Cult Maestro

A day late. I blame my four hour sleep.

Not all the Gold Rank spies are given an age so I made some inferences on their age that's the reason why some of them are missing. Also I had to make a president for the Spy Association since Kai is like 8 right now.

Also Halloween is coming up… god it felt like yesterday when it last happened…

~~~~

"Is everyone here?"

An old man in his 60s looked around the room.

He wore nothing fancy like a suit and wore casual wear.

Hulang, Alexandryu, Ban, and Momo all came to this meeting.

All other forty-five gold ranks have either been MIA or were in other organizations.

"Momo! It's been quite a while hasn't it!? How's Rei treating you? I heard that you guys have seven kids now? God, time flies doesn't it? Haha!"

Ban patted Momo's back roughly.

Momo didn't mind it and was rather used to it. Rather he questioned in his mind as to why Ban asked about his children… he was there each time they were born after all…

"You are also here, father?"

Momo looked behind his shoulders to see Ban smoking a cigarette.

"Haha, I think this is the first time they actually called me out?"

  "Oh my~! This will be such a good article! 'Japan's Gold Rank Spies Gathering!' I can see the numbers rising already!"

Alexandryu wrote in his notepad. 

"Ryu, how is Shinzo doing in your class? I heard that he was learning from you? Hulang as well, how is Kengo treating you?"

Momo asked the people across from him.

"Oh~? Shinzo is doing quite alright with my other kids. He is quite the talent, I can tell in the future he'll be quite the star. I'm almost tempted to write an article just about him~"

Alexandryu was quite the man. He was the chief editor of the most popular magazine called 'Spy Days'. He took his job seriously, carrying a notepad and pen everywhere.

"Kengo is my greatest disciple yet, at the start his attitude needed some… 'fixing', at the request of your wife, but after that he is my greatest disciple. He's my last student and I'll focus on my career afterward as a celebrity."

'My methods just don't fit the modern era anymore.' Hulang thought to herself.

Hulang the 'Madonna' of the Spy world. She was famous on both sides, no matter where she was, she would be recognized for her eternal beauty.

"Now now everyone, settle down… we have to go over this rising 'Cult' situation."

Yugen clapped as everyone settled down.

As the president of the Spy Association he was by no means weak. He was old, and with age came wisdom. (A/N: Sometimes…)

'I should find a successor… If only…' Yugen shook his head, 'He's gone, I shouldn't dwell on the past…'

"Now then, we have found the location of the mastermind. I need all of you to go and kill this person. Of course our employers will pay quite well."

Yugen gave out a 'kind grandpa' smile.

As he finished off, Yugen spotted Momo with his hand raised.

"Yes Momo?"

"How long do you think this mission is going to take? I would rather not stay away from my family for too long."

"Ah yes… the duration will only be at most a week."

The deal sounded almost too good to be true. Yugen had a sly tongue and while his specialization was infiltration just like Ban, he had a way with words.

"Now then, what's the catch my old friend?" Ban asked Yugen with a large smile at the same time pointing his index finger at him.

"Hoho I guess you all caught on. Yes there is a catch, you'll be competing with almost all the other organizations trying to find and capture or kill this person… There is quite the high bounty after all."

He explained ominously.

"As a final reward to help entice some of you youngins, I'll be allowing anyone who does take this mission and succeed to make this as their license renewal."

"If you want to start this mission, I'm going to leave a folder here with four papers for each of you, I have a meeting to get to afterall."

Yugen got up from the comfy cushion seat and headed for the two wooden doors across from the room.

Even before he left the room, the sound of papers flapping in the air echoed throughout the room.

Yugen glanced back to see Ban smiling at him waving the already signed paper.

*

*

*

"After this I don't owe you anything anymore."

It was in the middle of the night and Technician hadn't gone to sleep just yet.

"I suppose so. If you have truly completed the project I gave you then there is no point in holding you to a bargain only on superficial words."

"What are you going to do after this 'Inhuman Human'?" Makoto laughed on the other side of the screen.

Technician was not amused in the slightest.

Even within the spy world there were unwritten ethical codes and written ones as well. Since the 20th century everything became more civilized, it ranged from killing to HR.

