“Well, that was interesting. You two, do the analysis of what happened.”
The lieutenant Ichiro spoke to the others at the table while adjusting his glasses. Others were still stunned by the last part, in which the Wande- ahem, Commander was saved by the unknown being that was inside him. Was it Commander’s new form or some kind of extension? Either way, they were happy.
They quickly snapped out of it when the lieutenant spoke and resumed their jobs. Because the hologram depicting the scenery didn’t show what happened clearly, they could only make educated guesses, so they moved on.
Lieutenant didn’t stay still for long, and he began operating the holographic table. There was an important report that he had to make. He finally reached the required box after a few swipes. He typed something on the floating keyboard and then pressed the ‘CALL’ box that appeared when he was done. After a few seconds of silence, the contents of the holographic table shifted.
Eventually, a holographic projection of a young man appeared.
“Interim Angel Mikael from the Headquarters is listening. 1RO-LDR-1, how are you? How is your mission?”
“Greetings, Angel Mikael. The ‘bounty hunt’ that you requested has been completed. We have completed our objectives successfully.”
“Good work! Report the details!”
After reporting everything that had transpired during the operation, the Lieutenant explained the situation regarding the mysterious being that infiltrated Ichiro’s body. The angel was surprised to hear that such a thing even exists. After hearing that, he asked.
“By any chance, does that mean the entity is connected to the Great One? Is it related to the ‘that’ incident?”
“We don’t know yet,” answered the Lieutenant. “All we can say is that it is a being that is beyond us, and it appears to be obedient toward the Commander. And yes, it seems to possess similar characteristics to the Great One.”
“Interesting. Well, I must admit, that’s quite unexpected news. Anyway, let’s return back to business. The bounty request has been fulfilled. Where should the payment be sent?”
“Send the payment to a previous location. We’ve finished restoring the stabilizers on this mother-ship, so we don’t expect any problems anymore.”
“Understood. I’ll send it over immediately.“
With that out of the way, they continued casually speaking. They discussed other matters unrelated to the current situation until the Lieutenant suddenly remembered something.
“Oh yeah, Angel Mikael. Do we have to pay for Commander’s requested tactical holy nuke?”
“No, I still owe him a ‘few’ favors. He’s already saved my ass a few times this year. Besides, I want to see more of his power. Just let me know whenever he needs help next time.”
Then they talked like an old friends, remembering their shared experiences together.
***
Kiyona sat in a highly elevated office chair in the darkened office room, in front of the Chief Director, who sat at a cheap desk. There was only one light source on, and it was a lamp on the desk. The darkness obscured the Chief Director’s face, but his calloused hands were visible because he was reading the papers. The Chief Director was a strange man, both physically and mentally. His physical appearance was unkempt, and he always wore the same clothes: a black suit jacket with dark blue jeans. His hair was white, and he had deep wrinkles on his forehead, which made his expression look perpetually annoyed. He saw himself as a very serious person, which was why he rarely smiled.
She was giving a report on the most recent convoy delivery, in which Ichiro had taken part, and the current inventory, which was nearly empty. It was a tedious task, but it was one that had to be completed. She was basically repeating what her secretary and the convoy organizer had said to her. After she finished her report, the Chief Director set the papers down and looked at her, his mouth open.
“So you’re saying there were no ghost attacks on the convoy carrying the item that attracts them like flies? That makes absolutely no sense. Have you been slacking off at work yet again? Don’t tell me you went to sleep early today...”
He sounded angry, but Kiyona knew better than to argue with him. He would get angrier if he heard anything negative about himself.
“Huh? It was, uh, our new employee, Chief Director-sama, who repelled them! He was the first truck in the convoy, and he was sending holy energy all along the route, preventing the ghosts from attacking. The guard next to him reported that he almost died from his holy energy. Our newbie was amazing!”
“Hmm... So he used holy energy against those things, did he?”
“Yes, sir.”
“OK, fine. I reviewed the inventory report, and the time has come. I’ll be gone to the Tokyo for a few days, and you’ll be my replacement for a while. You are free to return to your office. It’s time to bring those ‘adventurers’ back from that hellhole.”
“Thank you, Chief Director-sama!”
“You may go now.”
She left the room and headed straight back to her office. She didn’t want to bother the overworked Chief Director. As soon as she stepped out of the dimly lit office, fading sunlight pierced her eyes. It was evening already, and black clouds covered the sky. She sighed, feeling relieved. She knew her workload would soon double, so having a break right now felt great.
***
Ichiro blinked open his eyes. He was stared into the darkness, and darkness stared back. Then, slowly, his senses returned to him. A moment later, he realized his surroundings; he was in his bed, in his home.
He was trying to remember as much of the dream as possible. It was a strange, logically connected dream with recognizable faces. He, his late father, and that otome game character he swears he saw somewhere killing his former boss? That was the dream worth remembering. So Ichiro began looking for his phone with just his arm, without moving his entire body. He eventually grabbed it.
