I found myself waking up to a strange dream I can't remember. Judging from the heavy breaths I'm drawing right now and the beads of sweat flowing down my face, it must have been a bad one.
I remained lying on my bed, staring at the blank ceiling above me.
For some reason, the image of Alisa knocking on my door suddenly came up. I don't know why that image suddenly appeared. I stood up and opened the door. The moment I opened it, the first thing that I saw was a surprised Alisa who was just about to knock at my door. She quickly averted her gaze from me and her face was slightly flushed. Is she still wary towards me after what happened in our last mission?
"Leader...um, could you...please?" She lifted her finger and pointed towards me. I followed where her finger was pointing and realized that I was topless and sweating.
I can't understand why Alisa would suddenly get embarrassed in seeing my topless form drenched in sweat. Anyway, I gently closed the door and grabbed myself a tank top and put it in. I got back to Alisa who was standing behind the door and invited her inside my room.
"Don't you have a mission to do?" I asked her.
"We still got time before we head out, so I figured I'd see you before we do so." Alisa replied.
I turned on the lights as she slowly entered my room. I watched her make her way to one of the chairs and took a seat. I went over to the other side of the room and brewed some coffee for the two of us.
"So, what brings you here?" I asked her. I don't know why, but I feel like this scene before me has happened before.
"Well, I just wanted to drop by and give my thanks for saving my life once again, during our last mission." Ah, I see, so this is about that. I took a sip from the hot cup of coffee I made.
"You don't have to thank me. I'm sure you won't think twice trying to save me if I were the one in trouble." I replied, followed by a light chuckle.
"But it's always you who's saving me. I need to repay the debt somehow." She quickly followed up. For some reason, she's being insistent on this one.
Suddenly, I heard a painful voice echoing inside my head. It kept on repeating inside my head, and I can't seem to shake it off. I tried my best to not show the pain I am in to Alisa, because I didn't want to worry her right before leaving for their mission. I tried my best to hide the pain I'm currently feeling.
I'm hungry.
"...hungry." Those words accidentally slipped out of my mouth.
"Hm?" I'm sure Alisa heard that loud and clear. I don't know why those words suddenly slipped from my mouth. "You're hungry?"
I'm hungry. I'm hungry.
"No, not really." I quickly replied. I then took another sip from the hot cup of coffee in my hand.
"Oh, is that so?" Suddenly, Alisa had a mischievous look on her face. I suddenly shivered a little because I have no idea what Alisa is thinking right now.
I'm hungry. I'm hungry. I'm hungry.
"For some reason, I have a bad feeling about this." I joked around, before laughing it off. Alisa responded by giving me a pout, before finishing her hot cup of coffee in one go. I'm quite amazed she's able to do that.
Suddenly, the voices inside my head escalated to the point that I can't bare it any longer. However, I didn't want to worry Alisa, so I quickly stood up and ran towards my bathroom.
"Excuse me for a moment." I hurriedly told Alisa as I rushed towards the bathroom.
I slammed the door behind me and quickly dropped to the ground. The voices inside my head were too much that it's causing an excruciating pain in my head. I absolutely can't show this to Alisa, or I'm afraid she'll insist on staying behind.
I'm hungry. I'm hungry. I'm hungry.
Devour. Devour. Devour.
I'm hungry. I'm hungry. I'm hungry. I'm hungry. I'm hungry.
Devour. Devour. Devour.
I'M HUNGRY. I'M HUNGRY. I'M HUNGRY.
DEVOUR! DEVOUR! DEVOUR!
And then I hit myself.
I hit myself over and over again, until the voices slowly faded away. By the time I was relieved of the pain brought by the distinct voices inside my head, I have already hit myself numerous times. The physical pain I inflicted on myself started to kick in.
I'm such an idiot for actually hitting myself. Hard.
When I returned back to my room, Alisa was nowhere to be found. All that was left were the empty cup I lent her and a note lying on the table. I noticed that there was something on top of the note.
Lying on top of the note was a silver ring made into a necklace. I checked into the ring, and there were Russian words engraved into it. I then turned my attention on the note that came with it.
I want you to have this. Thanks for everything. I'll definitely cook something for you once I get back.
Life is short. Nothing is impossible.
Alisa
"Nothing is impossible, huh?" I repeated while staring at the ring on my fingertips. "I'll take good care of this."
