Chapter 69 - Intense and Ominous Situations

The trail to where Biko had sensed the Demonic Energy lead the Spec Ops Agents deep within one of Mojang Village's Silver Steel Mines. One of the many reasons why Count Mott had pulled those underhanded tactics to enlist an Urgent Quest to Investigate. Despite their…. Individual opinions on the mission's origins, none of the Spec Ops Agents could deny that this was a cause for concern.

Silver Steel. It was a precious mineral resource that has been a part of Leanbox's Culture, It was first discovered around 500 years ago, just like when the Spec Ops Program was first formed. Its rarity though made it a slightly uncommon metal, but on the other hand, it also increased its value on the market, both the public and the black markets. Still, it had a strong connection to the Program that was largely discriminated by the faithful, however, a certain fact had been kept secret from the Public.

That fact? This Mineral resource had strong anti-Abnormal properties, it worked way better than their standard weapons in piercing through their hides. If one did the proper research on Silver Steel, they would know that Silver Steel had been used to make the weapons of the first ever Spec Ops Agents.

When the Program received its restrictions, knowledge of the Silver Steel's connection to it had been placed in the pile of 'classified' subjects only reviewable by the CPU herself. This was done so that people wouldn't lose interest in the resource, thus saving profits for the Nation… as well as the scroungy, fat nobles who wanted to make profit from its trade. Instead, they just referred to it as a precious, valuable mineral resource, hiding the truth from the Public.

Only the higher ups in the Basilicom, the Guild, and several well-respected Spec Ops Agents knew the truth about Silver Steel, but were sworn to an oath of secrecy about it. If any were to attempt to divulge this secret, they would face extreme punishment, what type depending on the Agent's home Nation. For Planeptune it would be banishment from the city and all villages, leaving them to the hands of the Abnormals and other Monsters.

For Lastation, they would be fired from their jobs, never again allowed to join any military profession.

For Lowee, the punishment was arguably the lightest, considering the theme of that Nation. It was a fine of over 400,000 Credits and a black mark on their records.

But for Leanbox? The Punishment…

Was an immediate execution.

Out of all the Nations, Leanbox may be the nicest Nation in terms of beauty, hospitality and tourism, but they were willing to go to extreme lengths when it came to dishing out Punishments. There were various torture tools still in effect in Leanbox that were banned in the other Nations, due to how cruel and inhumane they were. Leanbox HAD once been a land full of warring tribes after all, so such tools being in their possession made sense. Back then, it would have been survival of the fittest, no room for kindness.

"Looks like this is where the trail leads…" Nico's words brought the rest to attention. They had finally found themselves at the entrance to a mine, which looked like that of a wooden shack out in the wilderness. Next to it, was a small, yet open space, one that held what looked to have once been a campfire, with slightly charred stones, whole-burnt sticks, and leftover soot.

Noticing this, Lucy made to comment had Aiden not beaten her to it. "Looks like someone has been here, and from the looks of that Campfire, I bet it was recent, too." He deduced, ignoring the pouting redhead as he looked to his leader and Nico. "My guess is that we're dealing with Cultists. Remember that one mission in Planeptune with the Philosopher's stone?"

"Oh yeah…" Ivan grimaced, Lucy cringed, and even Raven shifted on her heeled boots in discomfort. That mission wasn't a fun one, no, it was actually regarded by al of them as a particularly nasty mission. Seriously, the things they saw back then would be enough to give seasoned war veterans the willies. Though, a lot of things Spec Ops dealt with were like that. It was why their job was considered the most respectable, high in terms of pay-grade, as well as the most brutal.

However, 2 of their ranks had no clue as to what was going on here, and why Team RAIL had been acting like this. "Uh, you guys? Care to fill us in? What happened with this Philosopher's stone? Sounds bad from the sounds of it." Isaac questioned, while Guts made no motion to show that he was listening. Though, Raven and Nico caught subtle glances in their direction.

Finally, Lucy managed to get her piece in, but unlike her usual demeanour, her face had been set into one of grim seriousness. It was like looking at someone who was aware of their impending death and was trying to mask how they really felt about it. "Well, in simple terms, we were tasked with tracking down this rogue Spec Ops Agent, who was trying to create a way for humans to have eternal life like the CPUs." She explained, snarling in disgust at the end.

She sent a subtle glance to Aiden unconsciously, who noticed it nonetheless, and tensed at the gesture.

Now both men were giving her their attention, showing it by gazing at her. Spec Ops going rogue, unfortunately, wasn't an uncommon occurrence. The problem with fighting for what they believed in, was that they couldn't predict what other believed in. If one was to say, use the Spec Ops for their own gain then discard them after they were done, there wasn't much they could say in their defence. Ideals varied from one person to another, it was just the way that humanity was. They could also lie to them about their ideals, it was a simple process to do, and it wasn't like they were allowed to press them for information without just cause.

In a way, the Spec Ops Program birth both the light as well as the dark side of humanity.

"What did that poor sod do?"

"Lead a group of his comrades to this abandoned ruin, we didn't hear from them so we went in. We couldn't find his squad, but we found him. Before we could question him he attacked us. We fought, he fled, and later on we found out that he had been up to some… pretty fucked up research. Remember the Philosophers stone?" Lucy replied darkly, just barely restraining her powers from going berserk.

Isaac's form tensed while Guts' eyes narrowed. "Yeah, I heard about that thing. Freaky eternal shit but by the blood of… oh don't me…"

Finally, Raven joined in their little conversation, her tone just as cold as her personality. "You'd be right. Sacrificed his team, a whole army of Abnormals, and an entire settlement near the ruins, which was once a shelter for homeless orphans, to create a way for eternal life."

Both men growled at that, even Guts seemed uncharacteristically angry, something Nico noticed. 'Guts… Guts, Guts… why do I get the feeling that I've heard that name before…?' the teen wondered, frowning behind his helmet.

"Jeez… That's sick."

That was all could say to that, and Guts' expression said everything about his feelings as clear as day, a stark contrast to his natural demeanour. Raven only nodded, her hidden eyes shining with ice coldness. Hell, her form was releasing a slight icy chill from it, though not enough to be noticed thanks to the Leanbox Climate.

"In any case," Raven soon ended the conversation there as she walked up to the Mine's entrance. She clenched a fist, rearing it back to manifest an Ice Gauntlet, much to the shock of all save for Nico and Lucy. Before they could say anything, Raven swiftly smashed the gauntlet into the entrance, blowing a hole through it that had a rim full of ice. The gauntlet vanished soon after, as Raven shook her hand before turning to them. "We must move forwards. Investigating Mojang Village's destruction should be our priority."

All of them nodded in unison, and made their way inside… although not before Ivan tried taking a selfie of Raven near the Ice with the intent of publishing onto the internet.

He nearly got a blade of ice to the manhood for that stunt.


