Part 1

I screeched in place at Ayumu's sudden shout

"You've got someone else living with you already?!"

Her eyes are almost popping out in surprise and anger, face almost as red as her hair

I hesitantly nodded

"Y-yeah, sorry"

"Why didn't you told me?!"

She says pointing to herself

"I was going to tell you but... I-I think I forgot..."

After I say this Ayumu seems to be at a loss of words for a moment, a glimpse of sadness coming across her face

"Is it one of them?"

She says averting her eyes, probably refering to devils and the supernatural creatures

"Y-yeah..."

She seems even gloomier and asks with a slight pout

"Is it that... Liliana?"

Uh?

I shake my head

"N-no, it's Aya-chan, the youkai girl, remember?"

Right after I say this, Ayumu's gloomy face disappears and she turns to me surprised

"Y-you mean the little green youkai?!"

I step back in shock, surprised at her quick change of mood

"Y-yeah, it's her, is it a problem?"

Ayumu's eyes gleam

"O-oh, n-no! This is grea- caham, I mean, it's good that you are taking care of her..."

I nod awkwardly, but I notice a confused look emerging on her face

"B-but why is she with you anyway?"

I scratch my head

"Well, it's not like she can be with Liliana, that's not a good place for her to be, also here she can attend Kuoh academ-"

As I was explaining Ayumu shook her head, interrupting me

"No, no, I mean why is she staying with someone at all. Doesn't she have a house of her own?"

When she asks that, I wide my eyes and stop in shock for a moment

Noticing my sudden change, she questions while stammering

"W-what was it? Did something happened?"

So... Ayumu doesn't know...

She spent some time with Aya-chan and the others, but they probably had so much to talk about they didn't touch this subject

And now I find myself wondering how I can even break such news to her

After an unconfortable moment of silence I sigh and decide that the best is to just say it straight up

"The thing is... Aya's parents were killed in a kidnapping attempt by the Khaos Brigade"

At first Ayumu shows no reaction at all to what I said, making me wonder if it even fazed her

She blinks a few times and a soft 'Oh...' scapes her mouth

"S-she didn't told me back then, that's terrible..."

She says with a sad expression

I nod awkwardly

"Why though? Why did they went after her family?"

I place my hand against my forehead

"They use captured youkais and monsters as canon fodder. They capture and break them to do their bidding"

Ayumu's eyes widen even more at mention of an specific word I just used

Broken

She gulps down

"So... very familiar, huh?"

She says sarcastically with a bitter smile

I shake my head

"Don't need to mention it..."

This is something that Liliana probably doesn't know

Something that no one outside the Esper Association should know

"By the face you are making I assume the others don't know either?"

Ayumu says like she's reading my thoughts

I merely nod and she lets out a sigh

"I see, now I understand... you didn't want to talk any details over there, I wondered the reason why was that since you said you weren't afraid. But now I understand..."

She says this, I stare back at her dumbfounded, but a little after the initial shock a smile naturally forms in my mouth and I can't help but let a laugh out

Ayumu looks confused at my reaction

"W-what's so funny?"

I shake my head

"To think you'd notice it right away, am I such an open book or do you really know me that well?"

After I say this, Ayumu's cheeks go red and she starts shooting words at me like a machine gun

"W-what do you mean? Of course I know you well! We've been friends for ten years, right? I'm not that dumb that I wouldn't notice something like that!"

I laugh again and nod, indeed, no one knows me better than her.

"You are right, you are right, I wasn't being mean, you know?"

After the laughter is over, however, the worries all come back again and a loud sigh escapes me

Ayumu looks at me worried

"What are you planing on doing? Or rather, when are you planing to tell them what happens in the labs? The Caretaker is kinda of a big deal, even if you think he won't do anything, I don't think it's good to let them in the dark about it"

I shake my head again and cover my eyes with my hand

"I don't know, I really don't. I'll probably tell Liliana, but everyone else... it's just too much."

Letting them know that we kill any creature perceived as a threat and that we have espers capable of defeating a Maou is one thing, letting them know all the... other things, is an entire different matter. There's no telling to how they would react.

"It's not that I think anyone would hate me or you, Rias, Liliana and everyone in there aren't like that, but even if they don't hate us, even if they think we are different, can you say that this wouldn't affect how they see us? And the esper community in general?"

I sigh again

"Specially... Aya-chan..."

How in the world can I even explain something like that to her is beyond me

As I'm lost in thought, I feel a soft squeeze on my shoulder that pulls me back to reality, it's Ayumu's hand.

