He felt like he had been brought back from the dead when his eyes fluttered open. His body was hurting, and even though he wasn’t injured from the battle within his psych, Dalton could still feel the phantom pain from the punches that Ozul and inflicted on him.

When he saw Louise’s body had frozen into a statue in front of him he felt instant relief wash over him. Her hands were together when she clapped, and her eyes were still pitch black.

At least he did not have to fight another ghost.

He closed his eyes.

#

Dalton was in the hospital, fluttering in and out of consciousness during his stay there.

He remembered seeing Malcolm, still quite ripped, visiting him with Eira, who looked tired with bags under her eyes.

Maya would visit him, she was about to tip a gold-colored potion in his mouth, but a nurse stopped and reprimanded her. She sulked and apologized. That night, Dalton remembered waking up to Maya giving him the same golden potion.

“You’re going to wake up soon.” She gave him a kiss on his forehead. “I won’t be home for a week. I have a new assignment.”

She was right, because the next day, he woke up which gave a shock to the nurse changing his IV bag. She called for the doctor whose eyes widened enough to almost drop off his eye socket.

The doctor checked his vitals and checked his mental state. The doctor explained that this was an unprecedented recovery, they had been using their strongest potions, and he was not healing. From the trauma of fighting a high classed ghost user, they assumed he would never wake up.

They kept him under watch for a few days.

#

The day before he was going to be released, Jack came in to visit him. He gave a polite knock on the door, before entering and closing the door behind him for privacy.

Jack pulled a chair next to his bedside. “So, you’re awake.”

“Sure seems like it,” Dalton said.

“Your girlfriend gave you Tears from a Phoenix. Do you know how much that costs?”

“A lot.” Dalton guessed.

“Yes. Even with my vast wealth, I would not be able to afford that,” Jack said bitterly. “That brings me to why I am visiting you today. You kept your word, despite some damages to my building, you defeated Ozul. I promised you a promotion, and your friend a one way trip to Isekai heaven.”

“Riot’s alive?” Dalton perked at that.

“Alive in another world.” He smiled. “He got his wish. We even made his 2D waifu real. You know how much money you would have to give us to do that? About one twentieth of how much a Phoenix’s Tear is.”

“I’m glad he’s alright.” And he truly did. He had thought he had ceased to exist when he was cut in two by the specter. “What about the others? Are they alive?”

“Your boss, Malcolm is alive, as is Eira. We captured Ozul’s soul, and we punished him for the damages he caused. We isekai’d him to one of his world as a vegetable.”

“A vegetable?”

“Yes. Just like everyone thought you were as he laid in that hospital bed.” He wagged his finger. “Except he’s literally carrot now.”

Dalton frowned. “That doesn’t seem like a punishment.”

“Have you ever been a carrot?” Jack asked. “Cause being a carrot is no joke.”

He wasn’t sure what he meant, so Dalton just kept quiet.

“Louise, as an unfortunate victim to all of this, has requested to be isekai’d to a pirate world. She is currently on the verge of becoming Pirate Queen after defeating one of the Four Pirate Lords.”

“Why does that sound like One Pack?”

Jack shrugged. “I don’t know what that is. I’m just going to gleam over that, and talk about what your future holds, now that your department has been shut down.”

“What?” Dalton sat up.

“Somebody had to take the fall for what Ozul did. All fingers pointed at the incompetent management of the department. Your boss took butterfly steroids, one of your senior agents was using a grimoire to force people in her servitude.”

He wished he did not know any of those details, because they were all true. So, he just nodded and agreed. “Yup.”

Jack stood up and circled to the other side of Dalton’s bed to look at the window. “She…has some beef with me. Malcolm does too. He was in the running to become Director of the Bureau, but I was chosen. The rest is history.”

“There are rumors that you killed the last Director…” Dalton trailed off.

“No, I did not kill the last Director. He wanted to become a magical girl and chose me for my prowess.”

“The whole Bureau is a mess.” Dalton pointed out.

Jack turned and eyed him. “That is true. It is a mess, which brings me to our little agreement. I want to change the Bureau, and it does with cracking down on the corruption. I want you to be a Cleaner. You will work directly under me.”

“Cleaner? Corruption?” Dalton repeated. “Does that mean I would be going through departments to root out corruption.”

“Yes, I thought I was being clear with my last statement.”

“You were, but I don’t believe you.”

“Fair enough,” Jack said. “You will go into other departments and you will make reports to me about any potential corruption. It also means that you will be a janitor of sorts and clean up messes left by other agents and departments.”

That…didn’t sound terrible. It also sounded like something that was too good to be true.

“How much am I getting paid?”

“The same amount as your last job.” Jack answered. “Of course, you are welcome to trying to find another job, but I doubt you will one. After all, your father put you on a black list.”

Dalton groaned. So, it was his father after all. He did have a feeling why he had difficulty finding a job.

“You will start next Monday.” Jack said, eyeing him. “Before you, of course, will go through some physical rehabilitation. I have hired a Ninja that will take you to a Time Chamber to train you for five years.”

Dalton blinked. “Excuse me?”

Jack looked at his watch and smiled. “You will start now.”

A dark hole appeared right under him, sucking him and the bed slamming on top of a white marble floor. A man stepped from the shadows, dressed in all white.

“You must be Mr. Attewater.” He brought his fists together and bowed. “Today, we break the weakness in you.”