"What classification are they going to give this event?" asked Jack quietly as he typed on a black typewriter Alexis had provided, saving him quite a bit of time writing his report.
"With the matter of the downed cops, they'll probably classify it as Secret, because the threat of the mission went from threatening to Deadly, all because of..." Irina, sitting on a couch in the same room as Jack, suddenly fell silent.
"Yeah, don't say those names," Jack sighed heavily as he took out the white paper full of leaves to write on another empty one.
"Anyway, we get paid well. I'm planning to buy a new sword for my collection," Irina continued the conversation, trying to forget about the mission.
"The only good thing is that with the Federation's attention on Tuskville, your promotion to a small city will be accelerated," Jack replied with a bit of excitement.
The prospect of better pay certainly lifted the black cloud from his current mood. With this money, he had some new ideas he wanted to pursue, but most of all, he wanted to replicate his gauntlet, this time with better quality and proper enchantments.
"Oh yes, the train will finally reach this place. Although the new mission is a day's train ride away, in some ways, it's better than spending two days in a boring steam car," Irina waved her arms, which were bandaged to emphasize her dislike of steam car travel.
"I thought you liked the feel of the ride," Jack pointed out, and although his back was turned to Irina, his sixth sense told him that she was making a rude gesture in his direction.
"I still love it, but a three-day trip where you can't take a bath? No thanks," Irina scrunched up her face as she remembered the ugly smell her body ended up with after traveling so long in a cramped steam car and sleeping outdoors for three days.
"You're right," Jack tore the last sheet of the typewriter, then bundled it with the others and signed some forms he had to fill out.
"Done, report finished," Jack got up from the chair he was sitting in and looked around as his bones rattled.
He was in a cozy little room, with a desk, several couches, and a glass table with several ornate flowers. This was the room that belonged to him in the UNMSO offices in Tuskville.
"Ah, let me send it for you, you need to work on your enchantments," Irina got up from the couch and took the sheets into her teammate's hands.
"And Jack," before she walked out the door, Irina turned to see a stunned Jack looking at his hands uncomfortably.
"It's not your fault, you fought well, we fought well. No one expected this situation to go so wrong," Irina lingered for a moment, but when she saw that Jack didn't move or give her an answer, she sighed before leaving the room.
The sound of the door closing brought Jack back to the real world and he clenched his hands into a tight fist, his body completely tense despite the physical pain he felt.
"Gotta get stronger," he muttered to himself before approaching the bedroom alcove.
He had two goals in mind, to get his weapon and the enchantment kit. He would no longer just give his weapon a basic enchantment, he would try to implant a more complete enchantment circuit on it.
Although he was supposed to be resting as they had to take the train the next day, Jack took his time to enchant his axe. He carved out the damaged lines, forming the necessary patterns for the cutting enchantment, but he cleverly added some small changes.
First, he was inspired by the black marble he held in his hand. He had kept it, not on a whim, but because UNMSO himself had ordered his companions to give it to him.
Why? The higher-ups will know, but the delicate yet intricate lines on this marble gave Jack several ideas for his weapon. He not only repaired the previous enchantment but tweaked it a bit and added a new pattern.
Seeing that it was already dark and feeling hungry, Jack leaned back in his chair and looked at the weapon lying on the desk. It was as good as new, polished, buffed, with inert energy lines on its body. A beauty in his eyes.
Jack picked up the weapon and transferred Pneuma to it to activate its new enchantments. What had once been a lilac light, indicating the activation of the old enchantment, was now a deep purple light.
"Cut and sturdy, you will now be able to withstand a longer overload before your enchantments are spoiled. You're cute, did you know that? Of course, you know that!" Jack deactivated the enchantments on his weapon and began to whisper to it as he wiped it with a white cloth.
"If I heard that out of context, I wouldn't hesitate to castrate you," Laria's cold voice sounded behind him, but Jack had already sensed it with his sixth sense, so he just shook his head while whispering to his weapon.
"Don't mind her, Axie, you'll help me fight the Evil Witch if she tries to hurt me, won't you? Of course you will, because you're the better weapon," even without looking at her, Jack knew that Laria was rolling her eyes.
Not that it was very noticeable, Laria's eyes were gray and sometimes looked as if she had no pupils if you looked at her from a certain angle. Soon the woman placed a steaming plate of food next to Jack, attracting the boy's attention.
"Is that what I think it is?" asked Jack, his voice a bit excited as he looked at the delicious food placed in front of him.
