Chapter 29: Agent of Emissary. (1)
Estian slowly walked toward the Roc bird that had been killed and butchered by the Candidates. He looked at the wounds on the bird's body and realized all of them weren't that deep of a cut because of how tough its skin was. He then looked at the neck of the bird and saw the cut was deep enough and realized it was dead became of blood loss.
"(Did he do that?)" Estian looked at the cut on the bird's neck.
"Should I take the bus?" Alseace asked as he stood right behind Estian.
Estian flinched and was startled because he didn't realize that Alseace was behind him.
"Yes, I think you should because I have to stay and report what happened here. I have contacted Gratya and she will be waiting for you there," Estian answered as he nodded his head.
Alseace nodded and walked away, but then he felt an ominous feeling coming from the bird. He turned around and looked at it because he felt something similar when he was inside a portal back then.
He approached Estian and said, "There's a Demon Fragment inside that bird. I think you should take it before anyone else."
Estian was shocked that Alseace could sense it when he, an S-Rank Candidate couldn't even feel a thing. He then sent all the Candidates away and prevented anyone from getting close to the bird. When he wanted to ask Alseace where he felt the fragment, he had left and gone into the crowds.
Estian was busy creating a parameter with the other Agents of Emissary, and they managed to secure the bird. Suddenly a car with a Lost Age emblem on the license plate came and parked near the site.
"Mihangel," Estian looked at Mihangel who came out of the car.
"Estian, who killed that monster? That's Roc bird, and that monster is classified as an A-Rank monster, but that thing shouldn't be that big," Mihangel asked and stood right behind the road barrier since he didn't want to enter without permission. "No matter how strong you are, you won't be able to kill that thing because that one might be an S-Rank monster," Mihangel looked at Estian with suspicion and curiosity.
"Who knows... I just came here," Estian answered and didn't want to look at Mihangel as he smoked his cigarette.
"It's rare to see you lie," Mihangel said as he looked around and checked if there was another S-Rank Candidate around. He didn't see anyone else but Estian on the site, and when he looked at the damage on the bird's body, he saw a big cut in the neck, a hole in the chest, and holes in the wings. "A mage and a swordsman? Who that might be," Mihangel pointed out.
Estian didn't answer Mihangel's question nor responded to his words. He then went to the bird's stomach and started cutting it open with his sword with a red blade that he grabbed from his car. A man's body that the bird ate earlier rolled down to the ground which startled him.
Mihangel watched as Estian looked at the bird's gut and suddenly he went inside with a flashlight in his hand. He took his time in there and came out with something in his hand. It was a big Demon Fragment that was as big as a golf ball.
"That's the biggest fragment I have ever seen," Mihangel said as he looked at it with a surprised expression.
"Now we both know why this guy is so big," Estian pointed out as he looked at Mihangel.
(At the Emissary headquarters)
"I heard what happened," Gratya said as she escorted Alseace into the building. "Did you get anything?"
"Nothing, only a small amount of EXP, but that monster has a Demon Fragment inside. I believe they should have gotten the fragment by now," Alseace answered.
"That would be the fifth this month..." Gratya said and she sounded nervous. "Anyway, it's not time to think about that. I have something more important to do right now, which is to cheer you on," Gratya gently smiled as she looked at Alseace that walked next to her.
Gratya guided Alseace into one of the rooms on the third floor of the building. When they entered the room, Alseace was surprised to see Sierra sitting next to Niko, and there were only the two of them in the room. Gratya then walked toward them and stood next to Sierra.
"Please have a seat," Niko said as he pointed at a small desk in front of him.
Alseace sat down as he looked at Niko giving a piece of paper to Gratya. Gratya then passed the paper to Alseace, and it was the test paper.
"You have 30 minutes, you can start now," Niko said as he looked Alseace in the eye.
Alseace started to answer the questions in the paper, and there were a lot more than he thought. It was a bit similar to the questions that Julius used during Alseace's studies and lessons, and he had no problem answering all the questions.
