Chapter 092

Alvin came to Saint Samuel Cathedral early in the morning, and attended the morning mass. He then walked out and went to the office of the Nighthawks. Once inside, he nodded to the receptionist and walked into Gordon's office.

Hannah, Donald, and Rico were already there waiting.

Alvin took a seat, and waited for Gordon and Raleigh to join them.

After a few minutes, Gordon walked in.

"Well, Raleigh is otherwise occupied, so let us begin" said Gordon.

"First of all, good work on the raid yesterday. The external factors notwithstanding, we managed to destroy an entire branch of the Aurora Order in Backlund, and capture an Oracle. This operation was a huge success. Our record of two perfect operations without any casualties in two consecutive days has led to us being noticed across the church" said Gordon. "Like I promised yesterday, you will have a week off, until next Friday. That is of course, if Alvin doesn't come telling us that he found clues of another hidden organisation" he continued throwing a pleased glance at Alvin.

"Now, yesterday's mission. From what we have learnt from the guy we captured, who we confirmed was Mr B, there are 2 more branches of Aurora Order here in Backlund. Unfortunately, he had no idea about their locations, or else it would have been something. Evan Rosier may have lost control, but there is also the possibility that he will be distorted enough to become a new Saint for the Aurora Order. So no wanted orders, but keep an eye and ear out. Other than these, all other matters are confidential as ordered by his grace" said Gordon.

He then dismissed the other three, asking Alvin to stay.

"Well, first of all, great job, not just yesterday but the day before. After his grace personally met and noticed you yesterday, your future in the organisation will be smooth. And your contributions are noted" said Gordon.

"Thank you captain" said Alvin humbly.

"Well, I promised you a reward if you met a kill count in the Zmanger operation. I was a little hesitant then, but I am now certain that you deserve this reward" he said reaching under his desk, and pulling out a paper-thin mask.

"This is 2-078, called Lifesaver. It is one of the most prized items that the church put out as a redeemable reward. All your great contributions in the Zmanger Gang incident be not be enough to redeem it, but coupled with the contributions in the recent raid in Aurora Order, it is enough" said Gordon, as Alvin received the mask.

"As you probably guessed, it does have the power of a Faceless. What is even more extraordinary about this mask is the abilities Flame Transfer and Damage Transfer are also in it. Thus, it really is a lifesaver. And its negative effects are not too serious as long as you use it sparingly. As soon as you use its power, be it to changing to a different face, transferring yourself in flames, or damage transfer, a dark seed gets planted in your mind. It will resolve itself over time, but if you have too many such dark seeds in your mind, there is the possibility of a hidden dark personality being born and taking you over. It will pair nicely with your future Pyromaniac abilities" said Gordon.

"Thank you captain!" said Alvin happily. He indeed needed such an item, especially its Faceless powers that could be put on for a long time, as dark seeds would be formed only when it was actively used. He was always afraid that his human skin mask would tear unexpectedly in a fight and expose his identity.

"You are welcome. You deserve this. I will tell you if there is any follow up that you should know about. Since you don't really have any duties as such, the one week vacation doesn't apply to you. But if you do encounter some incidents, you can write to me. If not, you are free anyway" said Gordon.

"Also captain, when I used the hypnotising mystical item, I used a lot of spirituality. I may have aggravated the injuries to my spirit body. Should I have Rico perform that ritual again?" asked Alvin.

"No need. His grace used his power of a Soul Assurer at the demigod level to heal your injured spirit body. You have been completely healed" said Gordon.

Alvin once again thanked Gordon, but decided to confirm in the Healing Room in the Red Castle later.

While leaving, he hesitated, but ultimately did not ask Gordon if he needed to hand over the extraordinary characteristic of the Secret Supplicant Pathway belonging to Stephen Rosier. He had after all clearly displayed that he had it in the dream, no one asked him to turn it over.

As he was about to leave the building, he saw that Hannah was waiting for him at the door.

"Well, the day after tomorrow is the 1st. You are still coming to the extraordinary gathering I presume?" asked Hannah.

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it" said Alvin.

"Alright then. Meet me here, at the office at 8 30 on the 1st. You can't enter without someone accompanying you the first time according to the rules. So I will take you there from here" said Hannah.

"Sure. And thank you!" said Alvin.

"Well, Gordon was right. My spirit body is fully healed. The Healing Room can't detect any residual injuries. But I still feel like something is missing" thought Alvin.

He paced around the room, as he mentally compared the image of his spirit body last time as given by the Healing Room, versus the image given this time.

He then decided not to worry more about it, and went back outside.

Now that he was a Sequence 7, and had a life-saving item on him, he could be bolder. He wanted to purchase a large number of Beyonder ingredients in preparation for training his subordinates, as he now had the means to restrain them. And he wanted to increase the reputation of Mr Hunt in Backlund, and he planned to do this by killing a few Beyonders who bit greedy and came after him.

And there was a gathering in the East Burrough that would happen tonight, which seemed the perfect place to start.