Chapter 15: Demon & Bird

10:04 AM (Japan Time), Saturday August the 3rd…

"… Air Dive!"

"Demon Fires!"

"Shit!"

"Bad, bad boy~…"

"Out of my way! Amgis!"

"Too bad! I'm Sigma, not Amgis!"

Swallow Man and Sigma were having a scuffle in Internet City.

The first tried to dive for Sigma, but he shot flames at him to stop him.

"To think that you were trying to buy marijuana and opium!"

"None of your stinky business, Amgis!"

"Too bad. We already busted that dealer…"

"What!?"

"Someone had a notebook full of details about them, see!"

"That Gold moron!"

"Should've gone to California to dig for gold!"

"Sure thing!"

"By the way… Regalis Regata is on your trail!"

"You needn't tell me! As if that Blackbird rascal wasn't annoying enough!"

"I see, I see. That plane was his, indeed!"

"What!? Damn it!"

Swallow Man gasped, realizing too late that he'd talked too much.

"The Navy found the wreckage!"

"Shit. Why didn't we think of that?"

"You were busy dancing the panic dance of the warden!"

"What the hell is that?"

"Try out Ghost Trick! 'Cause your master loves parodying it!"

Swalow Man grumbled something under his breath.

"The headaches are coming, I guess! Better stock up on aspirins!"

"Very funny! Swallow Cutter!"

"Demon Rings!"

Sigma extended his left arm and formed thin blue rings.

They flew forward and eliminated the birds.

"Bird Man! I'll have to gag you!" Clark growled.

"I offer no excuses, sir! I accept any punishment, sir!"

"You finally showed up! Teddy bear!"

"I had enough of acting!"

"Guess that Regalis Regata snuck chili powder on your curry!"

"Sure did!"

"By the way. Boss says that he's waiting for you at Shadow Moses!"

"VAAADDOOUUSSSS!"

An explosion happened and a warehouse collapsed.

An excavator carrying a wrecking ball advanced for them.

A "Monokuma" was on the pilot's seat.

A wooden peg had been stabbed in the stomach.

"REEEGAAAALLL!"

Regal's familiar chuckle echoed.

"A beautiful sacrifice to the realization of my world…"

"I talk too much!" Clark grumbled.

"More like your acting is pathetic…"

"Well. Handle it yourselves. I'm off to Dalton Town!"

Sigma used the chance to slip away from the scene.

"Bird! What are you waiting for? Crush them!"

"Roger, sir! Swallow Cutter!"

He shot at the excavator, but it bounced off a barrier.

"Not that shit again!"

"Nothing can break it, raven of the southern seas…"

"Raven!? I'm a swallow!"

"Makes little difference. Envoy of the Grim Reaper…"

"Grim Reaper? Me? Tell that to the DIA and the Pentagon!"

"The Blackbird isn't the only thing that I dug up…"

"What?"

"The "Davy Crockett"…"

Clark hissed and Swallow Man gulped, nervous.

"It's a bluff!"

"Whether it is or not… You'll soon see…"

"Whatever! Let's leave and focus on a new operation!"

"Roger!"

"Flee back to your hole beneath the dirt, worms…"

"Remember, Regal…! I'll have payback!"

"Come anytime…"

Swallow Man fled as the excavator swung the wrecking ball.

It smashed the wall of a building.

"That's as far as you come, Regal!"

Davis landed there and drew his golden Cannon.

"The Hautpmann of Kell's Demons has come…"

"How literate of you…" Charles sighed.

"If you want to have a taste of this ball, be my guest…"

The ball swung towards Davis, who ducked to dodge it.

"Justice Cannon!"

He shot a blast at the shield, and it tugged against it.

It eventually made it through the shield and hit the arm.

It broke, and it fell to the ground along with the ball.

"I see. Applying the concept of synching "Dimensional Areas"…"

Regal became amused.

"Hikari Yuuichirou… As expected of that man…"

Davis and Charles didn't bother to argue.

