It was a big day for the Erelier Protection Guild. A breakthrough was found regarding Chimaera and as the primary anti-criminal organisation in Erelier, it was their job to deal with it. The Hunter’s Bureau, as well as Erelier’s higher-ups, had long signed off on letting them handle the matter as they wished. The EPG would protect Erelier and dispatch criminals, while the Bureau would handle the hunting of monsters, this was the relationship these two public organisations held and it was because of them both that Erelier was safe.

  That said, it was not great when one of the EPG’s finest was late to work.

  The discussion of the meeting room stopped dead in its tracks when a certain red-haired man burst through the door.

  “Rollo…” Lemuel sighed.

  “You’re the one person we wanted to be on time,” Elize stated.

  Rollo ran through his excuses. “Sorry! I was catching up with Rhody last night, and I thought the meeting was later in the day and-“

  “Sit down already.”

  Rollo scratched the back of his head with a pitiful grin. He made his way to his usual seat, right next to Lemuel. Along the way, pretty much everyone was glaring at him. Him being late meant that they had to catch him up on everything, and if his input would’ve changed anything… then it would have to be changed retroactively, alongside anything that hinged on that. Everyone was glaring, except Plu’s squad in the back, who were actually sitting next to Sen.

  ‘Huh, must be something only he knows if we called him in.’

  It made sense for Plu’s squad to be in the room as well, even though they weren’t going to be involved. They were the ones who found that breakthrough after all, so they probably had some insight that would be useful.

  Rollo recalled the members of her squad. She only had the twins in her squad, but there were three other people too.

  ‘Ah right, they went on the trip with Galas’ squad. So they’re here too.’

  The vampire, the musician, and then the white cat Egotist.

  ‘Oof,’ Rollo almost stopped in his tracks. ‘So, that’s why they wanted me here.’

  Rollo took his seat in between Lemuel and Anhe, who were both leaning over the table. They, and a few others, were discussing a plan of attack over a map set in the centre. There was only a few people in the room, but each of them had something to say. Other than the squad of kiddies and the uncle at the back. To be honest, Rollo wouldn’t consider himself important in the planning process either, but he was always called in anyway.

  There were many people who would be involved in this operation outside of this room, so the plan had to be finely tuned. That, and the fact that any leaks of the operation could result in casualties meant that every person in this room was an expert in their field and could be trusted. Plu’s squad and Sen being the exceptions of course.

  “I will briefly summarise what we’ve discussed so far so that Rollo can give his take on the situation,” Elize declared to the room.

  ‘Yeah. Brief. Alright,’ Rollo thought. He was sure everyone was thinking the same thing. If it was just the four of them, three of them, if it was just them he’d make a joke, but around all these other people, she wouldn’t forgive him if he did.

  “Fee free to discuss a name for the operation in the meantime.”

  The room decided to casually switch their discussion over to that. It was a welcome break.

  Elize then pointed to the map on the table. The map was a detailed top-down view of a City.

  “This is City Folia. The Zoological Monster Taming and Caretaking Foundation has informed us that their stolen Planar Key has been used multiple times in the area. We had also earlier received information from one of their members that they had used the area previously.”

  ‘That explains Sen being here.’ Rollo glanced at Sen, who sighed when the Zoo was mentioned.

  Elize then turned on a presentation. It showed a version of the map that was zoomed out. Both Erelier and Folia could be seen.

  “As you know, Folia City is the closest city to Erelier. This presents a threat to the City, but also an opportunity. Erelier has had plans to develop or harvest Folia for some time, so they are pushing for us to handle this cleanly. Regardless, our current plan is to surround Folia City and clear them all out.”

  After this, Elize changed the presentation to show the images of 3 people, with their full names revealed alongside it. They each wore employee uniforms and they looked hopeful.

  “These are the 3 heads of Chimaera. All former staff members of the Zoo. They, among many other members of Chimaera, were laid off 6 years ago. And this-“

  A fourth image appeared on the screen. It was a mugshot of a man with grey hair, who looked to be middle-aged. His hair was dirty and there was a distinctly vile look in his eyes. Otherwise his expression was perfectly flat, as if this mugshot meant nothing to him.