Walking through the mines made everyone get on edge. The whole place felt off, like a graveyard or something, with the smell of death and decay looming over the air like a cloaked reaper. And that was supposed to be Nico's schtick when he was online. Jokes aside, Nico and the others remained on guard as they walked through a narrow corridor, one that looked more like a tunnel with various holes in the walls.

Their formation consisted of Raven at the head, with Lucy to her right flank. To her left flank was Guts, with Isaac and Nico flanking Guts.

"Looks like the miners were doing good work before things went to hell." Ivan commented, although his staying close to Aiden, Nico, and Guts made everyone sweat drop when they recalled what he almost did. "Poor bastards probably didn't see anything coming till it was too late."

Lucy hummed as she glanced at some of the holes, some of them still containing trace amounts of Silver Steel. It was a silver ore in colour, one that almost seemed to be sparkling in her eyes. "Yeah, looks like…" she muttered, before glancing up ahead and noticing something next to the left wall. "Hey guys, I see something!"

Her call alerted the others, and soon enough they were jogging with her to what she had apparently seen. Soon enough though, they all found what it was: a Corpse. "Oh jeez, look at this poor sucker." Isaac commented, scowling behind his Helmet while they all surrounded the corpse of what looked to be a 43-year-old man.

The man's corpse had been stripped bare, save for some underwear, and showed horrendous injuries on his person. Most of them were lacerations, with pieces of his body missing like an arm, a piece of his left calf, a piece of his right upper bicep, and a portion of his face. What could be seen from his sole eye was nothing but horror and fright. The lack of light in the eye all but confirmed that the corpse had been dead for some time. His corpse was leaning with his back against the dirt wall, head slumped to the side.

Kneeling before the man's front, Nico raised a hand and closed his remaining eye, changing his image to someone who was sleeping… if it weren't for his injuries. The teen looked down temporarily, closing his eyes as he silently mourned for the victim's passing. He didn't know the man, but he couldn't help but wonder if he had lost loved ones or not. They would be devastated with the loss of a loved one, that was for sure.

He looked up and began scanning his form with his Bracer. "Lemme see if I can get something, maybe we can find out what it was that killed him." he stated to the others, who would have said something had it not been for the loud shrieks that echoed through the tunnel ahead.

"Uh, best not, cause I think we have company!"

Isaac's call made Nico cancel the scan and deploy his Plasma Claws, their purple light illuminating the dimly lit tunnel. Raven drew her Odachi with the blade being blue, indicating her chosen Ice element. Lucy drew her twin Cleavers, while Ivan switched his Bionic Arm to Blade Mode and Aiden drew his Pistols. Guts pulled out his Dragonslayer, and Isaac pulled out his Plasma Cutter.

Just in time too, because from the darkness ahead, dozens of eyes, glowing crimson like the demons from the underworld, opened up with nothing but feral glee shining within. Their owners all shrieked as they raced towards them, like howling mobs without care for Armor or tactics, revealing themselves to the Spec Ops Group.

These creatures, well, they weren't really creatures, more like men. They each held muscular physics, almost like bodybuilders, but more on a warrior side. Each of them wore furry cloaks, which looked like they had been partially chewed by ferocious beasts based off the messy tears in them, while their heads were covered by twisted, wicked looking helmets. They wore tanned trousers that were shredded at the ends, exposing their feet. They wielded either Axes or swords for their main weapons, and their off hands held large, blackened shields.

"INTRUDERS!" One of them yelled, brandishing his Axe at them while spit flew from his mouth, utterly grossing the girls out. "KILL THEM IN THE NAME OF THE GODS, MARAUDERS! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!"

A loud chorus of inhuman howls echoed from the men as they ran, almost like a stampede towards the group, sending shivers down their spines.

Quick to react, all the Spec Ops readied their weapons for the incoming horde. However, before they could charge back, the horde charging at them, numbering at over 30, split in certain areas to let pass some of the ugliest Canines they had ever seen. These Canines, well, they looked absolutely disgusting.

Flesh looking like it had been horribly mutated by gamma rays or something equally as harmful, their upper bodies covered in wild brown fur, with their wicked snouts sporting several pairs of hollow red eyes. Out of their heads, protruded 2 long horns, each one capable of stabbing through flesh and bone judging by their appearance alone. Who knew how sharp they were. Their claws tore away at the earth beneath their feet, saliva dripping from their lips as they bared their deformed fangs.

Nico started off the battle, his right leg glowing purple as he called out a Skill. "PHANTOM WAVE!" He kicked horizontally, launching a purple energy wave that quickly stopped the enemy in their tracks. The canines either jumped over the wave or got hit, being blown back across the tunnel. Same for the cloak-wearing men, only some raised their shields and guarded successfully against the attack.

"Everyone, now! Before they regroup!" Nico yelled behind him while charging at the enemy. His Plasma Claws crackled in the dimly lit tunnel, almost making sparks when they touched the ground briefly during his run.

His call served to snap them into action, and with battle cries of their own, the group charged at the enemy as well. Guts jumped past Nico, barrelling into the downed horde while swinging Dragonslayer left and right, bisecting his foes without mercy. The man barely registered Nico jumping over him and land deeper within the horde, the sounds of Plasma Claws sinking into flesh echoing through the tunnel Guts only managed to kill 6 of them when the horde got their shit together and responded, one of their Canines lunging at Guts from behind.

Said man responded by using the momentum of a previous horizontal swing for an overhead slash to his rear, vertically cleaving the beast in half. The two halves fell to the ground, sliding along it and tripping several men and Canines off their feet.

This allowed Lucy to move, as she jumped onto one man's shoulders, planting her feet on them to knock him down. She swiftly blocked the strikes of his companions who rushed in to help, knocking them back before using her legs to twist his neck till an audible snapping sound told her he had died of a broken neck. The ones that tried to help were killed via slitted throats, although she had to flip off her third prey to dodge a Canine's lunge.

She swiftly activated a Skill, JACK THE RIPPER, and full murderous harpy on their asses. Lucy charged through the horde with a series of dash slashes her Cleavers splattering their blood across the ground/walls, speeding past the enemy and leaving cuts behind, until she jumps into the air and finishes with an X shaped slash.

Instincts warned her, and Lucy tilted her head to avoid the overhead slash from another assailant, who tried bashing her with his shield next. Lucy hopped back to dodge it and went for his right thigh, swinging her right Cleaver. He blocked it, but that was what she counted on as she used the momentum to spinning jump into the air and dent his helmet with a roundhouse kick.

On another section of the battlefield, Raven held her Odachi in a ready stance, surrounded by enemies consisting of Canines and muscular men, each one eyeing her with immense bloodlust. With a hint of insanity coupled with primal fury. 'Its like I'm in a den of animals…!' she cursed in her mind, her eyes shining blue behind her Mask.

When one tried to slash her head off with his sword, Raven reacted by parrying it and using the opening to slit his throat. She sidestepped a lunge from a Canine, only to be blindsided by another. Just as she fell to the ground, Raven pumped her legs with her energy and kicked the Canine off her, flipping into a slash to its back that chopped off one of its legs, making it howl in pain.

