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*beeeeeeeeep*
"Recording log..."
"Week 2"
"Saturday"
"1205 hrs."
"Key Casters Headquarters"
"Pridel, Almeda Kingdom"
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After the secret visit of King Galian at the Cathedral, he and his followers made their way back to their kingdom to resume their activities.
Troy is sitting on the head table of an office when Wilma gives him a pile of documents and papers. He then pieces out the papers and documents containing information about potential spies lurking in the kingdom. The day is all clear and things have been running smoothly so far. The Eclipse Knights, with the help of the improved Key Casters, have managed to apprehend eleven enemy spies. Almost all of them have many connections to various hidden organizations such as in the slave trade, drug markets, and the like. Today will be going to be another purge for them.
When while checking, a document suddenly intrigues Troy. Wilma, also a Key Caster as well and his assistant, noticed Troy's reaction.
"What is it?" asked Wilma.
"This man. This is the one who got killed at the Cathedral, am I right?" Troy showed the paper to Wilma.
"Y-Yes! He and his group of knights have perished there!" said Wilma.
"Why is he here in the documents?" Troy asked himself as he resumes reading the document.
...
Finished reading the document, and it states that he has a possible connection with illegal drug merchants at Babilon based on confiscated illegal drugs found hidden on his property.
"That damned knight! No wonder why he is such a douche!" Troy exclaimed.
Then suddenly, he realizes something.
"Hold on. Babilon...Babilon..." he pondered for a while as he reads the document.
...
"Tell me, Wilma. Who's in charge of all the product and merchandise imports and exports?" asked Troy to Wilma.
"It will be Marquess Vertal. Former Head of Key Casters." said Wilma.
It all then clicks within Troy's mind.
"I GET IT! Come with me!" Troy gasped and begins to walk outside of the room.
Wilma, confused, follows him with a question.
"Wh-What is it? What did you find?" she asked.
But no response from him. Troy walks at a fast pace, seemingly in a hurry while Wilma is trying to catch up.
...
A couple of seconds later, Troy and Wilma knock on the king's room.
"Come on in." said a muffled voice behind the door.
Troy opens the door letting Wilma go in first and closed the door. They are greeted by King Galian, holding what seems to be a military ceremonial saber sword. The two quickly recognize the sword as this was a gift that Harvey gave to the king before they leave the Cathedral.
"To think that even the holiness Razhiel would also give her blessings on this sword." the king, making a sword stance near his face and swinging it quickly, the blessings on the sword made the air around the king gush gently around him.
"Indeed, your majesty. Also, we've come here for another report." Troy handed out the document paper to the king.
The king holstered the sword by his waist and grabs the document. As he reads it, he raises an eyebrow.
"Even him?" asked the king, still looking at the paper.
"Yes, your majesty." replied Troy.
"Hm. So, what about it?"
"Your majesty, the Key Casters are responsible for checking and making sure that all of the imported and exported products are safe and up to the quality." said Wilma.
The king then looks at them.
"I-It's Maquess Vertal. He was the one that let this go through the security checks. It seems that he has some connections at Babilon as well." said Troy, sweating a little bit on his forehead.
The king then sighs with a smile and floats the paper midair with his magic.
"Good grief. I already knew that he was going to be our enemy based on his actions and reports. But I didn't think that even he would eventually have ties within Babilon." said the king, putting his grip on his ceremonial saber sword.
With a cold stare towards the floating paper with the picture of the said man, he slowly unsheathes the sword but stops halfway. Immediately, he sheathes the sword back, and in a matter of a second, the paper crumbles into pieces, leaving only the picture of the said man intact.
"Let Sir Harvey know and deal with this. He said that we need to focus more on our kingdom first. Got that?" said the king.
"Yes, your majesty."
"Yes, your majesty." the two both bowed in front of him and exit out of the room.
As the door shuts, the king opens the window, letting the air come in. The paper pieces flow out of the window with the picture of the target man.
Upon looking further, the picture of that man was none other than the Crimson Knight itself that got killed by Harvey's forces in the first engagement of the Cathedral. His picture then evaporates as the strong gush takes away the other paper pieces up to the sky.
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More hours later at Site CATHY (Cathedral)...