"Yes, Ripe Banana Lasagna," Laria gave Jack a smile before handing him a spoon, which he quickly grabbed.
"The best thing in the world! I love you, Laria!" Jack said, mouth full, causing Laria to simply shake her head before looking down at the axe on the desk.
Taking advantage of Jack's focus on enjoying the saucer she held carefully, she moved close enough to the weapon to see herself reflected in the metal of the weapon's two blades.
"I won, bitch," Laria whispered before looking back at her friend, the corners of her lips still drawing a beautiful smile on her face, but Jack felt a sudden chill.
'Don't tell me... but I promised to fuck her hard if she survives, so... let's eat first, this is delicious,' Jack's thoughts were not hot enough to distract him from the delicacy he was enjoying.
He could make his girlfriend moan later, food is important!
[Observation Subject #13 has been battling the entity known as 'Cyber Ghost'. Although the data collection has been affected by the interference of certain beings that exceed the standard, some previous deviations have been corrected].
[Subject #13 seems to have fought a new entity resulting from the intervention of such beings; assuming that the monitoring could be tracked, the data collection has been cut off and many key points are missing].
[The readings obtained on Subject 13 are not yet sufficient to provide an adequate and complete record of all its capabilities. Further testing is recommended as part of the 'Creeping Shadows' project].
[Warning! New ways of monitoring and data collection are needed to avoid situations like super-standard beings intervention. Analyzing how to proceed... no conclusion. Subject 13 is an UNMSO operator who will be involved in this type of situation].
[Warning! The experience of this mission has caused Subject 13, as an Operator, to make slight improvements in his mentality, which will greatly affect the collection of data on him].
[Warning! Subject 13 seems to have developed his Sixth Sense a bit more. Previous means of data collection should be re-evaluated to keep up with Subject 13's growth].
[Current assessment: Promising. Subject 13 shows above-average talent, but is not yet on par with Subject 11. Extensive study of this subject is required to determine his true abilities].
These messages appeared on what appeared to be a somewhat neglected screen, with cracks in the glass that made it up, although there were fewer than last time, showing that the user was concerned about repairing its equipment.
The light from the screen was no longer the only light illuminating the room, but the current light was dim, revealing only the vague outline of a humanoid figure with a metallic appearance.
The metal palm of that figure slowly approached the screen, touching a finger to the image of Jack fighting a mechanical minion, though the photo was strange, it seemed to have been taken from a close angle, as if it had been taken by the very enemy Jack had defeated.
"Your next mission, a Mimic can only do so much with that, and provoking technology-based threats will only raise suspicion from this guy," the figure's crimson eyes flashed, its cold and mechanical tone letting its angry emotions show.
But its eyes quickly turned to pure greed when it saw the videos of Jack performing various actions. Even though the videos didn't focus on him directly, he was in them, and that was enough.
"So many talented subjects, so much to choose from," the metallic figure said before the lights went out, leaving only its two red eyes staring at the battered screen.
"Those guys sure made a fuss," a male voice said with some exasperation.
A hand held up several reports he had just read, especially those from Jack's group, based on their last mission. The man laid the pages on the table as he touched his temples.
His long hair fell over his body, adorning his usually gray clothes with black. One lock of his hair was unnaturally white, and a gold coin filled with silver lines hung from its tip.
The man was a middle-aged adult, his narrowed eyes a vivid deep blue that showed the weariness of his body. Then he got up from his desk and walked over to a large open window in his office.
"Yes, I know they're young, but to face a Flesh Dog directly? Even if it was just a puppy, that's a really stupid move," the man said to the air, his head tilting slightly as if he heard someone's voice.
"That they won is no excuse. They could have just blown up the whole ruin with the explosives young Alexis had, but instead, they faced a Mortal-level oddity with no preparation," the man continued to complain, but the being he was talking to seemed to be telling him a key point, causing him to smile as he shook his head.
"Am I getting old? Maybe, but I would rather let the young ones grow up a little more than waste their lives, although deep down... I would do the same thing if I were in their place," the man ended his conversation with the invisible being while looking at the landscape before his eyes.
A beautiful sea of clouds appeared in his view, followed by what looked like a small island that he could see from where he was, probably at a great height.
Many airships docked at what appeared to be a harbor, all of them gliding over the sea of clouds before coming to a stop. People looked tiny from such a height, like busy ants.
"Old Araziel will want to read his grandson's report, he did something pretty incredible against the Flesh Dog," the man muttered as he walked back to his desk, which had a plaque on it that read 'Kris Rebel', his name.