  “Is their boss. Confirmed to be Dwyn Hughes, a former Idealich scientist who was imprisoned for human experimentation, among other crimes. He escaped his prison just 2 years ago and, according to our source, commandeered the already-existing Chimaera organisation. This matches up with the recent ramp up in their criminal activities.”

  Rollo noticed that the Egotist fidgeted when Dwyn showed up on screen. It was easy to tell what their connection was. One of the twins placated and comforted her.

  ‘Can’t believe it.’

  This entire incident, alongside having to deal with an Idealich mad scientist, was going to be a mess. Idealich scientists were the worst.

  Elize clapped her hands loudly. “I will call everyone to pay attention now as we have not discussed this portion yet.”

  “Recently, Plue and her squad managed to come into contact with an informant, who supplied us with the intelligence we needed to find their identities and the Planar Key. However, as I’m sure some of you surmised, the identity of the informant is a bit questionable. It was someone that no member of Chimaera would suspect. Their very own cat.”

  Elize looked to Toolbox, who had begun shivering a little. This was despite the fact that they had prepared her for this beforehand. Plue and Machua whispered words of comfort to her. The other person she wanted to check up on was Rollo, who was sitting there with a big sigh.

  “Toolbox, would you please introduce yourself?” Elize asked.

  Toolbox leapt with surprise. Her arms and legs flailed about in the air until they slammed onto her chair.

  Now that everyone was looking at her, she had no choice but to speak. “Uhhhh, umm, I’m Toolbox. Nice to meet you.”

  “As I’ve said before, everyone in this room is trustworthy. Not a word will leave this room,” Elize reminded.

  “I’m… an Egotist. I was a-uh-“

  “Pathfinder Cat,” Machua whispered.

  “Pathfinding Cat!” She stammered.

  The entire room discussed quietly among themselves. They conjectured as to what an Egotist was doing here or if she really was one. Someone mentioned they had their own Pathfinder Cat, and another wondered how the squad had even met her in the first place. One person wasn’t partaking in this discussion though, and it was someone everyone was waiting for.

  “Rollo. It’s your stage,” Elize welcomed.

  “It’s always the guy from Idealich,” Rollo joked with a loud tone, ready to address the crowd. “Alright, alright, I’ll give my take.”

  “For all the newbies in the room who don’t know me, I’m Rollo Arya.” He looked at Plu’s squad and the Egotist. “I was an Ego Eater once upon a time.”

  Toolbox dashed into another seat, further back. Rollo, in turn, stood up and approached the Egotist. His tall stature made her seem all the smaller in comparison.

  “Well, it’s not rare for Egotists to take human forms. A few of them mimic humans to get close to them then kill them. But this one isn’t like that,” Rollo observed.

  “She’s not,” Machua responded. “She risked her life several times to help us. Everyone in my squad will agree with me.”

  “Calm down there, little missy. I didn’t mean that.” Rollo raised his arms in mock self-defence. “I meant she isn’t the mimicry type. Doesn’t look to be the shapeshifting type either.“

  “What do you mean by that, uncle?” Plue asked.

  “El, could ya pull up a photo of… uh, I need examples of all 4.” Rollo blanked on the exact names of the Egotists he wanted.

  ‘I really shouldn’t have gone out drinking last night.’

  “Would Wandering Hermit, Sand Warrior, Shrill Griffon, and Nellie work?”

  ‘What the fuck is Nellie?’

  “Yeah, that works,” Rollo responded. “Alright folks, I want to remind you all that these are all Egotists. Not humans. They eat people. They might look like us, but they’re Egotists.”

  The presentation changed to a video showing a younger Rollo and a squad of strangers, all wielding giant weapons. These weapons were bio-mechanical, with grotesque flesh growing in between metallic components. Rollo’s weapon of choice was a giant scythe with a red blade that was dripping with blood. The camera was attached to a Hunter and they wielded a basic-looking pistol. They were all travelling through a bamboo forest and it was still sunny out.

  “Ah fuck, I forgot how that went. Anyhow, you’ll see in the video. This one is-“

  Suddenly, a blade swung through the crowd of Ego Eaters. Several of them were decapitated before one of them used their shield to block the strike. The Rollo in the video barked several orders before focusing himself. The cameraman hurriedly looked to the monster and shot several times at it. However, none of them seemed to connect. Elize paused at that moment, allowing everyone in the room to get a full view of it.