"Maybe it's about time that I paid him a courtesy visit, too…"

"You'll have to get past us firstly!" Charles challenged.

"I know how…"

"Really…"

"Sending your angels to poison you for being unfaithful…"

"It's not remotely funny!"

"You're the one who's being influenced by Clark, anyway…"

"Fight poison with poison…"

"Classical!" Davis sighed.

"Swallow Cutter!"

"What?! He's back!?"

Swallow Man attacked the teddy bear and deleted it.

He then landed over the excavator.

"As naïve as ever! Hauptmann!"

"Whatever. I'm not the only one who can do that…"

"What?"

"Sigma Punch!"

"HOW!"

Sigma reappeared there and punched him from behind.

He dropped to the ground, and Davis aimed his cannon at him.

"What part of that was naïve again?" He taunted.

"Shit! The nerve of this Marvel superhero wannabe!"

"Correct. Justice League is DC Comics, not Marvel…"

"As if I cared!"

He punched the ground with the right fist.

A flash ensued, and he vanished during it.

"Fancy new tricks!" Davis fumed.

"Come back anytime, birdie!" Sigma laughed.

"I'll go warn Officer Misaki. You better report to Omega…"

"Sure. Leave it up to me!"

"I insist. Don't take them lightly!"

12:04 PM (Jawaii Time), Friday August the 2nd…

"… Program Advance!"

"Fire, Elec, Aqua, Bamboo Sword! Slot In!"

"Elemental Sword!"

"Come!"

"Roger!"

Isaac was fighting Yamato Man.

He yielded the Elemental Sword "Program Advance".

Isaac dashed towards Yamato Man, who brought up his spear.

"Eat this!"

He blocked two of the attacks by quickly changing his spear's angle.

Another two hit him and formed two blue and green cuts.

Yamato Man stepped back, and Isaac did the same.

He formed a Buster weapon with three white circles on its body.

"Crystal Buster! Hail mode!"

"What!?"

He charged up an attack and shot it into the sky.

A shower of hail blew across the area and damaged both combatants.

Isaac flipped into the air, igniting his jets on his boot soils.

"Program Advance!"

"Hi Cannon, Triple Slot In!"

"Giga Cannon!"

Yamato Man quickly spun his spear.

The blast split into nine portions.

The outer ones bounced off the spinning spear.

The central one hit and burnt part of his right hand's armor.

"Battle Chip, Long Blade! Slot In!"

"Let's go! Isaac Jet!"

Isaac ignited his jets again.

He used the small gap before Yamato Man gripped the spear again.

He made it through his defenses and formed a cut on the right torso.

Yamato Man thrust his spear forward at different heights and lengths.

Isaac pulled back.

"This IS intense!" Nelaus muttered.

"Naturally. They are hardened veterans!"

"Thousand Spear!"

Isaac lifted his blade and used it to block thrusts.

He ducked to dodge others or flipped left, right and back with grace.

Yamato Man was relentless on his incoming attacks.

Isaac was already learning how to deal with them.

"Lord Twilight was right. This Navi is going to be a strong asset!"

"Nelaus! Give me a Wide Blade!"

"Roger, Isaac! Battle Chip, Wide Blade! Slot In!"

"Here comes my new tactic!"

Isaac quickly crossed his swords.

His Long Blade met Yamato Man's spear just below its body.

Isaac hit the left hip with the Wide Blade next.

Yamato Man didn't flinch and quickly broke the deadlock.

He landed four or five blows on Isaac, who didn't even lift an eyebrow.

He simply flipped back with grace and jumped into the air.

"Program Advance!"

"Cannon, Hi Cannon, Mega Cannon! Slot In!"

"Zeta Cannon!"

"Go!"

Four of them were deflected and the SE one scratched the right knee.

Isaac allowed the recoil to push him across the air.

He landed with grace back on the ground.

"OK! F goes Z! Program Advance!"

"Roger! Step Sword, Triple Slot In!"

"Zeta Step Sword!"

Isaac dashed forward, warped and appeared next to Yamato Man.

