Well, at least nobody laughed at me. My dad had never been as serious as when he told me to join the Southern legion. The master came forward and grasped both my shoulders.
"Are you absolutely sure? The southern legion is not a game. You can lose your life at any time! Do you know what you will have to do when you join it?"
"N…no sir, but he firmly advised me to join it. He said no matter who objects and no matter what anyone says, I absolutely have to join it."
"Just what is he thinking?"
Captain Chameberg came forward.
"Master, just who is this person you keep referring to?"
The master sighed.
"I suppose I can't hide anything now," he said and looked up in the sky, "little Tony here is his son"
"Whose son, sir?"
"The one who gave me my position"
The captains were like lifeless statues after hearing this. Captain Chameberg fell back to his chair. The master looked at the short person who was trying to catch any words spoken among us. The master then nodded at him. He looked doubtfully at the master. The master then turned away. The short person immediately ate a voice-amplifying pill as the previous one's effects had expired.
"The Annihilator Ascendance Ceremony has ended. Let us congratulate the new annihilators who joined our ranks."
The quiet applause came into being. Everyone was still wondering what I had said to the captains to make them this shocked. After this, the crowd cleared from the stadium and I was called into the base of the tower. Just who was my father to be able to shock even the captains? After everyone was settled the 12 captains kept walking around while the master was seated on his throne.
"So let me get this straight. He is the son of Trace Dinn?" inquired Captain Hansie. Her voice was quite lovely.
"Yes. There is one more thing I have to tell you. The real name of Trace Dinn is Thomson Schleider. He is the father of Tony Schleider here."
The captains looked very solemn. Why so? Was my dad that big a deal? Was this the same dad that I used to play catch with, after finishing my training every day? It was quite hard to believe.
"Listen, Tony. You clearly don't know your father's identity and as his comrade, I believe in his choice. But by joining the Southern legion you are putting your life in harm's way. Are you absolutely sure you want to join?"
What was this about? Wasn't the Southern legion just like any other squad? Well, clearly not.
"Master, what exactly is the Southern legion?" I asked curiously.
The master seemed to think about whether he should explain it to me or not and he also looked at the other captains for their opinions. All of them nodded at the same time. Wait, did they just communicate through their minds? Was this one of the advantages of kindred soul powers?
"Ok, Tony. Listen carefully. The Southern legion isn't like any other squad. The 12 squads are basically an army we nurture for the upcoming war. They are trained every day intensively to cultivate them to their strongest possible state. In other words, they are the weapon and shield of humanity which hasn't been used yet. But the Southern legion is different. It is a special squad consisting of professional annihilators who go on dangerous and life-threatening missions every single day. We lose at least 2 annihilators every day due to these missions. Your father… is the leader of this squad. He is also the strongest human. He is even stronger than me. The only reason I'm the master is that he decided to lead the Southern legion and hand it over to me. The reason why war hasn't yet broken is that several annihilators under his lead keep them under control."