"Smartass, could you explain why the other day multiple witnesses saw you engaging in a fight with my officers across the rooftops of Six Trees District?" Hernandez's hoarse voice accuses me over the earpiece. 

I lounge on the asphalt and stretch my back, savoring the pops of tension being released. The Voice had chosen to park the SUV back at the side road facing the sea just above the sewer outlet on the reasoning that hardly anybody bothers to go there. It might be an inconvenient location situated in an awkward spot between two districts, but it would provide us with some peace and quiet, something The Voice very much desires at the moment. 

Ever since I brought back Celeste's doll, The Voice had been working non-stop researching it and developing a countermeasure. I wanted to ask how it could research something that had just been stuffed into the SUV's glove compartment, but I suppose that could be chalked up to a god moving in its mysterious way. The Voice was apparently now working on the final phase of the project, crafting an armor upgrade for me that would counter Celeste's power. It wanted the SUV to itself for the most critical portion of the process so I had been kicked out and left to cool my heels by the sea. Hernandez's call was a welcome break from the enforced monotony. 

"I was investigating this sex cult that had set up shop in Six Trees. Its where a squad of yours when missing by the way." I explain, "I had to make a quick getaway after I was discovered."

"Sex club? What sex club?" Hernandez bursts out, "How come I've never heard of anything like this?"

"Sex cult, not club." I muse, "Though, yeah, there was a sex club on the premises as well. Had whips and dominatrices and everything."

"WHAT SEX CLUB." Hernandez shrieks through the line, his grasp on reality collapsing. 

"Sex cult. Cult. C.U.L.T." I clarify, "The one those ORPO officers were part of. The moment I was discovered, they came at me with guns blazing."

"Alright. There was a sex cult. Let's say I believe you." Hernandez sighs, "What did you do to provoke my officers into attacking you? And don't say nothing, I know exactly what you're capable of."

"I broke into an apartment as part of my investigation and got cornered by a knife wielding assassin backed up by a pack of dominatrices and gimps." I say with the utmost sincerity. 

A long silence is all I get in return. Man, this silent treatment is really uncomfortable. 

"I might have accidentally shot one of the gimps during my escape." I elaborate, more to alleviate the sense of unease than anything else.

More silence. 

"Uh, and I killed a few more people on my way out." I conclude. 

"Oh, right that makes sense." Hernandez finally replies, "You killed a few people on your way out. Right?"

"Right." I confirm. 

"Just like I would take a leak on my way out of the station." Hernandez continues, "Or I would fill up my car with gas on my way back home."

"Uh, yeah, I suppose?" I mumble, confused where Hernandez is going with this. 

"Yeah. OK. I get the message." Hernandez says, "I'm hanging up now." The line goes dead as Hernandez puts down the phone. 

"That was weird." I mutter, "What was his deal anyway?"

The Voice rasps, "Who knows? Perhaps he got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Or the Commander's daughter failed one of her classes. The Commander's distress has nothing to do with you anyway."

I sudden thought comes to my mind while I am getting up from the ground, "Hey, be straight with me here. I've been seeing assholes in the whole time I've lived in this world y'know?"

"And?" The Voice rumbles.

"And I was thinking," I continue while scratching my chin, "maybe, just maybe, I'm the asshole?"

"Certainly not." The Voice scoffs, "The task you have undertaken exposes you to a greater statistical likelihood of meeting unpleasant individuals. I can say with certainty that the fault does not lie with you."

"Woo, that's a relief." I give a weak cheer. 

"You are the sanest man I know in an insane world." The Voice affirms, "It takes strength to live the way both of us do."

"Great pep talk." I smile, "So you're done with whatever you're doing?"

"Indeed." The Voice confirms, "Not a moment too soon as well. You know what is about to happen, right?"

I lift up the glossy gossip magazine that I had been carrying under my armpit and gesture at the SUV. WEDDING OF THE CENTURY is printed on the front page in big bold letters. No prizes as to guessing whose wedding the paparazzi are talking about. Apparently this bunch managed to get an exclusive deal to cover the Hero's upcoming nuptials. 

"The Hero's wedding. Its coming up soon." I frown, "We don't have a lot of time to stop Big Tits from ruining everything."