Raven landed and blocked a slash to her thighs, before snap kicking the offender in his jaw, sending him stumbling backwards. Killer Intent flared behind her as Raven instinctively formed a spike made from Ice, impaling the attacking man who gasped as the Spike punctured his lung. He didn't live very long.

A canine tried to bite her in the thigh, but Raven sidestepped it, noticed it was the same one whose leg she severed, and dealt the final blow by decapitating it. She twisted a full 180 degrees to face an incoming sword wielder, blocking his strike with her Odachi. She glanced behind her to see 2 more with Axes coming in from the rear, so she swiftly crescent kicked her original opponent's Axe out of his hands, before flipping backwards into a high leap, erecting an Ice pillar beneath her to help her get higher.

While in mid-air, after having dodged their collective attacks, Raven held her hand out and several smaller pillars shot out the first, slamming into the three's guts. This knocked the wind out of them and sent them to their knees, which Raven capitalised by activating HYPERSLASH to cut them to smithereens.

For Aiden and Ivan, the two kept each other's backs, blasting away at those that got a little too close for their liking. Aiden's wings wouldn't be feasible in such a narrow space, same with his Missiles. Thus, someone with his Skillset was in a tremendous disadvantage here. Aiden shot a Canine through the head with a Pistol shot, then ducked under another's lunge, firing at its exposed underbelly.

When several men tried to charge them from multiple flanks, Aiden repeatedly fired curving shots while his arms moved in wide arcs, some bullets hitting their shins to slow them down while others completely missed. It slowed them down though, enough that they came at the two in an orderly fashion.

That was no problem though, for Ivan compensated. The men came at them heard, one tried to slash through the mechanical armed Spec Ops Agent's chest, but Ivan parried it, kicking him into one of his buddies. He ducked under a swing to his head, stabbing the offender through the heart. He punched the man with his Shock Glove, sending an electronic wave through him that sent the man flying. He switched his Bionic Arm to its default Mode before grabbing an Axe wielder's shield by the top rim, throwing it upwards and jabbing him in the neck, swiftly grabbing him there and slamming him into the ground hard enough to smash a skull in.

The man died on impact.

While this happened, Aiden stood up, firing more Pistol rounds at others like a cowboy. His eyes glanced over his surroundings, instantly marking his targets and planting bullets in their heads. No movement was wasted, everything was calculated. The two moved like a tag-team, keeping most of the enemies away while those that got close were dealt with by Ivan.

Isaac rammed into one sword wielder, knocking him down and finishing him off with a Plasma Cutter shot to the head. He then grabbed offending man's arm with his free hand, blasting it off before repeating the process with his head. He heard sounds of barking at his left flank, swiftly side kicking an approaching Canine to the ground. He ended it in the same way with his Plasma Cutter.

An inventory switch became necessary, and Isaac knew the weapon he wanted. He switched out his Plasma Cutter, its form vanishing into his Inventory via Particles, before more Particles appeared, forming his desired weapon: The 711 MARKCL Rivet Gun. If one were to make a comparison, think of a machine gun… but with Rivets, and on steroids.

With his new weapon equipped, Isaac fired a barrage of Rivets into an approaching Canine, swerving around its flailing form as it slid along the ground, a pained yelp escaping its snout as he sidestepped a sword slash to the head. He dodged several slashes, before firing at the owner's head when he tried to shield bash him, killing the man instantly.

Sensing killer intent behind him, Isaac pointed the Rivet Gun behind him from below his arm pit, not even looking as he unloaded on an unlucky barbarian. The barbarian screamed in pain as the Rivets impaled him, pinning him to a wall while the last one went through his head.

A Canine tried to get the jump on him, but Isaac stepped back and whacked it on the head, stunning it long enough to pelt it with Rivets, before he had to parry and kill 2 more Axe wielding Barbarians in a similar manner.

As his comrades fought on their lines, Nico grinned to himself behind his helmet. Things were looking up for them, and while the shock of these new enemies had been there at the beginning, it had quickly been replaced with primal bloodlust, the thrill of combat, the knowledge that your life was just teetering on the edge of death's cavern. One false move, and you slip in.

The male sliced through one Axe wielder's… Axe, and stabbed him through the head, tilting his own to avoid a sword thrown at him by a rear attacker, the sword hitting one of his brethren instead. Nico swiftly grabbed the fallen barbarian's shield and used it as a frisbee against the ambusher, hitting him in the head and stunning him long enough for Nico to drop kick him in the face, then smash his knee into his skull with enough force to shatter it, killing the barbarian instantly.

And the fighting went on…


After a LOT of fighting, mostly due to numbers and how the Barbarians REFUSED to go down easily, thus resulting in them resorting to lethal injuries to take them down, the Spec Ops Agents were left standing in the middle of a large pile of corpses, blood staining the tunnel red as its scent saturated the air around them. All of them were panting heavily, even Nico, who mentally thanked lady luck that his helmet covered his nose.

The smell of so much blood, so much fresh, tasty blood… and the eye-catching flesh…

'No, no-no-no! Not happening, no way, no how!' Quickly, the teen shook his head to stop those thoughts from going any further. The Maniacal laughter IT was making within his mind didn't exactly help matters much, if at all. He guessed that it was growing to a point where his Armour's drugs were barely effecting it at all at this point, the teen assumed with a hidden snort of disgust, and self-loathing at the same time.

'It appears your demonic energy is the only thing effective at keeping it at bay now…' Biko's voice rang through his mind. His tone was understandably grave, with an undertone of concern as demonic energy thrummed through his words. 'It would be best to…'

'No, its best not to do anything right now Biko.'

'… If you say so.'

While Biko wanted to at least slow the process down a bit, he could understand Nico's near acceptance of the fact that IT would be a constant thorn in his side now. Even with his energy keeping IT at bay. From what he had seen, all their efforts would be only successful at slowing the process down, not stopping it like they once had. Probably due to how damaged his body truly was from that Berserker Mode.

Nevertheless, they had a job to do, so Biko switched the subject to a matter of equal importance. 'In any case, it is unfortunate, but Nico… I can sense demonic energy within these men… and those Canines.'

Now THAT got his attention. 'What?! How the fuck is that a thing?!'

'These Fragmented Memories tell me that this is what happens when humans and animals are tainted by the energies of the demonic. They are mutated, gaining increased physical abilities at the cost of barely any intelligence.'

Nico cursed at that, but made sure that it was low so only he and Biko could hear it. Though, he couldn't help but notice the stares Raven and Lucy were giving him when he did that. Ignoring that for now, Nico focused back on his demon persona. 'So, what else do we have on these things? Any way this can be reverted or something?'

A wave of refusal entered Nico's mind, coming from Biko. If he was in his inner world, then Biko would have been seen shaking his head in denial. 'Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do for those who have been tainted like this. They are too far gone; the taint will have completely consumed them at this point. The only release would be death. Though, this 'Blood God' business is also a topic of interest,'

'Yeah, you're right. I have no clue what they were on about, but this 'blood god' of theirs doesn't seem like something to joke about.'

