There was a tension in the room. Arcadeus was standing at the corner of his office with his head rested against the stone wall, hands behind his back. Five officers and Otho were standing in front of his desk. There was always fear of Arcadeus amongst the lower ranked, their blood almost turning to ice as they waited for the General to mutter a single word, but even Otho had his fists clenched and was petrified.
"Tell me one more time..." Arcadeus ordered with a weary voice. Officer Ulyssa had previously given a report on the current state of Maha Azim, a report that had caused great bitterness in the mouths of many.
"Maha Azim... escaped her holding cell." Ulyssa stated cautiously, trying to clarify with each word that she herself had no part in it, just in case the General suddenly decided to punish them instead. "The three guards assigned to her were killed in action. Their God Particles were taken from them." Arcadeus loudly inhaled.
"How many others died?"
"Twenty-three others, General." she gulped. Arcadeus began to nod continuously, still staring out the window.
"I want a psychological analysis on Ms Azim and the report to be on my desk in under an hour." He turned around and slowly took his seat behind the desk. "And while a highly educated ant works on that, I want every idle man and woman to scour the fucking city in search of this traitor."
"Permission to speak, sir?"
"Speak."
"She's bonded with twenty-six particles that we know of. She could have more by now."
"I am aware."
"I'd like to form the search party and a team of our finest soldiers, sir. The regulars won't be able to take her out anymore." Arcadeus looked over to Otho, his advisor and friend, who nodded back.
"You have my permission." Officer Ulyssa saluted the General and Otho, the four others doing the same before exiting the office "Officer Ulyssa..."
"Yes, sir?" She turned around with her hand on the door handle.
"My son Marceus will be joining this team of yours. It's a matter of trust you see..."
"I understand, sir."
"No, you don't." Arcadeus, with tremendous speed, got up from his chair and was suddenly in front of her. She could feel the warm air exiting through his nose. "I know of your support and motivation dedicated to Maha and the late Keyla."
"They showed promise, sir," Ulyssa stated, trying hard to not back down from his stare.
"They did indeed. Officer Ulyssa... Heed my words carefully. Should you have the chance to strike down Maha and you don't take it... Marceus will have strict instructions to take you out."
Arcadeus slightly turned around and was already by his chair and sitting down. His coat had barely made a sound from the sheer speed.
"Sir?" Fear was starting to get the better of her, her hands itching to hold on to her arm for emotional support.
"Yes?"
"If your son is assigned to my team, wouldn't you want him to finish the job?" Arcadeus smiled at the question.
"Several of my men and women were killed today. Some heroes fall and some rise. My son has nothing to prove to me. You still have everything to prove."
"I don't understand, sir..."
"A promotion is at hand, officer. We need real heroes in this war. We need people to fight for those who can't."
The four other officers were waiting for Ulyssa outside the office. They all looked her straight in the eye, waiting to hear what more Arcadeus had to say to her. She looked back at them one by one.
"Do you guys believe she's innocent?"
"She has to be. She's obviously not herself!" Said an officer Marissa.
"No one suddenly decides to kill Demigods." Said another officer. The five of them began to walk down the corridor, discussing plans on how to prove Maha Azim's innocence but were interrupted my another face that instilled fear in them. Marceus Mara stood a few meters ahead with several others behind him, all with a serious expression on their faces.
"I thought I was choosing my own team." She said, continuing to walk towards them. "The General said..."
"My father said you had much to prove." Marceus interrupted. "We don't have time for games. We're in the middle of a fucking war. Every second we waste is futile to our cause."
"Agreed," Ulyssa said thoughtfully, halting in front of him.
"We've already assigned someone to do the psychological analysis."
"Who, if I may ask?"
"My sister, Alexis."
"Since when is your sister a psychologist? Thought she had her Masters in medical science."
"Really? She's a Demigod who'll live for hundreds of years and she's a nerd. All she does is read and study. She's got more Masters than I have years spent in university."
"So what's the plan?" she asked.
"Oh no, you're the leader here, Officer Ulyssa. We're here to make sure you follow protocol."
Officer Ulyssa led them to the nearest briefing room and immediately skipped to the point after everyone took a seat.
"I'll be open about my intentions early on. I don't want anyone to think I'm hiding information or motive during this mission." She clearly stated. Marceus slightly showed that he was impressed already. "We don't have jack shit on why Maha Azim suddenly decided to turn heel and begin to collect God Particles. We can only assume that she is psychologically distraught and unwell or she somehow believes she's doing the right thing in... I don't know. This is so out of the blue that no one understands what's going on but there is some shady shit happening and we need to understand what it is. Something happened between the Necromancer and Maha. It's crystal clear she isn't the one that defeated him and that she doesn't have his God Particles. There is someone somewhere very fucking powerful, more powerful than the Necromancer, that must have killed him and taken his powers. God knows how powerful this person is now. My theory is that Maha has been influenced by this person."
Marceus raised his hand up. "Um... yes, sir?"
"Perhaps she's on her own mission... to stop this person?"
"She would have told us. Why would she try to take down a very powerful person on her own? It would take hundreds, maybe thousands of God Particles to take this person down."
"She wouldn't have told us if it was someone she knew and wanted to keep a secret."
"She still has no luck in defeating this person."
"What would you do, Officer Ulyssa, if you found out someone very close to you was this very powerful person?" It suddenly became clear why he asked the question. He was testing her.
"I'd report it in. I'm not crazy enough to hunt down a powerful enemy."
"Alright. What happens if we find Maha Azim before the report comes in?" he asked.
"We subdue her until we find out what her intentions are."
"And if she is unwilling to comply?" The other officers were looking at her, neither of them wanted her to say what they knew was going to come out of her mouth. They too were great supporters of Maha and Keyla. Ulyssa tried hard to not look at the ground. She kept her head up high and mustered her strength and courage.
"We eliminate her."
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