A few hours later…
Missio heaved a sigh of relief and leaned back in his chair.
'Finally... almost everything is ready...'
The Bereft had contacted the Colonel of the Police Force to inform him of the Prime Minister's request. The Colonel had judged the evidence to be enough for the High court to give them an arrest warrant and had accepted the task of the Assemblyman's arrest.
Then, Missio had also contacted the Colonel of the Marshals to revoke Dick Quartel's protection as a member of the National Assembly. However, the Colonel of the Marshals had only agreed to revoke Dick's protection once the warrant had been granted.
But Missio had nothing to worry about. Since, he guessed that the warrant would be handed in until midnight.
During this time, a thought had occurred to him.
'Why would he go through that much trouble just to rat out his own men?'
The Bereft had not put it into good words but that was what he felt the Prime Minister's was doing at the time. He contemplated this question for a while but eventually gave up.
He didn't know what the PM's motives were and neither did he want to get involved in such a nasty case. However, it had piqued his interest due to the timeline of when the Assemblyman's suspicious actions had begun.
'19...'
Missio stood up from his desk and grabbed his cap. Placing it on his head, he stepped out of his office. The steel door sealed shut the instant he stepped outside, making sure that no one would enter the Lieutenant General's office without permission.
The Bereft strolled through the hallway, gazing at the distant sunset until dusk finally arrived. The sky was now shrouded in a veil of utter darkness that was made even deeper by the blaring lights of the capital city.
Entering the lift, he reached his finger out toward the panel that was beside the doors of the elevator and pressed '2'. The lift shuddered and began descending. Then, after a few minutes, it stopped and opened its doors.
Missio stepped out and made his way to the lobby, passing every worker without even acknowledging their existence.
Finally, he felt a wave of fresh air breeze past him as he stepped out the headquarters. Lifting his head, he saw skyscrapers that pierced the clouds, glowing and buzzing with blaring yellows lights.
Many had electronic billboards that advertised various products with catchy Music and exaggerated statements about the products quality.
Lowering his head, he passed the building's gates and headed towards the parking lot. There, he drew his keys and unlocked his SUV. Missio entered, slamming the door of the driver's seat shut.
Then, he scanned his retina, reversed out of the parking lot and drove off into the dark night.
As he sped off, the starless sky flickered — just for a moment — as if reality itself blinked.
***
High above the streets of the capital city, at the very peak of a skyscraper, two odd individuals watched as Missio's SUV weaved through the streets of the city.
One was a young fellow in his teenage years. A gray jacket embedded with a black skull clung to his body and under that he wore a black T-shirt with grey stripes. Below, he wore grey trousers with dark accents that perfectly matched his shoes.
The other – older man – wore a hooded black robe with red striped across his upper torso while covering his face with a strange black mask.
The teen silently watched Missio's vehicle with lightless eyes. Then, he stepped back and towards his elder.
"Father Caesar, is this the person you were talking about?" The boy asked.
"Yes." Caesar replied. "He's the one."
The boy turned back, glancing at Missio.
"He's interesting but… I can't see anything special about him. I mean, his Will is more potent than any other Incarnate I've met but aside from that... he just looks like some depressed dude."
Caesar didn't reply. Instead, he passed the teen and gazed over the edge, looking towards the distant horizon.
"It's because you aren't at that level of power yet, my child… He's a unique case like me."
Caesar spun around and placed a hand on the teen's shoulder.
"You shouldn't judge a book by its cover. He's in another realm of power. Something that very few know about and fewer have achieved... in this world at least."
Releasing the boy's shoulder and peering at Missio's SUV, he said in a solemn tone:
"He's also an integral part of our plan."
The boy contemplated Caesar's words. He elevated his head, hesitated for a moment and inquired:
"What do you mean by another realm of power?"
Caesar, hearing his words, burst in joyous laughter.
"Ah... No, I can't tell you... yet. Once the Hour of Red has commenced, then I'll introduce you to the Pillar."
The Boy pursed his lips and asked:
"How are the preparations going then?" The boy asked.
Caesar turned around and answered the boy in a delighted tone.
"Ah! They're going well. That hat will take some time to repair though... the damn thing's been cooped up in our basement for 19 years."
The mysterious man gazed towards the horizon, something unknown stirring in his azure eyes.
