Chapter 1: Recall

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A little boy blankly stared out of a car's tinted window as he sat in between two figures clad in pristinely kept black suits. The figure to his left was a well-statured man that seemed to be in his late twenties. He had a dark skin tone with dark, shortly cropped hair and a chiseled face.

The man to the child's right looked to be in his early thirties and was the complete opposite when it came to his build. He was very average with tan skin, cleanly cut blonde hair and a fine face.

The buildings that they passed by were very well kept and decorated while the streets were noticeably sanitized, completely unlike the sector that he had just lived in moments ago. Streetlights flashed by as they made their continual advance through the public roads before taking a detour and finally stopping in front of an unpaved road that led into the forest.

A gruff voice came from the driver's seat,

"This is your stop, remember to forward to Lancer if any problems arise. Deliver the package in perfect condition, you hear? I don't want the higher ups hanging us by our necks. " (Driver)

A burst of anger came from the figure who was on the child's left,

"We'll do our damn job and you'll do yours. God damn, I hate you filthy bottom feeders, becoming so proud of yourselves and thinking that you're one of us just because you were lucky enough to finish the Public Sector's Admission Exams!" (Figure 1)

The figure to the child's right turned with a calm voice,

"He has a point though, besides, he has the right to worry. The consequences will be severe if something does happen to the package. We've recently received a report that Devillian has infiltrated our databases after all. It doesn't hurt to be cautious." (Figure 2)

Staring daggers at the driver, the prideful figure finally looked away and scoffed,

"Damn...Fine, let's just get a move on. We're burning time, I want to be home with my kids." (Figure 1)

Lightly laughing in reply, the calm figure gently took off the restraints on the child and scanned the surroundings before escorting him out of the door with the other figure following in suit.

The cool nighttime breeze brushed past them as they steadily trekked through the untrodden trail, with the waning moon watching over them.

A couple hours passed by.

The child was raggedly breathing as he tried to catch up with the prideful figure leading from the front.

A mountain started to come into view while they continued along the trail. They could see stairs leading from the base of the mountain to its peak.

Noticing the awkward movements of the child who was on the verge of collapsing, the calm figure called out,

"Oy, let's take a rest here, we still have a bit of a way to go." (Figure 2)

Swiftly turning around, the prideful figure was about to make a retort right before noticing the child's figure and sighed,

"Damn brat......Ha...What a pain....Fine, have it your way." (Figure 1)

They looked around for a while and found a sizeable log to rest on.

Taking a seat next to the child on the log, the calm figure pulled out a sack and handed the boy a water bottle with a smile,

"Here, have a drink." (Figure 2)

The child had a complicated look on his face as he suspiciously stared at the water bottle.

"Haha, you don't have to worry. I haven't done anything to it! Here, I'll show you." (Figure 2)

He took a sip from the water bottle and showed that he was fine.

Reluctantly accepting it, the child started drinking.

"We'll get going again soon, so for now, just focus on resting. Here, I have sweets too if you want them." (Figure 2)

Rustling the sack as he searched for the sweets, he finally pulled them out and offered them to the child with a smile.

Immediately grabbing the sweets in response, the child started to eat them. Joy was evident on the child's face, and a little bit of light was starting to come back into his eyes.

The prideful figure stepped away in annoyance and maintained vigilance at a considerable distance from them.

Enjoying the child's reaction, the calm figure continued,

"Don't worry about it too much, Jayden actually has a soft heart for kids. He just doesn't really know how to express himself. My name is Gaiden, what's yours?" (Gaiden)

The boy responded in a monotone while still focusing on the sweets,

"Subject number 72." (Child)

"Ah...I see." (Gaiden)

With a bitter smile, he kept watching over the child.

The exchange between the two continued on for a while before they finally finished resting.

Suddenly, a stifling presence permeated the air.

His instincts kicked in as Gaiden pricked his ears. He noticed subtle movement surrounding them.

Shit, where's Jayden?....

Instantly dragging the child behind the log, he pulled out his pistol and observed his surroundings.

"Stay down, and don't move alright?..." (Gaiden)

The child confusedly nodded in response.

Jayden was a further ahead to his right, using a tree as cover with his pistol drawn.

He noticed too huh?...Guess the reports were true after all. They caught us at a pretty bad time...

Quickly peeking out from his cover, Jayden started firing ahead and came back to cover just as quickly.

Flashes of light flew past Jayden.

The child yelped in shock, hearing the sudden break in silence.

Realization hit Gaiden as he listened to the sound of successive gunfire.

Shit...They have automatics...

Desperately honing his hearing, he tried to gather more information.

Alright...So from the gunshots, there's only one ahead that's suppressing Jayden. Looks like he's currently trying to contact Lancer, and in between the lapse of gunfire, I could hear footsteps coming from Jayden's left and right. A stray set of footsteps is coming from directly behind us, but they haven't fired at us yet so that must mean....

"...I know you're scared, but just hold on for a while longer. I promise that I'll protect you." (Gaiden)

Quickly ruffling the child's hair in assurance, Gaiden turned away from Jayden's position, took a deep breath before aiming towards the direction of the footsteps that were behind them in anticipation.