She smiles at me

"Don't worry, we'll find a way. I know it's a complicated matter, but we'll find a way, I have faith in you"

A warm sensation spreads through my body at her words

Ayumu... my best friend

I'm so glad you are here...

"Thank you, thanks a lot. I don't know who else I could talk about this"

Hearing me Ayumu waves her hand in front of her face

"W-what? I-I mean, yeah, of course, I can't exactly let you take all of this for yourself right? Who knows what you would do, h-hahahahahaha!"

She gives an embarassed laughter, which is quickly followed by a worried look

"Oh, does that mean I won't be able to go to your house?"

She says, so that's what she's worried about now?!

Ah, she's really so quick to change her mood...

I laugh a little while considering

The house I'm living in was supposed to be for me only, so with Aya it's becoming pretty packed already. But honestly...

I take a long glance at Ayumu, causing her to look at me weirded out

"Huh? What is it?"

I really, reaaaaally don't think it's a good idea to leave her alone in Kuoh. It's not that I don't trust her, but she got into a fight barely an hour after she arrived, who knows what will happen once she starts living here?

Also, I'd probably feel safer for both myself and Aya-chan if there was two of us.

It's decided then! I shake my head and say

"No, it's a bit cramped there, but we can make space for the three of us

When I say this, her eyes sparkle again

"Really?! Yay! That'll be awesome! Thanks!"

I become a little taken back by her reaction, did she really wanted to live in the same house as me that badly?

With that settled we make our way back home

I think about how Aya-chan will react to the news, but my mind can't help but drift back to the things we just discussed with the Gremorys

Kusuo Saiki

Kuriko Saiki

The Caretaker

...

I don't wanna even think about the last one

How will we deal with them, when the time comes?

Part 2

"Okay, is everyone present? We'll start your first formal introduction right now, so please pay attention"

An elderly man and a middle-aged woman in a lab coat addressed a few rows of young men and women dressed just like them, calling their attention.

The younglings were all visibly excited to be in the large facility where they currently stood, looking around and chatting.

They all had their ID's displayed on their chests and their devices close, attached somewhere in their body or clothes

Yes, each and every person in this room was an esper

After the duo had everyone's attention, the woman declared

"First of all we would like to congratulate all of you for making into the Esper Community's team of supernatural living beings research. It is with great pleasure we receive you into this mystical and fascinating world."

She proceeds with the explanation

"I am doctor Haya and this is doctor Kano, head of our department. As you already know, this is one of the many facilities in the country that houses devils, youkais and all sorts of creatures captured in missions by the community, here we study them in order to gather infomartion and resources that will become useful in figthing supernatural threats in the future"

Doctor Haya gave a scripted presentation, like she had done many times before, to many new members just like these

Doctor Kano took from where she stopped

"You've all been deemed capable of working in the various fields of our most treasured group, but before you are each assigned to your respective stations within, we will give you a run of the place as well as tell you the ground rules."

He made a signal urging the group of young researchers to follow him and the lady

A thick metal door opened and the group was led through the first facilities, where groups of men and women about the age of the new members were working in silence with various tools and mechanisms in an incredible sterile environment

"Here is the genetics lab, this is the place where things like blood, skin, scales, saliva, fur, bones and anything of the kind is examinated"

Haya then lifts her hand and points to one of the man working, his ID had a different badge and colour than that everyone was using.

"As you can see, Mr Suzuki over there does not belong to this department, he is from the non-living supernatural research team, you will eventually get used to this sight since the living and non-living research teams often cooperate in our researches."

After a brief introduction of the facility, the two scientists were going to move to another research room, however, one of the new recruits raised his hand, drawing eyebrows and confused looks from his peers and tutors as well.

The elderly man quickly looked at the boy and his ID

"Do you have any questions?"

The boy nodded and quickly added

"You are introducing us to the research facilities first but everyone here already has a pretty good idea of what we are going to do"

The new recruits were shocked by the boldness of their peer and some began whispering to each other

"Quiet! Quiet!"

The man urged and slowly the voices quieted down

"What are you suggesting? Is there something on your mind?"

"It is procedure that we show to all of the new employees the facilities they will be working at before their first day, is there something that displeases you about the process?"

Haya added, much more harshly than her elderly friend

However, the boy merely shook his head and answered unintimidated.

"No, I don't actualy have a problem, it's just... we all know how most facilities work, except for one. So why are you keeping the best for last?"

