Michael walked back into the video store with Eous by his side. As soon as they entered, Belle and Wise greeted him with warm smiles, making him feel right at home.
"Commission complete," Michael announced.
"Great job, Michael! The client has already confirmed the payment. I'll transfer your cut later," Wise replied.
Belle nodded enthusiastically. "Honestly, we wish we still had our old account. This commission was way too easy for you."
Wise agreed. "I think you're right. Hopefully, we can get more challenging commissions once we've built our reputation."
"Yeah. So, what's your history with Trigger?" Michael asked to which the two siblings had a rather nostalgic expression.
Wise talked first, "How about we talk in the HDD Room?"
Michael nodded. "Sure. Make sure to not leave out any details."
Inside the HDD Room, Belle and Wise told Michael how they met Charon, now known as Trigger, and their adventure with her. From searching for Trigger, finding out that there was a killer hunting down the Defence Force and subsequently stopping the killer.
As Belle and Wise relayed all this information to Michael, he couldn't help but think of one detail about Trigger. "Wait! You both said that Trigger lost her vision when she was hit with an ether projectile during the Hollow Zero Disaster, right? Which then granted her with her Ether Vision abilities. So that's why I sensed something weird in her eyes. I thought it was just the visor that she's wearing."
"Hold on a minute. Are you suggesting that you can heal her eyes?" Belle asked before remembering something important regarding Michael. "Oh yeah, right. You're an Ethereal. I forgot that you can do that."
Michael shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I'll just ask her the next time we meet. Enough with that, how about we celebrate our first completed mission? Any suggestion?"
"How about a celebratory noodle? I'll cover the cost." Wise suggested to and Michael and Belle punched the air in celebration.
.....
After enjoying their meal, Belle and Wise returned to Random Play, while Michael decided to explore Sixth Street to familiarise himself with the area.
As he walked past a convenience store, he noticed a sign advertising Red Bean Buns, with only five remaining. With nothing better to do, he decided to try them for himself. He bought all of them, opened one, and took a bite right then and there.
"Mmm… Delicious…" Michael exclaimed. However he got to New Eridu, he was grateful that he still had his sense of taste and smell.
Just then, he heard a sad voice beside him. "It's all sold out…?"
Turning to see who was speaking, he was surprised to find a young Oni from New Eridu standing next to him. She appeared rather young, but based on his research, he knew that members of her species aged more slowly than humans. She was wearing the uniform of the HSO Taskforce and, for a moment, he swore he had seen her before.
"Hello there. Is something wrong?" Michael asked.
The girl looked at him with teary eyes and said, "I want to buy some Red Bean Buns for Nagi and the others, but the Bangboo said they're all sold out!"
Seeing the Oni girl about to cry made Michael feel guilty for buying them all earlier.
"Sigh…" Michael sighed as he took out the last four Red Bean Buns he had purchased. "Here... Take them."
The girl's sad face brightened at the sight of the buns. "Really! Thank you, mister!" she exclaimed. She started to run off but paused, turning back to him. "Oh, my name's Soukaku. What's your name, kind mister?"
"Michael. Nice to meet you, Soukaku! Be careful on your way back!" he replied. Soukaku waved her hand joyfully as she ran off to where she was headed.
.....
"Nagi! Look what I have." An excited Soukaku sprinted into the Section 6 Office, proudly displaying the red bean buns she had gotten.
"Waah... Soukaku, where did you get these?" Yanagi asked as Soukaku handed her a red bean bun along with the rest of Section 6.
"I went to buy it earlier but the store ran out. A kind mister then gave me these..." She answered as she enjoyed eating the red bean bun.
"A kind mister...? Did he give his name to you?"
Soukaku nodded. "He said his name is Michael."
"Michael huh?" Quietly said Yanagi. If she ever came across him, she would definitely give him her thanks.
Thud!
A loud thud echoed through the room as Yanagi, Soukaku, and Miyabi looked at Harumasa's desk and found him passed out. Dark circles under his eyes indicated that he hadn't been sleeping well.
"Asaba, are you alright?!" Yanagi asked with concern as the rest of Section 6 gathered around Harumasa, their faces also filled with concern.
.....
He looked at himself in the mirrors surrounding him. They flickered, alternating between his reflection and the monster he was destined to become.
Yet, there was a glimmer of hope as one of the mirrors showed him his saviour: Fallen Angel. It was just standing some distance away as if waiting for him to come to it for salvation.
Without missing a heartbeat, he ran, even as he felt himself turning into one of them, pursuing his one and only hope. But as he drew closer, he felt himself becoming increasingly lethargic, corrupted and slow.
Crystals painfully appeared on his body, travelling upwards, threatening to convert him fully. His vision became blurrier by the seconds yet, he can feel the pain in every moment of it. In the end, just before he reached Fallen Angel, he let out a guttural roar as he fully transformed into a monster.
Now one of them, he could only watch as Fallen Angel raised his sword. He lay still, his head hung low as he accepted his inevitable end. Perhaps this was merciful compared to the alternative. With a single swift strike, he witnessed his own body fall beside him, his head severed from his form.
.....
"GASP!"
