33 Contac

"Please, you have to help me! If you don't, they'll kill me!" The black haired woman's voice was filled with terror as she trembled, begging for help. Her body was covered in visible bruises and cuts, the very image of a tired, broken woman.

The Stardust Coalition had come to a pause, with several of its members reassuring the woman that everything would be fine. The Iron Knights Alliance and the Saru Group, the two forces that had first come upon her, in particular were calming her down.

Everyone here was still human, after all. Despite the apocalypse happening, very few people would become lawless and prey on others like the Black Flag Pirates. While few people would want to risk their lives for others, in such a large group, there was a certain sense of security, especially with 'Heron' and 'Crane' leading them.

Micheal stared at the black haired woman for a brief moment.

'Nope, no clue who she is.' There were millions and millions of people in the First Layer. More than a billion now, in fact. It was hardly surprising he'd run into someone he didn't know of.

"Your name is Aly, right?" Micheal's voice was slid out from his mask as he spoke up, catching the woman's, and everyone's, attention.

"Yes, sir." Micheal had picked up her name from overhearing Simon talk to her. The woman wiped the tears from her face as she nodded, looking at Micheal fearfully. It was obvious that he had a large amount of influence over the group that had rescued her.

"What group are you from? Why are you being chased?" He queried, taking a few steps forward until he was in front of her.

"Sir, I was from the Fracas Organization. We were just a small team that hunted Morenkai. We ran afoul of a larger organization during the middle of a hunt after we came across a rare, injured Abnormal! The stronger organization decided to wipe us out for taking what they claimed as their kill and I've been forced to flee, while my companions have all been killed." The woman broke down in sobs as she spoke, her entire body shaking.

Sighs and supportive statements rang out from the members of the Stardust Coalition as they heard her speak and saw her pain. If she was acting, she was doing a marvelous job.

All of the members of the Stardust Coalition were part of teams that were upright and just. None of them would slaughter another group just for Points or for interference, it was a large part of why Micheal picked them to join this group. They would be able to grow stronger at a faster rate in the Main Cluster than in the Stardust Cluster, especially if they utilized the Golden Morenkai hunting methods that Micheal planned on sharing with them.

By the time Micheal had finished talking to her, giving noncommittal replies, the band of figures in the distance had rapidly approached, coming into plain and near sight. A few yells and shouts arose from the members of the Coalition as everyone saw them, many of the men and women going on guard. The story Aly had shared had been convincing enough to warrant added caution, unfriendly glances galore rippling out at the newcomers.

"The Angels Arcadia sends their greetings, strangers." A voice boomed out loud as a thick-chested man stepped forward, the leader of the group. He had short blonde hair and blue eyes, with a large, broadsword strapped to his back. He also happened to be covered in so much hair that Micheal felt certain he was a Werewolf.

Captain Simon took the lead, after pausing to glance at Micheal and seeing him remain silent. When the man had mentioned that they were from the Angels Arcadia, every member of the Coalition had subconsciously glanced over at Micheal.

"Greetings, Arcadia. We, the Stardust Coalition, greet you in return." Simon's voice boomed just as loudly, if not louder, than the blonde haired warrior of Arcadia. As a top-tier B Ranker, Simon was considered strong even in the Main Cluster, and was rather fearless.

Over the long journey, Micheal had come to be a bit more acquainted with the man. His actions of coming to the rescue had won him a great deal of genuine respect from Captain Simon. The Captain was a genial man, a former firefighter that had come into the apocalypse with an open mind.

After exchanging pleasantries, the members of Arcadia cut to the chase. The speaker, a man named Ayer, didn't mince words as he spoke aloud,

"I see that you are holding one of our targets that escaped. We would be greatly obliged if you returned her to us. If you are aware of who we are, you should be aware that stopping us would be unwise." While the man's words weren't exactly respectful, neither were they disrespectful. The Angels Arcadia had a huge amount of influence, but out here on the Great Bridge, anything could happen.

"No! They will murder me! Please, please don't let them!" Aly screamed and ducked behind Captain Simon, her entire body trembling as she yelled out loud.

At that moment, Micheal stepped forward, his masked face drawing curious stares from the opposing team.

"What Enforcement Branch are you all part of? The Red Beak Branch? The Black Veil Branch?" Micheal's voice was cool as he asked a few simple questions.

The power structure of the Main Cluster was quite unique.

There was no 'bad' major power. The Big 3, the Angels Arcadia, the Godfather Organization, and the Nightrunners, all three of these groups were considered 'good' and upright organizations.

There were still countless smaller groups of bandits or criminals that preyed on the weak, human nature didn't change, after all.

The only large group close to being considered 'bad' was the Purgatory Church, a large scale religious movement that viewed the Seven Layers as a purgatory Humanity would need to face to reach Heaven. The fanatics of this church were widespread and usually did far more harm than good. The Purgatory Church wasn't super powerful, however, with their top leadership only being a Supreme A Ranker on the Main Cluster Ranker List, not an S Ranker.

As a result, a semblance of law and order was maintained in the Main Cluster.

And maintained specifically because of teams like the one Micheal was looking at.

An Enforcement Team from the Angels Arcadia, a group that hunted down criminals, acting largely like the police.

