“Colossus had a whole team to pick from: Leo, Rei, Aiden, Chunhua, Morgan even, and out of everyone, he decided I should sing ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ to open his competition? I don’t mean to complain about the same thing everyday, but why me? I’m somehow always the one that gets signaled out.”

  Uncle Ali whistled to share my frustrations. “I’ve been wondering that since Rector told me the news. If we look at things from Colossus’s perspective, he likely sees Aiden in you: a fiery personality but without the firepower to support it.”

  “In other words, he thinks I’m the weakest link?”

  “That’s one possibility,” Rector said, tapping his finger on his desk and thinking. “Compared to the rest of the team, you haven’t made any notable public appearances. Rei is more well-known than you, your friends are graduates from Ordo University, and everyone knows Morgan as that weirdly short ritualist who floats around everywhere. Conqueror, despite his tongue, is still a mystery.”

  “If you put it like that…” I was uninterested in developing my reputation in Angels Guild, which sort of proved Colossus’s point. I was relatively immune from normal guild politics due to my employment underneath Seraph and Rector, so I could better focus on more important things like Taeyang, [Zhenlong], and my own [Mementos].

  While I was immune, it didn’t mean I was exempt. Hence, this set-up.

  Best part about it? Rector needed to approve the exhibition match. Although he was the Vice Guild Master and our main superior, he was in no position to refuse Colossus and that was because of politics.

  Many people often assume corporations (like Taeyang) and guilds (like us) operate the same way. That’s wrong. While guilds can serve corporate functions, they operate on a completely different doctrine: corps seek profit, guilds seek security. Their first and foremost obligation is to humanity, protecting the world from otherworldly attacks. Think of “humanity” as “shareholders” if that helps.

  That’s the theory, anyway. In actuality, guilds answer to the government (sometimes multiple levels of government).

  Because guilds are almost always controlled by the Guild Master(s)—such as Kosmos (well, co-owner), Seraph, and Rector in our case—the government sees this arrangement and panics. With this structure, all the power is concentrated onto the GMs; thus, the government says, “Hold on. GMs carry too much risk for a career as volatile as domestic defense. Their guild can easily crumble from one bad day.”

  For this reason, the Global Union has mandated this: guilds are required to have a “board of operations”: the equivalent of a board of directors in a corporation. The board of operations can take control of the guild under special circumstances, like when the GMs are absent or even dead. More importantly, they limit the Guild Masters’ powers, acting as Congress to the “President.” They ensure the GMs don’t step out-of-line and potentially jeopardize the guild’s health and thus the world’s health.

  The separation of powers differ between each country and guild, which makes things pretty confusing. To use a couple examples, in Ordoian guilds, Guild Masters can nominate a CEO for the board to approve. That’s how Rector is both the Vice Guild Master and CEO, serving a dual-role. It’s a politically-savvy move because he can better exert control and influence over both spheres. On the other hand, the board can exile anyone from the guild, including their own GMs. It happened in Oasis. Due to the controversy back then, they suspended Custodian, the GM at the time, which shortly led to his suicide. Wish he tasted a full-metal-jacket sooner, but that’s besides the point.

  As for the board itself, they’re filled with high-level corporate (corpos) and systemic officers (Slayers). The corpos ensure the guild doesn’t go bankrupt and maintains internal operations, while the Slayers ensure the guild possesses proper battle strength.

  (This is a surface-level explanation because some guilds are really special. Some are government-owned, others are owned by wealthy dynasties, and other nonsense. Angels is pretty straightforward, thankfully.)

  Today, we’re dealing with the systemic ladder. They’re populated by major Designation commanders, key artisans and researchers, basically anyone whose absence would cause considerable chaos amongst the Angels. Of them, the Wing Commanders are pretty much the most powerful voices on the board.

  SOs operate on a power-oriented philosophy: if you aren’t strong enough to lead, then you don’t deserve their support. That’s why in every guild you see, the strongest Slayers are always the Guild Masters. SOs, then, are your best soldiers and ideally your cheerleaders. You want their respect and loyalty, and they want yours in return. Do anything to undermine them, and they will look at you funny.

  That’s what happened when Seraph and Rector formed the Special Task Force, a Prime, filled with the strangest swords known to man and had operating procedures unknown to the rest of the guild.

