Chapter 25 - Emergency Meeting

I had strange dreams that night, dreams about people I used to know. They weren't specific people, such as family members, or close friends, but rather they were regular people I had seen back on Earth, even for brief moments.

Why was I suddenly thinking about such insignificant figures? I had no idea, but it got me thinking. What was going on back home? Is my body missing? How is my mother handling me being gone? Has any time even passed at all? I pondered the questions as the sun began to rise, eventually waking me up.

When I woke up, Ambrosia had already left the hotel room. Perhaps she went to notify the admins of our situation early? Why would she leave without me though? But then, my question was answered, when Ambrosia came barging through the door with a bunch of food.

"Good morning Yuki! I brought some breakfast up for us to eat before we leave. Ah, I timed it perfectly, didn't I? You just woke up!"

"You sure did. I had an odd dream last night about some people I used to know from back on Earth...what do you think it could mean? "

"Oh? Maybe you just miss them. I wouldn't speak too loudly though, the others could wake up, and then you'd blow your cover."

"Heh, you're telling me about talking loudly? You came through the door yelling."

Yui was still asleep next to me, curled up in a ball. She practically stole all the blankets from me last night, but I didn't mind. Mayumi and Cyprus were also snoozing. We would let them sleep, waking up on their own schedule.

I got out of bed, went to the bathroom, used it, and got dressed. I put on a fresh shirt, some pants, and my necklace. My jacket was now clean and dry, so I put it on too. I exited the bathroom and walked over to Ambrosia.

"I got some biscuits for us, as well as some muffins. The Benevolent Boar Restaurant isn't just a 5-star restaurant, they're a bakery too."

"You're spoiling me, Ambrosia."

"Well, when you're #2 in the hero camp, you get some perks. I thought I'd share them with you."

"I appreciate that a lot... thank you for the food, let's dig in."

Ambrosia and I started eating our breakfast. She had brought up delicious biscuits and muffins from the bakery, as well as a few sauces, and some honey. They were delicious, better than any baked goods I had ever eaten on Earth. The smell alone was enough to wake up the rest of our group.

"Mmm, what's that smell? It's delicious..." said a half-asleep Yui, stumbling out of bed. She was barefoot, wearing a single-piece nightdress that matched her hair in color. She crawled over to me, resting her head on my shoulder.

"Are these muffins? I love muffins, I'll be taking a few if that's okay," said Yui, reaching over me to grab a muffin.

Mayumi and Cyprus also woke up, eager to taste what Ambrosia had brought us. She made sure to get enough for everyone, knowing this would happen.

"You all enjoy your breakfast, I need to make a quick call to the administration requesting a meeting with them. Don't fight over the sauces!" said Ambrosia, getting up to walk to the other room with her RCD in hand. It also acted like a phone VIA private line networking.

"Mmmm these are so goood. The Boar always hits it right on target," said Mayumi, gobbling down a biscuit drenched in honey. Cyprus was enjoying a hashbrown that Ambrosia had slid to him secretly. They were his favorite breakfast snack.

We enjoyed our breakfast, discussing our plans for the day, as Ambrosia closed the door to the suite connecting our room. We hadn't really used it for much, so it served as a nice place for Ambrosia to make her phone call.

"Hello, this is the Director."

"Hello. This is Esper Witch. I'd like to request a 2-1 meeting later this afternoon if that is okay with you?"

"Hello, Ms. Esper Witch. What are the contents of this meeting? We're booked up today with transfers, would you be able to schedule for another day perhaps?"

Ambrosia grimaced, knowing that today was one of the largest transfer days for the Hero Camp. Regardless, she knew that this news greatly outweighed the transfer process, so she used the urgency word set in place for matters that are to be taken seriously...

"...Gloom."

"Understood, your meeting is scheduled for 1:00 PM. Please arrive accordingly."

"Thank you, I will be there at 1:00 sharp."