Inside the finished Main Operations Building, Major General Hopkins is conducting a meeting together with the two Brigadier Generals and the Colonel of the Air Force.
On a table with an updated large map given by King Galian prior to his visit yesterday, they discuss the perimeter and possible border patrol around the forest to keep in check with the other countries and territories.
"Hm. So the Blaide Ridge is on the way to the Pharaonia Empire?" asked the Major General.
"Yes, sir. Based on the image reports captured by our U-2 recons as they conducted the overall survey, we've found out that the only passage through there was the Lopu Sea. We have a land connected straight to the empire itself to here, but it is also blocked by the ridge." said Colonel Falco as he pinpoints the area with a stick on the map.
"I see. What about the other three boundaries?" the Major General asked again.
"On the Almeda Kingdom, King Galian said that he will also increase his troops at his boundaries, with only exceptions of four highly classified forts for his Followers and for our troops to occupy." said Brigadier General Charles of the Special Operations as he also pinpoints the said locations with a stick on the map.
"On the other hand, Babilon and the Riman Nation are also accessible by water, with Babilon has another land route pass through...here." said Brigadier General Caesar of the GID with also a stick, pinpointing the locations.
The Major General then observes the map with the pinpointed markings carefully. When suddenly, a unit comes in with a salute.
"Sir, sorry for the interruption. Sir Harvey wants to meet all of you at the Cathedral." said the unit.
The four commanders look at each other for a while and walk off toward the Cathedral.
...
After the walk, along the way, they were greeted by the other units from various companies with salutations.
In the main hall, Harvey and the angel Fruchiel are talking with each other, when the angel notices the four commanders.
"Psst. They are here!" whispered the angel to Harvey.
Harvey looks behind him and greets the commanders with a salute. The commanders approach Harvey and form up near him.
"Is there something wrong, sir?" asked the Major General to Harvey.
"Well, uh. How do I say this?" Harvey pondered for a while.
"You know the lesser cache of something and whatnot, right?" asked Harvey to the commanders.
"Yes, sir." the commanders replied.
"Right. It seems that we have a potential lead to another of that kind of thing."
"R-Really? Sir?" the Major General gasped.
"Yes. I've been talking with Fruchiel here as to what we might encounter next. She expects that it will be related again to the Seven Deadly Sins." said Harvey.
"You heard him right. The one from Marquess Vertal was related to his Envy. Babilon on the other hand, is full of Lust and Greed." said the angel.
"I-I see." replied the Major General.
"So, what are your orders, sir?" asked Brigadier General Charles.
"We're moving into DEFCON 4." said Harvey with a serious tone.
The commanders were shocked. They immediately grab their respective radios and call the order from DEFCON 5 to DEFCON 4.
...
After the commanders radioed in, Harvey calls out Brigadier General Caesar.
"What is it, sir?" asked the Brigadier.
"Have ten of your SFs come here." ordered Harvey.
The Brigadier General obliges and radios ten of his intel group personnel to the Cathedral.
...
A couple of minutes have passed, and ten SFs from the GID finally arrive. They salute the commanders and Harvey inside the main hall.
"Good. Now, standby." Harvey opened his hud again and goes to his Functions System.
In the hud, Harvey gives another function for the ten SFs. A magic circle appears underneath them and a bright light envelops all of the ten SFs.
*beeeeeep!*
"TEN G.I.D. SFs: Integrate Affix..."
"SUCCESSFUL"
After the magic circle disappears, the bright light slowly fades away, revealing that all of them had changed appearances much like the Plague Doctors of medieval century Europe in Harvey's world.
"W-Woah! Why the heck does my hud make you guys like that?!" Harvey gasped.
His hud then notifies him.
*beeeeeep!*
"Affirmative."
"Designate: [10] G.I.D. SFs."
"Function: Fate Of Barbatos"
"Function Origin: Barbatos' Memory / Lesser Cache Of Hollom
"Function Information:..."
"Once the Main War Strategist and Consultant under the Demon Lord - Diablo, Demon Barbatos is a well-respected demon with a number of forces also in his command. He is responsible for making all the necessary plans and advising the Demon Lord on how they will combat and fight against the Angels and their allies. But, in one fateful battle that would lead to the start of their downfall, Barbatos plead with the Demon Lord to retreat due to the overwhelming Angel forces, defending the Garden Of Edyn. Diablo refused and instead, ordered to push further on and have Barbatos lead the attack. Barbatos begrudgingly accepted the order despite knowing that it will be their defeat. After the battle, sure enough, Barbatos and his demon forces are completely annihilated by none other than the Divine Angel - Mikhael."