  The secrecy itself is enough to earn protests, but creating a top secret team out of nowhere? Of course everybody will question the Guild Masters and their motives. What are we doing? What missions are we taking? Are we going to harm the guild? Why weren’t the board consulted? How do the Guild Masters really see their SOs?

  That, after a long-winded lecture, is the foundation for Colossus’s tantrum. By requesting an exhibition match between Determination and the STF, he’s challenging Seraph and Rector’s recent decisions.

  If I lose the match, it gives the SOs an excuse to raise further inquiries. Potentially, we might get a motion to dissolve the STF or anything similar.

  If I win, however, we can “prove our worth” to the SOs, telling them to mind their own business. Of course, it doesn’t permanently fix the issue but it stomps out the fire.

  Regardless, Rector cannot deny Colossus’s request because he couldn’t afford to lose any more respect than he already has.

  “—Alexander?” Rector’s voice woke me up from my own thoughts. “What are you thinking about?”

  I answered truthfully, “Your position in this. I might not like it, but I have to take the challenge—”

  “Colossus has no reason to prod in the Special Task Force’s operations.”

  “But how many times can you say ‘Mind your own business!’ until the bomb blows up?” I waited for a couple seconds for an answer, but he didn’t give one. “If I take the match and win, it’ll cool the tension.”

  “If you win…” Uncle Ali repeated, lips pressed. “Stainless is Determination’s most recent recruit. He's few years older than you and only a B-Rank, but he’s exceptional on the battlefield. Frankly, Alex, the odds aren’t in your favor.”

  “Because you’re going to forbid me from using you-know-what?”

  “Obviously. Knocking him out with a few well-placed pokes is an easy way out. I want you to demonstrate your prowess with [Memento Recollection]. It’s not ideal considering you’ve been a Slayer for less than a quarter of a year, but we don’t pick our obstacles.”

  I sighed, already seeing myself in a coffin. No [Anti-Slayer Techniques], I wasn’t planning on cheating my way out of the match, anyway. “I get it.”

  Rector rubbed his eyes then his mouth. “Okay, since both of you made my decision for me, how about you sign the document too? I’m joking, but I’ll tell Colossus the good news and you can start preparing. The competition starts in less than seventy-two hours, so you’re in my prayers. Just…no illegal methods, okay? I’ll accept unethical, but nothing illegal.”

  Uncle looked disappointed. “That narrows down my suggestions.”

  “Overseer.”

  “It’s a joke. We’ll play it by the book.”

  “Your family’s full of morally questionable comedians.”

  ***

  When I received my next challenge, the workday was coming to a close. With Uncle Ali discussing the finer details with Rector, I had to assemble my coaching team. We were missing a key individual: a gluttonous, annoying princess who’d be upset if we left her at HQ.

  According to her last text, she was grabbing a last-minute snack at the cafeteria before everything shuttered.

  It might be my hyperactive imagination, but I felt more eyes on me than usual. Either the stress made my face extra handsome tonight or news spread fast—or the most likely answer, I was paranoid and a narcissist.

  Where I was going, fortunately, nobody would care. When there was food, no celebrity on Earth could gather the same attention.

  Not even the beautiful Celestial Empress, who grabbed a cold sweet drink at the in-cafeteria cafe—actually, someone was sitting at her table. A young-looking guy that had “CONFIDENCE” written over his pretty white smile and bright, perverted eyes. The kind of playboy that teenage and college-aged girls would swoon over, and he gave them a mountain of material on his social media pages. He had to show off his smooth, silver-colored ponytail and taut muscles. There wasn’t a visible blemish or scar on his face or body. Pretty, pretty impressive, and pretty annoying.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  I knew all of Leo’s friends outside the Special Task Force, and he was not one of them. That was because Leo hardly had any friends outside the STF, but I digress.

  You know, I didn’t like the look on his face or how wide his smile was.

  Before I knew it, I was already walking.

  “Princess.” I dropped her car-keys on the table—I’d stolen them—and ignored her new friend. “Your chariot awaits.”

  “‘Princess’?” chirped the guy, his hands hugging a bottle of lemon-lime soda. Zero calories, of course. “I didn’t know you guys have pet names for each other. That’s adorable.”

