Inside a ramshackle old house, Dilliard sat propping his feet up on the desk in front of him with a blank look on his face as he stared up at the wooden ceiling.
To his right was a window whose view overlooked a large crater in the middle of the outskirts, a crater which had been caused by the appearance of the upper rift two months ago.
During that time, three sides settled on the outer rim of the crater. One part was occupied by the central government, another by the anti-government organization, Khan and finally the mercenaries, who were looking for any opportunity to make money.
They didn't care who hired them as long as they made money, that was the general thinking of most of the mercenaries. Greedy people, but at the same time smart and cunning.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door of the room, Dilliard without looking away from the ceiling sighed and massaged his forehead.
"Come in"
The door opened and in walked a blond haired, blue eyed young man with a confident yet pretentious look on his face.
"General Dilliard"
Dilliard sighed internally without letting his emotions seep through and looked at the young man who had stopped in front of his desk and was carrying a folder in his hands.
"What do you want, Lloyd?"
The young man respectfully set the folder down on the desk and stepped back again.
"There's all the information collected so far"
Dilliard lowered his feet from the desk and picked up the folder before opening it and reviewing the documents it contained. He began to skim over each one before putting them back on the desk.
"Well, thank you for bringing them. You can go now"
Although Dilliard told him to leave, Lloyd stood silently watching him seriously. Dilliard sighed again understanding the young man's behavior and looked at him boredly.
"What do you want?"
Lloyd smiled slightly and stroked the hilt of his sword that hung at his hip.
"When are we going to kill them?"
Dilliard fell silent and sighed internally again.
'Don't say that with a smile on your face' He thought but didn't say it out loud.
"We are not going to confront each other. We are in no position to have a direct confrontation right now, not without knowing when the rift will open, and we will face a flood of calamities"
Lloyd's face changed instantly, and he clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"That's why we continue to stand in the shadows of government, because we never act and always just watch"
Dilliard said nothing and stood and watched as Lloyd turned and walked out of the room with a sour and annoyed expression.
Dilliard massaged his forehead again, then sighed and looked towards the door.
"You may come in"
Syril poked his head out from behind the door frame with a somewhat downcast expression.
"Are you taking him for dead already?"
Dilliard looked at her and was silent before looking out the window towards the large crater.
"And so should you, even I don't have the confidence to survive an upper realm. How could Nathan who is first rank second category do it?"
Syril sat on the edge of the window also looking at the great crater in silence.
A rift suddenly appearing in the middle of the outskirts, just when Nathan was in the middle of a nearby mission. It was all just a big coincidence, a big damn coincidence.
"He may be second category... but his swordsmanship rivals that of a third category... he could even take on a second-rank calamity even when he hadn't learned to sense and use his essence"
Dilliard folded his arms, thinking of the black-haired young man in a demon-faced mask that he had taken as his personal student in a fit of curiosity.
"You mean the sword you carry on your back?"
Syril turned her head slightly and picked up the katana she carried on her back placing it on her legs.
"Not only that, according to the report you presented to us, the blood ogre was just summoned, so it wasn't fighting at its full capacity"
Syril smiled slightly as she ran her hand over the sheath of the katana.
"That was months ago... now he must be stronger than before"
Dilliard nodded slightly.
"Yes... but that doesn't take away from the fact that a upper realm is a upper realm"
Syril's smile turned into a sour grin with some sadness.
His feelings for Nathan were defined as something of curiosity... or so it was at first when he first met him.
As they spent time training together in their private arena, Syril began to see him as a partner... one of the few she could fight with without holding back, though not quite, for as much as Nathan had improved, he was still far from a true third category like her or Lloyd, who were considered Khan's strongest cadets.
As Syril was still lost in thought and Dilliard went back to reviewing the documents, suddenly the door burst open and in walked a cadet gasping for air.
"What is it?" Dilliard asked with a frown as he saw the young cadet's condition.
"G-general, a government representative is at the base gate"
Syril and Dilliard frowned at the same time.
"A representative?" Dilliard wondered as he put his hand to his mouth thoughtfully.
Syril put the Katana back on her back and looked at Dilliard in confusion.
"After two months of complete silence they're finally going to talk?"
Dilliard nodded.
"It would seem so. Well send them in... but first"
Dilliard stood up, taking the folder, and stashing it in a cabinet drawer next to him.
"Who's the representative?"
The cadet bit his tongue trying to speak, then winced and finally said:
"It's the head of the Aeterna family and his son!"