The eyes of the new recruits widened when they realized what he was talking about and a new uproar took over them

"Yeah, we wanna see them!" - One said

"We can see the other facilities later, let's see the cages first!" - Another one added

Both of the mentors sighed and looked at each other, time and again a group like this would come, wanting to see 'the big spectacle' that few people in the association had access to right from the get go. They knew resisting would only get the newbies more anxious and they would have to go there eventually, so why not now?

The woman clapped her hands to call their attention

"Alright, alright, we'll go to the cells right now. But first of all I don't think I need to remind any of you about the procedures and safety measures that are to be taken there, correct?"

All of the new members replied positively, nodding or outright saying 'yes!'

In the end she just sighed and montioned for them to follow her and the man

"Come with us"

After a few minutes of walking around the facility, going through checkpoints and giving explanations to each guard leader, the group finally passed through a huge door that lead to an equally huge hallway with another door on the other end.

This whole building seemed to have come out of a sci-fi movie, but this door was clearly different from the ones they had passed to get here. It was too big, even an airplane could easily go through it if fully open, it also had sigils engraved in it.

But most of all, this one was by far the one with the most guards standing by.

The corridor from the door they just entered to the door they were aiming for was populated entirely by guards from the Esper Community, with battle gear all over their bodies

By their ID's and the patches on their uniforms you could see there were half a dozen Level 3 corporals, two Level 4 corporals and one Level 4 sergeant leading them.

"Halt! Identify yourselves!"

The sergeant shouted before they were even close and the old man raised his hand signalling the students to stand still

"You all wait here, I'll talk to him"

"Are you sure? I can go this time" - Haya suggested, but he just shook his head saying 'it's not a problem' and walked towards the guards

The woman and the new members watched as the elderly Kano talked to the guard leader and showed him his ID

After a brief exchange he came back and said

"You will all be inspected before going in, it's standard procedure, not just your body, your minds as well. He told us to go ahead and line up, we'll go first to show you how it is"

The two adults lined up and were searched, a scan was run through their bodies to detect any signs of demonic or magic energy and also to ensure no transformation technique awas being used. A telepath among the guards also scanned their brain supperficially in order to detect any immediate threats.

This was one of the most secure facilities in the whole Esper Community, every level of scrutiny was necessary, there could be nothing left to chance.

After all had been properly checked the sergeant gave a word over his device to open the doors

Despite it's massive size, the doors opened without barely making any sound

The newbies were in awe, completely excited over the prospect of what they were about to witness, but too nervous to even utter a word.

What was revealed in front of them was a huge facility, standing tall and wide, with several doors leading to different hallways.

Guards were patrolling all over the place, cameras and robots also made sure nothing was out of place.

This place, it was one of the Esper Community's containment facility.

The new members stood in awe looking all over to see where they were going to be taken first

Standing in front of them, the tutors began to speak

"As you know, this facility is one of the largest in the country, housing many different types of supernatural species. Sucessfully capturing them is rare so we make sure to research causing as little damage as possible to the subjects."

Doctor Haya then procceed

"Magic, demonic energy, youkai abilities and many other things like it are linked directly to the creature's will, therefore the best way to research it is to break it's will. Usually the process was long and strenuous, it could take days, weeks or even months before their will was broken and we could sucessfully hold then here. Most of the time we also had to resort to not so great methods, sometimes casualties were bound to happen and we lost precious research material, however!"

She gleefuly declared

"Now with the support of a high ranking member of our great Community, much less time and effort is required to do so!"

"Indeed, now things are proceeding much smoother, research is going faster. We were truly blessed."

One of the girls raised her hand

"Is that the reason why there's been more recruitment in the scientific departments?"

At her question a boy replied

"Yeah, we were told we would only be called next month, but it seems the process was rushed to get more people in"

The tutors nodded

"Yes, yes, thanks to the great work of our community we've been able to adjust more creatures far faster than we did before, because of that-"

Before the man could finish, however, a voice interrupted

"It was because of the Caretaker, right?"

Again, a silence took over all those gathered in there.

Even the guards that were in hearing distance turned to look at the students at the mention of this name

Stares from everyone were directed at the one who made the question

"I see, so something like this has already leaked to public knowledge..."

Haya took a hand to her forehead with a troubled look, her partner merely sighed

"I think it was only a matter of time, so... how many of you have heard about it?"

He questioned, the younglings began scratching their heads and looking at each other, some admited that they had heard about it before, some merely whispering to their friends

But he and his peer both knew what that meant

"So it has spread this far, huh?"

