It’s been a week since I picked up Grey at Pennhurst, and he was finally a bit… better, after his experience with those who broke out of that place.

He wouldn’t get over it, but he would feel the trauma a bit less as time passed, much like all bad things…

As it was, I showed Grey towards a waiting room, letting him know that I’d be busy for a few minutes and then we’d both go talk to Clayton.

Stepping out of the room, but making sure to have Dante there to just be around Grey, I pulled out my phone and dialled a specific number.

After a few rings, I heard that my call was connected.

“Agent Shaun, what is it?” Our mutual dislike for each other aside, Clive has been quick to get to the point these days, understandable given the situation with his sister…

My own younger sibling is a bit annoying at times, but I still care for him, which is why I don’t get annoyed with Clive for being angry at everything.

I don’t blame him, but I will call him out on it though.

“Hey, relax, I’m calling with good news here.” I said, looking back to the room which had Grey sitting in it.

“Sorry… just, what is it, I’m about to step into the Dungeon and we’re really close to the Demon Lord.” I was only mildly surprised by that, knowing that Caliburn never really put their all into Dungeon diving.

It was their job and livelihood, unless they were fighting a Demon Lord there was little risk given how often their leader analysed monsters, and each other.

So they always fought leaving a margin of energy to spare in case of trouble, I knew this from Clive’s own reports, but I guess that if they started to ignore that margin…

Besides, Clive did say they’d only come out of the Dungeon once they were sure of the path to the next Demon Lord, so when I got the report that he and his team came out yesterday, I knew I had to make the call today.

“Well, I knew you were capable of rushing through the Dungeon, so I’m not entirely surprised… anyway, Grey, we found him.” I didn’t mention how we found him or what happened…

I’d explain that another time, and I didn’t want Clive to know that we pretty much only found Grey because the people who took him had no more use for him.

That, and they knew that if they killed Grey that I would be coming after them instead of just the Chosen.

“You found him, is he okay, when was this?” Clive asked pretty short questions thankfully, as I ordered them in my mind.

“Yes, we found him a week ago in a place I’m not allowed to tell you about… and he is fine, physically, but…” I left the end open, Clive was no child, he would have an idea of what happened.

“Oh… I...” I could instantly hear the indecision and I was surprised by it.

Clive wasn’t a touchy-feely guy, to put it lightly. He seemed open at first glance but then one would notice how he never seemed to put his all into his exchanges, little to no physical contact with anyone, measured responses…

Then again, he was also human.

“I didn’t want to tell you because I know you have the Demon Lord fight coming up soon, but I also knew you’d be mad if I kept you in the dark.” I explained my reasoning, and I knew that Clive would catch on.

“Right, you’re there. I’d like you to let Grey know that we’ll be visiting after this fight.” I made a mild grunt of agreement, knowing that wouldn’t be all that Clive wanted to say.

“But beyond Grey and… whatever happened to him, there has to be a bit more, did you find any information?” I felt a smirk on my face as I heard the question.

“Well that’s the other reason I called. Grey says that the person who interrogated him wanted information on you and the other Chosen, specifically your names and possible levels, skills, that sort of thing.” I heard the click of a tongue on the other side of the line.

“So they know quite a bit about our team at this point, that’s going to be annoying to deal with… wait, does the kidnapper have any connection to-” I cut him off with my next words.

“It’s no doubt the same person who kidnapped your sister, along with the family members of the other Chosen.” I heard a slight intake of breath as my statement answered the unasked question.

“Then, more likely than not, we’re walking into a trap.” It was a horrible situation, I could relate as I thought back to occasional hostage situations back when I was strictly military.

This was a near perfect scenario as the Demon Lord room only had one entrance and exit, disregarding the teleporting podium thing. But that could only be used if your team killed that Demon Lord already.

And because this kidnapper was remaining in the room (apparently) then their group wouldn’t even be able to escape using that podium because the Demon Lord wouldn’t reappear until the room was empty.

So one entrance really. He also knew exactly who would be coming and their abilities so he could prepare.

The only silver lining is that no doubt Caliburn and the other Chosen teams would have levelled up between the time when Grey was missing and now, so some things might be different skill-wise.

“Exactly… We don’t know much about the kidnapper but we do know that he possesses many others that work for him, and his Anima is a knife.” Much like Clive’s own if I recall…

Though unlike others, Clive seemed to possess two. He didn’t outright say it, but cloak of his is clearly not ordinary, and I had long since identified him as having two.

What was the reason, I didn’t know… I wish I did.