  Leo rolled her eyes, and seeing from how fast she stood up, she was eager to leave. “We aren’t in a relationship.”

  I scooped our keys up. “Only a toxic one.”

  The guy sat sideways in his chair and crossed his legs. “Really? Does this mean I have a chance—?” (“No.“) “—c’mon, at least think about it! I can rock your world, princess—“

  “Do you want a blade through your neck?” Leo snarled, unleashing her inner murim-in.

  “I love dangerous women, just like that gorgeous cultivator you have in your team. What’s her name—? Ah, I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I prefer the martial beauty standing in front of me.” He winked, completely unfazed by the murderous aura Leo was venting.

  I wish mine was as strong as hers, but let’s use my brain for a second. Who was this guy? Why was Leo so irritated? You didn’t need to be a detective to deduce his identity.

  “You’re my opponent,” I said. “Stainless.”

  Stainless greeted himself with a perfectly curved smile like a naughty feline, tapping a finger on the plastic cap of his soda. “Conqueror, good to finally meet the infamous man in-person. Can’t believe you used to be a corpo.”

  “Sure. Good to put a face to the name,” I flatly said, extending a hand to at least establish something amicable.

  Stainless stared at my hand for a few seconds and stubbornly insisted on sitting.

  I shook my own hand. There went that idea.

  Leo hovered around my shoulder. “He was asking too many questions about you. Personal questions.”

  “Specialty, birthday, previous relationships, but your lovely ‘princess’ refused to answer anything. She’s pretty loyal despite your ‘toxic relationship.’”

  I said, “You’re pretty nosy in all the wrong areas.”

  “Because I’m gonna win, baby.” Stainless stretched his legs out and goofily got to his feet, soda snug in one hand. “No offense, but a sword of two-three months can’t hold a light to me. I’ve been in this business longer than you have, Conq, and this is coming from me. Heck, do you know what I think? This is bullying and it’s not fair for you or me, but…”

  I crossed my arms. “But.”

  “How about this? Concede, save yourself the embarrassment, don’t get your butt kicked in front of your ‘princess,’ and I’ll see if I can get Colossus to back off on the STF. If…”

  “If.”

  “If you, in return, put in a good word with Rector for me.”

  Leo snorted, and I scoffed in his face. “You want to join the Special Task Force?”

  Stainless seemed genuine in his offer. “Who doesn’t wanna work with living legends everyday? Plus, the eye-candy in your team is a good bonus too. So…?”

  “Fucking ridiculous.” Leo snatched her car-keys out of my hand. “Don’t entertain him, Alex. I’m waiting outside.”

  As she walked away, Stainless shamelessly tilted his head to the side and looked past me. He whistled. “I don’t love her attitude, but I love the way she leaves. How d’you handle that—?”

  “Stainless.”

  “Conqueror.”

  “I’ll see you in a few days,” I answered, doing my best to not start the exhibition match right now. “By then, don’t give more content to video-essayists.”

  Stainless finally showed a smile that wasn’t flirtatious or sleazy; it contained excitement despite his earlier words. “Fine by me. Grab your healers, because I might look and act nice, but I’m a demon on the field. I’m not gonna hold back, Conq.”

  “Mhm.”

  “Have a good night, and kiss our ‘princess’ on the cheek for me.”

  “Fuck off.” I left him in the cafe and caught up with Leo.

  As we left, I looked behind me and saw the little prick wink his pretty eyes.

  ***

  “So how are you beating him?” was the first thing Leo asked when we walked through the door. Couldn’t give me a minute to unwind from work, huh? Just straight to business.

  “At least let me sit down on the couch before we talk about work.”

  Leo showed her hands. I took my time with taking my shoes and jacket off, putting my backpack in my room, going to the kitchen and grabbing a cold cup of water for myself, and other little chores just to spite her. After about five minutes of my bullshit, I claimed the couch.

  She immediately sat beside me and rested an elbow on the back. “Alright, what’s the plan?”

  I sipped my water and put the glass down on a coaster that said “DRINK MORE COFFEE!”. “Tell me your thoughts first, princess.”

  “About you and Stainless?” She crossed her legs and briefly turned her eyes toward the ceiling, thinking about the match-up. “Stainless graduated from OU, he dominated First Wave and try-outs—look, despite his compulsive desire to flirt with anything that has a skirt, he’s genuinely one of the best close combat fighters in the guild.”