He said with a hand on his chin

"Do you think it's a problem?"

Haya asked, Kano however, merely shrugged

"Not really, it's' not like the Community was actively trying to hide this. It's obviously better if the details about our most prestigious members aren't made public, but it's also inevitable that it would leak... it's the Caretaker after all..."

At the response of the elderly man all the woman could do was nod, he was indeed right.

He then clapped his hands and said

"Alright, since you're up to date with the info, how about we start showing some of our research specimens then?"

The recruits replied excitedly, still trying to keep their voices down in order to not disturb the guards and obviously, the "specimens" as well

A guard opened another door that led to one of the many pavilions where researches were conducted

"This facility is dedicated exclusively to specimens broken by The Caretaker himself, one day we intend to have many more like this."

The elderly scientist declared with a proud smile, which warranted a curious reaction from the newcomers

"The Caretaker alone broke all of them?! How long has he been here?"

A girl asked, to which Haya turned around with a smirk and folded her arms across her chest

"Oh, so it seems you young ones don't know so much after all, huh?"

The answer got a few laughs from the new members and her elder friend

A smile appeared on the woman's lips as she explained

"As we said, the process to effectively restrain these creatures for research could take from days to even months, but The Caretaker has reduced that process greatly. What we are about to show you are the examples of his great work for our Community."

The hearts of the new conscripts were pounding hard as they approached the holding barriers, imagining what kind of fantastic beings were to be there and what condition they would be in.

Their first stop was that of a man behind a barrier sitting on a bed

The unit was entirely white, as were the lights, the bed and the uniform of the man, all the whiteness of the room contrasted heavily with the one caracteristic that clearly showed the specimen wasn't human

His feathery black wings

That specimen was a fallen angel.

His eyes were erratic, jumping all over the place, however, his body did not move and he stood completely still moving only his eyes and mouth.

Kano stepped in front the barrier and spoke

"This one over here is a recently captured fallen angel, as you can see by the colour of his wings. He was dragged all the way from Osaka to our facility that currently has the pleasure of researching him."

As the students started to pay more attention to the fallen angel inside the barrier, they started to hear what was being said.

"Marching, seventy eight, yellow fields, Mary, halberd"

The nonsensical words just kept pouring out his mouth

"W-what is he talking about?"

A girl pointed out clearly nervous

Haya sighed

"Unfortunately, we are still unable to understand the complexity of the Caretaker's [skill], it is powerful to such an extent that can leave side effects like this on the ones who fall to it. In this instance, the Caretaker is even more unique than most, as the effects of his skill can vary from subject to subject, there's a great variety as you will notice, however, before we proceed, I would like to make a question"

She lifted her finger and pointed in the direction of the fallen angel, who hadn't stopped rambling

"Does someone have any comments on the looks of this specimen?"

A moment of silence hoovered in the air, before one new member asked

"What do you mean?"

The woman made a gesture and explained

"I mean can you tell me anything out of the ordinary or that draws attention on it's overall presentation, that's what I mean"

Kano looked at her with a side smirk, knowing full well how she was testing their new members

The recruits began to analyze the man sitting on the room and quickly answers began to sprout

"He's not injured!"

A girl said, to which the woman nodded

"Yes, as we said, the Caretaker's method does not inflict any damage that could harm the specimen physically. Anything else?"

"He's not under any restraints?"

A boy answered this time, the woman gave another nod

"Correct, as he is now he cannot use any of his power in a coherent manner, even a level 2 could take him down. So, what else?"

More observations were made about the subject, the room and even the facility in question, however, by the end, the woman was still asking for more

"So? That's it? C'mon people, I know you can do better, you took your supernatural creature classes, right?"

The woman teased

"Take it easy on them, they are probably too nervous to notice it right now"

Her friend tried to soften things up, however, a voice from the back quickly announced

"His feathers!"

They both quickly turned their eyes back to the group

"Which of you said that?"

A boy quietly raised his hand

"I-I did"

Haya questioned

"Are you saying his number of wings and that he's not hiding them? Your fellows have already mentioned his wings are out"

However, he shook his head

"No, I'm talking about their colour."

He pointed forward and stated

"In the supernatural classes we took there was a lesson that said one of the easiest ways to spot the strength of a fallen angel is to count it's number of wings, this is also true for devils and angels, I know they already said that, but another factor for fallen angels is their colour."

