Chapter 30

“You know,” Jon started as Henry stepped into the room. He’d arrived early, just as requested, and used the app’s message feature to let Jon know he’d arrived. Given the fact this was a military feeling organization, he figured it was best to report to his higher ups. “that’s not exactly what I had in mind. But I suppose it works.” Jon was of course referring to the fact that Henry had come up with a solution, of sorts, to his D.E.D. problem.

Loki had of coursed advised he keep his D.E.D. a secret, but he also knew Jon already knew the three D.E.D. Henry had at his disposal. And if he kept just his Evil Eye out when he moved about, he would have trouble leveling up his Bladed Drakeling. So, to compromise, Henry opted to have his Evil Eye and Bladed Drakeling both out and about, while his Storm Crow had been returned to essence within…wherever it went. This way, sure, people would see two of his D.E.D., but only two. They wouldn’t know what else he had, and he could use the Evil Eye and Bladed Drakeling together to likely tackle most threats. Level of threat of course, dependent.

“I figured it wouldn’t be a problem if I did things this way.” Henry shrugged. “Besides, this means they can level up faster.” The extra 4 essence per hour each got, would add up greatly over time. And was crucial early on for helping level his D.E.D. up. Once they were stronger, they could of course take out stronger D.E.D. and grow rapidly that way. For now, ever little bit helped though.

“You’re not wrong.” Jon rubbed his chin, which was covered in a 5 o’clock shadow, even though it was still 10am, “and it’s not unheard of.”

That was the other thing. Henry had taken note of the fact some of the exorcists he’d seen in the headquarters, as well as out and about in town, had more than a single D.E.D. following them about. The only reason he’d been hesitant to do so, was Loki’s words of advice. But given he still had no idea who Loki was, nor what their intentions were, he’d figured it was alright to at least have one additional D.E.D. out.

“So no problems.” Henry offered Jon a smile. “Now then, why did I have to come early?”

Jon grinned and motioned for him to follow. “First and foremost, I forgot to assign you a locker, now that you’re a full member of the team.” Jon motioned for him to follow him, and Henry obliged. “As a full-fledged Exorcist, you are permitted a locker in which to keep a change of clothes, items, or whatever you want within it. Each Strike Team has their own staging area, where they keep their gear, and meet up before their missions. Now that you’re a part of the team, you get a locker in there.”

Jon led him down a few different hallways, until they reached a door with the Greek letter for Alpha on the door, emblazoned in gold lettering. Henry wasn’t sure what he expected as the door opened, but what laid before him was not it.

Instead of a plain, or professional room, the room had a variety of couches, televisions, game systems and such sprawled about. Additionally, there was a table for planning with maps all over it, and another that seemed to have been used for some sort of tabletop game. Even better, there was a kitchen on one end, and on the other, a row of lockers. These lockers seemed to be labeled with name strips, and Henry noticed more than a few of them had signs of having been labeled…but the labels were now gone. Did that mean they’d left? Or worse?

“This locker’s yours.” Jon took him to a side locker, “it’s already set up to your biometric data, meaning only you will be able to open it.” There was a thumbprint scanner on the locker which Jon pointed to. “Why don’t you give it a go?”

Henry nodded and placed his thumb on the scanner. A second later, a little chime went off, and he heard the locking mechanism release. Opening it up, he couldn’t help but be a little surprised. The locker wasn’t empty. Instead, folded neatly at the bottom of it, was an outfit he’d seen once before. The outfit of the away team. The black, mysterious fabric he’d worn when he’d accompanied Loki through the rift to face off against the Larpen. What really caught his eye though, was the mask sitting atop it.

“Given your current ranking, this is the mask you’ll wear on away missions.” Jon spoke, immediately answering Henry’s bubbling questions. “As you know, we try our best to keep our identities anonymous when we go through the rift, because of the necessity for us to utilize stronger D.E.D., and the organizations efforts to keep legendary D.E.D. members a secret. It was easier, after all, to make everyone anonymous, rather than just those with great power. Otherwise,” Jon chuckled, “it would be easier to rule out who was and wasn’t in a rift.”

“A Scarred One?” The mask was just like the one’s he’d seen before. The expressionless mask with the slash across it. A mid-tiered exorcist according to Loki.

“Yeah, though, you’re not really at that level yet.” Jon closed the locker on Henry, his eyes going serious. “Or, more appropriately, your D.E.D. aren’t there yet.”

“What do you mean?” Henry asked, though he had a slight idea of what Jon was getting at. The potential wipe from the Hell Hound had driven a fact clear into Henry’s mind about that.

“Your resonation tier potential, is the highest humanly possible. And your current resonation isn’t bad either. However, your D.E.D. are definitely lacking. Until you gain more power through your D.E.D., you’re not actually of help to anyone. In fact, as it stands now, you’d be a liability if you were to go through a rift.”

“I’m sure I’d figure out some way to help.” Henry said softly, though he didn’t believe it. He wasn’t sure how strong the Larpen had been, but he remembered that fight. The D.E.D. everyone had been using against it, seemed much stronger than what Henry currently had.

“You’d get yourself killed, and probably some others, if you went in and tried to do anything more than stand and watch.” Jon said simply. His voice, normally filled with some sort of amusement or passion, was cold, dead. “Ambition is fine, arrogance, is not. Arrogance leads to death.”

“I-“

Jon held up a hand and nodded. “I’ve got the feeling you already recognize you’re lacking in strength. The fact you’ve got your Drakeling out, at the very least, shows you’re not a hopeless lost cause.” Jon chuckled, “which is why I want you to leech off of your partner today. Join in every fight, and lean on their strength in order to power level your D.E.D. At a minimum, to wear that mask, your D.E.D. need to be level 20. That, at the very least, will keep them from being one-shot by a Larpen.”

That sent a chill through Henry’s spine. He’d known the Larpen was strong. But level 20? Just to ensure he wasn’t one-shot. What level was the Larpen then, and how powerful was it in actuality. And, as an additional thought, what levels were the D.E.D. the exorcists in the rift had been using?

“That’s, going to take a while.” Henry said in a defeated voice. Seriously, he was picking away at level 5 D.E.D. Getting his to level 20, was going to take forever.

“Eh, we can get you there in probably a week. But it’s going to require a lot of work on your part…and will likely mean you won’t get any more D.E.D. for a while.”

That last part concerned Henry. He knew he needed to focus on his current D.E.D., and defeating D.E.D. was the fastest way for his to gain experience. However, there was something to be said about collecting a multitude of D.E.D. Especially if he could get different elements and types. He wanted a powerful, well rounded team, after all. Plus…he was still dealing with the issue of killing off so many of them.

“Why not?” Henry asked hesitantly. “Surely the D.E.D. could join our cause.”

“Oh they could,” Jon chuckled darkly, “but who I’m assigning to help you power level is notorious for leaving no survivors.” He continued to laugh as he pulled out his phone and typed away at it. A moment later, the door into the room opened, and a figured stepped in. “Allow me to introduce you to your new partner Henry.” Jon pointed towards the individual. “Our own, appropriately nicknamed, Reaper.”