Days later…
The scorching rays of the sun were upon Rome upon once again. The center of the capital city stood, spanning tens of kilometers with buildings of various sizes. Some were tall, some were long, some were wide and they all served a purpose.
Cars drove through the streets of the city as it traversing a mase. Countess shadows were sprawled across the floor, swaying with the sun as it moved above the sky.
However, in the REOC's Black Ops Division Headquarters, a certain young man was dallying around in his office – bored out of his mind.
The boy had combed black hair, scarlet red eyes and smooth, white skin. He wore a white service uniform with golden accents, a black-visored cap awkwardly sat atop his head with the symbol of a golden eagle embedded into it.
Suddenly, Missio peace was disturbed when Mythos's voice suddenly dug into his ear.
['General of the Black Ops is calling you.]
Missio jolted up, his eyes widening.
"Accept?" He said in an unsure voice.
Mythos accepted the call and from the other side, a hardened voice came.
"Lieutenant General."
Missio's heart skipped a beat as he heard the General's stern voice.
"What is it, sir?"
The General sighed.
"The PM has requested for the immediate capture of Sun Daishen."
Missio paused, pursing his lips.
"Did we get clearance?"
"Yes." The General responded in a heartbeat. "We've gotten permission. I've greenlit this mission as well... Now, it's your turn."
Missio didn't reply immediately, sensing something was wrong. Then, a thought struck him like thunder a few seconds later.
"Sir... Mind me for asking but... why didn't the AEOC Black Ops Operators handle this instead? It's in their turf after all. Isn't that the protocol for the Black Ops?"
The General cleared his throat.
"Ah, well, it was quite a surprise to me too. I asked them to handle it but they outright rejected me! You see, the AEOC did send the Black Ops Operators to capture Sun Daishen on the request of the Ashlandian government a number of times. However, all of their attempts... failed."
Missio froze, blurting in surprise.
"They all... failed? How? He's a teenager!"
The General replied dejectedly.
"Pangea knows how, boy... but that's exactly why we're sending you. The Ashlandian government has had its suspicions that Sun Daishen may be a Chaos Incarnate but... they haven't been able to confirm that possibility. In fact, Sun Daishen isn't even showing any signs of being a Incarnate! Yet, every time they've tried to capture him, not one of the Operators has returned unscathed."
Missio blinked.
'What...?'
He blinked again.
'He can't be a Chaos Incarnate. That's impossible...'
He frowned.
'He doesn't show the usual signs of being an Incarnate so... what exactly is he?'
The Bereft tried to come up with answer to the Ashlandian government's hypothesis. As his mind raged with various answers, each one was slowly rejected until... only one remained. However...
'No, it can't be... that's impossible.'
Missio couldn't accept the last possibility he had thought. It was simply too outrageous! Impossible even!
...Or maybe it wasn't? But the Bereft couldn't accept it.
So, he threw that answer out of his mind as well. Now, his mind was empty, one question but no answers.
The Lieutenant General sighed dejectedly and replied to his superior.
"You're expecting too much from me, sir."
The General chuckled.
"Am I, Lieutenant? Because I think you are especially fit such a mission."
Missio shook his head.
"Even I don't know, sir... this situation is very, very odd."
"It is indeed strange. However, in this world, it's possible." The General stated.
Missio's lips curled slightly, amused by the General's statement.
'Indeed...'
Then, he leaned back in his chair and replied:
"Alright, sir... I'll handle it.
"Good luck, Lieutenant. This will be a rough one." The General encouraged.
Missio giggled.
"Nothing is ever easy, General."
The General laughed at his comment. Missio couldn't help but smile as well.
Then, he bit the General of the Black Ops goodbye and cut the call.
As the song of his Music Box returned, Missio felt a familiar warmth over taking him – almost forgetting the conversation he just had.
However, he quickly snapped back to reality, a serious expression appearing on his youthful face.
Missio stayed quiet for a while longer, enveloping himself in the melody his Music box played.
The Bereft was still troubled by the conversation with the General. He had thrown out every possibility but... the last answer he had thought of – the most impossible one to him still clung to his mind.
Trying to forget about it, he shook his held and opened his scarlet eyes – a grim determination burning within them.
"Mythos." He called out.
His trusty AI assistant replied to him almost immediately.
[Yes, sir?]
"Send a message to the 'First Unit' that we received a mission to capture the Drug lord who had been supplying drugs to Dick Quartel."
[Sending message...]
Missio crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. Swimming in his thoughts, he stared at the ceiling for quite some time as though the insulated roof covering his head was some beautiful painting.
Eventually, the Bereft lowered his head and heaved a sigh.
Missio spun his chair around and pulled it towards the massive glass window behind him with his feet. He gazed upon the streets of the capital city through the window which was covered in countless oddly shaped shadows.
Up in his office, the noise of the city below was almost non-existent.
Maybe a normal human would have only heard the wind scraping against the walls of the skyscraper or the birds chirping as they flew across the sky.
Lifting his head, Missio gazed at the clouded sky with a dull expression. His interrogation of Dick briefly flashed across his mind.
The Bereft grimaced, seizing his chest as he heart ached uncontrollably. He drew in a deep breath and exhaled heavily. The pain in his heart subsided a little. Sulking into his head, Missio peered towards the city with a somber expression.
'I just hope this ends quickly...'