“A knife like mine… but this person should be pretty strong, Grey is almost as strong as you or me, so if he lost to this guy…” The implications were clear as I nodded, despite knowing that Clive couldn’t see me.

It was just one of those things that calm a person down.

“This guy is likely level eighty or so, maybe even a bit higher. What level are you at right now?” I asked, looking to my own wrist and seeing the shining seventy nine on my wrist.

“Eighty three, the rest of Caliburn is level eighty one right now.” They had progressed nicely, but… I doubt that this kidnapper would be weaker than Clive.

It just wouldn’t make sense.

“Hey Shaun, if we… okay, when we save the hostages, how do we secure them…” Ah, looks like Clive was thinking about other things rather than the troubling thought of not being the strongest.

“From what I understand, they’d normally reappear wherever they entered the Dungeon from… which would be the enemy bases. This really is a problem… but luckily, we both know someone who has answers no one else does.” I said, reaching into my pocket.

The Cardinal Prophet gave me this note before he left for the U.K a few weeks ago, and it hadn’t made sense then, but it does now.

“George? He always has the answers, so how did he answer this one?” Clive was quick to understand as I unfolded the note.

“To quote: ‘The Dungeon has multiple entrances and exits, each overlapping, entering from one place and exiting from another is possible so long as one has a connection.' I don't know what the 'connection' is, but knowing George, who ever needs the information can use it." I still disliked the man calling me a monster, but his advice was never wrong.

“A Connection… I have a few ideas, but this should work. I’ve already contacted the other Chosen, we’re all planning on entering the Demon Lord room in exactly five hours from now.” Good plan, as with time-zones saying a specific time wouldn’t work, but a ‘time from now’ statement would work.

“Then you best get moving. Good luck.” That was all I could really tell Clive as he responded with a grunt of acknowledgement before the call ended.

Now while Clive would be going after the kidnapper, I had to talk with Clayton and Grey… I can only hope that Clive makes it out alive.

As much as we find the other distasteful, we respect each other for our skills… and I’d rather not have to replace him after he dies.

“So what did Agent Shaun say?” I turned to look at Michael as I heard his voice, placing my phone into my inventory with a sigh.

“Grey has been found, and it’s likely that the person who kidnapped Grey is also the one who kidnapped my sister.” I admitted, making Michael frown as he nodded in understanding.

“I get it, so is there any game plan beyond ‘get into room and hurt kidnapper’ or are we winging it?” I raised a brow at my second-in-command as he processed what he just asked me.

I’m the guy who always has a plan, even when its unnecessary… and he’s asking if I have one when it’s truly important?

“Right, dumb question, but could you share with the class?” Michael joked, but it was a bit awkward… understandable given that he knew how angry I was.

It’s… difficult, for me, to hold onto anger. I don’t know why, but most emotions were fleeting. I struggled to hold onto any… it’s why I couldn’t stay angry at Chronos unless reminded about my deceased family members…

Now that I think about it… I wonder where James was… he…

Did he even know our parents were dead? Did he know Denis was dead? Did he know that Angelica was in danger?

I couldn’t contact him… I still disliked my brother, but in all this Adventurer business and my own dislike for talking to him, have I never actually considered going out of my way to talk to him?

Have I never actually thought about him beyond ‘he’s probably alive’… heck, he could be dead for all I knew.

…This was the wrong time for me to be thinking of such things.

“Earth to Arthur.” I looked to Michael who had waved a hand in front of my face and nodded, showing that I was no longer deep in thought.

“The plan is for Matt to step in first, with his ability to tank everything… he’ll be an excellent battering ram. You enter the room last, Alice will enter after Matt, then me, and then Emilia. John obviously enters after Emilia.” I explained, and that was really all I could do for a plan right now.

It was simple and worked, I don’t know much about our opponents, their number, or abilities…

Personal Information

Name:

Arthur Clive

Level:

86

20 117 EXP

Rank:

I

Class:

Smith

Familiar:

Cait Sith (Sidhe)

Kingdom:

Camelot

King

Anima:

Traveller’s Cloak

The Nameless Dagger

Stats:

Strength: 67 (83)

Dexterity: 100 (212)

Intelligence: 61 (70)

Wisdom: 100 (240)

Vitality: 67 (83)

Constitution: 60

Skills:

Shooting (H), Blade Wielding (SS), Tactician (EX), Recovery (SSS), Close Combat (S), Enchanting (S), Soul Reading, Dual Wielding ©, Quick Reflexes (SS),Critical Strikes ©

Class Skills:

Blacksmith (I), Fire Resistance (I), Metallurgy (I), Armour Appraisal (I), Weapon Appraisal (I)

My stats were quite high for a Champion, due to my Cloak giving bonus multipliers.