  The Wandering Hermit was a compact mantis-looking creature with a singular arm. It wore what looked to be a metallic straw hat on its head and it was only a bit larger than a regular human. Its only foreleg was sharpened like a blade and glistened in the sunlight.

  “… the Wandering Hermit. It’s an evolved Serration Hermit Mantis. Most of them are like this, they evolve to do their job better. And they get smarter too, so it’s a pain to put them down. Let the video keep rolling till the end.”

  Elize unpaused the video which showed the Wandering Hermit disappearing and cutting through several more people. Rollo was able to block its strike with his scythe, but even then he was being pushed back. He seemed to struggle with the blade, despite the expression on his face.

  “There’s a million ways to categorise them, but I’m just talking about forms. This one is a Single Form Egotist, and its only form is monster.”

  At some point, the cameraman fell over dead. Rollo and the Wandering Hermit kept clashing until Rollo actually managed to push it back, invigorated with some unknown power. His mana seemed to take on a reddish tint and his sweat began to evaporate from his body.

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  “Even though it’s a monster, these things usually pick up a few things from us.”

  The Wandering Hermit backed off, surprised by the outburst. It made several noises, as if it was chuckling. It then placed its foreleg at its side, as if preparing for one final slash.

  Rollo activated a mechanism that pulled the scythe’s blade down its handle, transforming it into a large, curved sword. The sword was absolutely wreathed in blood, having absorbed the blood from all of Rollo’s fallen comrades. He placed it at his side in the same motion.

  Carmine whistled at the sword.

  In a single flash, they dashed at each other. For the briefest of instants, nothing had been sliced. But in that moment, the Wandering Hermit closed its eyes, as if accepting its fate.

  And then, as if it was meant to happen, the Wandering Hermit’s upper half fell to the ground, leaving its lower half still standing. Its foreleg was cut in half as well. And so was a good chunk of the bamboo forest. The Rollo in the video looked back and tossed his sword aside out of frustration. It was no longer bleeding.

  “Fuck,” Rollo repeated his own word.

  Elize swiftly changed the presentation to an interview. It was an interview of the Sand Warrior with a photo of them included.

  “This one’s a Single Form that’s human. This is what Toolbox is. They don’t have a monster form but there’re usually some things that give them away. Like missing human ears.”

  The Sand Warrior was shown to look like a human. It wore a blackened cloak and had white hair, while also sporting an ashen skin tone. Sneaking out of its cloak though, was what appeared to be a scorpion’s tail.

  “Now, the Sand Warrior, I think he’s got a human name too, he’s a rare kind of Egotist that comes into regular contact with humans. He lives in the Qausain desert. He fought in a war there a while back and since then he’s been eating desert pirates or taking on hits. Doesn’t ever leave the place.”

  “People think he was a sandworm cause of his ability to sense the smallest vibrations. That tail’s probably cause he was a Blowdart Sandworm. They’re these small sandworms that have a venomous spike at its tail end. People used live ones a lot as blowdart ammo. Don’t ask me about his opinion on that though.”

  Elize next showed the room a news article with various photos.

  “Shrill Griffon’s a shapeshifter type. Meaning she’s got two forms. There are 3 types of forms. Monster, human, and hybrid. Shapeshifters only have two out of the three.”

  Several photos depicted a woman with mixed brown and white hair. She had large wings of the same colouring. Her arms were wreathed in feathers and ended in talons that were shaped a bit more like a human’s hands. Her legs were the legs of a big cat’s. They were covered in fur and had claws, though they were shaped for standing on two legs. A griffon could be seen flying in the photos where she wasn’t present.

  “Those two are the same Egotist. Shrill Griffon has a monster and a hybrid form. One form that’s basically an evolved version of a normal griffon. And the other form is a fusion of that and a human.”

  Briefly, Toolbox tried envisioning a hybrid form of her current human form and her original Pathfinder Cat. A Pathfinder Cat was about the same size as a regular house cat, maybe even smaller. She tried to mash them together in her head, but she had to stop before she got a headache.

  “I heard she was hatched in a village where griffons were sacred creatures. She had a very piercing cry according to the folks that used to live there. Don’t know much about her though.”

  Elize then, lastly, showed what seemed to be an experimental log. She skimmed through the logs to find a photo of what seemed to be a normal woman in a test subject arena.