Ambrosia then hung up and returned to the main hotel room. The word "gloom" was set in place many years back to describe upcoming events or matters that could spell large-scale destruction or peril for society. It is to be used sparingly, as incorrect usage could lead to your expulsion from the Hero Camp.

"Alright everyone, Yukio and I have a meeting to go to at 1:00 with the administration. It's about the man we saw yesterday and his abilities. Unfortunately, only Yukio and I can go, but we will give you the details when we come back."

"Understood. Let me know how it goes, I'm curious as to their next course of action," said Cyprus, finishing up his breakfast.

"We will. Hopefully, it's something we can take care of easily, but if we need to, we'll gather the level 7's to take them down. There are a few of them who I believe could override Marius's respawning ability VIA sneak attack, if that's all it takes."

"We're here too if you need us! I wouldn't mind killing an intelligent monster, considering it's never been done before, heh heh," said Mayumi.

"By the way Yukio, I need my sword back now. Your rent is up! But no worries, you and Ambrosia can find you a proper sword for your hand size at one of the weapon shops here."

"Ah yeah, right. It's under my bed, you can just take it back, I'll go buy my own weapon. Thanks for letting me use it though. I chopped off Marius's head like 5 times with it."

"HUH!?"

Mayumi gave me a look of shock as if she wasn't aware of Marius's respawning ability. I decided to explain it to her a little more clearly.

"Whenever I chopped his head off, he would reappear behind me. I did this 5 times with your sword. I'm sorry if there's dried blood on it still, I'm sure the rainfall took it mostly off."

"I'm not worried about that, I'm surprised you actually had the nerve to decapitate someone FIVE TIMES without getting squeamish! I still gag when I kill a monster..."

"Ahhh I get it now. Well, I have reasons to not feel bad about killing someone, but it's complicated... anyway, it's still raining some outside, so we'll bring umbrellas to the admin building, Ambrosia."

Ambrosia smiled at me in acceptance. Although she could easily just turn transparent and have the water droplets fall right through her. Mayumi continued her thoughts.

"Thanks for giving it back. But Yukio, you should carefully consider who your opponent is before you mindlessly chop their head off, just some food for thought to keep you safe. Anyway, your meeting is at 1:00?"

"Yes, it is. We'll be leaving near that time," said Ambrosia.

"Sounds good, keep us posted, and let us know what we need to do next. Also, did you get our transfer orders signed?"

"I did! The five of us are going to Camp Omega! I already told Yukio this, because you all had fallen asleep by the time we finished our energy infusion, but there's the news!"

Yui hopped up and landed on the ground with a thud. She looked fiercely into the eyes of Ambrosia as if she was desperately trying to contain her emotions.

"CAMP OMEGA? MY SISTER IS BEING TRANSFERRED THERE!"

"Oh! Wonderful! You two will get to spend some nice time together then!"

Yui danced around excitedly in a cute fashion. Ambrosia then smirked at Yukio, who was slightly confused as to why, but he accepted it and smiled back.

"I heard they have nice beaches. I've never been transferred there before, so this will be new territory for me. Cyprus, have you ever been?" asked Mayumi.

"Yeah, once. It's another city camp similar to Alpha, but smaller, and it's built on a coastline. They have wave breakers and hurricane protection. Speaking of which, hurricanes are in season, so I'd be cautious. The city is safe, but hurricanes have been known to launch monsters out of the water like cannons..."

That sounded terrifying, but also really really cool. I imagined a giant whale monster flying out of the water, and then a bunch of heroes swarming in to take it down. I wanted to experience it all!

"That sounds horrifying!" said Mayumi, pale in the face. Cyprus laughed.

"You have nothing to worry about, Esper Witch is coming with us, she'll take care of it if the issue arises."