The boy stood silent for a moment as his peers and tutors were staring at him

"Why did you stop? Go ahead, finish it"

Haya encouraged and the boy quickly snapped back to reality

"T-this one has four pairs and they are pretty dark, so it's power level should be close to a Cadre, right?"

He nervously stated and was granted a happy expression from both his tutors

"Look, it seems someone remembered his basic lessons, hahaha"

She teased, some newbies also laughed and the boy who gave the answer sighed in relieve

The elder man nodded

"Indeed, your young colleague is right in his observation. What you are seeing right now is nothing short of a high class fallen angel, one of the few we managed to capture and the first one to be subjected to the Caretaker's skill."

The young members looked in awe, indeed, those fallen angel's feathers were deep black and it was indeed very powerful

Was being the key word here

This fallen angel was broken, destroyed inside

Some of the recruits shuddered, this was enough for them to realize how dangerous the Caretaker was and why he was in the top elite of the Esper Community.

"Alright, that was good, are you all ready to see the other specimens?"

A resounding 'yes' was the answer from all the new members and so the group went to see all the other creatures that were within the confines of the facility that housed those who had been the new subjects of the Caretaker.

A devil that was crouched down into the corner of his cell, a youkai that was crying it's eyes out muttering several names, a horned ice monster that immediately crouched when they got close to it, all these creatures and more seemed to be have their wills taken from them.

What began as an interesting tour to know the facilities and the specimen contained in there suddenly turned into a showcase of the Caretaker's power

"Well, we are near the end, are you enjoying?"

The elder tutor asked with a hand on his chin

"T-the Caretaker is... he's awesome, right?!"

One of the girls said excited, getting a few laughs from her friends

"Being able to put the specimens in a defenseless state quickly and without harming them! That's a 5.5 for you!"

A boy remarked, suddenly the students had began to gleeful chatter about the mysterious benefactor that was destroying the will of all the high class creatures they had encoutered

Both scientists looked at each other and laughed, now the new members seemed more excited about The Caretaker than about the creatures they so desperately wanted to see.

The elderly man clapped his hands and answered

"Great enthusiam! We are men and women of science here! The Caretaker is someone who has being a great aid in our research, not only that, he's a very valuable member of the Esper Community as a whole!"

He stated, getting a few nods and 'yes' as an answer

"In fact..."

Kano said while turning around to his friend

"Don't you think it's time for us to show them the big gun?"

Doctor Haya's eyes widened

"A-are you serious?"

He nodded

"Of course! It'll be a great way to finish this facility and show them that now we are cooking with the right tools!"

With new enthusiasm, old Kano montioned the new members to follow him, his peer followed behind, a little hesitant.

They walked through a few more supernatural beings, but this time they didn't stop, as the scientist guided them to yet another door, this one had two guards stationed in front of it.

After the old man explained the situation to them, they expected that the guards would open the door right away, but this time, there was hesitation.

"Are you sure we are allowed that?" - One of the guards asked

That simple question was enough to make the new members exchange glances between one another and speculate to what could possibly be guarded beyond that door.

"He's right, are you sure about this?" - The woman also, but he nodded energetically.

"Of course! What's the point of keeping them in the dark anyway? One day they might have to work here, better to let them acquainted already, isn't this the whole purpose of this tour?"

"Y-yes, but..."

Haya stuttered for a moment trying to find the right words, but eventually gave in

"You are right... let's get in then"

She answered, receiving a nod filled with approval from her partner who quickly turned to the guards

"Now, what are you waiting for? Let us in!"

He seemed much more joyful than before, had the excitement from the young members rubbed into him? She wondered

The guards opened the large gate and the group went in, what they found in there was a cell like many of the others, except this one was much larger, even larger than the one housing monsters who were much bigger than the average human

And the reason for the size of that containment unit was of course, the one occupying it

Upon seeing the creature that stood in the room, walking forward and then backwards, the young members gasped in shock, their eyes widened and not even a single word was uttered

The elder scientist stepped forward and lift both his hands up

"This majestic creature is the epitomy of our discoveries, an specimen like this is incredibly hard to find, harder to be captured alive and even even harder to break!"

He then turned around to stare at his apprentices, who were still in shock

"What's the matter younglings? First time seeing a dragon in your life?"

Inside the barrier, walking back and forth in an endless cycle with eyes devoided of life and it's head hanging low was a blue dragon with shiny scales and huge body

"A-a-a dragon?!"

One of the students managed to speak

"You actually managed to capture one?"

"T-this is incredible..."

"Is he truly imprisoned? I mean, he can't scape, right?"