  “And this is Nellie. The mimicry type.”

  The room stared at the picture of the ordinary woman. She had brown hair, was a mousekin, and was wearing a dress. She looked positively innocent, as if she couldn’t even harm a fly.

  “She’s uh… mimicking a human right now.”

  “I’ll take over from here,” Elize interrupted. Rollo shuffled to the side of the projector awkwardly.

  “Nellie was originally a slime and was induced to evolve by a now-dead Idealich scientist. He is also where it got its name from. It is a recent addition to the Idealich research laboratory, and it was found capable of mimicking humans, and most other creatures actually. Unlike the others, they aren’t beholden to any forms or states, they are capable of transforming themselves as they will. The degree to which depending on the Egotist, of course.”

  “Mimicry types are very rare. The commonality, ordered from most common to least are: Single Monster, Shapeshifting, Single Human, and then Mimicry. Rollo did not mention this earlier but no Egotist has a Single Hybrid form.”

  “Oops. Haha, can’t believe I forgot,” Rollo tried to laugh off. No one was laughing with him though.

  “Well, er, that’s it for the presentation. I know some of you all have questions so lemme answer that before I give my verdict on the cat.”

  Yang Anhe was quick to act. Her several-pointed horns poked into the light of the presentation, aside her raised hand. Rollo pointed to her.

  “How are they feeding Nellie?” She pointedly asked.

  “With death-row prisoners,” Elize answered just as quickly.

  Toolbox had to ask her friends what that meant, who hesitantly told her. When she realised, the nervous smile on her face drooped down.

  “I see. Is there a reason why they don’t feed it corpses?” Anhe asked, without missing a beat, almost as if she didn’t need time to process it.

  Rollo was the one to respond this time. “That’s ah… we’re getting into theoretical stuff now. That okay with you?”

  “Yes,” she answered plainly.

  “Alrighty. So, in the examples we’ve gone over so far, most of them seem like they can coexist with us. The second one kinda is right now. If the issue is they need to eat human meat, then for some people, that’s fine. A guy can die in an incident and their meat can be used to feed an Egotist. Works great in wars, you let them loose on your enemies and hope they don’t come back to eat you. But, see, the thing is…” Rollo paused for effect.

  “Egotists don’t get full off of corpses. They need to eat live humans. The corpse can be fresh, actually, lots of them kill their prey before eating, but any longer than an hour and it stops filling their belly.”

  Rollo allowed that information to sink into the room. Not many people here knew that fact specifically. All they knew was that Egotists ate humans, and that was reason enough to hunt them.

  “What was the record now…”

  “One human every 30 days,” Elize stated.

  “Thanks. So, it isn’t a matter of get some old people, wait until they die, and feed them to the Egotist. It’s a matter of you gotta throw them in there yourself. You gotta kill people to feed them. Watch them get torn to shreds before getting devoured,” Rollo spoke nonchalantly, as if what he was talking about was just another facet of life.

  Rollo could see the squad of kiddos in the back react in confusion. The Egotist they had with them, who must have known nothing, didn’t seem like she understood.

  “Egotists can cast magic and have Aspects like we can. Why? Because they eat human souls. That’s the theory,” Rollo stated.

  He rattled off, “We all know mana comes from our souls and we control our mana using our soul. Our body’s a vessel for the soul and trying to do anything with the soul is almost for sure gonna destroy it.“

  “If Egotists eat souls, you know what happens. Those guys don’t get to reincarnate. They never split in half and they never make a new soul. No reincarnation, no soul child, none of that. It’s gone forever.”

  Everyone but Toolbox was well aware of this facet of the world. It was a teaching from the Lancets. When a human dies, their soul splits in half. One half carried the majority of their ‘ego’ and the other half carried the rest of them. The first half would reincarnate, with the possibility of inheriting memories or powers, while the second half would become an entirely new soul. Most people were soul children, with no previous incarnations. No one had uncovered why reincarnations took so long to reincarnate or why there were only a few of them. In practice, reincarnations and soul children were the same.

  This was the truth as taught by Shakir, the Mortality Reaper. He was said to have set up the cycle of life and death after it broke from the Mana Emergence. The Garden Wellspring, who was his counterpart, did not deal in souls, but instead in cultivation of life, so this was entirely his domain.