Ichiro turned it on, and the phone’s bluish light irritated his eyes. The phone displayed a few unread notifications, but he didn’t want to read them right now. So, he squinted his eyes and began swiping his finger across the screen, attempting to enter the ‘Dream Diary’ app. He started typing immediately after successfully opening a new page.
“This is going to be weird. But here goes nothing.”
He wrote every detail he could recall, including the names of the people involved. When he finished writing, he paused briefly before continuing. Ichiro looked at the time. 2:57. Was he that exhausted that he slept for over 18 hours? He tried to think back. What happened yesterday? Oh yeah, he was busy driving all night.
He felt mostly fine, had a mild headache, and only his neck was stiff, most likely because he slept so soundly that his unconscious body kept itself in a fixed position throughout the whole time. Well, whatever.
His short essay about his dream was completed a few minutes later. Well, almost. Ichiro paused, typing as he tried to recall what happened next after being backstabed by someone wielding a black blade. He clearly remembers collapsing to the ground, and then something happened, but what? Did he wake up? No, he didn’t. He couldn’t remember exactly what happened between falling asleep and waking up in his bed.
Ichiro closed the Dream Diary app, thinking that maybe it wasn’t really necessary for him to write everything down. He closed the app after saving his essay, got out of bed, and walked to the bathroom while yawning. Ichiro’s ‘regular’ ‘day’ had begun.
***
Renko had finally finished coloring her beloved aunt’s characters from a light novel that had yet to be published. She’d been working nonstop on finishing them all since her aunt approved the sketch version of them two days ago. She had almost depleted all of her spiritual energy from the food Ichiro had given her, which she had converted to life-force energy to make her awake and not hungry. Renko had entered the ‘flow,’ a trance state where she was fully focused on her art. Her fingers moved swiftly, drawing lines that became forms, forming images that came alive as she painted them onto the tablet. In fact, she was painting the last image. It was a portrait of the main protagonist, and it will be the best one among all of her portraits.
Renko was absorbed in her artwork, completely unaware of her environment around her.
And now, the last piece was complete. The girl stood proudly in front of her canvas, admiring the beautiful colors and sharp lines that formed her picture perfectly. She took a step backward, making sure her masterpiece was centered correctly. With a satisfied sigh, she leaned forward and put her pen in its holder.
Five main characters are colored, while others are shaded in black and white. She stood up, stretched, and walked to the balcony next to her computer after saving the last image of the main character in both forms. Renko hadn’t left her room in three days, had forgotten about sleep and food, so it was a welcome break before she went to sleep.
Renko opened the door leading to the balcony, and a light, welcoming breeze hit her, along with the voice of Osaka at night. She gazed outside through the glass doors, seeing the city lights below. The view reminded her of the scenery in the anime that she loved so dearly, which gave her motivation to continue living. She breathed deeply, enjoying the fresh air that filled her lungs with oxygen.
She walked up to the balcony fence and gazed out at the never-sleeping city. The street beneath her was deserted, with only a few dull yellow lamps illuminating the road. The moonlight reflected off of the buildings, casting shadows on the ground. A cool breeze lifted her bangs as the wind blew. Renko listened carefully to the sounds coming from far away—the cars passing by, people talking loudly on their phones, or perhaps some sort of music playing in the distance.
The world was peaceful. It seemed like the perfect place to live, especially when compared with her current situation inside of a small apartment in a large metropolis. Until you started looking at the dark places hidden behind the city’s shining facade, where ghosts ran rampant and evil lurked. Those parts were too dangerous for even police officers to venture into.
Renko was watching the scenery for a couple of minutes until she heard a door opening on the balcony next to her. Because the balcony was an open type, she could see who was coming.
It was Ichiro. He’s dressed casually in a plain white shirt and black pants. His hair was wet, and he had a damp towel around his neck. The ambient light glistened off his skin, highlighting his facial features. He looked tired with the black bags under his eyes. Most importantly, however...
His warm, golden-yellow aura had returned. But it was MUCH stronger now. When compared to the average exorcist’s aura, his aura is at least three times stronger. It was the most powerful she’d seen him in months.
Ichiro approached the balcony’s guardrails and leaned against them. He looked around the surroundings for a few seconds before eventually turning to face Renko.
“Renko-chan, good... morning...?”
Rewritten 07/12/2022
Well, that aged badly. Who knew I would have such hectic year? At least I can now relax a little in December... EDIT 23/11/23: VERY. BADLY. Imagine coming home and having no energy to do anything substantial... for 9 months.
Increased word count by embelishing the words.
Removed the interaction with both of them stating who they are. ARE YOU SATISFIED?
Here's extra for opening the spoiler:
Interim Angel Mikael (862 years old)
god that exposition was not hidden at all who the f just says some ones history like that doesn't flow well at all
Yes. I had other idea how to do that, but because
I am incompetent, lazy writer
it turned out like that. Thanks for reading!