“...Alright.” Shinzo handed Alexander a small plastic bag of white tablets, six in number. “Antikraitiocs. Take these twice every hour, including now. Your body had taken in a significant amount of potent mana, so these will help you break them down and you won’t suffer any drastic effects. Drastic.”

“Yeah…” Alexander took them with his good hand—the other one was incredibly sore given that a dagger had impaled it—and shook the bag, watching the tablets bounce. “I’m already feeling the nausea now.”

He opened the bag and rustled a couple pills out, swallowed them dry. Immediate relief didn’t come but he’ll should expect some results later.

“Thanks, Shinzo,” he told her, tucking the medicine into one of his pouches.

Shinzo shook her head as her back was turned, working on something else that he couldn’t see. “Don’t thank me. It’s my duty to heal anyone who comes walking through those doors and make sure they’ll be up and ready when their next mission is decided. For you, Shen, your work is cut out for you. You’ve already gained the interest of the city, now you captivated them.”

“I know.” Alexander struggled onto his feet, feeling pain everywhere across his body due to the mana depletion plus exhaustion from the fight against Acumen. Thanks to Shinzo, he’ll fully recover and be in top shape within hours. As long as he drank water and ate, of course, as she would always recommend.

“If you need anything, message me via the System. I’ll be busy otherwise.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Alexander helped himself out the same door that Shinzo spoke of and out into the familiar sight of the permanent darkness in the air, the bouncing false stars, and the organized chaos of Grendel Arsenal. The bombings here had taken out various personnel and infrastructure but they persevered and adapted to the sudden losses; while they came out weaker due to it, there was a sense of positive progress.

This, like the invasion itself, was fuel for the fire against the Sungrazers.

He turned to the barracks where the Baptists were assigned to and walked. Since the ambush, reinforcements came and alleviated them; even Initiate had come, where she teleported everyone to Grendel Arsenal for immediate aid given by Shinzo and other healers. There, alongside other Slayers, the spiked cargo will be taken care of. As for the Apocalyptics themselves, only three survived, including Acumen (much to Shinzo’s shock given how much Alexander had “pummeled him black”).

They were currently being interrogated. Knowing they were designated (or will be designated) as Apocalyptics, Alexander was reassured that “intelligence will be acquired no matter what”. Which meant torture, including mind manipulation.

During Alexander’s walk, he sensed a myriad of eyes on him. From the soldiers, who were whispering amongst themselves to the Slayers, which had to be a higher rank than him, looking on at this phenomenon having more questions than answers. Alexander ignored them, more focused on the mission then what anyone thought about him.

He arrived at the tents, heard soft chatter inside and let himself in. Everyone from the Alumnus and Alba were present, standing around or sitting or laying, all except for Gul who was taking care of the more administrative matters.

The conversation stopped and an uncomfortable quiet came. Everybody staring at everybody waiting to see who’d speak first. Or cough, or sniffle, or any other awkward sounds.

“...Hi,” broke Alexander first. That was the best idea he got.

“Hey, [Silver-Eyed Demon].” Leona waved from her cot. “What did Shinzo say?”

“Nothing important,” answered Alexander. He sat down next to his partner and looked around at the tent, gauging the energy here. Frankly he couldn’t tell. A swirl of emotions were present: Relief, anger, general confusion, shit like that.

It was difficult to crack this nut. This wasn’t the first time they had experienced an ambush but those involved bolts from cobbled together crossbows or magic chanted by shamans and warlocks in monster-ese. Not one involved getting blown to hell by quality-made constructs by terrorists.

And there was the elephant in the room, too.

In that awkwardness, Leona could say nothing but inch herself closer to Alexander.

Althea was the next person to break the awkwardness: “Where did your friend go? Kirk?”