Breaking from his thoughts, Nico turned to the others, his Plasma Claws deactivating while he asked them. "You guys alright?"

"Yeah, somehow…" Ivan replied, using his bent knees as support while regaining his breath. When he felt like most of the lactic acid was gone from his lungs, Ivan stood tall while the others did the same. "Anyways, am I the only one who was creeped out by those guys?" he asked them all. He only received shakes of the head, proving that his thoughts and opinions were shared with the rest of them. "Oh, good, so it's not just me."

Lucy narrowed her eyes as she glared at a particular Canine Corpse, kicking its side with her right boot. "These bastards… their teeth marks match the state that man was in." she stated, glancing between the corpse they found and the newly made ones. An irritated snort soon left her as she crossed her arms in an angry manner. "Guess we now know what killed these Miners."

Raven nodded her head in agreement, her own eyes filled with cold fury behind her Mask. She soon raised a hand and snapped her fingers, encasing the ground and corpses in Ice. She then clenched a fist, and the ice shattered, taking the corpses, as well as the frozen blood, with it. She didn't notice the sigh of relief that escaped Nico's lips at that one, as she turned her attention to the rest of them. "I concur. Odds are, more of these things will be present deeper within the Mines. We should proceed with Caution."

Everyone had to agree with her on that one, if there were more of these things, and chances were there would be, then they had to be on guard. These guys had been prepared to die on the battlefield, which made them infinitely more dangerous than common thugs. They would have to keep moving, but also keep an eye on their surroundings, lest they be overwhelmed.

"Oh yeah, did you see their cloaks, guys?" Isaac asked them out of the blue, getting their attention.

Ivan arched a brow at the question, finding it odd to ask about that kind of specific detail, and thus made to inquire. "Uh, we were too busy not trying to die over here, so I don't think we looked at their cloaks."

"Well, you wouldn't have seen it but I saw a symbol carved into their cloaks." Isaac replied, frowning behind his helmet as he sent his Rivet Gun to the Inventory. "The Symbol reminds me a lot of the Overlord Momus religion, honestly. I don't think that would be a coincidence."

'If he's right, then we're fighting against members of the Overlord faction. A faction that has the capacity to summon demons, huh? Well, this sure complicates things.' Nico thought with a grimace. None of the others liked that idea either, the thought of such dealings from a faction that didn't worship the Goddesses. At least with Spec Ops they don't go into cultist-like stuff such as this.


In the end, the Spec Ops Agents decided to continue on so they could get some answers to their questions. As they navigated the mine though, it soon became apparent that One: Raven was right, there were more, LOTS more of the aptly named 'Marauders' and 'Warhounds' as Ivan called them a few times, but Two: there was a massive demonic energy presence in this Mine.

While this worried the Agents, Nico's worry outshined all of theirs combined. His senses, instincts and logical side were screaming at him to just simply level the place with a bunch of bombs, so that this energy couldn't corrupt any more unfortunate souls. It didn't help that he, and Biko, had been debating on whether or not to do just exactly that and report to the higher ups that an Abnormal had killed the entire village.

But that wouldn't satisfy someone like Count Mott, whose only interests were either getting action, furthering his political standing, or retaining his profits. He wouldn't care how many lambs he'd feed to the hungry beast dwelling here, instead he would just send more thinking that would solve the problem, taking all the credit from those who earned it.

Basic Noble behaviour 101.


While they explored the Mine, the Party encountered Marauders, Warhounds, and these beasts that some of these beings called 'Chaos Knights' which looked like masculine humanoids clad in pitch black armour while riding atop midnight black armoured steeds. They definitely knew that these things had something to do with Demonic energy, well, Raven, Lucy, Ivan, Aiden and Nico did anyways due to their familiarity with demonic energy. Although the first four only experienced it both from the fifth and that Abnormal Dungeon. It just oozed from their presence, more so than the Marauders and the Warhounds. However, Nico noticed that the energy wasn't as present in the Marauders as it was in the Warhounds, making him believe that they functioned in a hierarchy. Marauders at the bottom, Warhounds above, and so forth.

Still though, the presence of Demonic Energy here did little good for his instincts.

As they walked through the Mine, approaching the lower floors after constantly being harassed by these entities, Biko began talking to him. 'Nico, I have made a discovery about this Energy,' he said, piquing Nico's interest.

'Oh? What is it?'

'According to my research, calculations and findings, it appears that the demonic energies within this Mine are doing more than just decorating the place. It seems your body is subconsciously absorbing the ambient energies in the atmosphere.'

Now THAT caused Nico to nearly fall over anime style, getting the attention of the others. "Hey, Nicky-Dear, are you alright? Do you need a rest?" Lucy questioned in concern. Isaac didn't have an expression thanks to his helmet, while Guts and Raven looked non-perturbed by this abrupt behaviour. Though, if one looked closely they would see a brief flash of concern for Nico in Raven's eyes.

"N-No, I'm good. Just nearly tripped on something." Nico apologised, soon regaining his composure. Shrugging their shoulders, the party moved on when they saw that he was alright to continue. Meanwhile, Nico thought back to his demon persons with a rising panic in his mental tone. 'What do you mean, absorbing demonic energy?!How long has this been going on for?!'

'Calm yourself, Nico. It is nothing that will damage us, I have made sure of that. Instead, it appears that the energies being absorbed are helping us in a multitude of ways. For example, it is speeding up your recovery bit by bit. I delegated a lot of the energies to other things however, as we don't wish to overwhelm your body and cause it to collapse. Instead, it is going towards your weapons, feeding them in vast quantities. Usually, your demon weapons fed off your own energy to function, however thanks to Berserker Mode, that wasn't possible. Thus, I had sealed those weapons away so they wouldn't cause damage to you. However, with this energy in the air, I am able to satisfy their 'energy lust' as it would. It will take some time, however the longer we are here, the more likely you will be able to use them again.'

Hearing Biko's explanation, Nico mentally exhaled. He would have done so physically too, but he was with company at the moment. Still, this was a godsend for him. If what Biko said was true, and he trusted his demon persona immensely, then he would likely get his Demonic Weapons back first, at least. Then he'd be able to fight those Infernals again if they were to make a return visit. Though, the fact that Biko had sealed his demonic weapons away had been surprising. He didn't know Biko could do that, though Nico didn't feel any animosity towards him for it.

Instead he was grateful, who knows what sort of effects he would have suffered if he'd drawn one of those without realising those facts.

Then, a thought struck him. 'Hang on, what about when I used Harvester to deal with those Thugs when they were harassing Vert?' Nico questioned, frowning behind his Helmet. 'If they feed off my energy, then-'

'Out of all of your weapons, Harvester feeds off your energy the least. Also, it was only brief, and I had been busy with the other weapons at the time, so I never got the chance till AFTER the time you used it.' Biko explained. Nico then shuddered when he felt the scolding tone in his next words. 'I must request that you refrain from doing something so reckless again, at least until these weapons are satisfied for the moment.'