  Humanity had always tried peering behind the veil, to learn where souls go after death and before their reincarnation, but no one who had tried succeeded, and those that did never returned. Reincarnations were proven to exist, there were people who held memories of past lives and powers that they inherited. But nothing more than that.

  The greatest problem with the research and manipulation of souls was that the Soul Aspect didn’t seem to exist. There were many types of magic that was used frequently in Pre-Regression legends, magic that did not belong to any known Aspect, and Soul was one of them. No one had an intrinsic connection to the soul. No one could manipulate them or even view them in safety. Any attempt to do so would almost surely result in destruction of the soul.

  As a result, the soul was still a great unknown.

  “So now you get why we can’t coexist. You got a species of monster that eats people. It has to be fresh. And they even eat the entire soul. That’s breaking the cycle of life and death. That’s it.”

  “But-“ Someone tried to speak.

  Rollo turned to look at the person. It was one of the twins. The other twin shut their mouth though, so he didn’t pursue it.

  “That enough, Anhe?”

  “Yes, thank you, Rollo, sir.”

  “Aight. So, the verdict…” Rollo trailed off.

  “She’s probably fine. She looks young and since she was a cat, she probably only needs a guy once a month. Looking at her now, she probably won’t need one until after the operation. But after that, she should be let go,” Rollo delivered his verdict without sugarcoating it. That was all.

  ‘Finally, I can sit down and relax again…’ Rollo thought, but before he could act on it, a person’s hand shot up. It was a twin.

  “What do you mean by let go? Do you mean we should release her into the wild or something?” They stood up and questioned.

  “What, you want to take the responsibility of feeding her? Don’t make that kind of promise if you can’t handle the weight,” Rollo answered in no uncertain terms. “And by the way, you’re working under Lem. He isn’t that type of guy. He finds out you kill someone for her, that’s jailtime for you, missy.”

  “But… isn’t that too cruel?” The twin asked.

  “Meh. If you want her to live you can prolly hand her over to Idealich. Dunno what experiments they run anymore but at least she’ll have food. They’ll make her into an Ego Arc after she dies, but maybe they won’t. She’s just a cat.”

  “So there isn’t a clear solution.”

  “Unless she doesn’t need to eat human, then no.”

  “…Understood.” The twin sat back down.

  “Hah…” Rollo sighed.

  He briefly recalled his training back home. He was born in Idealich and used to entertain the same ideas that twin had. It was at a young age the idea was beaten out of him. The near thousand years of history Idealich had proven him wrong. Humanity and Egotists had tried again and again to coexist, but each time it was impossible. A City could feed an army through their constant warring but after that, the Egotists had no food source other than their own allies. Coexistence that required constant death to feed the other. It was impossible. Idealich stood for that hard truth. Even if no other City would accept it.

  The rest of the meeting went about as he expected. It was a lot of discussion of logistics and how to adequately surround Folia City. Occasionally, he’d jump in with a ‘This is a nice big area’ or a ‘Prolly should put some guys here’ but other than that it was just him lounging around. That, and the occasional stare from that Egotist. Plu’s squad remained completely uninvolved. Even Sen added to the discussions, but they remained on the sidelines. That made sense. After all, they weren’t going to participate.

  “Meeting adjourned. Operation Leaden Spear will happen in a 3 days from now, so please prepare yourselves.“

  Rollo yawned, taking his time to get up. Lemuel thanked him for being here, to which he responded it was no problem. He was doing nothing else anyway. He, Lemuel, and Elize were often the last ones to leave the room, though he noticed that Plu’s squad were coming over to talk to them. Seeing that, he decided it was time to leave.

  “Man… guess I should go get that sword sharpened…” Rollo muttered as he made his way to exit.

  It was then that he was interrupted by someone.

  “E-Excuse me,” the white cat Egotist, Toolbox, said.

  Rollo looked back to see she was the only member of their little group not discussing things with Lemuel and Elize.

  “Yeah?” Rollo could tell he was frightening her.

  “I-I just wanted to ask something. Why… are you called Ego Eater?”

  “Why…” Rollo thought about it.