“He’s with the other Duskheads probably doing the same thing we are: sitting around, checking in with their injured, shit like that.” Alexander recalled the squad that accompanied them during the ambush, where they were wounded by Acumen’s [Righteous Indignation]. That piece of shit. He sighed, continuing with his statement, “And like us, they’re waiting on the higher-ups to come back with a gameplan with this…”

Alexander gestured vaguely but everyone generally understood the meaning.

“Yeah, man…” Victor was standing at one of the walls having taken off his bulky armor, wearing civilian clothing pretty much. “I—well, uh—fuck me, y’know what, can we cut through this nansy-pansy shit? We’ve been talking around the subject since we got here and it’s driving me nuts.”

“What’s there to talk about?” Chunhua stated, who didn’t seem too bothered with what had happened. “We were attacked and we swiftly neutralized the threat. They were no different than the monsters we face—they are the monsters we face.”

“I get that, I do. At the same time…” Victor exhaled, putting a hand on the side of his neck. “...how bad does this shit gotta be if Ordoians point guns at us?”

“I heard the rogues were under some sort of, uh…” Vernon commented and motioned to his head. “There was some mental mind magic going on. I mean it’d make sense. Ordo’s not so broken that it’s a free-for-all; only maniacs would think about attacking us. You’d have the Duskheads chasing after you or worse, HSOC.”

“It’s the only way I can comprehend it,” admitted Kaiya, laying down on her cot. “Be honest with me, you guys: is it weird that I’m not too upset that we…”

She paused, unable to form the next words.

Althea finished for her, “We killed them?”

Kaiya nodded. “Yeah, that we killed them—is it weird that I’m more angry not at that but that it happened? That we were put in this mess?”

“Believe me, I feel the same way,” Leona entered the conversation after briefly glancing at Alexander. “Like, ‘Why were you this stupid to join Carn?’ I do believe that they were influenced somehow, either through magic or some substance or both, but they made the initial decision to join him. They don’t have my sympathy and shouldn’t deserve yours either.”

“Nobody’s saying that,” Victor retorted.

“I know. I thought I should add it.”

“What do you think Damien would say?” Althea asked out of the blue.

Alexander chuckled, answering, “Let’s be honest: Damien could shoot a guy in the face and he couldn’t give any less of a shit. [Demon Constitution] or [Psychology], whatever he has. As irritating as he is, he’s not as restricted as we are.”

“A demon…” Chunhua muttered, then her eyes fell on Alexander. “People are calling you that now, Alexander: a demon. Is this why Jin Tiehan has taken a liking to you?”

Leona was now intently listening, given by her expression.

All Alexander could do was laugh and nod. Laugh and nod. “Yeah, we’re more similar than I would like but I’m different from that man. For one, I’m half-American. Secondly, my sidekick is a murim-in princess and not a cyborg.”

Everybody released some of the tension through chuckling and laughing, including him.

“Yet,” teased Leona, “once I start losing body parts, I’ll be first in line to replace them.”

“Don’t be too eager…” Alexander patted her leg and sighed, pressing his lips together.

Victor was staring at him for a while, definitely having a question on his mind. Finally, when he worked up the courage, he asked, “Y’know Alex, did you learn all that from Hangzhou?”

As soon as Hangzhou was mentioned, Althea sat up, fully attentive.

“Something like that, yeah,” he answered. “You asking that ‘cause of what happened?”

“Well yeah, no shit. Man, you’re prolly the first guy in history to take down ten Apocalyptics, including a C-Rank, by yourself as a Pseudo. I don’t wanna piss you off or anything but I thought Hangzhou made you a, uh…”

“Pacifist?”

“Ish.”

“I mean, I get where you’re coming from. I, what?” Alexander looked at Leona. “I keep telling everybody how much I didn’t want this life, how much I wanted to stay lowkey. Hangzhou fucked me up bad. Real bad. Althea can attest.”

Althea crossed her arms, huffing. “Yeah, I don’t think we need to reiterate how shitty Hangzhou was. We worked through it, though, both of us.”

