"Oh, you're back… and late. Report," The demands of the Founder echoed from behind the meeting table into his ears, as if he could feel the enhanced wind pressure send his lengthy locks back behind his ears.
"Right. Is everyone present and accounted for?" Icarus searched every nook and cranny at the table, surely enough, it was true. Everyone present.
Kelly to the Founder's right, Rizia across from her, Heidi beside Rizia, and Ryosuke across from her. The only one missing was the replacement, Icarus Chrollo, having taken the Crow's place all those years ago.
Now, the date was April 27th, 2022, and the assessment given by the Founder to his assassins was truly complete.
"On April 17th, Katie Moon returned to the Capital with the output of her life energy increased tenfold. Having known of this, you unleashed two assassins into the wild as a commission, knowing that while they were valuable assets, they were expendable and weak for the soul's information could easily be returned to the body. However, the information gathered as a result of the fights between Ace Wilder and the Reaper & Katie Moon and the Crow was sent to you via contacts embedded into their eyes. It's safe to say that in the next few months, they'll grow just as powerful as their predecessors, and that's not even counting June Wilder and Kima Myers," Icarus twitched his finger to the side, cracking his neck, Callum at the head with all fingers interlocked opened his red eyes.
"I'm glad you conveniently forgot to mention that time you managed to defeat Ace and tortured him for a week. As part of our agreement, shouldn't you be informing us of the new abilities he conjured in his fight against your double?" Cal suggested, raising his hand… suddenly, a white aura appeared over his soul, surrounding his fingers, Rizia looked away from the brightness manifested just from his hand.
"I don't know the names but he's manifested a lock-on ability for his Spatial Condense power. As for Corrupted Bolt, he can implant it within electrical conductors. That's all I managed to download before my double died," Icarus was newly informed.
The tension was so thick, it was like a katana couldn't even slice right through in it, that sinking feeling that you did something wrong but you know you can't confess it- it was like a centipede, crawling up the spine of the Jester. In the end, the agreement between them all was a simple gamble to see who sabotaged who the best, surely, Callum knew that by now. Or maybe he didn't, for he so easily submitted with a shrug of his shoulders, granting Chrollo to silently take his earned seat at the table.
All the heads of the Evolution Frontier turned to their Founder, quietly contemplating their next move, running through every possibility. Almost like he was using 100% of his brain capacity at the same time everyone turned to him, for even a split second later, he'd opened his eyes and revealed the crimson coloration of his restored pupils. The time had come for the annual debate session following the next move of the Evolution Frontier involving their next goals… at the proper time.
"Getting into the Evolutionary Capital isn't hard in the slightest. The entrance is protected by a life-energy barrier imbued with defenses that slay any non-granted Remnant monsters to a crisp. The hard part is getting ourselves inside, for, as Icarus observed, there is a bounty out for the Founder of Riverton and… not to mention his team of assassins. We wouldn't get the chance to slow down and plan once we'd arrive there, for we'd instantly get targeted. So…" Callum deduced, two fingers placed to his temples, leaning only on his elbow, staring coldly, "We bring them to us."
"What do you plan on doing when we bring them here?" Snow queried, accompanying a friendly tone as she asked her leader,
"Katie's power could grow to the degree that it could become demonic. With her situation, negative emotions involving her past and the friends she's surrounded by making her a dangerous individual," Added Ryosuke with a professional tone added to his deep vocals,
"The same could be said for Ace. He's a ticking time bomb, especially after what Icarus did to him. If anything, we could grab June and force him into a pact allowing one of us to take his powers. That should be the worst-case," Kelly muttered that last part, turning to Callum at the head once again at the sound of his voice,
"No, I think that's wrong. When the Reaper was defeated, Rivera's soul reverted into the body. I don't know what he did, but it's possible his consciousness still resides within Ace's mind as a split-personality for the two. So much as attacking Ace while utilizing hostages can likely act as a land mine. We shouldn't provoke that probability until we want more chaos," Added Icarus, legs resting up against the table with his hands behind his head,
"Speaking of chaos, what about Myers? Her power truly is a versatile one, able to summon lost souls and 'monsters' from not only shadows she makes from her pocket dimension, but from lost souls engraved into artifacts' information. She's pretty unpredictable, when you think about it," Heidi spoke coldly about the variable of Kima… or rather-
"She's not. The variable you're talking about is her power, but she, herself is truly useless when utilizing this power. Most of her skill came with using the Ketsueki, but that's useless now that she used its last resort recklessly," Callum interjected, undermining Kima in the process, scratching at his forehead,
"Then, if that's all, I believe we're all agreed," Rizia stated, leading Heidi to side-eye them with a drop of sweat dripping from her face,
"Indeed. The proper time in place is:
On July 22nd, in Riverton's center. We should keep everything we have in reserve to defeat them all in one fell swoop until then…"
The deadline was slammed back in the middle of the coming summer, with all pawns moving the way anticipated, the scheme would go off without a hitch. From then on, the observations about the teenagers' new skills would have to go undetected, and that would require the skills of the Jester, once more. With everything having been discussed and the manuscript for the showdown written, everyone was dismissed, for all but two fled. Icarus stood at the door, watching as Ryosuke walked past, the duo sharing a mutual stare, whether or not it was that of a glare, Chrollo couldn't tell. For the only thing, he could think of was that look on his face, allowing the thought, 'Scary…' to stream through his mind.