My Cloak boosted its bonuses every ten levels, at level seventy it boosted every Stat except Constitution, Vitality, Dexterity and Strength were increased by twenty five per cent, Wisdom at fifteen and Intelligence at ten.

Now Vitality, Dexterity and Strength didn’t increase anymore, but Wisdom was now increased by twenty per cent and Intelligence by fifteen.

The result was that I now had around one hundred and thirty eight levels of stats… I love multipliers.

But knowing that our opponent was around the same power wise most likely… well, this was going to be an issue for my teammates who had at most (Matt) around one hundred and fourteen levels of stats.

“That sounds simple, but with an enemy around your strength…” Michael reminded me that I was stronger than I seemed at times… my Dagger might be horrible, but with a good sword in my other hand?

I was a force to be reckoned with at this point… but I was not unbeatable… with that knowledge, I stalked forward, my second-in-command following me as we walked up to the Dungeon entrance.

“If they are as strong as me? I will fight them. And by the way, Michael?” Michael raised an eyebrow at me as I clenched my fists, my hair slightly sparking from my magic.

“It’s not ‘hurt’ kidnapper. It’s kill.”

I’m so, so excited.

It was freaking out Cheshire and the others when they dumped the hostages with me, but I just ordered them to leave.

I want to be seen, but I think it’s pointless to have my enforcers known to the world at large right now… I don’t want any trouble for other members of my crew.

Not because they can’t handle themselves, but because I could kill people looking for trouble in a less tedious fashion if those people came to me instead of my lackeys.

“You’re smiling.” I turned, smile still plastered on my face as I looked to the little girl sitting in the middle of the room, chained to the floor with some creative applications of Metal magic.

Luckily the floor was a bit easy to pierce through, the Demon Lord this time around was some Undead Knight or something, and the Arena had a rotted floor.

It was surprisingly difficult to kill said Demon Lord, but it was doable… though I was the one to kill the Demon Lord I barely gained a level…

And to think, I’m like three or so levels away from level one hundred…

I want to see what happens when I reach that level… but I don’t have time for that before the Chosen appear.

I was well aware that all of them would be appearing in the next day... I’ve been waiting for the past two days in this room.

My inventory was understandably filled with drinks and food, well, at least my minions inventories were….

“Yes, yes I’m smiling. I’m excited.” I admitted, to the American Chosen’s sister, uh… Angelica. Yeah, that was her name.

I only recalled that because she was actually a bit more interesting than Cheshire or the others. They were terrified of me…

Oh she had enough self-preservation instinct to not trust me, but she did not fear me like they did, even when I did horrible things in front of her.

She disliked it, but she showed no fear, only annoyance…

And she was what, eight, nine? Even at such a young age she was interesting… too bad I couldn’t keep her or twist her into a perfect little Pennhurst soldier.

Her brother was coming to fight me after all. I doubt I’d be able to inspire… ‘loyalty’ from someone whose brother I killed.

These people with me, if I killed their best friend they’d abandon them without a second thought because it would be in their best interests to stay alive rather than get mad at me for killing someone they knew.

I’m the last one who should say this, but that is sickening. Even I have a measure of loyalty and care for another, even if these people have never actually seen my Boss…

Then again I’m the only one who vaguely remembers the man.

“I’m so excited Angelica… I get to test them, I get to test the ‘strongest’ of humanity and prove them wanting. I get to prove that I am beyond all others even when denied the benefits they were given…” I took a pause, to emphasize my next words.

“I get to fight, I get to kill, people around my level of strength… they’re so rare… and your brother is one of them.” I added, and Angelica frowned, glaring at me…

The fact that a little girl had more guts than my own men was insulting.

“He’s going to hit you. And it’s going to hurt.” That, was a surprisingly bold statement from the little girl, and it only had me smiling wider, only now unnerving her a bit.

“Oh I’m okay with that… I’m going to hit him back. And he won’t get back up from that.” And so we wait, and so we wait… oh killing the Chosen is going to be glorious…

If only our other hostages could be this interesting.

“Okay… I know this is hard Grey, but we really need what information you managed to obtain.” I couldn’t even get mad at Clayton for what he was saying.

He was right, we did need the information Grey had so as to better combat the group that kidnapped him… doesn’t mean we could just ask him this so soon after his kidnapping, but…

Grey seemed to agree, nodding at Clayton’s question, though Grey seemed to be extremely skittish after this… I’ll have to have him go into counselling, by force if necessary.