  “That’s why he’s in Determination.”

  “Mhm. You don’t wanna meet him in a closed arena.”

  I should’ve poured myself whisky, not water. “Awesome—”

  “And I would say the same thing about you.” Leo poked my shoulder. “Just trade in the flirting with insulting.”

  “I’m not one of the best CQC experts in the guild.”

  “You survived against me—”

  “You were holding back.” I poked her shoulder in retaliation. “You only used [Ethercross] and not your other techniques in the [Azure] and [Divine Series]. Let’s be practical here—” (“Pessimistic.”) “—shut up, my toughest opponents were the Alternates and I got my ass handed to me. Stainless is my first real, human opponent and he’s already several levels above my weight class.”

  “It runs in your family.”

  “I did say that, mhm. But…” But I couldn’t use [Anti-Slayer Techniques] to even the odds. “My uncle placed a few restrictions.”

  Leo threw her head back and laughed at my expense. When she was done having a fit, she rested her chin on the back of the couch, caramel hair messy and covering half her face like the demented witch she was. “So only [Mementos]?”

  “And my other [Skills], but mainly [Mementos].”

  “Gives you an excuse to experiment with [Chord/Discord].”

  “With Kotone glaring holes into my back, yeah.”

  “Look, just… Just have faith in yourself, dummy.” Leo smiled through her hair. It was a nice smile. I liked it—more than I thought I would—but I’d never tell her that. “I meant it. Being in a one-on-one fight with you is a nightmare scenario. Even now, especially a year from now. During our little spat, you had four [Mementos] and you kept me guessing. You have seven today. I’d be left clueless.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at her blatant lies. “You flatter me way too much, Leo. What the hell do you see in me exactly?”

  “I don’t know, maybe I have high expectations for an SSS-Rank holder and the cousin of Shui Yuan, but I might be crazy.”

  “I prefer the last part.”

  “Asshole,” but she didn’t mean it. “Be serious about this. I’ll admit: as it stands, the odds aren’t in your favor, so how will you prepare?”

  “That’s pretty easy.” I glanced to the hallway leading into my room. Inside, there were several notebooks of varying topics. “How much do you know about the Counterforce’s Black Book?”

  Leo looked alarmed. “Do… Do you have a copy of that?”

  I stiffly snorted. “Oh, hell no, but how much do you know?”

  She shrugged. “As much as any mildly concerned Slayer. That contains our dirty secrets.”

  “Mhm. After the Counteforce's rise in popularity, everyone assumes CF operators are some of the most dangerous people on the planet. I personally like to include its intelligence officers in the mix. After all, they author the execution procedures. These guys know more about their targets than they do themselves.”

  “Didn’t Cross write some of the Black Book entries himself?”

  “He helped create the doctrine, princess.” I winked. “So why not take a page from them? I’ll break Stainless down like I’m the Counterforce and [Yuzhou] is my Degenbrecher, uncovering every single damn thing about him. I’ll figure out his allergies, the names of every woman he flirted with, and hopefully create a decent enough execution procedure.”

  “That’s…honestly terrifying.” Leo was likely thinking back to the case with System Articles, where I’d conducted an internal investigation using my own wits and nothing else.

  “I have to win—”

  “But also weirdly exciting,” Leo followed, which earned an eyebrow-raise from me. “Is it strange to say that I look forward to your stalking?”

  “Absolutely, but you did threaten to skewer his neck. I think we’re well beyond the realm of strangeness.”

  “Thanks. I’m guessing it’ll be a cakewalk with your uncle, right?”

  “Actually…” With my restriction and the current plan I’d set for myself, it would be pretty easy to rely on my uncle for help; however, the point of the match was to prove my own abilities. That didn’t just mean combat. “I think I’m going solo. I haven’t told him yet, but I need to see what I’m capable of by myself.”

  Leo warmly smiled, and once again, it was a stupidly comforting smile. “I think you’re plenty capable already, but you’re the gladiator here. Just promise me you won’t do anything illegal.”

  I sighed. “That limits my options.”

  “Alex.”

  “I’m joking.”

  “Your family’s full of lunatic comedians.”