"Uh, sir, you know of our internal Branches?" Micheal's response had surprised Ayer, causing him to stutter slightly as he looked at Micheal with a faint hint of suspicion. The Branches Micheal had mentioned were minor ones that he knew operated in the peripheral vicinity of the entrance to the Stardust Cluster's Great Bridge.

Micheal tapped on his Spatial Ring. Immediately, a small, finely cut marble emblem appeared, glowing with white light. The image of two soaring wings, glowing with a large halo overhead, was imprinted on the insignia, giving it a serene appearance.

"An Emissary Emblem?!" If before Ayer had been surprised, now he was completely and absolutely shocked. His entire attitude abruptly shifted as he ducked his head, his words now completely respectful.

"Sir, it was our mistake for not recognizing you, a million apologies. We are part of the Iron Eye Branch." Ayer named a Branch Micheal was unfamiliar with.

The Main Cluster was huge. It wouldn't be remiss to say it was larger than many individual nations on earth, in terms of sheer area.

More than 50,000,000 people lived in the Main Cluster, with many more pouring in from the outer Clusters, mostly new Chosen from the 4th Wave that refused to remain cooped up in a single area.

Roughly 10% of that population, or 5 million people, were members of the Angels Arcadia. The vast, vast majority were lower level members, but the numbers still added up to an extremely sizable power.

It wasn't unexpected that he wouldn't recognize the specific Branch. There were several thousands of differing Enforcement teams and many Branches, the Angels Arcadia was a very complex organization.

"I am Emissary Heron." Micheal began, outright naming his identity. As he spoke to the Enforcer, everyone in the Stardust Coalition looked on with a hint of awe. A mere flash of an emblem had gained a huge amount of respect from someone they had just run into. The influence and power Micheal must hold, in the eyes of the other Coalition members, was massive.

"This woman here, Aly, has told us quite an interesting tale." Micheal continued. He then explained everything the woman had said, his voice cold and impassive.

Throughout his explanation, Aly, leaned back and forth, still hiding behind Captain Simon. The looks on the faces of the Iron Eye Enforcement Team grew ugly as they heard him speak, anger appearing.

"Sir! An absolute falsehood! We did no such thing. She is a vile killer that had a Hunting Order placed out for her. We have tracked her this way after she seduced and killed more than 20 innocent men." Ayer slammed a hand into his chest as he spoke, full of emotion. After being accused of such horrific crimes, in front of an Emissary no less, one of the higher-ups of the Angels Arcadia, he had no choice but to act this way.

If you violated the important rules, you would be killed, plain and simple. Such harsh rules were part of why Arcadia was so well trusted and considered an upright force in the Main Cluster.

Upon hearing about all of this, several looks of doubt appeared on the Coalition members as they turned to look back towards Aly. The situation was far more complex than it had seemed at first, to many.

"How- how can you believe them?! They will kill me! Everything I said is true!" The woman's voice was despairing as she saw this, her every movement full of horror. She was quite convincing, such that even Micheal felt partial to her.

"Hmm. Well, there should be an easy way to resolve this, yes?" Micheal spoke out loud, cutting through her wails. Everyone looked at him.

"Arcadia has Truthseekers stationed all around the Main Cluster. If you are willing to take a Truth Oath, we can simply have your words be verified, then and there."

Truthseekers were people that had purchased the Truthseeker Type Ability from the Shop, a power that cost 50,000 Points. It allowed them to form a Truth Oath, an Ability that would force anyone that agreed to it to speak the truth or suffer extreme agony.

"Of course! I would be more than happy to!" Surprisingly, the woman agreed.

"I am not a vio-" As she was mid-explanation, the woman's body abruptly blurred.

SHKK

A red, burning dagger of fire appeared in the woman's hand as her entire body took on a fiery red glow. Her hair lit on fire, giving her a demonic appearance as she held up the flaming dagger to Captain Simon's neck.

The Fire Mistress Ability, an Ability that transformed one's body into a conduit for flames, granting basic fire manipulation and an enhanced body, costing 36,000 Points in the Shop.

"If your Coalition knows what is good for them, you'll wipe out the Enforcement Team, here and now!" Her voice lost all of its sorrowful innocence, transforming into a hardened expert as she threatened Simon's life. The quite convincing weak and beaten look she'd had vanished completely.

"No!" The Enforcement Team members yelled out in anger and surprise, going on guard as if they were preparing to be attacked.

Meanwhile, the Coalition members… all merely stared at her silently, none of them moving to help or attack.

"W-what?! I mean it! I will kill him here and now!" She held the dagger closer to Captain Simon's face.

The Captain, in the meanwhile, was staring right at Micheal, waiting for his command.

Micheal nodded his head slightly, grinning beneath his mask in slight bemusement.

The moment the woman showed even a single sign of threat, he had been fully prepared to kill her instantly, his Kouki Daggers able to materialize from his Spatial Ring in a split second. She would've been dead, a dagger pierced through her skull before she even realized he was attacking, unless she had an Elemental Body or a rare and expensive Defensive Artifact, both of which seemed rather unlikely given her present condition.

Fortunately for her… she had chosen to target Captain Simon.

The woman's acting was superb and her ability to find an important target keen.

However... trying to hold a massive Dark Rhinoceros hostage with a tiny dagger was generally what most people would consider a bad idea...

WHOOSH

THUD

"H-huh?!"