PTSD was a real danger for military vets and those who survive… well, traumatic experiences.

Some would say that PTSD was the brain’s natural reaction to continuous adversity, though PTSD manifested in different ways…

I do not have all the information, most mental issues are a case by case basis with a few similarities between them… I just hope Grey remains this cooperative when I tell him to go to counselling.

“Right… right… the man who took me… he didn’t mention a name, and no one around him called him anything other than boss…” Grey started, palming a cup of hot chocolate that I gave him before the talk started.

Harry Potter was quite the fantasy back when it was written, though many can do bits of magic now, but that act of giving chocolate to someone in shock was confusing to me until I researched it, apparently chocolate increases oxygen and blood flow to the brain, lowering the chance of a stroke through stress.

I’d say that Grey needed something to lower stress at this point.

“He sounds very distant from his men… something we can use maybe? Any other details?” Clayton asked, while I made sure to stay within sight of Grey, staying in his blind-spot would just agitate him needlessly.

Grey was understandably jumpy whenever movement occurred around him… I didn’t blame him, I just tried to work with it.

“He… he has two Animae, like Arthur… one is a knife, the other a… top hat?” Grey himself seemed confused by that last bit, but I got the idea, I’d be confused too if I saw someone wearing a top hat of all things in today’s modern climate.

“And… the doctor he left with me… a healer, so I didn’t…” I got the idea, raising a hand to stop him from continuing, no need to explain when we understood what he meant.

“The doctor was seriously afraid of the boss… he was the one who helped me escape.” Grey said with a frown, and given that I found him alone, I don’t think the doctor got out fine, possibly not even alive.

“That’s a shame… maybe he was a hostage of some kind, held for his skill.” I admitted, and Grey and Clayton both nodded, understanding my meaning.

“Finally, uh… the boss, when he was with me, he referred to himself as ‘twenty-three’. It was an important number to him, and he was adamant that I provide him with information about the Chosen.” Now that drew red flags in my mind, Grey was a trained agent, anti-interrogation methods were a thing, but…

Everyone has a breaking point.

“I managed to keep all information about Arthur to myself, and only giving the full names of the other Chosen… I worry that I might have been the reason they managed to kidnap…” Grey’s words halted slightly as he took in a deep breath and I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose while thinking.

“We won’t blame you for giving out information, especially under that kind of circumstance, and we are pretty sure that he’s been planning this for a while. If you didn’t say anything, he would have found out in some other manner.” Grey looked away and I raised an eyebrow in question.

“He… he mentioned that he had a grudge against America as a whole… sir, I think he might not be just a kidnapper, or crime lord… he might be a terrorist.” I was hoping that wouldn’t be the case… a home grown terrorist aiming at us…

Wait. It was clicking now.

Seeing my expression change, Clayton spoke out in worry.

“Shaun, what’s wrong, you figure something out?” I heard the words, taking a deep breath as I considered the whole messed up situation.

“Project Fool, Pennhurst, a grudge against America, enjoying hurting other people, the number twenty three… this kidnapper, he’s the twenty third patient of the latest iteration of Project Fool.” I realized, vocalizing my thoughts as Clayton widened his eyes, Grey being confused bar the understanding of Pennhurst.

“You’re certain?” Clayton asked as I looked to Grey, then back to the President with a nod.

“Definitely. According to the files we managed to get from Pennhurst, patient twenty three was the most dangerous of the lot, able to use just about any firearm with skill, but especially skilled in the use of knives…” Grey paled, realizing that yes, it was the person I’m talking about.

After getting a healer and doctor to look at him, we confirmed that he was okay, but multiple stab wounds were noted as having happened.

“The only other person it might be would be patient zero one, but this kidnapper was referring to himself as twenty three, as if that was what he saw himself as.” I added, and Clayton nodded, getting the idea…

“That’s a worrying prospect right there… according to his file, the only reason twenty three wasn’t slaughtering everyone was because he was sedated.” Clayton reminded and I agreed.

Though… according to that same file…

“Say… on that file, it said that twenty three was in an abusive friendship of some kind with zero one… and that twenty three got even worse mentally when zero one was taken away, requiring the medication after that point.” I reminded, trying to work out my train of thought verbally.

“What’s your point Shaun?” Clayton asked, though from his tone I knew he wasn’t annoyed really, he knew I worked better when I verbalized my thoughts.

“Despite the caustic relationship, twenty three was very attached to zero one, to the point of needing to be drugged in compliance so that twenty three wouldn’t go running off after zero one… so now that he’s free, what would he want to do most, other than hurting those who put him into Pennhurst?” I asked aloud, trying to get Grey and Clayton to see what I was seeing.

