Hearing the man's name, Krishna paused before bursting into a fit of laughter.
"You're still referring to yourself with such pride even after all this time? Well, I guess it runs in the blood..."
Halting before the door, he gripped the door's handle and pushed it down. Krishna swung the door opened as soon as it unlocked.
And then, he saw a lone figure standing before him.
The man was around the same height as him with lustrous silver hair, crystal-like blue eyes and incredibly pale skin.
He wore reinforced t-shirt that was tucked into fitted pants which were again tucked into a pair of tactical boots while a windbreaker covered the rest of his upper body – all of which were black in color.
The surrounding Chaos swirled around him as well... as if it was attracted to him for some unknown reason.
The man smiled at Krishna's comment and stated in a wistful tone:
"I can say the same for you, Krishna. You haven't changed a bit since Stratos."
This man was Arthur Von Ashking – Lieutenant General of the Special Ops Division of the AEOC.
Arthur scanned Krishna's figure for a moment before turning his gaze towards the patient in the room. Noticing she was awake, his eyes widened slightly and he turned to face Krishna.
"Have I come at a bad time? It seems your friend has just woke up."
Krishna shook his head.
"No, it's okay. I was just about to leave anyways."
Then, he locked eyes with the Lieutenant General.
"What are you here for exactly?"
Arthur titled his head and stared at him quietly. After a few moments of silence, he scoffed:
"What else? A rogue Chaos Incarnate was just arrested – one that has been bothering me for the past year mind you and you don't think I would be present to assimilate him into the EOC? I still have my duties as an Enforcer but I have to take care of these issues as well."
Krishna raised a brow.
"Is the General present as well?"
Arthur sighed.
"No, he is busy preparing for our joint-expedition with the PEOC. So, I had to come in his place instead."
Krishna raised a brow.
"But you said this was your responsibility...?"
Arthur shrugged.
"It technically is now."
Krishna rolled his eyes. Arthur glared at him for a moment before composing himself and asking in an even tone:
"I came by to personally thank you for arresting Sun Dasheng."
Krishna gave Arthur a subtle smile.
"Oh? You're thanking me? That's rare coming from you."
Arthur returned the smile and shook his head.
"You don't know how much trouble that guy has made us go through. He's been giving us a headache ever since he got on the AEOC's radar."
Krishna sighed.
"Yeah, well, I can relate to it. This is one of the hardest missions we've been give in a while. For Pangea's sake, he took down Henry and Mary with one strike each, and then he takes down Missio as well. When I saw that, I was fuming. I would've killed that fucking crackhead if we weren't ordered to capture him alive."
Strangely, the Operator curled his lips inward and seemingly prepared for something. Arthur raised a brow in confusion at Krishna's odd behavior.
The tense silence lingered for a few seconds before Krishna exhaled heavily.
"Oh, right, she's bedridden..."
Arthur chuckled, glancing at Mary who was glaring intensely at Krishna. He shook his head in amusement before stepping back.
"Well, it looks like our meeting will have to be cut short. I have to finish my task here and return to HQ quickly before another Class Beta Fragment spawns. So, I'll see you around."
Krishna nodded, silently watching as Arthur walked down the hall.
On the back of Arthur's black windbreaker, three silver stars glinted, embedded above towering, bold white letters that spelt 'EOC'.
Staring intently at Arthur's back for a moment, Krishna sighed and looked at Mary.
"I'll go and tell the nurses that you're awake."
Mary nodded from her bed.
Krishna smiled slightly, stepping out of the room.
"Don't worry though. You'll have company."
As soon as he said that, a shout came from the corridor.
"Krishna!"
The Operator squinted his eyes and turned his head, watching a feminine figure rushing through the hallway.
Ocean Blue hair, blue eyes, soft skin... It was Eira.
She passed Arthur in a hurry, stealing a short glance at the Lieutenant General. The latter stopped in his tracks and looked back at her rushing towards Krishna. A subtle glint appeared in his eyes before he spun around and kept on walking.
Krishna raised his hand and pointed at Mary, saying in a neutral tone:
"It took you long enough, the sleeping beauty has already awoken."
Eira slowed down and stopped before Krishna, drawing sharp breaths. Wiping the sweat off her forehead, she straightened and glanced at Mary. She heaved a sigh of relief as soon as she saw her friend, muttering in a hush tone:
"Oh, thank Pangea, she's okay..."
Turning her head and locking eyes with Krishna, she inquired:
"Where are you going?"
Krishna smiled, closing his eyes.
"Someone's gotta tell the nurses that she's awake. Otherwise, how will they examine her? Oh, and I'll pay Missio a visit as well. "
Then, he paused for a moment before asking:
"Did you visit Henry?"
Eira nodded.
"I did. The doctors said it will take him at least a week to recover."
Krishna waved his hand and spun around.
"I know – I know. Take good care of Mary until the nurses come."
"Wait a minute."
Krishna halted as he heard Eira's voice.
"Who were you talking to before?"
Eira inquired, tilting her head slightly.
Krishna glanced at her and shrugged.
"The Lieutenant General of the Special Ops Division of the AEOC."
Without saying another word, he rushed away from Eira.
Eira stared at his fleeting figure in bewilderment until he was out of sight. Mumbling something under her breath, she turned towards Mary.
"Sorry that it took so long. The doctors were taking their sweet time examining every one of us."
Approaching her friend, she noticed Mary's jaw was entirely wrapped in bandages. Eira blinked and sat down beside her bed.
"Is your jaw... dislocated?" She asked.
Mary nodded, confirming Eira's guess. Eira let out a soft chuckle, crossing her legs.
"Well, it's going to be difficult to strike up a conversation then. Ah, well, I won't force you to talk. It must be painful to open your mouth. Wait... how are you even going to eat?"
Mary shrugged, signaling that she didn't know either. Eira sighed and leaned back as another bolt of lightning tore through the darkness outside.
"Forget it, we can figure that out later... Do you need water?"
Mary paused for a second before nodding. Eira nodded as well, then searched the room for any water. Almost immediately, her gaze landed on a small black thermos beside her chair.
Tilting her head, she picked it up and opened its cap, letting hot steam fly out of the opening. Eira blinked and then smiled softly, realizing that Krishna had been feeding Mary hot water while she was unconscious.
'Gosh! I can't stand these two...'
Mary had been less injured Missio and Henry so, the staff must've not paid her as much attention. So, Krishna had brought her hot water and slowly fed it to her.
Shaking her head, she stood up and leaned across the bed. Seeing the thermos in her friend's hand, Mary opened her mouth with a bit of pain and swallowed the warm water as it flowed out of the thermos.
Once Mary let out a small wail, Eira stopped and snapped the thermos shut. Placing it down on the hard floor, she heaved a heavy breath and lifted her head.
Eira sighed once again and lowered her head.
"It's gonna be a long day, isn't it?"