The sudden barrage of questions and exclamations after the shock had faded made the elderly man laugh

"Now, now, calm down, we wouldn't have brought you here if there was any risk involved. Isn't that right?"

He asked his partner, who nodded in response

"That over there is a Blizzard Dragon, a rare type of high-class dragon that our european friends sent to us in order to test the Caretaker"

Another student turned to her

"The europeans sent it to the Caretaker? Just for him to tame it?"

Haya tilted her head

"I wouldn't exactly say the word 'tame' but... yeah, that's pretty much it."

The older doctor added

"The chances of capturing something as fine as this specimen is one in a million so of course they wouldn't risk causing it any unecessary damages in the process of restriction, but letting it loose also can't happen."

He turned to face the dragon again, who was still walking in circles, like a zombie

"Dragons are strong, prideful beings with huge magical power, to break a beast like this one it would usually take months, inhuman treatment and wounds were bound to happen, not to mention the casualties such a creature could cause in the process, however..."

The scientist lifted a finger and said with a mix of joy and fear in his voice

"Once we let the Caretaker alone with this glorious being, it didn't took a single day for it to become like this"

He gave a small laugh

"...And without throwing a single punch at it"

These words made awe and fear spread to all the new members

Powerful?

No

Calling 'powerful' someone who had mentally broken a dragon without the necessity to fight it was a complete understatement.

'Supreme'

That's how the ones in the room saw those at level 5 and above

A rank so rare and so strong, capable of doing things most would only dream of, people like this live in a world of their own.

The old scientist faced the guard that had come in with them

"Hey, open the barrier for me"

A silence that lasted for a moment took the guard over before he asked, as if he had heard things

"I beg your pardon?"

Kano nodded

"Yes, you heard me, open it so I can check on it"

Shaking his head profusely, the guard replied

"I don't have permision to-"

But was quickly interrupted

"Quit it young man, I've been head of this department when you were still wearing diapers, open a door so I can walk in!"

The guard was taken aback, but decided to do as he was told.

However, Haya still opposed

"What are you planning on doing? Have you gone nuts?"

She asked, but the old man simply tapped her shoulder and smiled

"Have more faith on our Caretaker, would you?"

The woman was shocked and didn't said another word, just like the students

A hole in the barrier was temporarily open to allow the elderly scientist to enter, all the others stayed outisde, looking inside with sheer nervousnes

(Did the old man go insane?)

One new member asked

(Shut up, are you doubting the Caretaker?)

Another replied

(Shhh! Keep quiet and watch!)

All the eyes were focused on the man as he quietly approached the dragon that walked in circles and stood in it's path

(What is he doing?!)

They asked, even his partner was now bracing herself

Even if she believed in the Caretaker, that was too much, walking alone in the same room as a Blizzard Dragon and standing on it's way, neither of them were high level espers, if the dragon didn't stop he could at least injure the old man quite badly

However, what happened next shoked all those in the room

The scientist lifted his hand and placed on top of the dragon's head while it was making it's way to him and gently pushed it down.

Immediately, the dragon's body followed and it now rested on the floor, immobile.

"W-what?!"

"It stopped! It halted completely!"

Cheers and exclamations of amazement came from the young members

The woman sighed in relieve, placing a hand over her chest

"Ahahaha! What did I tell you?"

Not satisfied, Kano also climbed on top of the dragon's head and laid down on it

"Ah! It's so cool! No wonder it's called a Blizzard Dragon, you guys should really try this"

Despite the old man's invitation, no one stepped forward, statying a safe distance away from the barrier

The old scientist chuckled and finally stepped out of the dragon's head

"Hahaha! Okay, enough showing off, thank you son, you can close the barrier"

He said to the guard, who was still breathing out in relieve

After leaving the Blizzard Dragon's containment unit, Kano decided to address the new members

"Impressed with what you saw?"

The answer was unanimously positive

"What kind of person is the Caretaker?"

One of the members managed to ask despite not having fully recovered from what he just saw

The old man gives a quick laugh and scratches his chin

"That's actually a tricky question, however, if there is one word that can describe the Caretaker's whole existence, that word would be... artist"

A look of confusion spread to the faces of the new members

"An artist? You mean metaphorically?"

Both Haya and Kano shook their heads

"No, you see, the Caretaker is not like us, he's not a man of science, he's an artist through and through. And because of his [skill], this has caused him great pain as well"

He said, gazing into the distance with a somewhat sad look on his face

The new members looked amongst themselves

"His [skill] has caused pain?"