'R-Right...'


After that discussion, the Party found themselves in a rather... odd section of the Mines.

"Huh? What is...?" Ivan began, his Goggle-covered eyes filled with confusion when they went through a door, only to find what looked like a line of Cells. The ground had changed, too. From the dirt ground they were used to, to a cobblestone-like path, with the walls and ceiling being the same. There were various bloodstains on the ground, as well as various torture devices lined up on the walls with only a single window on the opposite side.

They only had one guess as to what this was.

It was Raven who said it first, though. "A Dungeon...? But what would a Dungeon be doing in a Mining site?" she wondered, Aiden frowning behind his Mask. He looked around, his eyes taking in as much detail as they possibly could behind his Goggles.

"I would say that Dungeons were a personal favourite for Leanbox." he stated, getting their attention. When asked to continue by a stare from his leader, the Spec Ops Agent did so. "Leanbox was well known for taking prisoners during its raids on the other Nations, mostly Lowee and Lastation since our technology allowed us to keep ourselves from becoming prisoners. They must have had no shortage of prisoners to interrogate, which likely means that they needed places to put them all..."

Each of them scowled, some hidden, others not so much. Leanbox was a medieval, hierarchy themed Nation, and thus torture and executions had been a major part of their culture. However, despite what Aiden had said there were a FEW Raids on Planeptune where they took prisoners, only to release them months later when they were paid the ransom fees. However, those victims never said what their treatment there was like. It was just assumed that they were treated fairly according to some flimsy laws of war conventions.

If what they were seeing here was accurate...

Looking over the area, Nico noticed something in one of the Cells. "Look, there's something off about this Cell." he said, gesturing to it while turning to his comrades. Raven and the others walked up to him, and examined the cell. Their eyes widened, some visible, others not, when they looked.

"Whoa..."

"Now this is freaky..."

Inside the Cell, there was a lone skeleton, chained to the wall with the pin for the Chains high up on the wall behind it. But that wasn't what they were focussing on, instead they were looking at all the torture tools, bloodstains, and the injuries the Skeleton looked to have sustained. There were so many, it could almost rival half of Nico's void Storage.

"Looks like... the Torture thing's just been confirmed..." Nico muttered under his breath. White hot fury shot through him, and he did his damned best to repress it. He didn't want his unstable powers to go off the rail, not now, most certainly NOT NOW.

During the Console War, there had been a convention enacted by the four nations, one to do with war crimes. It stated more than a few ground rules, one of which was the fair treatment of prisoners of war. If they were captured, they were to be treated humanely, and in full accordance with their human rights. It looked like behind the curtains, Leanbox hadn't been sticking to this convention.

If that was the case, then what about the other Nations? What about Lowee, Lastation, and... Planeptune?

...

...

...

...

He didn't think of that one. No, it was more plausible to say that he refused, or didn't even want, to.

In the end, Lucy couldn't take it anymore and quickly began pacing out of the Dungeon area. "Alright guys, lets move on. I don't think we'll find anything of use here."

Nico could not have agreed more, as the Spec Ops Agents left the Dungeon.


Wandering the Mines some more, although Nico, Lucy and a few others wanted to leave more and more, they eventually came to a book shelf... along one of the many Tunnels the Mine had. "Huh? A book shelf?" Isaac questioned this time, just when Ivan was about to. He glared at the older man for it, but he was ignored.

Instead, he cupped his chin in confusion and muttered under his breath. "Bit of an odd place to put a Bookshelf, huh...? Wonder what's in it."

Raven walked up to it while her comrade had been saying this, reaching out and pulling a Book from the Shelf. There was no title on the page, but the cover did a good job in unnerving her. It was all black, with crimson red lining. The lining's shape, it just couldn't be compared to anything else, but blood. It reminded her of the blood of those slain by those who want power. The wrongfully damned. She didn't like it, the rest of them didn't like it, but she steeled herself and opened the tome in her hand...

For approximately 3 minutes before she put it back.

"Let's go, this place reeks with foul intent." She spoke, her tone colder than the weather in Lowee. If anyone could have seen her face, they'd have realised that behind her cool demeanour, she had been trying not to fully freeze this entire Mine.

Lucy reached for the Tome, the same one Raven had read, and flicked it open. Her eyes widened in sheer horror when she read the contents, and she too was reduced tot he same state, trying not to use her powers to level this entire damned place to the ground. "For once, I'm not going to argue with you there, Leader." she stated darkly, her eyes shining with white hot rage.

'Nico... those tomes... They're demon summoning Tomes.' Biko warned the teen when he too made to reach one, causing Nico to freeze up while his sole eye widened behind his helmet. 'Most of these Tomes, they require... things that no human should dream of doing to work... I managed to read some of the passages those two read. You do NOT want to read them, Nico. You'd be unable to control yourself.'

With the dark, angry tone that Biko was using, to the point where his usual calm, emotionless demeanour shattered like the way it was, convinced the DPU that he should heed his demon persona's warnings. His hands returned to his sides as he turned on his armoured boots to make his way towards the Girls. None of the others dared look at the Tomes, for fear of incurring the wrath of those that did...

Plus to save their minds from the Trauma.


The Group, after exploring the majority of the Mine found themselves behind a steel door. It was shut tight, preventing anyone access to the room inside. "This must be the manager's office." Raven stated, quickly freezing the lock and shattering it, to allow her to kick the door open with a single heeled boot.

With that out of the way, the group made their way inside, looking around the room to see if there was anything of interest.

They didn't have to do that for long.

"Uh, this thing here guys…" Ivan began, getting the rest of them to look at him as he pointed to something on the ground. "Does that look… off to you?"

When they all looked to see what he was talking about, the Group saw that he was pointing towards what looked like a Magic Circle, used from a strange white powder. But what was REALLY interesting was how several bodies of men and women in black and red robes were lying on the ground, ceremonial Knives placed within their guts to stain the ground around them red.

The smell however, nearly made Nico want to leave the room, his nose, despite the Helmet covering it, screaming in protest and pain about how horrid it looked. "Ugh, this is…!"

"A Summoning Circle." Lucy finished, kneeling before the circle. She glared heatedly towards the bodies. "Looks like a dark one, considering that these guys had to sacrifice themselves. I'd say blood magic was involved in this somehow." She commented, picking some of the powder up in her fingers. She rubbed them together, frowning in contemplation. "Looks like a compound made from Sea Salt, Shark Oil, Iron Shavings, Desiccated Squirrel Semen, Wolf Hair…"

She couldn't finish her analysis since Ivan already stepped towards her, patting her on the shoulder to get her attention. "Good stuff." He complimented, although the grossed-out expression on his face clearly indicated how uncomfortable she'd made him. Looking to the others, Lucy saw that she'd given them all varied looks of disturbance. "Oh... hehehe, sorry." She apologised sheepishly, stepping away from the Summoning Circle.

