Free Web NovelChapter 99: Chapter 98 - Report
Point-of-View: Tara Williams
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"Ugh, couldn’t this have waited till tomorrow?"
"I’m so fucking tired!"
"We could’ve just emailed the details instead!"
Normally, whining like this would annoy me, but right now, I couldn’t help but emphatically agree with those sentiments. Every one of the twelve Category 0s, and several other Category 1s, had been summoned by the higher ups, literally half an hour after the last of the Monster outbreaks was dealt with.
Naturally, every last one of us was exhausted to the point of collapse, we’d been fighting nonstop for several hours, after all!
"That’s quite enough of that! You are the best of our organization’s warriors, be more dignified!" Snapped one of the higher ups.
Easy for you to say...
"All due respect, sir, but we’re all heavily fatigued and exhausted at this point. We’d appreciate it if you could get this over with quickly," Spoke up Richard, his voice strained as he restrained himself from snapping at them.
"What he said. I can barely even focus on anything you’re all saying," I added in support.
"Tch...very well, we shall keep it as brief as possible," Grumbled one of the other higher ups, "We’ll ask each of you about our most pressing concerns in regards to how your missions went, and then continue this meeting to discuss the more minor issues tomorrow. First...any encounters with Eden?"
Three people raised their hands, two Category 1s and a Category 0. If I’m not mistaken, all of them were sent to areas with less public exposure...
"Towards the end, as we were wrapping up the extermination, we were ambushed by Eden members. We managed to fend them off, but my group lost three people," Remarked the Category 0.
"We lost two to Eden in the same manner."
"Yes, my group lost two as well."
"Hm, quite unfortunate, but it could’ve been worse. Any casualties to the Monsters?" Inquired another of the higher ups.
No one responded, and it turned out that while there had been a few who suffered severe injuries, none of us were killed by any Monsters.
"Next question, any witnesses?"
"Yes."
"Dozens."
"More like thousands, if not millions, if we count social media."
Every one of us had been unable to avoid being seen, I’d been staying off social media for the last few hours because I’m dreading just how bad it is.
"Hm, it might have been more prudent to just leave the Monsters be...," Frowned one of the higher ups.
"Are you kidding me? That goes against our principles!" Snapped one of the other Category 0s in disgust.
"On that note, with everything that’s happened since the Meta-Orbs were scattered, I’d say our principles and policies need updating. We can’t stay hidden for much longer," Pointed out Neo.
"I have to agree. It’s unfortunate, but there’s no point in lamenting about it, now that it’s too late," I spoke up in agreement.
"That’s a discussion for another time. Now, then...any encounters with the organization that calls themselves Chaos? Very few outside of the people in this room are aware of their existence, did any Meta-Humans from that faction appear?"
No one responded, before Neo raised his hand, a grim expression on his face...
"Yeah, we did. First, an Aura was unleashed atop the Eiffel tower, to attract more Monsters. And afterwards, several more Auras were suddenly unleashed, drawing out hundreds more Monsters and whipping them into a wild frenzy," He answered, before explaining further.
Based on what he said, it’s now safe to assume that they’re the ones behind the Monster outbreaks in the first place. But what was most alarming, was the fact that they have someone who can use the portal technique too...
"This is very concerning...," Muttered one of the higher ups with a frown.
"According to Aurora, of the two she encountered atop the Eiffel tower, one was wearing a hooded cloak with a mask that seemed to have a voice distortion mechanism, as well as wearing a strong cologne to mask their scent, and they addressed her by name. The other was a young man who wasn’t disguised...if I remember right, she said he was short, had blonde hair, a lot of freckles on his face, and heterochromia, with one green eye and one blue eye," Recalled Neo, his eyebrows furrowed.
"What? Are you sure about that?" Responded Richard immediately.
"Yeah, I’m fairly sure that’s what she said. Why?"
"That appearance sounds familiar...I knew a young boy with freckles, blonde hair and mismatched eye colors, he was in a group of trainees I oversaw in Australia a few years ago. I’m reasonably certain that he had the Space Skill too...I think his name was Glenn...Clark? Or was it Clarkson? Anyway, if this is the same person I’m thinking of, it was determined that he was lacking in real talent, and ended up being told to live a normal life with his family and try to pick up some other skill, since he isn’t strong enough to be of use in battle," Remarked Richard with a frown.
"This changes things...if Chaos has someone who can use portals, and since they’re apparently made up of those who were once loyal to us, they could infiltrate our bases at any given point," Spoke up one of the other Category 0s.
The higher ups were silent, looking absolutely horrified at the thought of that...until one of them broke the silence...
"Check up on every single Meta-Human affiliated with us! Any that are missing or are not where they’re supposed to be will instantly be regarded as traitors!"
"Is that not a little bit extreme?" Responded Elise with a look of apprehension, "We could easily end up targeting people who are completely innocent, that might be exactly what Chaos wants."
