Reborn: Apocalypse - Volume 2 59 Chapter 106 - Investigation

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Sylvester Eron, the Captain-Commander and leader of the Angels Arcadia, an elite S Ranker, looked down at a report that was on his desk with a sigh.

The Captain-Commander had short red hair and a rather broad face, with a large nose and a blocky chin. He was tall for a man, standing roughly 2 meters (6' 5"). Despite his large size, he was lanky, looking quite different compared to many of the warriors on the First Layer that had bodies bulging with muscles.

He was currently sitting in a private room inside a large, glittering and mostly glass Tower, the Headquarters for the Angels Arcadia. He was wearing a set of relaxed, baggy jeans and an open Hawaiian shirt with a white undershirt on beneath.

He sat at a large wooden desk on a comfortable looking armchair. Standing in front of him were a trio of masked men, all wearing the customary white leather armor of the Angels Arcadia.

"Is this really all the information we have on him? The intel on the Monster Class Morenkai is sufficient but this..." Sylvester looked up from the report, his pale blue eyes flashing faintly with energy as he held it up in his hand.

"Yessir, Captain-Commander." A male voice barked out a terse reply as the man standing on the left spoke up.

He had short black hair and piercing green eyes, the rest of his facial features hidden by his mask. He gave off an imposing Aura despite his average height and slim build.

"This is all the information that could be gathered on such short notice." The man in the middle added a line of his own. Sylvester turned his attention to him.

He was masked, like the others, but had strange, glowing red eyes. Also unlike the others… he was extremely obese. Instead of sharp looking leather armor, he wore a large, oversized robe with the insignia of the Angels Arcadia upon it.

"The trails my men found indicate his earliest known appearance was from the Stardust Cluster." The last speaker had a quiet, almost whisper-like voice that cut through the air softly in the large study.

The man, like the others, wore a mask. Despite his small voice, he had a robust and muscular figure, with a large, black chain wrapped around his shoulders and back.

Sylvester sighed as he looked back at the report, and then over at his men.

They were the three Head Emissaries of the Angels Arcadia. All three were extremely strong A Rankers, the strongest members of Arcadia, and Sylvester's most trusted subordinates.

"And there is nothing else?" Despite that, even they seemed unable to find out anything beyond the bare minimum about their target.

A man that went by the identity of 'Emissary Heron' who not only brutally murdered one of their own Emissaries but also killed an important member of the Nightrunners, sparking tensions.

The Director Prime of the Nightrunners had already contacted him, irate beyond belief. He was threatening a full-scale escalation if he didn't get answers.

Sylvester hadn't budged an inch, but had given his own explanation. The murderer hadn't just killed one of the Nightrunners, but also one of Arcadia's own, and they were seriously looking into it. They would freely send over all reports on incidents that could be related to the murderer, in return for a preemptive ceasefire.

Commander Kenneth's report had stated that Leila was planning on leaving Arcadia and betraying them to the Nightrunners, but with her and Number 14 dead, Sylvester decided to quash that issue and ignore it.

That problem was already resolved with their deaths. What he needed now was to find the man that dared to impersonate his own high-ranking subordinate and abuse their name. Such a man was a dangerous threat that could not be allowed to roam freely.

The only frustrating thing…

It was as if the man appeared out of thin air. They found almost literally nothing, even when using multiple Abilities that could look a bit into the past and future, or scan fate.

Even worse, all of his actions left essentially no trail. He gave out no clues or hints, and, in general, covered his tracks near perfectly. They had basically nothing on him, except for what he willingly left out in the public.

'Why is everyone so damn needy… If you had to die, Number 14, couldn't you have just died somewhere else..?' The Captain-Commander silently cursed in his heart, but kept up a relatively emotionless facade.

"Well…" The obese Head Emissary, a man that went by the title Head Emissary Candle, shifted as he spoke.

"There is one other thing I have, if neither Head Emissary Lion nor Head Emissary Quill has anything else to add."