"But the appearance of these things... and the emergence of Second Age technology, this deserves these documents to be listed at the Confidential level," Kris felt that this situation would only make things more and more upsetting.
That day, some powerful people in the Rosicrucian Federation learned of the mission of a group of UNMSO field agents, but what was special was the outcome of that mission.
Were the voices of the Gray Lady, the Red Moon, and the Pale Light heard? What impact would it have on the future of the Federation if these three Deity-level beings were there?
Would their world, Marsys, or the Rosicrucian Federation be placed in further peril? If so, could they protect their people from the influence of these three beings?
No one knew for sure, but slowly the Federation's attitude was becoming more tense. This situation frightened them enough to begin certain preparations that were only seen in wars.
"That brat made a fuss," a grumpy voice in a bad mood echoed in the study, although there was a hint of pride in his words.
"Of course, he's an Araziel," said another calmer voice, but the arrogance in his tone was more than palpable.
"Ah, you raised that boy well, he came out just like me, he even has a witch for a mate HAHAHAHA!" the first voice laughed as the sound of wood being pounded could be heard throughout the mansion.
"Stop banging on my table, it's made of mahogany," the second voice replied in an exasperated tone, but the continuous banging on the table did not stop and he could only let out an audible sigh.
"Look at you, James, a young man like you acting like a sourpuss over trivial things, you should relax," the first voice said.
Whoever was speaking stroked his graying hair with one hand while holding a large cigarette in the other. With a loud puff, the cigarette was visibly consumed before the man released several rings of smoke into the air.
"If I don't, the family will be disgraced because of your carelessness and this brat who refuses to carry on the family business," James replied, a brown-skinned adult with neat hair and a glass of wine in his hand.
"You wanted to turn him into a dull boy like you! Lucky he had me to teach him the right way," the old man pointed his cigar at his son, spilling some ash onto the mahogany desk.
"I taught him the enchantments, what more do you want? Since that day... I haven't wanted Jack to fight. But you and Ingrid always encouraged him to fight, no matter what," James sipped from his wine glass, but his uncomfortable expression indicated that his mind was far from the pleasure the drink could give him.
"Ingrid is a strong woman, she gave birth to a strong man, how could she and I let such a good seedling go to waste? I won't let the brat of the Richtofen family get away so easily!" the grumpy old man complained, taking another drag on his cigarette before flicking it into the ashtray on the desk.
"Isn't it true that Mr. Richtofen's father 'stole' you that pretty nurse from the Army hospital? You finally met Mom, why are you complaining so much?" James gave his father a suspicious look, causing the brown-skinned old man to feign coughing as he waved his hand.
"I've loved your mother since the day I met her! But that bastard Romulus Richtofen has always been my rival! You see, we've..." the elder James' father began a twenty-minute tirade of a speech James had known letter by letter since he was a child.
'Jack looks too much like his grandfather,' James mentally complained, looking for a way out of the torture his father was putting him through with the same story over and over again.
"Looks like little Jack is a lot like his grandfather, I remember how wild Jarod was in his youth, doing this kind of crazy stuff now and then," a white-skinned woman of advanced age, white-haired with age, but still with many delicate and beautiful features, said to another younger woman, also white-skinned, but with blonde hair.
"My son is a natural warrior, a Berserker," the blonde said with pride in her voice, causing the older woman to nod.
"How I envy you, Ingrid. My James concentrates only on enchantments. He's good, yes, but he didn't want to fight directly, even with so much talent, no idea how he could marry a Belmont like you," the old woman, who was preparing the meal together with her daughter-in-law, said those words with deep regret.
"James is different from those rough boys, I love him for that. You have given birth to a good man, Sonia," Ingrid replied with a smile on her lips as she chopped the vegetables at high speed.
If anyone saw her, they would think it was a machine doing the chopping. No matter what vegetable or fruit it was, it was chopped the same way at a speed that left only afterimages.
"Yes, James was always very mature for his age, he never gave any trouble, but how I would have loved it if he had," Sonia sighed before adding a pinch of salt to what she was preparing.
Soon the two women could hear the endless chatter of Jarod chasing after his son James, who had fled into the kitchen in a desperate attempt to escape.
"Mom, Dad won't shut up!" James complained, causing Sonia and Ingrid to burst out laughing, while Jarod looked a bit embarrassed, though he was still whispering about the bad things his rival, Romulus Richtofen, had done over the years.
At least many people were able to see the bright side of the results of this particular mission, for that is what UNMSO members fight for.
So that families can live and laugh together.