  There were a hundred different ways to answer this question. He didn’t really want to stress out this young Egotist before him, who still didn’t understand her place in the world, who she was, or what she wanted to do. It would be a difficult life for her. He wanted to try placating her, but to be honest, there was no point. So, he rehashed the harsh truth he learned when he asked that question himself.

  “Because when it comes down to it, survival is all about eat or be eaten. I got sick of the taste though, so I abandoned it all,” Rollo added at the end.

  He kept walking. But just as he was about to turn the corner, Toolbox continued.

  “Really?” She questioned. “But you… I feel like you’re similar to me.”

  ‘Hah.’

  “That name, Ego Eater. It’s literal. Fair’s fair right? You eat us, we eat you right back,” Rollo responded with a toothy grin.

  Toolbox stopped in her tracks. He could tell, she was terrified of him. She could probably sense the bloodlust he had let out and knowing what he could do must have amplified that fear. He felt a bit bad but going easy on her wouldn’t change what her life would be like.

  It would probably be best if she rolled over and died after the operation. That way, she wouldn’t have to suffer a life of eating humans and being hunted by them. As a house cat, and looking to her now, she probably hated the idea of eating them. If she died, then at least she’d never have to grapple with that fact.

  ‘Wonder if Sen’s free now,’ Rollo shook off the depressing thought as he wandered out into the hallway.

  Suddenly, his eyes lit up and a smile came on. “Hey, didn’t expect to see ya here.”

  Two women had just turned the corner. They sported the same coloured hair, a brilliant purple. The older one tied hers up in a ponytail while the younger one tied hers up in a braid down her back.

  “Yo, Rollo,” responded the older visitor.

  Rollo turned to the younger one. “Come to think of it, you never called me uncle huh? Even though I’m the oldest out of us.”

  “I’m not a child. Also isn’t Sen older than you?” She responded.

  “Ahhh, you’re right, you’re right. Seems you guys’ve got business, so I’ll head out. Make sure to hit me up for a drink sometime though.”

  ———————————————————————

  “Before any of you ask,” Elize said as she saw the group approach her and Lemuel. “Machia, I will allow you and only you to participate. Toolbox may be allowed to participate under protection as well.

  “That’s not what we’re…” Machua trailed off. Elize hit the mark exactly. “Wait, why only Machi?!”

  Elize silently turned on the projector and showed them each of their reports. In each report, it was underlined and even highlighted of his actions in taking down the blue bandage Egotist.

  ‘He slew the Egotist utilising a barrier from Kalina Arswell.’

  ‘He fucking blended that thing.’

  ‘Machi was really cool when he jumped around in that barrier and when it exploded. He made sure all the mess was cleaned up!’

  ‘Machi used a lot of dimensions, I think, and he kind of slice and diced it until it was gone. I didn’t even know he could do that!’

  “As an aside, you all are terrible at writing reports. Other than Rasa. Plu, please give the facts as they are, and avoid inserting your own emotions,” Elize lectured.

  “You guys…” Lemuel sighed. “I understand wanting to do all that you can, especially when it was originally your mission, but you have to understand this is above your capability.”

  “Remind me who was the guy who adopted a little girl when he was 19?” A confident voice asked.

  “Finally!” Plu exclaimed.

  “You guys,” Lemuel repeated. “Were you waiting for Reina this entire time?”

  Reina and Mikoko walked to the group with purpose.

  “Come on, Lem, do we need to have this talk in person this time?” Reina asked. “They’ve done it twice now, and they’ve succeeded twice. It’s 2 for 2.”

  “You know that streak’s gonna break someday. It’s best for it not to happen-“

  “When you and a majority of the EPG are around and can protect them? Huh?” Interrupted Reina.

  “Tch,” Lemuel clicked his tongue. “It’s not about that. It’s about a mission being fitting for the Hunters that take part in it. They have rankings for a reason. This is an A Rank Operation.”

  “And yet,” Mikoko jumped in. “An S Rank alongside multiple A Rankers are on this mission as well, aren’t they? You’re already overqualified.”

  “What do you even want them to do, Rei? Watch?”

  “We’ll convince the three heads to stand down,” Machua resolutely stated.

  “I can convince them to back down this time. I know it!” Toolbox added. “That’s what you want from me anyway, right?”

  “We can back her up and protect her. I’m sure she’ll be more confident around us too,” Machia piled on.