He struck him thrice from different angles.

Yamato Man blocked two attacks but one drew a cut across his torso.

It was very superficial and only cut about half of his armor's plating.

"That's enough. It's not a fight to the death!"

Clark called out to them.

"Yes, sir!"

"Your progress is amazing. As expected of an elite agent!"

"I am honored, sir…"

Isaac returned to the PET.

Nelaus stepped away from the training machine to talk with Clark.

Nelaus had removed the helmet, revealing his face.

He had blond hair.

His irises were blue.

He could be in his mid-teens.

He wore a white sleeveless shirt, brown shorts and sandals.

"By the way. Mr. Clark. There is a question that I'd like to ask of you…"

"Naturally. What is it?"

"What was I doing before going into sleep and training?"

"You meant to undergo normal training, but… An accident happened!"

"Accident?"

"An earthquake hit the city, and the building collapsed…"

"True. Earthquakes happen often in Japan…"

"You were severely injured. Normal healing wouldn't do…"

"That's why they built that facility? Only for me?"

"No. It was meant to be a new form of long-term treatment…"

"You had no choice but to use it to heal me?"

"Yes. Also… As a result of your injuries, you lost your memories, too…"

"I see… Hence why I can't recall my parents or family, either…"

"Well. You were an orphan to begin with. It's no wonder…"

"I see. But if that was 6 years ago… I was 9, no?"

"Correct…"

"Did I have something that stood out?"

"Naturally. You were very good at sports and Net Battles…"

"And you needed someone good at Net Battles?"

"We foresaw that they'd become important in the near future…"

"And you trained me to draw out those skills to the max?"

"Correct. Even with a dummy Navi, your results were amazing…"

"And were it not for the accident, I'd become an agent sooner?"

"Yes. Unmistakably…"

"Understood. May I ask something else?"

"Naturally…"

"The mighty "IQ" that we both serve… What kind of person is it?"

"Someone with a keen insight for business and talents…"

"Is it a man? Or a woman?"

"A man. But I have never met them myself. They are very careful…"

"Well. The underground is riffled with backstabbing and such…"

Isaac shrugged, not too surprised.

"This is a business by a trustee. Our role is to help it run smoothly…"

"That much is clear…"

"You'll eventually meet Their Grace's representatives, too…"

"It will be an honor…"

"Take a break. We'll resume training in the afternoon…"

"Roger. I want to continue my run of Mario Galaxy, too…"

"That's a very fun game. Enjoy it to the fullest…"

"Naturally, sir!"

"Yamato Man. Heal the body and resume patrolling!"

"By your orders, sir!"

"Take it easy. There's plenty of time!"

"Understood, sir!"

12:22 PM (Honolulu Time)…

"… Well, Ruby? Feeling like you've learnt the lesson?"

"Whatever. I prefer the frontlines to this!"

"Really. Then I'll send you to the Middle East right away…"

"Sure. Because that stupid Gold set me up!"

Opoulos sat on the meeting room chair.

He was talking to someone on the phone.

"Snuck that stupid thing on me!"

"When did he have the chance to?"

"During the job interview! Rascal was a pickpocket!"

"Really? That wasn't in the profile that you sent me, though?"

"Silver insisted to remove that!"

"Why concede? You're the employer…"

"Didn't want that to drag on forever, else things would never advance!"

"There was a heap of other candidates, though?"

"Emerald told me to hurry it up or he'd sack me!"

"Emerald sent no such message…"

"Must've deleted it afterwards!"

"I asked Dr. Clark to dig up that data, too…"

"What?"

"There were no traces of it. On the other hand, though…"

"What now?"

"Upon inspecting your phone, he found that it wasn't by Emerald…"

"The hell?"

"Regal had sent it to manipulate you…"

"Not that bastard again!"

"He probably figured out that you were impatient, and used it…"

"That sniffing rascal! The dog!"

"In that, we agree…"

He exhaled smoke from the cigar.

"But what you mean to say is that Regal set me up to be an exec?"