A loud gasp escaped Asaba's lips, as he woke up from the nightmare.
Harumasa glanced around, realising he was lying on the couch, far from his desk where he had fallen asleep earlier.
With a shaky body, he examined his whole body for any sign of corruption. He breathes a sigh of relief at finding nothing wrong with his body.
It was then that Harumasa noticed everyone in Section 6 looking at him in concern. Even Soukaku had stopped her eating.
"Umm... Why are you all staring at me?"
.....
In the evening, Michael returned to Random Play and found it bustling with customers who were busy renting movies, with Bangboo 06 handling the counter.
He made his way to the HDD Room, where he discovered Belle and Wise waiting for him.
"Another commission?" Michael asked.
"Yep, this should be the last one for today." Belle sent him the details of the commission.
After carefully reviewing the information, Michael nodded at the two. "So we just need to take out some armed goons with style? This will be easy." He grabbed Eous and headed to the designated Hollow.
.....
"Isn't that weapon a little overkill?" Belle observed in a deadpan tone.
After entering the Hollow, Michael started to create a sniper rifle for himself in order to create the iconic scene of The Dimensional Musketeer. He also crafted a skull mask and a bandana for some style points.
He seemed indecisive, changing the weapon from a relatively compact form to the enormous one he was now holding, which was almost the size of a cannon.
"If you're worried about those thugs, don't be. I can control how much energy is used when shooting this bad boy," Michael assured her. "Besides, it's just for looks for the camera."
"Alright. Just don't kill them, okay?" Belle then asked Fairy if there were any nearby Hollow Raiders.
"Affirmative. I have detected a group of Hollow Raiders. They appear to be attempting to smuggle Ether-Resistant materials out of the Hollow. Suggestion: take them out and secure the goods for ourselves."
"While I would love to, we can't do that without attracting unwanted attention," Belle replied. "Just contact PubSec and notify them about the smugglers, we should have enough time before they arrive here."
"Understood, master. Also, Michael, good hunting."
Moving to the location Fairy had indicated, Belle went ahead to do some reconnaissance on the Hollow Raiders.
"Looks like there are about ten raiders," Belle noted. Then she raised her hands. "Wait, look over there. That big guy must be their leader." Belle then points at a guy who seemed to be made of pure muscle.
Michael nodded. "Good info. I'll take the high ground over there and shoot knock him out before confronting the rest with my pistols. Make sure to film me from the best angle."
.....
"Boss! When are we moving this stuff to the buyer?" A grunt asked his clearly agitated boss.
"Shut the hell up! We move when I say we move!" The boss yelled angrily. "Unless you want to alert PubSec by moving early, I suggest you stay put."
"But... Bos—BOOM!" An ear-shattering explosion interrupted the complaining grunt.
"B-Boss!" the grunts all called out, only to receive no reply. They turned to look at where the boss had been standing and saw him lying on the ground, breathing but definitely not moving anytime soon.
Bang!
Another gunshot rang out as a bullet whizzed past them. They looked back and spotted the perpetrator, the one responsible for shooting their boss.
"Y-you!" One of the grunts stuttered, pointing at the attacker. "You'll pay for this! Boys! Get him!" With a war cry, they all charged at the attacker, determined to avenge their fallen boss.
.....
"That was disappointing," Michael complained as he sat on the couch after returning to Random Play. He honestly thought that the goons would have put up a fight. Instead, they barely managed to get closer to him. They didn't even last a minute if that.
Wise shook her head at Michael's fuss. "Well, maybe the next commission will be a little bit challenging." He assured Michael. Although, he himself felt rather frustrated at being stuck with low-level commission for the time being.
"Anyway, Wise and I are going to sleep. First thing tomorrow, we'll grab your ID. Goodnight, Michael." Belle bid him goodnight as they both headed to their bedroom.
When the two left the room, Michael was left with Fairy yet again. "Hey Fairy, you up?"
"What do you need, Michael?"
"Wanna watch some movies with me?"
.....
"Qingyi, don't lick that!" Zhu Yuan yelled out as she forcibly prevented her partner from licking the Hollow Raider's wound.
They had been near the hollows when they received the call that an anonymous tip-off had been sent alerting them of a group of Hollow Raiders.
Zhu Yuan and Qingyi had called for backup and waited for other PubSec officers as she expected a fight. Imagine their shock when they found the raiders already knocked out with wound that seemingly resembles wound one would get from projectiles typically fired by Ethereals.
Suspiciously, all of them seemed to be free from Corruption.
"Honestly Zhu Yuan, are you really that surprised? This was like the fifth time that this thing happened this month." Qingyi asked with a laid-back attitude as she instructed one of the officers to begin questioning the gang on what happened when they reached the station. "Why don't you relax, It's not like this mysterious individual is killing them."
"I know Qingyi... It's just.... Don't you think it's suspicious that every time this happens it was always before an anonymous tip-off happened?"
"Of course, but considering we had no lead even after months, I just accepted that we'll never find this guy." Qingyi casually answered with a dismissive tone.
Zhu Yuan tried to argue further but she relented. As much as she doesn't like vigilantes going out and risking their lives, this one at least seemed to be a professional.