  “And you are the Number 1 Barrier user I know,” Reina stated. “You can isolate the 3 heads and trap them with Toolbox and the squad. I’ll even lend you Mikoko too.”

  Lemuel made a conflicted expression. “First… I’m not even a proper-“

  “Nope! Not hearing it. Skip.”

  Lemuel rolled his eyes. This was almost as bad as Galas. What he would give to have their captain mediate this argument.

  “Lem, do you think anything you say will convince them?” Elize pointed out. “You are still head of operation, you have always had the authority to say no to them. You didn’t even have to let them into the meeting room.”

  Lemuel gazed upon Toolbox. A myriad emotions filled his mind. The words of his friend, Rollo, who was confident that she was doomed to suffer. The words of Machua, who had hope in her. Elize’s staunch words who have always held confidence in them. The words of Galas, Reina, Sienna and so many others. If he placed himself in their shoes, he knows he wouldn’t be able to accept it. But he was the leader now. He had been for so long.

  “El, what’s the feasibility of the plan?”

  “… It hinges entirely on Toolbox and their interpersonal relationships. As for the barrier, it’s you after all. It won’t break.”

  “Worst case scenario?”

  “The three heads of Chimaera take them hostage. Or kill them, I suppose.”

  “And as for the best case-“

  “Toolbox persuades them to join her side and they assist us in defeating Dwyn Hughes. We arrest the three heads of Chimaera and as for Toolbox, we’ll have to decide that matter later.”

  Lemuel still didn’t know what to do. On one hand, it could provide closure to all of them and close the case with a neat ending. On the other hand, the operation could go very awry, and Chimaera could get away. Factors upon factors laid in his head.

  “Lemuel,” Elize said softly. “In times like these, I will always tell you the same thing. Do what your heart tells you. I, and the rest of the EPG, will always support your actions.”

  Lemuel turned to Elize with a wry smile before turning to the others. “If you all can lead to a neat ending of the case, then I can approve. But I don’t want to risk the operation’s failure. Tell me, all of you.”

  “If Chimaera’s three heads fought you, would you win?”

  “It’ll be easy as hell!”

  “Toolbox knows their capabilities and they know none of ours. We have a good chance.”

  “Yes. We have to!”

  “I know that if Toolbox is with us, we’ll be able to do it!”

  “It’ll be tough, but I can fight them. And I can win!”

  The rest of the squad waited on Machia. “I’m in a bit of a different position from them. Do I need to answer?”

  “No. You’re exactly right,” Lemuel nodded. “I was going to refuse them if any of them cited you as a reason why.”

  The squad expressed confusion at the idea.

  “If any of you was going to rely on one man to do everything, then your squad wouldn’t be cohesive enough to take down the three heads. Over-reliance is a fatal mistake. And those three heads are a family, lest we forget. They parented Toolbox together, so they must have tighter bonds than all of you. What you have is numbers and the information advantage.”

  Elize spoke, “If a fight breaks out, you need a way to separate them. Though Lem did say you shouldn’t rely on him too much, I don’t doubt he could fight one of them solo. That leaves an equal split of 3 per remaining head. Good odds.”

  “Actually. I’d like to be on the ground team,” Machia suddenly said.

  “Machia…” Carmine fumed.

  “I think with my prowess, I’m best suited to clearing out monsters with Lemuel and the rest. If negotiations go well, I won’t need to be there.”

  “What if we get in trouble?” Plue asked.

  “If you need help, I’ll be there. You’re ms communications, I’m sure you can inform me. Besides, you’ll all be in one place.“

  “That’s…” Mikoko began before she was interrupted.

  “Okay! If that’s what you want to do, I’ll trust you.” Machua turned to Lemuel. “Is that okay?”

  “That’s… alright with me.” He and Elize shared a knowing glance.

  “Great. So we got everything set up now? Everything’s all good?” Reina looked to everyone.

  “We’ll have to modify the plans and inform every one of the modifications, but yes,” Elize responded.

  “Nice. Okay, I gotta get going. Take care of Koko for me.”

  “Wait, Rei, what do you mean by take care-?” Mikoko hastily asked, but before she was done, Reina had already dashed out the door, leaving only purple sparks behind.

  Lemuel advised, “You all should take this time to train together and think of strategies. We’ll let you guys know if anything changes.”