"Agreed." The Voice rasps, "Unfortunately, the servant has recovered from her scuffle with you at the council estate. She has stuck to the Hero like glue, preventing me from monitoring their whereabouts."

"Meaning we can't intercept either of them." I remark, "We don't know where they are at any given time or how much backup they have. But there is an event both of them have to attend."

 "Correct. The wedding." The Voice agrees, "The servant and the Hero cannot evade us during the wedding itself. That is the moment you must intervene. Which leads you to a choice."

"Choice? What choice?" I ask, taken by surprise by the sudden shift in the discussion. 

"There are two ways to resolve the problem before us." The Voice elaborates, "First is to simply cut off the head of the snake. Killing the servant will enable the Hero's systems to perform an automatic reset of the installed objectives, purging the malicious directives from his soul."

"The Hero can do that?" I ask rather surprised. Its the first time I've heard of this. 

 "I just found out about this as well." The Voice says, "After the servant temporarily separated from the Hero in order to eliminate you, the Hero began to refocus himself on his actual mission and was scrubbing himself clean of the servant's instructions. His programming has proven more resilient than I initially thought."

"But Celeste came back," I finish the story for The Voice, "and gave the Hero another dose of brainwashing."

"Yes. So the destruction of the servant will enable the Hero shake free from her malign influence." The Voice rasps, "Unfortunately, that leaves us with a second problem."

"Which is?" I ask. 

"The termination protocol. I need physical access to the Hero to disable it." The Voice rumbles, "Transmigrator, the Hero's power is declining at a dangerously fast rate. Currently, he is absolutely no match for Marshal St Clair. Given a few more weeks, Nicholas will be able to easily best him."

"Damn it." I curse. 

"You see the problem then." The Voice confirms, "That leads us to option number two. Instead of engaging the servant, you will instead abduct the Hero and cover the SUV's escape. This will allow me to perform a system upgrade on the Hero, temporarily deactivating the termination protocol and hardening the Hero's core programming to prevent further tampering on the part of the servant."

"But the servant would be out there running loose." I protest, "Can't I do both missions at the same time?"

"Fate knows that we will be making an appearance at the wedding." The Voice grumbles as it shoots down my suggestion, "I expect heavy resistance. By my estimation, you will only have an opening to execute one mission, no more and no less."

"I need to think about this." I murmur meditatively. 

"Do so. I sense that this is a pivotal moment in our quest." The Voice says agreeably, "In better news, I have completed your new armor, as well as an upgraded weapon in the bargain."

The boot of the SUV pops open and I rush forward to feast my eyes on the awesomeness The Voice has been working on. I am left sorely disappointed. 

"Its just a black trench coat. And black boots. And black gloves." I point out sourly, "How is any of this going to help against Celeste?"

"Your ignorance is showing again." The Voice huffs, "The fabric has been specially treated to block Fate's power thanks to the data we have retrieved. Put the armor on, I need to see if it fits."

"If you say so." I hum, picking up the trench coat, "Whoa, this stuff's surprisingly heavy. Part of the treatment process?"

"Yes. Put every piece of the armor on if you will." The Voice says, "I need to see the entire ensemble working together."

"Hey, there's a full face hood here with no air holes." I protest, "I would suffocate in this getup. And you expect me to loop an actual noose around my own neck?"

"The armor is a set. It needs to be worn together to achieve the desired protection." The Voice soothes, "Just wear it. You will get used to the feeling in no time."

"Alright. Alright." I mutter and begin putting on the hood. Its a little hot, but The Voice is right, I'm nowhere close to suffocating. The noose hangs loosely from my neck and I tuck it under the trench coat. On goes the black boots and gloves. And right at the bottom of the boot is a massive double handed sword. I cautiously pick it up and unsheathe it, marveling at how light the weapon is despite its size. 

"Finally, something that can do some damage." I smirk, "About time you started breaking out the good stuff."

"I am happy that you are pleased with the weapon upgrade." The Voice rumbles as I sheathe the sword and fasten it on to my back. 

"I can confirm Transmigrator, that you look 'cool'." The Voice makes a sigh of pleasure.

"Never knew you were into anime." I complain, "These clothes look like something an executioner in a cartoon would wear."

 "Executioner, yes." The Voiced rasps in near rapturous ecstasy, "That would be a fitting description for the look."

"Sacred Executioner."