The other two Head Emissaries shrugged.

Sylvester waved him on.

"After finding out that he was first seen, in disguise, emerging from the Stardust Cluster, I dispatched a team to seek out the group he first came with. As part of our initiative to cool tensions with the Nightrunners, my team is also working with them." Head Emissary Candle began, nodding his head.

"Who did the Nightrunners send?" Sylvester cut in, his eyes cool.

"Ah, Number 10 was dispatched, as well as some of their Cell Captains and a few information specialists. I sent Commander Hatchel and Emissary Antler, as well as one of our Truthseekers." The obese Emissary returned, waiting politely for a moment before continuing,

"Currently, we have located the group he came over with, a team calling themselves the Stardust Coalition. They have settled down in the territory of the Godfather Organization." Head Emissary Candle finished.

"Are there any members of the Godfather Organization with them? What responses did you get? Did your men draw the attention of the Godfather Organization?" When he heard where they were, the Captain-Commander rubbed at his forehead, feeling another headache coming on.

First the Nightrunners got involved, and now it seemed the Godfather Organization might get involved as well. With their Head restored to health, he could no longer discount their future potential. This situation was expanding far more so than he had wanted…

"I'm not too certain on the specifics yet, Captain-Commander, but my men have been instructed to work within the realm of the Godfather Organization's rules. It's a simple questioning session, there will be no violence. The Nightrunners have agreed as well." Head Emissary Candle quickly replied.

"And if they refuse questioning?" The Captain-Commander stared at the Head Emissary, unblinking.

The obese man's eyes narrowed.

"We will deal with that when the time comes. For now…" The man trapped on his Head Emissary Emblem, finishing quietly,

"My men are making first contact as we speak."

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The southern portion of the Godfather Organization's territory was known to the locals as 'The South.' The fact that it was to the north of most of the Main Cluster was conveniently ignored by its inhabitants.

This particular area of the Main Cluster was heavily patrolled by the Godfather Organization and highly regulated. Their territory covered a huge swath, but when it came to keeping their land safe, they were the best of the Big 3.

Captain Simon of the Saru Group, now the leader of the Stardust Coalition, was currently standing atop a rooftop with a concerned expression on his face. The midmorning light lit up the world around him, the everpresent skyscrapers crowding the area.

Behind him were several of the other leaders in the Coalition, including Sharpshooter Mike, Swiss Artillery Noah, and the various high-level figures of the organizations back in their home Cluster.

Notably absent, however, was Officer Martin of the Godfather Organization.

After the Coalition travelled to the Main Cluster, they established their own base like Micheal had suggested, in the territory of the Godfather Organization. They then sent back messages informing their home groups of their success.

Most of the people that had stayed behind in the Stardust Cluster had no intentions of moving forward. They felt safe, and powerful, where they were, and would only leave when they felt they needed to, or were strong enough to easily survive.

After all… the Morenkai seemed to spawn infinitely and the more Points you got, the stronger you typically got as you gained more Abilities. Many saw this as a reason to take things slow.

Still, with a safely established stronghold to travel to, the Stardust Cluster now had a transportation line to expand into the Main Cluster, and to send members of each major force for those that wanted to move forward.

After they fully settled down and laid a solid foundation, several of the members of the Coalition intended on taking it further, planning to leave the First Layer altogether, to adventure forth into the Second.

Right now, however…

All of the leaders of the Coalition, Simon included, were sweating nervously, for a rather simple reason.

Standing in front of them was a small army of powerful experts.

A full 24 leather-armor clad warriors, decked out with a variety of weapons, as well as a half dozen or so black robed figures. All of them were glaring at the Coalition leaders with purpose.

"So you are the leader of this Coalition?" At the head of the force stood a trio of figures. The speaker was one of the trio, a gentle looking man wearing a full set of white plate armor, instead of leather. He had black hair and, of all things, a flower in that hair, matching his affable face.