“…You think that he’s acting so as to get into contact with zero one, to find them? But if that’s the case then why hasn’t twenty three focused on taking down the government?” I doubted the grown up child soldier could truly succeed in taking out the entirety of America, but…

Things are different when you’re willing to give your life to a cause, as can be attested by the numerous terrorist groups around the world, and nine-eleven.

Ten people killed about three thousand people and injured six thousand more with their actions. Now think about what a larger group can do if they focused on other things, it was a terrifying thought.

“I think… I think that twenty three is looking for zero one because of some other circumstance, a new name, being unable to recognize zero one, uncertainty as to where zero one lives, any number of reasons, but zero one hasn’t been found yet.” I had no concrete reason to believe this, but it made sense.

Occam’s Razor stated that the simplest answer was the correct one, with the least assumptions, it seemed like zero one was missing or twenty three couldn’t readily access zero one for some unknown reason.

That being the case, I had to wonder… where was patient zero one? Was he out of country, missing, under a new identity… maybe… there was also the possibility that zero one was famous in some form, and that for this reason twenty three couldn’t meet zero one without drawing attention to himself.

All conjecture, but the only thing we could really be sure of was that twenty three has not personally encountered patient zero one yet.

Given that zero one forced twenty three into his current form… I hope they never meet again… someone that can break another human being into becoming such an amoral killer is not someone anyone would want to associate with.

I could only hope that Caliburn and the other Chosen teams made it out alright…

Facing against twenty three, they would need it… especially considering he’s now around the same strength as said Chosen, otherwise he wouldn’t fight.

Standard mind set, never start a fight you can’t finish…

How did it end up like this?

We had expected it to be difficult, a fight against an unknown amount of enemies in an enclosed location, and at least one of said enemies was going to be as strong as me or even stronger.

And yet when we entered through the stairs, there was barely a moment before we were taken out?

I sat on the floor after being knocked away, glaring at the large amount of people, all wearing masks of some sort as they surrounded us…

Not only that, but my team wasn’t the only one brought down… I could see Ichiro, Albert, Loyiso, Jade and Sheikh all tied up and knocked out, much like the rest of my team, and theirs.

I was the only one still awake, even the hostages were out cold… including Angelica, though she did not seemed to be harmed like the Adventurers were… she was made to sleep through some other method.

And standing in front of me was the person, I assume, that kidnapped my sister and commanded this large group of people…

And he seemed… oddly emotional? He was staring at me, he was making sure to keep himself between myself and the rest of my teammates and comrades.

“Bastard…” I growled out, feeling my Dagger in my hand, my cloak covering my form as my magic hummed, Lightning arching around me… fortunately, or unfortunately, Sidhe was injured and couldn’t help me right now.

The saving grace of that fact was that Sidhe was a Familiar, if she got heavily injured to the point of dying she’d come back after a period of time…

And seeing me, ready to charge and kill him, the man who caused all this…

Raised his hands to the sky?

“Yes, yes I have found him, I found Boss! What a glorious moment, wouldn’t you say?” I heard the words, but felt disconnected as the man flourished an arm in my general direction, and I could only stare in confusion.

“What are you talking about?” I said, still angry, and the fluid nature of the man’s movements suddenly halted.

“You mean… you don’t remember? How can you not remember… the blood, the pain, the ecstasy that one can only feel when the life of another is in your hands… how can you not remember, boss, how can you not remember…” I stared at the man, feeling at a loss for words at this, this claim to know me.

“Boss zero one… you forgot everything huh…” the man slumped, staring at me, removing his mask…

And all I could think was… ‘I recognize him’.

“Cheshire, hurt this fake.” A man to his side, with a cat mask, nodded…

And then my world was pain, and my sight no more.

But just before I fell asleep… I felt something wake up.

“I am you, and you are me, remember?”

Personal Information

Name:

[email protected]*( [email protected]$(&

Level:

94

13 480 EXP

Rank:

I

Class:

Assassin

Kingdom:

Wonderland

King

Anima:

Razorback

Gentleman’s Top Hat

Stats:

Strength: 150 (300)

Dexterity: 52

Intelligence: 102 (153)

Wisdom: 52

Vitality: 67

Constitution: 62

Skills:

Blade Wielding (SSS), Overflowing Strength (EX), Close Combat (S), Shooting (B), Recovery (SSS), Drug Resistance (S), Computation (A)

Class Skills:

Sneak (I), Acrobatics (I), Hunt (I)