"Upon learning, the user/s will have the real fate and real future of any creature on their hands and can manipulate them according to their liking. This is done first by having them meet and know their targets in actuality before they can change their fate and future."
"Seriously? How is this possible?! They are incredibly powerful all of a sudden!" gasped Harvey while checking the notification.
"New detachments? Sir?" asked Brigadier General Caesar.
"Oh! Y-Yes. They will now be under your direct command. It will be a Joint SOF-GID operation. So better make use of them, aight? Let's see how these work out." said Harvey.
"T-Thank you for the new detachment, sir. What will be the detachment's callsign?" asked the Brigadier of the GID.
"Hm. What about - "
" - the ECHOES."
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Meanwhile, in a certain city in Babilon...
On a hazy evening near a certain church, a young blonde man in his early twenties exits a carriage. He is dressed in a Victorian-era black suit with a sword sheathed on his right waist. For some reason, he lets out an angered sigh as he stares at his butler stepping off the co-drivers seat.
"Look, I said that I didn't need your help! How many times do I have to tell you that?!" the young man angrily said to his butler.
"But, your father insisted me to do so, Earl Hubert!" the butler said with a slight bow.
"Tch! Him again? I'm really tired of being followed! Every. Single. Time!" the Earl complained.
The butler sighs as he follows the Earl into a store. Inside the store, the two were greeted by an old woman with a happy expression.
"Welcome! Oh! It's Earl Hubert! What can I help you this time?" said the woman.
The Earl is fidgeting his hands underneath his pant pockets and talks with a shy tone.
"I-Is Annable here?" said the Earl.
"Oh my! You're looking for her again? Hahaha. How nice to be young!" laughed the old woman.
"I-I-It's not like that!" the Earl flutter.
The woman then calls Annable upstairs. The muffled sound of footsteps coming down the staircase can be heard in the store, making the Earl flutter even more.
"I'm coming!" a girl's muffled voice echo behind a door.
After a couple of seconds, a red-haired girl in her late twenties appears behind the door and greets the Earl and his butler. The old woman bid farewell to the two for a quick shopping and leaves the store.
"My! It's Sir Huby! And your butler as well!" said Annable with a cheery expression.
"S-Stop calling me that!" the Earl with red cheeks due to embarrassment.
"Aww. You poor thing." Annable said as she brushes the Earl's hair, making it curl and tangle.
"H-HEY! It's because you're much older than me doesn't mean you can mess with me!" screamed the Earl.
"Hahahaha!" laughed Annable, while the Earl's butler sighs in disappointment for the young man.
Annable then walks to a table and grabs a tea set and some cookies on a shelf.
"It's still our break so let's take a tea in the meantime." said Annable.
The Earl brushes off his hair with a comb while his butler stands aside by the door for the lookout.
...
As Annable is preparing the tea, Earl Hubert approaches her in hopes to act some revengeful prank by also messing up her hair. But after seeing her smiling gently while preparing the tea, the Earl can't help but be captivated by her beauty and aura, that his anger fades away in an instant. He puts aside his sheathed sword nearby and chuckles
"Hmph. Hahaha."
"Hm? Is something funny?" asked Annable.
"Hahaha! Nothing. Nothing."
After a few more minutes, the tea is now done. Annable grabs a tea cup and invites the Earl.
"Tea is now done! Go grab yourself some tea, Mr. Huby." said Annable.
"Yeah yeah. Thanks." the Earl smirked, hiddenly expressing his strong appreciation towards her.
The two began their tea break on a table and have a conversation about things like baking, working, and other likable topics, while the Earl's butler is standing by the door for security.
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"By the way..." Annable put her teacup on the table after she takes a sip.
"Any news about your father?"
The Earl suddenly flinches. He takes a sip and grabs a cookie.
"Yeah? What about him?" he said in an angered tone.
Annable makes a worried expression and grabs the hand of the Earl.
"Hubert...If there's something worrying about you, let me know. Alright?"