It took him 28 minutes to answer all the questions, and then he gave the paper back to Gratya. Gratya then passed the paper to Niko and he immediately started to check all the answers while they waited patiently.
Niko was making noises as he read all the answers, which was quite unnerving to Gratya, not Alseace. She knew that Niko was an idealist and that any answer that wasn't to his liking would be counted as the wrong answer. He was a man that was so hard to please, and that was why he was the perfect man to become the president of the Emissary.
Niko sighed as he put down the paper on the desk, and then he looked at Alseace, "This answer is like reading a textbook, and I don't think the answer came from your heart. Although, you really did a good job of giving me these answers." "But that's not what I want right now. What I want is for you to give me an honest answer," Niko said as he crossed his hands and put them in front of his mouth.
Alseace raised his eyebrows and looked at Niko with a confused look.
"I'm going to ask you, what's the purpose of an Agent of Emissary to you?" Niko asked with a serious expression.
"A person who would die for the people to protect and to serve them," Alseace answered. Niko was unfazed by the answer, and when he was about to say a word, Alseace continued, "I found it funny because a moment ago, I saw an S-Rank Agent of Emissary watching people die in front of him, unable to protect them. If that's really the case, doesn't that mean nobody is qualified for that if an S-Rank Candidate couldn't even protect a single life?" Alseace asked back.
"You can say any excuse for that, but the fact that people died won't change. So, my opinion on what's the purpose of an Agent of Emissary is, I think it's just to put a restriction on Candidates and stand above them. That's all I have observed," Alseace answered. "If that's really what the Agents of Emissary are good for, then I'll offer myself that I can erase all the threats before they appear, something that not many people can do and that also counts as protecting the people, right?" Alseace pointed out as he stared back at Niko.
Sierra chuckled softly and slowly turned into laughter, which made the three of them look at her with confused looks. She then stood up and said, "That's right, Al. Know your worth, and be confident with what you achieved and gained." "With that being said, Niko, can you stop acting like a grumpy old man? You're not even half my age and yet you're acting like the wisest here," Sierra looked at Niko.
Niko sighed as he leaned on the chair and said, "You know me so well, this is who I am even before I met you." "This is important because I want to see what kind of a man he is, but turned out he reminded me of you is really..." Niko didn't want to finish his sentence because he would regret it if he said it out loud.
Niko looked at Gratya and reached out his hand to her. Gratya gave a document to him and he started to look at Alseace's information. He knew with that kind of power, the Emissary would be able to protect and prevent bad things from happening. The Agents of Emissary were scattered around Dasmein because they had to control the unwanted portals that were far away or hidden in unwanted places.
With Alseace on the Emissary, the Emissary could be focused on their primary role as protectors of the people. Niko believed if Alseace could erase those threats, he could gather all the Agents and prevent innocent lives from being taken away by the monsters.
"Would you be fine if your only mission as an Agent is to clear all the portals and vortexes?" Niko asked.
"I would gladly accept if that's my purpose of becoming an Agent," Alseace answered as he nodded his head.
Niko signed the document and gave it back to Gratya. "Welcome to the Emissary, Agent Alseace LaRoze," Niko said with a gentle smile. "But you still have to do a few more things, so please follow Miss Gratya. She will guide you and help you," Niko continued.
"Thank you, President Niko," Alseace nodded his head and left with Gratya.
Niko was left alone with Sierra, and they both silently listened to the footsteps of Alseace and Gratya in the hallway. They waited until the footsteps could no longer be heard.
"Why don't you give him that job? He's more qualified to deal with it though," Sierra asked as she sat next to Niko. "In fact, he wouldn't hesitate to kill if that's the task you're going to give him," Sierra pointed out.
"I already have an Agent that specialized in dealing with this, so I think there's no need for him to dirty his hands on the first day of his job. I also have someone in mind that I want to see grow. I'll pair them together in dealing with portals and vortexes," Niko answered.
"Well, if you think it's for the best, I'm not going to pester you," Sierra said.