Ambrosia put on a poker face and glared at Cyprus, who chuckled. The five of them continued their conversation, discussing their future plans. As time ticked, Mayumi left to see her sister before she was transferred, Cyprus left to replenish ammo for the transfer, and Yui met up with her sister to tell her the news of her transfer, leaving Ambrosia and me.

Ambrosia and I eventually left to take care of a few smaller matters. As the rain cleared, we went into a weapons shop and bought myself a new sword! It was your average blade, but it got the job done, and it was easy to swing!

As the time approached 1:00, we made our way to the administration building. We entered through the front entrance, being greeted by Hiroki who, as usual, was working the front desk. We entered the elevator and made our way to the top floor, where The CEO's office was.

We knocked on his door at exactly 1:00 PM, and he told us to come in... we entered the room. It was a grand office decorated with many luxurious decorations, as well as high-quality technology.

"Welcome, Ms. Esper Witch, and Scarlet Antihero... please, take a seat." said the CEO, smoking a cigar. He was a refined gentleman in a suit, with thick black hair combed back, and shades. His suit had an emblem on it representing a winged shield with the letter H on it, the logo of the Hero Camp.

"Thank you, Director... I apologize for forcing you to make room in your busy schedule to see us, but the news is important."

"I assumed so, considering you used "the word". What's the issue?"

"Allow me to explain. Yesterday, Scarlet Antihero and I ran into a man in an alley who has the ability to turn himself into a monster by ingesting a monster's heart, which he procured. Scarlet Antihero can attest to this, as he saw the transformation himself."

"Is that so? Scarlet, what did you see?"

It seemed that in a setting as professional as this, our hero names were being strictly used, rather than our real names. I answered.

"His name is Marius Aegis, and he claims to be a member of an underground organization called "The Zodiac", whose goal is to transform humans into monsters so that they may coexist with one another. However, his plan would require the mass gathering of humans to turn into monsters, and to let the excess population die out, which is genocide... he proved his theories to me by consuming the heart of a Dragon Ram, and then taking its form in a humanoid matter..."

The CEO looked at me attentively. He took a long draw from his cigar, before setting it down on his ashtray. He cleared his throat, and spoke once more-

"Did you say, The Zodiac?"

"Indeed. Have you heard of it?"

"Yes... I have, actually... I was hoping we would never have to deal with them, and I've kept their existence a secret from the Hero Camp for many years now. But it appears they're going to engage in a duel with us..."

"You...know? You kept it a secret!?" asked Ambrosia, almost angered by his actions, but, she eventually calmed down.

The CEO knew about The Zodiac already? Now was my time to get as much info as possible about it! I inquired him immediately.

"What do you know about The Zodiac? Who started it, and how, and why?"

"The Zodiac is an operation led by two individuals, one of which is pretty well known around here. The other is not so well known, as not even I know him. They've been around for over 30 years now... I can't go into the details right now, but if you can put two and two together, then...-"

I cut off the CEO. I was worried that this would be taken as a sign of disrespect, however, the CEO wasn't shaken by it. He listened attentively.

"They have connections to The Shade..." I said, almost in a question format, but not quite. I was confident in my pseudo-statement.

"Perhaps they could. Nothing has been confirmed, but to me, it seems that every time The Shade shows up and brings monsters with him, civilians go missing, every time, even if zero deaths were reported. I have reason to believe that The Zodiac is recruiting members after monster attacks..."

"I see... The Shade is using his monster summoning ability to gather people, as well as monster hearts at the same time, in order to convert them into monsters? Has the Hero Camp been helping him out this whole time by killing these monsters?"

"Nothing is confirmed, but this is my suspicion, considering you ran into one of their members recently... Scarlet, I cannot explain how their abilities, or how yours works, but promise me you'll never join them."

"I promise..." I said, saluting to the CEO, who was now concerned.

"This is truly a gloomy day. We need to have an emergency meeting. I will be calling in "The Top Ten" this evening for an emergency meeting, Scarlet, you may attend if you wish. You could be an integral part of stopping this....."