He was the reason the Coalition leaders were up here in the first place, instead of finishing their morning meditation or breakfast. The man had called out to them with a voice that carried throughout the entire skyscraper, asking for their presence. Such a mysterious power wasn't something the leaders could ignore.

"Yes, and you are?" Captain Simon grunted out a response, crossing his arms stiffly. He kept his voice respectful but confident, showing a lack of arrogance, but also no weakness.

"I am Commander Hatchel and this is my comrade, Emissary Antler." The Commander waved at a masked man that stood next to him. Emissary Antler practically had no force of presence, and looked rather normal, save for the blue mask he wore.

"We are members of the Angels Arcadia." He gave Captain Simon a small nod as he finished speaking.

Simon nodded back. Just by looking at the men and women present, he could tell that even the weakest among them were B Rankers. Every person here was strong and tough, especially the trio that he was facing.

"And I…" The third figure of the trio spoke out loud, waving a hand casually. It was a small, black haired woman wearing a black robe, and a white, enamel mask that had a golden '10' carved into it. Her hair flowed behind the mask and over her robe, all the way down to her lower back. She had light brown skin, visible from her neck and hands.

"…am known as Number 10, of the Nightrunners." Her voice was warm and pleasant to listen to, carrying a friendly demeanor.

When the various leaders of the Coalition found out they were facing important figures from the Big 3, many of them grew pale-faced. This had come out of nowhere for most of them. None of them had any intentions on stirring the pot or drawing any kind of attention like this. They all knew, from their years of experience here, that attention like that could be deadly.

"We don't mean you any harm. In fact, we are here because we have found out that a dangerous criminal infiltrated your group and put you all at risk." Her voice was filled with what sounded like genuine concern.

"A man that goes by the name 'Emissary Heron.'"

That name caused all of the Coalition members to freeze up in shock, exchanging glances. Most of them looked stunned.

Captain Simon, conversely, only widened his eyes slightly. His face gave away nothing, his stature calm and steady.

"I'll explain to you a bit about him, and then we'll ask you all a few simple questions and be out of your hair. Again, we don't want to cause you any trouble. We are just trying to catch a criminal." The woman took a few steps forward as she spoke, until she was standing directly in front of all of them.

"Is not he a member of Arcadia? If what you say is true, why would you seek us out, instead of them?" Captain Simon nodded at the other two leaders, cutting in with solid logic.

The Emissary with no force of presence spoke up then, his voice cutting and quick-paced as he answered Simon.

"That man is no Emissary. He is an impersonator that abused the authority of the Angels Arcadia. And, even worse than that…" Emissary Antler's voice was full of scorn,

"He is a vile murderer."

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"Man, I sure do love murder." Micheal smiled cheerfully as he looked at what was in his hands.

ZAP

ZAP

DING

"Diiie!" A smartphone flashed out, a few sounds effects echoing off as he played a game on it.

He was currently leaning inside a skyscraper's roof shed, playing on his phone.

He wasn't playing on it because he wanted to, but rather, because it was the most optimal way to search for his targets.

His Soul was undergoing a continuous stream of stress from his rapid and large usage of energy. While he could restore that energy using various medicines to keep searching, from time to time, he needed to take short breaks to relax.

If he didn't, he would build up a splitting headache and be forced to rest for hours to help his Soul calm down. He was abusing his poor Soul to the extremes as he searched, using it for things he normally would be unable to do at his current Soul stat. As a result, he needed to take precautions.

Playing a video game on a smartphone was the best option he had in regards to something that could engage and relax his Soul, allowing it to calm down.

He could've also meditated, but at this point he felt too tense to easily focus. The time it would take to fully calm down would be a waste when he could just open his smartphone and play a few rounds of Swords n Smashin' or other random games.

The smartphones from the Shop could download many offline, completed games as long as one was willing to spend the Points.

Micheal focused back on his game as he felt cool energy begin to emanate from his Soul.

'Just 5 more minutes and then I'll go…'

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Chapter end