CHAPTER 35: CAPTAINS

With only his right hand, the man who dragged Lucy away from the clash was none other than Captain Riot—a giant of a man whose mere presence felt like a punch to the lungs.

"That’s the crazy captain, Twelfth Division Captain!"

On the opposite side, the man who yanked Lyle back as if he weighed nothing was even taller and broader than Riot—his shadow alone could swallow the mat.

"That’s the captain of Division 5!"

Then came a woman with a body that every curve seemed crafted to tempt and a smile so sweet it could melt steel.

"She’s the 3rd Division Captain..."

A man with long, dark hair tied in a ponytail stepped forward next—coat swaying, eyes sharp and predatory.

"7th Division Captain..."

Then a pair walked in together.

It was a handsome and slim man with fox-like eyes that exuded calmness and strategy, but with an aura that made your instincts scream.

The woman had a slender, delicate frame adorned with earrings that jingled when she moved—beautiful, soft, deceptively gentle.

"It’s the Captains of Division 6 and 11!"

And then—

Jack immediately noticed a familiar figure tried—tried—to subtly slip in through the commotion.

Simon Holemart.

He didn’t even get halfway across the room before someone noticed.

"Division 12..." a whisper traveled across the hall.

"The entire Division 12 is here..."

Simon sighed like someone who regretted every decision that led him to this moment.

But more figures kept appearing—seniors from other divisions, drawn in by the chaos, walking more confidently than Simon.

Conversations turned into stares, and stares into tension thick enough to cut.

"What’s happening?"

"Why are so many captains here?"

Before anyone could figure it out, the fox-eyed 6th Division Captain opened his mouth in an authoritative yet gentle tone for everyone to hear.

"By order of the Five Division Captains present, everyone who isn’t affiliated with Divisions 3, 5, 6, 11, and 12—leave the facility immediately. This space is now under Executive Use."

Seeing the team of captains, those who wanted to complain couldn’t do anything but just leave.

No one dared object.

When five division captains are gathered... you just follow.

Doors locked. Guards posted.

The entire atmosphere shifted.

Jack then leaned over as he turned to Simon and whispered:

"Senior... what’s happening?"

"You’ll find out in a second," he whispered back. "But first—why were you fighting other divisions?"

Jack swallowed hard and chuckled lowly.

"Believe me, senior. We were just supposed to watch, but then that guy from Division 3 called us out to participate." Jack said, pointing to James who was already being glared at by his own Captain.

Simon shook his head, and wore a face as if he understood already what happened.

Meanwhile, on the platform.

James saw the glare from a mile away and was the first to talk to the Captains among those who remained. What he first did was walk and shamelessly approach the beautiful Captain of Division 3, her own Captain.

"Captain! You’re early!"

Still glaring at him, she lifted an eyebrow.

"James... you didn’t start this mess again, did you?"

James smiled like an innocent lamb. It was a level of irritating only a blessed few could achieve.

"Not really!" He started like a husband explaining to his wife why he just spent their son’s allowance in gambling, "Not this time. We didn’t do anything bad. Right... guys?"

Jack watched how everyone—even the captains—looked at James differently.

It was the look you give someone who was annoying or troublesome.

But now, Jack could see it.

He had appraised every captain and he had never seen so much question marks.

But even after appraising the new people who came, Jack could see that James was still the strongest, besides the Captains.

’I guess he is the Vice-Captain of Division 3...’ Jack concluded.

James continued proudly:

"No one even supports me what the hell." He said to everyone, "We always spar after training. This is normal! If we don’t spar, we’ll die in the field. We do this every session."

The 3rd Division captain sighed. She was looking around especially on the floor.

"The floor is cracked, James. The floor. From a ’normal’ spar. I don’t know what kind of sparring do you think is normal? But do you create cracks on the floor everytime you spar?" the female Captain asked. "How did you even..."

James then laughed and pointed at someone else.

"Well," he started, "It’s not only me, everyone also agreed. Even Manager K!"

"Old Estelion, you also?"

The other captains looked almost betrayed.

Manager K stepped forward, adjusting his glasses with calm confidence.

"I expected a regular spar at first. But our rookies were exceptional... and I got carried away." Manager K smiled. He did enjoy the sparring sessions.

Seeing his expression, James whispered "See?" under his breath, smirking.

Then Manager K dropped a bomb.

"Sorry, captains. To make up for this, how about we host a proper rookie tournament?"

The 3rd Division captain froze.

"A tournament... sounds fun," the other female captain then muttered from behind. It was the 11th Division Captain. "But we might be at a disadvantage."

"Oh? So you’re interested?" Manager K’s smile sharpened.

Jack’s brain froze.

’Was Manager K always like this?’

Before Jack could delve into that thought, Captain Riot returned from scolding Lucy. Well... "scolding" was generous. "Traumatizing" was more accurate.

Captain Riot’s presence alone especially his eyes was scary and it made some members of the other divisions feel bad for the beautiful rookie called Lucy.

On the other hand, David looked the most excited hearing the elder’s proposal. He finally understood why the teenager adored the manager.

But the brief moment of humor snapped when the towering Division 5 Captain raised his voice again—this time, heavier, urgent.

"A tournament will have to wait. We have orders from above."

Everyone stopped moving.

The handsome fox-eyed Captain of Division 6 then took the lead again, voice calm but grave.

"Please sit. We have important information to relay."

Afterwards.

People sat in places with their respective divisions as they all looked at the front where their captains stood.

Johann spoke:

"Nice to meet all of you. I’m Johann Killmur. Some of you may recognize me more as the 6th Division Captain, or the Surveillance Division. Our division is the one that manages cameras, satellites, tracking devices, bug installations, and intel gathering via observation. Surveillance, basically."

While sitting, Jack felt a chill.

Not that there were just so many awakened people around all in high levels. He could already tell that something big was about to take place.

Johann’s tone darkened.

"For the past year, we’ve, along with the Association, have been monitoring an awakened group. They call themselves as Grave Ash. The public knows them as a charity corporation, but they are actually also operating as mercenaries involved in many high-level crimes."

He paused.

"However, after months of monitoring, the Association and the Company has discovered a more terrifying thing. Cries or C.R.I.E.S. is involved."

The room froze.

Someone muttered:

"No way..."

Johann nodded grimly.

"Yes. Cries. The extremist awakened organization classified globally as a Tier-1 Threat."

Jack’s blood ran cold.

Johann’s eyes swept across the room.

"And we have strong evidence that Cries’ members will be infiltrating the city soon."

A long pause.

"For a reason."

Jack felt his skin crawl as Johann’s voice cut through the air one last time.

"We already know their insertion points and we will be intercepting them separately."

Johann slowly raised a remote and a hologram flickered to life behind him, showing an aerial map of the city that started to zoom in into certain areas with red marks.

"For now, let us explain everything."