“Yeah, we did…” Alexander stared at the canvas flooring or whatever the material was. “I’ve been thinking about stuff since the disaster started, trying to contextualize everything. How I feel about Hangzhou, about what I did, I think Kaiya said it best: I don’t hate the fact that I killed people back then, I hate the circumstances that made it happen.

“Because look, if I had to make the same decision, I would do it again a thousand times over because it was my life or theirs. It’s just that…”

He stopped, giving himself time to find the right words. “…I’m special, like the VGM. And Dad—my dad—was afraid of that. He had seen men be corrupted or implode in on themselves, so he made it his life’s mission to teach me that: control, self-restraint, basically everything I needed to know in order to be a responsible man.”

Althea added, “Dad didn’t want Alex to be like Ringwonder.”

“The Legends HO?” Victor asked, suddenly intrigued.

Alexander nodded. “Yeah, who else?”

Kaiya raised a hand. “Who’s Ringwonder?”

Leona answered for him, “Ringwonder, as Victor said, was a Legends HO. He had been a boxing champion—” (“Won titles in eight different weight classes,” Alexander added,) “—mhm, and he became a Slayer in Legends. Within the decade, he was already an SS-Rank Slayer. Then…”

“Then…” Alexander took it from there, “...he made a deal with some monster and went insane for his efforts. We were lucky that he was killed in another world; if it had happened here—shit, the fight could’ve taken out an entire city.”

“And your father had taught you otherwise?” Chunhua inquired.

“Yup. I think that’s why Hangzhou fucked me up, in multiple ways. First was the violence, seeing monsters tear through people; second was the powerlessness, where you could do nothing but watch the carnage; third was disillusionment, where authority was unreliable and you had to depend on yourself and yourself only; so that left number four which was my reaction, what I had to do to protect Althea and come out alive, like playing chess from a cornered position.

“Which again, it goes back to what Kaiya said earlier: the circumstances. How could I be the son our parents saw in me after what had happened? After watching them die, when Althea got hurt, when I had to loot corpses and steal and kill? Could I redeem myself after breaking my promise to them?”

Alexander looked down at his own hands, laughing at himself. “Ironically enough, I think I have my answer. As bad as this sounds, the Ordo Disaster is perfect for me. Since Hangzhou, I’ve been denying myself: I’m weak, I’m a nobody, I’m nothing. I wanted…”

He took a deep breath and turned to Leona.

Silently, she took his hand.

“I wanted a boring life.” An uncharacteristic laugh came from him. “Fucking, so much for that! I can’t look away and pretend this never happened. Not anymore. I’ll be better than the boy in Hangzhou, I’ll be the man that my parents wanted, and I’ll be greater. I wasn’t supposed to be in this fight, but now I am and I’m going to fucking end it.”

Alexander stood up, facing the Dawn Baptists. “It doesn’t mean we can be neglectful of our responsibilities. Because let’s be honest here, guys, we have more power gathered on our fingertips than thousands of people put together. We need to watch ourselves more than anyone else. Like Ringwonder. Like Jin Tiehan even. We need to be restrained but unafraid, peaceful but ready. Not because we’re better than the fuckers we fight but we can be much worse.

“Keep that in mind but as far as I’m concerned, you did everything right during the ambush. At that point in time, you were Slayers. I don’t give a shit what anyone else says, you are Slayers. Not Pseudos or juniors, real fucking Slayers. Be proud of that and take that shit with pride. The Apocs aren’t worth your grief. I don’t give a single fuck about them—I’d kill a thousand of those motherfuckers for each of you.

“Because you are the best people I know, and nothing’s ever fucking changing that.”

The Baptists took in the information and processed it according to their own experiences. One way or another, Alexander’s words resonated something within them: of their past, of their current tribulations, of their fears and worries and concerns. They suffered from the same core problem as he had, toiling in the same unfair world, struggling against themselves and others, against the incomprehensibility of the Space Beyond.

