Caden's POV - Zenith Tower
The debriefing room was cold and silent. Caden stood alone before the holo-table, the sole focus of Director Valerius's piercing gaze.
The data from his scanner—the crimson-red threat assessment, the fluctuating energy signature—was displayed in the air between them, a testament to his harrowing encounter.
"An A-Rank threat," Valerius stated, her voice dangerously soft.
"One that appeared out of thin air and vanished just as quickly. Your report is… alarming, Cipher."
"The entity is real," Caden affirmed, his tone even and professional.
"Its power signature was unlike anything I have on record—highly unstable, potent, and non-biological in origin.
It possesses teleportation capabilities and a high degree of tactical and psychological intelligence.
It confronted me directly, not to fight, but to deliver a message. It is arrogant, confident, and dangerous."
Valerius paced, her arms crossed.
"And its connection to the Northgate High incidents?"
"That's the part that's bothering me," Caden admitted, his brow furrowed.
"The initial data pointed squarely at the school. The timing, the nature of the disruptions. I was convinced the key was there. I spent days observing, focusing on a few persons of interest, but found nothing concrete. No powers, no anomalies. Just… teenagers."
He paused, recalling the moment in the alley.
"The Villainess confronted me after I had concluded my surveillance for the day, after I had essentially dismissed the school as a dead end. H
er appearance felt… deliberate. Almost theatrical. She confirmed her connection to the incidents, but it felt like a performance."
"A performance?" Valerius prompted.
"A misdirection," Caden clarified.
"She appeared at the exact moment I was abandoning the school as a primary lead. It's almost as if she wanted me to report back that she is a powerful entity with ties to Northgate.
She's pointing a giant, glowing finger at the school, screaming 'Look here!'. My instincts tell me that when your enemy wants you to look somewhere, you should be looking everywhere else."
A grim understanding settled on Valerius's face.
"So you believe the school, the student disruptions, all of it… is a feint? A smokescreen to hide her real operations?"
"It's a working theory," Caden confirmed.
"The attacks have been disruptive, but they haven't caused any real structural damage. They're designed for maximum media attention, to make us look foolish. It's a classic psychological warfare tactic.
She creates a loud, chaotic narrative around a high school to draw our resources and attention, while her true objectives lie elsewhere. Her confronting me was a calculated risk to reinforce that narrative."
He shook his head slightly. "But it was too clean. Too bold. There's a piece of the puzzle missing, something I'm not seeing."
"So we have a ghost with A-Rank power playing a complex game of misdirection," Valerius mused.
"Your mission parameters have changed, Cipher. This is no longer just an investigation. It is a counter-intelligence operation. You have my full authorisation.
Continue to maintain your cover at the school—we can't afford to ignore the possibility that it's a double bluff—but broaden your scope. Look for the inconsistencies, the quiet connections outside the school.
Find me the piece you're missing. Find me the link that leads away from the noise and toward the truth."
"Understood," Caden said with a nod.
He turned to leave, the thrill of the hunt rekindled.
The puzzle was more complex than he had imagined. He had a worthy opponent, and she was leading him on a grand chase.
He had to figure out what she didn't want him to see.
[Luna's POV - The Warehouse]
The thrill of my confrontation with Caden had settled into a cold, hard certainty.
I had won the exchange.
I had met the Guild's hunter on my own terms and sent him away with a warning.
The separation was complete. In his mind, Luna the quiet student and the Evil Villainess were now two distinct entities.
I had played my hand perfectly, confirming the Villainess's existence while simultaneously making the school look like an obvious, almost clumsy, attempt at misdirection.
He would be looking for a lair, a hidden base, a secret identity. He would never think to look at the bored, mute girl working at the 24/7 Mart.
My weakness was now my greatest camouflage.
But my victory was a temporary one.
I had confirmed I was being hunted by a specialist. My team, my assets, were still vulnerable, even if he didn't see them as anything more than high school kids.
It was time to stop fighting a war of ideas and start fighting a war for survival.
