In the control room of the base where Anton was located, numerous workers were responsible for monitoring and managing information from other bases and sectors.
The main task of the team was to ensure information security and convey it in a concise manner to the dark entity containment team.
When Anton entered the office, he immediately caught the attention of all the personnel inside. "Greetings to the Guardian!" they all shouted while giving a standard military salute.
"Get back to work without paying attention. I want everything to keep flowing." Anton walked towards his office without stopping.
Just as he was about to reach his room, a woman in a suit stood professionally in front of Anton. "Sir, I am Alice!" With a simple military salute, Alice introduced herself, saying, "I used to work in the logistics forces in a government section, but I've been transferred here to serve you."
"From now on, I'll be your main secretary and will handle managing your affairs and future meetings. Please don't forget to leave me any tasks you need," Alice said as she extended her hand towards Anton, who was looking at her.
"Just do your job well. I want the new program that I will take as a guardian against dark entities quickly," Anton said as he entered his office.
"Understood."
With a sigh of relief, Anton walked into his office and sat down. The room was too large and spacious, with a row of expensive armchairs in the center of the room and a desk in the corner. Rather than a working room, it would be better to consider it a private meeting room.
Anton, walking without paying much attention to the meticulous room, was prepared to work. In his mind, he couldn't help but think about his new job and responsibilities.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Anton silently looked at the entrance of the room. The first thing he should prioritize was the new method established by the higher-ups to ensure dark entity incursions without being noticed by the public.
"Come in..."
Anton stood up from his desk and walked towards the sofas in the center of the room.
"These are the reports you requested. If you wish, I can summarize the information to make it faster to address." Alice waited silently for Anton's response.
Looking silently at the thick document, Anton nodded. He wasn't sure how long it would take to analyze the information, but right now, he was running out of time.
"Take a seat; you can explain it to me quickly and directly." Anton glanced at the thick document without looking at Alice. Still, even if he didn't see her, he should personally keep up with the pace of the explanation.
Alice took a deep breath, took a seat, and reviewed documents on her smart tablet. "At the beginning of this year, the Association of Light started taking urban operations more seriously because they were becoming more frequent, so they increased their numbers with the help of retired soldiers from the armies of many countries. Their purpose in increasing their forces was not to reveal corporeal dark entities to the entire world."
Anton nodded with understanding. The National Security Council took a long time to respond to the sudden outbreak of corporeal dark entities worldwide. Fortunately, there were special forces groups within the armies that supported the priests in their elimination missions.
"After many discussions by world governments, the special department of the Association of Light was approved with the purpose of dealing with dark entities worldwide above all else."
"Let's skip the parts that have nothing to do with our jurisdiction. What are the government privileges of the Association of Light's department?"
"Uh... yes, the power granted to you as a Guardian Bishop is superior to most organizations in the world, with the sole purpose of eliminating dark entities and responding to distress calls."
"You won't answer to anyone other than your father; therefore, you are practically untouchable around the world."
"No government will interfere, including the president." Anton asked with doubt. He knew that the interim president was the supreme commander of the Armed Forces of each country, and they should be informed of each operation to decide whether to interfere or not.
"The president will not interfere with the operations of the Association of Light. It was determined that the special department against anomalies would have full authority to protect the country and keep the emergence of monsters hidden." Alice paused and pointed, "But as long as the Association of Light has the advantage in the fight against dark entities, there is no need for the military to intervene publicly."
"So, each base of the Association of Light along with the Exorcists will be supervised by a Guardian Bishop assigned to each province and respective metropolitan cities."
Anton had an idea of the entire new program that the government had developed in collaboration with the Association of Light just to face dark entities.
Anton and anyone else, no matter how smart, would have doubts and stay bewildered for a while by the sudden stress of being a Guardian Bishop. Everything was sudden, and it would take time to adapt to an entirely new system.
"In the coming months, the scale of your operations will increase to cover more than one city or community, and you will respond directly to the Association of Light as its sole leader." When Alice's words echoed in Anton's ears, a sudden chill ran down his spine as he grasped the idea that his work would increase.
"I'll die from overworking." When the small sentence left Anton's tongue, the feeling of pressure overwhelmed him once again. No, he would definitely refuse to ascend in rank after this. "Sorry, is everything okay, sir?" Alice was confused.
Anton was pulled from his accelerated thoughts. "It's nothing; I was thinking about something else. By the way, how many bases are there in the entire country?"
"I am not qualified to know that information. Surely, you as their bishop know, but as your secretary, I am not qualified." Alice knew very little, so she said, "Counting the nine provinces, six metropolitan cities, and a special metropolitan city for the capital of this country, barely enough response teams were distributed for the number of minor entities that include cities, counties, or districts."
"Considering all of the above, the hidden bases of the Association of Light should not be more than a thousand, but again, those are just my statistics."
"That sounds much safer. We shouldn't repeat what happened with the recent murders." Anton recalled that recently, a boy who had been possessed by a malevolent spirit massacred more than forty people using melee weapons before being shot down by the police. That was a real disaster.
After answering all of Anton's questions, Alice smiled modestly and left the room. After staying silent for a while, Anton looked at the antique-looking room and saw his figure reflected in the wine bottles on a shelf. "I've leveled up; my job will be more challenging, but I'll be able to fulfill my revenge against the mafia."
If he wanted to kill those who harmed old Smith, he first had to stabilize his job and proceed cautiously to not expose his identity as a Guardian Bishop and thus not reveal his intentions. He had many ways to do this, so before the suits arrived, he first needed to establish authority in this place.
"I'll go home early..."