The Earl looks at her hands still retaining an angered face. He sighs and grabs the hand of Annable.
"I don't know whether all that rumors are true or not. Nevertheless, I won't be his successor. That is my final decision. He can put me in any merchant organization all he wants. I will be going with you as soon he retires. " he said, back in a gentle tone.
Annable smiles and stands up to approach the Earl. She then hugs the head of the Earl in his seat, brushing his hair again.
"Wha-! There you go again with my hair...." the Earl lowly complained.
"Can't help it you know. Your hair is much silkier than mine,
"Really you...." he grabs a hand of hers with a gentle grip.
"You know, I sometimes wished that I was younger than you." she said.
"Hm? Why?" asked the Earl.
"Well, I wonder what it would feel like if we are almost the same age. We could be like any adolescent couple out there and there will be no age gap which could make things go awkward."
"Heh. You say that, and you're playing with my hair."
"Exactly!" she brushed his hair even more and walks away.
"He-Hey! Give my hair some break."
"People sometimes mistake us to be siblings when we are on a date. It infuriates me, you know?" she said as she sits back at the table.
"Oh? And here I am thinking that there's no problem and in fact, I'm more okay with it." the Earl smiled as he grabs his teacup to drink.
"Really? Do you have an older girl fetish? Hm?" she teased.
The Earl nearly choked and begins to cough. Annable laughs because of it while the Earl wipes off his mouth.
"Y-You surprised me there. But it is true. I will be lying if I said that you are not the one who has all that I wanted." he said.
"Hehee. Even though you are a rowdy character, you sure know how to make your words to women." Annable began to blush.
"Haha. It is only exclusive to you, rather." the Earl smirked. (A.N.: W Rizz no cap? o_O)
"Oh, stop it with those words, young man! And finish your tea! Also, help me wash the set afterward because I will be going to an appointment soon." said Annable.
"You have an appointment? Where is it?"
"Do you know that four-story building that housed many charity events?
"Yeah. I know that place. It is the Glazlo Building, right?"
"Correct. Apparently, some of the high-ranking merchants are hiring bakers and chefs for the upcoming Monthly Orphanage Allot Event tomorrow. So, I will be gone for the next two days."
The Earl's face begin to sour the moment he heard about the event.
"I-I see. To be honest, I'm having a bad feeling every time I'm visiting that event. Something tells me that they aren't just orphaning children, but also doing shady things." he said as he grabs her hand.
"Be careful and stay alert at all times. I wanted to at least visit you there, but I'm afraid I also have to get back on some fucking business for my father."
"Don't worry for me, Huby. I will be alright." said Annable with a smile.
Suddenly, the Earl makes a serious face and looks at her.
"Also, don't forget tonight..."
Annable's expression changes to as same as the Earl's.
"Yeah. I know. I still have the badge in here." she said as she grabs a pendant of a certain gold badge with a blue crystal shaped like a heart.
"Good. No matter what happens, don't ever let that go. They will surely come and get you if you don't have that badge." said Earl.
Annable grips firmly her badge with unease, thinking about what would happen if she ever let the badge go or if it went missing.
Apparently, there is a "Special Law" that the whole country of Babilon adheres to, either forcibly or happily. Because most of the country is mostly run and ruled by merchants, most of the day is spent on pure business and ways to make a fortune, so much so that people are tiring themselves to death and their population is gradually decreasing.
Then one day, a certain powerful and beautiful woman suddenly rose up in the ranks and became known as the "Queen Madonna" and overruled the country since. Due to the population crisis, she proposed a new law that is now known as the "Special Law", which at first, is obviously opposed by many people, especially - women. But as time passed by, this "Special Law" is beginning to be accepted by some people because of the gradual positive results of the new law on their population. Although there are still people who are opposed to this law, they are now becoming less and less, with most of them becoming missing for unknown reasons. Naturally, the opposing people hide or migrate to other places to escape this obnoxious law, but mostly because they are afraid for their lives and don't want to become like those people in the missing papers scattered all over the country.
This "Special Law" indicates that:
"Under the orders of the queen, the specific hours exactly 6:00 PM onwards, not exceeding after exactly 6:00 AM, are all "RAPE FREE" time. All authorities are to stand back during these specific hours and under no circumstances that they will apprehend any subjects participating in those crimes of rape. Any crimes otherwise are authorized to be apprehended and contained."