Alexander had learned the meaning of uselessness in Hangzhou and refused to give into the same pathetic feeling here, taking the first steps against resignation during the traumatic events in Operation Scorcher. The past week had been enlightening to him. The truth was, all he wanted was to take control of his life again.

And this was the best way to do it.

He looked at the B-Ranks from Systemic Works, who were searching themselves after experiencing great loss among their peers. He looked at Althea and Vernon, who were brave enough to fight from the beginning. Finally he looked down at Leona, someone who was willing to stand beside him and support him always—she would no longer be alone.

“We’re in this together, okay?” said Alexander after some time had passed. “We are not Alba or the Alumnus, we are Dawn Baptists, the crazy motherfuckers who survived Scorcher and the same fuckers who will annihilate the Sungrazers. We are a single unit and whatever the world throws at us, we’ll throw it right fucking back.

“You got that?”

In unison, the Baptists cheered.

~

[[Better Together] has developed into [Baptist Camaraderie]!]

[Skill]

Baptist Camaraderie

You have shown to be a powerful leader, having made your peace with the tragedy that came before. Increase all stats of your party members, including yourself, by 1. If any of your party members are [Dawn Baptists], further increase their stats by an additional point.

If any members are in the middle (Rank C to B) or high echelon (A to S) or greater, they will receive a fraction of the enhancement.

~

“Alexander is a natural leader, isn’t he?” Hei-ran mused, having eavesdropped on her team’s conversations inside. She thought about intruding but she decided otherwise; as a professor who had seen and mentored hundreds of upcoming Slayers, you needed to know your students better than they knew themselves. Knowing when to stop them, knowing when to push or pull them back.

And most importantly, knowing when to leave them alone, letting them ride on their self-generated monumentum and allowing greater growth as a result.

Alexander Shen was one such man where he’d excel in almost every opportunity you gave him. If only he joined Systemic Works from the beginning.

“It seems my worries were unfounded,” Seraph said through the voice call. “Let’s leave them be for now. They deserve a respite.”

“Yes ma’am,” replied Hei-ran in a teasing tone. She walked off in a random direction deeper into Grendel Arsenal, merging into the organized chaos with no central goal, other than the looming operation in sight. “I have a question, Seraph.”

“Hmm?”

“Is there something you aren’t telling us? About Alba as a whole?” Hei-ran liked to think she had a keener sense of observation than other high-rankers at her level, one that was cultivated throughout her teaching career. Seraph, incidentally, had showcased peculiar behavior that led Hei-ran to this conclusion.

Seraph chuckled, seemingly confirming her suspicion. “If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Even after what we’ve seen?”

“Absolutely.”

“Then I’ll trust you and go on disbelieving. But let me in on your masterplan regarding Alexander and the others soon; as the highest-ranking Slayer in the Baptists, I’m technically third in the command chain.”

“You’re forgetting about Firebrand—” Seraph paused, realizing what she said, “—alright, you have my word that you and your team won't be kept in the dark.”

“Good. I might be the infamously irresponsible professor, but I’ll do anything for my kids.” Especially when their world has crumbled before their eyes. They need someone like Alexander to guide them through the process. He’s more relatable than I am and has the experience.

“I never doubted you for a moment, Gul.”

The women spoke about the current situation, both in Dawns and across the city. Hei-ran inquired about the special operation that the Problem Children had partaken in; according to Seraph, the operation was a success but she was waiting on the details to come in.

When the conversation was about to shift, her stomach crawled as a shadow swooped in. A cultivator with midnight-blue hair suddenly arrived like the wind—swift and chilly—his natural aura causing discomfort in Hei-ran’s core.

“Jin Tiehan,” she greeted him, trying to hide the discontentment in her voice, “how’s the interrogation coming along?”

“Smoothly. We have confirmed that Acumen and the other Apocalyptics were under the influence of mental magic, concluded by a mentalist of mine and Alma,” he explained, characteristically having his hands behind his back.

“What magick specifically?” asked Seraph.