"I have to agree, it’s too drastic to go that far," Agreed Richard, backing her up.
"Not to mention that it’ll take a long time to go through every single person in our ranks, we’ve got over ten million Meta-Humans in Harmony, remember?" I pointed out...not because I was particularly against this, but because it sounded like a huge, exhausting hassle...
"I can activate Anti-Teleportation Fields around the bases, though I’ll require Space Skill users to maintain each of them. The downside to that is that I won’t be able to portal into the bases either," Suggested Neo.
"Hm...fine, I suppose that works as a temporary, stop-gap measure. Maybe we should separate the Outliers as well, that might be-."
"I’m firmly against that. Right now, when we don’t even know who the traitors are in our midst, antagonizing the Outliers would be nothing short of foolish. If we turn them against us, at worst, they might choose to join Chaos," Stated Neo immediately.
"Then we’ll keep them locked up and under strict surveillance," Came the reply.
"That’s even worse, you’ll definitely antagonize them if you go that far!" He snapped indignantly.
The others I’m not particularly concerned about as far as that goes, but I’m staying the hell away if they end up making an enemy of Aurora...
"It doesn’t matter, they won’t be able to do anything about it, we can simply appease them afterwards."
"Ahem, if I may interject, I agree with Neo...having seen the strongest of them in action myself, I can say that doing this would be a huge mistake," Chimed in Elise, "For one thing, that Aurora girl, there’s no way in hell you can restrain her against her will. I mean, all we did was hold her back during the extermination! Right, Neo?" freewёbnoνel.com
Yeah, that really doesn’t surprise me...during the mission where we first learnt about Chaos, I realized that she was holding back to avoid hurting me by accident. That really irked me, especially since even while holding back, she was still much stronger than me.
That said, it was also clear that she didn’t actually realize it herself, so I kept quite, even though that fact only annoyed me even more.
"It kinda hurts my ego to admit, but yes, she wasn’t even going close to all-out while we were around. The three of us fighting together struggled a bit to take down a Viciousaur, but once we split up, she killed one by herself in no time. And she also killed a lot more Monsters than either of us did. She may well be the most powerful Meta-Human to ever exist, and that’s not an exaggeration," He stated firmly.
"Having been partnered with her on a mission myself, I can corroborate that, I suppose," I spoke up, as some of the other 0s began murmuring skeptically.
"But from what I’ve heard, the other Outliers are still at about an average level, right?" One of them pointed out.
"Actually, not so...there’s at least one more of them who has the potential to become someone who leaves their name in the history books," Smirked Neo, as he held up his right arm.
"Hm? What’s are you trying to show us? Your arm looks perfectly normal," Replied one of the higher ups in bemusement.
Yeah, what point is he trying to make right now? I don’t get it.
"Wait, what!? Where’s the hole!?" Suddenly exclaimed Elise, startling the rest of us.
"Uh, excuse me?" Responded one of the others with a look of bewilderment. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
"There was a hole in his forearm, the Viciousaur pierced a claw through. Stopping the bleeding and pain is one thing, but...it was definitely beyond healing any further than that, how is the hole fully closed up? Wait, did you stuff play dough or something in there?" Frowned Elise, narrowing her eyes as she took a closer look at his arm and poked at it.
"Of course not, dummy," He sighed as he lightly chopped her head, before turning to the higher ups with a smirk, "Your favorite Outlier, Inoka Fonseka, did this. He came up with a Light Skill technique that could potentially even restore severed limbs, all by himself. There are historic records of similar techniques, but the number of people who could use them could be counted on one hand, and the techniques were so complex that they couldn’t pass it down, that’s why there’s no such technique in the book of Light Skill techniques. He’s also been working on trying to master Dispel, and I believe that he can do it."
What, that apathetic guy? Really?
"Tch, that insolent brat really healed such an injury? I find it hard to believe," Grimaced one of the higher ups.
"Oh, don’t you mean that you find it difficult to accept instead? After all, considering what he said to you last time-," Began Neo.
"You’ve made your point, don’t push your luck, Neo."
"Hm, perhaps we should give the Outliers additional Skills...," Suggested one of the other higher ups, "We’ve kept him locked up and hidden away ever since he gathered the energy required to create the Meta-Orbs, but perhaps it’s time to bring him into the fray again..."
"Huh? Are you insane? No, absolutely not. Did you forget that there’s a reason why we used the Meta-Orbs as conduits? We had to transfer the energy indirectly, because using his ability directly is far too dangerous. Or have you forgotten how many people went mad and killed themselves because of the side effects?" Inquired Neo icily, a dark look in his eyes, causing some of the higher ups to flinch slightly.
Huh...in the past, he always obeyed the higher ups’ commands without question, even if he didn’t like it. The Outliers, they’ve really changed him, haven’t they...
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