-the next day-
I was walking past on the lobby when I came across the two new God Eaters assigned to the Far East Branch. They saw me looking at them so they approached me.
"How's it been lately, Maxwell, Maria?" I was curious as to how the two were doing. The two were assigned to the Second Unit.
"It was hard at first, but we're slowly starting to get the hang of it." Maria replied.
"Being a God Eater is all about surviving. It all amounts to nothing if you die in the end. Don't run away from living, right?" Wallace added. His last words suddenly truck me somewhere.
"Don't run away from living?" I repeated.
"That's right; you told us those words when you accompanied us on our first mission. It's because of those words that I can be the God Eater I am now." Wallace answered.
Those were the same words I told Lindow when he was about to give up and surrender himself to the Aragami controlling him.
It's a good thing that we're starting to have more and more promising God Eaters. I'm sure that they'll be outstanding God Eaters someday, especially under Tatsumi's leadership. After those short exchange of words, I left them and headed towards the Director's lab.
On the way to the Director's lab, I happened to come across Licca. It seems that she was just had a word with the Director inside.
"Oh, I was just about to look for you!" She told me. She was looking happy. I can imagine this is a good news because she's really lively. "I've got some good news for you."
I guess the good news came with whatever Licca talked with the Director.
"The Project Slayer Prototype God Arc Version 2.0 has just been finished!" My ears suddenly flapped after hearing Licca's good news. She must have worked hard to finish the God Arc overnight. "August and Caesar is waiting for you in my place."
"August and Caesar?" I asked her.
"Oh, that's the name I gave the God Arcs -August for the Short Blade and Caesar for the Long Blade. The names are meant to complement the name you gave to its system, the Nero System." She explained. I can't wait to see what the new God Arc. "I made it especially durable so it can handle the Nero System."
If the new prototype can handle the system better this time, it's going to be a powerful God Arc then. I can't wait to test it out as soon as possible.
"Can I see it now?" I asked Licca. Unfortunate, she shook her head.
"I did say that it was done, but I'm still doing some maintenance work on it. Don't worry though, it won't take long before I'm completely done with it. Once I'm done, I'll give you a call immediately." Licca replied. Wow, Licca is really unparalleled when it comes to God Arcs. She's really a great asset of the Far East Branch.
I watched Licca as she walked past me and headed for the elevator. I turned around and entered the Director's lab as soon as the elevator door closed.
-Director's lab-
I feel like I need to know as much as I can about Genesis, so we can prepare for them. Right now, I believe that it's only the Director and I who know about the possibility of them being our enemy. I don't know if I should tell this to Lindow and the others once they get back from their mission, but I really think we should. We've fought all those battles together, so I think this one is not a fight the Director should face alone.
"Director Paylor." I went inside and looked for the Director. As usual, he was still busy going through his work. I've never seen him not working.
"Oh, what brings you here?" He asked. I think this is the right time to ask him about Genesis.
"I need to know everything I need to know about Genesis." I asked.
Director Paylor stopped with his work and looked at me straight in the eye. "What makes you believe there's something else you need to know about them?"
"Well, all you've told me was about the past existence of Genesis and how you're involved with them in the past. I still have no idea what Genesis was doing, specifically speaking." I asked. For some reason, the Director smiled at me.
"While I was involved with Genesis, I worked trying to find a way for humans and the Aragami to coexist. That idea brought forth Shio." I suddenly remembered the Aragami girl we protected from the former Director Johannes von Schicksal.
Suddenly, the Director laughed. "However, there were other ambitious scientists who aimed to create an Aragami that could be tamed, one that will be eventually used as a biological superweapon."
"In the end, it's like the Genesis is just a group of people who came in together because they were all interested with the Aragami." I pointed out. It was only now that I understand the meaning of this.
"That's right. Genesis was not like Fenrir who came together and was formed with a single, firm, solid goal in mind: the eradication of the Aragami." Director Paylor added.
Suddenly, a face of a man flashed before my mind. His face was blurred and I couldn't make out the details.
Director Paylor suddenly went through his desk and handed me a picture. "This is the only thing left that connects me with Genesis."
It was a picture of a group of scientists wearing the same white lab coat. In the middle, however, was a familiar man I think I saw before. Unlike the scientists in this picture, he was wearing a white coat and a black shirt inside. He had a red necktie loosely hanging around his neck, and his blond hair was neatly swept back.
"What do you think of the Aragami?"