The remaining three within the meeting room were Kelly, Rizia, and the Founder himself. Slicking back his snowy hair, the seat he was positioned within was gradually pushed back as he stood upright, stretching his arms to the air and feeling the joints satisfyingly crack.
"Riz, you doing alright? You were oddly silent that meeting…" Kel reached on over to rub her friend's shoulder giving the slightest hint of a massage, loosening the obvious knots hidden in their shoulders,
"Y-yeah. Just nervous, I guess. Anyway, Callum, you had a special assignment for me?" Kosuke questioned of her leader, standing up, kindly taking away the blonde's hand from their shoulder, touching Kel's shoulder as if with a loving message as they stood behind the Founder.
"Yes, it's quite simple. I'm tasking you with the monitoring of the Jester. You'll be heading into the Capital with him and from then, you'll be able to monitor everything while the preparations go underway," Cal turned around, their heights not too different, the Founder, just a few inches higher, gave a pat to their head with a smile visible over his repaired lips, "I'm counting on you."
Rizia's eyes sparkled at those words, for while they had lost that man, maybe this was a chance to get him back. From that look in his eyes, they could tell something was off with this mission, or maybe there was something in the back of their head telling them otherwise; like they were simply hallucinating. Exhaling sharply, Kosuke was pulled into an embrace by his arms, their face in his chest, eyes like glaciers sparkling from the sun's rays shining onto them.
The Founder wasn't malevolent in the slightest, for he was truly a savior, a king amongst men who graced people with his presence and love. That was the truth they knew, for they felt like a sole diamond glistening with the heated hues of the sun against their face; maybe their skin should've burnt off at the incredible warmth. But it didn't… all they could feel was the warmth of the present, around their figure- to the front of their face. How beautiful the world of the Evolution Frontier was to the personal Harbinger of the Riverton Founder.
Near the entrance of the meeting room where Heidi and Ryosuke had already exited, there was the Jester, watching from a distance as Callum embraced his killer subordinate. One of the added affirmations of demonic abilities isn't… exactly enhanced hearing like the powers of Eternal Sight. While Callum's words moved, staring down at Rizia in his arms, there was the mystery of what he'd said. In the end, this was a silent competition between the Founder and the Jester, whoever most dominant would come out on top.
For the time being though, like the way monsters dwell within the abyss filled to the brim with endless shadows, Icarus returned to that darkness, forevermore returning to his selfish tendencies. Moments later, as the seeds for disaster were seconds away from being planted, looking to his hands, he'd come to realize there was one seed missing from the various beads in the cusp of his palm. One more.
"Oh, there it is! I forgot for a second hope you don't feel guilty about it."
Cal pressured his pointer against his wristwatch, exposed from sliding up his sleeve, the windows slid inside out to reveal the curtains hiding the outer sunlight. Finally, there was the new pawn, one who could be utilized freely against the unknown aspects of the kingdom he ruled, now under the control of the Riverton Founder. None other than the Incarnated Requiem Artifact, defeated by Rivers' newfound stolen strength, was able to take even a demon by the throat and make him a competitor. The glass revealed the shape of his naked body, and it was all he'd ever expected from the first day he was pushed
Into this comatose state. Idle, slow breaths flowing out his nostrils every few seconds, she frozen Alexander could stay there. A prisoner in the place he once called home, a slave to the Founder of the Island… a future pawn for the name game.
With one hand on the controller, he could tell it was shaking, and it wasn't even turned on… those nerves the fault of a human body to inhabit, Callum couldn't deny the truth.
'I am nervous, huh?'
Staring right down at his open hand, watching with scarlet pupils as it slid behind his back, coughing to be clear of any abrupt throat scratchiness, Callum stared into the closed eyes, the tired face, of the slumbering Judge. He lived, and with that revelation now out in the open, the journey continues in a distant future in an unraveling cycle is where it all began.
Summer.
To Be Continued.