Shaking aside her disgust, Raven cast her gaze across the room, and noticed a Desk with a conveniently open book behind the Summoning Circle. She waded over the corpses, scoffing at some of the male ones, before reaching the Desk and grasping the Book. "Hmmm, looks like we have a journal here." She commented, beckoning the crew over.

They did, and Nico scanned the journal with his Bracer before projecting a holographic screen in front of them. It read:

To Blood Priest Zamasu

We have the latest shipment of Silver Steel and Specimens you requested. As you requested, we don't have any fatties this time, the containment areas were too narrow, so we had to gas the last ones and use them for our Blood Rituals.

We have about 60% of the Silver Steel deposits here mined out, it won't belong till re request rights to move to the next Mine. Odds are, Spec Ops Agents will be sent here shortly, but we'll deal with them ourselves.

From Priest Gowasu.

"Looks like this is the most recent entry…" Raven noted, clenching the hilt of her Odachi. If one were to see her face right now, they would see how livid she was just by looking at her eyes. "These entries show that they've been shipping Silver Steel to several addresses across Leanbox. My guess is those areas are where worshippers of Overlord Momus will be gathered."

Isaac nodded his head in agreement, taking the Journal itself and putting it inside his Inventory. "Looks to be that way. Though I guess that you guys were right all along." He began, getting their attention. "You guys felt that the Overlord faction was up to this, and you were right. Though, I doubt anyone will believe us once we tell em what's happened here."

Lucy scoffed, crossing her arms below her chest as she turned her head away. "Who says those asshats will even listen to what we have to say?" she remarked, glaring at the man out the corner of her eye. "Odds are they'll likely slander us for 'not giving them what they want' and impose some form of punishment on us."

"Well, us maybe." Guts began, everyone turning their heads to look at him. He had been mostly silent through this mission save for when he wanted to say something to Isaac, so it came as a surprise that he would talk to them like this. "You all are from foreign nations, Nations arguably better than ours in terms of how you all are treated. You'll get off easy compared to me and ISHIMURA here."

In response to that, Nico scowled behind his helmet, which soon opened to reveal said facial expression. "We won't let you take this on alone, you two. We may come from different Nations, but we are all Spec Ops. We take care of our own." he declared, the passion in his voice rivalling a raging bonfire.

To those that knew him, like Team RAIL, it was expected for him to have such a response due to his macho-like mannerisms. But to Isaac and Guts, they didn't know him nearly as well. "Heh, how macho of you." The former stated, smirking behind his helmet. "Shame that not many share that view of yours, kid. No, you're no kid, sorry about that." At first, he had been going strong, but then he quickly amended that statement when he looked into Nico's eyes.

They weren't the eyes of a teenager for a brief moment, but more of an experienced killer who had killed thousands of enemies and can talk about it with ease. Not something one would see in a kid as young as Nico, but nonetheless he couldn't help but be concerned for his mental health.

Guts likely had no issues to complain about, he was a warrior who despised those who were weak.

"In any case…" Raven stopped the conversation right there, they would be here for a long time if they had to listen to Nico go on about his Macho beliefs. If they weren't pressed for time, she wouldn't mind as much, as that macho side of him was something she found… appealing, in him. "We should probably make our way back soon, the longer we keep those idiot Nobles waiting, the more grouchy they will become."


When they exited the Mine and into the open air, the sun was beginning to shine over in the horizon. There were specs of orange mixing in with the blue sky, creating small pink hues within the sunrise.

"Leanbox has great sunrises…" Ivan muttered under his breath, his eyes, which were now fully uncovered since his Goggles were on his forehead now, shined with awe at the sight before him. "Sometimes, I envy Leanbox's citizens for getting to see a sight like that every day…"

Lucy nodded in agreement, and for a brief moment a flicker of pride escaped her as she smirked, though Raven caught it before she could dismiss the feeling. She didn't say anything though, as Lucy was already addressing a problem they had. "I dunno about you guys, but I'd rather be fully rested if we were to make a trip this long by foot. It'll likely take us an entire day at full speed to return to MICROSOFT, since we don't have any transport." she stated, seriously.

Everyone looked at each other, their eyes showing that they were having a silent conversation. They had to admit that Lucy had a point, while they could make the trip right now, for it was well within their power, they would be left sorely drained afterwards. It was most important to take ample breaks during large scale missions like this, and on Urgent Quests it was even more so. Fortunately, they were provided with transport this time, however since it had been destroyed, they would have to hoof it from here.

In a transport, that would take a couple hours. But on foot, when they would have to worry about Stamina? It would take a day at least.

Thus, Lucy's idea that they take a break before heading back sounded quite appealing for them. They were tired, sweaty, etc, so it would be best if they set up camp somewhere nearby where they had a fresh water supply, for drink and washing. Well, washing was out since they had to return quickly, hence the name 'Urgent Quest', but drinks were still viable.

Just then, Aiden pointed at the camp fire that they had found next to the entrance. "Since someone else has been here already, we can use the camp fire they left behind. We can set up camp here, rest for approximately 6 hours, before we continue on our way." He suggested, opening his Inventory to check his stocks. "I have an ample supply of water bottles on hand. Ingredients for a stew are also in my possession."

"I've got some materials we can use for a fire." Isaac pitched in, gesturing to the burnt wood. "That stuff's useless to us, but thanks to my previous missions I learned to keep stock of everything I'd need to get a fire going. I'll handle the Camp fire for us, but we'll need some camping gear of our own."

Nico then pitched in, thanking lady luck that he had closed his helmet back up when they had left the Mine. He didn't want them to see the barely noticeable twitches his face had made when Aiden had mentioned 'stew'. He also didn't miss the faint glance in his direction that Ivan had cast as discreet as he possibly could. "I've got our gear with me. I keep some in my Void Storage for situations like this. I should have enough for the lot of us." He told them, much to their satisfaction.

"Excellent." Raven stated, clapping her hands together like one would when the pieces of a plan come together. "We'll take VERONICA's suggestion and Camp here for the time being. Use what rations you need to, but only when necessary. We will have to set up camp lightly, so we can make good time returning home. We'll split te 6 hours into 2, making repeated stops along the way."

"RIGHT!"


It didn't take them long to set up Camp. Guts helped Isaac with the firewood, plus setting up the Campfire. Lucy, Raven and Nico set up the Camping Gear in a proper formation around the Campfire, in a way that they could quickly pack and unpack at a moment's notice. They would be camping several times on their Journey after all. Everyone else made sure to set traps in strategic positions, as well as an alarm system to quickly warn them of approaching Abnormals.

After everything was set, the group were sitting around the camp fire on plastic chairs, having some stew that Aiden had cooked. Nico himself made sure to look like he was enjoying the food, when he really wanted to just barf it all out. Fortunately, it seemed that his share was... altered, he noticed, when Aiden gave him his. He'd cast a knowing look his way afterwards, which was all he needed to know. He couldn't help but feel te gratitude towards him for that. Heck, even Ivan noticed this and gave him an equally knowing glance.

