12 Ophelia Everstorm

Like clockwork, her eyes moved across her table. Snatching one document after the other, Ophelia briefed through them quickly and formed reports for her supervisors. Inking one page at a time, the rhythmic sound of her had turned into a metronome for the rest of the employees. Often glaring at their hardworking coworker, they cursed under their breaths as their expressions contorted into anger.

'What the hell is she trying to prove? That she's better than us? That she doesn't get tired or takes a break?' Turning their self-doubts into justification for hate, none of them liked her very much. They wanted her gone to make the place less tense, but given her effective track record there was little to no chance of it happening.

"Hmm?" The sudden ringing of the desk phone on Ophelia's table shocked all those who'd been far too busy staring at her work. "A call…"

Putting her pen down, Ophelia quickly picked it up. At first, nothing came through, but then the familiar voice of their new employee trailed into her ears from the other side. It was Ken, trying to convince her to let him hire the girls brought by Genji so he wouldn't be the only human in case of an emergency created by the monsters around him.

"I'll consider it," seeing reason in his proposal, she hung up to file for the employment of Claire and Mercy at the hotel. "Another job to do, great."

Not entirely happy about the predicament, she tried to pick her pen back and return to work. However, before she could ink another word, a pair of heavy footsteps approaching her desk halted her once more. Glancing in the direction of the sound, she noticed that it was one of her superiors.

"Sir!" Instantly getting out of the chair, she saluted him.

The rest of the employees working in the office took a moment to realize what was happening, but when they did, all of them jumped out of their seats to salute the man as well.

"Glory to Humankind," said the masculine giant while slowly moving closer to Ophelia's desk. 

Garbed in a green general's outfit, his suit was adorned with countless medals. They rattled near his breast pocket as he walked, and the sound of them jingling put a snarky smirk on the man's rugged-looking face.

"Ophelia Everstorm, I have a new assignment for you," the general stopped by Ophelia's desk and cast his gaze down on her. "Forget about once a week or month, I want you to check that new establishment you're overseeing right now."

Hearing his command, some doubts popped up in Ophelia's head, but she wasn't one to question her superiors. Nodding her head along, she began gathering all the paperwork from her desk to head on out to the hotel.

"Not with this appearance, I need you disguised," the general added.

Reaching for Ophelia's hand, he pulled it towards himself while reaching into his pocket with his free hand. Taking out a luminous blue crystal, he pressed it against her palm before shutting her hand with his tight grip.

"Be useful, and you'll be rewarded in time," patting her on the shoulders, he smiled like the devil before moving deeper into the office.

Following the general with her gaze for a while, Ophelia noticed him going into another superior's office much deeper in the embassy building. Bringing her attention back to herself, she finally opened her palm to peer at the luminous blue crystal. Bewitched by its beauty, she was drawn into it. 

"Damn it…" The crystal itself, however, had no intention of indulging her. Dissolving like ice, it was soaked into her hand in no time. "Not enough."

As the essence of the crystal coursed through her veins, Ophelia felt much lighter. What little strain her muscles had was also ironed out. In its place was a rejuvenated feeling, just enough to get her ready for the next assignment but not nearly enough to make her iron heart feel content.

'A disguise, huh? Been a while since I've done that, I could've turned a bit rustic.' Grabbing her things off the desk, Ophelia wasted no time in leaving for the hotel. Having already been there, she knew it would take her a few days just to get through the forest amidst which the hotel lays. 'That should give me enough time to better get back into my skills.'

In the meantime, while she made her way out. The general to whom she'd been talking was making his way down in an elevator. As the basement arrived, he glanced at the camera in the corner. Starting once again, the elevator took him deeper down into the floor only a handful of the embassy's employees knew of.

"Markus, what are you doing here?" A sudden voice called to the general as he was still riding down in the elevator. "I thought you were handling the situation with those goblins on the eastern coast."

Pressing his finger on his earpiece, Markus responded.

"I had my men burn the caves, it was easier than picking them out one by one," a shocked gasp came from the other end, and although he knew the reason for the other person's shock, Markus's expression remained unaltered. "Don't get too sobby for those kidnapped women. Trying to rescue them would've gotten another battalion of my men killed. And given how the last rescue survivors are doing, I did them a favor by killing them along with those monsters."

With a ding, the elevator came to a stop. As the door opened, Markus stepped out into a control room with countless screens displaying footage from cameras all over the nation's disputed regions.

"They were still human Markus, our people!" The lone woman controlling it all wanted to pull on her hair over Markus's insubordination.

"Our people? They were carrying the next generation of our enemies," huffing out a snarky chuckle, Markus moved up beside the woman with his eyes looking at the sea of screens way out in the distance. 

Right before the two was an expansive control panel going around in an arch. It controlled the long file of screens that went down into the void. The screens themselves circulated and moved up and down at regular intervals.

"It never ceases to amaze me," moving further in, Markus placed his hand on a sheet of glass separating the control room from the hallowed earth where the screens were installed. 

"No thanks to you, I'll have to delete another record of your recklessness before reporting to the Enforcers," said the maroon-haired lady, still seated in the back.

"What would I ever do without you…" Looking behind from over his shoulders, Markus smiled once more at the master of surveillance. "Madelyn?"

"Nothing, because you'd be dead," she shot back, smiling for once since his arrival.