A figure fully clad in military gear suddenly appeared in front of Gaiden and immediately aimed at Jayden, but jolted in surprise after quickly noticing them.

Bingo, guess they really didn't know that we were here...

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bullets flew in rapid succession from Gaiden's pistol and accurately struck the figure's protected forehead, with each bullet hitting the same spot as the first before finally piercing through.

As the figure immediately collapsed, Gaiden quickly rushed over to the body and dragged it behind the cover of the nearest tree before taking the rifle to finally inspect it.

A modded SA80A2 huh?...Seems to be in good condition...Well, this confirms that they're from Devillian.

He took a quick peek around the corner only to just as quickly fall back to cover when he was greeted with a hail of bullets.

Damn...I can't get a shot...Maybe he'll have something that'll help?

He began searching the body and found a couple of frags.

...Strange...If they had this much utility, why haven't they been using them?...

An abrupt realization hit him as he continued inspecting the body.

They're not here for an elimination mission, they're here for a retrieval...They didn't know where the package exactly was, so they didn't take the risk...Wait...But If that's the case, then shouldn't there be more of them?...

He felt chills running down his spine as he suddenly heard loud, piercing screams coming from Jayden's direction.

Just as suddenly, they became ominously silent.

Readying his rifle, he quickly peeked out again.

Fear struck his heart, he felt cold sweat flowing down his face as he witnessed the scene ahead of him.

The tree that Jayden was using as cover turned into a makeshift gallows, he was on the floor with his back turned towards Gaiden and the child, eyes facing the gallows in shock. The necks of the two Devillian agents were bent in unnatural ways. Their missing limbs were made obvious by the fresh blood that was still gushing out.

A woman was crouched with two daggers deeply pierced into the ground, the metallic rope that wrapped around the necks of the two Devillian agents seemed to be connected to the daggers, acting as a pulley.

Although this was an inappropriate situation to be noticing such a thing, Gaiden couldn't help but stare in awe at the woman's beauty. She looked to be middle-aged, but he wouldn't blame anyone if they were to have mistaken her as an adolescence. Her body was very fit and had curves in all of the right places. Flawless snow white skin and wavy, violet hair that reached past her shoulders. On top of that, an equally violet one-piece dress and a well-sculptured face complimented her appearance. The only word that he could use to describe her in this situation was...

Bewitching.

She was able to handle them with such ease?!...Who is she?!?! Wait, no, hold on...Why does she seem so familiar?...

"Hahaha, I knew something was wrong when I was out for my morning stroll! The scents were unusually unpleasant today. I rushed here as soon as I got the call from Jayden. Guess I forgot to take out the trash and it attracted some rodents." (Woman)

As she removed her hands from the daggers, she stood up and innocently scratched the back of her head.

"Ah, sorry about this Gaiden! Haha, and of course, you too Jayden! I got a bit lazy when it came to cleaning out the front yard, so I guess this was only natural. Let me make it up to you all with some tea and sweets at my house." (Woman)

She slowly walked to the remaining agent who was a bit further beyond the gallows tree.

The agent's arms and legs involuntarily trembled in fear as he saw the ominous smile inching closer and closer, seemingly spelling out his doom.

She faded into the darkness as she passed the tree. Right at that moment, the figures of both the woman and the agent disappeared from the rest of the group's view. They were only able to make out the sound of a rifle rapidly firing in the distance before a shrill scream reverberated throughout the area.

A heavy silence lingered for what felt like ages before the woman finally came back with a cheerful smile,

"Haha, don't worry about the rest of them either, I've already taken care of them. So what made ya all come here? It's rare for me to be paid a visit by all of you!" (Woman)

Jayden continued to blankly stare at the woman while Gaiden shook off his shock. He scratched the back of his neck and responded with a strained smile,

That tone and speech, there's no mistaking it...There's not even a speck of blood on her dress. Can't believe that I've forgotten about her absurdness...

"We have a package to deliver to you, that's all haha...I'll be happy to take you up on your offer. I also see that you're just as happy go lucky as you were in the past, Vella." (Gaiden)

Boisterously laughing, she energetically patted Gaiden on the back,

"Haha, and you're becoming as handsome as ever!" (Vella)

Ah...I think she just threw my back...That one's definitely going to hurt in the morning.

Vella curiously tilted her head as a sudden realization sunk in,

"A package?...." (Vella)

She noticed the child that cowered behind the log while stealing quick peeks at her before she eventually nodded,

"Ah, I see. It's finally that time then huh?...Been a while since I've seen a Successor." (Vella)

She gave a gentle smile as she approached him.

He shook in fear and tried to hide even further behind the log.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you...You're safe now..." (Vella)

She gently brushed his hair in assurance as she arrived in front of him, feeling the boy lightly jump before calming down.

Vella finally looked back towards Gaiden and Jayden,

"He's quite a strong child to have been able to make it to this point..." (Vella)

Suddenly remembering where they were, she clapped her hands and panicked,

"Sorry! That was a bit rude of me. You all are tired after that right? Let's continue our conversation while heading over to my home. You can rest there!" (Vella)

With that suggestion, they continued on with their journey through the trail to Vella's house.