He was lucky as all fuck to have their support in keeping his secret safe.

"Hmph, this stew is pretty good..." Isaac commented, surprise and a look of satisfaction on his features. Now that he had taken off his helmet for their stay at Camp, they could finally see his facial features. Unlike most of the Gamindustri residents, Isaac wasn't exactly fair skinned. His skin was a little on the pale side, likely due to staying in his RIG for so long during his jobs as an Engineer/Spec Ops Agent. He had dark hair, with a matching beard and moustache, showing off how aged he looked under his RIG. Honestly, Nico found it a welcome change from having to see so many fair skin tones all the time.

Seriously, was it universal to have fair skin in Gamindustri?

Aiden nodded, not showing it but was proud of the compliment to his cooking nonetheless. "Compliments are appreciated. Thanks to Raven, Lucy and Ivan having zero talent in Cooking..." he began, ignoring the scathing glares that he received from said people. "I am the one who has to provide them the culinary meals. We do not trust MRE packages even with a 10 foot pole."

At the mention of MRE's, everyone winced, and even those glaring stopped said action. "Yeah, I can see that..." Isaac remarked, and even Guts nodded in agreement. MRE Packs weren't very tasty, or appetizing in appearance. "Stuff sticks on the sides of my mouth, sometimes." Isaac looked to the rest of them, before an idea popped into his head. "Say, why don't we get to know each other better? Talking about ourselves between colleagues is encouraged after all. We do need to trust each other to watch our backs."

Everyone paused eating to ponder this idea. While it was not exactly 'easy' (Looking at you, Nico) for some to trust others, it was still true that they would have to watch each other's back. It would be best if they weren't practically strangers to each other. Soldiers don't tend to live very long on the battlefield, so Spec Ops would be expected to die even sooner. Nico and Team RAIL couldn't help but recall the many times they had brushes with death they had during their careers.

"Alright, well, I'll start then..." Ivan began, seeing as nobody else wanted to do so. "Well, my name's Ivan, Codename CYBORG. My likes are: Girls, fighting, helping others, and humour." He couldn't help but sweat slightly under the looks the two females of their group said when he did his Likes. "Dislikes include: betrayers, assholes in general, Abnormals, and MREs." Everyone had to smirk on that one. Small smiles were even on Guts and Ravens' faces, the latter having taken off her Mask to eat. "Dreams: not much really, just wanna be the best Spec Ops I can be, like no one ever was."

Isaac chuckled at the end of his little intro, already having a response for that. "Alright, Ash Ketchum." he began with a laugh, not caring about the narrow eyes that Ivan aimed at him for his joke. "Anyways, my turn. Name's Isaac Clarke, Codename ISHIMURA. Likes include: my Wife, my Tools, my Job, and people I can get along with. Dislikes include Nobles..." He noticed how Lucy perked up at that one, but continued. "Abnormals, overzealous religious fanatics, and the thought of y Wife getting hurt. Dreams would be to start a family with my Wife one day, maybe after this whole Abnormal craze if sorted out."

Nico just had to point something out about the man. "You really love your wife, don't you?" he asked, a slight smile on his lips. To see someone so loving towards his spouse like him reminded him of his adoptive mother, and her husband. He knew of her... issues, with childbirth, but what she didn't know was that he also knew how loyal her husband was to her. One time, he'd noticed a woman hitting on him when he was returning home, but he told her that he only had eyes for one woman and one woman alone.

Commitment, everyone!

An equally small, but no less powerful, smile broke out onto the older man's face. "Aye, she's my light, you could say. She's the one I love to come home to, to have dinner with, her company, and her humour." The man chuckled wistfully, his eyes darkening with loneliness for the briefest instance. "On jobs like this, I miss her so terribly it makes me wanna abandon the mission just to be with her."

That sent the other Agents, save for Guts, for a loop. None of them could believe what they were hearing as they looked at the family man in their group. "Whoa, that's... wow, that's really romantic..." Lucy breathed, eyes filled with shock and disbelief. With her experiences with men, she would have thought such commitment to another woman was all but impossible. Guess she was wrong... Hell, Raven looked at Isaac like he was an alien or something. To a man hater like her, seeing a man so caring about his wife like that must not be something she saw every day...

Even people like her had stuff to learn, huh?

Soon, it was Aiden's turn to speak, since everyone else was to stunned to speak. "I believe I will go next. #Clears throat# My name is Aiden, codename FALCON. Likes: Combat, training, worthy comrades who don't betray me." he cast a meaningful glance to the other members of Team RAIL and Nico, who all picked up on it. "Dislikes: betrayers, psychopaths, those who wrong my comrades, slacking off on training, and incompetence. No dreams for the future."

"Wow..." Isaac drawled, looking slightly perturbed at the winged Spec Ops Agent. He didn't like the way he talked... all robot-like, without much emotion. It just felt unsettling to him, even after hearing his voice for a short while in the Mine. "That's... informative. No dreams about the future? Might wanna change that soon, son. Not having anything to look forward to in life can be the worst regret of all."

"I will keep that in mind."

The way that Aiden said that, in such a monotone and blank voice with an equally matched expression, didn't let any of them know if he was taking the man's advice to heart or not. Not something they wanted to ponder.

In the end, they decided to move on, and just when nobody was about to speak, Guts decided to take the spotlight. "I am Guts. No codename, but I have been known to be called 'The Black Swordsman' a couple times." he began, making the group go wide eyed at him, save for Isaac who knew this already. They had heard of the Black Swordsman, a Spec Ops Agent who fights solo, like Nico did, against huge Abnormals that rivalled several story buildings in size, with nothing but his massive sword. He had a very high kill count, having become a Spec Ops at a young 8 years old. "I have few likes, beside my sword. My dislikes, they're a mesh of every one of yours, including my hate for those who leave themselves weak. I have only one Goal in my life, and that is to KILL a certain Abnormal..."

At that last bit, Gut's eyes darkened, almost becoming like voids, his lips twisting into an angry snarl. His sword, which he leaned on from his perch on the ground instead of sitting in a chair, almost tilted with the weight he put on it. However, like a sword worthy of being owned by the Black Swordsman, it stayed its ground. Seeing that look on Guts' face made the group shiver, even Isaac. He knew what that Goal was, yet it still frightened him to feel Guts' KI like this. It was like he was staring death in the face, about to be swallowed in its cold embrace, just as he was about to reunite with his Wife: cruel, and merciless.

Though considering what happened, he didn't blame the guy.