“An intensifier. It latches onto the current presuppositions and magnifies those emotions to an illogical extreme. It turns a mundane dislike to a boiling hatred. In this negative realm of emotions, these Apocalyptics were essentially walking bombs. Not literally-speaking, of course.”

“Any other information?” Seraph followed.

“Not yet but you will be the first to know. Oh!” exclaimed Jin Tiehan, his eyes curling into a practiced smile. “Graylords from Alpha Squadron will be arriving here within the hour. How goes the Apocalyptic designation?”

“It’s being formalized as we speak, alongside granting the relevant authority to handle this specific threat. The process shouldn’t hinder us.” Seraph sighed after saying that, taking a moment for herself. “When was the last time we had an Apocalyptic this high of a rank?”

Jin Tiehan commented, “The most notable example that comes to mind is Ringwonder.”

My kids spoke about him. I’m afraid he’s relevant now more than ever given who’s involved and what’s at stake. Hei-ran nodded but Seraph couldn’t see that. “When will we begin planning for the mission? We’ve been tracking Carn since the beginning of the outbreak.”

Hei-ran recalled what Colonel Gillespie, the commander of the Task Force, said. Since Seraph had alerted the city about Carn, they had people on him. However, even with current technology and advanced skills held by trackers, he evaded capture throughout the week. Buildings had been raided, rogues had been arrested, but nothing nabbed the man himself.

In fact, since System Articles, he hadn’t been seen directly.

Now, with the designation and Acumen’s capture, it was certain that the Apocalyptics’ main base of operations will be located soon. If not located already.

“However the plan,” Jin Tiehan butted in, “Blackviper and I will accompany Graylord. It’s simply a matter of the Baptists.”

“You’re not suggesting that they’ll also accompany Graylord directly,” Hei-ran fought. “As much as they make me proud, they don’t have the training nor the expertise to handle a special operation. At most, they’d maintain a security perimeter around the block.”

“That’s not my suggestion, it’s a request. A request to borrow the [Silver-Eyed Demon] from the commander of the Dawn Baptists.”

Hei-ran stopped walking, staring blankly at Jin Tiehan. “What?”

“You want Alexander to accompany you and Blackviper into the operation?” asked Seraph, also baffled.

“We all have seen what he’s capable of with his two hands. Not to mention his connection with the [Predator of Predators] himself. I myself taught him [Mana Impact] and he’s already developing derivatives at an astounding rate; Blackviper was impressed, and you know how difficult it is to make her crack.

“After all…” Jin Tiehan’s practiced smile shifted and briefly released a sinister aura that turned Hei-ran’s blood cold; that was the true nature of the Righteous Jin Tiehan, a dominating man who was enamored with the concept of strength. “...You know exactly what that man is capable of, correct? It would be wise, then, to allow him this challenge.”

Hei-ran knew what Jin Tiehan was doing. If his deduction was true, that Seraph was intending to grow Alexander into the world’s next sensation, then it’d be pragmatically correct to allow him this opportunity.

But it’d mean conceding to Jin Tiehan and allowing him some control over Alexander.

Initially, he didn’t seem to gain anything from this request; really, he appeared as an idealistic Vice Guild Master who also saw the potential in Alexander Shen, wanting to see him rise to the occasion.

But the reason could never be that innocent.

Hei-ran was there when Ichiken—the administrator of Class A2—had sparred with the Righteous Jin Tiehan.

She never seen a man so monstrous as he was.

Day-by-day, the number of things that could rival Jin Tiehan shrunk.

So it was obvious what he was trying to do: he was trying to turn Alexander into a monster, a man truly befitting the title [Silver-Eyed Demon]. Someone who could truly rival him, and maybe after Alexander learned all what he could, then he, too, like the rest of Jin Tiehan’s opponents, would be consumed.

That was the dilemma Seraph had, and she knew this.

“That…” Seraph began, “...would be Alexander’s decision.”

When Alexander was told about Jin Tiehan’s request and being reminded of that man’s nature, he accepted it and immediately began training.