Hours of paperwork later, Shinobi still couldn't shake the events of earlier. He couldn't make sense of Allen's ability—if all he possessed were strength and speed, then where did those suits come from? The weapons? His capacity to fly, to conjure fire?
"Any word from the higher-ups?" General Titan asked as he walked into the office. Shinobi shook his head.
"They remain silent. I haven't told them about Allen's unusual ability—only that he has enormous strength, monstrous reflexes, and inhuman speed. On another note, the vote count just finished in all of America and Oceania. The good news: you're currently in first place. The bad news…"
Shinobi paused, debating whether to continue, then handed Titan a pamphlet.
"You've got to be kidding."
Shinobi let out a tired sigh.
"Calibur has entered the election as well. That puts us in a dangerous position if we want our plan to succeed."
Titan crushed the pamphlet in his fist, glaring.
"And the newcomer? What did the higher-ups decide?"
"I got a call from City A… They assigned Allen an F-Rank and placed him dead last in the global hero ranking."
Titan slammed his fist into the wall, leaving a hole.
"Calm down. Allen's strength is at least A-Rank—likely higher. It's only a matter of time before public pressure forces them to reconsider."
Pulling his fist from the wall, Titan leaned on Shinobi's desk, wearing a strained smile.
"Time is the one thing we don't have. What the hell do we do if Calibur wins? I'll have to wait at least another year to run again."
Shinobi rubbed his eyes, fixing Titan with a tired stare.
"There's another option: find Firmament."
"You're serious? When that Lupus Mega appeared, it was pure luck that he showed up. And I already told you—he vanished without leaving a trace."
Shinobi nodded internally; Titan had a point. Firmament appeared and disappeared faster than anyone could track—like trying to find a needle in the heart of the ocean.
"When you saw him, what impression did you get? Roughly what rank?"
"Even S-Ranks don't make a Category 1 monster back away. So he must be above that. Maybe SX… or worse—X-Rank."
Shinobi's eyes widened.
S-Ranked heroes possessed the strength of a nation.
SX heroes wielded enough power to rival a continent.
The lower ranks, from F to A, were individuals still discovering or refining their abilities; in most cases, A-Rank was their natural limit.
The Federation had originally created the ranking system simply to give heroes a basic idea of their own strength. But with the emergence of outliers like Calibur—who vastly surpassed A-Rank—they were forced to add two superior tiers: S, and later, X. SX was added afterward to denote an in-between category—stronger than S, weaker than X.
X-Rank was the absolute apex—a walking cataclysm capable of destroying the world.
"He can't really be an X-Rank… right?"
Titan shrugged.
"Don't ask me. He's not on the hero list or the villain list. I doubt anyone's been able to catalog him."
Shinobi exhaled and leaned back in his chair.
"I'll ask my brother to hack whatever he can from the Federation database."
Titan nodded and left. Shinobi remained still, replaying Titan's words about Firmament possibly being X-Rank—a thought that sent a cold shiver down his spine.
An X-Rank needed only a breath to eradicate any monster below Category 7—and that "breath" would leave an entire city and its surroundings in ruins.
Shinobi shook away the thought and pulled up the Federation hero roster, checking the F-Rank section. Within moments, he noticed something wrong.
"They're hiding his information."
Allen, supposedly newly ranked F, didn't appear on the list at all—fueling Shinobi's suspicion of the Federation and their high-ranking heroes. He grabbed his phone and called someone.
"Hey, big brother."
Shinobi nodded as he looked out the office window.
"No, I'm fine. The Federation still hasn't figured out that Crimson Shadow is my older brother. I need your help with… you know what."
He held back a laugh, eyes fixed on the empty streets.
"Don't say that. Sure, the Federation is clueless when it comes to digging up information, but you don't have to call them that."
A faint red glimmer appeared on a rooftop. Shinobi smiled.
"There you are."
He suppressed a chuckle and gave a thumbs-up.
"You know I'm one of the few who can actually find you. If I couldn't, what kind of brother would I be?"
He placed a USB drive on the window ledge.
"Yes, it's right there. Try to extract everything you can. Titan's fine, though Calibur entering the election has soured his mood. And when he heard the new guy got the lowest rank, he nearly exploded. Wouldn't surprise me if a couple of cars show up smashed tomorrow."
Another nod.
"Right, that new hero is the same one who killed Tortus Petra and Vermis Terra. For some reason, they're hiding all his info."
Shinobi closed the window and returned to his seat.
"No, the hero list is for us—we need Firmament to help us. As for Allen… it's curiosity. And you already know his suit changed—matched the one worn by the hero who killed Gigax Leo."
Shinobi smiled faintly. Listening to his brother's voice, he opened a computer folder and clicked on a photo.
"So you've been thinking the same as me."
He nodded, staring at the image: a man in a yellow suit wielding a long-handled hammer over his shoulder, facing a massive white-maned red-eyed lion.
"It could be true. Allen might be the one who killed Gigax Leo when the Federation refused to deploy the S and SX ranks. And the dates match the first appearances of Firmament. So it's possible the man in yellow… and Firmament… are both Allen. What I still don't get is why the Federation covered up the Gigax Leo incident—and why they're hiding everything about Allen and whatever they've discovered about Firmament."
Shinobi looked toward the window. Someone dressed identically to him—but in red—reached for the USB drive, pocketed it, then removed his mask with a grin.
The man's face bore a massive scar running from his left eye to his lower lip; his hair and eyes were chestnut brown.
"I told you not to let me see that scar. Every time I do, I feel like killing Calibur slowly."
The man shook his head and spoke into the phone.
"You almost lost the eye, brother. Lucky a Category 4 appeared and slowed him down for a few seconds. Otherwise, Calibur would've ended you long ago."
He pulled his mask back on and left several papers clipped together on the windowsill.
Shinobi hung up as the man leapt from the ledge to a nearby rooftop. Once he was far enough, Shinobi grabbed the papers and began reading them—faster and faster—his hands trembling at what he saw. He immediately called General Titan.
"We've got serious trouble… Calibur killed a Category 5."