However back in the mid 1900's someone broke all the rules regarding human experimentation. Normally a bounty would be put up or an employer would send a mission to the Spy Association for this person to be dealt with but…

Using his already ground breaking research, he quite literally broke through human limits using genetic modifications that allowed for a wide variety of applications.

So escaping, fighting and 'researching' became his new life. He succeeded in escaping the world's prying eyes for over twenty years but karma had caught up to him.

One day he was caught in an ambush.

…

"Cough…"

Technician was down to his last serum.

After this he had no way to fight or escape.

He cautiously looked at the label, keeping his peripheral vision on his attackers.

'A leg mutation… speed type…'

'I can escape…'

Using his already giant right arm, he crashed it onto the wet dirt to provide cover.

Bang!!

He quickly injected the serum and started running.

His wounds burned but he didn't feel the pain yet; the adrenaline kept him going.

"Hah… Hah…"

His legs tired and he collapsed onto the soggy grass.

Riddled with wounds and blood poured from his body, Technician was at death's mercy.

"You seem quite useful… say… how about we make a deal?"

Technician's worn eyes looked up at the man. His white puffy afro and smiling face were key characteristics along with his matching white lab coat.

Since then he owed a large favor towards Makoto which had just been fulfilled.

Now that the favor was owed he could do whatever he wanted.

…

Opening his eyes after the memory, Technician replied, "Me? I'm going to do what I've always been doing."

"I see, I see… Well best of luck to you."

Waving his hand as a final goodbye, Makoto ended the video call abruptly.

*

*

*

A day had passed since then and the Gold Rank spies were ready for their mission.

"Nooo! Rei please! I won't bother you anymore so let me stay!"

"Nooo! Keiko! Let's go on a date, just the two of us!"

Both the current and former heads of the Yozakura family had their hands full.

"Ban, if you go and finish this mission then we'll go on a date." She gave a calm smile, already used to Ban's acts.

Keiko patted her husband's shoulders since he was tightly holding onto her legs.

"All right!" Ban left the house full of enthusiasm filled with his wife's love.

"Momo if you didn't want to then you shouldn't have taken this mission."

Rei held onto Nanao and Mutsumi.

"Mom, can I hold Mutsumi?"

"Sure honey go and play with her alright?"

She passed Mutsumi along to Kyoichiro as he started taking an excessive amount of pictures.

"Momo, if you really want to. Then you know you can finish this mission by the end of the day."

After a final hug Momo left with Ban to the meeting place.

…

It had been a few hours but they finally reached their destination.

A snow filled forest.

"Greenland? I guess it makes sense, but this weather makes my body tense."

Ban complained about his shivering and stiffened from time to time.

"The 'Arctic Weather Of The Uninhabited Land In Greenland'! This'll be a great piece for the opening pages of the magazine."

Alexandryu took several photos of the natural beauty around them.

The white snow complemented their camouflage equipment, as they headed deeper into the forest, more and more trees began covering their perception.

It truly was a spectacle to witness, as Ban and Momo played old maid while Alexandryu took immeasurable amounts of photos zipping across the snow with near instant speed.

Only Hulang walked at a slow and steady pace, her whip at the ready.

Soon enough, their eyes aimed right at the sounds of a battle already that had commenced.

They all heard it.

Ranging from guns to blades clashing, the group stopped all theatrics and ran at top speed.

"Five… no seven people fighting. Animal sounds…"

Alexandryu had his camera hanging on his neck whilst he wrote details on his notepad at light speed.

Both him and Hulang were ahead of Ban and Momo, their builds were different as they relied more on their physical attributes rather than more specialized ones.

"Oh my~"

Alexandryu couldn't help but comment.

An interesting scene played out in front of them.

Seven small children most likely around the ages of Seven and above were fighting wild animals, more specifically wolves.

They all coordinated flawlessly, like a hive mind, each of them sometimes taking initiative whilst other times letting the back row dish in their attacks as well.

It was like seeing a fantasy hero's party fighting against the demon king's army in real time.

But they had no time to waste.

"I'll do it."

Hulang vanished and an instant later had already traveled the distance across from the battle.

Snap!

'They managed to block my attacks?'