He nodded

"Indeed, but I wouldn't bother with the details, you'll be working in these facilities, which means you'll eventually cross paths with the Caretaker, after all... he lives here as well"

Widened eyes and muffled gasps were the response the elderly man received, his partner merely sighed

He's really going all out in this one...

She thought to herself

"The Caretaker lives in this facility as well?"

"You mean he's not just working here?"

"Why would he live here?"

The questions make the old man give a quick laugh

"It was one of his demands, the reason is beyond me, but I'm not saying this just to make you fired up to work with an elite 5.5, but to give you a warning as well."

The expression on the man's face turned somber for a moment, his friend turned to him, almost anticipating what he was about to say

"Watch out..."

She warned him and the man nodded

"Don't worry, I won't go into any specifics"

He lifted both his hands up, like he did when presenting the Blizzard Dragon to the group, and declared

"[An Empty Bliss Beyond This World]"

This made him receive even more curious looks from the recruits

"The Caretaker's [skill], it's a long name for sure, but I think it shows how unfathomable it is"

(A 5.5 level [skill]...)

One the new members said

(I've heard it drives people mad...)

(They say even espers aren't safe)

(I've heard it can make you see the secrets of the universe)

The whispers began to increase and the scientist interrupted them saying

"Those of you who have heard the rumours may already know a part of the story, those of you who do not will eventually learn about them while working, but what I have to tell you right now is this:"

He raised a finger and looked straight at the new members

"Do not take the Caretaker's [skill] lightly. He's an artist without an audience, he lives isolated and no one is allowed to glare at his work for a reason, if any of you try to get a glimpse of it, you will be immediately avaliated and if it comes to the attention of the Community that you glimpsed into the Bliss..."

A shiver went down their spines at the scientists next words

"The punishment from the Community will be the least of your problems"

This warning was all what they needed to understand.

The Caretaker was someone to be wary of, even if he was famous in the Esper Community, this was still a research facility and the slightest mistep could have huge implications

A sigh scaped Haya and she placed a hand against her forehead

"Alright, I think we've show them enough of the containment facilities. Now, let's proceed to the other ones, shall we?'

She urged them

"Of course, of course, we still have many things to see, let's go young ones, this is just the beggining. Welcome to Esper Community's research team!"

The old man declared and they all started to walk towards the exit of the facility

Through the rest of the tour, everything went as normally as it should have, all the other facilities were properly presented to the new members and by the end of the day they were sent back to prepare to their first day at work.

After their day was over, the lady and the elderly man had stopped to eat at the nearby caffeteria.

At the end of his meal, the old man light up a cigarrete and his partner looked at him

He looked back at her

"What is it? Don't tell me you think this is going to be bad for my health, hahahaha"

He laughed while taking another puff at the cigarrete

The woman shook her head

"Tsk, after that display of yours I don't think you are afraid of death at all. Where the hell was your head at back then?"

Another laugh came from the elder, as he exhaled the smoke

"You worry too much, we are talking about the Caretaker after all, have some more faith would you?"

Haya sighed and placed a hand in her forehead

"This has been troubling me as well, why do you seem so infatuated with the Caretaker? You talk about him as he was some sort of god, even if he's a 5.5, you should have some reservations"

Kano gave a bitter smile

"A god, huh? Tell me Haya-chan, do you believe in a god?"

This made the woman raise an eyebrow

"Why? You don't?"

He took another sip of the cigarrete before answering

"It would be ironic, huh? For someone who is surrounded by all kinds of supernatural creatures to not believe in any god."

He laughed

"Well, I do believe that something like a deity sure does exist, what I'm trying to discuss here is the meaning of the word believe"

The woman frowned

"An what does 'believe' mean to you?"

The old man laughed and raised his cigarrete

"That's where I was trying to go. You see, even if deities exist, wouldn't they just be mystical beings just like devils, angels and all the others here? Maybe stronger of course, but again, nothing like we haven't seem"

"Many espers wouldn't like to hear what you are saying"

Kano laughed once again

"Ahahaha, I am aware that many of our fellow espers are religious people, I'm not trying to bash on their beliefs, but I also have mine you see. If gods are just another bunch of strong mystical beings, aren't our dear 5.5 espers the closest we are to god?"

"So you believe in the Ascension theory?"