However, there is another law connected to this. It comes with that certain badge stating that"
"Subjects that have the "Badge of the Virgin" are exempted from all rape crime and will protect the holder of the badge from any forms of lust."
These special badges are meant to control overpopulation and overbreeding. However, only the Queen is authorized to give the badges and only one badge can be given to a single person. They are mostly given to high autocrats and nobles, with some exceptions on a few low-ranking people to control overpopulation.
Earl Hubert got one for him but secretly managed to buy another one through his father. This second badge was what he gave to Annable. It was because his father, in contrast to the Queen, is considered the "King Millionaire". He managed to acquire heaps of fortune under his organization and business way back due to his over-greed of money. Because of this, the Queen made him her second-in-command and the overall financier of the country.
The King also made his own rules, especially regarding business management and tax controls. But almost all of them are making the low merchants make a hard income and corruption is now steadily increasing with the help of the Queen's Special Law, with the high nobles bribing the King to make fake badges in order to have their way to their victims.
Two rulers, one that supports Lust, and one that supports Greed.
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Three Days have passed...
On a rainy afternoon, after Annable went to the Monthly Orphanage Allot Event, Earl Hubert visits Annable. With his butler carrying the umbrella, the Earl knocks on the door of the store, only to be greeted by the same old woman again from before.
"Good evening, ma'am. I apologize for the sudden visit. Is Annable here?" the Earl asked.
However, the old woman makes a worried expression.
"E-Earl. I'm sorry. But she still hasn't come back yet. I've been also asking people who attended the event, but they say that they didn't see her there."
This made the Earl's heart and pupils shrink as if he suddenly loses his soul for a moment.
"Wha-....What do you mean she hasn't come back?" he asked with an extremely worried tone.
"I-I deeply apologize, Earl Hubert." the old woman cried.
The Earl then forcibly enters the store and shouts for Annable. He runs upstairs to her room only to find that the room is untouched and empty. She really hasn't come back.
He runs back outside of the store, ignoring the butler's umbrella, and resumes calling for Annable.
"ANNABLE! ANNABLE!" he fully shouted at the bottom of his lungs.
The pouring rain made his gray suit wet while people passing by are starting to look at him like some lunatic and laughing at him.
"E-Earl Hubert!" his butler rushed towards to cover him under the umbrella.
"Please calm down, sire She could just be anywhere!" the butler plead.
The Earl unexpectedly grabs his butler's suit and forcibly lifts him up off the ground.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN ANYWHERE?! ARE YOU SAYING SHE'S GONE?! HUH?!" he angered.
"Arrghk! I-I-I'M SORRY! YOUR SIRE!"
Immediately seeing the horrified face of his butler, the Earl comes back to his senses and quickly lets go of him.
"I-I'm sorry! I-I will go and look for her! Don't follow me!" the Earl ran away while calling for Annable.
"SIRE! SIRE!" the butler screamed, but the Earl is now far away.
...
Meanwhile, walking through the crowds, an unknown group of three had been watching them from a distance. They suddenly got curious as they observe the area with their special masks, hiding their faces.
"Things are starting to become intense, huh?" one in the middle whispered in a very deep voice.
"Yeah. Thought so." the one on the right replied with a rough voice.
"If the intel is correct, we might call for some backup. What do you think?" asked the last one on the left with a normal deep voice.
"Well, let's see. But first, let's head to the target location. You guys know what to do." the mid man said.
"Heheheheehe. Roger that, "Joker"." the two men on his side affirmed.
...
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(A.N.: Those photos are mostly AI-Generated, btw. :) )
Soul Energy :
[ Level 4 ]
+ Lesser Key Of Sollom
+ Lesser Cache Of Hollom
Soul Count :
[ 3,440 ]
- 2,341
Spawn Count:
[ 2,476 ]
= 1 Major General
-Chief of Main Operations
= 2 Brigadier Generals
-Chief of General Intelligence Department
-Chief of Special Operations
= 1 Colonel
-Chief of Air Operations
= 2,253 Infantry Units
= 219 Special Forces
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UPCOMING NEXT CHAPTER:
Chapter 26 - The Hidden Law