"We'll remain low until the next Golden hour tournament. If push comes to shove, we may take drastic measures. The Pope had decreed as such."
He locked eyes with the teen.
"Which you'll be participating in…but don't forget, your studies are just as important. Don't let me see you slacking off. You've got a great future ahead of you."
The young man blinked and grinned from ear to ear.
"Don't worry, Father. My studies are going fine."
Caesar smiled as well behind the illusive black mask. Then, he raised his hand and touched the tip of his middle finger and thumb.
Then, with a snap of Caesar's finger, the two vanished into thin air as if they had never been there in the first place.
***
Missio drove down the streets of the city, the buildings radiating colorful lights. He pressed the handle, weaving between cars under the dim moonlight. Eventually, he stopped at an intersection, the traffic light blaring red at his face. He groaned, leaning into his seat.
"Mythos, what time is it?"
The AI responded in a heartbeat.
[It is currently, 6 PM, sir.]
"What?"
The Bereft was utterly confused. He had just left the Black Ops HQ half an hour ago at 5:00 PM and his home was supposed to be no more than fifteen minutes away from HQ even if he took his time.
'Maybe, I just lost track of the time.'
Missio shrugged, thinking he had just slipped up.
However, he had not lost track of time at all...
The world was suddenly drowned in grey as a small tremor shook the road and the universe itself. The fabric of reality strained as the sky bled into the earth.
Missio's pupils dilated as he blurted:
"Shit."
The red traffic light shuddered and turned blue. The Bereft glanced up, looking at the sight in distress.
The citizens began panicking, knowing what was about to arrive. Ignoring the traffic light, they sped off, passing each other without a care for the rules of the road.
Because in this situation, the government would not punish them.
Another tremor shook the ground beneath and cracks began forming on the surface, spreading across the street like a plague.
Suddenly, all light vanished, casting the road into total darkness.
Missio gritted his teeth.
'What am I waiting for? Move!'
Pressing the throttle, his vehicle roared before blasting him out of the intersection. His car swerved, almost crashing into another rushing vehicle. Nearly grazing the other car, Missio cursed under his breath and gripped the steering wheel even tighter.
The Bereft then felt a strange presence bloom in the middle of the intersection.
Two seconds later, reality split apart and a lightless chasm erupted from the silence.
Missio grimaced and glanced at his rear view mirror, seeing the reflection of the infinite void with his own eyes.
Somehow, it was even darker than the darkness surrounding it – it was almost as dark as Missio's Music Box!
His instrument panel and screen flickered as if on the verge of shutting down. However, they soon stabilized and returned to normal.
Missio heaved a sigh of relief, looking ahead at the road in front of him. Turning on his headlights, he mumbled in a low voice:
"I made it out in time..."
Then… all hell broke loose behind him.
The void released horrifying monsters in all directions. Pale grey skin, crimson eyes and massive maws with jagged teeth – creatures that were dragged straight from the depths of humanity's nightmares.
The abominations were of different shapes and sizes, some were as large as bears, some were as long as snakes, some were built like gorillas while some seemed.... more alien.
They spread outward across the desolate road that was now shrouded in darkness. They growled, trying to find any prey they could devour. Their crimson eyes shone in the darkness with immense bloodlust.
The rift released more of them as time passed. However, before they could wreak havoc...
Multiple vehicles drove around the corner, ramming into the abominations with their armored bumpers. The horde of monsters was pushed back. The abominations roared, their eyes gleaming like the red moon.
Twenty individuals dressed in black rushed out of the armored vehicles, each holding a submachine gun with a small sheathed blade attached to the back of their waist.
Their faces were covered by a strange black metallic mask that gleamed under the moonlight.
Two valves protruded from their mouths, filtering the air as they breathe. Two glowing slits covered their eyes, making them seem even more fearsome.
They raised their weapons at the approaching monsters and fired. The bullets blitzed out of the gun's muzzle – infused with some unknown energy that made them faintly shine in the darkness.
They pierced the Beasts skin, causing the monsters immense pain. The Beasts didn't die nevertheless and their flesh squirmed where they had been injured. However, when a bullet passed through an abomination's chest, it suddenly froze.
After a few seconds, the light in the monster's eyes dimmed and it fell to the ground.
The attackers didn't give the Chaos Beasts the chance to retaliate. Forming a tight semi-circle, they slowly pushed the abominations back under their wall of relentless fire...