"Maybe he eventually meant to use you as a spy, but…"

"He changed plans and wrecked our phones instead!"

"Anyway. I'll send you as internal investigator to a PMC there…"

"Fine…"

"But you'll undergo hypnosis therapy to forget this location…"

"Whatever. Suit yourself…"

"You will send reports to a server. There'll be no "hotline"…"

"Naturally… But that proves that you're not perfect!"

"Don't be a child, Ruby. I never claimed to be that…"

"And? Brought your rebel daughter and husband to keep tabs on them?"

Opoulos sighed, annoyed.

"None of your business…"

"It's obvious. Clark must be your nephew or such!"

"Again. None of your business…"

"Suit yourself. But don't be surprised if they wreck it all!"

The call abruptly ended.

"Ruby…! What a mistaken choice…!"

He rubbed the cigar on the ashtray.

He pressed a switch, and a buzzer rang out.

Platinum came into the room.

"Book a therapy for Ruby and ready him passage to Syria…"

"Understood…"

"Arrange so that he's given a new terminal once there…"

"Sure…"

"Also… Make sure that none make it outside of this sector…"

"The door needs both yours and mine keycards and two passwords…"

"Good. Only Dr. Clark, Ms. Anaya, Mr. Izono, you and I can move freely…"

"Noted…"

"Don't worry about "Black Knight". Knows his place, Dr. Clark handles it…"

"Alright…"

"That's all for now. I have a talk with Dr. Clark next…"

"Roger…"

Platinum left after writing down on a small notebook.

He pocketed the notebook and the pen before leaving.

Clark came in next.

"You called for me, Mr. Jade?"

"Yes. Please have a seat…"

"Thank you…"

He sat on the left side of the table.

"Any hints about Regal?"

"I suspect that he's in the islands…"

"True. If he suspects that we're here, it's the smartest move…"

"But it won't be easy to find him amongst millions of tourists…"

"Never said that it was. Even less if he's disguising as a plain man…"

"Exactly. I hired local agents to look for possible profiles…"

"Good idea. Leave it up to them, they know how to move around…"

"Vadous got a hold of the Blackbird wreckage discovery, though…"

"Well. Was a matter of time…"

"I should've properly disposed of it. It was my fault…"

"What's happened can't be changed…"

"Understood…"

"By the way. Your superiors are behaving decently?"

"Yes. They're simply trying to rebuild the chain of command…"

"If that's it, then… But make sure that they don't use direct lines…"

"I arranged it before they came. It uses cut-outs…"

"Perfect. Handle that front…"

"As for Nelaus, he's trained to stick to Net Battles. No more, no less…"

"But he also has pilot training, no? Since he flew that plane…"

"Yes. But that's a backup skill. Not counting on using it often…"

"Fair. Regal might have dug up something more annoying…"

"Exactly! As if that parody wasn't annoying enough…"

"Handle the Cyber World. Distract him when possible…"

"That's my intention…"

"Wonderful…"

"As for Vadous, I'll send him a heap of headaches, too…"

"True. We mustn't forget about those, either…"

He frowned, as if recalling something.

"What happened with that other executive? Kanou Shade, was it?"

"Went into hiding with that kiddo a year ago…"

"Fine. Then we needn't be concerned about them…"

"Exactly…"

"One preoccupation less, then. Handle it…"

"By your wishes…"

"You are dismissed. Return to your duties…"

"Right away…"

"Check that nobody tried to break the sector door security…"

"Understood…"

Clark left the room, closing the door.

Opoulos exhaled smoke and rubbed the cigar.

"Fine. Reap the weed before it grows bigger…"

He reclined on his chair, tapping the armrests.

"Zataki… Thinking again, I don't have much data on the man…"

He drew his phone.

"Platinum. Investigate Zataki Tosho. Topmost priority!"

"Right away…"

"But use someone smart. Not some grunts!"

"I'm aware. I know a reliable investigator…"

"Excellent. Send them a generous prepayment…"

"Sure. Let's figure out that man's weakness…!"