The question suddenly rang in my head. I suddenly remembered something from the accident that happened to me that made me like this. I quickly pointed the man in the picture and showed him to the Director.
"I think I may have met this man before; on the day I had my accident, to be specific." I told the Director. I can easily read the expression in the Director's face that it's not good.
"Are you sure its him?" Director Paylor tried to confirm.
"I'm not really sure, since I can't clearly remember his face, but I have a strong feeling that it's him." I replied. The Director remained silent for a moment as he was in deep thought about something.
"Among the members of Genesis, he was the one who wanted the coexistence between the Aragami and humans the most. He'd always say how the Aragami are a part of God's creation, and the responsibility left by God to us humans that we must protect everything on this world, including the Aragami." The Director told me. This person is seeing the picture on an entirely different view from us. He's ignoring the threat the Aragami brings to us humans.
"What's his name?" I asked the Director. It seems that he's hesitating on telling me more about this person. I don't want to get involved in this as well, but this might have something to do with what's happening to me right now, so I think I have the right to know.
"Linnaeus Artemis, founder of Genesis." The Director replied. I'm assuming that this is one of the core people who managed to escape after Director Paylor tipped them of Fenrir's incoming attack.
After that, the Director remained silent and refused to tell me anything anymore. Since there's nothing more I can do at the moment, I stepped outside and gave the Director some time to think. At least I was able to identify one of the possible enemies we are facing right now. So, he's Linnaeus Artemis, the founder of Genesis.
-main lobby-
I sat around and waited for the First Unit to return from their mission. They were ordered to hunt down a new-type Aragami that was sighted not too long ago. I badly want to be with them and help them fight, but I can't. Right now, the only thing I can do is wait and hope for their safety.
"What did you say?" Suddenly, Hibari exclaimed out of the blue. I stood up and rushed to her counter to find out what's going on.
I can read from Hibari's expression that bad things are happening right now. Please don't tell me it's about the First Unit.
I asked Hibari about the current situation, and it seems that the Second Unit has found themselves in a bit of trouble. While protecting the Aragami wall, a second wave of Aragamis arrived and ambushed the unit. Right now, they're trying to hold out the Aragami from infiltrating the wall, but they won't be able to hold on for much longer.
I can't sit by and wait in here like this. I grabbed the communication from Hibari against her will.
"Tatsumi, can you hear me?" I shouted. All I can hear from the other side is static noise.
"Wait, what are you doing there? I thought the First Unit was out on a mission?" Tatusmi replied.
"Let's talk about that later. I need your status." I told him.
"Right now, we're being attacked by a second wave of Aragami, mainly consisted of different variants of Zygotes. The problem here is because there's damn too many of them!" Tatsumi reported.
This isn't good.
Hibari told me that the Second Unit has been protecting the wall for at least an hour now. A fight that long is not good. I'm pretty sure that most of them are exhausted just by fighting off the first wave of Aragami. I'm sure that the Second Unit won't be able to hold on for too long.
That is, if I don't do something right now.
"Tatsumi, please try and hold out for as long as you can; I'm coming there."I told Tatsumi.
"You can't! You don't have a God Arc to use at the moment, and Tsubaki insisted on not letting you take any missions without her consent!" Hibari told me. Right now, I can't worry about that.
"The lives of the Second Unit are in danger here! Right now, only I can don something about it. I'm going to worry about Tsubaki later!" I answered Hibari. I then left the main lobby and rushed to find Licca.
I arrived at Licca's workshop in no time, and fortunately I found her there working on the prototype version two.
"Licca, I need the God Arcs now! Tatsumi and the others need my help." I told Licca.
"But I'm not yet done with the necessary adjustments. I'm not sure if they'll function properly just yet." Licca replied. This isn't good.
"Then there must be something I can take!" I asked.
Licca was suddenly thinking about something. "Caesar is impossible, but maybe you can take August for now."
Having the Short Blade is more than enough to deal with the Zygotes. "I'll take it."
Licca handed over the August. I quickly noticed the changes made, especially in the design. It feels heavier than before, but not significantly. The God Arc had a new steel theme finish to it, which is to my liking. I checked the God Arc and swung it around a little, and found it more than perfect.
"This is more than enough." I murmured, before taking off.
I left Licca's place and headed towards Tatsumi and the others. I hope I make it in time. Please hold on until I get there, Tatsumi!