The old man pondered at his friend's question

"Well, as a scientist I cannot believe in something that does not have definitive proof, but if you ask me if I want it to be truth, the answer would be yes"

His friend placed both of her hands together

"The power of the gods, many think it's a dangerous thing for us to have"

She pondered, causing the man to click his tongue

"Tsk, those who think like that were not around in the old times, let me tell you. Monsters used to walk the streets and people were targeted at random, no cities were safe, strength is the only thing these monsters understand"

He had grow visibly annoyed

"I'll tell you one thing: If I have to choose between having faith in the gods that didn't protected us or having faith in the espers that help us in our research to aid all of mankind, then my choice is already made."

Kano declared before taking one last breath of his cigarrete and lighting it off

Haya did not answered, instead only staring at him in silence

Awakening... if such a thing happened, it would change the balance of the world as we know it

Part 3

In the last floor of the research building, away from all the creatures, all the scientists and even away from the guards, there stood a door that was different from all others

Particularly because this one was not meant to be the door for a containment unit, but for a house.

No sound could be heard from the outside and not even a peek of what was inside could be seen, but that was for the safety of everyone in the facility, since any glimpse of what resided beyond that door could be a danger to everyone.

That whole floor was fully equipped be a luxurious home in all aspects.

Among the many rooms it had was a studio, filled to the brim with everything any artist would need, no matter the type of artist he was.

Marble and crafting material, paints, oils, canvas, instruments of all kind and much more were arranged all over the place

And all of this belonged to a single person who was now in the center of the room, playing a melody in his violin.

The young man was a handsome sight with his long ice blue hair, sharp jawline and nearly flawless skin, however, his habits betrayed him, diminishing his beauty

He had bags under his closed shut eyes, his clothes were sloppy, the white shirt not being buttoned correctly, his hair was messy and he was a little thinner than what would be considered healthy for someone his height

This young men was completely engulfed in his art to the point where sleep and self-care seemed like mindless worries

This young men was The Caretaker

He played his music with passion, eyes closed while his mind drifted in an inconprehensible imaginary sea of thoughts.

The music couldn't be described properly by anyone, it wasn't that of a particular style, the Caretaker had his own style, but again, no one was going to listen anyway.

Midway through the song, he opened his eyes, revealing their beautiful bluish grey colour, and suddenly stopped the music

His face was anguished, he gazed onto the pile of artistic tools lying around

"It's not perfected yet..." - He muttered

He bit his almost purple lips in anger before placing the violin down

Looking at all the art pieces, all the paintings, sculptures and songs he had written, the Caretaker grasped his hand tightly and said

"All of this is to perfect my craft, but what's the point if she's not here?"

He said, taking into hands one of his paintings, one of the few he considered a real masterpiece

"The only one who is able to appreciate my art, the only one who is able to understand me..."

He placed the painting back on the wall

"My muse, when are you coming back?"

Afterword: Hello again! Thanks for reading this new chapter, this one was quicker to release and has almost as many words as the last one, but the difference is that I actually had fun making this one. The Caretaker is a character that's been on my mind for a long time and I really enjoyed writting about him. The art in this chapter (on the Wattpad version) was made by my friend Leohane, check her Twitter and give her some love if you can (twitter: leohane_art)

Now to the readers questions!

Thanks for comparing me to Oda, I'm really glad hahahahaha! But didn't you meant to compare me to Miura or Togashi? Since they are the ones that take way too long to write? I don't know, I may not have understood what you meant

Yeah, I might have exaggerated, but it's difficult to explain without going into spoiler territory, so I'm going to give two explanations, one without spoilers and one with some spoilers.

WITHOUT SPOILERS: The new enemies have a pletora of powers that Frieza doesn't have, so it's kinda hard to compare them, when I wrote that I kinda meant that this arc is being for DxD what the Frieza arc was for DB in terms of power escalation, since new things (like the Super Sayan) were introduced, I even edited the afterword after you made your review because I noticed that it was indeed confusing. However, I'm pretty safe in my assumption since the powers of the new enemies are related to concepts (not gonna tell which ones since that'd be a spoiler) even more than GR and Ophis were.

I hope this has satisfied your curiosity, if you still want more details, the spoiler version is right down bellow

WITH SPOILERS: Okay, so the new enemies fckng killed GR, with ease. Yeah, our big red friend is fckn dead and gone. And he died like a dog, he wasn't even a competitor for the new bad guys and the one that took him down wasn't even the strongest. It is said in the novel that the new enemies have destroyed whole planes of existence (though that was only said, not showed). And for last, it is said that the strongest bad guy can manipulate time and existence itself, so yeah, kinda hard to compete with that.