing the 2nd ranked S Ranker, the second most powerful man in the entire Main Cluster. The leader of a gargantuan, multi-million member organization.
If he acted like he wasn't even bothered, he would be giving himself away.
And that was something that the Vile King, if he truly had infected Cameron, would take great interest in.
'I can't show even a hint of my real self here.' Micheal's plans had been thrown asunder.
He had originally planned on opening up a bit to Head Cameron. Of everyone in the Main Cluster, Cameron was revered as practically a saint. He was a genuinely charitable person that even Micheal had looked up to.
If the man was infected with a Seed, however… that was a risk he couldn't take.
Micheal clenched his fists ever so slightly before releasing them, a hint of rage filling him.
Bad things always seemed to happen to good people. He hated that about the 7 Layers. People that did good always had to put up with more danger, more stress, and more pain. It was never fair.
