"I'm surprised you asked me to hold on to the phone Alley gave us." I comment while idly playing with the device. I had returned to Six Trees using The Voice's cab and passed through border control without incident. Now I was just chilling in the hideout while The Voice compiles the information we had retrieved from our excursion to Ascension Tower.

"It is to send the good Commander a message." The Voice rasps, "Commander Hernandez believes that since ORPO polices Six Trees, he holds all the cards in respect of any future negotiations with us. I merely wish to remind him that we possess resources that he does not."

"And keeping the mobile with me achieves that how?" I ask, twirling the item in question about in my hand while leaning back more comfortably in the office chair that originally came free with the pit.

The Voice rumbles, "A tracker has been installed on the mobile that was given to you. Hernandez no doubt thinks he can track your location and keep you on a leash. The Commander has been very unpleasantly surprised by the discovery that you are currently camping out at his private residence."

I begin to snigger, "Serves him right."

"Commander Hernandez immediately rushed home the moment his technicians told him that you had invaded his residence." The Voice continues, "After fruitlessly searching the grounds for your presence, he has detailed a squad of his men to guard his home day and night."

I clap my hands delightedly. That guy was a complete asshole. Sending him running home in a panic would serve as a good lesson for him.

"I am not done with the demonstration yet." The Voice continues, "Tomorrow, Commander Hernandez will learn from the tracker that you have followed his daughter to her school. Who knows what might happen if he does not change his attitude towards us?"

Oh. That's a pretty serious escalation. I am fine with teaching an asshole a lesson, but threatening an innocent girl seems to be taking things a step too far, isn't it? I know that The Voice had threatened Alley's husband, but that was for a debt that she owed. And well, he was a grown man getting the benefit of the money Alley stole. The principle between the two things may be the same, but it felt less, well, morally wrong I suppose?

"You're not actually going to hurt Hernandez's daughter aren't you?" I ask.

"That is completely up to him." The Voice answers indifferently, "I am a god that fully respects the free will of mortals. They just need to be willing to bear the consequences of their actions."

"Look, there is something I need to ask you." I say slowly, "And I need you to level with me, with one hundred percent honesty."

The Voice grumbles, "Just ask your question."

I nod and take a moment compose my thoughts. "That anime you screened. The one advertising the visual novel." I say, "There was a scene where you were going to kill a whole bunch of people that the monsters had captured."

I leave the actual question unspoken, waiting for The Voice's response. But The Voice does not bother to humor me and silence is all I get.

"Well?" I finally ask, at my wits end.

"Well what?" The Voice asks, and I can picture it rolling its eyes from the tone of its reply, "That was a statement of fact, not a question. How did you expect me to provide an answer to that?"

I exasperatedly snap, "Did that bad shit really go down or not?"

The Voice answers condescendingly, "Transmigrator, if your question is whether or not I have killed, then yes, I have killed. Like you, I will not brook any threat to my survival. If killing is the easiest way to resolve such a threat, then killing is what I will do. However, I suspect that your question is referring to something else entirely."

Yeah. I know you don't mind killing, Voice. You have already shown yourself capable of it in our time together. But there is a difference between killing to live and outright crazy blood sacrifice.

The Voice fires back with a question of its own, "I am a god of matter. The natives cannot hear me, at all. Do you think I could have persuaded them to genocide each other for my sake? If I had an army of monsters at my beck and call, would you need to hide out in a glorified lavatory?"

"Yeah, no. It was a stupid question. Sorry." I apologize. Thinking things through, its really an outlandish accusation. No wonder The Voice was insulted. An awkward silence settles between the two of us, with only the crackling noise from the laptop's hard disk being heard in the hideout.

The silence becomes too much for me and I get up from my seat announcing, "I'm going out for a bit." The Voice grunts its acknowledgement.

....

When I had guessed that the pit was located beneath an office complex or office mall, my guess was correct, though slightly off. The building I was based in, Six Trees Hills was a massive construction housing both office and retail space located on the "skeleton", the network of infrastructure that binds the various districts into the singular whole known as The City. A separate block of the development with its own parking provided residential units as well. Six Trees Hills could be described as a self-contained town that stood by itself. A self-contained town for the wealthy.

I had originally intended to hit one of the pubs within Six Trees Hills before I realized that all the money I had was left behind in the apartment at the Dreaming Spires District. With that avenue unavailable, I began to wander about the commercial area of the building to window shop, but the late hour of the day meant that most of the stores were closing anyway. With boredom dangerously closing in and not wanting to go back to the pit just yet, I pull the trench coat tightly against myself and head outside into the snow.

The cold air brushes against my bare face and for once I regret not putting on that stupid looking fake beard. It might be uncomfortable, but at least it would have helped in keeping me warm. The snow falls relentlessly from the dark sky. Night really does come quickly in The City during the winter months. I drift aimlessly towards a deserted park, watching the traffic pass by along the road. The Voice has not spoken a word to me yet. Who knew it could be so sensitive about things?

As I walk deeper into the park, I find a discarded copy of the evening paper lying on a bench. Picking it up, I am greeted by a picture of Loli vampire grinning smugly while standing beside Nicky, the Hero and Brocon. "Surprise Challenger To The Throne!" the newspaper's headline screams.

Scanning through the article, it looks like Loli managed to turn the tables on Gustav. The Hero's victory is looking not quite so secure after all. He better start leveling up, and fast.

"Something is wrong." The Voice suddenly says. Hey, you're talking again. No hard feelings right?

"No shit." I reply, "Loli is probably too much for the Hero and Brocon to handle at the moment."

The Voice rasps urgently, "Not that. I mean that something is wrong, right now. Fate's hand is at work at the Crossroads. I sense that you are in grave danger."

I quickly drop the newspaper and retrace my path back out of the park. I needed to get back to the hideout as quick as possible. Its the only place where my safety is guaranteed. Was Hernandez going for a reprisal against me already? But The Voice made no mention of him in its warning.

My heart sinks at the next update from The Voice, "The park has been surrounded. You must prepare to fight."

As I make my way back to the park's entrance, I see that it has been completely blocked off by muscle. Magic wielding muscle. That automatically removed ORPO from the list. These guys are mostly human with some angels added in. Meaning SOPO and the Judecca Militia are out as well.

I settle in a fighting stance and activate the core. The buzz in my head erupts almost immediately. Not good. Something about this confrontation is seriously agitating Gallant. I won't be able to fight well if I have to keep reasserting my control over the body.

A sudden weight presses against my shoulders and cracks begin to appear on the ground where I am standing. I signal the core to increase power to shake off the effects of the magical attack, but the buzz in my head erupts in volume. I quickly cut back on the core's output and the invisible weight slams hard into me, forcing me to my knees.

"What in the world?" I gasp.

A single figure steps forward from the pack of muscle and strides confidently towards me. A woman, with her hair tied into a severe ponytail and a sharp, but plain face. Her spirit core blazes as her power assaults me. Its that stalker I originally met at the squat. Don't tell me she has been stalking me all this time?

"Damavand. The power to hold even a dragon fast." Stalker says.

"Focus Transmigrator." The Voice urges, "Focus or all will be lost."

Taking The Voice's advise, I make a conscious effort to ignore the buzz coming from Gallant. Surging the core once again, I struggle back to my feet as my head feels like its going to explode from the strain. I nevertheless retain control over the body. As long as my senses are not overwhelmed, I should be able to keep Gallant in check.

Stalker looks positively delighted to see me standing despite receiving her magical attack. Her core flares again and the pressure increases, but I keep pace with the attack and manage to straighten my gait despite the invisible weight thrown at me.

Stalker smiles and says, "Its been a long time, Daffyd."