Next, Lucy began her intro. "Whelp, for us girls I guess I'll take the plunge!" she chirped joyously. "Hi yall, my names' Lucy! VERONICA is my Codename, and fighting is my game! My likes are Nicky-Dear, fighting, shopping, training, teasing, and most off all..." She licked her lips sensually at this bit. "Control." the sultry, seductive manner in which she said that made the males blush, save for Isaac who shifted in discomfort. Nico, whose direction her glance was aimed towards, became crimson. That gaze reminded him so much of how Neptune looked before she did... that, to him. Goddamnit, hormones! "My dislikes are those worthless filthy rotten pigs called Nobles." This time her gaze turned cold and dark. None of them could pinpoint why, but they got the feeling that life just got darker along with that gaze. "Also, I don't like those who go too far with their desires, I don't like when my comrades get hurt. And as for dreams..."

The oppressive atmosphere she had before all but vanished, and a soft, tender one took its place. A matching smile was on her lips as she looked Nico's way, not just a glance this time. "My dreams would be to finally hook up with the guy I'm interested in, if only he lets me in." she remarked, sighing in wistfulness. Nico couldn't help out shudder, not just out of embarrassment either, but... something else. Something he didn't know the identity of.

'... Interesting. It appears that she doesn't harbour just lust for you, huh Nico? She actually-'

'Ugh, no she doesn't, she just likes teasing me, Biko!'

"Heh, good on ya lass." Isaac spoke, momentarily taken aback by the amount of affection he could sense from her. When he had met her back at the Guild Building, he had expected her to have wanted to go on a date with him or something like a simple sex time. Not something that happens everyday to a Spec Ops considering their low life expectancy, but to think that she actually wanted a serious relationship with one, when she was the same type of Agent herself... It was both commendable and sort of tragic, in a way.

They were both Spec Ops Agents, so they were bound to never experience all of what life has to offer. Not like this, anyways.

His pondering was paused when Raven aimed an angry glare, with an undertone of jealousy, Isaac noticed. "You won't deceive me, VERONICA. I am aware of how you want to take DEATHSTROKE like your other encounters." she stated, bluntly, her eyes as cold as ice. She then cleared her throat, before reluctantly beginning her intro. "My name, it is Raven, my codename, it is SAMURAI. Likes, few, fighting, comradery, and loyalty. Dislikes, the weak, the incompetent, and deceit. Dreams, I have none at the moment." She finished. While she said she had no dreams at the moment, nobody missed the very subtle glance she made in Nico's direction, save for the male himself.

'So the guy has a group of girls, huh?' Isaac wondered, suppressing the grin from forming on his lips. 'Heh, looks like that kid won't be a virgin much longer.'

Guts remained silent, although a flash of appreciation when she said her dislikes was present in his eyes briefly.

Finally, it was Nico's turn, and now everyone had their gazes fixed on him. The teen shuffled in discomfort at this, but made no move to escape. It was beneath his pride as a Spec Ops Agent, and also Nico refused to run away from this. Not only did these guys open up like this, the words Lucy had said, along with Raven's, impacted him more than he expected they would. How could he call himself their comrade if he didn't show the same mental strength as those two? Who held distrust almost as equal o his own?

Thus, with a sigh, Nico finally opened his mouth to speak after a moment of silent contemplation. "Alright... my name, is Nico, Codename DEATHSTROKE. My likes are worthwhile comrades, my family, honor, respect and loyalty. I dislike the scum of the earth that roam Gamindustri, I dislike nobles for their snobby, arrogant attitudes, and I dislike not being able to prepare for future disasters." Alright, so far so good. Now, what about dreams? Did he have any dreams? Nico wracked his bran for the answer to that question, almost shaking it like a money box being shaken by a robber for every spec of cash it had.

This made him come to a realisation about himself, one that sent a particular tremor of shock down his spine. His eyes were wide with surprise and disbelief at this revelation, and for a moment the others grew concerned with his demeanour. At first it had been calm and collected, if a bit awkward at some areas, but now it seemed like all his confidence like Raven's vapour from her Ice Powers, had all but vanished. Just when they were about to ask him what was wrong, Nico managed to sap himself out of his stupor. "My dream is... to find the place I belong, along with someone I can trust beyond a shadow of a doubt. Someone who would accept me for what I am, someone who could understand me. Basically put..." his voice lowered to a level barely above a whisper, and yet as the fire crackled in the sunrise, it may as well have been shouted across the world. "I want... to know trust once more."

His words, they hit hard. Him most of all. He always preached to himself about being a monster, a creature that deserved nothing but utter loneliness and darkness. To be shrouded by loneliness and misery for being what he was. That was all his mind thought he deserved, and even now that fact rung true. It was too embedded in his psyche for something like this to uproot it.

But yet, deep down, a part of him, a part that had been slowly growing since this journey he was undertaking with Neptune began, had wanted something else. Something selfish, something that he knew for a FACT that he didn't deserve. Something that he wanted more than anything, something that he didn't even realise he wanted so badly that he would probably commit mass genocide if he could get it.

Someone... someone he could trust.

Not just normal, casual trust like friends would. No, this level of trust ran much deeper, deeper than the darkest pit. The trust he wanted, was something that could only be found by someone who was not only his equal, but just as lonely as he was. Someone who had experienced pain similar to his own, someone who had similar experiences to him. He wanted someone whom he felt he could trust even with his darkest secrets, someone who would treat him the same even after everything else had been explained. It was an impossible dream, his mind told him, an impossible dream meant to stay in the darkness of his soul for eternity. Yet, nothing like that could have stopped him from wanting it so badly it hurt.

It was quite a revelation... but one that also stung worse than a thousand killer wasps with how impossible it sounded.


"Sir, I have accomplished what you've told me."

Looking up from his paperwork, Count Mott grinned when he saw his Butler having returned from his task of gathering any and all information regarding those girls that Nico had been reported to be travelling with. The Butler had a scroll on a plate, chances are it was what he's been wanting this whole time. He had heard about Team RAIL's exploits as well as Nico's, but didn't find it appealing, a woman warrior, anyways. All of them were boring and not very good in bed. The innocent, and the helpless ones however…

"Excellent work, Butler." He complimented, reaching out and grasping the Scroll gingerly, almost like it was a sacred treasure left behind by the CPUs themselves. It may as well have been, considering his… taste… for women. "That will be all for now. I will call you when I require assistance."

"Of course, Sir." The Butler lowered his head in reverence, before turning on his shoes and walking out his Count's study, leaving the man to his own devices. Opening the Scroll, Count Mott almost salivated at the contents hidden within. "Ehehehehehe… these few are perfect… I must have them! They'll be Count Mott's greatest Conquest!"


Chapter end

Thank GOD this chapter's done! This one's way longer than the last one, due to me not realising the page limit correctly.

Anyways, GODDAMN, I feel like I'm about to cry for my boy Nico. He just realised something that he had been unconsciously been beginning to want after so many years of loneliness, yet he feels like he can't have it due to his secret. When I wrote that part, I could almost feel the stinging feels trying to tear my heart apart, man! Poor Nico!

Like that one scene in Tokyo Ghoul Re: "I'm so lonely...!"

Hope that you enjoyed the long chapter, I stayed up late making this so I gotta head to sleep. Anyways, see ya later, guys!