I called a meeting. We gathered in the familiar gloom of the warehouse, the five of us forming a circle.
I materialised my Raiment, and they followed suit, five figures of living shadow ready for their orders.
On my datapad, I laid out the new reality.
The Guild knows about the Villainess, I typed, my words appearing on our shared, encrypted channel.
They have sent an agent to hunt her. He is undercover at our school. His name is Caden.
The mood in the room changed instantly. The quiet confidence they had been wearing since the seminar evaporated, replaced by a sharp, metallic tang of fear.
He's the guy who was watching us? Jake—Havoc—texted, his bravado gone.
Yes, I confirmed.
I confronted him. As the Villainess. I have led him to believe that the Villainess is a separate, powerful entity, and that all the events at the school are merely a distraction to pull the Guild's attention away from her real operations.
A collective sigh of relief went through them. They weren't the primary targets anymore.
"So he's not looking for us anymore?" Leo—Ghost—asked, his relief palpable.
He is looking for us, I corrected, my words sharp and cold.
But not in the way you think. He will see you as distractions, as noise. He will underestimate you. And that is when you are most dangerous. But it also means he will be looking everywhere else for the 'real' clues.
We must be more careful than ever. Our masks are our only defence. From this moment on, we are two separate entities. In school, we do not know each other beyond what is normal.
Outside, we are this. There can be no mistakes.
They all nodded, the gravity of the situation sinking in.
"What's our next move?" Maya asked, her voice steady.
"We can't keep doing these public stunts. It's too risky with a hunter this skilled sniffing around."
She was right. It was time for a new strategy. It was time to build our arsenal.
As if reading my thoughts, the System chimed in.
[New Mission Type Unlocked: Acquisition]
[Mission: The Scrambler]
[Description: A hostile agent is actively hunting your network. Your current methods of evasion are insufficient against a dedicated professional. To operate effectively, you must control the flow of information.
OmniCorp, a subsidiary of Stronghold Industries, has developed a prototype 'Aetheric Scrambler,' a device capable of creating a localised field that disrupts all forms of energy-based surveillance and tracking.
Acquiring this device is paramount to your continued operations.]
[Objective: Infiltrate the OmniCorp R&D lab and steal the Aetheric Scrambler prototype.]
[Reward: 400 VP, 100 EXP.]
[Failure Penalty: Location of Host's primary residence will be anonymously leaked to the Hero Guild.]
My blood ran cold. The penalty was catastrophic. But the reward… a device that could make us ghosts to Guild scanners?
It was invaluable.
I shared the mission details with the team.
"A heist?" Jake breathed, his fear forgotten, replaced by a wild grin. "Like, a real-life, laser-beams-and-pressure-plates heist?"
"The OmniCorp lab is on the 47th floor of their downtown tower," Maya said immediately, already pulling up data.
"It's a black site. Biometric security, motion sensors, the works. It's not a school auditorium."
This is a different kind of mission, I typed. It requires absolute precision. There is no room for error.
I laid out the plan, assigning their roles as a commander assessing her troops.
"Oracle, you are the key. The entire security network runs through a central server. I need you to find a weakness."
Mark stared at the schematics Maya was already projecting. He was pale, but his eyes were burning with a fierce, competitive light.
"It's a brand new system… but everything has a flaw. I'll find it."
Ghost, I turned my attention to Leo. Once Oracle opens the door, you go in. The prototype will be in a clean room, protected by physical defences. Your Phase Step skill is our only way in. This is on you.
Leo straightened up, his smoky cowl hiding his expression, but I could feel his resolve through our bond. I can do it.
Havoc, I typed to Jake. You are our exit strategy. If the alarms go off, you will create the biggest, loudest distraction you can imagine.
Hell yeah, was his simple, enthusiastic reply.
Maya, I concluded. I need everything. Blueprints, guard rotations, passwords. I need a complete intelligence workup by tomorrow night.
"Already on it," she said.
They had their roles. They were scared, but they were focused. The hunt was on, but the Evil Villainess was done playing defence.
It was time to steal the tools we needed to fight our new war.