The wolves had gone down without a problem, they laid on the ground passed out from the blunt trauma but the children, all of them, managed to block her high speed attack.

Their expensive armor however? That wasn't as lucky and got destroyed in place of them.

"You children should stay out, other gold ranks and organizations are coming after all."

Hulang gave a smile before the surroundings filled with smoke from the bombs they threw.

"This'll definitely have a place for today's magazine."

Alexandryu commented walking next to Hulang.

Behind them were Ban and Momo, now back to being relaxed.

"Kekeke… Noooo" The absurd changes on Ban's face told everything and this was his 20th loss since starting.

"Curses… why are you so good now… you used to be the same as me…"

Ban clenched his fist (fake) frustration.

*

*

*

"Hah…"

He breathed a sigh of relief.

He had expected that the organizations would have come a bit later but not this soon.

Of course he had backup plans that allowed him to stay alive but he wasn't very sure anymore.

"...Where are you~"

A voice called out.

He held his breath.

Tap

Tap.

As the footsteps grew louder he felt the adrenaline rushing in his body.

The entrance of his hiding spot in this cave was small, almost imperceptible even with the help of light… so that should help him… right?

Soon enough the sound of footsteps quickly deafened out.

"Hah…"

"Found you."

The digitized voice made him freeze.

His neck moved slowly until he saw the pixels on the frosty black mask. 

The mask had the word '死' (Death).

'A demon…'

His life came to an end.

As his head fell onto the ground he couldn't help but feel robbed at his chance to give this all in the name of his idol.

Technician.

His fame caused some trouble in the past who had their heads bowed down from societal norms and it took great effort to stop the chaos and mayhem he created.

This was just another residue from the past that lingered in the present.

…

"Hahaha… Using him as a body sure is fun."

Technician asked Virus to make a VR headset that allowed him to control One's body remotely at the comfort of the facility.

Nothing mattered anymore, even if the electrical signals were intercepted this place would be burning in flames by the end of the day.

Not knowing that he killed one of his avid fans, Technician took the headset off and called for every one of the Termites to come back.

*

*

*

In Japan after news broke out that cults have stopped appearing, Rin had a blast kicking some thugs ass pissed about her now ruined adventure.

*

*

*

"..."

Each of the members of the group looked at the finely chopped up house in varying expressions.

It hadn't even been five minutes since the battle from before but when they finally got to their destination they were met with the still burning and cut remnants of their target's house.

"Ryu, if you please." Hulang asked.

Bang!

From the punch alone, Alexandryu managed to both stop the flames and send some of the debris flying away.

There everyone saw the trapdoor on the floor and from the slightly dry bloodstains it was safe to say that they had failed their mission in one way or another.

"Date night!" 

All Ban had thoughts of him and Keiko going and going on a date.

"Should we have a picnic, father?" Momo asked with a smile.

As the Yozakura men had their chatter, Alexanryu took photos of the scene before looking into the camera to see how good they were.

*

*

*

"Hm?"

A soft voice came from the hospital bed.

"Aah, I see… Well, no need to worry. Soon our plan will come to fruition."

Makoto held the hand of a small girl and answered.

~~~~

End of Arc 1: New Beginnings And Also New Ends

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I'll start out by saying… R.I.P. Solo Leveling: Perception. (Not really, the author is on hiatus due to financial situations.) I offer my condolences.

Anyways going on from that, I was going to add a side chapter but because of the amount of spoilers from it I'll have to wait until a bit more.

This entire Arc was something that I made to keep the story going, not sure if it was a good decision or not but it led me here hasn't it?

If you didn't notice, some of the characters and influences are from my past FF as a reference.

Some corrections I made and some corrections that I'll need to fix in the future:

Chapter 4 and 5 need some grammar corrections.

Chapter 6… God this chapter is a mess and a half. 

Here are just some of the things that I either didn't know were actually in the story or were just wrong: 1: I didn't know that the Snowman souffle shop was actually in Teiou Academy. 2: In Chapter 181 (In the actual Manga) it was stated that Shion was actually a shut-in and so she didn't even go to Teiou Academy so I either have to retcon this or say something about it…

I'll figure it out.

Anyways Peace~